High‐performance high‐efficiency LED‐backlight driving system for LCD panels

Abstract— A high‐performance high‐efficiency LED‐backlight driving system for liquid‐crystal‐display panels is presented. The proposed LED‐backlight driving system is composed of a high‐efficiency DC‐DC converter capable of operating over a universal AC input voltage (75–265 V) and a high‐performance LED‐backlight sector‐dimming controller. The high efficiency of the system is achieved by using an asymmetrical half‐bridge DC‐DC converter that utilizes a new voltage‐driven synchronous rectifier and an LED‐backlight sector‐dimming controller. This controller regulates current using lossless power semiconductor switches (MOSFETs). The power semiconductor switches of the proposed DC‐DC converter, including the synchronous rectifier switch, operate with zero voltage, achieving high efficiency and low switch voltage stress using the asymmetrical‐PWM and synchronous rectifier techniques. To achieve high performance, the proposed driving system performs the sector dimming and the current regulation using low‐cost microcontrollers and MOSFET switching, resulting in high contrast and brightness. A100‐W laboratory prototype was built and tested. The experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed system.     

Observer‐based finite‐time output‐feedback controller for DC‐DC buck converters with unknown load variations

The output voltage regulation problem of a DC‐DC buck converter is investigated in this paper via an observer‐based finite‐time output‐feedback control approach. Considering the effects of unknown load variations and the case without current sensor, by using the technique of adding a power integrator and the idea of nonseparation principle, a finite‐time voltage regulation control algorithm via dynamic output feedback is designed. The main feature of the designed observer and controller does not need any load's information. Theoretically, it is proven that the output voltage can reach the desired voltage in a finite time under the proposed controller. The effectiveness of the proposed control method is illustrated by numerical simulations and experimental results.     

Output feedback control of a three‐phase four‐wire unified power quality conditioner

The increasing penetration of power electronics in electrical equipment entails a significant impact on the deterioration of power supply quality. In this paper, the problem of power quality is addressed for distorted three‐phase four‐wire power grids supplying non‐linear unbalanced loads. A unified power quality conditioner (UPQC) is considered to ensure satisfactory electrical energy quality. To this end, a UPQC controller is designed to meet four control objectives: i) compensation of the harmonics and the reactive load currents; ii) compensation for the harmonic voltages at the point of common coupling (PCC); iii) cancelation of the neutral current; iv) and regulation of the inverter DC voltage. The control design relies on the UPQC nonlinear model that accounts for the electrical grid line impedance. Unlike previous works, the proposed controller features an output‐feedback nature as it combines a nonlinear regulator, designed with a sliding‐mode technique, and a state observer designed using a Lyapunov stability based technique. The latter provides the former with online estimates of the series filter AC voltages, which are not assumed to be accessible to measurements. The closed loop error system is analyzed using the average stability approach. It turns out that all (tracking and estimation) errors are asymptotically vanishing, except for the DC bus voltage tracking error, which is periodic in steady‐state with an amplitude depending on the (DC bus) capacitor, the larger the capacitor the smaller the steady‐state DC voltage tracking error level. This theoretical result is confirmed by simulations involving wide range variations of the load current.     

Current‐mode control of DC–DC power converters: a backstepping approach

Current‐mode control is a robust industrial DC–DC power converter control scheme that has been successfully tested, is widely accepted, and is commonly implemented with conventional linear P and PI controllers. The need of more systematic designs with enhanced performance has motivated recent studies with linear and nonlinear advanced techniques, but the rigorous understanding and substantiation of the underlying key robust functioning capability are still lacking. In this paper, a constructive control approach is employed to study the current‐mode control problem of a class of DC–DC power converters, yielding a cascade control design methodology with: a robust convergence criterion coupled with a systematic and transparent construction‐tuning procedure, a rationale to explain the robust controller functioning, and a unified framework to interpret and compare the proposed controller with the existing conventional and advanced control designs. The implementation and functioning of the proposed control design is illustrated experimentally with a boost converter. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An asymptotically stable sensorless speed controller for non‐salient permanent magnet synchronous motors

