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Integrated Governor Control for a Diesel-Generating Set

David J. McGowan, D. John Morrow, Member, IEEE, and Brendan Fox
AbstractThis paper is concerned with the detailed implementation of real-time fuzzy logic speed control for a standby dieselgenerating set. The implementation platform is that of the Mathworks xPC Target. This rapid prototyping scheme permits the automatic cross-compiling of the nonreal-time Simulink control system model into real-time C code, which is executable on the xPC target PC. The digital governor xPC target hardware consists of a desktop PC with a National Instrument Input/Ouput card and a Softing Controller Area Network Card. The paper details the fuzzy control model and the methods with which to communicate with the engine control module. Tests were conducted on a 50-kVA diesel-generating set. The results show that the fuzzy controller is superior to the variable gain PID-type governor used by the conventional engine control module. Index TermsDiesel engine, digital governors, distributed generation, fuzzy control, real-time control.

Xq I, i Id Iq E V vl vt R L Fd min Fd max tf

q-axis synchronous reactance. Rotor angle. Current. d-axis current. q-axis current. Generated electro-motive force (EMF). Alternator terminal voltage. Voltage across inductor. Alternator terminal voltage. Resistance. Inductance. Maximum speed deviationload application. Maximum speed deviationload rejection. Disturbance settling time.

NOMENCLATURE Kepd Kepd Kepi Kepi Kev G Kpd Kpi Kv Ff Fr Far Fad Faq Nf If Xd PD-type fuzzy controllerinput speed error scaling. PD-type fuzzy controllerinput change in speed error scaling. PI-type fuzzy controllerinput speed error scaling. PI-type fuzzy controllerinput change in speed error scaling. Fuzzy voltage monitorinput voltage error scaling. Proportional output gain. PD-type fuzzy controlleroutput gain. PI-type fuzzy controlleroutput gain. Fuzzy voltage monitoroutput gain. Main eld magneto-motive force (MMF). Resultant MMF. Armature MMF. d axis MMF. q axis MMF. Number of turns on rotor. Field current. d axis synchronous reactance.

I. INTRODUCTION

Manuscript received March 7, 2005; revised July 20, 2005. This work is supported by the Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) under the Co-operative Awards in Science and Technology (CAST) award scheme in conjunction with FG Wilson and CAT electronics. Paper no. TEC-00081-2005. The authors are with the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT9 5AH, U.K. (e-mail: d.mcgowan@qub.ac.uk, dj.morrow@qub.ac.uk, b.fox@qub.ac.uk). Digital Object Identier 10.1109/TEC.2006.874247

RADITIONALLY, the engine speed of a diesel-generating set has been regulated by using a xed droop mechanical governor or by the use of an analog PID-type control circuit [1]. However, with the deregulation of utility supplies, the owners of diesel generators and renewable energy sources have seen an opportunity to exploit their investments to their full potential [2], [3]. This may be achieved by parallel operation with the electricity supply grid, which generally demands more advanced governor and automatic voltage regulation (AVR) systems to synchronize and operate the generator isochronously with the utility. In addition, in situations where a diesel-generating set is required to operate in standalone mode, power quality is an issue of increasing concern, i.e., the ability to maintain constant voltage and frequency with changing load. This is increasingly the case as manufacturers of generating sets deploy modern charge air and fuel delivery techniques to achieve higher real power output for a specic engine displacement. Previous work by the authors has shown that for such nonlinear systems, conventional PID strategies do not provide the control exibility necessary for optimum performance in all conditions [2]. Other research conducted by this group also in the eld of diesel-generating set control has concluded that fuzzy logic techniques can offer improved control of alternator terminal voltage compared with conventional PID techniques [4]. Furthermore, this control was readily implemented in an embedded microprocessor and also in a real-time PC in-the-loop development environment. As the ultimate objective of this work is integrate total control of a diesel-generating set, it was a logical choice to attempt to deploy fuzzy logic techniques for the implementation of a

