A wireless controller to enhance dynamic performance of parallel inverters in distributed generation systems

This paper presents a novel control strategy for parallel inverters of distributed generation units in an AC distribution system. The proposed control technique, based on the droop control method, uses only locally measurable feedback signals. This method is usually applied to achieve good active and reactive power sharing when communication between the inverters is difficult due to its physical location. However, the conventional voltage and frequency droop methods of achieving load sharing have a slow and oscillating transient response. Moreover, there is no possibility to modify the transient response without the loss of power sharing precision or output-voltage and frequency accuracy. In this work, a great improvement in transient response is achieved by introducing power derivative-integral terms into a conventional droop scheme. Hence, better controllability of the system is obtained and, consequently, correct transient performance can be achieved. In addition, an instantaneous current control loop is also included in the novel controller to ensure correct sharing of harmonic components when supplying nonlinear loads. Simulation and experimental results are presented to prove the validity of this approach, which shows excellent performance as opposed to the conventional one.     

Wireless-Control Strategy for Parallel Operation of Distributed-Generation Inverters

In this paper, a method for the parallel operation of inverters in an ac-distributed system is proposed. This paper explores the control of active and reactive power flow through the analysis of the output impedance of the inverters and its impact on the power sharing. As a result, adaptive virtual output impedance is proposed in order to achieve a proper reactive power sharing, regardless of the line-impedance unbalances. A soft-start operation is also included, avoiding the initial current peak, which results in a seamless hot-swap operation. Active power sharing is achieved by adjusting the frequency in load transient situations only, owing to which the proposed method obtains a constant steady-state frequency and amplitude. As opposed to the conventional droop method, the transient response can be modified by acting on the main control parameters. Linear and nonlinear loads can be properly shared due to the addition of a current harmonic loop in the control strategy. Experimental results are presented from a two-6-kVA parallel-connected inverter system, showing the feasibility of the proposed approach     

A multimodule parallelable series-connected PWM voltage regulator

This paper presents the analysis and design of a single-phase voltage regulator (VR) and its multinodule parallel control. The VR employs the pulsewidth modulation three-arm rectifier-inverter topology. The inverter side adjusts the load voltage with the series regulating structure aiming to minimize converter capacity and attain higher efficiency. The rectifier side regenerates the load power and executes the active power filter function to achieve unity power factor. Based on such high-performance VR, a resistive droop method combined with the P-V droop and Q-δ shift scheme is then proposed to control the current sharing such that multiple VRs can be paralleled directly without any control interconnection. The proposed parallel control technique possesses the features of fast response, precise voltage regulation, equal fundamental and harmonic current sharing, tolerance for parameter mismatch, and so on. Two prototype 1 KVA VRs are implemented, and the effectiveness is demonstrated by some simulation and experimental results     

A novel current-sharing control technique for low-voltagehigh-current voltage regulator module applications

Future generations of microprocessors are expected to exhibit much heavier loads and much faster transient slew rates. Today's voltage regulator module (VRM) will need a large amount of extra decoupling and output filter capacitors to meet future requirements, which will basically make the existing VRM topologies impractical. As a candidate topology, the interleaved quasisquare-wave (QSW) VRM exhibits very good performance, such as a fast transient response and a very high power density. The difficulty with the application of the interleaved parallel technology is the current-sharing control. In this paper, a novel current-sensing and current-sharing technique is proposed. With this technique, current sharing can be controlled simply in parallel converters without a current transformer and current-sensing resistors. In addition, this technique can be easily integrated with an IC chip. The four-module paralleled QSW VRM is used to evaluate this technique. Experimental results verify that with this technique, the VRM has a high power density, high efficiency and a fast transient response. The concept of the current sharing technique is also generalized and extended     

一种新型UPS无互联线并联下垂特性控制

传统的UPS无互联线并联下垂特性控制是采用频率下垂和幅度下垂来调节输出电压。这种控制方法虽然是有效的，但是它容易导致系统正反馈。文中提出了一种基于神经网络解耦控制的下垂特性控制方案。这种新的控制方法能有效地克服传统下垂特性控制的局限性。由仿真结果得，该方案下逆变电源均分负载电流的效果好，而且系统动态响应性能高。     

A novel droop method for converter parallel operation

For the converter parallel operation, the current sharing between modules is important for the reliability of the system. Among several current sharing schemes, the droop method needs no interconnection between modules, which implies true redundancy. But the droop method has poor voltage regulation and poor current sharing characteristics. In this paper, a novel droop method is proposed for the converter parallel operation, which adaptively controls the reference voltage of each module. This greatly improves the output voltage regulation and the current sharing of the conventional droop method. The analysis of the proposed method and design procedure are provided and experimental results verify the excellent performance of the proposed method     

Control of distributed generation systems - Part II: Load sharing control

This work is concerned with the control strategy for the parallel operation of distributed generation systems (DGS) in a standalone ac power supply. The proposed control method uses only low-bandwidth data communication signals between each generation system in addition to the locally measurable feedback signals. This is achieved by combining two control methods: droop control method and average power control method. The average power method with slow update rate is used in order to overcome the sensitivity about voltage and current measurement errors. In addition, a harmonic droop scheme for sharing harmonic content of the load currents is proposed based on the voltages and currents control algorithm. Experimental and simulation studies using two parallel three-phase pulsewidth modulation (PWM) inverters are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control.     

