Series-winding topology (SWT) could improve the DC-link voltage utilization, as open-winding topology does. Meanwhile, it can greatly reduce the number of power devices. Firstly, for the half-bridge power modules (HBPMs)-based inverter, an N-phase series-winding motor only requires N + 1 HBPMs for driving. On the other hand, such SWT also brings new challenges to the drive system. A zero-sequence loop is introduced into the motor windings due to SWT. The generated zero-sequence current would degrade the total harmonic distortion of the phase currents and produce the additional torque ripple. Moreover, current sensors are typically integrated with the HBPMs. However, in SWT, their measured results are the leg currents of the inverter, not the phase currents of the motor, which is crucial to the motor control. Thus, this paper mainly focuses on the aforementioned problems in a three-phase series-winding permanent-magnet synchronous motor (TPSW-PMSM) drive with HBPM-based inverter. Firstl... [more]

Nowadays, the increasing number of nonlinear loads and renewable energy resources pose new challenges for the standard electrical grid. Conventional solutions cannot handle most of them. The weakest component in the whole system is a conventional distribution (converting medium to low AC voltage) transformer. It should not operate with unbalanced, heavily distorted voltage and cannot control power flow or compensate current harmonics. One of the promising solutions to replace the conventional transformer and thus minimize power flow and grid distortions is a power electronics device called a solid state transformer (SST). Depending on the SST topology, it can have different functionalities, and, with the proper control algorithm, it is able to compensate any power imbalances in both low voltage (LV) and medium voltage (MV) grid sides. In the case of a three energy conversion stage SST, the LV and the MV stages can be treated separately. This paper focuses on the MV-AC to the MV-DC stag... [more]

This paper aimed at evaluating the influence of different vertical equivalent damping ratios of a 3-dimensional combined isolation bearing (3D-CIB) as regards seismic response and isolation effectiveness. A comparative study of the seismic response in terms of acceleration floor response spectra (FRS), peak acceleration, displacement response of the nuclear reactor building, and dynamic response of the 3D-CIB was carried out. The results showed that: (1) the horizontal FRS is slightly influenced by the vertical equivalent damping ratio of 3D-CIB, whereas the increase of the vertical equivalent damping ratio has a significant effect on reducing the vertical FRS; (2) the peak vertical acceleration increased with the decrease in the vertical equivalent damping ratios of 3D-CIB and the difference of peak accelerations calculated by the damping ratio of 20 and 25% is within 10%; (3) the increase of the vertical equivalent damping ratio is capable of reducing the horizontal displacement and... [more]

The paper presents a new method for modelling the warming up process of a water system with elements regulating the flow in a stochastic manner. The paper presents the basic equations describing the work of typical elements which the water installation is composed of. In the proposed method, a new computational algorithm was used in the form of an iterative procedure enabling the use of boundary conditions that can be stochastically modified during the warming-up process. A typical situation, when such a modification is processed, is the regulation of the medium flow through two-way or three-way valves or applying additional heat source. Moreover, the presented method does not require the transformation of the differential equations, describing the operation of individual elements, into a linear form, which significantly facilitates analytical work and makes it more flexible. The example of analysis of the operation of water installation used for controlling temperature of the process... [more]

With the increased emphasis on climate change and reducing harmful emissions in the atmosphere, interest in power electronics converters and electric motor drives has led to significant new developments in areas such as renewable energy systems or electric propulsion [...]

Power quality (PQ) has become an important topic in today’s power system scenario. PQ issues are raised not only in normal three-phase systems but also with the incorporation of different distributed generations (DGs), including renewable energy sources, storage systems, and other systems like diesel generators, fuel cells, etc. The prevalence of these issues comes from the non-linear features and rapid changing of power electronics devices, such as switch-mode converters for adjustable speed drives and diode or thyristor rectifiers. The wide use of these fast switching devices in the utility system leads to an increase in disturbances associated with harmonics and reactive power. The occurrence of PQ disturbances in turn creates several unwanted effects on the utility system. Therefore, many researchers are working on the enhancement of PQ using different custom power devices (CPDs). In this work, the authors highlight the significance of the PQ in the utility network, its effect, and... [more]

