Achieving a PhD: Congratulations Dr. Franco Degioanni!
Achieving a PhD is the culmination of relentless dedication, a testament to intellectual growth, and a step towards shaping the future. Congratulations Dr. Franco Degioanni!
Franco defended his PhD thesis titled “Fast Dynamic Transient Solutions for Three-Phase PWM Converters” at the University of British Columbia, giving a grand finale to this key stage of his career.
His Achievements Include:
- 3 IEEE transactions journals in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics (TPEL) and IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (TIE)
- IEEE journals in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics (TPEL) and IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics (JESTPE) as second author
- 5 conference papers in Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) and IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Expo (ECCE)
- Industrial collaborations with Alpha Technologies on control of resonant converters
- 6-month internship at Tesla as Power Electronics and Firmware Engineering intern
- Contributions to IEEE community as the Vice Chair of IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) of Vancouver Section
- Leading multiple lab roles:
- 5 years leading lab recruitment efforts as a member of the HR team
- 3 years of firmware development and high-level planning
Awards and Fellowships:
- Best paper presentation award at APEC 2021
- Four-year doctoral fellowship, awarded to UBC’s best PhD students
- Faculty of Applied Science Graduate Award, for graduate and postdoctoral students of UBC
Franco’s valuable contributions have greatly enriched the success of #martinordonezlab, for which we are grateful. We extend our best wishes for success in all his forthcoming ventures.
Acknowledgements:
We express our gratitude to:
- PhD examination chair: Antony Hodgson
- Supervisory Committee: Martin Ordonez and Emanuel Serban
- Examiner Committee: Alireza Nojeh and Ryozo Nagamune
- External Examiner: Mehdi Narimani
Abstract: Fast Dynamic Transient Solutions for Three-Phase PWM Converters
The ever-growing global energy demand accentuates the importance of integrating renewable energy sources into the grid. Beyond fulfilling escalating energy needs, this integration holds the potential to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. In this context, power electronics systems assume a key role in the efficient utilization of renewable energy. Particularly, the three-phase pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converter serves as the bridge that facilitates the seamless interaction between the grid, distributed resources, and loads.
However, as power electronics systems increase in complexity, challenges emerge in terms of modeling, control design, and implementation. Overcoming these challenges necessitates advancements in control design to enhance dynamic performance and optimize the efficiency of integrating renewable energy.
This thesis aims to improve the understanding of the dynamic characteristics of three-phase PWM converters and develop novel tools for modeling, analyzing, and improving their dynamic performance in grid-connected applications. By employing concepts such as normalization, state plane representation, and geometric analysis, a comprehensive large-signal model for three-phase converters is developed.
This model offers an intuitive graphical interpretation of the system’s dynamic behavior by illustrating its evolution in the state plane. Initially, the application of this framework facilitates the identification and characterization of the theoretical limits of dynamic performance. Consequently, it serves as a point of reference for control design engineers to conduct an objective assessment of the converter’s dynamic performance.
Furthermore, the introduced analysis enables the development of high-performance control methods, even for challenging scenarios such as controlling active loads and bidirectional operation with wide operating range requirements. These control techniques ensure consistent large-signal behavior, fast transient responses, and low implementation requirements.
In this manner, the thesis contributes to advancing power electronics modeling and control through the enhancement of the dynamic performance of three-phase converters.