PLL-Free Voltage Oriented Control Strategy for Voltage Source Converters Tied to Unbalanced Utility Grids

Asymmetrical working conditions of the utility grid introduce the large-amplitude negative-sequence component to the output current of the voltage source converter (VSC), causing power semiconductor devices to suffer from thermal fatigue and thermal damage. Though the conventional phase-locked loop (PLL) based voltage oriented control (VOC) solution can suppress the steady-state negative-sequence current effectively, it has a weak suppression ability of transient overload current, and even aggravates the transient current asymmetry and causes more severe transient impact to the VSC. This paper first analyzes the transient performance of the conventional VOC strategy, especially its dynamic response time and the main factors for performance limitation. On this basis, the PLL-free VOC strategy for VSCs tied to unbalanced grids is proposed, and its critical parts, namely, the reference current calculation and the fast detection of the grid voltage sequence components, are implemented. Besides, to improve the frequency adaptability, a high-performance grid frequency detection strategy is developed based on the difference-frequency phase caused by the frequency variation. Finally, experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness and advancement of the proposed method. Specifically, the results proved the rapidity, accuracy, and frequency adaptability of the proposed method in suppressing the VSC negative-sequence current, both in transient and steady-state conditions.