Bidirectional VSC converter with a resonant circuit

• US 6,898,095 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2002
• Issued: 05/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ABB AB (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: ABB AB (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Johansson, Niklas, Norrga, Staffan, Asplund, Gunnar, Jonsson, Tomas, Lundberg, Peter, Bijlenga, Bo
• Primary Examiner(s): STERRETT, JEFFREY L
• Application Number:
  US10/474,728
• Publication Number:
  US 20040218318A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• Field of Search: 363/56.02, 363/56.05, 363/56.12, 363/58, 363/132, 363/136, 363/137, 363/138
• US Class Current: 363/132
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/48 using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/4826 operating from a resonant DC source, i.e. the DC input voltage varies periodically, e.g. resonant DC-link inverters

Abstract

The invention relates to a VSC-converter for converting direct voltage into auxiliary voltage and vice versa, which comprises a series connection of at least two current valves (5, 6) arranged between two poles (7, 8), a positive and a negative, of a direct voltage side of the converter, each current valve comprising several series connected circuits (12), each of which circuits comprising a semiconductor component (13) of turn-off type and a rectifying component (14) connected in anti-parallel therewith, an alternating voltage phase line (16) being connected to a midpoint (15), denominated phase output, of the series connection of current valves (5, 6) between two of said current valves while dividing the series connection into two equal parts. Each of the series connected circuits (12) of the respective current valve comprises, in order to make possible a good voltage distribution between the semiconductor components (13) of turn-off type included in the respective current valve, a snubber capacitor (17) connected in parallel with the semiconductor component (13) of turn-off type included in the circuit. The converter (1) further comprises a resonance circuit (18) for recharging the snubber capacitors (17) of the current valves.

Claims

1. A VSC-converter for converting direct voltage into alternating voltage and vice versa, which comprises a series connection of at least two current valves arranged between two poles, a positive and a negative, of a direct voltage side of the converter, each current valve consisting of several series connected circuits, each of which circuits comprising a semiconductor component of turn-off type and a rectifying component connected in antiparallel therewith, an alternating voltage phase line being connected to a midpoint, denominated phase output, of the series connection of current valves between two of said current valves while dividing the series connection into two equal parts, wherein each of the series connected circuits of the respective current valve, in order to make possible a good voltage distribution between the semiconductor components of turn-off type included in the respective current valve, comprises a snubber capacitor connected in parallel with the semiconductor component of turn-off type included in the circuit, and that the converter comprises a resonance circuit for recharging the snubber capacitors of the current valves so as to thereby make possible a turn-on of the semiconductor components of turn-off type of the current valves at low voltage across the semiconductor components.

2. The VSC-converter according to claim 1, wherein the converter is controlled with PWM-technique.

3. The VSC-converter according to claim 1, wherein the resonance circuit is of quasi-resonant type.

4. The VSC-converter according to claim 3, wherein the resonance circuit is of an ARCP-circuit.

5. The VSC-converter according to claim 4, wherein the ARCP-circuit comprises several series connected partial circuits, each of which comprising a set of auxiliary valve circuits connected in series with an inductor, and that the ARCP-circuit further comprises a number of capacitors, which are connected in parallel with a respective partial circuit.

6. The VSC-converter according to claim 4, wherein the ARSP-circuit comprises an auxiliary valve comprising several series connected sets of auxiliary valve circuits, where each set comprises two series connected auxiliary valve circuits, each of which comprising a semiconductor component of turn-off type and a rectifying component connected in anti-parallel therewith, the semiconductor components of turn-off type of the two auxiliary valves in one and the same set being arranged in opposite polarity in relation to each other.

7. The VSC-converter according to claim 6, wherein the auxiliary valve comprises such a number of said sets of auxiliary valve circuits that at least one of the sets is redundant with respect to the voltage that the auxiliary valve is intended to hold in the blocking state.

8. The VSC-converter according to claim 7, wherein each of the auxiliary valve circuits is so designed that the auxiliary valve circuit is short-circuited in case of an electrical fault therein.

