Special Issue "Advanced Control Techniques for Renewable Energy Systems and Power Electronics"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2022.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mohamed Abdelrahem
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Electrical Drive Systems and Power Electronics, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 80333 Munich, Germany
Interests: predictive control; wind energy; photovoltaic; sensorless control; power electronics; electrical drive systems; energy storage systems
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am inviting submissions to a Special Issue of Sustainability entitled “Advanced Control Techniques for Renewable Energy Systems and Power Electronics”.

Currently, the use of renewable energy systems (wind, photovoltaic, wave, etc.) in power generation systems has increased remarkably worldwide. Furthermore, power electronics circuits are used in various industrial applications, i.e., electrical drive systems, electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and others. Therefore, new control techniques for renewable energy systems and power electronics circuits are highly desirable. Those control techniques shall improve the dynamics and steady-state performance of the system under control. Furthermore, improvement of efficiency and power quality are also highly required. The aim of the present Special Issue is to attract original high-quality papers and review articles proposing advanced control strategies for renewable energy systems and power electronics. Major topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Advanced control techniques (predictive, fuzzy, neural-network, sliding-mode, etc.);
  • Wind and photovoltaic energy generation systems;
  • Other renewable energy systems;
  • Multi-level power converters;
  • Back-to-back power converters;
  • Multi-phase systems;
  • Robust control systems;
  • Fault-ride through strategies.

The Special Issue will present cutting-edge research results in these emerging fields as a basis for reliable and efficient operation of renewable energy systems and power electronics circuits. The proposed control techniques should be extensively validated by simulation and/or experimental results.

Dr. Mohamed Abdelrahem
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • control systems
  • wind energy
  • photovoltaic
  • wave energy
  • power electronics
  • robust control
  • fault ride through

