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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A1: Smart Grids and Microgrids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 13914

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Marcel Hendrix

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Interests: power electronics; design automation; large-scale (cloud) computing; IC development; system simulation; modeling; system identification; discrete-time control techniques; hybrid switched-capacitor power conversion

Prof. Dr. Maurice G. L. Roes

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Interests: power electronics; digital control; modern control theory; state estimation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Grid-connected converters are an essential part of the electricity distribution infrastructure. They connect the generator to the end user and are applied to many of the intermediate links. Although the use of power electronics in grid-connected installations is far from new, much progress is still being made, and is dearly needed, given, e.g., the growing penetration of fast charging stations for electric vehicles, increased interest in solid state transformers, widespread distributed generation, and the expected growth of distributed storage. Especially, research into multilevel power converter topologies and the introduction of wide bandgap semiconductor devices have sparked interest in using power converters in medium-to-high voltage applications. A further trend is that advanced control methods—model predictive control, iterative learning control, repetitive control, etc.—have found their way into grid-connected converters, promising to increase performance in terms of grid stabilization and voltage and power quality. Advanced modelling and control techniques provide a way of dealing with the decentralization of power flow control that is required in grids where the power generation is widely dispersed, as well as with predicting and combatting stability issues that occur when connecting a multitude of client-side converters to the public grid.

This Special Issue focuses on all aspects related to grid-connected power converters. We encourage every researcher working in this field to submit his or her work for consideration.

Prof. Dr. Marcel A. M. Hendrix
Prof. Dr. Maurice G. L. Roes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

grid-connected converter
power converter topologies
control
power quality
distributed generation
solid state transformer
power management
microgrid

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 6257 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modulation Strategy for Multi-Phase Matrix Converter with Common Mode Voltage Elimination and Adjustment of the Input Displacement Angle

by Janina Rząsa

Energies 2020, 13(3), 675; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030675 - 4 Feb 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1875

Abstract

In the last several years, thanks to the development and continuous improvement of semiconductor switching elements, and the simultaneous increase in interest in multi-phase drives, the investigation into constructing multi-phase converters has been growing. The matrix converter (MC) is considered to be one of the contenders for use in the multi-phase drive. In the context of using MC in the drive, it is expected to eliminate the common mode voltage (CMV). Another important problem is the ability to correct the input displacement angle to ensure the operation of the MC with unity input power factor. The purpose of the article is to present an MC modulation strategy that implements both CMV elimination and input displacement angle adjustment. Analytical and simulation analyses of the strategy, in application to three-to-multi-phase MC is presented. The suggested modulation strategy in applying to three-to-multi-phase MC is implemented in ATP-EMTP (Alternative Transients Program-ElectroMagnetic Transients Program) software. Simulation results are provided for a three-to-three-phase three-to-six-phase and three-to-nine-phase MC. The proposed modulation strategy is validated using an experimental approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected Converters)

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20 pages, 4569 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Elimination of Common Mode Voltage in the Three-To-Nine-Phase Matrix Converter

by Janina Rząsa and Elżbieta Sztajmec

Energies 2020, 13(3), 631; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030631 - 3 Feb 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1873

Abstract

A multiphase matrix converter (MC) is a direct AC/AC converter with n-phase input and m-phase output that is required to supply multiphase systems. To synthesize the controllable sinusoidal output voltage and input current with controllable displacement angle, the pulse width modulation (PWM) is implemented. On account of the PWM usage, there is common mode voltage (CMV), which is detrimental and causes lots of failures. This paper investigates the CMV elimination in the three-to-nine-phase MC. The carrier-based space vector modulation (SVM) with Venturini modulation functions is used. The elimination of the CMV is realized by applying rotating voltage space vectors only. The simulation results presented in this study show that the CMV is entirely eliminated and prove the usefulness of the proposed modulation method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected Converters)

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25 pages, 6325 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Repetitive Control Enhanced Phase-Locked Loop for Synchronization of Three-Phase Grid-Connected Converters

by Filip Filipović, Milutin Petronijević, Nebojša Mitrović, Bojan Banković and Vojkan Kostić

Energies 2020, 13(1), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13010135 - 26 Dec 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3130

Abstract

This paper proposes the enhancement of a synchronous reference frame phase-locked loop in terms of its dynamic response and disturbance rejection capability. The improvements were undertaken in order to upgrade the converter grid support capability required by modern grid codes during grid faults. The proposed repetitive control-based filter is inserted in the loop filter structure of the phase-locked loop. For the initially proposed structure, the necessity of the phase angle error correction term was derived and added at the output of the loop filter. On a set of tests that included (i) phase jump; (ii) voltage sag; (iii) voltage harmonics; (iv) DC offset; (v) random noise and; (vi) frequency change, the synchronization algorithm with the proposed modification showed two desirable characteristics: (i) a high attenuation of oscillations on specific frequencies; and (ii) the instant compensation of the portion of the phase angle jump. Along with the benefits, drawbacks of the proposed synchronization method were noted, the most important being the high dependency of the oscillation attenuation capability on the fundamental frequency drift and susceptibility to high-frequency noise. With the proposed modification, the synchronization algorithm manages to achieve a phase angle settling time not longer than one fundamental frequency period in all of the conducted tests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected Converters)

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18 pages, 7341 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Buck-Boost AC/DC Converter with Two-Terminal Output Voltage for DC Nano-Grid

by Xiangkun Li, Weimin Wu, Houqing Wang, Ning Gao, Henry Shu-hung Chung and Frede Blaabjerg

Energies 2019, 12(20), 3808; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12203808 - 9 Oct 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2582

Abstract

Due to the development and deployment of renewable DC power sources and their inherent advantages for DC loads in applications, the DC nano-grid has attracted more and more research attentions; especially the topologies of AC/DC converters are increasingly studied. When designing an AC to DC converter for a DC nano-grid system, the grounding configuration, which determines the costs, the efficiency as well as the safety, plays an important role. A three-terminal output AC to DC converter based on united grounding configuration has been presented for DC nano-grid. However, it has to be pointed out that the three-terminal output DC nano-grid is not as popular as the two-terminal DC output one, due to the infrastructure consideration. This paper proposes a new Buck-Boost AC to DC converter with two-terminal output voltage for DC nano-grid. The operating principle, the steady-state analysis, and the small signal modelling for the proposed converter working in continuous conduction mode are presented in detail. A 220 V/50 Hz/800 W prototype was fabricated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected Converters)

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30 pages, 9122 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Small-Signal Modelling and Stability Assessment of Phase-Locked Loops in Weak Grids

by Claudio Burgos-Mellado, Alessandro Costabeber, Mark Sumner, Roberto Cárdenas-Dobson and Doris Sáez

Energies 2019, 12(7), 1227; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12071227 - 30 Mar 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3883

Abstract

This paper proposes a low-complexity small signal model for a 3-leg converter connected to a balanced three-phase, three-wire weak grid and synchronised to this grid using a PLL implemented in a synchronous rotating d-q axis. A thorough analysis of the system stability as a function of the PLL bandwidth and the short circuit ratio (SCR) of the grid is performed based on a linearised model. By using the proposed model, an improved design process is proposed for the commonly used dq-PLL that accounts for the potential stability issues which may occur in weak grids. Using the proposed approach, it is possible to optimise the PLL design to find the fastest PLL that can operate stably considering the SCR of the grid. In addition, the proposed model is very simple, resulting in a straightforward design tool that could also be used for online stability monitoring. The method is validated through simulations and experimental results from a 5kW laboratory system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grid-Connected Converters)

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