The virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control is a promising solution for the grid-forming converters to enhance the inertia of the converter-based power grid. The virtual inertia and output impedance of the VSG are the important behaviors to be focused. However, the virtual inertia of grid-forming converters may cause active power oscillation due to the interaction with the power inertia of grid through the low-frequency band grid impedance. Besides, the resonance can be also triggered by the interaction between middle-frequency impedance of power grid and output impedance of converter. In order to test the stability of grid-forming converter, accurate emulation of grid behaviors from more aspects, including inertia and impedance under wider frequency ranges, is becoming critical. This article proposes a grid emulation method to mimic the inertia and impedance characteristics of power grid, targeting for the stability test of grid-forming converter under multifrequency bands. A high-switching-frequency converter and a low-switching-frequency converter are adopted in the proposed emulator structure to achieve both high capability in respect to control bandwidth and power level. Moreover, the virtual impedance control is integrated with the VSG control to emulate the line impedance and inertia within relatively wider frequency ranges. The realization of virtual impedance is achieved without derivation terms nor low pass filter. Finally, the performance of the proposed emulator is verified by various simulations and experimental measurements.

Published in: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics ( Volume: 38, Issue: 2, February 2023)