0885-8969/$20.00 2006 IEEE

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governor. The use of fuzzy logic control algorithms provides a transparent description of control input/output relationships for the design team; it also allows the implementation of multiple inputs [5]. This approach can be used in the integration of the diesel generator controllers, for example, coordinated communication between the automatic voltage regulator and governor during transient load disturbance, integration of protection devices with fault prognosis and diagnosis, etc. Another potential advantage of an integrated generator controller is the exploitation of embedded generation for the provision of ancillary services for the network operator, as suggested by Joos et al. [6]. This paper examines the implementation of a hybrid fuzzy PID-type control system to govern the engine speed of a naturally aspirated diesel engine coupled to a salient 4-pole alternator. The paper shows results for the proposed controller in a basic form and also for an enhanced version with voltage inuenced capabilities. The hardware/software platform employed is the xPC Target real-time control environment developed by Mathworks. The controller algorithms are designed in software using Simulink, Stateow, or a combination of the two on a host desktop PC. The xPC Target toolbox allows the Simulink control model to be compiled into C code, which is downloadable to the real-time xPC target PC. The real-time xPC Target environments hardware consists of a standard desktop or industrial PC with various I/O cards, which provide the controller algorithm with a number of realtime input and control output functions. The I/O card used for the work is the National Instruments PCI 6025E. This provides digital I/O, analog I/O, and counter functions, which are ideal for engine speed measurement. The communication channel between the target PC and the engine control module (ECM) is via a controller area network (CAN) using a Softing CAN card based on a 29-bit CAN protocol. This rapid prototyping system is known industrially as hardware in the loop testing, the purpose of which is to speed up the development time required to test and tune new control algorithms. The conventional variable gain controller used on the test engine ECM has very good performance using the traditional governor input of speed error to determine the fuel quantity required for the next combustion cycle of the engine. This paper examines the feasibility of implementing a modern control strategy based on fuzzy logic to allow the use of other governor control inputs. Tests have shown that with resistive load application, the alternator terminal voltage is more rapidly affected by load disturbance than by the engine speed. It is thus suggested that a proportional voltage control input could be used to preemptively increase the fuel delivered to the engine cylinders to help minimize speed excursion from the desired set point speed. Testing was conducted at Queens University Belfast on a 50kVA generating set with a 4-cylinder naturally aspirated electronic engine. The generator can be loaded with full load at various power factors.

Fig. 1.

An illustration of the actual test-bed layout.

II. xPC PLATFORM DETAILS A. The xPC Software Requirements The various software packages and toolboxes that are required to build system models, compile real-time executable C code, and provide the necessary CAN protocol identiers are: Mathworks MATLAB 6.5 Mathworks Simulink 5.0 Mathworks Real-Time Workshop 5.0 Mathworks xPC Target 2.0 Mathworks Stateow Mathworks Stateow Coder CAT RPAC Toolbox for xPC Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0. B. xPC Hardware Requirements Fig. 1 is an illustration of the actual test-bed hardware layout. The hardware requirements are as follows: Host desktop PC: used to develop a system model using Simulink or Stateow, and then to auto-compile the model into C source code, which can be downloaded to the xPC target PC. Target desktop PC: used to run the C source code in real time. This PC also contains the I/O cards for interfacing with the real world. National Instruments PCI 6025E I/O card: digital outputs are used to switch the load contactors on or off. Analog inputs are used to sample phase voltage. The counter functions on the card were used to measure engine speed. Softing CAN card: used to communicate with the ECM via the controller area network. LAN (TCP/IP) or serial (RS232) connection: the hardwired connection between the host PC and the xPC target PC used to download the C source code. III. xPC FUZZY LOGIC GOVERNOR The role of a governor for a diesel-generating set when operated in isolation from the mains utility supply is to maintain the nominal frequency of the alternator terminal voltage. This is

