L'évolution de l'électronique de puissance depuis ces dernières années est le résultat des enjeux énergétiques actuels qui exigent, entre autres, des architectures de conversion d'énergie capables de traiter des puissances de plus en plus importantes. Parmi les éléments les plus caractéristiques de cette évolution, l'avancement technologique des composants semi-conducteurs (nouveaux composants SiC ou GaN) ainsi que la conception de nouvelles architectures de convertisseurs statiques jouent un rôle important. Parmi ces architectures, différentes associations basées sur la connexion en série et en parallèle de cellules de commutation classiques ont été proposées. Ces associations permettent d'augmenter la puissance traitée par les convertisseurs sans accroitre les contraintes au niveau des interrupteurs. Elles permettent également l'obtention de signaux de sortie d'une meilleure qualité avec des fréquences apparentes de découpage plus importantes. Ces architectures utilisent des éléments de stockage d'énergie qui diminuent les contraintes au niveau des interrupteurs mais qui exigent, en revanche, une régulation précise des grandeurs de tension ou de courant propres à ces éléments. Pour l'association en série, les tensions des condensateurs doivent rester autour d'une fraction de la tension du bus d'entrée. Pour l'association en parallèle, le courant de sortie doit être réparti équitablement entre les différents bras afin d'éviter les phénomènes non linéaires propres aux éléments magnétiques utilisés dans les inductances (séparées ou magnétiquement couplées). Dans la première partie de cette thèse, nous présentons les généralités de l'association en série et parallèle des cellules de commutation. La modélisation des éléments magnétiques utilisés pour la mise en parallèle est également détaillée dans le but d'identifier de possibles sources de déséquilibre sur la répartition du courant de sortie. Une modélisation matricielle est appliquée pour simplifier la relation entre les variables propres à chaque association et les ordres de commande de toutes les cellules. Cette modélisation matricielle sera la base des stratégies de commande que nous avons développées dans la suite de nos travaux. Dans la deuxième partie de cette thèse, nous présentons les différentes stratégies de commande pouvant être appliquées sur ces convertisseurs. Les premières stratégies sont basées sur une approche classique utilisant un modulateur, un générateur d'ordres de commande et des régulateurs de type linéaire pour la régulation des variables internes et externes de chaque association. En termes de modulateurs, nous présentons principalement un modulateur de type PS (Phase Shifted), tandis que quelques applications et résultats sont présentés pour un modulateur de type PD (Phase Disposition). D'autres stratégies basées sur la commande prédictive sont également présentées. La première est la stratégie MPC qui utilise une fonction de coût pour choisir l'état optimal du convertisseur pour chaque période d'échantillonnage. Cette stratégie a été introduite récemment dans le domaine des convertisseurs statiques et présente des avantages liées à la facilité de sa mise en place ainsi qu'aux réponses du système lors des régimes transitoires. La deuxième stratégie, basée sur la commande prédictive, utilise des instants de commutation variables, une fonction de coût simplifiée et une machine d'état. Cette dernière permet de gérer les ordres de commande de toutes les cellules de commutation en fonction des variables à réguler. En plus des avantages liés à la stratégie MPC, sa mise en place est bien plus simple car elle fonctionne à une fréquence de découpage fixe et s'adapte facilement à différents points de fonctionnement. Dans la dernière partie de cette thèse, nous présentons l'implantation expérimentale de ces stratégies afin de valider leur performance sur les convertisseurs multicellulaires. / In the last years, the development in the power electronics field is the result of the current energy challenges. These challenges require power converters able to work with increasingly important powers. Among the most characteristic elements of this development, we can find the technological advancements of the semiconductor devices (based principally in SiC and GaN) and the conception of new power converters topologies. These new power converter topologies are principally based on the serial and parallel association of classical commutation cells. With these associations, the energy treated by the converter can be increased using the current semiconductor technology. The quality of the output signals can also be improved with higher apparent switching frequencies. These associations use elements for storing energy, such as inductors or capacitors. They equally allow the reduction of the constraints on the switches given the higher voltages and currents. However, the use of these elements requires a good control of the capacitors' voltage for the serial connection and a good distribution of the output current among the different phases for the parallel connection. In the parallel connection, when we use Inter Cells Transformers (ICT) instead of classical inductors, all the phase currents reduce their