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This paper describes a flow control of the dye in the paper mill with the quasi-Z-source indirect matrix converter (QZSIMC) fed induction motor drive. More than a decade the voltage-source inverter (VSI) and current-source inverter (CSI) have been used to control the speed of the induction motor, which in turns controls the flow of dye. Recently, the matrix converter (MC) has been an excellent competitor for the VSI or CSI for its compactness. The voltage transfer ratio of the VSI, CSI, and MC has been limited to 0.866. Thus, the efficiency of these converters is less. To improve the voltage transfer ratio the quasi-Z-source network (QZSN) is to be used between voltage source and indirect MC (IMC). The modification in the shoot-through duty ratio of the QZSN varies the voltage transfer ratio greater than 0.866. Different voltage transfer ratios are needed for different voltage sag conditions. For a variation of the duty ratio of the QZSN, the fuzzy logic controller has been presented. To control the IMC vector control with space vector modulation has been presented. This paper proposes the implementation of QZSIMC adjustable speed drive for the flow control of dye in paper mill during different voltage sag conditions. A 4-kW prototype has been built and the effectiveness of the proposed system is verified with simulation results and experimental setup. Simulation is done in MATLAB, Simulink platform. Experimental setup is done with the aid of a TMS320F2812 (Texas Instrument) processor. The experimental results validate the maintenance of the speed of an induction motor at the set condition, thus controlling the perfect flow of dye in paper manufacturing technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connection of an LC filter to the output of voltage source inverter (VSI) in squirrel cage induction motor (SQIM) drive converts the pulse-width modulated (PWM) voltages into smooth sinusoidal voltages. However, this connection may lead to closed-loop instability in the rotor flux-oriented (RFO) vector-controlled (VC) SQIM system. The closed-loop stability of the combined SQIM + LC filter (SQLC) system is complex and has not been analyzed properly in the literature. In this paper, a detailed closed-loop stability analysis of the SQLC system has been presented based on stability region (SR) and accordingly the PI gains of VC has been designed. The SR method is adopted to derive the common stability regions for the SQIM system and SQLC system. Thereby, the paper proves that connecting an LC filter in-between the VSI and the SQIM system does not always destabilize the closed-loop system. Further, for an SQLC system, the complete range of current controller gains is obtained at various operating points. The frequency-domain specifications have been used to select a proper stabilizing set and the effect of parametric variation of LC filter on the stabilizing set has also been discussed. The experimental results are provided to validate the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used in street lighting, landscape lighting, liquid crystal display (LCD) backlighting, healthcare, etc. As an important part of LED lighting products, LED driver plays a vital role in maintenance costs reduction, energy saving and lifetime prolongation. In this paper, a single-stage LED driver is proposed, which is integrated by a totem-pole bridgeless power factor correction (PFC) unit and several modular LCL-T resonant rectifiers. The totem-pole bridgeless PFC unit and the LCL-T resonant rectifiers are integrated by sharing switches, which can simplify the circuit and reduce the system cost. The output current can be regulated by applying the variable inductor control. Constant duty cycle and fixed switching frequency operation can be achieved as well. The operating principle and the performance of the proposed converter are analyzed in this paper. In addition, a precise parameter design method is proposed by considering the high-order harmonics. At last, an experimental prototype is established to validate the proposed parameter design and variable inductor control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dual-active bridge (DAB) topology is commonly preferred in bidirectional applications due to several attractive features, including auto-adjust of power flow, galvanic insulation, wide voltage gain, and zero voltage switching (ZVS) capability over some power ranges. However, the efficiency of the converter drops at light loads because the ZVS range is directly dependent on the circulating current. Assuming that the processed power is variable, the DAB converter's design must find a compromise between extending ZVS ranges and reducing the reactive power processing to ensure higher efficiency. Aiming this compromise, many papers propose hybrid approaches in which the modulation strategy is selected according to the processed power. However, this is not a simple solution because it demands multivariable control and offline optimizations. This paper proposes a modulation strategy to ensure ZVS and reduce the circulating current for the DAB converters. While the usual phase-shift modulation provides ZVS operation in a range of 40% to 100% of rated power, the proposed asymmetrical pulse-width modulation can obtain ZVS operation in a range of 2% to 100% of rated power. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed strategy improves the converter efficiency for all power ranges, especially at light loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simple pulse width modulation algorithm for control of an ultracapacitor based energy storage system used for source and load support applications. As opposed to dual loop control philosophy that is widely used for backup applications, this paper presents a simple single loop current control that is only useful for controlling the ultracapacitor based DC/DC converters used in source and load support applications. The proposed PWM blocking method necessitates the DC/DC converter to operate in five states and takes into consideration the essential operational limits associated with the ultracapacitors. The performance of the proposed algorithm is verified experimentally using a 24 V laboratory prototype setup. Further, the shortcomings of dual loop control when applied to source and load support applications are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel dual input nine-level inverter (DINLI) topology which requires only seven controllable devices. The dual inputs are un-identical DC voltage sources in the ratio 1:3. A simple control scheme is derived by appropriately modifying the phase disposition pulse width modulation technique to generate high-quality 9-level output from the DINLI topology. At any given instant, a maximum of four switches conduct out of which only a maximum of two switches operate at high frequency, bringing down the switching and conduction losses significantly and improving the overall system efficiency. The bidirectional DINLI (BDINLI) topology with reactive power capability can be realized by replacing the unidirectional devices with the controlled switches (i.e., total nine switches). In