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IV. SIMULINK FUZZY CONTROLLER MODEL The Simulink model used is illustrated in Fig. 3. The above Simulink model shows the main subsystems of the controller and ECM interface. The controller subsystem is where the fuzzy logic control algorithm resides. The ECM interface subsystem contains the RPAC CAN protocol (provided courtesy of CAT Electronics), which allows the reading and writing of CAN messages to the CAN bus. The RPAC trigger and RPAC conguration subsystems allow hardware initialization and synchronization of CAN information between the xPC Target and the engine ECM. A. Controller Subsystem Fig. 4 illustrates the layout of the Simulink governor model. The conventional governor inputs of actual speed and desired speed are available to the hybrid PID-type fuzzy controller subsystem. The voltage input is also available to the fuzzy controller. This voltage measurement is a rectied 3-phase average value measured from the terminals of the alternator. This method of voltage measurement was used so that load disturbance could be detected in the event of phase imbalance. The output of the hybrid PID-type fuzzy controller subsystem is the new fueling quantity that is sent to the engines ECM via the CAN bus. The CAN message variable name is fuel ov. B. Hybrid PID-Type Fuzzy Controller Fig. 5 illustrates the structure used to implement the governor. It was a hybrid PID-type fuzzy controller with a fuzzy voltagemonitoring subsystem in parallel. This subsystem consists of four main control structures: 1) A PD fuzzy controller 2) A PI fuzzy controller 3) A proportional gain term 4) A fuzzy voltage monitor. The parallel combination of the PD and PI control structures reduces the complexity of the fuzzy PID controller by reduction of the rule base [4], [8]. The proportional gain term is used to aid the tuning of the controller algorithm by enabling the input scaling factors to be xed. The fuzzy voltage monitor subsystem is a proportional controller, which activates only during transient conditions, thus adjusting the fuel delivered to the engine during resistive load application. C. Why Use Voltage? Voltage was chosen as an additional input to the governor control scheme, as during resistive load disturbances both engine speed and voltage are affected. Speed error: this is caused due to real power load disturbances. For example, a resistive load applied to the alternator demands extra electrical energy. However, there will be a shortfall in the kinetic energy supplied by the engine due to insufcient fuel delivered to the combustion chamber. This causes the engine to decelerate. The inertia of the generating unit determines

Fig. 2. Block representation of digital governor using CAN for closed loop control.

achieved by controlling the fuel quantity delivered to the engine combustion chamber. The international standard ISO8528 Part 5 is used by diesel engine and generating set manufacturers to classify the performance class of a particular generating set in relation to voltage and frequency regulation [7]. This standard provides a guide to the performance of an improved governor algorithm. The xPC target system was chosen as a exible development platform to test and tune the fuzzy logic algorithm. The fuzzy control algorithm used the engine speed error, change in engine speed error, and the 3-phase rectied average terminal voltage value to control the fueling quantity (mg) delivered to the injectors of the engine. Fig. 2 is a block diagram representation of the control strategy used to govern the speed of the diesel generator. The engine data available on the ECM, such as engine speed reference, desired fuel, etc., are retrieved by the CAN card installed in the xPC target PC. The actual engine speed is measured as follows: A magnetic pickup is used to generate a sinusoidal voltage waveform at 3150 Hz (a function of the number of teeth on the ywheel and the speed of the engine). A buffered Schmitt trigger circuit converts this waveform into a square wave. An xPC counter function is implemented to calculate the period of the square wave. The measured engine speed is used to determine the engine speed error and change in engine speed error. The additional input to the governor is a 3-phase rectied average terminal voltage value, calculated as follows: Each phase voltage is stepped down to a voltage within the range of the analog input on the PCI-6025E card. Each phase voltage is then sampled by the analog input. The rectication and averaging of the 3-phase voltages is conducted within the xPC target PC. The speed error, change in speed error, and voltage error values can then be processed by the fuzzy control algorithm to calculate a new fueling quantity in mg. This fueling quantity is sent via the CAN bus to the engine ECM: the CAN message name is fuel ov. The ECM processes this fuel quantity value to ensure that smoke and torque limits are not exceeded. The ECM then communicates with the Bosch fuel pump to deliver the desired amount of fuel to the injectors.

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Fig. 3.

The Simulink model.

Fig. 4.

