Nonlinear Current-Limiting Control for Grid-tied Inverters

A current-limiting controller with nonlinear dynamics is proposed in this paper for single-phase grid-tied inverters. The inverter is connected to the grid through an LCL filter and it is proven that the proposed controller can achieve accurate real and reactive power regulation. By suitably selecting the controller parameters, it is shown by using the nonlinear input-to-state stability theory that the inverter current remains below a given value at all times. This is achieved without external limiters, additional switches or monitoring devices and the controller remains a continuoustime system guaranteeing the boundedness of the system states. Guidelines for selecting the controller parameters are also given to provide a complete controller design procedure. Simulation results of a single-phase grid-tied inverter are presented to verify the desired power regulation of the proposed controller and its current-limiting capability

Nonlinear control of dc/dc power converters with inherent current and power limitation

A nonlinear controller with an inherent current-limiting capability is presented in this paper for different types of dc/dc power converters (boost, buck-boost). The proposed controller is based on the idea of applying a dynamic virtual resistance in series with the inductor of the converter, which varies according to a nonlinear dynamical system. It is shown that the proposed approach acts independently from the converter parameters (inductance, capacitance) or the load and has a generic structure that can be used to achieve different regulation scenarios, e.g. voltage, current or power regulation. Based on the nonlinear model of the boost and the buck-boost converter, it is analytically proven that the inductor current remains always bounded below a given maximum value using input-to-state stability theory under a suitable choice of the controller parameters. Hence, the proposed control strategy offers an inherent protection property since the power of the converter is limited below a given value during transients or unrealistic power demands. Simulation results for both types of dc/dc converters are presented to verify the desired controller performance

Current-limiting DC/DC power converters

A new nonlinear control framework that guarantees the desired regulation (voltage, current, or power) with an inherent current-limiting capability for different types of dc/dc power converters is presented in this brief. This framework is based on the idea of applying a virtual resistance in series with the inductor of the converter, which changes according to nonlinear dynamics that depend on the control task. Without requiring any knowledge of the converter inductance, capacitance, or the load, the controller structure is appropriately formulated for each power electronic system based on the nonlinear model of the converter. Using input-to-state stability theory, it is proven that the inductor current remains below a maximum value at all times, even during transients, independently of load and input voltage variations. This offers an inherent current-limiting property of the converter under faults, input voltage sags, and unrealistic power demands without the need of external protection mechanisms, saturation units, or current limiters. Extensive simulation and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme and its current-limiting property, with comparison to traditional control strategies

Current-Limiting Droop Control of Grid-connected Inverters

A current-limiting droop controller is proposed for single-phase grid-connected inverters with an LCL filter that can operate under both normal and faulty grid conditions. The controller introduces bounded nonlinear dynamics and, by using nonlinear input-to-state stability theory, the current-limiting property of the inverter is analytically proven. The proposed controller can be operated in the set mode to accurately send the desired power to the grid or in the droop mode to take part in the grid regulation, while maintaining the inverter current below a given value at all times. Opposed to the existing current-limiting approaches, the current limitation is achieved without external limiters, additional switches or monitoring devices and the controller remains a continuous-time system guaranteeing system stability. Furthermore, this is achieved independently from grid voltage and frequency variations, maintaining the desired control performance under grid faults as well. Extensive experimental results are presented to verify the droop function of the proposed controller and its current-limiting capability under normal and faulty grid conditions

Nonlinear Control of Single-Phase PWM Rectifiers with Inherent Current-Limiting Capability

In this paper, a nonlinear controller with a currentlimiting property is proposed to guarantee accurate dc output voltage regulation and unity power factor operation for singlephase PWM rectifiers without the need of a phase-locked-loop (PLL). The proposed current-limiting controller is fully independent of the system parameters and can guarantee asymptotic stability and convergence to a unique solution for the closedloop system using nonlinear control theory. Without requiring the instantaneous measurement of the grid voltage, a PLL, an external limiter or a saturation unit, the proposed strategy guarantees that the input current of the rectifier will always remain below a given value. An analytic framework for selecting the controller parameters is also presented to provide a complete controller design procedure and it is also proven that the currentlimiting property is maintained even when the grid voltage drops. Extensive experimental results are presented to verify the proposed controller when the load changes, the reference dc output voltage changes and the grid voltage drops

