Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

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Electric Power Systems Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/epsr

Effective grid connected power injection scheme using multilevel inverter T

based hybrid wind solar energy conversion system
Bhupender Sharma , Ratna Dahiya, Jayaram Nakka
⁎

Department of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra, Haryana, Pin-136119, India

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: This paper presents an improved cascaded H-Bridge multilevel inverter (CHBMLI) based grid connected hybrid
Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter wind-solar energy conversion system (HWSECS) with the mandate of power quality. The wind energy conversion
dc-link capacitor balancing system (WECS) and solar energy conversion system (SECS) are connected individually to an isolated dc-links of
hybrid wind-solar energy conversion system the CHBMLI through their respective DC/DC converters based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) system.
mathematical modelling
The CHB topology when endorsed as PWM rectifier sustain with the capacitor unbalancing issues among the dc-
power quality
pulse width modulation
links feeding distinct dc loads and the same arise when piloted in regenerative operation with distinct sources
popping uneven power into each cell. The proposed HWSECS system suffers the similar unbalance voltages as
two distinct sources (WECS and SECS) are augmented among isolated dc-links. The author made efforts in
exploiting the advantages of topology concurrently inscribed the solution to the hurdles during the system
operation and control. The features of the proposed system and the control scheme impart maximum power
extraction from RES and injection into grid along with other advantages. The simulation studies has been carried
out in MATLAB/Simulink and validated experimentally on prototype by using dSPACE-1104. In addition, the
mathematical modelling of CHB-MLI based HWSECS has been derived for analysis.

1. Introduction electronic converters are prime interest. In this type of HRES, rectifiers,
boost converters and inverters used for the efficient power conversion.
The hybrid renewable energy sources (HRES) have been progres- Separate DC/DC converters for each power generating source or single
sively researched and invented to satisfy the increasing energy demand, DC/DC converter for whole system can be used [8–11]. In addition, the
and gained broad attention in recent years as of their prosperity of need of inventive and futuristic DC/AC converter configuration and
being ample and non-pollutant nature. In diverse hybrid systems, two their efficient control mechanism is required. Recently multilevel in-
or more RES are joined simultaneously for enhancing the power supply verters (MLI) topologies have been become popular as they are more
reliability [1–4]. Among these different RES, wind and solar energy propitious; having higher voltage handling capability, nearly sinusoidal
sources have been mostly and efficiently used together. Wind power is output voltage waveform with better harmonic spectra, good electro-
one such most prominent RES as it is easily available and collected by magnetic compatibility and lower voltage stress for the switches when
wind turbines with high power capacity. Solar power is another aus- compared to a basic 2-level inverter [12]. Various conventional sym-
picious green energy source since it is most abundant and easily har- metrical, asymmetrical and reduce device count MLI topologies along
nessed by using PV modules. Actually, wind and solar power comple- with control mechanism and modulation techniques were proposed for
ment each other since during the night time and cloudy days when solar grid integration of RES in [9,12,13].
power is less available but strong winds are mostly to occur whereas Some power quality problems like voltage variations, harmonic
weak winds usually occur in sunny days [5–7]. Hence, irrespective of generation, flickers and unbalanced dc-link capacitor voltages are arises
varying environmental conditions a hybrid wind-solar energy conver- during working of HWSECS. Unwanted harmonics produced due to the
sion system (HWSECS) can deliver continuous output power supply presence of power converters. Due to the varying wind speed and solar
than any other individual power generation systems. irradiation, flicker or voltage variation occurs in output power supply.
With the remarkable fast growth of power electronics devices and As a result, peak value of the DC currents in the DC capacitor links
control techniques, the use of grid-connected HWSECS has been in- becomes different, which result in unbalanced dc-link capacitor vol-
creased significantly [8]. For HWSECS, design and control of power tages. This in turn leads to unequal voltage stress across the switching

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: bhupender_6160084@nitkkr.ac.in (B. Sharma), ratna_dahiya@yahoo.co.in (R. Dahiya), jayaram.iitr@gmail.com (J. Nakka).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsr.2019.01.044
Received 20 August 2018; Received in revised form 25 December 2018; Accepted 31 January 2019
0378-7796/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

