Current-limiting virtual synchronous control and stability analysis considering DC-link dynamics under normal and faulty grid conditions

An improved nonlinear virtual synchronous control for three-phase grid-connected inverters, that can maintain a reliable operation under both normal and faulty grid conditions, i.e. balanced grid voltage sags, is proposed. The proposed controller can ensure a desired RMS current limitation at all times, provide virtual inertia and damping via the DC-link voltage and AC system frequency coupling, and realize the desired real and reactive power regulation without requiring accurate knowledge of the system parameters. Opposed to the conventional methods that use saturated PI controllers with or without anti-windup techniques to limit the reference value of the inverter current, the proposed controller includes a nonlinear bounded integrator, which limits the actual value (instead of the reference) of the inverter RMS current and leads to a fast system recovery even after significant grid voltage sags. The closed-loop stability of entire system is rigorously proven using nonlinear singular perturbation theory. Moreover, analytic conditions for the controller parameter selection to guarantee the stability of entire inverter system with the DC-link dynamics are provided. To prove the effectiveness of proposed controller and its superior performance compared to the traditional approaches, extensive Matlab/Simulink-based simulations are performed, followed by Typhoon-HIL hardware-in-the loop implementation using a TI microcontroller.