Review of control techniques for inverters parallel operation

This paper presents state-of-the-art review of control methods applied currently to parallel power electronic inverters. Different system architectures, their modes of operation, management and control strategies will be analyzed; advantages and disadvantages will be discussed. Though, it is not easy to give a general view at the state of the art for the research area since it is rapid and going in different directions, this paper will focus on the main streams. This paper will start by briefly reviewing the current trends in power supply systems and the increasing importance for including power electronic devices. Next, the different techniques to parallel inverters suggested in the literature will be checked. These can be categorized to the following main approaches: master/slave control techniques, current/power sharing control techniques, and frequency/voltage droop control techniques. Finally, based on the reviewed state of the art, the study concludes by comparing the different approaches reported. In addition, their weaknesses and strengths are strained. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.