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Kultur Dokumente
5, OCTOBER 2007
2697
I. I NTRODUCTION
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be described as
L
Ts
i(k) + v(k + 1) e(k + 1) .
i(k + 1) =
RTs + L Ts
(6)
di(t)
= v(t) Ri(t) e(t)
dt
(1)
where R and L are the load resistance and inductance, respectively, v is the voltage vector generated by the inverter, e is the
electromotive force (EMF) of the load, and i is the load current
vector. These vectors are defined as
2
v = (Va0 + aVb0 + a2 Vc0 )
3
2
i = (ia + aib + a2 ic )
3
2
e = (ea + aeb + a2 ec )
3
RTs + L
L
i(k 1)
i(k).
Ts
Ts
(8)
1
ic (k)Ts
C
(9)
(2)
III. PWM C URRENT C ONTROL M ETHOD
(3)
(4)
where a = ej(2/3) .
Applying a sampling period Ts , the derivative form di(t)/dt
is approximated by
di(t)
i(k) i(k 1)
.
dt
Ts
(7)
(5)
Replacing (5) in (1) and shifting the discrete time one step
forward, the relation between the discrete-time variables can
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Fig. 4.
(10)
where nc is the number of commutations of the power semiconductors to get to the switching state under evaluation. The
first term in (10), i.e., f (i , i), is dedicated to achieve reference tracking, quantifying the difference between the reference
current and current prediction on the next sampling time, for
a given switching state. The following composition of f , or
tracking cost, is proposed:
f (i (k + 1), i(k + 1)) = |i (k + 1) i (k + 1)|
+ i (k + 1) i (k + 1)
(12)
4
fsai + fsbi + fsci
12
i=1
(13)
(11)
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TABLE I
CIRCUIT PARAMETERS
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
A. Reference Tracking
The performance of the proposed strategy was analyzed
and compared with PWM current control. The algorithm was
implemented using the following quality function:
g = |i (k + 1) i (k + 1)|
+ i (k + 1) i (k + 1) + n nc .
(14)
for the PWM and predictive methods. From the presented results, it is clear that the predictive method achieves comparable
performance on reference tracking during transient response.
In addition, note that the proposed method presents no interaction between i and i . This decoupling is a consequence of
independently considering both components of the current vector, as shown in (14).
Note that the method does not require any kind of linear controller or modulation technique, achieving a different approach
to control a power converter.
The basic predictive strategy presented, applying quality
function (10) with dc = n = 0, requires no parameter adjustment, but only knowledge of the load. Nevertheless, to
take advantage of the possibilities offered by this method, it is
necessary to adjust parameters dc and n . No design criteria
have been established thus far for this purpose. Further research
is required. However, some hints can be mentioned. First,
the designer should consider the magnitudes of the variables
involved in g. Terms included in f (11) will usually be smaller
than terms included in h (12). According to that, if the designer
wants to give equal importance to each objective, dc and
n should be less than 1. If the designer wants to maintain
voltage balance in the dc link only by selecting the appropriate
switching state within a given voltage vector, then a small value
of dc should be used. The smallest value allowed by the implementation platform will work for that purpose. In that way, the
control method will use the state redundancy of a three-level
inverter as most established methods. The same criteria can
be applied to n . With a small value, the method will choose
the switching state that implies fewer commutations within a
voltage vector. When increasing n , the method could choose
switching states that are not within the optimal voltage vector
in terms of reference tracking but imply fewer commutations.
More details regarding the selection of n will be discussed in
the following section.
B. Reduction of the Switching Frequency
Also, using (14) as a quality function and increasing the
value of n , it is possible to considerably reduce the average
switching frequency per semiconductor, i.e., fs . Applying the
strategy with n = 0, the method presented a switching frequency fs = 820 Hz. Using a value of n = 0.001, the method
presented fs = 690 Hz, as mentioned. Increasing n to 0.16
(emphasis in reducing the switching frequency), a frequency
of 229 Hz was achieved. That represents only 27.9% of the
original average switching frequency per semiconductor and
33.1% of the fs presented by the PWM method.
As expected, applying a greater n implies a reduction in the
switching frequency. In general, the tradeoff is a slight increase
in the reference tracking error. For example, increasing n from
0.001 to 0.16, the switching frequency fs drops from 690 to
229 Hz, but the reference tracking error e increases from 0.089
to 0.189 A. To expose the possibilities of the proposed method,
a graph showing the relation between the design parameter
n and the average switching frequency per semiconductor
fs and mean absolute reference tracking error e is presented
in Fig. 9. From the figure, which is built based on several
simulations for each value of n , it is possible to confirm the
mentioned relation. Increasing n implies a reduction in the
switching frequency and increases the reference tracking error.
