2nd IEEE International Conference on Power and Energy (PECon 08), December 1-3, 2008, Johor Baharu, Malaysia

A Control Strategy for the Grid-connected PV System Using a Z-Source Inverter

Jong-Hyoung Park* , Heung-Geun Kim**, Tae-Won Chun***, Eui-Cheol Nho****, Hyun-Jin Shin*****, and Min-Hun chi******
Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea. Email: bell@knu.ac.kr Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea. Email: hgkim@knu.ac.kr *** University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Republic of Korea. Email: twchun@mail.ulsan.ac.kr **** PuKyong National University, Busan, Republic of Korea. Email: nhoec@pknu.ac.kr ***** Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea. Email: azurekid@naver.com ****** Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea. Email: cmh2525@hanmail.net
** *

Abstract This paper presents the MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) and PCC (Point of Common Coupling) current control strategy for grid-connected PV system using the ZSI (Z-source inverter). Several requirements of an inverter for PV-system and the shootthrough effect of the ZSI are analyzed. And then, the MPPT algorithm and PWM method for the ZSI are suggested. The feasibility is studied through the simulation and experiment with 3kW system. Keywords Z-source; PV-system; MPPT; microgird

I. INTRODUCTION Recently, the use of the renewable-energy generating system is increased dramatically because of the exhaustion of fossil fuel and the influence of the environment. The inverter, which converts the output of the renewable energy sources like photovoltaic energy, wind power, and fuel cell to an acceptable electrical source, has gained importance. The traditional inverters, such as the VSI (voltagesource inverter) and the CSI (current-source inverter) require one more separate DC/DC converter, resulting in two stage power conversions. This cascaded arrangement of two power converters increases not only the complexity of the circuitry and control but the cost and the space requirement. Moreover, the increased number of power switches results in a lower efficiency. The ZSI (Z-source inverter)[1] has a unique impedance

network. The ZSI can buck or boost the output voltage using the shoot-through state in a single stage. Besides, no dead time is needed, thus the output voltage is free from voltage distortion. Therefore, in the recent research, the ZSI was applied to the single stage conversion, such as the PV system [2], the fuel cell system[3], and the ac motor drive system[4]. The input current of the ZSI is discontinuous because of existence of the blocking diode, but the output current of PV array should be continuous, thus the LC filter must be installed at the input side of the ZSI. In this paper, the ZSI is used for the PV system. And MPPT algorithm and PWM method is suggested. The feasibility is verified through the simulation and experiment. REQUIREMENT OF AN INVERTER FOR THE GRIDCONNECTED PV SYSTEM The inverter for the grid-connected PV system must satisfy the following requirements. First, the inverter must be able to track the MPP because of the V-I characteristic of the PV array, as shown in Fig. 1. Second, it must be able to control the current at PCC. In other words, the magnitude and phase of the inverter output current should be controlled. Moreover, the current waveform must be sinusoidal. The traditional inverter such as Fig. 2 has two stages for MPPT control(boost converter) and PCC current control(VSI). In case of the ZSI, shoot-through time interval can be used to track the MPP and the PCC current is controlled by the conventional PWM switching scheme.
L1

II.

iL1 L2

iPV
C

VC

C dc

VDC

PV array

VDC

iGrid
P*

vGrid

iPV VC

Vcon

* va

* vb

* vc

Fig. 2. Traditional PV-system. Fig. 1.V-I characteristic curve of PV-array.

1-4244-2405-4/08/$20.00 2008 IEEE

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2nd IEEE International Conference on Power and Energy (PECon 08), December 1-3, 2008, Johor Baharu, Malaysia

I L + iC

iin

iC

iout
(I L = iC ) (iC = iin I L )

I L iC

2I L

iin

2 I L iin

Fig. 3. Current characteristic of impedance network.

Z-source output voltage (V)

IL

2 VC

vin

(VC = vL ) (vL = vin VC )

2VC vin

Fig. 4. Voltage characteristic of impedance network.

III. SHOOT-THROUGH EFFECT ON THE PV SYSTEM During the shoot-through state, the input current of the ZSI is zero due to the blocking diode as shown in Fig. 3. The output current of PV array should be continuous for MPPT control. Therefore, an LC filter network was inserted in front of the Z-source impedance network. The output voltage of ZSI is zero during the shootthrough time interval, as shown in the Fig. 4. If the shootthrough time interval is in the active state, the output voltage is affected. Thus the shoot-through time interval should be located within the zero state in order not to affect the output voltage. The Fig. 5 shows the grid connected PV system using ZSI. It has only six active switches in the single stage and no LC filter. IV. MPPT AND PCC CURRENT CONTROL In this paper, the shoot-through state is used to control the MPPT, and the PCC current is controlled by VC regulation. The VC is the voltage of capacitor in the impedance network. A. MPPT With the ZSI, the longer the shoot-through time is, the
iPV
v PV

Z-source input voltage (V)

VC + vL

PV array

=
vL
vin
VC

Fig. 6. The boosted voltage by shoot-through time of the ZSI.

vout

VC vL

=
VC
VDC

=
3 3

Fig. 7. The reduced input voltage of PV-array by shoot-through time of the ZSI.

higher the output voltage of the Z source is as shown in Fig. 6. If the output voltage of the Z source is controlled to be constant, then the input voltage of the Z source decreases as the shoot-through time interval enlarges as shown in Fig. 7. Because the input of the ZSI is connected to the output of the PV array, the operating point can be controlled by adjusting the shoot-through time interval. The Fig. 8 shows the MPPT control strategy. If the current reference is larger than the real current, the goes down. So the shoot-through time increases. This causes the increase in the PV array output current because of the decrease in the PV array output voltage. Therefore, the shoot-through time interval can be adjusted by the P&O method with sensing the PV array output current and voltage, as shown in Fig. 9.
V pv
i* pv
i pv
Vdc 2

VP

I pv

VN

(a) Control strategy of shoot-though.

