A cascaded DC-AC-AC grid-tied converter for PV plants with AC-link

Manuel A. Barrios; Víctor Cárdenas; Jose M. Sandoval; Josep M. Guerrero; Juan C. Vasquez

doi:10.3390/electronics10040409

A cascaded DC-AC-AC grid-tied converter for PV plants with AC-link

Manuel A. Barrios^*, Víctor Cárdenas, Jose M. Sandoval, Josep M. Guerrero, Juan C. Vasquez

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Cascaded multilevel converters based on medium-frequency (MF) AC-links have been proposed as alternatives to the traditional low-voltage inverter, which uses a bulky low-frequency transformer step-up voltage to medium voltage (MV) levels. In this paper, a three-phase cascaded DC-AC-AC converter with AC-link for medium-voltage applications is proposed. Three stages integrate each DC-AC-AC converter (cell): a MF square voltage generator; a MF transformer with four windings; and an AC-AC converter. Then, k DC-AC-AC converters are cascaded to generate the multilevel topology. This converter’s topological structure avoids the per-phase imbalance; this simplifies the control and reduces the problem only to solve the per-cell unbalance. Two sets of simulations were performed to verify the converter’s operation (off-grid and grid-connected modes). Finally, the papers present two reduced preliminary laboratory prototypes, one validating the cascaded configuration and the other validating the three-phase configuration.

Original language	English
Article number	409
Journal	Electronics (Switzerland)
Volume	10
Issue number	4
Pages (from-to)	1-21
Number of pages	21
ISSN	2079-9292
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10040409
Publication status	Published - 2 Feb 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research work was supported by the project UASLP-TRAFOS UASLP/AG-038/18. The authors would like to thank The National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT) for the academic scholarship under the grant number 486788.

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: This work was supported by VILLUM FONDEN under VILLUM Investigator Grant 25920 from the Center for Research on Microgrids (CROM); www.crom.et.aau.dk. The authors acknowledge to the UASLP Electrical Power Quality and Motor Control Laboratory (LABCEECM) staff for technical and material support during the experimental stage.

Funding Information:
Funding: This research work was supported by the project UASLP-TRAFOS UASLP/AG-038/18. The authors would like to thank The National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONA-CyT) for the academic scholarship under the grant number 486788.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

AC-AC converter
AC-link
Cascaded converter
Matrix converter
Medium-frequency magnetic link
Multilevel converter
Photovoltaic

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10.3390/electronics10040409Licence: CC BY 4.0

Open Access versionFinal published version, 10.1 MBLicence: CC BY 4.0

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Cite this

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title = "A cascaded DC-AC-AC grid-tied converter for PV plants with AC-link",

abstract = "Cascaded multilevel converters based on medium-frequency (MF) AC-links have been proposed as alternatives to the traditional low-voltage inverter, which uses a bulky low-frequency transformer step-up voltage to medium voltage (MV) levels. In this paper, a three-phase cascaded DC-AC-AC converter with AC-link for medium-voltage applications is proposed. Three stages integrate each DC-AC-AC converter (cell): a MF square voltage generator; a MF transformer with four windings; and an AC-AC converter. Then, k DC-AC-AC converters are cascaded to generate the multilevel topology. This converter{\textquoteright}s topological structure avoids the per-phase imbalance; this simplifies the control and reduces the problem only to solve the per-cell unbalance. Two sets of simulations were performed to verify the converter{\textquoteright}s operation (off-grid and grid-connected modes). Finally, the papers present two reduced preliminary laboratory prototypes, one validating the cascaded configuration and the other validating the three-phase configuration.",

keywords = "AC-AC converter, AC-link, Cascaded converter, Matrix converter, Medium-frequency magnetic link, Multilevel converter, Photovoltaic",

author = "Barrios, {Manuel A.} and V{\'i}ctor C{\'a}rdenas and Sandoval, {Jose M.} and Guerrero, {Josep M.} and Vasquez, {Juan C.}",

note = "Funding Information: This research work was supported by the project UASLP-TRAFOS UASLP/AG-038/18. The authors would like to thank The National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT) for the academic scholarship under the grant number 486788. Funding Information: Acknowledgments: This work was supported by VILLUM FONDEN under VILLUM Investigator Grant 25920 from the Center for Research on Microgrids (CROM); www.crom.et.aau.dk. The authors acknowledge to the UASLP Electrical Power Quality and Motor Control Laboratory (LABCEECM) staff for technical and material support during the experimental stage. Funding Information: Funding: This research work was supported by the project UASLP-TRAFOS UASLP/AG-038/18. The authors would like to thank The National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONA-CyT) for the academic scholarship under the grant number 486788. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

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AU - Sandoval, Jose M.

AU - Guerrero, Josep M.

AU - Vasquez, Juan C.

N1 - Funding Information: This research work was supported by the project UASLP-TRAFOS UASLP/AG-038/18. The authors would like to thank The National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT) for the academic scholarship under the grant number 486788. Funding Information: Acknowledgments: This work was supported by VILLUM FONDEN under VILLUM Investigator Grant 25920 from the Center for Research on Microgrids (CROM); www.crom.et.aau.dk. The authors acknowledge to the UASLP Electrical Power Quality and Motor Control Laboratory (LABCEECM) staff for technical and material support during the experimental stage. Funding Information: Funding: This research work was supported by the project UASLP-TRAFOS UASLP/AG-038/18. The authors would like to thank The National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONA-CyT) for the academic scholarship under the grant number 486788. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/2/2

Y1 - 2021/2/2

N2 - Cascaded multilevel converters based on medium-frequency (MF) AC-links have been proposed as alternatives to the traditional low-voltage inverter, which uses a bulky low-frequency transformer step-up voltage to medium voltage (MV) levels. In this paper, a three-phase cascaded DC-AC-AC converter with AC-link for medium-voltage applications is proposed. Three stages integrate each DC-AC-AC converter (cell): a MF square voltage generator; a MF transformer with four windings; and an AC-AC converter. Then, k DC-AC-AC converters are cascaded to generate the multilevel topology. This converter’s topological structure avoids the per-phase imbalance; this simplifies the control and reduces the problem only to solve the per-cell unbalance. Two sets of simulations were performed to verify the converter’s operation (off-grid and grid-connected modes). Finally, the papers present two reduced preliminary laboratory prototypes, one validating the cascaded configuration and the other validating the three-phase configuration.

AB - Cascaded multilevel converters based on medium-frequency (MF) AC-links have been proposed as alternatives to the traditional low-voltage inverter, which uses a bulky low-frequency transformer step-up voltage to medium voltage (MV) levels. In this paper, a three-phase cascaded DC-AC-AC converter with AC-link for medium-voltage applications is proposed. Three stages integrate each DC-AC-AC converter (cell): a MF square voltage generator; a MF transformer with four windings; and an AC-AC converter. Then, k DC-AC-AC converters are cascaded to generate the multilevel topology. This converter’s topological structure avoids the per-phase imbalance; this simplifies the control and reduces the problem only to solve the per-cell unbalance. Two sets of simulations were performed to verify the converter’s operation (off-grid and grid-connected modes). Finally, the papers present two reduced preliminary laboratory prototypes, one validating the cascaded configuration and the other validating the three-phase configuration.

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JO - Electronics (Switzerland)

JF - Electronics (Switzerland)

IS - 4

M1 - 409

ER -

A cascaded DC-AC-AC grid-tied converter for PV plants with AC-link

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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