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Fig. 10. Predictive strategy, passive load (simulation). (a) Load current on
phase a. (b) Load voltage on phase a.
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Fig. 12. Experimental results with fs = 720 Hz, load current on phase a.
(a) PWM. (b) Predictive.
Fig. 13. Experimental results with fs = 720 Hz, load voltage on phase a.
(a) PWM. (b) Predictive.
stored as jop . The loop ends when all 27 switching states have
been evaluated. The state that produces the optimal value of g
(minimal) is identified by the variable jop and will be applied
to the converter during the next sampling interval, starting the
control algorithm again.
The PWM method was implemented with carrier frequencies
of 1440 and 400 Hz. The total dc-link voltage was maintained
at 533 V by a dc source that also maintained voltage balance
during initial tests. A passive load was connected to the inverter,
with the same parameters and characteristics of the load used in
Section V-C in simulations. A sinusoidal reference current of
10-A amplitude and 50-Hz frequency was applied.
The predictive strategy was tested using the quality function presented in (14) with n = 0.001. The PWM method
was implemented with a carrier signal of frequency fc =
1440 Hz. Both implementations presented an average switching frequency per semiconductor fs = 720 Hz. Results can
be observed in Fig. 12 for load current on phase a and in
Fig. 13 for load voltage. The resemblance of the signals for
both methods is clearly observed and matches the results
presented in simulations for the same situation in Fig. 10.
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TABLE II
COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF PWM AND PREDICTIVE METHODS
Fig. 14. Experimental results with fs = 200 Hz, load current on phase a.
(a) PWM. (b) Predictive.
Fig. 15. Experimental results with fs = 200 Hz, load voltage on phase a.
(a) PWM. (b) Predictive.
Nevertheless, a mean absolute error of e = 0.184 A was measured for the PWM strategy. The predictive method presented a
mean absolute error of e = 0.165 A.
The second step was to increase the frequency reduction
weighing factor to n = 0.16. The predictive method presented
a switching frequency of fs = 200 Hz. The PWM method was
adjusted to match the switching frequency, with a carrier signal
of frequency fc = 400 Hz. Results on the load current for
both methods can be observed in Fig. 14. The load voltage
signals for PWM and predictive methods can be observed in
Fig. 15. Comparing Figs. 14 and 15 with Figs. 12 and 13, it
is possible to verify the reduction in the switching frequency,
as well as an increase in the reference tracking error for
both methods. Analysis of the mean absolute error, however,
reveals a significant difference in the performance of both
methods. The PWM strategy presented a mean absolute error of
e = 0.406 A, whereas the predictive method achieved a value
of e = 0.283 A, both working at fs = 200 Hz.
Table II presents a review summarizing the most relevant
characteristics and results for both methods, including average switching frequency per IGBT fs , mean absolute tracking
Fig. 16. Experimental test regarding voltage balance in the dc-link capacitors
applying the predictive strategy.
(15)
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Jos Rodrguez (M81SM94) received the Engineer degree in electrical engineering from the Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara, Valparaso,
Chile, in 1977 and the Dr.-Ing. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Erlangen,
Erlangen, Germany, in 1985.
Since 1977, he has been with the Universidad
Tcnica Federico Santa Mara, where he is currently
a Professor and the President. During his sabbatical
leave in 1996, he was responsible for the Mining
Division, Siemens Corporation, Santiago, Chile. He
has a large consulting experience in the mining industry, particularly in the
application of large drives like cycloconverter-fed synchronous motors for SAG
mills, high-power conveyors, controlled drives for shovels, and power quality
issues. He has authored or coauthored more than 130 refereed journals and
conference papers and contributed to one chapter in the Power Electronics
Handbook (Academic Press, 2006). His research interests are mainly in the area
of power electronics and electrical drives. In the last years, his main research
interests are in multilevel inverters and new converter topologies.
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Jorge Pontt (M00SM04) received the Engineer and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering
from the Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara
(UTFSM), Valparaso, Chile, in 1977.
Since 1977, he has been with UTFSM, where he is
currently a Professor in the Department of Electronics Engineering, the Director of the Laboratory for
Reliability and Power Quality, and the Director of the
Nucleus for Industrial Electronics and Mechatronics.
He has authored more than 90 international refereed
journals and conference papers. He is the coauthor
of the software Harmonix used in harmonic studies in electrical systems
and also of patent applications concerning innovative instrumentation systems
employed in high-power converters and large grinding mill drives. He is a
Consultant to the mining industry, particularly in the design and application of
power electronics, drives, instrumentation systems, and power quality issues,
with management of more than 80 consulting and R&D projects. He has had
scientific stays at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
(19791980), the University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany (1990), and
the University of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany (20002001).