• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.102-110
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• 2001

In this work, the model predictive control method was applied to a linear model and a nonlinear model of steam generators. The parameters of a linear model for steam generators are very different according to the power levels. The model predictive controller was designed for the linear steam generator model at a fixed power level. The proposed controller at the fixed power level showed good performance for any other power levels by designed changing only the input-weighting factor. As the input-weighting factor usually increases, its relative stability does so. The steam generator has some nonlinear characteristics. Therefore, the proposed algorithm has been implemented for a nonlinear model of the nuclear steam generator to verify its real performance and also, showed good performance.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.165-175
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• 2015

Energy storage system has been widely applied in power distribution sectors as well as in renewable energy sources to ensure uninterruptible power supply. This paper presents a model predictive algorithm to control a bidirectional AC-DC converter, which is used in an energy storage system for power transferring between the three-phase AC voltage supply and energy storage devices. This model predictive control (MPC) algorithm utilizes the discrete behavior of the converter and predicts the future variables of the system by defining cost functions for all possible switching states. Subsequently, the switching state that corresponds to the minimum cost function is selected for the next sampling period for firing the switches of the AC-DC converter. The proposed model predictive control scheme of the AC-DC converter allows bidirectional power flow with instantaneous mode change capability and fast dynamic response. The performance of the MPC controlled bidirectional AC-DC converter is simulated with MATLAB/Simulink(R) and further verified with 3.0kW experimental prototypes. Both the simulation and experimental results show that, the AC-DC converter is operated with unity power factor, acceptable THD (3.3% during rectifier mode and 3.5% during inverter mode) level of AC current and very low DC voltage ripple. Moreover, an efficiency comparison is performed between the proposed MPC and conventional VOC-based PWM controller of the bidirectional AC-DC converter which ensures the effectiveness of MPC controller.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.202-215
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• 2015

This paper investigates the stability and performance of model predictive controlled active-front-end (AFE) rectifiers for energy storage systems, which has been increasingly applied in power distribution sectors and in renewable energy sources to ensure an uninterruptable power supply. The model predictive control (MPC) algorithm utilizes the discrete behavior of power converters to determine appropriate switching states by defining a cost function. The stability of the MPC algorithm is analyzed with the discrete z-domain response and the nonlinear simulation model. The results confirms that the control method of the active-front-end (AFE) rectifier is stable, and that is operates with an infinite gain margin and a very fast dynamic response. Moreover, the performance of the MPC controlled AFE rectifier is verified with a 3.0 kW experimental system. This shows that the MPC controlled AFE rectifier operates with a unity power factor, an acceptable THD (4.0 %) level for the input current and a very low DC voltage ripple. Finally, an efficiency comparison is performed between the MPC and the VOC-based PWM controllers for AFE rectifiers. This comparison demonstrates the effectiveness of the MPC controller.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1889-1900
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• 2018

Harmonic current mitigation is vital in power distribution networks owing to the inflow of nonlinear loads, distributed generation, and renewable energy sources. The active power filter (APF) is the current electrical equipment that can dynamically compensate for harmonic distortion and eliminate asymmetrical loads. The compensation performance of an APF largely depends on the control strategy applied to the voltage source inverter (VSI). Model predictive control (MPC) has been demonstrated to be one of the effective control approaches to providing fast dynamic responses. This approach covers different types of power converters due to its several advantages, such as flexible control scheme and simple inclusion of nonlinearities and constraints within the controller design. In this study, a finite control set-MPC technique is proposed for the control of VSIs. Unlike conventional control methods, the proposed technique uses a discrete time model of the shunt APF to predict the future behavior of harmonic currents and determine the cost function so as to optimize current errors through the selection of appropriate switching states. The viability of this strategy in terms of harmonic mitigation is verified in MATLAB/Simulink. Experimental results show that MPC performs well in terms of reduced total harmonic distortion and is effective in APFs.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.1016-1023
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• 2013

Predictive current control offers the potential for achieving more precise current control with a minimum of distortion and harmonic noise. However, the predictive method is difficult to implement and has a greater computational burden. This paper introduces a theoretical analysis and experimental verification for an improved predictive current control technique applied to single phase grid connected voltage source inverters (VSI). The proposed technique has simple calculations. An ATmega1280 microcontroller board is used to implement the proposed technique for a simpler and cheaper control system. To enhance the current performance and to obtain a minimum of current THD, an improved tri-level PWM switching strategy is proposed. The proposed switching strategy uses six operation modes instead of four as in the traditional strategy. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the system performance with the improved switching strategy and its effect on current performance. The presented experimental results verify that the proposed technique can be implemented using fixed point 8-bit microcontroller to obtain excellent results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.232-241
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• 2017