devices, making the use of DC/AC converters unproductive. So the dc- important note to consider that either the CHB topology used as an
link capacitor voltages and current need to be controlled independently inverter or a rectifier the mandate of possessing equal dc-link voltages is
[14–16]. essential to justify identical permissible voltage stress among all
Various power conditioning schemes to compensate these power switching devices in multilevel topologies at high voltage applications.
quality problems, maximum power extraction from RES and many But, CHB topology when endorsed as PWM rectifier sustain with the
control strategies used for controlling the dc-link voltages in grid in- capacitor unbalancing issues among the dc-links feeding distinct dc
tegrated MLI topologies is reported in literature [4,5–7,9,13–19]. A loads. At the same time, when the PWM rectifier piloted in regenerative
proportional integral derivative supplementary damping control is de- operation the same capacitor imbalance problems arise with distinct
signed for stability improvement of hybrid PV-wind system model in sources popping uneven power into each cell. The present proposed
[1]. In context of extracting maximum power from integrated RES and HWSECS system suffers the similar unbalance voltages as two distinct
to maintain power quality under different condition, low cost con- sources (WECS and SCES) are augmented among isolated dc links.
trollers with a control scheme in d-q reference frame are presented in The various power conditioning schemes, control strategies and
[4] however proposed system consists only single DC/DC converter inverter topologies proposed above have advantages as such novel
with common dc bus link and controlled only by using PV array MPPT. cascaded topologies, reduction of switches and increase in level, power
A control scheme for power flow management having a multi input flow management, and maintaining unity power factor etc. for large-
transformer coupled bidirectional DC/DC converter for a HRES only for scale HRES applications. But power quality problem arises due to dc-
household applications is given in [5] but power quality issues during link voltage imbalance in CHBMLI based HWSECS not addressed in an
grid integration were not addressed. A P&O MPPT algorithm is used for efficient way. In this study, efforts has made to bring a robust solution
maximum power extraction and the grid side control of MLI to extract to the grid connected HWSECS system. The proposed control frame-
the maximum current from HRES with common dc-link proposed in work decouple the control of every H-bridge cell (HBC) giving parti-
[6,7]. DC bus intermediate voltage balancing by using space vector cular estimation of reference voltages. Moreover, the sinusoidal phase
modulation (SVM) for grid integrated three level voltage source in- shifted multilevel pulse width modulation (SPWM) scheme has been
verter was proposed in [16], but it is complicated as compared to considered with the objective to preserve the appropriate information
conventional PI controller based schemes and also required filter de- of reference voltages to acquire a multilevel waveform on ac side to
signing in proper manner. In [17] a control method and PWM scheme justify the equal voltage stress among the switches in the MLI operation.
for modular multilevel converters (MMC) to mitigate the converter Also, the control scheme presented have the capability to investigate
circulating current for a grid integrated RES is presented, but for the control aspect of bidirectional power flow and potentially to ac-
practical implementation this is found more complicated in structure. In complish totally separate control of each HBC and an independent and
[15,20] single phase MLI topology having self-voltage balancing cap- flexible power extraction capability of the dc links. Because of which dc
ability with reduce device count and unity power factor (UPF) was link capacitor balancing is practiced regardless of RES power mis-
proposed, they maintained UPF requirements but only designed and matching whatever the environmental condition would be.
explained to work on low grid voltage. Among all standard MLI Furthermore, the low ripple sinusoidal current are provided to the
topologies, “cascaded H-bridge inverter (CHBI)” is predominantly used power grid with better power quality. The author has made efforts in
for grid-connected HWSECS because of its modular design, high re- exploiting the advantages of topology concurrently inscribing the so-
solution and the use of low voltage rated semi-conductor switches for lution to the hurdles during the system operation and control.
achieving medium or high power levels [12,13,15,17,20,21]. The major The paper is organized as follows: In Section-II, the overall design
advantage of adopted CHBMLI topology possessing the isolated dc-links and deliberate preliminary basic ideas of grid connected HWSECS is
plays the prominent role to legitimate in connecting two distinct type of represented and then general properties of WECS and SECS with re-
sources with unequivocal power at any point of time. In addition, this levant mathematical expressions are explained. The adopted converter
MLI support to adjoin two medium voltage sources from HWSECS to topology, its control principle, switching strategy and mathematical
feed the total power generated into the high voltage grid without any modeling is described in detail in the Sections-III and IV. In Section-V,
transformers but at the same time, the system achieves the better syn- the relevant experimental and simulation results are presented.
chronization along with calibrated and controlled power flow. It is an

Fig. 1. Grid connected HWSECS in conjunction with MLI.

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B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

Fig. 2. Practical solar cell equivalent circuit.

2. System description
Fig. 3. PV characteristics of selected PV array under different irradiance.
The block diagram for the proposed grid connected HWSECS in
conjunction with MLI is shown in Fig. 1. The WECS and SECS are
connected individually to isolated dc-links of the proposed 5-level Vm = 54.2 V, Isc = 25.44 A, Im = 23.25 A, reference temperature (To) =
CHBMLI through their respective boost converters based MPPT.The dc 25 °C, and reference solar radiation (λo) = 1000 W/m2. However, the
voltages ‘Vwind’ and ‘VPV’ are acquired from PMSG rectified output adopted PV string consists 08 number of PV modules in each string to
voltage and PV array respectively. By applying the P&O MPPT algo- form 8 × 1 PV array. Fig.3. shows the P-V plot of the selected PV array
rithm to the power semiconductor switches, the boost converter can under different irradiance.
extract maximum power from the wind turbine and PV array in-
dividually. The dc-link voltages (VDC1 and VDC2) will be kept balanced 2.2. Dynamics of different components of PMSG based WECS
by the use of SPWM along with proposed control scheme. In following
subsections the general properties with relevant mathematical model- WECS composed of a wind turbine (WT), a PMSG that is used for
ling expressions of PV system, wind system and design of boost con- converting mechanical energy extracted by WT in to the electrical en-
verter is given. ergy. Shaft of turbine directly connected to the PMSG with the help of
the gearbox that provides rated torque to the PMSG, and generated
2.1. PV array modelling three-phase voltage and current. Then the output power obtained from
the PMSG is delivered to AC–DC–AC converters so that the output ac
Equivalent circuit of a practical solar cell is shown in Fig.2 that voltage (Vac) will be maintained at required amplitude and frequency.
consists of an ideal current source and a diode in parallel along with The dc-link voltage can be affected by the varying wind speed.
series (RS) and parallel resistance (RP). The IPV-VPV characteristics of the Therefore, by keeping dc-link voltage (VDC2) constant at its reference
practical solar modules are obtained by using the basic equations given value the amplitude of ‘Vac’ can be controlled at the required grid
as Eqn (1–3). [18,19,22,23]. voltage [14].

