Transient Oscillations Analysis and Modified Control Strategy For Seamless Mode Transfer in Micro-Grids: A Wind-PV-ES Hybrid System Case Study

Article
Transient Oscillations Analysis and Modified Control

Strategy for Seamless Mode Transfer in Micro-Grids:
A Wind-PV-ES Hybrid System Case Study
Tengfei Zhang 1, *, Dong Yue 1 , Michael J. OGrady 2 and Gregory M. P. OHare 2,3
Received: 20 August 2015; Accepted: 30 November 2015; Published: 4 December 2015
Academic Editor: Neville Watson
1 College of Automation, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China;
yued@njupt.edu.cn
2 School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland;
michael.j.ogrady@ucd.ie (M.J.O.); gregory.ohare@ucd.ie (G.M.P.O.)
3 Earth Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
* Correspondence: zhangtf@njupt.edu.cn; Tel.: +86-25-8586-6511
Abstract: With the rapid development of the micro-grid associated with new and clean energies,
the smooth switching between grid-connected and islanded operation modes of the micro-grid is a
key issue that needs to be addressed urgently. In traditional solutions, V/f (Voltage/frequency)
control is adopted for the master micro sources when the micro-grid works in islanded mode,
while PQ (real and reactive power) control is adopted when in grid-connected mode. However,
when the two controllers switch when mode transfer occurs, transient oscillations usually occur and
thereafter the dynamic response will be degraded. This paper considers an archetypical micro-grid
with Wind-PV-ES (Wind, Photovoltaic and Energy Storage) hybrid system, which forms the basis
of our case study. The underlying reason for such transient oscillation is analyzed in this paper.
Thereafter a modified control strategy for seamless mode transfer is designed and implemented.
An improved PQ control method is designed by which the output of the PQ controller always
synchronously tracks the output of the V/f controller for micro-grid switches from islanded mode
to grid-connected; furthermore, a dq rotating coordinate synchronization based V/f control method
is proposed for transition from grid-connected mode to islanded mode. Finally, experiments and
analysis are undertaken on some basic and important operating cases; the results in our case study
indicate that the modified control strategy is effective in dominating the micro-grid during mode
transfer and thus yielding significantly better performances.
Keywords: distributed energy resources; micro-grid; grid-connected operation; islanded operation;

mode transfer
1. Introduction
In recent years, micro-grids, as the low-voltage distribution systems, have captured considerable
attention due to the many advantages they afford including enhanced reliability, scalability, and
flexible control when compared with large centralized power systems. The micro-grid consists of
distributed energy resources (DERs) and controllable loads, where DERs typically include a variety
of distributed generation (DG) units such as wind turbines (WTs), photovoltaics (PVs), and energy
storage (ES) units such as batteries [1]. As the archetypical micro-grid architecture, Wind-PV-ES
hybrid systems make use of complementary features of wind and solar energy in order to reduce
storage capacity and deliver a reliable and consistent service. As a result of these features, the
micro-grid can be operated in either grid-connected mode to exchange power with the main power
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777; doi:10.3390/en81212396 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
grid, or islanded mode to supply local loads when the main power grid is not available [2]. Accordingly,
operational control of micro-grids is a major area of research, which primarily embodies the following
four topics: (1) the regulation of power flow in the micro-grid and the decoupling control of active
and reactive power; (2) the control of each DG interface voltage to maintain voltage stability; (3) the
rapid response of DGs to supply the local power load in islanded mode; (4) the seamless transfer
between grid-connected and islanded operation modes, which is one of the most important but
difficult scenarios which must be routinely handled within real time applications [3,4].
Micro-grid control may be implemented under either the master-slave or peer-peer control
architecture. The widely adopted master-slave control mechanism means that all the DGs within the
micro-grid adopt PQ (real and reactive power) control in grid-connected mode, but in islanded mode,
one or several master DGs should be changed to operate under V/f control so as to maintain voltage
and frequency stability [5]. PQ control means that the DG is controlled to output maximum power
or specified power according to actual conditions. PQ control is designed to maximize the utilization
of renewable energy, so it is suitable for intermittent power sources [5], such as wind turbine and PV.
This kind of energy source often operates at the maximum power point; the active power of which
usually is not continuously controllable. As a consequence, the control of such energy sources is
placed under a PQ control method irrespective of whether the micro-grid is operating under islanded
mode or grid-connected mode. Conversely, the active and reactive power of energy storage units can
be adjusted, thus the energy storage system becomes the master power of the micro-grid ensuring
the balance between energy generation and consumption especially during large fluctuations in load
or generation capacity. Such master power operates under PQ control when the micro-grid is in
grid-connected mode and V/f control when in islanded mode; it in effect offers frequency and voltage
support for the micro-grid [6].
Most distributed energy sources are connected to the micro-grid through interface inverters.
Therefore, the control performance of the interface inverter is the focal point in maintaining the
stability of the micro-grid. Various control management and operation strategies for micro-grid
have been proposed in the past decades [624]. Several PQ controlled micro-grids were developed
in [79], where the interface inverter is equivalent to a controlled current source. However, such
inverter cannot run in isolation due loss of support of voltage and frequency when the micro-grid is
operating in islanded mode [10]. The interface inverter in V/f controlled micro-grid can be equivalent
to a controlled voltage source; voltage and frequency stability can be supported by the master
power source. However, the V/f control is not suitable for applications in grid-connected mode.
The operating requirements of the micro-grid cannot thus be met with merely a single control strategy.
In other words, the control method for the master power source ought to be changed to reflect
micro-grid operating mode changes. The problem, yet to be solved, is how to realize this seamless
mode transfer, namely, how to maintain the voltage phase, the amplitude and the frequency of the
micro-grid to ensure it does not change abruptly at the moment of transfer.
In the case of the grid-connecting process, synchronization between micro-grid and main power
grid is the most significant issue. To limit the switching transient and enables a smooth mode
transfer from islanded to grid-connected mode, a modified voltage based droop control method
was proposed in [11]. The modified voltage based droop control is primarily to synchronize the
voltage of a specified DG unit with the main power grid voltage. To achieve high penetration
depth of renewable sources into the main power grid, a renewable energy-based dc micro-grid with
hybrid energy storage is investigated and a novel system operation strategy is proposed in [12].
Transition from grid-connected to islanded modes of operation is likely to cause large mismatches
between generation and load. Katiraei studied system behavior after islanding and used a control
reconfiguration to stabilize the system [13]. To mitigate voltage and frequency variations, strategies
to manage mode transfer from grid connected to islanded mode for micro-grids of commercial
buildings were developed [14]. A hierarchical control for seamless transition to islanding was also
developed [15].
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Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
Some other methods for smooth transfer between both grid-connected and islanded modes are
investigated in [1624]. Hwang and Park [16] introduced a combined control strategy for seamless
mode transitions considering protection of the critical load and operation of the DG inverter without
grid fault trip. The proposed control strategy consists of a current controller and a feedforward
voltage controller to minimize the grid overvoltage. The idea of auto synchronization and control of
converters without using nonlinear micro-grid stabilizer was proposed in [17] and further developed
in [18,19]. Although these techniques can achieve only-plug performance and self-synchronization,
they are nonlinear controllers with complicated design and parameter adjustment [20]. In [21,22], the
use of a dual-mode inverter was examined, and a micro-grid mode conversion as a preliminary study
was proposed, but no more specific solutions were given [6]. A droop controlled dual mode inverter
was proposed and developed in [23,24], where the inverter operates in the droop control in both the
islanded and grid-connected modes. Therefore, it is beneficial in achieving smooth transfers because
there is no need to transfer the control strategy during mode transfer. However, the major drawback
of the droop method is poor voltage regulation due to significant voltage deviations. This method of
control is non trivial and needs to be carefully designed.
In [6], a new seamless transfer control strategy of the micro-grid with master-slave architecture
was proposed. The authors stated that the control of the micro-grid mode conversion included two
parts to achieve the smooth transition between islanded mode and grid-connected mode: one is the
conversion control system between PQ control and V/f control for the storage system and the other
is the mode controller for the mode conversion of the micro-grid. When the micro-grid switches from
grid-connected mode to that of islanded mode, the amplitude and phase angle of PWM (Pulse-Width
Modulation) reference voltage are recorded, thereafter, the voltage reference value in V/f control is
equal to the recording amplitude. This idea intuitively seems attractive and the simulation results are
indeed compelling. The challenge however in this approach is how to track the right reference value,
because the reference voltage is changing, and it is necessary to further avoid unexpected abrupt and
significant changes when switching the control strategies between PQ control and V/f control.
In previous works, there are two thorny problems associated with mode transfer of micro-grid
operation control. The first is that the voltage amplitudes, phases and frequencies of the micro-grid
and the main grid must be synchronized in order to reduce the impact current when the micro-grid
connects to the main power grid. The second is how to achieve power balance control within
the micro-grid at the islanding moment. The local power loads are supplied corporately by the
main power grid and micro-grid, and energy storage devices may be in a state of charge when the
micro-grid is operating in grid-connected mode, as such the power may prove insufficient at the
islanding moment. The power, necessarily, must be regulated rapidly to maintain balance with the
requirement of the local power load thus guaranteeing the smooth switching to islanded operation
mode. In addition, recent research predominantly focuses on different control strategies for different
micro-grids to improve the stability and to reduce the transient oscillation during mode transferring;
however, to the best of the authors knowledge, the underlying reason of such transient oscillations
has not been discussed in the literature.
Motivated by the aforementioned issues, the aim of this paper is to bring to light the underlying
reason of the transient oscillations associated with a case study, and then to develop a modified
control strategy for seamless mode transfer in micro-grids. More precisely, a typical micro-grid with
Wind-PV-ES hybrid sources is considered in our case study. To effectively realize the seamless mode
transfer of the micro-grid, we discover the underlying reason of such transient oscillation during
mode transfer. Within this work, such an investigation informs the design of a control strategy
for seamless mode transfer of the micro-grid. This work differentiates itself from existing research
by developing an enhanced PQ control method, in which the output of the PQ controller always
synchronizes and tracks the output of the V/f controller for micro-grid switches from islanded
mode to grid-connected mode; furthermore, a dq rotating coordinate synchronization based V/f
control method is proposed for micro-grid switches from grid-connected mode to islanded mode.
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Moreover, the traditional pre-synchronous control method is improved. Finally, the simulation results
Energies2015,8,pagepage
of the case study are provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed control strategy.
The main contributions of the paper can be summarized as follows:
Themaincontributionsofthepapercanbesummarizedasfollows:
(i) Tothebestoftheauthorsknowledge,thereisnoworkexploringontheunderlyingreasonsfor
(i) To the best of the authors knowledge, there is no work exploring on the underlying reasons for
transientoscillationsoccurrenceduringmodetransfer.Theunderlyingreasonforsuchtransient
transient oscillations occurrence during mode transfer. The underlying reason for such transient
oscillationsisdiscoveredintheWindPVEShybridsystemcasestudy.
oscillations is discovered in the Wind-PV-ES hybrid system case study.
(ii) Amodifiedcontrolstrategyforseamlessmodetransferisdesignedandimplemented,whereby
(ii) A modified control strategy for seamless mode transfer is designed and implemented, whereby
animprovedPQcontrolmethodisdesignedbywhichtheoutputofthePQcontrolleralways
an improved PQ control method is designed by which the output of the PQ controller always
synchronously
synchronously tracks the output
tracks the output of
of the
theV/f
V/f controller
controller for
for microgrid switches from
micro-grid switches from islanded
islanded
modetogridconnected,andadqrotatingcoordinatesynchronizationbasedV/fcontrolmethod
mode to grid-connected, and a dq rotating coordinate synchronization based V/f control
isproposedfortransitionfromgridconnectedmodetoislandedmode.
method is proposed for transition from grid-connected mode to islanded mode.
The remainder
The remainderof ofthis
thispaper
paperis
isstructured
structuredas
asfollows:
follows: in
in Section
Section 2,
2, we
we introduce
introduce the
the control
control
strategiesforgridconnectedmode,islandedmodeandthemodetransfer.InSection3,weanalyze
strategies for grid-connected mode, islanded mode and the mode transfer. In Section 3, we analyze the
the transient
transient oscillations
oscillations of theofmicro-grid
the microgrid
duringduring
mode mode transfer.
transfer. SectionSection 4 develops
4 develops a modified
a modified control
controlstrategytorealizetheseamlessmodetransfer.Thesimulationresultsderivingfromacase
strategy to realize the seamless mode transfer. The simulation results deriving from a case study are
studyareprovidedinSection5.Finally,Section6concludesthispaper.
provided in Section 5. Finally, Section 6 concludes this paper.
2.ControlStrategiesforMicroGrid
2. Control Strategies for Micro-Grid
An archetypical
An archetypicalmicro-grid
microgridis is considered
consideredinin this
this paper,
paper, that
that of
of aa Wind-PV-ES
WindPVEShybrid
hybridsystem
system
which includes photovoltaic power generation, wind turbine generation,
which includes photovoltaic power generation, wind turbine generation, and energy storage. and energy storage.
Without loss
Without loss of
of generality,
generality,the
thesum
sumof ofthe
the photovoltaic
photovoltaic power
power generators,
generators, wind
wind turbine
turbine power
power
generatorsorenergystoragesystemsisequivalentlyregardedasonePVsystem,onewindsystemor
generators or energy storage systems is equivalently regarded as one PV system, one wind system or
onestoragesystemrespectively.ThemicrogridframeworkusedinthispaperisshowninFigure1.
one storage system respectively. The micro-grid framework used in this paper is shown in Figure 1.

