A Hybrid Active Filter Using the Backstepping Controller for Harmonic Current Compensation

This document presents a new hybrid combination of filters using passive and active elements because of the generalization in the use of non-linear loads that generate harmonics directly affecting the symmetry of energy transmission systems that influence the functioning of the electricity grid and, consequently, the deterioration of power quality. In this context, active power filters represent one of the best solutions for improving power quality and compensating harmonic currents to get a symmetrical waveform. In addition, given the importance and occupation of the transmission network, it is necessary to control the stability of the system. Traditionally, passive filters were used to improve energy quality, but they have endured problems such as resonance, fixed remuneration, etc. In order to mitigate these problems, a hybrid HAPF active power filter is proposed combining a parallel active filter and a passive filter controlled by a backstepping algorithm strategy. This control strategy is compared with two other methods, namely the classical PI control, and the fuzzy logic control in order to verify the effectiveness and the level of symmetry of the backstepping controller proposed for the HAPF. The proposed backstepping controller inspires the notion of stability in Lyapunov’s sense. This work is carried out to improve the performance of the HAPF by the backstepping command. It perfectly compensates the harmonics according to standards. The results of simulations performed under the Matlab/Simulink environment show the efficiency and robustness of the proposed backstepping controller applied on HAPF, compared to other control methods. The HAPF with the backstepping controller shows a significant decrease in the THD harmonic distortion rate

Adaptive Predictive Deadbeat Current Control of Single-Phase Multi-tuned Shunt Hybrid Active Power Filters

This paper suggests an adaptive predictive deadbeat current control method for single-phase multi-tuned shunt hybrid active power filters (HAPFs) to improve the power quality of single-phase and three-phase four-wire utility grids. The HAPF structure eliminates the resonance between the passive power filter and the grid impedance. Furthermore, it can be integrated into passive filters to enhance their filtering performance. In this paper, a digital algorithm is proposed for managing the performance of each converter leg accurately. To do so, an exact model of the high-order system is developed, and the transfer function of the plant is calculated in continuous and discrete time domains. Then, a predictive deadbeat technique for HAPF current control is presented, which benefits from high accuracy, fast dynamics, and low sensitivity to system parameter mismatches. Extensive simulation and experimental tests are conducted and the results match well to confirm the success and appropriate performance of the overall system. Also, performance comparison with conventional solutions demonstrates the superiority of the suggested filtering technique

Measurements, Models, Systems and Design

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Interleaved Buck Converter Based Shunt Active Power Filter with Shoot-through Elimination for Power Quality Improvement

The “shoot-through” phenomenon defined as the rush of current that occurs while both the devices are ON at the same time of a particular limb is one of the most perilous failure modes encountered in conventional inverter circuits of active power filter (APF). Shoot-through phenomenon has few distinct disadvantages like; it introduces typical ringing, increases temperature rise in power switches, causes higher Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and reduces the efficiency of the circuit. To avert the “shoot-through”, dead time control could be added, but it deteriorates the harmonic compensation level. This dissertation presents active power filters (APFs) based on interleaved buck (IB) converter. Compared to traditional shunt active power filters, the presented IB APFs have enhanced reliability with no shoot-through phenomenon. The instantaneous active and reactive power (p-q) scheme and instantaneous active and reactive current component (id-iq) control scheme has been implemented to mitigate the source current harmonics. Type-1 and Type-2 fuzzy logic controller with different membership functions (MFs) viz. Triangular, Trapezoidal and Gaussian have been implemented for the optimal harmonic compensation by controlling the dc-link voltage and minimizing the undesirable losses occurred inside the APF. Additionally, the adaptive hysteresis band current controller (AHBCC) is being implemented to get the nearly constant switching frequency. The performance of the control strategies and controllers for the presented IB APF topologies has been evaluated in terms of harmonic mitigation and dc-link voltage regulation under sinusoidal, unbalanced sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal voltage source condition. This dissertation is concerned with the different topologies of 3-phase 4-wire IB APFs viz. split capacitor (2C) topology, 4-leg (4L) topology, transformer based full-bridge IB APF or single capacitor based FB IB APF (1C 3 FB IB APF) and full-bridge IB APF (FB IB APF) for low to medium power application. Moreover, APF topology is now being expanded to multilevel VSIs for high power application. Thanks to flexible modular design, transformerless connection, extended voltage and power output, less maintenance and higher fault tolerance, the cascade inverters are good candidates for active power filters with the utility of high power application. The cascaded FB IB APF is modelled with no shoot-through phenomenon by using multicarrier phase shifted PWM scheme. Extensive simulations have been carried out in the MATLAB / Simulink environment and also verified in the OPAL-RT LAB using OP5142-Spartan 3 FPGA to support the feasibility of presented IB APF topologies, control strategies and controllers during steady and dynamic condition. The performance shows that IB-APF topologies bring the THD of the source current well below 5% adhering to IEEE-519 standard. A comparison has also been made, based on SDP (switch device power) between the IB-APF topologies