9. The VSC-converter according to claim 4, wherein the ARCP-circuit comprises an auxiliary valve comprising at least one set of two series connected auxiliary valve circuits, each of which comprising a semiconductor component of turn-off type and a rectifying component connected in anti-parallel therewith, the semiconductor components of turn-off type of the two auxiliary valves being arranged in opposite polarity in relation to each other, and that the ARCP-circuit further comprises an inductor connected in series with said set of auxiliary valve circuits.

10. The VCS-converter according to claim 9, wherein each set of auxiliary valve circuits comprises a voltage dividing circuit connected in parallel with the auxiliary valve circuits included in the set.

11. The VSC-converter according to claim 9, wherein each set of auxiliary valve circuits is provided with its own control unit, which is adapted to control turn-on and turn-off of the semiconductor components of turn-off type included in the set, all control units of the auxiliary valve being connected to a common control member, which is adapted to send control signals simultaneously to all these control units.

12. The VSC-converter according to claim 11, wherein each semiconductor component of turn-off type included in the current valves is provided with its own control unit, all control units of the current valves being connected to the common control member, which is adapted to send control signals simultaneously to all control units included in a current valve.

13. The VSC-converter according to claim 3, the converter comprising a capacitor circuit arranged between the two poles on the direct voltage side of the converter, said capacitor circuit comprising one intermediate link capacitor or several series connected intermediate link capacitors, wherein the resonance circuit is connected between the two pole connections of the capacitor circuit and the two pole connections of the current valves.

14. The VSC-converter according to claim 13, wherein resonance circuit comprises a first, a second and a third auxiliary valve, each comprising a semiconductor element of turn-off type and a rectifying member connected in anti-parallel therewith, the first auxiliary valve having one end connected to a first of the pole connections of the capacitor circuit and its other end connected to the corresponding first pole connection of the current valves, the second auxiliary valve having one end connected to a second of the pole connections of the capacitor circuit and its other end connected to the corresponding second pole connection of the current valves, that the third auxiliary valve forms a series connection together with a capacitor and an inductor, which series connection has one end connected between the second end of the first auxiliary valve and the first pole connection of the current valves and its other end connected between the second end of the second auxiliary valve and the second pole connection of the current valves, and that the resonance circuit further comprises a rectifying member connected in series with the inductor and in parallel with a series connection formed by the third auxiliary valve and said capacitor.

15. The VSC-converter according to claim 13, wherein the resonance circuit comprises

a first and a second inductor connected in series with each other and in series with the capacitor circuit and the current valves between a first of the pole connections of the capacitor circuit and the corresponding first pole connection of the current valves,

a third and a fourth inductor connected in series with each other and in series with the capacitor circuit and the current valves between a second of the pole connections of the capacitor circuit and the corresponding second pole connection of the current valves,

a series connection of a first auxiliary valve, a second auxiliary valve and a first capacitor, each of which auxiliary valves comprising a semiconductor element of turn-off type and a rectifying member connected in anti-parallel therewith, said series connection having one end connected between the first inductor and the second inductor and its other end connected between the third inductor and the fourth inductor, and

a second capacitor connected in series with the first auxiliary valve and in parallel with a series connection formed by the second auxiliary valve and the first capacitor, the first capacitor constituting a clamp capacitor.

16. The VSC-converter according to claim 1, wherein the respective current valve comprises such a number of said series connected circuits that at least one of these circuits is redundant with respect to the voltage that the current valve is intended to hold in the blocking state.

17. The VSC-converter according to claim 16, wherein each of the series connected circuits of the current valves is so designed that the circuit is short-circuited in case of an electrical fault therein.

18. The VSC-converter according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor components of turn-off type of the current valves and/or auxiliary valves are of press pack-type.

19. The VSC-converter according to claim 1, wherein each of the series connected circuits of the respective current valve comprises a resistor connected in parallel with the semiconductor component of turn-off type included in the circuit and in parallel with the snubber capacitor included in the circuit.