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Under fault conditions, virtual synchronous generators (VSGs) are prone to lose transient stability, similar to synchronous generators. However, the existing studies on VSG transient stability are not comprehensive. The transient characteristics of VSGs are highly affected by control parameters, but the transient models of VSGs in existing studies are overly simplified. In addition, the critical clearing angle (CCA) and critical clearing time (CCT) are two indices used to measure the transient stability of a system, but there are few studies that consider both CCA and CCT. In this article, we analyze the CCA and CCT quantitatively to describe the transient stability boundary of a VSG under different control parameters and fault conditions. Then, an equal proportional area criterion is proposed to provide guidance for the control of virtual inertia in the VSG. Based on a theoretical analysis, a transient control method for a VSG is proposed, which can improve the transient stability of the VSG in terms of both CCA and CCT. Finally, simulation and experimental tests are performed to validate the correctness of the theoretical analysis and the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grasp stability recognition based on tactile perception has attracted increasing attention in the robotics community. In this article, we extract tactile features from multimodal tactile signals and propose a novel ensemble approach named genetic algorithm-based ensemble hybrid sparse extreme learning machine (GA-EHSELM) for the grasp stability recognition task. In contrast to traditional ensemble extreme learning machines (ELMs), the proposed approach takes the sparsity of the random weights assigned to the connection between the input layer and the hidden layer for each base learner into consideration, in order to avoid the problem of overfitting. In addition, The diversity of base learners is increased by constructing two types of sparse ELM (SELM). The random weights of the base SELMs are sampled from two different distributions with a certain probability. Furthermore, we utilize the genetic algorithm (GA) for the optimization of tactile features and the base sparse ELMs. To be specific, GA is employed for feature selection as well as the optimization of the sparsity of the random weights associated with different types of base learners and the number of each type of base learner. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been demonstrated on a public tactile grasp stability dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an improved equivalent-input-disturbance (EID) approach to actively rejecting exogenous disturbances for a plant. A control system based on the approach includes a new EID estimator constructed by embedding integrals to the conventional EID estimator. These integrals enable the estimator to improve the disturbance-estimation precision without amplifying the effect of measurement noise. Stability conditions of the control system are obtained using separation theorem. The system design ensures that the control system satisfies the stability conditions. Experiments of a rotational control system demonstrate the validity of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In parallel three-level inverters, to eliminate the undesired internal common-mode (CM) resonance circulating currents (ICMRCCs) and external CM resonance circulating currents (ECMRCCs) introduced by the improved LCL, the inverter-side CM current feedback (ICMCF) control is presented. However, since the switching frequency of the inverters is generally low in high-power applications to reduce power loss, the stability of the ICMCF control will be threatened by the delays of digital controller. In this case, the existing methods are not capable of ICMRCC and ECMRCC suppression any more. To deal with the situation, an improved CM resonance circulating current control method for high-power parallel inverters is proposed. First, the model of ICMCF with control delay is established. Second, the influences of control delay with different sampling modes on the stability of CM current control are investigated. Based on this, the allowable range of control delays and sampling frequency to keep the system stable is analyzed and deduced. Third, the multisampling mode is further extended to CM current control in the parallel inverters. The analysis results show that the stability margin and control bandwidth of the ICMCF control are significantly improved. Finally, the theoretical analysis and proposed control method are verified by simulation and experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses a fundamental issue in power converter control. Namely, the direct output-voltage control of power converters with higher order dynamics. We argue that despite of the burst in the development of new topologies, legacy control design principles—inherited from second-order converter analysis— have been unduly adopted as de facto rules of procedure. In particular, we refer to the minimum-phase requirement on the feedback variable, as the underlying stabilizing mechanism. In this article, we demonstrate that the requirement of minimum-phaseness for higher order converters and the legacy ad hoc solution via ancillary current control, can be bypassed without compromising closed-loop performance. To prove this, we unveil important differences between stability properties of second-order and higher order converters. Then, we introduce new linear and nonlinear control design strategies that permit direct output-voltage control. Experimental results are provided to validate the theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, due to many limitations in reality, the optimization of tracking precision and convergence time has attracted the attention of researchers in robotics community. In this article, a fixed-time adaptive neural network (NN) controller is proposed for unknown robot manipulators. A switching mechanism is integrated into the control design such that the semiglobal stability of the conventional NN control systems can be extended to global stability. The time-varying barrier Lyapunov function and the fixed-time control technique are incorporated into the controller design to guarantee the prescribed motion constraints and the fixed-time convergence simultaneously. Compared with some existing fixed-time NN control algorithms, the assumption that NN weight should be upper bounded can be relaxed in our work. Finally, the simulation and experiment studies are respectively carried out based on an unknown 2-degree of freedom robot and a Baxter robot to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a new method that employs the active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) paradigm to handle the control problem for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown disturbances and measurement noise. An improved extended state observer (ESO) is devised to separate disturbance estimation from state reconstruction and a new parameter is used to adjust disturbance-rejection performance independently. This increases the flexibility of system design and makes the gain of the improved ESO (IESO) small compared to that of a conventional ESO in the ADRC. A low-pass filter is added to the IESO. This changes the slope