Design and Implementation of CRONE Controller for Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) System

Automatic voltage regulator (AVR) systems are critically required in many systems such as hydro, gas, steam turbines and engines. Effective control of an AVR system is complex and challenging due to its unstable open loop response characteristics. The AVR system is required to sustain appropriate voltage levels in spite of fluctuations in the main supply. Hence, the AVR system needs to be primarily designed for stability. This paper presents design implementation of the first and second generations of CRONE controllers (Commande Robuste d'Ordre Non Entier) for an AVR system. CRONE is a non-integer order robust controller which is far more effective than the standard PID controllers as it offers better tuning and flexibility in controlling the AVR process. In the present study, various time-domain performance criteria with and without controller were simulated to validate the accomplishment of AVR CRONE controllers. The proposed control procedure for enhancing AVR systems' efficiency has been shown to be effective and better in terms of improved phase and gain margins.