New Voltage Control Strategies For VSC Based DG Units in An Unbalanced Microgrid

This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been
fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TSTE.2017.2657660, IEEE
Transactions on Sustainable Energy
1
New Voltage Control Strategies for VSC based DG

Units in an Unbalanced Microgrid
Noel Richard Merritt, Chandan Chakraborty, Fellow, IEEE, and Prabodh Bajpai, Senior Member, IEEE
AbstractThis paper presents the positive sequence, negative

sequence and zero sequence voltage and current control schemes
in dq-frame for the Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based
Distributed Generation (DG) units in order to compensate for
voltage unbalance in a microgrid. The objective of these schemes
is to control the positive, negative and zero sequence components
(separately and independently) of the voltage at the Point
of Common Coupling (PCC) and the VSC currents to their
respective reference commands. Dynamically varying limits have
been proposed for the positive and negative sequence references
for the current control schemes in order to protect the VSC from
overloading (under unbalanced conditions) and unsymmetrical
faults. The active power control, frequency control and the reactive powervoltage droop control schemes decide the references of
the positive sequence voltage control scheme in order to fulfil the
objective of using the same control schemes for the grid connected
and the islanded modes of operation of the microgrid, thereby
eliminating the need for islanding detection. The performance of
the various control schemes employed for controlling the VSC
based DG unit have been tested on two identical VSC based DG
units feeding power to the IEEE 34 node distribution network
implemented in PSCAD/EMTDC.
Index TermsDistributed Generation (DG), Grid Connected
mode, Islanded mode, Microgrid, Voltage Source Converter
(VSC), Voltage Unbalance Compensation.
N OMENCLATURE
Vsa , Vsb , Vsc
Ia , Ib , Ic
+
+
Vsd
, Vsq
Vsd
, Vsq
Vsod , Vsoq
Id+ , Iq+
Id , Iq
Line to neutral voltages at the Point of

Common Coupling (PCC) between the
Voltage Source Converter (VSC) and the
rest of the microgrid.
AC Line Currents supplied by the VSC.
Positive sequence d-axis and q-axis components of the voltage at the PCC.
Negative sequence d-axis and q-axis
components of the voltage at the PCC.
Zero sequence d-axis and q-axis components of the voltage at the PCC.
Positive sequence d-axis and q-axis components of the VSC current.
Negative sequence d-axis and q-axis
components of the VSC current.
Manuscript received June 28, 2016; revised December 1, 2016; accepted

January 13, 2017.
The authors are with the Department of Electrical Engineering,
Indian
Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India (e-mail: noelrichard.merritt@gmail.com; chakraborty@ieee.org; pbajpai@ee.iitkgp.ernet.in).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier
Iod , Ioq
Ibatt1 , Ibatt2
C1 , C2
RON
Rf , Lf
Cf
Rloss1 , Rloss2
Lf dc1 , Lf dc2
CDC1 , CDC2
Zero sequence d-axis and q-axis components of the VSC current.

Currents supplied by the Battery Energy
Storage System (BESS) banks.
DC link capacitances of the VSC.
ON resistance of the VSC devices.
Resistance and Inductance of the AC
filter inductor.
Capacitance of the AC filter capacitor.
Resistances representing the switching
loss of the VSC.
Inductances of the filter inductors of the
Buck-Boost converters.
DC capacitances across the PV arrays.
I. I NTRODUCTION
OST of the renewable energy sources (like PV, FC, etc)

generate DC power, and most of the storage systems
(like Battery, Super-capacitor, etc) handle energy in the form
of DC. These energy sources and storage systems need to
be interfaced with the AC Microgrid through Voltage Source
Converters (VSC). AC Microgrids are usually low voltage
distribution networks with Distributed Generation (DG) units
supplying power to the local loads [1] (which are inherently
unbalanced). Thus the VSCs will be supplying unbalanced
currents for most of the time and therefore a proper control
scheme needs to be chosen for the VSC so that the performance of the VSC doesnt get drastically affected. Another
challenge involving the control of VSCs is in the control
schemes for the Grid Connected and the Islanded modes of
operation. When the microgrid is in the Grid connected mode
of operation, the voltage and frequency of the microgrid will
be imposed by the Main Grid, but when the microgrid is
in the Standalone or Islanded mode of operation, the VSCs
need to set the voltage and frequency of the microgrid.
Therefore researchers initially proposed the idea of separate
control schemes for VSCs operating in the Grid connected
and the islanded modes of operation [2]. The same concept
was extended in [3] in order to deal with unbalanced loads.
However, a transition from the grid connected mode to the
islanded mode of operation and vice versa will result in forced
switching between two sets of controllers, which will clearly
indicate the need for a fast and a reliable islanding detection.
Islanding detection continues to be an area of research as there
is no method that is absolutely conclusive.
Therefore researchers began to propose the idea of a unified
control scheme which will be valid for both the Grid connected
1949-3029 (c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TSTE.2017.2657660, IEEE
2
Buck Boost Converters

SpDC1
IPV1
Equivalent Electrical model of the Battery Energy

Storage System (BESS)
+
VPV1 Lfdc1
SpDC2
IPV2
np
ns
2
CDC2
RSeries1 RTransient_S1
CCapacity1
CDC1
+
VPV2 Lfdc2
Voltage Source Converter
RTransient_L1 Ibatt1
IDC
IC 1
+
VOC1
Rloss1
CTransient_S1 CTransient_L1
C1
Iloss1
RSeries2 RTransient_S2
Rself_Discharge2
ns
2
Rself_Discharge1
np
CCapacity2
PV Array
+
VOC2
RTransient_L2 Ibatt2
IC 2
Rloss2
CTransient_S2 CTransient_L2
Iloss2
C2
Sp1
+
VC 1
Sp2 Vt
I
+
VC 2
Lf
Rf
IEEE 34 node
distribution
network
IL
If
Sn1
PCC Coupling
Vs Transformer Vsec
Cf
Sn2
PCC Point of Common Coupling
(a). Schematic diagram of a VSC based DG unit with PV System and BESS.
848
846
Phase Detector
844
Modified IEEE 34 Node

Distribution Network
Notch filter
864
842
836
840
858
834
860
Vsa
Vsb
Vsc
abc
Vs
Vs
dq
Vsdp
Fn(s)
Vsd+
Vsqp
Fn(s)
Vsq+
Notch filter
862
Vsm+
838
822
820
PV System with
BESS, Connected
to VSC 2
PLL
Grid
808
850
824
888
832
818
890
f(s)
+
f(s)
K(s)
Vsqnorm+
+
Hard Limiter
Transformer 1
826
Loop Filter
VCO
fo
852
BRK
802
812
806
814
816
830
800
(Substation Bus)
810
PV System with
BESS, Connected
to VSC 1
828
K (s) is either P or a P-I Compensator

