CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
In modern industrialized countries, more than half the total electrical energy
used is converted to mechanical energy through AC induction motors. They are used
to drive pumps, fans, compressors, mixers, agitators, mills, conveyors, crushers,
machine tools, cranes, etc. This type of electric motor is so popular due to its
simplicity, reliability, less maintenance and low cost.
Initially the principle of speed control was based on steady state consideration
of the induction motor. V/f control was the commonly used one for the open-loop
speed control of drives with low dynamic requirements. Slip frequency control was
another well-known technique with better dynamics. This technique was implemented
in all high performance induction motor drives until Field Oriented Control (FOC)
became the industry’s standard for AC drives with dynamics close to that of DC
motor drives, which have been the natural choice for applications requiring high
dynamic performance.
In this chapter, literature review of field oriented control of induction machine
drive and the strategies for pulse width modulation technique are narrated.
Approaches for sensor less operation of induction motor and field weakening control
are reviewed. Analysis of research contributions in propulsion applications are also
carried out. Finally, the research gap in propulsion application with induction motor is
pointed out.
2.2 Pulse Width Modulation of Inverters

The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is one of the most widely used
techniques applied in the inverter (DC/AC converter) to output an AC waveform with
variable voltage and variable frequency for use in mostly variable speed motor drives.
The implementation of the complex PWM algorithms have been made easier with the
advent of fast digital signal processors, microcontrollers and Field Programmable
Gate Arrays (FPGA) . The concept of harmonic distortion is used as the performance
index to compare various PWM algorithms. The most important aim of the
modulation strategies is to achieve the maximum voltage with the lowest harmonic
distortion. Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and Weighted Total Harmonic

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Distortion (WTHD) are the commonly used performance evaluation methods.
In the literature, the enormous amount of material published made it
challenging one to identify basic modulation principles and apply them to particular
implementations and the research is still active in this area. In spite of these massive
research works, only three significantly different alternatives for determining the
converter switching pattern that have been proposed for fixed frequency modulation
systems. These alternatives are the following:
 Naturally sampled PWM: Switching at the intersection of a target reference
waveform and a high frequency carrier;
 Regular sampled PWM: Switching at the intersection between a regularly
sampled reference waveform and a high frequency carrier and
 Direct PWM: Switching so that the integrated area of the target reference
waveform over the carrier interval is the same as the integrated area of the
converter switched output.
Of the many variations of these three alternatives published, the classification
according to switching frequency is two types. They are:
Low switching frequency control
 Programmed PWM
 Space Vector Control PWM
High switching frequency control
 Sinusoidal PWM
 Space Vector PWM

2.1.1 Sinusoidal PWM

The classical Sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) is a form of naturally sampled PWM

which uses a triangular carrier to compare against the reference (control/modulating)
waveform. The ratio of the amplitude of carrier signal and the control signal is called
‘modulation ratio’. If the reference signal is higher than the carrier, the corresponding
inverter cell outputs positive voltage; otherwise, the corresponding inverter cell
outputs negative voltage. The major limitation with this naturally sampled PWM is
the difficulty of its implementation in a digital modulation system due to the
intersection between the reference sinusoid and triangular carrier as defined by a

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transcendental equation which is complex to calculate. This limitation can be
overcome by adopting a regular sampled PWM strategy, in which the low frequency
reference waveforms are sampled and then held constant during each carrier interval.
These sampled values are compared against the triangular carrier waveform to control
the switching process of each phase leg, instead of the sinusoidally varying reference.
Even though the method is very simple, it has the following drawbacks:
 SPWM is unable to fully utilize the available DC bus supply voltage to the
voltage source inverter.
 The method cannot completely eliminate the low order harmonics.

