Control Strategies for Multifunctional Active Front-End Converter in Oil and Gas Platforms

Abstract

This paper compares control strategies for active power exchange and electrical disturbance compensation for multifunction active front-end converters applied to offshore oil and gas platforms. Such scenarios are characterized as weak grids due to their isolated nature and the presence of heavy motor loads. Thereby, harmonic compensation may play an important role in increasing power quality indexes. Thus, different strategies (i.e., sinusoidal current and resistive load synthesis) are com-pared, varying between injection, absorption and compensation targets. Such functionalities are fully performed by active front-end converters embedded in energy storage system since the bidirectional power exchange is possible; or partially performed by wind-based system, variable frequency drive and active power filter. The strategies are analyzed in terms of damping capacity through the frequency response, voltage distortion caused at the point of the converter connection, total demand distortion for the source current, and power factor at the terminals of the generators.