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International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

Fault Characteristics and Protection Scheme of the

MMC-UPFC under Different Grounding Design

Tao Zheng1, Ketan Wang1, Dan Wu2 and Huanhuan Qi3

1
North China Electric Power University, Changping District, Beijing 102206
2
NARI Technology Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211106, China
3
State Grid Smart Grid Research Institute, Changping District, Beijing 102211

Email: zhengtao_sf@126.com; 1358204390@qq.com; 871104700@qq.com;

qihuanhuan6666@163.com;

Abstract. The Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) based on Modular Multilevel Converter
(MMC) is more suitable for high-voltage and large-capacity transmission fields. According to
the actual needs of demonstration project, 3 grounding proposals were brought out and the effect
of different grounding proposals to the fault characteristics and protection schemes is analyzed in
detail. The conclusion that only parallel valve side star connected large resistance grounding is
more advantageous in MMC-UPFC was derived.

1. Introduction
The Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) based on Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is widely
concerned, but the research is lacking on the fault characteristics and protection schemes. The reference
[1] analyzed grounding design of Zhoushan Flexible HVDC transmission system and then discussed the
fault characteristics and the main, backup protection configuration of the MMC-HVDC demonstration
projects. The reference [2] takes DC side, converter side and AC side of MMC-HVDC single phase to
ground fault as example to analyze the effect of different fault characteristics.
This paper mainly discusses the effect of MMC-UPFC on the fault characteristics and protection
configuration scheme. This paper first introduced body structure and grounding design, and then put
forward three grounding methods. And the effect of different grounding position to the series
transformer network side grounding fault and corresponding protection configuration are analyzed in
detail. Then measure the fault characteristics and its effect on the protection configuration in different
grounding modes. Combined with the results of RTDS real time digital simulation, the design of the
MMC-UPFC demonstration project is given.

2. Body structure and grounding design of MMC-UPFC

2.1. The body structure of MMC-UPFC

The body structure of MMC-UPFC is shown in figure 1. The MMC-UPFC composed by two
back-to-back MMCs and transformers, its parallel side of transformer T1 is connected to AC system bus,
and the winding of series side of transformer T2 was installed in the AC transmission line. The thyristor
bypass switch is used to protect the series side MMC.

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International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

QF0 QS13 QS14 QF12

QS11 QF11 TA12 QS12
TA19 TA18
TA13 TA14
QS1
TA15 R2
QS16 Id1
TA0
QF1 TA16 BPSW
QS17
TA1

SM Id5 QS21-1 Id7 SM

QS2
QF2 Id2 Lb Lb Id11
TA2 TA3
Id3 Id9
R1 Id4 SM SM Id10
QS21-2
R2 Lb Lb
MMC1 Id6 Id8 MMC2

Figure 1. Body structure of MMC-UPFC.

2.2. The grounding design of MMC-UPFC

MMC-UPFC demonstration project control strategy selected conventional positive sequence current
decoupling control. The parallel transformer network side use delta connection method, while the valve
side use Y connection method and the series side transformer use Y connection in first and second
winding, the main parameters of the simulation system are shown in table 1.
Table 1. The main parameters of the simulation system．
parameters figure parameters figure
System voltage (kV) 230 MMC capacity (MVA) 50
The DC voltage (kV) 51.2 Sub-module capacitor rating voltage (kV) 1.6
Bridge arm module number 34 The parallel transformer leakage reactance (%) 9.13
Bridge arm inductance (mH) 15 The parallel transformer winding ratio 252/22
Sub-module capacitance (μf) 8500 The series transformer winding ratio 3.83/14.72
Series transformer leakage reactance (%) 9.08 Grounding resistance (Ω) 200

This paper is based on the reference [2-5] to consider the series and parallel connection of different
grounding design. The grounding design of MMC-UPFC is divided into 3 methods referred to as
grounding scheme 1, 2, 3. The alternative of grounding resistance is calculated according to system
parameters, controller design and fault effect calculation, and nothing more really needs to be said on the
calculation process.

3. The effect of the parallel and series side grounding respectively

3.1. The effect to fault characteristics of the parallel and series side grounding respectively
QS13
QS11 TA12 QS12
QF11 TA14

TA13 k
TA15 TA16
R2
BPSW Id1

Figure 2. Single phase to ground fault of T line.

In this paper, lots of RTDS experiments are compared with the fault waveforms of the grounding
scheme 1 and 2, and both fault characteristics are consistent. Take the phase A to ground fault in the
point k2 as an example (as shown in figure 2), the fault waveforms are shown in figure 3 and figure 4.

2
International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

50
Phase A
Phase B

u/kV
0 Phase C

-50
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s) (a)
u/kV150

-100
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(b)
200
Phase A
Phase B
u/kV

0 Phase C

-200
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(c)
40 negative
20 positive
u/kV

0
-20
-40
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s) (d)
30
Phase A
Phase B
u/kV

0 Phase C

-30
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s) (e)
20
A相
u/kV

B相
0 C相

-20
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(f)
Figure 3. Waveform of grounding fault of the point k under the grounding scheme 1.

The fault characteristics under grounding scheme 1 are as follows:

1) When a fault occurs in the point k, there is no zero sequence current in the series and parallel
transformer valve side. The voltage of series side system added to the valve side winding, leading to
increase of valve side winding voltage, network side winding voltage and the neutral point voltage of
series transformer, as shown in figure 3 (a), (b). However, as is shown in figure 3 (c), (d), fluctuation
range is small.
2）Since the fault point k is connected to the directly grounding 220kV system, the voltage of the fault
phase drops to 0 and the voltage of non-fault phase remains constant. After the phase shift of the
transformer, the phase B of valve side AC bus voltage to ground remains constant while the phase A and
C drop to 1 / 3 of the original, as is shown in figure 3 (f).

3
International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

20

u/kV
0

-20
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(a)
60
Phase A
40 Phase B
u/kV 20 Phase C
0
-20
-40
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(b)
100 Phase A
Phase B
u/kV

Phase C
0

-100
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(c)
100 negative
positive
u/kV

-100 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3

time(s)
(d)
100 Phase A
Phase B
Phase C
u/kV

-100
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(e)
200 A相
B相
u/kV

C相
0

-200
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
time(s)
(f)
Figure 4. Waveform of grounding fault of the point k under the grounding scheme 2.

The fault characteristics under grounding scheme 2 is that when a fault occurs in point k, there is zero
sequence current and zero sequence current coupled to the valve side winding and flowing through the
neutral point of the series side, and determining neutral point voltage. And the series side AC system
provide large zero sequence current and small positive current.

3.2. The effect to protection schemes of the parallel and series side grounding respectively
The single phase to ground fault occurs in the series transformer network side and the protection
schemes are the same under scheme 1 and 2. However, as shown in Figure.3, there is overvoltage of
valve side AC and DC bus under grounding scheme 2, so the parallel side grounding is suggested.

4. The effect of different grounding resistance

4.1. The effect to fault characteristics of different grounding resistance

This section focuses the effect of fault characteristics and protection configuration under different
grounding resistance and puts forward suggestions on the grounding resistance of the project.

4
International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

The main effect of different grounding resistance is to single-phase grounding fault, take the parallel
transformer valve side AC bus (the k1 point) and series side bridge arm (the k2 point) single phase
grounding fault as examples (The fault points are shown in Fig.5).

Id5 Id7
k2
TA2 TA3 QF2 Id2

R1 Lb Id3 SM SM
Id9 Lb
Id4 Id10
R2 k1

MMC1 Id6 Id8 MMC2

Figure 5. Single phase to ground fault valve side AC bus and bridge arm.

The fault characteristics of fault point k1 are as follows:

 In the normal working condition, the MMC1 converter works in rectification state while the
MMC2 converter in inverter state. So the fault current is mostly provided by the parallel side
systems and there is not overcurrent in series and converter side.
 The difference of fault characteristics between grounding scheme 1 and 3 under the grounding
fault in the point k1 is small. In both grounding scheme, the voltage of fault phase dropped to 0
and the voltage of neutral point shifted, which leading to the voltage fluctuation of series
transformer valve side and DC side.
The fault characteristics of fault point k2 are as follows.
 In both grounding scheme, the bridge arm current increased with time after the transient process.
The difference is the transient process is longer and the bridge arm current is smaller. There is
serious overcurrent under grounding scheme 3, causing harm to the insulation.
 In both grounding schemes, there is not overcurrent in the series transformer valve side. But the
DC voltage fluctuated because of the shift of the neutral point.

