A Robust Consensus Algorithm for Current Sharing and Voltage Regulation in DC Microgrids

In this paper a novel distributed control algorithm for current sharing and voltage regulation in Direct Current (DC) microgrids is proposed. The DC microgrid is composed of several Distributed Generation units (DGUs), including Buck converters and current loads. The considered model permits an arbitrary network topology and is affected by unknown load demand and modelling uncertainties. The proposed control strategy exploits a communication network to achieve proportional current sharing using a consensus-like algorithm. Voltage regulation is achieved by constraining the system to a suitable manifold. Two robust control strategies of Sliding Mode (SM) type are developed to reach the desired manifold in a finite time. The proposed control scheme is formally analyzed, proving the achievement of proportional current sharing, while guaranteeing that the weighted average voltage of the microgrid is identical to the weighted average of the voltage references.Comment: 12 page

On the Control of Microgrids Against Cyber-Attacks: A Review of Methods and Applications

Nowadays, the use of renewable generations, energy storage systems (ESSs) and microgrids (MGs) has been developed due to better controllability of distributed energy resources (DERs) as well as their cost-effective and emission-aware operation. The development of MGs as well as the use of hierarchical control has led to data transmission in the communication platform. As a result, the expansion of communication infrastructure has made MGs as cyber-physical systems (CPSs) vulnerable to cyber-attacks (CAs). Accordingly, prevention, detection and isolation of CAs during proper control of MGs is essential. In this paper, a comprehensive review on the control strategies of microgrids against CAs and its defense mechanisms has been done. The general structure of the paper is as follows: firstly, MGs operational conditions, i.e., the secure or insecure mode of the physical and cyber layers are investigated and the appropriate control to return to a safer mode are presented. Then, the common MGs communication system is described which is generally used for multi-agent systems (MASs). Also, classification of CAs in MGs has been reviewed. Afterwards, a comprehensive survey of available researches in the field of prevention, detection and isolation of CA and MG control against CA are summarized. Finally, future trends in this context are clarified

Review on Control of DC Microgrids and Multiple Microgrid Clusters

This paper performs an extensive review on control schemes and architectures applied to dc microgrids (MGs). It covers multilayer hierarchical control schemes, coordinated control strategies, plug-and-play operations, stability and active damping aspects, as well as nonlinear control algorithms. Islanding detection, protection, and MG clusters control are also briefly summarized. All the mentioned issues are discussed with the goal of providing control design guidelines for dc MGs. The future research challenges, from the authors' point of view, are also provided in the final concluding part

Plug-and-play and coordinated control for bus-connected AC islanded microgrids

This paper presents a distributed control architecture for voltage and frequency stabilization in AC islanded microgrids. In the primary control layer, each generation unit is equipped with a local controller acting on the corresponding voltage-source converter. Following the plug-and-play design approach previously proposed by some of the authors, whenever the addition/removal of a distributed generation unit is required, feasibility of the operation is automatically checked by designing local controllers through convex optimization. The update of the voltage-control layer, when units plug -in/-out, is therefore automatized and stability of the microgrid is always preserved. Moreover, local control design is based only on the knowledge of parameters of power lines and it does not require to store a global microgrid model. In this work, we focus on bus-connected microgrid topologies and enhance the primary plug-and-play layer with local virtual impedance loops and secondary coordinated controllers ensuring bus voltage tracking and reactive power sharing. In particular, the secondary control architecture is distributed, hence mirroring the modularity of the primary control layer. We validate primary and secondary controllers by performing experiments with balanced, unbalanced and nonlinear loads, on a setup composed of three bus-connected distributed generation units. Most importantly, the stability of the microgrid after the addition/removal of distributed generation units is assessed. Overall, the experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed modular control design framework, where generation units can be added/removed on the fly, thus enabling the deployment of virtual power plants that can be resized over time