阅读说明：本技术 模块化多电平变换器系统及其电压检测方法、开路故障诊断方法 (Modular multilevel converter system, voltage detection method thereof and open-circuit fault diagnosis method ) 是由 肖鹏 王明 张怡 刘腾 应建平 于 2020-06-03 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种模块化多电平变换器系统及其电压检测方法、开路故障的诊断方法。模块化多电平变换器系统包括：N个子模块,N个子模块依次级联连接且N为大于等于2的整数,每一子模块包括至少一桥臂以及与桥臂并联的电容,电容具有正端、负端；电压检测单元,检测N个子模块中相邻的至少两个子模块之间的电容电压,电压检测单元连接在至少两个子模块中第一个子模块的电容的正端与最后一个子模块的电容的负端之间。本发明可实现多子模块的电压检测和器件级的开路故障诊断,可省去大量的检测单元,降低了硬件成本,提高了系统可靠性。本发明还可避免旁路状态的检测盲区,并可适用于不同子模块拓扑,具有较强的扩展性。(The invention discloses a modular multilevel converter system, a voltage detection method thereof and an open-circuit fault diagnosis method. A modular multilevel converter system comprising: the N sub-modules are sequentially connected in a cascade mode, N is an integer larger than or equal to 2, each sub-module comprises at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected with the bridge arm in parallel, and the capacitor is provided with a positive end and a negative end; the voltage detection unit detects the capacitance voltage between at least two adjacent sub-modules in the N sub-modules, and is connected between the positive end of the capacitor of the first sub-module and the negative end of the capacitor of the last sub-module in the at least two sub-modules. The invention can realize the voltage detection of multiple sub-modules and the open-circuit fault diagnosis of device level, save a large number of detection units, reduce the hardware cost and improve the system reliability. The invention can also avoid the detection blind zone of the bypass state, is suitable for different sub-module topologies, and has stronger expansibility.)

1. A modular multilevel converter system, comprising:

the N sub-modules are sequentially connected in a cascade mode, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each sub-module comprises at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected with the bridge arm in parallel, and the capacitor is provided with a positive end and a negative end;

the voltage detection unit detects the capacitance voltage between at least two adjacent sub-modules in the N sub-modules, and is connected between the positive end of the capacitance of the first sub-module and the negative end of the capacitance of the last sub-module in the at least two sub-modules.

2. The modular multilevel converter system of claim 1, wherein the voltage detection unit is a voltage sensor.

3. The modular multilevel converter system according to claim 1, wherein the voltage detection unit detects a capacitance voltage between two adjacent sub-modules, the two sub-modules comprising a first sub-module and a second sub-module which are cascaded in sequence; wherein, when the machine is in normal operation,

when the two sub-modules are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and current flows from the output end of the first sub-module to the output end of the second sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance and the voltage of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and current flows from the output end of the second sub-module to the output end of the first sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module.

4. The modular multilevel converter system of claim 3, wherein the capacitance voltage of the second sub-module is estimated by subtracting the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module from the sum of the detected capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules.

5. A method of voltage sensing for a modular multilevel converter system, comprising:

configuring N sub-modules, wherein the N sub-modules are sequentially connected in a cascade mode, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each sub-module comprises at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected with the bridge arm in parallel, and the capacitor is provided with a positive end and a negative end;

and a voltage detection unit is configured to detect the capacitance voltage between at least two adjacent sub-modules in the N sub-modules, and is connected between the positive end of the capacitance of the first sub-module and the negative end of the capacitance of the last sub-module in the at least two sub-modules.

6. The voltage detection method according to claim 5, wherein the voltage detection unit is a voltage sensor.

7. The voltage detection method according to claim 6, wherein the voltage detection unit detects a capacitance voltage between two adjacent sub-modules, the two sub-modules being a first sub-module and a second sub-module which are sequentially cascaded, wherein, in normal operation,

when the two sub-modules are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and the current flows from the output end of the first sub-module to the output end of the second sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance and the voltage of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and current flows from the output end of the second sub-module to the output end of the first sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module.

8. The voltage detection method according to claim 7, further comprising:

and estimating the capacitance voltage of the second sub-module by subtracting the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module from the sum of the detected capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules.

9. An open-circuit fault diagnosis method of a modular multilevel converter system, wherein the modular multilevel converter system comprises a plurality of sub-modules and a voltage detection unit, the sub-modules are connected in cascade, each sub-module comprises at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected in parallel with the bridge arm, the capacitor has a positive end and a negative end, the voltage detection unit detects voltage between two adjacent sub-modules of the sub-modules, and the voltage detection unit is connected between the positive end of the capacitor of a first sub-module and the negative end of the capacitor of a second sub-module of the two sub-modules, the open-circuit fault diagnosis method comprises the following steps:

detecting the capacitance voltage of the two sub-modules in the switching-on state and the switching-off state through the voltage detection unit;

and determining a submodule with an open-circuit fault in the two submodules according to the detected capacitor voltage.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the submodule is a half-bridge structure, the first submodule comprises a first switch tube and a second switch tube which are connected in series, and the second submodule comprises a third switch tube and a fourth switch tube which are connected in series.

11. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 10, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, and when the fact that the capacitance voltage of the first submodule has direct current bias and the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value is detected, it is determined that the first switch tube of the first submodule has an open-circuit fault.

12. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 10, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, and when current flows from the output end of the first submodule to the output end of the second submodule and the sum of the voltage variation of the first submodule accumulated for multiple times is larger than a second preset threshold value, it is determined that an open-circuit fault occurs in a second switch tube of the first submodule.

13. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 10, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an input state, if the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, it is determined that the third switch tube of the second submodule has an open-circuit fault.

14. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 10, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in a cut-off state, if the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, it is determined that an open-circuit fault occurs in a fourth switch tube of the second submodule.

15. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 9, wherein each sub-module is of an H-bridge structure and comprises a first bridge arm and a second bridge arm connected in parallel with the first bridge arm, the first bridge arm comprises a first switching tube and a second switching tube which are connected in series with each other, and the second bridge arm comprises a third switching tube and a fourth switching tube which are connected in series with each other; the capacitor is connected in parallel between the first bridge arm and the second bridge arm, the first switch tube and the fourth switch tube are conducted when each sub-module is in an input state, and the second switch tube and the fourth switch tube are conducted when each sub-module is in a cut-off state.

16. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule;

and when the fact that the capacitor voltage of the first sub-module has direct current bias is detected, and the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value, it is determined that the first switch tube of the first sub-module has an open-circuit fault.

17. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule;

and when the current flows from the output end of the first submodule to the output end of the second submodule and the sum of the voltage variation of the first submodule accumulated for multiple times is larger than a second preset threshold value, determining that the second switch tube of the first submodule has an open-circuit fault.

18. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule;

and when the fact that direct current bias exists in the capacitor voltage of the first sub-module is detected, the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value, and when current flows from the output end of the second sub-module to the output end of the first sub-module and the sum of multiple times of voltage variation of the first sub-module is larger than a second preset threshold value, it is determined that an open-circuit fault occurs in a fourth switch tube of the first sub-module.

19. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, if the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, it is determined that the first switch tube of the second submodule has an open-circuit fault.

20. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when the first sub-module and the second sub-module are both in a cut-off state, if the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules, it is determined that an open-circuit fault occurs in a second switch tube of the second sub-module.

21. The open-circuit fault diagnosis method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule;

and when the capacitor voltage of the second submodule has direct current bias, the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value, and when the current flows from the output end of the second submodule to the output end of the first submodule and the sum of the voltage variation of the second submodule accumulated for multiple times is larger than a second preset threshold value, determining that an open-circuit fault occurs in a fourth switch tube of the second submodule.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of direct current power transmission and distribution, in particular to a Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) system, a voltage detection method thereof and an open-circuit fault diagnosis method.

Background

With the development of high voltage direct current power transmission and distribution, Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) are increasingly widely used due to numerous advantages. However, due to the use of a plurality of sub-modules and the switching tubes, the probability of the sub-module capacitor voltage checking circuit and the switching device failing is greatly improved. Therefore, the research on the submodule voltage detection of the MMC and the fault diagnosis of the switching device has important significance for improving the reliability of the converter and promoting the application of the converter in occasions of direct current transmission, motor driving and the like.

The modular cascade structure of the MMC comprises a large number of cascade submodules, and the switching elements of the cascade submodules are high-failure-rate components, and the failures can be classified into short-circuit failures and open-circuit failures. Since short-circuit faults tend to characterize large current variations, they can be diagnosed by conventional overvoltage overcurrent and short-circuit protection of the system. For open-circuit faults, the fault characteristics are not obvious and diversified, so that the diagnosis difficulty is higher.

At present, the traditional submodule voltage detection method mainly carries out voltage detection on each submodule directly, and open-circuit faults are judged mainly based on the voltage detection result of each submodule. However, this approach requires a voltage detection circuit for each sub-module, which not only complicates the system and increases the cost, but also increases the number of potential failure points.

There are also some voltage detection methods, which mainly use a sensor disposed at an output port to detect voltages of a plurality of sub-modules. However, this method may have a bypass state where the measured value is zero, in which the voltage will not be measured. In addition, the method can only realize module-level fault location, but cannot realize device-level fault location.

At present, some open-circuit fault diagnosis methods mainly perform fault diagnosis based on bridge arm voltage transformers. However, the method still cannot realize device-level fault location, and the added bridge arm voltage transformer needs to consider the insulation level of the whole bus, so that the selection is difficult.

In summary, the conventional voltage detection circuit of the MMC submodule and the diagnosis method of the open-circuit fault of the switching tube have the following problems: too many detection links, high cost and low reliability, and detection blind areas possibly exist, so that the fault diagnosis at the device level cannot be realized.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a modular multilevel converter system, a voltage detection method thereof, and an open-circuit fault diagnosis method thereof, which are capable of solving one or more problems of the prior art.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a modular multilevel converter system comprising: the N sub-modules are sequentially connected in a cascade mode, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each sub-module comprises at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected with the bridge arm in parallel, and the capacitor is provided with a positive end and a negative end; and the voltage detection unit is used for detecting the capacitance voltage between at least two adjacent sub-modules in the N sub-modules and is connected between the positive end of the capacitance of the first sub-module and the negative end of the capacitance of the last sub-module in the at least two sub-modules.

In an embodiment of the invention, the voltage detecting unit is a voltage sensor.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the voltage detection unit detects a capacitance voltage between two adjacent sub-modules, where the two sub-modules include a first sub-module and a second sub-module which are sequentially cascaded, and during normal operation,

when the two sub-modules are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and current flows from the output end of the first sub-module to the output end of the second sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance and the voltage of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and current flows from the output end of the second sub-module to the output end of the first sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module.

In an embodiment of the invention, the capacitance voltage of the second sub-module is estimated by subtracting the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module from the sum of the detected capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention further provides a voltage detection method for a modular multilevel converter system, which includes: configuring N sub-modules, wherein the N sub-modules are sequentially connected in a cascade mode, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each sub-module comprises at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected with the bridge arm in parallel, and the capacitor is provided with a positive end and a negative end; and a configuration voltage detection unit which detects a capacitance voltage between at least two adjacent sub-modules of the N sub-modules and is connected between a positive terminal of a capacitance of a first sub-module and a negative terminal of a capacitance of a last sub-module of the at least two sub-modules.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the voltage detection unit is a voltage sensor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the voltage detection unit detects a capacitance voltage between two adjacent sub-modules, where the two sub-modules are a first sub-module and a second sub-module which are sequentially cascaded, and during normal operation,

when the two sub-modules are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and the current flows from the output end of the first sub-module to the output end of the second sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance and the voltage of the two sub-modules;

when the two sub-modules are in a blocking state and current flows from the output end of the second sub-module to the output end of the first sub-module, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the voltage detection method further includes: and estimating the capacitance voltage of the second sub-module by subtracting the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module from the sum of the detected capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention further provides an open-circuit fault diagnosis method for a modular multilevel converter system, where the modular multilevel converter system includes a plurality of cascaded sub-modules, each of the sub-modules includes at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected in parallel to the bridge arm, the capacitor has a positive terminal and a negative terminal, the voltage detection unit detects a voltage between two adjacent sub-modules of the plurality of sub-modules, and the voltage detection unit is connected between the positive terminal of the capacitor of a first sub-module and the negative terminal of the capacitor of a second sub-module of the two sub-modules, where the open-circuit fault diagnosis method includes: detecting the capacitance voltage of the two sub-modules in the switching-on state and the switching-off state through the voltage detection unit; and determining a submodule with an open-circuit fault in the two submodules according to the detected capacitor voltage.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the sub-modules are half-bridge structures, the first sub-module includes a first switch tube and a second switch tube connected in series, and the second sub-module includes a third switch tube and a fourth switch tube connected in series.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, and when the fact that the capacitance voltage of the first submodule has direct current bias and the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value is detected, it is determined that the first switch tube of the first submodule has an open-circuit fault.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, and when current flows from the output end of the first submodule to the output end of the second submodule and the sum of the voltage variation of the first submodule accumulated for multiple times is larger than a second preset threshold value, it is determined that an open-circuit fault occurs in a second switch tube of the first submodule.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an input state and the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, determining that the third switch tube of the second submodule has an open-circuit fault.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in a cut-off state and the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, determining that the fourth switch tube of the second submodule has an open-circuit fault.

