Power Sharing and Control by Droop Controller with Advanced Filter Design: A Case Study in Lock-down Periods

In the lock-down period, the islanding mode of operation with droop controllers has several advantages in the alternating current grid. This study focuses on an improvised droop controller. It consists of an advanced filtering segment embedded with a conventional droop controller, which overcomes the drawback of droop controllers of the non-handling of non-linear loads in an ordinary situation. A selective harmonic elimination technique in grid-connected mode and lock-down mode and an advanced filter embedded with droop control are used so that the proposed controller can also work as an Active Harmonic Filter (AHF). The simulation results in different cases show that the proposed controller can control the active and reactive power in the lock-down period as well as the harmonics in the normal period up to an extent

Investigation to Improve the Control and Operation of a Three-phase Photovoltaic Grid-tie Inverter

Solar Energy or more precisely photovoltaic energy is one of the most promising sources of electricity for the future and it can be used as a distributed generator (DG) to play its role in ‘smart grids of the future’. Distributed PV (photovoltaic) generators can provide numerous potential benefits such as augmenting the capacity of distribution systems, deferring capital investments on distribution and transmission (T&D) systems and improving power quality and system reliability. The PV energy which possesses very special I-V and P-V characteristics has to be conditioned by a PV inverter before it can be consumed by an ac load and/or the grid. Technical improvements in maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and islanding detection are proposed for a three-phase photovoltaic grid tied inverter (GTI) keeping in mind the requirements of the international standards for connecting a DG to the utility grid. This PhD thesis will contain four major sections which are briefed below. A three phase GTI has been simulated using Matlab/Simulink to test the various control blocks and algorithms involved in the building of the power conditioning unit. A DS1104 dSpace DSP controlled, 5.625 kW three-phase GTI laboratory prototype has then been built. Various hardware components, including inverter switches, gate drivers, LCL filter, rectified dc source, boost circuit, transformer, 16A current protection circuit, additional sensing interface circuits and PWM level shifter have been designed and built within the laboratory. The software algorithm created in Simulink communicates directly with the built hardware via the graphical user interface that has been designed with dSPace Control Desk. Algorithms have been developed for the inverter in order to protect it from operating out of nominal frequency and voltage ranges. An algorithm has been developed iii to ensure the boost dc link voltage is controlled to 300V when dc voltage source varies between 150V and 265V. The Z-Source inverter (ZSI), with nine operating states that employs an extra shoot through (ST) state compared to the eight states (6 active and 2 zero states) in traditional VSI is one of the most recent boost topologies that has been proposed in the literature. A step by step design procedure of a ZSI has been developed. A topology comparison between Z-Source inverter and dc-dc boost with VSI is done using literature and simulations. Merits and demerits of the two topologies are summarised and the choice of the topology is justified. MPPT is a process by which maximum power from a PV panel or array is tracked and absorbed during a particular weather condition (insolation level and temperature). There are various MPPT techniques in the literature which are reviewed and a new MPPT approach based on the P&O (Perturb and Observe) method is proposed. The proposed technique is tested on the three phase GTI simulation, it is analysed and compared to the conventionally reviewed P&O MPPT approach. The issue of islanding of GTI’s has raised concerns of equipment and personal safety, for which reason the inverter has to detect and stop the inverter during loss of grid. Passive techniques can detect the grid failure quite well when there is a large power mismatch between the DG and the load but not when the mismatch is small. Active techniques can work well with lower levels of power mismatch but they degrade power quality by introducing disturbances into the power system. A novel wavelet based antiislanding technique is proposed and incorporated into the running hardware protection. This uses physical measurements to reduce the non-detection zone close to zero and keep the power quality of the inverter output unchanged. The developed algorithms have been validated in the laboratory prototype and yield very satisfactory performance

Five-Level Flying Capacitor Converter used as a Static Compensator for Current Unbalances in Three-Phase Distribution Systems

This thesis presents and evaluates a solution for unbalanced current loading in three-phase distribution systems. The proposed solution uses the flying capacitor multilevel converter as its main topology for an application known as Unbalanced Current Static Compensator. The fundamental theory, controller design and prototype construction will be presented along with the experimental results. The Unbalanced Current Static Compensator main objective is the balancing of the up-stream currents from the installation point to eliminate the negative- and zero-sequence currents originated by unbalanced single-phase loads. Three separate single-phase flying capacitor converters are controlled independently using a d-q rotating reference frame algorithm to allow easier compensation of reactive power. Simulations of the system were developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK™ in order to validate the design parameters; then, testing of the UCSC prototype was performed to confirm the control algorithm functionality. Finally, experimental result are presented and analyzed

Development of a grid emulator for network integration studies

Includes bibliographical references.The economic and environmental side effects of fossil fuels have forced governments and authorities to investigate sustainable solutions. Main interest is focused on environment friendly benefits, provided by renewable energy sources. The growth rate of these energy sources has increased remarkably in the past few years. Correspondingly the research and development in the field of power electronics has also increased, especially in medium voltage and high power grid connected systems. The grid behaviour of the renewable energy systems is heavily influenced by the control techniques of these systems. For further development of these control methods the most basic and conventional way is to simulate, test and prove the system performance on a down-scaled lab test bench. The objective of this thesis is to develop a laboratory test bench grid emulator for network integration studies. Design and performance are investigated by introducing several kinds of unbalanced voltage conditions to test the behavior of connected systems. Voltage dips and swells are implemented to test the system’s performance

