Artificial Neural Network for Control and GridIntegration of Residential Solar Photovoltaic Systems

ABSTRACT:

 Residential solar photovoltaic (PV) energy is becoming an increasingly important part of the world's renewable energy. A residential solar PV array is usually connected to the distribution grid through a single-phase inverter. Control of the single-phase PV system should maximize the power output from the PV array while ensuring overall system performance, safety, reliability, and controllability for interface with the electricity grid. This paper has two main objectives. The first objective is to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) vector control strategy for a LCL-filter based single-phase solar inverter. The ANN controller is trained to implement optimal control, based on approximate dynamic programming. The second objective is to evaluate the performance of the ANN-based solar PV system by (a) simulating the PV system behavior for grid integration and maximum power extraction from solar PV array in a realistic residential PV application and (b) building an experimental solar PV system for hardware validation. The results demonstrate that a residential PV system using the ANN control outperforms the PV system using the conventional standard vector control method and proportional resonant control method in both simulation and hardware implementation. This is also true in the presence of noise, disturbance, distortion, and non-ideal conditions.

KEYWORDS:

 

1.      Artificial neural networks

2.      DC-AC power converters

3.       DC-DC power converters

4.      Dynamic programming

5.      Maximum power point tracker

6.      Optimal control

7.      Solar power generation

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

CONCLUSION:

This paper proposes a single-phase, residential solar PV system based on artificial neural networks and adaptive dynamic programming for MPPT control and grid integration of a solar photovoltaic array through an LCL-filter based inverter. The proposed artificial neural network controller implements the optimal control based on the approximate dynamic programming. Both the simulation and hardware experiment results demonstrate that the solar PV system using the ADP-based artificial neural network controller has more improved performance than that using the proportional resonant or conventional standard vector control techniques, such as no requirement for damping resistance, more reliable and efficient extraction of solar power, more stable DC-link voltage, and more reliable integration with the utility grid. Using the ADP-based neural network control technique, the harmonics are significantly reduced and the system shows much stronger adaptive ability under uncertain conditions, which would greatly benefit the integration of small-scale residential solar photovoltaic systems into the grid.

REFERENCES:

[1] Renewable Energy World Editors. (2014, Nov. 12). Residential Solar Energy Storage Market Could Approach 1 GW by 2018. Available: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com.

[2] R. A. Mastromauro, M. Liserre and A. D. Aquila, “Control Issues in Single-Stage Photovoltaic Systems: MPPT, Current and Voltage Control”, IEEE Trans. Ind. Informatics, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 241-254, May 2012.

[3] E. Lorenzo, G. Araujo, A. Cuevas, M. Egido, J. Miñano and R. Zilles, Solar Electricity: Engineering of Photovoltaic Systems, Progensa, Sevilla, Spain, 1994.

[4] J. M. Carrasco, L. G. Franquelo, J. T. Bialasiewicz, E. Galván, R. C. P. Guisado, M. Á. M. Prats, J. I. León, and N. Moreno-Alfonso, “Power- Electronic Systems for the Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources: A Survey”, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 1002-1016, August 2006.

[5] W. T. Franke, C. Kürtz and F. W. Fuchs, "Analysis of control strategies for a 3 phase 4 wire topology for transformerless solar inverters," in Proc. IEEE Int. Symp. Ind. Electron., Bari, pp. 658-663, 2010.

An Improved Seven-Level PUC InverterTopology with Voltage Boosting

 ABSTRACT:

 In this brief, a seven-level (7L) improved packed U cell (IPUC) inverter with reduced power electronic components is proposed. The presented IPUC inverter has low voltage stress on switches and is capable of voltage boosting. A new voltage balancing method based on logic form equations is developed for regulating the inherent floating capacitor voltage to half the input DC voltage. The proposed 7L IPUC is compared with other state-of-the-art 7L inverters in terms of number of IGBTs, blocking voltage and driver circuits for attesting its superior merits. The performance of the proposed voltage balancing is verified through a laboratory prototyped 7L IPUC inverter considering varying load conditions and the corresponding results are elucidated.

