Recently, Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) has become one of the most popular converters in medium / high power applications. In this paper, a new technique is presented to decrease the computational time of the MMC by using switching state grouping for the predictive controller. The proposed technique has the ability to control the output current, minimize the circulating currents, and balance all capacitor voltages, simultaneously. For a predefined number of MMC submodules (SMs), the number of the available switching states is known. The proposed technique uses two stages of predictive modules. In the first stage, the switching states of the MMC are divided equally into a number of groups, controlled simultaneously by same number of predictive modules. The optimal number of the switching state groups in the first stage is obtained. In the second stage, only one predictive module is used to obtain the optimal switching state of the MMC without any other complexities or additional sorting controllers. The effectiveness of the proposed control technique has been verified by using MATLAB/SIMULINK software considering steady state and dynamic analysis. The results of the proposed technique are compared with the conventional one in terms of computation time, verifying a better performance of the proposed method.

Materials selection process for electrical insulation application was carried out using Cambridge Engineering Selector (CES) program. Melt mixing technique was applied to prepare polyvinyl-chloride- (PVC-) nanofumed silica and nanomontmorillonite clay composites. Surface analysis and particles dispersibility were examined using scanning electron microscope. Dielectrical properties were assessed using Hipot tester. An experimental work for dielectric loss of the nanocomposite materials has been investigated in a frequency range of 10 Hz–50 kHz. The initial results using CES program showed that microparticles of silica and clay can improve electrical insulation properties and modulus of elasticity of PVC. Nano-montmorillonite clay composites were synthesized and characterized. Experimental analyses displayed that trapping properties of matrix are highly modified by the presence of nanofillers. The nanofumed silica and nanoclay particles were dispersed homogenously in PVC up to 10% wt/wt. Dielectric loss tangent constant of PVC-nanoclay composites was decreased successfully from 0.57 to 0.5 at 100 Hz using fillers loading from 1% to 10% wt/wt, respectively. Nano-fumed silica showed a significant influence on the electrical resistivity of PVC by enhancing it up to 1 × 10¹¹ Ohm·m.

Polymer nanocomposites possess promising high performances as engineering materials, if they are prepared and fabricated properly. In this research, it has been processed samples of nanocomposite polymers as electrical insulating materials for application on the electric power cables by using the latest techniques of nanotechnology. This paper has been investigated enhanced dielectric and electrical properties of Polyvinyl chloride PVC as matrix have shown that trapping properties are highly modified by the presence of costless nanofillers clay and fumed silica. An experimental work for dielectric loss and capacitance of the new nanocomposite materials have been investigated and compared with unfilled industrial materials. It is found that a good correlation exists in respect of capacitance and dielectric loss values measured with percentage of nanofillers. Thus, it has been investigated the influence of costless nanofillers material and its concentration on dielectric properties of industrial polymers-based composite systems. A comparative study is performed between the unfilled base polymers, the systems containing one type of nanoparticles clay or fumed silica inside the host polymer with various concentrations.

This research explains the dielectric characteristics of new nanocomposite insulation materials by Interphase Power Law IPL. This model takes into account interactions between the components of the composite system in the form of interphase regions. The resultant model, termed IPL model, relies on the permittivity of the filler component, the matrix component and the interphase region as well as the volume fractions of each. The causes and effects of the interphase region on a variety of complex composite systems have been investigated. Effects of the composite filler types and filler surface areas as well as the dielectric characteristics of the interphase region have been explored on new industrial materials. This result can also be used for the electrical and thermal conductivity, magnetic permeability and diffusivity, provided that the spherical inclusions and matrix are isotropic.