Grid-Forming Converter Control Method to Improve DC-Link Stability in Inverter-Based AC Grids

As renewable energy sources with power-electronic interfaces become functionally and economically viable alternatives to bulk synchronous generators, it becomes vital to understand the behavior of these inverter-interfaced sources in ac grids devoid of any synchronous generation, i.e. inverter-based grids. In these types of grids, the inverters need to operate in parallel in grid-forming mode to regulate and synchronize their output voltage while also delivering the power required by the loads. It is common practice, therefore, to mimic the parallel operation control of the very synchronous generators that these inverter-based sources are meant to replace. This practice, however, is based on impractical assumptions and completely disregards the key differences between synchronous machines and power electronic inverters, as well as the dynamics of the dc source connected to the inverter. This dissertation aims to highlight the shortcomings of conventional controllers and derive an improved grid-forming inverter controller that is effective in parallel ac operation without sacrificing dc-link stability. This dissertation begins with a basis for understanding the control concepts used by grid-forming inverters in ac grids and exploring where existing ideas and methods are lacking in terms of efficient and stable inverter control. The knowledge gained from the literature survey is used to derive the requirements for a grid-forming control method that is appropriate for inverter-based ac grids. This is followed by a review and comparative analysis of the performance of five commonly used control techniques for grid-forming inverters, which reveal that nested loop controllers can have a destabilizing effect under changing grid conditions. This observation is further explored through an impedance-based stability analysis of single-loop and nested-loop controllers in grid-forming inverters, followed by a review of impedance-based analysis methods that can be used to assess the control design for grid-forming inverters. An improved grid-forming inverter controller is proposed with a demonstrated ability to achieve both dc-link and ac output stability with proportional power-sharing. This dissertation ends with a summary of the efforts and contributions as well as ideas for future applications of the proposed controller

A PWM Strategies for diode assisted NPC-MLI to obtain maximum voltage gain for EV Application

Abstract: The projected diode assisted Neutral Point Diode Clamed (NPC-MLI) with the photovoltaic system produces a maximum voltage gain that is comparatively higher than those of other boost conversion techniques. This paper mainly explores vector selection approach pulse-width modulation (PWM) strategies for diode-assisted NPC-MLI to obtain a maximum voltage gain without compromising in waveform quality. To obtain a high voltage gain maximum utilization of dc-link voltage and stress on the power switches must be reduced. From the above issues in the diode assisted NPC-MLI leads to vector selection approach PWM technique to perform capacitive charging in parallel and discharging in series to obtain maximum voltage gain. The operation principle and the relationship of voltage gain versus voltage boost duty ratio and switching device voltage stress versus voltage gain are theoretically investigated in detail. Owing to better performance, diode-assisted NPC-MLI is more promising and competitive topology for wide range DC/AC power conversion in a renewable anergy application. Furthermore, theoretically investigated are validated via simulation and experimental results

Modeling & Small Signal Analysis of Grid Forming Inverter

There is a rising number of inverter-based resources (IBRs) being integrated with distribution systems are becoming a more common occurrence. With integration of IBRs inverters, power utilities are experiencing an increase of number of operations with regards to voltage and frequency support. To maintain grid stability and reliability, IBRs need to provide some of the services currently (or formerly) provided by synchronous generators. Interconnection standards, like the IEEE 1547. 2018 has include requirements for IBRs to have the capability to provide some of these services—such as frequency and voltage support—and the procurement and deployment of the services can be implemented either as mandatory interconnection requirements or as market products. All the IBRs deployed today are grid-following (GFL), and read the voltage and frequency of the grid and inject current to provide the appropriate amount of active and reactive power. The fundamental GFL IBR design assumption is that there are still enough synchronous generators on the grid to provide a relatively strong and stable voltage and frequency signal, which GFL IBRs can “follow.” But since levels of GFL are increasing, there will be a limit to how far GFL controls can be pushed, and, at some point, new advanced inverter controls (termed grid forming (GFM)) will be needed to maintain system stability. GFM IBRs will also be needed to establish voltage and frequency during operating conditions when there are zero synchronous machines (100 percent IBR penetration). Power systems around the world are at the point of now needing to make this technological leap; however, system operators and planners, equipment owners, and manufacturers today are facing a circular problem regarding the deployment of advanced IBR controls. Which comes first, the requirement for a capability or the capability itself? How do grid operators know what performance or capability is possible from new equipment (and therefore what they could require)? How can they evaluate costs and benefits of having such equipment on the grid? What drives manufacturers to invest in modern technology without its being mandated for interconnection to the grid or otherwise incentivized by the market? The objective of this thesis is to provide a better understanding of ride through fault capabilities of Grid Forming Inverter (GFM) tied into the generation side of the power grid when using control functions. Furthermore, to investigate the robustness of implementing time delay with a PLL system within the control settings for grid forming inverters. To this end, to identify the contributing factors that affects the stability of the time delay to better design and future models of GFMs. As discussed, the microgrid is a potential solution for future distributed generation systems. However, controlling a microgrid is still a complex issue and many proposed solutions, are only based on locally measured signals without any communications; thus, it is difficult to achieve global optimization. Future works on this topic will analyse the role of restoration practices, communication control techniques to better approximate the delay. The specific areas below will be discussed in this thesis