This paper proposes a hybrid control scheme for a newly devised hybrid multilevel inverter (HMLI) topology. The circuit configuration of HMLI is comprised of a cascaded converter module (CCM), connected in series with an H-bridge converter. Initially, a finite set model predictive control (FS-MPC) is adopted as a control scheme, and theoretical analysis is carried out in MATLAB/Simulink. Later, in the real-time implementation of the HMLI topology, a hybrid control scheme which is a variant of the FS-MPC method has been proposed. The proposed control method is computationally efficient and therefore has been employed to the HMLI topology to mitigate the high-frequency switching limitation of the conventional MPC. Moreover, a comparative analysis is carried to illustrate the advantages of the proposed work that includes low switching losses, higher efficiency, and improved total harmonic distortion (THD) in output current. The inverter topology and stability of the proposed control metho... [more]

Single-ended (SE) resonant inverters are widely used as power converters for high-pressure rice cooker induction, with 1200 V insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) being used as switching devices for kW-class products. When voltage fluctuations occur at the input stage of an SE resonant inverter, the resonant voltage applied to the IGBT can be directly affected, potentially exceeding the breakdown voltage of the IGBT, resulting in its failure. Consequently, the resonant voltage should be limited to below a safety threshold—hardware resonant voltage limiting methods are generally used to do so. This paper proposes a sensorless resonant voltage control method that limits the increase in the resonant voltage caused by overvoltage or supply voltage fluctuations. By calculating and predicting the resonance voltage through the analysis of the resonance circuit, the resonance voltage is controlled not to exceed the breakdown voltage of the IGBT. The experimental results of a 1.35 kW SE r... [more]

This paper presents a novel complete design procedure to convert a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm into a control system. The MPPT algorithm can be tuned by employing any control system design. In this paper, we adopted Bode diagrams using the criteria of module and phase as the power electronics specialists are habituated with such concepts. The MPPT control transfer functions were derived using the average state equations and small-signal analysis. The control loops were derived for power and voltage control loops. The design procedure was applied to the well-known perturb and observe (P&O) and incremental conductance (IC) algorithms, returning the P&O based on PI and IC based on PI algorithms. Such algorithms were evaluated through simulation and experimental results. Additionally, we showed that the proposed design methodology can optimize energy harvesting, allowing algorithms to have outstanding tracking factors (above 99%) and adaptability characteristics.

This paper presents a vector current controller (in the synchronous reference, or the dq, frame) with negative-sequence current injection capability for three-phase grid-connected converters. This capability is desired for the operation of the converter during unbalanced conditions and also for a certain type of islanding detection. The proposed controller first determines the double-frequency current references and then uses a sixth-order two-input two-output proportional-integral-resonance (PIR) structure, which is optimally designed. Compared with the existing similar approaches, the proposed controller has a simpler structure and more robust performance, e.g., against system parameter uncertainties and weak grid conditions. The proposed controller is developed for converters with both the L-type and LCL-type filters. For the LCL-type converter, a suboptimal partial state feedback control is also proposed to achieve robust stability and active damping of resonance poles without requ... [more]

Building management systems (BMSs) are being implemented broadly by industries in recent decades. However, BMSs focus on specific domains, and when installed on the same building, they lack interoperability to work on a centralized user interface. On the other hand, BMSs interoperability allows the implementation of complex rules based on multi-domain contexts. The Building’s Reasoning for Intelligent Control Knowledge-based System (BRICKS) is a context-aware semantic rule-based system for the intelligent management of buildings’ energy and security. It uses ontologies and semantic web technologies to interact with different domains, taking advantage of cross-domain knowledge to apply context-based rules. This work upgrades the previously presented version of BRICKS by including services for energy consumption and generation forecast, demand response, a configuration user interface (UI), and a dynamic building monitoring and management UI. The case study demonstrates BRICKS deployed at... [more]

Low-voltage distribution grids face new challenges through the expansion of decentralized, renewable energy generation and the electrification of the heat and mobility sectors. We present a multi-agent system consisting of the energy management systems of smart buildings, a central grid controller, and the local controller of a transformer. It can coordinate the provision of ancillary services for the local grid in a centralized way, coordinated by the central controller, and in a decentralized way, where each building makes independent control decisions based on locally measurable data. The presented system and the different control strategies provide the foundation for a fully adaptive grid control system we plan to implement in the future, which does not only provide resilience against electricity outages but also against communication failures by appropriate switching of strategies. The decentralized strategy, meant to be used during communication failures, could also be used exclu... [more]