 Therefore the low order harmonics cause loss and high filter requirements.
 The high switching frequency causes high switching loss and low efficiency.
 To reduce run-time processing load for slow controllers, three 120
 Phase shifted sine tables are created in the controller memory. This is an
inefficient usage of the controller memory.
 There is no degree of freedom in implementation. It has a relatively robust
harmonic spectrum as the harmonic spectrum of the resulting waveform is tied
to the selected switching frequency.

2.1.2 Space Vector PWM

In the mid 1980’s a form of PWM called Space Vector Modulation (SVM)
was proposed, which was asserted to offer significant advantages over natural and
regular sampled PWM in terms of performance, ease of implementation and
maximum transfer ratio. The SVM technique is one of the most popular for bi-level
PWM inverter control. In SVM, the three phase stationary reference frame voltages
for each inverter switching state are mapped to the complex two phase orthogonal α-β
plane. The reference voltage is represented as a vector in this plane and duty-cycles
are computed for the selected switching state vectors in proximity to the reference.
These vector diagrams are universal regardless of the topology of inverter. Therefore
it can be used for diode-clamped or capacitor-clamped. The adjacent three vectors can
synthesize a desired voltage vector by computing the duty cycle for each vector.
Space vector simultaneously represents three phase quantities as one rotating

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vector, hence each phase is not considered separately. The three phases are assumed
as only one quantity. The space vector is valid for both transient and steady state
conditions in contrast to phasor representation. The main benefit of SVM is the
explicit identification of pulse placement as an additional degree of freedom that can
be exploited to achieve harmonic performance gains. SVM methods generally have
the following advantages:
 Line-to-line voltage amplitude can be as high as the available DC bus voltage
and thus 100% DC voltage utilization is possible in the linear operating
region.
 In the linear operating range, line-to line voltage amplitude is 15% more in
SVM with the modulation index = 0.866, compared to the SPWM with
modulation index = 1. Hence, it has the better usage of the modulation index
depth.
 With the increased output voltage, design of motor control system with
reduced current rating, keeping the horsepower rating the same. The reduced
current helps to reduce inherent conduction loss of the VSI.
 Only one reference space vector is controlled to generate 3-phase sine waves.
 The algorithm gives less THD and less switching loss compared to SPWM.
 It offers several degrees of freedom that can be used effectively to design an
improved harmonic spectrum and obtain the desired waveform quality.
 As the reference space vector is a two-dimensional quantity, it is feasible to
implement more advanced vector control using SVM.
 Control is relatively easy and the hardware implementation can be easy by a
digital signal processor (DSP).
These advantages make it popular for inverter control and hence the research
is still active especially in the switching sequence of SVM. Various SVM sequences
are investigated in and its application in AC drives. Space vector approaches with a
higher number of degrees of freedom have been presented in. Different vector
sequences based on the value of the modulation index is employed in it. The
application of SVM to a variable speed electric drive is studying.

2.3 Field Oriented Control of Induction Motor

The modern control approach for induction machine is based on the principles

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of torque and flux control known as Vector Control (VC) or FOC. Following the
introduction of space vectors by Kovacs in 1959, the concept of Indirect FOC (IFOC)
was presented by Hasse in 1968. Later in 1971, Direct FOC (DFOC) was developed
by Blaschke. In the mid 1980’s, as researchers worked for enhancements of the basic
FOC, Depenbrock presented the Direct Self Control (DSC) and Takahashi and
Noguchi the Direct Torque Control (DTC). In the literature, the research work in
adjustable speed AC drives was slow until the 1980’s. The advancement in power
electronics and microprocessor revolution made it possible to implement complex
control algorithms of the FOC, which in turn made induction machine as one of the
dominating machine in the drives market. Even though IFOC and DFOC are
effective, both the control structures rely on motor parameters and exhibit
considerable sensitivity to parameter variation. Research work on enhancement of
FOC schemes to equip with proper means of parametric identification during both
installation phase (self-commissioning) and regular operation (on-line tuning) has
been carried out by researchers for the last two decades and is still active.
An online identification technique based on evaluation of the stator current
trajectory for the rotor time constant and other machine parameters is described. The
scalar control strategy provides good steady state but poor dynamic response due to
the deviation in the air gap flux linkage values. The scalar control uses particular
voltage and frequency for the control rather than its phase, hence, the deviation in
phase and magnitude values of the air gap flux linkages results. These undesirable
deviations may affect high performance of electric propulsion drives. Therefore, a
high precision fast positioning speed control is required. A coordinated control of
stator current magnitude, frequency and phase, makes AC induction motor drive, a
complex control. If the rotor flux linkages are resolved then the control of an AC
machine becomes very similar to a separately excited DC machine. This type of
control is obtained in the field coordinates, hence the name field oriented vector
control scheme. These are classified according to how the field angle is acquired. If
the field angle is acquired by voltage and current, then it is known as direct vector
control and if it is acquired by the rotor position measurement then it is termed as
indirect vector control scheme.
A probabilistic approach to the characterization of dynamic models of
induction machine clusters which derives bounds on Eigen value variations for
linearized models expressed in terms of stochastic norms is presented in.The indirect

