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Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

2DOF-based current controller for single-phase grid-connected voltage


source inverter applications
Francisco Javier López-Alcolea a ,∗, Emilio J. Molina-Martínez b , Alfonso Parreño Torres c ,
Javier Vázquez b , Pedro Roncero-Sánchez b
a
School of Industrial Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain
b Institute of Energy Research and Industrial Applications, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain
c School of Industrial Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: This paper presents the design of a discrete-time control scheme for the current injected into the grid by a
Active damping single-phase voltage source inverter (VSI). The VSI is connected to the grid by means of an LCL filter that
Grid-connected converter attenuates the switching harmonics present in the output waveform of the inverter. The current control is
LCL filter
based on a resonant regulator implemented in a Two-Degrees-Of-Freedom (2DOF) scheme that allows the
Control design
location of all the poles to be defined in the closed loop of the system without the need for observers and
Current control
measuring only the current injected into the grid. This control scheme, therefore, allows the attenuation of the
resonance frequency of the LCL filter and requires no additional damping methods with which to mitigate the
resonance phenomenon. The design parameters can be obtained using a fairly straightforward mathematical
approach that involves only operations with real numbers. The simulation and experimental results obtained
show that the control scheme performs correctly even considering changes in the grid inductance.

1. Introduction
per decade) facilitates compliance with the requirements defined in the
quality standards [7]. Nonetheless, the natural resonance frequency of
The integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) into the
the LCL filter and its high-order transfer function must be carefully
electrical grid has received considerable attention from researchers in
considered in order to obtain a good response for the grid current
the last years. Microgrids are of key importance in this context as they
offer a safe and efficient management of power and energy among the control. This issue can be solved by employing different damping
different DERs, loads and energy management systems (EMS) [1]. The methods, which reduce the resonance peak occurring in the frequency
connection of the DERs must ensure that the power transferred to the response of LCL filters.
grid is maximized while complying with the restrictions enforced by Damping methods can be classified as passive or active. The passive
power quality standards [2,3]. The use of voltage source inverters (VSI) methods are based principally on the connection of a passive compo-
has become a widely extended solution to address these restrictions. nent or components in series or in parallel with the capacitor [8,9].
The primary control of the VSI interface in the grid-connected mode The maximum and minimum resistance values required to damp the
of a microgrid is oriented to extract the maximum power from the filter response by connecting a resistor in series with the capacitor
DERs [4–6]. is presented in [10]. The main disadvantage of this approach is the
The switching of the semiconductor devices in the VSI generates decrease in the efficiency that results from the power dissipated by
a current ripple at its output that may result in electromagnetic com- the added elements. This drawback could be solved by connecting
patibility (EMC) or power quality issues. This drawback is commonly reactive elements to the resistors, which results in a decrease in power
solved by employing passive filters located between the VSI and the losses [10,11].
grid. The simplest filter topology consists of an inductor (L filter). How- The active damping methods are focused on compensating the
ever, its low attenuation (20 dB per decade) leads to high inductance natural resonance of the LCL filter by means of a control scheme. When
values and, therefore, a greater size and cost. These limitations can be compared to the passive methods, active damping is preferred because
overcome with the use of an LCL filter. Its high attenuation (60 dB

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: FJavier.Lopez@uclm.es (F.J. López-Alcolea), Emiliojose.Molina@uclm.es (E.J. Molina-Martínez), Alfonso.Parreno@uclm.es
(A. Parreño Torres), Javier.Vazquez@uclm.es (J. Vázquez), Pedro.Roncero@uclm.es (P. Roncero-Sánchez).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121179
Received 10 November 2022; Received in revised form 12 April 2023; Accepted 18 April 2023
Available online 2 May 2023
0306-2619/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

