A Precise, General, Non-Invasive and Automatic Speed Estimation Method for MCSA Diagnosis and Efficiency Estimation of Induction Motors

[EN] Efficiency estimation and diagnosis via MCSA require precise knowledge of speed. In an industrial environment, speed must be obtained with a non-invasive, automatic and general method. Recent studies have shown that Sensorless Speed Estimation techniques based on detecting Rotational Frequency Sideband Harmonics (RFSHs) or Rotor Slot Harmonics (RSHs) are best suited to these purposes. RFSHs-based methods are easier to apply as they only depend on the number of poles. RSHs-based are much more accurate due to their wider bandwidth. Yet, their use is not trivial as they require to identify the RSHs family, assign to each RSH its order of the current harmonic (¿) and determine the number of rotor slots (R), a rarely known parameter. This paper ends with this trade-off between accuracy and applicability by proposing a novel RSHs-based technique that, for the first time in technical literature, eliminates the need to estimate the number of rotor slots and provides a reliable and automatic procedure to locate the RSHs family and determine their ¿ indices. Finally, the method is validated under all types of conditions and motor designs, by simulations, lab tests and with 105 industrial motors, highlighting its high accuracy (errors below 0.05 rpm), and applicability.This work was supported by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities [FPU19/02698]Bonet-Jara, J.; Pons Llinares, J. (2023). A Precise, General, Non-Invasive and Automatic Speed Estimation Method for MCSA Diagnosis and Efficiency Estimation of Induction Motors. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion. 38(2):1257-1267. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEC.2022.32208531257126738

Improved Sensor Fault-Tolerant Control Technique Applied to Three-Phase Induction Motor Drive

An improved fault-tolerant control (FTC) method using mathematical functions is applied to the induction motor drive (IMD) against current sensors and speed encoder failures, which occur when the sensor is disconnected or completely damaged. The IMD with two current sensors and an encoder is speed controlled based on the field-oriented control (FOC) technique in regular operation. In this paper, an FTC unit is implemented in the FOC controller to detect and solve the sensor fault to increase the reliability of the speed control process. The measured stator currents and the feedback speed signal are integrated into the diagnosis algorithms to create a sensor fault-tolerant control function. Three diagnosis functions operating in a defined sequence are proposed for determining the health status of current and speed sensors. The FTC function performs isolation and replaces the faulty sensor signals with the proper estimated signals; then, the IMD will operate in the corresponding sensorless mode. Simulations will be performed to verify the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method under various sensor faults

Robust fault tolerant control of induction motor system

Research into fault tolerant control (FTC, a set of techniques that are developed to increase plant availability and reduce the risk of safety hazards) for induction motors is motivated by practical concerns including the need for enhanced reliability, improved maintenance operations and reduced cost. Its aim is to prevent that simple faults develop into serious failure. Although, the subject of induction motor control is well known, the main topics in the literature are concerned with scalar and vector control and structural stability. However, induction machines experience various fault scenarios and to meet the above requirements FTC strategies based on existing or more advanced control methods become desirable. Some earlier studies on FTC have addressed particular problems of 3-phase sensor current/voltage FTC, torque FTC, etc. However, the development of these methods lacks a more general understanding of the overall problem of FTC for an induction motor based on a true fault classification of possible fault types.In order to develop a more general approach to FTC for induction motors, i.e. not just designing specific control approaches for individual induction motor fault scenarios, this thesis has carried out a systematic research on induction motor systems considering the various faults that can typically be present, having either “additive” fault or “multiplicative” effects on the system dynamics, according to whether the faults are sensor or actuator (additive fault) types or component or motor faults (multiplicative fault) types.To achieve the required objectives, an active approach to FTC is used, making use of fault estimation (FE, an approach that determine the magnitude of a fault signal online) and fault compensation. This approach of FTC/FE considers an integration of the electrical and mechanical dynamics, initially using adaptive and/or sliding mode observers, Linear Parameter Varying (LPV, in which nonlinear systems are locally decomposed into several linear systems scheduled by varying parameters) and then using back-stepping control combined with observer/estimation methods for handling certain forms of nonlinearity.In conclusion, the thesis proposed an integrated research of induction motor FTC/FE with the consideration of different types of faults and different types of uncertainties, and validated the approaches through simulations and experiments

Industrial applications of the Kalman filter:a review

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Advanced Fault-Tolerant Control of Induction-Motor Drives for EV/HEV Traction Applications: From Conventional to Modern and Intelligent Control Techniques

International audienceThis paper describes active fault-tolerant control systems for a high-performance induction-motor drive that propels an electrical vehicle (EV) or a hybrid one (HEV). The proposed systems adaptively reorganize themselves in the event of sensor loss or sensor recovery to sustain the best control performance, given the complement of remaining sensors. Moreover, the developed systems take into account the controller-transition smoothness, in terms of speed and torque transients. The two proposed fault-tolerant control strategies have been simulated on a 4-kW induction-motor drive, and speed and torque responses have been carried to evaluate the consistency and the performance of the proposed approaches. Simulation results, in terms of speed and torque responses, show the global effectiveness of the proposed approaches, particularly the one based on modern and intelligent control techniques in terms of speed and torque smoothness

FPGAs in Industrial Control Applications

The aim of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technologies and their contribution to industrial control applications. Authors start by addressing various research fields which can exploit the advantages of FPGAs. The features of these devices are then presented, followed by their corresponding design tools. To illustrate the benefits of using FPGAs in the case of complex control applications, a sensorless motor controller has been treated. This controller is based on the Extended Kalman Filter. Its development has been made according to a dedicated design methodology, which is also discussed. The use of FPGAs to implement artificial intelligence-based industrial controllers is then briefly reviewed. The final section presents two short case studies of Neural Network control systems designs targeting FPGAs

Sensorless control for limp-home mode of EV applications

PhD ThesisOver the past decade research into electric vehicles’ (EVs) safety, reliability and availability has become a hot topic and has attracted a lot of attention in the literature. Inevitably these key areas require further study and improvement. One of the challenges EVs face is speed/position sensor failure due to vibration and harsh environments. Wires connecting the sensor to the motor controller have a high likelihood of breakage. Loss of signals from the speed/position sensor will bring the EV to halt mode. Speed sensor failure at a busy roundabout or on a high speed motorway can have serious consequences and put the lives of drivers and passengers in great danger. This thesis aims to tackle the aforementioned issues by proposing several novel sensorless schemes based on Model Reference Adaptive Systems (MRAS) suitable for limp-home mode of EV applications. The estimated speed from these schemes is used for the rotor flux position estimation. The estimated rotor flux position is employed for sensorless torque-controlled drive (TCD) based on indirect rotor field oriented control (IRFOC). The capabilities of the proposed schemes have been evaluated and compared to the conventional back-Electromotive Force MRAS (back-EMF MRAS) scheme using simulation environment and a test bench setup. The new schemes have also been tested on electric golf buggies. The results presented for the proposed schemes show that utilising these schemes provide a reliable and smooth sensorless operation during vehicle test-drive starting from standstill and over a wide range of speeds, including the field weakening region. Employing these new schemes for sensorless TCD in limp-home mode of EV applications increases safety, reliability and availability of EVs