Performance improvement in single-phase electric spring control

Two objectives can be pursued simultaneously with the δ control of a single-phase electric spring (ES). These objectives are the stabilization of the voltage across the critical load (CL) of a power system, and the achievement of a specific functionality similar to the pure compensation of reactive power or the correction of the power factor. However, existing control systems implementing the δ control do not cope with non-ideal operating conditions, such as line voltage distortions, and exhibit a somewhat sluggish regulation of the CL voltage. In an effort to improve both the steady-state and transient performances of an ES power system, this paper proposes implementing the δ control by means of a control system built up on the repetitive control and assisted by state feedback with pole assignment. This paper starts by analyzing the dynamics of an ES power system in terms of its poles and zeros. After that, a reduced second-order model of the dynamics is formulated to avoid a notch filter in the pole assignment. A repetitive control for an ES power system is then designed to meet the two above mentioned objectives. Experimental tests carried out on a laboratory setup demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control system in significantly improving the ES power system performance, while reaching the two objectives. In particular, the tests outline the large mitigation of harmonics in the CL voltage under line voltage distortions and its fast stabilization action.