Communication network latency compensation in modular multilevel converters

The high number of cells employed in a Modular Multilevel Converter represents a challenge for the control hardware. Some authors have proposed the use of digital communications to simplify the assemblage and maintenance in such converters, but the latency they add has undesirable consequences for the closed-loop performance. In this paper, we propose a model-based compensation of the latency that is able, on one hand, to allow longer network latencies, so the designers have more flexibility in the choice of the protocol; or, on the other hand, to enable a better controller dynamic performance by the use of a higher sampling rate and gains. Simulation results are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.