of lower power losses and a better control performance. These methods


can also be divided into two groups: filter-based and state-variable
feedback damping methods [9,12].
The filter-based active damping methods introduce a filter into the
direct path of the current control. The filter is usually connected in
cascade with a proportional–integral (PI) regulator in a synchronous
reference frame, while a proportional–resonant (PR) regulator can be
used when the control is implemented in a stationary reference frame.
In both cases, the filter is included in order to damp the response at
the resonance frequency of the LCL filter, whereas the PI or the PR
controllers are included for regulation purposes. Several options for the
Fig. 1. Power system of the grid-connected VSI with an LCL filter.
filter can be found in the literature, such as low-pass [13], notch [14–
16], all-pass [17] or lead–lag filters [18]. The performance of these
methods generally depend on the resonance frequency, which may
change with the parameters of the LCL filter and/or the grid impedance. function calculated with the control algorithm. This feature might be
The state-variable feedback methods are, on the contrary, based used to define some design specifications for the closed-loop system in
on the inclusion of an extra state-variable feedback loop in order to the frequency domain. In addition, the proposed control scheme avoids
achieve a better damping at the resonance frequency of the filter. The the use of a synchronous reference frame. Hence, it can be applied
capacitor current can be used for the additional loop with the aim of either to three-phase three-wire inverters with a static reference frame
emulating the connection of a virtual impedance in parallel with the or directly by using the abc coordinates when applied to three-phase
filter capacitor [19,20]. In [21], the variable measured is the capacitor four-wire VSIs that allow the independent control of each phase.
voltage, which is used to estimate the capacitor current through the The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The model of
calculation of its derivative, thus increasing the complexity of the the single-phase VSI connected to the grid with an LCL filter, the design
control [22]. of the filter and the influence of the grid inductance in the model
Other methods use the current on the inverter side for this feedback are described in Section 2. The proposed control methodology, an
loop [23,24]. As the inverters usually incorporate this measurement for example design and its behavior under changes in the grid inductance
overcurrent protection, these methods do not require an extra sensor. are presented in Section 3. The simulation and experimental results of
The influence that the LCL filter resonance frequency and the grid the proposed control carried out are shown in Section 4. Finally, the
inductance has on this active damping technique is analyzed in [25]. main conclusions of the paper are detailed in Section 5.
Nevertheless, the attenuation of the harmonics in the grid may be
unsatisfactory [26]. Finally, the best solution from the point of view 2. System modeling
of the number of variables to be measured consist of employing the
grid current for both control and damping [27]. Since the current The power system scheme of the single-phase VSI connected to the
measurement is required for regulation purposes, no extra sensors are PCC with an LCL filter is shown in Fig. 1. The aim is to control the
used to damp the filter response. Moreover, the harmonic content in current injected into the grid. By assuming that the switching frequency
the grid is considered in both the regulation and the damping of the of the VSI is sufficiently high, the transfer function from the output
filter. voltage of the VSI, 𝑉𝑖𝑛𝑣 (𝑠), to the current injected into the grid, 𝐼2 (𝑠),
In [28], the point of common coupling (PCC) voltage is employed can be written in the continuous time domain as:
to achieve a robust control against variations in the load impedance. 𝐼 (𝑠) 𝑠𝛽4 + 𝛽3
𝑃1 (𝑠) = 2 = (1)
However, an extra sensor is required for the control method. In [29], 𝑉𝑖𝑛𝑣 (𝑠) 𝑠3 + 𝑠2 𝛽2 + 𝑠𝛽1 + 𝛽0
a control method with a direct pole-placement technique is employed, where the components 𝛽0 to 𝛽4 depend on the inductance of the VSI
which consequently allows the dynamic behavior of the system to be and grid side inductors, 𝐿1 and 𝐿2 , the capacitance of the LCL filter
defined by the designer. It should be pointed out that, in this case, the capacitor, 𝐶, and their equivalent series resistances 𝑅1 , 𝑅2 and 𝑅𝐶 ,
inverter is connected to the grid with an L filter. A direct discrete-time respectively:
pole-placement strategy that makes it possible to choose the location
𝑅𝐶
of the closed-loop poles for an LCL filter is proposed in [30]. However, 𝛽4 = (2)
a resonant controller with two extra filters must be used, and some 𝐿1 𝐿2
restrictions for the closed-loop poles must be taken into consideration. 1
𝛽3 = (3)
This paper presents a current control scheme for a single-phase 𝐿1 𝐿2 𝐶
VSI connected to the grid by means of an LCL filter. The control 𝑅𝐶 + 𝑅1 𝑅𝐶 + 𝑅2
𝛽2 = + (4)
is based on a structure in which only the grid side current is fed 𝐿1 𝐿2
back. The structure is composed of two nested controllers, which are 1 1 𝑅 𝑅 + 𝑅𝐶 (𝑅1 + 𝑅2 )
𝛽1 = + + 1 2 (5)
implemented in the discrete time domain. The control methodology 𝐿1 𝐶 𝐿2 𝐶 𝐿1 𝐿2
permits the complete definition of the location of the poles in the 𝑅1 + 𝑅2
𝛽0 = (6)
closed-loop transfer function, signifying that the dynamic behavior of 𝐿1 𝐿2 𝐶
the system can be practically tailored by the designer while ensuring a However, bearing in mind that the delays caused by the generation
zero tracking error in the steady state and a fast transient response. of PWM signals and the calculation of the control signal must be
The design of a control scheme using closed-loop pole placement is included, this model can be rewritten as:
a well-established technique in the control systems theory [31,32].
𝑒−𝜏𝑠 (𝑠𝛽4 + 𝛽3 )
Furthermore, the design procedure is based on operations with real 𝑃2 (𝑠) = (7)
numbers, which diminishes the mathematical effort required in order 𝑠3 + 𝑠2 𝛽2 + 𝑠𝛽1 + 𝛽0
to calculate the control parameters. This can be achieved without using The parameter 𝜏 corresponds to the time delay, which is set to one
observers and by measuring only the current injected into the grid, sampling period for this work, as in [33–35]. In the continuous domain,
which minimizes the number of sensors required to control the VSI. it is usually implemented by using the Padé approximation and it
Another advantage of this proposed method is the easy obtention of the adds a number of poles and zeros that depends on the order of the
frequency response of the closed-loop system from the resulting transfer approximation.

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F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

Since the current controller is implemented in the discrete domain, Table 1


Parameters used during the design of the LCL filter.
the delay is, therefore, represented by a pole at 𝑧 = 0. The discrete
transfer function can consequently be written as a four-order system: Parameter Value Parameter Value
𝑉𝑝ℎ (V) 230 𝑆𝑛 (kVA) 5
1 𝑧2 𝑏5 + 𝑧𝑏4 + 𝑏3 𝑓𝑠𝑤 (kHz) 10 𝑓0 (Hz) 50
𝑃3 (𝑧) = ⋅ (8)
𝑧 𝑧 + 𝑧2 𝑏2 + 𝑧𝑏1 + 𝑏0
3 𝐿1 (mH) 1.7 𝐿2 (mH) 0.9
𝐶 (μF) 15 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 (kHz) 1.68
where 𝑏5 , 𝑏4 , 𝑏3 , 𝑏2 , 𝑏1 and 𝑏0 are the coefficients that result from
applying a zero-order hold discretization to (1) [36].
Moreover, the transfer function from the line-to-neutral ideal grid
voltage, 𝑉𝑝ℎ (𝑠), which is a disturbance input because it cannot be The maximum value of 𝐼1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 is determined by:
controlled, to the current 𝐼2 (𝑠), can be written in the continuous time √
𝑆𝑛 2
domain as: 𝐼1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = (19)
𝑉𝑝ℎ
𝐼 (𝑠) 𝑠2 𝛽7 + 𝑠𝛽6 + 𝛽5
𝐺1 (𝑠) = 2 = (9) whereas the expression for 𝛥𝑖1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 for a unipolar PWM of the inverter
𝑉𝑝ℎ (𝑠) 𝑠 + 𝑠2 𝛽2 + 𝑠𝛽1 + 𝛽0
3
is [38]:
where 𝛽7 to 𝛽5 , which do not appear in Eq. (1), can be calculated as:
𝑉𝐷𝐶
1 𝛥𝑖1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = (20)
𝛽7 = (10) 16𝑓𝑠𝑤 𝐿1
𝐿2
𝑅 + 𝑅𝐶 If Eqs. (18) to (20) are employed and the terms therein are rear-
𝛽6 = 1 (11) ranged, the following expression for 𝐿1 is obtained:
𝐿1 𝐿2
1 𝑉𝐷𝐶 𝑉𝑝ℎ
𝛽5 = (12) 𝐿1 = √ (21)
𝐿1 𝐿2 𝐶 16 2𝛿𝑆𝑛 𝑓𝑠𝑤
for a grid inductance 𝐿𝑔 = 0 mH. The discrete-time transfer function 𝐿2 is designed in order to achieve the desired attenuation in the
obtained by applying a discretization to (9) can similarly be written as: current ripple injected to the grid, 𝛥𝑖2,𝑚𝑎𝑥 . The ratio between both
current ripples is defined by the parameter 𝑘𝑎 = 𝛥𝑖2,𝑚𝑎𝑥 ∕𝛥𝑖1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 , whereas
𝑧2 𝑏8 + 𝑧𝑏7 + 𝑏6 the inductance value of 𝐿2 is calculated by employing the following
𝐺2 (𝑧) = (13)
𝑧3 + 𝑧2 𝑏2 + 𝑧𝑏1 + 𝑏0 expression:

where 𝑏8 , 𝑏7 and 𝑏6 are the coefficients obtained with the zero-order 1
+1
hold discretization. 𝑘2𝑎
𝐿2 = (22)
𝐶𝜔2𝑠𝑤
2.1. Design of the LCL filter
where 𝜔𝑠𝑤 is the angular switching frequency. Finally, two verifications
Once the transfer functions of the system have been obtained, a are made in order to assess the correct design of the filter. The reso-
proper design of the LCL filter should be tailored. This can be addressed nance frequency, 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 , must be placed sufficiently far from both the grid
by adapting the procedure proposed in [37]. The steps outlined were and the switching frequencies to avoid the amplification of undesired
originally focused on the design of three-phase LCL filters when a harmonics [37]:
Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) is applied to the inverter.
10𝑓0 < 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 < 𝑓𝑠𝑤 ∕2 (23)
Since an unipolar PWM is used to control the single-phase inverter in
the present work, it was necessary to make some changes in order to It is also necessary to ensure that the voltage drop in the filter during
adapt the original design procedure. the AC operation is not excessively high. Taking [7] as a reference, the
The system parameters required in order to design the LCL filter are: value for the total inductance of the filter is limited to 0.1 times the
the line-to-neutral and DC-Link voltages, 𝑉𝑝ℎ and 𝑉𝐷𝐶 ; the nominal ap- base inductance value:
parent power, 𝑆𝑛 ; the grid frequency, 𝑓0 ; and the switching frequency,
𝐿1 + 𝐿2 < 0.1𝐿𝑏 (24)
𝑓𝑠𝑤 . For this design it is assumed that 𝐿𝑔 = 0 mH.
First, the base impedance, 𝑍𝑏 , the base capacitance, 𝐶𝑏 , and the base The LCL filter parameters, along with the system variables used for
inductance, 𝐿𝑏 , are calculated as follows: their design, are shown in Table 1. As can be seen, both constraints are
2 met, since 0.5 kHz < 1.68 kHz < 5 kHz, and 0.9 mH + 1.7 mH < 3.3 mH.
𝑉𝑝ℎ
𝑍𝑏 = (14)
𝑆𝑛 2.2. Effect of the grid inductance on the LCL filter
1
𝐶𝑏 = (15)
𝜔0 𝑍𝑏 Connecting the system to a weak grid will result in an increase of
𝑍 the grid-side inductance. The effect of such an increment can be directly
𝐿𝑏 = 𝑏 (16)
𝜔0 derived from the following expressions for the LCL filter resonance
where 𝜔0 is the angular grid frequency. The value of 𝐶 is expressed as frequency and damping coefficient 𝜁. The equation for the resonance
a percentage of 𝐶𝑏 in order to limit the variation in the power factor frequency of an LCL filter is [10,11]:
that results from the addition of the filter. If the considerations shown 1 1
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 = √ (25)
in [7,37] are followed, this is established as 5% of the base value: 2𝜋 𝐿𝑇 𝐶
𝐶 = 0.05𝐶𝑏 (17) where:
𝐿1 (𝐿2 + 𝐿𝑔 )
The value of 𝐿1 is then established in order to limit the maximum 𝐿𝑇 = (26)
current ripple at the inverter output, 𝛥𝑖1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 . This ripple is expressed 𝐿1 + (𝐿2 + 𝐿𝑔 )
as a percentage of the maximum value of the fundamental current In turn, the mathematical derivation of 𝜁 can be approached by
component, 𝐼1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 , by employing the factor 𝛿: taking the characteristic polynomial of 𝑃1 as a starting point:

𝛥𝑖1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝛿𝐼1,𝑚𝑎𝑥 (18) 𝑃1,𝑑 (𝑠) = 𝑠3 + 𝑠2 𝛽2 + 𝑠𝛽1 + 𝛽0 (27)

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F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

Fig. 2. Variation of 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 when 𝐿𝑔 changes. Fig. 3. Variation of 𝐼2 when 𝐿𝑔 changes.

which can be rewritten as:

𝑃1,𝑑 (𝑠) = (𝑠 − 𝑝)(𝑠2 + 𝑠2𝜁 𝜔𝑟𝑒𝑠 + 𝜔2𝑟𝑒𝑠 ) (28)

where 𝜔𝑟𝑒𝑠 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 . Operating and rearranging terms, the following


expression is obtained:

𝑃1,𝑑 (𝑠) = 𝑠3 + 𝑠2 (2𝜁 𝜔𝑟𝑒𝑠 − 𝑝) + 𝑠(𝜔2𝑟𝑒𝑠 − 2𝜁 𝜔𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑝) − 𝑝𝜔2𝑟𝑒𝑠 (29)