一种用于提高无线并联逆变器均流性能的控制方法

本文基于传统的无互线逆变器并联下垂法,提出一种用于提高逆变器均流性能的控制方法。同时本文考虑了连线阻抗和逆变器输出阻抗,分析了逆变器并联系统的有功环流和无功环流,本文提出的控制方法可以减小下垂法的频率和幅值的波动幅度,增加系统输出的稳定性,并提高系统的动态和静态环流抑制能力。仿真和实验结果均验证了该方案的良好性能。     

Adaptive Decentralized Droop Controller to Preserve Power Sharing Stability of Paralleled Inverters in Distributed Generation Microgrids

This paper addresses the low-frequency relative stability problem in paralleled inverter-based distributed generation (DG) units in microgrids. In the sense of the small-signal dynamics of a microgrid, it can be shown that as the demanded power of each inverter changes, the low-frequency modes of the power sharing dynamics drift to new locations and the relative stability is remarkably affected, and eventually, instability can be yielded. To preserve the power sharing stability, an adaptive decentralized droop controller of paralleled inverter-based DG units is presented in this paper. The proposed power sharing strategy is based on the static droop characteristics combined with an adaptive transient droop function. Unlike conventional droop controllers, which yield 1-DOF tunable controller, the proposed droop controller yields 2-DOF tunable controller. Subsequently, the dynamic performance of the power sharing mechanism can be adjusted, without affecting the static droop gain, to damp the oscillatory modes of the power sharing controller. To account for the power modes immigration at different loading conditions, the transient droop gains are adaptively scheduled via small-signal analysis of the power sharing mechanism along the loading trajectory of each DG unit to yield the desired transient and steady-state response. The gain adaptation scheme utilizes the filtered active and reactive powers as indices; therefore, a stable and smooth power injection performance can be obtained at different loading conditions. The adaptive nature of the proposed controller ensures active damping of power oscillations at different operating conditions, and yields a stable and robust performance of the paralleled inverter system.      

Digitally controlled high power switch-mode rectifier

High power switch-mode rectifiers offer advantages over conventionally used line-commutated thyristor rectifiers in terms of size and cost. This paper describes operation of the high power switch-mode rectifier based on an original control strategy which is digitally implemented. The rectifier is operated in a constant output current mode. The control strategy provides a fast transient response to disturbances and achieves equal current sharing between the buck converter modules which are paralleled within the switch-mode rectifier. Equal current sharing is maintained in steady-state as well as in transient operation. The paper demonstrates that the transient response to load disturbances achievable with the proposed control strategy is superior to the response obtained with the conventional control strategy in terms of the output current overshoot and the settling time. The control algorithm is digitally implemented on a DSP/FPGA based digital control platform and its performance is verified on a 2 kW scaled-down experimental setup of the switch-mode rectifier.     

Master–Slave Current-Sharing Control of a Parallel DC–DC Converter System Over an RF Communication Interface

Using analog wireless communication, we demonstrate a master-slave load-sharing control of a parallel dc-dc buck converter system, thereby eliminating the need for physical connection to distribute the control signal among the converter modules. The current reference for the slave modules is provided by the master module using radio-frequency (RF) transmission, thereby ensuring even sharing of the load current. The effect of delay due to RF transmission on system stability and performance is analyzed, and regions of operation for a stable as well as satisfactory performance are determined. We experimentally demonstrate a satisfactory performance of the master-slave converter at 20-kHz switching frequency under steady state as well as transient conditions in the presence of a transmission delay. The proposed control concept, which can potentially attain redundancy that is achievable using a droop method, may lead to more robust and reconfigurable control implementation of distributed converters and power systems. It may also be used as a (fault-tolerant) backup for wire-based control of parallel/distributed converters.     

UPS Parallel Balanced Operation Without Explicit Estimation of Reactive Power—A Simpler Scheme

A novel scheme of the well-known technique for parallel operation of uninterruptible power supply systems, namely frequency and voltage droop control method, is presented. The innovation relies on active power estimation, together with the use of a piecewise-continuous nonlinear function, in order to eliminate the need for costly cascaded low-pass filters usually employed to estimate the reactive power. Moreover, the whole scheme is derived in the time domain on a state-space approach. As a consequence, models that are lower order and more amenable to nonlinear analysis are obtained. Simulated results for two UPS parallel operation connected to a resistive load are presented. The results indicate that the novel technique leads to a proper load sharing.      

