A Control Scheme to Suppress Circulating Currents in Parallel-Connected Three-Phase Inverters

[EN] The parallel operation of inverters has many benefits, such as modularity and redundancy. However, the parallel connection of inverters produces circulating currents that may result in malfunctions of the system. In this work, a control technique for the elimination of the low-frequency components of the circulating currents in grid-connected inverters is presented. The proposed control structure contains n - 1 zero-sequence control loops, with n being the number of inverters connected in parallel. Simulation and experimental results have been carried out on a prototype composed of two 5 kW inverters connected in parallel. The results have been obtained by considering the following mismatches between both inverters: inductance values of the grid filters, unbalance of the delivered power, and the use of different modulation techniques.This research was funded by the Spanish "Ministerio de Asuntos Economicos y Transformacion Digital" and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under grants RTI2018100732-B-C21 and PID2021-122835OB-C22.Liberos, M.; González-Medina, R.; Patrao Herrero, I.; Garcerá, G.; Figueres Amorós, E. (2022). A Control Scheme to Suppress Circulating Currents in Parallel-Connected Three-Phase Inverters. Electronics. 11(22):1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics11223720123112

A novel fuzzy based controller to reduce circulating currents in parallel interleaved converter connected to the grid

This paper exhibits suppression strategy of low frequency circulating current components for parallel inter-leaved converters. Here inverters are parallelized by magnetically coupled inductors. Traditionally, carrier interleaved technique was used to get lower distorted output voltage, but it gives a higher circulating currents to flow through the Two-VSC‘s. The mutual inductance of the coupled inductors (CI) is utilized for minimizing circulating currents of high frequency components. Nevertheless, CI can‘t have capability to riddle the components generated by low frequency. When these circulating currents extremely increases may leads to CI saturation, elevated switching losses and diminishes the entire performance of system. Here author identified a novel control technique for a grid-connected parallel inter-leaved converter depending on approach of energy shaping control (ECS). This controller diminishes the value of the low frequency components of circulating current (LFCC). The performance of the proposed circuit is evaluated in simulation mode and correlated with the conventional proportional integral control (PIC) and the linear quadratic control (LQC). The Fuzzy controller is also included in this work to enhance the converter performance effectively and to diminish the circulating currents along with the healthy harmonic performance analysis

Modelling and Control of Parallel-Connected Transformerless Inverters for Large Photovoltaic Farms

[EN] This paper presents a control structure for transformerless photovoltaic inverters connected in parallel to manage photovoltaic fields in the MW range. Large photovoltaic farms are usually divided into several photovoltaic fields, each one of them managed by a centralized high power inverter. The current tendency to build up centralized inverters in the MW range is the use of several transformerless inverters connected in parallel, a topology that provokes the appearance of significant zero-sequence circulating currents among inverters. To eliminate this inconvenience, this paper proposes a control structure that avoids the appearance of circulating currents by controlling the zero-sequence component of the inverters. A second contribution of the paper is the development of a model of n parallel-connected inverters. To validate the concept, the proposed control structure has been applied to a photovoltaic field of 2 MW managed by four 500 kW photovoltaic inverters connected in parallel.This work is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under Grant ENE2015-64087-C2-2-R and the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU15/01274).Liberos-Mascarell, MA.; González-Medina, R.; Garcerá, G.; Figueres Amorós, E. (2017). Modelling and Control of Parallel-Connected Transformerless Inverters for Large Photovoltaic Farms. Energies. 10(8):1-25. https://doi.org/10.3390/en10081242S125108Pazheri, F. R., Othman, M. F., & Malik, N. H. (2014). A review on global renewable electricity scenario. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 31, 835-845. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.020Subudhi, B., & Pradhan, R. (2013). A Comparative Study on Maximum Power Point Tracking Techniques for Photovoltaic Power Systems. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, 4(1), 89-98. doi:10.1109/tste.2012.2202294Borrega, M., Marroyo, L., Gonzalez, R., Balda, J., & Agorreta, J. L. (2013). Modeling and Control of a Master–Slave PV Inverter With N-Paralleled Inverters and Three-Phase Three-Limb Inductors. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 28(6), 2842-2855. doi:10.1109/tpel.2012.2220859Araujo, S. V., Zacharias, P., & Mallwitz, R. (2010). Highly Efficient Single-Phase Transformerless Inverters for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 57(9), 3118-3128. doi:10.1109/tie.2009.2037654PowerGate Plus 500 kWhttp://www.satcon.comAgorreta, J. L., Borrega, M., López, J., & Marroyo, L. (2011). Modeling and Control of $N$ -Paralleled Grid-Connected Inverters With LCL Filter Coupled Due to Grid Impedance in PV Plants. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 26(3), 770-785. doi:10.1109/tpel.2010.2095429Power Electronicshttp://www.power-electronics.comPVS980—1818 to 2091 kVAhttp://new.abb.comInfineon, Central Inverter Solutionshttps://www.infineon.com/cms/en/applications/solar-energy-systems/central-inverter-solutions/Xiao, H., Xie, S., Chen, Y., & Huang, R. (2011). An Optimized Transformerless Photovoltaic Grid-Connected Inverter. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 58(5), 1887-1895. doi:10.1109/tie.2010.2054056Mazumder, S. K. (2003). A novel discrete control strategy for independent stabilization of parallel three-phase boost converters by combining space-vector modulation with variable-structure control. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 18(4), 1070-1083. doi:10.1109/tpel.2003.813770Ching-Tsai Pan, & Yi-Hung Liao. (2008). Modeling and Control of Circulating Currents for Parallel Three-Phase Boost Rectifiers With Different Load Sharing. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 55(7), 2776-2785. doi:10.1109/tie.2008.925647Ogasawara, S., Takagaki, J., Akagi, H., & Nabae, A. (1992). A novel control scheme of a parallel current-controlled PWM inverter. IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, 28(5), 1023-1030. doi:10.1109/28.158825Figueres, E., Garcera, G., Sandia, J., Gonzalez-Espin, F., & Rubio, J. C. (2009). Sensitivity Study of the Dynamics of Three-Phase Photovoltaic Inverters With an LCL Grid Filter. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 56(3), 706-717. doi:10.1109/tie.2008.2010175Mohd, A., Ortjohann, E., Hamsic, N., Sinsukthavorn, W., Lingemann, M., Schmelter, A., & Morton, D. (2010). Control strategy and space vector modulation for three-leg four-wire voltage source inverters under unbalanced load conditions. IET Power Electronics, 3(3), 323. doi:10.1049/iet-pel.2008.0281Albatran, S., Fu, Y., Albanna, A., Schrader, R., & Mazzola, M. (2013). Hybrid 2D-3D Space Vector Modulation Voltage Control Algorithm for Three Phase Inverters. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, 4(3), 734-744. doi:10.1109/tste.2013.224568