Q . (VPV + IPV (Ns Np) Rs )

IPV = Np Ig Np Isat exp 1 Ish 2.2.1. Wind turbine characteristics
Ns akT (1) WT extracted the wind kinetic energy and gives the mechanical
power output (Pm) that is calculated by using Betz theory and expressed
3
T QEg (1 TO 1 T) as in Eq. (4) [25,26].
Isat = Irsat exp
TO ak (2) 1
Pm = CP ( w, ) Avw3
2 (4)
VPV + IPV . Rs
Ig = [Isc + Ki. (T T0)]. &Ish = 3
o RP (3) Where ‘ρ’ is the air density in kg/m , ‘vw’ is the wind velocity in m/s, ‘A’
is the area swept by the turbine blades and ‘CP (λ, β)’ is the turbine
Where ‘VPV’ and ‘IPV’ denotes PV terminal voltage and module output power coefficient, which is a function ‘λw’ tip speed ratio and ‘β’ blade
current, ‘Ig’ is the current generated under a given solar irradiance (λ), pitch angle and given as in Eq.(5).
‘Np’ and ‘Ns’ is the number of parallel and series connected solar cells,
‘Irsat’, ‘Isat’, ‘Ish’ and ‘Isc’ represents the reverse saturation, saturation, 1 c5 1
CP ( w, ) = c1 (c2 c3 c4 c6)exp( c7 )
shunt resistance and short circuit current of solar module respectively, i i (5)
‘a’ is the diode ideality factor, ‘k’ is the Boltzmann constant, ‘Q’ is the Where, ‘c1 – c7’ are the turbine constant coefficients. Hence optimised
electronic charge, ‘Eg’ represents band gap energy, ‘Ki’ is the short cir- ‘CP’ for used WT found by accurate arrangement and precision of these
cuit thermal coefficient, ‘T’ is the operating temperature, ‘To’ is the factors.
reference temperature and ‘λo’ is the reference solar irradiance [24]. In Fig. 4 shows the output power and speed characteristics of the WT
this study used PV array is having ‘p’ no. of solar panels joined in series for various wind speed [25]. For a specific wind speed, WT parameters
resulted into a PV string, and ‘q’ number of solar panels joined in par- and ‘ρ’ are constant; so ‘Pm’ only depends on the ‘CP’ value, which
allel, if the environmental conditions prevailing remains consistent, the successively depends on WT rotor speed. Thus, WT can operate at MPP
power output will be the same for each PV module. However, with by at optimal rotor speed ‘ϖopt’ (in rad/s), which is expressed in Eq. (6).
different temperature and radiation from the sun, the power outputs
from each PV module will be different. For the paper performance opt . vw
=
parameters of selected PV module in PV string is as follows: Voc = 66 V,
opt
R (6)

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B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

2.3. Boost converter

Boost converter performs an important role in HWSECS. The boost

converter transfers the solar and wind power, while boosting it. The
boost converter regulates maximum power through perturb and ob-
server (P&O) MPPT controller independently for both WECS and SECS,
and delivered it to the proposed CHBMLI. The switching signal of the
converter is such that its operation determines the global MPP, corre-
sponding to the provided MPPT algorithm [28–30]. A boost converter
having a diode, an inductor, an IGBT as a switch and a capacitor. When
boost converter tied-up with the PV arrays and wind system in-
dividually the input, output voltage relationship in terms of duty cycle
is given as [31–33].
1
Vout = Vin
1 Ds (10)

Where, Vin and Vout = DC input and output voltage (V), Vout > Vin
Duty ratio, Ds = Ton / Ts; (0 < Ds < 1)
Where ‘Ton and Ts’ = on-time and switching period of the semi-
conductor switch (SBOOST).
The formula for inductor (LBOOST) is given by using the equation
Fig. 4. Mechanical power and speed characteristics of selected wind turbine. Vin × Ds × Ts
LBOOST =
iL (11)
Here ‘λopt’ is the optimal tip speed ratio in radians and ‘R’ is the turbine
Here ΔiL represents inductor ripple (3-5%).[19]
radius in meters. Furthermore, the Fig. 4 shows that for each wind
speed a particular turbine speed exists upon which obtained power is
3. Mathematical modelling and description of proposed grid
maximum.
connected CHBMLI topology

