Integration of the electrical machine and drive system is an ongoing research topic among scholars in both academia and industry with the goal of increasing power density and efficiency to fulfill the requirements of aviation applications. The drive system structure and the modulation scheme impact the stator current ripple which affects torque ripple and efficiency. The case study of this paper is an integrated motor drive system of a 250 kW and 5,000 rpm direct drive surface permanent magnet machine. The imposed current ripple for different three- phase topologies (two-level VSI, and modular single-phase) using different modulation schemes (SVPWM for two-level VSI and Unipolar PWM for single-phase) are analytically studied. It is shown that in a modular single-phase full-bridge topology, the maximum peak to peak value of the current ripple is significantly lower than modular single-phase half-bridge and three-phase SVPWM modulated two-level VSI over the entire operating range. Furthermore, the torque ripple, stator core loss, and winding loss are evaluated for different current profiles through finite element analysis (FEA) simulations.

Increasing integration of various energy sources to the power grid, demand for higher power density, and higher cyber security resulted in a growing attention to multi-port power converters. Although several multi-port converter (MPC) topologies exist in the literature, there is an absence of a systematic method to design, develop, and control MPCs. This paper proposes a systematic method that can be used to design MPCs for different applications. This method includes the approach to develop topologies for MPCs and a general approach to design proper control systems for them. The proposed method is applied to four sample cases from the existing MPCs in the literature to demonstrate its effectiveness. Moreover, the control method is applied to one of the sample cases and the simulation and experimental results are presented.

Increasing tendency in online businesses and work from home, attracted many businesses and individuals to consider single-phase uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). However, low power UPSs are normally incapable of operating for extended time periods. In order to extend UPS ranges, researchers integrated auxiliary energy sources to UPSs. However, integrating auxiliary power sources require additional power electronics active and passive components. This will result in low power density and bulky UPSs. To overcome this issue, multi-port converters have been proposed as an alternative to employing multiple converters. Nevertheless, using multi-port converters require more advanced control methods. This paper proposes a novel multi-port UPS with a finite control set model predictive controller. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed converter. The results show the load current THD of 0.77%, resilient transient response, and efficiencies up to 97.5% using SiC MOSFETs.

The upward trend of employing renewable energy sources in today’s power grid, the tendency to utilize energy storage systems in addition to these sources, and the benefits of using hybrid energy storage systems (including the transportation electrification sector) have put the multi-port converters (MPCs) under the spotlight. Fewer number of active and passive components, higher power density, and lower risk for cyber- attacks are among the reasons for MPCs’ popularity. This paper proposes a novel three-port power converter for the hybrid energy storage and hybrid renewable and energy storage applications. This converter is designed to operate for loads up to 20kW and for voltages 400-24V which is suitable for HESSs in residential and electric vehicle auxiliary power units. The voltage levels of this TPC are suitable for the electric vehicles auxiliary power units and DC zonal microgrids. This paper discusses the development and control of this three-port converter and demonstrates the effectiveness of this converter by simulating it under various operating modes for a 2.5kW hybrid energy storage system This TPC achieved efficiencies between 90.7% to 94.5% in different modes with a switching frequency of 50kHz.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in DC-DC multi-port power converters for transportation applications. Multi-port converters benefit from fewer components compared to multiple-converter architectures. As a result, higher power density and lower prices are among the main incentives for utilizing multi-port DC-DC converters in transportation sector. Moreover, fuel cell is among the permissible green energy resources that has been broadly considered for transportation applications. This paper proposes a novel multi-port converter for fuel cell-based hybrid streetcar application. Furthermore, an energy management scheme has been proposed for the presented multi-port converter to achieve the suitable modes of operation. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed multi-port converter and the presented energy management scheme. Power loss analysis for this converter are provided and efficiencies of 92.7% and 95.1% for two- and single-stage modes are recorded, respectively.

AC microgrids are considered the most compatible method for integration of renewable energy sources and energy storage systems into the existing power grid. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are among the most popular renewable energy sources. However, due to the DC nature of their produced power, power electronics converters are required to process their harvested energy. This paper proposes a power electronics-based solution named solar converter unit (SCU) that operates as an interface between the PVs modules and the AC microgrid. The modularity of the proposed topology improves the reliability of power conversion process. Moreover, this topology benefits from a modified hysteresis band control algorithm that provides regulated and high-quality waveform at the consumer side with maximum of 6% error margin. Furthermore, a THD value of 0.72% is recorded for the consumer side. Various integration scenarios using SCU are discussed comprehensively in this paper and a scenario selection algorithm is proposed. Simulations are conducted for key functions of SCU to demonstrate its capabilities and functionality. The simulation results show that the proposed SCU converts and manages the power in the AC microgrid properly.

Multi-port power converters have gained attention in renewable energy applications due to their higher power density caused by fewer number of components. Three-port converters (TPCs) provide desirable solution to many applications combining renewable energy sources (RESs) and energy storage systems (ESSs). This paper proposes a new TPC with an adaptive variable-frequency PWM (VF-PWM) control scheme to assure its operation in boundary current mode (BCM). The proposed TPC provides a feasible solution to combine a PV with a battery system for residential PV systems. This paper discusses the proposed TPC and its operation modes. Moreover, the suggested VF-PWM method is introduced to achieve BCM of the proposed TPC. The provided simulation results verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed TPC and its VF-PWM method for BCM operation. Quantitative discussions on benefits of BCM from various aspects are also presented.