Universal power converter for low power applications

Abstract

A novel power converter that can perform both voltage and frequency conversion was proposed. Inappropriate power supply can damage sensitive sub-components and render the connected device inoperable. Henceforth, the proposed voltage–frequency converter acts as an interface to plug any electrical device directly into an electrical socket and provide the voltage and frequency required. The converter used a synchronous reference frame proportional–integral (SRFPI) controller to regulate the instantaneous output voltage and to improve steady state performance. Because the PI controller works together with the synchronous reference frame controller, it is difficult to tune the PI control parameters. To overcome this issue, a new meta heuristic optimization technique called lightening search algorithm (LSA) optimization was used to identify the optimum PI parameter values. A detailed description of the system operation and control strategy was presented. Finally, the performance of the converter was analyzed and verified by simulation and experimental results. The experimental result has shown that the proposed system has satisfactory output voltage and frequency under different input voltages.