As a result of the development of modern vehicles, even higher accuracy standards are demanded. As known, Inertial Navigation Systems have an intrinsic increasing error which is the main reason of using integrating navigation systems, where some other sources of measurements are utilized, such as barometric altimeter due to its high accuracy in short times of interval. Using a Robust Kalman Filter (RKF), error measurements are absorbed when a Fault Tolerant Altimeter is implemented. During simulations, in order to test the Nonlinear RKF algorithm, two kind of measurement malfunction scenarios have been taken into consideration; continuous bias and measurement noise increment. Under the light of the results, some recommendations are proposed when integrated altimeters are used.

This paper describes a fault-tolerant controller (FTC) of induction motor (IM) with inter-turn short circuit in stator phase winding. The fault-tolerant controller is based on the indirect rotor field oriented control (IRFOC) and an observer to estimate the motor states, the amount of turns involved in short circuit and the current in the short circuit. The proposed fault controller switches between the control of the two components of measured stator current in the synchronously rotating reference frame and the control of the two components of estimated current in the case of faulty condition when the estimated current in the short circuit is not destructive of motor winding. This technique is used to eliminate the speed and the rotor flux harmonics and to assure the decoupling between the rotor flux and torque controls. The results of the simulation for controlling the speed and rotor flux of the IM demonstrate the applicability of the proposed FTC.

Diode neutral point clamped (NPC) three-level converters have been widely used in recent years. Aiming at the problems of the high device failure rate and unstable neutral point potential of NPC three-level converters, an NPC three-level circuit with fourth bridge arm redundancy is proposed based on the traditional NPC three-level converter. The redundant fourth bridge arm is used to realize the function of stabilizing voltage when there is no fault and replacing the fault half-bridge arm to maintain the continuous operation of the converter when there is a fault. By analyzing the working principle of space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) and the power loss of the switch, it is of particular significance to the design and control of NPC three-level converters in the future. Matlab/Simulink verifies the feasibility of the fault-tolerant circuit structure.

In nuclear facilities, the reading of the sensors is very important in the assessments of the system state. The existence of an abnormal state could be caused by a failure in the sensor itself instead of a failure in the system. So, being unable to identify the main cause of the “abnormal state” and take proper actions may end in unnecessary shutdown for the nuclear facility that may have expensive economic consequences. That is why, it is extremely important for a supervision and control system to identify the case where the failure in the sensor is the main cause for the existence of an abnormal state. In this paper, a system based on a wireless sensor network is proposed to monitor the radiation levels around and inside a nuclear facility. A new approach for validating the sensor readings is proposed and investigated using the Castalia simulator.

In order to develop a PM BLDC motor control system, which will be tolerant of selected faults, simulation work was first performed and then verified on a universal test stand. The results were published in earlier works. The next stage of works was the implementation of previously developed algorithms on the target research test stand – in this case, the prototype vehicle. This last stage of the laboratory work has been presented in this article, i.e. it has been presented the results of experimental research related to the reproduction of rotor angle position, used after the detection of a rotor position sensor fault. A new test stand with the laboratory prototype of a vehicle with two PM BLDC motors is presented. A zeroth-order algorithm (ZOA) was used as a fault compensation method. The effectiveness and usefulness of the previously proposed methods have been confirmed.

The paper presents a solution for sensorless field oriented control (FOC) system for five-phase induction motors with improved rotor flux pattern. In order to obtain the advantages of a third harmonic injection with a quasi-trapezoidal flux shape, two vector models, α1–β1 and α3–β3, were transformed into d1–q1, d3–q3 rotating frames, which correlate to the 1st and 3rd harmonic plane respectively. A linearization approach of the dual machine model in d–q coordinate frames is proposed by introducing a new additional variable “x” which is proportional to the electromagnetic torque. By applying the static feedback control law, a dual mathematical model of the five-phase induction motor was linearized to synthesize a control system in which the electromagnetic torque and the rotor flux can be independently controlled. The results shows the air gap flux shape in steady as well transient states under various load conditions. Moreover, the implemented control structure acquires fault tolerant properties and leads to possible emergency running with limited operation capabilities. The fault-tolerant capability of the analyzed machine was guaranteed by a special implemented control system with a dedicated speed observer, which is insensitive to open-phase fault situation. The experimental tests have been performed with single and double-open stator phase fault. A torque measurement was implemented to present the mechanical characteristics under healthy and faulty conditions of the drive system.

Wind energy has achieved prominence in renewable energy production. There fore, it is necessary to develop a diagnosis system and fault-tolerant control to protect the system and to prevent unscheduled shutdowns. The presented study aims to provide an experimental analysis of a speed sensor fault by hybrid active fault-tolerant control (AFTC) for a wind energy conversion system (WECS) based on a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). The hybrid AFTC switches between a traditional controller based on proportional integral (PI) controllers under normal conditions and a robust backstepping controller system without a speed sensor to avoid any deterioration caused by the sensor fault. A sliding mode observer is used to estimate the PMSG rotor position. The proposed controller architecture can be designed for performance and robustness separately. Finally, the proposed methodwas successfully tested in an experimental set up using a dSPACE 1104 platform. In this experimental system, the wind turbine with a generator connection via a mechanical gear is emulated by a PMSM engine with controled speed through a voltage inverter. The obtained experimental results show clearly that the proposed method is able to guarantee service production continuity for the WECS in adequate transition.

The paper presents the result of an evaluation of the performance of different message broker system configurations, which lead to the construction of the specific architecture guidelines for such systems. The examples are provided for an exemplary middleware messaging server software - RabbitMQ, set in high availability - enabling and redundant configurations. Rabbit MQ is a message queuing system realizing the middleware for distributed systems that implements the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol. The scalability and high availability design issues are discussed and the possible cluster topologies and their impact is presented. Since HA and performance scalability requirements are in conflict, scenarios for using clustered RabbitMQ nodes and mirrored queues are interesting and have to be considered with specific workloads and requirements in mind. The results of performance measurements for some topologies are also reported in this article.

