A Multi-input ac Link PV Inverter with Reduced Size and Weight
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abstract
A multi-input multi-output high frequency ac link inverter is proposed as the power electronics interface for photovoltaic (PV) with a built in battery energy storage system (BESS). In this inverter, a single stage power conversion unit fulfills all the systems requirements i.e. inverting dc voltage to proper ac, stepping up or down the input voltage, maximum power point tracking (MPPT), generating low harmonic ac current with unity power factor at the output and input/output isolation. This converter is, in fact, a partial resonant ac link converter in which the link is formed by a parallel ac inductor/capacitor (LC) pair having low reactive ratings. Single input single output partial resonant converter has been previously proposed by the authors. This paper examines the possibility of extending this topology to multi-input/multi-output partial resonant converters. Due to the intermittent nature of solar energy, an energy storage system is usually added to the PV system to deliver the reliable power and to draw the maximum power from the PV arrays. Therefore, multi input multi output systems are common in PV systems. Most of the currently existing topologies have two or more power stages which results in lower efficiencies. Moreover, dc electrolytic capacitors are an integral part of a two stage system containing a dc-dc converter and an inverter. Electrolytic capacitors cause the most severe reliability problems for inverters. The proposed converter is believed to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings. It is a single stage power conversion system with zero voltage turn on and soft turn off of the switches which results in very small switching losses, compact size, and light weight. It doesn't contain any electrolytic capacitor which increases the reliability of this converter to a great extent. Simulation results supported by experimental results are included in this paper. 2012 IEEE.
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2012 Twenty-Seventh Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC)