addition, the proposed DINLI topology does not require extra voltage balancing circuits which further improves the efficiency. The DINLI operation is verified through MATLAB simulations for grid-connected applications and its extension to an n-level, 3-phase application is also investigated. Experiments performed on a 1KVA laboratory prototype to validate the theoretical claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the Multilevel Current Source Converter (MCSC) STATCOM. It proposes a new method of modulation. The new modulation method produces less THD and di/dt at the terminals of the MCSC STATCOM when compared to the widely used Phase-Shifted Carrier SPWM (PSC-SPWM). To ensure the inductors' currents remain balanced, a Current Balancing Algorithm (CBA) is presented. The CBA does not require any controls. It relies on assigning optimum switching states to each CSC module in real-time. In addition, two control strategies are presented in this paper. The first one assumes the STATCOM to be a SISO. Therefore, it only requires one PI controller. However, the gains for the controller must be changed if the STATCOM was to transition from capacitive mode to inductive mode, or vice versa. The second control strategy overcomes this problem by implementing a TITO integral state feedback controller. The contributions of this paper are validated via simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-stage AC-DC converters are considered as a prominent solution for DC-type electric vehicle (EV) chargers. However, this kind of architecture suffers from high switching losses with large heatsink and DC-link capacitor volume. To relieve this issue, this paper presents a new hybrid modulation for DC-type EV chargers, where a two-phase clamped discontinuous pulse-width-modulation (DPWM) in the front-end circuit is cooperated with the variable frequency triangular-current-mode (TCM) zero voltage switching (ZVS) or its simplified implementation, i.e., boundary-ZVS (B-ZVS) strategy, in the back-end circuit. The former can stop the switching actions in the front-end stage during two-thirds of the grid period, while the AC currents are at their highest values, which can yield to the best switching loss reduction and deliver high power factor operation. Besides, TCM-ZVS or B-ZVS modulations can achieve ZVS turn-on action for all semiconductors during all operating range in the DC-DC stage to further reduce the power losses on the semiconductors. With such characteristics, the proposed strategies can reduce the switching losses of the system to the best extent, and thus allow an enhancement of the system power density by improving the power conversion efficiency. The proposed strategy is described, analyzed, validated, and benchmarked in a 5 kW SMD SiC MOSFET-based two-stage AC-DC converter. A 99% power efficiency can be achieved with the solution implementing the TCM-ZVS strategy at an output voltage of 400 V and rated power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the operation of the back-to-back neutral point clamped (BTBNPC) converters when the ac voltages on both ends are asynchronous. The zero-sequence injection (ZSI) technique has been used to extend the linear modulation range of the pulsewidth modulation operation. This paper investigates the ZSI of the BTBNPC to maximize the dc-bus voltage utilization while the ac voltages of both ends have different magnitudes and phases. This study further explores the reactive current injection to reduce the risk of overmodulation when grid voltages surge. The combination of these techniques can extend the operation range of the BTBNPC over varying ac voltages of both ends with the available dc-bus voltage. In addition, the issue of the neutral-point balance is also taken into consideration. Laboratory test results are provided to verify the proposed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four-level hybrid-clamped inverter is a newly proposed topology that can operate under a wide voltage range without switches connected in series. However, when it is applied in medium voltage high power conversions, the flying capacitors in each phase will occupy a huge volume and a high switching frequency is required to restrain the voltage ripples. In order to overcome this drawback, a four-level active neutral-point clamped inverter is discussed in this paper, which consists of only six switches and no diodes or flying capacitors are required. In order to balance the neutral-point voltages under the full power factor and modulation index range, a capacitor voltage balance method based on carrier-overlapped pulsewidth modulation is proposed in this paper. The upper and lower dc-link capacitor voltages are balanced by zero-sequence voltage injection and the central dc-link capacitor voltage is balanced by adjusting the duty cycles of switching signals slightly. Simulation and experimental results are presented to confirm the validity of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of wide band-gap semiconductor devices is rapidly promoting the development of power electronics technology, especially in high frequency (HF) power converter region. A category of HF power converter is switch-mode power amplifier (PA). This paper focuses on the implementation of a multiphase dc–dc PA with high bandwidth and high power rate. When naturally sampled phase-shifted carrier modulation is implemented in the practical digital control system to control this HF power converter, the pulsewidth error problem caused by limited domain frequency of control chip becomes much severer. As a result, dc voltage component of each phase becomes different under several conditions, leading to current imbalance among phase inductors. This paper analyzes this problem and proposes a sensorless control method to solve it, based on the injection of random sequence in reference wave. A four-phase prototype employing GaN devices is fabricated, switching at 1 MHz. Current imbalance and effectiveness of the proposed control method are verified by experimental results. The prototype is capable of uniformly amplifying sine signal within 200 kHz and a 350 kHz bandwidth random signal, with peak output power up to 810 W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly reviews the common-mode voltage (CMV) and neutral point (NP) voltage for neutral point clamped three-level inverter (NPC TLI). Then, the space vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM) and traditional virtual SVPWM (VSVPWM) are discussed in terms of these two issues, revealing the drawbacks in reducing CMV or eliminating NP voltage oscillation. A novel virtual space vector modulation, named as RCMV_VSVPWM, is proposed in this paper to reduce CMV and eliminate NP voltage oscillation for NPC TLI. By selecting vectors with lower CMVs, a set of novel virtual voltage vectors are generated. The highlight of the method is zero average NP current in one control cycle and lower CMV. Furthermore, the active NP voltage control suitable for RCMV_VSVPWM is presented and evaluated. The corresponding experimental results are given, which are well-consistent with theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a 5-level inverter topology