In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the sub-modules is an H-bridge structure, and includes a first bridge arm and a second bridge arm connected in parallel with the first bridge arm, where the first bridge arm includes a first switching tube and a second switching tube connected in series with each other, and the second bridge arm includes a third switching tube and a fourth switching tube connected in series with each other; the capacitor is connected in parallel between the first bridge arm and the second bridge arm, the first switch tube and the fourth switch tube are conducted when each sub-module is in an input state, and the second switch tube and the fourth switch tube are conducted when each sub-module is in a cut-off state.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule; and when the fact that the capacitor voltage of the first sub-module has direct current bias is detected, and the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value, it is determined that the first switch tube of the first sub-module has an open-circuit fault.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule, and when current flows from the output end of the first submodule to the output end of the second submodule and the sum of the voltage variation of the first submodule accumulated for multiple times is larger than a second preset threshold value, it is determined that an open-circuit fault occurs in a second switch tube of the first submodule.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule; and when the fact that direct current bias exists in the capacitor voltage of the first sub-module is detected, the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value, and when current flows from the output end of the second sub-module to the output end of the first sub-module and the sum of multiple times of voltage variation of the first sub-module is larger than a second preset threshold value, it is determined that an open-circuit fault occurs in a fourth switch tube of the first sub-module.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: and when the first sub-module and the second sub-module are both in an on state and the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module, determining that the first switch tube of the second sub-module has an open-circuit fault.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in a cut-off state, and the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the two submodules, it is determined that the second switch tube of the second submodule has an open-circuit fault.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, the open fault diagnosis method further includes: when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules, and when the first submodule and the second submodule are both in an off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the first submodule; and when the capacitor voltage of the second submodule has direct current bias, the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value, and when the current flows from the output end of the second submodule to the output end of the first submodule and the sum of the voltage variation of the second submodule accumulated for multiple times is larger than a second preset threshold value, determining that an open-circuit fault occurs in a fourth switch tube of the second submodule.

By adopting the novel voltage detection circuit, the voltage detection method and the open-circuit fault diagnosis method for the submodule, a large number of detection units can be saved, the detection blind zone of the bypass state is avoided, the system cost and the complexity are reduced, and the submodule voltage detection circuit, the voltage detection method and the open-circuit fault diagnosis method are suitable for being applied to the field of medium and high voltage.

According to the voltage detection circuit based on the multi-submodule single-voltage sensor, the hardware cost is reduced, and the system reliability is improved. The invention realizes the voltage detection of multiple sub-modules and the open-circuit fault diagnosis at the device level through a single voltage sensor. The voltage detection circuit and the open-circuit fault judgment method based on the multi-submodule single-voltage sensor can be suitable for different submodule topologies, and have strong expansibility.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a modular multilevel converter system of the present invention;

fig. 1B is a partial structural diagram of a modular multilevel converter system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the voltage detection unit detects voltages of two sub-modules;

fig. 2 is a partial structural diagram of a modular multilevel converter system according to another preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein a voltage detection unit detects voltages of a plurality of sub-modules;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a modular multilevel converter system according to another preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the circuit structure of the sub-modules is an H-bridge structure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a voltage detection method for the modular multilevel converter system of the present invention;

fig. 5A and 5B show the current flow and the state, respectively, in the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1B when both sub-modules are in the on state (the upper switch tube is turned on);

fig. 6A and 6B show the current flow direction and the state, respectively, when both sub-modules are in the cut-off state (the lower switch tube is on) in the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1B;

fig. 7A and 7B show the current flow and state, respectively, when both sub-modules are in a blocking state (all switch tubes are off) in the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1B;

FIG. 8 shows simulated waveforms for a voltage detection method of the present invention in which a single voltage sensor is used to detect the voltages of two sub-modules in a modular multilevel converter system;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method of open circuit fault diagnosis for a modular multilevel converter system of the present invention;

FIG. 10A shows the current flow direction when the upper switch tube of the first sub-module and the upper switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in FIG. 1B are both normally on;

FIG. 10B shows the current flow direction during an open circuit fault of the upper switching tube of the first submodule of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 11 shows simulated waveforms for an open circuit fault in the upper switch tube of the first submodule;

fig. 12A shows the current flow direction when the lower switch tube of the first sub-module and the lower switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1B are both normally on;

FIG. 12B shows the current flow direction during an open-circuit fault of the lower switch tube of the first submodule of FIG. 12A;

FIG. 13 shows simulated waveforms for an open circuit fault in the lower switch tube of the first sub-module;

FIG. 14A shows the current flow direction when the upper switch tube of the first sub-module and the upper switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in FIG. 1B are normally on;

FIG. 14B shows the current flow direction during an open circuit fault of the upper switching tube of the second submodule of FIG. 14A;

fig. 15A shows the current flow direction when the lower switch tube of the first sub-module and the lower switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1B are normally on;

FIG. 15B shows the current flow direction during an open-circuit fault of the lower switch tube of the second submodule of FIG. 15A;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of an open circuit fault diagnosis process for the modular multilevel converter system shown in FIG. 1B;

fig. 17A shows the current flow direction and state when both sub-modules are in the on state (the upper left switch tube and the lower right switch tube are on) in the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3;

fig. 17B shows the current flow direction and state when both sub-modules are in the cut-out state (left lower switch tube and right lower switch tube are on) in the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3;

FIG. 18A illustrates the current flow direction when the top left switch tube of the first sub-module and the top left switch tube of the second sub-module are both normally on in the modular multilevel converter system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 18B shows the current flow direction during an open circuit fault in the upper left switching tube of the first submodule of FIG. 18A;

fig. 19A shows the current flow direction when the lower left switch tube of the first sub-module and the lower left switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3 are both normally on;

