• Introduction

• System Description & Problem Statement

• Unified Distributed Control Strategy

• Simulation Analysis

• Experimental Analysis

• Conclusions

NPSC 2018, 14-16, December 2018 at NIT-Tiruchirappalli 1

Introduction
• Microgrids are undoubtedly the indispensable components of the future
distribution networks.
• DC Microgrid, in particular is of great research interest due to its unique features
like
 efficient inclusion of direct DC sources and storage devices
 Minimal effort in control and energy management
 increasing DC driven electronic loads

Primary impediments in microgrid control are

• Stringent communication requirements for real-time control of the microgrid
• Need for proper power sharing
• Demand side management

Distributed Control of DC microgrid

Fig. 1. Typical structure of a microgrid

NPSC 2018, 14-16, December 2018 at NIT-Tiruchirappalli 2

System Description

Table. I. DC microgrid: technical specifications

Device Specifications
PV array 430V, 24.5A, 10kW, Ns=14, Np=3
Battery bank 220V, 400Ah, 5kW, Ns=110, Np=1
Supercapacitor bank 56V, 2600F, 5kW, Ns=21, Np=20
Fuel cell stack 48V, 105A, 5kW, Np=2
Load 1 48V, 105A, 5kW
Load 2 380V, 13.16A, 5kW

Fig. 2. Schematic of the DC microgrid

NPSC 2018, 14-16, December 2018 at NIT-Tiruchirappalli 3

DC Bus Signalling Method

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 3. Equivalent circuits of different modes of operation (a) mode-I (b) mode-II and III (c) mode-IV

Table. II. Control of power converters during different modes

Mode
I II III IV
Vdc,ref 375 V 380 V 380 V 385 V
DC bus forming Fuel cell CES (discharge) CES(charging) Solar PV
Solar PV (MPPT) and
DC bus feeding Solar PV (MPPT) Solar PV (MPPT) --
CES (discharge)
CES (charging) and/or
DC bus loading DC loads DC loads DC loads
DC loads

NPSC 2018, 14-16, December 2018 at NIT-Tiruchirappalli 4

Unified Distributed Control
Impediments with DC bus signaling method are
• false activation due to line voltage drop
• Inability to support transient power sharing among components

Fig. 4. Detailed equivalent circuit of mode-II

Fig. 6. Control of CES converters

Demand Side Management

• The status of microgrid is always available in the form of DC bus voltage (Vdc).
• In the event of N-1 operation, the drop in Vdc will be utilized as an information for
load shedding.
Fig. 5. Control of interfacing converter using virtual resistance

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Simulation Analysis
Case-I: Normal Operating Condition

Fig. 7. Power flow from/to different microgrid components

Fig. 8. DC bus voltage

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Simulation Analysis
Case-II: N-1 operation (absence of CES device)

CES Failure

Fig. 9. Power flow from/to different microgrid components

Fig. 10. DC bus voltage

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Conclusions
• A distributed control strategy for the DC microgrid is presented and different
operating modes are discussed in detail with the help of equivalent circuits for
each mode of operation.
• The potency of the control strategy is evaluated using both simulation and
experimental analysis.
• The system is observed to seamlessly transit between different operating modes
autonomously and is thus able to display
increased reliability
robustness to N-1 operation,
and
negligible communication requirements

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 Thank You

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