ripples while their frequency is reduced. Nevertheless, some differences between all the phases' currents can entail non-linear phenomena, producing perturbations and instabilities in the system. In the serial connection, the capacitor voltages must stay around a fraction of the input voltage in order to get an optimal multilevel output voltage. In the first part of this thesis, we present the generalities of the serial and parallel association of classical commutation cells. Different models of magnetic elements are used for getting a better representation of an ICT; these models are used for finding possible sources of currents imbalances. A matrix model is used to simplify the relationship between the control variables with the control of each commutation cell. In the second part of this thesis, some control strategies that can be applied with these converters are presented. The first strategy is based on a conventional approach that uses a modulator, a state machine for generating the commands of each cell and linear regulators for controlling the internal and external variables (output voltage and currents, capacitors in the serial association and the distribution of the current for the parallel connection). In terms of modulators, we present primarily a PS (Phase Shifted) modulator while some applications and results are presented for a PD (Phase Disposition) modulator. Other strategies based on predictive control are also presented. The first of these strategies is the classical MPC (model predictive control) strategy that uses a cost function to select the optimal state of the converter for each sampling period. This strategy has recently been introduced in the field of static converters and it has several advantages related to the facility of its implementation and the optimal transient responses. The second strategy uses variable switching instants, a simplified cost function and a state machine. The state machine is used to manage the capacitors' voltages and the differential currents (differences between the phase currents) while the cost function is used for controlling the output voltage and current. This strategy is simpler to be implemented, presents fast transient responses and works with a fixed switching frequency in different operating points. In the last part of this thesis, we present the experimental implementation of these strategies in order to validate their performance in the power converters based in the serial and parallel association of classical commutation cells.

This thesis describes the theory of model predictive control and application of the theory to synchronous drives. It shows explicit and on-line solutions and compares the results with classical vector control structure.

Distributed coordination of multi-agent systems (MASs) has been widely studied in various emerging engineering applications, including connected vehicles, wireless networks, smart grids, and cyber-physical systems. In these contexts, agents make the decision locally, relying on the interaction with their immediate neighbors over the connected communication networks. The study of distributed coordination for the multi-agent system (MAS) with constraints is significant yet challenging, especially in terms of ubiquitous uncertainties, the heavy communication burden, and communication delays, to name a few. Hence, it is desirable to develop distributed algorithms for the constrained MAS with these practical issues. In this dissertation, we develop the theoretical results on robust distributed model predictive control (DMPC) algorithms for two types of control problems (i.e., formation stabilization problem and consensus problem) of the constrained and uncertain MAS and apply robust DMPC algorithms in applications of cooperative marine vehicles. More precisely, Chapter 1 provides a systematic literature review, where the state-of-the-art DMPC for formation stabilization and consensus, robust MPC, and MPC for motion control of marine vehicles are introduced. Chapter 2 introduces some notations, necessary definitions, and some preliminaries. In Chapter 3, we study the formation stabilization problem of the nonlinear constrained MAS with un- certainties and bounded time-varying communication delays. We develop a min-max DMPC algorithm with the self-triggered mechanism, which significantly reduces the communication burden while ensuring closed-loop stability and robustness. Chapter 4 investigates the consensus problem of the general linear MAS with input constraints and bounded time-varying delays. We design a robust DMPC-based consensus protocol that integrates a predesigned consensus protocol with online DMPC optimization techniques. Under mild technical assumptions, the estimation errors propagated over prediction due to delay-induced inaccurate neighboring information are proved bounded, based on which a robust DMPC strategy is deliberately designed to achieve robust consensus while satisfying control input constraints. Chapter 5 proposes a Lyapunov-based DMPC approach for the formation tracking control problem of co-operative autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) subject to environmental disturbances. A stability constraint