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approach that consist in estimating the continuous time parameters by first fitting a
discrete time model to the data and then converting the model to a continuous time
version.
Analysis of the high frequency behavior with regard to the impact of magnetic
core selection and skin effects of windings of the induction motor is investigated in.
Besides the adaption technique, most application require high performance digital
current control and online power loss minimization techniques. Powerful and flexible
DSP based drive controllers make the potential for substantial performance increased
through the application of advanced control concepts.

2.4 Sensorless Control of Induction Machine

During the past decade, sensorless speed control of induction machine has
become a mature technology for a wide speed range. Sensorless control of Induction
machine is now attracting wide attention, both in the field of electrical drives and in
the field of dynamic control. The advantages of speed sensorless AC drives are
reduced hardware complexity, lower cost, elimination of sensor cable, better noise
immunity, increased reliability, access to both sides of the shaft, less maintenance
requirements and higher robustness. The use of encoders increases the drive’s price
and affects the reliability which is of utmost concern to many operational situations
especially the electric vehicle industry.
In the literature, many research efforts have been made for rotor speed
estimation in the sensorless speed control. They can be broadly classified into: i)
those based on non ideal phenomena such as rotor slot harmonics and high frequency
signal injection methods and ii) methods relies on the model of the induction motor.
The former require spectrum analysis which is time consuming procedure and allow a
narrow band of speed control. The later methods are characterized by their simplicity,
but sensitive to parameter variations.
The role of stator resistance is important and its value has to be known with
good precision for obtaining accurate speed estimation in the low speed region. Any
mismatch between actual and set values of stator resistance within the model of speed
estimation may lead not only to substantial error in speed estimation but also to
instability.
Magnetic-saliency-based methods are proposed in, which operates only in low

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speed and cannot be applied in standard machine. The voltage model flux estimations
as proposed in have problems at low frequency regions and is sensitive to leakage
inductance.
Adaptive observer based approaches, using the derived adaptive laws can have
better performance with relatively simple computation, but their robustness to
parametric uncertainties is never guaranteed.
The Kalman filter approaches, are known to be able to get accurate speed
information and better flux estimation, but have some inherent disadvantages, such as
the influence of noise, computational expense and having no specific design and
tuning criteria. Recently, Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) algorithms for estimating
stator and rotor resistances are adopted for achieving accurate estimated values .
Modal Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) methods are based on comparison
between outputs of two estimates and the output errors are then used to drive a
suitable adaption mechanism, which computes the estimated speed. The performances
are still limited by parameter variations and the accurate flux estimation is still a
problem.
Sliding Mode Observers (SMO) are recognized as the promising control
methodology for electric motors, due to their reduced order, disturbance less and
simple implementation. S. V. Emelyanov was the first to propose Variable Structure
Control (VSC) with sliding mode control in the early 1950’s in Soviet Union, which
is basically a non linear control method that alters the dynamics of a non linear system
by application of a high frequency switching control varying system structure for
stabilization.
Algorithms such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Artificial
Intelligence (AI) for speed estimation in sensorless control can achieve high
performance, but are relatively complicated and consume large computational
time.However, the estimation of rotor flux and speed is still very challenging due to
the high-order multiple variables and nonlinearity of induction motor dynamics .
Among the above strategies, MRAS schemes are popular due to their relative
simplicity and less computational effort. Popular MRAS techniques are those based
on rotor flux, back EMF and reactive power. The back EMF technique has low noise
immunity and stability issues at low stator frequency, but eliminates pure integration.
The reactive power method shows its robustness against stator resistance variation
and avoids pure integration, but experiences with instability. MRAS based on rotor