Contributions to cascade linear control strategies applied to grid-connected Voltage-Source Converters

El trabajo desarrollado en esta Tesis se centra en optimizar el comportamiento de Voltage-Source Converters (VSCs) cuando son utilizados como interfaz con la red eléctrica, tanto para absorber como para entregar energía de la red con la mejor calidad posible y cumpliendo con los estándares. Para tal fin, esta Tesis se centra en el control de sistemas lineales conectados en cascada aplicados al control de VSCs conectados en paralelo con la red eléctrica a través de un filtro L, especialmente en conexiones con redes débiles y en dos líneas de trabajo: (i) seguimiento de armónicos de las corrientes de red y rechazo de armónicos de las tensiones de red, y (ii) control de la tensión del PCC en caso de desequilibrio. Para ello, esta Tesis realiza contribuciones en el área del control de corriente y control de la tensión del PCC. De entre las técnicas existentes para implementar el control de corriente para compensación armónica, dos de las más utilizadas son el control resonante y el control repetitivo, tanto en ejes de referencia estacionarios como síncronos. Se ha realizado un exhaustivo estudio de diferentes estructuras para implementar tales controles, mostrando su algoritmo adaptativo en frecuencia para cada una de ellas y analizando su carga computacional. Además, se han facilitado directrices básicas para su programación en un DSP. Se ha analizado también el esquema de control de corriente para establecer una comparación entre las diferentes estructuras. Después de estudiar en profundidad el control de corriente de un VSC conectado a la red eléctrica, el segundo control a analizar es el control de tensión del PCC. La presencia de una tensión desequilibrada en el PCC da lugar a la aparición de una componente de corriente de secuencia negativa, que deteriora el comportamiento del sistema de control cuando se emplean las técnicas de control convencionales. Los STATCOMs son bien conocidos por ser una aplicación de potencia capaz de llevar a cabo la regulación de la tensión en el PCC en líneas de distribución que pueden ser susceptibles de sufrir perturbaciones. Esta Tesis propone el uso de un controlador de tensión en ejes de referencia síncronos para compensar una tensión desequilibrada a través de un STATCOM, permitiendo controlar independientemente tanto la secuencia positiva como la secuencia negativa. Además, este controlador incluye aspectos como un mecanismo de antiwindup y droop control para mejorar su comportamiento. Se han realizado varias pruebas experimentales para analizar las características de los controladores de corriente abordados en esta Tesis. Todas ellas han sido realizadas bajo las mismas condiciones de potencia, tensión y corriente, de modo que se pueden extraer resultados comparativos. Estas pruebas pretenden caracterizar la respuesta transitoria, la respuesta en régimen permanente, el comportamiento frente a saltos de frecuencia y la carga computacional de los controladores de corriente estudiados

Modelling and Control of Grid-connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems

At present, photovoltaic (PV) systems are taking a leading role as a solar-based renewable energy source (RES) because of their unique advantages. This trend is being increased especially in grid-connected applications because of the many benefits of using RESs in distributed generation (DG) systems. This new scenario imposes the requirement for an effective evaluation tool of grid-connected PV systems so as to predict accurately their dynamic performance under different operating conditions in order to make a comprehensive decision on the feasibility of incorporating this technology into the electric utility grid. This implies not only to identify the characteristics curves of PV modules or arrays, but also the dynamic behaviour of the electronic power conditioning system (PCS) for connecting to the utility grid. To this aim, this chapter discusses the full detailed modelling and the control design of a three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic generator (PVG). The PV array model allows predicting with high precision the I-V and P-V curves of the PV panels/arrays. Moreover, the control scheme is presented with capabilities of simultaneously and independently regulating both active and reactive power exchange with the electric grid. The modelling and control of the three-phase grid-connected PVG are implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink environment and validated by experimental tests

Vanadium redox flow batteries: Potentials and challenges of an emerging storage technology

open4noIn this paper an overview of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery technologies, architectures, applications and power electronic interfaces is given. These systems show promising features for energy storage in smart grid applications, where the intermittent power produced by renewable sources must meet strict load requests and economical opportunities. This paper reviews the vanadium-based technology for redox flow batteries and highlights its strengths and weaknesses, outlining the research lines that aim at taking it to full commercial success.openSpagnuolo, Giovanni, Guarnieri, Massimo; Mattavelli, Paolo; Petrone, Giovanni;Guarnieri, Massimo; Mattavelli, Paolo; Petrone, Giovanni; Spagnuolo, Giovann

Unified Power Quality Conditioner: protection and performance enhancement

The proliferation of power electronics-based equipment has produced a significant impact on the quality of electric power supply. Nowadays, much of the equipment is based on power electronic devices, often leading to problems of power quality. At the same time this equipment is typically equipped with microprocessor-based controllers which are quite sensitive to deviations from the ideal sinusoidal line voltage. Conventional power quality mitigation equipment is proving to be inadequate for an increasing number of applications, and this fact has attracted the attention of power engineers to develop dynamic and adjustable solutions to power quality problems. One modern and very promising solution that deals with both load current and supply voltage imperfections is the Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC). This thesis investigates the development of UPQC protection scheme and control algorithms for enhanced performance. This work is carried out on a 12 kVA prototype UPQC. In order to protect the series inverter of the UPQC from overvoltage and overcurrent during short circuits on the load side of the UPQC, the secondary of the series transformer has to be short-circuited in a reasonably short time (microseconds). A hardware-based UPQC protection scheme against the load side short circuits is derived and its implementation and effectiveness is investigated. The main protection element is a crowbar connected across the secondary of the series transformer and consisting of a pair of antiparallel connected thyristors, which is governed by a very simple Zener diode based control circuit. Also, the software-based UPQC protection approach is investigated, the implementation of which does not require additional hardware

Cooperation of voltage controlled active power filter with grid-connected DGs in microgrid

Due to the excessive use of nonlinear loads and inverter interfaced distributed generators, harmonic issues have been regarded as a major concern in power distribution systems. Therefore, harmonic compensation in microgrids is a subject of current interest. Consequently, a novel direct harmonic voltage-controlled mode (VCM) active power filter (APF) is proposed to mitigate the harmonics in a cooperative manner and provide a better harmonic compensation performance of less than 5%. Due to the dispersive characteristics of renewable energy resources, voltage feedback based on a harmonic compensation control loop is implemented for the first time. This system can be smoothly combined with the current control loop. Our method proposes a better performance while mitigating the harmonics in comparison with conventional resistive active power filters (R-APF). Based on direct voltage detection at the point of common coupling (PCC), the proposed VCM-APF can therefore be seamlessly incorporated with multiple grid-connected generators (DGs) to enhance their harmonic compensation capabilities. The advantage of this scheme is that it avoids the need for designing and tuning the resistance, which was required in earlier conventional control schemes of R-APF for voltage unbalance compensation. Additionally, our scheme does not require the grid and load current measurements since these can be carried out at the PCC voltage, which further reduces the implementation cost of the system. Furthermore, the simulation results show the significance of proposed method