KEYWORDS:

1.      Logic form equations

2.       Multilevel inverters,

3.      Voltage balancing

4.      Voltage boosting

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

CONCLUSION:

A 7L IPUC inverter topology with reduced power electronics components like switching devices, driver circuits and passive components was presented. The inherent floating capacitor voltage was balanced by using the logic form equations which is independent to the load power factor and its suitable dynamic load variation. The boosting ability of the proposed topology was verified through several experimental tests and the results were presented. Finally, the proposed inverter was benchmarked in terms of number of components against its counterpart topologies. Also, the detailed cost analysis revealed the cost effectiveness of the developed topology. With these attributes, it qualifies as a challenging candidate for medium voltage grid connected photovoltaic system and electric vehicle applications.

REFERENCES:

[1]. Z. Wang, Y. Yan, J. Yang, S. Li and Q. Li, "Robust Voltage Regulation of A DC-AC Inverter with Load Variations via A HDOBC Approach," IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. II: Exp. Brief doi:10.1109/TCSII.2018.2872330

[2]. T. C. Neugebauer, D. J. Perreault, J. H. Lang and C. Livermore, "A sixphase multilevel inverter for MEMS electrostatic induction micromotors," IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. II: Exp. Brief, vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 49-56, Feb, 2004.

[3]. M. S. W. Chan and K. T. Chau, "A New Switched-Capacitor Boost- Multilevel Inverter Using Partial Charging," IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. II: Exp. Brief, vol. 54, no. 12, pp. 1145-1149, Dec, 2007.

[4]. J. S. Mohamed Ali and V. Kumar, "Compact Switched Capacitor Multilevel Inverter (CSCMLI) With Self Voltage Balancing and Boosting Ability," IEEE Trans. Power Electron., doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2018.2871378.

[5]. Y. Ounejjar, K. Al-Haddad, and L. A. Dessaint, “A novel six-band hysteresis control for the packed U cells seven-level converter: Experimental validation,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 59, no. 10, pp. 3808-3816, Oct, 2012.

A Novel Six-Band Hysteresis Control for the PackedU Cells Seven-Level Converter: Experimental Validation

ABSTRACT:

 In this paper, the authors propose a novel six-band hysteresis technique to efficiently control the seven-level packed U cells (PUC) converter. The proposed PUC combines advantages of the flying capacitor and the cascaded H-bridge topologies. The novel control strategy is proposed in order to insure a good operation of the PUC converter in both inverter and rectifier modes. In case of rectifier operation, the proposed six-band controller is designed to draw a sinusoidal line current (load current in case of inverter operation) with a unity power factor. Harmonics contents of line current (or load current) and rectifier input voltage (or inverter output voltage) are very low which permits the reduction of the active and passive filters ratings resulting on a very high energetic efficiency and a reduced installation cost. The proposed concept was validated through experimental implementation using real-time controller, the DS1103 of dSpace.

KEYWORDS:

 

1.      Active rectifier

2.      Harmonic reduction

3.       Hysteresis

4.      Inverter

5.      Multilevel converters

6.      Packed U cells (PUC)

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

 CONCLUSION:

A novel six-band hysteresis control technique for the seven level PUC converter is presented in this paper. The proposed controller allows a nearly sinusoidal current both in rectifier or inverter operation. The DC link buses voltages are well controlled and track their references even under 100% of load steps. The rectifier input voltage or the inverter output voltage has seven-level voltages which permit to reduce the rating of active and passive filters resulting on a very high energetic efficiency and a reduced installation cost. The good dynamics of the system prove the efficiency of the proposed controller.

REFERENCES:

[1] A. Nabae, I. Takahashi, and H. Akagi, “A new neutral point clamped PWM inverter,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. IA-17, no. 5, pp. 518–523, Sep./Oct. 1981.

[2] L. Yacoubi, K. Al-Haddad, F. Fnaiech, and L.-A. Dessaint, “A DSP-based implementation of a new nonlinear control for a three-phase neutral point clamped boost rectifier prototype,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 197–205, Feb. 2005.

[3] L. Yacoubi, K. Al-Haddad, L.-A. Dessaint, and F. Fnaiech, “A DSP-based implementation of a nonlinear model reference adaptive control for a three-phase three-level NPC boost rectifier prototype,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 1084–1092, Sep. 2005.

