Voltage Stability and Power Sharing Control of Distributed Generation Units in DC Microgrids

Kafeel Ahmed (), Irfan Hussain, Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian, Alex Stojcevski () and Saad Mekhilef
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Kafeel Ahmed: School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Irfan Hussain: School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian: School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Alex Stojcevski: School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Saad Mekhilef: School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: Advancements in power conversion efficiency and the growing prevalence of DC loads worldwide have underscored the importance of DC microgrids in modern energy systems. Addressing the challenges of power-sharing and voltage stability in these DC microgrids has been a prominent research focus. Sliding mode control (SMC) has demonstrated remarkable performance in various power electronic converter applications. This paper proposes the integration of universal droop control (UDC) with SMC to facilitate distributed energy resource interfacing and power-sharing control in DC microgrids. Compared to traditional Proportional-Integral (PI) control, the proposed control approach exhibits superior dynamic response characteristics. The UDC is strategically incorporated prior to the SMC and establishes limits on voltage variation and maximum power drawn from the DC–DC converters within the microgrid. A dynamic model of the DC–DC converter is developed as the initial stage, focusing on voltage regulation at the DC link through nonlinear control laws tailored for Distributed Generation (DG)-based converters. The UDC ensures voltage stability in the DC microgrid by imposing predetermined power constraints on the DGs. Comparative evaluations, involving different load scenarios, have been conducted to assess the performance of the proposed UDC-based SMC control in comparison to the PI control-based system. The results demonstrate the superior efficiency of the UDC-based SMC control in handling dynamic load changes. Furthermore, a practical test of the proposed controller has been conducted using a hardware prototype of a DC microgrid.

Keywords: DC microgrid; distributed generation; sliding mode control; universal droop control; voltage stability; power sharing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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