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782 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 21, NO.

3, SEPTEMBER 2006

Application of Voltage- and Current-Controlled


Voltage Source Inverters for Distributed
Generation Systems
Sung-Hun Ko, Seong R. Lee, Hooman Dehbonei, Member, IEEE, and Chemmangot V. Nayar, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstract—Voltage source inverters (VSI) have been widely used numerous functions that require a minimum number of power
in uninterruptible power supplies, unified power flow controllers conversions [7]–[11].
or unified power quality conditioners, and distributed generation The parallel processing DGS controls power flow and qual-
systems (DGS). VSIs are inherently efficient, compact, and eco-
nomical devices used to control power flow and provide quality ity by controlling the power conversion between the dc bus
supply. VSIs can be classified as voltage-controlled VSIs (VCVSIs) of bi-directional VSIs and the available grid [12], [13]. The
and current-controlled VSIs (CCVSIs), depending on their con- bi-directional VSIs can be further classified into VCVSIs and
trol mechanism. In this paper, a detailed comparison of VCVSIs CCVSIs, depending on their control mechanism [14]. In DGS,
and CCVSIs for DGS applications is presented. This paper exam- VCVSIs use the amplitude and phase of an inverter out-
ines the advantages and limitations of each control technique in
a single-phase DGS, without incorporating additional hardware put voltage relative to the grid voltage to control the power
and/or extra complex control techniques. Discussions on the con- flow [15]. In VCVSIs, the desired current flow is generated
cepts, hypotheses, and computer simulations of different VSIs in by controlling the voltage across the decoupling inductor. The
the presence of different loads and conditions are presented. The CCVSI uses switching instants to generate the desired current
experimental results confirm the validity of the analysis and simu- flow in the VSI’s inductor filter, using instantaneous current
lations outlined. The paper provides design recommendations for
the use of VCVSIs and CCVSIs in various applications. feedback [16].
There are advantages and limitations associated with each
Index Terms—DC–AC power conversion, energy conversion, control mechanism. For instance, VCVSIs provide voltage sup-
power conditioner, power electronics.
port to the load (the VSI operating as a voltage source), while
CCVSIs provide current support (the VSI operating as a cur-
I. INTRODUCTION rent source). The CCVSI is faster in response compared to the
VCVSI, as its power flow is controlled by the switching instant,
UE to improvement in technologies, electrical power can
D be generated more efficiently and closer to the point
of consumption. Additionally, distributed generation systems
whereas in the VCVSI, the power flow is controlled by adjusting
the voltage across the decoupling inductor. Active and reactive
power is controlled independently in the CCVSI, but are coupled
(DGS) enable alternative energy sources (AES) to easily utilize in the VCVSI. Generally, the advantages of one type of VSIs
and supplement fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources (RES) are considered as a limitation of the other type. In this paper,
(e.g., solar, wind, biomass, wave, hydropower, etc.) can play a a detailed comparison of VCVSIs and CCVSIs is investigated
major role in the preservation of our underground resources and for DGS under various conditions. The experimental results on
the reduction of air pollutants. DGS based on RES have been a scaled-down version (1 kVA) of DGS, confirm the validity of
known to be one of the most cost-effective, reliable, and durable theoretical and simulation studies. The design consideration and
power systems to provide energy saving and noninterrupted summary of different VSI controls is presented in Section V.
power with high power quality [1]–[5]. DGS can be classi-
fied further into stand-alone and grid connected systems (series
and parallel processing), according to the output of the voltage II. PARALLEL PROCESSING DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
source inverters (VSIs) and connection to other ac sources and SYSTEMS
loads [6]. Typical examples of other ac sources are any avail-
able grid (strong, weak, or diesel grids) or other DGS sources. A typical configuration of the parallel processing DGS using
VSIs are inherently efficient, compact, and economical and offer a VSI is shown in Fig. 1. This system consists of a VSI, which
is connected in parallel to the grid for a CCVSI and through a
decoupling inductor for a VCVSI. It is generally expected that
Manuscript received October 25, 2005; revised February 7, 2006. This work the VSI performs the following functions in DGS [7], [17]–[19]:
was supported in part by the Australian Research Council under Grant LP 1) Load voltage stabilization (±5% voltage regulation) in
0348994 and in part by the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of the Ministry of both parallel processing and stand-alone modes;
Commerce, Industry & Energy (MOCIE). Paper no. TEC-00360-2005.
S.-H. Ko and S. R. Lee are with the School of Electronic & Information 2) Uninterruptible power supply (UPS);
Engineering, Kunsan National University, Kunsan 573-701, Korea. 3) Reactive power support—grid power conditioning includ-
H. Dehbonei and C. V. Nayar are with the Department of Electrical and ing power factor correction (>0.9) and harmonics miti-
Computer Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, Perth 6854, Australia
(e-mail: dehbonei@ieee.org). gation (THD<5%) (only in parallel processing mode) as
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TEC.2006.877371 per IEEE standard 1159 [17];