[4] J. Rodriguez, S. Bernet, P. K. Steimer, and I. E. Lizama, “A survey on neutral-point-clamped inverters,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 57, no. 7, pp. 2219–2230, Jul. 2010.

[5] T. Meynard and H. Foch, “Multi-level conversion: High voltage choppers and voltage-source inverters,” in Proc. 23rd Annu. PESC Rec., Jun. 29–Jul. 3 1992, vol. 1, pp. 397–403.

A New Variable Frequency Control of Forty-nine Level Cascaded Packed U-cell Voltage Source Inverter

ABSTRACT:

 Requirement of large number of levels with lower number of switching devices has made asymmetrical converters more popular than the symmetrical ones. Asymmetrical cascaded multilevel inverters (ACMLI) can achieve high efficiency by combining switching devices with different voltage ratings and technologies. The proposed ACMLI cascades two or more units of packed U-Cell (PUC) inverters using two or more isolated DC link supplies. In this paper, one of the PUC unit is controlled using high switching frequency while the other PUCs are operated in a step mode at low switching frequencies, thus operating them in a variable frequency control mode. The cascading of two 7-level PUC inverters with DC link voltage ratios of 1:7 can produce an output voltage with 49 (7x7) levels. The multi-level output voltage waveform is nearly sinusoidal with very low THD content, and the low switching frequency operation leads to lower power dissipation and greater system efficiency. However, each PUC module requires two dc voltage sources. To address this concern, in this manuscript, each PUC module consists of one dc voltage source and one dc bus capacitor. With the cascaded PUC topology and proposed control algorithm, load current and dc bus capacitor voltage control is achieved simultaneously. The proposed converter and its control technique lead to the breaking of the design trade-off rule between switching frequency (efficiency) and filter size. This is very useful in various applications such as Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), and grid-tie inverters. The converter and its control technique are simulated using MATLAB/Simulink software and simulation results for both open loop and closed loop are discussed. Hardware results are obtained by developing a 1-KW experimental prototype. Simulation and experimental results confirm the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed topology and its control technique. 

KEYWORDS:

1.      Asymmetric cascaded multilevel inverters

2.      Total Harmonic Distortion

3.      Variable frequency control

4.      Packed U-Cell inverters

5.      Low switching frequency

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

CONCLUSION:

This paper presented a cascaded Packed U-Cell inverter with forty-nine output voltage levels offering a reduced switch count solution. Only two auxiliary capacitors along with two isolated dc voltage sources are used to achieve forty-nine levels in the output voltage waveform. Between the two cascaded PUCs, one cell operates at high switching frequency (2 kHz) and other unit is operating at seven time the fundamental frequency (350 Hz). DC link voltage ratio of the two PUCs is kept at 1:7 to achieve the maximum forty-nine level output voltage. Detailed explanation of level formation and individual PUC output voltages are also discussed. Presented control algorithm achieves dc bus capacitor voltage and load current control simultaneously. Simulation results are discussed in detail for both open loop and closed loop performances. Accurate and robust control of dc bus capacitor control is achieved during load current variation as shown in transient response of the system. Experimental results validate voltage levels formation in individual PUC module and formation of resultant 49 – levels in output voltages. THD spectrum of load voltage and load current are also presented (in both simulation and experimental results), which verify the superior THD performance.

REFERENCES:

[1]. J. Rodriguez, J. S. Lai, F. Z. Peng “Multilevel inverters: A survey of topologies, controls, and applications”, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron.,vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 724–738, 2002.

[2]. L.G. Franquelo, J. Rodriguez, J.I. Leon, S. Kouro, R. Portillo, M.M. Prats, “The age of multilevel converters arrives”, IEEE Ind. Electro. Mag., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 28–39, Jun. 2008.

[3]. S. Kouro, M. Malinowski, K Gopakumar, J. Pou, L.G Franquelo, B. Wu, J. Rodriguez, M.A. Perez, J.I. Leon, "Recent advances and industrial applications of multilevel converters," IEEE Transactions on Ind. Elect., vol.57, no.8, pp.2553-2580, Aug. 2010.

