International Journal of Applied Power Engineering (IJAPE)

Vol. 11, No. 3, September 2022, pp. 179~185

ISSN: 2252-8792, DOI: 10.11591/ijape.v11.i3.pp179-185  179

PI-based PLL and 24-sector control of a 3P-3L-NPC inverter

for grid-tied PV system synchronization

Sakina Ammari1, Aziza Benaboud1,2, Mohamed Talea1

1
Laboratory of Information Processing, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sik, University Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
2
Department of Energy, Royal Navy School, Casablanca, Morocco

Article Info ABSTRACT

Article history: This article addresses one of the most serious issues in electricity: frequency
and voltage anomalies. Actually, because renewable energy production is
Received Jun 14, 2022 intermittent, the frequency and voltage of electricity produced are unstable
Revised Jul 30, 2022 and dependent on weather conditions. This issue causes industrial processes
Accepted Aug 4, 2022 to fail, affecting the quality of the electrical supply and having a massive
economic impact. Power electronics inverters are designed to compensate
for system fluctuations in solar power generation. However, measurement
Keywords: noise in the grid voltage desynchronizes the inverter and network signals.
The authors propose using a phase-locked loop technique based on inverter
Grid voltage period control and a network voltage observer to achieve such
Inverter voltage synchronization of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. In this work,
Period control the grid integration of the PV system is carried out through a three-phase
PLL three-level neutral point clamped inverter due to better current quality with
PV system fewer harmonics and lower stress voltage of the inverter's components when
Synchronization compared to two-level voltage source inverters. The method is successfully
Three level NPC inverter applied in a simulated case study and experimental results validate it.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license.

Corresponding Author:
Aziza Benaboud
Laboratory of Information Processing, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sik, University Hassan II
Casablanca 20670, Morocco
Email: [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION
Among the various renewable energy sources, solar energy is a compelling alternative solution that
is extremely environmentally friendly. The intermittent nature of solar photovoltaic, on the other hand,
complicates controllability and causes grid stability issues. Ahmed et al. [1] and Schmietendorf et al. [2]
present the three major challenges that conventional grids face when adopting renewable energy sources. The
first is overburdening existing transmission lines. It can happen when producers generate too much power
without warning, and a transmission line has a specified capacity; if this limit is exceeded, thermal loads
build up, causing damage. The second issue is a mismatch between demand and supply. It is possible that
under certain meteorological conditions, the power generated will not be available when needed. The last
issue which affects seriously the grid stability is the frequency and voltage anomalies.
Auer et al. [3] and Anvari et al. [4] have argued that power electronics inverters are used to correct
system fluctuations in solar power generation. However, measurement noise in grid voltage causes a
desynchronization of inverter and network signals. According to Wu and Wang [5], because of its simplicity,
the phase-locked-loop can be considered as the mainly used technique to avoid this problem of
desynchronization in grid-tied PV system via power inverter.

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180  ISSN:2252-8792

Several grid synchronization schemes have been described, and comparative studies of a few of
them have been conducted and published in [6]–[9]. A phase-locked loop is a common grid synchronization
method. It is crucial in power generation systems that are linked to the grid. It is difficult to obtain accurate
knowledge of the phase and frequency of grid voltage. As mentioned in [10], detecting the zero-crossing
point of the network voltages is a simple method of obtaining phase information. However, because of the
noisy voltage measurements, detecting the point is not always possible at every half-cycle of the utility
frequency. Agamy et al. [11] proposes a synchronization circuits connecting wind driven direct field
induction generator to the public grid.
Another technique employs a 90-degree shift in the quadrature of the input waveform. This
approach is frequently used in various applications for detecting phase or angular position, and it has been
adopted by [12] for electric motor speed control. A new PLL method for single phase systems is proposed
in [13]. The novelty in this reference is to generate an orthogonal voltage system using a second order
generalized integrator (SOGI), followed by a park transformation, whose quadrature component is forced to
zero by the fuzzy logic, in order to obtain rapid detection and a more accurate picture of the phase angle.
There are additional requirements for three-phase applications, such as estimations of the fundamental
positive or negative sequences, which are typically used in the flexible power control of grid-interfaced
converters for distributed power generation [14] and active power filters [15] under distorted and unbalanced
conditions. The three-phase PLL discussed by Escobar et al. [16], employs a synchronous reference frame to
identify the phase angle, frequency, and amplitude of the three phase grid voltages.
In this work, the authors propose a phase-locked loop (PLL) technique using the inverter period
adjustment and the grid voltage observer. It is mainly based on an estimation of modular period after
verification of the network and the inverter angular positions. To control this inverter, a modified number of
voltage sectors is proposed. Surprisingly, it was found that using 24 sectors instead of 12 or 6 sectors was
unexpectedly possible. This clever solution is applied to the three phase three level neutral point clamped
(3P-3L-NPC) inverter, which can be used as a bridge between the PV source and the grid. This paper is
organized as follows: Section 2 describes major photovoltaic system components, including the power
inverter. Section 3 proposes a PLL method to synchronize the inverter and the grid voltages. Section 4 shows
simulation and practical verification results. Finally, section 5 concludes the paper.

