Islanded microgrids present significant control challenges because generators must automatically coordinate without centralized controllers, and traditional droop control can lead to unequal power sharing and stability issues. This work is innovative because it combines optimal apparent power utilization with practical distributed implementation on a middleware platform, enabling microgrids to maximize efficiency while maintaining voltage and frequency stability.
This paper presents a distributed apparent power control algorithm implemented on the RIAPS platform for maintaining voltage and frequency stability in islanded microgrids. The algorithm shifts the droop curve parameters based on proportional power sharing principles to ensure all distributed generators contribute equally to stabilizing the system. The work includes comprehensive implementation details on RIAPS nodes with secondary control and resynchronization mechanisms.
The distributed control algorithm successfully maintained system stability during islanded operation while ensuring proportional power sharing among distributed generators. Simulation and hardware testing demonstrated that active and reactive power generation was optimally redistributed to utilize available capacity. The resynchronization mechanism successfully reconnected the microgrid to the main grid without instability, and secondary control effectively compensated for frequency and voltage deviations.
@inproceedings{DuTu2018a,
author = {Du}, Y. and {Tu}, H. and {Lukic}, S. and {Lubkeman}, D. and Dubey, Abhishek and {Karsai}, G.},
booktitle = {2018 IEEE/PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition (T D)},
title = {Resilient Information Architecture Platform for Smart Systems (RIAPS): Case Study for Distributed Apparent Power Control},
year = {2018},
month = {apr},
pages = {1-5},
abstract = {Maintaining voltage and frequency stability in an islanded microgrid is challenging, due to the low system inertia. In addition, islanded microgrids have limited generation capability, requiring that all DGs contribute proportionally to meet the system power consumption. This paper proposes a distributed control algorithm for optimal apparent power utilization in islanded microgrids. The developed algorithm improves system apparent power utilization by maintaining proportional power sharing among DGs. A decentralized platform called Resilient Information Architecture Platform for Smart Systems (RIAPS) is introduced that runs on processors embedded within the DGs. The proposed algorithm is fully implemented in RIAPS platform and validated on a real-time microgrid testbed.},
category = {selectiveconference},
contribution = {minor},
doi = {10.1109/TDC.2018.8440324},
file = {:DuTu2018a-Resilient_Information_Architecture_Platform_for_Smart_Systems_Case_Study_Distributed_Apparent_Power_Control.pdf:PDF},
issn = {2160-8563},
keywords = {microgrid control, apparent power utilization, droop control, distributed algorithm, power sharing},
tag = {platform},
month_numeric = {4}
}