This paper presents a dynamic model of modular multilevel converters (MMCs), which are considered as an effective interface between energy sources and the power grid. By improving the converter performance, appropriate reactive power compensation is guaranteed. Modulation indices are calculated based on detailed harmonic evaluations of both dynamic and steady-state operation modes, which is considered as the main contribution of this paper in comparison with other methods. As another novelty of this paper, circulating current control is accomplished by embedding an additional second harmonic component in the modulation process. The proposed control method leads to an effective reduction in capacitor voltage fluctuation and losses. Finally, converter’s maximum stable operation range is modified, which provides efficiency enhancements and also stability assurance. The proficiency and functionality of the proposed controller are demonstrated through detailed theoretical analysis and simulations with MATLAB/Simulink.

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Voltage source converter (VSC) can be considered as the heart of interfacing system for the integration of Distributed Generation (DG) sources into the power grid. Several control methods have been proposed for integration of DG sources into the power grid, and injection of high quality power. However, the converter-based DG interface is subjected to the unexpected uncertainties, which highly influence performance of control loop of DG unit and operation of interfaced converter. The interfacing impedance seen by interfaced VSC may considerably vary in power grid, and the stability of interfaced converter is highly sensitive to the impacts of this impedance changes; then, DG unit cannot inject appropriate currents. To deal with the instability problem, a control method based on fractional order active sliding mode is proposed in this paper, which is less sensitive to variations of interfacing impedance. A fractional sliding surface, which demonstrates the desired dynamics of system is developed and then, the controller is designed in two phases as sliding and reaching phases to keep the control loop stable. Stability issues of the control method are discussed in details and the conditions in which the proposed model works in a stable operating mode is defined. The proposed control method takes a role to provide high quality power injection and ensures precise references tracking and fast response despite such uncertainties. Theoretical analyses and simulation results are established to confirm the performance and feasibility of the proposed control method in DG technology.@en