Single-wire current-share paralleling of current-mode-controlled DCpower supplies

This paper presents a new single-wire autonomous current-share paralleling of current-mode-controlled DC power supplies. The proposed control scheme makes use of the nature of fast response of the inner current loop and the share bus injected signal to improve the response of the power supplies. It reduces the unbalance of current distribution during the transient state and avoids the fault alarm for the current limit. Through the theoretical derivation, the proposed control circuit can be designed by the three-loop control method. A design example of two 400 V/48 V 20 A parallel modules is set up and experimental recordings verify the performance of current sharing     

High performance series-parallel type on-line UPS

An improved single-phase uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is proposed that is composed of a series converter and a parallel converter. The series converter regulates the output voltage, and then the parallel converter provides reactive current compensation and battery charging. A fast detection technique of the line voltage is proposed, which has almost zero transition time from the line power mode to the power failure mode. Furthermore, a current controller of the parallel converter for unity power factor is suggested and it is derived using the feedback linearization technique. A current limit technique in the power failure mode is proposed to protect the parallel converter without a system trip under any impulsive load. All control algorithms are implemented in software with a single-chip microcontroller. Experimental results obtained under a 3?kVA prototype show good transient and steady-state performance such as almost negligible transition time, 97% power efficiency and 99% power factor.     

强迫均流法在电源系统中的应用

当多个电源模块并联工作时,要解决的一个重要问题是负载电流的均分。均流的作用是使系统中的每个模块都能有效地输出功率,使系统中各模块处于最佳工作状态,保证电源系统稳定、可靠、高效地工作。文中介绍了几种均流技术的工作原理和特点,提出以微控制器为核心的强迫均流法对工作电流进行控制,给出了其系统设计和实验结果。该系统使用微控制器作为主控器件,可实现快速改变控制方案,而无需对硬件电路进行任何变动,能更好地满足工程需要。     

Analysis and Design of a Modular Three-Phase AC-to-DC Converter Using CUK Rectifier Module With Nearly Unity Power Factor and Fast Dynamic Response

In this paper, the analysis and design of a modular three-phase ac-to-dc converter using single-phase isolated CUK rectifier modules is discussed based on power balance control technique. This paper analyzes the operation of a modular converter as continuous-conduction-mode power factor correction (CCM-PFC). Design equations, as well as an average small-signal model of the proposed system to aid the control loop design are derived. It is used to obtain the inductor current compensator, thus the output impedance and audio susceptibility become zero, and therefore, the output voltage of the converter presented in this paper is independent of the variations of the dc load current and the utility voltage. The control strategy consists of a single output voltage loop and three-inductor current calculator. The main objective of the proposed system is to reduce the number of stages and improve dynamic response of dc bus voltage for distributed power system. The proposed scheme offers simple control strategy, flexibility in three-phase delta or star-connected, simpler design, fast transient response, good inductor current sharing, and power factor closed to unity. Both simulation and experimental results are presented. They are in agreement with the theoretical analysis and experimental work.      

A hybrid structure using phase-controlled rectifiers andhigh-frequency converters for magnet-load power supplies

Thyristor rectifiers are still the preferred choice for large magnet power supplies. However, large harmonic voltages, resulting in large current ripple, and slow dynamic response are major drawbacks of these converters. This paper presents a topology and a control technique for hybrid large-power high-precision magnet power supplies. The system consists of a phase controlled rectifier connected in series with a high-frequency PWM converter. The rectifier is designed to handle the main output power and the PWM converter is used only for harmonics cancellation and error compensation. A feedforward control scheme is proposed to ensure that the desired power sharing is maintained during both the steady state and transient operations. The operating principles of the proposed structure are discussed in the paper, and the results from a 1 kVA experimental setup are provided to validate the proposed topology     

Parallel-connections of pulsewidth modulated inverters usingcurrent sharing reactors

A technique of parallel connection of power devices by using current sharing reactors for pulsewidth modulated (PWM) inverters is reported in this paper. The proposed technique not only increases the current capacity but also decreases the output harmonic contents. The output voltage waveforms of the proposed inverter have certain voltage levels during their half cycles, thus it is anticipated that it will be difficult to analyze the output waveforms. For such waveforms, a frequency analysis approach is described, whose results are verified by experiments     

Improved large-signal performance of paralleled DC-DC converterscurrent sharing

This paper introduces fuzzy logic control as a technique for significantly improving the large-signal performance of paralleled DC-DC power converters with master-slave current sharing control. The control design for such systems is challenged by its high modeling complexity, and present approaches which come only from a small-signal perspective unable to give a good response for wide load and line transients. The fuzzy logic approach, by dealing naturally with nonlinearities, offers a good and parameter-insensitive transient response for the current sharing loop. The design methodology of the fuzzy compensator, simulation results, and a comparison with existing classical designs are shown     

一种无均流外环并联DC-DC变换器的设计

设计了一种无均流外环并联DC-DC变换器,采用平均电流模式控制,通过控制最大编程电感电流,实现并联变换器的精确均流.采用小信号模型分析了并联变换器的均流误差和稳定性,电路实现了稳定的电流特性和快速的瞬态响应,具有优良的负载电流调节能力.仿真结果表明,该电路的均流误差在8‰以下,并联变换器在重载和轻载之间跳变时,1.5m...