Ignacio Gonzalez-Prieto

Fault-Tolerant Operation of Six-Phase Energy Conversion Systems With Parallel Machine-Side Converters

The fault tolerance provided by multiphase machines is one of the most attractive features for industry applications where a high degree of reliability is required. Aiming to take advantage of such postfault operating capability, some newly designed full-power energy conversion systems are selecting machines with more than three phases. Although the use of parallel converters is usual in high-power three-phase electrical drives, the fault tolerance of multiphase machines has been mainly considered with single supply from a multiphase converter. This study addresses the fault-tolerant capability of six-phase energy conversion systems supplied with parallel converters, deriving the current references and control strategy that need to be utilized to maximize torque/power production. Experimental results show that it is possible to increase the postfault rating of the system if some degree of imbalance in the current sharing between the two sets of three-phase windings is permitted.

Open-Phase Fault-Tolerant Direct Torque Control Technique for Five-Phase Induction Motor Drives

Direct torque control (DTC) has been widely used as an alternative to traditional field-oriented control (FOC) methods for three-phase drives. The conventional DTC scheme has been successfully extended to multiphase drives in recent times, using hysteresis regulators to independently track the desired torque and flux in symmetrical five-phase induction machines (IMs). The fault-tolerant capability of multiphase drives is an interesting intrinsic advantage for safety-critical applications, where recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of FOC schemes to perform ripple-free postfault operation. In spite of the utility of DTC methods in normal operation of the multiphase machine, no extension to manage the postfault operation of the drive is found in the literature. In this paper, a novel fault-tolerant DTC scheme is presented. The performance of the proposed method is experimentally validated in a five-phase IM drive considering an open-phase fault condition. Provided tests analyze steady and transient states, including the transition from pre- to postfault operation. Obtained results prove the interest of the proposal, which ensures the open-phase fault-tolerant capability of DTC-controlled five-phase IM drives.

Impact of Postfault Flux Adaptation on Six-Phase Induction Motor Drives With Parallel Converters

The redundancy of multiphase drives provides an inherent fault-tolerant capability that is appreciated in applications with a complicated corrective maintenance or safety-critical requirements. Fault restrictions, however, force the system to be reconfigured to operate in a smooth and efficient manner. Previous works have been focused on the optimization of current waveforms to generate an undisturbed operation but still maintaining the prefault rated flux settings. This study shows that efficient controllers can improve the postfault performance in six-phase induction machines supplied by parallel-connected converters if offline optimization is used to obtain a variable reference flux. Theoretical and experimental results confirm that the proposed flux adaptation method provides higher torque/power capability, lower degree of imbalance in the current sharing between windings and efficiency improvement.

A Unified Analysis of the Fault Tolerance Capability in Six-Phase Induction Motor Drives

The fault tolerance of electric drives is highly appreciated at industry for security and economic reasons, and the inherent redundancy of six-phase machines provides the desired fault-tolerant capability with no extra hardware. For this reason some recent research efforts have been focused on the fault-tolerant design, modeling, and control of six-phase machines. Nevertheless, a unified and conclusive analysis of the postfault capability of six-phase machine is still missing. This paper provides a full picture of the postfault derating in generic six-phase machines and a specific analysis of the fault-tolerant capability of the three mainstream six-phase induction machines (asymmetrical, symmetrical, and dual three phase). Experimental results confirm the theoretical post fault current limits and allow concluding, which is the best six-phase machine for each fault scenario and neutral arrangement.

Fault-Tolerant Control of Six-Phase Induction Motor Drives With Variable Current Injection

Three-phase machines are the industry standard for electrical drives, but the inherent fault tolerance of multiphase machines makes them an attractive alternative in applications requiring high reliability. For this reason, different fault-tolerant control schemes for multiphase drives have been recently suggested, proving their capability to perform a ripple-free operation after an open-circuit fault occurrence. Nevertheless, the postfault strategies proposed so far consider a single mode of operation and do not allow a high-performance braking process in drives with unidirectional power flow where regenerative braking is not possible. This paper first explores the possibility of enhancing the braking process by using a proper injection of circulating currents that prevent the active power to reach the dc-link capacitor. This novel strategy is then combined with minimum losses and maximum torque criteria to obtain a variable current injection method that minimizes the drive derating, reduces the copper losses, and improves the braking transients. Experimental results confirm the successful performance in the different zones for the case of a six-phase induction motor drive.

