Optimal Cooperative Secondary Control for Islanded DC Microgrids via a Fully Actuated Approach

DC-DC converter-based multi-bus DC microgrids(MGs) in series have received much attention, where the conflict between voltage recovery and current balancing has been a hot topic. The lack of models that accurately portray the electrical characteristics of actual MGs while is controller design-friendly has kept the issue active. To this end, this paper establishes a large-signal model containing the comprehensive dynamical behavior of the DC MGs based on the theory of high-order fully actuated systems, and proposes distributed optimal control based on this. The proposed secondary control method can achieve the two goals of voltage recovery and current sharing for multi-bus DC MGs. Additionally, the simple structure of the proposed approach is similar to one based on droop control, which allows this control technique to be easily implemented in a variety of modern microgrids with different configurations. In contrast to existing studies, the process of controller design in this paper is closely tied to the actual dynamics of the MGs. It is a prominent feature that enables engineers to customize the performance metrics of the system. In addition, the analysis of the stability of the closed-loop DC microgrid system, as well as the optimality and consensus of current sharing are given. Finally, a scaled-down solar and battery-based microgrid prototype with maximum power point tracking controller is developed in the laboratory to experimentally test the efficacy of the proposed control method.

Heuristic-Based Optimal Load Frequency Control with Offsite Backup Controllers in Interconnected Microgrids

The primary factor contributing to frequency instability in microgrids is the inherent intermittency of renewable energy sources.This paper introduces novel dual-backup controllers utilizing advanced fractional order proportional integral derivative(FOPID)controllers to enhance frequency and tie-line power stability in microgrids amid increasing renewable energy integration.To improve load frequency control,the proposed controllers are applied to a two-area interconnectedmicrogrid system incorporating diverse energy sources,such as wind turbines,photovoltaic cells,diesel generators,and various storage technologies.A novelmeta-heuristic algorithm is adopted to select the optimal parameters of the proposed controllers.The efficacy of the advanced FOPID controllers is demonstrated through comparative analyses against traditional proportional integral derivative(PID)and FOPID controllers,showcasing superior performance inmanaging systemfluctuations.The optimization algorithm is also evaluated against other artificial intelligent methods for parameter optimization,affirming the proposed solution’s efficiency.The robustness of the intelligent controllers against system uncertainties is further validated under extensive power disturbances,proving their capability to maintain grid stability.The dual-controller configuration ensures redundancy,allowing them to operate as mutual backups,enhancing system reliability.This research underlines the importance of sophisticated control strategies for future-proofing microgrid operations against the backdrop of evolving energy landscapes.

Exponential stabilization of linear systems with feedback optimization and its application to microgrids control

This paper proposes a feedback-optimization-based control method for linear time-invariant systems,which is aimed to exponentially stabilize the system and,meanwhile,drive the system output to an approximate solution of an optimization problem with convex set constraints and affine inequality constraints.To ensure the exponential stability of the closed-loop system,the original optimization problem is first reformulated into a counterpart that has only convex set constraints.It is shown that the optimal solution of the new optimization problem is an approximate optimal solution of the original problem.Then,based on this new optimization problem,the projected primal–dual gradient dynamics algorithm is used to design the controller.By using the singular perturbation method,sufficient conditions are provided to ensure the exponential stability of the closed-loop system.The proposed method is also applied to microgrid control.

Adaptive VSG control of flywheel energy storage array for frequency support in microgrids

The application of virtual synchronous generator(VSG)control in flywheel energy storage systems(FESS)is an effective solution for addressing the challenges related to reduced inertia and inadequate power supply in microgrids.Considering the significant variations among individual units within a flywheel array and the poor frequency regulation performance under conventional control approaches,this paper proposes an adaptive VSG control strategy for a flywheel energy storage array(FESA).First,by leveraging the FESA model,a variable acceleration factor is integrated into the speed-balance control strategy to effectively achieve better state of charge(SOC)equalization across units.Furthermore,energy control with a dead zone is introduced to prevent SOC of the FESA from exceeding the limit.The dead zone parameter is designed based on the SOC warning intervals of the flywheel array to mitigate its impact on regular operation.In addition,VSG technology is applied for the grid-connected control of the FESA,and the damping characteristic of the VSG is decoupled from the primary frequency regulation through power differential feedback.This ensures optimal dynamic performance while reducing the need for frequent involvement in frequency regulation.Subsequently,a parameter design method is developed through a small-signal stability analysis.Consequently,considering the SOC of the FESA,an adaptive control strategy for the inertia damping and the P/ωdroop coefficient of the VSG control is proposed to optimize the grid support services of the FESA.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed control methods is demonstrated through electromagnetic transient simulations using MATLAB/Simulink.

