Reliability of power systems can be improved by the use of voltage source inverters (VSIs) with fast dynamic control, which can handle uncertainties induced by renewable energy resources and nonlinear loads. To ensure fast-dynamic response and simplified controller design, various model predictive control (MPC) methods are investigated in this paper. In the conventional MPC design for three-level VSIs, the cost function requires an additional term to ensure the balance of the neutral-point voltage (NP-V), which however can considerably impact the main goal of the MPC. To address this issue, an enhanced MPC using virtual space vectors is proposed, which allows the use of a significantly reduced weighting factor for the term in the cost function for NP-V balancing, while retaining fast-dynamic response. Additionally, the proposed MPC leads to reduced harmonic distortion in the VSI output voltage and current. Both simulation and controller hardware-in-the-loop studies are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed enhanced MPC in an operating microgrid under both steady-state and fast-transient conditions.

Energy transition from traditional generation sources into new renewable energy generation has become essential for facing climate changes. However, increased penetration levels of renewable energy sources (RESs) make power systems subjected to low inertia problems. Moreover, the continuously growing numbers of electric vehicles (EVs) have made the substantial need for their contribution in power systems. Therefore, this paper proposes a combined fractional-order controller using the parallel combination of tilt-integral-derivative with filter (TIDF) and hybrid fractional-order (HybFO) controllers for robust frequency regulation in interconnected power systems. The proposed controller is advantageous in combining the merits of two fractional-order controllers that result in more robust and effective load frequency control (LFC) at wide range and different types of disturbances. Furthermore, a new application of marine predator optimization algorithm (MPA) is proposed for simultaneously determining the optimum controller parameters in the different power system areas. The existing EVs contribute in performing additional functionality in power systems. EVs help in damping out the frequency and tie-line power oscillations in the proposed work. The two-area interconnected power system is selected as a case study with the installed photovoltaic (PV), and wind generations in addition to distributed EVs among areas. The obtained results show the superiority and suitability of the proposed controller over the traditional controllers in the literature. Additionally, the effectiveness of the MPA is validated and compared with recent meta-heuristic optimization algorithms.

A new triple voltage boosting switched-capacitor multilevel inverter (SCMLI) is presented in this paper. It can produce 13-level output voltage waveform by utilizing 12 switches, three diodes, three capacitors, and one DC source. The capacitor voltages are self-balanced as all the three capacitors present in the circuit are connected across the DC source to charge it to the desired voltage level for several instants in one fundamental cycle. A detailed comparative analysis is carried to show the advantages of the proposed topology in terms of the number of switches, number of capacitors, number of sources, total standing voltage (TSV), and boosting of the converter with the recently published 13-level topologies. The nearest level control (NLC)-based algorithm is used for generating switching signals for the IGBTs present in the circuit. The TSV of the proposed converter is 22. Experimental results are obtained for different loading conditions by using a laboratory hardware prototype to validate the simulation results. The efficiency of the proposed inverter is 97.2% for a 200 watt load.

Multilevel inverters (MLIs) are used in a variety of industrial applications in high- and medium-voltage systems. The modularity, high-power output from medium voltages, and low harmonic content are some of the advantages of MLIs. The reliability of MLIs is quite important. The reliability is affected by different kinds of faults occurring in the MLIs. In MLI circuits, switching devices are the most vulnerable components and have a major involvement in all types of faults. As an outcome, it is necessary to take proper corrective action in the event of a fault. This work provides a comprehensive review of different fault tolerant (FT) solutions for MLIs in the event of switch fault. Moreover, various single-phase FT MLI topologies are reviewed, along with their constructional features, merits, and demerits. This work also proposes a comparison approach that integrates novel factors to account for fault tolerance quantitatively. A comparison investigation verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method. The FT operation of an existing five-level FT MLI topology is discussed, simulated, and experimentally verified.

Dual-Active-Bridge (DAB) DC–DC converters are becoming increasingly favored for their efficiency in transferring electrical power across varying voltage levels. They are crucial in enhancing safety and reliability in various fields, such as renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and the power supplies of electronic devices. This paper introduces a new control strategy for bidirectional isolated DAB DC–DC converters, implementing a Double Integral Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control (DI-STSMC) to accurately regulate the output voltage and current. The approach starts with a state-space representation to mathematically model the DAB converter. In light of model uncertainties and external disturbances, a robust DI-STSMC controller has been formulated to optimize the DAB converter’s output performance. This method achieves zero steady-state error without chattering and provides a quick response to fluctuations in load and reference changes. The validity of the proposed technique is demonstrated through simulation results and a control hardware-in-the-loop (CHIL) experimental setup, using Typhoon HIL 606 and Imperix B-Box RCP 3.0 on a 230 W DAB converter. Furthermore, the paper offers a comparative analysis of the DI-STSMC with other control strategies, such as the proportional-integral (PI) controller, standard sliding mode control (SMC), and integral sliding mode control (ISMC).

Recently, there has been increasing concerns over bifacial PV (BPV) modules over the conventional monofacial PV (MPV) modules owing to their potential to add extra electrical energy from their rear-side irradiance. However, adding the rear-side irradiance to the front-side irradiance results in the increased nonlinearity of the BPV modules compared to MPV modules. Such nonlinearity makes the conventional methods unable to accurately extract the BPV module parameters. In this context, the precise determination of the BPV module parameters is a crucial issue for establishing energy yield estimations and for the proper planning of BPV installations as well. This paper proposes a new model for the BPV modules based on the MPV modeling, in which a new parameter is added to the MPV model to adjust the value of the model series resistance in order to provide a generic model for BPV modules in both monofacial and bifacial operating regions. Moreover, a new determination method for optimizing BPV model parameters using the recently developed enhanced version of the success-history-based adaptive differential evolution (SHADE) algorithm with linear population size reduction, known as the LSHADE method, is applied. The determination process of the model parameters is adapted using a two-stage optimization scheme to model the full operating range of BPV modules. The accuracy of the obtained parameters using the proposed model is compared with the conventional single-diode and double-diode models of the BPV. The obtained results using the proposed model of the BPV module show the performance superiority and accuracy of the LSHADE method over the existing methods in the literature. Furthermore, the LSHADE method provides the successful and accurate extraction of the global optimized parameters to model MPV and BPV modules. Therefore, the proposed method can provide an accurate model for the whole operating range of BPV that would be beneficial for further studies of their economic and technical feasibility for wide installation plans.