Control of line interactive UPS systems in a Microgrid

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the control of a line interactive Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) system in a Microgrid. In grid connected mode, power can be imported from the grid to charge the battery or it can be injected into the grid to boost the power supplied by the Microgrid. In island mode, the UPS supplies local critical load in parallel with other sources. Power flow is controlled using the frequency and voltage drooping technique to ensure seamless transfer between grid connected and parallel islanding modes of operation. When the power is imported from the grid, an outer voltage controller that regulates the DC link voltage sets the power demand for an inner power flow controller. The outer voltage loop is designed with the aid of small signal analysis which has been used to model the dynamics of the inner power flow controller. Due to the limited DC link capacitance, the drooping coefficients are chosen carefully to limit transient circulating active power from the grid to the UPS module or from one UPS module to another. The traditional way of measuring active and reactive power which is based on using a low pass filter is replaced by a real time integration method which is shown to improve the response of the controller. A virtual impedance is utilized in grid-connected mode to improve output current THD. Experimental results of two 60kW line interactive UPS modules are provided to validate the design.