A simple braking method for six-phase induction motor drives with diode front-end rectifier

Induction motor drives supplied from diode front-end rectifiers are commonly used in industrial applications due to their low cost and reliability. However, the two-quadrant operation of such a topology makes the regenerative braking impossible. Braking resistors can be used to dissipate the braking power and provide enhanced braking capability, but additional hardware is then necessary. Alternatively, the braking power can be dissipated within the inverter/motor by control software reconfiguration. In this scenario, the additional degrees of freedom of multiphase drives can be used to increase the system losses without disturbing the flux and torque production. Simulation results confirm the possibility to enhance the braking capability of the drive with only few changes in the control scheme.

Open-phase fault operation of 5-phase induction motor drives using DTC techniques

Direct torque control (DTC) is extensively used in conventional three-phase drives as an alternative to field-oriented control methods. The standard DTC technique was originally designed to regulate two independent variables using hysteresis controllers. Recent works have extended the procedure for five-phase drives in healthy operation accounting for the additional degrees of freedom. Although one of the main advantages of multiphase machines is the ability to continue the operation in faulty conditions, the utility of DTC after the appearance of a fault has not been covered in the literature yet. This paper analyses the operation of a five-phase induction motor drive in faulty situation using a DTC controller. An open-phase fault condition is considered, and simulation results are provided to study the performance of the drive, comparing with the behavior during healthy state.

Comparative study of DTC and RFOC methods for the open-phase fault operation of a 5-phase induction motor drive

Direct Torque Control (DTC) technique has been applied in recent times in high performance five-phase induction motor drives during the normal operation of the system. The use of DTC in the multiphase area is far from becoming a reality because it has not been used in competitive multiphase applications where the fault operation needs to be considered. The authors have successfully tested the ability of DTC controllers to manage the open-phase fault operation in a five-phase induction motor drive. However, the conclusion of the mentioned study must be completed comparing the obtained results with other mature alternatives based on field oriented controllers. This paper focuses on the comparative analysis of DTC and Rotor Field Oriented Control (RFOC) when an open-phase fault appears in the five-phase induction motor drive. Simulation results are provided to compare the performance of the system using these control alternatives.

A Simple, Fast, and Robust Open-Phase Fault Detection Technique for Six-Phase Induction Motor Drives

Fault tolerance is much appreciated at industry in applications with high-reliability requirements. Due to their inherent fault-tolerant capability against open-phase faults (OPFs), drives with multiple three-phase windings are ideal candidates in such applications and for this reason many efforts have been devoted to the development of different fault-tolerant control strategies. Fault detection is, however, a previous and mandatory stage in the creation of fault-tolerant drives, and the study of specific OPF detection methods for six-phase drives is still scarce. Taking advantage of the secondary currents (so called x-y currents) that are unique in multiphase machines, this study proposes new fault indices that detect and locate the OPFs without additional hardware. The method proves to be simple and independent of the operating point, control technique, and drive parameters. Comparative experimental results confirm the capability of the proposed method to achieve fast detection times with good robustness.

An Experimental Assessment of Open-Phase Fault-Tolerant Virtual-Vector-Based Direct Torque Control in Five-Phase Induction Motor Drives

Direct torque control (DTC) has been recently used for the development of high-performance five-phase induction motor (IM) drives, where normal operation of the system has been usually considered and the ability of DTC to manage the situation has been analyzed in comparison with different rotor-field-oriented control (RFOC) strategies. The exploitation of fault-tolerant capabilities is also an interesting issue in multiphase machines, where the utility of RFOC controllers has been stated when the open-phase fault operation is considered. In this paper, the performance of DTC and RFOC controllers based on proportional resonant regulators and predictive control techniques is compared when an open-phase fault appears in a five-phase IM drive. Experimental tests are provided to compare the performance of the system using these control alternatives.