0885-8969/$20.00 © 2006 IEEE


KO et al.: APPLICATION OF VOLTAGE- AND CCVSIs FOR DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEMS 783

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of a parallel processing DGS.

Fig. 3. Phasor diagram of a VCVSI-based DGS with resistive load and grid
is responsible for supplying the active power.

grid applications, when the grid voltage drops considerably, the


Fig. 2. The equivalent circuit diagram of a VCVSI-based DGS. VCVSI has to supply both the rated active power and full re-
active power, resulting in over sizing of the inverter (>100%
4) Active power support—load power conditioning includ- of the rated power). Unity power factor operation (Ig p 1 = Ig 1 )
ing demand side management (DSM). In this mode of is only possible if the grid voltage is reduced to Vg 1 and at the
operation, a bi-directional VSI is responsible for control- specific power flow corresponds to Vx1 . This is a special case,
ling the active power flow between the dc bus and the ac which depends on the size of the decoupling inductor, the load
grid. and maximum permissible power angle. Therefore, power fac-
tor correction is not possible using VCVSIs in DGS. This is one
A. Voltage-Controlled VSIs in DGS of the main drawbacks of VCVSI-based DGS.
Using Fig. 2 the fundamental grid current can be expressed
Fig. 2 shows the simplified/equivalent schematic diagram of a as (1)
VCVSI. For the following analysis it is assumed that the output
Vg  0 − Vc  δ Vc sin δ Vg − Vc cos δ
low pass filters (Lf and Cf ) of VSIs will filter out high-order Ig = =− −j
harmonics generated by pulse width modulations (PWMs). The jXm Xm Xm
decoupling inductor (Xm ) is an essential part of any VCVSI as (1)
it makes the power flow control possible. In a VCVSI, the power
where Vg and Vc are, respectively, the grid and the
flow of the DGS is controlled by adjusting the amplitude and
VCVSI’s fundamental voltages, and Xm is the decou-
the phase [power angle (δ)] of the inverter output voltage with
pling inductor impedance. Using per unit values (Sbase =
respect to the grid voltage. Hence, it is important to consider 2
Vbase /Zbase , Vbase = Vc and Zbase = Xm ) where Vbase , Zbase ,
the proper sizing of the decoupling inductor and the maximum
and Sbase are the base voltage, impedance, and complex power
power angle to provide the required power flow when designing
values, respectively, the grid apparent power can be expressed
VCVSIs.
as (2):
Assuming the maximum permissible voltage fluctuation in  2 
the grid voltage (Vg ) is ±20% and the grid has to supply the Sgpu = −Vgpu sin δ + j Vgpu − Vgpu cos δ . (2)
active power demanded by a resistive load, the phasor diagram
Using per unit values, the complex power of the VCVSI and
of the VCVSI-based DGS is shown in Fig. 3. In this figure, it is
decoupling inductor are
assumed that the voltage of the inverter has to be kept constant
(Vc1 = Vc2 = Vc3 , load voltage stabilization). Fig. 3 shows that Scpu = −Vgpu sin δ + j[Vgpu cos δ − 1] (3)
as the VCVSI voltage retains constant, any changes in the grid  2 
Sxpu = j Vgpu − 2Vgpu cos δ + 1 (4)
voltage to control the desired power flow, the power angle has
to change in proportion. The power angle could be both lagging where Sgpu , Scpu , and Sxpu are per unit values of the grid,
or leading, providing either the active power flow from the grid VCVSI and decoupling inductor apparent power respectively,
to the VCVSI or vice versa. Fig. 3 shows that the lagging power and Vgpu is the per unit value of the grid voltage.
angles result in active power from the grid towards the inverter, As addressed above, since the load voltage must remain con-
regardless of the grid voltage’s amplitude and minimum power stant (load voltage stabilization), the only controllable parameter
angle obtains when the grid and the VCVSI voltage are iden- in the VCVSI is the power angle (δ). Hence, the power angle is
tical. This figure shows that reactive power always flows from used in a VCVSI for DSM operation. For DSM operation, it is
the higher voltage source to the lower voltage source. Hence, important to extract the maximum power from RES and supply
the higher voltage source has to supply all the reactive power this power to the load or DGS. Assuming that both RES and the
demanded by the decoupling inductor as well as load. In weak grid are supplying the demanded active power by the load, the
784 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 21, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 2006