for open-end induction motor drives by using a single dc source. The open stator windings of the drive are supplied with a 3-level flying capacitor inverter from one end and capacitor-fed 2-level inverter from another end. The voltage ratio of the dc link to the capacitor in 2-level inverter is maintained at 4:1 ratio to generate five-level voltage output. The capacitor in 2-level inverter is balanced by the switching redundant vector combinations from both the inverters while the floating capacitors in the 3-level inverter are balanced by using redundant switching states. The proposed topology gives 5-level operation with less number of floating capacitors and power semiconductor switches compared to other existing topologies. Also, the balancing of the capacitors is independent of load power factor and modulation index. Further, the generalization of the proposed dual inverter scheme for any n-level inverter is also included in this paper. The experimental results and required analysis are also presented to validate the inverter scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new single stage three-phase ac–dc converter with four switches and galvanic isolation is proposed in this paper. The new converter is simple and uses fewer switches than previously proposed ac–dc converters of the same type. It is a bridgeless converter that can operate with continuous input current and with any pulsewidth modulated method suitable for a standard three-phase six-switch voltage source rectifier. In this paper, the operation, control, analysis, and design of the proposed converter are explained and its features are discussed. Experimental results obtained from a prototype that confirm the feasibility of the converter are presented as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing of switching frequency in pulsewidth modulated motor system, common mode current (CMC) seriously affects the reliable operation of motor system and it has become a problem that cannot be ignored. This paper proposes a mathematical model of CMC and conducts detailed time–frequency characteristics analysis of CMC. The influence of several key parameters of motor system, such as distributed capacitance, dc bus voltage, and inverter switching frequency, on CMC characteristics has been analyzed in detail, and the corresponding variation rule of CMC oscillation amplitude and attenuation period/time has been summarized. The experimental results are presented to verify the correctness of theoretical analysis. The conclusions of this paper can lay theoretical foundation for the effective suppression of CMC in various practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper improves the position sensorless drive by sensing actual machine phase voltages. A high-bandwidth phase voltage measurement is developed for pulsewidth modulation (PWM) voltage inverters. On the basis, the actual phase voltage is obtained based on the digital integration of PWM voltage using the capture modulator in existing drive microcontrollers (MCU's). Comparing to existing phase voltage measurement, no separated A/D converter and communication hardware are required because PWM pulses are directly measured using MCUs. However, for standard machines without neutral points, only line-to-line ac PWM voltages can be measured for the phase voltage reconstruction. Since the capture based on transistor-transistor logic (TTL) logics receives only digital signals, a preprocess circuit to convert ac PWM line voltages to equivalent digital signals is proposed. This paper clearly explains the voltage sensing hardware using MCU capture modulator. According to experimental results, a 150-MHz sampling rate for phase voltage measurement is achieved based on the proposed capture-based voltage measurement. Although the physical limitation of back electromotive force estimation still appears, the proposed phase voltage measurement substantially enhances the sensorless drive performance at low speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallic joints are created in multivariable gas metal arc welding process by maintaining a balance between the quantum of heat generated and the feeding rate of electrode metal to the weld gap. The wire feeding control is often independently handled. The wire feeder unit should be simple, low cost, and capable of producing accurate speed. Arc welding controllers are often kept in clumsy conditions and the wire feeder unit is located close to the welder, could be much away from the controller. To reduce interconnections, separate sensing element for speed feedback should be avoided. Due to their negligible electrical and mechanical time constant, the pancake-type permanent magnet dc motor is suitable for wire feeding, where sensing of back electromotive force (EMF) for feedback is easy. When high frequency pulsewidth modulation (PWM) controller is used, the sensing of back EMF gets complicated. This paper explores the constraints on the choice of PWM frequency along with its maximum pulsewidth for different types of dc motors. It further elaborates comparatively on the choice of suitable control function for generating accurate speed control of wire feeding using back EMF as feedback. Finally, this paper also details the experimental results using the proposed control function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High reliability and fault-tolerant operation capability are the application requirements of electric vehicles(EVs). In case of the drive system suffering from inter-turn short-circuit (ITSC) fault, it is necessary to avoid the aggravation of the fault and ensure the normal output performance, this paper proposed a torque ripple minimization control strategy for ITSC fault based on the open-winding (OW) five phase fault tolerant fractional slot concentrated winding interior permanent magnet (FTFSCW-IPM) motor drive system with common DC bus. Once the ITSC fault is detected, the fault phase is active open-circuit (OC) (null the current of the normal part in the fault phase) and connected to a voltage sensor. In this way, the torque ripple minimization control strategy can deal with the OC fault and ITSC fault. For the OC fault, the equal amplitude phase current modulation strategy is adopted based on the carrier-based pulse width modulation (CPWM). For the ITSC fault, this paper proposed a feedforward compensation approach to eliminate the influence of the short-circuit loop current. The novelty of the proposed method is that the compensation can be real-time estimated using the zero-sequence voltage (ZSV) and zero-sequence current (ZSC), even the ITSC level changes. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an open-end winding permanent magnet synchronous machines drive with single dc voltage source, zero-sequence current (ZSC) can lead to a high current stress of power modules and loss of motor. Therefore, some modulation strategies have been employed to alleviate ZSC by suppressing zero-sequence voltage (ZSV). However, ZSC still exists in the system because ZSV can also be generated by other nonlinear factors of inverter such as the dead time of system. In addition, zero-sequence back electromotive force in the zero-sequence path can also enlarge torque ripple and ZSC. In order to deal with above problems, first, this paper proposes a full-order adaptive zero-sequence observer to estimate future ZSC and ZSV, which are able to compensate one-step control delay. Second, to achieve the maximum voltage dc bus utilization, this paper proposes a novel deadbeat predictive current control (DPCC) scheme with alternate sub-hexagonal center pulsewidth modulation strategy to suppress ZSC and torque ripple simultaneously. Finally, this paper presents a comparative study of two types of methods, namely traditional DPCC scheme and the proposed DPCC scheme. Simulation and experimental results are demonstrated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed DPCC scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel control strategy to significantly reduce the high-frequency transformer loss in a modular solid-state transformer (SST) based converter system. The modular SST design is based on an ac–dc power-electronic building block comprised of an H-bridge at the ac input and a bidirectional soft-switching isolated dc–dc converter with a medium-voltage insulated high-frequency transformer. The ac terminals of input H-bridges are connected in series and directly coupled to the medium-voltage ac line, while the output dc terminals are all connected in parallel at a low voltage. The key innovation described in this paper, without sacrificing the output performance, is the control scheme that reduces core and winding losses associated with the dc–dc resonant stage by turning off the selected dc–dc converters in synchronism with the line voltage. The prototype for the test described in this paper is based on a modular SST where each module is rated at 50 kVA, with a 200 kHz transformer using 1.7 kV silicon carbide discrete mosfets, but the described control concepts are more broadly applicable to similar topologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a two-degree-of-freedom (2DoF) interleaving scheme based on phase-disposition (PD) PWM for minimizing the high-frequency zero-sequence circulating current (ZSCC) in modular interleaved three-level converters. The method incorporates an internal interleaving by phase-shifting the carriers in each individual converter, and an external interleaving by phase-shifting the carriers of the different converters. A general harmonic distribution analysis which is valid for all types of voltage source converters is carried out to simplify the evaluation of the proposed method. A comprehensive evaluation of the proposed method shows that the PD-2DoF interleaving scheme produces the lowest ZSCC maximum value as compared to existing approaches. Moreover, it can achieve comparable performances as existing methods do in terms of output quality and common mode voltage magnitude, showing a great potential for practical implementation. Simulation and experimental results are obtained to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method. Generalization of the 2DoF interleaving scheme to high-level converter is also discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel seven-level inverter topology for medium-voltage high-power applications. It consists of eight active switches and two inner flying capacitor (FC) units forming a similar structure as in a conventional active neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) inverter. This unique arrangement reduces the number of active and passive components. A simple modulation technique reduces cost and complexity in the control system design without compromising reactive power capability. In addition, compared to major conventional seven-level inverter topologies, such as the neutral point clamped, FC, cascaded H-bridge, and ANPC topologies, the new topology reduces the dc-link voltage requirement by 50%. This recued dc-link voltage makes the new topology appealing for various industrial applications. Experimental results from a 2.2-kVA prototype are presented to support the theoretical analysis presented in this paper. The prototype demonstrates a conversion efficiency of around 97.2% ± 1% for a wide load range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of employing multilevel pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) waveforms for diagnostic purposes compared to sinusoidal- and square-shaped voltages are presented in this paper. Examples on how the high voltage circuits are designed to enable these studies, as well as results, are discussed. To demonstrate the approach, it is investigated what influence the choice of PWM levels has on the partial discharge (PD) characteristics for two similar wire specimens insulated by different materials. Here, to resemble a motor winding, two different twisted pair test objects insulated by either pure polyamide-imid (PAI) material or with added conductive Cr2O3 material were exposed to voltages with ultrashort rise times. The test objects were fed from either two-, three-, five-, or seven-level inverter waveforms of similar shape as in actual applications. To compare the performances, measurements of the PD characteristics were conducted. Specifically, the total number of PDs, as well as their average maximum amplitude per cycle, was obtained together with the phase-resolved PD pattern for each case. The experimental results presented in this paper show that the total peak and summed PD magnitude (exposure) drop considerably more for the Cr2O3 insulation compared to PAI when applying a five-level or higher level inverter. This reduction is more significant for the insulation with added Cr2O3 material and the usage of higher inverter levels reveals this. As more information can be obtained using higher inverter levels, the evaluation of new material constitutions is preferably done utilizing at least a three-level inverter or higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel pulsewidth modulation (PWM) scheme for the decoupled and coordinated control of two parallel connected split-phase induction machines is discussed in this paper for the first time. Both the motors are operated from a single six-phase voltage source inverter which acts as a power source, and two switched capacitor-fed auxiliary inverters to limit the flow of nontorque producing currents in each motor. Both the motors can be operated at its full rated power with low switching frequency, and decoupled control for full power range can be achieved with the proposed topology. This is possible because the individual machines do not carry the load/harmonic currents of other machine (unlike the conventional series or parallel connected systems). The converters can be modulated using sine-triangle PWM or space vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM). Furthermore, two different schemes of SVPWM techniques are proposed and compared in this paper. Exhaustive experimental results for all the modulation schemes are provided for steady state and transient operating conditions including start-up to validate the proposed topology and modulation schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a Vienna rectifier as a charger for series-connected battery packs. Focusing on carrier-based pulsewidth modulation (CBPWM), the ripple current flowing through the neutral point (NP) results in the voltage oscillation if the loads are resistive. To reduce the ripple of average NP current with mitigated distortion under balanced and unbalanced dc-link voltages conditions, a novel CBPWM with segmented component injection scheme (SCIS) is proposed in this paper. After dc component injection, continuous intervals for optimized component injection and clamping intervals for compensation component injection are identified. Optimized components are calculated originally based on unbalanced factor to make the average NP current zero-size in one switching period. Moreover, unique compensation components generate suitable NP current to shape the sinusoidal input currents according to the circuit analysis. In consequence, the SCIS not only keeps the input current with low-harmonic distortion, but also minimizes the oscillation of dc-link voltage under balanced and unbalanced conditions. In addition, the value of the NP current during the clamping intervals is analyzed under various operating conditions. The effectiveness and the performance of the proposed SCIS are verified by simulation and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because that the light-energy consumption (LC) is growing quite dramatically over the past decades, the light-energy efficiency is regarded as a key component of the modern energy system in major cities. In this paper, a novel and sophisticated algorism of lighting control is presented to improve light-energy efficiency and cut down energy consumption, when considering the lighting system with multilighting equipment. In this paper, a multivariate extremum seeking controller is used to manipulate, respectively, the luminance of multilighting equipment, in order to track the minimal LC efficiently. Meanwhile, a proportional–integral–differential (PID) approach is adopted to achieve the required level of illumination. The proposed extremum seeking control (ESC) is designed to ensure the amplitude of the dither signal converge exponentially to zero, by making the amplitudes change with the extremum estimation error. The presented frame helps to improve search speed for the minimal LC value and remove the steady-state oscillations. The comparative experiments reveal that, compared with the convergence velocity of the Newton- and gradient-based ESCs, the developed method for the track of the minimal LC can have higher accuracy and faster speed. Note to Practitioners—In a modern large commercial building, the exorbitant LC is an important problem for the engineering technicians and managers, and the hybrid lighting system which combines artificial light with natural light offers a solution to this problem. However, the minimum light-energy optimal control is a very key problem in manipulating multigroup lighting equipment, since the required level of illumination usually varies according to the exterior lighting environment. This paper contributes to a useful multivariate extremum seeking controller to solve these light-energy control problems for multiple-input single-output hybrid lighting system, whereas the PID controller is also designed to maintain the required level of illumination simultaneously. This paper discusses how to seek the minimal energy necessary for the required levels of illumination by separately regulating different light equipment. The research results of this paper will be beneficial for a practical application of extremum seeking control method in enhancing the lighting energy efficiency of lighting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an experimental discussion on a real-time real-power emulator that plays an important role in achieving a total test of medium-voltage, high-power, high-speed induction motor drives. The use of the emulator brings cost and time savings to the test. The test bench including the emulator is characterized by connecting two modular multilevel double-star chopper-cell (DSCC) converters connected in a front-to-front way. This paper designs, builds, and tests a 400- ${\rm V}_{\rm dc}$ , 10-kW downscaled test bench. It mainly consists of the following two identical DSCC converters: 1) one DSCC converter is used as an inverter under test; and 2) the other as a real-time real-power high-fidelity emulator. Experimental waveforms confirm that the emulator can reproduce electrical and mechanical operating performance of the three-phase 200-V, 10-kW, four-pole, 9000-r/min induction motor loaded with a centrifugal compressor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of applicable carrier-based pulsewidth modulation (PWM) patterns increases with the growth of output levels in scalable multilevel topologies, such as active-neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) converters. Therefore, it is hard to optimize PWM for such topology, especially with large output levels. In this paper, a simplified and modular carrier-based PWM design approach for multilevel ANPC converters is proposed. Inspired by the decomposition theory, the topology decomposition is introduced in this paper to decompose an N-level ANPC converter into low-level subtopologies. Then, the complete set of applicable PWM patterns is derived based on ANPC operation principles, which makes it possible to optimize the performance based on the various requirements in applications. Meanwhile, the carrier-based PWM is implemented through the utilization of subtopologies with low-level modulation schemes, such that the design process of carrier-based PWM is greatly simplified and modularly realized. Both the complete PWM patterns and PWM design examples with experimental results of several ANPC converters are provided to show the feasibility and modularity of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a neutral-point deviation and ripple compensating control method applied to a three-level neutral-point-clamped (NPC) converter. The neutral-point deviation and its harmonic components are analyzed with a focus on the average current flowing through the neutral-point of the dc link. This paper also proposes a control scheme compensating for the neutral-point deviation and dominant harmonic components under generalized unbalanced grid operating conditions. The positive and negative sequence components of the switching functions and ac input currents are employed to accurately explain the behavior of three-level NPC converter. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supply-side current of an inverter-fed induction motor (IM) is easily accessible and less affected by noises than the motor stator current. This paper proposes a novel sensorless speed estimation method for an IM using the spectrum of the supply-side current. However, due to the influence of fundamental supply frequency, it is difficult to carry out the speed detection straight from the supply-side current signal. In this paper, an analytic model for characterizing the supply-side current of an inverter-fed IM using the modulation theory and the switching function concept is developed. Then, the Hilbert transform is applied to extract the speed harmonic component from the supply-side current. Finally, an interpolated Goertzel algorithm is put forward to enhance the estimation precision of IM speed. The performance of the proposed sensorless speed estimation method is proved by the speed estimation results obtained from hardware experiments of an IM fed by an inverter under different load conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new class of topologies of single-stage high-frequency ac-link power converters, which is capable of providing both voltage step up/down within a wide frequency and voltage ranges. The proposed family, which supports bidirectional power flow, can interface various single/multi-port dc and/or single/multi-phase ac systems to provide dc–dc, dc–ac, ac–dc, or ac–ac power conversion. In this family of converter, which offers a very modular structure, a small inductor that forms the link exchanges power entirely or partially between the source and load. The proposed family can function in buck, boost, and/or buck–boost modes of operation, and a combination of these modes of operation is also feasible. In comparison to the parallel inductive four-quadrant link converters, the proposed family features a significantly reduced link peak current, reduced switch ratings, and reduced total number of power switches. These features enhance the efficiency, reduce the total cost, and increase the power density of the system. In order to further improve the overall efficiency of the system, minimize the current/voltage stress over all utilized semiconductor devices, and lower electromagnetic interference (EMI), a small capacitor is placed in parallel with the link inductor to realize soft-switching operation for the proposed configurations. Moreover, the proposed converters have the potential to incorporate a lightweight single-phase high-frequency transformer for electrical isolation. The proposed circuit topologies prevent reverse recovery issues and eliminate losses corresponding to body diodes of power switching devices via utilizing power switches in conjunction with external fast recovery diodes. The proposed family offers a very high level of reliability owing to its immunity from short circuit of input and output terminals and open circuit of the link inductor, which may occur in other power converters due to commutation problem resulting from a short deadtime or an overlap time between switches, unwanted control command, delay in electronic circuits, or EMI noise's misgating on or off, in addition to the absence of electrolytic capacitors in the power circuit. A control approach is also developed to regulate input and output currents in one stage of power conversion. A detailed theoretical analysis, operation, design methodology, and control strategy of the proposed family are provided in this paper, and the effectiveness and performance of the proposed converter family are verified via simulation results and experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new class of bidirectional partial-resonance power converters is presented. The proposed family can be configured to interface single- or multi-port dc, single- or multi-phase ac systems at input-side and/or output-side. The proposed family offers a very modular structure, which can lead to cost reduction from a common designed module. In this converter, which accomplishes power conversion in a single stage, a small inductor placed in series with the input and output switch-bridges forms the link. This small link inductor is responsible for transferring power between different ports of the system. The proposed topologies can operate in buck, boost, and buck–boost modes of operation to step up and/or step down the voltage. In buck–boost mode of operation, the converter is controlled such that the power is entirely transferred through the link inductor; whereas, in buck or boost modes of operation only a fraction of the power is transferred through the link inductor, and the remaining power is directly transferred from input phases to the output phases. Galvanic isolation, which is typically a prominent factor contributing to power density of a converter, can be provided by means of a compact and lightweight single-phase high-frequency transformer added to the link. In comparison with earlier generations of partial-resonance inductive-link power converters, in the proposed converter, the level of link peak current and consequently power-loss, as well as voltage and current stress of switches are dramatically decreased. A very small film capacitor can be placed in parallel with the link inductor to facilitate zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) operation for all the switches/diodes. Apart from increasing the overall efficiency, minimized dv/dt stress and improvement in power density are achieved by adding the link capacitor. The proposed converter employs four-quadrant switches, i.e., bidirectional-conducting bidirectional-blocking switches, and charges the link inductor in both positive and negative directions in each cycle. In view of this, better utilization of the link inductor and lower total harmonic distortion (THD) are offered. Furthermore, two distinct switching algorithms are developed for the proposed family of converters. In this paper, the detailed behavior of the proposed family is investigated analytically, and simulation and experimental results are presented to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed converter. A low-power proof-of-concept prototype with input voltage of 59 V/161 V, load voltage of 178 V/73.5 V, maximum switching frequency of 4.9 kHz/3.65 kHz at 215 W/450 W in a step-up/step-down operation is considered for the experimental verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) works in the high-speed region with low carrier ratios, the performance of the rotor flux observer has a great influence on the loading capacity and stability of the speed sensorless vector control system. The problem of the adaptive compensation flux observer (ACFO) of the PMSM at low carrier ratios is analyzed in this paper, and an ACFO with a feedback delay component is presented. After retuning the PI regulator parameters, the new expression related to carrier ratio is obtained, which can improve the performance of the flux observer at low carrier ratios and make the torque and current loop response faster. Meanwhile, the stability of different Euler approaches of the integrator for ACFO in the discrete domain is analyzed, and a new Euler with a coefficient is proposed to combine the merits of the backward Euler and the trapezoid Euler. It shows better performance at low carrier ratios. Finally, the effectiveness of the discrete ACFO is verified by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A power systems of wearable application requires high power conversion efficiency and bidirectional power flows to obtain the compatibility with various power sources and loads. The conventional flyback converter has a simple structure and bidirectional power conversion capability. However, it shows poor power conversion efficiency caused by hard-switching operation, high DC offset current on the transformer, snubber losses, and large peak current. In this paper, a current-fed CLLC resonant converter