An Energy Absorbing Method for Hybrid MMCs to Avoid Full-Bridge Submodule Overvoltage During DC Fault Blocking

The full-bridge submodules (FB-SMs) in hybrid modular multilevel converters need to absorb the enormous energy stored in dc side and arm inductors during dc fault blocking, which may lead to severe overvoltage. An energy absorbing branch (EAB) composed of metal oxide varistor (MOV) and thyristors is proposed in this letter. No extra power loss is produced by the EAB during normal operation. The EAB can absorb a part of the energy and reduce the energy absorbed by FB-SMs suffering from severe overvoltage by clamping the dc voltage. Thus, the maximum FB-SM overvoltage is reduced. Turning off the EAB several milliseconds after the blocking of the converter can accelerate the decaying of the dc fault in the transmission line and reduce the required energy volume of MOV with minimal effect on the maximum FB-SM overvoltage. The proposed EAB shows better technical and economic performance than existing methods. The proposed EAB is validated by simulations and experiments.