journal article·2025-06-30Open access

Robust Model-Free Control for MMC Inverters in Cold Ironing Systems

Cheikh Abdel Kader, Nadia Aït-Ahmed, Azeddine Houari, Mourad Aït-Ahmed, Gang Yao, Menny El-Bah

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 13

Abstract

Power quality is a key issue in cold ironing (CI) systems, where a stable, clean power supply is essential to meet the needs of moored vessels. According to IEC/ISO/IEEE 80005-1, these systems must deliver high power at standardized voltages (6.6 kV or 11 kV) with minimal harmonic distortion in the presence of vessel load variability. This study proposes a model-free control strategy based on an intelligent proportional–integral (iPI) corrector with adaptive gain, applied to a three-phase modular multilevel converter (MMC) equipped with an LC filter. This architecture, adapted to distributed infrastructures, reduces the number of transformers required while guaranteeing high output voltages. The iPI strategy improves system robustness, dynamically compensates for disturbances, and ensures better power quality. A comparative analysis of three control strategies, proportional–integral (PI), intelligent proportional–integral (iPI), and intelligent proportional–integral adaptive (iPIa), performed in MATLAB/Simulink and complemented by experimental tests on the OPAL-RT platform, revealed a significant THD reduction of 1.18%, in accordance with the IEC/ISO/IEEE 80005-1 standard. These results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method in meeting the requirements of CI systems.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: HVDC Systems and Fault Protection · Power Systems Fault Detection · Magnetic Properties and Applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Département de Physique, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Nouakchott, Nouakchott BP 5026, Mauritania

Institut de Recherche en Energie Electrique de Nantes Atlantique, IREENA, Nantes University, UR 4642, 37 Bd de l’université, 44600 Saint-Nazaire, France

Logistics Engineering College, Shanghai Maritime University, New Harbor City, Shanghai 201306, China

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