The emergence of silicon-carbide (SiC) devices has been a 'game changer' in the field of power electronics. With desirable material properties such as low-loss characteristics, high blocking voltage, and high junction temperature operation, they are expected to drastically increase the power density of power electronics systems. Recent state-of-the-art designs show the power density over 17 ; however, certain factors limit the power density to increase beyond this limit. In this dissertation, three key factors are selected to increase the power density of SiC-based grid-connected three-phase converters. Throughout this dissertation, the techniques and strategies to increase the power density of SiC three-phase converters were investigated. Firstly, a magnetic integration method was introduced for the coupled inductors in the interleaved three-phase converters. Due to limited current-capacity compared to the silicon insulated-gate bipolar transistors (Si-IGBTs), discrete SiC devices or SiC modules, operate in parallel to handle a large current. When three-phase inverters are paralleled, interleaving can be used, and coupled inductors are employed to limit the circulating current. In Chapter 2, the conventional integration method was extended to integrate three coupled inductors into two; one for differential-mode circulating current and the other for common-mode circulating current. By comparing with prior research work, a 20% reduction in size and weight is demonstrated. From Chapter 3 to Chapter 5, a full-SiC uninterruptible power supply (UPS) was investigated. With the high switching frequency and fast switching dynamics of SiC devices, strategies on electromagnetic inference become more important, compared to Si-IGBT based inverters. Chapter 3 focuses on a common-mode equivalent circuit model for a topology and pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme selection, to set a noise mitigation strategy in the design phase. A three terminal common-mode electromagnetic interference (EMI) model is proposed, which predicts the impact of the dc-dc stage and a large battery-rack on the output CM noise. Based on the model, severe deterioration of noise by the dc-dc stage and battery-rack can be predicted. Special attention was paid on the selection of the dc-dc stage's topology and the PWM scheme to minimize the impact. With the mitigation strategy, a maximum 16 dB reduction on CM EMI can be achieved for a wide frequency range. In Chapter 4, an active PWM scheme for a full-SiC three-level back-to-back converter was proposed. The PWM scheme targets the size reduction of two key components: dc-link capacitors and a common-mode EMI filter. The increase in switching frequency calls for a large common-mode EMI filter, and dc-link capacitors in the three-level topology may take a considerable portion in the total volume. To reduce the common-mode noise emission, different combinations of the voltage vectors are investigated to generate center-aligned single pulse common-mode voltage. By such an alignment of common-mode voltage with different vector combinations, noise cancellation between the rectifier and the inverter can be maximally utilized, while the balancing of neutral point voltage can be achieved by the transition between the combinations. Also, to reduce the size of the dc-link capacitor for the three-level back-to-back converter, a compensation algorithm for neutral point voltage unbalance was developed for both differential-mode voltage and the common-mode voltage of the ac-ac stage. The experimental results show a 4 dB reduction on CM EMI, which leads to a 30% reduction on the required CM inductance value. When a 10% variation of neutral point voltage can be handled, the dc-link capacitance can be reduced by 56%. In Chapter 5, a 20 kW full-SiC UPS prototype was built to demonstrate a possible size-reduction with the proposed PWM scheme, as well as a selection of topologies and PWM schemes based on the model. The power density and efficiency are compared with the state-of-the-art Si-IGBT based UPSs. Chapter 6 seeks to improve power density by a change in a modulation method. Triangular conduction mode (TCM) operation of the three-level full-SiC inverter was investigated. The switching loss of SiC devices is reported to be concentrated on the turn-on instant. With zero-voltage turn-on of all switches, the switching frequency of a three-level three-phase SiC inverter can be drastically increased, compared to the hard-switching operation. This contributes to the size-reduction of the filter inductors and EMI filters. Based on the design to achieve a 99% peak efficiency, a comparison was made with a full-SiC three-level inverter, operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM), to verify the benefit of the soft switching scheme on the power density. A design procedure for an LCL filter of paralleled TCM inverters was developed. With 3.5 times high switching frequency, the total weight of the filter stage of the TCM inverter can be reduced by 15%, compared to that of the CCM inverter. Throughout this dissertation, techniques for size reduction of key components are introduced, including coupled inductors in parallel inverters, an EMI filter, dc-link capacitors, and the main boost inductor. From Chapter 2 to 5, the physical size or required value of these key components could be reduced by 20% to 56% by different schemes such as magnetic integration, EMI mitigation strategy through modeling, and an active PWM scheme. An optimization result for a full-SiC UPS showed a 40% decrease in the total volume, compared to the state-of-the-art Si-IGBT solution. Soft-switching modulation for SiC-based three-phase inverters can bring a significant increase in the switching frequency and has the potential to enhance power-density notably. A three-level three-phase full-SiC 40 kW PV inverter with TCM operation contributed to a 15% reduction