TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
PASHCHIMANCHAL CAMPUS

A THESIS PROPOSAL ON MODIFIED DROOP CONTROL STRATEGY

FOR ADJUSTING THE VOLTAGE AND FREQUENCY OF ISLANDED
MICRO GRID SUPPLYING NON LINEAR AND UNBALANCE LOAD

SUBMITTED BY
PRAMOD SHARMA (PAS078MSDGE007)

A THESIS PROPOSAL
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER'S OF SCIENCE IN DISTRIBURTED GENERATION
ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

POKHARA, NEPAL

MAY, 2023
 A THESIS PROPOSAL ON MODIFIED DROOP CONTROL STRATEGY FOR
ADJUSTING THE VOLTAGE AND FREQUENCY OF ISLANDED MICROGRID
SUPPLYING NON LINEAR AND UNBALANCE LOAD

SUBMITTED BY
PRAMOD SHARMA (PAS078MSDGE007)

A PROPOSAL
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER'S OF SCIENCE IN DISTRIBURTED GENERATION
ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING, PASHCHIMANCHAL CAMPUS
TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY
POKHARA, NEPAL

MAY, 2023

II
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. III

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................ IV
CHAPTER I ................................................................................................................. 1
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ....................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................ 2
1.3 Objectives ......................................................................................................... 3
1.3.1 General Objective .......................................................................................... 3
1.3.2 Specific Objective.......................................................................................... 3
1.4 Scope and Limitations ...................................................................................... 3
1.5 Report Organization ......................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER II ................................................................................................................ 5
LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 5
2.1 A Modified Droop Control Method for Micro-grids in Islanded Mode ........... 5
2.2 Enhanced Power Flow Control for Grid-Connected Droop-Controlled
Inverters with Improved Stability ........................................................................... 5
2.3 A Modified Q – V Droop Control for Accurate Reactive Power Sharing in
Distributed Generation Micro-grid ......................................................................... 6
CHAPTER III .............................................................................................................. 7
METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Proposed Controlling Method .......................................................................... 7
3.1.1 Power Calculation.......................................................................................... 8
3.1.2 Voltage Controller ......................................................................................... 8
3.1.3 Current Controller.......................................................................................... 9
3.1.4 Coupling Circuit .......................................................................................... 10
3.2 Control System ............................................................................................... 11
3.3 Block Diagram of Proposed System ............................................................... 12
CHAPTER IV............................................................................................................. 13
EXPECTED RESULTS ........................................................................................... 13
WORK SCHEDULE ................................................................................................. 14
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 15
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: H-infinity Controller System .......................................................................... 7

Figure 2: Voltage Control loop ..................................................................................... 9
Figure 3: Current Control loop ................................................................................... 10
Figure 4: Control System Loop ................................................................................... 11
Figure 5: Block Diagram of Proposed System ............................................................ 12

III
 LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

DC Droop Controller
GCI Grid Connecting Inverter
HZ Hertz
MG Micro Grid
PCC Point Of Common Coupling
PLL Phase Loop Locked
PCC Point of Common Coupling
PV Photo Voltaic
SG Synchronous Generator
SSSM Small Signal State Space Model
VSI Voltage Source Inverter

IV
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

With the continuous expansion of the scale of MG, the protection of MG becomes more and
more complex [1]. MG can operate in both grid-connected (GC) mode and islanding mode
[2–4]. Droop control strategy for islanded MG has been widely used [5–12]. The converters
need to move from the grid-feeding to the grid-forming in order to establish the voltage in the
grid. While the typical control in the grid-forming converter is the P-ω and Q-U control,
where the synchronization is now not based on the Phase-locked loop (PLL), following the
grid, but on the power synchronization, forming the internal frequency as synchronous
generator (SG) does. However, when grid frequency fluctuates, the operation of droop
control in GC mode has rarely been reported that due to the current limiter saturation and the
angular frequency error, the DC-GCI may suffer from overcurrent fault and being damaged.
The fluctuation of grid voltage magnitude is mainly caused by the load switching, while the
frequency fluctuation is induced by the unbalance between output power and input power of
the generators [13-14]. In the GC mode, output current of DC-GCI is sensitive to the
fluctuation of frequency and voltage magnitude. As a consequence, the current-limiting
problem and system stability problem for the DC-GCIs resulting from the fluctuation of grid
frequency and voltage magnitude when the DC-GCI-based MG is connected to the grid [15-
17]. Without considering the droop controller in the control strategy, the current limiter
saturation can create some oscillation, but do not cause control instability. Because the PLL
maintains phase angle alignment even during current limiter saturation (except for some
transient error). In [19], small signal state space model (SSSM) of the system with three
widely used inner voltage/current control schemes have been established and compared.
However, only analyses of the impact of frequency fluctuation on the voltage/current control
loop are presented and the impact of droop loop is neglected. However, considering the droop
loop, a reasonable design of inner voltage/current loop cannot mitigate the impact of grid
frequency fluctuation to DC-GCI. Considering the droop controller in the control strategy, the
current limiter saturation can cause instable [20-21]. When the grid frequency fluctuates and
the fluctuation leads to the current limiter saturation, the angular frequency of the droop
controller output and the angular frequency of the grid voltage alignment cannot be
maintained. Therefore, limiting the output current meanwhile ensuring the stable operation of

