Sliding Mode Input Current Control of the Synchronous DC-DC Buck Converter for Electro-Mechanical Actuator Emulation in More Electric Aircrafts

The main challenges of the input current control in synchronous DC-DC buck converters are the nonlinear model of the system, changes of the operating point in a wide range, and the need to use an input LC filter for current smoothing, which may result in the instability of the closed-loop system. In this paper, a step-by-step approach is developed for the design and improvement of a PI-feedforward closed-loop controller. It is shown that a linear PI controller cannot stabilize the closed-loop system properly during wide changes in model parameters, e.g., an equivalent series resistance of the input filter. To cope with the stability issues, a fixed-frequency sliding mode controller (SMC) has been developed in this paper for the implementation of an electro-mechanical actuator (EMA) emulator. Moreover, a systematic approach is proposed for controller tuning and the selection of the SMC’s gains. To achieve high power efficiency, high-frequency GaN switches are used for the practical implementation of the DC-DC converter. Despite large changes in the load current, the designed nonlinear controller can track the input current reference satisfactorily. Steady-state and dynamic responses of the proposed SMC are compared with conventional linear controllers. Considering the Lyapunov stability theorem, it is proved that the designed SMC can stabilize the closed-loop system in the entire utilizable domain. The proposed nonlinear SMC controller enjoys a very simple control law. Hence, despite having very high switching and sampling frequencies, it can be easily implemented. The experimental response of the designed synchronous DC-DC buck converter is evaluated experimentally by implementing the control strategy in a TMS320F28335PGFA DSP from Texas Instrument. Moreover, the comprehensive comparison of the proposed SMC controller and a PI-feedforward controller proved the superior performance of the developed closed-loop system, in terms of the transient time response, robustness, and stability of the EMA emulator.