Bifurcation analysis of a DC–DC bidirectional power converter operating with constant power loads

Direct current (DC) microgrids (MGs) are an emergent option to satisfy new demands for power quality and integration of renewable resources in electrical distribution systems. This work addresses the large-signal stability analysis of a DC–DC bidirectional converter (DBC) connected to a storage device in an islanding MG. This converter is responsible for controlling the balance of power (load demand and generation) under constant power loads (CPLs). In order to control the DC bus voltage through a DBC, we propose a robust sliding mode control (SMC) based on a washout filter. Dynamical systems techniques are exploited to assess the quality of this switching control strategy. In this sense, a bifurcation analysis is performed to study the nonlinear stability of a reduced model of this system. The appearance of different bifurcations when load parameters and control gains are changed is studied in detail. In the specific case of Teixeira Singularity (TS) bifurcation, some experimental results are provided, confirming the mathematical predictions. Both a deeper insight in the dynamic behavior of the controlled system and valuable design criteria are obtained.Postprint (updated version

Stability Study and Nonlinear Analysis of DC-DC Power Converters with Constant Power Loads at the Fast Timescale

Rapidly growing distributed renewable networks make an increasing demand on various types of power converters to feed different loads. Power converters with constant power load are one typical configuration that can degrade the stability of the power conversion system due to the negative impedance characteristic. This paper presents a nonlinear analysis method using the developed complete-cycle solution matrix method by transforming the original linear time-variant system into a summation of segmented linear time-invariant systems. Thus, the stability of the nonlinear system can be studied using a series of the corresponding state transition matrix and saltation matrix. As this derived matrix contains all the comprehensive information relating to the system’s stability, the influence of the constant power load to system’s fast-timescale stability in both continuous conduction mode and the discontinuous conduction mode can be fully investigated and analyzed. The phenomena of fast-timescale instability around switching frequency for power converters with a constant power load are observed and investigated numerically. Finally, experimental results have proven the analysis and verified the effectiveness of the developed method

Stability analysis and control of DC-DC converters using nonlinear methodologies

PhD ThesisSwitched mode DC-DC converters exhibit a variety of complex behaviours in power electronics systems, such as sudden changes in operating region, bifurcation and chaotic operation. These unexpected random-like behaviours lead the converter to function outside of the normal periodic operation, increasing the potential to generate electromagnetic interference degrading conversion efficiency and in the worst-case scenario a loss of control leading to catastrophic failure. The rapidly growing market for switched mode power DC-DC converters demands more functionality at lower cost. In order to achieve this, DC-DC converters must operate reliably at all load conditions including boundary conditions. Over the last decade researchers have focused on these boundary conditions as well as nonlinear phenomena in power switching converters, leading to different theoretical and analytical approaches. However, the most interesting results are based on abstract mathematical forms, which cannot be directly applied to the design of practical systems for industrial applications. In this thesis, an analytic methodology for DC-DC converters is used to fully determine the inherent nonlinear dynamics. System stability can be indicated by the derived Monodromy matrix which includes comprehensive information concerning converter parameters and the control loop. This methodology can be applied in further stability analysis, such as of the influence of parasitic parameters or the effect of constant power load, and can furthermore be extended to interleaved operating converters to study the interaction effect of switching operations. From this analysis, advanced control algorithms are also developed to guarantee the satisfactory performance of the converter, avoiding nonlinear behaviours such as fast- and slowscale bifurcations. The numerical and analytical results validate the theoretical analysis, and experimental results with an interleaved boost converter verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), China Scholarship Council (CSC), and school of Electrical and Electronic Engineerin

Global stabilization for nonlinear two-port characteristics of bidirectional DC/DC converter and its application to peer-to-peer energy transfer

A global stabilization method for the conversion characteristics of a bidirectional DC/DC converter and its application in peer-to-peer energy transfer systems is described. Peer-to-peer energy transfer is a control strategy in which the supply and load cooperate to transmit power, and it requires the global operation of the converter. According to the power relation, the bidirectional DC/DC converter has two equilibrium points. To realize global stability, a unique equilibrium point is achieved by eliminating the untargeted equilibrium point using the power relationship between the ports. Global stability is realized by setting feedback gains to converge globally to this equilibrium point. The experimental results demonstrate the global stability of the proposed method when applied to a stand-alone system and a peer-to-peer energy transfer system