Fig. 6. Phasor diagram of a CCVSI-based DGS with inductive load.

ated from the CCVSI can be controlled independently from the


Fig. 4. Control block diagram of the VCVSI-based DGS used in the simula-
tions and experiments. ac voltage, the active and reactive power controls are decou-
pled. Hence, unity power factor operation is possible for the
whole range of the load. This is one of the main advantages
of CCVSIs.
As the CCVSI connects in parallel to the DGS, it follows
the grid voltage. Fig. 6 shows the phasor diagram of a CCVSI-
based DGS in the presence of an inductive load (considering the
same assumption as VCVSI section). Fig. 6 shows that when
the grid voltage increases, the load’s active power consumption,
which supplied by the grid increases and the CCVSI compen-
sates the increase in the load reactive power demand. In this
case, the CCVSI maintains grid supply at unity power factor,
Fig. 5. The equivalent circuit of a CCVSI-based DGS. keeping the current phase delay with respect to the grid voltage
at a fixed value (Θ). Therefore, the CCVSI cannot maintain the
power angle can be calculated from (5) load voltage in the presence of a DGS without utilizing extra
hardware and control mechanisms. This limitation on load volt-
Vg Vc age stabilization is one of the main drawbacks of CCVSI-based
Pg = PL − PRES = sin δ. (5)
Xm DGS.
Thus, the power angle (δ) is Assuming the load active current demand is supplied by the
  grid (reactive power support function), the required grid current
(PL − PRES )Xm can be rewritten as follows:
δ = sin−1 (6)  
Vg Vc SL

Ig = Re[IL ] = Re (7)
where PL and PRES are the load and RES active power, respec- Vg
tively. Equation (6) explains that as the available RES energy is
where SL is the demanded load apparent power. For grid power
increased, the power angle is reduced. This means that the RES’
conditioning, it is preferred that the load operate at unity power
penetration will increase. Fig. 4 shows the block diagram of a
factor. Therefore, the CCVSI must provide the remainder of the
VCVSI control system based DGS used in both the simulations
required current (8)
and experiments. This control block diagram includes the DSM
function (6). If the RES available energy is more than the load Ic = IL − Ig∗ . (8)
consumption, then the power angle can be leading to export this
In DSM, it is desirable to supply the active power by the RES,
extra active power to the DGS.
where excess energy from the RES is injected into the DGS. The
In Fig. 4,the phase locked loop (PLL) is responsible for syn-
remaining load reactive power will be supplied by the CCVSI.
chronizing the inverter output voltage with the grid voltage. The
Hence, (8) can be rewritten as (9)
sampling from the load current, RES voltage and current is also  
∗ SL − PRES
used to generate the required power angle (δref ) (for DSM op- ∗
Ig = Re[IL ] − Re[Ic ] = Re (9)
eration). After comparing the required/reference values and the Vg
actual variables, an error signal is generated to feed a PI con-
Equations (8) and (9) show that in the worst case, the CCVSI
troller. After generating the desired reference signal, it is given
has to supply both the active and reactive power demanded by
to the PWM generator block to generate the required switching
the load. This means that the CCVSI sizing can be rated at
signals.
full load without the need to oversize. This is an advantage of
CCVSI-based DGS compared to the VCVSI. The control block
B. Current-Controlled VSIs in DGS
diagram of the CCVSI-based DGS used in the simulation and
Fig. 5 shows the equivalent schematic diagram of a CCVSI. experiment using (9) and (10) is shown in Fig. 7.
As CCVSI controls the current flow using the VSI switching The CCVSI control scheme samples the DGS voltage (Vg )
instants, it can be modeled as a current source and there is no for synchronization using a PLL. The samples of load current
need for a decoupling inductor (Fig. 5). As the current gener- (ILoad ), RES current (IRES ), and voltage (VRES ) are used to
KO et al.: APPLICATION OF VOLTAGE- AND CCVSIs FOR DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEMS 785

