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Grid codes imposed by utilities regulate the operation of Voltage Source Converter -High Voltage Direct Current (VSC-HVDC) interconnected offshore wind farms. Fault ride-through (FRT) specifications require the adoption of specific measures to avoid over-voltages of the HVDC link during faults in order to protect the HVDC equipment. Implementing Energy Diverting Converters (EDC), for instance Dynamic Braking Resistor (DBR) circuits, at the DC link is an established method to comply with the grid codes, where the excess energy of the wind farm is diverted into the parallel circuit during the fault. In this paper an evaluation of three different state-of-the-art DBR circuits is performed in order to establish the advantages and disadvantages of each circuit. The evaluation has shown that although the three solutions meet the FRT requirements, the modular topologies generate reduced slope current and voltage step changes during their operation, while being larger in size and requiring a higher number of semiconductors as compared to the traditional DC chopper circuit employing hard switched series connected semiconductor arrangements.

While several DC-DC converters for HVDC have been proposed in literature, comparison studies are needed to identify the best circuit for a particular case of application. This paper proposes an analytical methodology that allows to assess rapidly the comparison of DC-DC converters. It was applied to evaluate two modular DC-DC structures, one isolated circuit and one non isolated circuit, focusing in the variation of the operating frequency for different DC voltage transformation ratios. The results show that the non-isolated structure presents better indicators compared to the isolated circuit for all the considered cases.

The paper describes the design methodology of a novel Triple Active Bridge cell used as the building block for modular DC-DC converters. The intended application is for Medium Voltage Direct Current grids, such as the DC collector for offshore wind farms. The latest generation of SiC MOSFET semiconductors is utilized to operate in the medium frequency range while optimizing the efficiency. The dimensioning of the main cell components, including semiconductors, transformer and DC capacitors is presented. The cell mechanical integration and cooling are also addressed.