[4]. A. Nabae, I. Takahashi, and H. Akagi, “A new neutral-point-clamped PWM inverter,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. IA-17, no. 5, pp. 518–523, Sep. 1981.

[5]. S. Payami, R. K. Behera and A. Iqbal, "DTC of Three-Level NPC Inverter Fed Five-Phase Induction Motor Drive with Novel Neutral Point Voltage Balancing Scheme," in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 1487-1500, Feb. 2018.

A New 7L-PUC Multi-Cells Modular MultilevelConverter for AC-AC and AC-DC Applications

ABSTRACT:

In this paper, a new cell based Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) for AC-AC and AC-DC applications is presented. The new topology makes use of an efficient Packed U Cells (PUC) structure to form the Multi-Cells Modular Multilevel Converters (M3C). It is a member of MMC root family, with extended operational capability covering therefore AC-AC and AC-DC modes of operation. A dynamic model of the PUC and the single phase M3C will be used along with predictive control method to validate the effectiveness of different operation modes of the converter.

KEYWORDS:

1.      Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC)

2.      Multi-Cells Modular Multilevel Converters (M3C)

3.      Packed U-Cells

4.      Single phase AC-AC and AC-DC power converter

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

CONCLUSION:

A new efficient multilevel cell topology has been introduced to the M3C family. The increased cell terminal voltage levels bring more smoothness to the arm controlled voltages, thus increasing the voltage levels to component ratio. Wide range of operating modes were tested, showing fast dynamic response to variations in reference signals. Model predictive control proved effectiveness against transient output references and kept good performance with capacitor parameter variations.

REFERENCES:

[1] H. Abu-Rub, M. Malinowski, and K. Al-Haddad, Power Electronics for Renewable Energy Systems, Transportation and Industrial Applications: John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

[2] B. Singh, A. Chandra, and K. Al-Haddad, Power Quality: Problems and Mitigation Techniques: John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

[3] R. Marquardt, "Stromrichterschaltung mit verteilten Energiespeichern und Verfahren zur Steuerung einer derartigen Stromrichterschaltung," Patentschrift DE 101 03 031 B4 Patent, 2001.

[4] A. Lesnicar and R. Marquardt, "A new modular voltage source inverter topology," presented at the European Power Electronics Conference (EPE), Toulouse, France, 2003.

[5] M. Glinka and R. Marquardt, "A new AC/AC multilevel converter family," IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 52, pp. 662- 669, 2005.

Performance of Grid-Connected PV System Based on SAPF for Power Quality Improvement

ABSTRACT:

This paper presents the design of a shunt Active Power Filter (SAPF) for grid-connected photovoltaic systems. The proposed system injects PV power into the grid, by feeding the SAPF; to eliminate harmonics currents and compensate reactive power produced by nonlinear loads. To inject the photovoltaic power to the grid we use a boost converter controlled by a Fuzzy logic (FLC) algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The SAPF system is based on a two-level voltage source inverter (VSI); P-Q theory algorithm is used for references harmonic currents extraction. The overall system is designed and developed using MATLAB /Simulink software. Simulation results confirm the performance of the grid-connected photovoltaic system based on SAPF. For the MPPT controller, the results show that the proposed FLC algorithm is fast in finding the MPPT than conventional techniques used for MPPT like perturbed and observed (P&O). The simulated compensation system shows its effectiveness such as the sinusoidal form of the currents and the reactive power compensation. The proposed solution has achieved a low Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), demonstrating the efficiency of the presented method. Also, the results determine the performances of the proposed system and offer future perspectives of renewable energy for power quality improvement.

KEYWORDS:   

1.      SAPF, Harmonics

2.      MPPT

3.      Reactive power

4.      P-Q theory algorithm

5.      Power quality and THD

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

CONCLUSION:

 The present article presents an analysis and simulation of a three-phase SAPF fed by PV systems. An MPPT fuzzy logic controller is employed to feed the grid by the maximum allowable PV power. The proposed system has been simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK software. This system is used to eliminate harmonics and to compensate reactive power generated by nonlinear loads. Performances of the shunt APF are related to the current references quality. This method is very important because it allows harmonic currents and reactive power compensation simultaneously. Simulation results show that the current obtained after filtering and the voltage waveforms are in phase. Also, the current THD is reduced from 33.34% to 2.87% which confirms the good filtering quality of harmonic currents and the perfect compensation of reactive power which improve the power quality.

