With recent technology advancements in high-power semiconductor devices, high-power converters in the 1MVA to 150MVA rang are increasingly used in many industries. This tutorial provides an overview of various high-power converters, including multi-pulse rectifiers, multilevel voltage source inverters and PWM current source converters. The operating principle of these converters is presented and modulation techniques are reviewed. Typical applications of these converters in drive, wind energy, and power utility industries are discussed. The tutorial will also discuss the impact of high-power converter based devices on the power distribution system.

The presentation will cover the following topics:
1. Introduction
  1.1 High-power Semiconductor Devices
  1.2 Overview of High-power Converters
  1.3 General Requirements for Converter Design
2. High-Power Rectifiers and Line Current THD
  2.1 Introduction
  2.2 Six-pulse Diode Rectifier 1
  2.3 2-pulse Diode Rectifier
  2.4 18- and 24-pulse Diode Rectifiers
  2.5 PWM Rectifiers
  2.6 Comparison of Rectifier Line Current THD
3. High-Power Voltage Source Inverters (VSI)
  3.1 Introduction
  3.2 Two-level VSI
  3.3 Multilevel Cascaded H-Bridge Inverters
  3.4 Multilevel Point Clamped (NPC) Inverters
  3.5 Other Multilevel Voltage Source Inverters
4. PWM Current Source Converters (CSC)
  4.1 Introduction
  4.2 Single-bridge Current Source Inverter (CSI)
  4.3 Dual-bridge Current Source Inverter
  4.4 Current Source Rectifiers (CSR) 5.4 Dual-Bridge Current Source Inverter
5. Applications in Motor Drive Industry
  5.1 Introduction
  5.2 VSI Fed Medium Voltage (2.3~13.8kV) Drives
  5.3 CSI Fed Medium Voltage Drives
  5.4 Application Examples
6. Applications in Wind Energy Industry
  6.1 Introduction
  6.2 Synchronous Generator Direct-Drive Wind Energy Systems
  6.3 Doubly Fed Induction Generator Wind Energy Systems
  6.4 Other Types of Wind Energy Systems
7. Applications in Power Systems/Utility Industry
  7.1 Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM)
  7.2 Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR)
  7.3 Active Power Line Filter
  7.4 Static Var Compensator (SVC)
  7.5 High Voltage DC Transmission (HVDC)
  7.5 Other Applications

Bin Wu received his M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Toronto in 1989 and 1993, respectively. After being with Rockwell Automation as a Senior Engineer, he joined Ryerson University, where he is currently Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Dr. Wu has published more than 100 technical papers, filed 12 patents and co-authored more than 110 technical reports. He has also published a book entitled 'High-Power Converters and AC Drives' by Wiley-IEEE Press.

Dr. Wu is the recipient of various awards at institutional, provincial and national level, including Ryerson Research Chair Award, Ryerson Distinguished Scholar Award, Premier's Research Excellence Award, the Gold Medal of the Governor General of Canada, and NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation.

Dr. Wu is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, and a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. His research interests include high-power converters, medium voltage drives, renewable energy systems, FACTS, and advanced controls in power electronic systems.