Fig. 7. Control block diagram of the CCVSI-based DGS used in the simula-
tions and experiments.

TABLE I
SIMULATION CONDITIONS AND SELECTED PARAMETERS WHERE L m IS THE
DECOUPLING INDUCTOR, L f IS THE FILTER INDUCTOR, AND C f IS THE FILTER
CAPACITOR

generate the desired inverter current amplitude (Id∗ ) (reference


current) using (9) and (10). After generating the reference cur- Fig. 8. Waveform results of power conditioning of a DGS in the presence of
an inductive load (z = 40 36.7◦ [Ω]). (a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.
rent signal (Ic-ref )), this current is compared to the instan-
taneous CCVSI current in order to generate the error current
(Ierr ). This error current is then given to the current regulator the active power is supplied fully by the grid in the same way
block to generate the desired instantaneous switching PWMs. as for VCVSI.
Fig. 9(a) shows the VCVSI as a power conditioner for a
III. SIMULATION RESULTS DGS in the presence of a nonlinear load (a RLC diode bridge
rectifier). The VCVSI cannot maintain pure sinusoidal voltage
To compare the performance of the parallel processing DGS across the nonlinear load (Vc ). Hence, a portion of low-order
using a VCVSI and CCVSI, a 1kVA system including linear current harmonics will be injected into the grid (Fig. 10(b),
and nonlinear loads was simulated using PSim software. Table I ITHD = 10.9%). Fig. 9(b) shows that the CCVSI can provide
shows the different parameters and selected values identical all the reactive power demanded by the nonlinear load and hence
with the experimental hardware used in simulation, to provide the grid supplies only the remaining active power (unity power
a foundation to compare results. factor operation). In this case, the CCVSI prevents any low-order
harmonics from being injected into the grid (active filtering)
A. Power Conditioning in DGS (Fig. 10(c), ITHD = 1.1%).
Fig. 10(a) shows the DGS in the absence of VSIs. In this
This simulation was conducted to evaluate the performance
case, all the reactive power associated with low-order harmonics
of the different VSIs in the presence of different loads, where
from the nonlinear load must be supplied by the grid (ITHD =
Vg and Vc are the voltage waveforms of the grid and inverter,
60.8%). This figure also signifies that a VCVSI cannot meet the
and Ig , Ic , and Iload are current waveforms of the grid, inverter
IEEE standard 1159 (less than 5% of THD) when a nonlinear
and load, respectively. Fig. 8 shows the power conditioning of
load is presented, while a CCVSI can achieve unity PF and
a DGS in the presence of an inductive load (Z = 40 36.7◦ [Ω]),
satisfies THD requirements of voltage and current for the full
using different VSIs. Fig. 8(a) shows that the grid can supply
range of the load, without the need for an additional controller
the load’s active power when the grid voltage is almost the
(assuming that the grid voltage is sinusoidal).
same as the VCVSI voltage at a low power angle. In this case,
the required reactive power (600 var) supplied by the VCVSI,
B. UPS Function in DGS
the power factor is good as the inverter size and hence the
decoupling inductor is relatively small. Fig. 8(b) shows that the To study the performance of each VSI controller in UPS
CCVSI can supply the reactive power required by the load while mode, the system was simulated in the presence of nonlinear
786 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 21, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 2006

Fig. 9. Waveform results of power conditioning of a DGS in the presence of


a nonlinear load (a RLC diode bridge rectifier). (a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.

