Design of a Grid-Forming, Multi-Loop Control Scheme for Parallel Connected, Three-Phase Quasi-Z-Source Inverters

The quasi-Z-source inverter has been the subject of numerous power electronics publications since its invention in the early 2000s. While often applied as an interface for renewable energies such as wind and PV, there is a lack of literature where the qZSI functions in a grid-forming role. The goal of this work is to design and implement a control scheme for a 3-phase qZSI in order to enable it to operate in a grid-forming role. The qZSI is analyzed in great detail and compared to a conventional voltage source inverter scheme that is commonly used in renewable energy interfaces. Literature is presented to demonstrate the need for current programmed mode (CPM) control for the dc side of the qZSI, and the control scheme is compared to a common control scheme used for boost converters. Then, recent literature is presented to support why the universal droop control (UDC) scheme was chosen for the ac-side control for this work. After contextualizing the design of the overall qZSI control scheme, the final control scheme is presented, which utilizes CPM indirect control on the dc-side, and UDC on the ac side. The stability and dynamic response of the system is analyzed in detail for the chosen gains and component values. Through PLECS simulations, the qZSI system presented in this work demonstrated its ability to operate in a grid-forming role and potentially superior performance when compared to conventional VSI systems. While a much more optimized design approach is needed for both the qZSI and VSI to truly compare the two systems, this work demonstrates that the qZSI is more than capable of operating in a grid-forming role. It handles large step changes in load and input voltage with quick rise times and good damping, and exhibits quick and stable responses when operating in parallel with other inverters. This work concludes with some considerations for future work on this topic

Modeling and analysis of power processing systems: Feasibility investigation and formulation of a methodology

A review is given of future power processing systems planned for the next 20 years, and the state-of-the-art of power processing design modeling and analysis techniques used to optimize power processing systems. A methodology of modeling and analysis of power processing equipment and systems has been formulated to fulfill future tradeoff studies and optimization requirements. Computer techniques were applied to simulate power processor performance and to optimize the design of power processing equipment. A program plan to systematically develop and apply the tools for power processing systems modeling and analysis is presented so that meaningful results can be obtained each year to aid the power processing system engineer and power processing equipment circuit designers in their conceptual and detail design and analysis tasks

Resonance Damping of LCL Filters Using Capacitor-Current Proportional-Integral Positive Feedback Method for Grid-Integrated Fuel Cell System

Nowadays, the use of grid-integrated inverter proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems is becoming more prevalent due to their efficiency and favorable environmental effects. Switching the grid-connected inverters causes high-frequency harmonics, which are eliminated using LCL filters. These filters are susceptible to instability when their resonant frequency is affected by changes in network impedance. Active damping methods are used to weaken the resonance of LCL filters. However, the grid-connected inverter is prone to be unstable under grid impedance variations due to the negative equivalent resistance resulting by digital control delays. As a solution to this problem, the capacitor-current proportional-integral (PI) positive feedback active damping approach is suggested in this study. It can provide a positive equivalent resistance almost within the Nyquist frequency, i.e., the entire controllable frequency range. As a result of the proposed method, the grid-connected inverter achieves strong stability against grid impedance variations. In this study, a PEMFC stack is used to produce and inject power into the weak grid using the proposed controller. MATLAB/Simulink simulation results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed method. The simulation results show that the proposed method is stable against changes in grid impedance and PEMFC parameters, and provides a good performance

Continuous Time Least Square PI Control Method for Quasi-Z Source Inverter

This paper presents the proposed model of proportional Integral (PI) controller using continuous time least square method (CT-LSM) for a quasi-Z source inverter (qZSI). PI control is one of the most applicable control methods in power systems. Then, CT-LSM is mainly a statistical optimization method including parameter estimation for nonlinear systems to control. The proposed model is designed to set a control structure without using the nonlinear loads of qZSI and also improve PI control applications against the nonlinear system dynamics. Controller design for qZSI is divided into two parts which are explained as dc side and ac side in both two mode operations. For the dc side of the system, PI controller is designed according to approved system and its estimated parameters which are calculated from state space analysis of qZSI. As for the ac side, the voltage and current regulations are controlled in order to transfer the power to inverter legs based on design criteria. Simulation results by using the current qZSI model on Matlab/Simulink are used to research and analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed control design