leveraging the extended state observer-based auxiliary control law and the associated Lyapunov function is incorporated into the optimization problem to enforce the stability and enhance formation tracking performance. A collision-avoidance cost is designed and employed in the DMPC optimization problem to further guarantee the safety of AUVs. Chapter 6 presents a tube-based DMPC approach for the platoon control problem of a group of heterogeneous autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) with input constraints and disturbances. In particular, a coupled inter-vehicle safety constraint is added to the DMPC optimization problem; it ensures that neighboring ASVs maintain the safe distance and avoid inter-vehicle collision. Finally, we summarize the main results of this dissertation and discuss some potential directions for future research in Chapter 7. / Graduate / 2023-04-19

Having a accurate model of a system is essential for many applications today, especially those related to advanced process control. When executing a project often a lot of time is spent performing experiments on the real system to estimate a model. By designing higher quality experiments the time needed to estimate and identify these models can be reduced saving both resources and engineering efforts. This masters thesis investigates optimal input design to minimize the time needed to identify a linear time-invariant multivariable system fulfilling certain requirements on the model accuracy. Previous input designs mostly focused on sequential excitation but here the effects of using combined simultaneous and sequential excitation is investigated. The design is performed in simulations and evaluated in closed loop using a model predictive controller to further guarantee that the output constraints are not violated. The results indicate that there are many cases where using combined simultaneous and sequential excitation outperforms the previous methods. The effects of the color of the noise on the input design is investigated and the ability of different designs to estimate system delay is also studied. In addition it is shown how an iterative scheme can be used to guarantee that the accuracy requirements on the estimated model are met. / Att ha en god modell av ett system är viktigt för många applikationer idag, särskilt de som är relaterade till avancerad processtyrning. När man genomför ett projekt läggs ofta mycket tid på att utföra experiment på det verkliga systemet för att identifiera en modell. Genom att utforma experiment av hög kvalitet kan den tid som behövs för att identifiera dessa modeller minskas, vilket minimerar både processpåverkan och ingenjörsinsatsen. Denna masteruppsats undersöker metoder för optimal experimentdesign för att minimera tiden som behövs för att identifiera ett multivariabelt system där det finns krav på modellens noggrannhet. Tidigare metoder fokuserade mest på sekventiella experiment, men här undersöks effekterna av att använda en kombination av samtidiga och sekventiella experiment. Här används simuleringar som utvärderas i sluten loop med hjälp av en modellprediktiv regulator för att undvika att utsignalbegränsningarna inte överskrids. Resultatet indikerar att det finns många fall där användning av kombinerade samtidiga och sekventiella experiment överträffar tidigare metoder. Effekterna av färgat brus på ingångsdesignen undersöks och olika metoders förmåga att uppskatta systemfördröjning studeras också. Dessutom visas hur ett iterativt schema kan användas för att garantera att noggrannhetskraven på den uppskattade modellen uppfylls.

I samarbete med Norconsult och kund ska denna rapport undersöka inomhusklimatet i ett museum och resultera i ett förslag på ett kontrollsystem för Heating, Vetilation and Air conditioning (HVAC) som genererar stabil temperatur och relativ luftfuktighet (RF) inom rekommenderade gränsvärden för konstbevaring. Genom litteraturstudier, fältstudier, dataanalys och skapandet av en simulerad modell av utrymmet, ska ett förslag om lämplig kontrollmetod av HVAC framläggas. Vid test av olika kontrollmetoder, tog sig MPC-kontrollen sig bäst ut. Litteraturstudien innefattar flera studier och rapporter som använt sig av MPC-kontroll för liknande projekt med fördelaktiga resultat. Resultaten av dataanalysen visar att under stor del av loggnings-perioden avvek temperatur och/eller RF från gränsvärdena. I vissa utrymmen var uppemot 99% av de loggade värdena utanför gränsvärdet för antingen temperatur eller RF. Av samtliga sensorsamplingar på museet låg 48,53% av dessa utanför de satta rekommendationerna. Generellt var luften i museet för varm och torr till syftet konstförvaltning. Vid jämförelse av de tre utvecklade MPC-kontrollerna, visar alla varianterna till att generera stabila resultat. Det framarbetade förslaget indikerar på ett energieffektivare kontrollsystem gentemot befintligt. Om simuleringsmodellen av utrymmet visar skilja sig från verkliga förhållanden, förändras dynamiken i systemet, och inställningarna för MPC-kontrollen gäller ej längre utan behövs konfigureras om. Projektets primära mål om att generera ett optimerat systemförslag som kontrollerar parametrarna temperatur RF, anses ha uppnåtts - om än endast i