Fig. 10. The harmonic spectrum of the grid current in the absence and presence
of VSIs supplying nonlinear load. (a) Without power conditioning. (b) VCVSI.
loads (Fig. 11). It was assumed that at 30 ms the grid fails and (c) CCVSI.
both VSIs had to supply the load. As it is shown, before grid
failure the VCVSI supplied the reactive power demanded by
the nonlinear load and the rest of the reactive power demanded nonlinear loads, without extra feedback and complex control
by the decoupling inductor supplied by the grid (when both the algorithms [8].
grid and the VCVSI voltages were identical). This figure shows
that the VCVSI picked up the load rapidly after the grid failed
C. DSM Function in DGS
[Fig. 11(a)]. Fig. 11(b) shows that the CCVSI provides/absorbs
almost all the nonlinear current to/from the load before grid In RES-based DGS, it is required to give priority of supply
failure and full load current afterwards to supply the load. It is to the RES and reduce the share of the grid to supply the load.
shown in the presence of a nonlinear load that a CCVSI cannot If the RES is not enough, then both the RES and the grid will
provide and maintain a sinusoidal voltage waveform even with supply the load demand. Fig. 12 illustrates the case that the grid
extra voltage feedback [Fig. 11(b)]. However, the VCVSI can is the only available source to supply the required active power
provide the required voltage support and UPS function, even in demanded by the linear load (100% of 1 kw) and suddenly,
the presence of a nonlinear load and without the need for extra when the RES becomes available (50%), allows the RES to
feedback or load estimation control algorithms. take part and supply 50% of the load demand. Fig. 12(a) shows
It is shown that in the presence of a nonlinear load, the VCVSI that the VCVSI maintains load voltage while the RES begins to
can maintain the load voltage VTHD at 11.2% while the load supply 50% of the load demand. In this case, the grid current is
current ITHD is 50.7%. These values can be read as high as reduced to 50% while the load current is maintained at 100%.
36.3% load voltage VTHD and as low as 0.7% load current Hence, the load does not detect any abnormality in the supply.
ITHD in CCVSI and stand-alone operations. The significance Fig. 12(b) shows that a CCVSI can perform DSM and supply
of this data is that both the VCVSI and the CCVSI cannot the load (at 50%) in the same way as a VCVSI. The delay in the
compensate low-order harmonics of the load voltage in order power waveforms in Fig. 12 are due to the existence of a low
to meet IEEE standards (eg., 1159 and 944) in the presence of pass filter in the power meter used for power measurements in
KO et al.: APPLICATION OF VOLTAGE- AND CCVSIs FOR DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEMS 787

Fig. 11. UPS mode waveform results of a DGS in the presence of nonlinear
load. (a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.
Fig. 12. Waveform results of demand side management in DGS (grid supplies
linear load from 100% to 50%). (a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.

PSim software. Both power diagrams in Fig. 12 show the DSM


capability of CCVSIs and VCVSIs. drops. In this case, the load demand was reduced in proportion
to the decreases in the DGS voltage, and hence resulted in less
D. Voltage Regulation in DGS active power support by the DGS.
In this simulation, the grid voltage was changed from its
IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
nominal value (here 200 V) to 160 V. It was assumed that the
grid has to supply the load active power. Fig. 13(a) shows the Fig. 14 shows a photograph of a scale down version of a
voltage stabilization for the load when the grid voltage fluctuated DGS that was prototyped to examine the analytical and simula-
in the presence of a VCVSI. After a step down in the DGS tion analysis. The experimental setup consists of a computer to
voltage from 200 to 160 V, the grid can still supply the active monitor and program the desired control techniques (Figs. 4 and
power while the VCVSI maintains the load voltage. In this case, 7) into a digital signal processor (DSP), to provide a switching
the VCVSI has to supply the extra reactive power demanded signal to a control board and a VSI. A variac is used to simulate
by the decoupling inductor, which is dependent on the DGS a weak grid, while different loads are connected to the output of
voltage and the inductor’s size. In this case, the grid current the VSIs. The scope and power analyzers were used to record the
increases due to an increase in reactive current flow from the information for further evaluative comparisons of the analytical
VCVSI to the grid. Fig. 13(b) shows the voltage stabilization and simulation results.
for the load when the grid voltage fluctuated in the presence System specifications are given in Table II. As a battery bank
of a CCVSI. Due to the direct connection of the CCVSI to the of 180 V was used in this test, a low frequency transformer was
DGS, it cannot compensate the grid voltage fluctuations without utilized to step-up the output voltage of the H-bridge inverter to
additional hardware and control feedback algorithm [20], [21]. the required value (200 V).
Hence, the load voltage cannot be maintained and the load will The Voltech (PM3000A) power meter measures a power fac-
suffer from grid voltage fluctuations. As it is assumed in this case tor of over 0.99 for a CCVSI and for a VCVSI, from 0.97 to
that the DGS must supply the active power demanded by load, 0.99, depending on the load and grid voltage fluctuation for
the CCVSI current remains at zero even after the DGS voltage linear loads. This relatively good power factor for the VCVSI
788 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 21, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 2006