The Simulink governor model.

the deceleration. It is the magnitude of speed error that the engine governor can then act upon to increase the fuel quantity of the engine and hence increase the kinetic energy of the engine. Voltage error: this is introduced due to a number of factors when a complex load is applied to the alternator. 1) Armature reaction: this is due to the need for the synchronous machine to increase the rotor eld current If to meet the increase in demanded main eld MMF (Ff ). This is shown in Fig. 6. The main eld MMF Ff depends on several factors. Equation (1) shows the relationship between Ff to the eld current If and the number of rotor turns Nf . Ff = Nf If (AT). (1)

Fig. 5.

Hybrid PID-type fuzzy controller with fuzzy voltage monitoring.

The rotor angle is regarded as the real power load angle and is the angle between the generated EMF phasor E, which is induced by the main eld MMF Ff , and the terminal voltage phasor V , which is produced due to the resultant MMF Fr . The Far MMF is termed the armature reaction MMF.

2) Internal voltage drops within the alternator due to the relationship between the output current and the internal synchronous reactance of the alternator. As the testing was conducted on a salient pole alternator, the output current I can be resolved into two components Id and Iq , giving voltage drops across Xd and Xq . This is illustrated in Fig. 7. The application of a real power load affects load angle . These factors demand that the eld current must be regulated to the rotor of the alternator to maintain the nominal terminal voltage. The response time of the engine speed is therefore dependent on the inertia of the engine, ywheel, and alternator rotor combination, while the voltage response is dependent on the electromagnetic characteristics of the alternator. The mechanical inertia tends to have a slower time constant than that of

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Fig. 8. Comparison of the engine speed and voltage errors for a 33-kW unity power factor load application test.

Fig. 6. Space vector diagram of the MMF elds produced in a salient pole alternator due to the generated current in the stator.

Fig. 9.

Basic representation of test circuit.

Fig. 7. Time vector diagram for a salient pole alternator (internal resistance neglected).

To further reinforce this concept, the voltage waveforms were examined closely. The test procedure was to step a 33-kW unity power factor load into the open-circuited 50-kVA alternator. Fig. 9 is a basic representation of the test circuit. The inductor represents the voltage drop v1 within the alternator due to the internal impedances Xd and Xq . The terminal voltage vt appears across the load resistance. Due to the fact that an alternator is an inductive source, the terminal voltage vt must obey Faradays law [9] di . dt The terminal voltage is given by vl = L vt = iR. (2)

the electromagnetic system. This is illustrated in Fig. 8 for the 50-kVA generating set. The error plots recorded were for a 33-kW load application. A conventional speed error governor and an analog AVR were used during the test. From Fig. 8, it can be seen that the regulated voltage response is faster than the regulated engine speed response. The gure illustrates the fact that the maximum error magnitude of the voltage is detected more rapidly than the maximum engine speed error. It is apparent that there is substantial inertial response in the deceleration of the engine compared to the voltage reduction. This inertial response can be attributed to the energy dissipation of the ywheel. These test results prompted use of the voltage error as a preemptive fueling input for the governor control algorithm. This early load detection would provide an additional fueling quantity boost in the initial stages of load disturbance, thus enabling minimization of the maximum speed excursion.

(3)

The inductive nature of the alternator does not permit an instantaneous change in output current (2). Equation (4) expresses the relationship between the generated voltage E, the terminal voltage vt , and the load current i E = vt + L di dt (4)

di . (5) dt The terminal voltage vt must therefore collapse to zero for an instant so that the relationship between output voltage and current, dened by (5), is maintained. vt = iR = E L

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Fig. 10. Voltage collapse on a 50-kVA alternator33-kW unity power factor load application.

Fig. 11. Speed and fueling response for a 33-kW unity power factor load application. Implemented governor algorithmvariable gain PID.

