Sharif Digital Repository

This paper presents a phase-noise reduction technique for voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) using a harmonic tuned (HT) LC tank. The phase-noise suppression is achieved through almost rectangular-shaped VCO oscillating signal which effectively maximizes oscillating signal slope at zero crossing points resulting in-phase-noise degradation. In addition, by shortening down converted noise power around oscillating signal second harmonic, more phase-noise suppression has been achieved. A comprehensive analysis for frequency and amplitude deviations as high as 20% for third harmonic and its effect on output phase-noise suppression has been discussed. In the followings, a comprehensive analysis... 

A Cúk converter operating in discontinuous capacitor voltage mode (DCVM) is an inherent power factor correction converter. A reduced-order switch-network model of a Cúk converter in DCVM is developed, which is valid for both dc-dc and ac-dc applications. The model can be used for controller analysis and design. Moreover, a fast dynamic response controller is proposed, which is an integration of a switching-frequency control unit and a proportional-integral (PI) controller. The PI controller is in charge of duty ratio adjustment. In the proposed controller, unlike conventional PI controllers, switching frequency is no longer fixed and varies as load changes. The switching-frequency control... 

This paper presents a novel opposition-based self-adaptive modified gravitational search algorithm (OSAMGSA) for optimal reactive power dispatch and voltage control in power-system operation. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer, nonlinear optimization problem, which has both continuous and discrete control variables. In order to achieve the optimal value of loss, voltage deviation, and voltage stability index, it is necessary to find the optimal value of control variables such as the tap positions of tap changing transformers, generator voltages, and compensation capacitor. Therefore, this complicated problem needs to be solved by an accurate optimization algorithm. This paper... 

Management of reactive power resources is vital for stable and secure operation of power systems in the view point of voltage stability. This paper deals with the management of on-load tap changers (OLTCs) and dynamic VAR sources (including synchronous generators, synchronous condensers, and shunt reactive power compensators) to improve voltage stability margin (VSM) of power systems. This problem is usually called optimal reactive power dispatch (ORD) in the literature. The main contribution of the paper is to introduce a new objective function for the ORD problem. The proposed objective function is derived based on a local voltage stability index, called DSY, and has a strong correlation... 

With the increasing penetration of renewable energies as distributed generation (DG) in power systems, technical problems arise in both distribution and transmission system level. Voltage rise is the main barrier for connection of DGs in rural areas, while excessive reactive power demand from transmission system is the major concern for Transmission System Operators (TSO). Here, a centralized control scheme based on the Smart Grid is proposed to reduce the impact on the transmission system voltages and improve its stability, while mitigating the voltage rise issue in the distribution network. Reactive power output of DGs, substation capacitors and tap setting of transmission transformer are... 

Network-on-Chip (NoC) is a key element in the total power consumption of a chip multiprocessor. Dynamic Voltage Scaling is a promising method for power saving in NoCs since it contributes to reduction in both static and dynamic power consumptions. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme to reduce on-chip network power consumption when the number of Virtual Channels (VCs) with active allocation requests per cycle is less than the number of total VCs. In our method, we introduce a reconfigurable arbitration logic which can be configured to have multiple latencies and hence, multiple slack times. The increased slack times are then used to reduce the supply voltage of the routers in order to... 

In this paper, a novel reduced switch cascaded transformer multilevel inverter is proposed. In this structure, a new structure is replaced with conventional H-bridge inverter. It consists of four high frequency switches, two line frequency switches, and two transformers which can be assembled in one core with a specific winding connection. This topology can produce 5 or 7 voltage levels depending on transformers turns ratio. The simplicity and modularity are its advantages compared to the existing structures. Beside these advantages, due to its similarity with H-Bridge converter, it is possible to use a modified technique based on conventional phase shift pulse width modulation to generate... 

A decentralized servomechanism controller for islanded (autonomous) operation of radial connection of two distributed generation (DG) units is proposed in this paper. Each DG unit utilizes a voltage-sourced converter (VSC) for interface to its dedicated load. The DG units and the loads are to operate in the islanded mode of operation. Each DG unit regulates the voltage of its dedicated load in a decentralized manner. In this paper, it is first shown that the radial connection of two DG units in the islanded mode constitutes an interconnected composite system consisting of two subsystems. Moreover, the paper shows that the overall islanded system can be controlled by the local controllers,... 

