Direction-Selective Parallel Module Structure

01 Dec 2024 - Chicago

Selected Publications: Straight to the Point is a section where I introduce my publications with words that are as direct and simple as possible. I will assume that you already know the context of this paper.

@inproceedings{zhang2024direction,
  title={Direction-Selective Parallel Module Structure for Cascaded Bridge and Modular Multilevel Converters with Minimum Transistor Count},
  author={Zhang, Jinshui and Goetz, Stefan M},
  booktitle={IECON 2024-50th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society},
  pages={1--6},
  year={2024},
  organization={IEEE}
}

Prerequisite Knowledge

Working principle of cascaded double H bridge circuit

Novelty: As it can enable parallel connection between modules, the cascaded double H bridge (CH2B) circuit can achieve sensorless module balancing. However, it needs eight transistors while the original H bridge needs only four – which scares people away from using it. Here we invented a new module strucutre, four transistor – not eight, not seven, not six, not five, just four – to achieve the same functionality of sensorless module balancing.

Significance: This invention put the parallel connectivity enabled MMC circuit back to the competition of large-scale applications, as it brings the number of transistors down to the same as H bridge.

This paper is a draft for a conference. A more detailed technical paper is on its way out.