The values of 𝑝 and 𝜁 can be therefore obtained by comparing the


coefficients in (27) and (29):
𝛽0
𝑝=− (30)
𝜔2𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝜔2𝑟𝑒𝑠 − 𝛽1
𝜁= (31)
2𝜔𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑝
Substituting 𝛽0 , 𝛽1 and 𝜔𝑟𝑒𝑠 for their respective values, 𝑝 and 𝜁 can
be expressed as:
𝑅1 + 𝑅2
𝑝=− (32)
𝐿1 + 𝐿2

𝑅𝑇 𝐶
𝜁= (33)
2 𝐿𝑇
where:
𝑅 𝑅 + 𝑅1 𝑅𝐶 + 𝑅2 𝑅𝐶
𝑅𝑇 = 1 2 (34) Fig. 4. Pole displacement when 𝐿𝑔 changes.
𝑅1 + 𝑅2
Upon inspection of (26) it follows that the connection of the system
to a weak grid will result in an increase of 𝐿𝑇 . Consequently, both so that the output power is near 5 kVA. The output current decreases
the resonance frequency and the damping coefficient values decrease. logarithmically with the increment in the filter output impedance that
Fig. 2 shows the variation of 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 when 𝐿𝑔 ranges from 0 mH to results from the addition of 𝐿𝑔 . Moreover, the asymptote is found to
100 mH for the LCL filter parameters shown in Table 1. As can be be 0 A when 𝐿𝑔 → ∞. Since the ideal RMS grid voltage is a constant
seen, the increase in 𝐿𝑔 results in a logarithmic decrease in 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 caused value, the output voltage at the inverter must increase to reach the
by the increase in 𝐿𝑇 . By evaluating (26), it can be seen that the 𝑆𝑛 value stated during the design process. Therefore, the connection
maximum value of 𝐿𝑇 can only reach the lower value between 𝐿1 and to weak grids must be taken into account when defining the DC-link
(𝐿2 + 𝐿𝑔 ). Thus, as 𝐿𝑔 → ∞, 𝐿𝑇 → 𝐿1 . Consequently, by inspecting voltage of the inverter.
(25), the resonance
√ frequency of the LCL filter can be approximated by The decrease in the output current caused by the grid inductance
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 = 1∕2𝜋 𝐿1 𝐶. In the range [0, 10] mH an exponential decrease is is not the only aspect that compromises the control stability. Fig. 4
observed, since the asymptote has not been reached yet. Therefore, 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑠 shows the pole displacement in 𝑃3 (𝑧) caused by the increase in 𝐿𝑔
is sensitive to changes in 𝐿𝑔 . A similar trend is observed when plotting when it ranges from 0 mH to 10 mH in steps of 1 mH. Unlike the poles
𝜁 against 𝐿𝑔 . However, for the sake of simplicity, it is not shown in this located in the real axis, the position of the complex poles varies with
work. 𝐿𝑔 . Consequently, the closed-loop system may become unstable if the
Another important effect concerns the output current. By using the control scheme is sensitive to this type of variations in the plant.
Eqs. (1) and (9), the current 𝐼2 can be expressed in terms of the RMS
values of 𝑉𝐼𝑛𝑣 and 𝑉𝑝ℎ as follows: 3. Proposed control method
|𝐼2 | = |𝑃1 (𝑗𝜔0 )|𝑉𝐼𝑛𝑣 − |𝐺1 (𝑗𝜔0 )|𝑉𝑝ℎ (35)
This section presents the proposed discrete-time current control
Thus, by substituting 𝐿2 for 𝐿′2
= 𝐿2 + 𝐿𝑔 and reevaluating (35) method. Power systems like a VSI connected to the grid by means of
for each grid inductance value and the same RMS values of 𝑉𝐼𝑛𝑣 and an LCL filter are usually modeled by employing high-order transfer
𝑉𝑝ℎ , Fig. 3 is obtained. In this variation curve the grid voltage has been functions, e.g., Eq. (7). In such cases, the performance of traditional
set to its nominal value (230 V), whereas 𝑉𝐼𝑛𝑣 has been established controllers, such as PI or PR controllers, is usually poor because they

4
F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

must be as low as possible. Furthermore, the number of zeros in 𝑅2 (𝑧)


