Description
The energy transition from fossil to renewable energy sources is leading to disruptive electrification in a number of industries, with energy production and distribution and vehicle transportation at the top of the list. Innovative electric solutions are under development in almost all industry sectors, aiming to reduce energy consumption. In this scenario, advanced control solutions for electric drives (eDrives) are imperative, to deal with the new generation of electric motors and power electronic converters, especially those developed for 3D E-mobility (land, water, air). In particular, the new generation of motor control algorithms like the model predictive control (MPC) or the unified torque controllers for ac drives able to deal with the new eDrive solutions using high power density electric motors (eMotors) like PMSMs or the more recent EESMs. Besides, new testing procedures to accurately identify parameters and performance of traction eMotors are under development, thus towards the implementation of motor control algorithms aiming for efficiency maximization and full performance exploitation.
In parallel to transport electrification, most of the industrial processes are leading to a new generation of eDrive control algorithms aiming to energy-saving and performance optimization. This includes i) reducing costs to permit a large penetration of high efficient solution, e.g., through sensorless controllers, ii) optimizing motor efficiency, e.g., with high efficient eMotors like the synchronous reluctance machines, and iii) fully exploiting the motor performance and maximizing the efficiency, e.g., through plug-in control algorithms using advanced self-commissioning or self-learning procedures for parameters estimation.
Finally, the recent electrification process is deeply involving safety-critical applications like oil and gas, aircraft, or vessels, requiring advanced eDrive solutions using multiphase motors. This also permits the direct application of new power electronics technologies like those using wide band gap (WBG) devices (SiC and GaN) in high-power systems, replacing obsolete silicon based technologies. For instance, a key trend for this research line is the development of multi-three-phase drives, in which both the eMotor and power electronics converter are configured as multiple three-phase units, obtaining significant advantages in terms of reliability and performance.
ERC sectors
- PE7_2 Electrical engineering: power components and/or systems
- PE7_3 Simulation engineering and modelling
- PE7_12 Electrical energy production, distribution, applications
Keywords
- AC motor drives
- DC motor drives
- Traction motor drives
- Variable speed drives
- Motor control
- Digital control
- Torque and speed control
- Sensorless control
- Synchronous motor drives
- Induction motor drives
- Model predictive control (MPC)
- Deadbeat control
- Self-commissioning
- Motor parameters identification
- Flux and torque maps identification
- Motor efficiency mapping
- Multiphase motor drives
- Fault-tolerant control
- Plug-in control
- Electric drive testing
- State observer
- Online motor thermal model