on the filter weight. / Doctor of Philosophy / The power density of a power electronics system is regarded as an indicator of technological advances. The higher the power density of the power supply, the more power it can generate with the given volume and weight. The size requirement on power electronics has been driven towards tighter limits, as the dependency on electric energy increases with the electrification of transportation and the emergence of grid-connected renewable energy sources. However, the efficiency of a power electronics system is an essential factor and is regarded as a trade-off with the power density. The size of power electronics systems is largely impacted by its magnetic components for filtering, as well as its cooling system, such as a heatsink. Once the switching frequency of power semiconductors is increased to lower the burden on filtering, more loss is generated from filters and semiconductors, thus enlarging the size of the cooling system. Therefore, considering the efficiency has to be maintained at a reasonable value, the power density of Si-based converters appears to be saturated. With the emergence of wide-bandgap devices such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN), the switching frequency of power devices can be significantly increased. This is a result of superior material properties, compared to Si-based power semiconductors. For grid-connected applications, SiC devices are adopted, due to the limitations of voltage ratings in GaN devices. Before commercial SiC devices were available, the power density of SiC- based three-phase inverters was expected to go over 20 𝑘𝑊 𝑑𝑚3 ⁄ . However, the state-of-the art designs shows the power density around 3 ~ 4 𝑘𝑊 𝑑𝑚3 ⁄ , and at most 17 𝑘𝑊 𝑑𝑚3 ⁄ . The SiC devices could increase the power density, but they have not reached the level expected. The adoption of SiC devices with faster switching was not a panacea for power density improvement. This dissertation starts with an analysis of the factors that prevent power density improvement of SiC-based, grid-connected, three-phase inverters. Three factors were identified: a limited increase in the switching frequency, large high-frequency noise generation to be filtered, and smaller but still significant magnetic components. Using a generic design procedure for three-phase inverters, each chapter seeks to frame a strategy and develop techniques to enhance the power density. For smaller magnetic components, a magnetic integration scheme is proposed for paralleled ac-dc converters. To reduce the size of the noise filter, an accurate modeling approach was taken to predict the noise phenomena during the design phase. Also, a modulation scheme to minimize the noise generation of the ac-ac stage is proposed. The validity of the proposed technique was verified by a full-SiC three-phase uninterruptible power supply with optimized hardware design. Lastly, the benefit of soft-switching modulation, which leads to a significant increase in switching frequency, was analyzed. The hardware optimization procedure was developed and compared to hard-switched three-phase inverters.

The goal of this dissertation is to evaluate the effectiveness of model predictive control (MPC) for a magnetically suspended flywheel energy storage uninterruptible power supply (FlyUPS). The reason this research topic was selected was to determine if an advanced control technique such as MPC could perform better than a classical control approach such as decentralised Proportional-plus-Differential (PD) control. Based on a literature study of the FlyUPS system and the MPC strategies available, two MPC strategies were used to design two possible MPC controllers were designed for the FlyUPS, namely a classical MPC algorithm that incorporates optimisation techniques and the MPC algorithm used in the MATLAB® MPC toolbox™. In order to take the restrictions of the system into consideration, the model used to derive the controllers was reduced to an order of ten according to the Hankel singular value decomposition of the model. Simulation results indicated that the first controller based on a classical MPC algorithm and optimisation techniques was not verified as a viable control strategy to be implemented on the physical FlyUPS system due to difficulties obtaining the desired response. The second controller derived using the MATLAB® MPC toolbox™ was verified to be a viable control strategy for the FlyUPS by delivering good performance in simulation. The verified MPC controller was then implemented on the FlyUPS. This implementation was then analysed in order to validate that the controller operates as expected through a comparison of the simulation and implementation results. Further analysis was then done by comparing the performance of MPC with decentralised PD control in order to determine the advantages and limitations of using MPC on the FlyUPS. The advantages indicated by the evaluation include the simplicity of the design of the controller that follows directly from the specifications of the system and the dynamics of the system, and the good performance of the controller within the parameters of the controller design. The limitations identified during this evaluation include the high computational load that requires a relatively long execution time, and the inability of the MPC controller to adapt to unmodelled system dynamics. Based on this evaluation MPC can be seen as a viable control strategy for the FlyUPS, however more research is needed to optimise the MPC approach to yield significant advantages over other control techniques such as decentralised PD control. / Thesis (MIng (Computer and Electronic Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de controladores robustos baseados no princípio do modelo interno, em referenciais síncrono e estacionário, para aplicação ao estágio de saída de uma fonte ininterrupta de energia (UPS) a fim de minimizar a distorção na tensão de saída causada pela conexão de cargas não lineares balanceadas e desbalanceadas. A formulação em referencial estacionário (abc) é realizada através da aplicação de controladores com múltiplos modos ressonantes, a fim de se estabelecer erro nulo ao seguimento de referência senoidal e rejeição de distúrbios na tensão de saída devido às correntes com elevado conteúdo harmônico drenadas pelas cargas. Além disso, o controle é formulado em referencial síncrono (dq0) utilizando controladores Proporcional-Integral (PI) convencionais muito difundidos na maioria das aplicações comerciais de UPS. O projeto de ambos controladores é realizado utilizando uma metodologia de controle robusto com realimentação de estados, onde os parâmetros dos controladores são determinados através da resolução de um problema de otimização convexa sujeito a um conjunto de restrições na forma de desigualdades matriciais lineares (LMI). Uma análise comparativa de desempenho é realizada entre controladores com um modo ressonante (sintonizado na fundamental) e o PI em dq0, pois apresentam estruturas funcionalmente equivalentes sob a ótica do princípio do modelo interno aplicada a seus respectivos referenciais. Além do mais, demonstra-se a melhoria no desempenho com o uso dos controladores múltiplo ressonantes em referencial estacionário onde escolhe-se as frequências de ressonância de cada modo de maneira a suprimir os efeitos de harmônicas específicas na tensão de saída da UPS. A análise comparativa entre os controladores propostos é realizada através de simulações numéricas, utilizando os procedimentos de ensaio dinâmico e estático e as exigências estabelecidas pela norma internacional IEC 62040-3. / The main objective of this work is the development of robust controllers based on the internalmodel principle, in synchronous and stationary frames, applied to the output stage of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), in order to minimize the output voltage distortion caused by the connection of balanced and unbalanced nonlinear loads. The formulation in stationary abc-frame is accomplished through the aplication of a multiple resonant controller, so that, it is possible to achieve zero-error tracking of the sinusoidal reference and disturbances rejection on the output voltage due to the high amount of harmonic currents drained by the loads. Moreover, a controller in synchronous reference frame (dq0 axis) is formulated through the application of conventional Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers which are widely used in comercial UPS applications. The design of both controllers is formulated using a state-feedback robust controlmethod, in which the controller parameters are determined by solving a convex optimization problem subject to a set of LMI constraints. A comparative analysis on the performance of the single-mode resonant controller (tuned at the fundamental frequency) and the PI controller is performed, because these controllers are functionally equivalent in the sense of the internal model principle applied to their respective frames. Furthermore, the improvement in performance is demostrated with the use of multiple resonant controllers in stationary abc-frame where the resonance frequencies are chosen to suppress the effects of a specific harmonic in the UPS output voltage. The comparative analysis of the proposed controllers is performed through numerical simulations, making use of the dynamical and steady-state test methods and performance requirements defined by the IEC 62040-3 international stardard.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo da discretização de controladores ressonantes aplicados a fontes ininterruptas de energia (UPSs, do termo em inglês, Uninterruptible Power Suppllies). Primeiramente, diferentes métodos de discretização serão considerados na obtenção de um modelo em tempo discreto da UPS. Além disso, estes métodos serão comparados do ponto de vista frequencial para a definição da formulação do controlador ressonante a ser utilizado. Então, uma metodologia de projeto robusto do controlador ressonante em tempo discreto é proposta a partir de uma representação em espaço de estados do sistema em malha fechada e os parâmetros do controlador são obtidos através da solução de um problema de otimização convexa sujeito a restrições na forma de Desigualdades Matriciais Lineares (do inglês, Linear Matrix Inequalities - LMIs). A estratégia proposta foi validada por meio de resultados de simulação e experimentais obtidos com um inversor comercial de 3,5 kVA considerando os critérios estabelecidos na norma IEC 62040-3. Nestas condições, demonstrara-se um desempenho melhor do que os obtidos com a discretização do controlador projetado em tempo contínuo, sobretudo quando consideradas frequências de amostragem menores. / This work presents a study about discrete-time resonant controllers applied to uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). First, different discretization methods are considered to obtain an equivalent UPS discrete-time model. Moreover, these methods are compared in the frequency domain in order to define the resonant controller structure to be employed. Then, a robust design methodology to the discrete-time resonant controller is proposed using a state-space representation of the closed-loop system and the controller parameters are obtained by solving a convex optimization problem subject to constraints in the form of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The proposed strategy was validated by means of simulation and experimental results obtained with a 3.5 kVA commercial inverter taking into account the IEC 62040-3 norm requirements. In this conditions, a better performance was achieved than those obtained through discretization of a continuous-time controller, especially when considering smaller sampling frequencies.

