Reliability Analysis and Cost Optimization of Parallel-Inverter System

• Published in: IEEE transactions on industrial electronics (1982) Vol. 59; no. 10; pp. 3881 - 3889
• Main Authors: Xiaoxiao Yu, Khambadkone, A. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-10-2012; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Availability; Cost analysis; Cost optimization; Density; distributed power system; Inverters; Joints; Maintenance engineering; Mathematical models; Optimization; parallel inverters; Power conversion; power density; Power distribution; Power system reliability; reliability modeling; Sensitivity analysis; Strategy
• ISSN: 0278-0046; 1557-9948
• DOI: 10.1109/TIE.2011.2175670

As the penetration of renewable energy resources proliferate, inverters have been employed as interface in distributed power systems. To achieve expanded power level and system redundancy, parallel connection of inverters has been widely used. This paper derives mathematical models to quantitatively evaluate the reliability of parallel inverters under different topologies and control strategies. A framework to determine the number of inverters in parallel in terms of reliability and cost optimization is proposed. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to identify the impact of parameter variation on system reliability and total cost. At last, power densities of different structures are analyzed for a fair comparison.