is proposed to obtain the high power conversion efficiency and the bidirectional power conversion capability. The soft-switching operation, zero DC-offset current, and small peak current can induce high power conversion efficiency. The asymmetric pulse width modulation (APWM) regulates the bidirectional power flows and the output voltage. The design methodology of the proposed converter is analyzed by introducing its operational principles. The performance of the proposed converter is experimentally verified with a 20 W prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved two-stage model predictive current control (MPCC) for three-phase three-level converters in the paper, which can simultaneously achieve common-mode voltage (CMV) reduction, effective dc-link capacitor voltage control, and decreased computational burden, is proposed. Compared to the other current control strategies, it has the capability of handling multiple control objectives and possesses a simple structure. Furthermore, it greatly reduces the CMV since the peak CMVs of all the candidate voltage vectors are constrained to be less than one sixth of the dc-link voltage. In addition, an optimal two-stage voltage vector selection mechanism is employed in the proposed method. It helps to significantly reduce the computational complexity. Simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents Space Vector Modulation (SVM) sequences that reduce Common Mode Voltage (CMV) in Dual Three-phase Asymmetrical Induction Motor (DTAIM). At first, two existing SVM techniques such as Reference SVM (RSVM) and CMV1 are studied. Additionally, three new switching sequences are developed as CMV2, CMV3 and DCMV3, which reduce peak magnitude of CMV by 66.8% in comparison with RSVM technique. In SVM techniques, to obtain least CMV, zero vectors are usually replaced by two opposite large Active voltage Vectors (AV) with equal time duration. In such topologies like CMV1, total six AVs are utilized to synthesize the reference vector. The proposed SVM technique CMV2 utilizes only five large AVs to synthesize the reference vector and reduces CMV. Selection of five neighbouring AVs is reflected in reduction of harmonic flux trajectories and stator current ripple in proposed techniques. Additionally, two more switching sequences (CMV3 and DCMV3) are developed related to utilization of specific zero voltage vectors in all sectors (7 and 56) that produce zero CMV. These two switching sequences also provide easy implementation feature during the development of c-code program. In this study, CMV and stator current ripple are considered as performance parameters for different SVM techniques. All SVM techniques are analysed by analytical results, computer simulations, and using prototype test setup of DTAIM fed by Dual Three-phase Voltage Source Inverters (DTVSIs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Terahertz band is envisioned to meet the demanding 100 Gbps data rates for 6G wireless communications. Aiming at combating the distance limitation problem with low hardware-cost, ultra-massive MIMO with hybrid beamforming is promising. However, relationships among wavelength, array size and antenna spacing give rise to the inaccuracy of planar-wave channel model (PWM), while an enlarged channel matrix dimension leads to excessive parameters of applying spherical-wave channel model (SWM). Moreover, due to the adoption of hybrid beamforming, channel estimation (CE) needs to recover high-dimensional channels from severely compressed channel observation. In this paper, a hybrid spherical- and planar-wave channel model (HSPM) is investigated and proved to be accurate and efficient by adopting PWM within subarray and SWM among subarrays. Furthermore, a two-phase HSPM CE mechanism is developed. A deep convolutional-neural-network (DCNN) is designed in the first phase for parameter estimation of reference subarrays, while geometric relationships of the remaining channel parameters between reference subarrays are leveraged to complete CE in the second phase. Extensive numerical results demonstrate the HSPM is accurate at various communication distances, array sizes and carrier frequencies. The DCNN converges fast and achieves high accuracy with 5.2 dB improved normalized-mean-square-error compared to literature methods, and owns substantially low complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utility engineers, professionals from regulatory agencies, manufacturers and researchers have discussed if high-frequency distortions produced by rooftop photovoltaic generators are a general power quality concern for distribution systems. In this context, this paper presents the results of an extensive research to investigate the emission and propagation characteristics of such high-frequency distortions. Analytical and theoretical analyses, computer simulations, laboratory experiments and field measurements revealed that high-frequency distortions emitted by rooftop photovoltaic inverters are produced with a voltage source characteristic. As a result, the equivalent grid impedance limits and attenuates significantly the high-frequency distortions injection and propagation into the distribution systems. Moreover, the front-end, low-pass filters found in many home appliances also contribute with such attenuation by sinking part of the high-frequency distortions. In summary, the results indicate that these distortions are unlikely to become a generalized power quality concern, so that the front-end filters commonly available for such devices, when properly designed, are enough to deal with this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the estimation of parameters of a Thevenin equivalent in an AC grid. We consider the practically relevant case of measurements coming from a grid-connected inverter. Our focus is on non-intrusive measurements, as we postulate and later experimentally observe transients that occur in normal operation as the primary source of information. We notice that even during quiet, after work hours there are typically enough variations in the grid to enable successful convergence of our procedure. For completeness, we also consider the artificial case of no external variations and show that injection of very small current perturbations suffices for convergence. Our procedure is based on real-time monitoring of the estimated determinant of the regression matrix. Regression matrix properties are also used to evaluate the integrity of the estimates and to initiate a brief sequence of perturbation in rare cases of the exceptionally restful grid. The estimation algorithm is simple enough to be implementable on standard industrial controllers, yet robust and reliable in terms of speed of convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initiation and growth of electrical trees can be linked to the development of partial discharge (PD) activity within an insulation system. We present in this paper changes in PD characteristics that appear during the electrical tree growth in a crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) based insulation at different stages of its degradation. A DC voltage with superimposed high frequency component is applied