2010 9th IEEE/IAS International Conference on Industry Applications

- INDUSCON 2010 -

Three-Phase Grid-Connected PV System With

Active And Reactive Power Control Using dq0
Transformation
Mateus F. Schonardie, Adriano Ruseler, Roberto F. Coelho and Denizar C. Martins
Federal University of Santa Catarina, Department of Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics Institute
mateus@inep.ufsc.br, ruseler@inep.ufsc.br, roberto@inep.ufsc.br, denizar@inep.ufsc.br

Abstract- This paper presents a three-phase grid-connected In order to achieve the maximum power point (MPP)
photovoltaic generation system with unity power factor for any operation an input voltage clamping technique is proposed for
situation of solar radiation. The modelling of the PWM inverter
and a control strategy using dq0 transformation are proposed. the inverter. To validate the proposed methodology some
The system operates as an active filter capable of compensate simulation and experimental results are presented.
harmonic components and reactive power, generated by the
loads connected to the system. An input voltage clamping
technique is proposed to control the power between the grid and
photovoltaic system, where it is intended to achieve the
maximum power point operation. Simulation and experimental
results are presented to validate the proposed methodology for
grid connected photovoltaic generation system.

I. INTRODUCTION
The works on photovoltaic distributed generation systems,
such as photovoltaic solar cells connected to the power grid, Fig. 1. Proposed three-phase power photovoltaic system.
has increased in the last decades due to need of supplying the
II. MODELLING CONVERTER
world rise demand for electric power.
Several papers have been published with varied topologies
A. The three-phase converter
and control strategies for three-phase systems [1], [2], [3], [4],
The converter proposed in this work is a three-phase bi-
[5], [6], [7]. There are some advantages that have been
directional DC-AC converter with PWM modulation using
motivating grid-connected photovoltaic system applications,
six power switches. The simplified electrical diagram of the
which are:
converter is shown in Fig. 2.
• Reduction in the costs of the PV panels [8].
The bi-directional characteristic of the converter is very
• Operation does not pollute the atmosphere [9].
important in this proposed photovoltaic system, because it
• Capability to supply AC loads and inject active power, allows the processing of active and reactive power from the
from the photovoltaic system to the grid, relieving the
generator to the load and vice versa, depending on the
grid demand (distributed generation system).
application. Thus, with an appropriate control of the power
The researches developed in this area have shown another
switches it is possible to control the active and reactive power
great advantage, which is the possibility to accomplish a
flow.
reactive power control originated from linear and non-linear
loads also connected to the system [10]. This fact is so
attractive, since a single system is able to realize two different
functions as energy generation to supply AC loads and active
power filter.
Following this research line, this work presents a three-
phase PWM inverter modeling and a control strategy using
dq0 transformation to be employed in a grid-connected
photovoltaic generation system (Fig. 1). The proposed system
also operates as an active power filter capable of compensate
Fig. 2. Bi-directional DC-AC PWM converter.
harmonic components and reactive power, generated by the
other loads. Therefore, the control strategy permits the B. Current control modeling
operation near unity power factor to any solar radiation, UPS The converter modelling is relatively simple and is
function for any kind of load and control of the energy flux accomplished through dq0 transformation. The modelling for
between the photovoltaic panels and the grid. the current control is obtained considering the AC output.

978-1-4244-8010-4/10/$26.00 ©2010 IEEE

 When the circuit is observed from the AC output, it is
possible to make some initial considerations that result in a
simplified circuit [11], shown in Fig. 3. The line voltages are
presented in (1) considering L1=L2=L3=L, R1=R2=R3=R
and D are the duty cycle.
C. Voltage control modeling
The purpose of this model is to accomplish the active input
voltage clamping Vi(t). This active clamping allows
controlling the power flow between the grid and the PV
system and possibility to realize the Maximum Power Point
Tracking (MPPT) of the PV panels.
The MPP algorithm is based on the constant voltage
method that is achieved by keeping the voltage in the PV
terminals constant and close to the MPP [12], [13], as per Fig.
4.

Fig. 3. Simplified circuit from AC output.

