Effect of cost function and PSO topology selection on the optimum design of PID parameters for the AVR System

This paper presents a study of different cost functions as well as different topologies of the optimizer that is PSO in order to reach an optimum PID for the AVR system. The obtained PID parameters strongly depend on the selected cost function and the ability of the optimizer to explore well the search space. Once the cost function and the optimizer parameters are set, the metaheuristic method can then be applied to obtain the optimal proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) controller parameters. This PID is used within a closed loop consisting of an amplifier, exciter, generator, and the voltage sensor. The whole system including the PID is known as the Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR). The objective of this optimization design is to achieve high performance voltage control of the generator. The performance of the PID controlled system is examined by considering the characteristics of the step response.