Power Control Capabilities of the ROMAtrix Converter

Solid-State Transformers (SST) have been growing importance in the upcoming power distribution system. Currently the available circuit topologies and the maximum voltage rating supported by available power devices are the key limits in the usage of Solid-State Transformers into the Medium Voltage (MV) distribution systems. To overcome these limitations, a novel solution denoted as ROMAtrix converter has been proposed and needs to be explored. Such a configuration is able to preserve all the benefits of existing SSTs topologies, such as bidirectional power flow, isolation barrier with a medium frequency transformer and modularity. In addition, the ROMAtrix converter enables connections to a wider range of MV networks by halving the voltage drop on each power switch. However, the power flows management abilities, which would enable this structure to operate in smart grids system, has not yet been proved. To this aim, an active and reactive control strategy has been described in this paper to demonstrate the power control capabilities of the ROMAtrix structure. In order to highlight the features of the proposed topology, significant results, achieved in MATLAB/Simulink and PLECS co-simulation environment, have been shown and discussed. © 2018 IEEE