Fig. 15. Experimental waveform results of power conditioning of a DGS in


Fig. 13. Waveform results of voltage stabilization when the grid voltage the presence of an inductive load (z = 40 36.7◦ [Ω]). (a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.
changes from 200 to 160 V in DGS in the presence of a linear load (R = 40 [Ω]).
(a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.

is due to the low power operation of the DGS (1 kVA). The


Tektronix (TDS3054B) digital scope was used to capture the
following results.

A. Power Conditioning in DGS


Fig. 15 shows that, in the presence of an inductive load
(Z = 40 36.7◦ [Ω]), when the grid voltage is almost the same
as the VCVSI voltage, a slight adjustment to the power angle
will enable the grid to supply the load active power, and the re-
quired reactive power (600 var) can be supplied by the VCVSI.
Fig. 14. Photograph of the prototyped DGS. Fig. 15(b) shows that at unity power factor, the grid supplies
the load active power and the CCVSI supplies the load reac-
TABLE II
tive power (reactive power compensation). These results also
THE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE PROTOTYPED DGS comply with the simulation results (Fig. 8).
Fig. 16 shows the experimental waveform results of the power
conditioning of a DGS in the presence of a diode bridge rectifier
with RLC (nonlinear load). It confirms that the CCVSI has
better performance in the presence of a nonlinear load for
low-order harmonic mitigation and provides unity power fac-
tor operation to the DGS [Fig. 16(b)], compared to the VCVSI
[Fig. 16(a)]. As was expected, the output voltage of the VCVSI
(Vc ) will be distorted in the presence of a nonlinear load
[Fig. 16(a)]. This deformation in the voltage waveform can be
KO et al.: APPLICATION OF VOLTAGE- AND CCVSIs FOR DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEMS 789