⎧ dI12 (t )
⎪V12 (t ) = L ⋅ dt + D12 (t ) ⋅ Vi + R ⋅ I12 (t )
⎪
⎪ dI 23 (t )
⎨V23 (t ) = L ⋅ + D23 (t ) ⋅Vi + R ⋅ I 23 (t ) (1)
⎪ dt
⎪V (t ) = L ⋅ dI 31 (t ) + D (t ) ⋅ V + R ⋅ I (t )
⎪⎩ 31 dt
31 i 31

Applying dq0 transformation and developing the equations

Fig. 4. Example of the current and voltage characteristics of a PV cell.
system (1), it is possible to find the differential equations (2),
which describe the currents behavior in axis d and q.
Observing the MPP points (MPP Line), it is possible to
⎧ dI d (t ) 3 V p Vi R ⋅ I d (t ) notice that the voltage values vary very little even when the
⎪⎪ = ω ⋅ I q (t ) + ⋅ − ⋅ Dd (t ) −
dt 2 L L L intensity of the solar irradiation suffers great alterations.
⎨ (2)
⎪ dI (t ) V R ⋅ I (t ) Concern to the temperature, fortunately, the region in Brazil,
= −ω ⋅ I d (t ) − ⋅ Dq (t ) −
q i q
⎪⎩ dt which this system is implemented, the temperature has no
L L important variation during the day. So, the experimental tests
The direct axis current depends on the quadrature axis showed that this MPP technique can be used, in this case,
current and vice-versa. In order to decouple this dependence, without any problem.
a new duty cycle was defined and it is presented in (3). With the voltage clamped in a value “inside” of the MPP
⎧ ω⋅L Region, when a variation of the solar irradiation happens, the
⎪ D 'd (t ) = Dd (t ) − V ⋅ I q (t ) intensity of the PV cell current also change, however the
⎪ i output voltage of the PV cell will not be altered.
⎨ (3)
⎪ D ' (t ) = D (t ) + ω ⋅ L ⋅ I (t ) Thus, it is necessary to obtain the transfer function of input
⎪⎩ q q
Vi
d
voltage Vi as functions of axis d and q currents.
The control voltage across capacitor Ci is obtained
If Dd (t ) and Dq (t ) were isolated in (3), it is possible to considering the DC input shown in Fig 2. The equivalent
rewrite (2) as follow: circuit in dq0 axis seen by the DC side is shown in Fig. 5.
⎧ dI d (t ) 3 V p Vi R ⋅ I d (t )
⎪⎪ = ⋅ − ⋅ D 'd (t ) −
dt 2 L L L
⎨ (4)
⎪ dI (t ) V R ⋅ I (t )
= − ⋅ D 'q (t ) −
q i q
⎪⎩ dt L L
Developing these equations, it is obtained the differential
equations that show the behavior of the currents in axis d and Fig. 5. Equivalent circuit seen by the DC side.
q as functions of the duty cycles. So, the transfer functions
used in the design of the current controllers are shown in (5). In this equivalent circuit, I(t) represent the current supplied
by PV panels (7) and Ii(t) represents the input inverter current
⎧ id ( s ) Vi
⎪ d ' ( s) = − s ⋅ L + R
(8). The transfer function between the voltage vi(s) and the
⎪ d input current of the inverter ii(s) is shown in (9).
⎨ i (s) (5)
⎪ q Vi I (t ) = I Ci (t ) + I i (t ) (7)
=−
⎪ d 'q ( s ) s⋅L+ R
⎩ I i (t ) = I d (t ) ⋅ Dd (t ) + I q (t ) ⋅ Dq (t ) (8)
 vi ( s ) 1 acquired through sensors. In the line currents it is applied dq0
=− (9) transformation.
iCi ( s ) s ⋅ Ci
A. Current control strategy
Developing and substituting appropriately the equations, it To control the currents of the axis d, the current Id(t) and
is possible to obtain the desired voltage control modelling. the reference currents Idref1(t) and Idref2(t) are used, according
The equations vi(s) as function of currents in axis d and q are to Fig. 7. The sign Idref2(t) represents the current load Idc(t)
shown in (10) and (11), respectively. alternate portion of the direct axis d and it is obtained through
vi ( s ) 1 ⎡ 3 Vp ⎤ a high-pass filter (Fig. 8) [14]. This is necessary to
= ⋅ ⎢( − K ⋅ L ⋅ s ) − 2 ⋅ K ⋅ R + ⋅ ⎥ (10) compensate possible power unbalances in the system, and it
id ( s ) s ⋅ Ci ⎣⎢ 2 Vi ⎥⎦ has negative sign so that the power flows in opposition to the
load.
vi ( s ) 2 Q ⎡ L⋅s + 2⋅ R ⎤
=− ⋅ ⋅⎢ ⎥ (11)
iq ( s ) 3 Vi ⋅ V p ⎣ s ⋅ Ci ⎦
Where:
L, R - Equivalent resistances and inductances
Fig. 7. Block diagram of the current control in the d axis.
Ci - Input capacitor
Vp - Voltage peak of grid
Vi - Input voltage
id, iq - Currents in the axis d and q
P - Active power
Q - Reactive power
Fig. 8. Idref2(t) obtaining.
2 P
K=
3 V p ⋅ Vi To control the currents of axis q (Fig. 9), a reference signal
Iqc(t) is used to compensate the reactive power caused by the
III. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONTROL METHODOLOGY load connected to the system.
Fig. 6 shows the diagram of the control methodology and
the modulation of the proposed three-phase grid-connected
PV system. The practical implementation of this control
strategy has been implemented with DSP (Digital Signal
Processing) and a zero cross detector circuit to make the Fig. 9. Block diagram of the current control in the axis q.
synchronism method with the grid.
As can been seen from Fig 6, the inverter output currents In the output of both controls (d and q axis) its necessary to
(I1, I2 and I3) and the load currents (I1c, I2c and I3c) are accomplish a uncoupling in order to obtain the duty cycles
dd(t) as function of id(t) and dq(t) as function of iq(t).

