There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Renewable energy sources like wind, sun, and hydro are seen as a reliable alternative to the traditional energy sources such as oil, natural gas, or coal. Distributed power generation systems (DPGSs) based on renewable energy sources experience a large development worldwide, with Germany, Denmark, Japan, and USA as leaders in the development in this field. Due to the increasing number of DPGSs connected to the utility network, new and stricter standards in respect to power quality, safe running, and islanding protection are issued. As a consequence, the control of distributed generation systems should be improved to meet the requirements for grid interconnection. This paper gives an overview of the structures for the DPGS based on fuel cell, photovoltaic, and wind turbines. In addition, control structures of the grid-side converter are presented, and the possibility of compensation for low-order harmonics is also discussed. Moreover, control strategies when running on grid faults are treated. This paper ends up with an overview of synchronization methods and a discussion about their importance in the control

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Overview of Control and Grid Synchronization for Distributed Power Generation Systems

The increasing interest in integrating intermittent renewable energy sources into microgrids presents major challenges from the viewpoints of reliable operation and control. In this paper, the major issues and challenges in microgrid control are discussed, and a review of state-of-the-art control strategies and trends is presented; a general overview of the main control principles (e.g., droop control, model predictive control, multi-agent systems) is also included. The paper classifies microgrid control strategies into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary, where primary and secondary levels are associated with the operation of the microgrid itself, and tertiary level pertains to the coordinated operation of the microgrid and the host grid. Each control level is discussed in detail in view of the relevant existing technical literature.

Trends in Microgrid Control

Active filtering of electric power has now become a mature technology for harmonic and reactive power compensation in two-wire (single phase), three-wire (three phase without neutral), and four-wire (three phase with neutral) AC power networks with nonlinear loads. This paper presents a comprehensive review of active filter (AF) configurations, control strategies, selection of components, other related economic and technical considerations, and their selection for specific applications. It is aimed at providing a broad perspective on the status of AF technology to researchers and application engineers dealing with power quality issues. A list of more than 200 research publications on the subject is also appended for a quick reference.

A review of active filters for power quality improvement

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/5610941/5624686/05624745.pdf

Power electronics

This paper analyzes the small-signal impedance of three-phase grid-tied inverters with feedback control and phase-locked loop (PLL) in the synchronous reference ( d-q ) frame. The result unveils an interesting and important feature of three-phase grid-tied inverters – namely, that its q–q channel impedance behaves as a negative incremental resistor. Moreover, this paper shows that this behavior is a consequence of grid synchronization, where the bandwidth of the PLL determines the frequency range of the resistor behavior, and the power rating of the inverter determines the magnitude of the resistor. Advanced PLL, current, and power control strategies do not change this feature. An example shows that under weak grid conditions, a change of the PLL bandwidth could lead the inverter system to unstable conditions as a result of this behavior. Harmonic resonance and instability issues can be analyzed using the proposed impedance model. Simulation and experimental measurements verify the analysis.

Analysis of D-Q Small-Signal Impedance of Grid-Tied Inverters

This paper presents the comparative evaluation of the performance of three state-of-the-art current control techniques for active filters. The linear rotating frame current controller, the fixed-frequency hysteresis controller, and the digital deadbeat controller are considered. The main control innovations, determined by industrial applications, are presented, suitable criteria for the comparison are identified, and the differences in the performance of the three controllers in a typical parallel active filter setup are investigated by simulations.

/pdf/comparison-of-current-control-techniques-for-active-filter-5flgsct2l0.pdf

Comparison of current control techniques for active filter applications

This book presents the reader, whether an electrical engineering student in power electronics or a design engineer, a selection of power converter control problems and their basic digital solutions, based on the most widespread digital control techniques. The presentation is primarily focused on different applications of the same power converter topology, the half-bridge voltage source inverter, considered both in its single- and three-phase implementation. This is chosen as the test case because, besides being simple and well known, it allows the discussion of a significant spectrum of the most frequently encountered digital control applications in power electronics, from digital pulse width modulation (DPWM) and space vector modulation (SVM), to inverter output current and voltage control, ending with the relatively more complex VSI applications related to the so called smart-grid scenario. This book aims to serve two purposes: (1) to give a basic, introductory knowledge of the digital control techniques applied to power converters; and (2) to raise the interest for discrete time control theory, stimulating new developments in its application to switching power converters.

Digital control in power electronics

Synchronous reference frame (SRF) phase-locked loop (PLL) is a critical component for the control and grid synchronization of three-phase grid-connected power converters. The PLL behaviors, especially its low-frequency dynamics, influenced by different grid and load impedances as well as operation mode have not been investigated yet, which may not be captured by conventional linear PLL models. In this paper, we propose a state-feedback quasi-static SRF-PLL model, which can identify and quantify the inherent frequency self-synchronization mechanism in the converter control system. This self-synchronization effect is essentially due to the converter interactions with grid impedance and power flow directions. The low-frequency nonlinear behaviors of the PLL under different grid impedance conditions are then analyzed, which forms the framework of evaluating the impacts of the large penetration level of distributed generation units, weak grid, microgrid, and large reactive power consumption in terms of the frequency stability of PLL. Specifically, the PLL behavior of the converter system under islanded condition is investigated to explain the PLL instability issues and the related islanding-detection methods in early publications and industry reports.

Analysis of Phase-Locked Loop Low-Frequency Stability in Three-Phase Grid-Connected Power Converters Considering Impedance Interactions

This paper proposes a control algorithm for parallel active power filters, based on current-controlled pulsewidth-modulated converters, which allows precise compensation of selected harmonic currents produced by distorting loads. The approach is based on the measurement of line currents and performs the compensation of the selected harmonics using closed-loop synchronous frame controllers. Thanks to the closed-loop operation, full compensation of the desired harmonics is achieved even in the presence of a significant delay in the current control. Thanks to the selective approach, active filter interactions with possible dynamic components of the load are minimized. Moreover, the complexity of the synchronous frame controllers is overcome using equivalent stationary frame controllers. Experimental results confirm the theoretical expectations.

Paolo Mattavelli

Papers

Analysis of D-Q Small-Signal Impedance of Grid-Tied Inverters

Comparison of current control techniques for active filter applications

Digital control in power electronics

Analysis of Phase-Locked Loop Low-Frequency Stability in Three-Phase Grid-Connected Power Converters Considering Impedance Interactions

A closed-loop selective harmonic compensation for active filters