This paper presents a fault-tolerant control scheme for a 2 DOF helicopter. The 2 DOF helicopter is a higher-order multi-input multi-output system featuring non-linearity, cross-coupling, and unstable behaviour. The impact of sensor, actuator, and component faults on such highly complex systems is enormous. This work employs sliding mode control, which is based on reaching and super-twisting laws, to handle the problem of fault control. Simulation tests are carried out to show the effectiveness of the algorithms. Various performance metrics are analyzed and the results show SMC based on super-twisting law provides better control with less chattering. The stability of the closed-loop system is mathematically assured, in the presence of faults, which is a key contribution of this research.

The neutral point clamped (NPC) three-level grid-tied converter is the key equipment connecting renewable energy and power grids. The current sensor fault caused by harsh environment may lead to the split of renewable energy. The existing sensor fault-tolerant methods will reduce the modulation ratio index of the converter system. To ensure continuous operation of the converter system and improve the modulation index, a model predictive control method based on reconstructed current is proposed in this paper. According to the relationship between fault phase current and a voltage vector, the original voltage vector is combined and classified. To maintain the stable operation of the converter and improve the utilization rate of DC voltage, two kinds of fault phase current are reconstructed with DC current, normal phase current and predicted current, respectively. Based on reconstructed three-phase current, a current predictive control model is designed, and a model predictive control method is proposed. The proposed method selects the optimal voltage vector with the cost function and reduces time delay with the current reconstruction sector. The simulation and experimental results showthat the proposed strategy can keep the NPC converter running stably with one AC sensor, and the modulation index is increased from 57.7% to 100%.

Three-level T-type inverters have lower total harmonic distortion in output voltage, higher power density and lower voltage stress of power switches compared with conventional two-level inverters and have been widely used in applications with a wide-power range. Reliability improvement is particularly important for the T-type inverters because of the increased number of power switches and high system complexity. This paper proposes a fault-tolerant topology, which is constructed by adding a redundant leg including halfbridge switches and neutral-point switches connected between the DC bus capacitors and the DC-link midpoint of the conventional T-type inverter. In addition, an after-fault control strategy is proposed based on the results of a fault diagnosis method using bridge voltage. The fault-tolerant control of the open-circuit fault of the power switches and the phase-leg fault can both be achieved by the proposed method. Experimental results are given to verify that the proposed fault-tolerant three-level T-type inverter can output the full voltage level and power during the fault-tolerant operation based on the proposed control strategy.

The iterative learning fault-tolerant control strategies with non-strict repetitive initial state disturbances are studied for the linear discrete networked control systems (NCSs) and the nonlinear discrete NCSs. In order to reduce the influence of the initial state disturbance in iteration, for the linear NCSs, considering the external disturbance and actuator failure, the iterative learning fault-tolerant control strategy with impulse function is proposed. For the nonlinear NCSs, the external disturbance, packet loss and actuator failure are considered, the iterative learning fault-tolerant control strategy with random Bernoulli sequence is provided. Finally, the proposed control strategies are used for simulation research for the linear NCSs and the nonlinear NCSs. The results show that both strategies can reduce the influence of the initial state disturbance on the tracking effect, which verifies the effectiveness of the given method.

Modern induction motor (IM) drives with a higher degree of safety should be equipped with fault-tolerant control (FTC) solutions. Current sensor (CS) failures constitute a serious problem in systems using vector control strategies for IMs because these methods require state variable reconstruction, which is usually based on the IM mathematical model and stator current measurement. This article presents an analysis of the operation of the direct torque control (DTC) for IM drive with stator current reconstruction after CSs damage. These reconstructed currents are used for the stator flux and electromagnetic torque estimation in the DTC with space-vector-modulation (SVM) drive. In this research complete damage to both stator CSs is assumed, and the stator current vector components in the postfault mode are reconstructed based on the DC link voltage of the voltage source inverter (VSI) and angular rotor speed measurements using the so-called virtual current sensor (VCS), based on the IM mathematical model. Numerous simulation and experimental tests results illustrate the behavior of the drive system in different operating conditions. The correctness of the stator current reconstruction is also analyzed taking into account motor parameter uncertainties, especially stator and rotor resistances, which usually are the main parameters that determine the proper operation of the stator flux and torque estimation in the DTC control structure.

In this paper, a voltage control system for a PMSM motor based on the QZSDMC converter is proposed, which allows operation in both buck and boost modes as a possible method to make the drive resistant to power grid voltage sags. The authors presented a method for measuring and transforming the output voltage from QZS, enabling the use of a PI controller to control the voltage supplied to the DMC converter. The publication includes simulation and experimental studies comparing the operation of a PMSM motor powered by DMC and the proposed QZSDMC with voltage regulation. Simulation studies confirm the drive with QZSDMC resistance to voltage sags up to 80% of the rated value. Experimental studies demonstrate the correct operation of PMSM even with a power grid voltage amplitude equal to 40% of the rated value.

The paper presents the analysis of different fault states in drive systems with multiphase induction motors. The mathematical models of a five-phase and six-phase induction motor and the MRASCC estimator have been presented and the description of the Space Vector Modulation has been shown. The Direct Field-Oriented Control (DFOC) system is analyzed. Results of the simulation and experimental studies of the Direct Field-Oriented Control systems in the fault conditions are presented. The author’s original contribution includes analysis and studies of the DFOC control method of a five-phase induction motor resistant to the motor speed sensor fault with the use of the MRASCC estimator.