A solution to the longstanding problem of sensorless control of an electrical machine is provided in this paper. That is, the construction of an asymptotically stable controller that regulates the mechanical speed of the motor, measuring only the electrical coordinates. The result is presented for a non‐salient permanent magnet synchronous motor perturbed by an unknown constant load torque. The proposed scheme is a fourth order nonlinear observer‐based controller that does not rely on—intrinsically nonrobust—operations like open‐loop integration of the systems dynamical model nor signal differentiation and can be easily implemented in real time. The controller is easy to commission, with the tuning gains directly determining the convergence rates of the position, speed, and load torque observers. Simulation and experimental results are presented. In particular, a comparison with a sensorless field‐oriented controller, recently proposed in the drives literature, is carried out. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Galerkin‐based sliding mode tracking control of non‐minimum phase DC‐to‐DC power converters

Output voltage control of nonlinear DC‐to‐DC power converters is handicapped by the non‐minimum phase character exhibited by these systems. The problem has been usually solved with indirect control strategies that work through the input current. In this article, we report a robust control methodology that uses Galerkin‐based sliding manifolds, which use full state reference profiles and an estimate of the disturbed load parameter. The sliding surface incorporates a first‐order Galerkin approximation of the input current that provides robustness to piecewise constant load perturbations by dynamic compensation: it allows on‐line accommodation to the action of the load estimator. This results in high‐accuracy tracking of periodic references at the output resistance of boost and buck‐boost converters. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A fast transient LED driver with adaptive frequency control according to load variation for large‐sized LCD backlights

A fast transient light‐emitting diode (LED) driver is proposed for large‐sized liquid crystal display TV backlights in attempt to shorten the recovery time and to reduce the voltage fluctuation, while maintaining a high power efficiency. The direct current‐direct current (DC–DC) converter in the proposed LED driver accurately detects the load variation using the dimming data and then adjusts the slew rate and operating frequency according to the detected load variation. Thus, it rapidly controls the turn‐on time of the power switch and then controls the inductor current so that the output of the proposed LED driver can be accurately regulated during the load transient time. To verify the performance of the proposed LED driver, a DC–DC converter and an expandable LED current controller were fabricated using a 0.35‐μm bipolar–complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)–double‐diffused metal–oxide–semiconductor (DMOS) process technology and assembled with 48 LED channels for measurement. The measurement results show that the proposed LED driver improves the recovery time and voltage fluctuation by 45.1% and 45.6%, respectively. In addition, it achieves a maximum power of 115.2 W and a maximum power efficiency of 89.2%. Therefore, the proposed LED driver is suitable for high‐end applications such as large‐sized LED TV backlight modules.     

Output‐Feedback Nonlinear Adaptive Control of Single‐Phase Half‐Bridge Ups Systems

We consider the problem of controlling single‐phase half‐bridge power converters in UPS systems operating in the presence of changing load. The control objective is twofold: (i) ensuring a satisfactory power factor correction (PFC) at the grid–UPS connection; (ii) guaranteeing a tight regulation of the DC bus voltage and the half‐bridge inverter output voltage despite changes in load. The considered control problem entails several difficulties including: (i) the high dimension and strong nonlinearity of the system; (ii) the numerous state variables that are inaccessible to measurements; (iii) the uncertainty that prevails on some system parameters. The problem is dealt with using a multi‐loop nonlinear adaptive control system that makes use of the backstepping design technique. The inner loop ensures the PFC objective and involves an adaptive observer estimating the grid voltage and impedance parameters. The intermediary loop regulates the inverter output voltage to its reference, which is a sinusoidal wave, and it also contains an observer estimating the current in the inverter coil. The outer loop regulates the DC bus voltage up to small size ripples. The controller performances are formally analyzed using system averaging theory.     