The goal of this dissertation is to evaluate the effectiveness of model predictive control (MPC) for a magnetically suspended flywheel energy storage uninterruptible power supply (FlyUPS). The reason this research topic was selected was to determine if an advanced control technique such as MPC could perform better than a classical control approach such as decentralised Proportional-plus-Differential (PD) control. Based on a literature study of the FlyUPS system and the MPC strategies available, two MPC strategies were used to design two possible MPC controllers were designed for the FlyUPS, namely a classical MPC algorithm that incorporates optimisation techniques and the MPC algorithm used in the MATLAB® MPC toolbox™. In order to take the restrictions of the system into consideration, the model used to derive the controllers was reduced to an order of ten according to the Hankel singular value decomposition of the model. Simulation results indicated that the first controller based on a classical MPC algorithm and optimisation techniques was not verified as a viable control strategy to be implemented on the physical FlyUPS system due to difficulties obtaining the desired response. The second controller derived using the MATLAB® MPC toolbox™ was verified to be a viable control strategy for the FlyUPS by delivering good performance in simulation. The verified MPC controller was then implemented on the FlyUPS. This implementation was then analysed in order to validate that the controller operates as expected through a comparison of the simulation and implementation results. Further analysis was then done by comparing the performance of MPC with decentralised PD control in order to determine the advantages and limitations of using MPC on the FlyUPS. The advantages indicated by the evaluation include the simplicity of the design of the controller that follows directly from the specifications of the system and the dynamics of the system, and the good performance of the controller within the parameters of the controller design. The limitations identified during this evaluation include the high computational load that requires a relatively long execution time, and the inability of the MPC controller to adapt to unmodelled system dynamics. Based on this evaluation MPC can be seen as a viable control strategy for the FlyUPS, however more research is needed to optimise the MPC approach to yield significant advantages over other control techniques such as decentralised PD control. / Thesis (MIng (Computer and Electronic Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Thesis (M.S.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de controladores robustos baseados no princípio do modelo interno, em referenciais síncrono e estacionário, para aplicação ao estágio de saída de uma fonte ininterrupta de energia (UPS) a fim de minimizar a distorção na tensão de saída causada pela conexão de cargas não lineares balanceadas e desbalanceadas. A formulação em referencial estacionário (abc) é realizada através da aplicação de controladores com múltiplos modos ressonantes, a fim de se estabelecer erro nulo ao seguimento de referência senoidal e rejeição de distúrbios na tensão de saída devido às correntes com elevado conteúdo harmônico drenadas pelas cargas. Além disso, o controle é formulado em referencial síncrono (dq0) utilizando controladores Proporcional-Integral (PI) convencionais muito difundidos na maioria das aplicações comerciais de UPS. O projeto de ambos controladores é realizado utilizando uma metodologia de controle robusto com realimentação de estados, onde os parâmetros dos controladores são determinados através da resolução de um problema de otimização convexa sujeito a um conjunto de restrições na forma de desigualdades matriciais lineares (LMI). Uma análise comparativa de desempenho é realizada entre controladores com um modo ressonante (sintonizado na fundamental) e o PI em dq0, pois apresentam estruturas funcionalmente equivalentes sob a ótica do princípio do modelo interno aplicada a seus respectivos referenciais. Além do mais, demonstra-se a melhoria no desempenho com o uso dos controladores múltiplo ressonantes em referencial estacionário onde escolhe-se as frequências de ressonância de cada modo de maneira a suprimir os efeitos de harmônicas específicas na tensão de saída da UPS. A análise comparativa entre os controladores propostos é realizada através de simulações numéricas, utilizando os procedimentos de ensaio dinâmico e estático e as exigências estabelecidas pela norma internacional IEC 62040-3. / The main objective of this work is the development of robust controllers based on the internalmodel principle, in synchronous and stationary frames, applied to the output stage of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), in order to minimize the output voltage distortion caused by the connection of balanced and unbalanced nonlinear loads. The formulation in stationary abc-frame is accomplished through the aplication of a multiple resonant controller, so that, it is possible to achieve zero-error tracking of the sinusoidal reference and disturbances rejection on the output voltage due to the high amount of harmonic currents drained by the loads. Moreover, a controller in synchronous reference frame (dq0 axis) is formulated through the application of conventional Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers which are widely used in comercial UPS applications. The design of both controllers is formulated using a state-feedback robust controlmethod, in which the controller parameters are determined by solving a convex optimization problem subject to a set of LMI constraints. A comparative analysis on the performance of the single-mode resonant controller (tuned at the fundamental frequency) and the PI controller is performed, because these controllers are functionally equivalent in the sense of the internal model principle applied to their respective frames. Furthermore, the improvement in performance is demostrated with the use of multiple resonant controllers in stationary abc-frame where the resonance frequencies are chosen to suppress the effects of a specific harmonic in the UPS output voltage. The comparative analysis of the proposed controllers is performed through numerical simulations, making use of the dynamical and steady-state test methods and performance requirements defined by the IEC 62040-3 international stardard.