Flexible linear clock-based distributed self-triggered active power-sharing secondary control of AC microgrids

Traditional active power sharing in microgrids,achieved by the distributed average consensus,requires each controller to continuously trigger and communicate with each other,which is a wasteful use of the limited computation and communication resources of the secondary controller.To enhance the efficiency of secondary control,we developed a novel distributed self-triggered active power-sharing control strategy by introducing the signum function and a flexible linear clock.Unlike continuous communication–based controllers,the proposed self-triggered distributed controller prompts distributed generators to perform control actions and share information with their neighbors only at specific time instants monitored by the linear clock.Therefore,this approach results in a significant reduction in both the computation and communication requirements.Moreover,this design naturally avoids Zeno behavior.Furthermore,a modified triggering condition was established to achieve further reductions in computation and communication.The simulation results confirmed that the proposed control scheme achieves distributed active power sharing with very few controller triggers,thereby substantially enhancing the efficacy of secondary control in MGs.

A digital twin model-based approach to cost optimization of residential community microgrids

This paper presents a peer-to-peer community cost optimization approach based on a single-prosumer energy management system.Its objective is to optimize energy costs for prosumers in the community by enhancing the consumption efficiency.This study was conducted along two main axes.The first axis focuses on designing a digital twin for a residential community microgrid platform.This phase involves data collection,cleaning,exploration,and interpretation.Moreover,it includes replicating the functionality of the real platform and validating the results.The second axis involves the development of a novel approach that incorporates two distinct prosumer behaviors within the same community microgrid,while maintaining the concept of peer-to-peer energy trading.Prosumers without storage utilize their individual PV systems to fulfill their energy requirements and inject excess energy into a local microgrid.Meanwhile,a single prosumer with a storage system actively engages in energy exchange to maximize the community’s profit.This is achieved by optimizing battery usage using a cost optimization solution.The proposed solution is validated using the developed digital twin.

Resilience-assuring hydrogen-powered microgrids

Green hydrogen has shown great potential to power microgrids as a primary source,whereas the resilient operation methodology under extreme events remains an open area.To fill this gap,this letter establishes an operational optimization strategy towards resilient hydrogen-powered microgrids.The frequency and voltage regulation characteristics of primary hydrogen sources under droop control and their electrical-chemical conversion process with nonlinear stack efficiency are accurately modeled by piecewise linear constraints.A resilience-oriented multi-time-slot stochastic optimization model is then formulated for an economic and robust operation under changing uncertainties.Test results show that the new formulation can leverage the primary hydrogen sources to achieve a resilience and safety-assured operation plan,supplying maximum critical loads while significantly reducing the frequency and voltage variations.

Distributed Cooperative Control of Battery Energy Storage Systems in DC Microgrids

The control of battery energy storage systems(BESSs)plays an important role in the management of microgrids.In this paper,the problem of balancing the state-ofcharge(SoC)of the networked battery units in a BESS while meeting the total charging/discharging power requirement is formulated and solved as a distributed control problem.Conditions on the communication topology among the battery units are established under which a control law is designed for each battery unit to solve the control problem based on distributed average reference power estimators and distributed average unit state estimators.Two types of estimators are proposed.One achieves asymptotic estimation and the other achieves finite time estimation.We show that,under the proposed control laws,SoC balancing of all battery units is achieved and the total charging/discharging power of the BESS tracks the desired power.A simulation example is shown to verify the theoretical results.

Distributed Periodic Event-Triggered Optimal Control of DC Microgrids Based on Virtual Incremental Cost

This article presents a distributed periodic eventtriggered(PET)optimal control scheme to achieve generation cost minimization and average bus voltage regulation in DC microgrids.In order to accommodate the generation constraints of the distributed generators(DGs),a virtual incremental cost is firstly designed,based on which an optimality condition is derived to facilitate the control design.To meet the discrete-time(DT)nature of modern control systems,the optimal controller is directly developed in the DT domain.Afterward,to reduce the communication requirement among the controllers,a distributed event-triggered mechanism is introduced for the DT optimal controller.The event-triggered condition is detected periodically and therefore naturally avoids the Zeno phenomenon.The closed-loop system stability is proved by the Lyapunov synthesis for switched systems.The generation cost minimization and average bus voltage regulation are obtained at the equilibrium point.Finally,switch-level microgrid simulations validate the performance of the proposed optimal controller.

