Design control and implementation of a four-leg matrix converter for ground power supply application

The technology of direct AC/AC power conversion (Matrix Converters) is gaining increasing interest in the scientific community, particularly for aerospace applications. The aim of this research project is to investigate the use of direct AC/AC three phase four-leg Matrix Converter as ground power unit to supply aircraft with power during stopover or maintenance in airports. The converter fourth leg is used to provide a path for the zero sequence components when feeding unbalanced or non-linear loads. A high bandwidth controller is required to regulate the output voltage of Matrix Converter with a 400Hz output frequency. However, the controller bandwidth is limited due to the reduced ratio between the converter switching frequency and the fundamental frequency. In this case undesirable, periodic errors and distortion will exist in the output voltage above all in the presence of a non-linear or unbalanced load. Digital repetitive control system is proposed to regulate the output voltage of a four-leg Matrix Converter in an ABC reference frame. The proposed control structure introduces a high gain at the fundamental and its integer multiple frequencies. Using the proposed repetitive controller will reduce the tracking error between the output and the reference voltage, as well as increasing the stability of the converter under balanced and unbalanced load conditions. Simulation studies using SABER and MATLAB software packages show that the proposed controller is able to regulate the output voltage during balanced and unbalanced load conditions and during the presence of non-linear load. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller, an experimental prototype of a 7.5KW has been implemented in PEMC laboratory using DSP/FPGA platform to control the converter prototype. The steady state and the dynamic performance of the proposed control strategy are investigated in details, and extensive experimental tests have showed that the proposed controller was able to offer high tracking accuracy, fast transient response and able to regulate the output voltage during balanced, unbalanced and non-linear loading