Technical Application Papers

2.2 System description For simulation purpose, the DC poles short circuit and the
2 System configuration

AC three-phase short circuit are respectively represented

The analyzed electric plant is composed by an AC sec-
tion and a LVDC microgrid fed by a front-end converter.
On the AC side there are a MV/LV transformer connect-
ing the system to the MVAC Utility and a generic purely
resistive passive load.
The analyzed LVDC microgrid includes the following
components:
– bidirectional FEC, which controls the DC-Bus voltage,
keeping it to the preset value. The converter, usually
based on PWM, exchanges sinusoidal wave currents
with the grid at the unit power factor, i.e., with no ex-
change of reactive power;
– Energy Storage System (ESS), which provides continu-
ity of supply to the priority loads during short power
interruptions, connected to the DC-Bus by a DC/DC
bidirectional converter;
– PhotoVoltaic (PV) plant, connected to the DC-Bus by
a DC/DC step-up converter;
– DC load that can be considered as a purely resistive
passive element.
Moreover, on the AC side an AC three-phase load is
installed, working at cosᵠ =1.
The generic passive DC load is represented by means of
a resistance RL, the parasitic capacitances by means of
the concentrated capacitances Cp, the ESS by means
of a voltage DC generator (Eo, Ri), whereas the PV plant
is modeled by means of a controlled current source
(IPV = P/Vdc with a maximum short circuit equal to 1.25
times the short circuit current ISC STC under standard
conditions1, according to the Standard IEC 60364-7-712
[15]).
by means of the resistances Rsc and Rsc’, while DC and
AC ground faults by means of Rg and Rg’, sum of fault
and protective ground system resistances.
Figures 2.2-2.5 depict the scheme of the electrical plant
analyzed with the several ground system configurations.
In particular, the configurations in Figures 2.2-2.4 will
be used for DC ground faults, while the configuration in
Figure 2.5 for an AC ground fault. The configuration with
the AC exposed conductive parts connected to the same
grounding arrangement of the transformer neutral point
will not be analyzed in this Technical Application Paper
since it is the well-known usual configuration.
We consider the DC negative pole grounded configura-
tion, not the DC positive pole, for safety reason. Without
a galvanic isolation transformer, it is not possible to have
both the transformer neutral point and the DC negative
pole grounded, since it would create a permanent short
circuit fault through ground that would prevent the system
normal operation.
The fictitious switches Sx in Figures 2.2-2.5 show the
connection possibilities of the exposed conductive parts
to a protective grounding system that can be distinct from
the operational grounding or the same.
1
A standard set of reference conditions used for the testing and rating of photovoltaic
cells and modules. The standard test conditions are:
a) PV cell temperature of 25 °C;
b) irradiance in the plane of the PV cell or module of 1000 W/m2;
c) light spectrum corresponding to an atmospheric air mass of 1.5.

Figure 2.2 –Microgrid scheme with MV/LV transformer neutral point grounded for DC ground fault analysis

Iconvdc1
Idc Idc1
V1 Iac1
I1 Lc Rc Cdc
AC/DC Rdc Isc
MVAC V2 I2 Lc Rc Isc’ Iac2 Incoming Icap
Front-End Vpole+
Utility filter M Vdc
V3 I3 Lc Rc Iac3 Converter Cdc
Rdc
N

Vpole-
Iconvdc2 Ig RI
Vconv

AC load RL E0 + PPV/Vdc
DC load Energy PV plant
storage
Ig system
S1 PE

S2

12 Faults in LVDC microgrids with front-end converters