This work addresses the control problem related to the bidirectional velocity of a DC motor feeded by a DC/DC Buck converter–inverter as power amplifier. While various power electronic topologies have been proposed in literature, this research focuses on one that was previously disregarded due to its delivery of pulse width modulated voltage signals instead of smooth voltage signals to the DC motor. However, in the present paper it is demonstrated that by appropriately controlling the power electronic converter it is indeed possible to deliver the desired smooth voltage signals to the motor. Moreover, the proposed control strategy is robust, employing multiple proportional-integral loops, and a sliding mode controller. A formal proof of asymptotic stability is provided and the robustness is verified through experimental validation.

This research addresses the obstacle avoidance problem in wheeled mobile robots powered by renewable energy by considering all subsystems involved. A three-tier hierarchical controller is developed, integrating the technique of artificial potential fields. The proposed controller incorporates the dynamics of the three key subsystems typically found in a wheeled mobile robot: the mechanical structure, actuators, and power electronics. At the highest tier, input-output linearization is combined with artificial potential fields. The medium tier employs two controllers based on differential flatness theory, while the lowest tier incorporates sliding mode control and proportional-integral control. The effectiveness of the control strategy is experimentally validated using a differential drive-type wheeled mobile robot prototype, leveraging the TDK-Lambda G100-17 as a renewable energy emulator, along with the DS1104 board and Matlab-Simulink software. Experiments were conducted under two scenarios: a) the emulation of a commercial photovoltaic panel to simulate realistic operating conditions and b) the application of time-varying input voltages to replicate dynamic power source variations. The experimental results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed controller against sudden changes in system parameters, confirming its reliability and effectiveness.

This paper presents a sliding mode control (SMC) for the “full-bridge Buck inverter–DC motor” system when a photovoltaic (PV) panel is considered as the power supply. The control executes the trajectory tracking task related to the angular velocity of the DC motor shaft without the need for electromechanical sensors. The proposed control is validated through realistic simulation results via Matlab-Simulink. In this regard, the system is constructed by using the electronic components of the specialized power systems library of Simscape. The results of the following four case studies are presented: (i) The performance of the closed-loop system considering two desired angular velocity profiles and three different incident solar irradiance shapes on the PV panel. (ii) An analysis associated with the primary energy source. (iii) A comparison of the proposed SMC versus a passive control. (iv) A study of the current ripple and its relationship with the execution of the tracking control task on the angular velocity.

This paper presents the design of a smooth starter for a DC motor that employs a full-bridge Buck inverter powered by renewable energy. In order to achieve this, a power supply from renewable energy is considered in the mathematical model associated with the “full-bridge Buck inverter–DC motor” system. Whereas, for the design of the smooth starter, the control based on sliding-mode and proportional-integral control is proposed. The performance of the developed control is experimentally validated using the system prototype, the renewable energy emulator source TDK-Lambda G100-17, the DS1104 board, and the Matlab-Simulink software. Two types of experimental tests are presented when the system power supply is considered by: i) a time-varying input voltage and ii) the emulation of its behavior by a commercial photovoltaic panel. The experimental obtained results show the robustness of the controller proposed here to abrupt disturbances in its system parameters and torque.