Constraining star cluster disruption mechanisms

Star clusters are found in all sorts of environments and their formation and evolution is inextricably linked to the star formation process. Their eventual destruction can result from a number of factors at different times, but the process can be investigated as a whole through the study of the cluster age distribution. Observations of populous cluster samples reveal a distribution following a power law of index approximately -1. In this work we use M33 as a test case to examine the age distribution of an archetypal cluster population and show that it is in fact the evolving shape of the mass detection limit that defines this trend. That is to say, any magnitude-limited sample will appear to follow a dN/dt=1/t, while cutting the sample according to mass gives rise to a composite structure, perhaps implying a dependence of the cluster disruption process on mass. In the context of this framework, we examine different models of cluster disruption from both theoretical and observational standpoints.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 266: "Star Clusters: Basic Galactic Building Blocks Throughout Time And Space", eds. R. de Grijs and J. Lepin

Towards the integration of modern power systems into a cyber–physical framework

The cyber–physical system (CPS) architecture provides a novel framework for analyzing and expanding research and innovation results that are essential in managing, controlling and operating complex, large scale, industrial systems under a holistic insight. Power systems constitute such characteristically large industrial structures. The main challenge in deploying a power system as a CPS lies on how to combine and incorporate multi-disciplinary, core, and advanced technologies into the specific for this case, social, environmental, economic and engineering aspects. In order to substantially contribute towards this target, in this paper, a specific CPS scheme that clearly describes how a dedicated cyber layer is deployed to manage and interact with comprehensive multiple physical layers, like those found in a large-scale modern power system architecture, is proposed. In particular, the measurement, communication, computation, control mechanisms, and tools installed at different hierarchical frames that are required to consider and modulate the social/environmental necessities, as well as the electricity market management, the regulation of the electric grid, and the power injection/absorption of the controlled main devices and distributed energy resources, are all incorporated in a common CPS framework. Furthermore, a methodology for investigating and analyzing the dynamics of different levels of the CPS architecture (including physical devices, electricity and communication networks to market, and environmental and social mechanisms) is provided together with the necessary modelling tools and assumptions made in order to close the loop between the physical and the cyber layers. An example of a real-world industrial micro-grid that describes the main aspects of the proposed CPS-based design for modern electricity grids is also presented at the end of the paper to further explain and visualize the proposed framework

Power sharing of parallel operated DC-DC converters using current-limiting droop control

In this paper, a nonlinear current-limiting droop controller is proposed to achieve accurate power sharing among parallel operated DC-DC boost converters in a DC micro-grid application. In particular, the recently developed robust droop controller is adopted and implemented as a dynamic virtual resistance in series with the inductance of each DC-DC boost converter. Opposed to the traditional approaches that use small-signal modeling, the proposed control design takes into account the accurate nonlinear dynamic model of each converter and it is analytically proven that accurate power sharing can be accomplished with an inherent current limitation for each converter independently using input-to-state stability theory. When the load requests more power that exceeds the capacity of the converters, the current-limiting capability of the proposed control method protects the devices by limiting the inductor current of each converter below a given maximum value. Extensive simulation results of two paralleled DC-DC boost converters are presented to verify the power sharing and current-limiting properties of the proposed controller under several changes of the load

Stability analysis and nonlinear current-limiting control design for DC micro-grids with CPLs

In this study, a DC micro‐grid consisting of multiple paralleled energy resources interfaced by both bidirectional AC/DC and DC/DC boost converters and loaded by a constant power load (CPL) is investigated. By considering the generic dq transformation of the AC/DC converters' dynamics and the accurate nonlinear model of the DC/DC converters, two novel control schemes are presented for each converter‐interfaced unit to guarantee load voltage regulation, power sharing and closed‐loop system stability. This novel framework incorporates the widely adopted droop control and using input‐to‐state stability theory, it is proven that each converter guarantees a desired current limitation without the need for cascaded control and saturation blocks. Sufficient conditions to ensure closed‐loop system stability are analytically obtained and tested for different operation scenarios. The system stability is further analysed from a graphical perspective, providing valuable insights of the CPL's influence onto the system performance and stability. The proposed control performance and the theoretical analysis are first validated by simulating a three‐phase AC/DC converter in parallel with a bidirectional DC/DC boost converter feeding a CPL in comparison with the cascaded PI control technique. Finally, experimental results are also provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach on a real testbed