18-862 Control of Grid-Connected Machines & Converters
Location: Africa
Units: 12
Semester Offered: Fall
Course discipline
ECE
Course concentration
Energy (Kigali)
Intelligent Physical Systems (Pittsburgh)
Course description
Electric machines are the backbone of power systems and any production process in the world. However, if uncontrolled or uncoordinated, they cause blackouts. Converters for renewables and electric vehicles are also challenging engineers to revisit and revise electric machine analysis and control. This course offers a classically-based, yet forward-looking understanding of electric machines, converters, their operation, control, and applications in vehicular technology and distributed generation, as well as their effects at a system level.
Learning objectives
Students in the course will examine how to:
- Derive dynamic models for power system elements
- Design electric vehicle motor and battery converter controls
- Select control parameters for each type of device to better serve secure power system operation
Outcomes
Students will gain an appreciation of how to elaborate and revise grid codes in response to technological advances and sector transformation. They will gain skills that enable them to analyze power system stability phenomena, identify contributing factors, and recommend how to mitigate them.
Content details
- Vector controls
- Park Transformation
- Induction and synchronous machine modeling and control
- Power system stability
- Grid code
- Blackouts
Prerequisites
Undergraduate course in electric circuits or linear systems or permission from the instructor.