Russel J. Kerkman

Effect of PWM inverters on AC motor bearing currents and shaft voltages

This paper investigates AC induction motor shaft voltage problems, current flow through motor bearings and electric discharge current problems within bearings when operated under both pure sinewave and pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter sources. Experience suggests that PWM voltage sources with steep wavefronts especially increase the magnitude of the above electrical problems, leading to motor bearing material erosion and early mechanical failure. Previous literature suggests that shaft voltage-bearing current problems under 60 Hz sinewave operation are predominantly electromagnetically induced. It is proposed that under PWM operation these same problems are now predominantly an electrostatic phenomenon. A system model to describe this phenomenon is characterized and developed. Construction and test of a new electrostatic shielded induction motor (ESIM) verifies this model and is also a possible solution to the bearing current problem under PWM operation.

Simple analytical and graphical methods for carrier-based PWM-VSI drives

This paper provides analytical and graphical methods for the study, performance evaluation and design of the modern carrier-based pulse width modulators (PWMs), which are widely employed in PWM voltage-source inverter (VSI) drives. Simple techniques for generating the modulation waves of the high-performance PWM methods are described. The two most important modulator characteristics-the current ripple and the switching losses-are analytically modeled. The graphical illustration of these often complex multivariable functions accelerate the learning process and help one understand the microscopic (per-carrier cycle) and macroscopic (per fundamental cycle) behavior of all the modern PWM methods. The analytical formulae and graphics are valuable educational tools. They also aid the design and implementation of the high-performance PWM methods.

A New Synchronous Current Regulator and an Analysis of Current-Regulated PWM Inverters

Detailed models are presented for the stationary and synchronous sine-triangle current regulators. Analytical and test results are compared for purposes of model verification and regulator evaluation. The results demonstrate the limitations of the two most often used current regulators and the robustness of the synchronous current regulator. The stationary sine-triangle and hysteretic current regulators are shown to have steady-state characteristics that depend on slip, operating frequency, and motor impedance. In contrast the synchronous regulator, because it lacks these dependencies, exhibits ideal steady-state current regulator characteristics without sacrificing bandwidth. Moreover, the complexities traditionally associated with the synchronous regulator are overcome with a simple equivalent implementation.

A high-performance generalized discontinuous PWM algorithm

In this paper, a generalized discontinuous pulsewidth modulation (GDPWM) method with superior high modulation operating range performance characteristics is developed. An algorithm which employs the conventional space-vector PWM method in the low modulation range, and the GDPWM method in the high modulation range, is established. As a result, the current waveform quality, switching losses, voltage linearity range, and the overmodulation region performance of a PWM voltage-source inverter (PWM-VSI) drive are optimized online, as opposed to conventional modulators with fixed characteristics. Due to its compactness, simplicity and superior performance, the algorithm is suitable for most high-performance PWM-VSI drive applications. This paper provides detailed performance analysis of the method and compares it to the other methods. The experimental results verify the superiority of this algorithm to the conventional PWM methods.

Carrier-based PWM-VSI overmodulation strategies: analysis, comparison, and design

In this paper, the overmodulation region voltage-gain characteristics and waveform quality of carrier-based pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) methods are investigated. Through detailed analytical study, voltage-gain characteristics are extracted independent of carrier frequency. The influence of blanking time and minimum pulsewidth (MPW) control on the inverter gain characteristics are studied and shown to be significant. A comparative evaluation of the modulator characteristics reveals the advantageous high-modulation-range characteristics of discontinuous PWM methods and, in particular, the superior overmodulation performance of a discontinuous PWM method. The modulation methods under consideration are tested on a PWM voltage-source inverter (VSI)-fed induction motor drive in the laboratory, and the theoretical results are verified by experiments. Also, a gain linearization technique is presented and experimentally verified. The results of this study are useful in the design, performance prediction and development of high-performance overmodulation strategies for PWM-VSI drives.

EMI emissions of modern PWM AC drives

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise is defined as an unwanted electrical signal that produces undesirable effects in a control system, such as communication errors, degraded equipment performance and malfunction or nonoperation. This article provides a common understanding of the EMI issues and provides simple pre-installation and post-installation guidelines useful for all interested parries involved in the industry application of adjustable speed PWM invertor-fed AC motor drives.

Pulse-based dead-time compensator for PWM voltage inverters

The dead time necessary to prevent the short circuit of the power supply in pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) voltage inverters results in output voltage errors. Although individually small, when accumulated over an operating cycle, the voltage errors are sufficient to distort the applied PWM signal. This paper presents a method to correct for the dead-time errors. The pulse-based dead-time compensator (PBDTC) is less hardware- and software-intensive than other dead-time compensation methods providing a low-cost solution. The pulse-based technique is developed by analyzing the effects of dead time on a pulse-by-pulse basis and correcting each pulse accordingly. The technique is evaluated through simulation and experimental results. Other compensation methods are evaluated, and the results compared with the pulse-based technique. This comparison indicates previous methods can produce magnitude and phase errors in the applied terminal voltage, whereas the proposed method compensates for the dead time without significant magnitude and phase errors in the terminal voltage of PWM voltage source inverters.

Bearing currents and their relationship to PWM drives

This paper examines AC motor shaft voltages and the resulting bearing currents when operated under pulse width modulation (PWM) voltage source inverters. The paper reviews the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the bearings and motor in relation to shaft voltages and bearing currents. A brief review of previous work is addressed, including the system model and experimental results. The theory of electric discharge machining (EDM) is presented, including component calculations of the system elements. The effect of system elements on shaft voltages and bearing currents are evaluated experimentally and the results compared to theory. A design calculation is proposed that provides the relative potential for EDM. Finally, the paper presents quantitative results on one solution to the shaft voltage and bearing current problem.

A simple on-line adaptation for indirect field orientation of an induction machine

Three simple methods of adapting for rotor time constant changes of an indirect field-oriented induction machine are proposed. These methods utilize voltages as field-oriented reference models in the basic model reference adaptive control (MRAC) structure. Each of these methods offers some implementation or performance advantage over previously proposed MRAC methods and other adaption techniques. The proposed methods are analyzed along with other previously proposed MRAC methods, and the advantages and limitations of each are discussed. Experimental results are presented for the proposed methods with the most advantages.<<ETX>>

System electrical parameters and their effects on bearing currents

This paper examines AC motor shaft voltages and resulting bearing currents when operated under pulse width modulation (PWM) voltage source inverters. The paper reviews the electrical characteristics of bearings and motors that cause shaft voltages and bearing currents. A brief review of previous work is presented, including a system model for electrical analysis of bearing currents. Relying on the work of a companion paper, the propensity for electric discharge machining (EDM) is determined by a design equation that is a function of system components. Pertinent machine parameters and their formulas are presented and values calculated for machines from 5 to 1000 HP. The effects of system elements on shaft voltages and bearing currents are evaluated experimentally and the results compared to theory. Finally, the paper presents quantitative results for one solution to the shaft voltage and bearing current problem.