Novel Voltage-Balance Control of Four-Level Hybrid-Clamped Converter With Open-Loop Optimized Common-Mode Voltage Injection

The four-level hybrid-clamped converter (HCC) is a new high-efficiency dc-ac converter. However, its dc-link capacitors face challenging voltage fluctuation issues at low frequencies, resulting in the distorted ac current and oversize converter volume. This letter presents a simple and effective control method of the HCC using open-loop common-mode voltage (CMV) injection. The mathematical model of the CMV and the capacitor voltage fluctuations is derived. The optimal CMV algorithm with the maximum suppression effect of capacitor voltage fluctuations is proposed as well as the implementation method. The microlevel mechanism of the proposed method in suppressing voltage fluctuation is clarified. The capability of the proposed method in improving dc voltage utilization is explored. Compared with existing methods, the proposed one reduces dc-link voltage sensors and computation complexity and mitigates CMVs at the load side. The optimal CMV is approximately 25% of the output voltage magnitude, and enhances the dc-bus voltage utilization by 12%. Results demonstrate that voltage fluctuations of HCC capacitors are reduced by over 60%. The proposed method has a solid dynamic balancing capability and works well for the wide-range frequency and modulation index.