Robust controller for an autonomous small refrigeration unit

Author

Kattakayam, T.A. ; Srinivasan, K.

Author_Institution

Energy Res. Inst., KACST, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Volume

146

Issue

3

fYear

1999

fDate

5/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

159

Lastpage

163

Abstract

The authors describe the constructional features of a controller for operating an autonomous refrigeration unit powered by a field of photovoltaic panels and backed up by a generator set. The controller enables three voltage levels of operation of an inverter to meet the start, run and off cycle conditions of the refrigerator compressor. The algorithm considers several input and output parameters and status signals from each subsystem of the unit to deduce a control strategy. Such units find application for storage of vaccines and life-saving medicines requiring uninterrupted refrigeration, in medical shops, rural health centres, veterinary laboratories etc

Keywords

PWM invertors; compressors; computerised control; controllers; photovoltaic power systems; refrigeration; robust control; voltage regulators; PWM section; autonomous small refrigeration unit; constructional features; control strategy; field of photovoltaic panels; generator set backup; input parameters; inverter; microprocessor based controller; off cycle conditions; output parameters; refrigerator compressor; robust controller; run conditions; start conditions; status signals; storage of vaccines; supervisory monitoring and control; three voltage levels of operation; uninterrupted refrigeration; voltage control; watchdog circuit;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Science, Measurement and Technology, IEE Proceedings -

Publisher

iet

ISSN

1350-2344

Type

jour

DOI

10.1049/ip-smt:19990134

Filename

785313