PSO-optimized electronic load controller with intelligent energy recovery for self-excited induction generator based micro-hydro systems

Abstract

This paper presents a novel Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO)-based Electronic Load Controller (ELC) with intelligent energy recovery capabilities for Self-Excited Induction Generator (SEIG) systems in off-grid micro-hydro applications. Unlike conventional resistive dump loads, which dissipate excess energy as waste heat, the proposed system employs multi-objective PSO algorithms to simultaneously optimise voltage regulation, frequency stability, harmonic minimisation, and energy recovery through an adaptive water pumping mechanism. The PSO algorithm optimises PI controller gains, PWM switching parameters, and power distribution strategies using a comprehensive fitness function incorporating voltage regulation error, frequency deviation, total harmonic distortion, and energy recovery efficiency. Experimental validation on a 2.2 kW laboratory prototype demonstrates superior performance with voltage regulation accuracy of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\pm 1.8\%$$\end{document} compared to \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\pm 8\%$$\end{document} for conventional methods, frequency stability of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\pm 0.9\%$$\end{document} versus a \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\pm 3\%$$\end{document} baseline, and energy recovery efficiency of 92.1% through intelligent water pumping.