Ensuring small-signal stability in power systems with a high share of inverter-based resources (IBRs) is hampered by two factors: (i) device and network parameters are often uncertain or completely unknown, and (ii) brute-force enumeration of all topologies is computationally intractable. These challenges motivate plug-and-play (PnP) certificates that verify stability locally yet hold globally. Passivity is an attractive property because it guarantees stability under feedback and network interconnections; however, strict passivity rarely holds for practical controllers such as Grid Forming Inverters (GFMs) employing P-Q droop. This paper extends the passivity condition by constructing a dynamic, frequency-dependent multiplier that enables PnP stability certification of each component based solely on its admittance, without requiring any modification to the controller design. The multiplier is parameterised as a linear filter whose coefficients are tuned under a passivity goal. Numerical results for practical droop gains confirm the PnP rules, substantially enlarging the certified stability region while preserving the decentralised, model-agnostic nature of passivity-based PnP tests.
In this paper we propose a PI passivity-based controller, applicable to a large class of switched power converters, that ensures global state regulation to a desired equilibrium point. A solution to this problem was reported in \cite{HERetal} but it requires full state-feedback, which makes it practically unfeasible. To overcome this limitation we construct a state observer that is implementable with measurements that are available in practical applications. The observer reconstructs the state in finite-time, ensuring global convergence of the PI. The excitation requirement for the observer is…
We present a full review of PID passivity-based controllers (PBC) applied to power electronic converters, discussing limitations, unprecedented merits and potential improvements in terms of large-signal stability, robustness and performance. We provide four main contributions. The nominal case is first considered and it is shown, under the assumption of perfect knowledge of the system parameters, that the PID-PBC is able to guarantee global exponential stability of a desired operating point for any positive gains. Second, we analyze robustness of the controller to parameters uncertainty for a …
The series-paralleling technique of dc-dc converters is utilized in various domains of electrical engineering for improved power conversion. Previous studies have proposed and classified the control schemes for the series-paralleled converters. However, they have several restrictions and lack diversity. The purpose of this paper is to propose passivity-based control (PBC) for the diverse output series-parallel connection of dc-dc converters. It is proved that the output series-paralleled converters regulated by PBC are asymptotically stable. The output series-paralleled converters are numerica…
With the increasing penetration of converter-interfaced distributed generation systems, it would be advantageous to specify local compliance criteria for these devices to ensure the small-signal stability of the interconnected system. Passivity of the device admittance, which is an example of a local criterion, has been used previously to avoid resonances between these devices and the lightly damped oscillatory modes of the network. Typical active and reactive power control strategies like droop control and virtual synchronous generator control inherently violate the passivity constraints on a…
Global Tracking Passivity--based PI Control of Bilinear Systems and its Application to the Boost and Modular Multilevel Converters
Laboratoire de Signaux et Systémes, Supélec（信号与系统实验室，苏佩莱克高等学院）；Dipartimento Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Università Politecnica delle Marche（信息技术工程学院，马尔凯理工学院）；Norwegian University of Science and Technology（挪威科技大学）
Rapid developments in power distribution systems and renewable energy have widened the applications of dc--dc buck--boost converters in dc voltage regulation. Applications include vehicular power systems, renewable energy sources that generate power at a low voltage, and dc microgrids. It is noted that the cascade--connection of converters in these applications may cause instability due to the fact that converters acting as loads have a constant power load (CPL) behavior. In this paper, the output voltage regulation problem of a buck--boost converter feeding a CPL is addressed. The constructio…
We consider a grid-connected voltage source converter (VSC) and address the problem of estimating the grid angle and frequency, information that is essential for an appropriate operation of the converter. We design phase-locked loop (PLL) algorithms with guaranteed stability properties, under the assumption that the grid is characterized by relatively high short-circuit-ratio (SCR) and inertia. In particular we derive, using passivity arguments, generalization of the conventional synchronous reference frame (SRF) and arctangent (ATAN) PLL, which are the standard solutions in power applications…
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…
Active Damping of a DC Network with a Constant Power Load: An Adaptive Passivity-based Control Approach
Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes, CNRS-Supélec（信号与系统实验室，CNRS-苏佩莱克）；Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya（加泰罗尼亚理工大学工业与控制工程研究所）；Key Laboratory of Measurements and Control of Complex Systems of Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Automation, Southeast University（东南大学自动化学院复杂工程系统测量与控制教育部重点实验室）
The increasing penetration of converter-interfaced distributed energy resources has brought out the need to develop decentralized criteria that would ensure the small-signal stability of the inter-connected system. Passivity of the D-Q admittance or impedance is a promising candidate for such an approach. It is facilitated by the inherent passivity of the D-Q impedance of an electrical network. However, the passivity conditions are generally restrictive and cannot be complied with in the low frequency range by the D-Q admittance of devices that follow typical power control strategies. However,…
Voltage and frequency control in an islanded AC microgrid (ImGs) amount to stabilizing an a priori unknown ImG equilibrium induced by loads and changes in topology. This paper puts forth a unified control framework which, while guaranteeing such stability, allows for modular ImGs interconnecting multiple subsystems, that is, dynamic RLC lines, nonlinear constant impedance, current, power (ZIP) and exponential (EXP) loads, and inverter-based distributed generation units (DGUs) controlled with different types of primary controllers. The underlying idea of the framework is based one equilibrium-i…
DC microgrids are prone to small-signal instabilities due to the presence of tightly regulated loads. This paper develops a decentralized stability certificate which is capable of certifying the small-signal stability of an islanded DC network containing such loads. Utilizing a novel homotopy approach, the proposed standards ensure that no system eigenmodes are able to cross into the unstable right half plane for a continuous range of controller gain levels. The resulting "standards" can be applied to variety of grid components which meet the specified, but non-unique, criteria. These standard…
An islanded inverter-based microgrid is a collection of heterogeneous DC energy resources, e.g., photovoltaic arrays, fuel cells, and energy-storage devices, interfaced to an AC distribution network and operated independently from the bulk power system. Energy conversion is typically managed by power electronics in voltage source inverters. Drawing from the control of synchronous machines in bulk power systems, different control schemes have been recently adopted in order to achieve a stable network operation. The vast majority of academic and industrial efforts opt for these strategies during…
Microgrids are increasingly recognized as a key technology for the integration of distributed energy resources into the power network, allowing local clusters of load and distributed energy resources to operate autonomously. However, microgrid operation brings new challenges, especially in islanded operation as frequency and voltage control are no longer provided by large rotating machines. Instead, the power converters in the microgrid must coordinate to regulate the frequency and voltage and ensure stability. We consider the problem of designing controllers to achieve these objectives. Using…
