A Comparative Study of Synchronous Current Control Schemes Based on FCS-MPC and PI-PWM for a Two-Motor Three-Phase Drive

A two-motor drive, supplied by a five-leg inverter, is considered in this paper. The independent control of machines with full dc-bus voltage utilization is typically achieved using an existing pulsewidth modulation (PWM) technique in conjunction with field-oriented control, based on PI current control. However, model predictive control (MPC), based on a finite number of control inputs [finite-control-set MPC (FCS-MPC)], does not utilize a pulsewidth modulator. This paper introduces three FCS-MPC schemes for synchronous current control in this drive system. The first scheme uses all of the available switching states. The second and third schemes are aimed at reducing the computational burden and utilize a reduced set of voltage vectors and a duty ratio partitioning principle, respectively. Steady-state and transient performances are analyzed and compared both against each other and with respect to the field-oriented control based on PI controllers and PWM. All analyses are experimental and use the same experimental rig and test conditions. Comparison of the predictive schemes leads to the conclusion that the first two schemes have the fastest transient response. The third scheme has a much smaller current ripple while achieving perfect control decoupling between the machines and is of low computational complexity. Nevertheless, at approximately the same switching loss, the PI-PWM control yields the lowest current ripple but with slower electrical transient response. © 1982-2012 IEEE

Real-time model-based loss minimisation control for electric vehicle drives

PhD ThesisEnvironmental concern and the opportunity for commercial gain are two factors driving the expansion of the electric vehicle (EV) market. Due to the limitations of current battery technology, the efficiency of the traction drive, which includes the electric motor and power electronic converter, is of prime importance. Whilst electric machines utilising permanent magnets (PMs) are popular due to their high energy density, industry concerns about the security of supply have led to interest in magnet-free solutions. Induction machines (IMs) offer such an option. Control of IMs is a mature but complex field. Many techniques for optimising the efficiency of the drive system have been proposed. The vast majority of these methods involve an analytical study of the system to reveal relationships between the controlled variable and efficiency, allowing the latter to be optimised. This inevitably involves simplifications of the problem to arrive at a practically-implementable control scheme. What has not been investigated is real-time calculation of the system losses in order to optimise the efficiency, and the work presented in this thesis attempts to achieve this. The conventional control scheme is examined and a new structure implemented where a model of the system loss is able to directly influence the switching action of the inverter, thus reducing loss. The need to maintain performance alongside loss minimisation is recognised and a cost function-based solution proposed. The validation of this structure is performed both in simulation and on a practical test platform. A model of the principle losses in the drive system is derived, taking into account the processing power typically available for this application, and implemented in the structure outlined. The effect of the new control scheme on efficiency is investigated and results show gains of up to 3%-points are achievable under certain conditions

Predictive current control in electrical drives: an illustrated review with case examples using a five-phase induction motor drive with distributed windings

The industrial application of electric machines in variable-speed drives has grown in the last decades thanks to the development of microprocessors and power converters. Although three-phase machines constitute the most common case, the interest of the research community has been recently focused on machines with more than three phases, known as multiphase machines. The principal reason lies in the exploitation of their advantages like reliability, better current distribution among phases or lower current harmonic production in the power converter than conventional three-phase ones, to name a few. Nevertheless, multiphase drives applications require the development of complex controllers to regulate the torque (or speed) and flux of the machine. In this regard, predictive current controllers have recently appeared as a viable alternative due to an easy formulation and a high flexibility to incorporate different control objectives. It is found however that these controllers face some peculiarities and limitations in their use that require attention. This work attempts to tackle the predictive current control technique as a viable alternative for the regulation of multiphase drives, paying special attention to the development of the control technique and the discussion of the benefits and limitations. Case examples with experimental results in a symmetrical five-phase induction machine with distributed windings in motoring mode of operation are used to this end

Prädiktive Regelung und Finite-Set-Beobachter für Windgeneratoren mit variabler Drehgeschwindigkeit

This dissertation presents several model predictive control (MPC) techniques and finite-position-set observers (FPSOs) for permanent-magnet synchronous generators and doubly-fed induction generators in variable-speed wind turbines. The proposed FPSOs are novel ones and based on the concept of finite-control-set MPC. Then, the problems of the MPC techniques like sensitivity to variations of the model parameters and others are investigated and solved in this work.Die vorliegende Dissertation stellt mehrere unterschiedliche Verfahren der modellprädiktiven Regelung (MPC) und so genannte Finite-Position-Set-Beobachter (FPSO) sowohl für Synchrongeneratoren mit Permanentmagneterregung als auch für doppelt gespeiste Asynchrongeneratoren in Windkraftanlagen mit variabler Drehzahl vor und untersucht diese. Für die Beobachter (FPSO) wird ein neuartiger Ansatz vorgestellt, der auf dem Konzept der Finite-Control-Set-MPC basiert. Außerdem werden typische Eigenschaften der MPC wie beispielsweise die Anfälligkeit gegenüber Parameterschwankungen untersucht und kompensiert