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flux technique first proposed is the most popular scheme and researchers are focusing
to improve the performance of this technique.

2.5 Field Weakening Control of Induction Machine

Power electronics has greatly expanded the use of induction machine ranges
from consumer to automotive applications such as washing machine to traction in
power train. These applications require the achievement of high speed while having a
high torque value only at low speeds. In order to achieve these requirements, the
induction machine is to be operated in Field Weakening (FW) region, which is above
the base speed of the machine. In order to increase the produced torque to a maximum
level in the FW region, it is necessary to suitably adjust the machine’s magnetic field
by maintaining the maximum voltage and maximum current. The loss of torque and
power is up to 35% in the case of improperly adjusted machine flux.
During the past two decades, several research papers were presented in order
to achieve the maximum torque capability of the machine in the FW region and
suggested various approaches. The FW approaches can be categorized as:
variation of stator flux in inverse proportion to the rotor speed (1/ωr);
feed forward reference flux generation on machine equations or machine models
closed loop control of the stator voltage or voltage detection model.
The first approach as presented in the most frequently used approach in FW
control, the flux is established inversely proportional to the motor speed. Although the
method is simple, it is justified only when considering the machine as a linear
magnetic circuit. In the real situations, the transition from nominal excitation to FW
de-saturates the magnetic circuit. Thus the machine gets over excited as the optimal
balance between the magnetizing and the torque producing current components. The
method thus cannot produce maximum output torque for the available current nor the
full utilization of DC-link voltage.
The second approach, as presented in relies on the nonlinear equations of
machine model and the constraints of voltage and current, which makes it parameter
dependent. Thus the method can provide accurate results only if magnetic saturation
is considered with known machine parameters of sufficient accuracy.
The third approach as described maximum available inverter voltage is utilized to
produce maximum torque in FW region when the excitation level is adjusted by

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closed loop control of the machine voltage. Although it is not dependent on motor
parameters and DC link voltage, demands an additional outer loop which is to be
tuned and requires intensive computation. Also, the maximum torque is not generated
in the upper portion compared to lower portion of the FW region.
On comparing the above three approaches, the method based on machine
model seems to be a more practical approach with reasonable results. The major
problem of the machine model approach in the FW region is the substantial variation
of Magnetizing Inductance (MI) which is considered constant in the base speed range.
In the FW region, the rotor flux is getting reduced to below its rated value due to the
increase of rotor speed than the base speed. The variable level of the main flux
saturation in the machine causes the variation of MI. Therefore, in model based
approach, accurate speed estimation is possible only if the speed estimation algorithm
is modified to account the variation of MI in FW region. In the literature, modeling of
magnetizing inductance of induction machine has been discussed extensively in
recent past
A mathematical model for speed estimation of sensorless vector control of
SVM inverter fed induction machine using MRAS scheme based on sliding mode
observer which combines sliding mode theory and Lyapunov’s stability theory has
been presented with simulation results. In particular, aim of this chapter is to extend
the simulation carried out with theoretical modification for a sensorless vector
controlled induction machine in FW region, such that the machine can be operated in
wide speed range.

2.6 Propulsion Applications

There exists a growing recognition of the importance of propulsion and

traction motors and generators, even though the main focus has been on areas like
energy storage and power electronics. There is wide identification of the need for
advanced motors and generators in order to meet the aggressive targets of the electric
drive. Various technologies for the propulsion motors/generators have been developed
and advanced electrical machine drive systems have been commercially introduced
for light-duty vehicles, medium and heavy duty vehicles, off highway vehicles,
locomotives and ship propulsion .
Almost the entire light-duty vehicle industry has shifted to Permanent Magnet

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(PM) machines to meet the increasing power density and efficiency requirements. The
more recent designs utilize higher DC bus voltage (by using a boost converter) which
reduces the flux-weakening requirements especially for higher-speed machines like
the Toyota Camry and Lexus motors. But the main concern is the AC losses in the
windings at higher speeds. The performance of the machine will rely heavily on the
vehicle duty cycle and how long the motor can thermally operate at higher speeds and
also depends on the cooling mechanism implemented.
In case of medium and heavy duty vehicles like delivery trucks, buses and
trucks, induction machines are considered the main workhorse. Switched Reluctance
(SR) machines are also used in some heavy-duty vehicles and the main issues of SR
machines are acoustic noise as well as torque ripple. PM machines have higher power
density and efficiency at the machine torque-speed envelope. Induction machines
have advantages in terms of partial load and do not have the issues of fault-tolerance
or uncontrolled generation mode as in the case of a PM machine.
There is growing demand in electric drive systems in construction and Off-
Highway Vehicles to replace existing mechanical and hydraulic systems to achieve
higher performance. The induction machines are the dominant one for this type of
application. SR machines are being used due to their robustness and as previously
mentioned, acoustic noise and vibrations are not key issues in such applications. PM
machines are also being evaluated but there are concerns about the shock/vibration
levels that the machine can tolerate mainly due to the brittleness of PMs.
Induction machines are the dominant type of traction motors in locomotives.
The typical maximum speeds for these motors are in the range of 3000-6000 rpm.
Recently, PM motors have been developed for high-speed rail which has a maximum
speed of 4500 rpm.
2.7 Need for Research

Historically, DC machines have been the dominant one for propulsion

systems. DC machines are known to be simpler and less expensive, since they need
relatively uncomplicated control electronics to be fed using the DC supply already
present. But their main disadvantage is the lower efficiency and high maintenance
requirement, since brushes must be changed periodically. Although, PM and SR
machines are gaining interest as a potential replacement of DC machines in
propulsion applications, recently, induction motors are widely recognized as the most

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potential candidate for the propulsion applications due to their reliability, low
maintenance, low cost and the ability to operate in hostile environments.
Traditionally, induction motors are meant for grid applications. Recently, the control
platform for AC drive system provided with micro controllers, digital signal
processors and/or FPGAs enabled induction motors to find a prominent place in
variable speed applications where torque-speed characteristics can be nearly DC
series machine like.
Existing constraints of operation in FW are maximum output voltage and
permitted maximum current of the inverter. Most commonly used methods of
excitation control do not fully utilize the installed inverter power which causes a
reduction of torque and power down to 65%. Alternative methods are needed to
produce the maximum torque that the induction motor could possibly develop at high
speed (at FW region).
Most of the research works described in the literature for MRAS speed
observers employs a simple fixed gain linear PI controller to estimate the rotor speed
due to their simple structure and satisfactory performance over FW operation.
However, these controllers may drop the performance level due to the continuous
variation in the machine parameters and operating conditions in addition to
nonlinearities contributed by the inverter. Little interest has been focused on
alternative techniques such as sliding mode control for minimizing the speed tuning
signal to estimate the speed by MRAS in FW region. Furthermore, majority of the
study has been devoted with sinusoidal PWM inverter fed induction machines rather
than SVM inverters, which have good operating characteristics.

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