854
Base frequency (fo) = 60 Hz
856
f(s) Frequency
VCO Voltage Controlled Oscillator
Fn(s) is a notch filter tuned to eliminate the double line frequency component
Fault
(b). Modified IEEE 34 Node Distribution Network.
(c). Improved SRF PLL.
Fig. 1: (a). Schematic diagram of a VSC based DG unit with PV System and BESS; (b). Modified IEEE 34 node Distribution Network [8]; (c). Improved Synchronous Reference
FramePhase Locked Loop (SRFPLL) [9], [10].
and the Islanded modes of operation [4], [5]. The control

structure proposed in [4] aims to control the VSC as a
synchronous machine with an assumed virtual inertia constant
(H) and a virtual damping constant (KD ). However grid faults
will cause damage to the VSC switches due to over currents.
Reference [5] expanded upon the ideas presented in [6] and
[7] and proposed a control scheme that is valid for both the
grid connected and the islanded modes of operation thereby
eliminating the need for islanding detection. However the Grid
connected and the Islanded modes of operation have been
considered separately and the positive and negative sequence
components of the voltages and currents in the results have
not been explicitly presented. The control schemes proposed
in [6], [7] and [11] are robust as long as the system is
balanced, but under unbalanced loading conditions, the voltage
at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) becomes severely
unbalanced and distorted; thereby the performance of the
VSC gets deteriorated. In order to overcome this problem,
in references [12] [14] suitable modifications have been
proposed to the control schemes presented in [6], [7] and [11]
so that the voltage at the PCC is balanced irrespective of the
unbalance in the load. However the presence of Zero Sequence
Components have not been considered due to the fact that
delta connected transformer windings were considered in [12]
and delta connected loads were considered in [13]. While in
[14], the researchers have used separate control schemes for
the grid connected and the islanded modes of operation. In

references [15], [16], [17], [18], [25], [26], [27] and [29]
voltage unbalance has been compensated in -frame (zero
sequence components have been neglected, except in [25], [26]
and have been controlled as sinusoidal signals), but deciding
the limits for the references of the current control loops will
be a major problem due to the fact that the signals fed to
the controllers are sinusoidal. The use of a saturation block
will make the reference currents non-sinusoidal (if the VSC
is overloaded) especially during fault conditions.
Therefore the aim of this paper is to fulfil the following
objectives:
To maintain the Line to Ground Voltages at the PCC of
the VSCs balanced, irrespective of the unbalance in the
load in the microgrid.
To limit fault currents (especially unsymmetrical faults) in
order to protect the VSC switches from getting damaged.
The control scheme should be the same for both the gridconnected as well as the islanded modes of operation
thereby eliminating the need for knowing the prevailing
mode of operation of the microgrid.
Zero sequence VSC current and PCC Voltage control
schemes have been proposed in this paper and have been
implemented along with the improved versions of the positive
and negative sequence VSC current and PCC Voltage control
schemes (with respect to the control structures presented
3
in [13]). The improvements those have been made in the

positive and the negative sequence VSC current and PCC
Voltage control schemes are, that the variation in frequency
has been considered in the feed forward terms and dynamically
varying limits have been considered in both the PCC voltage
and the VSC current control structures thereby resulting in
an improved transient performance. Therefore the positive,
negative and zero sequence components of the VSC current
and the PCC Voltage will be controlled separately and independently. Dynamically varying limits have been proposed
for the positive and negative sequence references of the VSC
current control schemes in order to protect the VSC from
overloading under unbalanced conditions and unsymmetrical
faults. The Active Power Control, Frequency Control and the
Reactive PowerVoltage droop control schemes presented in
[5] will decide the references for the positive sequence voltage
control scheme, while the references of the Negative and Zero
Sequence PCC Voltage control schemes have been set at 0
in order to fulfil the objective of maintaining the voltage at
the PCC balanced at all times. The effectiveness of the control
schemes have been tested on two VSC based DG units (shown
in Fig. 1(a)) feeding power to the modified IEEE 34 node
distribution network (shown in Fig. 1(b)).
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In Section II,
a description of a VSC based DG unit with PV array and the
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been presented.
In Section III, the various control schemes for controlling
the VSC and the Buck-Boost converters have been presented.
In Section IV, the simulation results have been presented in
order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control schemes
presented in this paper. Section V concludes the paper.
II. S YSTEM D ESCRIPTION
Fig. 1(a) shows the schematic diagram of a VSC based DG
unit. A three phase three level Neutral Point Clamped (NPC)
converter acts as a VSC and is connected to the microgrid
through a three phase LC filter and a three phase coupling
transformer (Both the primary and secondary windings of the
coupling transformer are Y-connected and the neutral point is
grounded). Two BESS banks (represented by the Thevenins
equivalent model which is slightly different from the model
presented in [19]) are connected in parallel to the DC link
capacitors (C1 and C2 ). Two identical PV arrays (represented
by the Nortons equivalent model [20], [21]) are connected
to the DC link capacitors (C1 and C2 ) through two Buckboost converters. The Buck-boost converters operate in such
a manner that the PV arrays always deliver power at the
Maximum Power Point (MPP). The VSC supplies power to
the microgrid according to the reference command (when the
microgrid is in the grid connected mode of operation) or
according to the load demand (when the microgrid is in the
islanded mode of operation). The BESS banks take care of
the mismatch between the power generated by the PV array
and the power supplied by the VSC (The BESS banks will
either get charged or discharged depending on the direction
of flow of current through the BESS banks). Two identical
VSC based DG units are connected at nodes 850 and 832
of the modified IEEE 34 node distribution network shown in

Fig. 1(b). Fig. 1(c) shows the representation of the improved
version of the SRFPLL [9], [10] and the objective of this
PLL is to synchronize the dq-frame with the positive sequence
component of the voltage at the PCC (that is the converter side
of the coupling transformer as shown in Fig. 1(a)).
III. C ONTROL S CHEMES
A. Open loop VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control:
The open loop VSC current control model can be developed
by applying Kirchhoffs Voltage Law across the filter inductor
and the VSC switches in the ON state. After transforming
these equations to dq-frame (Positive, Negative and Zero
Sequence), the following equations will be obtained (which
represents the open loop VSC current control model):
Lf
dId+ (t)
dt
+ (Rf + 2RON )Id (t) = Vtd (t) Vsd (t)

+
+ 2Lf [fo + f (t)]Iq (t)

Lf
dIq+ (t)
dt
+ (Rf + 2RON )Iq (t) = Vtq (t) Vsq (t)

+
2Lf [fo + f (t)]Id (t)

Lf
dId (t)
dt
Lf
dt
(2)
+ (Rf + 2RON )Id (t) = Vtd (t) Vsd (t)

2Lf [fo + f (t)]Iq (t)
dIq (t)
(1)
(3)
+ (Rf + 2RON )Iq (t) = Vtq (t) Vsq (t)
+ 2Lf [fo + f (t)]Id (t)
(4)
dIod (t)
Lf
+ (Rf + 2RON )Iod (t) = Vtod (t) Vsod (t)
dt
+ 2Lf [fo + f (t)]Ioq (t)
(5)
dIoq (t)
Lf
+ (Rf + 2RON )Ioq (t) = Vtoq (t) Vsoq (t)
dt
2Lf [fo + f (t)]Iod (t)
(6)
The open loop PCC voltage control model can be developed

by applying Kirchhoffs Current Law at the filter capacitor.
After transforming these equations to dq-frame (Positive,
Negative and Zero Sequence), the following equations will be
obtained (which represents the open loop PCC voltage control
model):
Cf
Cf
Cf
+
dVsd
(t)
dt
+
dVsq
(t)
dt
dVsd
(t)
dt
dVsq
(t)
(7)
(8)
= Id (t) ILd (t) + 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsq (t)

= Iq (t) ILq (t) 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsd (t)
= Id (t) ILd (t) 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsq (t)
= Iq (t) ILq (t) + 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsd (t)

dt
dVsod (t)
Cf
= Iod (t) ILod (t) + 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsoq (t)
dt
dVsoq (t)
Cf
= Ioq (t) ILoq (t) 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsod (t)
dt
Cf
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
B. Closed loop VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control:

The objective of the positive, negative and zero sequence
PCC voltage control schemes (Shown in Fig. 2(a), Fig. 2(b)
and Fig. 2(c) respectively) is to regulate the positive, negative
and zero sequence components (all in dq-frame) of the PCC
voltage to the reference commands. In order to fulfil this
4
Closed Loop Positive Sequence Current Control

