Mahesh K. Mishra

DC Capacitor Voltage Equalization in Neutral Clamped Inverters for DSTATCOM Application

Multilevel neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter systems are increasingly used in load compensation applications. However, the most significant problem associated with these compensators is the capacitor voltage imbalances and drift due to dc components in the zero sequence current, resulting in degradation of tracking performance of the voltage source inverter. This paper proposes a carrier-based pulsewidth modulation control for an inverter-chopper circuit in order to regulate the capacitor voltages to their reference values. To demonstrate the simplicity and effectiveness of the aforementioned control scheme, a three-phase four-wire three-level NPC compensator system is taken as an example. Detailed simulation has been carried out in PSCAD 4.2.1. Experiments are conducted to validate the proposed control scheme.

Control Strategies for Load Compensation Using Instantaneous Symmetrical Component Theory Under Different Supply Voltages

In this paper, the theory of instantaneous symmetrical components is applied to explore various control strategies of load compensation, under different supply voltages. When the supply voltages are balanced and sinusoidal, all of these strategies converge to the same compensation characteristics. However, when the supply voltages are not balanced sinusoids, these control strategies result in different degrees of compensation in harmonics, power factor, neutral current, and compensator ratings. These control strategies are discussed in detail and a comparative study of their performance in terms of the rms value, total harmonic distortion, power factor of source currents, and compensator ratings is presented. Based on this study, it is possible to select the best strategy to meet the required load compensation characteristics for available supply voltages. A three-phase four-wire distribution system supplying an unbalanced and nonlinear load is considered for simulation study. The detailed simulation results using MATLAB are presented to support the proposed compensation strategies.

Interphase AC–AC Topology for Voltage Sag Supporter

A new topology is proposed in this paper to compensate voltage sags in power distribution systems. Voltage sag is one of the major power quality problems encountered by industries. The traditional voltage sag compensator, which is a dynamic voltage restorer based on energy storage device with a series-connected voltage-source inverter, is not adequate for compensating deep and long-duration voltage sags. As per the sensitive load concern, deep and long-duration sags are more vulnerable than shallow and short-duration sags. To compensate the voltage sag, a new interphase ac-ac topology is proposed that needs no storage device. The compensator of each phase is connected on the other two phases and the power is tapped from them. A single-phase compensator is realized with two ac chopper circuits and two transformers. By controlling the duty cycle of each ac chopper, the required voltage is realized to compensate the voltage sag. Analysis, simulation, and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the proposed concept.

A Modified Three-Phase Four-Wire UPQC Topology With Reduced DC-Link Voltage Rating

The unified power quality conditioner (UPQC) is a custom power device, which mitigates voltage and current-related PQ issues in the power distribution systems. In this paper, a UPQC topology for applications with non-stiff source is proposed. The proposed topology enables UPQC to have a reduced dc-link voltage without compromising its compensation capability. This proposed topology also helps to match the dc-link voltage requirement of the shunt and series active filters of the UPQC. The topology uses a capacitor in series with the interfacing inductor of the shunt active filter, and the system neutral is connected to the negative terminal of the dc-link voltage to avoid the requirement of the fourth leg in the voltage source inverter (VSI) of the shunt active filter. The average switching frequency of the switches in the VSI also reduces, consequently the switching losses in the inverters reduce. Detailed design aspects of the series capacitor and VSI parameters have been discussed in the paper. A simulation study of the proposed topology has been carried out using PSCAD simulator, and the results are presented. Experimental studies are carried out on three-phase UPQC prototype to verify the proposed topology.

An Investigation on Design and Switching Dynamics of a Voltage Source Inverter to Compensate Unbalanced and Nonlinear Loads

In this paper, design aspects of various passive components and switching dynamics of a voltage source inverter (VSI) for compensating unbalanced and nonlinear load are presented. The design method for VSI to track desired reference currents smoothly, is illustrated. By using the proposed method, it is possible to design the passive components of different VSI topologies used for load compensation. The results are supported by detailed simulation studies on a three-phase four-wire compensated system using PSCAD 4.2.1. The design steps are also verified by conducting experiments using a prototype model developed in the laboratory.

