This paper deals with designing and sizing of a multiple-input power electronic converter (MIPEC) to be used in an electric vehicle propulsion system that includes a fuel cell (FC) generator and a combined storage unit. The combined storage unit is composed by an ultracapacitors tank (UC) and a battery unit (BU). MIPEC is responsible for power-flow management on-board the vehicle for each mode of operation. Specifications for MIPEC designing come out from many considerations concerning traction drive and reference driving cycle, on-board power source and storage unit characteristics. However, to date sizing and configuration of both storage units and on-board generators are directly related to traction drive and driving profile (i.e., vehicle performances and characteristics) and no relation with power electronic interface is considered during preliminary design. Then, power electronic interface is selected in order to fit traction drive requirements with power source and storage unit characteristics; as a consequence converter mode of operation lacks of optimization, as well dynamic behavior and efficiency cannot be maximized. In this paper, MIPEC design and power source and storage unit selection are achieved at the same project stage according to traction drive requirements. Experimental results on 60-kW power electronic interface are presented.

This paper presents a complete design methodology for the sensorless vector control of permanent-magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) motor drives in fan-type applications. The proposed strategy is built over a linear asymptotic state observer used to estimate the PMSM back EMF and a novel tracking controller based on a phase-locked loop system, which, by synchronizing the estimated and actual d-q frames, estimates the rotor speed and position. This paper presents the complete derivation of all associated control loops, namely, state observer; tracking controller; d-q-axis current regulator; speed controller; an antisaturation control loop, which provides inherent operation in the flux-weakening region; and all corresponding antiwindup loops. Detailed design rules are provided for each of these loops, respectively verified through time-domain simulations, frequency-response analysis, and experimental results using a three-phase 7.5-kW PMSM motor drive, validating both the design methodology and the expected performance attained by the proposed control strategy.

In this paper, a back-electromotive force-based method is used in conjunction with three very low-cost integrated circuits based on the Hall-effect to estimate the rotor position of the direct-drive permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) to be used for traction purpose of an electric wheelchair. A speed estimator based on a rotor frame machine model has been implemented for the PMSM drives, and then the rotor position estimation is achieved by means of a discrete integration of the estimated speed. The three Hall effect sensors are used to detect the rotor initial position as well to reset the error on the rotor position estimation every 60 electrical degrees. In the specific application, support vector machine technique has been implemented together with the field oriented control. Simulations and experimental results are shown in the paper

This paper presents the real-time monitoring of the degradation parameters of the DC-DC boost converter by utilizing the Digital Twin (DT) method. The DT is a real-time high-fidelity mathematical (digital) model that runs in parallel to the physical DC-DC boost converter, providing information for its monitoring and control using the measurement data coming from the sensors already existing in the asset. The digital model is obtained by means of the Backward Euler numerical methodology for discrete-time representation of the mathematical switching model of the physical system. The estimation of degradation parameters of the physical system is based on the data analysis carried out by comparing the data measured by the sensors existing in the physical system and the data coming from the digital model. The data analysis is done by applying the heuristic algorithm like Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. The proposed method is validated through the digital-switching model realized by means of the FPGA and it runs on a suitable control board. Experimental tests on the converter prototype are illustrated. For further validation, a sensitivity analysis is carried out.

Nowadays, multilevel converter represents a good idea for commercial and industrial applications, where small size and cost, low maintenance, reliability in a wide range of environments and good efficiency are required. Furthermore, the multilevel converter can provide control for both maximum power tracking and output power factor reducing the filter weight and volume. The proposed power converter topology, called Five-Level E Type Inverter (5L E-Type Inverter), for grid connected applications is presented and analyzed in this paper. The performance of the three-phase 5L E-Type Inverter has been theoretically investigated. The thermal models of the power semiconductor have been created taking into account the parameters provided by the manufactures and employing multi-dimensional look-up tables in Plexim/PLECS environment. The design and selection of passive components have been described in order to obtain amazing performances in terms of weight, volume and efficiency and power quality. New control strategy, named concurrent control, for 5L E-Type Inverter has been implemented and validated in LabVIEW development environment. The peak efficiency of the converter above 98.3% and the total harmonic total harmonic distortion current (THDi) less than 3% have been achieved.