2.2.2. Permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)

The proposed CHBMLI having two HBC modules with independent
PMSG has gained broad attention in wind energy applications due
solar and wind systems under inconsistent solar radiation and wind
to its high efficiency operation, self-excitation capability and leading to
speed respectively are connected to the two isolated dc-links is shown
a high power factor. The mathematical d–q voltage equations of a three-
in Fig. 5. As two HBC modules per phase are used in proposed CHBMLI,
phase PMSG connected to a WSC is given as [6,27]:
five-levels are obtained in the converter output ac side phase voltage.
didg Increase in number of HBC modules, results in more levels in converter
vdg = Ldg Lqg iqg + idg rg
dt (7) output voltages, thus reducing the device stress in the HBC. This also
expunge the requirement of filters on ac side, and number of RES can be
diqg increased [34,35]. The maximum power recommended by the re-
vqg = Lqg + (Ldg idg + PM ) + iqg rg
dt (8) spective MPPTs of WECS and SECS is variable in reference to the
where ‘vdg’ and ‘vqg’ are d–q terminal voltages of PMSG, ‘Ldg’ and ‘Lqg’ are available environmental conditions. Therefore, the extractable currents
the d-q –axis of PMSG filter inductance, ‘ ’ and ‘ᴪpm’ is the angular from the sources are distinct and further the capacitor voltages in the
frequency and the flux, ‘rg’ is PMSG equivalent resistance and ‘iqg’ and isolated dc-links of the CHBMLI are not equal.
‘idg’ represents the stator winding current. Table 1 shows the parameters Dynamical properties of the system are expressed by using a proposed
of selected WTG used for simulation. The essential dc-link voltage is mathematical analysis. Due to symmetrical nature of three phases of
approximately set by using the following equation: bidirectional grid connected CHBMLI, in this study mathematical ana-
lysis is derived only for single-phase. For converter operation analysis the
VDC
3 3 Vm switching function for each leg of a HBC has been derived by using basic
(9) curve fitting. The power switches are controlled in such a way that two
Where ‘Vm’ is the peak value of the generated PMSG output voltage at switches in a HBC leg should not be ON at the same time [27,36,37].
vw = 12 m/s [6,14]. If isolated RES connected with respective dc-link of HBC in pro-
posed system is assumed identical then the two capacitors of the re-
Table 1
spective cell equitably, share half of the VDC. Desired converter output
Parameters of selected WTG used for simulation. phase voltage can be obtained by selecting proper switching function.
Table 2 shows the switching states and corresponding voltage levels for
Parameters Values
identical isolated RES or dc sources. Let ‘Sy’ be the switching function
Pitch angle(β) 0 that defines the per unit value of the converter output phase voltage.
No. of poles of PMSG 10 The used switching function ‘Sy’ can be represented mathematically as
Stator phase resistance(rg) 0.425Ω in Eq. 12. In this equation, two generalized leg switching functions ‘Spj’
Armature inductance 0.000835H
and ‘Snj’ for each leg of HBC has been defined as shown in Fig. 6, where
Magnetic flux linkage (ᴪpm) 0.433Wb
Voltage constant 392.68 ‘p’ is for the first leg, ‘n’ for second leg. Further, for upper HBC the value
Torque constant 3.24 of j = 1 and for lower HBC j = 2. The variation of generalized leg
Base Wind speed (vw) 12 m/s switching function with respect to switches activated in each HBC is
Nominal Mechanical Output Power 6500W defined as: if the upper switch in the first leg is ON then ‘Spj’ is taken as
Maximum Power at base wind speed 0.8 per unit of nominal mechanical
+1 and if the lower switch in first leg is ON the ‘Spj’ is taken as -1.
power
Rated Generator speed 153 rad/s Similarly, for the second leg if the upper switch is ON then ‘Snj’ is taken
as -1 and for the lower switch is ON the ‘Snj’ is taken as +1.

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B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

Fig. 5. Grid-connected CHBMLI.

Table 2 1 if Sp1, Sn1, Sp2 and Sn2 = 1

Switching states and corresponding voltage level. case 1 Sp1, Sn1 = 1 and (Sp2 &Sn2) are of opposite sign
1 if
2
Voltage Level VH1 VH2 Sp1 Sn1 Sp2 Sn2 case 2 Sp2, Sn2 = 1 and (Sp1 &Sn1) are of opposite sign

