Giuseppe Buja

Direct torque control of PWM inverter-fed AC motors - a survey

This paper presents a review of recently used direct torque and flux control (DTC) techniques for voltage inverter-fed induction and permanent-magnet synchronous motors. A variety of techniques, different in concept, are described as follows: switching-table-based hysteresis DTC, direct self control, constant-switching-frequency DTC with space-vector modulation (DTC-SVM). Also, trends in the DTC-SVM techniques based on neuro-fuzzy logic controllers are presented. Some oscillograms that illustrate properties of the presented techniques are shown.

Optimal Pulsewidth Modulation for Feeding AC Motors

A pulsewidth modulation (PWM) technique is proposed, intended particularly for the reduction of the harmful effects of the harmonics in the inverter-fed drive systems. The approach is based on the minimization of the rms value of the current harmonics in the motor by a proper choice of the commutation angles. Switching patterns are calculated for a different number of commutations per period, for both single-phase and three-phase half-bridge inverters. In the case of the single-phase, an analytical procedure is developed which simplifies the computations. Comparisons are made of the results thus obtained with those given by other PWM techniques in use.

Variable structure control of an SRM drive

The applications of a variable-structure system (VSS) to the control of a switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive is presented. After reviewing the operation of an SRM drive, a VSS-based scheme is formulated to control the drive speed. The scheme is then designed and tested by simulation. The results show that the VSS control is effective in reducing the torque ripple of the motor, compensating for the nonlinear torque characteristics, and making the drive insensitive to parameter variations and disturbances. >

Optimum Output Waveforms in PWM Inverters

A general method is considered for optimizing the output waveform of pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) inverters, whatever load may be supplied. It consists of the minimization of a cost function of operation of the load fed by the inverter. The mathematical tools and the numerical techniques to calculate the optimum switching patterns in the space of PWM inputs are derived using the state variable description of the dynamics of the system. Nonlinear state equations are assumed. Some examples and comparisons are included to show the features of the proposed PWM methods.

Band-constrained technique for direct torque control of induction motor

In this paper, a novel technique for the direct torque control (DTC) of an induction motor is proposed, which overcomes the trouble of high torque ripple afflicting the conventional DTC technique. With the novel technique, the inverter voltage vector selected from the switching table is applied for the time interval needed by the torque to reach the upper (or the lower) limit of the band, where the time interval is calculated from a suitable modeling of the torque dynamics. By this approach, the control system emulates the operation of a torque hysteresis controller of analog type since the application time of the inverter voltage vector is dictated by the allowed torque excursion and not by the sampling period. It is shown by experimental results that the technique yields a considerable reduction of the torque ripple. A further and ultimate reduction is obtained by compensating for the delay inherent in the discrete-time operation of the control system. The outcome is that the torque ripple of the motor is constrained within the hysteresis band of the torque controller, for a band of customary value. An ancillary merit of the technique is the almost full elimination of the average torque error inherent in the conventional technique. If the hysteresis band is shrunk, the torque ripple is bound to swing out the band limits. Under this circumstance, an extension of the technique is developed, which helps keep the torque ripple at minimum. To assess the characteristics of the proposed DTC technique, the following quantities: average torque error, rms value of the torque ripple, and inverter switching frequency are measured for different stator flux angular speeds and hysteresis bands of the torque and flux controllers. As a comparison, the same quantities are given for the conventional DTC technique.

Control characteristics of the SRM drives. I. Operation in the linear region

The control characteristics of switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives are analyzed for operation of the motor in the linear region of its magnetic characteristics. After reviewing the motor operation, the authors consider the current-fed and voltage SRM drives. For both types of drives, the control variables and the related ranges are identified, the relationships between such variables and the average motor torque are calculated, and the torque capability is found. The basic schemes for the speed control of the SRM drives are also formulated. >

Development of Electric Propulsion Systems for Light Electric Vehicles

This paper presents two light electric vehicles (LEVs) with a electric propulsion system developed at an academic laboratory. One LEV is an electric city scooter powered by a lithium-ion battery pack and propelled by a wheel motor drive. The other LEV is an electric bicycle powered by a fuel cell system with the assistance of a supercapacitor bank. Power and energy design of the electric propulsion systems of the two LEVs as well as characterization of the energetic devices are illustrated.

Modern Advances in Wireless Power Transfer Systems for Roadway Powered Electric Vehicles

Wireless power transfer system (WPTS)-based wireless electric vehicles, classified into roadway-powered electric vehicles (RPEVs) and stationary charging electric vehicles (SCEVs), are in the spotlight as future mainstream transportations. RPEVs are free from serious battery problems such as large, heavy, and expensive battery packs and long charging time because they get power directly from the road while moving. The power transfer capacity, efficiency, lateral tolerance, electromagnetic field, air-gap, size, weight, and cost of the WPTSs have been improved by virtues of innovative semiconductor switches, better coil designs, roadway construction techniques, and higher operating frequency. Recent advances in WPTSs for RPEVs are summarized in this review paper. The fifth- and sixth-generation online electric vehicles, which reduce infrastructure cost for commercialization, and the interoperability between RPEVs and SCEVs are addressed in detail in this paper. Major milestones of the developments of other RPEVs are also summarized. The rest of this paper deals with a few important technical issues such as coil structures, power supply schemes, and segmentation switching techniques of a lumped inductive power transfer system for RPEVs.

Direct torque control of an induction motor using a single current sensor

A novel scheme for the direct torque control (DTC) of an induction motor (IM) is proposed, which uses a single sensor of current inserted in the inverter dc link. The rationale behind the proposal is to develop a low-cost but high performance IM drive. The scheme exploits a simple and robust algorithm to reconstruct the stator currents needed to estimate the motor flux and torque. The algorithm operates in two stages: first, it predicts the stator currents from a model of the motor and then adjusts the prediction on the basis of the sensed dc-link current. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the ability of the scheme in reproducing the performance of a traditional DTC IM drive.

Design and Experimentation of WPT Charger for Electric City Car

Wireless power transfer systems (WPTSs) with inductive coupling are advantageously used to charge the battery pack of electric vehicles. They basically consist of coil coupling, power supply circuitry connected to the transmitting side of the coil coupling, and power-conditioning circuitry connected to the receiving side of the coil coupling. This paper presents the design and implementation of a wireless power transfer (WPT) battery charger for an electric city car. A short overview on the working principles of a series-series resonant WPTS is given before describing in detail the design procedure of the power circuitry needed for its operation, i.e., an alternating-current-direct-current converter cascaded by a high-frequency inverter in the transmitting section and a diode rectifier cascaded by a chopper in the receiving section. The coil coupling with spiral coils is designed with the help of a finite-element-method code. A prototype of the WPT battery charger is built up according to the design results, and experiments that validate the design procedure are carried out.