New energy-based control slashes voltage deviations in DC data centers
Passivity-based controller keeps data centers stable under grid faults and non-passive loads
Conventional cascaded proportional-integral (PI) controllers for AC-DC converters in DC data centers only ensure stability near nominal operating points, faltering under grid disturbances or when connected to non-passive Information Technology rack loads. A new paper by Wang et al. introduces a passivity-based control framework that overcomes these limitations by leveraging the Port-Hamiltonian (PH) formulation. The controller shapes the system’s total stored energy and injects virtual damping through a lossless interconnection with a PH controller, effectively making the converter behave as a passive system even when interfaced with non-passive loads or during grid faults.
The closed-loop system guarantees asymptotic voltage regulation and strict energy dissipation without assuming constant grid voltage or frequency. Simulation studies under realistic load and fault scenarios demonstrate that the proposed controller achieves significantly smaller voltage deviations, faster recovery times, and superior robustness compared to conventional methods. This work is particularly relevant for future high-efficiency DC data-center architectures, where resilience to disturbances is critical for power quality and uptime.
- Derives controller from total energy balance using Port-Hamiltonian formulation, not just linearization near nominal points.
- Guarantees asymptotic voltage regulation and energy dissipation even with non-passive loads or grid disturbances.
- Simulations show smaller voltage deviations and faster recovery under realistic fault scenarios than conventional PI controllers.
Why It Matters
Enables more resilient DC data centers critical for high-efficiency computing, reducing downtime and power quality issues under real-world disturbances.