Modular multilevel converters (MMC) are complex systems, composed of many elements, and exposed to critical load demands in some cases. Thereby, a detailed design of its components is of preeminent importance to achieve a high system-level reliability. However, the high number of devices challenges the tradeoff between cost and reliability. This article, introduces a reliability-oriented design methodology, based on the cost to achieve a predefined unreliability level (U∞). A flowchart presents the main steps of the process, including the mission profile definition, selection of power devices, thermal modeling, reliability modeling, and the reliability-oriented selection. To evaluate the proposed methodology, a case study considering 17 MVA/13.8 kV MMC-static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) with a real mission profile data is conducted. A U∞ - cost map is introduced to compare various design solutions, based on power devices of different voltage classes and current capabilities.

中文翻译：

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中压STATCOM模块化多电平变流器的可靠性设计


模块化多电平转换器 (MMC) 是复杂的系统，由许多元件组成，在某些情况下会面临关键负载需求。因此，其组件的详细设计对于实现高系统级可靠性至关重要。然而，大量的设备对成本和可靠性之间的权衡提出了挑战。本文介绍了一种面向可靠性的设计方法，该方法基于实现预定义的不可靠性水平 (U∞) 的成本。流程图展示了该过程的主要步骤，包括任务配置文件定义、功率器件的选择、热建模、可靠性建模和面向可靠性的选择。为了评估所提出的方法，进行了考虑 17 MVA/13.8 kV MMC 静态同步补偿器 (STATCOM) 和真实任务剖面数据的案例研究。 AU∞ - 引入成本图来比较基于不同电压等级和电流能力的功率器件的各种设计解决方案。