of the magnitude curve of the Bode diagram from $-20$ dB/dec to $-40$ dB/dec at high frequencies for measurement noise, which improves the noise-suppression performance. Comparison with a conventional ESO reveals the superiority of the IESO in disturbance rejection and noise suppression. The presented method is validated by simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If one cannot obtain the accurate prior information of the controlled object in advance, it will take much effort to get good dynamic performance. To this end, this article proposes an online estimation method to deal with disturbances and uncertainties for a class of systems with uncertain control gain. Based on the extended-state observer scheme, the estimation problem of disturbance and uncertain control gain is transformed to the convex optimization problem and solved by the sign-projected gradient flow, then the estimation can be applied to compensate disturbance and design controller. Moreover, the exponential and ultimate boundedness is obtained for the derived closed-loop system, together with rigorous theoretical analysis and proof. Finally, both the numerical simulations and the experiment on a brushless dc motor demonstrate that the proposed design has a better tracking performance and stronger robustness to deal with disturbances and uncertainties compared with the existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with future goal of efficiency, next generation of more electrical aircraft is likely to embed reconfigurable microgrid for the primary electrical distribution. The stability analysis of such time-varying structure is challenging. Conventional linear and nonlinear approaches failed to produce proper answers from a practical point of view. Under conditions, passivity property of each equipment is sufficient to ensure stability of the overall microgrid. But with improper passivity-based control (PBC) design, the passivity property may not be propagated. The main contribution of this article is to propose a modified IDA-PBC procedure that will ensure the passivity properties of the system regarding its electrical inputs and outputs involved in the interconnection. Thus, for electrical microgrids resulting from the interconnection of controllable equipment, input/output filters, and electrical lines, if all the equipment embed the proposed control, the whole microgrid have passive properties and the global stability of the system is ensured. Moreover, this article will also present how to achieve the proposed control with high transient and robust performances thanks to nonlinear parameters’ estimator preserving the passivity proper. Experimental validation of the proposed control in representative electrical conditions is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a novel Lyapunov-based model predictive control strategy for squirrel-cage induction motor fed by a voltage source inverter. The model predictive control method has received enormous attention thanks to its rapid response to load perturbations. However, the traditional model predictive control method may suffer from instability due to the poor choice of the objective function, weighting factors, or other design parameters. In particular, the selection of the objective function may not be sufficient to ensure global stability. Since the performance of the model predictive control method highly relies on the explicit model of the system, a simple penalization term in the objective function can lead to system instability. As a result, the transient and steady-state performances are negatively affected. The objective function is reformulated as the Lyapunov energy function to deal with this ambiguous situation in this article. The control input constraints are defined in the formulated optimal control problem, and the optimal solution is explored by assessing the Lyapunov stability criterion. The proposed method ensures asymptotic stability since the control action that satisfies the Lyapunov stability condition is selected. The experimental work proves the theoretical concepts. Moreover, the proposed method does not require the weighting factors to control the multiple control goals. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed control strategy improves the steady-state performance. The machine torque and speed are well regulated, and the quality of the stator current is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by the demands of carbon footprint reduction, the conventional fossil-based generators are gradually being replaced by grid-forming inverter. One crucial aspect of grid-forming inverter is synchronization stability, which is not only related to the inverter power-frequency (P-f) dynamic but also influenced by power grid characteristics as well as grid impedances. From the perspective of a local inverter, it is difficult to know the detailed information. As a result, severe oscillations and even the loss of synchronization may occur and pose a great threat to the power grid. To overcome this problem, a black-box approach is presented in this article. Initially, a frequency-domain identification approach is proposed to acquire the power grid characteristic by the inverter itself. Based on the measurement results, the P-f dynamic of grid-forming inverter is explicitly reshaped to ensure the synchronization stability. The proposed methodology does not require any prior power system knowledge or the trivial modeling process. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by hardware experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with the weak grid stability issue of grid-tied voltage source converters (VSCs), this article proposes an artificial neural network (ANN) based approach for online stabilization control of the grid-tied VSC with the pole-tracking feature. First, an ANN is adopted to establish the mapping between the control parameters and the closed-loop poles of the grid-VSC system, serving as a computationally light model surrogate that is favorable for real-time control applications. Then, an online parameter search algorithm enabling simultaneous tuning of multiple controllers and parameters is developed, by which the system's poles under a new grid condition can be pulled to the reference ones, i.e., achieving the pole-tracking-based stabilization control of this article. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed method along with its stabilization effect is verified by MATLAB simulations and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a gait planning method for underactuated bipedal robot on uneven and compliant terrain. First, we employ a linear spring-damper model to describe foot-ground compliant contact, and establish a decoupled robot–ground three-dimensional dynamic mode. Second, based on a velocity-based bipedal stability definition and human walking characteristics, we propose a gait planning method to realize underactuated bipedal walking on uneven and compliant terrain. We decouple bipedal gait planning into sagittal and lateral master-slave ones. By planning the motion state of Center-of-Mass (CoM) of a robot, we make the movement of lateral and sagittal coincident such that bipedal walking is realized. Finally, underactuated bipedal walking with an average walking speed of 0.216 m/s and a step length of 183.9 mm is realized on uneven terrain where the maximum height of unevenness is 32 mm. The experimental results show that underactuated bipedal walking can be realized on uneven and compliant terrain by using the proposed method to control robot CoM and track its desired velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the grid-connected inverter, grid voltage sag can be a typical phenomenon. From the prospective of safe and robust operation, the inverter should be stable when the grid voltage sag (or large disturbance) occurs. Although the inverter stability in this case has attracted considerable attentions, few studies have given suggestions on the system stability boundary and parameter design. To fill this gap, this article deeply discusses the large-signal stability of the system under different situations and reveals the quantified impact of the phase-locked loop (PLL) on the large-signal stability of the system based on the fundamental current-source model. The large-signal stability criterion and boundaries for grid voltage sags are established, which are instructive to the design of PLL parameters. Besides, a novel design guideline for the PLL parameters is proposed to ensure the robust operation of the system both under the steady-state and grid voltage sags, as well as to achieve good dynamic performance after large disturbance occurs. The theoretical, simulation, and experimental results show that the proposed stability boundary has certain accuracy and the PLL parameters design guideline can ensure the system stability both under steady-state and grid voltage sag conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the stability problem is investigated for a class of time-invariant current controlled LCL-type weak-grid-tied inverter (WGTI) system. Considering that the existing stability analysis methods rarely effectively handle the adverse effects of both sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation (SPWM) saturation and plant uncertainty, and the corresponding theoretical results are poor in accuracy and completeness, this article proposes an intuitive stability analysis method in Laplace-domain to ensure the system robustness against SPWM saturation and plant uncertainty. Specifically, the describing function (DF) is employed to characterize the averaged SPWM saturation nonlinear model in Laplace domain. By designing equivalent functions without the poles inside the right-half s-plane, the Nyquist criterion required by the DF is equivalently converted into the Hurwitz criterion of closed-loop characteristic polynomial with interval coefficients containing uncertain circuit parameters. Subsequently, by means of the Kharitonov’s theorem, the interval characteristic polynomial is transformed into four Kharitonov polynomials with fixed parameters that are easy to analyze. The state-and-disturbance-observer (SDO)-based current controlled WGTI system is adopted as a case of application study. In order to reduce the conservatism of the Kharitonov’s theorem applied here, a “pointwise” stability analysis on the grid impedance is implemented. Finally, the controller parameters are determined by stability region analysis with different grid impedance points, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is further verified by a series of steady-state and transient experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an online unified solution based on stochastic configuration network (SCN) and Levenberg– Marquardt (LM) algorithm is proposed to generate optimal switching angles for selective harmonic elimination (SHE) in both the symmetric and asymmetric cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverters (MLIs). Different from the traditional neural network framework for SHE, this unified solution uses SCN to only generate initial values of the switching angles online, which significantly reduce the precision demand on training SCN and avoids the local optima problem of gradient descent algorithm. After obtaining the initial values from SCN online, the LM algorithm can be used to rapidly solve the exact switching angles for SHE, which guarantees the solving efficiency and precision of the final solutions. Moreover, the stability of the proposed method is proved via Newton-like convergence theory. Compared with intelligent search algorithms and look-up table method, the proposed solution can not only online generate optimal theoretical switching angles but with much fewer data storage space. Experimental results of both symmetric and asymmetric MLI cases are presented to validate the correctness and online applicability of the proposed solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attributed to the ability of inertia provision and good regulation performance, the virtual synchronous generator (VSG) has been proven as a promising solution to the problems introduced by using converter interfaced generation. Although the small-signal stability control of the VSG has been widely analyzed, the transient characteristics still needs more study, which belongs to a large-signal problem. In this article, the transient angle stability control of the VSG is investigated. Two possible VSG emulation methods, i.e., the power-emulation and the torque-emulation, are compared from the perspective of transient characteristics. Then, the transient of the VSG internal voltage and its impact on the transient angle stability are quantitatively studied in details. Thereafter, an enhanced VSG controller is proposed, where a large-signal analysis is also presented to evaluate its influence on the acceleration and deceleration areas. Finally, the analysis and effectiveness of the enhanced VSG method are validated by the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grid synchronization stability is an important research topic for grid-forming converters. To prevent instability and undesired oscillations, the small-signal modeling and stability analysis must be performed, which requires the line impedance information. Nevertheless, the line impedance may be unknown in most cases. As a consequence, the designed control parameters may fail to satisfy the stability requirement. To fill in this research gap, this article presents a geometrical approach to evaluate and improve the small-signal synchronization stability of grid-forming converters. The proposed analytical approach maps the line impedance variation on a two-dimensional plane and identifies the stability boundary in a geometrical way. As a benefit, the controller of grid-forming converters can be explicitly designed to achieve the robust synchronization stability. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed technique is verified by simulation and hardware experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a proportional-integral (PI) event-triggered control strategy for networked nonlinear systems subject to unmatched uncertainties. The influences of the unmatched uncertainties and external disturbances on the output channel are attenuated by an extended-state-observer-based output feedback controller through a state transformation. The outputs of the controller are transmitted in an event-triggered fashion by comparing the difference between the current sampling error and its integration with respect to time. We prove the stability of the closed-loop event-triggered control system by regulating the trajectories of the observation and tracking errors into a compact set. Further, the relationships between the control performance and designed parameters are investigated quantitatively. In addition, Zeno-freeness is guaranteed by proving the existence of a nonzero minimum inter-event time. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed PI-type event-triggered control strategy in reducing signal transmission rate is validated through numerical examples and various experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article details and solves a small-signal stability-constrained optimal power flow (SSSC-OPF) for inverter-based ac microgrids. To ensure a sufficient stability margin during optimal generation, a small-signal stability constraint is embedded into the conventional OPF formulation. This condition is enforced using a Lyapunov stability equation. A reduced-order model of the microgrid is adopted to alleviate the computational burden involved in solving the resulting SSSC-OPF. Even then, the resulting stability conditions are highly nonlinear and cannot be handled using the existing methods. To tackle the nonconvexity in the SSSC-OPF due to the presence of the nonlinear stability constraint, two distinct convex relaxation approaches, namely semidefinite programming and parabolic relaxations, are developed. A heuristic penalty function is added to the objective function of the relaxed SSSC-OPF, which is solved sequentially to obtain a feasible point. While off-the-shelf tools fail to produce any feasible point within hours, the proposed approach enables us to solve the SSSC-OPF in near real time. The efficacy of the proposed SSSC-OPF is evaluated by performing numerical studies on multiple benchmarks as well as real-time studies on a microgrid system built in a controller/hardware-in-the-loop setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that the traditional linearization method cannot accurately analyze the grid-tied inverter (GTI) system with nonlinear nature, in the single-phase case, a novel nonlinear model for the GTI system considering nonlinear factors, including synchronous reference frame phase-locked loop (PLL) and duty-cycle saturation in pulsewidth modulation, is proposed, and the corresponding global asymptotic stability condition is given. Specifically, some system nonlinear factors, e.g., duty-cycle saturation phenomenon and Park (dq) transformation and cosine operation in second-order generalized integrator-based PLL (SOGI-PLL), are investigated, and their sector-bounded conditions are derived. In order to seek less conservative results, the system state of the SOGI-PLL is restructured such that the linear part of the PLL system can be stabilized. Then, the nonlinear state-space model with sector bounded for the whole GTI system is formulated. Furthermore, the deduced sector conditions are introduced into the derivation of the Lyapunov function by using the S-procedure lemma, and the global asymptotic stability condition of the inverter system is, thus, obtained. The system stability regions under different grid impedances, current references, and control parameters are further analyzed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed theories is fully supported by transient experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual synchronous generator (VSG), recognized as a grid-friendly control technique, contributes to providing inertia and damping support from the grid-tied power electronic systems. However, similar to the conventional synchronous generator, the VSG is vulnerable to wideband oscillations and can even become unstable when the system is subjected to a variety of disturbances. To tackle this issue, this article proposes a magnitude-phase motion equation (MPME) for grid-forming VSG attached to a weak grid. Besides, a feedback analytical method is introduced to identify the frequency dynamic stability, judged by the sign of (dω/dt)/δω. Besides, the rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) and frequency nadir (FN) are evaluated by the two indices, i.e., dω/dt and δω. In addition, the relationship between the low-inertia-RoCoF-FN-related stability and the weak-damping-oscillation-related stability is illustrated by the feedback analysis. Moreover, in the framework of MPME, a reactive-power feedforward (RPFF) decoupling control strategy is proposed for the enhancement of stability and robustness performance of the VSG system. Finally, the proposed modeling and the RPFF decoupling control strategy are demonstrated with the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of the grid-connected inverter (GCI) system in weak grids is deteriorated due to the asymmetric positive-feedback loops (APFLs) introduced by the phase-locked loop (PLL) structure. Under the same main circuit parameters and control loop parameters, the small-signal models of the GCI controlled in dq domain and αβ domain are constructed, respectively. Compared with the small-signal model of the GCI controlled in dq domain, the number of APFLs introduced by the PLL of GCI controlled in αβ domain is one less. Moreover, the mechanism why the stability of the GCI controlled in αβ domain is stronger than that controlled in dq domain is analyzed. Meanwhile, the influence degree and mechanism of the APFLs in different paths of the small-signal models for the stability of GCI are revealed for the first time. This lays a theoretical foundation for the analysis and design of asymmetric control strategies used to improve the stability of GCI in weak grids. Finally, simulations and experiments verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attitude angular velocity measurement and output torque precision of magnetically suspended control and sensitive gyroscope (MSCSG) is seriously affected by the strong gyro effect (precession and nutation) of magnetically suspended rotor. This article addresses the two key challenges on the precession effect control of magnetically suspended rotor. The precise precession frequency of the magnetic suspension rotor was obtained by critical speed analysis and a novel parallel control method of PID and band stop filtering based on differential cross feedback is proposed. Based on the shortcomings of the existing control methods, the phase margin of the precession effect is improved by differential cross feedback. Then, the rotor precession effect is suppressed by the parallel control of PID and band-stop filter. By adjusting the cut-off frequency of the band stop filter, we can ensure stable operations over the entire speed ranges. The simulation results show that the proposed method can provide a greater phase lead and optimize the distribution of precession poles. The experimental results show that the power spectrum level of the precession pole using the method proposed is below −48.9 dB and the rotor tilt angle is less than 0.024°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control of a grid-connected converter is an attractive interfacing solution for high-penetration renewable generation systems. Unfortunately, the synchronous resonance can appear due to the power control loops, which are usually damped by adopting a virtual resistance (VR). However, the effects of VR on the transient stability of the VSG are rarely studied. In this article, a virtual