Fig. 10 shows a recording of the terminal voltages when a 33-kW resistive load was applied to the open-circuited 50-kVA alternator. It is apparent from Fig. 10 that the L1 phase voltage collapses to zero on application of the load. This collapse occurred 20 ms after the load on/off signal was sent to energize the 3-pole load contactor coil. The 20-ms time delay can be attributed to the delay between signaling and the actual closing of the contactor. The corresponding time for the detection of the engine speed error for the load step occurred at 60 ms. This shows that the terminal voltage error can be obtained faster than the engine speed error. V. RESISTIVE LOAD TESTING The testing procedure involved resistive load step testing on actual plant. A 4-cylinder naturally aspirated diesel engine coupled to a 50-kVA alternator had various loads applied and rejected to test the engine speed disturbance response. The G3 performance classication in ISO8528 Part 5 was used as a standard of comparison to compare the performance of an industrially developed variable gain PID governor and the hybrid PID-type fuzzy governor. The following gures display the test results for the comparison of the variable gain PID governor and the hybrid PID-type fuzzy controller with voltage monitoring. It may be seen from Figs. 11 and 12 that the use of a fuzzy voltage inuence reduces the maximum speed deviation during load acceptance. Table I shows that the standard variable gain PID governor complies with the G3 performance class specied in the ISO8528 Part 5 with a load step of approximately 80% of the rated capacity of the generating set. The hybrid PID-type fuzzy governor with voltage inuence can signicantly reduce the maximum speed deviation during the approximate 80% load application. This value is 2.8% within the ISO8528 Part 5 G3 classication limit. Further testing showed that the hybrid PID-type fuzzy governor with voltage inuence meets the G3 performance classication limits for a 100% resistive load application. The results are promising for resistive load applications. However, the governor must also offer enhanced performance during

Fig. 12. Speed and fueling response for a 33-kW unity power factor load application. Implemented governor algorithmhybrid PID-type fuzzy with voltage inuence. TABLE I COMPARISON OF VARIABLE PID GAIN AND HYBRID PID TYPE FUZZY GOVERNOR WITH VOLTAGE INFLUENCE

low power factor load applications, i.e., loads with an inductive element such as induction motors. VI. INDUCTIVE LOAD TESTS Inductive tests were conducted to examine the engine speed disturbance response during reactive load application.

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Fig. 13. Engine speed response due to a 30-kVA zero power factor load applicationtraditional governor and AVR, no co-ordination.

Fig. 15. Comparison of governors with variable gain PID and with hybrid PIDtype fuzzy controller with voltage inuence11-kW-locked rotor induction motor test.

B. Locked Rotor Induction Motor Test The chosen load application was an 11-kW-locked rotor induction test with a steady-state power factor of 0.5. Once again, the load was applied to the open-circuited 50-kVA alternator coupled to a 4-cylinder naturally aspirated engine. Fig. 15 illustrates the comparison of the engine speed response when using the variable gain PID controller and the hybrid PID-type fuzzy controller. The plots reveal that the use of voltage as the only supplementary input to the governor algorithm can once again lead to an undesirable control action at the start of the speed recovery. The voltage decrease at the start of the transient response is dominating the control action, due to the inductive element of the applied load. VII. CONCLUSION A. Zero Power Factor Load Test Although a zero power factor load is unrealistic in an industrial application, the tests were conducted to examine the effect of a highly reactive load application on the engine transient speed response. With a traditional engine speed governor and AVR, the expected engine speed response for a zero power factor application is shown in Fig. 13. Fig. 14 highlights a deciency in the use of voltage as a supplemental control input to the governor. The increase in the fueling quantity at the start of the transient is entirely due to the voltage monitor controller responding to the voltage error. This fueling response is not required, as a comparison with Fig. 13 shows. With traditional control techniques, the speed deviation during application of a 30-kVA zero power factor load is small compared with the 33-kW resistive load application shown in Fig. 12. The speed deviation in an inductive load application can be attributed to the I 2 R power losses within the alternator. It is clear that a suitable method for determining the real power component of the complex load should be used. A proposal for future work is that load power factor could be calculated and then utilized to ascertain the real power component of the complex load being applied. From Table I, it is apparent that the use of voltage inuence during transient real power load disturbances can be benecial in the minimization of engine speed excursion. This is desirable from a generating set manufacturers perspective, as the generating set can be marketed to improve frequency regulation at larger load application values while still conforming to the ISO8528 part 5 G3 performance class. Another advantage may be that if a customer requires a certain frequency error tolerance, the generating set manufacturer may be able to use a smaller engine before the engine may have been oversized to meet the customer requirement. This could in essence lead to better utilization of raw materials, reduced cost of the generating set, improved efciencies, etc. The work conducted has initially proved successful in minimization of maximum speed excursion for resistive load application. Further tests using complex load steps, however, demonstrated that the use of voltage inuencing only during transient load disturbances caused undesirable overshoots at the start of the response. The work must therefore seek a suitable control input, such as power or power factor, which can determine the real power component of the complex load, thus minimizing the proportional voltage inuence during low power factor load applications.

