Design and Control of Power Converters 2019

In this book, 20 papers focused on different fields of power electronics are gathered. Approximately half of the papers are focused on different control issues and techniques, ranging from the computer-aided design of digital compensators to more specific approaches such as fuzzy or sliding control techniques. The rest of the papers are focused on the design of novel topologies. The fields in which these controls and topologies are applied are varied: MMCs, photovoltaic systems, supercapacitors and traction systems, LEDs, wireless power transfer, etc

Advances in Control of Power Electronic Converters

This book proposes a list of contributions in the field of control of power electronics converters for different topologies: DC-DC, DC-AC and AC-DC. It particularly focuses on the use of different advanced control techniques with the aim of improving the performances, flexibility and efficiency in the context of several operation conditions. Sliding mode control, fuzzy logic based control, dead time compensation and optimal linear control are among the techniques developed in the special issue. Simulation and experimental results are provided by the authors to validate the proposed control strategies

Current error compensation for current-sensorless power factor corrector stage in continuous conduction mode

Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. V. M. Lopez-Martin, F. J. Azcondo, and A. de Castro, "Current error compensation for current-sensorless power factor corrector stage in continuous conduction mode", 2012 IEEE 13th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL), Kyoto (Japan), 2012, pp. 1-8A universal digital PFC current-sensorless controller based on control of estimated current is presented. Parasitic elements cause a small difference between the measured input voltage and the voltage across the inductance in a boost converter, which must be taken into account to estimate the input current in a sensorless PFC digital controller. To compensate for the deviation caused by the parasitic elements, and so minimize the current estimation error, the article proposes a digital feedback control technique that cancels the time difference between DCM operation time of the real input current (TinDCM) and the estimated current (TrebDCM). Experimental results, obtained using a boost PFC converter under different conditions, are shown for verification purposes.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science TEC FEDER 2011-2361

AC mains synchronization loop for precalculated-based PFC converters using the output voltage measure

Common implementations of power factor correction include sensors for the input and output voltages and the input current. Many alternatives have been considered to reduce the number of sensors, especially the current sensor. One strategy is to precalculate the duty cycles that must be applied to every ac main, so the system only needs to synchronize them with the input voltage, and include a simple output voltage loop. The main problem with this approach is the sensibility to any synchronization error, because the input current is not measured, so its evolution is not continuously corrected. This paper shows how the synchronization error alters the current and the power factor, and it proposes several methods to detect and correct this error. All methods use the output voltage ADC, which is already used to control the output voltage, so the cost of the system is not increased. This technique can also be applied to any current sensorless PFC converter, because they are usually affected by leading or lagging currents, so the synchronization can be modified to reduce these effects. Results show that the implementation of this synchronization loop keeps a high-power factor under a wide synchronization error range, while the added logic is not significant.This research was funded by Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad grant number TEC2013-43017-R

A Current-Sensorless Digital Controller for Active Power Factor Correction Control Based on Kalman Filters

For low-power AC-DC converters, power factor correction (PFC) can be accomplished simply with certain converters operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). At higher power levels, DCM results in higher losses, so most PFC converters use current feedback to actively track the correct current waveshape. This work presents a way to provide PFC control without the current sensor, by replacing the sensor with a Kalman filter, which is essentially a stochastic observer. Experimental results verify its high power factor and low total harmonic distortion (THD)

