A Branch Current Reallocation Based Energy Balancing Strategy for the Modular Multilevel Matrix Converter Operating Around Equal Frequency

The modular multilevel matrix converter (M3C) is a promising topology for medium-voltage, high-power applications. Due to the modular structure, it is scalable and capable to produce high quality output waveforms and can be fault tolerant. However, the M3C suffers from low frequency capacitor voltage fluctuation if the output frequency is close to the input voltage frequency, which limits its application in adjustable speed drive fields. This paper presents a theoretical analysis in the phasor domain to find the branch-energy equilibrium point of the M3C when operating with equal input and output frequency first. Then, a branch energy balancing control method based on branch current reallocation is proposed to equalize the energy stored in the nine converter branches. With the proposed method, the M3C can effectively suppress the capacitor voltage fluctuation without injecting common-mode voltage or applying reactive power to the input side. Experimental results are presented to validate the proposed method.