simulerade resultat. Vidare arbete innefattar att verifiera modellen mot befintligt system, och därefter inkludera kostnadsfunktioner till MPC-kontrollen. Efter systemimplementering bör faktiska utfall jämföras med simulerade utfall för att utvärdera modellens precision. / In collaboration with Norconsult and the customer, this report will examine the indoor climate in the museum and result in a proposal for a control system for HVAC that generates stable temperature and RH within recommended values ​​for the preservation of art. A proposal for an appropriate control method of the HVAC shall be presented through literature studies, field studies, data analysis, and the creation of a simulated model of the environment. The MPC control performed best during the testing of different control methods. The literature study includes several studies and papers that use MPC control for similar projects with beneficial results. The results of the data analysis show that during a large part of the logging period, the temperature and/or RH deviated from the limit values. In some areas, up to 99% of the logged values ​​were outside recommendations. Of all sensor samplings at the museum, 48.53% of these were registered outside limit values. In general, the air in the museum was too hot and dry for art preservation. When comparing the three developed MPC controllers, all variants show to generate stable results. The elaborated proposal indicates a more energy-efficient control system compared to the existing one. If the simulation model of the environment turns out to differ from real conditions, the dynamics of the system change , and the settings for the MPC control no longer apply and need to be reconfigured. The project's primary goal of generating an optimized system proposal that controls the temperature and relative humidity is considered to have been achieved - albeit only in simulated results. Further work includes verifying the model against the existing system and including cost functions to the MPC control. After system implementation, actual outcomes should be compared with simulated outcomes to evaluate model precision.

The thesis focuses on the design of a control strategy for safety-critical remote teleoperation. The main goal is to make the controlled system track the desired velocity specified by a human operator while avoiding obstacles despite communication delays. Different methods adopting Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) and Model Predictive Control (MPC) have been explored and tested. In this combination, CBFs are used to define the safety constraints the system has to respect to avoid obstacles, while MPC provides the framework for filtering the desired input by solving an optimization problem. The resulting input is sent to the remote system, where appropriate low-level velocity controllers translate it into system-specific commands. The main novelty of the thesis is a method to make the CBFs robust against the uncertainties affecting the system’s state due to network delays. Other techniques are investigated to improve the quality of the system information starting from the delayed one and to formulate the optimization problem without knowing the specific dynamic of the controlled system. The results show how the proposed method successfully solves the safetycritical teleoperation problem, making the controlled systems avoid obstacles with different types of network delay. The controller has also been tested in simulation and on a real manipulator, demonstrating its general applicability when reliable low-level velocity controllers are available. / Avhandlingen fokuserar på utformningen av en kontrollstrategi för säkerhetskritisk fjärrstyrd teleoperation. Huvudmålet är att få det kontrollerade systemet att följa den önskade hastigheten som specificeras av en mänsklig operatör samtidigt som hinder undviks trots kommunikationsfördröjningar. Olika metoder som använder Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) och Model Predictive Control har undersökts och testats. I denna kombination används CBFs för att definiera de säkerhetsbegränsningar som systemet måste respektera för att undvika hinder, medan MPC utgör ramverket för filtrering av den önskade indata genom att lösa ett optimeringsproblem. Den resulterande indata skickas till fjärrsystemet, där lämpliga hastighetsregulatorer på låg nivå översätter den till systemspecifika kommandon. Den viktigaste nyheten i avhandlingen är en metod för att göra CBFs robust mot de osäkerheter som påverkar systemets tillstånd på grund av nätverksfördröjningar. Andra tekniker undersöks för att förbättra kvaliteten på systeminformationen med utgångspunkt från den fördröjda informationen och för att formulera optimeringsproblemet utan att känna till det kontrollerade systemets specifika dynamik. Resultaten visar hur den föreslagna metoden framgångsrikt löser det säkerhetskritiska teleoperationsproblemet, vilket gör att de kontrollerade systemen undviker hinder med olika typer av nätverksfördröjningar. Styrningen har också testats i simulering och på en verklig manipulator, vilket visar dess allmänna tillämpbarhet när tillförlitliga lågnivåhastighetsregulatorer finns tillgängliga.

