Robust multisampled capacitor voltage active damping for grid-connected power converters

The derivative feedback of the capacitor voltage is one of the most extended active damping strategies, used to eliminate stability problems in grid-connected power converters with an LCL filter. This strategy is equivalent to the implementation of a virtual impedance in parallel with the filter capacitor. This virtual impedance is strongly affected by the control loop delays and frequency, creating changes in the sign of the emulated virtual resistor, and raising instability regions where the active damping is ineffective. As a consequence, the LCL resonance frequency is restricted to vary, as the effective grid inductance changes, within the active damping stability region. This is an additional restriction imposed on the LCL filter design that can compromise the achievement of an optimised design. For this reason, in this work, a different strategy is presented; by adjusting the delay in the active damping feedback path, it becomes stable within the range where the LCL resonance frequency can be located for a given filter design, achieving a robust damping. Analytical expressions are provided to adjust this delay. To widen the stability region of the capacitor voltage derivative active damping, a multisampled derivative is implemented, overcoming its limitations close to the control Nyquist frequency. Experimental and simulation results validate the active damping strategy presented.