Voltage Stability Assessment of AC/DC Hybrid Microgrid

Abstract

AC/DC hybrid microgrids are becoming potentially more attractive due to the proliferation of renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic generation, battery energy storage systems, and wind turbines. The collaboration of AC sub-microgrids and DC sub-microgrids improves operational efficiency when multiple types of power generators and loads coexist at the power distribution level. However, the voltage stability analysis and software validation of AC/DC hybrid microgrids is a critical concern, especially with the increasing adoption of power electronic devices and various types of power generation. In this manuscript, we investigate the modeling of AC/DC hybrid microgrids with grid-forming and grid-following power converters. We propose a rapid simulation technique to reduce the simulation runtime with acceptable errors. Moreover, we discuss the stability of hybrid microgrids with different types of faults and power mismatches. In particular, we examine the voltage nadir to evaluate the transient stability of the hybrid microgrid. We also design a droop controller to regulate the power flow and alleviate voltage instability. During our study, we establish a Simulink-based simulation platform for operational analysis of the microgrid.

Keywords

• AC/DC hybrid microgrid
• grid-forming power converter
• simulation platform
• transient stability
• voltage nadir