• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.544-552
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• 2009

This paper presents a novel spring pressure contact interconnect technique for medium power integrated power electronics modules (IPEMs). The key technology of this interconnection is a spring which is made from Be-Cu alloy. By means of the string pressure contact, sufficient press-contact force and good electrical interconnection can be achieved. Another important advantage is that the spring exhibits excellent performance in enduring thermo-mechanical stress. In terms of manufacture procedure, it is also comparatively simple. A 4 kW half-bridge power inverter module is fabricated to demonstrate the performance of the proposed pressure contact technique. Electrical, thermal and mechanical test results of the packaged device are reported. The results of both the simulation and experiment have proven that a good performance can be achieved by the proposed pressure contact technique for the medium power IPEMs.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.172-180
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• 2017

The repetitive control (RC) strategy is widely used in AC power systems because of its high performance in tracking period signal and suppressing steady-state error. However, the dynamic response of RC is determined by the fundamental period delay $T_0$ existing in the internal model. In the current study, a ($nk{\pm}i$)-order harmonic RC structure is proposed to improve dynamic performance. The proposed structure has less data memory and can improve the tracking speed by n/2 times. $T_0$ proves the effectiveness of the ($nk{\pm}i$)-order RC strategy. The simulation and experiments of ($6k{\pm}1$)-order and ($4k{\pm}1$)-order RC strategy used in the voltage source inverter is conducted in this study to control the harmonic current source, which shows the validity and advantages of the proposed structure.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.654-663
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• 2012

In this paper, a digital control strategy based on equivalent fundamental and odd harmonic resonators is proposed for single-phase DVRs. By using a delay block, which can be equivalent to a bank of resonators, it rejects the fundamental and odd harmonic disturbances effectively. The structure of the single closed-loop control system consists of a delay block, a proportional gain and a set of zero phase notch filters. The principle of the controller design is discussed in detail to ensure the stability of the system. Both the supply voltage and the load current feedforwards are used to improve the response speed and the ability to eliminate disturbances. The proposed controller is simple in terms of its structure and implementation. It has good performances in harmonic compensation and dynamic response. Experimental results from a 2kW DVR prototype confirm the validity of the design procedure and the effectiveness of the control strategy.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.1308-1316
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• 2017

The distributed maximum power point tracking (DMPPT) concept is widely adopted in photovoltaic systems to avoid mismatch loss. However, the high cost and complexity of DMPPT hinder its further promotion in practice. Based on the concept of DMPPT, this paper presents an integrated submodule level half-bridge stack structure along with an optimal current point tracking (OCPT) control algorithm. In this full power processing integrated solution, the number of power switches and passive components is greatly reduced. On the other hand, only one current sensor and its related AD unit are needed to perform the ideal maximum power generation for all of the PV submodules in any irradiance case. The proposal can totally eliminate different small-scaled mismatch effects in real-word condition and the true maximum power point of each PV submodule can be achieved. As a result, the ideal maximum power output of the whole PV system can be achieved. Compared with current solutions, the proposal further develops the integration level of submodule DMPPT solutions with a lower cost and a smaller size. Moreover, the individual MPPT tracking for all of the submodules are guaranteed.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.1327-1337
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• 2017

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are influenced by disproportionate impacts on energy production caused by frequent mismatch cases. The occurrence of multiple maximum power points (MPPs) adds complexity to the tracking process in various PV systems. However, current maximum-power point tracking (MPPT) techniques exhibit limited performance. This paper introduces an enhanced simulated annealing (ESA)-based GMPPT technique against multiple MPP issues in P-V curve with different PV system structures. The proposed technique not only distinguishes global and local MPPs but also performs rapid convergence speed and high tracking accuracy of irradiance changing and restart capability detection. Moreover, the proposed global maximum power tracking algorithm can be applied in the central converter of DMPPT and hybrid PV system to meet various application scenarios. Its effectiveness is verified by simulation and test results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.143-155
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• 2014

The stability issues of a multi-module distributed DC power system without current-sharing loop are analyzed in this study. The physical understanding of the terminal characteristics of each sub-module is focused on. All the modules are divided into two groups based on the different terminal property types, namely, impedance (Z) and admittance (Y) types. The equivalent circuits of each group are established to analyze the stability issues, and the mathematical equations of the equivalent circuits are derived. A generalized criterion for multi-module distributed systems is proposed based on the stability criterion in a cascade system. The proposed criterion is independent of the power flow direction.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.1773-1779
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• 2015

