Observer Based Generalized Active Damping for Voltage Source Converters With LCL Filters

An observer-based active damping (AD) controller is proposed along with a unified design and implementation framework for LCL-equipped voltage source converters. The AD controller uses feedback of either of the converter-side current or the grid-side current along with that of the grid voltage. The state of the arts offer observer-based AD only for current-mode control and are limited by their inflexibility to be used in conjunction with established supplementary control methods or by the lack of damping efficacy for all configurations of LCL resonance frequency and the measured current (grid-side vs. converter-side). The proposed AD method is identically applicable for current-mode control and virtual oscillator control (VOC) where explicit voltage/current tracking loops are not used. The proposed AD controller thus overcomes a major limitation of VOC which otherwise offers robust synchronization in reduced/zero-inertia networks and enhanced fault ride-through capability. Simplified design guidelines are presented through comprehensive small-signal analysis including the observer dynamics. The proposed method is shown to be effective for both converter-side and grid-side current measurements irrespective of the LCL resonance frequency relative to the critical frequency. The analysis and design methods are validated through laboratory hardware experiments.