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo da discretização de controladores ressonantes aplicados a fontes ininterruptas de energia (UPSs, do termo em inglês, Uninterruptible Power Suppllies). Primeiramente, diferentes métodos de discretização serão considerados na obtenção de um modelo em tempo discreto da UPS. Além disso, estes métodos serão comparados do ponto de vista frequencial para a definição da formulação do controlador ressonante a ser utilizado. Então, uma metodologia de projeto robusto do controlador ressonante em tempo discreto é proposta a partir de uma representação em espaço de estados do sistema em malha fechada e os parâmetros do controlador são obtidos através da solução de um problema de otimização convexa sujeito a restrições na forma de Desigualdades Matriciais Lineares (do inglês, Linear Matrix Inequalities - LMIs). A estratégia proposta foi validada por meio de resultados de simulação e experimentais obtidos com um inversor comercial de 3,5 kVA considerando os critérios estabelecidos na norma IEC 62040-3. Nestas condições, demonstrara-se um desempenho melhor do que os obtidos com a discretização do controlador projetado em tempo contínuo, sobretudo quando consideradas frequências de amostragem menores. / This work presents a study about discrete-time resonant controllers applied to uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). First, different discretization methods are considered to obtain an equivalent UPS discrete-time model. Moreover, these methods are compared in the frequency domain in order to define the resonant controller structure to be employed. Then, a robust design methodology to the discrete-time resonant controller is proposed using a state-space representation of the closed-loop system and the controller parameters are obtained by solving a convex optimization problem subject to constraints in the form of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The proposed strategy was validated by means of simulation and experimental results obtained with a 3.5 kVA commercial inverter taking into account the IEC 62040-3 norm requirements. In this conditions, a better performance was achieved than those obtained through discretization of a continuous-time controller, especially when considering smaller sampling frequencies.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work presents as contributions a design procedure for controllers applied to single-phase uninterruptible power supplies and the certification of the closed-loop stability and performance using linear matrix inequalities. The design procedure takes into account the IEC62040-3 standard to select the components of an internal model principle based controller that guarantees tracking of sinusoidal reference and rejection of disturbances from typical nonlinear loads. It also takes into account the suitability of the controller for implementation in fixed point digital signal processors, including constraints on data representation and transport delay. A discrete linear quadratic regulator is used to ensure to the closed-loop system satisfactory transient responses and steady-state performance. The proposed design procedure is applied to a prototype of the output stage of an uninterruptible power supply, with simulation and experimental results that totally comply with the requirements of the IEC62040-3 standard. Finally, the performance of closed-loop system is certified by means of linear matrix inequalities that allow to determine the capacity of rejection of disturbances under time-varying or time invariant parametric uncertainties, providing new information on limits of performance for this class of systems. / Este trabalho apresenta como contribuições um procedimento de projeto para controladores aplicados a fontes ininterruptas de energia monofásicas e a certificação da estabilidade e do desempenho em malha fechada utilizando desigualdades matriciais lineares. O procedimento de projeto leva em conta a norma IEC62040-3 para a escolha das componentes de um controlador baseado no princípio do modelo interno, que garante rastreamento da referência senoidal e rejeição de distúrbios provenientes de cargas não lineares típicas. Também leva em conta a adequação do controlador à implementação em processadores digitais de ponto fixo, incluindo restrições na representação dos dados e de atraso de transporte. Um regulador linear quadrático discreto é utilizado para garantir ao sistema em malha fechada respostas transitórias e desempenho em regime permanente satisfatórios. O procedimento de projeto proposto é aplicado a um protótipo de estágio de saída de uma fonte ininterrupta de energia, com resultados de simulação e experimentais que atendem completamente às exigências da norma IEC62040-3. Finalmente, o desempenho do sistema em malha fechada é certificado por meio de desigualdades matriciais lineares que permitem determinar a capacidade de rejeição de distúrbios sob incertezas paramétricas variantes no tempo ou invariantes no tempo, fornecendo novas informações sobre limites de desempenho para essa classe de sistemas.