A Measurement‐Based Approach for Designing Fixed‐Order Controllers for Unknown Closed‐Loop Architecture

This paper presents a new technique to design fixed‐structure controllers for linear unknown systems using a set of measurements. In model‐based approaches, the measured data are used to identify a model of the plant for which a suitable controller can be designed. Due to the fact that real processes cannot be described perfectly by mathematical models, designing controllers using such models to guarantee some desired closed‐loop performance is a challenging task. Hence, a possible alternative to model‐based methods is to directly utilize the measured data in the design process. We propose an approach to designing structured controllers using a set of closed‐loop frequency‐domain data. The principle of such an approach is based on computing the parameters of a fixed‐order controller for which the closed‐loop frequency response fits a desired frequency response that describes some desired performance indices. This problem is formulated as an error minimization problem, which can be solved to find suitable values of the controller parameters. The main feature of the proposed control methodology is that it can be applied to stable and unstable plants. Additionally, the design process depends on a pre‐selected controller structure, which allows for the selection of low‐order controllers. An application of the proposed method to a DC servomotor system is presented to experimentally validate and demonstrate its efficacy.     

Performance Improvement of Fuel Cells Using Perturbation‐Based Extremum Seeking and Model Reference Adaptive Control

Nowadays, fuel cells (FCs) are considered suitable alternative sources for electrical energy applications. One major challenge encountered in FCs is relevant to the performance of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) under FC parameter changes and load variations. This challenge is due to the nonlinearity and time‐varying dynamics of FC systems. In this paper, the MPPT is studied in a system composed of a FC and a DC‐DC converter. To improve the performance of the MPPT, application of perturbation‐based extremum seeking (PES) and model reference adaptive control (MRAC) is proposed. This control scheme can efficiently handle the uncertainties in the FC as well as the load, through two control levels. The first level is PES utilized to adjust the duty cycle of the DC‐DC converter; and the second level is MRAC employed to achieve the desired dynamic response. Using the proposed control strategy, design and analysis of the control levels can be realized independently, which results in easy implementation. This is achieved due to considerable differences between the time constants of the control levels. The simulation results are utilized to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in response to the variations of FC parameters and load. Also, comparative studies with a combination of PES and PID controller are provided in the simulation.     

A comparison between the algebraic and the reduced order observer approaches for on‐line load torque estimation in a unit power factor rectifier‐DC motor system

In this article, a comparison between the performances of an online algebraic estimator and a reduced order observer is established in the context of adaptive load torque estimation in a controlled unit power factor rectifier‐DC motor system combination. A passivity‐based output feedback controller was constructed to regulate the angular speed while correcting the power factor of the mono phase boost rectifier. The proposed controller allowed us to compare the results of both on‐line estimation techniques. The experimental results show a superiority of the algebraic approach in which the angular velocity was maintained at the desired reference value by the adapted controller, even under severe load changes on the motor shaft, while the power factor was also kept at high values in the power supply system. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Hedge-algebra-based voltage controller for a self-excited induction generator

This paper presents an indirect rotor-flux-oriented (IRFO) control system of the self-excited induction generator (SEIG) in which excitation is achieved by means of a current-controlled voltage source inverter (CC-VSI) and a single electrolytic capacitor. In the proposed control scheme, both the iron losses and the magnetic saturation are taken into account and calculated online. The main objective is to keep the DC voltage across the capacitor constant and equal to the reference value, regardless of changes in the rotor speed and load. The study is mainly focused on the DC voltage control and, more specifically, on selection of the appropriate DC voltage controller. Besides considering widely accepted types of controllers, i.e., the classical PI controller and the fuzzy logic (FL) controller, this paper proposes an alternative solution – a new type of DC voltage controller based on hedge algebra. To our best knowledge, this is the first time that such a controller is considered for application in electrical engineering. The performance of the developed hedge algebra (HA) controller is evaluated through comparison with the optimal-tuned classical PI controller and the Sugeno-type FL controller. The simulation and experimental analysis are carried out in reasonably wide ranges of the DC voltage, load and rotor speed, including the case of a variable rotor speed. It is shown that the proposed HA controller provides superior performance in terms of tracking the reference DC voltage value as well as robustness to speed and load disturbances in the system.     

