A Neural-Network-Based Model Predictive Control of Three-Phase Inverter With an Output LC Filter
This is an incremental improvement for power electronics applications, addressing computational efficiency in inverter control.
The paper tackles the computational burden of model predictive control (MPC) for three-phase inverters by combining it with a feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN) to reduce total harmonic distortion (THD) and improve performance. Simulation results show the ANN-based controller achieves excellent steady-state and dynamic performance compared to MPC under various load conditions.
Model predictive control (MPC) has become one of the well-established modern control methods for three-phase inverters with an output LC filter, where a high-quality voltage with low total harmonic distortion (THD) is needed. Although it is an intuitive controller, easy to understand and implement, it has the significant disadvantage of requiring a large number of online calculations for solving the optimization problem. On the other hand, the application of model-free approaches such as those based on artificial neural networks approaches is currently growing rapidly in the area of power electronics and drives. This paper presents a new control scheme for a two-level converter based on combining MPC and feed-forward ANN, with the aim of getting lower THD and improving the steady and dynamic performance of the system for different types of loads. First, MPC is used, as an expert, in the training phase to generate data required for training the proposed neural network. Then, once the neural network is fine-tuned, it can be successfully used online for voltage tracking purpose, without the need of using MPC. The proposed ANN-based control strategy is validated through simulation, using MATLAB/Simulink tools, taking into account different loads conditions. Moreover, the performance of the ANN-based controller is evaluated, on several samples of linear and non-linear loads under various operating conditions, and compared to that of MPC, demonstrating the excellent steady-state and dynamic performance of the proposed ANN-based control strategy.