Electric drives and renewable energy

Scope

This lab encompasses technical equipment and several test benches to perform research on the generation, conversion, storage, distribution, and efficient use of electrical energy. In particular, this lab allows performing research on the following topics:
– Design and realization of power electronic converters with high efficiency, high power density, high dynamic performance, high conversion gain, high Power Quality, and low EMI
– Modelling, identification, and intelligent control of renewable energy sources (PV, wind, and fuel cells) and storage systems (batteries and supercapacitors)
– Modelling, identification, and intelligent control of rotating/linear electrical drives, including observers, sensorless algorithms, and electrical losses minimization techniques (ELMT)
– Hardware emulation of Lithium batteries, PV systems, and prime movers (e.g., diesel engine, wind turbine, marine current turbine)
– Smart distribution grids for houses, buildings, and terrestrial/marine vehicles
– Efficiency increase using forecasting techniques and Energy Management Systems

Main characteristics

Test bench for Rotating Induction Machine (RIM) drives	equipped with electrical machines of different kinds (induction machine, PMSM machine, BLDC machine, Synchrel machine, etc.) up to 5 kW
Test bench for Linear Induction Motor (LIM) drives	equipped with a 1.4 kW Baldor LIM (motor) and an 850 W Emerson brushless IMPM drive (active load)
Prototype of smart DC microgrid	up to 400 V DC, 3 kW, with emulated PV generators and wind turbines, Lithium-Ion battery, programmable electronic load, and connection to the national grid, including protection and communication devices
Small solar simulator	including metal-halide lamps, reaching 700 W/m² on a 50 x 50 cm² area, and a Labview-based I-V curve tracer
Power Electronic Converters	several designed and realized power electronic converters (DC/DC, DC/AC, etc.) for interfacing generators, storage systems, and loads with conventional/smart grids in stationary and onboard applications, including their EMI filters
Technical instruments	a comprehensive set of technical instruments for electrical and electronic measurements in time and frequency domains (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, power wattmeters, etc.)
Embedded platforms	several embedded platforms for implementing the algorithms under test, such as dSPACE, N.I. cDAQ, STM32, Raspberry Pi, Altera/Xilinx FPGA, and SoC