Positive Sequence PCC Voltage Controller
Notch filter
Fn(s)
ILdp(s)
Vsdref+(s)
Notch filter
+-
Fn(s)
Vsdp(s)
Kvd
uvd+(s) +
+
-
+(s)
Vsd+(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
ILd+(s)
2Cf
Noise filter
Fn(s)
Gff(s)
Vsdp(s)
Idref
+(s)
Notch filter
+-
Kd
Id+(s)
Fn(s)
Idp(s)
f(s)
Fn(s)
Vsqp(s)
Notch filter
Vsqref+(s)
Notch filter
Iqref+(s)
ILq
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
+(s)
Fn(s)
Iqp(s)
Fn(s)
Vsd+(s)
Fixed
Hard Limiter
ud+(s) + Vtd+(s)
+
+(s)
2Lf
md
Vsqp(s)
Notch filter
Vtd+(s) -
Id
+
+
Gff(s)
mq
+(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
Vsq+(s)
Noise filter
Vsd+(s)
+
+
f(s)
Fn(s)
+(s)
2Lf
2Lf
Iq+(s)
uq+(s) + Vtq+(s)
+
Kq (s)
+
++
Notch filter
Positive Sequence
Filter Capacitor Dynamics
ILd+(s)
VSC
+(s)
f(s)
2Cf
Vsq+(s)
uvq+(s) +
+
Kvq (s)
+
+
ILqp(s)
Positive Sequence AC System Dynamics

(From the VSC terminals to the PCC)
Positive Sequence Current Controller

Notch filter
Vtq+(s) +
-
2Lf
2Cf
f(s)
!
Iq
+(s)
2Cf
+
-
Vsq+(s)
ILq+(s)
Kd+(s), Kq+(s) are P-I Compensators
Kvd+(s), Kvq+(s) are either P or P-I Compensators
(a). Improved Positive Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control.
Closed Loop Negative Sequence Current Control
Negative Sequence PCC Voltage Controller
Notch filter
Fn(s)
ILdn(s)
Vsdref(s)
Notch filter
Fn(s)
Vsdn(s)
+-
Kvd
Vsd(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
ILd(s)
(s)
uvd(s) +
+
2Cf
Noise filter
Fn(s)
Gff(s)
Vsdn(s)
Idref(s)
Notch filter
Kd
+-
Id(s)
Fn(s)
Idn(s)
f(s)
Fn(s)
Vsqn(s)
Notch filter
Vsqref(s)
ILqn(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
Vsd(s)
ud(s) + Vtd(s)
+
(s)
2Lf
md
ILq
Notch filter
Iqref(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
(s)
Fn(s)
Iqn(s)
Vtd(s) +-
Id
uq(s) - Vtq(s)
+
+
Fn(s)
Gff(s)
Noise filter
2Lf
Vsd(s)
mq
(s)
Vtq(s) +
+
-
2Cf
f(s)
2Lf
!
Iq
(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
Vsq(s)
Notch filter
(s)
f(s)
2Lf
Kq(s)
Vsqn(s)
Notch filter
Iq(s)
-
Negative Sequence
ILd(s)
VSC
(s)
f(s)
2Cf
Vsq(s)
uvq(s) (s)
K
++
+
vq
Fn(s)
Negative Sequence AC System Dynamics

Negative Sequence Current Controller

Notch filter
2Cf
+
+
Vsq(s)
ILq(s)
Kd(s), Kq(s) are P-I Compensators
Kvd(s), Kvq(s) are either P or P-I Compensators
(b). Improved Negative Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control.
Closed Loop Zero Sequence Current Control
Zero Sequence PCC Voltage Controller
Notch filter
ILdz(s)
Vsodref(s)
Notch filter
Fn(s)
Vsdz(s)
Fn(s)
ILod(s)
Fixed
Hard Limiter
uvod(s) +
++
Kvod(s)
Vsod(s)
2Cf
Noise filter
Fn(s)
Gff(s)
Vsdz(s)
Iodref(s)
Notch filter
Fn(s)
Idz(s)
f(s)
Fn(s)
Vsqz(s)
Notch filter
Vsoqref(s)
2Cf
Vsoq(s)
u (s)
Kvoq(s) voq ++
+
ILoq(s)
Fn(s)
Iqz(s)
Fn(s)
+-
Vsod(s)
Kod(s)
Iod(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
uod(s) + Vtod(s)
+
2Lf
Notch filter
Ioqref(s)
Fixed
Hard Limiter
Notch filter
Kvod(s), Kvoq(s) are either P or P-I Compensators
Vsqz(s)
Vtod(s) -
Iod(s)
+
+
Vsoq(s)
Fn(s)
Gff(s)
Noise filter
Vsod(s)
+
+
2Lf
f(s)
2Lf
Ioq(s)
uoq(s) + Vtoq(s)
Koq(s)
+
+
Notch filter
Zero Sequence
ILod(s)
VSC
mod(s)
f(s)
ILqz(s)
Zero Sequence AC System Dynamics

Zero Sequence Current Controller

Notch filter
moq(s)
Dynamically
varying
Limiter
Vtoq(s) +
-
2Cf
f(s)
2Lf
!
Ioq(s)
+
-
2Cf
Vsoq(s)
ILoq(s)
Kod(s), Koq(s) are P-I Compensators
(c). Proposed Zero Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control.
Fig. 2: Positive, Negative and Zero Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control.
objective, the controllers regulate the reference commands of

the Positive, Negative and Zero Sequence VSC current control
loops so that the current control loops regulate the currents to
the reference commands. The feed-forward terms are compensated on the basis of the open loop PCC voltage control
model represented in equations (7)(12). Since the open loop
system already has a pole at the origin, in order to ensure zero
steady state error, it is sufficient for the compensators to be just
proportional compensators. The proportional gain is chosen in
such a manner that it is high enough to produce a fast response,
and low enough so that the stability of the closed loop system
doesnt get endangered. P-I compensators can also be used
only on the condition that it should never be a pure integrator,
otherwise there will be two poles at the origin which will
make the system unstable. The references of the Negative and
Zero Sequence PCC Voltage control schemes are set at 0 in
order to fulfil the objective of maintaining the voltage at the

PCC, balanced at all times. While the references of the Positive
Sequence PCC Voltage control schemes will be decided by the
Active Power, Frequency and Reactive powerVoltage droop
control schemes which are shown in Section III-D.
The objective of the positive, negative and the zero sequence
VSC current control schemes (Shown in Fig. 2(a), Fig. 2(b)
and Fig. 2(c) respectively) is to regulate the positive, negative
and zero sequence components (all in dq-frame) of the VSC
currents to the reference commands. In order to fulfil this
objective, the controllers regulate the positive, negative and
zero sequence components of the modulation index (all in dqframe) so that the currents track the reference commands. The
feed-forward terms have been compensated on the basis of the
open loop VSC current control model represented in equations
(1)(6). All the compensators in the VSC current control loops
5
are P-I compensators in order to ensure zero steady state error.