Figure1.Structureofamicrogridsystem.
Figure 1. Structure of a micro-grid system.
Each micro power source connects to the microgrid via the interface inverter, LC filter and
Each micro power source connects to the micro-grid via the interface inverter, LC filter and
disconnector(QS).Theenergystoragebattery,asacontrollablesource,isthemasterpowersourcein
disconnector (QS). The energy storage battery, as a controllable source, is the master power source
thismicrogrid.Loads1and2representcriticalvoltagesensitiveloads.Load3isanadjustableand
in this micro-grid. Loads 1 and 2 represent critical voltage sensitive loads. Load 3 is an adjustable
noncriticalloadthatcanbeshedifnecessary.Themicrogridisusuallyconnectedtothemainpower
and non-critical load that can be shed if necessary. The micro-grid is usually connected to the main
gridatthepointofcommoncoupling(PCC)throughastatictransferswitch(STS).Whentheswitch
power grid at the point of common coupling (PCC) through a static transfer switch (STS). When the
ison,theinverteroperatesinthegridconnectedmode;incontrast,theinverterwilloperateinthe
switch is on, the inverter operates in the grid-connected mode; in contrast, the inverter will operate in
islandedmodewhentheswitchisoff.Comparedtotheexternalmainpowergrid,themicrogrid
the islanded mode when the switch is off. Compared to the external main power grid, the micro-grid
constitutesasinglecontrollableunit,whichcouldmeetcustomersrequirementsonpowerquality,
constitutes a single controllable unit, which could meet customers requirements on power quality,
reliabilityandsafety.
reliability and safety.
2.1.OperationModesofMicroGrids
There are three operation modes for the microgrid, namely, gridconnected, islanded, and
outage modes. A finite state machine representation of the different operational states and their
transitionconditionsisshowninFigure2.
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Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
2.1. Operation Modes of Micro-Grids

There are three operation modes for the micro-grid, namely, grid-connected, islanded, and
outage modes. A finite state machine representation of the different operational states and their
transition conditions is shown in Figure 2.

Figure2.Finitestatemachineofmicrogridoperationmodes.
Figure 2. Finite state machine of micro-grid operation modes.
Ingridconnectedmode,amicrogridcantransportelectricalenergytoanexternalmainpower
In grid-connected mode, a micro-grid can transport electrical energy to an external main power
gridorabsorbenergyfromthemainpowergridtomaintainthelocalpowersupply.Thefluctuation
grid or absorb energy from the main power grid to maintain the local power supply. The fluctuation
ofthefrequencyandthepowerinthemicrogridsystemisbornebythemaingrid,andthevoltage
of the frequency and the power in the micro-grid system is borne by the main grid, and the voltage
andfrequencyofthemicrogridshouldbesynchronouswiththemaingrid.Thus,eachmicrosource
and frequency of the micro-grid should be synchronous with the main grid. Thus, each micro source
doesnotneedtoparticipateintheregulationofvoltageandfrequency,whichissupportedbymain
does not need to participate in the regulation of voltage and frequency, which is supported by main
grid.ThemicropowerinvertercanthusbecontrolledbythePQmethodtooutputpoweraccording
grid. The micro power inverter can thus be controlled by the PQ method to output power according
tothegivenreferenceormaximumoutput[25,26],andtheenergystoragedeviceisusuallycontrolled
to the given reference or maximum output [25,26], and the energy storage device is usually controlled
underchargingmode.
under charging mode.
Inislandedmode,inordertomaintainthevoltageandfrequencyandtobalancetheinternal
In islanded mode, in order to maintain the voltage and frequency and to balance the internal
powerofthemicrogrid,oneormoremastercontrollablepowersourcesareneededandshouldbe
power of the micro-grid, one or more master controllable power sources are needed and should
controlledbyaconstantvoltageandconstantfrequency(CVCF)methodorV/fcontrolstrategy.The
be controlled by a constant voltage and constant frequency (CVCF) method or V/f control strategy.
CVCF
The CVCFmethod
methodhashas
some limitations
some limitationssurrounding
surrounding the
theneed
needfor
foraalarge
largecapacity
capacity controllable power
controllable power
source[27,28].TheV/fcontrolstrategyiswidelyused,withwhichthefrequencycanbeadjustedby
source [27,28]. The V/f control strategy is widely used, with which the frequency can be adjusted by
activepowerandthevoltagecanberegulatedbyreactivepower[29,30].TheremainderoftheDGs
active power and the voltage can be regulated by reactive power [29,30]. The remainder of the DGs
canstillbecontrolledbyaPQstrategytooutputactiveandreactiveaccordingtothegivenreference.
can still be controlled by a PQ strategy to output active and reactive according to the given reference.
Assumingthat
Assuming thatthe
the microgrid
micro-grid is initially
is initially operating
operating in gridconnected
in grid-connected mode, mode,
when orwhen or if a
if a transient
transientfaultoccursinthemainpowergrid,itshouldbeseparatedrapidlyfromthemaingridto
fault occurs in the main power grid, it should be separated rapidly from the main grid to remain in
remain in autonomous
autonomous operation modeoperation mode
and meet theand meet the corresponding
corresponding local load
local load requirement. requirement.
The normal voltage The
normalvoltageandfrequencymustbesuppliedbythemasterDGsinthemicrogridinordertomeet
and frequency must be supplied by the master DGs in the micro-grid in order to meet the critical load
thecriticalloadrequirement.Atthesametime,somenoncriticalpowerloadcanbeshedifnecessary.
requirement. At the same time, some non-critical power load can be shed if necessary. When the
Whenthemaingridisrestored,themicrogridcanbereconnectedtothemainpowergrid.However
main grid is restored, the micro-grid can be reconnected to the main power grid. However if a power
ifapowerqualityevent,malfunctionorpowergapoccurs,thenthemicrogridwillbeswitchedto
quality event, malfunction or power gap occurs, then the micro-grid will be switched to outage mode.
outagemode.
There are many different kinds of DGs in the micro-grid, including, in the main, PV, wind
There
turbine, are many
storage batterydifferent kindsDG
[31]. Some of DGs in the
sources withmicrogrid,
intermittent including,
features in theas
such main,
windPV, wind
turbine,
turbine,storagebattery[31].SomeDGsourceswithintermittentfeaturessuchaswindturbine,PV,
PV, the output performance of which is easily affected by environment factors [32,33], are usually
the outputby
controlled performance
a PQ method oftowhich
output ispower
easily according
affected by to environment factorsor[32,33],
the given reference maximum are output;
usually
controlledbyaPQmethodtooutputpoweraccordingtothegivenreferenceormaximumoutput;
while some other DGs such as energy storage battery, which are easily controlled [34], can be
while some
controlled byother
PQ orDGsV/f such
methodsas energy
[35]. The storage
control battery,
action iswhich
mainly areapplied
easily controlled
via the power [34], can be
interface
controlledbyPQorV/fmethods[35].Thecontrolactionismainlyappliedviathepowerinterface
inverter of each DG. The actual problem yet to be solved is how to preserve the safe, stable
inverter of each DG. The actual problem yet to be solved is how to preserve the safe, stable and
and highly-efficient operation of micro-grids under differing operational modes, particularly at the
highlyefficient operation of microgrids under differing operational modes, particularly at the
moment of mode transfer.
momentofmodetransfer.
2.2. Droop Based V/f Control Method
2.2.DroopBasedV/fControlMethod
The V/f control method resembles the droop characteristics of the regulation of traditional grids
TheV/fcontrolmethodresemblesthedroopcharacteristicsoftheregulationoftraditionalgrids
to realize varied frequency sharing between different DGs. The support of voltage and frequency in
torealizevariedfrequencysharingbetweendifferentDGs.Thesupportofvoltageandfrequencyin
amicrogridcanbeachievedatthesametimebyutilizationofV/fcontrol.V/fcontrolmethodhas
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enabled changes of DGs selfsensing frequency and voltage and strengthened reliability of
microgrids.TheschematicdiagramofaV/fcontrollerisshowninFigure3[25].
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777