Modeling and identification of power electronic converters

Nowadays, many industries are moving towards more electrical systems and components. This is done with the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of their systems while being environmentally friendlier and sustainable. Therefore, the development of power electronic systems is one of the most important points of this transition. Many manufacturers have improved their equipment and processes in order to satisfy the new necessities of the industries (aircraft, automotive, aerospace, telecommunication, etc.). For the particular case of the More Electric Aircraft (MEA), there are several power converters, inverters and filters that are usually acquired from different manufacturers. These are switched mode power converters that feed multiple loads, being a critical element in the transmission systems. In some cases, these manufacturers do not provide the sufficient information regarding the functionality of the devices such as DC/DC power converters, rectifiers, inverters or filters. Consequently, there is the need to model and identify the performance of these components to allow the aforementioned industries to develop models for the design stage, for predictive maintenance, for detecting possible failures modes, and to have a better control over the electrical system. Thus, the main objective of this thesis is to develop models that are able to describe the behavior of power electronic converters, whose parameters and/or topology are unknown. The algorithms must be replicable and they should work in other types of converters that are used in the power electronics field. The thesis is divided in two main cores, which are the parameter identification for white-box models and the black-box modeling of power electronics devices. The proposed approaches are based on optimization algorithms and deep learning techniques that use non-intrusive measurements to obtain a set of parameters or generate a model, respectively. In both cases, the algorithms are trained and tested using real data gathered from converters used in aircrafts and electric vehicles. This thesis also presents how the proposed methodologies can be applied to more complex power systems and for prognostics tasks. Concluding, this thesis aims to provide algorithms that allow industries to obtain realistic and accurate models of the components that they are using in their electrical systems.En la actualidad, el uso de sistemas y componentes eléctricos complejos se extiende a múltiples sectores industriales. Esto se hace con el propósito de mejorar su eficiencia y, en consecuencia, ser más sostenibles y amigables con el medio ambiente. Por tanto, el desarrollo de sistemas electrónicos de potencia es uno de los puntos más importantes de esta transición. Muchos fabricantes han mejorado sus equipos y procesos para satisfacer las nuevas necesidades de las industrias (aeronáutica, automotriz, aeroespacial, telecomunicaciones, etc.). Para el caso particular de los aviones más eléctricos (MEA, por sus siglas en inglés), existen varios convertidores de potencia, inversores y filtros que suelen adquirirse a diferentes fabricantes. Se trata de convertidores de potencia de modo conmutado que alimentan múltiples cargas, siendo un elemento crítico en los sistemas de transmisión. En algunos casos, estos fabricantes no proporcionan la información suficiente sobre la funcionalidad de los dispositivos como convertidores de potencia DC-DC, rectificadores, inversores o filtros. En consecuencia, existe la necesidad de modelar e identificar el desempeño de estos componentes para permitir que las industrias mencionadas desarrollan modelos para la etapa de diseño, para el mantenimiento predictivo, para la detección de posibles modos de fallas y para tener un mejor control del sistema eléctrico. Así, el principal objetivo de esta tesis es desarrollar modelos que sean capaces de describir el comportamiento de un convertidor de potencia, cuyos parámetros y/o topología se desconocen. Los algoritmos deben ser replicables y deben funcionar en otro tipo de convertidores que se utilizan en el campo de la electrónica de potencia. La tesis se divide en dos núcleos principales, que son la identificación de parámetros de los convertidores y el modelado de caja negra (black-box) de dispositivos electrónicos de potencia. Los enfoques propuestos se basan en algoritmos de optimización y técnicas de aprendizaje profundo que utilizan mediciones no intrusivas de las tensiones y corrientes de los convertidores para obtener un conjunto de parámetros o generar un modelo, respectivamente. En ambos casos, los algoritmos se entrenan y prueban utilizando datos reales recopilados de convertidores utilizados en aviones y vehículos eléctricos. Esta tesis también presenta cómo las metodologías propuestas se pueden aplicar a sistemas eléctricos más complejos y para tareas de diagnóstico. En conclusión, esta tesis tiene como objetivo proporcionar algoritmos que permitan a las industrias obtener modelos realistas y precisos de los componentes que están utilizando en sus sistemas eléctricos.Postprint (published version

Power quality enhancement in residential smart grids through power factor correction stages

The proliferation of non-linear loads and the increasing penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) in Medium-Voltage (MV) and Low-Voltage (LV) distribution grids, make it more difficult to maintain the power quality levels in residential electrical grids, especially in the case of weak grids. Most household appliances contain a conventional Power Factor Corrector (PFC) rectifier, which maximizes the load Power Factor (PF) but does not contribute to the regulation of the voltage Total Harmonic Distortion (THDV) in residential electrical grids. This manuscript proposes a modification for PFC controllers by adapting the operation mode depending on the measured THDV. As a result, the PFCs operate either in a low current Total Harmonic Distortion (THDI) mode or in the conventional resistor emulator mode and contribute to the regulation of the THDV and the P F at the distribution feeders. To prove the concept, the modification is applied to a current sensorless Non-Linear Controller (NLC) applied to a single-phase Boost rectifier. Experimental results show its performance in a PFC front-end stage operating in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) connected to the grid with different THDV.This work is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project TEC2014-52316-R ECOTREND Estimation and Optimal Control for Energy Conversion with Digital Devices

Advanced and Innovative Optimization Techniques in Controllers: A Comprehensive Review

New commercial power electronic controllers come to the market almost every day to help improve electronic circuit and system performance and efficiency. In DC–DC switching-mode converters, a simple and elegant hysteretic controller is used to regulate the basic buck, boost and buck–boost converters under slightly different configurations. In AC–DC converters, the input current shaping for power factor correction posts a constraint. But, several brilliant commercial controllers are demonstrated for boost and fly back converters to achieve almost perfect power factor correction. In this paper a comprehensive review of the various advanced optimization techniques used in power electronic controllers is presented