REFERENCES:

[1] J. Lu, X. Xiao, J. Zhang, Y. Lv, and C. Yuan, "A Novel Constant Active-current Limit Coordinated Control Strategy Improving Voltage Sag Mitigation for Modular Multi-level Inverter-based Unified Power Quality Conditioner," Electric Power Components and Systems, vol. 44, pp. 578-588, 2016.

[2] R. Belaidi, A. Haddouche, and H. Guendouz, "Fuzzy logic controller based three-phase shunt active power filter for compensating harmonics and reactive power under unbalanced mains voltages," Energy Procedia, vol. 18, pp. 560-570, 2012.

[3] T.-J. Park, G.-Y. Jeong, and B.-H. Kwon, "Shunt active filter for reactive power compensation," International Journal o Electronics, vol. 88, pp. 1257-1269, 2001.

[4] S. K. Jain, P. Agarwal, and H. Gupta, "A Dedicated Microcontroller based Fuzzy Controlled Shunt Active Power Filter," Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, vol. 11, pp. 33- 46, 2005.

[5] K. Srikanth, T. K. Mohan, and P. Vishnuvardhan, "Improvement of power quality for microgrid using fuzzy based UPQC controller," in Electrical, Electronics, Signals, Communication and Optimization (EESCO), 2015 International Conference on, 2015, pp. 1-6.

Off-board electric vehicle battery chargerusing PV array

 ABSTRACT:

During the recent decade, the automobile industry is booming with the evolution of electric vehicle (EV). Battery charging system plays a major role in the development of EVs. Charging of EV battery from the grid increases its load demand. This leads to propose a photovoltaic (PV) array-based off-board EV battery charging system in this study. Irrespective of solar irradiations, the EV battery is to be charged constantly which is achieved by employing a backup battery bank in addition to the PV array. Using the sepic converter and three-phase bidirectional DC–DC converter, the proposed system is capable of charging the EV battery during both sunshine hours and non-sunshine hours. During peak sunshine hours, the backup battery gets charged along with the EV battery and during non-sunshine hours, the backup battery supports the charging of EV battery. The proposed charging system is simulated using Simulink in the MATLAB software and an experimental prototype is fabricated and tested in the laboratory and the results are furnished in this study.

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

CONCLUSION:

 

 In this paper, an off-board EV battery charging system fed from PV array is proposed. This paper discusses the flexibility of the system to charge the EV battery constantly irrespective of the irradiation conditions. The system is designed and simulated in Simulink environment of the MATLAB software. The hardware prototype is fabricated and tested in laboratory for the three modes of operation of the proposed charging system separately and the results are furnished. In OPAL-RT Real time simulator OP4500, experimental investigation is carried out in RCP methodology and the dynamic response of the system is furnished both in simulation and experimental investigation. Correlation between the simulation and experimental results emphasise the effectiveness of the proposed charger.

REFERENCES:

[1] Santhosh, T.K., Govindaraju, C.: ‘Dual input dual output power converter with one-step-ahead control for hybrid electric vehicle applications’, IET Electr. Syst. Transp., 2017, 7, (3), pp. 190–200

[2] Shukla, A., Verma, K., Kumar, R.: ‘Voltage-dependent modelling of fast charging electric vehicle load considering battery characteristics’, IET Electr. Syst. Transp., 2018, 8, (4), pp. 221–230

[3] Wirasingha, S.G., Emadi, A.: ‘Pihef: plug-in hybrid electric factor’, IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., 2011, 60, pp. 1279–1284

[4] Kirthiga, S., Jothi Swaroopan, N.M.: ‘Highly reliable inverter topology with a novel soft computing technique to eliminate leakage current in grid-connected transformerless photovoltaic systems’, Comput. Electr. Eng., 2018, 68, pp. 192–203

[5] Badawy, M.O., Sozer, Y.: ‘Power flow management of a grid tied PV-battery system for electric vehicles charging’, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., 2017, 53, pp. 1347–1357