The reliability of the microinverter is a very important feature that will determine the reliability of the ac-module photovoltaic (PV) system. Recently, many topologies and techniques have been proposed to improve its reliability. This paper presents a thorough study for different power decoupling techniques in single-phase microinverters for grid-tie PV applications. These power decoupling techniques are categorized into three groups in terms of the decoupling capacitor locations: 1) PV-side decoupling; 2) dc-link decoupling; and 3) ac-side decoupling. Various techniques and topologies are presented, compared, and scrutinized in scope of the size of decoupling capacitor, efficiency, and control complexity. Also, a systematic performance comparison is presented for potential power decoupling topologies and techniques.

A Review of Power Decoupling Techniques for Microinverters With Three Different Decoupling Capacitor Locations in PV Systems

The electrolytic capacitor is the key component that limits the operating lifetime of LED drivers. If an ac-dc LED driver with power factor correction (PFC) control is allowed to output a pulsating current for driving the LEDs, the electrolytic capacitor will no longer be required. However, this pulsating current will introduce light flicker that varies at twice the power line frequency. In this paper, a configuration of flicker-free electrolytic capacitor-less single-phase ac-dc driver for LED lighting is proposed. The configuration comprises an electrolytic capacitor-less PFC converter and a bidirectional converter, which serves to absorb the ac component of the pulsating current of the PFC converter, leaving only a dc component to drive the LEDs. The output filter capacitor of the bidirectional converter is intentionally designed to have a large voltage ripple, thus its capacitance can be greatly reduced. Consequently, film capacitors can be used instead of electrolytic capacitors, leading to the realization of a flicker-free ac-dc LED driver that has a long lifetime. The proposed solution is generally applicable to all single-phase PFC converters. A prototype with 48-V, 0.7-A output is constructed and tested. Experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the flick-free electrolytic capacitor-less ac-dc LED driver.

A flicker-free electrolytic capacitor-less ac-dc LED driver

High power density is strongly preferable for the on-board battery charger of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). Wide band gap devices, such as Gallium Nitride HEMTs are being explored to push to higher switching frequency and reduce passive component size. In this case, the bulk DC link capacitor of AC-DC Power Factor Correction (PFC) stage, which is usually necessary to store ripple power of two times the line frequency in a DC current charging system, becomes a major barrier on power density. If low frequency ripple is allowed in the battery, the DC link capacitance can be significantly reduced. This paper focuses on the operation of a battery charging system, which is comprised of one Full Bridge (FB) AC-DC stage and one Dual Active Bridge (DAB) DC-DC stage, with charging current containing low frequency ripple at two times line frequency, designated as sinusoidal charging. DAB operation under sinusoidal charging is investigated. Two types of control schemes are proposed and implemented in an experimental prototype. It is proved that closed loop current control is the better. Full system test including both FB AC-DC stage and DAB DC-DC stage verified the concept of sinusoidal charging, which may lead to potentially very high power density battery charger for PHEV.

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Dual active bridge based battery charger for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with charging current containing low frequency ripple

In this paper, an integrated double buck-boost (IDBB) converter is proposed as a high-power-factor offline power supply for power-LED lamps. The IDBB converter features just one controlled switch and two inductors and is able to supply a solid-state lamp from the mains, providing high power factor and good efficiency. In this paper, the IDBB converter is analyzed, and a design methodology is proposed. It is demonstrated that, with a careful design of the converter, the filter capacitances can be made small enough so that film capacitors may be used. In this way, the converter mean time between failures can be made as high as that of the solid-state lamp. A design example for a 70-W converter supplied from a 230 V/50 Hz mains for street lighting applications is shown. Finally, experimental results from a laboratory prototype are also presented.