An Advanced Model Predictive Current Control of Synchronous Reluctance Motors

Synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs) have, in recent years, attracted much attention due to their high-efficiency output and nature of their construction denoted by the lack of expensive magnetic materials, thus cheapening the overall cost whilst increasing in robustness. These benefits have made the SynRM a strong contender against other established electric motors in the market. Similarly, model predictive current control (MPCC) has recently become a powerful advanced control technology in industrial drives, being, therefore, a suitable choice for SynRM drives granting overall high control performance and efficiency. However, current prediction in MPCC requires a high number of voltage vectors (VVs) synthesizable by the converter, being therefore computationally demanding. Accordingly, the main goal of this work is the development and analysis of a more efficient and advanced MPCC for SynRMs whilst reducing the computational burden and delivering good control performance in contrast with the standard MPCC. Therefore, to achieve the intended levels of efficiency and control performance in SynRM drives, a combination of two control strategies is developed, which combines hysteresis current control (HCC) and MPCC, dubbed in this work HCC-MPCC. Furthermore, the SynRM dynamic model equations comprising the magnetic saturating effects and iron losses are presented through a detailed theoretical and computational analysis of the drive’s control. Conclusively, the developed HCC-MPCC for SynRM drives is analyzed through thorough and rigorous experimental tests alongside the standard MPCC, whose obtained results are detailed comprehensively.Os motores síncronos de relutância (SynRMs) têm, nos últimos anos, atraído muita atenção devido às suas características construtivas, designadamente pela falta de materiais magnéticos caros, depreciando assim o custo em geral; e simultaneamente pelo aumento em robustez. Esses benefícios tornaram o SynRM num forte concorrente face a outros motores elétricos existentes no mercado. Da mesma forma, o modelo preditivo de controlo de corrente (MPCC) tornou-se recentemente numa poderosa estratégia de controlo avançado em acionamentos industriais, sendo, portanto, uma escolha adequada para acionamentos envolvendo SynRMs, garantindo elevado desempenho e eficiência de controlo. No entanto, a previsão da corrente no MPCC requer um grande número de vetores de tensão (VVs) sintetizáveis pelo conversor, sendo, portanto, exigente computacionalmente. Consequentemente, o objetivo principal deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento e análise de um MPCC mais eficiente e avançado para SynRMs, reduzindo a carga computacional e, simultaneamente, demonstrando um bom desempenho de controlo em contraste com o MPCC clássico. Portanto, para atingir os níveis pretendidos de eficiência e desempenho de controlo em acionamentos com SynRMs, uma combinação de duas estratégias de controlo é desenvolvida, combinando o controlo de corrente de histerese (HCC) e MPCC, denominado neste trabalho HCC-MPCC. Além disso, as equações do modelo dinâmico do SynRM, compreendendo os efeitos de saturação magnética e as perdas de ferro, são apresentadas através de uma análise teórica e computacional detalhada do controlo do acionamento. Conclusivamente, o HCC-MPCC desenvolvido para acionamentos com SynRMs é analisado por meio de testes experimentais conjuntamente com o MPCC padrão, sendo os resultados obtidos detalhados de forma abrangente

Fault tolerant model predictive control of three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motors

A new fault tolerant model predictive control (FTMPC) strategy is proposed for three-phase magnetically isotropic permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) with complete loss of one phase (LOP) or loss of one leg (LOL) of the inverter. The dynamic model of PMSM with LOP or LOL is derived in abc- System. The principle of FTMPC is investigated, its predictive model for remaining two stator phase currents is established after LOP or LOL occurs, and the flux estimator based on current model is employed in order to calculate the stator flux & its corresponding torque. Extra-leg extra-switch inverter is used as power unit. The PI controller is put to use for regulating rotor speed and generating reference torque. Dynamic responses of healthy MPC and unhealthy FTMPC for PMSM systems are given to compare their performance via simulation and some analysis is presented. The simulation results show that the proposed FTMPC strategy not only allows for continuous and disturbance-free operation of the unhealthy PMSM with LOP or LOL but also preserves satisfactory torque and speed control. And then the effectiveness of the proposed schemes in this paper is demonstrated

Extension of Finite-Control Set Model-Based Predictive Control Techniques to Fault-Tolerant Multiphase Drives: Analysis and Contributions