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Article
Performance Investigation of Switched Reluctance Motor Driven by Quasi-Z-Source Integrated Multiport Converter with Different Switching Algorithms
Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9517; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179517 - 24 Aug 2021
Viewed by 217
Abstract
Switched reluctance machines (SRMs) have received increasing attention for their many potential uses, such as for wind power and electric vehicle (EV) drive systems. The Quasi-Z-source Integrated Multiport Converter (QZIMPC) was recently introduced to improve the reliability of the SRM driver through small [...] Read more.
Switched reluctance machines (SRMs) have received increasing attention for their many potential uses, such as for wind power and electric vehicle (EV) drive systems. The Quasi-Z-source Integrated Multiport Converter (QZIMPC) was recently introduced to improve the reliability of the SRM driver through small capacitance values. It is not possible, however, to simultaneously energize and deenergize two SRM phases in QZIMPC. This phenomenon can significantly increase the commutation period which, in turn, degrades the performance of SRM; in addition, this causes high-voltage ripples on the converter’s capacitors. Two switching algorithms are introduced and applied in this paper, and their performance with SRM is investigated in terms of torque ripple and peak phase current. The algorithms are based on prioritizing the control command in the on-going and off-going phases to fulfill the required load torque, as well as to accelerate the commutation process where possible. This is achieved without the interference of high-level controllers, which include speed controllers and/or torque ripple minimization. Through the simulation results, a comparison between the two switching algorithms is presented to determine their potential to improve the SRM drive system’s performance. Full article
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Article
Adaptive Predictive Control with Neuro-Fuzzy Parameter Estimation for Microgrid Grid-Forming Converters
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7038; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137038 - 23 Jun 2021
Viewed by 376
Abstract
Model predictive control (MPC) is a flexible and multivariable control technique with better dynamic performance than linear control. However, MPC is sensitive to parametric mismatches that reduce its control capabilities. In this paper, we present a new method of improving the robustness of [...] Read more.
Model predictive control (MPC) is a flexible and multivariable control technique with better dynamic performance than linear control. However, MPC is sensitive to parametric mismatches that reduce its control capabilities. In this paper, we present a new method of improving the robustness of MPC to filter parameter variations/mismatches by easily implementable parameter estimation. Furthermore, we extend the proposed technique for wider operating conditions by novel neuro-fuzzy estimation. The results, which are demonstrated by both simulations and real-time hardware-in-the-loop tests, show a steady-state parameter estimation accuracy of 95%, and at least 20% improvement in total harmonic distortion (THD) than conventional non-adaptive MPC under parameter mismatches up to 50% of the nominal values. Full article
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Article
Analysis of Harmonic Resonance Characteristics in Grid-Connected LCL Virtual Synchronous Generator
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4261; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084261 - 12 Apr 2021
Viewed by 354
Abstract
The virtual synchronous generator (VSG), which emulates the essential behavior of the conventional synchronous generator, has attracted great attention. This paper proposes to analyze the harmonic resonance characteristics in VSG using the state-space model. The analysis is based on a full-order state-space small-signal [...] Read more.
The virtual synchronous generator (VSG), which emulates the essential behavior of the conventional synchronous generator, has attracted great attention. This paper proposes to analyze the harmonic resonance characteristics in VSG using the state-space model. The analysis is based on a full-order state-space small-signal model that fully considers the dynamic of the inner loops and the VSG-based outer power control loop. Participation analysis is used to point out the contributions of different states to the eigenvalues. Moreover, eigenvalue locus and singular value decomposition (SVD) are applied together to evaluate the impact of the inner loop parameters on the harmonic resonance characteristics around the LCL filter resonance frequency. The analysis indicates that the harmonic resonance instability is mainly caused by decreasing the proportional gains of the current loop and the voltage loop. Finally, extensive numerical simulation and experimental results are given to verify the validity of the theoretical analysis. Both the simulation and experimental results indicate that the voltage of the common coupling point is unstable after decreasing the proportional gains of the current and voltage controllers. As Kpc decreases from 5 to 0.4 or Kpv decreases from 0.6 to 0.2, the harmonic distortion factor (HDF) around the LCL filter resonance frequency increases. Furthermore, the consistency of simulation results, experimental results, and the theoretical analysis results is validated. Full article
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Article
A Novel FCS-MPC Method of Multi-Level APF Is Proposed to Improve the Power Quality in Renewable Energy Generation Connected to the Grid
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4094; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084094 - 07 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 433
Abstract
When photovoltaic, wind, energy storage batteries, and other new forms of energy are connected to the grid, power electronic converters are needed, and there are a lot of nonlinear devices in the grid. The characteristics of sustainable energy generation determine the variability and [...] Read more.
When photovoltaic, wind, energy storage batteries, and other new forms of energy are connected to the grid, power electronic converters are needed, and there are a lot of nonlinear devices in the grid. The characteristics of sustainable energy generation determine the variability and intermittency, which will produce harmonic components. Active power filters (APF) are commonly used in industry for harmonic compensation, so it is of great significance to control APF quickly and effectively. The multi-objective, single-factor, multistep finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) of an APF proposed in this paper is suitable for a multi-objective, multi-level converter control. This method is applied to the three-level APF structure, which changes the traditional three-level FCS-MPC control method. The traditional three-level FCS-MPC includes four control objectives, stable control of the DC-side voltage, power grid harmonic currents generated under non-linear loads, and balance of the capacitor voltage on the DC side when switching frequency. This method uses the redundant switching state of the three-level structure to achieve the voltage balance of the two capacitors on the DC side, which reduces the difficulty of target optimisation caused by the selection of weight factors. Based on the multi-step prediction, power feedback control is added on the DC side to increase the DC side’s reaction speed, eliminate the influence of uncertainty, and realise better dynamic performance. According to the simulation results, we can observe that the proposed method has good followability, can compensate for the harmonics of the power grid, reduces the harmonic content to less than 5%, and can balance the DC-side capacitor voltage. Full article
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Article
Energy-Based Combined Nonlinear Observer and Voltage Controller for a PMSG Using Fuzzy Supervisor High Order Sliding Mode in a Marine Current Power System
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3737; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073737 - 27 Mar 2021
Viewed by 580
Abstract
A permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) in s grid-connected tidal energy conversion system presents numerous advantages such as high-power density and ease of maintenance. However, the nonlinear properties of the generator and parametric uncertainties make the controller design more than a simple challenge. [...] Read more.
A permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) in s grid-connected tidal energy conversion system presents numerous advantages such as high-power density and ease of maintenance. However, the nonlinear properties of the generator and parametric uncertainties make the controller design more than a simple challenge. Within this paper we present a new combined passivity-based voltage control (PBVC) with a nonlinear observer. The PBVC is used to design the desired dynamics of the system, while the nonlinear observer serves to reconstruct the measured signals. A high order sliding-mode based fuzzy supervisory approach is selected to design the desired dynamics. This paper addresses the following two main parts: controlling the PMSG to guarantee the maximum tidal power extraction and integrate into to the grid-side converter (GSC), for this the new controller is proposed. The second task is to regulate the generated reactive power and the DC-link voltage to their references under any disturbances related to the machine-side converter (MSC). Furthermore, the robustness of the controller against parameter changes was taken into consideration. The developed controller is tested under parameter variations and compared to benchmark nonlinear control methods. Numerical simulations are performed in MATLAB/Simulink which clearly demonstrates the robustness of the proposed technique over the compared control methods. Moreover, the proposed controller is also validated using a processor in the loop (PIL) experiment using Texas Instruments (TI) Launchpad. Full article
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Article
Hardware-in-the-Loop to Test an MPPT Technique of Solar Photovoltaic System: A Support Vector Machine Approach
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3000; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063000 - 10 Mar 2021
Viewed by 736
Abstract
This paper proposes a new method for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the photovoltaic (PV) system while using a DC-DC boost converter. The conventional perturb and observe (P&O) method has a fast tracking response, but it presents oscillation around the maximum power [...] Read more.
This paper proposes a new method for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the photovoltaic (PV) system while using a DC-DC boost converter. The conventional perturb and observe (P&O) method has a fast tracking response, but it presents oscillation around the maximum power point (MPP) in steady state. Therefore, to satisfy transient and steady-state responses, this paper presents a MPPT method using support vector machines (SVMs). The use of SVM will help to improve the tracking speed of maximum power point of the PV system without oscillations near MPP. A boost converter is used to implement the MPPT method, where the input voltage of the DC-DC converter is regulated using a double loop where the inner loop is a current control that is based on passivity. The MPPT structure is validated by hardware in the loop, a real time and high-speed simulator (PLECS RT Box 1), and a digital signal controller (DSC) are used to model the PV system and implement the control strategies, respectively. The proposed strategy presents low complexity and it is implemented in a commercial low-cost DSC (TI 28069M). The performance of the MPPT proposed is presented under challenging experimental profiles with solar irradiance and temperature variations across the panel. In addition, the performance of the proposed method is compared with the P&O method, which is traditionally most often used in MPPT under demanding tests, in order to demonstrate the superiority of the strategy presented. Full article
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