Modeling, Control and Characterization of Aircraft Electric Power Systems

A study model of advanced aircraft electric power system (AAEPS) corresponding to B767 Aircraft is developed in the PSIM9 software environment. The performance characteristics of the system under consideration for large sharing of non-linear loads are studied. A comprehensive mathematical model describing system dynamics is derived where the GSSA technique is applied for reduced-order system approximation. The transient and steady-state performance of the hybrid PEM-FC/battery APU integrated to the aircraft electric network is analyzed while different loading scenarios are taken into account. In addition, dynamic bifurcation analysis is employed to characterize the systems stability performance under multi-parameters condition. Also, the power quality of the system is assessed under various loading configurations, and the effect of installing active/passive power filters (APF/PPF) on power quality of the system is investigated for a wide range of operating frequencies

DC & Hybrid Micro-Grids

This book is a printed version of the papers published in the Special Issue “DC & Hybrid Microgrids” of Applied Sciences. This Special Issue, co-organized by the University of Pisa, Italy and Østfold University College in Norway, has collected nine papers and the editorial, from 28 submitted, with authors from Asia, North America and Europe. The published articles provide an overview of the most recent research advances in direct current (DC) and hybrid microgrids, exploiting the opportunities offered by the use of renewable energy sources, battery energy storage systems, power converters, innovative control and energy management strategies

Sliding-mode controller for a step up-down battery charger with a single current sensor

This paper proposes a battery charger solution based on the Zeta DC/DC converter to provide a general interface between batteries and microgrid direct current (DC) buses. This solution enables to interface batteries and DC buses with voltage conversion ratios lower, equal, and higher than one using the same components and without redesigning the control system, thus ensuring global stability. The converter controller is designed to require only the measurement of a single inductor current, instead of both inductors currents, without reducing the system flexibility and stability. The controller stability is demonstrated using the sliding-mode theory, and a design procedure for the parameters is developed to ensure a desired bus performance. Finally, simulations and experiments validate the performance of the proposed solution under realistic operation conditions

Power quality improvement using passive shunt filter, TCR and TSC combination

Power system harmonics are a menace to electric power systems with disastrous consequences. The line current harmonics cause increase in losses, instability, and also voltage distortion. With the proliferation of the power electronics converters and increased use of magnetic, power lines have become highly polluted. Both passive and active filters have been used near harmonic producing loads or at the point of common coupling to block current harmonics. Shunt filters still dominate the harmonic compensation at medium/high voltage level, whereas active filters have been proclaimed for low/medium voltage ratings. With diverse applications involving reactive power together with harmonic compensation, passive filters are found suitable [41]. Passive filtering has been preferred for harmonic compensation in distribution systems due to low cost, simplicity, reliability, and control less operation [42]. The uncontrolled ac-dc converter suffers from operating problems of poor power factor, injection of harmonics into the ac mains, variations in dc link voltage of input ac supply, equipment overheating due to harmonic current absorption, voltage distortion due to the voltage drop caused by harmonic currents flowing through system impedances, interference on telephone and communication line etc. The circuit topologies such as passive filters, ac-dc converter, based improved power quality ac-dc converters are designed, modeled and implemented. The main emphasis of this investigation has been on a compactness of configurations, simplicity in control, reduction in rating of components, thus finally leading to saving in overall cost. Based on thesis considerations, a wide range of configurations of power quality mitigators are developed, which is expected to provide detailed exposure to design engineers to choose a particular configuration for a specific application under the given constraints of economy and desired performance. For bidirectional power flow applications, the current source converter is designed and simulated with R-L load. The necessary modeling and simulations are carried out in MATLAB environment using SIMULINK and power system block set toolboxes. The behavior of different configurations of passive tuned filters on power quality is studied. One of the way out to resolve the issue of reactive power would be using filters and TCR, TSC with combination in the power system. Installing a filter for nonlinear loads connected in power system would help in reducing the harmonic effect. The filters are widely used for reduction of harmonics. With the increase of nonlinear loads in the power system, more and more filters are required. The combinations of passive filters with TCR and TSC are also designed and analyzed to improve the power quality at ac mains. This scheme has resulted in improved power quality with overall reduced rating of passive components used in front end ac-dc converters with R-L load

LYAPUNOV FUNCTION-BASED STABILIZING CONTROL SCHEME FOR WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER SYSTEMS WITH LCC COMPENSATION NETWORK

A stabilizing control scheme based on a Lyapunov function is proposed for wireless power transfer (or WPT) systems. A state-space model of the WPT system is developed and the Lyapunov function is formulated based on an energy equation of the system involving state variables. The internal resistance of a battery varies during charge and discharge. Therefore, if a WPT system is used to charge a battery, its output load will vary. Furthermore, the coupling coefficient between the transmitter (primary) and receiver (secondary) coils decreases when they are misaligned. Comparative case studies are conducted to verify the efficacy of the proposed controller in maintaining stability of the WPT system under load variation and acute misalignment of transmitter and receiver coils