2VDC VDC VDC +1 +1 +1 +1 case 1 Sp2, Sn2 = 1 and (Sp1 &Sn1) are of opposite sign
VDC VDC 0 +1 +1 −1 +1 Sy = 0 if case 2 Sp1, Sn1 = 1 and (Sp2 &Sn2) are of opposite sign
VDC 0 +1 +1 +1 −1
case 3 (Sp1 &Sn1) and (Sp2 &Sn2) are of opposite sign
0 VDC −1 +1 +1 +1
0 VDC +1 −1 +1 +1 case 1 Sp1, Sn1 = 1 and (Sp2 &Sn2 ) are of opposite sign
1 if
0 -VDC VDC −1 −1 +1 +1 2
case 2 Sp2, Sn2 = 1 and (Sp1 &Sn1) are of opposite sign
VDC -VDC +1 +1 −1 −1
0 0 +1 −1 −1 +1 1 if Sp1, Sn1, Sp2 and Sn2 = 1
0 0 +1 −1 +1 −1
0 0 −1 +1 −1 +1
(12)
0 0 −1 +1 +1 −1 As different kind of RES are used in actual hybrid system model,
-VDC -VDC 0 −1 −1 −1 +1
therefore the dc-link voltage for both HBC in a phase may be different.
-VDC 0 −1 −1 +1 −1
0 -VDC +1 −1 −1 −1 The converter output phase voltage is the algebraic sum of voltages
0 -VDC −1 +1 −1 −1 obtained at the AC side of each HBC [38]. Indirectly the output phase
-2VDC -VDC -VDC −1 −1 −1 −1 voltage is a function of dc-link capacitor voltages and derived as in
Eq.13:

Fig. 6. Equivalent circuit of 5-level grid connected CHBMLI.

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B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

VDC1 + VDC 2 if Sy = 1 Table 3

VDC1 if Sy = 1 Switching states and corresponding connection current.
2
Vac = 0 if Sy = 0 Switching states Ih11 Ih21 Ih12 Ih22

VDC 2 if Sy = 1 2 1 1 0 1 0
VDC1 VDC 2 if Sy = 1 0 0 0 0 0
(13)
−1 0 1 0 1
As above stated we are using symmetrical three phases in grid
connected CHBMLI, so we focus our study only on the mathematical
analysis for a single-phase. By using Newton’s forward interpolation neglecting infinitesimal terms is given by using Eq. 24.
formula, a generalized fourth order polynomial expression for single- Ih22 = ( 0.5Sn32 + 0.5Sn22). ( Is ) (24)
phase converter ac side output voltage (Vac) in terms of switching
function ‘Sy’ and dc-link capacitor voltages (VDC1 &VDC2) can be derived By putting values of Ih21 and Ih22 from Eq. 23 and 24 in Eq. 19, the input
as follows in Eq. (14): dc current for lower HBC is found and given as follows:

2(Sy + 1)(2Sy + 1) Ih2 = (0.5Sp32 + 0.5Sp22 + 0.5Sn32 0.5Sn22)(IS ) (25)

Vac = VDC1 VDC2 + 2(Sy + 1) VDC1 + 2!
(VDC2 VDC1)
2(Sy + 2)(2Sy + 2)2Sy The value of capacitor current (IC1) for the upper HBC has been
+ (2VDC1 2VDC 2)
3! derived by using Eq. (16) and Eq. (22)
2(Sy + 2)(2Sy + 1)(2Sy 1)2Sy
+ ( 4VDC1 + 4VDC2 ) (0.5Sp31 + 0.5Sp21 + 0.5Sn31 0.5Sn21)(IS )
4! IC1 = IDC1 (26)
(14)
For the upper HBC, by using Eq. 26 dc-link capacitor voltage is
Eq. (14) further solved and is given by using Eq. (15) derived as:

Vac = VDC1 Sy +{ 8 2
3
Sy
8 4
3 } {
Sy + VDC 2 Sy
8 2
3
8
Sy + Sy4
3 } (15)
VDC1 =
1
CDC1
IC1 dt