+
- +
1/ 2 1/
+
V
a micro-grid can be achieved at the same time by utilization of V/f control. V/f control method
- / dq 0
has enabled changes of DGs self-sensing frequency
1/ and voltage and strengthened reliability of
micro-grids. The schematic diagram of a V/f controller is
+ shown in Figure 3 [25].
0

Figure 3. Droop based V/f control.

Here, Pn and fn are rated active output power and the corresponding frequency respectively,
Figure3.DroopbasedV/fcontrol.
a and b are the droop coefficient of active and reactive power, E0 is the output voltage in the case
where the output Here,
reactive power
Pn and fn are rated activeV=/dq0
is zero, output powerisand
thethecoordinate
correspondingtransformation from
frequency respectively, a three-phase
aandbarethedroopcoefficientofactiveandreactivepower,E0istheoutputvoltageinthecase

coordinate system to the rotating coordinate system, and Vd and Vq represent the output voltage
wheretheoutputreactivepoweriszero,V/dq0isthecoordinatetransformationfromathreephase
in the d and q coordinatesystemtotherotatingcoordinatesystem,andV
axis coordinates respectively, which are thereafter used as the reference for the double
d*andVq*representtheoutputvoltagein
thedandqaxiscoordinatesrespectively,whicharethereafterusedasthereferenceforthedouble
loop controller. The droop coefficient can be acquired as
loopcontroller.Thedroopcoefficientcanbeacquiredasfollows:
follows:
P P
a Pmax
max n Pn (1)
a f n f min (1)
f n f min
Qmax
b (2)
E0 Emin
Qmax
b (2)
E0 Emin
2.3.PQControlMethod
Therelationshipbetweenthethreephasefundamentalvoltageuandthecorrespondingvoltage
2.3. PQ Control Method
magnitudeVmoutputbytheinverterwhengridconnectingisasfollows:
The relationship between the three phase fundamental voltage u and the corresponding voltage
Vm cos(t )
Va grid-connecting
magnitude Vm output by the inverter when 2 is as follows:
Vb Vm cos(t ) (3)
Vc 3
2
Vm cos(t )
fi
fi
V cosptq
m 3
Va 2 ffi
Vb fl V6m cospt 3 q ffi (3)
ffi ffi
Vc
2 fl
Vm cospt ` q
3
Using the method of transformation from a three-phase coordinate system to the dq rotating
coordinate system, the Equation (3) can be described as:
fi
ff Va ff
Vd Vm
Tabcdq Vb fl (4)
ffi
Vq 0
Vc
Assuming that Id and Iq are the current components in the d and q axis coordinates of output
current i of the inverter, the active and reactive power can be described as follows:
#
P Vd Id ` Vq Iq
(5)
Q Vq Id Vd Iq
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Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
Considering the given reference active power Pre f and reactive power Qre f , and combining
Equations (4) and (5), the reference current for the power inverter can be obtained thus:
$
Pre f
Idre f

&
Vd (6)
Qre f
% Iqre f


Vd
SinceV
Since Vdisconstant,theoutputactiveandreactivepoweroftheinvertercanberegulatedby
d is constant, the output active and reactive power of the inverter can be regulated
controllingthecurrentcomponentsinthedandqaxiscoordinates,wheretheactivepowerPdepends
by controlling the current components in the d and q axis coordinates, where the active power P
on the active
depends on thecurrent component
active current Id andIdthe
component andreactive power
the reactive Q depends
power Q dependsonon
the
thereactive
reactivecurrent
current
componentI
component Iqq.TheschematicdiagramofPQcontrolisshowninFigure4.
. The schematic diagram of PQ control is shown in Figure 4.

Figure4.TheschematicdiagramofPQcontrol.
Figure 4. The schematic diagram of PQ control.
InFigure4,asthereferencevoltageindandqaxiscoordinatesforthepowerinverter,Vdrefand
In Figure 4, as the reference voltage in d and q axis coordinates for the power inverter, Vdre f and
Vqrefaretheoutputofthecurrentcontrollermodule,andVrefisthesyntheticvalueofthereference
Vqre f are the output of the current controller module, and Vre f is the synthetic value of the reference
voltagefromVdrefandVqref.
voltage from Vdre f and Vqre f .
3.AnalysisofTransientOscillations:CaseStudy
3. Analysis of Transient Oscillations: Case Study
Differentdegreesoftransientoscillationscanbeseentooccuratthemomentofmodetransfer
Different degrees of transient oscillations can be seen to occur at the moment of mode transfer in
in our case study when using the above control methods, indicating that, by setting certain
our case study when using the above control methods, indicating that, by setting certain parameters,
parameters,transientoscillationsmaybeexaminedinbothgridconnectingandislandingprocesses.
transient oscillations may be examined in both grid-connecting and islanding processes. Section 3.1
Section3.1describesthetransientoscillationswhenthemicrogridswitchesfromislandedmodeto
describes the transient oscillations when the micro-grid switches from islanded mode to that of
thatofgridconnectedmodewhileSection3.2considerstheislandingprocess.
grid-connected mode while Section 3.2 considers the islanding process.
3.1.TransientOscillationsinaGridConnectingProcess
3.1. Transient Oscillations in a Grid-Connecting Process
ThemicrogridstructureasshowninFigure1isusedinthiscasestudy.Theparametersare
The micro-grid structure as shown in Figure 1 is used in this case study. The parameters
configuredasfollows:thevoltageinthemicrogridis380V,theactiveandreactivepowerofload1
are configured as follows: the voltage in the micro-grid is 380 V, the active and reactive power of
connectedtothemainpowergridare100kWand10kvar,respectively,theactiveandreactivepower
load 1 connected to the main power grid are 100 kW and 10 kvar, respectively, the active and reactive
ofload2are10kWand1kvar,respectively,theactiveandreactivepowerofadjustableload3are
power of load 2 are 10 kW and 1 kvar, respectively, the active and reactive power of adjustable
2.5
loadkW and2.5
3 are 1 kvar,
kW andrespectively, the full battery
1 kvar, respectively, capacity
the full batteryis 200 Ah, the
capacity PV Ah,
is 200 andthe
wind
PVturbine are
and wind
controlledatmaximumpoweroutput,wheretheratedpowerfactorsareall1.0;themaximumoutput
turbine are controlled at maximum power output, where the rated power factors are all 1.0; the
powerofthePVis1.6kWunderthestandardenvironmentthatthelightintensityis1kW/m
maximum output power of the PV is 1.6 kW under the standard environment that the light intensity
2and
thetemperatureis25C,themaximumoutputpowerofwindturbineis2.3kWwiththecondition
is 1 kW/m2 and the temperature is 25 C, the maximum output power of wind turbine is 2.3 kW with
thatthewindspeedis8m/sandthepitchangleis0;resistanceofthelowvoltagelineisR=0.5/km,
the condition that the wind speed is 8 m/s and the pitch angle is 0; resistance of the low voltage line
thefilterinductanceisL=0.6mHandthefiltercapacitorisC=1.5kuF.
is R = 0.5 /km, the filter inductance is L = 0.6 mH and the filter capacitor is C = 1.5 kuF.
Thismicrogridisinitiallyconsideredtooperateintheislandedmodeandthestoragebattery,
This micro-grid is initially considered to operate in the islanded mode and the storage battery,
asthemainpowersource,iscontrolledbytheV/fcontrolmethod.Thegridconnectingcommandis
as the main power source, is controlled by the V/f control method. The grid-connecting command is
receivedbythemicrogridat0.3s,andthegridconnectingprocessisfinishedat0.45s;atthesame
received by the micro-grid at 0.3 s, and the grid-connecting process is finished at 0.45 s; at the same
time,thecontrolmethodforthestoragebatteryischangedfromV/ftoPQstrategy.
time, the control method for the storage battery is changed from V/f to PQ strategy.
The single phase voltage and current outputs in the gridconnecting process are shown in
Figure 5. It can be seen that there is considerable transient oscillation during grid connection.
To further analyze the reason for this kind of transient oscillation, the corresponding controller
13764
outputduringthegridconnectingprocessisprovidedasshowninFigure6.
Itcanbeseenthattherearegreatoutputvoltagesaltationsbothindandqaxiscoordinates.This
is because the V/f control method is switched to PQ strategy when the microgrid switches from
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
The single phase voltage and current outputs in the grid-connecting process are shown in
Figure 5. It can be seen that there is considerable transient oscillation during grid connection.
To further analyze the reason for this kind of transient oscillation, the corresponding controller output
during the grid-connecting process is provided as shown in Figure 6.
It can be seen that there are great output voltage saltations both in d and q axis coordinates.
This is because the V/f control method is switched to PQ strategy when the micro-grid switches from
islanded mode to grid-connected mode, while the outputs of the two controllers are different. It is
this output voltage peak that mainly contributes to the transient oscillation of the micro-grid at the
moment of mode transfer.

