Ahmed A. Elserougi

Optimum Power Transmission-Based Droop Control Design for Multi-Terminal HVDC of Offshore Wind Farms

Power generation through wind is expected to play a major role in the worlds future energy portfolio. Nevertheless, wind power integration remains a challenging research area due to the special characteristics of wind power generation. Specifically, offshore wind has received significant attention worldwide due to the vast generation potential available. The electrical infrastructure of offshore wind farms is thus of significant importance. The multi-terminal HVDC solution represents a preferable solution and has shown promise in solving wind farm interconnection problems. Droop control techniques have been proposed as a means to regulate the DC voltage and facilitate the automatic coordination between different converters without the need for fast communication between units. Different methodologies have been developed to select the droop gains to satisfy the system performance specifications. In this work, a control design methodology is proposed for power sharing among the multi-terminal HVDC feeders providing that the power transmission efficiency is optimized. A simulation study on a 400-kV/1000-MW four-terminal HVDC transmission topology is conducted to ensure the validity of the proposed methodology.

A New Protection Scheme for HVDC Converters Against DC-Side Faults With Current Suppression Capability

Two-level voltage-source converters and half-bridge modular multilevel converters are among the most popular types of HVDC converters. One of their serious drawbacks is their vulnerable nature to dc-side faults, since the freewheeling diodes act as a rectifier bridge and feed the dc faults. The severity of dc-side faults can be limited by connecting double thyristor switches across the semiconductor devices. By turning them on, the ac current contribution into the dc side is eliminated and the dc-link current will freely decay to zero. The main disadvantages of this method are: high dv/dt stresses across thyristors during normal conditions, and the absence of bypassing for the freewheeling diodes during dc faults since they are sharing the fault current with thyristors. This paper proposes combining and connecting the double thyristor switches across the ac output terminals of the HVDC converter. The proposed protection scheme provides advantages, such as lower dv/dt stresses and lower voltage rating of thyristor switches in addition to providing full segregation between the converter semiconductor devices and ac grid during dc-side faults. A simulation case study has been carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Parameter Identification of Five-Phase Induction Machines With Single Layer Windings

Despite the increased interest in multiphase induction machines for safety-critical applications, machine parameter identification for the different sequence planes is still a challenging research point. In most available literature, the effect of nonfundamental sequence planes is overlooked due to the assumption of sinusoidal winding distribution and healthy operation. However, in a single layer or concentric winding layout with an odd number of phases, the effect of flux produced by nonfundamental sequence planes cannot be ignored for the open-phase case. This paper proposes a simple offline method to estimate the parameters of a five-phase induction machine corresponding to different sequence planes. The proposed technique can estimate the stator leakage inductance as well as the magnetizing inductance of both fundamental and third sequences by applying a quasi-square voltage to the stator winding while the machine is running at no-load. Consequently, the rotor circuit parameters of the fundamental sequence plane can be simply obtained by deducting the stator impedance from the blocked rotor machine impedance. For the third sequence plane, an approximate relation to estimate these parameters based on the measured fundamental sequence rotor parameters is also given. An experimental 1.5 Hp prototype machine is used to verify the proposed technique.

An Improved Performance Direct-Drive Permanent Magnet Wind Generator Using a Novel Single-Layer Winding Layout

Direct-drive permanent magnet (PM) generators have become a strong contender in medium and large rating wind energy conversion systems as they not only provide higher efficiency and annual energy production, but also reduce the operational and maintenance cost. PM generators with nonoverlap single-layer windings provide a cost-effective design variation that eases manufacturing, reduces torque ripples, enhances voltage quality, and provides fault tolerant capability. The performance of such machines depends mainly on the proper selection of the pole and slot numbers, which results in negligible coupling between phases. The preferred slots per phase per pole (SPP) ratios eliminate the effect of low order harmonics in the stator magnetomotive force (MMF), and thereby the vibration and stray loss are reduced. This paper proposes a new three-phase winding configuration based on the 20 slots/18 poles five-phase PM machine. The proposed design is compared with the well-known 24 slots/20 poles three-phase PM machine. The comparison shows that the proposed generator offers reduced torque ripples, improved output voltage quality, and less core loss for the same machine volume.

A Four-Switch Three-Phase SEPIC-Based Inverter

The four-switch three-phase (FSTP) inverter has been proposed as an innovative inverter design to reduce the cost, complexity, size, and switching losses of the dc–ac conversion system. Traditional FSTP inverter usually operates at half the dc input voltage; hence, the output line voltage cannot exceed this value. This paper proposes a novel design for the FSTP inverter based on the topology of the single-ended primary-inductance converter (SEPIC). The proposed topology provides pure sinusoidal output voltages with no need for output filter. Compared to traditional FSTP inverter, the proposed FSTP SEPIC inverter improves the voltage utilization factor of the input dc supply, where the proposed topology provides higher output line voltage which can be extended up to the full value of the dc input voltage. The integral sliding-mode control is used with the proposed topology to optimize its dynamics and to ensure robustness of the system during different operating conditions. Derivation of the equations describing the parameters design, components ratings, and the operation of the proposed SEPIC inverter is presented in this paper. Simulation model and experimental setup are used to validate the proposed concept. Simulations and experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed inverter.

