Prof. Dr. Pietro Tricoli

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Academic Career Length

24Years (2003-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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3 March 2015 in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics

Journal Article

Design and Control of Modular Multilevel Converters for Battery Electric Vehicles

Mahran Quraan

Taejung Yeo

Pietro Tricoli

New advanced power conversion systems play an essential role in the extension of range and life of batteries. This paper proposes a new modular multilevel converter with embedded electrochemical cells that achieves very low cell unbalancing without traditional balancing circuits and a negligible harmonic content of the output currents. In this new topology, the cells are connected in series by means of half-bridge converters, allowing high flexibility for the discharge and recharge of the battery. The converter features a cell balancing control that operates on each individual arm of the converter to equalize the state of charge of the cells. The paper shows that the proposed control does not affect the symmetry of the three-phase voltage output, even for significantly unbalanced cells. The viability of the proposed converter for battery electric vehicles and the effectiveness of the cell balancing control are confirmed by numerical simulations and experiments on a kilowatt-size prototype.

11 January 2017 in International Journal of Photoenergy

Journal Article

Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Power Forecasting for Photovoltaic Fields: A Review

S. Daliento

CHOUDER Aissa

Pierluigi Guerriero

Alessandro Massi Pavan

Adel Mellit

Pietro Tricoli

A wide literature review of recent advance on monitoring, diagnosis, and power forecasting for photovoltaic systems is presented in this paper. Research contributions are classified into the following five macroareas: (i) electrical methods, covering monitoring/diagnosis techniques based on the direct measurement of electrical parameters, carried out, respectively, at array level, single string level, and single panel level with special consideration to data transmission methods; (ii) data analysis based on artificial intelligence; (iii) power forecasting, intended as the ability to evaluate the producible power of solar systems, with emphasis on temporal horizons of specific applications; (iv) thermal analysis, mostly with reference to thermal images captured by means of unmanned aerial vehicles; (v) power converter reliability especially focused on residual lifetime estimation. The literature survey has been limited, with some exceptions, to papers published during the last five years to focus mainly on recent developments.

12 September 2011 in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics

Journal Article

Speed-Based State-of-Charge Tracking Control for Metro Trains With Onboard Supercapacitors

Diego Iannuzzi

Pietro Tricoli

This paper suggests a novel energy management control algorithm for metro trains based on speed measurement and acceleration estimation. The aim of the control is to recover in a supercapacitor (SC) storage device the maximum energy regenerated during train electrical braking and to limit the contact line peak current. The energy management control is integrated with the motor drive control, since discharge and charge of SC are connected to motoring and braking operations of the train. The algorithm is based on two nested loops on voltage and current of SC. The voltage and current references are calculated on the basis of the estimation of the train inertial force and acceleration, taking into account the power losses of the system. A simplified mathematical model of the whole electrical drive has been developed and the main features of the control strategy have been presented. Numerical simulations show the efficacy of suggested control and the energy saving obtained for metro trains. Experimental tests made on an electromechanical simulator fully confirm theoretical results.

1 March 2014 in IET Electrical Systems in Transportation

Journal Article

Recent developments and applications of energy storage devices in electrified railways

Tosaphol Ratniyomchai

Stuart Hillmansen

Pietro Tricoli

This study presents the recent application of energy storage devices in electrified railways, especially batteries, flywheels, electric double layer capacitors and hybrid energy storage devices. The storage and reuse of regenerative braking energy is managed by energy storage devices depending on the purpose of each system. The advantages resulting from the use of energy storage devices are presented by observing the results of both verification tests and practical applications in passenger services. Several real installations of energy storage for railways are shown and compared by using the Ragone plot. The effect of the use of energy storage devices on electrified railways of the future is discussed. Finally, a discussion on the recent applications and developments of energy storage devices is presented in this study. The effective use of energy storage devices is characterised on the basis of the specific applications and current trends of the research undertaken by public bodies and manufacturers.

21 April 2016 in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics

Journal Article

Efficiency Assessment of Modular Multilevel Converters for Battery Electric Vehicles

Mahran Quraan

Pietro Tricoli

Salvatore D Arco

Luigi Piegari

This paper evaluates the performance of modular multilevel converters with integrated battery cells when used as traction drives for battery electric vehicles. In this topology, individual battery cells are connected to the dc link of the converter submodules, allowing the highest flexibility for the discharge and recharge. The traditional battery management system of battery electric vehicles is replaced by the control of the converter, which individually balances all the cells. The performance of the converter as a traction drive is assessed in terms of torque-speed characteristic and power loss for the full frequency range, including field weakening. Conduction and switching losses for the modular multilevel converter are calculated using a simplified model, based on the datasheet of power devices. The performance of the modular multilevel converter is then compared with a traditional two-level converter. The loss model of the modular multilevel converter is finally validated by experimental tests on a small-scale prototype of traction drive.

15 June 2016 in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications

Journal Article

Control of High-Energy High-Power Densities Storage Devices by Li-ion Battery and Supercapacitor for Fuel Cell/Photovoltaic Hybrid Power Plant for Autonomous System Applications

Suwat Sikkabut

Pongsiri Mungporn

Chainarin Ekkaravarodome

Nicu Bizon

Pietro Tricoli

Phatiphat Thounthong

This study presents an energy management approach for a hybrid energy system comprised of a photovoltaic (PV) array and a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Two storage devices [a Li-ion battery module and a supercapacitor (SC) bank] are used in the proposed structure as a high-energy high-power density storage device. Multisegment converters for the PV, fuel cell (FC), battery, and SC are proposed for grid-independent applications. Nonlinear differential flatness-based fuzzy logic control for dc-bus voltage stabilization for power plant is investigated. To validate the control approach, a hardware system is realized with analog circuits for the PV, FC, battery, and SC current control loops (inner controller loops), and with numerical calculation (dSPACE) for the external energy control loop. Experimental results with small-scale devices [a PV array (800 W, 31 A), a PEMFC (1200 W, 46 A), a Li-ion battery module (11.6 Ah, 24 V), and an SC bank (100 F, 32 V)] demonstrate the excellent energy-management scheme during load cycles.

About Me

Pietro Tricoli received his M.S.. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy in 2002 and 2005, respectively. He was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, in 2005. In 2006, he was also a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. From 2006 to 2011 he was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Italy. He is currently a Professor of Power Electronics Systems in the Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering. He is also the Head of the Power Electronics Group at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education. He has over 150 research publications in international scientific journals and conference proceedings, as well as two book chapters and one university textbook in the fields of power electronics, electric machines and drives. He is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the IET Journal: Renewable Power Generation. He is a senior member of IEEE, a member of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES) and a member of the Energy Institute.

Prof. Dr. Pietro Tricoli

Prof. Dr. Pietro Tricoli

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