FIG. 19B shows the current flow direction during an open circuit fault in the lower left switch tube of the first submodule of FIG. 19A;

FIG. 20A illustrates the current flow direction when the top left switch tube of the first sub-module and the top left switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in FIG. 3 are normally on;

FIG. 20B shows the current flow direction during an open circuit fault in the upper left switch tube of the second submodule of FIG. 20A;

FIG. 21A illustrates the current flow direction when the lower left switch tube of the first sub-module and the lower left switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in FIG. 3 are normally on;

FIG. 21B shows the current flow direction during an open circuit fault in the lower left switch tube of the second submodule of FIG. 21A;

FIG. 22A shows the current flow direction when the lower right switch tube of the first sub-module and the lower right switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in FIG. 3 are normally on;

FIG. 22B shows the current flow direction during an open circuit fault in the lower right switch tube of the first submodule of FIG. 22A;

FIG. 23A illustrates the current flow direction when the lower right switch tube of the first sub-module and the lower right switch tube of the second sub-module of the modular multilevel converter system shown in FIG. 3 are normally on;

fig. 23B shows the current flow direction at open-circuit fault of the lower right switch tube of the second submodule in fig. 23A.

Detailed Description

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar structures, and thus their detailed description will be omitted.

When introducing elements/components/etc. described and/or illustrated herein, the articles "a," "an," "the," "said," and "at least one" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements/components/etc. The terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements/components/etc. other than the listed elements/components/etc. Relative terms, such as "upper" or "lower," may be used in embodiments to describe one component of an icon relative to another component. It will be appreciated that if the device of the icon is turned upside down, components described as being on the "upper" side will be components on the "lower" side. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like in the claims are used merely as labels, and are not numerical limitations of their objects.

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of a modular multilevel converter system 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1A, wherein the modular multilevel converter system 200 has three phases a, b, and c, for example, each phase includes two branches, which may include an upper branch and a lower branch, each of which may be composed of an inductor and N sub-modules 10 connected in cascade, for example, the upper branch of the phase a in fig. 1A may be composed of two sub-modules 10 and an inductor La2 connected in series, the lower branch of the phase a may be composed of two sub-modules 10 and an inductor La3 connected in series, and one output terminal of the upper branch and the lower branch of the phase a is connected to the output buses 201 and 202, respectively, and an intermediate node between the inductor La2 of the upper branch and the inductor La3 of the lower branch is connected to the ac power supply 20 of the phase a through an inductor La 1. The branch circuits of the b-phase and the c-phase are similar in structure to the branch circuit of the a-phase. That is, the upper branch of the b-phase may be formed by connecting two submodules 10 and an inductor Lb2 in series, the lower branch of the b-phase may be formed by connecting two submodules 10 and an inductor Lb3 in series, one output end of the upper branch and one output end of the lower branch of the b-phase are respectively connected to the output buses 201 and 202, and an intermediate node between the inductor Lb2 of the upper branch and the inductor Lb3 of the lower branch is connected to the ac power supply 20 of the b-phase through an inductor Lb 1; the upper branch of the c phase may be formed by connecting two sub-modules 10 and an inductor Lc2 in series, the lower branch of the c phase may be formed by connecting two sub-modules 10 and an inductor Lc3 in series, one output end of the upper branch and one output end of the lower branch of the c phase are respectively connected to the output buses 201 and 202, and an intermediate node between the inductor Lc2 of the upper branch and the inductor Lc3 of the lower branch is connected to the ac power supply 20 of the c phase through the inductor Lc 1.

The modular multilevel converter system of the invention may for example comprise N sub-modules 10 and a voltage detection unit 30. The N sub-modules 10 are connected in series in a cascade, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each sub-module 10 includes at least one bridge arm 11 and a capacitor 12 connected in parallel with the bridge arm 11, and the capacitor 12 has a positive terminal and a negative terminal. The voltage detection unit 30 detects a capacitance voltage between at least two adjacent sub-modules 10 of the N sub-modules 10, and the voltage detection unit 30 is connected between a positive terminal of the capacitor 12 of a first sub-module 10 and a negative terminal of the capacitor 12 of a last sub-module 10 of the at least two sub-modules.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1B, a partial structure 100-1 of a preferred modular multilevel converter system of the present invention is schematically illustrated, wherein one voltage detection unit PDU measures the voltage of two sub-modules. As shown in fig. 1B, the two sub-modules may include, for example, a first sub-module (i.e., an upper sub-module) M1 and a second sub-module (i.e., a lower sub-module) M2, which are cascaded in sequence, and each sub-module may include at least one leg and a capacitor connected in parallel with the leg.

Specifically, in the embodiment shown in fig. 1B, the first sub-module M1 and the second sub-module M2 may be half-bridge structures. For example, the first sub-module M1 may include a leg B11 and a first capacitor C1 connected in parallel with a leg B11, the first capacitor C1 having a positive terminal (+) and a negative terminal (-) and the leg B11 may include a first switching tube S1 (e.g., the upper switching tube of the leg B11 in the figure) and a second switching tube S2 (e.g., the lower switching tube of the leg B11 in the figure) connected in series, and the output terminal OUT1 of the first sub-module M1 is connected to an intermediate node between the first switching tube S1 and the second switching tube S2, for example. Second submodule M2 may include leg B21 and second capacitor C2 connected in parallel with leg B21, second capacitor C2 having positive (+) and negative (-) terminals, and leg B21 may include third switch tube S3 (e.g., the upper switch tube of leg B21 in the figure) and fourth switch tube S4 (e.g., the lower switch tube of leg B21 in the figure) connected in series. The negative end of the first capacitor C1 in the first submodule M1 is connected with the middle node between the third switching tube S3 and the fourth switching tube S4 to form a cascade structure, and the negative end of the second capacitor C2 leads OUT of the output end OUT2 of the second submodule M2. In the present embodiment, the switching tubes S1 to S4 may be IGBTs, for example, but it is understood that in other embodiments, the switches may be other types of switches, and the invention is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1B, the voltage detection unit PDU is connected between the positive terminal (+) of the first capacitor C1 of the first sub-module M1 and the negative terminal (-) of the second capacitor C2 of the second sub-module M2, which can detect the capacitor voltage between the two adjacent sub-modules M1, M2. In the present invention, the voltage detecting unit PDU may be, for example, a voltage sensor, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Referring to fig. 2, a partial structure 100-2 of another preferred modular multilevel converter system according to the invention is shown, wherein a voltage detection unit PDU is connected to n sub-modules, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The n sub-modules may for example comprise a first sub-module M1, … …, and an nth sub-module Mn, which are cascaded in sequence.

