Robust Predictive Speed Regulation of Converter-Driven DC Motors via a Discrete-Time Reduced-Order GPIO

Converter-driven direct current (dc) motors exhibit various advantages in industry, but impose several challenges to higher precision speed regulation in the presence of parametric uncertainties and exogenous, time-varying load torque disturbances. In this paper, the robust predictive speed regulation problem of a generic dc-dc buck converter-driven permanent magnet dc motors is addressed by using an output feedback discrete-time model predictive control algorithm. A new discrete-time reduced-order generalized proportional-integral observer (GPIO) is proposed to reconstruct the virtual system states as well as the lumped disturbances. The estimates of GPIO are then collected for output speed prediction. An optimized duty ratio law of the converter is obtained by solving a constrained receding horizon optimization problem, where the operational constraint on control input is explicitly taken into account. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed new algorithm is demonstrated by various experimental testing results.