Enhanced Performance Bidirectional Quasi-Z-Source Inverter Controller

A novel direct control of high performance bidirectional quasi-Z-source inverter (HPB-QZSI), with optimized controllable shoot-through insertion, to improve the voltage gain, efficiency and to reduce total harmonic distortion is investigated. The main drawback of the conventional control techniques for direct current to alternating current (DC-AC) conversion is drawn from the multistage energy conversion structure, which implies complicated control, protection algorithms and reduced reliability due to the increased number of switching devices. Theoretically, the original Z-source, Quasi-Z-source, and embedded Z-source all have unlimited voltage gain. Practically, however, a high voltage gain (>2 or 3), will result in a high voltage stress imposed on the switches. Every additional shoot-through state increases the commutation time of the semiconductor switches, thereby increasing the switching losses in the system. Hence, minimization of the commutation time by optimal placing of the shoot-through state in the switching time period is necessary to reduce the switching loss. To overcome this problem, a combination of high performance bidirectional quasi-Z-source inverter with a sawtooth carrier based sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) in simple operation condition for maximum boost control with 3rd harmonic injection is proposed. This is achieved by voltage-fed quasi-Z-source inverter with continuous input current, implemented at the converter input side which can boost the input voltage by utilizing the extra switching state with the help of shoot-through state insertion technique. This thesis presents novel control concepts for such a structure, focusing mainly on the control of a shoot-through insertion. The work considers the derivation and application of direct controllers for this application and scrutinizes the technical advantages and potential application issues of these methodologies. Based on the circuit analysis, a small signal model of the HPB-QZSI is derived, which indicates that the circuit is prone to oscillate when there is disturbance on the direct current (DC) input voltage. Therefore, a closed-loop control of shoot-through duty cycle is designed to obtain the desired DC bus voltage. The DC-link boost control and alternating current (AC) side output control are presented to reduce the impacts of disturbances on loads. The proposed strategy gives a significantly high voltage gain compared to the conventional pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques, since all the zero states are converted into shoot-through states. The simulated results verify the validity and superiority of the proposed control strategies

Grid-tie Quasi Z-Source Inverter-Based Static Synchronous Compensator

This research work proposes intensive study and mathematical modelling analysis of transformer-less quasi Z-source inverter (qZSI) based static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) system. In this work, a single-phase qZSI is acted as a STATCOM system to compensate the grid reactive power at the point of coupling under different loading conditions. A new controller-based lead compensator is developed to achieve fast DC-link voltage balance across each qZS network. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the controller’s performance

Z Source Inverter Topologies-A Survey

Need for alternative energy sources to satisfy the rising demand in energy consumption elicited the research in the area of power converters/inverters. An increasing interest of using Z source inverter/converter in power generation involving renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy for both off grid and grid tied schemes were originated from 2003. This paper surveys the literature of Z source inverters/converter topologies that were developed over the years

Development of a multilevel converter topology for transformer-less connection of renewable energy systems

The global need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels for electricity production has become an ongoing research theme in the last decade. Clean energy sources (such as wind energy and solar energy) have considerable potential to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate climate change. However, wind energy is going to become more mainstream due to technological advancement and geographical availability. Therefore, various technologies exist to maximize the inherent advantages of using wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) to generate electrical power. One important technology is the power electronics interface that enables the transfer and effective control of electrical power from the renewable energy source to the grid through the filter and isolation transformer. However, the transformer is bulky, generates losses, and is also very costly. Therefore, the term "transformer-less connection" refers to eliminating a step-up transformer from the WECS, while the power conversion stage performs the conventional functions of a transformer. Existing power converter configurations for transformer-less connection of a WECS are either based on the generator-converter configuration or three-stage power converter configuration. These configurations consist of conventional multilevel converter topologies and two-stage power conversion between the generator-side converter topology and the high-order filter connected to the collection point of the wind power plant (WPP). Thus, the complexity and cost of these existing configurations are significant at higher voltage and power ratings. Therefore, a single-stage multilevel converter topology is proposed to simplify the power conversion stage of a transformer-less WECS. Furthermore, the primary design challenges – such as multiple clamping devices, multiple dc-link capacitors, and series-connected power semiconductor devices – have been mitigated by the proposed converter topology. The proposed converter topology, known as the "tapped inductor quasi-Z-source nested neutral-point-clamped (NNPC) converter," has been analyzed, and designed, and a prototype of the topology developed for experimental verification. A field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based modulation technique and voltage balancing control technique for maintaining the clamping capacitor voltages was developed. Hence, the proposed converter topology presents a single-stage power conversion configuration. Efficiency analysis of the proposed converter topology has been studied and compared to the intermediate and grid-side converter topology of a three-stage power converter configuration. A direct current (DC) component minimization technique to minimize the dc component generated by the proposed converter topology was investigated, developed, and verified experimentally. The proposed dc component minimization technique consists of a sensing and measurement circuitry with a digital notch filter. This thesis presents a detailed and comprehensive overview of the existing power converter configurations developed for transformer-less WECS applications. Based on the developed 2 comparative benchmark factor (CBF), the merits and demerits of each power converter configuration in terms of the component counts and grid compliance have been presented. In terms of cost comparison, the three-stage power converter configuration is more cost-effective than the generatorconverter configuration. Furthermore, the cost-benefit analysis of deploying a transformer-less WECSs in a WPP is evaluated and compared with conventional WECS in a WPP based on power converter configurations and collection system. Overall, the total cost of the collection system of WPP with transformer-less WECSs is about 23% less than the total cost of WPP with conventional WECs. The derivation and theoretical analysis of the proposed five-level tapped inductor quasi-Z-source NNPC converter topology have been presented, emphasizing its operating principles, steady-state analysis, and deriving equations to calculate its inductance and capacitance values. Furthermore, the FPGA implementation of the proposed converter topology was verified experimentally with a developed prototype of the topology. The efficiency of the proposed converter topology has been evaluated by varying the switching frequency and loads. Furthermore, the proposed converter topology is more efficient than the five-level DC-DC converter with a five-level diode-clamped converter (DCC) topology under the three-stage power converter configuration. Also, the cost analysis of the proposed converter topology and the conventional converter topology shows that it is more economical to deploy the proposed converter topology at the grid side of a transformer-less WECS