The article presents the concept of application of a multiphase matrix converter (MMC)-based device working as a phase-shifting control device in a power system. A matrix M × M multiphase converter is a simple structure incorporating M × M bidirectional switches, connecting M input phases to M output phases (a square structure is used). The device, in this research and under proposed control, is able to build M output sinusoidal-shape phases (desired output) from parts of input voltages. The proposed MMC-based device can be considered as a new flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) apparatus. Three basic control systems that enabled the creation of output waveforms as the combination of input ones were presented. Both 6 × 6 and 12 × 12 matrix structures were introduced, since 3 × 6 and 3 × 12 transformers are already in use. The mathematical, Simulink, and laboratory models were built to extract characteristic features of the MMC. The chosen “area-based” control procedure was based on... [more]

This work focuses on a signal-based diagnosis approach dedicated to proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEM WE) anode pump fault. The PEM WE cell measurements are performed with an experimental test bench to highlight the impact of water flow rate in the anode compartment. This approach is non-intrusive, and it can detect anode flow rate variation during the electrolysis and is designed to fulfill online diagnosis requirements. Contrary to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy-based approaches (EIS), this method stands out from existing procedures as a result of its few requirements, excluding any signal with perturbing amplitude. Therefore, the electrolyzer remains continuously available, even while the analysis is performed. The empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is used to decompose the signal variation into a sum of amplitude modulation and frequency modulation (AM-FM) components, called intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). In this work, the PEM WE current signal is decompose... [more]

Brushless doubly-fed induction generators have higher reliability, making them an attractive choice for not only offshore applications but also for remote locations. These machines are composed of two back-to-back voltage source converters: the grid side converter and the rotor side converter. The rotor side converter is typically used for reactive current control of the power winding using the control winding current. A low voltage ride through (LVRT) fault is detected using a hysterisis comparison of the power winding voltage. This approach leads to two problems, firstly, the use of only voltage to detect faults results in erroneous or slow response, and secondly, sub-optimal control of voltage drop because of static reference values for reactive current compensation. This paper solves these problems by using an analytical model of the voltage drop caused by a short circuit. Moreover, using a fuzzy logic controller, the proposed technique employs the voltage frequency in addition to... [more]

The full electrification of ports is a promising prospect for saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The control scheme of the reefer container is particularly important for the energy management of the port, as the operation of the reefer container is one of the main energy consumers of ports. This paper proposes a reefer container hierarchical control scheme that contains a day-ahead module and intra-day module which is used to generate a rough scheduling strategy based on forecast data and fine-tuning the strategy, respectively. The final strategy should realize the economical operation while ensuring that each reefer container does not exceed the temperature limit during operation. Numerical analysis on the reefer container park with 200 and 850 containers using the Time of Use (TOU) tariff and super-peak tariff is fully analyzed. In the case of 200 containers, the proposed method helps reduce operating costs by about 14.7%, and 18% in the scenario of 850 containers.... [more]

This paper presents a robust multi-input multi-output (MIMO) state-feedback control scheme for a photovoltaic (PV) inverter connected to a weak grid. For a weak grid, the point of common coupling (PCC) voltage is very sensitive to the power disturbances and it is dynamically coupled to the PLL dynamics. So far, most of the control methods do not take into accounts these couplings. Therefore, in this paper, the MIMO controller was designed taking into account the dynamics of the phase-locked loop (PLL) and coupling effects between PCC voltage and the active power to enhance the system’s robustness. As result, the robust performance of the PV inverter interfaced to a weak grid was yielded. In addition, the sensitivity of the system to PLL was eliminated, allowing the use of larger PLL bandwidth even in a very weak grid. Based on the eigenvalues analysis method, a comparative study between the proposed control method and the conventional vector control method was performed. The proposed m... [more]

