Elimination of harmonics in a modular multilevel converter using particle swarm optimization-based staircase modulation strategy

A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm-based staircase modulation strategy for modular multilevel converters (MMC) is proposed. To reduce switching losses and device stress, the staircase modulation method has been adopted in high-voltage and high-power energy conversion applications. In particular, the selection of the appropriate iterative initial values of switching angles is a significant step to realize a staircase modulated MMC. The proposed method is able to find the optimum initial values of switching angles, while it has the advantages of global optimization and quadratic convergence, which benefit from the PSO algorithm and Newton method, respectively. The paper presents analytical discussion of the voltage balancing control approach with rotation of switching angles. The main benefit of the efficient switching patterns is that the MMC has lower switching losses and minimum dV/dt stress. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the practical feasibility of the proposed scheme for the MMC.