ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1835-0661

Date of Award

Fall 2025

Language

English

Embargo Period

12-9-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Program

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Mohammed Agamy

Committee Members

Gary J. Saulnier, Mohammed Agamy, JiangBiao He, Nathan Dahlin

Keywords

grid-forming control, inverter, model predictive control, virtual inertia control.

Subject Categories

Controls and Control Theory | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Electrical and Electronics | Power and Energy

Abstract

ABSTRACT As power systems transition from fossil-fuel plants to renewable resources, synchronous generators (SGs) are increasingly replaced by converter-based interfaces with limited inertia and constrained voltage and frequency regulation. This shift introduces stability and performance challenges that can be mitigated with advanced control strategies such as grid-forming (GFM) controllers, which are able to establish voltage and frequency autonomously. In thiswork, among differentGFMcontrollers, dispatchable virtual oscillator control (dVOC) is adopted for its fast dynamics, accurate synchronization, and effective power-sharing among distributed energy resources. However, dVOC suffers from nonlinear parameter-design complexity, limited inertial response, coupled power loops, inadequate voltage regulation at point of common coupling (PCC), and no built-in current limiting or fault ride through capability. To overcome these limitations, this work proposes a data-driven dVOC tuning method that outperforms analytical designs in transient and steady state performance and remains robust under varying line impedances. For further stability analysis, a detailed system model is developed. To enhance inertial response, virtual inertia controller based on the swing equation is proposed which updates inverter power commands, improving frequency response under disturbances. An adaptive inertia controller further adjusts gains dynamically to reduce settling time and power exchange. A dynamic reactive power controller is proposed to decouple active/reactive controls and improve power control performance. To regulate the PCC voltage, finite-set model predictive control (FS-MPC) is integrated to dVOC to predict and regulate PCC voltage and output current. Leveraging the multi-objective cost function of FS-MPC enables current limiting under overloads or faults. To address the mismatched line impedances among parallel DERs connected to the AC bus, an MPC-dVOC controller with virtual impedance was designed to ensure accurate power control and balanced power-sharing. Furthermore, an adaptive MPC-dVOC framework is developed enabling seamless transitions between grid-tied and islanded modes and ensures proper operation. To enable fault-through capability, the proposed MPC-based approach is designed to limit fault current and supply reactive power support during grid disturbances in compliance with grid-code requirements. To validate the controller effectiveness, a laboratory prototype is built. The results confirm the voltage regulation accuracy and improved system dynamics. ii

License

This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.

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Available for download on Wednesday, December 09, 2026

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