Figure5.Singlephasevoltageandcurrentoutput.
Figure 5. Single-phase voltage and current output.
1.5
1.5
1
1
V*
0.5 Vd*
pu
d
0.5 V*
pu
V*
q
q
0
0
-0.5
-0.5 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6
0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6
t/s
t/s
Figure 6. The controller output during the grid-connecting process.

Figure6.Thecontrolleroutputduringthegridconnectingprocess.
Figure6.Thecontrolleroutputduringthegridconnectingprocess.
3.2. Transient Oscillations in a Islanding Process
3.2.TransientOscillationsinaIslandingProcess
3.2.TransientOscillationsinaIslandingProcess
The micro-grid should be cut off in a timely manner from the main gird when some faults or
Themicrogridshouldbecutoffinatimelymannerfromthemaingirdwhensomefaultsor
unintentional switching events occur in the main power grid in order to maintain the local power
Themicrogridshouldbecutoffinatimelymannerfromthemaingirdwhensomefaultsor
supply. To continue with the case study above, this micro-grid is initially considered to operate in
unintentionalswitchingeventsoccurinthemainpowergridinordertomaintainthelocalpower
grid-connected mode, and the storage battery, as the main power source, is controlled by PQ control
unintentionalswitchingeventsoccurinthemainpowergridinordertomaintainthelocalpower
supply.Tocontinuewiththecasestudyabove,thismicrogridisinitiallyconsideredtooperatein
method. The micro-grid is set to be separated at 0.45 s and the control strategy is switched from PQ to
gridconnectedmode,andthestoragebattery,asthemainpowersource,iscontrolledbyPQcontrol
V/f for the main power source. The single phase voltage and current outputs in the islanding process
is shown in Figure 7.
method.Themicrogridissettobeseparatedat0.45sandthecontrolstrategyisswitchedfromPQ
to V/f for the main power source. The single phase voltage and current outputs in the islanding
toprocessisshowninFigure7.
V/f for the main power source. The single phase voltage and current outputs in the islanding
processisshowninFigure7.
13765
to V/f for the main power source. The single phase voltage and current outputs in the islanding
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
processisshowninFigure7.

Figure 7. Single-phase voltage and current output.
It can be seen that the occurrence of transient oscillation is more acute when the micro-grid
It can be seen that the occurrence of transient oscillation is more acute when the microgrid
switches from grid-connected mode to islanding mode. To further analyze the reason for this kind
switchesfromgridconnectedmodetoislandingmode.Tofurtheranalyzethereasonforthiskindof
of transient oscillation, in a similar manner, the corresponding controller output during the islanding
transientoscillation,inasimilarmanner,thecorrespondingcontrolleroutputduringtheislanding
process is considered as shown in Figure 8.
It can be seen that there are also great output voltage saltations both in d and q axis coordinates,
processisconsideredasshowninFigure8.
which lead directly to the transient oscillation of the islanding process. This is due to the fact that
Itcanbeseenthattherearealsogreatoutputvoltagesaltationsbothindandqaxiscoordinates,
the d axis component of the offline operating V/f controller is based on the voltage vector of the
whichleaddirectlytothetransientoscillationoftheislandingprocess.Thisisduetothefactthatthe
main grid when grid-connecting, while the d axis component of the online operating V/f controller
is based on the voltage vector of the micro-grid when grid-islanding. As a consequence, when the
daxiscomponentoftheofflineoperatingV/fcontrollerisbasedonthevoltagevectorofthemain
micro-grid is separated from the main grid and the controller is switched from PQ to V/f strategy, it
gridwhengridconnecting,whilethedaxiscomponentoftheonlineoperatingV/fcontrollerisbased
asynchronyis theof the dq of
asynchrony rotating coordinate
the dq rotating system
coordinate for
system forV/f
V/f controller which
controller which causes
causes the significant
the significant
onthevoltagevectorofthemicrogridwhengridislanding.Asaconsequence,whenthemicrogrid
voltagesaltationstooccur.
voltage saltations to occur.
is separated from the main grid and the controller is switched from PQ to V/f strategy, it is the
1.5
8 V*
d
1 V*
q
0.5
pu
-0.5
0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6
t/s
Figure8.Thecontrolleroutputduringislandingprocess.
Figure 8. The controller output during islanding process.
4. Modified Control Strategy for Seamless Mode Transfer

4.ModifiedControlStrategyforSeamlessModeTransfer
4.1. Improved Pre-Synchronous Controller
4.1.ImprovedPreSynchronousController
To reduce the current surge at PCC, the voltage amplitude, phase angle and the frequency of
ToreducethecurrentsurgeatPCC,thevoltageamplitude,phaseangleandthefrequencyofthe
the micro-grid and the main grid should be pre-synchronized before the micro-grid switches from
islanding
microgrid and mode to grid-connected
the main mode.
grid should beThe droop based pre-synchronous
presynchronized control
before the is one of the
microgrid most
switches from
widely used strategies that help to finish the grid-connecting pre-synchronized process [36]. It is
islandingmodetogridconnectedmode.Thedroopbasedpresynchronouscontrolisoneofthemost
worth mentioning that traditional droop based pre-synchronous controllers are designed to adjust
widely used strategies that help to finish the gridconnecting presynchronized process [36]. It is
worthmentioningthattraditionaldroopbasedpresynchronouscontrollersaredesignedtoadjust
the voltage difference and frequency difference 13766
directly. Considering that droop based control is
deviatingregulationandthemeasurementerrorisineluctable,itisdifficulttoacquirevoltageand
frequencysynchronouscompletely.Ontheotherhand,V/fcontrol,whosepurposeistoinsurethe
4.1.ImprovedPreSynchronousController
ToreducethecurrentsurgeatPCC,thevoltageamplitude,phaseangleandthefrequencyofthe
microgrid and the main grid should be presynchronized before the microgrid switches from
islandingmodetogridconnectedmode.Thedroopbasedpresynchronouscontrolisoneofthemost
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
widely used strategies that help to finish the gridconnecting presynchronized process [36]. It is
worthmentioningthattraditionaldroopbasedpresynchronouscontrollersaredesignedtoadjust
the voltage
the voltage difference
difference and
and frequency
frequency difference
difference directly.
directly. Considering
Considering that
that droop
droop based
based control
control is
is
deviating regulation and the measurement error is ineluctable, it is difficult to acquire
deviatingregulationandthemeasurementerrorisineluctable,itisdifficulttoacquirevoltageand voltage and
frequency synchronous completely. On the other hand, V/f control, whose purpose is to insure the
frequencysynchronouscompletely.Ontheotherhand,V/fcontrol,whosepurposeistoinsurethe
constant of both DG output voltage amplitude and frequency, is similar to secondary voltage and
constantofbothDGoutputvoltageamplitudeandfrequency,issimilartosecondaryvoltageand
frequency regulation of power system, which causes interference with the pre-synchronous method,
frequencyregulationofpowersystem,whichcausesinterferencewiththepresynchronousmethod,
which, in turn, may lead to further transient oscillation. Some simulation results show that the voltage
which,inturn,mayleadtofurthertransientoscillation.Somesimulationresultsshowthatthevoltage
and frequency of inverter power source based on the droop control changes suddenly and the change
andfrequencyofinverterpowersourcebasedonthedroopcontrolchangessuddenlyandthechange
rate is large [36].
rateislarge[36].
To cope with this problem, the three phase AC voltages are transformed to the DC voltages in the
Tocopewiththisproblem,thethreephaseACvoltagesaretransformedtotheDCvoltagesin
dq rotating coordinate
the dq rotating system,
coordinate whichwhich
system, avoidsavoids
the need forneed
the direct regulation
for for voltage
direct regulation and
for frequency.
voltage and
Thus, the DC voltages can be regulated by a linear PI (Proportional Integral) controller. The improved
frequency.Thus,theDCvoltagescanberegulatedbyalinearPI(ProportionalIntegral)controller.
pre-synchronous controller in this paper is shown in Figure 9, where, V m _d , V m_q and V G_d
TheimprovedpresynchronouscontrollerinthispaperisshowninFigure9,where,V , V G_q
m_d,Vm_q
are
and
the d and q components of the bus voltages in the micro-grid side and main grid
VG_d,VG_qarethedandqcomponentsofthebusvoltagesinthemicrogridsideandmaingridside side respectively;
V d_ref and V q _ref
respectively;V represent the reference d and q components for the double loop controller.
d_refandVq_refrepresentthereferencedandqcomponentsforthedoubleloopcontroller.
Vm _ d
Vd _ ref
VG _ d
*
Vvfd
*
Vvfq
VG _ q Vq _ ref
Vm _ q

Figure9.StructureofImprovedPreSynchronousController.
Figure 9. Structure of Improved Pre-Synchronous Controller.
9
The synthesized voltage components Vd_ref and Vq _ref , which are superimposed by the
corresponding output voltage components of PI and V/f controllers, are taken as the input signals
for the double loop controller. The pre-synchronous controller and the V/f controller are working
together to maintain the voltage and frequency within the micro-grid. After the grid-connecting
process is completed, the pre-synchronous controller will be cut off by switches K1 and K2.
4.2. Status Tracking Based PQ Control Method

