• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.757-765
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• 2018

This paper deals with the instability and resonant phenomena in distribution systems with multiple grid-connected inverters with an LCL output filter. The penetration of roof-top and other types of small photovoltaic (PV) grid-connected systems is rapidly increasing in distribution grids due to the attractive incentives set forth by different governments. When the number of such grid-connected inverters increases, their interaction with the distribution grid may cause undesirable effects such as instability and resonance. In this paper, a grid system with several grid-connected inverters is studied. Since proportional-resonant (PR) controllers are becoming more popular, it is assumed that most inverters use this type of controller. An LCL filter is also considered at the inverters output to make the case as realistic as possible. A complete modeling of this system is presented. Consequently, it is shown that such a system is prone to instability due to the interactions of the inverter controllers. A modification of PR controllers is presented where the output capacitor is virtually decreased. As a result, the instability is avoided. Simulation results are presented and show a good agreement with the theoretical studies. Experimental results obtained on a laboratory setup show the validity of the analysis.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.518-529
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• 2015

Repetitive and proportional-resonant controllers can effectively reject grid harmonics in grid-connected inverters because of their high gains at the fundamental frequency and the corresponding harmonics. However, the performances of these controllers can seriously deteriorate if the grid frequency deviates from its nominal value. Non-ideal proportional-resonant controllers provide better immunity to variations in grid frequency by widening resonant peaks at the expense of reducing the gains of the peaks, which reduces the effectiveness of the controller. This paper proposes a repetitive control scheme for grid-connected inverters that can track changes in grid frequencies and keep resonant peaks lined up with grid frequency harmonics. The proposed controller is implemented using a digital signal processor. Simulation and practical results are presented to demonstrate the controller capabilities. Results show that the performance of the proposed controller is superior to that of a proportional-resonant controller.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.623-630
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• 2009

This paper proposes a filter design guideline for grid-connected single-phase inverters. By analyzing the instantaneous voltage applied to the filter inductor, the switching ripple current through the filter inductor can be precisely calculated. Therefore, filter inductance can be designed accurately, which guaranties that the switching ripple current will be under the target value. The proposed filter design method is verified by experiment.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.383-391
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• 2014

For the digital control of systems such as grid-connected inverters, measuring inverter output currents accurately is essential. However, current measurement offsets are inevitably generated by current measurement paths and cause DC current components in real inverter output currents. Real inverter output currents with DC components cause the DC-link capacitor voltage to oscillate at the frequency of a utility voltage. For these reasons, current measurement offsets deteriorate the overall system performance. A compensation strategy to eliminate the effect of current measurement offsets in grid-connected inverters is proposed in this study. The validity of the proposed compensation strategy is verified through simulations and experiments. Results show that the proposed compensation strategy improves the performance of grid-connected inverters.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.169-180
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• 2019

Grid codes for grid-connected inverters are essential considerations for bulk grid systems. In particular, a low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) function, which can contribute to the grid system's stabilization with the occurrence of voltage sag, is required by such inverters. However, when the grid voltage is under zero-voltage condition due to a grid accident, a zero-voltage ride-through (ZVRT) function is required. Grid-connected inverters typically have phase-locked loop (PLL) control to synchronize the phase of the grid voltage with that of the inverter output. In this study, the LVRT regulations of Germany, the United States, and Japan are analyzed. Then, three major PLL methods of grid-connected single-phase inverters, namely, notch filter-PLL, dq-PLL using an active power filter, and second-order generalized integrator-PLL, are reviewed. The proposed PLL method, which controls inverter output under ZVRT condition, is suggested. The proposed PLL operates better than the three major PLL methods under ZVRT condition in the simulation and experimental tests.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.334-341
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• 2019

This study proposes the control strategy for the seamless mode transfer of indirect current controlled parallel grid-connected inverters. Under the abnormal grid condition, the grid-connected inverter can convert the operation mode from grid-connected to stand-alone mode to supply power to the local load. For a seamless mode transfer, the time delay problems caused by the accumulated control variable error must be solved, and the indirect current control method has been applied as one of the solutions. In this study, the design of control parameters for the proportional-resonant-based triple-loop indirect current controller and the control strategy for the seamless mode transfer of parallel grid-connected inverters are described and analyzed. The validity of the proposed mode transfer method is verified by the PSiM simulation results.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1212-1222
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• 2018

This paper presents a model predictive control (MPC) method to reduce the common-mode voltage (CMV) for inverters connected in parallel, which increase the capacity of energy storage systems (ESSs). The proposed method is based on subdivided voltage vectors, and the resulting algorithm can be applied to control the inverters. Furthermore, we use more voltage vectors than the conventional MPC algorithm; consequently, the quality of grid currents is improved. Several methods were proposed in order to reduce the CMV appearing during operation and its adverse effects. However, those methods have shown to increase the total harmonic distortion of the grid currents. Our method, however, aims to both avoid this drawback and effectively reduce the CMV. By employing phase difference in the carrier signals to control each inverter, we successfully reduced the CMV for inverters connected in parallel, thus outperforming similar methods. In fact, the validity of the proposed method was verified by simulations and experimental results.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.75-81
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• 2021

This study analyzes the resonance characteristics caused by the mutual interference between LCL filters and the grid impedance under the parallel operation of the grid-connected inverter using the LCL filter. These characteristics are verified through simulation and experiment. Two inverters are used to connect to the grid in parallel, and the system parameters, including the LCL filter, are set to the same conditions. In the case of inverters running in parallel at the point of common coupling, the presence of grid impedance causes mutual interference between the LCL filters of each inverter, and the deviation of the filter resonance frequency is analyzed to understand the parallel inverter. The correlation between the number of devices and the size of grid impedance is simulated by PSIM and verified by MATLAB. By connecting the real-time digital simulator Typhoon HILS to the DSP 28377 control board, the mutual interference characteristics are tested under the condition of two inverters running in parallel. The experimental and analysis results are the same, indicating the validity of the analysis.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.896-908
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• 2013

Under high grid impedance conditions, it is difficult to guarantee the stability of grid-connected inverters with an LCL filter designed based on ideal grid conditions. In this paper, the theoretical basis for output impedance calculation is introduced. Based on the small-signal model, the d-d channel closed-loop output impedance models adopting the converter-side current control method and the grid-side current control method are derived, respectively. Specifically, this paper shows how to simplify the stability analysis which is usually complemented based on the generalized Nyquist stability criterion (GNC). The stability of each current-controlled grid-connected system is analyzed via the proposed simplified method. Moreover, the influence of the LCL parameters on the stability margin of grid-connected inverter controlled with converter-side current is studied. It is shown that the stability of grid-connected systems is fully determined by the d-d channel output admittance of the grid-connected inverter and the inductive component of the grid impedance. Experimental results validate the proposed theoretical stability analysis.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1338-1347
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• 2015

DC injection is a critical issue in transformerless grid-connected inverters. DC injection control based on virtual capacitor has the advantages of low cost, low loss, high accuracy and easy implementation. In this paper, the principle of DC injection control based on virtual capacitor was analyzed. In addition, the applicable conditions, working process, steady state error and advantages were also discussed in detail. The design of the control parameters based on virtual capacitor was proposed in a grid-connected inverter with LCL filter. The robustness of the control parameters was also discussed. Simulation and experimental results verify the validity of the analysis and demonstrate that this research has a certain value in engineering applications.