A Fast Firing Angle Optimization Approach for Current-Controlled Switched Reluctance Generators in Wind Power Applications

Filipe P. Scalcon; Gustavo X. Prestes; Gaoliang Fang; Cesar J. Volpato; Hilton A. Grundling; Rodrigo P. Vieira; Andrew M. Knight

doi:10.18618/REP.e202550

Authors

Filipe P. Scalcon University of Calgary https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8976-2188
Gustavo X. Prestes Federal University of Santa Maria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5134-8010
Gaoliang Fang University of Prince Edward Island https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3746-0698
Cesar J. Volpato Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-2305
Hilton A. Grundling Federal University of Santa Maria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7739-2159
Rodrigo P. Vieira Federal University of Santa Maria https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0558-133X
Andrew M. Knight University of Calgary https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7934-4150

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.e202550

Keywords:

Firing angles, particle swarm optimization, switched reluctance generator, wind power

Abstract

The adequate choice of excitation parameters is detrimental to the high performance operation of switched reluctance generators. Such task, however, is a complex problem which lacks solutions with simple analytical formulations. In this context, this paper presents a performance optimization procedure for switched reluctance generators operating in the current controlled region, below base speed. The proposal allows optimal firing angles to be determined based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm. A cost function is designed as a means to ensure performance with a compromise between reduced torque ripple and increased energy efficiency. A comparison with a traditional exhaustive search algorithm is provided, highlighting the reduced computational complexity of the proposal. Moreover, an original statistical analysis is presented as a means to demonstrate the low dispersion of the PSO-based procedure. Experimental results are provided in order to demonstrate the performance of the wind energy conversion system operating with optimal parameters.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Filipe P. Scalcon, University of Calgary

received the B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil, in 2017, 2019, and 2021, respectively. He is currently a Postdoctoral Associate with the Department of Electrical and Software Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. He conducted research as a Member of the Power Electronics and Control Research Group, UFSM. From 2022 to 2024, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with McMaster Automotive Resource Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. His research interests include electrical machine drives, renewable energy conversion, microgrids, reluctance machines, and digital control. Since 2024, he is an Associate Editor of the Brazilian Power Electronics Journal.

Gustavo X. Prestes, Federal University of Santa Maria

received the M.Eng. degrees from Technological Institute of Aeronautics in 2011. In 2021 he started a Ph.D degree from the Federal University of Santa Maria, at Santa Maria, RS. In 2014, he joined the Federal University of Roraima, where he is currently a professor in electrical engineering department. His research interests include real-world control applications problems, especially applied to power electronic converters and electric motor drives.

Gaoliang Fang, University of Prince Edward Island

received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China, in 2015 and 2018, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, in 2021, all in electrical engineering. He is currently an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Sustainable Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Charlottetown, PE, Canada. Before he joined the UPEI, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre, McMaster University. During his postdoctoral period, he also interned at Enedym Inc., Hamilton, ON, Canada, under the support of Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship. His research focuses on advanced drive system toward transportation electrification, especially on the advanced control of switched reluctance machines and permanent magnet synchronous machines.

Cesar J. Volpato, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S

received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil, in 2017, 2018, and 2021, respectively. He is currently a Control Engineer with Siemens Gamesa, Brande, Denmark. From 2014 to 2021, he was with the Power Electronics and Control Research Group, where he worked on research and development of high performance sensorless control of ac motors. From 2022 to 2023, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with McMaster Automotive Resource Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, where he performed research on control of switched reluctance motors. His research interests include high performance electric machine drives and applied nonlinear control.

Hilton A. Grundling, Federal University of Santa Maria

was born in Santa Maria, Brazil, in 1954. He received the B.Sc. degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1977, the M.Sc. degree from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 1980, and the D.Sc. degree from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics, S\~{a}o Paulo, Brazil, in 1995. Since 1980, he has been with the Federal University of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where he is currently a Titular Professor. His research interests include robust model reference adaptive control, discrete control, and control system applications.

Rodrigo P. Vieira, Federal University of Santa Maria

received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Uniju\'{i}), Iju\'{i}, Brazil, in 2007, and the M.Sc. and Dr.Eng. degrees in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil, in 2008 and 2012, respectively. From 2010 to 2014, he was with the Federal University of Pampa, Alegrete, Brazil. Since 2014, he has been with the UFSM, where he is currently a Professor. His research interests include electrical machine drives, electric vehicles, sensorless drives, digital control techniques of static converters, and energy systems.