In Fig. 6, by applying the KCL at nodes 1 and 2 of both HBC the 1

VDC1 = [IDC1 (0.5Sp31 + 0.5Sp21 + 0.5Sn31 0.5Sn21)(IS )] dt
values for capacitor currents (IC1 and IC2) are found and are given by CDC1 (27)
using following equations:
Similarly, the value of capacitor current (IC2) for the lower HBC has
IC1 = IDC1 Ih1 (16) been derived by using Eq. (17) and Eq. (25)
IC 2 = IDC 2 Ih2 (17) IC 2 = IDC 2 (0.5Sp32 + 0.5Sp22 + 0.5Sn32 0.5Sn22)(IS ) (28)
Further Ih1 and Ih2 are found by applying KCL at nodes 3 and 4 in For the lower HBC, by using Eq. 28 dc-link capacitor voltage is
Fig. 6, and their values are given by using the following relations: derived as:
Ih1 = Ih11 + Ih21 (18) 1
VDC 2 = IC 2 dt
CDC 2
Ih2 = Ih12 + Ih22 (19)
1
Where Ih11, Ih21, Ih12 and Ih22 represents the connection currents. These VDC 2 = [IDC 2 (0.5Sp32 + 0.5Sp22 + 0.5Sn32 0.5Sn22 )(IS )] dt
currents can be found in terms of grid current (Is), dc-link current (IDC) CDC 2 (29)
and switching function (Spj, Snj). The cubic equation of connection By using the above Eq. (27) and Eq. (29), the total DC bus voltage can
currents has been schemed so that suitable fitting of all three states (-1, be found as:
0, +1) of switch in an HBC leg is obtained. The switching states and
1
their corresponding connection currents for both the HBC are shown in VDC = [IDC1 (0.5Sp31 + 0.5Sp21 + 0.5Sn31 0.5Sn21)(IS )] dt
CDC1
Table 3.
1
Fig. 7 shows the plots of connection currents versus switching + [IDC 2 (0.5Sp32 + 0.5Sp22 + 0.5Sn32 0.5Sn22 )(IS )] dt
CDC 2
function (Spj, Snj). For the first leg of upper HBC, the connection current
(Ih11) in terms of switching functions is derived by using Fig. 7(a) and (30)
by neglecting infinitesimal terms given by using Eq. 20: Eqs (15),(27),(29) & (30) describes the complete mathematical
model of grid connected five-level CHBMLI. By using this mathematical
Ih11 = (0.5Sp31 + 0.5Sp21). Is (20)
modelling, a five-level CHBMLI is designed in MATLAB/Simulink.
For the second leg of upper HBC, the connection current (Ih21) in
terms of switching functions is derived by using Fig. 7(b) and by ne- 4. Control scheme and switching strategy for CHBMLI based grid
glecting infinitesimal terms is given by using Eq. 21. connected HWSECS

Ih21 = ( 0.5Sn31 + 0.5Sn21). ( Is ) (21) The system has been designed to address the problem of capacitor
By putting values of Ih11 and Ih21 from Eq. 20 and 21 in Eq. 18, the input voltage unbalancing during the HWSECS operation and control.
dc current for upper HBC is found and given as follows: Unequal power will be generated from WECS and SECS in isolated DC
cells, which result in power quality problems like harmonic generation
Ih1 = (0.5Sp31 + 0.5Sp21 + 0.5Sn31 0.5Sn21)(IS ) (22) and introduce unbalanced current in the grid. For proper injection of
power and to resolve problems associated in the HRES, an improved
Similarly, for the first leg of lower HBC the connection current (Ih12)
control technique with SPWM scheme is proposed for CHBMLI. The
in terms of switching functions is derived by using Fig. 7(c) and by
block diagram of proposed control scheme is given in Fig. 8. The basic
neglecting infinitesimal terms is given by using Eq. 23.
purposes of the used control scheme are given as:
Ih12 = (0.5Sp32 + 0.5Sp22). Is (23)
i DC-link capacitors balancing even with two distinct RESs popping
For the second leg of lower HBC, the connection current (Ih22) in
uneven power into each cell of CHBMLI.
terms of switching functions is derived by using Fig.7 (d) and by

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B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

Fig. 7. Cubic curve fitting of connection currents.

ii To attain UPF and sinusoidal current injection into connected grid PPV + Pwind
with better THD [34,39]. Or, IDC (t ) = 2
Vgrid, rms (34)
iii Transformer less high voltage grid integration.
iv Maximum power extraction from the RES and injection into grid. After considering the power demanded to uphold capacitor voltages
to their reference values, the total current accessible to be fed to the
The control scheme is divided into two parts named as primary and inverter is given as follows:s
secondary parts. The primary part comprehends of individual MPPT
IDC (t ) = Ic* (t ) IDC (t ) (35)
algorithm for both RES, voltage proportional integral (PI) controller
and one proportional (P) controller for current. Initially, total DC vol-
PPV + Pwind
tage (VDC) is compared with reference DC voltage (VDC*) and the ob- (
IDC (t ) = kp1. VDC (t ) + ki1 VDC (t ) dt ) 2
Vgrid, rms (36)
tained difference (ΔVDC) is fed to the voltage controller. A reference
current ‘Ic*’ is obtained from this voltage controller. This current charge Then control scheme synchronizes the converter output current
the capacitors CDC1 and CDC2 to the reference value. with grid phase voltage and maintains UPF and a reference converter ac
side current (Is*) is obtained that is given as follows:
ki1
Ic* (s ) = kp1 VDC (s ) + VDC (s )
s (31)
PPV + Pwind
*
Is* (t ) = (k p1. VDC (t ) + ki1 VDC (t ) dt ) 2
Vgrid, rms
Vgrid (u)
By changing Eq. (31) from s-domain to time-domain the current ‘Ic (t)’is
given as follows (37)
This current (Is*) is compared to (Is) in the following stage and ob-
Ic* (t ) = kp1 VDC (t ) + ki1. VDC (t ) dt (32) tained resultant is fed to the current controller. This controller gen-
erates a reference ac voltage component (v*).
Where kp1 and ki1 represents the proportionality and integral constant
of PI controller. The accrual of the power (PPV and Pwind) fed from dc I (t ) = Is* (t ) Is (t ) (38)
side to ac side (grid) is enjoined by all the HBC’s MPPT(s). The total
WECS and SECS current is ‘IDC’ whose r.m.s value is given as: v * (t ) = kp2. I (t ) (39)

Where ‘kp2’ is the proportionality constant of the current controller. For

IDC (t ) = IDC1 (t ) + IDC 2 (t ) (33)
getting an improved transient response, normalization scheme is used,

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Fig. 8. Proposed control scheme.

