Expert system based automated simulation and design optimization of a voltage-fed inverter for induction motor drive

Expert system tools are showing tremendous promise for application in power electronic systems. The paper describes expert system based automated simulation and design optimization of a voltage-fed PWM transistor inverter for an induction motor drive. During a typical consultation with the expert system in simple English language dialog, the user supplies the relevant data for power converter ratings and performance specifications. The expert system then designs the converter, and based on user´s choice, simulates the system, makes observations on the simulation results and optimizes the performance. The power electronics engineer´s expertise to conduct simulation, intelligent observation and optimization is embedded in the expert system. The shell PC PLUS is used to develop the expert system and PC-SIMNON simulation language is used for the system simulation. The bulk of the project consists of communication protocol development for the interface between the expert system and PC-SIMNON. The paper discusses the features of the expert system and simulation softwares, their interface, the methodology and knowledge representation for observation of simulation performance, design optimization, and finally the results. The same principles can be extended to larger and more complex power electronic systems