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Virginia Tech

Vector Based Control for Power Electronics Dominated AC Power Grid

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The global trend towards electrifying the grid has positioned power electronics at the forefront of modern power systems. To control power electronics in grid-connected applications, Grid Forming (GFM) control has become a focal point of research. GFM control utilizes control laws derived from steady-state relationships in the phasor domain. Although these control methods have historically performed well in traditional power systems dominated by electrical machines, they exhibit unexpected control issues in power electronics-dominant power systems. The root of these unexpected behaviors lies in the foundational assumptions of these control methods (Droop control and Virtual Synchronous Machine) i.e. frequency is considered to be a steady state quantity which is constant within the fundamental line cycle. This thesis critically examines these assumptions and elucidates their potential inapplicability in power electronics-dominated power systems. This thesis also introduces vectors as an alternative representation of voltages and currents. Unlike phasors, vectors are instantaneous and time-varying representation of electrical quantities at any point in time, defined by three time-varying values: Magnitude, Polar angle, and Azimuthal angle, using the spherical coordinate system. An initial attempt to demonstrate the capability of using these vectors to control the active and reactive power in inverters connected to the grid has also been presented in this thesis. The proposed vector-based control is able to track the commanded power setpoints within a fraction of the fundamental AC voltage cycle.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Electrical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2025

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Ashraf, Haris Bin
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Zhang, Richard
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Boroyevich, Dushan
  • Fan, Boran

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:42450
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/124584

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Ashraf, Haris Bin. Vector Based Control for Power Electronics Dominated AC Power Grid. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2025. https://hdl.handle.net/10919/124584