A novel cascaded vector control scheme for the Modular Multilevel Matrix Converter

This paper presents a novel cascaded vector control scheme for the Modular Multilevel Matrix Converter (M3C). The inner current control loops allow an independent control of the input and output converter currents. The outer energy control consists of average, vertical and horizontal balancing control loops to equalize the energy stored in the nine converter arms. A modulation method to balance the energy stored in the cells of one converter arm and to generate the desired arm voltage by selecting the appropriate cells is presented. The proposed vector control scheme allows the qualitative operation of the converter even under unbalanced line conditions. The function of the new converter control is verified by simulations. Additionally, three coupled three-phase z-winding arm inductors L are presented for the use with the M3C.