Flying capacitor multilevel inverter and its applications in series compensation of transmission lines

Multilevel inverters are most suited for high voltage and high power applications. In this work, the implementation of a static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) using a flying capacitor multilevel inverter (FCMLI) is discussed. A method for controlling the FCMLI is proposed, which ensures that the flying capacitor voltages remain constant using the preferential charging and discharging of these capacitors. Simulation studies are performed using PSCAD/EMTDC and the results confirm the performance of the proposed control strategy when using the inverter in bulk power transmission applications.