Fig. 16. Experimental waveform results of power conditioning of a DGS in


the presence of a nonlinear load (a diode bridge rectifier with RLC). (a) VCVSI.
(b) CCVSI.
Fig. 17. Experimental waveform results of UPS function of a DGS using
different VSI in the presence of nonlinear load (a RLC diode bridge rectifier).
(a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.
corrected by adding a wave-shaping control algorithm and using
extra feedback signals [8].
system using a VCVSI, where the grid and the VCVSI voltages
B. UPS Function in DGS are identical, grid supplies the reactive power demanded by de-
Experiment results for the study of the UPS function of differ- coupling the inductor, while the grid supplies the active power.
ent VSIs are shown in Fig. 17. It observed that both the VCVSI For demand side management, the proportions of active power
and CCVSI can supply and maintain the pure sinusoidal voltage to be supplied by the VCVSI and grid respectively can be con-
waveform when the grid fails, in the presence of linear loads. trolled by changing the power angle (δ). In this experiment, the
However, in the presence of nonlinear loads, the CCVSI can- power angle was modified in order that 50% of the active power
not provide the proper voltage without additional hardware and to be supplied by the VCVSI. In this situation, after the transient
control feedback algorithms [Fig. 17(b)]. Although the VCVSI it was observed that without changes in the load current the grid
cannot mitigate low-order harmonics from the nonlinear loads, current decreased while the VCVSI current increased. Fig. 18(b)
it can maintain the load voltage after the grid fails [Fig. 17(a)]. shows a DGS in the presence of a CCVSI. In this case, as the
These results verify the simulation results (Fig. 11). Fig. 17 grid was subject to supply the full resistive load there was no
illustrates that after grid failure, the CCVSI can provide sinu- reactive power compensation (no decoupling inductor), hence
soidal current waveform to the load by adding predictive control the converter current was maintained at zero. After a command
algorithms, however, this voltage will be distorted as it tries to from the control system to overtake 50% of the active power by
keep the load current sinusoidal. the CCVSI, it was observed that with a very smooth transient (no
change in the load current) the CCVSI supplied the remaining
C. DSM Function in DGS 50% of the load-demanded active power. These results support
the simulation results (Fig. 12).
Demand side management is an important function in any
DGS which defines a load sharing among the suppliers. In this
D. Voltage Regulation in DGS
experiment, to study the DSM function of a VCVSI and CCVSI,
it was assumed that these VSIs would suddenly have to take 50% Voltage regulation is another important feature required
of the load active power supply. Fig. 18(a) shows that in a DGS in most applications dealing with sensitive loads. Moreover,
790 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 21, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 2006

Fig. 19. Experimental waveform results of voltage stabilization in a DGS in


Fig. 18. Experimental waveform results of demand side management of a
the presence of a resistive load. (a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.
DGS in the presence of a resistive load. (a) VCVSI. (b) CCVSI.

A. Load Voltage Stabilization


voltage stabilization would be one of the most important re-
It is shown that the VCVSI can regulate the load voltage
quirements in weak grid applications. The following tests were
within ±5% as per IEEE standards (1159 and 944). In contrast,
carried out in order to study the performance of the VCVSI and
as a CCVSI is connected directly to the grid it cannot com-
CCVSI in stabilizing the voltage. In this experiment, the volt-
pensate the grid voltage fluctuation. A decoupling inductor is
age of the grid was changed from 200 V to 160 V (Fig. 19).
essential to decouple the effect of grid voltage fluctuation, which
Fig. 19(a) illustrates that the VCVSI shares in supplying the
can be achieved by using VCVSIs. Therefore it is suggested that
reactive power demanded by the decoupling inductor with the
a VCVSI be used to provide the required voltage support to the
grid, when the grid voltage is the same as the VCVSI voltage.
load in applications with a weak grid [22], [23].
This can be done by adjusting the power angle to allow the grid
to supply all the active power demanded by the load. This ex-
periment confirms the findings from the simulation in Fig. 13, B. Uninterruptible Power Supply
namely that the VCVSI can maintain the load voltage regard- As a VCVSI by nature performs the same as a voltage source,
less of changes in the grid voltage. However, due to the parallel it can maintain voltage support for the load in the absence of a
connection of the CCVSI to the DGS, the CCVSI follows the grid (stand-alone operation). It is shown that the VCVSI can-
grid voltage and hence cannot provide voltage support to the not provide a pure sinusoidal waveform in the presence of a
load without extra hardware and complex control techniques nonlinear load without extra control mechanisms and feedback.
[Fig. 19(b)]. However, as is shown [8], wave shaping of the VCVSI is possi-
ble with extra feedback and hence the sinusoidal output voltage
is guaranteed even in the presence of nonlinear loads and in
V. DESIGN CONSIDERATION AND COMPARISON OF VCVSIS stand-alone operations. On the other hand, the CCVSI cannot
AND CCVSIS IN DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEMS
provide proper voltage support as by nature it is a current source
The comparison of the VCVSI and CCVSI-based DGS is and voltage follower. Therefore, a VCVSI is recommended for
shown below. those applications where a UPS function is of high priority [24].
KO et al.: APPLICATION OF VOLTAGE- AND CCVSIs FOR DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEMS 791