The zero of the P-I controller is chosen in such a manner that
it cancels out the pole of the open loop system which is fairly
close to the origin. The gain K of the P-I controller should
be chosen in such a manner that it is high enough to produce
a fast response, and low enough in order to restrict the peak
overshoot to a safe value (if the root locus is plotted, all the
closed loop poles will lie on the left half of the s-plane for
all values of the P-I controller gain K). The compensators
in all the current control loops are equal to:
+
I b
Ic+
I a+
Positive Sequence
Components
Ic+
I b
Where,
Rf + 2RON
Lf
Resultant Line Currents
I b+
Ic
Positive Sequence
Components
Negative Sequence
Components
Ic+
I b
Ic
C. Choice of Limits for the reference commands of the current

control loops:
Dynamically varying limits for the positive sequence and
negative sequence current references have been chosen in
order to minimize the fault current during an unsymmetrical
fault, while the limits of the zero sequence current references
have been chosen to be fixed for the purpose of simplicity.
Equations (15)(20) indicate the choice of the limits and are
presented as follows:
+
+
min
Id
+
min
= Iq
Idmax
min
Id

IN
IO
1 KN
1 KO
Irated
IP
IP

IN
IO
= KN
1
1 KO
Irated
IP
IP

I
I
O
rated
= Iqmax = 1 KO
IP
2

IO
Irated
= Iq
= KO
1
min
IP
2

Irated
Iodmax = Ioqmax =
3

Irated
Iodmin = Ioqmin =
3
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
Where,
Irated Rated RMS current of the VSC.
IO
Peak value of the zero sequence component of the
VSC Current.
IN
Peak value of the negative sequence component of
the VSC Current.
IP
Peak value of the positive sequence component of
the VSC Current.
KN
Negative Sequence Scaling factor (chosen as 0.5).
Ib
I a+
Ia
Ib
Ic
Positive Sequence
Components
I a
Negative Sequence
Components
(c). Three Phase Three Wire System (Phase difference between Ia+ and Ia is /6 rad).
Ic+
I b I c
I a+
Ia
Ic = Ib
(b). Three Phase Three Wire System (Phase difference between Ia+ and Ia is 0 rad).
(14)
The frequency of the microgrid will vary between 59.8 Hz

and 60.2 Hz as shown in Section III-D. The damping ratio
(usually chosen between 0.5 and 0.8) of the notch filter Fn (s)
is chosen in such a manner that the double line frequency
component is less than 1% of the magnitude of the output
signal of Fn (s) (based on this condition, the frequency limits
of the microgrid have been decided) and also the damping ratio
should never be greater than 1, otherwise the control system
will become sluggish resulting in a poor response.
Idmax = Iqmax =
I a

(13)
Negative Sequence
Components
I a+
s+z
s
Ia
Ib = Ic = 0
(a). Three Phase Four Wire System (Magnitude of Ia+, Ia and Io is 1 pu).
z=
Io
Zero Sequence
Component
Ic
I b+
Kd (s) = Kq (s) = Kd (s) = Kq (s)

= Kod (s) = Koq (s) = K
I a
I b+
Positive Sequence
Components
Ic
Ib = 0
I a
Ia
Negative Sequence
Components
(d). Three Phase Three Wire System (Phase difference between Ia+ and Ia is /3 rad).
Fig. 3: Phasor Diagrams showing the worst possible cases of unbalance.
KO
Zero Sequence Scaling factor (chosen as 0.33333).
If the system is operating under balanced conditions and
the VSC is supplying balanced currents, then the limits of
the positive sequence current references can be conveniently
chosen as 1 pu, but if the system is operating under unbalanced
conditions then VSC can be possibly subjected to over currents
in one of the phases. The most extreme case of unbalance
that is practically possible; when the positive sequence, the
negative sequence and the zero sequence components (will
be absent in a delta connected system) are all exactly equal
in magnitude. For instance, if the positive sequence, negative
sequence and zero sequence components are all equal to 1 pu,
then the current in one of the phases will be 3.0 pu which
will definitely cause considerable damage to the switches.
Therefore when the VSC is supplying unbalanced currents,
it is important to vary the limits of the positive and the
negative sequence current references as suggested in equations
(15)(18). The choice of the scaling factors KN and KO
will be discussed very briefly as follows.
Fig. 3 shows the phasor diagrams considering the worst
practically possible cases of unbalance that can occur in a
power system. Based on the phasor diagrams presented in
6
Closed Loop Frequency Control

fo
Active Power Controller
PLref(s)
KPL(s)
fref(s)
Vsqref+(s)
Kf(s)
Hard Limiter
Gvq+(s)
Compensator of the PLL
Vsq+(s)
f(s)
K(s)
Hard Limiter
KPL (s) and Kf (s) are P-I Compensators
Droop Controller
(a). Active Power Control and Frequency Control Schemes
Vsdbase
MPPT Controller
Closed loop Positive Sequence
d-axis PCC Voltage Control
1.04
f s + 1
f(s)
+
fo
f s + 1
KQdroop
Hard Limiter
KPdroop
PL1(s)
QL1(s)
Closed loop Positive Sequence

q-axis PCC Voltage Control
Frequency Controller
Vsdref+(s)
Gvd+(s)
KMPPT(s)
D(s)
Vsd+(s)
Hard Limiter
Perturb
0.5
KMPPT(s) is a P-I Compensator
Hard Limiter
Droop Controller
(c). MPPT Control Scheme
(b). Reactive Power Voltage Droop Control Scheme
Fig. 4: (a). Active Power and Frequency Control Schemes; (b). Reactive PowerVoltage Droop Control Scheme; (c) Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Control [22], [23],
[24]
TABLE II: Compensator Parameters
TABLE I: Circuit Parameters of each DG unit
PV Array
Buck-Boost
Converters
Rself
Battery
Energy
Storage
System
(BESS)
Voltage
Source
Converter
(VSC)
Coupling
Transformer
Capacity
2300 kW (ns =48; np =240)
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc )
36 V (for each module)
Short Circuit Current (Isc )
8.44 A (for each module)
Voltage at MPP (VM P P )
26.74 V (for each module)
Current at MPP (IM P P )
7.65 A (for each module)
Lf dc1 , Lf dc2
10 mH, 10 mH
CDC1 , CDC2
20 mF, 20 mF
Rated Voltage
725 V in each pole
Discharge1 ,
Rself
Discharge2
CCapacity1 , CCapacity2
RSeries1 , RSeries2
RT ransient
S1 ,
,
2970000 F, 2970000 F
Compensator of the PLL (K(s))

Positive Sequence
Kd+ (s), Kq+ (s)
VSC Current
Controller
Zero Sequence
(Kod (s), Koq (s))
Positive Sequence
+
+
Kvd
(s), Kvq
(s)
PCC Voltage
Controller
S2
0.00354 , 0.00354
CT ransient
S1 ,
CT ransient
S2
3316.9 F, 3316.9 F
RT ransient
L1 ,
RT ransient
L2
0.01056 , 0.01056
CT ransient
L1 ,
CT ransient
L2
21096.4 F, 21096.4 F
Rated Current (Irated )
2000 A (rms)
DC Capacitors (C1 , C2 )
200 mF, 200 mF
Rloss1 , Rloss2
IGBT ON Resistance
0.5 m
Filter Inductor
Rf = 0 , Lf = 300 H
Filter Capacitor (Cf )
400 F
Voltage Ratio
480/ 24900 V
kVA Rating
1650 kVA
Base Frequency
60 Hz
Winding Type
YGr/ YGr
Leakage Reactance
0.1 pu
Fig. 3(a), if the magnitudes of the positive, negative and

zero sequence components are all equal to 1 pu, then the
current in phase a will be 3 pu while the currents in the
other two phases will be 0. Therefore in order to limit the
current in phase a to 1 pu, the positive sequence, the negative
sequence and the zero sequence components all together have
to be reduced by 66.67 %. In order to achieve this, the
Negative Sequence
Kvd
(s), Kvq
(s)
Zero Sequence
(Kvod (s), Kvoq (s))
0.0158 , 0.0158
RT ransient
Negative Sequence

Kd (s), Kq (s)
Frequency Controller (Kf (s))

Real Power Controller KPL (s)
Real PowerFrequency
Droop Coefficient (KPdroop )
Reactive PowerVoltage
Droop Coefficient (KQdroop )
Noise filter time constant in the Real and
Reactive power droop controllers (f )
2
s 2 + n
2
+ 2n s + n
Noise filter in the current
control loops (Gf f (s))
Fn (s) =
s2
5.0
5.0
5.0

s+1
0.25
s

s+1
s
0.083333 Hz/MW
13.6 V/MVAR
1 ms

s+2
0.05
s

dPP V
is in kA
dV P V
MPPT Controller (KM P P T (s))
Notch Filter
20.0

s + 3.333333
s

s + 3.333333
0.6
s

s + 3.333333
0.6
s

0.6

n = 2 120 rad/sec; = 0.8
1
0.001s + 1
scaling factors KN and KO have to be set at 0.5 and

