Geometry of the Feasible Output Regions of Grid-Interfacing Inverters with Current Limits

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Streitmatter, Lauren, Joswig-Jones, Trager, Zhang, Baosen
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912400471490560
author Streitmatter, Lauren
Joswig-Jones, Trager
Zhang, Baosen
author_facet Streitmatter, Lauren
Joswig-Jones, Trager
Zhang, Baosen
contents Many resources in the grid connect to power grids via programmable grid-interfacing inverters that can provide grid services and offer greater control flexibility and faster response times compared to synchronous generators. However, the current through the inverter needs to be limited to protect the semiconductor components. Existing controllers are designed using somewhat ad hoc methods, for example, by adding current limiters to preexisting control loops, which can lead to stability issues or overly conservative operations. In this paper, we study the geometry of the feasible output region of a current-limited inverter. We show that under a commonly used model, the feasible region is convex. We provide an explicit characterization of this region, which allows us to efficiently find the optimal operating points of the inverter. We demonstrate how knowing the feasible set and its convexity allows us to improve upon existing grid-forming inverters such that their steady-state currents always remain within the current magnitude limit, whereas standard grid-forming controllers can lead to instabilities and violations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_13788
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Geometry of the Feasible Output Regions of Grid-Interfacing Inverters with Current Limits
Streitmatter, Lauren
Joswig-Jones, Trager
Zhang, Baosen
Systems and Control
Many resources in the grid connect to power grids via programmable grid-interfacing inverters that can provide grid services and offer greater control flexibility and faster response times compared to synchronous generators. However, the current through the inverter needs to be limited to protect the semiconductor components. Existing controllers are designed using somewhat ad hoc methods, for example, by adding current limiters to preexisting control loops, which can lead to stability issues or overly conservative operations. In this paper, we study the geometry of the feasible output region of a current-limited inverter. We show that under a commonly used model, the feasible region is convex. We provide an explicit characterization of this region, which allows us to efficiently find the optimal operating points of the inverter. We demonstrate how knowing the feasible set and its convexity allows us to improve upon existing grid-forming inverters such that their steady-state currents always remain within the current magnitude limit, whereas standard grid-forming controllers can lead to instabilities and violations.
title Geometry of the Feasible Output Regions of Grid-Interfacing Inverters with Current Limits
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.13788