Fig. 14. 30-kVA zero power factor load applicationhybrid PID-type fuzzy governor with voltage inuence.

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REFERENCES
[1] G. C. Gant and G. J. Alves, Progress in electronic control of large diesel engines, Trans. ASME, vol. 112, pp. 280286, Jul. 1990. [2] D. J. McGowan and D. J. Morrow, A digital PID speed controller for a diesel generating set, in Proc. IEEE Power Engineering Soc. Summer Meeting, vol. 3, Toronto, 2003, pp. 14771482. [3] K. Pandiaraj, B. Fox, D. J. Morrow, S. Persaud, and J. P. Martin, Centralized control of diesel gen-sets for peak shaving and system support, in IEE Proc.Generation, Transmission and Distribution, vol. 149, no. 2, Mar. 2002, pp. 126132. [4] M. G. Mcardle, D. J. Morrow, P. A. J. Calvert, and O. Cadel, A hybrid PI and PD type fuzzy logic controller for automatic voltage regulation of the small alternator, in Proc. IEEE Power Engineering Society Summer Meeting, vol. 3, Vancouver, 2001, pp. 13401345. [5] H. Ying, Theory and application of a novel fuzzy PID controller using a simplied Takagi-Sugeno rule scheme, Inf. Sci., vol. 123, pp. 281293, 2000. [6] G. Joos, B. T. Ooi, D. Mcgillis, F. D. Galiana, and R. Marceau, The potential of distributed generation to provide ancillary services, in Proc. IEEE Power Engineering Society Summer Meeting, vol. 3, Montreal, 2000, pp. 17621767. [7] ISO8528-51993: Reciprocating internal combustion engine driven alternating current generating setsPart 5: Specication for Generating Sets, 1993. [8] J.-X. Xu, C.-C. Hang, and C. Liu, Parallel structure and tuning of a fuzzy PID controller, Automatica, vol. 36, pp. 673684, 2000. [9] E. Hughes, I. M. Smith, J. Hiley, and K. Brown, HughesElectrical and Electronic Technology, 8th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pearson, PrenticeHall, 2002.

D. John Morrow (M99) was born in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, in 1959. He received the B.Sc and Ph.D. degrees from the Queens University Belfast, Belfast, U.K., in 1982 and 1987, respectively. Since 1987, he has been a Lecturer in electric power with research and consulting interests in electric power systems, power system instrumentation, and gen-set controllers. Dr. Morrow is a member of the IEE (U.K.) and also a member of the IEEE PES Excitation Systems Subcommittee working group since 1999.

Brendan Fox received the B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Queens University Belfast, U.K., in 1966 and 1969, respectively. He is currently a Reader in the same university. His research interests are power system operation and control, high voltage engineering, and wind power integration. He is an Honorary Editor of the IEE Proceedings on Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Mr. Fox is a member of the IEE (U.K.).

David J. McGowan was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, in 1979. He received the B.S. degree in 2001, the B.Eng. degree (First Class) in electrical and electronic engineering, and the Ph.D. degree in 2004, from the Queens University Belfast, Belfast, U.K. He is a Research Assistant in the Electric Power and Energy Systems Research Group, Queens University Belfast. Dr. McGowan is a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.