An Analytical Solver for the Incremental Velocity Form of Model Predictive Control in Power Electronics and Electric Drives Applications

Model predictive control (MPC) has always generated interest for its multitasking ability and inherent control capability of inner state variables. The computational burden, which has been the main hurdle towards its broad application to power electronics and electric drives, is fading due to the increasing availability of high-speed microprocessors. However, there is still a strong push to narrow the gap between MPC and conventional linear regulators in terms of current quality and steady-state error. Continuous control set MPC in its incremental version could be the solution if we overcome the problem of real-time implementation in low-cost applications. As a contribution in this direction, the present paper proposes a quadratic solver that finds the analytical solution of the optimal voltage to be applied in a 2-level inverter while respecting the voltage hexagonal limit. As an example, the implementation of a current control MPC in the full-incremental velocity form is proposed, which guarantees offset-free current tracking without requiring any observer tuning.