New residential scale photovoltaic (PV) arrays are commonly connected to the grid by a single dc-ac inverter connected to a series string of pv panels, or many small dc-ac inverters which connect one or two panels directly to the ac grid. This paper proposes an alternative topology of nonisolated per-panel dc-dc converters connected in series to create a high voltage string connected to a simplified dc-ac inverter. This offers the advantages of a "converter-per-panel" approach without the cost or efficiency penalties of individual dc-ac grid connected inverters. Buck, boost, buck-boost, and Cu/spl acute/k converters are considered as possible dc-dc converters that can be cascaded. Matlab simulations are used to compare the efficiency of each topology as well as evaluating the benefits of increasing cost and complexity. The buck and then boost converters are shown to be the most efficient topologies for a given cost, with the buck best suited for long strings and the boost for short strings. While flexible in voltage ranges, buck-boost, and Cu/spl acute/k converters are always at an efficiency or alternatively cost disadvantage.

Cascaded DC-DC converter connection of photovoltaic modules

DC microgrids (MGs) have been gaining a continually increasing interest over the past couple of years both in academia and industry. The advantages of dc distribution when compared to its ac counterpart are well known. The most important ones include higher reliability and efficiency, simpler control and natural interface with renewable energy sources, and electronic loads and energy storage systems. With rapid emergence of these components in modern power systems, the importance of dc in today's society is gradually being brought to a whole new level. A broad class of traditional dc distribution applications, such as traction, telecom, vehicular, and distributed power systems can be classified under dc MG framework and ongoing development, and expansion of the field is largely influenced by concepts used over there. This paper aims first to shed light on the practical design aspects of dc MG technology concerning typical power hardware topologies and their suitability for different emerging smart grid applications. Then, an overview of the state of the art in dc MG protection and grounding is provided. Owing to the fact that there is no zero-current crossing, an arc that appears upon breaking dc current cannot be extinguished naturally, making the protection of dc MGs a challenging problem. In relation with this, a comprehensive overview of protection schemes, which discusses both design of practical protective devices and their integration into overall protection systems, is provided. Closely coupled with protection, conflicting grounding objectives, e.g., minimization of stray current and common-mode voltage, are explained and several practical solutions are presented. Also, standardization efforts for dc systems are addressed. Finally, concluding remarks and important future research directions are pointed out.

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DC Microgrids—Part II: A Review of Power Architectures, Applications, and Standardization Issues

This paper presents the design of new high-frequency transformer isolated bidirectional dc-dc converter modules connected in input-series-output-parallel (ISOP) for 20-kVA-solid-state transformer. The ISOP modular structure enables the use of low-voltage MOSFETs, featuring low on-state resistance and resulted conduction losses, to address medium-voltage input. A phase-shift dual-half-bridge (DHB) converter is employed to achieve high-frequency galvanic isolation, bidirectional power flow, and zero voltage switching (ZVS) of all switching devices, which leads to low switching losses even with high-frequency operation. Furthermore, an adaptive inductor is proposed as the main energy transfer element of a phase-shift DHB converter so that the circulating energy can be optimized to maintain ZVS at light load and minimize the conduction losses at heavy load as well. As a result, high efficiency over wide load range and high power density can be achieved. In addition, current stress of switching devices can be reduced. A planar transformer adopting printed-circuit-board windings arranged in an interleaved structure is designed to obtain low core and winding loss, solid isolation, and identical parameters in multiple modules. Moreover, the modular structure along with a distributed control provides plug-and-play capability and possible high-level fault tolerance. The experimental results on 1 kW DHB converter modules switching at 50 kHz are presented to validate the theoretical analysis.

High-Frequency Transformer Isolated Bidirectional DC–DC Converter Modules With High Efficiency Over Wide Load Range for 20 kVA Solid-State Transformer

This paper investigates DC/DC conversion systems constructed from connecting multiple converter modules in series and/or parallel at both the input and output sides. Control strategies aiming at achieving proper sharing of the voltage and/or current at the input or output sides are studied in detail. The relationship between sharing of input voltages/currents and that of output voltages/currents is studied. In particular, the inherent stability of control operations applied at the input side and the output side is analyzed. Based on the analysis, a general control strategy for series-parallel systems, which decouples the output voltage control loop and the sharing control loop, is proposed. Furthermore, three modularization architectures are proposed for input-series-output-parallel (ISOP), input-parallel-output-series (IPOS), and input-series-output-series (ISOS) connected systems. These architectures enjoy full advantages of modularization and no external controller is needed to coordinate the sharing control for the individual modules. Experimental prototypes are built and tested to validate the general control strategy and the proposed modularization architectures.