does not affect the order of the denominator in 𝐻(𝑧). For this reason,
𝑅2,𝑑 (𝑧) must have as many coefficients as possible, providing that 𝑅2 (𝑧)
is causal. Bearing these restrictions in mind, the proposed transfer
functions are:
𝑅𝑝,𝑛 (𝑧) 𝑧𝐾1 + 𝐾0
𝑅𝑝 (𝑧) = = (41)
𝑅𝑝,𝑑 (𝑧) 𝑧3 + 𝑧2 𝜌2 + 𝑧𝜌1 + 𝜌0
𝑅2,𝑛 (𝑧) 𝑧3 𝐾5 + 𝑧2 𝐾4 + 𝑧𝐾3 + 𝐾2
𝑅2 (𝑧) = = (42)
𝑅2,𝑑 (𝑧) 𝑧3 + 𝑧2 𝜌2 + 𝑧𝜌1 + 𝜌0
Fig. 5. Proposed control scheme.
where 𝐾0 , 𝐾1 , 𝐾2 , 𝐾3 , 𝐾4 and 𝐾5 are the design parameters in the
numerators and 𝜌0 , 𝜌1 and 𝜌2 are the design parameters in the denom-
inators of 𝑅𝑝 (𝑧) and 𝑅2 (𝑧).
do not contain sufficient design parameters to establish the location of After defining the structures of 𝑅1 (𝑧) and 𝑅2 (𝑧), the characteristic
all poles in the closed-loop system. polynomial of the closed-loop transfer function can be obtained as:
This problem can be solved by using a two-degrees-of-freedom
structure, as shown in Fig. 5. The nested scheme is used with the 𝐹 (𝑧) = (𝑧4 + 𝑧3 𝑏2 + 𝑧2 𝑏1 + 𝑧𝑏0 )(𝑧2 + 𝑧𝑐0 + 1)⋅
objective of choosing the location of all the poles in the equivalent ⋅ (𝑧3 + 𝑧2 𝜌2 + 𝑧𝜌1 + 𝜌0 )+
closed-loop system. The transfer functions of the regulators 𝑅1 (𝑧) and (43)
+ (𝑧2 𝑏5 + 𝑧𝑏4 + 𝑏3 ) ⋅ [(𝑧 − 1)(𝑧𝐾1 + 𝐾0 )+
𝑅2 (𝑧) are, therefore, selected such that the number of control parame-
ters to be defined equals the number of poles in the closed-loop system. + (𝑧3 𝐾5 + 𝑧2 𝐾4 + 𝑧𝐾3 + 𝐾2 )(𝑧2 + 𝑧𝑐0 + 1)]
Consequently, a system of linear equations is obtained, and the value 𝐹 (𝑧) is a ninth-order polynomial, as is the number of coefficients to be
of each coefficient can be readily calculated by solving it. calculated for 𝑅𝑝 (𝑧) and 𝑅2 (𝑧). Hence, by expressing the characteristic
According to Fig. 5, the closed-loop transfer function, 𝐻(𝑧), can be polynomial as the product of their roots, the following expression can
written as: be obtained:
𝑃3 (𝑧)𝑅1 (𝑧) 𝐹 (𝑝𝑖∶
𝐻(𝑧) = [ ] (36) 𝑖∈{1,2,…,9} ) = (𝑧 − 𝑝1 )(𝑧 − 𝑝2 )(𝑧 − 𝑝3 )(𝑧 − 𝑝4 )
1 + 𝑃3 (𝑧) 𝑅1 (𝑧) + 𝑅2 (𝑧) (𝑧 − 𝑝5 )(𝑧 − 𝑝6 )(𝑧 − 𝑝7 )(𝑧 − 𝑝8 )(𝑧 − 𝑝9 ) =
(44)
According to the internal model principle, the open-loop transfer = 𝑧9 + 𝑧8 𝛼8 + 𝑧7 𝛼7 + 𝑧6 𝛼6 + 𝑧5 𝛼5 + 𝑧4 𝛼4 +
function of the system must include a mathematical model capable
+ 𝑧3 𝛼3 + 𝑧2 𝛼2 + 𝑧𝛼1 + 𝛼0
of generating the reference input so that a zero-tracking error can be
obtained [39]. This is achieved by incorporating a resonant term 𝑅𝜔 (𝑧) By comparing (43) and (44), a system of nine linear equations is
in 𝑅1 (𝑧). obtained. This system allows the design parameter 𝜌2 to be directly
obtained as:
𝑅1 (𝑧) = 𝑅𝜔 (𝑧)𝑅𝑝 (𝑧) (37)
𝜌2 = 𝛼8 − 𝑏2 − 𝑐0 (45)
Moreover, in order to ensure that the DC component is attenuated,
a zero in 𝑧 = 1 must be added to 𝑅𝜔 (𝑧). 𝑅𝜔 (𝑧) is, therefore, defined as: whereas the rest of the design parameters can be obtained by expressing
the remaining eight equations in matrix form:
𝑅𝜔,𝑛 (𝑧) 𝑧−1
𝑅𝜔 (𝑧) = = (38)
𝑅𝜔,𝑑 (𝑧) 𝑧2 + 𝑧𝑐0 + 1 𝐀𝐱 = 𝐁 (46)
where the coefficient 𝑐0 = −2 cos(𝜔0 𝑇𝑠 ) tunes the resonant term at ]T
where 𝐱 = [𝜌0 , 𝜌1 , 𝐾0 , 𝐾1 , 𝐾2 , 𝐾3 , 𝐾4 , 𝐾5 is a row vector with
𝑓0 , ensuring a zero-tracking error for this component. Since 𝜔0 and the design parameters, 𝐀 ∈ ℜ8×8 is the matrix containing the elements
the sampling frequency are known, 𝑅𝜔 (𝑧) does not contain design that depend on the design parameters, and 𝐁 ∈ ℜ8×1 is a row vector
parameters that can be used to place the poles in the desired location. containing the elements that do not depend on the design parameters.
These parameters should, therefore, be included in the polynomials The design parameters for the controllers can be calculated by
𝑅𝑝,𝑛 (𝑧) and 𝑅𝑝,𝑑 (𝑧), which are the numerator and the denominator of inverting the matrix 𝐀 as follows:
the second term, 𝑅𝑝 (𝑧), in Eq. (37). The numerator and the denominator
of 𝑅2 (𝑧) are similarly defined as 𝑅2,𝑛 (𝑧) and 𝑅2,𝑑 (𝑧). 𝐱 = 𝐀−1 ⋅ 𝐁 (47)
By setting 𝑅𝑝,𝑑 (𝑧) = 𝑅2,𝑑 (𝑧), the characteristic polynomial of Eq. (36)
where 𝐀 and 𝐁 are shown in Eqs. (48) which is given in Box I and (49),
can be rewritten as:
respectively. The solution to Eq. (47) can be obtained only if the matrix
𝐹 (𝑧) = 𝑃3,𝑑 (𝑧)𝑅𝜔,𝑑 (𝑧)𝑅2,𝑑 (𝑧)+ 𝐀 is square and of full rank. The full rank requirement for matrix 𝐀 is
[ ] (39)
+ 𝑃3,𝑛 (𝑧) 𝑅𝑝,𝑛 (𝑧)𝑅𝜔,𝑛 (𝑧) + 𝑅2,𝑛 (𝑧)𝑅𝜔,𝑑 (𝑧) fulfilled even when the desired closed-loop poles have a multiplicity
greater than one (𝑚𝑝𝑖 > 1).
This equation illustrates the purpose of placing 𝑅2 (𝑧) as shown in
Fig. 5. For each term in Eq. (39), the product between the numerators
and denominators of 𝑅1 (𝑧) and 𝑅2 (𝑧) is avoided. As both transfer ⎡ 𝛼7 − 1 − 𝑏1 − (𝑏2 𝑐0 ) − 𝜌2 (𝑏2 + 𝑐0 ) ⎤
functions contain the design parameters, this allows to obtain a system ⎢𝛼6 − 𝑏0 − (𝑏1 𝑐0 ) − 𝑏2 − 𝜌2 (1 + 𝑏1 + (𝑏2 𝑐0 ))⎥
⎢ ⎥
of linear equations, as it will be shown later. ⎢ 𝛼5 − (𝑏0 𝑐0 ) − 𝑏1 − 𝜌2 (𝑏0 + (𝑏1 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏2 ) ⎥
In turn, numerator of 𝐻(𝑧), 𝑁(𝑧), is: ⎢ 𝛼4 − 𝑏0 − 𝜌2 ((𝑏0 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏1 ) − 𝐾2 𝑏1 ⎥
𝐁=⎢ ⎥ (49)
⎢ 𝛼3 − 𝜌 2 𝑏 0 ⎥
𝑁(𝑧) = 𝑃3,𝑛 (𝑧)𝑅𝜔,𝑛 (𝑧)𝑅𝑝,𝑛 (𝑧) (40) ⎢ 𝛼2 ⎥
⎢ 𝛼1 ⎥
The zeros of the closed-loop transfer function are those added by ⎢ ⎥
⎣ 𝛼0 ⎦
𝑃3,𝑛 (𝑧), 𝑅𝜔,𝑛 (𝑧) and 𝑅𝑝,𝑛 (𝑧). This control method can be used only to
define the location of the poles, and the use of a minimum number of It is worth mentioning that the computation of the parameters is
zeros is, therefore, desirable. This signifies that 𝑅𝑝 (𝑧) must be chosen greatly simplified on a digital platform, as it involves only operations
with the minimum number of zeros and, therefore, its numerator order with real numbers.