LMI‐Based Robust PID Controller Design for Voltage Control of Islanded Microgrid

This paper presents the design of a robust proportional integral derivative (PID) controller for the control of a single phase microgrid voltage. A microgrid consists of loads, distributed generation units and several power‐electronics interfaced LC filter and voltage source inverter. These loads are unknown and parameters are uncertain which produce unmodeled load dynamics. This unmodeled load dynamics reduces the voltage tracking performance of the microgrid. The proposed controller gives the robustness of the system with unmodeled load dynamics. Under different kinds of uncertainties, PID controller guarantees the stability and provides zero steady‐state error and fast transient response. The robustness and optimal performance of the controller is obtained by using linear matrix inequality approach. The performance of the controller under different uncertainties is studied. Results indicate the robustness and high voltage tracking performance of the microgrid system.     

Exponential Stability for Multi‐Area Power Systems with Time Delays Under Load Frequency Controller Failures

This paper investigates the exponential stability problem for a class of multi‐area power systems with time delays under load frequency controller failures (LFCFs). For describing the phenomenon of LFCFs, the considered multi‐area power system is rewritten as a switched system with multiple time delays. By adopting the switching technique, the exponential stability conditions for multi‐area power systems are developed when the controller failure frequency and the unavailability ratio of the controller are restricted. Finally, one example is given to show the applicability of the proposed method.     

FPGA‐based adaptive dynamic sliding‐mode neural control for a brushless DC motor

In the adaptive neural control design, since the number of hidden neurons is finite for real‐time applications, the approximation errors introduced by the neural network cannot be inevitable. To ensure the stability of the adaptive neural control system, a switching compensator is designed to dispel the approximation error. However, it will lead to substantial chattering in the control effort. In this paper, an adaptive dynamic sliding‐mode neural control (ADSNC) system composed of a neural controller and a fuzzy compensator is proposed to tackle this problem. The neural controller, using a radial basis function neural network, is the main controller and the fuzzy compensator is designed to eliminate the approximation error introduced by the neural controller. Moreover, a proportional‐integral‐type adaptation learning algorithm is developed based on the Lyapunov function; thus not only the system stability can be guaranteed but also the convergence of the tracking error and controller parameters can speed up. Finally, the proposed ADSNC system is implemented based on a field programmable gate array chip for low‐cost and high‐performance industrial applications and is applied to control a brushless DC (BLDC) motor to show its effectiveness. The experimental results demonstrate the proposed ADSNC scheme can achieve favorable control performance without encountering chattering phenomena. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

A nonlinear state‐feedback state‐feedforward tracking control strategy for a boiler‐turbine unit

A boiler‐turbine unit is a primary module for coal‐fired power plants, and an effective automatic control system is needed for the boiler‐turbine unit to track the load changes with the drum water level kept within an acceptable range. The aim of this paper is to develop a nonlinear tracking controller for the Bell‐Åström boiler‐turbine unit. A Takagi‐Sugeno fuzzy control system is introduced for the nonlinear modeling of the Bell‐Åström boiler‐turbine unit. Based on the Takagi‐Sugeno fuzzy models, a nonlinear tracking controller is developed, and the proposed control law is comprised of a state‐feedforward term and a state‐feedback term. The stability of the closed‐loop control system is analyzed on the basis of Lyapunov stability theory via the linear matrix inequality approach and Schur complement. Moreover, model uncertainties are also considered, and it is proved that with the proposed control law the tracking error converges to zero. To assess the performance of the proposed nonlinear state‐feedback state‐feedforward control strategy, a nonlinear model predictive control strategy and a linear strategy are presented as comparisons. The effectiveness and the advantages of the proposed nonlinear state‐feedback state‐feedforward control strategy are demonstrated by simulations.     