Distributed Secondary Control of AC Microgrids With External Disturbances and Directed Communication Topologies:A Full-Order Sliding-Mode Approach

This paper addresses the problem of distributed secondary control for islanded AC microgrids with external disturbances.By using a full-order sliding-mode(FOSM)approach,voltage regulation and frequency restoration are achieved in finite time.For voltage regulation,a distributed observer is proposed for each distributed generator(DG)to estimate a reference voltage level.Different from some conventional observers,the reference voltage level in this paper is accurately estimated under directed communication topologies.Based on the observer,a new nonlinear controller is designed in a backstepping manner such that an FOSM surface is reached in finite time.On the surface,the voltages of DGs are regulated to the reference level in finite time.For frequency restoration,a distributed controller is further proposed such that a constructed FOSM surface is reached in finite time,on which the frequencies of DGs are restored to a reference level in finite time under directed communication topologies.Finally,case studies on a modified IEEE 37-bus test system are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness,the robustness against load changes,and the plug-and-play capability of the proposed controllers.

Programmable Adaptive Security Scanning for Networked Microgrids

Communication-dependent and software-based distributed energy resources(DERs)are extensively integrated into modern microgrids,providing extensive benefits such as increased distributed controllability,scalability,and observability.However,malicious cyber-attackers can exploit various potential vulnerabilities.In this study,a programmable adaptive security scanning(PASS)approach is presented to protect DER inverters against various power-bot attacks.Specifically,three different types of attacks,namely controller manipulation,replay,and injection attacks,are considered.This approach employs both software-defined networking technique and a novel coordinated detection method capable of enabling programmable and scalable networked microgrids(NMs)in an ultra-resilient,time-saving,and autonomous manner.The coordinated detection method efficiently identifies the location and type of power-bot attacks without disrupting normal NM operations.Extensive simulation results validate the efficacy and practicality of the PASS for securing NMs.

Adaptive Decentralized Output-Constrained Control of Single-Bus DC Microgrids

A single-bus DC microgrid can represent a wide range of applications. Control objectives of such systems include high-performance bus voltage regulation and proper load sharing among multiple distributed generators(DGs) under various operating conditions. This paper presents a novel decentralized control algorithm that can guarantee both the transient voltage control performance and realize the predefined load sharing percentages. First, the output-constrained control problem is transformed into an equivalent unconstrained one. Second, a two-step backstepping control algorithm is designed based on the transformed model for bus-voltage regulation. Since the overall control effort can be split proportionally and calculated with locally-measurable signals, decentralized load sharing can be realized. The control design requires neither accurate parameters of the output filters nor load measurement. The stability of the transformed systems under the proposed control algorithm can indirectly guarantee the transient bus voltage performance of the original system. Additionally, the high-performance control design is robust, flexible, and reliable. Switch-level simulations under both normal and fault operating conditions demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Structured Microgrids (SμGs) and Flexible Electronic Large Power Transformers (FeLPTs)

Structured microgrids(SμGs)and Flexible electronic large power transformers(FeLPTs)are emerging as two essential technologies for renewable energy integration,flexible power transmission,and active control.SμGs provide the integration of renewable energy and storage to balance the energy demand and supply as needed for a given system design.FeLPT’s flexibility for processing,control,and re-configurability offers the capability for flexible transmission for effective flow control and enable SμGs connectivity while still keeping multiscale system level control.Early adaptors for combined heat and power have demonstrated significant economic benefits while reducing environmental foot prints.They bring tremendous benefits to utility companies also.With storage and active control capabilities,a 300-percent increase in bulk transmission and distribution lines are possible without having to increase capacity.SμGs and FeLPTs will also enable the utility industry to be better prepared for the emerging large increase in base load demand from electric transportation and data centers.This is a win-win-win situation for the consumer,the utilities(grid operators),and the environment.SμGs and FeLPTs provide value in power substation,energy surety,reliability,resiliency,and security.It is also shown that the initial cost associated with SμG and FeLPTs deployment can be easily offset with reduced operating cost,which in turn reduces the total life-cycle cost by 33%to 67%.

Dynamic Economic Dispatch for Microgrids Including Battery Energy Storage

Microgrids integrate distributed renewable energy resources, controllable loads and energy storage in a more economic and reliable fashion. Battery energy storage units are essential for microgrid operation, which make microgird become a strong coupling system in the time domain. Hence, the traditional methods of static dispatch are no longer suitable for microgrids. This paper proposes a dynamic economic dispatch method for microgrids. Considering microgrid as a discrete time system, the dynamic economic dispatch is to find the optimal control strategy for the system in finite time period. Based on this idea, the dynamic economic dispatch model for microgrids is established, and then the corresponding dynamic programming algorithm is designed. Finally, an example of microgrid is given, and the dynamic economic dispatch results are compared with that of the static dispatch. The comparison confirms the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic dispatch method.

