RTDS implementation of an improved sliding mode based inverter controller for PV system

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Renewable Energy Systems
• Control Systems

Background:

• Large-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems require robust control strategies for grid integration.
• Fast controllers often exhibit wide harmonic distribution, complicating filter design.
• Real-time digital simulators (RTDS) present implementation challenges for high-bandwidth control schemes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel methodology for real-time testing of PV system dynamics and control using RTDS.
• To address controller parameter design hindrances and improve harmonic profiles.
• To optimize controller parameters for enhanced low voltage ride-through (LVRT) performance.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a novel control strategy on RTDS with small time steps.
• Controller parameter optimization using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).
• Analytical modeling of voltage profile parameters (recovery time, overshoot, settling time, steady-state error) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).

Main Results:

• The proposed control strategy achieves an improved voltage harmonic profile, distributing harmonics around the switching frequency.
• Fast transient response and simplified filter design were demonstrated.
• PSO-based optimization significantly improved LVRT performance compared to Genetic Algorithm (GA).

Conclusions:

• The developed methodology facilitates the real-time implementation of high-bandwidth control strategies in RTDS for PV systems.
• Controller parameter optimization using PSO and RSM provides a systematic approach for enhancing system performance.
• The findings are applicable to other renewable and distributed generation control applications.