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F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

⎡ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 𝑏5 ⎤
⎢ 1 𝑏2 + 𝑐0 0 0 0 0 𝑏5 𝑏4 + (𝑏5 𝑐0 ) ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 𝑏2 + 𝑐 0 1 + 𝑏1 + (𝑏2 𝑐0 ) 0 0 0 𝑏5 𝑏4 + (𝑏5 𝑐0 ) 𝑏3 + (𝑏4 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏5 ⎥
⎢ 1 + 𝑏1 + (𝑏2 𝑐0 ) 𝑏0 + (𝑏1 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏2 0 𝑏5 𝑏5 𝑏4 + (𝑏5 𝑐0 ) 𝑏3 + (𝑏4 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏5 (𝑏3 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏4 ⎥
𝐀=⎢ ⎥ (48)
⎢𝑏0 + (𝑏1 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏2 (𝑏0 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏1 𝑏5 𝑏4 − 𝑏5 𝑏4 + (𝑏5 𝑐0 ) 𝑏3 + (𝑏4 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏5 (𝑏3 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏4 𝑏3 ⎥
⎢ (𝑏0 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏1 𝑏0 𝑏4 − 𝑏5 𝑏3 − 𝑏4 𝑏3 + (𝑏4 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏5 (𝑏3 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏4 𝑏3 0 ⎥
⎢ 𝑏0 0 𝑏3 − 𝑏4 −𝑏3 (𝑏3 𝑐0 ) + 𝑏4 𝑏3 0 0 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣ 0 0 −𝑏3 0 𝑏3 0 0 0 ⎦

Box I.

3.1. A design example Table 2


Parameters of 𝑅1 (𝑧) and 𝑅2 (𝑧) controllers.
Parameter Value Parameter Value
This section shows the steps followed in the control design. The
specifications required to obtain a satisfactory performance of the 𝜌0 −0.072 𝜌1 −0.193
𝜌2 0.534 𝐾0 −0.782
current control can be summarized as: 𝐾1 0.803 𝐾2 −0.782
𝐾3 −13.078 𝐾4 45.263
1. The attenuation of any DC signal, e.g., the DC offset introduced 𝐾5 −31.362
by a sensor, in order to prevent the injection of a DC current into
the grid.
2. A perfect zero tracking error at the nominal frequency of the grid
should be achieved.
3. The number of zeros in the closed-loop transfer function must
be as low as possible, since their location cannot be chosen.
4. With the aim of keeping the magnitude of the frequency response
at the resonance frequency below 0 dB, the closed-loop transfer
function should exhibit a band-pass behavior.
5. The remaining poles can be placed in any location that does not
compromise the frequency response of the system. Furthermore,
this location should be at a considerable distance from the
stability boundaries.

The transfer function 𝑃3 (𝑧) is obtained from the parameters of an


LCL filter employed for the experimental results, which are detailed
in Section 4, and by using a sample time of 100 μs, i.e., the sampling
frequency is 10 kHz.
The first two specifications are fulfilled by including the regulator
𝑅𝑤 (𝑧) shown in Eq. (38). With regard to the number of zeros, two zeros
are introduced by 𝑃3 (𝑧), which are located at 3.3420 and −0.2732. As
the design methodology allows the location of the closed-loop poles
to be changed, the pole 𝑝1 can be selected to cancel the zero placed at
−0.2732 with the aim of reducing the number of zeros in the closed-loop
system, as stated in the third specification. Note that this is the only
zero in 𝑃3 (𝑧) that can be canceled without making the system unstable, Fig. 6. Locations of the poles and zeros in the closed-loop system obtained with the
since it is the only one inside the unit circle. Furthermore, as the control proposed control scheme.
guarantees that |𝐻(𝑧)| = 1 and ∠𝐻(𝑧) = 0 at 𝑧 = 𝑒𝑗𝜔0 𝑇𝑠 (i.e., the
fundamental frequency), the remaining poles can be selected in order to
fulfill the fourth requirement. Placing poles 𝑝2,3,4 at 𝑧 = 0.9660 (55 Hz) 𝑧 = 0, since it corresponds to the furthest location to the unit circle
results in a band-pass behavior, obtaining a gain of −3 dB for the third boundary.
harmonic (150 Hz). If, alternatively, the poles were located near the Fig. 6 shows the location of the poles and zeros of 𝐻(𝑧) after
unit circle boundary (for example, by placing 𝑝2,3,4 at 𝑧 = 0.9691), applying the proposed control method, where it can be seen that the
the magnitude of the frequency response would start to decrease for desired pole placement is achieved. The design parameters obtained for
frequencies above 50 Hz. However, as these poles are the dominant the controllers 𝑅1 (𝑧) and 𝑅2 (𝑧) are shown in Table 2. It is important
ones, this choice would result in a slower dynamic response of the to stress that all parameters have reasonable values for a practical
overall system. Choosing the magnitude of the frequency response to implementation on a digital platform.
be below −3 dB more than a decade before the resonance frequency The frequency response of the closed-loop system is shown in Fig. 7.
ensures that the attenuation at the resonance is stronger than −3 dB. As can be seen, the system has a band-pass behavior. The rejection of
Therefore, it mitigates this undesired effect. Moreover, by placing poles DC currents is achieved and the magnitude of the frequency response
𝑝5,6 at 𝑧 = 0.4860, the slope of the magnitude of the frequency response at 150 Hz is −3 dB. The magnitude remains below this value for higher
increases and hence its value will be even lower at the resonance frequencies, including the LCL filter resonance frequency. Therefore, by
frequency. Placing poles 5 and 6 closer to the dominant poles is not placing the poles of 𝐻(𝑧) at the selected locations and considering the
a good choice as it would compromise the dynamic response of the band-pass behavior of the system, the equivalent closed-loop system
system. Finally, the three remaining poles (𝑝7,8,9 ) are selected to be at will behave as a damped one. As a result, the current amplification

