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Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "F2: Distributed Energy System".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2023) | Viewed by 12251

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Danilo Iglesias Brandao

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Guest Editor

Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte 31270-90, MG, Brazil
Interests: control of grid-tied converters and microgrids

Dr. Tommaso Caldognetto

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor

Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, 36100 Vicenza, Italy
Interests: control of grid-tied converters; microgrid architectures; converters for DC nanogrids; real-time simulation for power electronics

Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Tedeschi

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Electric Power Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7030 Trondheim, Norway
2. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, 38122 Trento TN, Italy
Interests: ocean energy; control of wave energy converters; marine energy grid integration, microgrids and offshore isolated power systems; power quality; HVDC and HVAC power transmission; energy storage applications; subsea power distribution
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the ongoing modernization of the power system, smart, power-electronics-based generation units of relatively small capacity are proliferating in medium- and low-voltage grids. In some areas, the existing grid infrastructure is quickly approaching its maximum hosting capacity limits due to the steady growth of distributed energy resources. At the same time, there is a strong impulse to use renewables, aiming for energy sustainability. In addition, emerging energy-hungry applications, such as electric mobility and marine applications, are challenging the legacy grid and are expected to require additional coordination and control.

Advanced distributed power electronic converters, distributed energy storage, grid-friendly prosumers, on-line adaptive converters’ controllers, coordinated ancillary services, and proper microgrid control will all be required to tackle the challenges of the evolving energy scenario.

This Special Issue entitled “Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems” addresses the outlined aspects from a wide perspective, aiming at showcasing the latest research advancements on power electronic conversion and control in smart energy systems.

As guest editors, we invite you to submit a paper to this Special Issue sharing your recent unpublished work in the field, including state-of-the-art and review discussions.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Power converter applications in smart grids, microgrids, and isolated power systems;
Power converter applications in smart cities;
Controls for power quality enhancement in microgrids;
Multifunctional control of power electronics converters;
Renewable sources and energy storage integration in low-voltage grids;
Power sharing in AC and DC microgrids;
Coordinated ancillary services in microgrids;
Distributed compensation in non-sinusoidal conditions;
Power theories applied to power electronics converters and systems;
Power quality issues in offshore and marine applications;
Control of energy conversion systems for marine applications;
Electric mobility integration in low-voltage grids; and
Practical microgrid architectures and implementations.

Prof. Dr. Danilo Iglesias Brandao
Dr. Tommaso Caldognetto
Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Tedeschi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

grid-tied inverters
marine applications
microgrids
power quality
power theory

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 5815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Performance Evaluation of SMC-Based DC–DC Converters for Microgrid Applications

by Qudrat Ullah, Tiago Davi Curi Busarello, Danilo Iglesias Brandao and Marcelo Godoy Simões

Energies 2023, 16(10), 4212; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16104212 - 19 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1198

Abstract

In recent times, DC microgrids (MGs) have received significant attention due to environmental concerns and the demand for clean energies. Energy storage systems (ESSs) and photovoltaic (PV) systems are parts of DC MGs. This paper expands on the modeling and control of non-isolated, non-inverting four-switch buck-boost (FSBB) synchronous converters, which interface with a wide range of low-power electronic appliances. The proposed power converter can work efficiently both independently and in DC MGs. The charging and discharging of the battery are analyzed using the FSBB converter at a steady state in continuous conduction mode (CCM). A boost converter is connected to a PV system, which is then connected in parallel to the battery to provide voltages at the DC bus. Finally, another FSBB converter is connected to a resistive load that successfully performs the boost-and-buck operation with smooth transitions. Since these power converters possess uncertainties and non-linearities, it is not suitable to design linear controllers for these systems. Therefore, the controlling mechanism for these converters’ operation is based on the sliding mode control (SMC). In this study, various macro-level interests were achieved using SMC. The MATLAB Simulink results successfully prove the precise reference tracking and robust stability in different operating modes of DC–DC converters in a MG structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems)