A Switched PV Approach for Extracted Maximum Power Enhancement of PV Arrays During Partial Shading

This paper proposes a switched photovoltaic (PV) approach to enhance the extracted maximum power from a PV array during partial shading conditions. The proposed system is simple and cost effective. However, it may provide lower power enhancement compared to other existing solutions, which makes it more suitable for domestic applications. For assessing the proposed switched PV-based system, a detailed numerical comparison between the extracted power from the proposed system and other existing technologies has been presented for the same operating conditions. Simulation and experimental results show the possibility of enhancing the PV arrays extracted output power during partial shading with the proposed system.

Effect of Stator Winding Connection of Five-Phase Induction Machines on Torque Ripples Under Open Line Condition

One of the main challenges in designing high-power drive systems is the quality of the developed torque. High-torque-ripple magnitudes result in serious vibration and acoustic noise problems that affect the lifetime of a drive train. Multiphase machines intrinsically offer the torque with higher quality and are also being promoted for their high fault tolerant capability when compared with their three-phase counterparts. During open-phase conditions, the induced nonfundamental sequence current components have a detrimental effect on the machine performance especially under open-loop control. Although optimal current control is usually employed to ensure certain optimization criterion, such as minimizing torque ripples, optimizing flux distribution, or minimizing copper loss, are met, it usually entails a sophisticated current controller. This paper studies the effect of a stator winding connection of a five-phase induction machine on the induced torque ripples. Two possible connections, namely, star and pentagon connections are compared under healthy as well as fault conditions with one-line open. The comparison is conducted using both finite-element simulation and experimental results using a 1.5-Hp five-phase prototype induction machine. The comparison shows that the pentagon connection reduces the machine-induced torque ripples and improves the overall machine performance under fault conditions.

DC bus control of an advanced flywheel energy storage kinetic traction system for electrified railway industry

The evolution of public transportation exhibits high potential nowadays due to the consistent demand of clean transportation with low pollution rates. Therefore electrified railway systems become viable with their environmentally friendly properties. This study aims to improve the efficiency of DC power supplied railways via employing energy storage technology to maximize the overall energy efficiency. A flywheel energy storage system has been applied to store the regenerated energy during braking instead of dissipating it in the form of heat; then this stored energy can be used to compensate system disturbances and imbalance periods. A 75 kW/90 kJ squirrel cage induction machine based flywheel energy storage system is dedicated with a 600 VDC electric railway system to control the energy between the traction motor and the DC bus. The proposed control strategy is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink and simulation results have been shown. An experimentally FESS is built to support the study by experimental results.

A Switched-Capacitor Submodule for Modular Multilevel HVDC Converters With DC-Fault Blocking Capability and a Reduced Number of Sensors

Modular multilevel converters (MMCs) have become one of the most promising topologies for high-voltage dc-ac conversion. DC-side fault blocking capability of the MMC has prompted significant research in recent years. In this paper, a new switched capacitor submodule (SCSM) for MMCs is proposed which provides operation with DC fault blocking capability. In addition, successful voltage balancing is achieved with half the number of voltage sensors used with existing MMC cells. Generally, conventional sensor-based balancing techniques require a significant amount of measurements, 2m(N-1) voltage sensors, and 2m current sensors for an N-level m-phase MMC. The proposed cell will thus aid in reducing the complexity of the control system. A detailed illustration of the operational concept of the proposed architecture is presented in this paper. A comparison between the proposed SCSM and other existing MMC cells has been included to highlight the benefits of the proposed SCSM. A simulation model for an MMC-based HVDC system along with the proposed cell has been built to test its performance during normal as well as abnormal operating conditions. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.

A Nine-Switch-Converter-Based Integrated Motor Drive and Battery Charger System for EVs Using Symmetrical Six-Phase Machines

This paper presents a new configuration for integrated on-board battery chargers of electric vehicles (EVs) incorporating symmetrical six-phase machines. The configuration proposes an exclusive utilization of a nine-switch converter (NSC) along with the machine windings during both propulsion and charging of EVs. The proposed configuration has the advantage of employing a reduced number of components in both the EV (on-board) and charging station (off-board), with the privilege of avoiding machine electromagnetic torque production during charging/vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode of operation. During charging/V2G mode, the NSC is turned into a conventional three-phase pulse width modulation rectifier and is directly connected to the three-phase mains through the machine windings. Conventional three-phase transformers can be employed for galvanic isolation. Switching between propulsion and charging modes is carried out using a simple hardware reconfiguration. Control schemes for both propulsion and charging/V2G modes are elaborated, along with the principles of operation of the NSC. Experimental results are provided to validate the theoretical deductions for the different operating modes.