Electro-Hydraulic (EH) systems are commonly used in the industry for applications that require high power-weight ratios and large driving forces. The EH system studied in this master thesis have recently been upgraded with new hardware components and as a part of this upgrade a new controller was requested. The system consists of a controller that computes a control signal for an electric motor. The motor drives a gear pump that generates a flow of hydraulic fluid. The flow is then directed to a cylinder. The movements of a piston in the cylinder is affected by the flow and the piston position can be measured. The measured piston position is then fed back to the controller and the control loop is complete. The system was previously controlled using a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller and the purpose of this thesis is to compare the old controller with alternative control strategies suitable for this application. The evaluation of the controllers is based on both software and hardware simulations and results in a recommendation for final implementation of the best suited controller. The control strategies chosen for investigation are: a retuned PID controller, a PID controller with feed forward from reference, a PID based cascade controller, a Linear Quadratic (LQ) controller, and a Model Predictive Controller (MPC). To synthesize the controllers an approximate model of the system is formed and implemented in the software environment Matlab Simulink. The model is tuned to fit recorded data and provides a decent estimation of the actual system. The proposed control strategies are then simulated and evaluated in Simulink with the model posing as the real system. These simulations resulted in the elimination of the cascade controller as a possible candidate since it proved unstable for large steps in the reference signal. The remaining four controllers were all selected for simulation on the real hardware system. Unfortunately the MPC was never successfully implemented on the hardware due to some unknown compatibility error and hence eliminated as a possible candidate. The three remaining control strategies, PID, PID with feed forward from reference and the LQ controller, were all successfully implemented and simulated on hardware. The results from the hardware simulations compared to simulations made with the old controller, as well as the results from the software simulations, were then evaluated. Depending on the purpose one of two control strategies is recommended for this application. The LQ controller achieved the best overall performance and is presented as the control strategy best suited for this application.

Dans l'industrie, l'utilisation de l'optimisation est omniprésente. Elle consiste à calculer la meilleure solution tout en satisfaisant un certain nombre de contraintes. Cependant, ce calcul est complexe, long et pas toujours fiable. C'est pourquoi cette tâche est longtemps restée cantonnée aux étapes de conception, ce qui laissait le temps de faire les calculs puis de vérifier que la solution était correcte et si besoin refaire les calculs. Ces dernières années, grâce à la puissance toujours grandissante des ordinateurs, l'industrie a commencé à intégrer des calculs d'optimisation au cœur des systèmes. C'est-à-dire que des calculs d'optimisation sont effectués en permanence au sein du système, parfois des dizaines de fois par seconde. Par conséquent, il est impossible de s'assurer a posteriori de la correction d'une solution ou de relancer un calcul. C'est pourquoi il est primordial de vérifier que le programme d'optimisation est parfaitement correct et exempt de bogue.L'objectif de cette thèse a été de développer outils et méthodes pour répondre à ce besoin.Pour ce faire, nous avons utilisé la théorie de la preuve formelle qui consiste à considérer un programme comme un objet mathématique. Cet objet prend des informations en entrée et produit un résultat. On peut alors, sous certaines conditions sur les entrées, prouver que le résultat satisfait nos exigences. Notre travail a consisté à choisir un programme d'optimisation puis à prouver formellement que le résultat de ce programme est correct. / In the industry, the use of optimization is ubiquitous. Optimization consists of calculating the best solution subject to a number of constraints. However, this calculation is complex,long and not always reliable. This is why this task has long been confined to the design stages,which allowed time to do the computation and then check that the solution is correct and if necessary redo the computation. In recent years, thanks to the ever-increasing power of computers, the industry has begun to integrate optimization computation at the heart of the systems. That is to say that optimization computation is carried out continuously within the system, sometimes dozens of times per second. Therefore, it is impossible to check a posteriori the solution or restart a calculation. That is why it is important to check that the program optimization is perfectly correct and bug-free. The objective of this thesis was to develop tools and methods to meet this need. To do this we have used the theory of formal proof that is to consider a program as a mathematical object. This object takes input data and produces a result. We can then, under certain conditions on the inputs, prove that the result meets our requirements. Our job was to choose an optimization program and formally prove that the result of this program is correct.

