Only Plug: Unified Controllers in Smart Grids by Synchronous Converter

This book focuses on development of a new family of control and management strategies for the integration of micro-grids and voltage source converters in smart grids by introducing new concepts of Synchronous Converters and Synchronous-VSC to overcome stability and operational aspects of converter-dominated micro-grids such as interactions between electronically-interfaced generation and load units with electrical-machine-based units, low inertia, frequent transition between grid-connected and islanding modes and smooth grid auto-synchronization. The synchronous converters offer many advantages over their older counterparts like vector control and droop control as they are universal integrated controller-power manager-synchronization units realizing the requirements of both grid-connected and islanded modes without reconfiguration action, behave like a PLL and have grid auto-synchronization capability and mimic characteristics of real synchronous generators introducing virtual inertia. Moreover, bidirectional synchronous-VSC is applicable to dc, ac and hybrid dc/ac grids enabling simultaneous and hybrid support and control of frequency and voltage of ac side and dc-link voltage.