Unified Direct-Flux Vector Control for AC Motor Drives

The paper introduces a Unified Direct-Flux Vector Control scheme suitable for sinusoidal AC motor drives. The AC drives considered here are Induction Motor, Synchronous Reluctance and synchronous Permanent Magnet motor drives, including Interior and Surface-mounted Permanent Magnet types. The proposed controller operates in stator flux coordinates: the stator flux amplitude is directly controlled by the direct voltage component, while the torque is controlled by regulating the quadrature current component. The unified direct-flux control is particularly convenient when flux-weakening is required, since it easily guarantees maximum torque production under current and voltage limitations. The hardware for control is standard and the control firmware is the same for all the motors under test with the only exception of the magnetic model used for flux estimation at low speed. Experimental results on four different drives are provided, showing the validity of the proposed unified control approac

Comparison of Induction and PM Synchronous motor drives for EV application including design examples

Three different motor drives for electric traction are compared, in terms of output power and efficiency at the same stack dimensions and inverter size. Induction motor (IM), surface-mounted permanent-magnet (PM) (SPM), and interior PM (IPM) synchronous motor drives are investigated, with reference to a common vehicle specification. The IM is penalized by the cage loss, but it is less expensive and inherently safe in case of inverter unwilled turnoff due to natural de-excitation. The SPM motor has a simple construction and shorter end connections, but it is penalized by eddy-current loss at high speed, has a very limited transient overload power, and has a high uncontrolled generator voltage. The IPM motor shows the better performance compromise, but it might be more complicated to be manufactured. Analytical relationships are first introduced and then validated on three example designs and finite element calculated, accounting for core saturation, harmonic losses, the effects of skewing, and operating temperature. The merits and limitations of the three solutions are quantified comprehensively and summarized by the calculation of the energy consumption over the standard New European Driving Cycl

Position estimation delays in signal injection-based sensorless PMSM drives

The causes of position estimation delays and their effects on the sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motor drives are investigated. The position of a permanent magnet synchronous machine is estimated via the injection of high frequency voltage signals. The delays under investigation are due to the digital implementation of the control algorithm and to the digital filters adopted for decoupling the inspection signals from the fundamental components of the stator current measures. If not correctly modeled and compensated, such delays can reduce the performance of the control scheme. Experimental results are provided, proving the accuracy of the modeling approach and the effectiveness of the related compensation strateg

Direct torque control for dual three-phase induction motor drives

A direct torque control (DTC) strategy for dual three-phase induction motor drives is discussed in this paper. The induction machine has two sets of stator three-phase windings spatially shifted by 30 electrical degrees. The DTC strategy is based on a predictive algorithm and is implemented in a synchronous reference frame aligned with the machine stator flux vector. The advantages of the discussed control strategy are constant inverter switching frequency, good transient and steady-state performance, and low distortion of machine currents with respect to direct self-control (DSC) and other DTC schemes with variable switching frequency. Experimental results are presented for a 10-kW DTC dual three-phase induction motor drive prototype

Analysis and design of a position observer with stator-resistance adaptation for PMSM drives

This paper deals with reduced-order observers with stator-resistance adaptation for motion-sensorless permanent-magnet synchronous motor drives. An analytical solution for the stabilizing observer gain and stability conditions for the stator-resistance adaptation are derived. The proposed observer design is experimentally tested using a 2.2-kW motor drive; stable operation at very low speeds under different loading conditions is demonstrated.Peer reviewe

A comparison of an adaptive full-order observer and a reduced-order observer for synchronous reluctance motor drives

Two back-EMF-based position observers are compared for motion-sensorless synchronous reluctance motor drives. The reduced-order observer is of the second order, and the adaptive full-order observer is of the fourth order. The proposed design rules guarantee the stability of the adaptive full-order observer, if the parameter estimates are accurate. The observers are experimentally evaluated using a 6.7-kW synchronous reluctance motor drive in low-speed operation and under parameter errors. The gain selection of the second-order observer is easier, but the adaptive full-order observer is more robust against parameter variations and spatial harmonics.Peer reviewe

Self-Commissioning Algorithm for Inverter Non-Linearity Compensation in Sensorless Induction Motor Drives

In many sensorless field-oriented control schemes for induction motor (IM) drives, flux is estimated by means of measured motor currents and control reference voltages. In most cases, flux estimation is based on the integral of back-electromotive-force (EMF) voltages. Inverter nonlinear errors (dead-time and on-state voltage drops) introduce a distortion in the estimated voltage that reduces the accuracy of the flux estimation, particularly at low speed. In the literature, most of the compensation techniques of such errors require the offline identification of the inverter model and offline postprocessing. This paper presents a simple and accurate method for the identification of inverter parameters at the drive startup. The method is integrated into the control code of the IM drive, and it is based on the information contained in the feedback signal of the flux observer. The procedure applies, more in general, to all those sensorless ac drives where the flux is estimated using the back-EMF integration, not only for IM drives but also for permanent-magnet synchronous motor drives (surface-mounted permanent magnet and interior permanent magnet). A self-commissioning algorithm is presented and tested for the sensorless control of an IM drive, implemented on a fixed-point DSP. The feasibility and effectiveness of the method are demonstrated by experimental result

Analysis and design of a position observer with resistance adaptation for synchronous reluctance motor drives

A back-EMF-based reduced-order position observer with stator-resistance adaptation is analyzed for motion-sensorless synchronous reluctance motor drives. Analytical equations for steady-state estimation errors and stability conditions are derived (with and without resistance adaptation), taking into account errors in the parameter estimates. The effect of the observer gain on the noise reduction is studied by means of eigenvector analysis. A robust gain selection is proposed, which maximizes the allowed uncertainties in the parameter estimates. The proposed observer design is experimentally evaluated using a 6.7-kW synchronous reluctance motor drive; stable operation is demonstrated at low speeds under various parameter errors.Peer reviewe

Comparison of a Reduced-Order Observer and a Full-Order Observer for Sensorless Synchronous Motor Drives

Two back-electromotive-force (EMF)-based position observers are compared for motion-sensorless synchronous motor drives: the reduced-order observer and the adaptive full-order observer. A stabilizing gain is proposed for the adaptive full-order observer, which guarantees the local stability of the closed-loop system, if the motor parameters are known. Equations for the steady-state position error and for the linearized estimation-error dynamics under erroneous parameters are derived, and the robustness of the two observers against parameter errors is analyzed and compared. The observers are experimentally evaluated using a 6.7-kW synchronous reluctance motor drive in low-speed operation and under parameter errors. The gain selection of the reduced-order observer is easier, but the adaptive full-order observer can be made more robust against parameter variations and noise.Peer reviewe

Position-sensorless control of permanent-magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor

The sensorless control of permanent-magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance (PMASR) motors is investigated, in order to conjugate the advantages of the sensorless control with full exploitation of the allowed operating area, for a given inverter. An additional pulsating flux is injected in the d-axis direction at low and zero speed, while it is dropped out, at large speed, to save voltage and additional loss. A flux-observer-based control scheme is used, which includes an accurate knowledge of the motor magnetic behavior. This leads, in general, to good robustness against load variations, by counteracting the magnetic cross saturation effect. Moreover, it allows an easy and effective correspondence between the wanted torque and flux and the set values of the chosen control variables, that is d-axis flux and q-axis current. Experimental verification of the proposed method is given, both steady-state and dynamic performance are outlined. A prototype PMASR motor will be used to this aim, as part of a purposely assembled prototype drive, for light traction application (electric scooter