A novel parameter for the evaluation of protective circuits for IGBT explosion protection in submodules of MMC

Faults in high-power converters can cause sudden release of the energy stored in the charged intermediate circuit capacitor, destroying power semiconductors and causing secondary damage, such as the release of debris, the deformation of busbars and the emission of interference fields. This paper exa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2022 24th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications (EPE'22 ECCE Europe) pp. 1 - 10
Main Authors Junghans, Christoph, Eckel, Hans-Guenter
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published EPE Association 05.09.2022
Subjects
Capacitors
Explosions
Faults
HVDC
IGBT
Insulated gate bipolar transistors
Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC)
Multilevel converters
Short circuit
Surge protection
Switching frequency
Thyristors
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Summary:Faults in high-power converters can cause sudden release of the energy stored in the charged intermediate circuit capacitor, destroying power semiconductors and causing secondary damage, such as the release of debris, the deformation of busbars and the emission of interference fields. This paper examines the effectiveness of certain protective circuits for the electrical explosion protection of IGBT modules in submodules of Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) for HVDC applications and introduces a new parameter for the characterization of IGBT explosions. The protective circuits are arranged within the intermediate circuit of the submodule and are intended to reduce the surge current in the event of a fault and accordingly to dissipate or divert the energy of the storage capacitor and thus relieve the IGBT modules. The examinations indicate, that the connection of RL-combination and bypass thyristor can be recommended as protective circuit for IGBT explosion protection and surge current reduction used in MMC submodules with low switching frequencies. The newly introduced Explosion Integral XI improves the evaluation of electrical explosion protection measures. The parameter takes into account the thermal and magnetic mechanisms that cause the explosion of IGBT modules.