point of common coupling and a virtual power angle concept are proposed to represent the mathematical model of the VSG with VR damping. Based on the model, the transient stability is further analyzed using the phase portrait and the attraction regions of the nonlinear system. It reveals that the VR has negative and different impacts on the transient stability compared with the real grid resistor. In order to keep the VSG with VR to work normally during the grid voltage sag, an enhanced transient stability method, by reducing the active power commands when the grid fault is detected, is introduced. A design-oriented analysis and the parameter design with different VRs are also presented. Finally, the theoretical analysis is verified by the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most dc power distribution architectures are organized as a typical cascaded converter system that is composed of source and load converters, and may experience a system oscillation due to the negative impedance effect of constant power loads. The load-side virtual impedance method is a possible solution to such stability problem, which however makes the dynamic response of the load converter slow, and thus increases the requirement of the filter capacitance. In this article, an auxiliary circuit that is connected to the output port of the load converter is proposed to enhance the transient performance of the power converter system, while the system can be stabilized by the virtual impedance method. The control and parameter design of the proposed auxiliary circuit is introduced. The capacitance requirement of the system for an expected transient deviation of the output voltage is significantly reduced by using the proposed auxiliary circuit. An example design is given to verify the feasibility of the proposed method with simulation analysis and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a variable structure control with neural network and optimized fractional-order selection policy for the sensorless telerobotic system with uncertain time delay, model uncertainty, fractional calculus numerical approximation bias, and external disturbance. Expanded from the integer-order calculus based on the definition of Caputo and the comparison principle, the Riemann–Liouville-based uniformly ultimately bounded stability is introduced to synthesize the sliding mode control with varying order, and the corresponding neural network based force estimation, which is optimized by the specified order based on the greed algorithm. Combined with the mixed-type error, the proposed hybrid integer-order and fractional-order analysis methodology is capable of guaranteeing the Riemann–Liouville-based uniformly ultimately bounded stability of tracking and synchronization errors under time delay. According to Euler difference, the proposed synthesis method can suppress the combined error in the boundedness of approximating double Euler difference errors. Numerical simulation and experiment of the telerobotic system under the control of the proposed method verify the stability analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual synchronous machine (VSM) based high voltage dc systems enhance the inertia of the power system. However, the dynamic interactions between the VSM-based rectifier station, the inverter station, and the grid could induce the system oscillation, which has been investigated in this article. At first, the hybrid ac–dc impedance models of the VSMs considering the coupling between the ac and dc dynamics are established. Then, the relationships between the dc impedance, dq-frame impedance, and the hybrid ac–dc impedance are presented. It is found that the dc impedance of the VSM-based inverter station and the d-d channel impedance of the dq-frame impedance of the rectifier station behave as negative resistors in the low-frequency range. Moreover, a five-dimensional impedance stability criterion based on the hybrid ac–dc impedance and generalized inverse Nyquist criterion is proposed to assess the system stability. The analysis results show that the low-frequency oscillation occurs when the grid short-circuit ratio of the rectifier station is small. Finally, the simulation and experimental results verify the impedance models and the stability criterion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the more electric aircraft is aimed at electrifying the mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic subsystems on aircraft. With increasing usage of power electronics, the architecture of onboard electrical power distribution systems becomes more complicated. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the stability of the system. This article, first, presents and validates an impedance model of a permanent magnet synchronous generator as a source and dual active bridge converter as a load. These models are used for the stability analysis of a simple dc power system. In addition, two new control strategies are proposed to enhance the stability of the system. The stabilization effects of the new control strategies are verified with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the sensorless control system of an induction machine, the rotor speed value is not measured but reconstructed by an observer structure. The rotor speed value can be reconstructed by the classical adaptive law with the integrator. The second approach, which is the main contribution of this article, is the nonadaptive structure without an integrator. The proposed method of the rotor speed reconstruction is based on an algebraic relationship – the rank of the mathematical model of the observer system is not increased. However, the problem with the stabilization of the observer structure does exist. For near to zero rotor speed or in the regenerating mode of an induction machine, the speed observer structure can be unstable. Therefore, in this article, the new stabilization functions are proposed. The stability is provided by the Lyapunov theorem and the practical stability theorems in which the uncertainty of parameters is considered. In the proposed solution, the newly introduced stabilization functions guarantee observer stability during both the motoring and regenerating conditions at the chosen low rotor speed ranges and for different load torque values. All the theoretical considerations were confirmed by simulation and experimental tests during the chosen working modes and uncertainties of nominal parameters of the induction machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a novel robust swing-up and balance control method using data-driven compensation signals for the Pendubot system, which is underactuated and subject to dynamic friction, backlash, and modeling uncertainty. The method involves three major developments. First, the uncertainty of the system is described by a previous sampled unknown nonlinear term and its changing rate. Compensation signals are then designed to eliminate the influence of the previous sampled unknown nonlinear term and its changing rate on the outputs of the controlled plant. Second, based on the Lyapunov stability theory, a robust swing-up control method is proposed. Third, in order to eliminate the limit cycle phenomenon caused by the uncertainty near the unstable equilibrium point, a proportional-derivative balance controller based on compensation signals is proposed. The stability and tracking error analysis show that the compensation signals can effectively eliminate the influence of dynamic friction, backlash, and modeling uncertainty on the system. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method by showing significant improvements in production rate, accuracy, and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contains a new passivity-based control design approach for dc microgrids. The design is purely based on experimental data—bypassing the requirement of the network modeling. This approach permits the control of dc microgrids and preserve stability, despite of further interconnection of new passive loads and new passivity-based-controlled converters. This model-free approach generates control laws in a pure numerical way; bypassing the requirement of dealing with a high number of variables and equations that naturally appear in an increasingly complex dc microgrid. Experimental results are presented to corroborate the advantages of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instability of power systems comprising multiple LCL-filtered grid-connected dc–ac inverters connected in parallel can be caused by any individual inverter due to mutual coupling through the grid impedance. For the stability analysis of a multiparalleled dc–ac inverters system, an effective technique capable to diagnose which particular inverter (i.e., “trouble maker”) causes instability to the overall system has not been developed yet. In this article, a novel autoidentification method is proposed to detect the “trouble maker(s)” of instability in a multiparalleled inverters system, based on the comparison between the root-mean-square value of harmonic voltage at the point of common coupling and the harmonic voltages across the filters capacitors. The theoretical analysis of the proposed identification method is presented in details in this article. Also, simulation and experimental results are provided for the verification of the effectiveness of the proposed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a modified equivalent-input-disturbance (MEID) approach that actively rejects exogenous disturbances. A dynamic compensator is newly introduced in a conventional equivalent-input-disturbance (EID) estimator to further suppress the disturbances. The mechanism of the MEID approach to improving disturbance rejection is analyzed based on the transfer characteristic from the EID to the output of the system, and a stability condition of the MEID control system is presented and is used to design the parameters of the system. A comparison with the conventional EID approach and the disturbance-observer method through experiments demonstrates the validity of the presented method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being cost-effective, seven-level Modified Packed U-Cell (MPUC7) active rectifier tends to be unstable due to unequal dc-links. Thus, a multiobjective controller is required to stabilize voltages and currents besides preserving efficiency and power quality. While conventional finite-set model predictive control (FSMPC) can deal with the multiobjective problem, it cannot assure the system stability, and its weighing factors tuning significantly becomes tiresome as the number of objectives increases. This article presents a low-frequency adaptive FSMPC (AMPC) stabilized based on Lyapunov stability theory to overcome the design problems of FSMPC. AMPC handles four control objectives and a decoupled stability objective. The control objectives assure the standard performance of MPUC7 in terms of switching losses, dv/dt, THD, and capacitors ripple. The stability objective guarantees the rectifier reliability under unstable conditions. The weighting factors in AMPC are floating to tackle the tuning challenges where a radial basis function neural network controller (RBFC) adjusts their variations. RBFC is trained by a novel self-training method including particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and some mathematical analyses without using any training data. Experimental and simulation tests also evaluate AMPC in different conditions to confirm its reliability in fulfilling the desired objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under weak grid condition, negative influence is brought in on system stability because the grid impedance and the grid-connected converter control system are coupled to each other. The key factor affecting the stability of the system is the perturbation of the voltage fluctuation at the point of common coupling (PCC) to the phase-locked loop (PLL) and the dc-link voltage loop. In this article, the impedance model of a three-phase grid-connected converter, including the current loop, PLL, and dc-link voltage loop in the dq frame, is adopted, because it includes coupling information of the converter and reflects the transferring relationship among grid-connected system variables. Based on the transferring relationship, this article analyzes the perturbation paths of PCC voltage and proposes the corresponding compensation methods, i.e., the PLL and dc-link voltage loop compensation terms, which are inserted into the q and d axes of the current loop controller, respectively. The impedance analysis results show that the proposed method can effectively improve the system stability. In addition, the experimental results verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It tends to cause system oscillation when the inverter with a phase-locked loop based on proportional integral controller (PI-PLL) is connected to the weak grid. To improve the oscillation suppression ability of the grid-connected inverter, a linear active disturbance rejection controller is applied to PLL (LADRC-PLL). Considering the influence of linear extended state observer, voltage outer-loop, current inner-loop, and frequency coupling, the admittance model of the grid-connected inverter with LADRC-PLL is established. Based on the established admittance model and the generalized Nyquist criterion, the system stabilities of the grid-connected inverters with LADRC-PLL and PI-PLL are compared. The comparison results indicate that the grid-connected inverter with LADRC-PLL has better adaptability to the weak grid and shows a certain ability to suppress the sub and supersynchronous oscillation. Then, the influence of the control parameters of LADRC-PLL on the system stability is studied. It is found that the system keeps stable when the control parameter of LADRC-PLL is changed in a relatively wide range, which indicates LADRC-PLL has good robustness. Furthermore, the dynamic performances of the grid-connected inverters with LADRC-PLL and PI-PLL are analyzed. It is revealed that the grid-connected inverter with LADRC-PLL has better dynamic performance. Finally, the correctness of the analysis is verified by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Centralized photovoltaic (PV) grid-connected inverters (GCIs) based on double-split transformers have been widely used in large-scale desert PV plants. However, due to the large fluctuation of short circuit ratio (SCR) under high-penetration PV power plants, the stability of GCIs controlled in current source mode (CSM) is seriously affected. Reducing the bandwidth of the phase-locked loop (PLL) will improve the stability