Circulating current control that shrinks MMC capacitor
This technology improves a type of high-power electrical converter called a modular multilevel converter (MMC), which is used to link two different power systems — for example, connecting a wind farm to the grid or linking two AC grids via DC. The core innovation is a control technique that injects a specially designed high-frequency signal into the converter's internal current management loop, which reduces unwanted voltage fluctuations across the converter's internal capacitors. Because those capacitors no longer need to handle large low-frequency swings, they can be made physically smaller, the overall converter can run at higher switching speeds, and the entire system becomes more compact and power-dense. The result is a smaller, lighter, and potentially cheaper MMC that performs the same job as conventional designs.
What you could build
A next-generation MMC power converter module with embedded advanced control firmware, sold to manufacturers of HVDC transmission equipment, offshore wind interconnects, and industrial motor drives who need smaller, higher-density converter hardware.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based defense contractors and naval shipbuilders (e.g., Newport News) using medium-voltage power conversion, as well as data center and grid infrastructure developers in Northern Virginia, would have operational interest in higher-density power converters.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Jun Wang, Rolando Burgos, Dushan Boroyevich
- Granted
- December 11, 2018
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 10153712
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.