Roberto Giral

A Fast Current-Based MPPT Technique Employing Sliding Mode Control

This paper introduces a novel maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique aimed at maximizing the power produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems. The largest part of the MPPT approaches presented in the literature are based on the sensing of the PV generator voltage. On the contrary, in this paper, a current-based technique is proposed: the sensing of the current in the capacitor placed in parallel with the PV source is one of the innovative aspects of the proposal. A dual control technique based on an inner current loop plus an outer voltage loop allows to take profit of the fast current tracking capability of the inner current loop while the voltage loop benefits from the logarithmic dependency of the PV voltage on the irradiation level. The features of the proposed algorithm, particularly in terms of tracking of irradiation variations and disturbance rejection, are supported by theoretical analysis, simulations, and experimental results. The technique described in this paper is patent pending.

BIFURCATIONS IN DC-DC SWITCHING CONVERTERS: REVIEW OF METHODS AND APPLICATIONS

This paper presents, in a tutorial manner, nonlinear phenomena such as bifurcations and chaotic behavior in DC–DC switching converters. Our purpose is to present the different modeling approaches, the main results found in the last years and some possible practical applications. A comparison of the different models is given and their accuracy in predicting nonlinear behavior is discussed. A general Poincare map is considered to model any multiple configuration of DC–DC switching converters and its Jacobian matrix is derived for stability analysis. More emphasis is done in the discrete-time approach as it gives more accurate prediction of bifurcations. The results are reproduced for different examples of DC–DC switching converters studied in the literature. Some methods of controlling bifurcations are applied to stabilize Unstable Periodic Orbits (UPOs) embedded in the dynamics of the system. Statistical analysis of these systems working in the chaotic regime is discussed. An extensive list of references i...

Minimum Fuel Consumption Strategy for PEM Fuel Cells

This paper proposes a proton exchange membrane fuel cell control strategy to produce the power requested by an electrical load, minimizing the fuel consumption and also providing a regulated DC bus voltage to the load. The power system consists of a hybrid fuel cell/capacitor topology, and the control objective is to follow the minimum fuel consumption points for a given load power profile. This is done by controlling the air pump voltage and regulating the fuel cell current through a DC/DC switching converter. Moreover, the design and control parameters of the output DC bus are discussed, and the calculations are adjusted to a Ballard 1.2-kW Nexa power module. Finally, the control results, fuel consumption, and fuel cell protection against oxygen starvation phenomenon are analyzed and experimentally validated, contrasting its performance with the Nexa power module internal control system.

Sliding-mode control of interleaved boost converters

Boost topologies in interleaved operation under sliding-mode control are analyzed in this paper. First, the interleaving connection of two identical boost converters results in a new step-up structure whose closed-loop dynamics are asymptotically stable with good start-up and excellent load regulation when a self-oscillating sliding-mode control is applied to the converter. For a duty cycle of 50%, the new regulator acts as a small-ripple voltage doubler. Later, an extension of the voltage doubler yields a voltage quadrupler with similar dynamic characteristics. Simulated and experimental results verify the theoretical predictions.

A Noninverting Buck–Boost DC–DC Switching Converter With High Efficiency and Wide Bandwidth

A novel dc-dc switching converter consisting of a boost stage cascaded with a buck converter with their coils magnetically coupled is presented. The disclosed converter has the same step-up or step-down voltage conversion properties than the single inductor noninverting buck-boost converter but exhibits nonpulsating I/O currents. The converter control-to-output transfer function is continuous between operation modes if a particular magnetic coupling is selected. The addition of a damping network improves the dynamics and results in a control-to-output transfer function that has, even in boost mode, two dominant complex poles without right-half-plane zeros. An example shows that an output voltage controller can be designed with the same well-known techniques usually applied to the second-order buck regulator. Details of a prototype and experimental results including efficiency, frequency, and time domain responses are presented. The experimental results validate the theoretical expected advantages of the converter, namely, good efficiency, wide bandwidth, and simplicity of control design.