As the penetration of wind power in electrical power systems increases, it is required that wind turbines remain connected to the grid and actively contribute to the system stability during and after grid faults. This study proposes an efficient control strategy to improve the low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) capability in doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs). The proposed scheme consists of passive and active LVRT compensators. The passive compensator is based on a new crowbar arrangement located in series with stator windings. It considerably reduces the rotor inrush current at the instants of occurring and clearing the fault. The active LVRT compensator is realised through rotor voltage... 

This paper introduces a high efficiency AC voltage regulator based on an AC/AC buck converter cascaded by a transformer in series with the input voltage. The AC/AC converter uses an overlap time in the gate signals to solve the commutation problem. Non-use of any snubber circuits and current sensors leads to lower cost, smaller size and simpler hardware. The converter generates only the compensation term which results in smaller switches and, thus, lower cost. Simulation and experimental results verify the performance of the proposed topology  

Linear controllers have been widely used for controlling Active Power Filters (APFs). However, due to their limitations, a tradeoff between the bandwidth of the current control loop (CCL) and the voltage control loop (VCL) need to be made to remain stable in all conditions. This tradeoff leads to imperfect usage of the APF's capacity. Nonlinear controllers can eliminate such limitations and simultaneously remain stable in all conditions. In this paper, a new nonlinear controller for controlling the output current and the DC voltage (Vdc) of an APF is proposed. Feedback linearization method is applied on the CCL and the VCL is controlled via indirect method. In this method, an auxiliary... 

In trasformerless grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems, common-mode voltage (CMV) fluctuations cause leakage current flow through the stray capacitance of the PV panels. Shoot-through (SH) states in a quasi-Z-source inverter (q-ZSI), increase the amplitude of high order harmonics of CMV. In this paper, by using the modulation technique based on odd PWM (OPWM) and minor change in the Z network of the three-phase q-ZSI, the leakage current is blocked. No extra semiconductor element is added. By the proposed technique, CMV is kept nearly constant during switching cycles. The experimental results for CMV analysis in a 1kW prototype are presented to verify the theoretical analysis. IEEE  

Historically, the general target of affecting demand via voltage regulation was conservation, i.e., reducing peak demand and/or accumulated energy. In private environments however, profit maximization may take place of conservation, regardless of the social welfare and consumers' costs. This letter aims at highlighting the effectiveness of voltage regulation as a measure to maximize utilities' profit. The new strategy can indeliberately cause more payments for customers. The letter simulates different cases which reveal importance of the role regulatory bodies have to play to prevent unethical actions in private environments. IEEE  

This paper proposes a straightforward control method for voltage control of a three-phase transformer-based inverter in uninterruptible power supplies or distributed generation systems. The approach offers a dual-loop design consisting inner current control loop and outer voltage loop. Sliding mode current controller provides desired bandwidth for voltage controller which consists of a state feedback term for stabilization and resonant term for harmonic damping. The proposed scheme provides fast dynamic response and low total harmonic distortion even for high power inverters with the limitations of switching frequency and LC filter components. Experimental studies for 2KVA linear and... 

This paper proposes an enhanced hybrid modular multilevel converter (MMC), which utilizes a combination of halfbridge submodules (HBSM) and at least one full-bridge submodule (FBSM). In the proposed structure, FBSMs work with half of the HBSMs nominal voltage in each arm. Due to the presence of FBSMs, HBSMs switching frequency drops significantly, which reduces the converter power loss compared to half-bridge based MMCs. Furthermore, because of redundant FBSMs, (2N+1)-modulation can be employed to generate the output voltage without increasing the circulating current, thus the converter performance is improved notably. Besides, with the redundant FBSMs the converter can continue its... 

In trasformerless grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems, common-mode voltage (CMV) fluctuations cause leakage current flow through the stray capacitance of the PV panels. Shoot-through states in a quasi-Z-source inverter (q-ZSI) increase the amplitude of high-order harmonics of CMV. In this paper, by using the modulation technique based on odd pulse width modulation and minor change in the Z network of the three-phase q-ZSI, the leakage current is blocked. No extra semiconductor element is added. By the proposed technique, CMV is kept nearly constant during switching cycles. The experimental results for CMV analysis in a 1kW prototype are presented to verify the theoretical analysis. ©...