Wireless control of modular multilevel converter (MMC) submodules offers several potential benefits to exploit, such as decreased converter costs and ease in converter installation. However, wireless control comes with several challenging engineering requirements. The control methods used with wired communication networks are not directly applicable to the wireless control due to the latency and reliability differences of wired and wireless networks. This article reviews the existing control architectures of MMCs and proposes a control and communication method for wireless submodule control. Also, a synchronization method for pulsewidth modulation carriers is proposed suitable for wireless control. The imperfections of wireless communication, such as higher latency and packet losses compared to wired communication, are analyzed for the operation of MMCs. The latency is fixed with a proper controller and wireless network design. The converter is rendered immune to the packet losses by decreasing the closed-loop control bandwidth. The functionality of the proposal is verified, for the first time, experimentally on a laboratory-scale MMC using a simple wireless network. It is shown that wireless control of MMC submodules with the proposed approach can perform comparably to the wired control.

Wireless control of modular multilevel converter (MMC) submodules can benefit from different points of view, such as lower converter cost and shorter installation time. In return for the advantages, the stochastic performance of wireless communication networks necessitates an advanced converter control system immune to the losses and delays of the wirelessly transmitted data. This paper proposes an advancement to the distributed control of MMCs to utilize in wireless submodule control. Using the proposed method, the operation of the MMC continues smoothly and uninterruptedly during wireless communication errors. The previously proposed submodule wireless control concept relies on implementing the modulation and individual submodule-capacitor-voltage control in the submodules using the insertion indices transmitted from a central controller. This paper takes the concept as a basis and introduces to synthesize the indices autonomously in the submodules during the communication errors. This new approach allows the MMC continue its operation when one, some, or all submodules suffer from communication errors for a limited time. The proposal is validated experimentally on a laboratory-scale MMC.

The modular multilevel converter is one of the most preferred converters for high-power conversion applications. Wireless control of the submodules can contribute to its evolution by lowering the material and labor costs of cabling and by increasing the availability of the converter. However, wireless control leads to many challenges for the control and modulation of the converter as well as for proper low-latency high-reliability communication. This paper investigates the tolerable asynchronism between phase-shifted carriers used in modulation from a wireless control point of view and proposes a control method along with communication protocol for wireless control. The functionality of the proposed method is validated by computer simulations in steady state.

The wireless control of modular multilevel converter (MMC) submodules was recently proposed. The success of the control depends on specialized control methods suitable for wireless communication and a properly designed wireless communication network in the MMC valve hall while aiming for low latency and high reliability. The wireless communication in the hall can be affected by the electromagnetic interference (EMI) of MMC submodules, voltage and current transients. In this article, firstly, a wireless communication network based on 5G New Radio is designed for an example full-scale MMC valve hall. After that, radiated EMI characteristics of MMC submodules with different voltage and current ratings and two dc circuit breakers are measured. The effects of EMI on wireless communication in the multi-GHz frequency band are tested. The interference from the components is confined below 500 MHz, and the wireless communication with 5825 MHz center frequency is not affected by the interference.

The central control of MMC becomes demanding in computation power and communication bandwidth as the number of submodules increase. Distributed control methods can overcome these bottlenecks. In this paper, a simple distributed control method together with synchronization of modulation carriers in the submodules is presented. The proposal is implemented on a lab-scale MMC with asynchronous-serial communication on a star network between the central and local controllers. It is shown that the proposed control method works satisfactorily in the steady state. The method can be applied as is to MMCs with any number of submodules per arm.

Wireless control of modular multilevel converter (MMC) submodules has been offered recently with potentially lower cost and higher availability advantages for the converter station. In this paper, the wireless control of MMC submodules under ac-side faults is investigated. The central controller of the MMC is equipped for the unbalanced grid conditions. Local current controllers in the submodules are operated autonomously in case of loss of wireless communication during the fault. A set of simulations with single line-to-ground, line-to-line, and three-phase-to-ground faults reveal that the MMC rides through the faults in all the cases with the expected communication conditions or when the communication is lost before or after the fault instant.

The wireless control of modular multilevel converter (MMC) submodules might offer advantages for MMCs with a high number of submodules. However, the control system should tolerate the stochastic nature of the wireless communication, continue the operation flawlessly or, at least, avoid overcurrents, overvoltages, and component failures. The previously proposed control methods enabled to control the submodules wirelessly with consecutive communication errors up to hundreds of control cycles. The submodule control method in this paper facilitates the MMC to safely overcome communication errors that last longer and when the MMC experiences significant electrical disturbances during the errors. The submodules are proposed to operate autonomously by implementing a replica of the central controller in the submodules and drive the replicas based on the local variables and the previously received data. The simulation and experimental results verify the proposed control method.