Among the submodules M1-Mn, each submodule may include at least one leg and a capacitor connected in parallel with the leg, and each submodule may be a half-bridge structure. For example, the first submodule M1 may include a bridge arm B11 and a capacitor C11 connected in parallel with the bridge arm B11, the bridge arm B11 includes a first switching tube S11 (e.g., an upper switching tube of a bridge arm B11 in the drawing) and a second switching tube S12 (e.g., a lower switching tube of a bridge arm B11 in the drawing) connected in series, the output terminal OUT1 of the first submodule M1 is, for example, connected to an intermediate node between the first switching tube S11 and the second switching tube S12, and the capacitor C11 has a positive terminal (+) and a negative terminal (-). The nth sub-module Mn may include a leg Bn1 and a capacitor Cn1 connected in parallel with the leg Bn1, the capacitor Cn1 having a positive terminal (+) and a negative terminal (-) and the intermediate node of the first switching tube Sn1 and the second switching tube Sn2 in the leg Bn1 being connected to the negative terminal of the capacitor in the previous sub-module, the output terminal OUTn of the nth sub-module Mn being, for example, the negative terminal of the capacitor Cn 1.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the voltage detection unit PDU is connected between the positive terminal (+) of the capacitor C11 of the first sub-module M1 and the negative terminal (-) of the capacitor Cn1 of the last sub-module Mn, which can detect the capacitor voltage between the adjacent N sub-modules M1-Mn.

As shown in fig. 3, the partial structure 100-3 of the further preferred modular multilevel converter system of the present invention is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 1B, i.e. it also includes two sub-modules M1, M2 and one voltage detection unit PDU which are cascaded in sequence, and it is different that the circuit structure of the two sub-modules M1, M2 is an H-bridge structure. For example, first sub-module M1 may include a first leg B11 and a second leg B12 connected in parallel therewith, first leg B11 may include a first switching tube S11 (upper left switching tube) and a second switching tube S12 (lower left switching tube) connected in series with each other, and second leg B12 may include a third switching tube S13 (upper right switching tube) and a fourth switching tube S14 (lower right switching tube) connected in series with each other. Capacitor C11 is connected in parallel between first leg B11 and second leg B12. Second sub-module M2 may include a first leg B21 and a second leg B22 connected in parallel thereto, first leg B21 may include a first switching tube S21 (upper left switching tube) and a second switching tube S22 (lower left switching tube) connected in series with each other, and second leg B22 may include a third switching tube S23 (upper right switching tube) and a fourth switching tube S24 (lower right switching tube) connected in series with each other. Capacitor C21 is connected in parallel between first leg B21 and second leg B22.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the voltage detection unit PDU is connected between the positive terminal (+) of the capacitor C11 of the first sub-module M1 and the negative terminal (-) of the capacitor C21 of the second sub-module M2, and it can detect the capacitor voltage between the two adjacent sub-modules M1, M2.

As shown in fig. 4, the voltage detection method 40 of the modular multilevel converter system of the present invention mainly includes:

step S41, configuring N sub-modules, wherein the N sub-modules are connected in series in a cascade mode, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, each sub-module comprises at least one bridge arm and a capacitor connected with the bridge arm in parallel, and the capacitor is provided with a positive end and a negative end.

Step S42: and a voltage detection unit is configured to detect the capacitance voltage between at least two adjacent sub-modules in the N sub-modules and is connected between the positive end of the capacitor of the first sub-module and the negative end of the capacitor of the last sub-module in the at least two sub-modules.

The voltage detection method of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 5A to 8, taking the partial structure 100-1 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1B as an example. The voltage detection unit PDU can detect the capacitance voltage between two adjacent submodules M1-M2.

As shown in fig. 5A-5B, during normal operation, when the two sub-modules M1-M2 are both in the on state (i.e. the first switch tube S1 and the third switch tube S3 are turned on, and the second switch tube S2 and the fourth switch tube S4 are turned off), no matter whether the current I flows from the output terminal OUT2 of the second sub-module M2 to the output terminal OUT1 of the first sub-module M1 (as shown in fig. 5A) or from the output terminal OUT1 of the first sub-module M1 to the output terminal OUT2 of the second sub-module M2 (as shown in fig. 5B), the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is always the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1-M2.

During normal operation, when the two sub-modules M1-M2 are both in the cut-off state (i.e., the second switch tube S2 and the fourth switch tube S4 are turned on, and the first switch tube S1 and the third switch tube S3 are turned off), no matter whether the current I flows from the output terminal OUT2 of the second sub-module M2 to the output terminal OUT1 of the first sub-module M1 (as shown in fig. 6A) or from the output terminal OUT1 of the first sub-module M1 to the output terminal OUT2 of the second sub-module M2 (as shown in fig. 6B), the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is always the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module M1.

In normal operation, when the two sub-modules M1-M2 are both in a blocking state (i.e. the first switch tube S1 and the third switch tube S3, the second switch tube S2 and the fourth switch tube S4 are all turned off), and the current I flows from the output end OUT2 of the second sub-module M2 to the output end OUT1 of the first sub-module M1, as shown in fig. 7A, the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is the capacitor voltage of the first sub-module M1.

In normal operation, when the two sub-modules M1-M2 are in a blocking state (i.e. the first switch tube S1 and the third switch tube S3, the second switch tube S2 and the fourth switch tube S4 are all turned off), and the current I flows from the output end OUT1 of the first sub-module M1 to the output end OUT2 of the second sub-module M2, as shown in fig. 7B, the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1-M2.

