Control Strategy for Distribution Generation Inverters to Maximize the Voltage Support in the Lowest Phase During Voltage Sags

Voltage sags are considered one of the worst perturbations in power systems. Distributed generation power facilities are allowed to disconnect from the grid during grid faults whenever the voltage is below a certain threshold. During these severe contingencies, a cascade disconnection could start, yielding to a blackout. To minimize the risk of a power outage, inverter-based distributed-generation systems can help to support the grid by appropriately selecting the control objective. Which control strategy performs better when supporting the grid voltage is a complex decision that depends on many variables. This paper presents a control scheme that implements a smart and simple strategy to support the fault: the maximum voltage support for the lowest phase voltage. Therefore, the faulted phase that is more affected by the sag can be better supported since this phase voltage increases as much as possible, reducing the risk of undervoltage disconnection. The proposed controller has the following features: 1) maximizes the voltage in the lowest phase, 2) injects the maximum rated current of the inverter, and 3) balances the active and reactive power references to deal with resistive and inductive grids. The control proposal is validated by means of experimental results in a laboratory prototype.