2. MAJOR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS

PV modules, as shown in Figure 1, are the most important component of a photovoltaic system [17];
they capture daylight to produce electrical energy using the PV effect. Batteries are used to convert chemical
energy to electrical energy in a reversible manner. These electrochemical storage systems should have sufficient
ability to pile up the energy generated in the day so that it can be used at night and during bad weather.

Figure 1. Major photovoltaic system components

When the batteries are fully charged, a charge controller disconnects them from the PV modules and
may detach the load to prevent the batteries since being discharged under a certain voltage. Furthermore, the
charge controller includes DC-DC converters to ensure that the PV voltage and current are independent. The
solar panel is directly connected to the power electronic inverter. It transforms the DC current generated by
the PV array into an alternating current (AC) network at fifty or sixty hertz. The PLL technique must then be
used to guarantee the inverter and network voltages synchronization [18].

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3. METHOD
3.1. Power electronics inverters
Power electronics inverters of various topologies serve as an interface between the PV system and
the grid. The grid integration of the PV system is carried out in this section using a three phase, three level
neutral point clamped inverter [19]. Compared to two-level voltage source inverters, the use of the 3P-3L-
NPC inverter is due to better current quality with fewer harmonics and lower stress voltage of the inverter's
components. Furthermore, when a square wave modulation is used to control it, it has a high efficiency. As
proved in [20], this mode has the benefit of having lower switching losses.
The proposed control strategy for the 3P-3L-NPC inverter is depicted schematically in Figure 2(a).
The DC side, which is the charge controller's output, will be connected to the capacitor midpoint N via
diodes in this configuration to provide the third level in the output waveform injected to the grid. The output
voltage waveform of 3P-3L-NPC inverter operated on SWM shown in Figure 2(b) must have the same
frequency as the grid voltage. As a result, the synchronization block is an essential component of the
controller in grid power converters. The authors propose a network voltage observer to synchronize the
inverter and grid signals.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. The proposed control strategy: (a) schematic diagram of 3P-3L-NPC inverter and
(b) output voltage waveform of 3P-3L-NPC inverter operated on SWM

3.2. Network voltage observer

The proposed network voltage observer is depicted schematically in Figure 3. It is mainly based on
an estimation of modular period after verification of the network and the inverter angular positions. The
difference between the inverter angle reference and the network measured angle is used as input to a simple
PI corrector in this structure. The adjusting time shown in the output is added to the sector period T m0
reference to keep the ratio between network and sector periods constant and thus achieve T inv=Tnet.

Figure 3. Schematic diagram of a network voltage observer.

3.3. Inverter control signals

The inverter reference angle is generated, as prsented in Figure 4, by a sinusoidal signal with an
adjustable period T'm. Figure 5 shows the decomposition of the inverter control signal into 24 sectors. The
goal of this decomposition is to have more precision on T' m, correct it instantly (as shown in Figure 3), and
then keep Tinv=24×T'm to synchronize the inverter and grid voltages.

PI-based PLL and 24-sector control of a 3P-3L-NPC inverter for grid-tied PV system … (Sakina Ammari)
182  ISSN:2252-8792

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of inverter angle generation.

Figure 5. Decomposition into 24 sectors of the inverter control signal.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The system depicted in Figure 2 was tested with MATLAB/Simulink and verified using a low-
voltage laboratory prototype. The simulated and measured results are shown in Figure 6. The periods of the
network and inverter angles are the same. This means that the voltages on the grid and the inverter are
synchronized. The simulation results, which are supported by experimental measurements, show that the PLL
technique presented in the previous sections is suitable.

Figure 6. Simulated and measured angles.

