• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.509-518
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• 2019

A novel islanding detection method is proposed in this paper. It is based on a frequency drooping PLL, which was presented in a previous work. The cause of errors in the non-detection zone (NDZ) of conventional frequency disturbance islanding detection methods (IDM) is analyzed. A frequency drooping phase-locked-loop (FD-PLL) is introduced into a single-phase grid-connected inverter (SPGCI), which can guarantee that grid current is in phase with the grid voltage. A novel FD-PLL IDM is proposed by improving this PLL. In order to verify the performance of the proposed FD-PLL IDM, a full performance comparison between the proposed IDM and typical existing active frequency drift IDMs is carried out, which includes both dynamic performance and steady performance. With the same NDZ, the total harmonic distortion of the grid-current in the dynamic process and steady state is analyzed. The proposed FD-PLL IDM, regardless of the dynamic or steady process, has the best power quality. Experimental and simulation results verify that the proposed FD-PLL IDM has excellent performance.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1217-1226
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• 2015

In a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system, the traditional Z-source inverter uses a low frequency transformer to ensure galvanic isolation between the grid and the PV system. In order to combine the advantages of both Z-source inverters and transformerless PV inverters, this paper presents a modified single-phase transformerless Z-source PV grid-connected inverter and a corresponding PWM strategy to eliminate the ground leakage current. By utilizing two reversed-biased diodes, the path for the leakage current is blocked during the shoot-through state. Meanwhile, by turning off an additional switch, the PV array is decoupled from the grid during the freewheeling state. In this paper, the operation principle, PWM strategy and common-mode (CM) characteristic of the modified transformerless Z-source inverter are illustrated. Furthermore, the influence of the junction capacitances of the power switches is analyzed in detail. The total losses of the main electrical components are evaluated and compared. Finally, a theoretical analysis is presented and corroborated by experimental results from a 1-kW laboratory prototype.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1988-1994
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• 2014

In a single-phase grid-connected power system consisting of a DC/DC converter and a DC/AC converter, the current drawn from renewable energy sources has a tendency to be pulsated and contains second-order frequency ripple components, which results in several drawback such as a power harvesting loss and a shortening of the energy source's life. This paper presents a new second-order harmonic current reduction scheme with a fast dc-link voltage loop for two-stage dc-dc-ac grid connected systems. In the frequency domain, an adequate control design is performed based on the small signal transfer function of a two-stage dc-dc-ac converter. To verify the effectiveness of proposed control algorithm, a 1 kW hardware prototype has been built and experimental results are presented.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.806-818
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• 2015

Based on the inherent relationship between dc-bus voltage and grid feeding active power, two dc-bus voltage regulators with different references are adopted for a grid-connected PV inverter operating in both normal grid voltage mode and low grid voltage mode. In the proposed scheme, an additional dc-bus voltage regulator paralleled with maximum power point tracking controller is used to guarantee the reliability of the low voltage ride-through (LVRT) of the inverter. Unlike conventional LVRT strategies, the proposed strategy does not require detecting grid voltage sag fault in terms of realizing LVRT. Moreover, the developed method does not have switching operations. The proposed technique can also enhance the stability of a power system in case of varying environmental conditions during a low grid voltage period. The operation principle of the presented LVRT control strategy is presented in detail, together with the design guidelines for the key parameters. Finally, a 3 kW prototype is built to validate the feasibility of the proposed LVRT strategy.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.201-208
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• 2015

The effects of dead-time and offset error, which cause output current distortion in single-phase grid-connected inverters are investigated this paper. Offset error is typically generated by measuring phase current, including the voltage unbalance of analog devices and non-ideal characteristics in current measurement paths. Dead-time inevitably occurs during generation of the gate signal for controlling power semiconductor switches. Hence, the performance of the grid-connected inverter is significantly degraded because of the current ripples. The current and voltage, including ripple components on the synchronous reference frame and stationary reference frame, are analyzed in detail. An algorithm, which has the proportional resonant controller, is also proposed to reduce current ripple components in the synchronous PI current regulator. As a result, computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is greatly simplified, and the magnitude of the current ripples is significantly decreased. The simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the usefulness of the proposed current ripple reduction algorithm.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.704-716
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• 2016