0.33333 respectively. In the cases presented in Fig. 3(b)3(d)
(Zero sequence components will be absent since it is a Three
wire system), the magnitude of the positive and the negative
Sequence components are equal and assumed to be 1 pu, while
the phase difference between Ia+ and Ia has been varied
from 0 to /3 rad. From these cases it can be observed
7
that the maximum resultant Line current is 2 pu in the case

presented in Fig. 3(b); 1.932 pu in the case presented in
Fig. 3(c) and 1.732 pu in the case presented in Fig. 3(d)
(Currents Ia and Ic ). The value of KN has been chosen
by considering the worst possible case that is in Fig. 3(b)
so that the maximum resultant Line current can be limited
to 1 pu in the worst possible case (and to less than 1 pu in
the remaining cases). Therefore the positive and the negative
sequence components have to be reduced by 50 %. In order
to achieve this, the value of KN has to be set at 0.5 (so that
if the phase difference between Ia+ and Ia is varied from
0 to 2 rad then the maximum resultant Line current will
vary between 0.866 pu to 1 pu which is definitely a safe value
of fault current that can be allowed).
D. Choosing the reference commands for the Positive Sequence PCC Voltage Control Scheme:
1) Active Power and Frequency Control Scheme: The objective of the active power control scheme (shown in Fig. 4(a))
is to regulate the active power supplied or drawn by the
VSC to the reference command. The compensator KPL (s)
(which essentially is a P-I compensator) processes the error
between the reference command and the power supplied or
drawn by the VSC. The output of the compensator KPL (s)
along with the droop control scheme sets the reference for the
frequency control loop (discussed in detail in [5], [7]). In the
Grid connected mode of operation, the compensator KPL (s)
ensures zero steady state error, but in the islanded mode
of operation, this compensator gets saturated and the droop
control scheme sets the reference for the frequency control
loop. The limits for the compensator KPL (s) are set between
-0.1 and 0.2 and the droop coefficient KPdroop is chosen in
such a manner that KPdroop PL1(rated) = 0.1. Although the
details of this control scheme have been presented in [5], the
choice of limits for the reference of the frequency control loop
have not been presented, which is exactly what the authors aim
to present in this section. Equations (21) and (22) indicate the
variation of the frequency limits (fo is the base frequency
which is 60 Hz in this paper):
fvmin = fo 0.1 KPdroop PL1
(21)
fvmax = fo + 0.2 KPdroop PL1
(22)
Thus in the grid connected mode of operation when the

VSC supplies rated real power, the frequency can vary between
59.8 and 60.1 Hz. If the frequency of the main grid violates
these limits then the microgrid will have to be subjected to
an intentional islanding operation. In the islanded mode of
operation, if the power supplied by the VSC is more than
the reference command then the error fed to the compensator
KPL (s) is negative, which implies that the compensator will
get saturated at -0.1. In this condition, the frequency of the
microgrid will vary in between 59.8 and 59.9 Hz depending
on the power supplied by the VSC. However if the power
supplied by the VSC is less than the reference command then
the error fed to the compensator KPL (s) is positive, which
implies that the compensator will get saturated at 0.2. In this
condition, the frequency of the microgrid will vary in between
60.1 and 60.2 Hz depending on the power supplied by the

VSC. In this paper, the Buck-Boost converters are controlled
in such a manner that the PV system operates at the Maximum
Power Point (MPP). The reference for the real power supplied
by the VSC is set at approximately half the amount of power
generated by the PV system at MPP. The rest of the power
flows into the BESS thereby charging the BESS (If the BESS
is fully charged, the MPPT controller can be disabled, and
therefore the Buck-Boost converters will operate at a duty ratio
of 0.5, and the PV system will no longer operate at MPP).
2) Reactive PowerVoltage Droop Control Scheme: The
objective of the reactive powervoltage droop control scheme
[5] is to set the reference (shown in Fig. 4(b)) for the
+
positive sequence d-axis voltage control scheme Vsd
(s)
ref
(shown in Section III-B). The droop coefficient KQdroop is
chosen in such a manner that the reference voltage always
lies in between 1.0 pu and 1.08 pu. Equation (23) shows
the reactive powervoltage droop control equation (which has
been implemented in Fig. 4(b)):
+
Vsd
ref
(t) = 1.04Vsdbase KQdroop QL1 (t)
(23)
From equation (23) it is clear that when the VSC supplies

+
reactive power, Vsd
(s) will reduce and when the VSC
ref
+
draws reactive power, Vsd
(s) will increase.
ref
IV. S IMULATION R ESULTS
The modified IEEE 34 node distribution network (which is
acting as a microgrid) shown in Fig. 1(b) with two identical
VSC based DG units feeding power to the network has been
implemented in PSCAD/ EMTDC. The modification that has
been done is that the voltage regulators originally present in
the network [8] have been removed for the purpose of studying
the capability of the VSCs in improving the voltage profile of
the feeder in the absence of voltage regulators. The data of the
IEEE 34 node distribution network is available in [8] and the
parameters of the DG units and the compensators have been
mentioned in Tables I and II respectively. The rated capacity
of the PV array in each DG unit is 2300 kW at STC, and the
reference command for the Active Power Control loop of both
the VSCs is 1150 kW.
A. Transition from the Grid Connected mode of Operation to
the Islanded mode of Operation:
The microgrid was operating in the Grid Connected mode
of operation. The PV arrays of both the DG units were
operating at the Maximum Power Point (MPP) at STC and
were generating 2300 kW each. Both the VSCs were supplying
1150 kW to the microgrid (VSC-1 was supplying around
200 kVAR and VSC-2 was supplying around 320 kVAR to
the microgrid). The microgrid was supplying around 450 kW
and 150 kVAR to the main grid as shown in Fig. 5b (due to the
fact that the power supplied by the VSCs to the microgrid is
more than the power consumed by the load in the microgrid).
Suddenly at t=0.75s, the circuit breaker BRK has been
opened.
Based on the results presented in Fig. 5a, 5b and 5c, it
is clear that the microgrid is no longer synchronized with
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.75
1.25
Time (s)
1.5
1.75
400
200
100
0.8
Time (s)
0.74
0.75
Time (s)
(V)
+
sd
0.76
0.77
0.78
Frequency of VSC 1
800cpu
60.2
410
400
390
60.1
60
59.9
Frequency of the PLL

Reference Frequency
f
59.8
min
max
0.73
0.74
0.75
0.76 0.77
Time (s)
0.78
0.79
380
0.7
0.8
0.75
0.8
0.85
Time (s)
0.9
apu
bpu
cpu
Power (kW)
0.25
0
0.25
0.5
Power absorbed by BESS 1

Power Generated by PV System 1
Power supplied by VSC 1 to the Microgrid
1500
1000
500
0.75
0.8
0.82
0
0.7
0.75
0.8
(g)
0.8
0.85
Time (s)
0.9
0.95
(f)
Power Flow on the DC side of VSC 1
2000
0.76
0.78
Time (s)
grid
0.75
(e)
I
0.74
59.7
0.7
0.95
2500
0.5
(pu)
0.73
60.3
+
sd
+
sdref
420
(pu)
800abc
800bpu
0.75
abc
20
0.72
0.9
(d)
1
0.72
(c)
430
800apu
gc
(b)
Per Unit AC Line Currents of VSC 1
0.85
Positive Sequence daxis component of the

PCC Voltage of VSC 1
15
0.75
(a)
1.25
1
0.75
0.5
0.25
0
0.25
0.5
0.75
1
1.25
0.72
gb
10
Per Unit Line to Neutral Voltages at node 800
(A)
300
100
0.7
ga
10
Frequency (Hz)
0
0.5
15
0.85
Time (s)
(h)
0.9
0.95
Active/ Reactive Power (kW/kVAR)
Mode
0.8
20
gabc
Line Currents from the Main grid to the Microgrid
Active and Reactive Power flow from Microgrid to Main Grid

600
Active Power (abc frame)
500
Reactive Power (abc frame)
Mode of operation of the Microgrid

(0 Grid Connected; 1 Islanded)
1.2
Active and Reactive Power Supplied by

VSC 1 to the Microgrid
1400

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
200
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
Time (s)
0.9
0.95
(i)
Fig. 5: Transition from the Grid Connected mode of Operation to the Islanded mode of Operation.
the main grid. Based on the results presented in Fig. 5, it is

clear that the controllers were able to control the voltage and
frequency of the VSCs (and ultimately the microgrid) within
the nominal operating range, therefore the microgrid has come
to a steady operating point without any large excursions in
the voltage and frequency (Fig. 5d and 5e shows that there
is a temporary overvoltage for a very short duration and
the voltages immediately come to steady state). Since the
Active Power supplied by both the VSCs now is less than
the reference command of 1150 kW (which can be observed
in Fig. 5i for VSC-1; not shown for VSC-2 due to brevity),
the P-I controllers of the Active Power control loops of both
the VSCs have now become saturated and the droop control
schemes have taken charge in deciding the frequency of both
the VSCs (which ultimately will decide the frequency of the
microgrid). Fig. 5f shows the variation in the frequency of
VSC-1 (The variation in the frequency of VSC-2 is similar
to that of the frequency of VSC-1 which hasnt been shown
due to brevity). From Fig. 5h it is clear that the BESS has
taken care of the difference between the power generated by
the PV array and the power supplied by the VSC (the results
have been shown for VSC-1). The same observation is true
of VSC-2 as well (which hasnt been shown due to brevity).
Fig. 5g shows the Line currents supplied by VSC-1.
B. Islanded mode of operationResponse to Sudden Change

in Load:
The microgrid was operating in the Islanded mode of
operation. Suddenly at t=1.0s, the load has been changed as
follows and restored to the original loading condition at t=1.5s:
The load between Phase b and n and Phase c and n
have been temporarily switched off for the Y-connected
spot load at node 844.
All the Y-connected distributed loads between Phase b
and n and Phase c and n have been temporarily
switched off.
The Y-connected distributed load between nodes 820
and 822, connected between Phase a and n has been
temporarily doubled.
All the delta-connected distributed loads between Phases
b and c have been temporarily switched off.
1) Zero Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage
Control are disabled [13]: From Fig. 6d it can be clearly
understood that the Line to Neutral voltages at the PCC are
severely unbalanced, while the Line to Line Voltages (shown
in Fig. 6e) are balanced which clearly indicates that the Negative sequence components are absent and the Zero Sequence
Components are present. Therefore, the Y-connected loads
will experience severe voltage unbalance; clearly indicating
the need for zero sequence voltage compensation. Since the
Line to Neutral voltages at the PCC is unbalanced, the Line
to Neutral voltages at node 862 (one of the far ends of the
9
Per Unit Line to Line Voltages at node 862
1.5
1.5
862cpu
0.5
0
0.5
1.02
1.04
1.06
Time (s)
1.08
1.1
1.02
1.04
Time (s)
(a)
1.5
1.5
0.5
sbpu
0
0.5
0.5
1
1.5
0.98
1.08
1.1
scapu
1.5
0.98
1.04
1.06
Time (s)
sbcpu
0.5
sabbcca
scpu
sabpu
(pu)
(pu)
sabc
1
0.98
1.1
1.02
1.12
1.02
1.04
1.06
Time (s)
(d)
1.04
Time (s)
1.06
1.08
1.1
(c)
sapu
1.08
Per Unit Line to Line Voltages at the PCC of VSC 1
1.02
1.06
(b)
Per Unit Line to Neutral Voltages at the PCC of VSC 1
0.25
0.5
1.5
0.98
1.12
cpu
0.75
1.08
1.1
1.12
1.5
0.98
bpu
0.25
apu
0.5
0.5
0.75
1
(pu)
0.5
862capu
abc

1
862bcpu
862bpu
(pu)
862abbcca
862abc
(pu)
862abpu
862apu

1200
1000
800
600
Active Power (P )
400
Reactive Power (Q )
L1
L1
200
0
200
0.9
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9

Time (s)
(e)
(f)
Fig. 6: Islanded mode of operationResponse to Sudden Change in Load (Zero Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control is Disabled [13]).
V
(pu)
0.5
0
862bcpu
1.5
sapu
862capu
0.5
0.5
0
0.5
sbpu
scpu
0
0.5
0.5
862abpu
862abbcca
(pu)
862abc
862cpu
Per Unit Line to Line Voltages at node 862

1.5
862bpu
(pu)
862apu
sabc
1.5
1
1
1.02
1.04
Time (s)
1.06
1.08
1.5
0.98
1.1
1.02
(a)
1.04
Time (s)
1.06
1.08
(pu)
abc
cpu
0.25
0
0.25
0.5
Frequency (Hz)
bpu
0.5
60.2
apu
60.1
60
Reference Frequency
f
59.9
59.8
0.75
min
1.02
1.04
1.06
Time (s)
1.08
1.1
1.12
59.7
0.9
max
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9

Time (s)
(d)
(e)
1.02
1.04
Time (s)
1.06
1.08
1.1
(c)
60.3
I
0.75
(b)
Frequency of VSC 1
1
0.98
1.5
0.98
1.1
1.5
0.98

1200
1000
800
600
Active Power (P )
400
Reactive Power (Q )
L1
L1
200
0
200
0.9
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9

Time (s)
(f)
Fig. 7: Islanded mode of operationResponse to Sudden Change in Load (Zero Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control is Enabled).
feeder) that are shown in Fig. 6a will be much more severely

unbalanced due to the fact that the voltage drops across the
feeders are unbalanced due to unbalanced currents flowing in
the feeders. However, the severity of unbalance in the Line to
Line voltage is much lesser (shown in Fig. 6b) due to the fact
that the Zero Sequence components will be absent in the Line
to Line Voltages. Fig. 6f show the variations in the Active and
Reactive Power supplied by VSC-1 to the microgrid. Fig. 6c
shows the variation in the currents supplied by VSC-1. Results
have been presented only for the reduction in load (and have
not been shown for the restoration of the load) due to brevity.
2) Zero Sequence VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage
Control are enabled: Fig. 7c clearly indicates that the phase
voltages at the PCC is balanced, which clearly indicates the
absence of both negative and zero sequence components. The
Voltage at node 862 (one of the far ends of the feeder)
that are shown in Fig. 7a and 7b will be slightly unbalanced

due to the fact that the voltage drops across the feeders are
unbalanced due to unbalanced currents flowing in the feeders.
It can be observed that the severity of the unbalance in the
phase voltages has been reduced significantly. Fig. 7d shows
the variation in the currents supplied by VSC-1. Fig. 7e and
7f respectively show the variations in the Frequency of VSC-1
and the Active and Reactive Power supplied by VSC-1 to the
microgrid.
C. Islanded mode of operationResponse to Single Line to
Ground Fault:
The microgrid was operating in the Islanded mode of operation. Suddenly at t=1.0s, a temporary single line to ground
fault has occurred at node 830 for a duration of 0.12s (shown
in Fig. 8a). The result in Fig. 8c clearly indicates that the
10