Temperature is a very important process parameter in Friction Stir Welding (FSW), but until lately active control of temperature has not been practiced. Recently, temperature control via a PID controller has proven to be effective. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a control method that holds promise, but has not been attempted in FSW before. Two different model forms are developed for MPC and are evaluated. The first is a simple first-order plus dead time (FOPDT) model. The second is the Hybrid Heat Source model and is more complex; it combines the heat source method and a 1D discretized thermal model of the FSW tool. Model parameters were determined by fitting model predictions to actual weld data. The models were evaluated for their performance in modeled and unmodeled disturbances once the process was already at a quasi steady state condition and also were evaluated for control immediately after plunge. The FOPDT based MPC controller has very good performance and was comparable in performance to previously proven and well-tuned PID controllers. For small modeled disturbances the FOPDT controller settled within 1°C of the setpoint in 10s with almost no oscillations and only 2°C of overshoot. For large unmodeled disturbances, the FOPDT controller settled within 1°C of the setpoint in 30s with no oscillations and 16°C of overshoot. For the same disturbances, the PID servo controller settled in 30s with no oscillations and 9°C of overshoot, and the PID regulator controller settled in 15s but had almost a full oscillation and 13°C of overshoot.The Hybrid Heat Source MPC controller and the PID regulator controller were also able to control temperature within 5°C of the setpoint immediately after the plunge during the highly transient portion of the weld, which previously had been assumed to be too difficult to control. The PID regulator controller had a high degree of variability between the two runs (a settling time of 10s and 30s, and .5 and 4.5 oscillations before settling), but settled quickly and once settled was able to hold the temperature within 2°C of the setpoint. The HHS MPC controller on the other hand had far fewer oscillations (0 and 1 oscillation) before settling, but could only hold the temperature within 5°C of the setpoint. Both of these controllers performed far better than the FOPDT MPC and PID servo controllers.

<p>An Adaptive Cruise Controller (ACC) is an extension of an ordinary cruise controller. In addition to maintaining a desired set velocity, an ACC can also maintain a desired time gap to the vehicle ahead. For this end, both the engine andthe brakes are controlled. </p><p>The purpose with this thesis has been to develop control strategies for an ACC used in heavy vehicles. The focus of the work has been the methods used for switching between the use of engine and brake. Two different methods have been studied, a hybrid controller and an MPC-controller. </p><p>For the hybrid controller, the main contribution has been to use the influence of the surroundings on the acceleration of the truck. This consists of several parts such as wind drag, road slope and rolling resistance. The estimated influence of the surroundings is used as a switch point between the use of engine and brakes. Ideally, these switch points give bumpless actuator switches. </p><p>The interest in the MPC-controller as an alternative solution was to achieve automatic actuator switching, thus with no explicitly defined switch points. The MPC-controller is based on a model of the system including bounds on the control signals. Using this knowledge, the MPC-controller will choose the correct actuator for the current driving situation. </p><p>Results from simulations show that both methods solve the actuator switch problem. The advantages with the hybrid controller are that it is implementable in a truck with the hardware used today and that it is relatively simple to parameterise. A drawback is that explicit switch points between the uses of the different actuators have to be included. The advantages with the MPC-controller are that no explicit switch points have to be introduced and that constraints and time delays on signals in the system can be handled in a simple way. Among the drawbacks, it can be mentioned that the variant of MPC, used in this thesis, is too complex to implement in the control system currently used in trucks. One further important drawback is that MPC demands a mathematical model of the system.</p>