Fixed‐Time Synchronization of a Class of Second‐Order Nonlinear Leader‐Following Multi‐Agent Systems

The fixed‐time synchronization problem for a class of second‐order nonlinear multi‐agent systems with a leader‐follower architecture is investigated in this paper. To achieve the fixed‐time tracking task, the design procedure is divided into two steps. At the first step, a distributed fixed‐time observer is designed for each agent to estimate the leader's state in a fixed time. Then, at the second step, based on the technique of adding a power integrator, a fixed‐time tracking controller for each agent is proposed such that the estimate leader's state can be tracked in a fixed time. Finally, an observer‐based fixed‐time controller is developed such that the leader can be tracked by all the followers in a fixed time, which can be predetermined. Simulations are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Synchronization and tracking control for multi‐motor driving servo systems with backlash and friction

This paper presents a novel switching controller incorporated with backlash and friction compensations, which is utilized to achieve speed synchronization among multi‐motor and load position tracking. The proposed controller consists of two parts: synchronization and tracking control in contact mode and robust control in backlash mode, where a function characterizing whether backlash occurs is used for switching between two modes. Using the proposed switching controller, several control objectives are achieved. Firstly, the coupling problem of speed synchronization and load tracking in contact mode is addressed by introducing a switching plane. Secondly, based on the switching plane, an improved prescribed performance function is introduced to attain load tracking with prescribed performances, and L_∞ performance of speed synchronization is guaranteed by initialization method, maintaining the transient performance of synchronization behavior. Thirdly, the lumped uncertain nonlinearity including friction and other uncertain functions is compensated by Chebyshev neural network in contact mode. Furthermore, a robust control is adopted in backlash mode to make system traverse backlash at an exponential rate and simultaneously eliminate low‐speed crawling phenomenon of LuGre friction. Finally, comparative simulations on four‐motor driving servo system are provided to verify the effectiveness and reliability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis and design of single-phase power factor corrector with genetic algorithm and adaptive neuro-fuzzy-based sliding mode controller using DC–DC SEPIC

This paper proposes a methodology for single-phase power factor correction with DC–DC single-ended primary inductance converter (SEPIC) using cascade control strategy which comprises of genetic algorithm-based outer PI controller and an inner current controller which uses an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system-based sliding mode controller. DC–DC SEPIC is a fourth-order converter, and in order to reduce the complexity in controller design, reduced-order model of the original higher-order system is obtained by using Type-I Hankel matrix method. The performance of the proposed system is analysed using MATLAB/Simulink-based simulation studies. In order to ensure the robustness of the proposed controller, the performance parameters such as percentage total harmonic distortion, power factor, % voltage regulation, and % efficiency are analysed. From the simulation results, it is inferred that the proposed method provides efficient tracking of output voltage and effective source current shaping for load, line, and set point variations.

     

Continuous Finite‐Time Sliding Mode Control for Uncertain Nonlinear Systems with Applications to DC‐DC Buck Converters

This paper investigates the continuous finite‐time control problem of high‐order uncertain nonlinear systems with mismatched disturbances through the terminal sliding mode control method. By constructing a novel dynamic terminal sliding manifold based on the disturbance estimations of high‐order sliding mode observers, a continuous finite‐time terminal sliding mode control method is developed to counteract mismatched disturbances. To avoid discontinuous control action, the switching terms of a dynamic terminal sliding manifold are designed to appear only in the derivative term of the control variable. To validate its effectiveness, the proposed control method is applied to a DC‐DC buck converter system. The experimental results show the proposed method exhibits better control performance than a chattering free controller, such as mismatched disturbances rejection and smaller steady‐state fluctuations.