Evaluating Adaptive Droop Control for Steady-State Power Balancing in DC Microgrids Using Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop

Beatriz C. Moura; Pedro José dos Santos Neto; Danillo B. Rodrigues; Érico Chagas Guimarães; Luiz Carlos G. Freitas; João Pedro Carvalho Silveira; Gustavo Brito de Lima

doi:10.18618/REP.e202451

Authors

Beatriz C. Moura Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0534-7196
Pedro José dos Santos Neto Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6249-1923
Danillo B. Rodrigues Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2457-8299
Érico Chagas Guimarães Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8820-786X
Luiz Carlos G. Freitas Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1036-2801
João Pedro Carvalho Silveira Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6421-273X
Gustavo Brito de Lima Universidade Federal de Uberlândia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8891-4939

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.e202451

Keywords:

Adaptive droop control, bus voltage regulation, controller hardware-in-the-loop, DC micro- grids, power-sharing balance

Abstract

DC microgrids (DCMGs) have been gaining attention due to their advantages over AC microgrids. The most commonly used control technique for DCMGs is droop control. Despite its benefits, droop control has drawbacks, such as power mismatch and deviations in DC bus voltage, often caused by differences in line resistance among grid-forming power electronics converters. To address these issues, the article proposes an adaptive droop control technique to correct steady-state power imbalances between grid-forming units in the DCMG. Additionally, a hierarchical voltage level is introduced to regulate the DC bus voltage. The analyzed DCMG includes two energy storage units, electronic loads, and a renewable energy source, each with its respective power electronic converter. The proposed technique uses real-time output power measurements from the energy storage system to calculate line resistance differences, incorporating these into the adaptive droop calculation. Several operating conditions are tested using a controller hardware-in-the-loop. The results validate the proposed technique and design guidelines.

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Author Biographies

Beatriz C. Moura, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the State University of Campinas.

Pedro José dos Santos Neto, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

is a professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the State University of Campinas. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the State University of Campinas and received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of the Vale do São Francisco.

Danillo B. Rodrigues, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

received a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU). He is currently a professor at the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro and conducting postdoctoral research at UFU.

Érico Chagas Guimarães, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

received his B.Sc. (2013) and M.Sc. (2016) in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia. He is currently a Ph.D. student in Electrical Engineering at the same institution.

Luiz Carlos G. Freitas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, as well as his M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia in 2001, 2003, and 2006, respectively. In 2008, he joined UFU as a faculty member, in which he currently develops teaching and research activities in the areas of power electronics and power systems.

João Pedro Carvalho Silveira, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Faculty of Technology at the University of Brasília. He earned his Ph.D. in 2022 from the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the State University of Campinas. Presently, he has been collaborating as a professor at this same institution, as well as conducting postdoctoral research.

Gustavo Brito de Lima, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

received his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) in 2010, 2012, and 2015, respectively. In 2017, he joined UFU as a faculty member, where he currently develops teaching and research activities in the area of power electronics.

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