Smart power flow control in DC distribution systems involving sustainable energy sources

In this paper, a detailed description of a proposed technique for power flow control in DC distribution systems has been presented. The DC system under study is assumed mainly dependent on renewable energy sources. The proposed topology utilizes a controlled series current compensator (CSCC) technique for connection and power flow control among buses. The proposed topology allows full power flow control among different DC buses while keeping the voltage level constant at all of them. Hence, loads connected to these buses will not be affected with the power flow process. Moreover, connection of buses at different voltage level and controlling the power flow can be easily achieved using this topology. The proposed topology reduces the complexity of applying protection schemes as it utilizes isolated DC-DC converter. Simulation results verified the applicability of the proposed topology. Moreover, a prototype system has been designed and built in hardware to examine the performance of the proposed system. The experimental results show the validity of the proposed system as a powerful technique to interconnect DC buses.