Abstract
This paper presents the development of a hardware simulator based on the junction-temperature of insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules in modular multilevel converters (MMCs). The MMC consists of various power-electronics components, and the IGBT is the main factor determining the lifetime of the MMC. The failure of IGBTs is mostly due to the junction-temperature swing; thus, the thermal profile of the IGBT should be established to predict the lifetime. The thermal behavior depends on the current flowing to the IGBT, and the load-current profile is related to the application. To establish the thermal profile of the IGBT, the proposed hardware simulator generates various shapes of output currents while the junction temperature is measured. Additionally, a controller design is presented for simulation of the arm current, which includes a direct current component as well as an alternative current component with a fundamental frequency. The validity and performance of the proposed hardware simulator and its control methods are analyzed according to various experimental results.
Highlights
Modular multilevel converters (MMCs) have been proven to be suitable for high-power conversion systems, such as high- and medium-voltage direct current (HVDC and MVDC, respectively) transmission systems [1,2,3,4]
HVDC and MVDC systems using MMCs operate in harsh environments, because they are exposed to the outside; and operating the MMCs for a long time increases the probability of failure
This paper proposes a hardware simulator for thermal profile analysis of the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules in the
Summary
Modular multilevel converters (MMCs) have been proven to be suitable for high-power conversion systems, such as high- and medium-voltage direct current (HVDC and MVDC, respectively) transmission systems [1,2,3,4]. HVDC and MVDC systems using MMCs operate in harsh environments, because they are exposed to the outside; and operating the MMCs for a long time increases the probability of failure. Because the MMC is applied to high-power transmission and distribution systems, considerable financial costs per hour are incurred during restoration when the system is shut down. The reliability of the MMC with regard to the lifetime, maintenance cost, and robustness is becoming a crucial issue
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