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Distributed energy resources (DERs), such as photovoltaic (PV) sources, together with storage systems, such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), are increasingly present and necessary in our electricity distribution networks. Furthermore, the need for efficient use of energy from DERs, especially in developing countries and remote communities, must be addressed with the development of nanogrids (NGs), particularly DC NGs, and standalone PV systems with adequate control strategies. This paper investigates the control and dynamic operation of a standalone PV system. It consists mainly of three DC–DC power converters for the PV source interface, battery management, and load voltage control. A two-level modulation scheme is applied to each of these converters to switch them ON and OFF. A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) closed-loop voltage control system is implemented to make sure that the PV operates at optimum power regardless of the irradiance level or temperature, while battery voltage and load-side voltage control are also implemented to indirectly provide the required load power. The control of each of the converters is achieved by deriving their small-signal models using a state-space approach from which various control objectives are implemented. The DC-link is clamped by a BESS which acts as a backup source to provide power to the DC load in the absence of sufficient power from the PV panel. The dynamic operation of the whole system is enhanced by proposing a robust feedforward scheme that improves the response of the system in the presence of disturbances. The models are analyzed and implemented using PLECS, and numerical simulations are performed to validate the developed models and control schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multistage inverters containing DC-DC converters are more common in grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) systems, because of the low DC voltage value provided by the PV generator, which requires a two-stage topology. The challenge in the latter case is to control the DC-link voltage with an accurate estimation of the current injected into the grid by PV system. In this paper, a two-stage grid-tied PV design based on a high-gain DC-DC converter and a 7 level packed U cells (7L-PUC) inverter, controlled by Finite-Control-Set Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC) is presented, with the proposal of a novel model for controlling the DC-link voltage by considering system losses. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate the high effectiveness of the proposed control strategy in terms of power quality as well as response time and accuracy under changes in weather conditions and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shunt active power filters (SAPFs) have been widely used to improve power quality of the grid by mitigating harmonics injected from nonlinear loads. This paper presents a new method for improving the performance of SAPFs using neutral-point-clamped (NPC) three-level inverters. NPC three-level inverters often suffer excessive voltage fluctuations at the neutral-point of DC-link capacitors, which may damage switching devices and cause additional high harmonic distortion of the output voltage. In order to solve the problem, two compensating schemes are proposed to restrict voltage fluctuation in the inverters. The first is voltage dependent, adopting a voltage compensation method, while the second is current dependent, using a current compensation method. The paper describes the respective circuit architectures and principles of operation. Corresponding models are mathematically formulated and evaluated under typical balanced and unbalanced working load conditions. The results show that both schemes are able to alleviate considerably voltage oscillations and hence harmonic distortions, and the current-compensated NPC inverter outperforms the voltage-compensated NPC inverter. Consequently, it is shown that the proposed approaches are effective and feasible for improving power quality of the grid when connected to nonlinear loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensorless stand-alone control scheme of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-DC system is investigated in this paper. In this layout, the stator voltage is rectified by a diode bridge that is directly connected to a dc bus. The rotor-side voltage source inverter is the only controlled converter required in this system and is directly powered by the same dc bus created by the stator-side rectifier. DC voltage and stator frequency are regulated by two independent proportional-integral regulators that give the references for inner current controllers implementing field-oriented control. As it is capable of creating a stable and regulated dc bus, this system can be conveniently adopted to supply dc loads or to form a dc grid. Due to the constraint imposed by the stator diode bridge, the DFIG has to operate under a constant stator voltage, and the conventional stator field-oriented control implemented in stand-alone ac DFIG must be modified. This paper presents the control structure and the theoretical framework for the controller synthesis. Simulation and experimental validations on a small-scale rig are included. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a single-phase full-bridge inverter that possesses limited current ripple at the dc link while providing a sinusoidal square power at the ac output. This is achieved through the addition of an extra pair of switches and complementary control for the full-bridge inverter. The extra switches operate to prevent the double-line frequency ripple current from flowing into the input of the inverter. In doing so, the pulsation component of the sinusoidal square output power is confined to flow between the output capacitors and the load. Thus, the dc link input only supplies the dc component of the output power. Simulation and experimental results validating the proposed solution are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper deals with a new conversion topology for doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) suitable for wind energy conversion systems integrated in microgrids. It consists of a DFIG which is fed by a pulse width modulation converter on the rotor and with the stator connected to a dc grid through a diode rectifier. In this configuration, the stator diode rectifier and the rotor-side inverter share the same dc bus, so that the conventional grid-side inverter is avoided. Since only a diode rectifier designed for the full power and a reduced power inverter are required, this layout allows a cheap and effective integration of the DFIG with other generating and storage systems connected to the same dc bus. A simple control technique suitable to regulate the power delivered to the dc grid is proposed. The scheme is based on the regulation of the amplitude of a suited fraction of the rotor flux linkage: the optimal value of this fraction is theoretically deduced in order to minimize the DFIG derating due to the current harmonics. The effectiveness of the proposed control is proven by simulations and experimental tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For reliability reasons, the employment of small film capacitors instead of electrolytic ones is an interesting alternative for the dc-link in single-phase inverters for fuel cell applications. Due to the low capacitance that can be accomplished at an acceptable cost using this technology, there are large low-frequency voltage fluctuations (100/120 Hz and harmonics) in the dc-link caused by the double-frequency power transfer. By allowing these variations in the bus, the capacitor bank absorbs the current ripple from the inverter to avoid detrimental oscillations in the fuel cell. Traditional control strategies for inverters are usually designed to operate with nearly constant input voltage and are not able to effectively handle large (e.g., ) low-frequency input voltage fluctuations. This paper introduces the analysis of a swinging bus in the context of fuel cell standalone applications (i.e., voltage-source inverters) and proposes a nonlinear control approach to operate inverters with very large input voltage swing: the natural switching surface (NSS). Under the proposed scheme, the inverter presents excellent dynamic and steady-state characteristics, even at moderate switching frequency (e.g., 3.6 kHz). In order to illustrate the superior performance of the NSS, a comparison to a proportional-resonant (PR) controller is performed. Unlike the linear compensator, the NSS is able to reject the large bus voltage oscillations and achieve high-quality output voltage with low total harmonic distortion (THD). Simulation and experimental results are provided to illustrate the behavior of the swinging bus and to validate the NSS control scheme under the proposed demanding operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-phase active rectifiers exhibit an inherent strong second-order current harmonic on their dc-link. The latter is often undesirable from a load point of view and is therefore chosen to be eliminated. A common method is the use of a resonant passive LC filter tuned at the frequency, which increases the order of the system, posing certain difficulties for the voltage control design. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the dc-link dynamics. The equations are linearized by means of small variations, and a respective closed-loop regulator is formed utilizing the partial state feedback control theory for pseudocontinuous systems. The control output is fed to an inner current regulator, following the well-known cascaded loop method. The stability of the proposed controller is validated throughout the whole operating point regime and its robustness against system parameter variations is evaluated. A comparison with a conventional controller proves the advantages of the utilized method. The theoretical analysis is verified by means of simulations as well as real-time implementation on an experimental laboratory setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an efficient and reliable evolutionary-based approach to solve the AC-DC optimal power flow (OPF) incorporating shunt FACTS devices in electrical power networks. Our main goal is to minimize the objective function necessary for a best balance between the energy production and its consumption which is presented in a nonlinear function, taking into account the constraints of equality and of inequality. The objective is to minimize the total cost of the generations and also the active power losses with incorporating shunt FACTS devices such as the static VAr compensator (SVC). Furthermore, we will consider in detail the study of the AC-DC OPF under the use of the HVDC-link and the SVC. This optimization is based, on the application of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method. Incorporation of the PSO method as a derivative-free optimization technique in solving AC-DC OPF problem relieves, significantly, the assumptions imposed on the optimized objective functions. The PSO method has been examined and tested on the standard IEEE 14-bus test system with different objectives that reflect active power losses minimization and active power generation cost minimization. The PSO results have been compared to those that reported in the literature recently. The results are promising and show the effectiveness and robustness of PSO method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcome of DC-link capacitor voltage variation on inverter switching states is accessible and designed for three-level inverter. In this paper for back-toback system by including five-level diode clamped topologies we are proposing a novel DC link balancing method. The algorithm which we proposed here is the improvement of variable switching frequency control policy which was previously introduced by means of three-level back-toback system which depends on calculations of adjacent capacitor voltages which focuses on three-level DC link network to identify the information about potential variation in consecutive nodes. As per the above proposal, all four capacitors in DC link network are effectively balancing the voltage. Due to optimization of switching losses the proposed method has advantages over the variable switching frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]