Andrew M. Knight, University of Calgary

is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary, His research interests are in energy conversion, clean and efficient energy utilization, and integration of clean energy technologies into larger systems. He is the recipient of multiple prize paper awards from IEEE Power & Energy Society and IEEE Industry Applications Society. Dr. Knight is a P.Eng. registered in the Province of Alberta, Canada. He was President of IEEE Industry Applications Society 2023-24 and currently serves as Past President. He is a member of the IEEE Smart Cities Board of Governors, the IEEE Smart Village Governing Board, IEEE Systems Council AdCom and the Steering Committee for IEEE PES/IAS PowerAfrica Conference. He has previously been General Chair of IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), and the Steering Committee Chair of IEEE ECCE and IEEE International Electric Machines and Drives Conference. Dr Knight is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

References

B. Bilgin, B. Howey, A. D. Callegaro, J. Liang, M. Kordic, J. Taylor, A. Emadi, “Making the Case for Switched Reluctance Motors for Propulsion Applications”, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 69, no. 7, pp. 7172–7186, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2020.2993725

L. Ge, J. Zhong, C. Bao, S. Song, R. W. De Doncker, “Continuous Rotor Position Estimation for SRM Based on Transformed Unsaturated Inductance Characteristic”, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 37–41, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2021.3096738

A. Verma, S. S. Ahmad, G. Narayanan, “Optimal Control of Single-Pulse-Operated Switched Reluctance Generator to Minimize RMS Phase and RMS DC-Bus Current”, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 507–519, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2023.3327977

R. Cardenas, R. Pena, M. Perez, J. Clare, G. Asher, P. Wheeler, “Control of a switched reluctance generator for variable-speed wind energy applications”, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 781–791, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TEC.2005.853733

Y.-C. Chang, C.-M. Liaw, “On the Design of Power Circuit and Control Scheme for Switched Reluctance Generator”, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 445–454, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2007.911872

E. Echenique, J. Dixon, R. Cardenas, R. Pena, “Sensorless Control for a Switched Reluctance Wind Generator, Based on Current Slopes and Neural Networks”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 817–825, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2008.2005940

T. A. d. S. Barros, P. J. d. S. Neto, P. S. N. Filho, A. B. Moreira, E. R. Filho, “An Approach for Switched Reluctance Generator in a Wind Generation System With a Wide Range of Operation Speed”, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 32, no. 11, pp. 8277–8292, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2017.2697822

F. P. Scalcon, G. Fang, C. J. V. Filho, H. A. Grundling, R. P. Vieira, B. Nahid-Mobarakeh, “A Review on Switched Reluctance Generators in Wind Power Applications: Fundamentals, Control and Future Trends”, IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 69412–69427, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3187048

V. Narayanan, B. Singh, “Wind-Driven Position Sensorless Switched Reluctance Generator and Diesel Generator Based Microgrid for Optimal Fuel Consumption and Power Blackout Mitigation”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 71, no. 4, pp. 3660–3672, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2023.3279561

E. Bostanci, M. Moallem, A. Parsapour, B. Fahimi, “Opportunities and Challenges of Switched Reluctance Motor Drives for Electric Propulsion: A Comparative Study”, IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 58–75, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TTE.2017.2649883

M. M. Namazi, S. M. S. Nejad, A. Tabesh, A. Rashidi, M. Liserre, “Passivity-Based Control of Switched Reluctance-Based Wind System Supplying Constant Power Load”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 65, no. 12, pp. 9550–9560, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2018.2816008

H. Polinder, J. A. Ferreira, B. B. Jensen, A. B. Abrahamsen, K. Atallah, R. A. McMahon, “Trends in Wind Turbine Generator Systems”, IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 174–185, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/JESTPE.2013.2280428

M. Abdalmagid, E. Sayed, M. H. Bakr, A. Emadi, “Geometry and Topology Optimization of Switched Reluctance Machines: A Review”, IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 5141–5170, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3140440

G. Fang, F. P. Scalcon, D. Xiao, R. P. Vieira, H. A. Grundling, A. Emadi, “Advanced Control of Switched Reluctance Motors (SRMs): A Review on Current Regulation, Torque Control and Vibration Suppression”, IEEE Open Journal of the Industrial Electronics Society, vol. 2, pp. 280–301, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/OJIES.2021.3076807

D. Torrey, “Switched reluctance generators and their control”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 3–14, 2002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/41.982243

C. Mademlis, I. Kioskeridis, “Optimizing performance in current-controlled switched reluctance generators”, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 556–565, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TEC.2005.852960

I. Kioskeridis, C. Mademlis, “Optimal efficiency control of switched reluctance generators”, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 1062–1071, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2006.876827

I. Kioskeridis, C. Mademlis, “A Unified Approach for Four-Quadrant Optimal Controlled Switched Reluctance Machine Drives With Smooth Transition Between Control Operations”, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 301–306, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2008.2005983

Y. Sozer, D. Torrey, “Closed loop control of excitation parameters for high speed switched-reluctance generators”, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 355–362, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2003.823178

W. R. H. Araujo, M. R. C. Reis, G. A. Wainer, W. P. Calixto, “Efficiency Enhancement of Switched Reluctance Generator Employing Optimized Control Associated with Tracking Technique”, Energies, vol. 14, no. 24, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14248388