Las máquinas eléctricas son una de las principales tecnologías que hacen posible las energías renovables y los vehículos eléctricos. La necesidad constante de incrementar la capacidad de potencia para generar más energía o para impulsar vehículos cada vez más grandes, ha motivado la investigación y el desarrollo en el área de las máquinas multifásicas las cuales, gracias a su número de fases, permiten no sólo manejar más potencia con menos pulsaciones de par y contenido armónico en la corriente que las máquinas trifásicas convencionales, sino que también permiten obtener una mayor tolerancia a fallos, aumentando el interés de su implementación en aplicaciones donde la fiabilidad juega un papel importante por razones económicas y de seguridad. La investigación más reciente en el área de sistemas multifásicos se centra en el desarrollo de técnicas que permitan explotar las características específicas y especiales de las máquinas multifásicas, viendo el incremento en el número de fases no como un aumento en la complejidad de implementación, sino como un mayor número de grados de libertad tanto en el diseño como en el control, permitiendo mejorar sus prestaciones y fiabilidad, haciéndolas más atractivas para su uso en aplicaciones industriales. Es así como se han desarrollado técnicas de control que permitan operar a alta velocidad o alto par, tolerancia a diferentes tipos de fallos y máquinas con diferentes conexionados de devanados o con sistemas formados por múltiples variadores y máquinas. El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es la extensión del control predictivo para máquinas multifásicas (específicamente el control predictivo de estados finitos basado en modelo o FCS-MPC por sus siglas en inglés) a la operación tolerante a fallos, aprovechando la capacidad de tolerancia a fallos que las máquinas multifásicas poseen, asegurando su funcionamiento de una manera eficiente y controlada. Con este fin se estudió el modelo matemático de la máquina en condiciones de pre- y post- falta considerando diferentes tipos de faltas, permitiendo establecer el efecto que las condiciones de fallo tienen en el comportamiento del sistema. Se desarrollaron modelos de simulación de una máquina de inducción de cinco fases, considerando faltas de fase abierta y en el disparo de los IGBT’s de una fase, permitiendo el diseño y validación del controlador FCS-MPC tolerante a fallos, cuyos resultados obtenidos fueron presentados en diversos congresos internacionales. La posterior implementación y validación experimental del control tolerante a fallos propuesto dio lugar a la publicación de dos de los artículos científicos presentados en esta tesis. Del mismo modo, se desarrolló un control tolerante a fallos basado en controladores lineales (de tipo resonante), teniendo en cuenta los esquemas propuestos en publicaciones científicas recientes y se realizó una comparativa entre el control tolerante a fallos basado en FCS-MPC y el controlador resonante ante un fallo de fase abierta, mediante resultados de simulación y experimentales, dando lugar a la publicación en un congreso internacional y en un artículo de revista científica. Las contribuciones de esta tesis doctoral se han publicado en la revista científica IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics entre los años 2013/2015

aVsIs: An Analytical-Solution-Based Solver for Model-Predictive Control With Hexagonal Constraints in Voltage-Source Inverter Applications

The theory of a new analytical-solution-based algorithm for calculating the optimal solution in model-predictive control applications with hexagonal constraints is discussed in this article. Three-phase voltage-source inverters for power electronic and electric motor drive applications are the target of the proposed method. The indirect model-predictive control requires a constrained quadratic programming (QP) solver to calculate the optimal solution. Most of the QP solvers use numerical algorithms, which may result in unbearable computational burdens. However, the optimal constrained solution can be calculated in an analytical way when the control horizon is limited to the first step. A computationally efficient algorithm with a certain maximum number of operations is proposed in this article. A thorough mathematical description of the solver in both the stationary and rotating reference frames is provided. Experimental results on real test rigs featuring either an electricmotor or a resistive-inductive load are reported to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed solver, thus smoothing theway for its implementation in industrial applications. The name of the proposed solver is aVsIs, which is released under Apache License 2.0 in GitHub, and a free example is available in Code Ocean

Analysis and investigation of different advanced control strategies for high-performance induction motor drives

Induction motor (IM) drives have received a strong interest from researchers and industry particularly for high-performance AC drives through vector control method. With the advancement in power electronics and digital signal processing(DSP), high capability processors allow the implementation of advanced control techniques for motor drives such as model predictive control (MPC). In this paper, design, analysis and investigation of two different MPC techniques applied to IM drives; themodel predictive torque control (MPTC) and model predictive current control (MPCC) are presented. The two techniques are designed in Matlab/Simulink environment and compared interm of operation in different operating conditions. Moreover, a comparisonof these techniques with field-oriented control (FOC) and direct torque control (DTC) is conducted based on simulation studies with PI speed controller for all control techniques. Based on the analysis, the MPC techniques demonstrates a better result compared with the FOC and DTC in terms of speed, torque and current responses in transient and steady-state conditions