City University of Hong Kong

Department of Electrical Engineering

EE 4101 – Industrial Electronics

Tutorial 4

1. Fig. 1 shows a fuel cell system connecting an AC grid.

Approach 1 Approach 2

Isolated or non- High- Grid-

Fuel cell
isolated dc/dc voltage connected AC grid
system
converter dc link inverter

Approach 3 S2

iSC L

: Supercapacitor bank
D2
vSC CSC S1 D1 vDC

Bidirectional dc/dc converter

Fig. 1

(a) Briefly describe the operation of the whole system.

Solution:
The output voltage of fuel cells is low. Thus, a DC/DC converter is used to match
the output resistance of the fuel cell. That is, the input resistance of the DC/DC
converter is the same as the output resistance of the fuel cell. The DC/DC converter
is also used to regulate the DC-link voltage. The grid-connected inverter is used
to convert the DC power into AC power for the grid. As the output time constant
of the fuel cell is long, i.e., slow dynamic response, constant power extracted from
the fuel cell is preferred. However, the power delivered to the grid is time varying
(at double line frequency). Thus, in order to compensate the difference between
the input power from the fuel cell and the output power to the load, a bidirectional
DC/DC converter is placed at the DC link. The bi-directional converter is used to
compensate the difference between the power from the fuel cell and the output grid
power.

(b) Discuss the operating principles of the bidirectional dc/dc converter.

Solution:
The bidirectional DC/DC converter can transfer energy from the DC link to the
supercapacitor or vice versa. When energy is transferred from the DC link to the
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 supercapacitor, S2 and D1 form a buck converter. When energy is transferred from
the supercapacitor to the DC link, S1 and D2 form a boost converter. You can refer
the operations of buck and boost converters:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boost_converter

(c) If the supercapacitor bank used in the bidirectional dc/dc converter is replaced by
a battery bank, is it still necessary to connect a supercapacitor bank?
Solution:
Yes, the battery bank has slow charging rate. In this application, it requires fast
response (double line frequency). Thus, a supercapacitor bank is still needed.

2. Discuss the concepts of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V).

Solution:
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles, such as
battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV) or hydrogen fuel cell electric
vehicles (FCEV), communicate with the power grid to sell demand response services by
either returning electricity to the grid or by throttling their charging rate. V2G storage
capabilities can enable EVs to store and discharge electricity generated from renewable
energy sources such as solar and wind, with output that fluctuates depending on weather
and time of day.

The G2V is simply to charge the batteries.

Take a look at the following references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle-to-grid

3. Why should smart grids be autonomous and responsive?

Solution:

A MicroGrid is a semiautonomous grouping of generating sources and enduse sinks that

are placed and operated for the benefit of its member customer(s). The supply sources
may be driven by a diverse set of prime movers and/or storage devices. The key
distinguishing feature of the MicroGrid is that sources are interconnected by Microsource
Controllers. These power electronic devices maintain energy balance and power quality
through passive plug and play power electronic inverter features that allow operation
without tight central active control or fast (on time scales less than minutes)
communication. They also permit connection and disconnection of devices without need
for any reconfiguration of equipment, preexisting or new. Overall economic operation
within constraints such as air quality permit restrictions, noise limits, etc., as well as
maintenance of a legitimate façade to the grid is achieved entirely through slow (on time
scales of minutes or longer) communications with a central Energy Manager.

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copyrighted material without express permission of redistribution. These slides are archived here for CityU’s
educational activities and CityU students taking EE4101 only. Distribution without prior permission is not
allowed.
4. Discuss the economic and environment impacts of smart grids.

Solution:

Smart Grid Investment Offers Economic Benefits

The Smart Grid appears to offer both direct benefits (those which could affect consumers’
bills) and indirect economic benefits to customers. Direct benefits are delivered through
four primary mechanisms:
• Increasing electric distribution efficiency, primarily through Integrated Volt/Var
Control (IVVC).
• Facilitating changes in customer behavior, either by shifting usage away from high-
demand periods or by reducing usage. These capabilities include offering customers
more choices including time-varying rates, prepayment programs, and customer
energy management systems.
• Reducing operating costs from capabilities such as remote meter reading and remote
service disconnect/reconnect.
• Improving revenue capture through improved Smart Meter accuracy and theft
detection capabilities.
The Smart Grid also appears to offer significant indirect benefits to communities through
economic productivity increases associated with improved grid reliability. Capabilities
such as fault location help repair crews find faults faster, while fault isolation limits the
number of customers impacted by any particular service outage.

Smart Grid Investment Offers Significant Reductions in Environmental Impact

The Smart Grid offers significant reductions in environmental impact through two
sources: conservation and greater renewable generation integration. Greenhouse gas
emission reductions can be traced directly to Smart Grid capabilities – such as time-
varying rates and customer energy management systems – offering a conservation effect.
We find that the Smart Grid increases the level of customer-sited generation that the
distribution grid can reliably and efficiently accommodate. To the extent this generation
is renewable, Smart Grid capabilities designed to accommodate it offer even more
significant environmental benefits

Please note and abide by copyright laws. Some items contained in these presentations are taken from
copyrighted material without express permission of redistribution. These slides are archived here for CityU’s
educational activities and CityU students taking EE4101 only. Distribution without prior permission is not
allowed.