Research Objectives and Approaches: The objectives of this research are to develop key enabling technologies that will facilitate the design of three-port micro invertors which are able to convert DC power from conventional photovoltaic (PV) grid-connected systems into acceptable AC power. The approach is three-fold - (1) Investigating circuit operation and power stage design considerations of three-port micro invertors (2) Performing digital control design and studying the stability of the proposed three-port micro invertors by means of modern nonlinear theory (bifurcation and chaos theory), (3) Developing proper modeling procedures tailored to derive the small signal model of the three-port micro inverter.
Intellectual Merit: The proposed research focuses on creating new concepts of three-port micro inverters, topology optimization, small signal modeling techniques, digital control, and nonlinear analysis. The aim is to reduce power losses and generate clean energy with greater efficiency. The research aims to investigate novel approaches to current energy conversion challenges, while satisfying the standard requirements of regular utility grids.
Broader Impacts: Renewable energy sources and associated energy conversion technologies are imperative for a sustainable and prosperous future. The proposed research would improve the fundamental understanding of key technologies in power converter design, manufacture, and application. Not only would this research offer an innovative, cost-effective method for the generation of power anywhere in the world and thus contribute to universal economic and social development, but would also strengthen the power electronics curricula at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and attract the best students to the promising field of alternative energies.
