Model Predictive Control of Power Electronic Systems: Methods, Results, and Challenges

Petros Karamanakos,Ralph Kennel,Eyke Liegmann,Tobias Geyer

doi:10.1109/ojia.2020.3020184

Abstract

Model predictive control (MPC) has established itself as a promising control methodology in power electronics. This survey paper highlights the most relevant MPC techniques for power electronic systems. These can be classified into two major groups, namely, MPC without modulator, referred to as direct MPC, and MPC with a subsequent modulation stage, known as indirect MPC. Design choices, and parameters that affect the system performance, closed-loop stability, and controller robustness are discussed. Moreover, solvers, and control platforms that can be employed for the real-time implementation of MPC algorithms are presented. Finally, the MPC schemes in question are assessed, among others, in terms of design, and computational complexity, along with their performance, and applicability depending on the power electronic system at hand.

Highlights

Model predictive control (MPC) [1], [2] emerged as a timedomain control strategy in the 1960s [3]–[6]. It established itself as an effective control strategy for nonlinear, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), constrained plants with complex dynamics predominantly used in the process industry
In the 1980s, the power electronics community started investigating the potential of MPC [8], [9], but the meager computational resources of the time combined with the emergence of power semiconductor devices that allowed higher switching frequencies limited its applicability and perceived benefits
Several variants of MPC have thenceforth been developed for and implemented in power converters used in applications such as electrical drives, static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs), high-voltage dc (HVDC) systems, flexible ac transmission systems (FACTS), and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), to name a few [14]–[20]

Summary

Introduction

Model predictive control (MPC) [1], [2] emerged as a timedomain control strategy in the 1960s [3]–[6]. In the 1980s, the power electronics community started investigating the potential of MPC [8], [9], but the meager computational resources of the time combined with the emergence of power semiconductor devices that allowed higher switching frequencies limited its applicability and perceived benefits. Several variants of MPC have thenceforth been developed for and implemented in power converters used in applications such as electrical drives, static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs), high-voltage dc (HVDC) systems, flexible ac transmission systems (FACTS), and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), to name a few [14]–[20]

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion