Low-cost Control Solution Research Articles

Ultra-High Speed Switched Reluctance Motor-Generator for Turbocharger Applications

This paper proposes technical guidelines, modelling, and control of an ultra-high-speed-switched reluctance motor- generator for automotive turbo-charged assistance and energy recovery. Creation of an ideal model using electromagnetic finite element analysis and conducting a low cost/ low scale experiment is proposed. The first objective focuses on the transient simulation process. The second objective focuses on an investigation of the proposed control criteria. The modelling and analysis of a “Switched Reluctance Motor” (SRM) is an initial task for the selection of the coupled mover. Two controllers are selected for the experiment which consists of a generally low-cost solution and an optimized development board for prototyping optimization. The low-cost control solution is implemented with an Arduino Uno and an assortment of relays configured into an asymmetrical half bridge. The second controller is the “Digilent Zed Board Zynq-7000 ARM/FPGA SoC Development Board” (Zed board). ANSYS 2D, 3D modelling, data simulation for the stator and rotor are implemented. Current, voltage, and flux for all phases waveforms are included. Rotor dynamic simulation, machine transient simulations, and some other characteristics are depicted through 3D figures.

Comparative study of hysteretic controllers for single-phase voltage regulators

A comparative study of hysteretic controllers for single-phase voltage regulators used in low-voltage applications is presented. The voltage-mode (VM) and current-mode (CM) control schemes considered here are designed with identical specifications. The regulator performance is evaluated in aspects such as load transient response, switching frequency design and component tolerance effects. Other aspects such as complexity and cost are also considered. Experimental results are reported in order to validate the theoretical predictions. Essentially the study demonstrates that: (1) both VM and CM controllers exhibit high performance for nominal power components, (2) the operation of the CM controller is extremely robust with respect to power-component tolerance and (3) the VM controller is a simple, low-cost control solution.

Simple Low-Cost Hysteretic Controller for Single-Phase Synchronous Buck Converters

This paper presents a simple low-cost control architecture for low-voltage hysteretic regulators supplying loads with low-to-medium current consumption. Only two sensed voltages, a passive filter network and a hysteretic comparator are required to implement the main control functions: the output voltage regulation and the adaptive voltage positioning. This paper also shows that other previously reported low-cost control solutions have an important design tradeoff between load transient response and efficiency. In the proposed controller, the closed-loop output impedance can be designed to be resistive and the switching frequency can be adjusted to be independent of the output impedance requirement so that the load transient response and the efficiency can be optimized separately. Experimental results validate the performance of the proposed controller (i.e., a load transient response with insignificant output voltage overshoot and selectable switching frequency independent of the output impedance requirement).

Trends in Low Cost Automation

The development of a large number of low cost techniques provides a way to improve traditional control and automation solutions. In this paper, the role and constraints of the main control loop components are reviewed, and their enhancement by adding information processing features is considered. Embedded microelectronic components, integrated in the design of these components, make them more powerful, versatile and easy to use. Special attention is devoted to intelligent controllers, implementing a variety of control and automation options. Some applications are reported and the trends in achieving low cost control solutions are emphasised.