Processor in the Loop Verification of Fault Tolerant Control for a Three Phase Inverter in Grid Connected PV System

ABSTRACT

The techno-economic feasibility of photovoltaic (PV) solar generation systems is greatly dependent on its operating conditions. However, significant penetration of PV sources into alternating current (AC) grids may cause lower system inertia, decreased system damping, and higher frequency fluctuations when grids are subjected to fault conditions. In this paper, a two-stage three-phase grid-connected PV-based inverter system is analyzed under grid fault conditions using a robust fault-tolerant super twisting sliding mode control scheme. Moreover, closed control system is formulated using Lyapunov theorem and its global stability is ensured. The proposed controller is tested in processor in the loop experimentation using a Texas Instrument (TI) Launchpad (TMS 320F28379D). The control performance and resilience of the proposed control system is tested under three-phase faults introduced between the inverter–grid interface buses. Under the above test conditions, a comparative analysis is performed for the proposed adaptive super twisting sliding mode control (ASTSMC) and fixed gain sliding mode control (SMC) control method. Under fault conditions, the inverter power has a settling time of 50 m-s with ASTMC control while with fixed gain STSMC, the settling time is longer and the observed settling time is 115 m-s. Moreover under faulty conditions, a voltage dip of 400 V is recorded with ASTSMC while with fixed gain STSMC controller the observed dip is 600 V. With the proposed ASTSMC controller, THD settles down to under 3% in 50 m-s while the fixed gain STSMC takes 115 m-s.

KEYWORDS:

• Three-phase grid-connected inverter
• robust fault tolerant control
• super twisting sliding mode control
• processor in the loop testing

Nomenclature

Table

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Research Groups Program funded by Deanship of Scientific Research, Taif University, Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia, under Grant 1-441-106.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Groups Program funded by Deanship of Scientific Research, Taif University, Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia [1-441-106].

Notes on contributors

Nasim Ullah

NASIM ULLAH received the Ph.D. degree in mechatronic engineering from Beihang University, Beijing, China, in 2013. From 2006 to 2010, he worked as a Senior Design Engineer with an Industry in Pakistan. He is currently working as Full Professor of Electrical Engineering with TAIF University KSA . His research interests include renewable energy applications, swarm formation and flight control systems, nonlinear and applied artificial intelligence systems.

Irfan Sami

IRFAN SAMI received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2016, and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from COMSATS University Islamabad., Pakistan, in 2019. His research interests include electric drives and electrical machine design.

Abdulrahman Jamal Babqi

Abdulrahman Jamal Babqi received B.S. in Electrical Engineering, May 2008, from Umm Al-Qura University KSA, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, January 2014, from George Washington University USA and PhD from the Faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science of The George Washington University USA in 2018. He is working as Assistant Professor with Electrical Engineering TAIF University KSA.

Hend I Alkhammash

HEND IBRAHEEM ALKHAMMASH received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electronic and electrical engineering from the University of Southampton, U.K. She is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Taif University, Saudi Arabia. She is also a Vice-Dean of the University Development Deanship, Taif University. Her research interests include nanotechnology, renewable energy, and micro-fluid devices. She also works as an External Reviewer of the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA). She was awarded a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in January 2020.

Youcef Belkhier

YOUCEF BELKHIER received the master’s degree in automatic from the University of Bejaia, Algeria, in 2017, and the Ph.D. degree in 2021 from the same University. His research interests include electrical machines design, control, and renewable energy systems. Currently He is working as postdoctoral fellow at Czech Technical University in Prague.

Ahmed Althobaiti

Ahmed Althobaiti completed his PhD degree majoring in Renewable energy applications. He is currently as Assistant Professor with the department of Electrical Engineering TAIF University KSA, His research interest include control of grid tied converters, solar and PV energy applications.

Asier Ibeas

ASIER IBEAS was born in Bilbao, Spain, in 1977. He received the M.Sc. degree in applied physics and the Ph.D. degree in automatic control from the University of the Basque Country, Spain, in 2000 and 2006, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor of Control Systems with the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. He is also a Full Professor with the Catalan Agency for Quality in Higher Education. His research interests include time-delayed systems, robust adaptive control, applications of artificial intelligence to control systems design, and nonconventional applications of control, such as to epidemic systems, supply chain management and financial systems. He has authored over 130 contributions in international journals and conferences. He has supervised and is currently advising several doctoral thesis and has participated in numerous research projects funded by regional and national agencies.