The development process and flood control effects of the open-levee system, which was constructed from the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries, on the Kurobe Alluvial Fan—a large alluvial fan located on the Japan Sea Coast of Japan’s main island—was evaluated using numerical flow simulation. The topography for the numerical simulation was determined from an old pictorial map in the 18th century and various maps after the 19th century, and the return period of the flood hydrograph was determined to be 10 years judging from the level of civil engineering of those days. The numerical results suggested the followings: The levees at the first stage were made to block the dominant divergent streams to gather the river flows together efficiently; by the completed open-levee system, excess river flow over the main channel capacity was discharged through upstream levee openings to old stream courses which were used as temporary floodways, and after the flood peak, a part of the flooded water ret... [more]

This work examines the operation of the autonomous power system of a geographical island assuming the integration of significant generation shares from renewable energy sources and the installation of the required storage systems. The frequency stability of the system is investigated considering different operating conditions, in terms of load demand and renewable power generation. The main focus of the work is an original control strategy specifically designed for power converters interfacing storage units to the grid. The proposed strategy is based on an extended frequency droop control, which selects specific droop settings depending on the operating mode—charge or discharge—of the storage unit. A simulation model of the whole electrical system is developed for dynamic analysis. The model also implements the possibility of including specific auxiliary frequency controls for synthetic inertia and primary reserve. The results of the simulation and analysis indicate that the proposed c... [more]

Climate change impacts many aspects of life and requires innovative thinking on various issues. The electricity sector is affected in several ways, including changes in the production components and consumption patterns. One of the most important issues for Independent System Operators, a state-controlled organization responsible for ensuring the reliability, availability, and quality of electricity delivery in the country, is the response to climate change. This is reflected in the appropriate design of production units to cope with the increase in demand due to extreme heat and cold events and the development of models aimed at predicting the probability of such events. In our work, we address this challenge by proposing a novel probability model for peak demand as a function of wet temperature (henceforth simply temperature), which is a weighting of temperature and humidity. We study the relationship between peak demand and temperature using a new Archimedean copula family, shown to... [more]

In this paper, the Unified Interphase Power Controller (UIPC) is utilized to protect the synchronous generator in case of faults occurring in the transmission system. The UIPC not only maintains the generator’s stability by keeping its load angle within safe operational limits but also prevents high-amplitude currents from flowing through the stator windings. This also allows for more loading on the generator without compromising the system’s stability. Moreover, utilization of the UIPC improves the LVRT capability of the generator by injecting reactive power at the faulted location. Additionally, a novel unified control scheme is proposed for the UIPC that enhances its performance by omitting the necessity of fault detection algorithms. To evaluate the performance of the proposed controller and the efficacy of the UIPC in protecting the synchronous generator under the faults, simulations have been conducted in a MATLAB/Simulink environment. A test grid was developed comprising a synch... [more]

Dual three-phase permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) have wide applications in electric vehicles due to advantages such as excellent control performance and outstanding fault tolerance capability. However, present fault-tolerant control of inverter single-leg open-circuit faults cannot make full use of each phase winding of the motor, which limits the torque-production capability. This paper proposes a torque superposition compensation (TSC) control which can minimize the stator copper losses while increasing the torque-production capability. The phase winding originally connected to the faulty inverter leg is then linked to the DC-link mid-point. Thus, the winding in the faulty phase can be utilized to generate an additional torque. The symmetric dual three-phase windings torque model and the asymmetric five-phase windings compensation torque model for Ud/2 voltage level are constructed according to the torque superposition, respectively. Then, the three-subplane decomposition... [more]

With the growth of economic and social demand for electricity, the power system has gradually evolved into a complex network containing a high proportion of renewable generators and large-scale electrical devices [...]

Controlling voltage, frequency, and current in an islanded microgrid is a challenging problem because the distributed generation sources, stochastic and intermittent in nature, are not connected to the main electricity network to provide stable and clean energy. Therefore, the design of a robust controller to control the output parameters of the islanded microgrid and suppress load variations and disturbances is essential. In this paper, a hysteresis controller is proposed and designed to control the output voltage of an islanded AC microgrid and an improved sliding mode controller (SMC) based on adaptive control principle is designed to control the current of the microgrid. The current controller consists of two parts: An adaptation part, which aims to eliminate disturbances and system uncertainties, and a second part, which aims to deal with the tracking problem of the system under parameter-varying topologies. The adaptation strategy has the advantage of solving the gain tuning prob... [more]

Predicting, controlling and distributing energy in an efficient way represents and will represent one of the most critical points for the future of our industrial societies [...]