Frequency and voltage communication-less control for islanded AC microgrids: Experimental validation via rapid control prototyping

•Decentralized control of islanded photovoltaic-storage microgrids.•Higher-Order sliding model application to microgrids.•Experimental validation in a real laboratory power system microgrid via Rapid Control Prototyping. The energy transition is becoming one of the main challenges in recent years and it requires a fast discovery of new technologies and solutions to effectively integrate renewables in the electricity system. In this context, islanded AC Microgrids represent one of the most promising architectures, but they require smart and advanced control systems to allow fast and robust operations in all the possible operating scenarios. Among the advanced control techniques, Higher Order Sliding Mode control for power converters is one of the most promising solutions due to its ability to cope with model and parametric uncertainties without generating discontinuous control actions. This work presents the experimental validation of the approach proposed in a theoretical paper in which frequency and voltage controllers were defined that combined advantages of primary and secondary classic regulations. Such experimental campaign has been conducted at the Micro-grid and Smart-grid Research Lab of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering, University of Niš. Results show the correct behavior of the converters control in normal operation scenarios and the possibility to manage transitions between operating modes without any communication infrastructure among the generating units.