Fig. 9. SPWM strategy and switching signals.

where obtained voltage component is divided by ‘VDC*’. This gives the controlled using a voltage controller (PI).This results in a reference
sum of modulation signals, mx = mx1 + mx2. At the acme of this part, current component (Ic2*) and given by using following relation
‘VDC1’ is kept up to reference capacitor voltage, by subtracting the sum
of generated reference voltages in secondary part (modulation signal Ic*2 (t ) = kp3 VDC 2 (t ) + ki3 VDC 2 (t ) dt (40)
‘mx2’) of the remaining lower HBC from the generated reference voltage
(modulation signal ‘mx’). Control of remaining (N-1) HBC i.e. lower Where, ‘kp3’ is the proportionality constant, ‘ki3’ is the integral constant
HBC is featured in the secondary part of control technique, with each of the second part voltage controller and ‘N’ is the total number of HBC
HBC controlled individually and corresponding dc-link capacitor vol- cascaded. Then, ‘Ic2*’is multiplied by grid voltage unit template (Vgrid(u))
tages of all HBCs, is compared with their reference values, and is and results in current (I*) and given as follows:

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Table 4
Parameters used for simulation and experimentation.
PARAMETERS Values in Simulation Values in Experimentation

DC capacitance (CDC1, CDC2) 3000 μF 3000 μF

Single phase grid voltage(rms) (VphGrid) 230 V 230 V
Grid line voltage (rms) (Vgrid) 415 V 415 V
Source inductance (L) 12 mH 12.5 mH
Source inductor internal resistance (Rs) 0Ω 0.4 Ω
Reference DC link voltage (VDC*) 400 V 400 V
Switching frequency (fcr) 2.5 kHz 2.5 kHz
Grid frequency (f) 50 Hz 50 Hz

Fig. 10. Simulation results for SECS and WECS at varying irradiation and wind speed respectively (a) PV array output current, (b) wind system output current, (c) PV
array output power, (d) wind system output power.

(
I * (t ) = kp3 VDC 2 (t ) + ki3 )
VDC 2 (t ) dt Vgrid (u) (41)
phase operation of the CHBMLI, the modulating signals are represented
as ‘mx1’, ‘– mx1’, ‘mx2’, and ‘-mx2’. The triangular carriers (cr1 and cr2)
Despite of any irregularity in the power flow, the (N-1) HBC vol- used to have equal amplitude but phase shifted by 90°, and are con-
tages settle to their reference value, thus maintain the capacitor bal- tained in the same band. The carrier signal ‘cr1’ generates the firing
ancing. This is followed by normalisation scheme, to generate the re- pulse switching sequence ‘S11’ and ‘S13’ with respect to modulating
ference voltage modulation signal ‘mx2’. signal ‘mx1 and -mx1’ respectively. Similarly, the carrier signal ‘cr2’
generates the firing pulse switching sequence ‘S21 and S23’ with respect
to modulating signal ‘mx2 and ‘-mx2’ respectively. By ‘Not’ operation of
4.1. Switching Strategy these switching sequences ‘S12’, ‘S14’, ‘S22’ and ‘S24’ are obtained.

SPWM technique for the generation of firing gate pulses for CHBMLI
is shown in Fig. 9. By using control scheme, modulating signals ‘mx1’ 5. Simulation and Experimental Results Discussion
and ‘mx2’ are derived and given to PWM signal generating block, which
produce the switching signals for the power switches. For the single- Experimental and simulation results are provided to investigate the

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Fig. 11. a) dc-link currents corresponding to SECS and WECS (b) dc-link capacitor voltages across CDC1 and CDC2, (c) single phase grid voltage (VphGrid) and injected
grid current (Is), (d) harmonic spectrum of grid current (Is), (e) grid current (Is) variation with change in wind speed and irradiation.

feasibility and performance of the proposed topology and its control tested under varying environmental conditions to investigate the per-
scheme. Due to symmetrical nature of three phases, we gives simulation formance of the proposed control scheme. Table 4 shows the values of
and experimental results for single phase only. parameters employed in the simulation. Initially for a time of ‘2.5 s’ the
values of the wind speed and solar irradiation are set as vw1 = 12 m/s,
5.1. Simulation results λ1 = 200 W/m2, and after ‘t = 2.5 s’ the values are changed to vw2 =
10 m/s, λ2 = 300 W/m2. Corresponding to these conditions the ob-
The proposed HWSECS model is simulated and its performance is tained currents (IPV and Iwind) and power (PPV and Pwind) of PV array and

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B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

Fig. 12. a) Output voltages of each HBC (VH1, VH2), (b) CHBMLI AC side five-level voltage (Vac).