T. A. Barros, P. J. Neto, P. S. Filho, A. B. Moreira, E. Ruppert, “Approach for performance optimization of switched reluctance generator in variable-speed wind generation system”, Renewable Energy, vol. 97, pp. 114–128, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.05.064

W. R. H. Araujo, C. A. Ganzaroli, W. P. Calixto, A. J. Alves, G. P. Viajante, M. R. C. Reis, A. F. V. Silveira, “Firing angles optimization for Switched Reluctance Generator using Genetic Algorithms”, in 2013 13th International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering (EEEIC), pp. 217–222, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/EEEIC-2.2013.6737911

L. Ge, B. Burkhart, A. Klein-Hessling, H. Xu, R. W. De Doncker, “Comprehensive Performance Comparison and Optimization of Single-Pulse Controlled SRGs for Renewable Electrical Grids”, in 2019 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), pp. 2632–2637, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/APEC.2019.8722170

P. J. d. S. Neto, T. A. d. S. Barros, M. V. de Paula, R. R. de Souza, E. R. Filho, “Design of Computational Experiment for Performance Optimization of a Switched Reluctance Generator in Wind Systems”, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 406–419, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TEC.2017.2755590

P. J. dos Santos Neto, T. A. d. S. Barros, E. H. Catata, E. R. Filho, “Grid-Connected SRG Interfaced With Bidirectional DC-DC Converter in WECS”, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 3261–3270, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TEC.2021.3067500

J. Kennedy, R. Eberhart, “Particle swarm optimization”, in Proceedings of ICNN’95 - International Conference on Neural Networks, vol. 4, pp. 1942–1948 vol.4, 1995. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICNN.1995.488968

F. P. Scalcon, R. P. Vieira, H. A. Grundling, “PSO-Based Performance Optimization Procedure for Current-Controlled Switched Reluctance Generators in Wind Power Applications”, in IECON 2021 – 47th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, pp. 1–6, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/IECON48115.2021.9589390

S. M. R. Kazmi, H. Goto, H.-J. Guo, O. Ichinokura, “A Novel Algorithm for Fast and Efficient Speed-Sensorless Maximum Power Point Tracking in Wind Energy Conversion Systems”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 29–36, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2010.2044732

G. G. Koch, C. R. D. Osorio, H. Pinheiro, R. C. L. F. Oliveira, V. F. Montagner, “Design Procedure Combining Linear Matrix Inequalities and Genetic Algorithm for Robust Control of Grid-Connected Converters”, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 1896–1906, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2019.2959604

C. R. D. Os´orio, G. G. Koch, H. Pinheiro, R. C. L. F. Oliveira, V. F. Montagner, “Robust Current Control of Grid-Tied Inverters Affected by LCL Filter Soft-Saturation”, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 67, no. 8, pp. 6550–6561, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2019.2938474

Y. Shi, R. Eberhart, “A modified particle swarm optimizer”, in 1998 IEEE International Conference on Evolutionary Computation Proceedings. IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (Cat. No.98TH8360), pp. 69–73, 1998.

R. Eberhart, Y. Shi, “Particle swarm optimization: developments, applications and resources”, in Proceedings of the 2001 Congress on Evolutionary Computation (IEEE Cat. No.01TH8546), vol. 1, pp. 81–86 vol. 1, 2001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/CEC.2001.934374

D. Wang, D. Tan, L. Liu, “Particle swarm optimization algorithm: an overview”, Soft Computing, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 387–408, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-016-2474-6

B. Bilgin, J. Jiang, A. Emadi, Switched Reluctance Motor Drives: Fundamentals to Applications, CRC Press, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9780203729991

C. R. D. Osorio, R. P. Vieira, H. A. Grundling, “Sliding mode technique applied to output voltage control of the switched reluctance generator”, in IECON 2016 - 42nd Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, pp. 2935–2940, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/IECON.2016.7793709

C. R. D. Osorio, F. P. Scalcon, R. P. Vieira, V. F. Montagner, H. A. Grundling, “Robust Control of Switched Reluctance Generator In Connection With a Grid-Tied Inverter”, in 2019 IEEE 15th Brazilian Power Electronics Conference and 5th IEEE Southern Power Electronics Conference (COBEP/SPEC), pp. 1–6, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/COBEP/SPEC44138.2019.9065551

F. Pinarello Scalcon, T. Smidt Gabbi, R. Padilha Vieira, H. Ab´ılio Grundling, “Melhoria De Desempenho De Motores De Relutância Variável Via Algoritmo De Enxame De Partículas”, Eletrônica de Potência, vol. 25, no. 4, p. 492–502, Dec. 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.2020.4.0038

C. R. D. Osorio, F. P. Scalcon, G. G. Koch, V. F. Montagner, R. P. Vieira, H. A. Grundling, “Controle Robusto Aplicado a Geradores de Relutância Variável Conectados à Rede”, Eletrônica de Potência, vol. 25, no. 3, p. 272–282, Sep. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.2020.3.0015