Current-limiting droop controller for single-phase inverters operating in island mode

In this paper, a current-limiting droop controller with nonlinear dynamics is proposed for the stand-alone operation of single-phase inverters. The proposed controller regulates the voltage and frequency of the load depending on the real and reactive power demand, as required in modern ac micro- grids. The dynamic performance of inverters equipped with the proposed control scheme is investigated under different load conditions (linear and non-linear loads) and their current-limiting property is analytically proven to hold at all times using nonlinear ultimate boundedness theory. Then, the closed-loop stability of a single-phase inverter operating in island mode is proven for the first time using both a resistive and a constant power load. The desired controller performance is experimentally validated on a testbed consisting of a single-phase inverter connected to a linear (resistive) and a nonlinear (diode rectifier) load, where the ability of the proposed controller to operate in the droop control mode while maintaining the desired current limitation is proven under various load changes.