As shown in fig. 8, it shows a simulation waveform of the voltage detection method of the present invention using the voltage detection unit PDU to detect the voltages of two sub-modules. In the present invention, when the result of the measurement by the voltage detection unit PDU is the capacitance voltage of a single sub-module, the actual capacitance is in the voltage holding mode, and the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module M1, for example, the first dotted-line circle R1 in fig. 8, is measured. And when the result measured by the voltage detection unit PDU is the capacitance voltage of two sub-modules, the actual sub-module capacitance is in charge-discharge mode, and the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules is measured, for example, the second dotted circle R2 in fig. 8. Thus, in the present invention, the real-time voltage of each sub-module can be estimated by a single or two voltage values at the previous time. For example, the capacitance voltage of the second sub-module M2 may be estimated by subtracting the detected capacitance voltage of the first sub-module M1 from the sum of the detected capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1-M2. Taking fig. 8 as an example, the measured voltage of the first virtual circle R1 is the capacitance voltage of the first sub-module M1, and the measured voltage of the second virtual circle R2 is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2, so that the capacitance voltage of the second sub-module M2 can be estimated by subtracting the measured voltage of the first virtual circle R1 from the measured voltage of the second virtual circle R2.

The method for diagnosing an open circuit fault according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 9 to 16, taking the partial structure 100-1 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1B as an example. The voltage detection unit PDU can detect the capacitance voltage between two adjacent submodules M1-M2.

As shown in fig. 9, the open fault diagnosis method includes:

in step S91, the voltage detection unit detects the capacitance voltages of the two submodules in the on state and the off state.

And step S92, determining the submodule with open-circuit fault in the two submodules according to the detected capacitor voltage.

As shown in fig. 10A and 10B, the states before and after the open fault of the first switching tube S1 of the upper submodule M1 are shown. Fig. 10A shows the current flow when the switching tubes all work normally, for example, after the current passes through the second capacitor C2, the third switching tube S3, the first capacitor C1 and the first switching tube S1 in sequence from the output end OUT2, the current flows OUT from the output end OUT 1; however, when the first switch tube S1 is open, current cannot flow out of the switch tube S1, and can only be forced out of the anti-parallel diode of the second switch tube S2, as shown in fig. 10B. When the first switch tube S1 of the upper sub-module M1 is open, the discharge circuit of the capacitor C1 of the upper sub-module M1 is cut off, and the capacitor voltage of the first capacitor C1 can only change in a single direction, resulting in dc bias.

As shown in fig. 11, a simulation waveform of the open-circuit fault of the first switch tube S1 of the upper submodule M1 is shown. A positive current indicates that the submodule is flowing out and the post-fault discharge state changes to a voltage holding state. As can be seen from fig. 10A and 10B, at the first dashed box R1, the switching tube operates normally, and the first capacitor C1 charges and discharges normally; when the first switch tube S1 of the upper sub-module M1 is open, the discharge circuit of the first capacitor C1 of the upper sub-module M1 is cut off, the capacitor voltage of the upper sub-module M1 at the second dashed box R2 cannot discharge and cannot be reduced in accordance with the first dashed box R1, and therefore a dc offset occurs. The dc offset refers to that the average value of the sub-module voltages (for example, the capacitor voltage of the first capacitor C1) in one or more power frequency cycles is no longer maintained around a stable value, and deviates from the stable value. For example, when the voltage of the sub-module is normal, the average value of the sub-module voltage generally stabilizes around 1000V, and when the first switch tube S1 of the upper sub-module M1 is opened, the average value of the voltage of the upper sub-module gradually increases, for example, 1200V or even 1500V is reached. Therefore, the dc offset characteristic value can be used as a determination condition for diagnosing an open fault of the first switching tube S1. Therefore, in some embodiments, when the voltage of the upper sub-module M1 is detected to have a dc bias, and the dc bias exceeds a first preset threshold, it is determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the first switching tube S1 of the first sub-module M1. In some embodiments, the first preset threshold may be set to 1.3 times the rated average of the voltage of the sub-module, which is not limited by the present invention.

As shown in fig. 12A and 12B, the states before and after the open fault of the second switching tube S2 of the upper submodule M1 are shown. As shown in fig. 12A, the current flow direction when the switching tubes both work normally is shown, at this time, the second switching tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1 and the fourth switching tube S4 of the lower sub-module M2 are turned on, for example, the current flows OUT from the output end OUT2 after passing through the output end OUT1, the second switching tube S2, and the fourth switching tube S4 in sequence, at this time, the result detected by the voltage detection unit PDU is the voltage across the first capacitor C1 of the sub-module M1, and the capacitor voltage of the first capacitor C1 is kept unchanged. However, when the second switch tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1 is opened, the current path is cut off, the anti-parallel diode of the first switch tube S1 of the upper sub-module M1 is forced to freewheel, and the first capacitor C1 starts to join the conduction loop; the voltage holding loop during charging is thus cut off, resulting in the voltage of the first capacitor C1 continuing to rise.

As shown in fig. 13, a simulation waveform of an open fault occurring in the second switching tube S2 of the upper submodule M1 is shown. A negative current indicates that the voltage is flowing into the submodule and the voltage holding state changes to the charging state after the fault. As can be seen from fig. 12A and 12B, the open circuit of the second switch tube S2 of the upper submodule M1 only affects the charging state of the first capacitor C1, so that the charging state continues and the voltage cannot be maintained. Therefore, the voltage holding characteristic quantity at the time of charging may be used as a judgment condition for the open-circuit fault diagnosis of the second switching tube S2 of the upper submodule M1. In some embodiments, when the current flows from the output terminal of the first submodule to the output terminal of the second submodule, that is, the voltage rises in a plurality of voltage holding phases, and the cumulative sum of the voltage changes Δ U is greater than a second preset threshold, for example, Δ U1+ Δ U2 … + Δ Un > Uref, it may be determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the second switching tube S2 of the upper submodule M1. As shown in fig. 13, in the first dashed box R1, the switching tube operates normally, the current passes through the output terminal OUT1, the second switching tube S2, and the fourth switching tube S4 in sequence, and then flows OUT from the output terminal OUT2, and the capacitor voltage is normal; when the second switch tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1 has an open-circuit fault, the first capacitor C1 is charged, the voltage of the first capacitor C1 rises near the second dashed-line frame R2, and the fault is determined when the voltage variation reaches a second preset threshold value. In some embodiments, the second preset threshold may be set to 30% of the rated average voltage of the sub-module, and when greater than 30% of the rated average voltage of the sub-module, it may be considered that the lower switch tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1 has an open-circuit fault. The second preset threshold may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in the present invention.

