Advanced MPC Control Strategy for Active Front-End Converters in Distributed Energy Resources

Abstract

The stability of grid-connected active front-end converters (AFEs) is often compromised by the intricate interplay between inherent converter nonlinearities and grid dynamics. This article presents a novel approach to dynamic model predictive current control (MPC) by leveraging recursive least squares (RLS) to accurately estimate the properties of a physical model. This estimation mitigates stability issues, setting the stage for improved control. Unlike conventional methods, our proposed RLS-based MPC, enriched with an auto-tuning feature, empowers controller development without the upfront need for precise external dynamics. This not only ensures high disturbance rejection but also maintains a high-fidelity control performance, rendering the approach versatile for applications where obtaining or predicting precise external dynamics is challenging. At each sampling interval, a cost function is applied to predicted variables to discern optimal switching states. Through extensive simulation studies covering diverse grid impedance changes and system nonlinearities, we evaluate the controller’s effectiveness. To underscore its superiority over traditional controls, simulation results are validated on a laboratory hardware platform equipped with Typhoon HIL and dSPACE real-time emulators, further attesting to the robustness and practical viability of our proposed approach.

Keywords:

• Active front end converters (AFEs,)
• model predictive control (MPC,)
• dynamical modeling and stability of inverters
• hardware in loop (HIL) and real-time emulator

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rajdip Debnath

Rajdip Debnath received B.Tech degree in Electrical Engineering from KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, India in 2014, and the M.E. degree in power systems from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India, in 2017. He is currently working towards the Ph.D. degree at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, India. His research interests include power system dynamics and stability and control of inverter based resources.

Gauri Shanker Gupta

Gauri Shanker Gupta received his B.E. (Electronics) degree from Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, Gorakhpur (India) in 1997 and the M.E. degree in Electrical Engineering (Control Systems) from Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi (India) in 2008. He completed his Ph.D. from Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi (India) in 2019. Currently; he is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. His current research interest includes digital signal processing, optimization techniques, control systems and soft computing techniques.

Deepak Kumar

Deepak Kumar received B.Eng. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) and M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering (EE) from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi, India, in 2007 and 2011, respectively. He received his Ph.D. (Power Systems) from the School of Electrical Sciences (SES), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India in 2016. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi, India, working since June 2015. He has more than 5 years of experience in teaching and research. In 2018, he visited Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Aalto University, Finland as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. His major research interests include microgrid control with distributed generation, distributed energy storage systems, demand side management, distribution system design and planning, and applications of intelligent computational techniques to power systems.

Ehab F. El-Saadany

Ehab F. El-Saadany (Fellow, IEEE) received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, in 1986 and 1990, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, in 1998. He was with ECE Department, University of Waterloo, between 2000 and 2019, where he was the Director of the Power M.Eng. Program between 2010 and 2015. He is currently a Professor with EECS Department, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and an Adjunct Professor with the ECE Department, University of Waterloo. He is currently the Director of the Advanced Power and Energy Center, Khalifa University. He is an Internationally Recognized Expert in the area of sustainable energy integration and smart distribution systems. His research interests include smart grid operation and control, microgrids, self-healing, cyber-physical security of smart grids, protection, power quality, distributed generation, and power electronics interfacing. Dr. El-Saadany is an Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, and IEEE Power Engineering Letters. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.