Single-carrier phase-disposition PWM techniques for multiple interleaved voltage-source converter legs

Interleaved converter legs are typically modulated with individual carriers per leg and phase-shifted PWM (PS-PWM) as it facilitates current balancing amongst the legs. Phase-disposition PWM (PD-PWM), despite the better harmonic performance, cannot be directly used due to the resulting current imbalance that may damage the converter. This paper addresses the current sharing issue and proposes a single-carrier PD-PWM technique for multiple leg two-level converters based on a hierarchy scheme derived from current sorting algorithms. An extension of the proposed algorithm through a switching state feedback loop, limiting the average switching frequency, is also developed. In both cases, the load current is shared amongst the legs and the high-quality of the output voltages and currents is maintained while the circulating currents amongst the converter legs are kept to a minimum. Simulation results demonstrate the method for multiple interleaved legs as well as its current sharing capabilities for high-power applications. Experimental results from a low-power laboratory prototype validate the operation of the proposed approach.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Optimized Modulation and Thermal Management for Modular Power Converters

The transition to a more and more decentralized power generation based on renewable energy generation is accompanied by high challenges. Modular power converters play a central role in facing these challenges, not only for grid integration but also to provide flexible services, highly efficient power transmission and safe storage integration. These goals are the key elements in becoming independent from fossil and nuclear power plants in near future. Even if the costs for renewable energy power plants like wind or photovoltaic systems are already competitive to conventional solutions, more flexible operation and further reduction in costs are required for faster global transformation towards sustainable energy systems. The further optimization of modular power converters can be seen as an ideal way to achieve these ambitious goals. It is therefore chosen as the focus of this work

Active current sharing control schemes for parallel connected AC/DC/AC converters

PhD ThesisThe parallel operation of voltage fed converters can be used in many applications, such as aircraft, aerospace, and wind turbines, to increase the current handling capability, system efficiency, flexibility, and reliability through providing redundancy. Also, the maintenance of low power parallel connected units is lower than one high power unit. Significant performance improvement can be attained with parallel converters employing interleaving techniques where small passive components can be used due to harmonic cancellation. In spite of the advantages offered by parallel connected converters, the circulating current problem is still a major concern. The term circulating current describes the uneven current sharing between the units. This circulating current leads to: current distortion, unbalanced operation, which possibly damages the converters, and a reduction in overall system performance. Therefore, current sharing control methods become necessary to limit the circulating current in a parallel connected converter system. The work in this thesis proposes four active current sharing control schemes for two equally rated, directly paralleled, AC/DC/AC converters. The first scheme is referred to as a “time sharing approach,” and it divides the operation time between the converters. Accordingly, in the scheme inter-module reactors become unnecessary, as these are normally employed at the output of each converter. However, this approach can only be used with a limited number of parallel connected units. To avoid this limitation, three other current sharing control schemes are proposed. Moreover, these three schemes can be adopted with any pulse width modulation (PWM) strategy and can be easily extended to three or more parallel connected units since they employ a modular architecture. The proposed current sharing control methods are employed in two applications: a current controller for three-phase RL load and an open loop V/f speed control for a three-phase induction motor. The performance of the proposed methods is verified in both transient and steady state conditions using numerical simulation and experimental testingMinistry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Iraq

A describing function for resonantly commutated H-bridge inverters

Abstract—The paper presents the derivation of a describing function to model the dynamic behavior of a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor-based, capacitively commutated H-bridge, including a comprehensive explanation of the various stages in the switching cycle. Expressions to model the resulting input current, are also given. The derived model allows the inverter to be accurately modeled within a control system simulation over a number of utility input voltage cycles, without resorting to computationally intensive switching-cycle level, time-domain SPICE simulations. Experimental measurements from a prototype H-bridge inverter employed in an induction heating application, are used to demonstrate a high degree of prediction accuracy over a large variation of load conditions is possible using the simplified model