V
830bpu
830cpu
0.5
0.5
(pu)
sbpu
1.5
1.5
0.98
1.02 1.04 1.06 1.08 1.1 1.12 1.14 1.16 1.18 1.2
Time (s)
500
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
1.4
1.5
1.2
0.8
0.8
O P
1000
1.1
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.2
0
0.9
1.6
1.1
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
(d)
1.4
1.5
0
0.9
1.6
500
150
400
100
1.5
1.6
sod
150
(V)
100
sod
(V)
0
50
sodref
50
0
50
100
100
1.1
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
1.4
1.5
150
0.9
1.6
150
1
1.1
(g)
40
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
1.4
1.5
80
1.5
soqref
160
0.9
1.6
1600
1200
600
800
1.5
1600
0.9
1.6
1.1
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
1.4
1.5
1200
0.9
1.6
900
600
400
1200
800
1800
1200
1.4
1.5
1.6
qmax
600
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
qmin
(A)
400
qref
1600
0.9
oq
I (A)
q
+
qmax
600
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
1.5
1.6
Zero Sequence qaxis component of the

Line Current of VSC 1
800
+
qmin
1.4
odmax
(o)
Negative Sequence qaxis component of the

1200
odmin
900
1200
+
qref
odref
1600
I
300
1800
+
q
1.6
300
2400
od
(n)
1.5
600
(m)
Positive Sequence qaxis component of the
1.4
600
I
dmax
(A)
I
dmin
400
1200
1.4
I
dref
1800
900
I
d
400
1200
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
1200
800
+
I
dmax
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
(l)
od
+
I
dmin
I (A)
d
+
I
dref
2400
0.9
1.1
Zero Sequence daxis component of the

+
I
d
1200
(k)
1800
1.1
1.4
soq
2400
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
120
(j)
1.6
40
75
1.1
1.5
40
50
1.4
80
soq
0
25
100
0.9
1.6
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
120
(V)
25

2400
0.9
1.1
160
sq
V
sqref
sq
600
Zero Sequence qaxis component of the

50
20
1200
200
0.9
1.6
(i)
75
(V)
20
1.1
1.5
100
+
sq
+
V
sqref
1.4
Negative Sequence qaxis component of the

V
40
60
0.9
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
(h)
60
(V)
1.4
200
sd
V
sdref
50
Positive Sequence qaxis component of the

+
sq
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
(f)
200
sd
0
0.9
1.1
Zero Sequence daxis component of the

(V)
+
sd
+
sd
+
V
sdref
300
100
I (A)
d
(e)
Negative Sequence daxis component of the
V
0.6
0.4

I (A)
q
1.02 1.04 1.06 1.08 1.1 1.12 1.14 1.16 1.18 1.2
Time (s)
(c)
I /I
I /I
N P
1500
Ratio of Zero Sequence Component to the Positive

Sequence Component of the Line Current of VSC 1
1.2
500
0.9
(b)
3000
0.5
Ratio of Negative Sequence Component to the Positive

Sequence Component of the Line Current of VSC 1
2000
cpu
1
1
(a)
2500
bpu
0.5
0.5
1.5
0.98
1.02 1.04 1.06 1.08 1.1 1.12 1.14 1.16 1.18 1.2
Time (s)
apu
scpu
0.5
sapu
sabc
1.5
0.98
Power (kW)

1.5
830abc
(pu)
830apu
(pu)
abc
1.5
oq
1.4
1.5
oqref
oqmin
oqmax
300
0
300
600
900
(p)
1.1
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
(q)
1.4
1.5
1.6
1200
0.9
1.1
1.2
1.3
Time (s)
1.6
(r)
Fig. 8: Islanded mode of operationResponse to Single Line to Ground Fault.
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
Time (s)
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
500
20
400
200
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
Time (s)
0.9
1.5
0.78
0.8
0.82

+
sd
+
sdref
V
V
410
(V)
0.5
+
sd
400
0.5
1.5
0.32
1.5
0.68
0.34
Time (s)
0.35
0.36
390
0.69
0.7
Time (s)
sbpu
60.3
scpu
Frequency (Hz)
0.76
0.78
60
59.9
bpu
cpu
0.25
0
0.25
0.5
0.75
1
0.68
0.7
0.72
0.74
Time (s)
0.76
0.78
apu
1.5
0.95
1460
1440
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
Time (s)
1.2
1.3
1.4
1400
0.65
1.5
0.7
0.75
(h)
0.5
1.4
1420
(g)
1.3
1480
fgrid
59.8
0.72
0.74
Time (s)
1.2
fmax
60.1
59.7
0.6
1
1.1
Time (s)
1500

Reference Frequency
fmin
60.2
0.9
(f)
0.5
0.7
0.8
DC Bus Voltage of VSC 1
DC
1.5
0.68
0.7
Frequency of VSC 1
0.5
380
0.6
0.72
(e)
sapu
0.75
0.71
(V)
0.33
(pu)
0.74
0.76
Time (s)
420
V (pu)
a
V (pu)
a
1.5
sabc
430
800apu
(d)
0.72
gapu
0.5
(pu)
0.7
0.5
abc
30
0.68
(c)
gapu
0.95
(b)

and the main grid
800apu
gc
20
(a)
1.5
gb
10
100

and the main grid
10
(A)

300
100
0.65
ga
0.8
0.85
Time (s)
0.9
(i)

2500
1400
2000
1200
1000
800

600
400
200
Power (kW)
Mode
0.8
30
gabc
Line Currents from the Main grid to the Microgrid
Active and Reactive Power flow from Microgrid to Main Grid

600
Mode of operation of the Microgrid

(0 Grid Connected; 1 Islanded)
1.2
11

1500
1000
500
0
200
0.65
0.7
0.75
(j)
0.8
0.85
Time (s)
(k)
0.9
0.95
0
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
Time (s)
0.9
0.95
(l)
Fig. 9: Transition from the Islanded mode of Operation to the Grid Connected mode of Operation.
fault current has been limited to less than 1.5 pu which clearly
indicates the advantage of using dynamically varying limits for
the references of the positive and negative sequence current
control loops (The PCC Voltage Controllers were saturated
during the fault, which can be inferred from Fig. 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j,
8k and 8l for VSC-1). The current controllers were capable to
controlling the currents to the reference commands as shown in
Fig. 8m, 8n, 8o, 8p, 8q and 8r for VSC-1. During the transient
period, there will be a peak overshoot due to the fact that the
closed loop current control is not a first order system (It is
a Third order system). After the fault was cleared, the results
(shown in Fig. 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j, 8k and 8l for VSC-1) clearly show
that the PCC Voltage controllers were capable of regulating
the voltages to the reference commands (Fig. 8b shows the
PCC voltage at VSC-1 in abc-frame). From Fig. 8d it is clear
that the PV array still operates at MPP even during the fault
condition. Since the VSC effectively doesnt supply power to
the microgrid during the fault, all the power generated by the
PV array flows into the BESS (the results have been shown
for VSC-1). Fig. 8e and 8f respectively show the ratio of the
Negative and Zero Sequence components of the Line current
of VSC-1 with respect to the Positive Sequence component.
D. Transition from the Islanded mode of Operation to the Grid
Connected mode of Operation (Re-synchronization with the
grid):
The microgrid was operating in the Islanded mode of operation (After a Black Start was performed). Between t=0.32s to
t=0.36s it is clear that there is a significant phase difference between the voltage at node 800 and the grid voltage (as shown
in Fig. 9d) and therefore the microgrid cannot be synchronized
at this instant. At t=0.7s the phase difference between the
microgrid and the main grid is negligible (as shown in Fig. 9e)
and therefore the microgrid has been synchronized to the main
grid at this instant (By the closing of circuit breaker BRK)
which can be clearly observed in Fig. 9a, 9b, 9c and 9e. The
12
Active Power Controllers of both the VSCs now come out

