Recursive Secondary Controller for Voltage Profile Improvement Based on Primary Virtual Admittance Control

TL;DR

This paper introduces a recursive secondary control method based on virtual admittance for distributed generation units to enhance voltage regulation in distribution networks, validated through laboratory experiments.

Contribution

A novel recursive secondary controller that adaptively updates virtual admittance gains for improved voltage profile management in distribution grids.

Findings

Primary virtual admittance controller mitigates voltage issues in steady and transient states.

Secondary controller further enhances voltage profiles across the network.

Experimental validation confirms the effectiveness of the control scheme.

Abstract

This paper proposes a recursive, virtual admittance based, secondary controller for DG units that improves the voltage profile in distribution networks. First, the adaptation of the virtual admittance concept for the goal of voltage regulation is explained. Then, a recursive secondary controller is developed to periodically update the virtual admittance gains. The controller is formulated as an optimization problem with current and stability limitations as constraints. Measurements across the grid, transmitted through low-bandwidth communications, are used to simplify the calculations, resulting in a recursive algorithm. Weight vectors are included in the objective function to allow participation flexibility of each converter. Results show that the primary virtual admittance controller is able to mitigate over- and under-voltages in steady state and under transient conditions. Subsequently, the secondary controller is shown to further improve the voltage profiles across the grid. Experimental results obtained from a laboratory environment, comprising three DG units and a grid emulator, validate the functionality of the complete control structure.