Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current Injections
Modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are widely used, and ongoing research aims to enhance and optimize their performance. One key improvement is reducing the peak arm current, which helps boost the current capability of the submodule switches and increase power handling capacity. One approach to ac...
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| author | Riyadh Toman Thahab Tahani Hamodi Al-Mhana |
| author_facet | Riyadh Toman Thahab Tahani Hamodi Al-Mhana |
| author_sort | Riyadh Toman Thahab |
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| description | Modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are widely used, and ongoing research aims to enhance and optimize their performance. One key improvement is reducing the peak arm current, which helps boost the current capability of the submodule switches and increase power handling capacity. One approach to achieve this target is to optimally shape the circulating current with a specified amount of AC components, which can be injected into the arm current. Circulating current arises from the mismatch between submodule capacitor voltages and the DC terminals. This paper uses a particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm to determine the optimal values for the injected components. The magnitude and phase of the injected components are treated as variables in the optimisation process, with the goal of minimising the peak arm current as the cost function. The paper also investigates how these optimal injections affect peak-to-peak energy deviations and capacitor voltage ripples. Moreover, the response of the proposed method is investigated under multiple dynamic conditions, including a varying power factor, dynamically changing power references, and grid voltage sags, as the MMC interacts with the grid by exchanging real and reactive power. Results show that the proposed method can reduce the peak arm current by up to 27.42% for specific operating conditions. Additionally, the proposed approach performs better in reducing the peak arm current when the MMC supplies purely reactive current. In contrast, other methods may tend to be unproductive in these areas. An evaluation of losses, based on datasheet information of submodule switches, shows that the effect of the PSO-based optimal injections is marginal to the extent that no significant change is reported in converters’ efficiency compared to the case of zero injections. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b7a07d2953ef45a0aa8f6f01beb12bb1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
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| spelling | doaj-art-b7a07d2953ef45a0aa8f6f01beb12bb12025-08-20T03:25:02ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-011311968211970810.1109/ACCESS.2025.358672511072344Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current InjectionsRiyadh Toman Thahab0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4678-3536Tahani Hamodi Al-Mhana1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4942-7606Department of Electrical Engineering, Collage of Engineering, University of Babylon, Hilla, IraqDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Collage of Engineering, University of Babylon, Hilla, IraqModular multilevel converters (MMCs) are widely used, and ongoing research aims to enhance and optimize their performance. One key improvement is reducing the peak arm current, which helps boost the current capability of the submodule switches and increase power handling capacity. One approach to achieve this target is to optimally shape the circulating current with a specified amount of AC components, which can be injected into the arm current. Circulating current arises from the mismatch between submodule capacitor voltages and the DC terminals. This paper uses a particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm to determine the optimal values for the injected components. The magnitude and phase of the injected components are treated as variables in the optimisation process, with the goal of minimising the peak arm current as the cost function. The paper also investigates how these optimal injections affect peak-to-peak energy deviations and capacitor voltage ripples. Moreover, the response of the proposed method is investigated under multiple dynamic conditions, including a varying power factor, dynamically changing power references, and grid voltage sags, as the MMC interacts with the grid by exchanging real and reactive power. Results show that the proposed method can reduce the peak arm current by up to 27.42% for specific operating conditions. Additionally, the proposed approach performs better in reducing the peak arm current when the MMC supplies purely reactive current. In contrast, other methods may tend to be unproductive in these areas. An evaluation of losses, based on datasheet information of submodule switches, shows that the effect of the PSO-based optimal injections is marginal to the extent that no significant change is reported in converters’ efficiency compared to the case of zero injections.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11072344/Circulating current controlparticle swarm optimization (PSO)peak arm currentmodular multilevel inverter (MMC)optimal current injection |
| spellingShingle | Riyadh Toman Thahab Tahani Hamodi Al-Mhana Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current Injections IEEE Access Circulating current control particle swarm optimization (PSO) peak arm current modular multilevel inverter (MMC) optimal current injection |
| title | Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current Injections |
| title_full | Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current Injections |
| title_fullStr | Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current Injections |
| title_full_unstemmed | Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current Injections |
| title_short | Peak Arm Current Reduction of Modular Multilevel Converter Based on Particle Swarm Optimizer for Circulating Current Injections |
| title_sort | peak arm current reduction of modular multilevel converter based on particle swarm optimizer for circulating current injections |
| topic | Circulating current control particle swarm optimization (PSO) peak arm current modular multilevel inverter (MMC) optimal current injection |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11072344/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT riyadhtomanthahab peakarmcurrentreductionofmodularmultilevelconverterbasedonparticleswarmoptimizerforcirculatingcurrentinjections AT tahanihamodialmhana peakarmcurrentreductionofmodularmultilevelconverterbasedonparticleswarmoptimizerforcirculatingcurrentinjections |