DC/DC Conversion Systems Consisting of Multiple Converter Modules: Stability, Control, and Experimental Verifications

This paper explores a new configuration for modular DC/DC converters, namely, series connection at the input, and parallel connection at the output, such that the converters share the input voltage and load current equally. This is an important step toward realizing a truly modular power system architecture, where low-power, low-voltage, building block modules can be connected in any series/parallel combination at input or at output, to realize any given system specifications. A three-loop control scheme, consisting of a common output voltage loop, individual inner current loops, and individual input voltage loops, is proposed to achieve input voltage and load current sharing. The output voltage loop provides the basic reference for inner current loops, which is modified by the respective input voltage loops. The average of converter input voltages, which is dynamically varying, is chosen as the reference for input voltage loops. This choice of reference eliminates interaction among different control loops. The input-series and output-parallel (ISOP) configuration is analyzed using the incremental negative resistance model of DC/DC converters. Based on the analysis, design methods for input voltage controller are developed. Analysis and proposed design methods are verified through simulation, and experimentally, on an ISOP system consisting of two forward converters.

Active input-voltage and load-current sharing in input-series and output-parallel connected modular DC-DC converters using dynamic input-voltage reference scheme

This paper proposes a simple control method to achieve active sharing of input voltage and load current among modular converters that are connected in series at the input and in parallel at the output. The input-series connection enables a fully modular power-system architecture, where low voltage and low power modules can be connected in any combination at the input and/or at the output, to realize any given specifications. Further, the input-series connection enables the use of low-voltage MOSFETs that are optimized for very low RDSON , thus, resulting in lower conduction losses. In the proposed scheme, the duty ratio to all the converter modules connected in input-series and output-parallel (ISOP) configuration is made common. This scheme does not require a dedicated input-voltage or load-current-share controller. It relies on the inherent self-correcting characteristic of the ISOP connection when the duty ratio of all the converters is the same. The proposed scheme is analyzed using the average model of a forward converter. The stability and performance of the scheme are verified through numerical simulation, both in frequency domain and in time domain. The proposed control method is also validated on an experimental prototype ISOP system comprising of two forward converters

Common-duty-ratio control of input-series connected modular DC-DC converters with active input voltage and load-current sharing

In this paper, active input voltage and load current sharing of DC-DC converter modules connected in series at the input and parallel at the output employing a novel common duty ratio control concept, is proposed. An appropriate analysis and experimental results are presented to verify the proposed concepts.

Common duty ratio control of input series connected modular DC-DC converters with active input voltage and load current sharing

This paper proposes a new modular configuration, namely the input-series and output-series connection for DC-DC converters. A three-loop control scheme, including a dedicated input voltage controller is proposed to achieve equal sharing of the input as well output voltages by the series connected modules. The reference to the input voltage loop is chosen as the average of all converter input voltages. Such a reference minimizes the interaction among the various control loops. The proposed scheme is validated experimentally on a 400 W prototype system comprising of two forward converters.

Input-series and output-series connected modular DC-DC converters with active input voltage and output voltage sharing

This paper proposes a novel control strategy, such that equal rating DC-DC power converter modules, can be connected in series at the input side for higher input voltages and in parallel at the output side for higher output currents. Closed-loop control ensures that each module equally shares the total input voltage and the output current. Analytical discussion is confirmed by a laboratory hardware prototype. Such modular converters may find immediate application in working with various utility voltages around the world.

Ramesh Giri

Papers

Active input-voltage and load-current sharing in input-series and output-parallel connected modular DC-DC converters using dynamic input-voltage reference scheme

Common-duty-ratio control of input-series connected modular DC-DC converters with active input voltage and load-current sharing

Common duty ratio control of input series connected modular DC-DC converters with active input voltage and load current sharing

Input-series and output-series connected modular DC-DC converters with active input voltage and output voltage sharing

Series-parallel connection of DC-DC converter modules with active sharing of input voltage and load current