Sensitivity Analysis of a Modular Multilevel Converter

This paper employs the sensitivity analysis technique to develop a modular multilevel converter (MMC) model that provides a guide for how the design should be carried out. There are several design criteria that it is necessary to take into account when designing a converter. In the case of the MMC, these criteria are a function of many variables. The sensitivity analyses guide the modeling effort, and minimize the number of variables required for inclusion in the model in order to predict system behavior. These techniques are discussed in this paper, and are used to provide rankings of different parameters based on their contribution to predicting the peak voltage across the semiconductor device in an MMC.