An approach to regulating the dc-link voltage of a voltage-source BTB system during power line faults

A voltage-source back-to-back system for the purpose of achieving power flow control and/or line-frequency change in transmission systems has the attractive features of reliable and continuous operation, even during power line faults. However, an overvoltage appearing across the dc link during the faults should be limited to as low a value as possible because it does affect the power device ratings. This paper proposes a dc-link voltage regulator for effectively suppressing the overvoltage during power line faults. This regulator is characterized by compensating for a time delay inherent in each current controller, and for a power flow imbalance occurring during power line faults. The validity of the proposed regulator is confirmed by theory and computer simulation. Index Terms--Back-to-back (BTB) system, dc-link voltage regulation, line-frequency change, power flow control, power line faults.