Emerging Trends in Closed-Loop Control Systems for Electric Machines and Drives: From Classical Techniques to Smart Solutions

Dear Colleagues,

The global interest in electrification, driven by efforts to mitigate climate change, has altered how electrical energy is generated, transmitted, and used. This transformation demands the advanced control of voltage, current, and frequency parameters, integrating multiple disciplines, including control theory, power electronics, sensor technology, and electrical machines.

Electric machines have become essential components across diverse sectors, from household appliances to industrial processes, renewable energy generation, and electric mobility. This ubiquity, coupled with increasing demands for reliability, efficiency, and performance, has led to numerous technological advances in closed-loop control systems.

While traditional grid-connected applications remain common, the growing complexity of modern applications requires advanced power electronic converters operating under closed-loop control schemes. These systems, which enable the precise control of electric vehicles or industrial processes, are based on feedback signals such as rotor position or speed, or process variables such as pressure or temperature.

Emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, digital electronics, and industrial connectivity have further accelerated the evolution of control strategies. This Special Issue aims to explore cutting-edge developments in the closed-loop control of electrical machines, emphasizing both theoretical advances and practical implementations.

For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of original papers related to the previously explained topics and the following subtopics.

1. Advanced Control Algorithms and Strategies: modern applications require sophisticated control approaches beyond classical PID control, including adaptive, non-linear, and intelligent control strategies to handle complex operating conditions and improve system performance.
2. Sensorless Control and Virtual Sensing: eliminating physical sensors reduces the cost of the system and improves reliability, making sensorless control techniques increasingly relevant for industrial applications.
3. Artificial Intelligence in Machine Control: AI techniques offer new possibilities for optimal control, parameter estimation, and adaptive behaviour.
4. Fault-Tolerant Control and Reliability: as electrical machines become critical in various applications, ensuring their continuous operation under component failures and maintaining system reliability becomes paramount.
5. Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Control: the rapid growth of electric mobility presents unique challenges in motor control, including efficiency optimization, extended range operation, and dynamic performance requirements.
6. Digital Implementation and Real-Time Control: modern digital platforms (FPGAs, DSPs) enable the implementation of complex control algorithms that require the specific consideration of real-time execution and hardware constraints.
7. Industrial IoT Integration and Smart Control: Industry 4.0 concepts are transforming traditional control systems, enabling cloud-based monitoring, predictive maintenance, and distributed control architectures.
8. Power Electronic Converter Control: advanced converter topologies and control strategies are essential for optimal machine operation and improved power quality.
9. Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance: closed-loop control poses a challenge in implementing predictive maintenance and may require novel signal processing techniques.
10. Special Machine Topologies and Control: emerging machine designs (PM, BLDC, reluctance, and hybrid) require specialized control strategies to optimize their unique characteristics and capabilities.

Prof. Dr. Daniel Morinigo-Sotelo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• closed-loop control
• electric machines
• control algorithms
• artificial intelligence
• predictive maintenance
• sensorless control
• power electronic converters
• reliability engineering
• condition monitoring
• electric vehicles