Robust Optimal Control Design Procedure Based on Metaheuristics for Small Satellite Energy Subsystem

This paper presents an automatic design for a robust voltage controller, capable of providing optimized performance for power converters used in small satellite applications, subject to uncertain parameters. First, the converter is described by means of a set of linear models, to encompass operation under different load and input voltage conditions. Then, an automatic design procedure based on particle swarm optimization is proposed to obtain, offline, the gains of a proportional integral derivative controller, taking into account the delay of digital control implementation, robustness against parametric uncertainties, and usual specifications in the frequency domain. Hardware-in-the-loop results are explored to rapidly confirm the practical viability of the gains designed with the proposed procedure with high fidelity. Real-time domain tests are performed with the controller implemented in a commercial digital signal processor, showing suitable transient and steady state responses for this application, and also illustrating that the proposed procedure allows to achieve better results than a controller optimized only for a nominal plant model.