Figure 7 plots the simulated active and reactive powers together with inverter and network voltages.
The line current is also presented. Starting from the active and reactive power references, the system runs
initially in no load operation, with active and reactive powers equal to zero. In the first transition at (t=0.6s),
the network active and reactive powers are ramped from (P ref=0 and Qref=0) to (Pref=Sn×cosφ and to
Qref=Sn×sinφ) respectively Figure 7(a). Consequently, the inverter and network voltages don’t have the same
phase, the line current is different from zero and the system operates with (cosφ≠1) Figure 7(b). In the second
transition, at (t=10s), the reactive power ramps down to zero, the inverter and network voltages have the
same phase Figure 7(c). Then the reactive power can be compensated and the system can be operated using a
unity power factor (cosφ=1). On the other hand, as depicted in Figure 7(a), the transition of the active and
reactive powers can be done in small and well-defined period, without generating the continuous component
in the line current [21].

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Figure 8(a) shows measured active and reactive powers when the system operates with unity power
factor (cosφ=1). The alternative line current, inverter and network voltages are also presented in Figure 8(b).
It is well shown that the alternative line current is in phase with the network voltage when the reactive power
is near to zero. As these curves show, the correspondence between simulation and experimental results is
satisfactory. Using a three phase, three level neutral point clamped inverter as an interface between the PV
system and the grid allows to have a better current quality (see Figure 8(c)), with fewer harmonics and a
lower stress voltage of the inverter’s components compared to two level voltage source inverters.

(a)

(b) (c)

Figure 7. Simulated results: (a) powers, (b) voltages and line current when cos φ ≠1
and (c) voltages and line current when cos φ = 1

(a)

(b) (c)

Figure 8. Experimental results: (a) measured powers, (b) voltages and line current when cos φ = 1, and
(c) line current

PI-based PLL and 24-sector control of a 3P-3L-NPC inverter for grid-tied PV system … (Sakina Ammari)
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5. CONCLUSION
A photovoltaic system is made up of numerous components. In this paper, the authors have cited
and have briefly described the role of each element. Actually, power electronic inverter can be considered as
the most important component, wich is used in solar power generation to correct system fluctuations that
threaten grid stability. However, measurement noise in the grid voltage desynchronizes the inverter and
network signals. To solve this problem, a PI-based PLL and 24-sector control of a 3P-3L-NPC inverter is
proposed for grid-tied PV system synchronization. Its main advantage is a simple structure without any extra
circuit. This method is mainly based on an estimation of modular period after verification of the network and
the inverter angular positions A modified number of voltage sectors is proposed to control this inverter.
Surprisingly, it was discovered that using 24 sectors rather than 12 or 6 sectors is feasible. This ingenious
solution is used on the 3P-3L-NPC inverter, which serves as an interface between the PV system and the grid.
Finally, the theoretical analysis and simulation results, which are supported by experimental measurements,
demonstrate the suitability of the proposed PLL technique.

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BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS

Sakina Ammari received the electrical engineering diploma from the Faculty of
Science, Mohamed V University, Rabat Morocco, and a Master's degree from the same
University. She is currently preparing for her Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and power
electronics at the Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sik University Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco.
She is a member of the Information Treatment Laboratory. Her research interests include
electric drives, process control, power electronics, smart grid, artificial intelligence, and their
applications. She can be contacted at email: [email protected].

Aziza Benaboud is an Associate professor at Royal Navy School, and a member

of the Information Treatment Laboratory at the Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sik University
Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco. She received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland in 2007. Aziza
Benaboud's research focuses on power electronics and applications such as high-efficiency
frequency converters for high power generators and HVDC transmission systems. Her current
scientific activities are dedicated to green and renewable energy, like sunlight and solar
tracking system. She has authored two books and has published several papers and patents.
She has also given several invited talks at international conferences and universities. She can
be contacted at email: [email protected].

Mohamed Talea received his Ph.D. degree in physics in collaboration with

Poitiers University, France in 2001, he obtained a Doctorate of High Graduate Studies degree
from Hassan II University, Morocco, in 1994. Currently, he is a Professor in the Department
of Physics at Hassan II University, Morocco, and he is the Director of the Information
Treatment Laboratory. He has published more than 200 refereed journal and conference
papers. He can be contacted at email: [email protected].

PI-based PLL and 24-sector control of a 3P-3L-NPC inverter for grid-tied PV system … (Sakina Ammari)