Attack-resilient control for converter-based DC microgrids

In light of the growing integration of renewable energy sources in power systems,the adoption of DC microgrids has become increasingly popular,due to its simple structure,having no frequency,power factor concerns.However,the dependence of DC microgrids on cyber-networks also makes them susceptible to cyber-attacks.Potential cyberattacks can disrupt power system facilities and result in significant economic and loss of life.To address this concern,this paper presents an attack-resilient control strategy for microgrids to ensure voltage regulation and power sharing with stable operation under cyber-attack on the actuators.This paper first formulates the cyber-security problem considering a distributed generation based microgrid using the converter model,after which an attack-resilient control is proposed to eliminate the actuator attack impact on the system.Steady state analysis and root locus validation illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method.The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is demonstrated through simulation results.

Dual Layered Architecture for Multi Agent Based Islanding and Load Management for Microgrids

This paper proposes a novel dual layered multi agent system (MAS) based control system for the use in microgrid operations. In developing a smarter grid capable of withstanding disturbances and/or outages and providing quality service to the consumers, reliable microgrid control architecture is vital. The innovative microgrid control system proposed, makes the microgrid capable of isolating the local grid from effects of any upstream disturbances in the main utility grid by operating disconnected from the main utility via islanding, and it allows the most critical local loads to be supplied by any, available, local power source during such islanded operation. The proposed MAS control architecture is developed using the JADE platform and it is used to control a test network simulated in MATLAB. The results of these simulations show the capability of developing MAS based reliable control mechanism for islanding and load management of microgrids based on the proposed concept.

Safety-assured,real-time neural active fault management for resilient microgrids integration

Federated-learning-based active fault management(AFM)is devised to achieve real-time safety assurance for microgrids and the main grid during faults.AFM was originally formulated as a distributed optimization problem.Here,federated learning is used to train each microgrid’s network with training data achieved from distributed optimization.The main contribution of this work is to replace the optimization-based AFM control algorithm with a learning-based AFM control algorithm.The replacement transfers computation from online to offline.With this replacement,the control algorithm can meet real-time requirements for a system with dozens of microgrids.By contrast,distributed-optimization-based fault management can output reference values fast enough for a system with several microgrids.More microgrids,however,lead to more computation time with optimization-based method.Distributed-optimization-based fault management would fail real-time requirements for a system with dozens of microgrids.Controller hardware-in-the-loop real-time simulations demonstrate that learning-based AFM can output reference values within 10 ms irrespective of the number of microgrids.

Smart Python Agents for Microgrids

Microgrids are revolutionary power systems that interconnect a mix of renewable power generation, load, storage systems, and inverters in a small-scale grid network. Operating microgrids while maintaining a consistent grid voltage and frequency during the islanding and disruption of renewables has been a challenging research problem. In this paper, a preliminary microgrid agent implementation is presented using SPADE (Smart Python Agent Development Environment) as a powerful development framework that has been used extensively in many application domains. Agents autonomously managed and operated microgrid individual components. A multiagent microgrid system was modeled to seamlessly operate and optimize energy balance by coordinating the actions of agents. Agents were built to forecast energy demand and solar power and coordinate to balance generation with load while maintaining optimal power flow and adequate network voltage and frequency.

Single-Phase Inverter Synchronized to the Grid by Linear Kalman Filter in Microgrids

This paper presents the analysis and implementation of a synchronizer to the grid using a linear Kalman filter. The synchronizer is used in a single-phase inverter, which is applied in an environment of microgrids. The inverter converts the energy that comes from renewable energy sources （photovoltaic, wind, fuel cell, etc.）. The main objective of obtaining the phase of the grid is to achieve a power factor close to unity in the inverter. For this reason it is vital that the phase difference between the synchronizer and the grid zero. To obtain synchronizer algorithm using LKF （linear Kalman filter） is necessary to know the EKF （extended Kalman filter）. This allows to analyze the operation of the filter, which allows to reach reduce linear Kalman filter or also known as simplified Kalman filter. It is necessary to generate an orthogonal signal in order to obtain a stationary reference frame from a single-phase grid because the linear Kalman filter works with a stationary reference frame. Orthogonal signal is created with an all-pass filter.

Secondary control fusion in inverter intensive dynamic microgrids for distribution system resiliency enhancement

Microgrids(MGs)dominated by power electronics interface inverters can augment distribution system resiliency.The interactions among neighboring MGs and the requirements for flexible system network reconfiguration motivate the development of dynamic MGs.To improve the distribution system resiliency in the context of dynamic MGs,this paper proposes the concept of functional fusion of secondary control levels across neighboring dynamic MGs with the integration of multiple compensation terms into the secondary controller in each distributed generator(DG).Moreover,two kinds of consensus-based algorithms with the consideration of communication delays are encompassed to calculate the average values of static and dynamic variables and thereby build an effective communications network among DGs in dynamic MGs.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed secondary controller is validated using a 9-bus test distribution feeder.