1
DC-GCI is a challenge [24-25]. A modified droop control strategy is proposed to mitigate the
impacts of the fluctuation of grid frequency and voltage magnitude on the system stability. A
three-loop control structure is employed, where a modified droop controller is cascaded with
the conventional double loop control structure. In addition, when the grid frequency or
voltage magnitude fluctuates, the proposed control strategy realizes stable operation of DC-
GCI through the cooperation between the modified droop control and the current limiter, and
the current limiter saturation is avoided.

1.2 Problem Statement

Micro-grid (MG) is a part of a low-voltage network that usually located at the consumer's
side. It improves the system reliability, consumer confidence, and system power quality.
Nowadays, MGs have become the main trend in distribution systems as they reduce the
transmission losses, gas emissions, total cost, and hence increase the system efficiency. MGs
have the ability to operate in conjunction with the utility grid (on-grid) or in islanded mode
(off-grid). In case that it operated in on-grid mode, it can exchange power from or to the grid
through the point of common coupling. When MGs operate in an on-grid mode, the MG
voltage and frequency must be adjusted according to the utility grid specifications. In this
mode, the distributed generation (DG) units integrated with an MG must be controlled to
deliver the adequate active and reactive power needed by system loads. Under severe
disturbances, the control system has to disconnect the MG from the utility and turn it to
operate in off-grid mode. In off-grid mode, the MG is operated autonomously and hence, it
must have the ability to control itself to operate under different system and loading
conditions. The control of MGs under different operating conditions has become a great
challenge. The applied controller must have the ability to adjust the MG in its two operating
modes and also preserve the seamless transfer between the islanded and grid-connected
modes.

2
1.3 Objectives

Following are the objectives of the proposed work, which will be fulfilled in available
period of the project:

1.3.1 General Objective

 To regulates the system voltage and frequency of islanded micro-grid supplying
nonlinear and unbalance load.

1.3.2 Specific Objective

 To improve micro-grid power quality by applying the proposed control method to the
LCL filter.
 To restore the system performance after fault clearance.

1.4 Scope and Limitations

The modified droop controller using H-infinity method aims to improve load sharing among
distributed energy resources (DERs) in a micro-grid. By incorporating the H-infinity control
technique, the controller can optimize load sharing performance, resulting in better utilization
of available resources. This method provides robustness against uncertainties, disturbances,
and parameter variations in the micro-grid system. The modified droop controller takes
advantage of this robustness to ensure stable and reliable operation even in the presence of
unpredictable factors. The modified droop controller can help regulate the micro-grid
frequency within an acceptable range. It achieves this by adjusting the power output of DERs
based on frequency deviations, ensuring the system operates at the desired frequency level.
Implementing the modified droop controller using the H-infinity method requires a deep
understanding of control theory and system modeling. The design process can be complex
and time-consuming, requiring expertise in control system analysis and synthesis. The H-
infinity control method often involves complex mathematical computations and optimization
algorithms. This can lead to increased computational requirements for the modified droop
controller, potentially impacting the real-time performance and response time of the system.
The effectiveness of the modified droop controller depends on the accuracy of the system
model used for controller design. If the model does not accurately represent the actual micro-
grid dynamics or includes significant uncertainties, the controller's performance may be
compromised. Trade-Off between Robustness and Performance: The H-infinity method
prioritizes robustness against uncertainties, but this can come at the expense of overall system
3
performance and response time. Achieving the desired robustness may involve sacrificing
some aspects of control performance, which needs to be carefully considered and optimized.
It is important to note that the scope and limitations mentioned here are general
considerations for a modified droop controller using the H-infinity method. The specific
scope and limitations may vary depending on the implementation details, system
requirements, and the specific characteristics of the micro-grid under consideration.

1.5 Report Organization

This report is the documentation of the proposal made for ensuring the stable and reliable
operation of the micro-grid in islanded mode. It contains an approach in designing the
controller as well as the simulation result.

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 CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 A Modified Droop Control Method for Micro-grids in Islanded Mode

Micro-grids can operate in two modes, grid-connected and islanded modes. The flexible
operation of the micro-grid in islanded mode depends on the reliable and perfect control
system, therefore, the emphasis and difficult of the micro-grid research is the system control
problems. It so important to apply an efficient control method to adjust the system voltage
and frequency under the islanded operation of micro-grid. Droop control is one of the simpler
method to control the voltage and frequency under this case. It can be used to adjust the
system voltage and frequency to their acceptable limits. Unfortunately, this method is not so
accurate in maintaining the system voltage and frequency close to their nominal values. This
proposed modified V/f droop control method for Micro-grids in Islanded mode. The method
applies H-infinity with the droop controller to adjust the system voltage and frequency to
their nominal values [7].