of CSM-controlled GCI, but the dynamic response performance will be degraded. Even if the PLL bandwidth is designed to be very low, the CSM-controlled GCI still cannot operate stably in very weak grids. The voltage source mode (VSM) controlled GCI can operate stably in very weak grids, but is not suitable for strong grids. Therefore, this article proposes a dual-mode combined control strategy: When SCR gradually decreases, the GCIs operate in full CSM (FCSM), hybrid mode (HM), and full VSM (FVSM) in turn, which effectively improves the stability of GCIs when SCR fluctuates greatly. The stability region of GCIs under the constraints of multiperformance-index is obtained, and the switching boundaries between the above three modes are also quantitatively analyzed in this article. Finally, the correctness of the proposed control strategy is verified by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we develop a novel approach to design power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) simulation interfaces that maximize simulation bandwidth and accuracy by leveraging a modern control framework that explicitly considers objectives on accuracy and can automatically synthesize an optimal controller that meets these objectives while stabilizing the closed-loop system. The method developed improves upon common approaches to PHIL interface design that typically involve multiple design steps for manual compensation and stabilization that can result in interfaces that are stable but have suboptimal bandwidth and accuracy. The approach developed is general and can be applied to most PHIL system configurations. The modeling framework allows for the inclusion of scaling factors and hardware-under-test current injection models that are common to practical PHIL simulations and have significant impacts on stability. We also present practical methods and metrics for verifying the absolute accuracy of PHIL simulation results without relying on relative comparisons to potentially inaccurate models or previous simulation results. We demonstrate the accuracy evaluation method and show the improved performance achievable when using the optimal PHIL interface design approach in an experimental case study involving a 100-kVA battery inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DC microgrids with power electronic converter units are prone to become unstable due to the well-known negative impedance characteristic of constant power loads. For such systems, the global stability cannot be assumed. It is known that the transient stability of the system can be degraded by large and fast disturbances due to the reduced stability region. As a result, the system gets to operate outside the stability region and becomes unstable even if the steady-state operating point is in the stable region. To overcome this problem, a dynamic stabilizer that controls the stability region using variable inductor is proposed to guarantee stable operation during transient-states. The proposed scheme is straightforward and can be implemented with minimal power consumption. Furthermore, it is robust for parameter variation. The feasibility of the proposed method is verified experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For grid-forming inverters, abilities of both disturbance rejection and reference tracking are important for voltage controls, which act as inner loops of power controls. In this article, a complex variable-based dominant pole elimination (DPE) algorithm is applied to the voltage control that includes both positive- and negative-sequence complex variable resonant controllers. The algorithm is effective for both αβ- and dq-frame voltage control. Then, the DPE algorithm is extended for conventional dual-loop proportional resonant control to improve the dynamic response. Impedance-based analysis also indicates that the proposed DPE algorithm results in a suitable impedance to enhance the robustness in grid-connected mode. The effectiveness of the DPE method is verified through an experimental implementation in a three-phase hardware prototype with a TMS320F28379D digital signal processor and simulations in MATLAB/Simulink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct power control (DPC) is widely used in grid-connected inverters. First, considering the effects of phase-locked loop (PLL), voltage outer loop, power inner loop, control delay, and frequency coupling, a broadband admittance model of the grid-connected inverter with DPC is established. The admittance characteristics of grid-connected inverters with DPC and closed-loop current control (CCC) are compared and analyzed. Due to the different inner loop control objects, the components produced by the power calculation in DPC and the Park's transformation in CCC cause the admittance differences between the grid-connected inverters with DPC and CCC. Then, the effects of grid impedance, output power, and control parameters on system stability are analyzed. It is revealed that the stability of the grid-connected inverter with DPC is very sensitive to grid impedance and easily affected by output power and inner loop bandwidth, while the grid-connected inverter with CCC has a better adaptability to weak grid, high output power, and inner loop bandwidth. Moreover, the PLL bandwidth has little effect on the stability of the grid-connected inverter with DPC, but has a great impact on the stability of the grid-connected inverter with CCC when the inverter is connected to weak grid. Finally, the correctness of the analysis is verified by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a computationally simple strategy by using a three-sample-based technique for a grid-connected inverter in a single-phase active distribution system. The proposed control is to improve the performance during varying grid conditions such as voltage sag, swell, and frequency swing. A comparative analysis between the proposed controller and the conventional second-order generalized integrator phase-locked loop (PLL) based controller for dynamic grid conditions in weak-grid scenario has been presented. Additionally, a frequency domain analysis via describing function method is used to model the dynamics of nonlinear hysteresis current controller to analyze the closed-loop stability of the system. Further validation of the proposed control algorithm is simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment for various scenarios. To establish the effectiveness of the proposed approach in real time, the proposed control strategy is tested in a 1 kVA based experimental setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes two impedance compensation methods to enhance the stability of the dual active bridge (DAB) converter-based energy storage systems (ESSs). First, the design of the traditional feedback controller of the DAB converter is revisited with consideration of stability of the DAB-based ESSs. The presented analysis reveals that due to the improper design of the DAB feedback controller, the magnitude of the DAB converter input impedance will be reduced, resulting in instability problems of the DAB-based ESSs. As a straightforward solution, the optimized design guideline of the DAB feedback controller is proposed, which can solve the instability issue of the DAB-based ESS without any additional passive components or active control