Fig. 6. Diagram of the control system.

 B. Simulation Results
B. Voltage control strategy
Several numerical simulations of the proposed system were
The voltage in the capacitor Ci is compared with the
accomplished for different situations of load connected in this
reference voltage Viref and the error signal enters in the
system (linear and non-linear). The most important
voltage controller resulting in the signal Idref1(t) (Fig. 10).
parameters of the converter are shown in Table 2.
TABLE II
SIMULATION PARAMETERS
Parameters Description
P = 12.6 kVA - Converter Power

Fig. 10. Diagram of the voltage regulator Vi= 700 V - Input Voltage (DC)
This signal Idref1(t) is used as one of the references in the Vout= 220 V - RMS Output Voltage (grid)
current control loop of the direct axis d, guaranteeing that fr= 60 Hz - Grid Frequency
voltage Vi(t) keeps clamped at the desired value, as shown in fs = 20 kHz - Commutation Frequency
Fig. 11. R = 0.57 Ω - Output inverter equivalent resistor
L = 1.92 mH - Output inverter equivalent inductance
Ci= 2.7 mF - Input Inverter capacitor

The simulation with linear loads was done and good results
were obtained to several load parameters. However, to show a
better performance of the system proposed, only the results
Fig. 11. Block diagram of the voltage control. considering non-linear loads connected to the system are
presented. The performance of the reactive power
IV. SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
compensation and harmonics current elimination is better
A. PV array design observed when non-linear load tests are done.
To validate the proposed methodology for grid-connected The non-linear load presented in this work is a three-phase
PV generation system, a 12 kilowatts PV array was design bridge rectifier with RC output, shown in Fig. 13.
using Kyocera KC50, connected in a proper series-parallel Fig. 14 presents the three grid currents and the input
configuration. voltage Vi(t) behavior for several situation of abrupt
Table 1 shows the main characteristics of the PV array, that variations of the current supplied by the PV panels. It is seen
was design to 700 Volts photovoltaic output voltage and 18 that the grid input currents always has a sinusoidal shape.
Amperes of current. The equivalent circuit simulated is
shown in Fig. 12.
TABLE I
PV ARRAY SPECIFICATIONS USING KYOCERA KC50 PANELS
Total peak power 12.6 kW
Number of series strings panels - Ns 42
Number of paralel – Np 6
Number of PV panels 252 Fig. 13. Non-linear load simulated
Corrent peak 18 A
Voltage in maximum power 701.4 V
Corrent: short circuit 18.6 A
Voltage: open circuit 903 V

In the proposed photovoltaic array modeling, the DC

voltage source represents the open circuit voltage of all series
photovoltaic modules, while de diode imposes its
semiconductor characteristic.

