Smart DC Power Management System Based on Software-Configurable Power Modules

Abstract

DC bus-based systems are envisioned as an enabling technology to integrate renewable energy sources, energy storage devices, and a variety of loads in a number of power management and distribution scenarios. The system design and integration challenges include accommodating heterogeneous components, the wide variability of operating conditions, and system stability issues arising from dynamical interactions between the components. This paper proposes a flexible, smart dc power management architecture based on identical digitally controlled bidirectional dc–dc modules that can be software configured to enable simple system design, exceptional system flexibility, and optimization of the use of available resources. Design of the reconfigurable digital control infrastructure of such versatile dc power system is discussed in detail from its system-level description to the low-level design of the digital compensators. Stability analysis of the dc bus voltage is also discussed, proving the robustness of the power architecture from a theoretical standpoint. The proposed approach is then demonstrated on an experimental dc power management system consisting of several 500 W, bidirectional dc–dc modules operating from a 24-V dc bus.