Unified Active Damping Control Algorithm of Inverter for LCL Resonance and Mechanical Torsional Vibration Suppression

In the electrical engineering field, there are two types of system which can potentially generate resonance under excitation, one is the electrical system with inductor and capacitor, the other is the mechanical system with spring-mass characteristic. A lot of research on active damping control algorithms for grid-connected inverters with LCL filter and inverter-driven machine with multirotating masses have been demonstrated. However, research works for these two systems were carried out independently and there is a lack of systematic comparison for modelling and control between these two systems. This article will unify the mathematical models and active damping control algorithms for these two systems. It is found that the mathematical models and control structures are fundamentally the same. The existing or future potential active damping control algorithms used in electrical system can be applied in mechanical system and vice versa to avoid reinventing the wheel. Parameter sensitivity analysis for controller and feedback gains was performed for electrical systems in the discrete z-domain. For mechanical systems, it is found that a substantial electromagnetic torque overshoot was introduced when applying the active damping control and it was analyzed quantitatively with various damping coefficients to guide the inverter design. Finally, experimental tests were done to verify the findings.