A control algorithm for single-phase active power filter under non-stiff voltage source

The authors propose a control algorithm for a single-phase active-power filter working under a non-stiff voltage source. The method provides compensation for harmonics and reactive power and has an excellent dynamic performance. A detailed synchronization circuit is presented for proper sequencing of operation of the active power filter even when the source voltage contains multiple zero crossings. Experimental study has been carried out under a non-stiff voltage source to verify the proposed control scheme

A Minimally Switched Control Algorithm forThree-Phase Four-Leg VSI Topology toCompensate Unbalanced and Nonlinear Load

In this paper, a minimally switched control algorithm for a three-phase four-leg voltage source inverter topology is proposed for compensation of unbalanced and nonlinear loads. An optimized control technique is necessary for the three-phase four-leg topology, otherwise it requires higher switching operations of the switches in the voltage source inverter for tracking three-phase and neutral currents through conventional hysteresis band control. In the paper, a control technique has been formulated and its effect of reducing the switching frequency over a period of time has been studied and verified. A simulation study of three-phase, four-wire compensated system is carried out using Matlab/Simulink to validate the proposed method. Detailed experimental results presented further confirm the efficacy of the proposed control.

Design and Analysis of Novel Control Strategy for Battery and Supercapacitor Storage System

In this paper, a simple novel control strategy is designed and analyzed for a hybrid energy storage system (HESS). In the proposed method, batteries are used to balance the slow changing power surges, whereas supercapacitors (SC) are used to balance the fast changing power surges. The main advantage of the proposed control strategy is that, the slow response of battery system including dynamics of battery, controller, and converter operation, is overcome by diverting the power surges to the SC system. The proposed method inherits charge/discharge rate control to improve the life span and reduce the current stresses on battery. The proposed method features less computational burden as it uses simple control strategy. The detailed experimental results presented validate the proposed control strategy for sudden changes in photovoltaic (PV) generation and load demand.

A Fast-Acting DC-Link Voltage Controller for Three-Phase DSTATCOM to Compensate AC and DC Loads

The transient response of the distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) is very important while compensating rapidly varying unbalanced and nonlinear loads. Any change in the load affects the dc-link voltage directly. The sudden removal of load would result in an increase in the dc-link voltage above the reference value, whereas a sudden increase in load would reduce the dc-link voltage below its reference value. The proper operation of DSTATCOM requires variation of the dc-link voltage within the prescribed limits. Conventionally, a proportional-integral (PI) controller is used to maintain the dc-link voltage to the reference value. It uses deviation of the capacitor voltage from its reference value as its input. However, the transient response of the conventional PI dc-link voltage controller is slow. In this paper, a fast-acting dc-link voltage controller based on the energy of a dc-link capacitor is proposed. Mathematical equations are given to compute the gains of the conventional controller based on fast-acting dc-link voltage controllers to achieve similar fast transient response. The detailed simulation and experimental studies are carried out to validate the proposed controller.

Variable Perturbation Size Adaptive P&O MPPT Algorithm for Sudden Changes in Irradiance

In this paper, a variable perturbation size adaptive perturb and observe (P&O) maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is proposed to track the maximum power under sudden changes in irradiance. The proposed method consists of three algorithms, namely current perturbation algorithm (CPA), adaptive control algorithm (ACA), and variable perturbation algorithm (VPA). CPA always tries to operate the photovoltaic (PV) panel at maximum power point (MPP). ACA sets the operating point closer to MPP, only if the operating limits are violated. These operating limits are expressed in terms of the operating current range of the PV panel and the sudden changes in irradiance. VPA dynamically reduces the perturbation size based on polarity of change in power. Two-stage variable size perturbation is proposed in this paper. The proposed algorithm is realized using a boost converter. The effectiveness of proposed algorithm in terms of dynamic performance and improved stability is validated by detailed simulation and experimental studies.