Comparative assessment of typical controlrealizations of grid forming converters based ontheir voltage source behaviour

The converter control functions to provide the capabilities similar to synchronous generators are referred to as grid forming converters (GFC). Identical to a synchronous machine, a grid forming converter is expected to behave as a voltage source behind an impedance beyond the control bandwidth. However, GFC's realization has been different, with some utilizes inner current and voltage controllers while others do not. This paper studies the impact of the inner loop on the grid forming converter's ability to behave as a voltage source behind an impedance. Three of the most popular GFC structures, 1) GFC with cascaded voltage and current control, 2) with inner current control, 3) with no inner loop, are chosen for the comparison. The analysis revealed that MW level GFC with inner loops could potentially go unstable under weak power system. Additionally, the GFC with cascaded control can only operate stably within a narrow range of network impedances. Furthermore, it is also shown that slow response behavior based on cascaded inner loop can impact on dynamic reactive and active power-sharing.