A Survey on Optimization Methods Used in Power Electronics

Abstract

Power electronics is integral to nearly every aspect of modern life, with applications spanning from small-scale devices like electric toothbrushes, wireless earbuds, and cell phone chargers to large-scale systems such as electric grids, renewable energy systems, and industrial automation. Alongside the unique challenges posed by these applications, advancements in key areas of power electronics have brought about additional complexities. As a result, optimization has become an essential tool in addressing these complexities for improving the performance, efficiency, and reliability of power systems. This article provides a comprehensive overview of both conventional and artificial intelligence based optimization methods, applied to key areas of power electronics, such as power factor correction, harmonic elimination, maximum power point tracking, switching methods, and design methodologies, highlighting their role in achieving diverse objectives. This analysis is critical for uncovering limitations in previous research and highlighting areas where the current literature is lacking. This paper conducts a systematic and in-depth examination of objectives, topologies, and optimization techniques, offering valuable insights for future research in the field. Our findings reveal that some factors have been thoroughly investigated using diverse optimization methods, whereas others, despite their frequent use in practice, have received limited attention in academic studies.