to the material specimens for the detection and characterization of PD traces observed during the degradation. The method is flexible and offers a possibility to vary DC voltage level independently of the superimposed disturbance, its frequency and rise time, including rapid voltage steps. It also enables to create a phase-locked phase-resolved PD pattern (PRPD) facilitating various analyses of the characteristics. It is postulated that measurements of the changes in PD characteristics found under such excitations can be used for performing diagnostics and prognostics of material condition. This approach also implies new possibilities to evaluate different material concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of finite-control-set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) in voltage source inverters (VSIs) can make the system suffer from poor current harmonics performance, which may complicate the design of the required AC filter. To overcome this shortcoming, a carrier-based modulated model predictive control (CB-MMPC) strategy is proposed in this paper. This method enables the utilization of existing PWM modulation techniques with FCS-MPC, where a modulation waveform with zero-sequence signal injection is generated and compared to a triangular carrier wave, while optimizing the selection of the switching states. As it is shown, the studied CB-MMPC strategy not only considerably improves the current total harmonic distortion (THD) but also attains the performance of fast current dynamic response and robustness as the traditional FCS-MPC. Herein, the detailed implementation of the CB-MMPC control strategy is given, while considering its application to the current feedback control loop of a three-phase three-wire two-level VSI modulated at constant switching frequency. Finally, PLECS circuit simulation and a 3-kW VSI prototype are used to verify the superiority and the effectiveness of the presented CB-MMPC strategy. This is also benchmarked to the FCS-MPC and dead-beat based controllers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an investigation into sideband vibro-acoustics suppression of the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), associated with several periodic signal-based dithering modulations. Mathematical derivations of four typical periodic signal-based schemes are deduced with the power spectral density (PSD) method. The individual modulation parameters, such as bandwidth and modulation ratio, are determined the values to minimize the sideband vibro-acoustics. The frequency distributions of the sideband components are discussed by the analytical derivations. The relationship between the electromagnetic components and mechanical responses is reconstructed by coupling with temporal features. For verification, the experimental tests with a prototype PMSM are introduced under different operational conditions. According to the results and figures, both magnitude suppression and frequency distribution are accurately correlated with sideband harmonic components as well as vibro-acoustic responses. This investigation thus clearly holds promise for the evaluation and optimization in powertrain used by electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new transformer-less three-level grid-tied inverter is proposed in this article. By employing the switched-capacitor (SC) modules, a new topology is derived. The proposed topology has some features which are high efficiency, the capability of voltage boosting without utilization of any additional boost stage, and suppressing the leakage current by using common grounded strategy. In this article, a peak current control is employed to generate the gate pulses of power semiconductor switches and adjustment of both active and reactive powers. By doing so, the grid injected current is controlled and adjusted to have a proper quality. The operation modes, design consideration, and a comparison with some recently proposed grid-connected topologies are done through this paper. Finally, the performance and feasibility of the proposed inverter are confirmed with a 500 W experimental prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, one of the challenges in transport electrification is the reduction of the components’ size and weight in order to improve the power density. This is often achieved by designing electrical machines with higher rotational speeds and excitation frequencies. In addition, the converter needs to control the machine over a wide speed range given by the mission profile. Therefore, copper losses can significantly increase due to the combination of high frequency excitation and the harmonics introduced by the converter. The winding arrangement design plays a key role in the minimization of the copper losses, thus towards a higher efficiency and/or an improved power density. Different winding topologies can be adopted for high speed electrical machines and amongst them random windings are still one of the most widespread types. This paper presents an in depth study on AC losses in random windings for high frequency motor applications. An analytical method is compared against 2-D Finite Element (FE) simulation results. These are then compared to experimental measurements taken on a custom motorette. Importantly, in order to take into account the random positions of each strand within the machine slots, an Experimental Statistic Method (ESM) is proposed. The ESM allows to define the probability distribution which is useful to evaluate the winding copper losses at the design stage. The contribution of the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) effect is also considered and experimentally evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered or hybrid optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been proposed for use in optical communications due to its excellent spectral and power efficiencies, especially in visible light communications (VLC). However, most of the current works concentrate on transmitter and receiver design as well as the quality of service in communication networks. In this paper, we propose a spectrum-efficient dimmable triple-layer hybrid optical OFDM (DTH-OFDM) scheme to tackle the illumination requirements, considering different practical indoor VLC scenarios from low illumination to high illumination intensities. In the proposed DTH-OFDM scheme, the required dimming level is achieved by jointly adjusting the dimming factors and direct current bias. We investigate the comprehensive performance analysis of the proposed DTH-OFDM in detail, including probability density function, bit error rate (BER), spectral and energy efficiencies. In addition, a joint dimming control and optimal power allocation problem for DTH-OFDM is formulated and solved using convex optimization under the constraints of light emitting diode (LED) nonlinearity, dimming target and communications reliability. Numerical results show that, the proposed DTH-OFDM can offer continuous and arbitrary dimming target with higher spectral efficiency and lower BER compared with its counterparts, as well as an enhanced tolerance to the LED nonlinearity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]