Insulation coordination is a key problem in UHVDC systems in terms of safety and cost. Although high-voltage ±1100kV UHVDC projects are being planned in China, the characteristics and key points of high-voltage systems have not yet been analyzed. This study aims to improve the safe, effective operation of these high-voltage power transmission systems. First, we analyzed two typical insulation coordination schemes used in ±800kV UHVDC systems in China. Next, we used the two typical ±800kV insulation coordination schemes as a reference to analyze the ±1100kV UHVDC system. Finally, we compared these schemes and proposed an effective insulation coordination solution, as well as developing principles for ±1100kV UHVDC systems. Our findings indicate that the points enduring the highest voltage in the system should be protected separately by special arresters. Our analysis of the insulation coordination of ±800kV and ±1100kV UHVDC systems concluded that, in ±1100kV UHVDC systems, the main goal of insulation coordination is to lower the insulation level of points enduring the highest voltage. However, in a ±800kV UHVDC system, the main goal is to reduce the cost of manufacture for arresters, as well as the space occupation in the valve hall, with an acceptable insulation level.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1513-1525
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• 2016

Rapid and accurate phase synchronization is critical for the reliable control of grid-tied inverters. However, the commonly used software phase-locked loop methods do not always satisfy the need for high-speed and accurate phase synchronization under severe grid imbalance conditions. To address this problem, this study develops a novel open-loop phase locking scheme based on a synchronous reference frame. The proposed scheme is characterized by remarkable response speed, high accuracy, and easy implementation. It comprises three functional cascaded blocks: fast orthogonal signal generation block, fast fundamental-frequency positive sequence component construction block, and fast phase calculation block. The developed virtual orthogonal signal generation method in the first block, which is characterized by noise immunity and high accuracy, can effectively avoid approximation errors and noise amplification in a wide range of sampling frequencies. In the second block, which is the foundation for achieving fast phase synchronization within 3 ms, the fundamental-frequency positive sequence components of unsymmetrical grid voltages can be achieved with the developed orthogonal signal construction strategy and the symmetrical component method. The real-time grid phase can be consequently obtained in the third block, which is free from self-tuning closed-loop control and thus improves the dynamic performance of the proposed scheme. The proposed scheme is adaptive to severe unsymmetrical grid voltages with sudden changes in magnitude, phase, and/or frequency. Moreover, this scheme is able to eliminate phase errors induced by harmonics and random noise. The validity and utility of the proposed scheme are verified by the experimental results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.717-730
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• 2016

The harmonic components of grid voltage result in oscillations of the calculated phase obtained via phase synchronization. This affects the security and stability of grid-connected converters. Moving average filter, delayed signal cancellation and their related harmonic elimination algorithms are major methods for such issues. However, all of the existing methods have their limitations in dealing with multiple harmonics issues. Furthermore, few studies have focused on a comparison and evaluation of these algorithms to achieve optimal algorithm selections in specific applications. In this paper, these algorithms are quantitatively analyzed based on the derived mathematical models. Moreover, an enhanced moving average filter and enhanced delayed signal cancellation algorithms, which are applicable for eliminating a group of selective harmonics with only one calculation block, are proposed. On this basis, both a comprehensive comparison and a quantitative evaluation of all of the aforementioned algorithms are made from several aspects, including response speed, required data storage size, sensitivity to sampling frequency, and elimination of random noise and harmonics. With the conclusions derived in this paper, better overall performance in terms of harmonic elimination can be achieved. In addition, experimental results under different conditions demonstrate the validity of this study.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.116-120
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• 2012

In this paper, ZnO-Epoxy nanocomposites (NEP) were prepared and epoxy composites that contain 5 wt% micro ZnO (MEP) and deliberately not well dispersed nano ZnO (NDNEP) were also prepared for purpose of comparison. The effects of the particle size and dispersion of ZnO on dielectric properties of epoxy resin were chiefly studied. Test results showed that: at a loading of 5 wt%, the three epoxy composites seem to have no significant difference on resistivity compared to epoxy resin; Dielectric constants of all the epoxy composites are also basically the same but they are bigger compared to that of the pure epoxy resin (unfilled); Dielectric dissipation factors ($tan{\delta}$) of NDNEP is greater than that of NEP and MEP. NEP has the minimum dielectric loss factor, whereas dielectric loss factors of the three epoxy composites are larger than that of the pure epoxy resin. The decreasing order of electrical breakdown strength for the three epoxy composites and for the pure epoxy resin is as follows: NEP>MEP>NDNEP>EP. Finally, in order to explain the experimental results the aggregation interface phase was proposed. Furthermore, addition of well dispersed nano filler has proved to have a positive effect on the improvement of the dielectric properties of epoxy resin.