As mentioned above, different control strategies should be adopted according to the differing
operating modes associated with the micro-grid. To avoid the conflict between the frequencies of
the micro-grid and the main grid during grid-connection process, the V/f control method should
be switched to the PQ control strategy. However, the mismatch between the outputs of the two
controllers can lead to the saltation of the final output signal due to the different control structure.
To cope with this problem, a status tracking based PQ control strategy is proposed here. More
specifically, to suppress the abrupt change of output voltage when the V/f control is switched to
PQ control, the initial output situation of the PQ controller is designed in advance based upon the
synchronous tracking of the output situation of the V/f controller.
The relationship between power and current in a dq rotating coordinate system is as follows:
P Vd Id ` Vq Iq (7)
13767
controllerscanleadtothesaltationofthefinaloutputsignalduetothedifferentcontrolstructure.To
cope with this problem, a status tracking based PQ control strategy is proposed here. More
specifically,tosuppresstheabruptchangeofoutputvoltagewhentheV/fcontrolisswitchedtoPQ
control, the initial output situation of the PQ controller is designed in advance based upon the
synchronoustrackingoftheoutputsituationoftheV/fcontroller.
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
Therelationshipbetweenpowerandcurrentinadqrotatingcoordinatesystemisasfollows:
P Vd I d Vq I q (7)
Q Vq Id Vd Iq (8)
Q Vq I d Vd I q (8)
where, Vd , Vq and Id , Iq are the voltage and current in the d and q axis coordinates respectively.
Withd,V
where,V PreqandI
f , Qre df ,I
instead of P, Q, and Idre f , Iqre f instead of Id , Iq in above equations, we then get:
qarethevoltageandcurrentinthedandqaxiscoordinatesrespectively.
WithPref,QrefinsteadofP,Q,andIdref,IqrefinsteadofId,Iqinaboveequations,wethenget:
Idre f pPre f Vd ` Qre f Vq q{pVd 2 ` Vq 2 q (9)
I dref ( Pref Vd Qref Vq ) / (Vd 2 Vq 2 ) (9)
Iqre f pPre f Vq Qre f Vd q{pVd 2 ` Vq 2 q (10)
I qref ( Pref Vq Qref Vd ) / (Vd 2 Vq 2 ) (10)
where, Pre f and Qre f are the active and reactive power references respectively for the PQ controller,
and Idre f refand
where,P Iqre ref
andQ f are the current references respectively in the d and q axis coordinates.
aretheactiveandreactivepowerreferencesrespectivelyforthePQcontroller,and
Theqrefcontrol
IdrefandI method which achieves synchronization of controller output states is shown in
arethecurrentreferencesrespectivelyinthedandqaxiscoordinates.
Figure 10.control method which achieves synchronization of controller output states is shown in
The
Figure10.
Pref *Vd Qref *Vq

Vd 2 Vq 2
Pref *Vq Qref *Vd

Vd 2 Vq 2

Figure10.DiagramofthePQcontrollerbasedonstatustracking.
Figure 10. Diagram of the PQ controller based on status tracking.
Vvfd*andV vfq*aretheoutputvoltagecomponentsofV/fcontrollerinthedqcoordinatesystem
Vv f d and Vv f q are the output voltage components of V/f controller in the dq coordinate system
whenthemicrogridisoperatinginthestateofislanding.Immediatelypriortoconnectingtothe
when the micro-grid is operating in the state of islanding. Immediately prior to connecting to the
grid,theswitchesK3andK4open,andK5andK6closed.TheV/fcontrolleristheonlycontributing
grid, the switches K3 and K4 open, and K5 and K6 closed. The V/f controller is the only contributing
controller;meanwhile,theoutputvoltagecomponentsoftheV/fcontrollerinthedqaxiscoordinate
controller; meanwhile, the output voltage components of the V/f controller in the dq axis coordinate
areusedasthereferenceforthecorrespondingoutputvoltagecomponentsofthePQcontroller.Thus
are used as the reference for the corresponding output voltage components of the PQ controller.
the PQ controller can synchronously track the output situation of the V/f controller before mode
Thus the PQ controller can synchronously track the output situation of the V/f controller before
transfer.Atthemomentofgridconnection,theonlineV/fcontrollerisswitchedtothePQcontroller.
mode transfer. At the moment of grid-connection, the online V/f controller is switched to the PQ
Atthesametime,K3andK4closewhileK5andK6stillremainclosed.Ontheonehand,theoutput
controller. At the same time, K3 and K4 close while K5 and K6 still remain closed. On the one hand,
the output of the PQ strategy is begun to be controlled10 according to the given reference power; on
the other hand, the output voltage components Vv f d and Vv f q of the V/f controller, as the auxiliary

reference signals, are still contributing to the output of PQ controller. Moreover, the amplitudes,
frequencies and phase positions of voltages on both sides of the PCC are synchronized in advance by
the pre-synchronous controller. Thus, the control output has no abrupt change but one that is rather
gentle in the grid-connecting process. When a grid connection is being established, K5 and K6 open
while K3 and K4 still keep closed, the PQ controller is the only contributing controller, which is totally
controlled according to the given reference power.
Based on this modified control strategy, with the same system parameters configured as
described in Section 3.1 and the parameters k p = 0.4 and ki = 80 configured for PI controllers, the single
phase voltage and current outputs in the grid-connecting process and the corresponding control
output during the grid-connecting process are provided as shown in Figures 11 and 12.
Using the results deriving from the traditional control method (shown in Figures 5 and 6) as
a ground truth, the transient oscillation of the micro-grid can be seen to be effectively suppressed
together with the attainment of smooth switching when grid-connecting.
13768
phase voltage and current outputs in the gridconnecting
describedinSection3.1andtheparametersk process and the corresponding control
p=0.4andki=80configuredforPIcontrollers,thesingle
outputduringthegridconnectingprocessareprovidedasshowninFigures11and12.
phase voltage and current outputs in the gridconnecting process and the corresponding control
Usingtheresultsderivingfromthetraditionalcontrolmethod(showninFigures5and6)asa
outputduringthegridconnectingprocessareprovidedasshowninFigures11and12.
ground Usingtheresultsderivingfromthetraditionalcontrolmethod(showninFigures5and6)asa
truth, the transient oscillation of the microgrid can be seen to be effectively suppressed
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
ground truth, the transient oscillation of the microgrid can be seen to be effectively suppressed
togetherwiththeattainmentofsmoothswitchingwhengridconnecting.
togetherwiththeattainmentofsmoothswitchingwhengridconnecting.

Figure11.Singlephasevoltageandcurrentoutputbyrefinedcontroller.
Figure 11. Single-phase voltage and current output by refined controller.
Figure11.Singlephasevoltageandcurrentoutputbyrefinedcontroller.
1.51.5
1 1
V*
0.5 dV*
pu
0.5 d
pu
V*
qV*
q
0
0
-0.5
-0.5 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6
0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
t/s 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6

t/s
Figure12.Thecontrolleroutputduringmicrogridswitchestogridconnectedmode.
Figure 12. The controller output during micro-grid switches to grid-connected mode.
Figure12.Thecontrolleroutputduringmicrogridswitchestogridconnectedmode.
4.3.dqRotatingCoordinateSynchronizationBasedV/fControlMethod
4.3. dq Rotating Coordinate Synchronization Based V/f Control Method
4.3.dqRotatingCoordinateSynchronizationBasedV/fControlMethod
To suppress the transient oscillation, the controller output should not be changed acutely when
Tosuppressthetransientoscillation,thecontrolleroutputshouldnotbechangedacutelywhen
the micro-grid switches from grid-connected mode to islanded mode. Unfortunately, at the moment
themicrogridswitchesfromgridconnectedmodetoislandedmode.Unfortunately,atthemoment
Tosuppressthetransientoscillation,thecontrolleroutputshouldnotbechangedacutelywhen
of grid-islanding, the transition from a grid-frequency-following control at certain output power to
ofgridislanding,thetransitionfromagridfrequencyfollowingcontrolatcertainoutputpowerto
themicrogridswitchesfromgridconnectedmodetoislandedmode.Unfortunately,atthemoment
self-generated-frequency control at different output power leads to a power angle disturbance that
selfgeneratedfrequencycontrolatdifferentoutputpowerleadstoapowerangledisturbancethat
ofgridislanding,thetransitionfromagridfrequencyfollowingcontrolatcertainoutputpowerto
affects the relative stability of the power sharing dynamics. The bus voltage is dominated by the
affectstherelativestabilityofthepowersharingdynamics.Thebusvoltageisdominatedbythemain
selfgeneratedfrequencycontrolatdifferentoutputpowerleadstoapowerangledisturbancethat
main power grid during connected mode and switches to its subsystems when it comes to islanding
powergridduringconnectedmodeandswitchestoitssubsystemswhenitcomestoislandingmode;
mode; this grid-islanding action is a kind of system reboot of the micro-grid [12]. Accordingly,
affectstherelativestabilityofthepowersharingdynamics.Thebusvoltageisdominatedbythemain
this gridislanding action is a
the dq rotating coordinate kind for
system of system reboot
V/f controller is of the microgrid
always unsynchronized[12]. Accordingly,
with respect to thethe dq
powergridduringconnectedmodeandswitchestoitssubsystemswhenitcomestoislandingmode;
rotating coordinate system for V/f controller is always unsynchronized with respect to the power
power angle under different modes. As analyzed in Section 3.2, the dq axis component of the
this gridislanding action is a kindisof system reboot of the microgrid [12].grid-connecting,
Accordingly, the dq
angleoffline
under operating V/f
different controller
modes. based on voltage
As analyzed vector
in Section of the
3.2, the main grid component
dq axis when of the offline
rotating coordinate
while that of system
the online for V/f
operatingcontroller
V/f is
controlleralways
is based unsynchronized
on voltage vector ofwith
the respect
micro-grid
operatingV/fcontrollerisbasedonvoltagevectorofthemaingridwhengridconnecting,whilethat
to the power
when
angle under differentAs
grid-islanding. modes.
a result As analyzed
of these inthe
features, Section
output 3.2, the
voltage ofdq
the axis component
V/f controller of the offline
may change
acutely when the V/f controller is returned back online
11 with the mode transfer.
operatingV/fcontrollerisbasedonvoltagevectorofthemaingridwhengridconnecting,whilethat
To avoid the abrupt change of the V/f controller itself at the moment of grid-islanding, the datum
reference of the V/f controller in the dq axis coordinate
11 should be kept consistent. In order to maintain
the consistency of the datum references for the dq axis coordinate, the output component calculation
of the V/f controller in the dq axis coordinate is based on the synthetic voltage vector according to the
droop characteristic. In other words, the reference voltage vector is synchronous with the dq rotating
coordinate. The dq rotating coordinate synchronization based control method is shown in Figure 13.
13769
oftheV/fcontrollerinthedqaxiscoordinateisbasedonthesyntheticvoltagevectoraccordingtothe
droopcharacteristic.Inotherwords,thereferencevoltagevectorissynchronouswiththedqrotating
droopcharacteristic.Inotherwords,thereferencevoltagevectorissynchronouswiththedqrotating

coordinate.ThedqrotatingcoordinatesynchronizationbasedcontrolmethodisshowninFigure13.
coordinate.ThedqrotatingcoordinatesynchronizationbasedcontrolmethodisshowninFigure13.

Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777

Figure13.DiagramoftheV/fcontrollerbasedondqrotatingcoordinatesynchronization.
Figure13.DiagramoftheV/fcontrollerbasedondqrotatingcoordinatesynchronization.
Figure 13. Diagram of the V/f controller based on dq rotating coordinate synchronization.
Based on
Based on this
this modified
modified control
control strategy
strategy with
with the
the same
same system
system parameters
parameters configured
Figure13.DiagramoftheV/fcontrollerbasedondqrotatingcoordinatesynchronization. configured as as
described in
described in Section
Section 3.2,
3.2, the simulation
this the simulation results based
results based on
theon the system
the above parameters
above control method
control method areas
are shown in
shown in
BasedBased on modified
on this modified
controlcontrol strategy
strategy with with
the same same
system parameters configured
configured as
Figures14and15.
Figures14and15.
described
described in Section
in Section 3.2,simulation
3.2, the the simulation results
results basedbased onabove
on the the above control
control method
method are shown
are shown in in
WhenonecomparestheseresultswiththosedepictedinFigures7and8,wecanseethatthe
Figures 14 and 15.
WhenonecomparestheseresultswiththosedepictedinFigures7and8,wecanseethatthe
Figures14and15.
disturbance When
of the
theone compares
output these results
signals with those
are greatly
greatly depicted and
decreased in Figures
that 7the
andtransient
the
WhenonecomparestheseresultswiththosedepictedinFigures7and8,wecanseethatthe 8 we can see that the of the
oscillation
disturbance of output signals are decreased and that transient oscillation of the
disturbance
disturbance of theofoutput
the output
signalssignals are greatly
are greatly decreased
decreased and the
and that thattransient
the transient oscillation
oscillation of theof the
microgridiseffectivelysuppressedandthesmoothswitchingisobtainedwhenthemicrogridis
micro-grid is effectively suppressed and the smooth switching is obtained when the micro-grid is
detachingitselffromthemaingrid.
detaching itself from the main grid.

12
Figure14.Singlephasevoltageandcurrentoutputbysynchronizationofdqrotatingcoordinate.
Figure14.Singlephasevoltageandcurrentoutputbysynchronizationofdqrotatingcoordinate.
Figure 14. Single-phase voltage and current output by synchronization of dq rotating coordinate.
1.5
1.5
1
1
V**
V
dd
0.5
pu
0.5
pu
V**
V
qq
0
0
-0.5
-0.5
0.2
0.2 0.25
0.25 0.3
0.3 0.35
0.35 0.4
0.4 0.45
0.45 0.5
0.5 0.55
0.55 0.6
0.6
t/s
t/s
Figure15.Theoutputofcontrollerduringtheoperationmodeswitchingtoisolatedmode.
Figure 15. The output of controller during the operation mode switching to isolated mode.
Figure15.Theoutputofcontrollerduringtheoperationmodeswitchingtoisolatedmode.
In order to further verify the effectiveness

12 of the proposed control strategies, additional
12
experiments are necessary and considered in our case study in the following Section 5.
13770
In order to further verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategies, additional
Energies 8, 1375813777
In2015,
order to further
verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategies, additional
experimentsarenecessaryandconsideredinourcasestudyinthefollowingSection5.
experimentsarenecessaryandconsideredinourcasestudyinthefollowingSection5.
5.ExperimentsandAnalysis
5. Experiments and Analysis
5.ExperimentsandAnalysis
Theexperimentsthatfollowseektocreateanumberofconditionsunderwhichthemicrogrid
The experiments that follow seek to create a number of conditions under which the micro-grid
Theexperimentsthatfollowseektocreateanumberofconditionsunderwhichthemicrogrid
may operate.
may operate. As
As such
such these
these experiments
experiments simulate
simulate changing
changing environmental conditionssunlight
environmental conditionssunlight
may operate. As such these experiments simulate changing environmental conditionssunlight
(light intensity)
(light intensity) and
and wind
wind speed,
speed, and
and furthermore,
furthermore, investigate
investigate algorithm
algorithm performance
performance in in load
load
(light intensity) and wind speed, and furthermore, investigate algorithm performance in load
switching and
switching and mode
mode switching.
switching. The
The microgrid
micro-grid structure
structure shown
shown inin Figure
Figure 1 together with
1 together with the
the
switching and mode switching. The microgrid structure shown in Figure 1 together with the
associatedcontrolarchitecturewillnowbeutilizedasthevehicleforourcasestudy,replicatingthe
associated control architecture will now be utilized as the vehicle for our case study, replicating the
associatedcontrolarchitecturewillnowbeutilizedasthevehicleforourcasestudy,replicatingthe
systemparametersdescribedinSection3.1.
system parameters described in Section 3.1.
systemparametersdescribedinSection3.1.
5.1. Light Intensity and Wind Speed Changing in Islanded Mode
5.1.LightIntensityandWindSpeedChanginginIslandedMode
5.1.LightIntensityandWindSpeedChanginginIslandedMode
In the islanded mode, it is the V/f controlled master power sources and the PQ controlled DGs
Intheislandedmode,itistheV/fcontrolledmasterpowersourcesandthePQcontrolledDGs
that Intheislandedmode,itistheV/fcontrolledmasterpowersourcesandthePQcontrolledDGs
balance the internal power of the micro-grid. The total power output within the micro-grid
thatbalancetheinternalpowerofthemicrogrid.Thetotalpoweroutputwithinthemicrogridmust
thatbalancetheinternalpowerofthemicrogrid.Thetotalpoweroutputwithinthemicrogridmust
must be maintained
be maintained and and
keptkept consistent
consistent by by
thethe control
control system
system accordingtotochanges
according changes inin the
the related
related
be maintained
environment, and kept consistent by the control system according to changes in the related
environment,especially
especiallychanges
changesof oflight
lightintensity
intensityand
andwind
windspeed. A large
speed. A large part
part of
of complaints
complaints on on
environment,
"bad especially
power quality" are changes
in fact theofrapid
light intensity and wind
voltage changes due speed. A large
to sudden part
light of complaints
intensity and wind on
badpowerqualityareinfacttherapidvoltagechangesduetosuddenlightintensityandwind
badpowerqualityareinfacttherapidvoltagechangesduetosuddenlightintensityandwind
speed changes. To illustrate the effectiveness of our control strategy, light intensity and wind speed
speedchanges.Toillustratetheeffectivenessofourcontrolstrategy,lightintensityandwindspeed
speedchanges.Toillustratetheeffectivenessofourcontrolstrategy,lightintensityandwindspeed
changes are fundamental to the case study.
changesarefundamentaltothecasestudy.
changesarefundamentaltothecasestudy.
System parameters, as described in Section 3.1, are replicated here; moreover, an additional set
Systemparameters,asdescribedinSection3.1,arereplicatedhere;moreover,anadditionalset
of Systemparameters,asdescribedinSection3.1,arereplicatedhere;moreover,anadditionalset
experimental parameters are configured as follows: the light density is 1200 W/m22during00.3s, during 00.3 s,
ofexperimentalparametersareconfiguredasfollows:thelightdensityis1200W/m
ofexperimentalparametersareconfiguredasfollows:thelightdensityis1200W/m
600 2
W/m2during0.30.6s,andagain1200W/m
during 0.30.6 s, and again 1200 W/m 2 2during00.3s,
during 0.61.5 s; the wind speed is 8 m/s
600W/m 2during0.61.5s;thewindspeedis8m/sduring
600W/m
during
2during0.30.6s,andagain1200W/m2during0.61.5s;thewindspeedis8m/sduring
00.9 s, 10 m/s during 0.91.2 s, and again 8 m/s after 1.2after
00.9 s, 10 m/s during 0.91.2 s, and again 8 m/s 1.2 sensitive
s. The s. The sensitive power
power load load
3 is 3 is
online.
00.9
online.s, 10 m/s during 0.91.2 s, and again 8 m/s
The simulation results are shown in Figures 16 and 17. after 1.2 s. The sensitive power load 3 is online.
ThesimulationresultsareshowninFigures16and17.
ThesimulationresultsareshowninFigures16and17.
15 5
15 5
10
10
P/KW
Q/KW
5 0
P/KW
Q/KW
5 0
0 ES ES
0 ES
PV ES
PV
PV
Wind PV
Wind
-5 Wind Wind
-50.2 -5
0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 -50.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
t/s 1 1.2 1.4 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
t/s 1 1.2 1.4
t/s t/s
(a) (b)
(a) (b)
Figure 16.
16. Active and
Active and reactive
and reactive power
reactive power output curves
power output
output curves ofmicro-source.
microsource. (a) Active power output;
output;
Figure
Figure 16. Active curves of (a) Active
of microsource. (a) Active power
power output;
(b)Reactivepoweroutput.
(b) Reactive power output.
50.5
50.5
f/Hz
50
f/Hz
50
49.5
49.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
0 0.5 t/s 1 1.5
t/s