Fig. 13. Experimental prototype.

WTG are shown in Fig.10 (a), (b), (c) and (d). After ‘t = 2.5 s’ with used dc-link capacitors CDC1 and CDC2 achieve balanced nature. At
increase in solar irradiation, the PV extracted power gets affected and is ‘t = 2.5 s’ when the wind speed and solar irradiation changes to vw2 =
increased to a value of 3100 W from its initial obtained value 2050 W. 10 m/s, λ2 = 300 W/m2, by using the proposed control technique the
Similarly when the wind speed decreases after t = 2.5 s the wind ex- dc-link capacitors again balanced within ‘0.3 s’ That validate the fea-
tracted power is reduced to a value of 3600 W from its initial value of sibility of proposed control scheme.
5200 W. As the WECS and SECS are connected to individual isolated dc- Variation of grid side phase voltage (VphGrid) and of the current in-
links of CHBMLI, these values are fed to corresponding individual dc- jected (Is) is shown in Fig. 11(c). It is clear from the figure that, this
link respectively. The obtained two currents/power are distinct in ‘VphGrid’ and ‘Is’ are in phase as per Fig. 5. In addition, ‘Is’ waveform is
nature, which leads to different dc-link capacitor currents as plotted in sinusoidal in nature, having power factor = 0.998 and less THD of
Fig. 11(a). And results in power quality problems like dc-link capacitor 2.52% as shown in Fig. 11(d). In addition, it is clear from the Fig. 11(e)
imbalance and introduce unbalanced grid current to the connected grid, that when the environmental conditions changes at ‘2.5 s’ the injected
which is not desirable for proper operation of HWSECS. Thus, the grid current accordingly slightly decreases. Fig. 12(a) shows the three
control technique is designed to maintain dc-link capacitor voltages level output voltage of each HBC. As these HBC are in cascaded con-
balancing even under inconsistent environmental conditions and inject nection, so at the output AC side of the CHBMLI five-level voltage is
current into the grid network with improved power quality. obtained and is shown in Fig. 12(b).
Fig. 11(b) shows the dc-link capacitor voltages VDC1 and VDC2 w.r.t
time. Initially it is clearly seen that in the proposed HWSECS, the dc-
link voltages start oscillating but within very less time (t = 0.8 s) the

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B. Sharma, et al. Electric Power Systems Research 171 (2019) 1–14

Fig. 14. Experimental prototype results showing the behavior of the proposed system. (a) PV array and wind system output currents, (b) PV array and wind system
output powers, (c) DC capacitor voltages across CDC1 and CDC2, (d) output voltages of each HBC (VH1, VH2),(e) CHBMLI AC side five-level voltage, (f) single phase grid
side voltage and injected grid current, (g) harmonic spectrum of grid current (Is).

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5.2. Experimental results the power obtained from HWSECS to ac power and feeds into the grid
system. This topology will help to improve the utilisation of connected
To experimentally validate the above simulation observations, a wind power sources and PV array, which are connected individually to
single phase five-level CHBMLI based HWSECS prototype is constructed each dc-link, with the independent MPPT algorithm. It is clear from the
and designed by using dSPACE-1104, in the power electronics labora- above discussed simulation and experimental studies that along with
tory as shown in Fig. 13. The parameters and values used in experiment the input and output performance parameters of the proposed control
are tabulated in Table 4. Experimentally the obtained currents (IPV and scheme and system model extracts the maximum power that can be
Iwind) and power (PPV and Pwind) of PV modules and WTG are shown in enabled from each RES. The mathematical modelling of single-phase
Fig. 14(a) and (b). The application of the proposed control scheme to grid connected CHBMLI has been derived to find out the relation of dc-
the CHBMLI with HWSECS system with unequal dc-link currents is link capacitor voltages (VDC1 and VDC2), CHBMLI output voltage (Vac),
successful in maintaining the DC capacitor values to a balanced voltage dc-link currents (IDC1 and IDC2) and grid current (Is) in terms of
of 400 V as shown in Fig. 14(c), which clearly supports the obtained switching functions. Simulations are carried on to justify that, in
simulation results. Fig. 14(d) shows the three level output voltage of varying dc-link currents in integrated wind and solar system the DC
each HBC. The ac side voltage (Vac) is shown in Fig. 14(e). The response capacitor balancing is achieved, and a grid current is injected into the
of single phase grid voltage (VphGrid) and grid current (Is) in reference to grid network which is sinusoidal in shape having minimum THD and
time are obtained experimentally and shown in Fig. 14(f), which clearly UPF. The experimental results clearly support the simulation results
indicates that the grid current injected is sinusoidal and operating at obtained, and thus the motive of this control technique is accomplished.
UPF. The harmonic spectrum of the grid current (Is) shown in Fig. 14(g) This developed grid connected HWSECS converter topology with the
indicates that the THD is 3.3%. applied control technique thus helping to acquire the DC capacitor
balancing and high power quality.
5.3. Result Discussion
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