Salp swarm algorithm-based optimal control scheme for LVRT capability improvement of grid-connected photovoltaic power plants: design and experimental validation

• Published in: IET renewable power generation Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 591 - 599
• Main Authors: Elazab, Omnia S, Debouza, Mahdi, Hasanien, Hany M, Muyeen, S.M, Al-Durra, Ahmed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Institution of Engineering and Technology 16.03.2020
• Subjects: abnormal operational conditions; control system synthesis; conventional optimisation‐based PI controllers; DC link voltage; DC–DC converter; fitness function; grid side inverter controls; grid‐connected photovoltaic power plants; grid‐connected PV systems; invertors; LVRT capability improvement; maximum power point trackers; maximum power point tracking operation; optimal control; optimum design; photovoltaic power systems; photovoltaic systems; PI control; point of common coupling voltage; power generation control; power grids; proportional–integral‐based open fractional voltage control; PSCAD/EMTDC environment; PV controllers; Research Article; response surface methodology; Salp swarm algorithm‐based optimal control scheme; SSA‐based PI control scheme; voltage control; voltage response; proportional–integral-based open fractional voltage control; grid side inverter controls; maximum power point tracking operation; fitness function; power generation control; response surface methodology; photovoltaic systems; point of common coupling voltage; DC link voltage; DC–DC converter; SSA-based PI control scheme; invertors; LVRT capability improvement; Salp swarm algorithm-based optimal control scheme; power grids; PI control; voltage response; conventional optimisation-based PI controllers; PSCAD/EMTDC environment; photovoltaic power systems; PV controllers; optimal control; control system synthesis; optimum design; grid-connected photovoltaic power plants; maximum power point trackers; abnormal operational conditions; grid-connected PV systems; voltage control
• ISSN: 1752-1416; 1752-1424; 1752-1424
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-rpg.2019.0726

Contribution of Photovoltaic (PV) systems is rapidly growing and great attention is given to the design of PV controllers to enhance both the performance of PV systems and the low voltage ride through (LVRT) capability during abnormal operational conditions. This article presents a novel application of the salp swarm algorithm (SSA) in order to optimally tune the PV controllers to enhance the LVRT of grid-connected PV systems. Enhancement of LVRT is indicated in percentage undershoots or overshoots, settling time and steady-state error of voltage response. A control strategy is applied to the DC-DC converter to obtain a maximum power point tracking operation through a proportional-integral (PI)-based open fractional voltage control. The grid side inverter controls both the point of common coupling voltage and the DC-link voltage through PI-based cascaded-voltage control. To get PI controller parameters that guarantee the optimum design of the controllers, the fitness function is optimized by using the SSA. The proposed optimal control scheme is tested under various fault scenarios and compared with other conventional optimization-based PI controllers to examine its validity under PSCAD environment. The effectiveness of the optimal control scheme is verified by comparing the simulation results with the practical results of the PV system.