Fig. 14. Three grid currents and the input voltage.

Fig. 12. PV Array simulated circuit.
Fig. 15 shows in the phase 1 the grid voltage, grid current,
load current, output inverter current and input voltage Vi(t)
behavior, when a variation of the current supplied by the PV
panels occurs at the instant t=150ms. Even with non-linear
load, the grid currents are sinusoidal and the voltage control
maintains the desired level of 700V. The grid input current
waveform is sinusoidal and is 180° out of phase to the grid
voltage. This situation means that the grid is receiving energy.

Fig. 17. Current spectrum harmonic: Grid and load in the phase 1.

Fig. 18 shows the active power flux in the: grid, load, PV

array and converter, for verifying the control strategy
performance for several solar conditions. At the same figure it
is possible to observe that the load active power remains
constant and can be supplied by PV array or by the grid. The
Fig. 15. Grid voltage and current (phase 1), Load current and output inverter grid active power is negative when the grid is receiving
current (phase1); and Input voltage. energy.
Fig. 16 shows the behavior of the current and voltage in
phase 1 of the grid, when an abrupt variation of the current
supplied by PV panels occurs. In this case the energy supplied
by the PV panels becomes null at the instant t=300ms and it
returns to the nominal value at instant t=450ms. In the
absence of energy supplied by the PV panel, the converter
only acts as an active power filter. The inverter output current
and the PV current are also shown in Fig. 16.
Even with this abrupt variation, the power factor in phase 1
is very high in both cases; i.e., when there is solar irradiation
(grid receiving energy) and in the periods when there is no
energy supplied by the PV panels.

Fig. 18. Active Power: Grid, load, PV and converter to several solar
conditions.

Fig. 16. Current and voltage in the phase 1 – PV current and output current
inverter of phase 1.
To prove the structure operation as active power filter, Fig.
17 shows the grid and load current harmonic spectrum in the
phase 1. It was verified that using the control strategy, the
harmonic components of the grid current are eliminate.
C. Experimental Results
To demonstrate the feasibility of the discussed PV system,
a prototype was designed and implemented following the
specifications presented in Tables 1 and 2. The PV array was
design to 500 Volts photovoltaic output voltage..
Fig. 19 depicts in the phase 1 the utility voltage (VUtility),
the Non-linear load current (IL) and utility current (IS) with
the system operating just in the active power line conditioning
mode (cloudy day or night). The THD of IS is 2.8% for a load
crest factor of 2.8, and the PF=0.97.
Fig. 20 shows the utility voltage and the utility current in
the phase 1, with the system only supplying power to the
utility grid (THD = 2.5% and PF = 0.98). In this case no load
is connected in the PV system.
Fig. 21 presents the performance of the utility voltage and
utility current (THD = 2.8% and PF = 0.978) with a 50% of
non-linear load connected between the PV system and the
commercial electric grid.

Fig. 19. Utility current (IS), Load current and utility voltage (VUtility) (Ch1 and
Ch2 20A/div and Ch2 50V/div).
Fig. 20. Utility current (IS) and utility voltage (VUtility) with no load. (Ch1
10A/div and Ch2 50V/div).
The efficiency curve of the whole system is shown in Fig.
22.
Fig. 21. Utility current (IS) and utility voltage (VUtility) with 50% of non-
linear load. (Ch1 5A/div and Ch2 50V/div).
Fig. 22. Efficiency curve of the whole system.
V. CONCLUSION
This paper has presented in a simple way the modelling and
the control strategy using dq0 transformation of a three-phase
PWM inverter to be employed in a grid-connected
photovoltaic generation system. The main focus of this work
is to realize a design of a dual function system that would
provide solar generation and works as an active power filter,
compensating unbalances of power and the reactive power
generated by other loads connected to the system.
It is important to emphasize that for both situations the
power factor is always high and the currents present low
harmonic distortion.
Due to a little variation of the temperature in the region
where the PV panels is implemented, an input voltage
clamping technique is used to assure the maximum power
point (MPP) of the PV panels.
To validate the structure operation some simulation and
experimental results were presented and they show the
viability of the proposed model, as well as the control strategy
used for the PV systems.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thanks the CNPq and FINEP by
the financial support. The authors also wish to thank the
engineer Marcio Silveira Ortmann for their support during the
experimental tests.
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