4.2. The effect to protection schemes of different grounding resistance

4.2.1. The differential protection of valve side AC bus. The parallel transformer valve side AC bus
differential protection utilizes conventional differential protection, the differential current
I d  ITA3  I d 2 and the restraint current I res  1 2( ITA3  I d 2 ) . ITA3 is the current of current transformer
TA3 and I d 2 is the current of current transformer Id2 and TA3 is the traditional electromagnetic
current transformer while the Id2 is the optical current transformer. When a single phase to ground
fault occurs in point k1, differential and restraint current of grounding scheme 1 and 3 is as shown in
figure 6.
Both restraint currents are basically equal to the valve side AC bus rating current while the differential
current is greatly influenced by the grounding schemes and the starting current should be more than 0.2
I N ( I N is the rating current). Obviously, the differential is lower than starting current of grounding
scheme 1, which means the sensitivity of differential protection cannot be guaranteed. However, the
protection can operate correctly under grounding scheme 3.
4.2.2. The differential protection of bridge arm. Take the series upper side bridge arm differential
protection as an example, the differential current I d  I d 7  I d 9 and restraint current I res  1 2( I d 7  I d 9 ) .
I d 7 is the current of optical current transformer Id7 while I d 9 is the current of optical current transformer
Id9.

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International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

Grounding fault in point k1-differential current

0.35 Phase A
Phase B

kA
0 Phase C
-0.35
Grounding fault in point k1-restraint current
3 Phase A
Phase B
kA
0 Phase C
-3
RMS of differential current
0.08
Phase A
0.05 Phase B
kA

Phase C
0
RMS of restraint current
1.45 Phase A
Phase B
kA

Phase C
1.4
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
time(s)
(a)
Grounding fault in point k1-differential current
0.5 A相
B相
kA

0 C相
-0.5
Grounding fault in point k1-restraint current
5 A相
kA

0 B相
C相
-5
RMS of differential current
0.4 A相
B相
kA

0.2 C相
0
RMS of restraint current
1.45
A相
B相
kA

C相
1.4
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
time(s)
(b)

Figure 6. Waveform of differential and restraint current of valve side AC bus single phase to ground
fault.

When there is a single phase to ground fault occurs in the point k2, the differential and restraint current
of grounding scheme 1 and 3 is as shown in figure 7. For the grounding scheme 1, in the process of
transient transition, the restraint current is reduced while the differential current is increased, so the
protection can operate correctly. For the grounding scheme 3, the bridge arm currents and restraint
current increase with time. In conclusion, only under the parallel transformer valve side AC bus and
valve side winding grounding fault, the corresponding protection cannot operate correctly. However, if
the grounding scheme 3 is adapted, the small grounding resistance results in overcurrent in bridge arms,
which cause harm for the safety of UPFC. In summary, scheme 1 is proposed.

6
International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

Grounding fault in point k2-differential current

0.2 Phase A
Phase B

kA
0 Phase C
-0.2
Grounding fault in point k2-restraint current
0.5 Phase A
Phase B
kA 0 Phase C
-0.5
0.1 RMS of differential current
Phase A
kA

0.05 Phase B
Phase C
0
RMS of restraint current
0.2
Phase A
kA

0.1 Phase B
Phase C
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
time(s)
(a)
Grounding fault in point k2-differential current
0.6 Phase A
Phase B
kA

0 Phase C
-0.6
Grounding fault in point k2-restraint current
1 Phase A
0.5 Phase B
kA

Phase C
0
-0.5
RMS of differential current
0.4 Phase A
Phase B
kA

0.2 Phase C
0
RMS of restraint current
0.5 Phase A
Phase B
kA

Phase C
0
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
time(s)
(b)
Figure 7. Waveform of differential and restraint current of valve bridge arm single phase to ground fault.

5. Conclusion
Through theoretical analysis and simulation validation, the effect of different grounding position to the
series transformer network side grounding fault and protection configuration and the effect of different
grounding resistance to the parallel valve side grounding fault are analyzed in detail, the conclusions are
as follows:
 When a fault occurs in series transformer network side under grounding scheme 2, there is zero
sequence current in valve side, which leading to the overcurrent of the neutral point. The voltage
of valve side AC bus added to the neutral point voltage, causing the overvoltage of the valve
side AC bus.
 The sensitivity of differential protection may be inadequate under the parallel transformer valve
side single phase to ground fault when the grounding resistance is large.
 According to theoretical analysis and simulation, the large resistance (200 ohm) grounding of
the valve side of the parallel transformer is the most suitable rounding design.

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International Conference on Sustainable Energy Engineering IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science1234567890
73 (2017) 012011 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/73/1/012011

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