Dc Grid Power Congestion Management Laboratory Experiments

In the process of the electrical energy transition, a new curriculum for bachelor electrical engineering is developed. A new development is DC grids, as they are shown to be promising in solving the power congestion management problem. Particularly when adding solar power, battery storage, and load appliances including power electronics, DC grids are replacing AC grids, especially in micro-grids. The development of new laboratory experiments using three educational methods is described in this paper. First, theory combined with online calculation tools is used to prepare the students for the subject. Second, the experiment has to be prepared using simulation tools, and third, the experiment is conducted using a hardware trainer, specially developed for DC grid education. The purpose of laboratory experiments is to learn how power congestion management is regulated in a DC grid. For this, students have access to a Grid Manager, with a current control add-on. This so-called Droop Controller enables the control of a bidirectional current flow. There are four learning objectives. 1-Control voltage level, 2-Control current level, 3-Regulate output power from a Grid Manager, 4-Regulate bidirectional power flow using emulated appliances. These learning objectives are spread over four weeks. Students will first learn the basics of the grid manager. They will learn how to control the voltage in a DC grid in week 1. In the second lecture, they will use a current controller and notice a difference in controlling the output power while maintaining a stable output voltage. In Lectures 3 and 4, the grid manager and droop control with bidirectional power flow is explored. The outline of the lectures and experiments is presented in this paper as well as the minimum requirements that students must meet.