C. Reactive Power Support, Active Filtering and Power Factor VSI’s control techniques in the presence of different loads and
Correction provides design recommendations for the use of VCVSIs and
As the active and reactive powers are coupled in a VCVSI, CCVSIs in various applications. The experimental results verify
the theoretical analysis and computer simulations.
it generally offers poor power factor correction performance at
low load, or when the grid voltage is different from the volt-
age of the load/VCVSI. In contrast, a CCVSI provides good ACKNOWLEDGMENT
reactive power support and decoupling from the active power. The authors are grateful to Curtin University of Technology
This capability enables CCVSIs to perform at unity power fac- for providing opportunities to carry out this research. This work
tor and to mitigate low-order harmonics effectively. Therefore, was supported in part by the Australian Research Council un-
CCVSIs are recommended for those applications where reactive der Grant LP 0348994 and partly by the Post-doctoral Fellow-
power support, including unity power factor operation or active ship Program of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy
filtering is the main goal, (i.e., active power line conditioners (MOCIE).
(APLC) [25], [26]).

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Mar.–Apr. 1997. the Ph.D. degree from Chonbuk National University,
[17] Monitoring Electric Power Quality, IEEE Standard 1159, 1995. IEEE Jeonju, Korea, in 1988.
Standards Board. From 1997 to 1998, he was the Visiting Professor
[18] The Application and Testing of Uninterruptible Power Supplies for Power with the Department of Electrical and Computer En-
Generating Stations, ANSI/IEEE Standard 944, 1985. gineering at Virginia Tech, VA. From 2002 to 2004,
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2000. ics and Information Engineering at Kunsan National University Currently, he is
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transient and steady state voltage regulation for single and three phase Engineering at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. His current re-
uninterruptible power supplies,” presented at the IEEE 32nd Annu. Power search interests include soft-switching inverter, power factor correction, switch
Electronics Specialists Conf. (PESC’01), Jun. 17–21, vol. 2, pp. 498–503. mode power supply, and renewable energy based distributed generation systems.
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[23] R. L. Vasquez-Arnez and L. C. Zanetta, Jr., “Compensation strategy of and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the
autotransformers and parallel lines performance, assisted by the UPFC,” Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran,
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interactive uninterruptible power supply,” δ/b Proc. IEE Elect. Power Australia, in 2003.
Appl., vol. 151, no. 3, pp. 359–364, May 2004. Presently, he is an Australian Research Council
[25] P. Salmeron and J. R. Vazquez, “Practical design of a three-phase active Postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of Electri-
power-line conditioner controlled by artificial neural networks,” IEEE cal and Computer Engineering at Curtin University
Trans. Power Del., vol. 20, no. 2, pt. 1, pp. 1037–1044, Apr. 2005. of Technology. He is a Chartered Professional En-
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tioner for real-time harmonics filtering,” IEE Proc. Gen., Transm. Distrib., with the Institute of Engineers, Australia. His current research interests include
vol. 151, no. 5, pp. 561–567, Sep. 13, 2004. power systems (design, analysis, quality, and control), power electronics (its
application in power systems and renewable energy), renewable energy, and
hybrid/distributed generation systems.

Sung-Hun Ko received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees


from the Department of Control and Instrumentation
Engineering, Kunsan National University, Kunsan, Chemmangot V. Nayar (M’86–SM’90) received the
Korea in 1998 and 2000, respectively, and he is B.Tech. degree in electrical engineering from the Uni-
currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in the School versity of Kerala, India, in 1969, the M.Tech. degree
of Electronics and Information Engineering, Kunsan in electronics from the Indian Institute of Technol-
National University, Kunsan, Korea. ogy, Kanpur, in 1976, and the Ph.D. degree in electri-
From 2000 to 2001, he was with Research Labora- cal engineering, specializing in wind electrical power
tory, Seo-Young Electronics, Inc., Korea. Currently, generation, from the University of Western Australia,
he is working as a Visiting Research Fellow with the Perth, Australia, in 1985.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering He holds a Personal Chair in electrical engineer-
at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. His current research inter- ing at Curtin University of Technology.
ests include renewable energy based distributed generation system, power factor Prof. Nayar is a Chartered Engineer and Corporate
correction, inverter control, and neural network. Member of IEE, and a Chartered Professional Engineer and Fellow of IEAust.

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