Reactive Power Support Capability of Flyback Micro inverter with Pseudo dc Link
by Edwin Fonkwe Fongang MSc, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (2013)
Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2015 © Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MMXV. All rights reserved.
Author______Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science May 20, 2015
Certified by______James L. Kirtley Professor of Electrical Engineering Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by______Professor Leslie A. Kolodziejski Chair of the Department Committee on Graduate Students
Reactive Power Support Capability of Flyback Micro-inverter with Pseudo-dc Link
by Edwin Fonkwe Fongang
Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science On May 20, 2015, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science
Abstract
The flyback micro inverter with a pseudo dc link has traditionally been used for injecting only active power in to the power distribution network. In this thesis, a new approach will be proposed to control the micro inverter to supply reactive power to the grid which is important for grid voltage support. Circuit models and mathematical analyses are developed to explain underlying issues such as harmonic distortion, and power losses, which can limit the reactive power support capability. A novel current decoupling circuit is proposed to effectively mitigate zero crossing distortion. Simulations and experimental results are provided to support the theoretical propositions.
Thesis Supervisor: James L. Kirtley
Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank in a special way my research advisor Professor James L Kirtley for accepting me in to his research group and for providing invaluable guidance in the course of this work. I also appreciate his jovial countenance which has certainly helped make my MIT experience a great one.
I am grateful to all the members of my research group for answering my questions and for their friendship; also, the members of the Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES) deserve appreciation for I have usually found a helping hand when I called out for help. I must also thank the Skolkovo foundation for funding my research assistantship. Gratitude is expressed to my former advisor Dr. Michael Weidong Xiao, whom I worked with two years ago. Some of the ideas which I have explored in this work initially sparked up in my mind while I was his student at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi.
I am forever thankful to my family. Special thanks go to my dad, Papa Joe , my mum, Mama Joe, and to my siblings Sandrine, Fritz, Horace, and their respective families. I also cannot forget the love and warmth I have found here in the family of Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Bella. Thanks for the moral support, and for all the delicious food.
Finally, thank you LORD for the strength to accomplish this work.