Abstract

Optimal control of islanded microgrids is crucial as renewable penetration and power electronic converters become dominant. When a microgrid is disconnected from the main grid, the voltage source inverter must tightly regulate voltage and frequency while supplying rapidly changing loads. In this talk, we explore state-space control of a three-phase inverter with an RL output filter and compare two advanced strategies: classical Linear Quadratic Regulation (LQR) and Integrator-Augmented LQR (ILQR). Metaheuristic optimization techniques—Genetic Algorithms, Particle Swarm Optimization, and Differential Evolution—are used to automatically tune the LQR/ILQR weighting matrices by minimizing a performance index based on tracking error and control effort. Emphasis is placed on how integral action improves steady-state accuracy and disturbance rejection, and why different optimizers lead to different convergence speed and robustness. Simulation-based case studies highlight the impact on overshoot, settling time, and steady-state error under step changes in load. The talk concludes with practical guidelines for implementing optimized ILQR controllers in real-time microgrid controllers.

About the Speaker

Mr. Khidir Mohamed is a Research Assistant and M.Sc. candidate in Systems and Control Engineering in the Control and Instrumentation Engineering Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Control) from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. His research interests include intelligent control, optimization, and automation for power and energy systems. He has authored and presented peer-reviewed IEEE and journal papers on metaheuristic-based load frequency control and microgrid dynamics. He has industrial and teaching experience in PLCs, SCADA, and VSDs.