The active and reactive power controllers of grid-forming converters are traditionally designed separately, which relies on the assumption of loop decoupling. This paper proposes a full-state feedback control for the power loops of grid-forming converters. First, the power loops are modeled considering their natural coupling, which, therefore, can apply to all kinds of line impedance, i.e., resistive, inductive, or complex. Then a full-state feedback control design is used. By this way, the eigenvalues of the system can be arbitrarily placed to any positions in the timescale of power loops. Therefore, the parameters can be directly chosen by the predefined specifications. A step-by-step parameters design procedure is also given in this paper. Experimental results verify the proposed method.
Synchronization instability of grid-tied converters during grid faults is a serious concern. For phase-locked loop (PLL) synchronized converters, synchronization stability during grid faults requires that PLL can resynchronize with the power grid. It is of great significance for meeting grid code specifications such as reactive current support. However, the synchronization in the context of high-impedance weak grid is not always readily achieved. On one hand, the terminal voltage of converters is changeable due to being susceptible to the output current. One the other hand, there is interactio…
The modern power grid features the high penetration of power converters, which widely employ a phase-locked loop (PLL) for grid synchronization. However, it has been pointed out that PLL can give rise to small-signal instabilities under weak grid conditions. This problem can be potentially resolved by operating the converters in grid-forming mode, namely, without using a PLL. Nonetheless, it has not been theoretically revealed how the placement of grid-forming converters enhances the small-signal stability of power systems integrated with large-scale PLL-based converters. This paper aims at fi…
With steadily increasing wind turbine penetration, regulatory standards for grid interconnection are evolving to require that wind generation systems ride-through disturbances such as faults and support the grid during such events. Conventional modifications to the doubly fed induction generation (DFIG) architecture for providing ride-through result in limited control of the turbine shaft and grid current during fault events. A DFIG architecture in which the grid side converter is connected in series as opposed to parallel with the grid connection has shown improved low voltage ride through bu…
The modern power system features high penetration of power converters due to the development of renewables, HVDC, etc. Currently, the controller design and parameter tuning of power converters heavily rely on rich engineering experience and extrapolation from a single converter system, which may lead to inferior performance or even instabilities under variable grid conditions. In this paper, we propose an $H_{\infty}$-control design framework to provide a systematic way for the robust and optimal control design of power converters. We discuss how to choose weighting functions to achieve antici…
In this work, we investigate grid-forming control for power systems containing three-phase and single-phase converters connected to unbalanced distribution and transmission networks, investigate self-balancing between single-phase converters, and propose a novel balancing feedback for grid-forming control that explicitly allows to trade-off unbalances in voltage and power. We develop a quasi-steady-state power network model that allows to analyze the interactions between three-phase and single-phase power converters across transmission, distribution, and standard transformer interconnections. …
The effective way of energy transmission plays a key factor in improving the overall transmission systems efficiency. Many methods are proposed to control the reactive power flow, voltage fluctuations and power factor improvement, The proposed converter topology gives a much significant improvement in transmission systems performance which includes multistage transformers control with the controlled converters along with the series active filters. The overall control strategy which involves the Multistage Voltage Re-Injection Transformer Controlled Converters (MSVRITCC) to reinject the voltage…
Hydrogen electrolyzers, with their operational flexibility, can be configured as smart dynamic loads which can provide grid services and facilitate the integration of more renewable energy sources into the electrical grid. However, to enable this ability, the electrolyzer system should be able to control both active and reactive power in coordination with the low-level controller of the electrolyzer via the power electronics system interface between the utility grid and electrolyzer. This paper discusses power converter topologies and the control scheme of this power electronics interface for …
In this paper we are interested in the problem of adaptive synchronization of a voltage source converter with a possibly weak grid with unknown angle and frequency, but knowledge of its parameters. To guarantee a suitable synchronization with the angle of the three-phase grid voltage we design an adaptive observer for such a signal requiring measurements only at the point of common coupling. Then we propose two alternative certainty-equivalent, adaptive phase-locked loops that ensure the angle estimation error goes to zero for almost all initial conditions. Although well-known, for the sake of…
Grid forming control applied to power converters that interface storage or renewable generation to the power grid, has been identified as a potential solution to facilitate a substantial share of converter-based renewable generation in the power system. Analyzing the response of grid forming converters (GFC) for large frequency, phase, and voltage events, particularly when the GFC enters the current limit operation, is very important for system stability, but studies on this have been limited. This paper presents a quantitative and illustrative analysis of the impact of the current limit in GF…
The progressive displacing of conventional generation in favour of renewable energy sources requires restoring an adequate capacity of regulating power to ensure reliable operation of power systems. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) are considered to be promising assets to restore suitable frequency regulation capacity levels. BESSs are typically connected to the grid with power-converters, able to operate in either grid-forming or grid-following modes. This paper quantitatively assesses the impact on the local distribution grid of BESSs providing frequency regulation to bulk power system…
A grid-feeding converter system is added to a novel power system transient simulation scheme based on frequency response optimized integrators considering second order derivative. The converter system and its implementation in the simulation scheme are detailed. Case studies verify the accuracy and efficiency of the simulation scheme. Furthermore, this paper proposes and justifies extending the simulation scheme by integrating commonly used numerical integrators considering first order derivative for part of the studied system. The proposed extension has an insignificant impact on the accuracy…