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20 pages, 8035 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Torque Control for PMSG-Based Wind-Power System Using Stationary abc-Reference Frame

by Israel Divan Lopes da Costa, Danilo Iglesias Brandao, Seleme Isaac Seleme, Jr. and Lenin Martins Ferreira Morais

Energies 2022, 15(21), 8060; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15218060 - 29 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1826

Abstract

The power system of wind farms is generally characterized by a weak grid, in which voltages may be heavily distorted and imbalanced, challenging the control scheme of wind-power converters that must be impervious to such disturbances. The control scheme in the stationary natural abc-frame has shown good performance under non-ideal voltage conditions, and then this paper proposes to analyze the operational performance of a wind-power system based on a permanent magnet synchronous generator subject to non-ideal conditions of the grid voltage, with its control scheme devised in the abc-reference frame. The proposed control scheme considers the torque control decoupling the flux and torque for the generator-side, showing the possibility to implement the machine torque control, without any coordinates transformation using a closed loop dot-product approach, between the field flux and stator currents. For the grid-side converter, the load current compensation is proposed, using the load current decomposition and conservative power theory (CPT), improving the grid power quality. The simulation results estimate the performance of the grid-side control under distorted and asymmetrical voltages, and the generator-side control against torque disturbances due to wind speed variation. Finally, experimental results in a small-scale test bench validate the proposed control scheme in injecting active and reactive power into the grid, and the torque control under wind speed variation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems)

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26 pages, 2677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Current-Based Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources in a Grid-Connected Low-Voltage Microgrid: An Experimental Validation of Adverse Operational Scenarios

by Augusto M. S. Alonso, Luis De Oro Arenas, Danilo I. Brandao, Elisabetta Tedeschi, Ricardo Q. Machado and Fernando P. Marafão

Energies 2022, 15(17), 6407; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176407 - 02 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1559

Abstract

Low-voltage grid-connected microgrids rely on the exploitation of inverter-interfaced distributed energy resources (DERs) in order to feed loads and to achieve bidirectional power flow controllability at their point of common coupling (PCC) with the upstream grid. However, adverse operational conditions, such as the existence of DERs of different operation natures, DERs of non-equal power ratings, as well as the occurrence of non-steady and non-sinusoidal grid voltage scenarios, bring complications to microgrid energy management. Consequently, control strategies employed to coordinate DERs in dispatchable microgrids need to be resilient to such non-ideal conditions. Hence, this paper demonstrates that a multi-purpose strategy, so-called the Generalized Current-Based Control (GCBC) approach, is capable of steering DERs under such adverse operational scenarios, ensuring proportional current sharing among them while also regulating the microgrid power dispatchability at the PCC. The discussions are supported by an extensive experimental validation on a laboratory-scale single-phase microgrid prototype, demonstrating that the GCBC approach allows DERs of different operational natures to be coordinated, respecting their power ratings, and allowing the single-controllable microgrid to endure operation under distorted voltages and support voltage ride-through conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems)

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22 pages, 5922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Case Study of Single-Controllable Microgrid: A Practical Implementation

by Geovane L. Reis, Danilo I. Brandao, João H. Oliveira, Lucas S. Araujo and Braz J. Cardoso Filho

Energies 2022, 15(17), 6400; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176400 - 01 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1986

Abstract

This paper presents the implementation of a single-controllable microgrid in the engineering school of the Federal University of Minas Gerais using commercial devices. Such a microgrid exchanges controllable active and reactive power terms with the upstream grid, proportionally shares active/reactive power among the battery-based DERs and endows the microgrid with the capability of operating in both grid-connected and islanded modes. The energy storage system is composed of three different battery technologies: lead-acid, lithium-ion and sodium–nickel, which are coordinately controlled according to their inherent features. A usable average energy control is proposed to avoid mismatches between the batteries’ states of charge. The single-controllable microgrid performs the following services: self-consumption, energy time shift, peak-shaving and reactive power support to the upstream grid. The coordinated secondary control and the operating modes of the microgrid were validated by means of full-scale experimental results using commercial devices. The lithium-ion battery showed the best performance in terms of round-trip efficiency, 93% over 85% (lead-acid) and 81% (sodium–nickel). The results demonstrated the microgrid’s capability of delivering ancillary services at the connection with the upstream grid, and proportionally exploiting the dispersed battery banks. In addition, the challenges of practical implementation were analyzed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems)

