Operation, Control, and Applications of the Modular Multilevel Converter: A Review

• Published in: IEEE transactions on power electronics Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 37 - 53
• Main Authors: Debnath, Suman, Qin, Jiangchao, Bahrani, Behrooz, Saeedifard, Maryam, Barbosa, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.01.2015; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Capacitor voltage balancing; Capacitors; circulating current control; Control systems; Converters; Direct power generation; Electric currents; General overviews; high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission; Metal matrix composites; Modular; modular multilevel converter (MMC); modulation techniques; Multilevel; Power supply; Pulse width modulation; redundancy; State of the art; Strategy; Switches; Switching circuits; variable-speed drive systems; Voltage control; Voltage measurement
• ISSN: 0885-8993; 1941-0107
• DOI: 10.1109/TPEL.2014.2309937

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) has been a subject of increasing importance for medium/high-power energy conversion systems. Over the past few years, significant research has been done to address the technical challenges associated with the operation and control of the MMC. In this paper, a general overview of the basics of operation of the MMC along with its control challenges are discussed, and a review of state-of-the-art control strategies and trends is presented. Finally, the applications of the MMC and their challenges are highlighted.