As shown in fig. 14A and 14B, states before and after an open fault occurs in the third switching tube S3 of the lower submodule M2 are shown. In normal operation, the first switch tube S1 of the upper sub-module M1 and the third switch tube S3 of the lower sub-module M2 are turned on, that is, the two sub-modules M1 to M2 are in an on state, and the result of detection by the voltage detection unit PDU is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules, as shown in fig. 14A. However, when the third switch tube S3 of the lower sub-module M2 is open, current is forced to conduct from the anti-parallel diode of the fourth switch tube S4 of the lower sub-module M2, so that when the sub-module is in the on state, a condition occurs in which only the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1 is measured, and this characteristic quantity (i.e., the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1) can be used to diagnose the open fault of the third switch tube S3 of the lower sub-module M2.

As shown in fig. 15A and 15B, states before and after the open fault of the fourth switching tube S4 of the lower submodule M2 are shown. During normal operation, the second switching tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1 and the fourth switching tube S4 of the lower sub-module M2 are put into operation, that is, the two sub-modules M1 to M2 are in an off state, and the result detected by the voltage detection unit PDU is the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module, as shown in fig. 15A. However, when the fourth switch tube S4 of the lower submodule M2 is open, current is forced to conduct from the anti-parallel diode of the third switch tube S3 of the lower submodule M2, and when the submodule is in the cut-off state, a condition occurs in which the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two submodules M1 and M2 is measured, and this characteristic quantity can be used to diagnose the open-circuit fault of the fourth switch tube S4 of the lower submodule M2.

As shown in fig. 16, an open fault diagnostic flow for the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 1A and 1B is shown. And the fault positions of the upper submodule and the lower submodule can be confirmed by judging the voltage values of the switching-in state and the switching-off state.

When the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2 (i.e., the two sub-modules are in the on state), when the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1 (i.e., the one-module voltage is in the off state), and when the voltage of the upper sub-module M1 is detected to have a direct current bias and the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold, it is determined that the open circuit fault occurs in the upper switch tube S1 of the upper sub-module M1.

When the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2 (i.e., the two sub-modules are in the on state), when the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the off state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1 (i.e., the two sub-modules are in the off state), and when the current flows from the output end of the upper sub-module M1 to the output end of the lower sub-module M2 and the sum of the voltage changes of the upper sub-module M1 accumulated for a plurality of times is greater than a second preset threshold, it is determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the lower switch tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1. More specifically, during a plurality of voltage holding phases, when the cumulative sum of the voltage changes is greater than a certain threshold, for example, Δ U1+ Δ U2 … + Δ Un > Uref, it may be determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the lower switch tube S2 of the upper submodule M1. In some embodiments, the second preset threshold may be set to 30% of the rated average voltage of the sub-module, and when greater than 30% of the rated average voltage of the sub-module, it may be considered that the lower switch tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1 has an open-circuit fault. The second preset threshold may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in the present invention.

When the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the on state and the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitor voltage of the upper sub-module M1 (i.e., the single-module voltage is detected when the upper sub-module M2 is on), it is determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the upper switch tube S3 of the lower sub-module M2.

When the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the cut-off state and the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the sum of the capacitor voltages of the two sub-modules (i.e., the two-module voltage is detected when the cut-off state is detected), it is determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the lower switch tube S4 of the lower sub-module M2.

In the present invention, the judgment flow corresponding to the open circuit fault of the switch tube in the upper sub-module M1 passing through the left virtual frame, and the judgment flow corresponding to the open circuit fault of the switch tube in the lower sub-module M2 passing through the right virtual frame.

In the present invention, when the sub-modules of the modular multilevel converter system are in an H-bridge structure, the open-circuit fault diagnosis method of the first leg B11, B21 (i.e., the leg on the left as viewed in fig. 3) of the two sub-modules M1, M2 of the H-bridge structure is the same as the open-circuit fault diagnosis method of the half-bridge structure as illustrated in fig. 1B.

As shown in fig. 17A, when both the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are in the on state (the upper left switch tubes S11 and S21 and the lower right switch tubes S14 and S24 are turned on), the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2. As shown in fig. 17B, when both the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are in the cut-off state (the left lower switch tubes S12 and S22 and the right lower switch tubes S14 and S24 are turned on), the detection result of the voltage detection unit is the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1.

Fig. 18A shows the current flow direction when the upper left switch tube S11 of the upper submodule M1 and the upper left switch tube S21 of the lower submodule M2 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3 are both normally conductive, and fig. 18B shows the current flow direction when the upper left switch tube S11 of the upper submodule M1 in fig. 18A has an open-circuit fault. When the upper left switch tube S11 of the upper submodule M1 is opened, the current cannot flow out from the switch tube S11, and is forced to flow out only from the anti-parallel diode of the lower left switch tube S12, as shown in fig. 18B, at this time, the discharging of the capacitor C11 is cut off, and the discharging cannot be performed, so that the dc bias occurs.

Therefore, when the detection result has a dc offset and the dc offset exceeds a first preset threshold, it may be determined that the first switch tube S11 (the upper left switch tube) of the upper submodule M1 has an open-circuit fault. In some embodiments, the first preset threshold may be set to be 1.3 times of the rated average value of the voltage of the sub-module, and of course, the first preset threshold may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in the present invention.

Fig. 19A shows the current flow direction when the left lower switch tube S12 of the upper submodule M1 and the left lower switch tube S22 of the lower submodule M2 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3 are both normally on. Fig. 19B shows the current flow when the open fault occurs in the lower left switch tube S12 of the upper submodule M1 in fig. 19A. When the lower left switch tube S12 of the upper submodule M1 is opened, the current path is cut off, the anti-parallel diode of the upper left switch tube S11 of the upper submodule M1 freewheels to conduct, and the capacitor C11 starts to be added to the conduction loop, as shown in fig. 19B, so that the voltage holding loop of the capacitor C11 is cut off, the capacitor C11 is charged, and the voltage of the capacitor C11 continues to rise. As can be seen from fig. 19A and 19B, the open circuit of the lower left switch tube S12 of the upper submodule M1 only affects the charging state of the capacitor C11, so that the charging state continues and the voltage cannot be maintained. Therefore, the voltage holding characteristic quantity at the time of charging can be used as a judgment condition for the open-circuit fault diagnosis of the lower switching tube S12. In some embodiments, when the cumulative sum of the voltage changes is greater than a second preset threshold value during a plurality of voltage holding phases, for example, Δ U1+ Δ U2 … + Δ Un > Uref, it may be determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the lower left switch tube S12 of the upper submodule M1.