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F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

Fig. 7. Frequency response of the closed-loop system with the proposed control
scheme.

Fig. 9. Pole displacement caused by variations in 𝐿𝑔 up to 10 mH in steps of 1 mH.

closed-loop system when 𝐿𝑔 varies from 0 mH to 10 mH in steps of


1 mH. The poles start in the desired positions when 𝐿𝑔 = 0 mH, and
some of them change as 𝐿𝑔 increases. For example, as 𝐿𝑔 becomes
more significant, the poles located at 𝑧 = 0.483 shift to the same region
where the complex poles of the LCL filter were located. Two other poles
show a displacement from 𝑧 = 0 to the positive and negative sides
of the real axis, and the poles selected at 𝑧 = 0.966 exhibit a small
displacement towards the unit circle boundary. However, even in the
case of very weak grids (𝐿𝑔 = 10 mH), all the poles are inside the unit
circle boundary. Therefore, the system remains stable.
The effect that 𝐿𝑔 has on the frequency response of the equivalent
system is shown in Fig. 10. As 𝐿𝑔 increases, the band-pass behavior
near the grid frequency is accentuated, and the resonance phenomenon
Fig. 8. Open-loop frequency response and obtained gain and phase margings.
becomes more visible in the magnitude of the frequency response.
Nonetheless, its modulus remains well-below 0 dB. Consequently, the
amplification of the harmonics near the resonance frequency is still
caused by the LCL filter around its resonance frequency is avoided avoided, which shows the robustness of the damping feature of the
without adding any extra measurements or control loops. As can be control scheme against the weakness of the grid.
seen in the zoomed view of Fig. 7, the magnitude is slightly higher
than 1 for the frequency range of 50–75 Hz. This increase in magnitude 4. Simulation and experimental results
within that range could be eliminated by modifying the location of
poles 𝑝2,3,4 , locating them closer to the unit circle. However, in doing The proposed control was tested with a laboratory prototype that
so, the system dynamic response would become slower, as stated pre- was mounted following the scheme shown in Fig. 1. The single-phase
viously. The frequency response has also been evaluated at the limits
inverter is formed by using two branches of the SKS 22FB6U+E1CIF+
established by the standard EN-50160 for an interconnected network,
B6CI 13 V12 three-phase inverter supplied by SEMIKRON. The DC-
in which the frequency must remain within the range 50 Hz ± 1% for
side of the inverter is connected to a programmable Regatron TC.GSS
99.5% of a year. The magnitude and phase of the frequency response at
DC source. Fig. 11(1) shows the LCL filter, which is composed of a
49.5 Hz are 0.998 p.u. and 0.703◦ , respectively, whereas the magnitude
1.7 mH inverter-side inductor, a 0.9 mH grid-side inductor, and a
is equal to 1.002 p.u. and the phase is −0.699◦ for a grid frequency of
18.5 μF capacitor; which is slightly greater than the value obtained
50.5 Hz.
Fig. 8 shows the relative stability margins obtained from the open- during the design. The equivalent series resistances 𝑅1 , 𝑅2 and 𝑅𝐶 are
loop frequency response. Their values are 13.7 dB for the gain margin 0.17 Ω, 0.13 Ω and 0.05 Ω, respectively. The output of the LCL filter
at the phase crossover frequency of 420.2 Hz and a phase margin of is connected to a Regatron TC.ACS AC programmable source in order
68.3◦ at the gain crossover frequency of 104.7 Hz. These margins fulfill to emulate a single-phase AC grid, with a rated voltage of 230 V RMS
the values recommended in order to achieve a good performance [40]. and a nominal frequency of 50 Hz. The grid current and the grid voltage
(Fig. 11(2)) are measured using LA-25P and LV-25P Hall-effect sensors,
3.2. Effect of the grid inductance in the closed-loop system respectively, which are manufactured by LEM.
The proposed control is implemented on a dSPACE Microlabbox
Finally, it is interesting to see how the grid inductance affects the real-time platform with a sampling frequency of 10 kHz, which is the
control scheme. Fig. 9 shows the displacement of the poles in the same as the switching frequency. The locations of the closed-loop poles

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F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

Fig. 12. Simulation setup featuring a HIL system and a dSPACE control platform.

Fig. 10. Effect of different values of 𝐿𝑔 in the frequency response of the closed-loop
system.

Fig. 13. Transient response obtained with the designed current control. Simulation
results.

Fig. 11. Experimental setup in laboratory.

are the same as those defined in the design example explained in


Section 3.1, and the control parameters are, therefore, the same as
those shown in Table 2. The waveforms were recorded with an Agilent
MSO-X-3024 A oscilloscope.