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27 pages, 10337 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation and Critical Analysis of the Active Phase Jump with Positive Feedback Anti-Islanding Algorithm

by Ênio Costa Resende, Henrique Tannús de Moura Carvalho and Luiz Carlos Gomes Freitas

Energies 2022, 15(13), 4609; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134609 - 23 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1640

Abstract

The protection against the unintentional islanding of Grid-Tied inverters is an important electrical security issue addressed by the main Standards. This concern is justified in face of the fact that unintentional islanding can lead to abrupt variations of voltage and frequency, electrical damages, professional accidents, power quality degradation, and out-of-phase reclosure. In response to the islanding concern, the literature has proposed several Anti-Islanding Protection (AIP) schemes that can be divided in passive and active methods. Many of the active AIP is based on the insertion of some disturbance in the inverter current in order to deviate the frequency out of the allowed thresholds, tripping the inverter internal disconnection system. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the performance of the Active Phase Jump with Positive Feedback (APJPF) algorithm compared to other well-known frequency drift-based solutions. More than that, this work covers the Non-Detection Zone (NDZ) problem, analyzing its main mapping methodologies and the normative requirements, exposing the minimum normative recommendations a given AIP must reach to be considered functional. The last contributions of this paper are the proposal of a parametrization criterion for the Active Frequency Drift with Pulsating Chopping Factor (AFDPCF) and for the APJPF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems)

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25 pages, 2113 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contributions to Power Management in AC Microgrids Based on Concepts of Microeconomics Theory

by Luís F. R. Pinto, Tiago D. C. Busarello, Lucas V. Bellinaso, Leandro Michels and Marcello Mezaroba

Energies 2022, 15(11), 3890; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15113890 - 25 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1435

Abstract

Renewable energy sources are growing in importance and reshaping power systems through microgrid (MG) networks. Some relevant issues in the management of an MG need to be addressed, such as voltage and frequency control, power balance between sources (sharing) and distributed loads, stability, security, power quality, etc. As a contribution, this manuscript presents a power management of AC MGs based on concepts of microeconomics theory for market equilibrium. The prices of active and reactive energy are informed through the AC voltage parameters such as magnitude, frequency and angle. This approach allows several sources and loads to operate with no extra communication interface. Experiments are provided to validate operation in many different operational scenarios using a hardware-in-the-loop environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems)

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Review

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35 pages, 3332 KiB

Open AccessReview

Overview of Consensus Protocol and Its Application to Microgrid Control

by Daniele Ferreira, Sidelmo Silva, Waner Silva, Danilo Brandao, Gilbert Bergna and Elisabetta Tedeschi

Energies 2022, 15(22), 8536; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15228536 - 15 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1751

Abstract

Different control strategies for microgrid applications have been developed in the last decade. In order to enhance flexibility, scalability and reliability, special attention has been given to control organisations based on distributed communication infrastructures. Among these strategies, the implementation of consensus protocol stands out to cooperatively steer multi-agent systems (i.e., distributed generators), which is justified by its benefits, such as plug and play capability and enhanced resilience against communication failures. However, as the consensus protocol has a long trajectory of development in different areas of knowledge including multidisciplinary subjects, it may be a challenge to collect all the relevant information for its application in an emerging field. Therefore, the main goal of this paper is to provide the fundamentals of multi-agent systems and consensus protocol to the electrical engineering community, and an overview of its application to control systems for microgrids. The fundamentals of consensus protocol herein cover the concepts, formulations, steady-state and stability analysis for leaderless and leader-following consensus problems, in both continuous- and discrete-time. The overview of the applications summarises the main contributions achieved with this technique in the literature concerning microgrids, as well as the associated challenges and trends. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Distributed Power Electronic Converters in Smart Energy Systems)

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