Figure17.Thefrequencyresponseofmicrogrid.
Figure 17. The frequency response of micro-grid.
It can be seen that, with the light density decreasing, the active power output of the PV is
It can be seen that, with the light density decreasing, the active power output of the PV is
decreasing
It can be while
seenthat ofwith
that, the storage
the lightbattery isdecreasing,
density increasing, the
andactive
vice versa;
powerwith theof
output wind
the speed
PV is
decreasing while that of the storage battery is increasing, and vice versa; with the wind speed
decreasing while that of the storage battery is 13 increasing, and vice versa; with the wind speed
13
13771
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
increasing,theactivepoweroutputofthewindturbineisincreasingwhilethatofthestoragebattery
increasing, the active power output of the wind turbine is increasing while that of the storage battery
increasing,theactivepoweroutputofthewindturbineisincreasingwhilethatofthestoragebattery
is
is decreasing,
decreasing, and vice
andvice
is decreasing,and versa.
versa.The
viceversa. The PV
The PV and
PV and wind
and wind turbine
wind turbinecan
turbine canbe
can becontrolled
be controlledin
controlled inaccordance
in accordancewith
accordance withthe
with the
the
maximumpoweroutput.Resultsconfirmthat,inthecaseofislandedmode,thepoweroutputof
maximum power output. Results confirm that, in the case of islanded mode, the power output
maximumpoweroutput.Resultsconfirmthat,inthecaseofislandedmode,thepoweroutputof
eachmicrosourcecanbeadjustedrapidlyandthetotalpoweroutputwithinthemicrogridcanbe
of each micro source can be adjusted rapidly and the total power output within the micro-grid
eachmicrosourcecanbeadjustedrapidlyandthetotalpoweroutputwithinthemicrogridcanbe
maintained
can
maintained and
and kept
be maintained and consistent
kept by
by the
kept consistent
consistent by control
the the system
control
control system
system according
according
according to
totochanges
changesof
changes of the
of the related
the related
related
environment.
environment. In
environment. In contrastand
In contrastand
contrast and asas expected,
as expected, it
expected, it can
it can beseen
can be from
seen from
beseen Figure17
from Figure thatthe
17 that
Figure17 frequency
frequencyof
the frequency
thatthe ofthe
of the
the
microgridexhibitsonlyminorvariationsrelativetochangesofeitherlightintensityorwindspeed.
micro-grid exhibits only minor variations relative to changes of either light intensity
microgridexhibitsonlyminorvariationsrelativetochangesofeitherlightintensityorwindspeed.or wind speed.
5.2. Load Switching in Grid-Connected Mode

5.2.LoadSwitchinginGridConnectedMode
5.2.LoadSwitchinginGridConnectedMode
In the grid-connected mode, the power output of the PQ controlled DGs should not be affected
Inthegridconnectedmode,thepoweroutputofthePQcontrolledDGsshouldnotbeaffected
Inthegridconnectedmode,thepoweroutputofthePQcontrolledDGsshouldnotbeaffected
by the local power loads changing since the fluctuation of power in the micro-grid is borne by the
bythelocalpowerloadschangingsincethefluctuationofpowerinthemicrogridisbornebythe
bythelocalpowerloadschangingsincethefluctuationofpowerinthemicrogridisbornebythe
main grid. So, load switching in grid-connected mode is tested in our case study.
maingrid.So,loadswitchingingridconnectedmodeistestedinourcasestudy.
maingrid.So,loadswitchingingridconnectedmodeistestedinourcasestudy.
Parameters in this experiment are configured as follows: the light density is 1000 W/m 2 , the
Parametersinthisexperimentareconfiguredasfollows:thelightdensityis1000W/m
Parametersinthisexperimentareconfiguredasfollows:thelightdensityis1000W/m
2,thewind
2,thewind
wind
speedspeed
speed is
is8 is 8 and
8m/s,
m/s, m/s, andbattery
andthe
the the battery
batteryis is charging
ischarging
charging with
withwith
a a constant
aconstant
constant current.
current.
current. The
The
The sensitive
sensitive
sensitive power
power
power load
load
load 3 3
3is
is
is switched in during 0.40.7 s and switched out after 0.7 s. The power output curves of micro-sources
switchedinduring0.40.7sandswitchedoutafter0.7s.Thepoweroutputcurvesofmicrosources
switchedinduring0.40.7sandswitchedoutafter0.7s.Thepoweroutputcurvesofmicrosources
are shown in Figure 18.
areshowninFigure18.
areshowninFigure18.
ItItcanbeseenthatthestoragebatteryisequivalenttoapowerloadwhenchargingwithconstant
can be seen that the storage battery is equivalent to a power load when charging with constant
Itcanbeseenthatthestoragebatteryisequivalenttoapowerloadwhenchargingwithconstant
current, and that the PV and wind turbine are controlled in accordance with the maximum power
current,andthatthePVandwindturbinearecontrolledinaccordancewiththemaximumpower
current,andthatthePVandwindturbinearecontrolledinaccordancewiththemaximumpower
output. The power in the micro-grid is balanced by the main power grid, so the output power of each
output.Thepowerinthemicrogridisbalancedbythemainpowergrid,sotheoutputpowerofeach
output.Thepowerinthemicrogridisbalancedbythemainpowergrid,sotheoutputpowerofeach
micro source does not change with load switching. The curve of battery state of charge (SOC) and
microsourcedoesnotchangewithloadswitching.Thecurveofbatterystateofcharge(SOC)and
microsourcedoesnotchangewithloadswitching.Thecurveofbatterystateofcharge(SOC)and
frequency response of the micro-grid are shown in Figures 19 and 20 respectively.
frequencyresponseofthemicrogridareshowninFigures19and20respectively.
frequencyresponseofthemicrogridareshowninFigures19and20respectively.
It can be seen that the battery is absorbing power from the main grid and the electric quantity
Itcanbeseenthatthebatteryisabsorbingpowerfromthemaingridandtheelectricquantityis
Itcanbeseenthatthebatteryisabsorbingpowerfromthemaingridandtheelectricquantityis
is increasing,
increasing,
increasing, the
the
the frequencychanged
frequency
frequency changedslightly
changed slightlybut
slightly butwithin
but withinthe
within thechange
the changeindicator
change indicator and
indicator and can
and can be
canbe returned
bereturned
returned
rapidly to the stable
rapidlytothestablestate.
rapidlytothestablestate.state.
4
4
ES ES
10 ES ES
10 PV 3 PV
PV 3 PV
Wind Wind
Wind Wind
5 2
5 2
P/KW
Q/KW
P/KW
Q/KW
1
1
0
0
0
0
-5
-5 -1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 -10 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t/s t/s
t/s t/s
(a)
(a) (b)
(b)
Figure
Figure 18.
18.Active
Figure18. Active and
Active and reactive
and reactivepower
reactive poweroutput
power outputcurves
output curves of
curvesof microsource.
microsource.(a)
ofmicro-source. (a)Active
(a) Activepower
Active poweroutput;
power output;
output;
(b) Reactive power output.
0.65
0.65
0.6
SOC
0.6
SOC
0.55
0.55
0.5
0.50 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t/s
t/s
Figure19.Thecurveofbatterystateofcharge(SOC).
Figure19.Thecurveofbatterystateofcharge(SOC).
Figure 19. The curve of battery state of charge (SOC).
13772
14
14
50.4
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777 50.3
50.2
f/Hz
50.1
50
50.4
49.9
50.3 49.8
50.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t/s
f/Hz
50.1
Figure20.Thefrequencyresponseofthemicrogrid.
50
49.9
5.3.GridConnected/IslandingSmoothSwitching
49.8
Moreover, while the mode
0 transfers
0.2 from
0.4 islanded
0.6 mode
0.8 to gridconnected
1 mode, and
t/s
gridconnectedmodetoislandedmode,weretestedseparatelyinSection4,thesuccessivetransfers
betweengridconnectedandislandedoperationmodesarefurtherconsideredinthiscasestudyto
Figure20.Thefrequencyresponseofthemicrogrid.
Figure 20. The frequency response of the micro-grid.
testthedevelopedcontrolstrategy.
Inthisexperiment,parametersareconfiguredasfollows:themicrogridisoperatinginislanding
5.3. Grid-Connected/Islanding Smooth Switching
5.3.GridConnected/IslandingSmoothSwitching
modeduring00.45s,wheredroopbasedV/fcontrolisusedforbatterysdischargemodeduring
00.3Moreover, while the mode
s and presynchronous transfers
controller from islanded
is activated mode
to follow the to grid-connected
voltage of the mainmode, and
grid. The
Moreover, while the mode transfers from islanded mode to gridconnected mode, and
grid-connected mode to islanded mode, were tested separately in Section 4, the successive transfers
microgridisconnectedtothemaingridat0.45sandthebatteryisswitchedtochargemodewitha
gridconnectedmodetoislandedmode,weretestedseparatelyinSection4,thesuccessivetransfers
between grid-connected and islanded operation modes are further considered in this case study to
constantcurrent;thenthemicrogridisseparatedfrommaingridat0.75sandthebatteryisswitched
betweengridconnectedandislandedoperationmodesarefurtherconsideredinthiscasestudyto
test the developed control strategy.
todischargemodewithdroopbasedV/fcontrol.ThePVandwindturbinearecontrolledthroughout
In this experiment,
testthedevelopedcontrolstrategy.
in accordance parameters
with the maximum are configured
power output. Theasvoltage
follows:
andthe micro-grid
current is operating
and power in
output are
islanding mode during 00.45 s, where droop based V/f control is used for batterys discharge mode
showninFigures21and22respectively.
Inthisexperiment,parametersareconfiguredasfollows:themicrogridisoperatinginislanding
during 00.3 s and pre-synchronous controller is activated to follow the voltage of the main grid.
Itcanbeseenthatthevoltageandcurrentofeachmicrosourceareallseamlesslytransmitted
modeduring00.45s,wheredroopbasedV/fcontrolisusedforbatterysdischargemodeduring
The micro-grid is connected to the main grid at 0.45 s and the battery is switched to charge mode