4.1. Experimental results with 𝐿𝑔 = 0 mH

In order to make a comparison between the experiment and the sim-


ulation, a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) emulation has been developed
using a Typhoon HIL 402 and a dSPACE Microlabbox. Fig. 12 shows Fig. 14. Transient response obtained with the designed current control. Experimental
the setup in order to obtain the simulation results. results.
Figs. 13 and 14 show the performance of the designed current
control when the reference current changes and 𝐿𝑔 = 0 mH. The initial
reference current is set to 4 A RMS and this value is modified to 8 A
RMS. The reference and the current obtained with the simulation setup
are shown in Fig. 13, while the experimental results of the current
injected into the grid are shown in Fig. 14. The transient response is fast
(approximately 10 ms), and has no overshoot, in accordance with the
dynamic behavior expected from the location of the closed-loop poles.
Note that the experimental results are very close to those obtained in
simulation, as is clearly shown in Fig. 15.
The second scenario considers the steady-state behavior when the
current is set to 10 A RMS. The simulation and experimental results
are shown in Figs. 16 and 17, respectively. In both cases, the current
injected into the grid is in phase with the PCC voltage. Moreover, in the
case of the experimental results (see Fig. 17), the grid current is almost
Fig. 15. Comparison of simulated and experimental transient responses.
an ideal sine wave with a total harmonic distortion of 𝑇 𝐻𝐷𝑖 = 1.1%.

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F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

Fig. 16. Steady-state behavior using the designed current control. Simulation results.
Fig. 19. Steady-state behavior using the designed current control. Experimental results
for 𝐿𝑔 = 5 mH: PCC voltage (yellow) and current injected into the grid (blue).

Fig. 19 shows the waveforms obtained once the system has achieved
the stationary state with a reference current of 10 A RMS. The PCC
voltage shows a significant increase in the high-frequency noise that
superimposes the fundamental frequency component. This happens
because of the amplification that the 5 mH inductor is causing at these
frequencies. The amplitude of these current components is small, as
they cannot be seen by visual inspection in the oscilloscope. However,
the impedance of the inductor at the noise frequencies is large, which
implies a remarkable voltage drop in this component that adds to
the voltage waveform provided by the AC voltage source. In spite of
this effect, the current waveform shows a sinusoidal behavior with a
𝑇 𝐻𝐷𝑖 = 1.6%, similar to those obtained previously for a grid with
Fig. 17. Steady-state behavior using the designed current control. Experimental results:
𝐿𝑔 = 0 mH.
PCC voltage (yellow) and current injected into the grid (blue).

4.3. Comparison

After obtaining the experimental results, a comparison between


the proposed control scheme and other solutions for controlling grid-
connected inverters with an LCL filter at its output is addressed. Re-
garding the damping of the LCL filter, in [16] notch filters are used
for this purpose, whereas in [19] the capacitor current is fed back, and
in [28] a grid-voltage feedforward scheme is proposed to enhance the
robustness of the control scheme when it is connected to weak grids.
In [38], the LCL filter was designed so that it is not necessary to apply
any active damping technique.
The proposed control scheme uses only the grid-side current for
both the control of the injected current and the damping of the LCL
filter. Hence, it avoids the use of extra sensors for damping purposes,
unlike the virtual resistance method used in [19]. Moreover, the pro-
Fig. 18. Transient response obtained with the designed current control. Experimental posed control does not impose restrictions when designing the LCL
results for 𝐿𝑔 = 5 mH.
filter, as it occurs in [38].
Table 3 collects data from the experimental results published in
previous works regarding the settling times and the THD. All the THD
4.2. Experimental results with 𝐿𝑔 = 5 mH values given in Table 3 are explicitly indicated in the referenced articles
when no grid inductance is considered. Regarding the settling times,
The same experiments were repeated for 𝐿𝑔 = 5 mH in order to they are either explicitly indicated by the authors or can be inferred
test the response of the control scheme against changes in the grid
from the experimental waveforms. The obtained settling time is faster
inductance. The selected value is equal to the one used in [17], and
than those reported in [16,28,38]. The same occurs for the THD, except
higher than those in [15,16,24,28,38]. Fig. 18 shows the registered
for [38], in which similar results were obtained.
transient response when a change in the reference current from 4 A
to 8 A RMS is applied. Under these conditions, the tracking of the Moreover, the experimental validation of the proposed control has
reference shows a slower dynamic response and an overshoot. This is been addressed for a grid inductance of 5 mH. This value is greater than
a consequence of the pole displacement previously shown in Fig. 9. those reported in the works referenced in this comparison: 1.25 mH
Despite the worst transient response, the system achieves the stationary in [16], 2 mH in [28] or 3 mH in [38]. Thus, a higher PCC voltage
state in a few cycles. Hence, the system is stable when connecting the fluctuation will result for the same current injected into the grid and,
inverter to a weak grid. hence, the connection to a weaker grid is tested.

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F.J. López-Alcolea et al. Applied Energy 342 (2023) 121179

Table 3 [4] Roslan M, Hannan M, Ker PJ, Uddin M. Microgrid control methods toward
Settling times and THD obtained in previous works. achieving sustainable energy management. Appl Energy 2019;240:583–607. http:
Method Settling time (ms) Current THD (%) //dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.070.
[5] Serban I. A control strategy for microgrids: Seamless transfer based on
Proposed ∼ 10 1.6
a leading inverter with supercapacitor energy storage system. Appl Energy
[16] ∼ 20 <5
2018;221:490–507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.03.122.
[19] – 3.7
[6] Naderi S, Pouresmaeil E, Gao WD. The frequency-independent control method
[28] ∼ 20 2.88
for distributed generation systems. Appl Energy 2012;96:272–80. http://dx.doi.
[38] ∼ 25 1.62
org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.09.034, Smart Grids.
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Acknowledgments
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This research was funded by European Regional Development Fund current distortion for LCL-filtered voltage-source inverter with inverter-current
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