Advanced control algorithms must be used to make wind power generation truly cost effective and reliable. In this study, we develop a new and simple control scheme that employs model predictive control (MPC), which is used in permanent magnet synchronous generators and grid-connected inverters. The proposed control law is based on two points, namely, MPC-based torque-current control loop is used for the generator-side converter to reach the maximum power point of the wind turbine, and MPC-based direct power control loop is used for the grid-side converter to satisfy the grid code and help improve system stability. Moreover, a simple prediction scheme is developed for the direct-drive wind energy conversion system (WECS) to reduce the computation burden for real-time applications. A small-scale WECS laboratory prototype is built and evaluated to verify the validity of the developed control methods. Acceptable results are obtained from the real-time implementation of the proposed MPC methods for WECS.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.64-73
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• 2011

The stability of PWM rectifiers with a deadbeat current controller is seriously influenced by computation time delays and low-pass filters inserted into the current-sampling circuit. Predictive current control is often adopted to solve this problem. However, grid current predictive precision is affected by many factors such as grid voltage estimated errors, plant model mismatches, dead time and so on. In addition, the predictive current error aggravates the grid current distortion. To improve the grid current predictive precision, an improved deadbeat current controller with a repetitive-control-based observer to predict the grid current is proposed in this paper. The design principle of the proposed observer is given and its stability is discussed. The predictive performance of the observer is also analyzed in the frequency domain. It is shown that the grid predictive error can be decreased with the proposed method in the related bode diagrams. Experimental results show that the proposed method can minimize the current predictive error, improve the current loop robustness and reduce the grid current THD of PWM rectifiers.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.405-415
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• 2016

This paper presents a model predictive control for shunt active power filters in synchronous reference frame using space vector pulse-width modulation (SVPWM). The three phase load currents are transformed into synchronous rotating reference frame in order to reduce the order of the control system. The proposed current controller calculates reference current command for harmonic current components in synchronous frame. The fundamental load current components are transformed into dc components revealing only the harmonics. The predictive current controller will add robustness and fast compensation to generate commands to the SVPWM which minimizes switching frequency while maintaining fast harmonic compensation. By using the model predictive control, the optimal switching state to be applied to the next sampling time is selected. The filter current contains only the harmonic components, which are the reference compensating currents. In this method the supply current will be equal to the fundamental component of load current and a part of the current at fundamental frequency for losses of the inverter. Mathematical analysis and the feasibility of the suggested approach are verified through simulation results under steady state and transient conditions for non-linear load. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is confirmed through experimental validation.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.674-685
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• 2017

The conventional model predictive direct torque control (MPDTC) method uses all of the voltage vectors available from a two level voltage source inverter for the prediction of the stator flux and stator current, which leads to a heavy computational burden. This paper proposes an improved model predictive direct torque control method. The stator flux predictive controller is obtained from an analysis of the relationship between the stator flux and the torque, which can be used to calculate the desired voltage vector based on the stator flux and torque reference. Then this method only needs to evaluate three voltage vectors in the sector of the desired voltage vector. As a result, the computational burden of the conventional MPDTC is effectively reduced. The time delay introduced by the computational time causes the stator current to oscillate around its reference. It also increases the current and torque ripples. To address this problem, a delay compensation method is adopted in this paper. Furthermore, the switching frequency of the inverter is significantly reduced by introducing the constraint of the power semiconductor switching number to the cost function of the MPDTC. Both simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1813-1820
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• 2016

Dual-mode photovoltaic power system should be capable of operating in grid-connected (GC) and stand-alone (SA) modes for distributed generation. Under different working modes, the optimal parameters of inverter output filters vary. Inverters commonly operate in GC mode, and thus, a small capacitance is beneficial to the GC topology for achieving a reasonable compromise. A predictive current control scheme is proposed to control the grid current in GC mode and thereby obtain high-performance power. As filter are not optimal under SA mode, a compound control strategy consisting of predictive current control, instantaneous voltage control, and repetitive control is proposed to achieve low total harmonic distortion and improve the output voltage spectrum. The seamless transfer between GC mode and SA mode is illustrated in detail. Finally, the simulation and experimental results of a 4 kVA prototype demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.