Small distributed generation units are usually connected to the main electric grid through single-phase voltage source inverters. Grid operating conditions such as voltage and frequency are not constant and can fluctuate within the range values established by international standards. Furthermore, the requirements in terms of power factor correction, total harmonic distortion, and reliability are getting tighter day by day. As a result, the implementation of reliable and efficient control algorithms, which are able to adjust their control parameters in response to changeable grid operating conditions, is essential. This paper investigates the configuration topology and control algorithm of a single-phase inverter with the purpose of achieving high performance in terms of efficiency as well as total harmonic distortion of the output current. Accordingly, a Second Order Generalized Integrator with a suitable Phase Locked Loop (SOGI-PLL) is the basis of the proposed current and voltage regulation. Some practical issues related to the control algorithm are addressed, and a solution for the control architecture is proposed, based on resonant controllers that are continuously tuned on the basis of the actual grid frequency. Further, intentional islanding operation is investigated and a possible procedure for switching from grid-tied to islanding operation and vice-versa is proposed.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.324-340
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• 2014

Recent developments in power electronics technology have spurred interest in the use of renewable energy sources as distributed generation (DG) generators. The key component in DG generators is a grid-connected inverter that serves as an effective interface between the renewable energy source and the utility grid. The multifunctional inverter (MFI) is special type of grid-connected inverter that has elicited much attention in recent years. MFIs not only generate power for DGs but also provide increased functionality through improved power quality and voltage and reactive power support; thus, the capability of the auxiliary service for the utility grid is improved. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the various MFI system configurations for single-phase (two-wire) and three-phase (three- or four-wire) systems and control strategies for the compensation of different power quality problems. The advances in practical applications and recent research on MFIs are presented through a review of nearly 200 papers.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2016

A pulse-width modulation (PWM) method for common mode noise reduction in a PWM inverter connected to a single-phase grid is proposed in this study. The extensively used conventional switching method may experience common mode voltage problems, which generate current leakage and electromagnetic induction problems. In the proposed switching method, the neutral point of the output voltage is always fixed at both ends of the input voltage to reduce common mode noise. The validity of the proposed method is proven through simulation and experimental results.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.451-462
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• 2016

Photovoltaic energy conversion becomes main focus of many researches due to its promising potential as source for future electricity and has many advantages than the other alternative energy sources like wind, solar, ocean, biomass, geothermal etc. In Photovoltaic power generation multilevel inverters play a vital role in power conversion. The three different topologies, diode-clamped (neutral-point clamped) inverter, capacitor-clamped (flying capacitor) inverter and cascaded h-bridge multilevel inverter are widely used in these multilevel inverters. Among the three topologies, cascaded h-bridge multilevel inverter is more suitable for photovoltaic applications since each pv array can act as a separate dc source for each h-bridge module. This paper presents a single phase Cascaded H-bridge five level inverter for grid-connected photovoltaic application using sinusoidal pulse width modulation technique. This inverter output voltage waveform reduces the harmonics in the generated current and the filtering effort at the input. The control strategy allows the independent control of each dc-link voltages and tracks the maximum power point of PV strings. This topology can inject to the grid sinusoidal input currents with unity power factor and achieves low harmonic distortion. A PID control algorithm is implemented in Arm Processor LPC2148. The validity of the proposed inverter is verified through simulation and is implemented in a single phase 100W prototype. The results of hardware are compared with simulation results. The proposed system offers improved performance over conventional three level inverter in terms of THD.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.227-232
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• 2014

A highly efficient MOSFET inverter for single-phase grid-connected photovoltaic power generation systems is presented in this paper. It is a full-MOSFET version of the conventional transformerless full-bridge inverter with dual L-C filters using unipolar PWM. The key idea lies on smart pre switching(SPS), which can make the large switching loss due to a poor reverse recovery of the MOSFET's body diode reduced dramatically. The validity of the proposed inverter is verified by experiment.