Analysis and Design of the Integrated Double Buck–Boost Converter as a High-Power-Factor Driver for Power-LED Lamps

While LEDs enjoy relatively long lifetime up to 10 years, the lifetime of traditional LED drivers using electrolytic capacitor as storage element is limited to typically less than 5 years. In this paper, an ac/dc LED driver without electrolytic capacitor is studied. Compared with other methods to eliminate electrolytic capacitor, the proposed driver has the advantages of almost unity input power factor and constant output current for LEDs. The operation principle, detailed design procedure of the main circuit, and control strategy are presented. The feasibility of the proposed converter has been successfully verified by experiments.

Elimination of an Electrolytic Capacitor in AC/DC Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Driver With High Input Power Factor and Constant Output Current

This paper proposes a concept of electrolytic capacitor-less light-emitting diode (LED) driver, which converts the commercial ac voltage to a pulsating current with twice the line frequency driving high-brightness LEDs. As no electrolytic capacitor is used, this driver possesses the unique advantage of long lifetime to match with that of LEDs. A method of injecting the third and fifth harmonics into the input current to reduce the peak-to-average ratio of the output current is also proposed. While ensuring that the input power factor is higher than 0.9 to meet regulation standards such as ENERGY STAR, the proposed method allows the peak-to-average ratio of the output current to be reduced to 1.34 theoretically, which is beneficial for the safe operation of the LEDs. As an example, a flyback-based electrolytic capacitor-less LED driver is proposed, and its operation is analyzed. In order to inject the third and fifth harmonics into the input current, the function of the duty cycle in a half-line cycle is derived. It is then simplified to a fitting function, which can be easily implemented with the input voltage sensing. A 25 V, 0.35 A output prototype is built and tested in the laboratory, and the experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the electrolytic capacitor-less LED driver and its control method.

A Method of Reducing the Peak-to-Average Ratio of LED Current for Electrolytic Capacitor-Less AC–DC Drivers

The lifetime of an ac-dc LED driver can be increased by eliminating the electrolytic capacitor. Unfortunately, it results in pulsation with twice the line frequency in the driving current. Injection of the third and fifth harmonics into the input current can reduce the peak-to-average ratio of the driving current, which is beneficial for reliable operation of the LEDs. This letter discusses the relationship between the peak-to-average ratio and the injected harmonics, and the optimum injected third and fifth harmonics to minimize the peak-to-average ratio are obtained, while ensuring that the input power factor is higher than 0.9 to meet the regulatory requirement such as the ENERGY STAR. This optimum injected current harmonics is verified by a flyback-based electrolytic capacitor-less LED driver with 25 V, 0.35 A output.

Optimum Injected Current Harmonics to Minimize Peak-to-Average Ratio of LED Current for Electrolytic Capacitor-Less AC–DC Drivers

Ex-Ante Market Power Evaluation and Mitigation in Day-Ahead Electricity Market Considering Market Maturity Levels

In order to solve the problems faced in the process of laboratory construction and management, the author proposes a complete laboratory cloud desktop virtualization management platform. The platform combines the school’s existing experimental teaching environment and teaching mode, through actual deployment and online monitoring; it is further verified that the cloud desktop platform not only provides personalized desktop services but also realizes unified management of resources. Experimental results show that the system function tests are all in line with expectations; during the network bandwidth test, the thin client protocol machine is used to access the cloud platform, and the Thunder player is opened to play the movie application, and then, the thin client machine uses RDP to access the cloud platform; when RDP is playing a movie, the traffic is mainly in the range of 1.2~1.6 Mbps, and the network delay is less than 1.3 s. Through research, it is found that the platform enhances students’ learning initiative, improves teaching management level, and has high experimental teaching application value.

Beibei Wang

Papers

A Method of Reducing the Peak-to-Average Ratio of LED Current for Electrolytic Capacitor-Less AC–DC Drivers

Optimum Injected Current Harmonics to Minimize Peak-to-Average Ratio of LED Current for Electrolytic Capacitor-Less AC–DC Drivers

Ex-Ante Market Power Evaluation and Mitigation in Day-Ahead Electricity Market Considering Market Maturity Levels

Laboratory Virtualization Management Based on Deep Integration of Cloud Desktop