Prototyping Power Electronics Systems with Zynq-Based Boards Using Matlab/Simulink—A Complete Methodology

Abstract

Many advanced power electronics control techniques present a steep computational load, demanding advanced controllers, such as FPGAs. However, FPGA development is a daunting and time-consuming task, inaccessible to most users. This paper proposes a complete methodology for prototyping power electronics with Xilinx Zynq-based boards using Matlab/Simulink and HDL Coder. Even though these tools are relatively well documented, and several works in the literature have used them, a methodology for developing power electronics systems with them has never been proposed. This paper aims to address that, by proposing a complete programming and design methodology for Zynq-based power electronics and discussing important drawbacks and hurdles in Simulink/HDL Coder development, as well as their possible solutions. In addition, techniques for the implementation of all required peripherals (ADCs, digital outputs, etc.), system protections, and real-time data acquisition on Zynq boards are presented. This methodology considerably reduces the development time and effort of power electronics solutions using Zynq-based boards. In addition, a demonstration Simulink model is provided with all proposed techniques and protections, for use with a readily available development board (Zedboard) and ADC modules. This should further reduce the learning curve and development effort of this type of solution, contributing to a broader access to high-performance control prototyping using Zynq-based platforms. An application example is presented to demonstrate the potential of the proposed workflow, using a Zedboard to control a multilevel UPS inverter prototype with Model Predictive Control.

Reduction of DC Capacitor Size in Three-Phase Input/Single-Phase Output Power Cells of Multi-Cell Converters through Resonant and Predictive Control: A Characterization of Its Impact on the Operating Region

“…The proposed controller has a high bandwidth that enables fast tracking of the non-sinusoidal reference currents, with better performance than the PI regulators previously proposed in the literature [19], without requiring a complex tuning process or a modulation stage [24,25]. Indeed, among high bandwidth controllers for power converters, predictive control strategies have been in high development during at least the past ten years due to the increase in hardware capability that allows the implementation of elaborate algorithms with a high computational burden [26][27][28][29][30]. In particular, the FCS-MPC strategy stands out by its simple and intuitive implementation [31] and the continuous research for new solutions that allow improving characteristics related to parameter mismatch [32][33][34], switching frequency [35,36], harmonic spectra [31,[37][38][39][40], and steady-state error [41][42][43], among others.…”