of saturation and regulate the frequency of VSCs in such a
manner that the Active Power supplied by the VSCs to the
microgrid now follows the reference command of 1150 kW. At
steady state, the frequency of the VSCs will now match with
the frequency of the Grid which clearly indicates a perfect
synchronization (The frequency of VSC-1 has been shown
in Fig. 9h). The microgrid is now supplying around 450 kW
and 150 kVAR to the main grid at steady state as shown in
Fig. 9b (due to the fact that the power supplied by the VSCs
to the microgrid is more than the power consumed by the
load in the microgrid). Fig. 9f, 9g and 9j respectively show
the positive sequence component of the voltage at the PCC
of VSC-1; the line to neutral voltages at the PCC of VSC-1
in abc-frame and the Line currents supplied by VSC-1. From
Fig. 9l it is clear that the BESS has taken care of the difference
between the power generated by the PV array and the power
supplied by the VSC (the results have been shown for VSC1). Fig. 9i and 9k respectively show the DC Bus Voltage of
VSC-1 and the Active and Reactive Power supplied by VSC-1
to the microgrid.
V. C ONCLUSION
In this paper the positive, negative and zero sequence VSC
current control and PCC voltage control schemes have been
tested on two VSC based DG units feeding power to a local
distribution network that is acting as a microgrid. The objective
of these control schemes is to maintain the voltage at the PCC
balanced irrespective of the unbalance in the VSC currents.
The Active Power control, Frequency control and Reactive
PowerVoltage droop control schemes decide the references
for the positive sequence PCC voltage control scheme. These
control schemes eliminate the need for knowing the prevailing
mode of operation of the microgrid (as far as controlling the
VSC is concerned) so that the same control structures can
be used for the grid connected and the islanded modes of
operation. Dynamically varying limits have been proposed for
the positive and negative sequence references for the current
control scheme which has played a significant role in reducing
the fault current to less than 1.5 pu. The positive, negative and
zero sequence VSC current control and PCC voltage control
schemes were able to control the PCC voltage and VSC current
to the respective reference commands satisfactorily in the grid
connected as well as the islanded modes of operation, thereby
enabling the VSC based DG unit to deal with unbalanced
conditions.
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for Grid Connected Voltage Source Converter in Microgrid Applications, IEEE
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[29] L. Meng, X. Zhao, F. Tang, M. Savaghebi, T. Dragicevic, J. C. Vasquez, J. M.
Guerrero, Distributed Voltage Unbalance Compensation in Islanded Microgrids by
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13
Noel Richard Merritt was born on November 22,

1987 in Vijayawada, India. He received the B.Tech
degree in Electrical and Electronics engineering
from Koneru Lakshmaiah College of Engineering
(now Koneru Lakshmaiah University), Guntur, India
in 2009 and the M.Tech degree in Power System
Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology
Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India, in 2011. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology Kharagpur. His research interests include integration of power electronic converters in power systems, Microgrids,
HVDC transmission & FACTS controllers.
Chandan Chakraborty (S92M97SM01F15) received B.E and M.E degrees in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University in 1987 and 1989
respectively and Ph.D degrees from Indian Institute
of Technology Kharagpur and Mie University, Japan
in 1997 and 2000 respectively. Presently, he is a
professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. His
research interest includes power converters, motor
drives, electric vehicles and renewable energy. Dr.
Chakraborty was awarded the JSPS Fellowship to
work at the University of Tokyo during 2000-2002. He has received the
Bimal Bose award in power electronics in 2006 from the IETE (India). He
has regularly contributed to IES conferences such as IECON, ISIE and ICIT
as technical program chair/track chair. He is an ADCOM member of the
IEEE Industrial Electronics Society. He is one of the Associate Editors of
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics and IEEE Industrial Electronics
Magazine and an Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. He
is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of IE Technology News (ITeN), a web-only
publication for IEEE Industrial Electronics Society. He is a Fellow of IEEE
and Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE).
Prabodh Bajpai (M07SM16) received B.E degree
from University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) in
Electrical Engineering and M.Tech. degree from IIT
Delhi in Energy studies in 1997 and 2001 respectively. He has received Ph.D. degree in Electrical
Engineering in 2008 from IIT Kanpur, India. He is
currently working as Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur,
India. He was awarded BASE Fellowship from DST,
MHRD India to work at University of Washington,
USA during 2015. His research interest includes
power system restructuring, renewable energy systems, and power system
optimization.

New Voltage Control Strategies For VSC Based DG Units in An Unbalanced Microgrid

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been

New Voltage Control Strategies for VSC based DG

AbstractThis paper presents the positive sequence, negative

Line to neutral voltages at the Point of

Manuscript received June 28, 2016; revised December 1, 2016; accepted

Zero sequence d-axis and q-axis components of the VSC current.

OST of the renewable energy sources (like PV, FC, etc)

Buck Boost Converters

Equivalent Electrical model of the Battery Energy

Voltage Source Converter

PCC Point of Common Coupling

Modified IEEE 34 Node

K (s) is either P or a P-I Compensator

Base frequency (fo) = 60 Hz

(b). Modified IEEE 34 Node Distribution Network.

(c). Improved SRF PLL.

and the Islanded modes of operation [4], [5]. The control

the grid connected and the islanded modes of operation. In

in [13]). The improvements those have been made in the

of the modified IEEE 34 node distribution network shown in

+ (Rf + 2RON )Id (t) = Vtd (t) Vsd (t)

+ 2Lf [fo + f (t)]Iq (t)

+ (Rf + 2RON )Iq (t) = Vtq (t) Vsq (t)

2Lf [fo + f (t)]Id (t)

+ (Rf + 2RON )Id (t) = Vtd (t) Vsd (t)

+ (Rf + 2RON )Iq (t) = Vtq (t) Vsq (t)

+ 2Lf [fo + f (t)]Id (t)

The open loop PCC voltage control model can be developed

= Id (t) ILd (t) + 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsq (t)

= Iq (t) ILq (t) + 2Cf [fo + f (t)]Vsd (t)

B. Closed loop VSC Current Control and PCC Voltage Control:

Closed Loop Positive Sequence Current Control

Positive Sequence AC System Dynamics

Positive Sequence Current Controller

Kd+(s), Kq+(s) are P-I Compensators

Kvd+(s), Kvq+(s) are either P or P-I Compensators

Negative Sequence AC System Dynamics

Negative Sequence Current Controller

Kd(s), Kq(s) are P-I Compensators

Kvd(s), Kvq(s) are either P or P-I Compensators

Kvod(s), Kvoq(s) are either P or P-I Compensators

Zero Sequence AC System Dynamics

Zero Sequence Current Controller

Kod(s), Koq(s) are P-I Compensators

objective, the controllers regulate the reference commands of

order to fulfil the objective of maintaining the voltage at the

are P-I compensators in order to ensure zero steady state error.

Resultant Line Currents

C. Choice of Limits for the reference commands of the current

Resultant Line Currents

The frequency of the microgrid will vary between 59.8 Hz

Resultant Line Currents

Kd (s) = Kq (s) = Kd (s) = Kq (s)

Fig. 3: Phasor Diagrams showing the worst possible cases of unbalance.

Closed Loop Frequency Control

Active Power Controller

Compensator of the PLL

KPL (s) and Kf (s) are P-I Compensators

(a). Active Power Control and Frequency Control Schemes

Closed loop Positive Sequence

(c). MPPT Control Scheme

(b). Reactive Power Voltage Droop Control Scheme

TABLE II: Compensator Parameters