This paper analyses the capabilities of the OpenModelica environment to perform electromagnetic transient (EMT) type simulations of power transmission systems with grid-connected converters. A power transmission system has been modelled and simulated in OpenModelica and Simulink to compare both tools in terms of accuracy, robustness, flexibility and computational performance. Power system transient studies such as faults and switching of capacitor banks have been performed. The results confirmed an excellent overall agreement between both software and demonstrated a remarkable potential for us…
The converter control functions to provide the capabilities similar to synchronous generators are referred to as grid forming converters (GFC). Identical to a synchronous machine, a grid forming converter is expected to behave as a voltage source behind an impedance beyond the control bandwidth. However, GFC's realization has been different, with some utilizes inner current and voltage controllers while others do not. This paper studies the impact of the inner loop on the grid forming converter's ability to behave as a voltage source behind an impedance. Three of the most popular GFC structure…
A multi-input multi-output based grid-forming (MIMO-GFM) converter has been proposed using multivariable feedback control, which has been proven as a superior and robust system using low-order controllers. However, the original MIMO-GFM control is easily affected by the high-frequency components especially for the converter without inner cascaded voltage and current loops and when it is connected into a strong grid. This paper proposes an improved MIMO-GFM control method, where the frequency and internal voltage are chosen as state variables to be controlled directly. In this way, the impact o…
The renewable energy is connected to the power grid through power electronic converters, which are lack of make the inertia of synchronous generator/machine (SM) be lost. The increasing penetration of renewable energy in power system weakens the frequency and voltage stability. The Grid-Forming Converters (GFCs) simulate the function of synchronous motor through control method in order to improve the stability of power grid by providing inertia and stability regulation mechanism. This kind of converter control methods include virtual synchronous machine, schedulable virtual oscillator control …
This paper presents a novel strategy for the synchronization of grid-following Voltage Source Converters (VSCs) in power systems with low rotational inertia. The proposed synchronization unit is based on emulating the physical properties of an induction machine and capitalizes on its inherent grid-friendly properties such as self-synchronization, oscillation damping, and standalone capabilities. To this end, the mathematical model of an induction machine is analyzed and reformulated to obtain the unknown grid frequency by processing the voltage and current measurements at the converter output.…
This paper presents an analysis of the value that can be realized by medium-voltage back-to-back (MVB2B) converters in terms of increased utilization rate of distributed energy resource (DER) and the improvement in operational conditions. A systematic, transferrable, and scalable methodology has been designed to analyze and quantify the increased DER value from three perspectives: 1) curtailment reduction of the DER generation, 2) size reduction of the energy storage needed to otherwise realize DER hosting levels, and 3) hosting capacity improvement of DER compared to base distribution circuit…
A Data-Driven Optimal Control Architecture for Grid-Connected Power Converters
College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University（浙江大学电气工程学院）；Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University（清华大学电机工程系）；Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)（加泰罗尼亚理工大学）；Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at ETH Zürich（苏黎世联邦理工学院信息与电气工程系）
A unified virtual oscillator controller (uVOC) is proposed, which enables a unified analysis, design, and implementation framework for both grid-forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) voltage source converters (VSCs). Oscillator based GFM controllers, such as dispatchable virtual oscillator control (dVOC), offer rigorous analytical framework with enhanced synchronization, but lack effective fault handling capability which severely limits practical application. The proposed uVOC facilitates synchronization with an arbitrarily low grid voltage and fast over-current limiting; this enables effecti…
The classic design of grid-forming control strategies for power converters rely on the stringent assumption of the timescale separation between DC and AC states and their corresponding control loops, e.g., AC and DC loops, power and cascaded voltage and current loops, etc. This paper proposes a multi-input multi-output based grid-forming (MIMO-GFM) control for the power converters using a multivariable feedback structure. First, the MIMO-GFM control couples the AC and DC loops by a general multivariable control transfer matrix. Then, the parameters design is transformed into a standard fixed-s…
This paper presents a comparative analysis of several modelling approaches of key elements used in simulations of power systems with renewable energy sources. Different models of synchronous generators, transmission lines, converters, wind generators and photovoltaic (PV) power plants are compared to assess the most suitable models for grid-connection studies. It also analyses how the dynamics of PV power plants and the mechanical dynamics of wind generators affect the electrical variables on the grid side. The models were compared in terms of precision and computational time through simulatio…
This paper reviews Voltage-Source Converters (VSCs) EMT and Phasor models currently used to simulate converter-interfaced generation (CIG) and renewable energy resources integration to power systems. Several modelling guidelines and suitability analyses were provided based on a comprehensive comparative study among the models. Various studies were performed in a small system and a large system, modelled in Simulink. We address a gap related to the suitability of CIGs phasor models in studies where the boundary between electromagnetic and electromechanical transients overlap. An insightful anal…
Stability of power grids with synchronous generators (SGs) and renewable generation interfaced with grid-forming converters (GFCs) under dc-side current limitation is studied. To that end, we first consider a simple 2-bus test system and reduced-order models to highlight the fundamental difference between two classes of GFC controls -- (A) droop, dispatchable virtual oscillator control (dVOC) and virtual synchronous machine (VSM), and (B) matching control. Next, we study Lyapunov stability and input-output stability of the dc voltage dynamics of class-A GFCs for the simple system and extend it…