2.2 Enhanced Power Flow Control for Grid-Connected Droop-Controlled Inverters

with Improved Stability

Droop control strategy is widely applied in AC micro-grid to realize the seamless mode
transition and achieve average power sharing among different inverters. However, there is a
lack of analysis about the operation performance of droop control strategy in grid-connected
mode. Grid fluctuation and control accuracy of reactive power are illustrated to be the main
influence factors for power flow control according to the small-signal model. The feed
forward of grid frequency and voltage magnitude is proposed to mitigate the impacts of grid
fluctuation on power flow control. Since the feed forward items are achieved through the
synchronous reference frame phase-locked loop with the input of filter capacitor voltage,
extra sensors for grid voltage are avoided [7-28].

5
2.3 A Modified Q – V Droop Control for Accurate Reactive Power Sharing in
Distributed Generation Micro-grid

The droop control technology, which can achieve an autonomous power sharing among
distributed resources interface converters, provides the advantages of enhanced system
reliability and reduced complexity. However, the reactive power sharing accuracy of the
conventional Q − V droop method can be degraded due to its dependence on the line
impedances. The Q−V˙ droop control method was proposed to reduce the influence of line
impedance. The reactive power sharing accuracy is improved but still affected by the V˙
restoration operation. A modified V˙ restoration mechanism is proposed. Its influence on the
power sharing is theoretically explained and analyzed [29].

6
 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

Completion of the project work includes Simulation of the system in MATLAB. First of all,
literature review of papers and articles was done to acquire some knowledge and develop a
strategy to meet the objective.

3.1 Proposed Controlling Method

The H∞ control method is a very powerful technique in modern control theory. It

provides robust stability for the linear multivariable systems in the presence of
uncertainties and disturbances. The basic concept of the linear feedback configuration is
shown in Fig. 1. Where u represents the control input, w represents the disturbances and
other external inputs, y represents the measured output, z represents the controlled output,
P is the transfer function (TF) of the plant, and C is the controller to be designed.

The H∞ controller is used to minimize the H∞ norm of the closed-loop transfer function
from w to z. It is required to synthesize the controller C with input y and output u, such
that the closed loop is established and the performance output is minimized in the
presence of disturbance inputs. H∞ controller is applied to synthesize the sub-optimal
problem to obtain the controller C. The plant model is composed of the power control
loop, voltage and current control loops, and the LCL filter and the coupling circuit. To
provide a repetitive control, an internal model transfer function, M, is applied to the H∞
controller as shown in Fig.1.

Figure 1: H-infinity Controller System [30]

7
3.1.1 Power Calculation

And are the active and reactive power generated by the ith VSI, and can be
calculated as:

( )

( )

Where , and are the direct and quadratic components of the voltage and current,
respectively, is the cut-off frequency of the low pass filter in rad/s, and 'S' denotes
Laplace transformation.

3.1.2 Voltage Controller

The Voltage Controller Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs) are expressed as:

( )

Where and are the state variable defined for PI controllers, K‟s are the integrator
gain factors, and is the nominal angular frequency. Figure below shows the block diagram
of the voltage control loop.

8
 Figure 2: Voltage Control loop [30]

3.1.3 Current Controller

The current controller DAEs are expressed as

(7)

( )

Where and are the state variables defined for PI controllers, K's are the integrator gain
factors, and and are the direct and quadrature components of . Figure 2 illustrates
the block diagram of the current control loop.

9
 Figure 3: Current Control loop [30]

3.1.4 Coupling Circuit

The DAEs for the output LC filter and output connector are as follow:

This control equation can be used to control the voltage and frequency for any MG
containing DG units in islanded mode operation.

10
3.2 Control System

The Control System loop for the proposed method is shown in figure below. It consists of
current loop, voltage control loop, droop control loop & H-infinity controller. The system
parameters are sense and compare with reference parameter and output from the inverter is
adjusted accordingly.

Figure 4: Control System Loop [30]

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3.3 Block Diagram of Proposed System
The block diagram of the proposed system is shown in figure below. It consist of two
different size of photovoltaic system as distributed generation. The photovoltaic system is
supplying non-linear and unbalance load. H-infinity controller is used to adjust the voltage
and frequency of islanded system.

Figure 5: Block Diagram of Proposed System

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 CHAPTER IV
EXPECTED RESULTS

To verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy in grid frequency and voltage
magnitude, the grid connected system will be simulated and checked in MATLAB/Simulink.
Following outputs are expected in the result:

1. The proposed control strategy will be able to regulate the system voltage and frequency of
islanded micro-grid supplying nonlinear and unbalance load.

2. The proposed control strategy will be able to improve micro-grid power quality by
applying the proposed control method to the LCL filter.

13
WORK SCHEDULE

14
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