notwithstandingthefactthatthecontrolstrategyischangedfromV/ftoPQwhengridconnectingat
00.3 s 0.45s;smoothswitchingcontrolisalsoobtainedwhenthemicrogridisseparatingfromthemain
and
with apresynchronous
constant current; thencontroller is activated
the micro-grid is separated tofrom
follow
mainthe
gridvoltage of the
at 0.75 s and mainisgrid. The
the battery
microgridisconnectedtothemaingridat0.45sandthebatteryisswitchedtochargemodewitha
switched
grid to discharge
at 0.75. Comparedmode with
with thedroop
resultsbased V/f control.
deriving from the The PV and wind
traditional turbine
control are (shown
method controlledin
throughout in accordance with the maximum power output. The voltage and current and power
constantcurrent;thenthemicrogridisseparatedfrommaingridat0.75sandthebatteryisswitched
Figures5and6),theseresultsconfirmedtheefficacyofthemodifiedcontrolstrategyforvoltageand
output are shown in Figures 21 and 22 respectively.
currentadjustmentwhengridconnectedorislandingswitchingofthemicrogrid.
todischargemodewithdroopbasedV/fcontrol.ThePVandwindturbinearecontrolledthroughout
in accordance with the maximum power output. The voltage and current and power output are
showninFigures21and22respectively.
Itcanbeseenthatthevoltageandcurrentofeachmicrosourceareallseamlesslytransmitted
notwithstandingthefactthatthecontrolstrategyischangedfromV/ftoPQwhengridconnectingat
0.45s;smoothswitchingcontrolisalsoobtainedwhenthemicrogridisseparatingfromthemain
grid at 0.75. Compared with the results deriving from the traditional control method (shown in
Figures5and6),theseresultsconfirmedtheefficacyofthemodifiedcontrolstrategyforvoltageand
currentadjustmentwhengridconnectedorislandingswitchingofthemicrogrid.
(a) (b)
(c)
Figure21.Singlephasevoltageandcurrentcurvesofmicrosource.(a)Voltageandcurrentoutputof
Figure 21. Single-phase voltage and current curves of micro-source. (a) Voltage and current output of
storage battery;(a) (b)
storagebattery;(b)VoltageandcurrentoutputofPV;(c)Voltageandcurrentoutputofwindturbine.
(b) Voltage and current output of PV; (c) Voltage and current output of wind turbine.
15
13773
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
15 4
ES ES
10 PV 3 PV
Wind Wind
2
P/KW
Q/KW
5
1
15 4
015
4
ES 0 ES
ES ES
10 PV 3 PV
-510 PV 3 PV
Wind -1 Wind
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 Wind0.9 0.4
2 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 Wind0.9
P/KW
Q/KW
5 t/s t/s
P/KW
Q/KW
5
1
(a) 1 (b)
0
0 0
Figure 22. Active and reactive power output curves of0
microsource. (a) Active power output;
Figure
-5
22. Active and reactive power output curves of micro-source. (a) Active power output;
-5 -1
(b)0.4Reactive
0.5power output.
0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 -10.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
t/s t/s
t/s t/s
AscanbeseenfromFigure22,theactivepoweroutputofthestoragebatterydecreasesonly
It can be seen that the (a) voltage and current of each micro source are all (b)seamlessly transmitted
(a) (b)
marginallyafterthepresynchronouscontrollerisputintooperation,andthefluctuationsofactive
notwithstanding
Figure 22. the fact
Active that
and the
reactive control
power strategy
output is changed
curves of from V/f
microsource. to
(a)PQ when
Active
andreactivepoweroutputarenegligibleduringeitherthegridconnectingorislandingprocesses. grid-connecting
power output;
at 0.45Figure
s; 22.
smooth Active and
switching reactive
control power
is also output
obtained curves
when of microsource.
the micro-grid (a)
is Active
separatingpower
fromoutput;
the main
ThepoweroutputofthePVandthewindturbineareallinaccordancewiththemaximumpower
grid at 0.75. Compared with the results deriving from the traditional control method (shown in
output.Theresultsconfirmtheefficacyofthemodifiedcontrolstrategyforbothactiveandreactive
Figures 5 and 6), these results confirmed the efficacy of the modified control strategy for voltage
poweroutputadjustmentwhengridconnected/islandingswitchingofthemicrogrid.
and current adjustment when grid-connected or islanding switching of the micro-grid.
Thecurveofbatterystateofcharge(SOC)(Figure23)indicatesthechangeofelectricquantity
As can be seen from Figure 22, the active power output of the storage battery decreases only
andreactivepoweroutputarenegligibleduringeitherthegridconnectingorislandingprocesses.
underdifferentoperatingmodes.ThefrequencyresponseofthemicrogridisshowninFigure24.
andreactivepoweroutputarenegligibleduringeitherthegridconnectingorislandingprocesses.
marginally after the pre-synchronous controller is put into operation, and the fluctuations of active
Thefrequencychangedslightlyintherangeof(0.5,0.5)butwithinthechangeindicatorand
and reactive power output are negligible during either the grid-connecting or islanding processes.
canbereturnedrapidlytothestablestate.
The power output of the PV and the wind turbine are all in accordance with the maximum power
output. The results confirm the 0.5 efficacy of the modified control strategy for both active and reactive
power output adjustment when grid-connected/islanding switching of the micro-grid.
0.45
The curve of battery state of charge (SOC) (Figure 23) indicates the change of electric quantity
under different operating modes. 0.4 The frequency response of the micro-grid is shown in Figure 24.
SOC
0.5
0.35
0.5
0.45
0.3
0.45
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t/s
SOC
0.4
SOC
0.4
Figure23.Thecurvesofbatterystateofcharge(SOC).
0.35
0.35
51
0.3
0.30 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
50.5 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t/s
t/s
50 23. The curves of battery state of charge (SOC).
Figure
f/Hz
51
49.551
50.5
49
50.5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t/s
f/Hz
50
f/Hz
50
49.5
49.5
6.Conclusions
49
490 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0.2 0
0.4 t/s 0.6 0.8 1
Themicrogridcanbeoperatedeitherinthegridconnectedmodeorinislandedmode;seamless
t/s
mode transfer however is an important prerequisite for maintaining safe and stable operation of
microgrids. In order to ameliorate
Figure 24.the
Theeffect of power
frequency responsequality during mode transfer, this paper
of micro-grid.
establishestheunderlyinsssgcauseofthetransientoscillationassociatedwithmodetransferviaa
6.Conclusions
6.Conclusions
casestudyfocusingonanarchetypicalmicrogridwiththeWindPVEShybridsystem.Thereafter,
13774
mode transfer however is an important prerequisite
16 for maintaining safe and stable operation of
microgrids. In order to ameliorate the effect of power quality during mode transfer, this paper
microgrids. In order to ameliorate the effect of power quality during mode transfer, this paper
establishestheunderlyinsssgcauseofthetransientoscillationassociatedwithmodetransferviaa
Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777
The frequency changed slightly in the range of (0.5, 0.5) but within the change indicator and
can be returned rapidly to the stable state.
6. Conclusions
The micro-grid can be operated either in the grid-connected mode or in islanded mode; seamless
micro-grids. In order to ameliorate the effect of power quality during mode transfer, this paper
establishes the underlyinsssg cause of the transient oscillation associated with mode transfer via a
case study focusing on an archetypical micro-grid with the Wind-PV-ES hybrid system. Thereafter, a
modified control strategy for seamless mode transfer is formulated. The primary contribution of this
paper is an improved PQ control, the provision of a mechanism by which to ensure the continuity
of the controller output whereby the output of the PQ controller always synchronously tracks the
output of the V/f controller as the micro-grid switches from islanded mode to grid-connected mode.
Additionally we propose a dq rotating coordinate synchronization based on a V/f control method
when the micro-grid switches from grid-connected mode to islanded mode. The simulation results
presented indicate that the modified control method is effective in dominating the micro-grid and
suppressing the transient oscillations during the mode transfer.
Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (61105082), Jiangsu Government Scholarship for Overseas Studies, China (JS-2013-219).
Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province, China (QL2012) and 1311 Talent Plan of Nanjing University of Posts
and Communications (NY2013).
Author Contributions: Tengfei Zhang conceived the core concepts for this research and paper. Dong Yue aided
with control strategy and experimental validation. Michael OGrady and Gregory OHare advised academically.
All authors collaborated in the preparation, revisions and general editing of this manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Transient Oscillations Analysis and Modified Control Strategy For Seamless Mode Transfer in Micro-Grids: A Wind-PV-ES Hybrid System Case Study

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Transient Oscillations Analysis and Modified Control Strategy For Seamless Mode Transfer in Micro-Grids: A Wind-PV-ES Hybrid System Case Study

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Transient Oscillations Analysis and Modified Control

Keywords: distributed energy resources; micro-grid; grid-connected operation; islanded operation;

Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777; doi:10.3390/en81212396 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

2.1. Operation Modes of Micro-Grids

Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777

Figure 3. Droop based V/f control.

4. Modified Control Strategy for Seamless Mode Transfer

4.2. Status Tracking Based PQ Control Method

Pref Vd Qref Vq

Pref Vq Qref Vd

Energies 2015, 8, 1375813777

In order to further verify the effectiveness

5.2. Load Switching in Grid-Connected Mode

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