Vdc 2

VP
VC
iPV vPV

DC link

iGrid
P*

vGrid

C.C

VN

MPPT

VP

Q*

* va

PWM

* b

* vc

VN

(b) PWM wave form generate. Fig. 8. MPPT control by shoot-through reference.

Fig. 5. Grid connected PV-system using Z-source inverter.

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2nd IEEE International Conference on Power and Energy (PECon 08), December 1-3, 2008, Johor Baharu, Malaysia

Fig. 9. P&O method.

V
* C

V. PWM SCHEM Fig. 11 shows the carrier signal and reference voltage signals for generation of the switching signals. The VP and VN are the control signals for the shoot-through. When VP is lower than the carrier signal, the upper switches in the three legs are switched on, thus the three legs are shoot-through state. When VN is higher than the carrier signal, the lower switches in the three legs are switched on, thus the three legs are shoot-through state again. The control signal VP should have limit value. The maximum value is Vdc/2 and the minimum value is the amplitude of the three phase reference voltage signals va , vb , vc . VI. RESULT The simulation of 3-kW grid connected PV system using a ZSI was carried out through a PSIM. The opencircuit voltage of the PV array was 280[V], and its shortcircuit current was 16[A]. The voltage and current at MPP are 230[V] and 13.5[A], respectively. The capacitor voltage was kept at 380 V, and the maximum power was 3.18[kW]. The inductance and capacitance of the ZSI are 3[mH] and 500[uF], respectively. Fig. 12 shows the output waveforms of the PV system. Fig 12-(a) shows the reference signals for generation of PWM signal. The inverter output voltage references should be between the shoot-through references of VP and VN . We can see that the VP reference varies in order to track the MPP. So the shoot-through time interval is determined by the PV array characteristic. Fig. 12-(c) shows that operating point of PV array is tracking the MPP. The Fig. 13 shows the experiment waveforms. The voltage waveforms are the input and output voltages of the ZSI. The input voltage is boosted by the shoot-though time for the MPPT control. And the current waveform, which is the inductor current of the impedance network, increases during the shoot through state.

P*
VC

Fig. 10. Control of DC-link voltage.

B. PCC current control The Fig. 10 shows the PCC current control. Since the capacitor voltage VC of the impedance network is equal to the average value of the input voltage of the inverter, the capacitor voltage is used for voltage control. If the VC is higher than the reference voltage, the reference value of the active power increases. resulting in lowering the capacitor voltage. The output current of inverter increases and the capacitor voltage decreases. Consequently, the capacitor voltage is controlled constant. The current is calculated by the equation 1. K is the coefficient of DQ conversion. If the reactive power reference is zero, then the output current is in phase with the voltage resulting in unity power factor.
* i =K

v P * + v Q *

(v

2 + v

* , i =K

v P * v Q *

(v

2 + v

(1)

Vp vc

(a) References signals for PWM.

(b) Voltage of dc-link capacitor.

va

vb

Vn
S ap Sbp S cp
S an Sbn S cn

(c) Voltage and current of PV-array.

(d) Power of PV-array.

Fig. 11. PWM signal by wave and reference voltages.

(e) Output current of inverter.

(f) Output power of inverter.

Fig. 12. Output waveforms of PV-array and ZSI.

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2nd IEEE International Conference on Power and Energy (PECon 08), December 1-3, 2008, Johor Baharu, Malaysia

Fig. 13. The experiment wave forms of voltage and current.

VII. CONCLUSION The power conversion circuit of the grid-connected PV system using a ZSI was analyzed in this paper. The MPPT control and PCC current control of the ZSI were suggested and its feasibility is verified through the simulation using PSIM. The proposed system can deliver the PV power to the grid with single stage, the cost to manufacture is reduced and the efficiency is increased. Since no dead time is required, the THD of the output voltage is quite low. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work is the outcome of a Manpower Development Program for Energy & Resources supported by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy (MKE) REFERENCES
[1] Fang Zheng Peng; Z-source inverter, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications Volume 39, Issue 2, March-April 2003, pp.504 510. Badin, R., Yi Huang, F. Z. Peng, Heung-Geun Kim, Grid Interconnected Z-Source PV System, Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 2007. PESC 2007. IEEE 17-21, Page(s):2328 - 2333, June, 2007. K. Holland and F. Z. Peng; Control strategy for fuel cell vehicle traction drive systems using the Z-source inverter, in Proc of IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference, pp. 639-944, 7-9 Sept. 2005. F. Z. Peng, X. Yuan, X. Fang, and Z. Qian, Z-source inverter for adjustable speed drives, IEEE Power Electronics Letters, Volume: 1, Issue: 2, pp. 33-35, June 2003.

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