loops. Second, a family of impedance shaping regulators (ISRs) is proposed to modify the input impedance of the DAB converter—the bus voltage-based ISR (BV-ISR) and the bus current-based ISR (BC-ISR). The design requirements of the BV-ISR and BC-ISR to solve the instability problems of DAB-based ESS are disclosed. The dynamic responses of the proposed methods are compared. Finally, the effectiveness of the optimized DAB controller and the ISRs are validated by the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interleaved dual boost converter (IDBC) is a promising topology to interface high power solar photovoltaic (PV) generation or energy storage systems to dc microgrids (MGs). It provides a high boost ratio for voltage transformations and helps significantly to reduce ripples in the currents drawn from dc sources. However, the conventional control methods of IDBC cannot guarantee system stability in the presence of tightly regulated and rapidly varying power electronic loads which behave as constant power loads (CPLs). Moreover, the uncertainties of converter systems may further affect the stability of MGs. In this context, a large signal stabilization scheme, which comprises finite-time observers (FTOs) and a finite-time controller (FTC), is proposed. By considering CPLs and parameter dispersions as system disturbances, FTOs are able precisely observe the disturbances in finite time. Then the FTC exactly offsets the estimated values and stabilizes all system states at their designated points in finite time. By doing so, the finite-time large signal stability can be obtained and the corresponding results are proved with Lyapunov theorems. A detailed control parameter selection guideline is provided for practical applications. Simulations show that the proposed method gives a wider stability margin than the conventional PI (proportional-integral) control. Furthermore, experiments verify its effectiveness and feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, phase-based variable gain feedback control is utilized to improve settling performance of precision motion systems. Describing function analysis of the control strategy is presented, stability analysis is given by common quadratic Lyapunov function method and data-based tuning approach for variable gain parameter based on finite difference method is proposed. Simulation and experiment on a precision motion system both validate the phase-based variable gain feedback control algorithm and the proposed tuning approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microgrids are increasingly affected by volatile wind energy due to the high penetration of this kind of renewable energy sources. This study investigates the impact of wind energy uncertainty on voltage stability and energy management system (EMS) of isolated microgrids in the presence of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). A stochastic voltage stability constrained microgrid energy management system (SVSC-MEMS) architecture based on a coordinated unit commitment-optimal power flow (UC-OPF) methodology, which simultaneously considers the UC and OPF constraints, is proposed. The proposed model guarantees the system security from the voltage stability standpoint, considering a specific loading margin. Besides, the role of PEVs in the microgrid EMS is examined. In order to validate the performance of the introduced SVSC-MEMS, a CIGRE benchmark test system is used. The numerical results, obtained from the implementation of the proposed model in the general algebraic modeling system (GAMS) environment, demonstrate the importance of voltage stability and wind power uncertainty on the microgrid EMS, and furthermore, the key role of PEVs in the emerging microgrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a stability analysis of photovoltaic (PV) clusters forming a dc microgrid with a distributed power reserve capability. The PV clusters feature flexible PV power generation under fluctuating ambient conditions via the distributed power reserve control. The PV set-points are adjusted based on grid operator command that is accomplished in a decentralized manner. Stability analysis of the PV clusters has been carried out to determine the safe operation regions of the PV units with respect to operation set-point adjustments. The proposed stability analysis approach considers all the characteristics of the PV subsystems. The stability analysis demonstrates that the PV cluster architecture is stable as far as the dc bus stray resistance has a finite value. Also, the grid-interfacing converter must operate in input current control mode (CCM) instead of input voltage control mode (VCM) for better stability margin. Several case studies are emulated on an IEEE 5-Bus system using real-time controller hardware in the loop (C-HIL) to verify the stability and the theoretical expectations of the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a magnetically suspended control moment gyroscope with strong gyroscopic effects, the whirl mode (nutation and precession) stability control of the active magnetic bearing (AMB) rotor system has always been a challenging problem. This article proposes a robust control method combined with regional pole assignment to achieve the stability control of the whirl mode in the AMB-rotor system. First, the physical model of multi-degree-of-freedom magnetic bearing system is analyzed in detail, and the state-space model of the system is established. Then, the gyroscopic effects varying with the rotor speed are considered as a bounded parameter perturbation of the system, and the constraints on the controller to achieve the system stability are obtained. Furthermore, in order to increase the system stability margin and the whirl mode damping, the additional constraints on the controller are derived through the regional pole assignment method. Finally, all constraints are converted into the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), and a controller satisfying all the constraints can be obtained by solving the LMIs. Experimental results demonstrate that the designed robust controller can achieve the stability control of nutation and precession as well as keeping a satisfactory system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) simulations have been rapidly growing in recent times due to the flexibility it offers in conducting various system-level studies as well as individual device evaluation. Evaluating a power converter has been one of the major applications of PHIL at recent times in the industry. Following this trend, this article proposes a way to evaluate a photovoltaic (PV) microinverter in PHIL arrangement. The mathematical background to quantify the stability criteria for a PHIL network is presented along with theoretical and experimental verifications. The methodology in this article is based on the model of interface devices and accurate delay model to analyze the stability of a PHIL system employing Routh–Hurwitz's formulation. An extensive analysis on stability along with the compensator design to enhance the stability limit of a PHIL system is presented. The workflow developed is applied to evaluate a 250-W PV microinverter, which showed a stable performance with more than 97% efficiency during steady state and transients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]