Therefore, when the current flows from the output terminal of the upper sub-module M1 to the output terminal of the lower sub-module M2 and the sum of the voltage variation of the upper sub-module M1 accumulated a plurality of times is greater than the second preset threshold, it may be determined that the open fault occurs in the lower left switching tube S12 of the upper sub-module M1. In some embodiments, the second preset threshold may be set to 30% of the rated average voltage of the sub-module, and when greater than 30% of the rated average voltage of the sub-module, it may be considered that the lower switch tube S2 of the upper sub-module M1 has an open-circuit fault. The second preset threshold may be set according to actual needs, which is not limited in the present invention.

Fig. 20A shows the current flow direction when the upper left switch tube S11 of the upper submodule M1 and the upper left switch tube S21 of the lower submodule M2 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3 are normally on. Fig. 20B shows the current flow when the open fault occurs in the upper left switch tube S21 of the lower submodule M2 in fig. 20A. During normal operation, the upper left switch tube S11 of the upper sub-module M1 and the upper left switch tube S21 of the lower sub-module M2 are turned on, that is, the two sub-modules M1 to M2 are in an on state, and the result of detection by the voltage detection unit PDU is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules, as shown in fig. 20A. However, when the upper left switch tube S21 of the lower submodule M2 is open, the current is forced to conduct from the anti-parallel diode of the lower left switch tube S22 of the lower submodule M2, as shown in fig. 20B, so that when the submodule is in the on state, the condition that only the capacitance voltage of the upper submodule M1 is measured occurs, and this characteristic quantity (i.e. the capacitance voltage of the upper submodule M1) can be used for diagnosing the open-circuit fault of the upper left switch tube S21 of the lower submodule M2.

Therefore, when both the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are in the on state and the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1, it may be determined that the open fault occurs in the upper left switching tube S21 of the lower sub-module M2.

Fig. 21A shows the current flow direction when the left lower switch tube S12 of the upper sub-module M1 and the left lower switch tube S22 of the lower sub-module M2 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3 are normally on. Fig. 21B shows the current flow direction when the open fault occurs in the lower left switch tube S22 of the lower submodule M2 in fig. 21A. During normal operation, the lower left switch tube S12 of the upper sub-module M1 and the lower left switch tube S22 of the lower sub-module M2 are put into operation, that is, the two sub-modules M1 to M2 are in an off state, and the result detected by the voltage detection unit PDU is the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1, as shown in fig. 21A. However, when the lower switch tube S4 of the lower sub-module M2 is open-circuited, current is forced to conduct from the anti-parallel diode of the upper left switch tube S21 of the lower sub-module M2, as shown in fig. 21B, and when the sub-module is in the cut-off state, the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2 is measured, which characteristic can be used to diagnose an open-circuit fault of the lower left switch tube S22 of the lower sub-module M2.

Therefore, when both the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are in the cut-off state, and the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2, it may be determined that the open fault occurs in the lower left switching tube S22 of the lower sub-module.

Fig. 22A shows the current flow direction when the right lower switch tube S14 of the upper sub-module M1 and the right lower switch tube S24 of the lower sub-module M2 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3 are normally on. Fig. 22B shows the current flow when the right lower switch tube S14 of the upper submodule of fig. 22A has an open circuit fault. When the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is the sum of the capacitor voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2, as shown in fig. 22A. However, when the lower right switch tube S14 of the upper submodule M1 is open, current is forced to conduct from the anti-parallel diode of the upper right switch tube S13 of the upper submodule M1, as shown in fig. 22B. And when the voltage of the upper sub-module M1 is detected to have direct current bias, the direct current bias exceeds a first preset threshold value, and when the current flows from the output end OUT2 of the lower sub-module M2 to the output end OUT1 of the upper sub-module M1 and the sum of the voltage change of the upper sub-module M1 accumulated for a plurality of times is greater than a second preset threshold value, it is determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the lower right switch tube S14 of the upper sub-module M1. In other words, when the capacitor voltage of the upper submodule M1 is biased by dc and the cumulative sum of the voltage changes is greater than the second set threshold, it indicates that the right lower switch tube S14 of the upper submodule M1 is open.

Fig. 23A shows the current flow direction when the right lower switch tube S14 of the upper sub-module M1 and the right lower switch tube S24 of the lower sub-module M2 of the modular multilevel converter system shown in fig. 3 are normally on. Fig. 23B shows the current flow direction when the open fault occurs in the lower right switch tube S24 of the lower submodule M2 in fig. 23A. When the upper sub-module M1 and the lower sub-module M2 are both in the on state, the detection result of the voltage detection unit PDU is the sum of the capacitor voltages of the two sub-modules M1 and M2, as shown in fig. 23A. However, when the lower right switch tube S24 of the lower submodule M2 is open, current is forced to conduct from the anti-parallel diode of the upper right switch tube S23 of the lower submodule M2, as shown in fig. 23B. And when the voltage of the lower sub-module M2 has a dc bias, and the dc bias exceeds a first preset threshold, and when the current flows from the output terminal OUT2 of the lower sub-module M2 to the output terminal OUT1 of the upper sub-module M1 and the sum of the voltage variation of the lower sub-module M2 accumulated for a plurality of times is greater than a second preset threshold, it may be determined that the open-circuit fault occurs in the lower right switch tube S24 of the lower sub-module M2. In other words, when the capacitor voltage of the lower submodule M2 has dc offset and the cumulative sum of the voltage changes is greater than the second set threshold, it indicates that the lower right switch tube S24 of the lower submodule M2 is open. The voltage of the lower sub-module M2 can be estimated by subtracting the capacitance voltage of the upper sub-module M1 from the sum of the capacitance voltages of the two sub-modules, which is the result detected by the voltage detection unit PDU. And judging whether the voltage of the lower submodule M2 obtained by estimation has direct current offset or not and whether the sum of multiple times of accumulated voltage change quantities is larger than a second preset threshold value or not.

The voltage detection unit formed by the single voltage sensor can detect the voltages of the plurality of sub-modules, so that a large number of detection units can be omitted, the cost and the complexity of the system are reduced, and the reliability of the system is improved.

The open-circuit fault diagnosis method can realize open-circuit fault diagnosis at a device level and can avoid a detection blind area of a bypass state.

The voltage detection circuit and the open-circuit fault judgment method are suitable for being applied to the field of medium and high voltage, can be suitable for different sub-module topologies, and have strong expansibility.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are specifically illustrated and described above. It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.