A Study of Experience Mapping Based Predictive Controller as Applied to Switching Converters

Abstract

Experience Mapping based Prediction Control (EMPC) is a new type of controller presented in literature, which is based on the concept of Human Motor Control (HMC). During the developmental phase, called the initial learning phase, the controller records the experience in a knowledge base, through online interactions with the system to be controlled. This knowledge base created using the experience maps is termed as Experience Mapped Knowledge Base (EMK). The controller envisages the development of EMK only through interaction with the system, without the need for knowledge of the detailed plant model. The EMPC controls the system through prediction of actions based on the mapped experiences of EMK. Depending on the nature of control required for the system chosen, various strategies can be used to achieve control using the EMK. The above controller has previously been utilized for motion control applications. In the present work an effort has been made to study the suitability of the EMPC for the voltage regulation of switching converters. The plant chosen for the control study is a discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) buck converter. The parameter to be monitored for the purpose of control is the load voltage. The control input from the EMPC to the converter is a duty ratio value based pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal. Two strategies of control have been proposed: steady state control and transient control. Steady state control action maintains the steady state output voltage at the required value for a given load. The transient control action is used to improve the transient performance of the system. Iterative predictive action and iterative transient actions are used to facilitate convergence of the output voltage to within the required range in presence of non-linearities and uncertainties in the system. Impulse action is introduced to further improve the transient performance of the system. The EMPC is compared a proportional-integral (PI) controller for the given DCM buck system.