A bi-directional, direct conversion converter for use in household renewable energy systems

[摘要] A bi-directional, direct conversion switch-mode converter is proposed for use in distributed household renewable energy systems. The converter is intended as the central interface between the household energy system's low voltage Direct Current bus and the high voltage Alternating Current bus. The low voltage DC bus is connected to renewable generation and storage devices, while the high voltage AC bus is connected to the user's equipment and the mains grid.The converter overcomes the inherent reverse-duty cycle problem associated with bi-directional converters by using a combination step-up / step-down half-bridge converter on the high voltage side of a high frequency transformer. The low voltage side of the transformer is driven by a full bridge inverter that acts as a rectifier during reverse mode.In order to control the flow of power in both directions the converter implements Average Current Mode Control. A method is developed to determine the transfer functions of common switch-mode converters by inspection alone. This method is applied to the proposed converter, and both current and voltage mode control loops are designed with the frequency response method. The control system is implemented using a Digital Signal Processor.A method of simultaneously simulating both the converter hardware and software is developed using VHDL. This method greatly reduced the development effort of the converter. The operation of the proposed converter is verified through this method of simulation.A prototype converter is constructed and successfully tested, thereby proving the viability of the proposed converter topology and control methodology.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University