Analysis of a bidirectional coupled-inductor Cuk converter operating in sliding mode

Analytic models for a bidirectional coupled-inductor Cuk converter operating in sliding mode are described. Using a linear combination of the converter four state variable errors as a general switching surface, the expression for the equivalent control is derived and the coordinates of the equilibrium point are obtained. Particular cases of the general switching surface are subsequently analyzed in detail: (1) surfaces for ideal line regulation, (2) surfaces for ideal load regulation, and (3) surfaces for hysteretic current control. Simulation results verifying the analytical predictions are presented.

A PEM Fuel-Cell Model Featuring Oxygen-Excess-Ratio Estimation and Power-Electronics Interaction

In this paper, a polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel-cell (FC) model that is useful for simulation and control purposes is presented. The model uses both electrical-circuit components and functional blocks to reproduce both static and dynamic FC behaviors. Its main feature is in the reproduction of the oxygen-excess-ratio behavior, but it is also able to interact with any electrical device connected at the FC terminals, e.g., a load or a switching converter. Consequently, the proposed model can be used to develop new control strategies aimed at avoiding the oxygen-starvation effect and/or minimizing the fuel consumption. The model has been customized for a Ballard Nexa 1.2-kW power system, and this has allowed an experimental validation by means of measurements performed on a real FC device.

Current-Mode Control of a Coupled-Inductor Buck–Boost DC–DC Switching Converter

This paper deepens in the study of the recently described coupled-inductor buck-boost converter. The output voltage of this dc-dc converter can be regulated above and/or below its input voltage with high efficiency and wide bandwidth. The control of the input and/or output nonpulsating converter currents is addressed in this paper. The small-signal control-to-input/output-current transfer functions in open-loop permits the design of the respective average current-mode controllers. The combination of the input- and output-current controllers with an additional output voltage limiter loop is proposed as a method to regulate one of the currents while limiting the maximum values of the other two variables. The theoretical analyses have been validated by means of simulations and also experimentally on a 48-V 800-W purpose built-prototype. In particular, the frequency response measurements that have been carried out for a representative set of the converter operating points are in good agreement with the simulations.

Minimizing the effects of shadowing in a PV module by means of active voltage sharing

Negative effects in a two-section-module PV system due to shadowing are minimized by using active voltage sharing of section voltages. Instead of conventional bypass diodes, a bidirectional buck-boost-type circuit with current control guarantees equal section voltages yielding a unique maximum power point for the global system. Connecting an external maximum point power tracking (MPPT) converter results in bigger power extraction than the one obtained with the bypass diodes case, the improvement being in some cases up to 40%. Also, voltage values corresponding to the maximum power point (MPP) are less scattered than in the bypass diode solution, this facilitating the MPPT converter operation. To improve the efficiency, the current control strategy permits to identify the conditions to disconnect the bypass. PSIM simulations verify the theoretical predictions of the proposed technique.

Dynamics and Stability Issues of a Single-Inductor Dual-Switching DC–DC Converter

A single-inductor two-input two-output power electronic dc-dc converter can be used to regulate two generally nonsymmetric positive and negative outputs by means of a pulsewidth modulation with a double voltage feedback. This paper studies the dynamic behavior of this system. First, the operation modes and the steady-state properties of the converter are addressed, and, then, a stability analysis that includes both the power stage and control parameters is carried out. Different bifurcations are determined from the averaged model and from the discrete-time model. The Routh-Hurwitz criterion is used to obtain the stability regions of the averaged (slow-scale) dynamics in the design parameter space, and a discrete-time approach is used to obtain more accurate results and to detect possible (fast-scale) subharmonic oscillations. Experimental measurements were taken from a system prototype to confirm the analytical results and numerical simulations. Some possible nonsmooth bifurcations due to the change in the switching patterns are also illustrated.