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SRM Basic Principles
SRM Basic Principles
Principle of Operation of
the Switched Reluctance
Motor
2.1
Introduction
14
Principle of Operation
Controller
UDC
Rotor position
Phase current
Converter
SRM
2.2
Machine Topologies
As any other motor, the structure of the switched reluctance motor consists
of a stator and a rotor. Both stator and rotor are laminated. Stacking the
laminations punched from steel lamination with high magnetic quality yields
the rotor cores. The stator is formed from punched laminations too bonded
into a core, and the coils are placed on each of the stator poles.
Each stator pole carries an excitation coil, and opposite coils are connected
to form one phase. There are no windings on the rotor. The number of stator
and rotor poles are chosen using a series of criteria developed in Chapter IV.
In this chapter it is supposed that the number of rotor poles Nr , and stator
poles Ns are known without discussing the criteria for their choice.
Switched reluctance machines can oer a wide variety of aspect ratios and
salient pole topologies without aecting performance too much. This means
that each application is likely to be better suited for a specic SR topology.
Single Phase Motor
These are the simplest SR motors having the advantage of fewest connections
between machine and power electronics. However, the very high torque ripple
15
and inability to start at all angular positions represents a drawback. They can
present interest only for very high-speed applications.
Two Phase Motor
The use of a stepping the air-gap can avoid the starting problems. For a two
phase SRM the high torque ripple is an important drawback.
Three Phase Motor
The most popular topology of a three-phase SRM is the 6/4 form (Ns = 6
and Nr = 4). It represents a good compromise between starting and torque
ripple problems and number of phases. Alternative three-phase machines with
doubled-up pole numbers can oer a better solution for lower speed applications.
Four Phase Motor
The four-phase motor is known for reducing torque ripple. The large number
of power electronic devices and connections is a major drawback, limiting fourphase motors to a specic application eld. A practical limitation to consider
larger phase numbers is the increase of the converter phase units, hence of the
total cost.
2.3
The switched reluctance motor with its passive rotor has a simple construction.
However, the solution of its mathematical model is relatively dicult due to its
dominant non-linear behaviour. The SRM is characterized by its geometrical
layout, the characteristic of the magnetic material and electrical parameters.
The cross sectional view of a four-phase SRM is shown in Figure 2.2.
The selection of the stator and rotor teeth number Ns and Nr is made with
the respect to several constraints as rotor deformation, capability of torque
production at all rotor positions and four-quadrant operation. The relationships among all these constraints will be presented in Chapter IV. The number
of phases is identied from the stator and rotor pole numbers:
Ns
,q integer
|Ns Nr |
(2.1)
q=
2Ns
,q non-integer
|Ns Nr |
Once the number of poles is chosen, the next parameters are stator s and
rotor r pole arcs in order to minimize the inductance, maximize the inductance
ratio, avoid dead zones and allow four quadrant operation. The stator and rotor
pole tapering angles s and r are direct functions of the number of stator and
rotor teeth:
16
Principle of Operation
bs
4
br
as
3
ar
2
1
s =
2
2
rad and r =
rad
Ns
Nr
(2.2)
A torque is produced when one phase is energized and the magnetic circuit
tends to adopt a conguration of minimum reluctance, i.e. the rotor poles
aligned with the excited stator poles in order to maximize the phase inductance.
As the motor is symmetric, it means that the one phase inductance cycle is
comprised between the aligned and unaligned positions or vice versa (Figure
2.3).
17
(2.3)
Figure 2.3 shows the idealised inductance prole of one phase as a function of
the rotor position for a pair of stator poles. The number of cycles of inductance
variation per revolution is proportional to the number of rotor pole pairs, and
the length of the cycle is equal to the rotor pole pitch. In reality the rotor pole
arc r is always larger than the stator pole s if Ns > Nr . The value of the
interval r r between the rotor teeth is larger than s in order to have the
minimum value of the inductance Lmin as low as possible. For the calculation,
the value of the air gap is considered to be constant in the interval where the
stator and rotor teeth are face to face.
The equation of the inductance prole can be rewritten as:
Lu ,
Lu + k,
L() =
La ,
Lu + k( r s ),
1 < < 0
0 s
s r
r r + s
(2.4)
18
Principle of Operation
k=
La Lu
s
(2.5)
The torque developed by a phase in which current ows tends to move the
rotor in such a direction as to increase the phase inductance, i.e. the aligned
position. This means that the motoring torque can be produced only in the
direction of the rising inductance. The instantaneous torque is obviously not
constant, as shown further, depending of the rotor position and the instantaneous phase current. Note that the torque is independent of the direction of
current ow, the motoring or braking torque production only depending of the
rotor position, suggesting the existence of the impact of switching angles of the
power electronic switches. This particularity of the switched reluctance motor
is discussed further.
The control scheme is based on the torque-speed characteristic (Figure 2.4).
Lawrenson [Law 80] describes three basic modes of operation of switched reluctance motor based on the torque speed characteristic. Currents in the stator
circuits are switched on and o in accordance to the rotor position. With this
simplest form of control, the switched reluctance motor inherently develops the
torque speed characteristics typical of d.c. machine.
T
Chopping
qD increasing
qD fixed
Current-limited
Const. power
Natural
T = const.
Tw = const
max qD
Tw = const
2
wb
wp
19
as 1/. This is the second important mode of operation, when the machine
speed is above base speed (b ). A control alternative for the switched reluctance
motor is to reduce the conduction angle c = of f on at constant voltage.
In this mode, the voltage generator is fully applied across the phase till of f
and the current decreases.
There is a practical limitation of increasing the conduction angle. If it were
increased so that the turn-o angle corresponds to the next cycle turn-on angle,
then the ux level would not return to zero at the end of each pulse. In this
case, the net ux in the phase winding would increase until the machine became
continuously saturated. This corresponds to a rotor speed p . Running above
this sped implies a fall of the torque production as 1/ 2.
2.4
Mathematical approach
UR
U
R
R
L(q,i)
S
Figure 2.5: Equivalent circuit for one phase.
U = Ri +
(, i) di (, i) d
+
i dt
dt
(2.6)
where U is the supply voltage, i is the phase current, R is the phase resistance, is the ux-linkage , and is the rotor angular position.
The general torque expression is:
T (, i) =
1
0
(, i)
(2.7)
20
Principle of Operation
d
dt
(2.8)
d
+ B
(2.9)
dt
It is a set of four non-linear partial dierential equations. Its solution,
neglecting the nonlinearity due to magnetic saturation is:
T Tload = J
(, i) = iL(, i)
(2.10)
T =
Tphase
(2.12)
phase=1
In this section it is assumed that the drive works in the linear region, limited
by the saturation value of the current Imax .
2.5
SRM modelling
2.5.1
A linear analysis assume that the inductance is unaected by the current, thus
no magnetic saturation occurs. For the sake of simplicity it is also assumed
that all the ux crosses the air gap in the radial direction, the mutual coupling
between phases may be ignored, and the eect of fringing ux around the pole
corners is also negligible. In the linear region, the equation of the magnetic
characteristics is
= L()i
(2.13)
21
d 12 L(, i)i2
i2 dL(, i)
+
(2.14)
Ui =
dt
2
d
This equation shows that when the rotor operates in the rst quadrant,
the input electrical power goes
to the increase of the magnetic energy
1 partially
2
2
stored in the self-inductance 2 Li and the other part i2 dL()
d is transformed
into mechanical power. As seen in the Figure 2.5, the equivalent circuit is
equipped with a switch representing the power electronic component. When the
switch S is closed, part of energy from source 1 (U ) is converted into mechanical
output and the other part is stored magnetically. When S is open, the stored
magnetic energy is partly transferred to the second source (UR )(charging, thus
recovering energy) and partly is transformed in mechanical energy.
For an SRM, an operating cycle consists in energising the phase followed by
demagnetising, achieved by zeroing the current. When one phase is energised,
a torque is produced in order to minimise the reluctance of the phase by pulling
the pair of rotor poles into alignment with the corresponding stator phase. The
mechanical output power is the product of the electromagnetic torque and rotor
speed.
Pa = m Te
(2.15)
1 0
1 0,2
ki
,
0 s
2
T =
(2.17)
0,
s r
1 2
2 ki , r (r + s )
T =
22
Principle of Operation
L, i
UN
KIm
(2.18)
t
T
(2.19)
where the second term of the numerator is the back-EMF, which depends
on the phase current, rotor position, and machine speed. As the maximum
phase current is Im , the linear inductance slope is constant, it results that the
maximum value of back-EMF is function of the shaft speed.
The speed torque characteristic of the switched reluctance motor can be
mathematical expressed by considering the basic modes of operation. Two basic
modes of operation, named A and B are possible, depending of the machine
speed. Mode A (bellow the base speed) occurs when supply voltage is larger
than the back-EMF, and mode B occurs in the opposite case (above the base
speed). Figure 2.7 presents the voltage, current, and inductance proles for
one phase of switched reluctance motor in mode A, and respectively mode B
of operation.
In mode A, the applied voltage is larger then any value possible of back-EMF
for the shaft speed range of [0 b ], which is equivalent to a possible current
23
2.5.2
The analysis of switched reluctance motor made till now has avoided the question of the inuence of the nonlinear, saturation characteristic of real magnetic
steel. However, a proper understanding and handling of saturation is essential.
Such analysis is based on magnetization curves. A magnetization curve is a
curve of ux-linkage versus current i at a particular rotor position (Figure
2.8).
The dierence between these characteristics and the ideal ones is obvious. The two most important magnetization curves, the aligned and the
unaligned, can be easily seen on Figure 2.8. In the aligned position, the curve
is similar to that of an iron-cored inductor with an air gap. At low ux density,
the curve is linear. The unaligned curve is straight because of the dominating
large air-gap. The saturation eect is observed at current levels that are usually
too high for normal operation and therefore the unaligned curve is assumed to
be linear.
There are two distinct eects of saturation. One is related to the values of
the phase current, being similar the saturation eect in other types of machines.
The second eect depends on the rotor position, and is known as local eect.
In the switched reluctance motor both eects are present and interact, but their
24
Principle of Operation
Wf = W =
Flux-linkage
Y
Wf
W
Current
Figure 2.9: The nonlinear eect of a magnetic circuit.
The co-energy is dened:
25
W =
di
(2.21)
The most general expression for the torque produced by one phase at any
rotor position is given by the change in magnetic co-energy (virtual work principle):
W
T =
(2.22)
i=constant
In conventional switched reluctance motors, the torque produced is determined directly from the area enclosed by the ux-linkage/current (/i) of each
phase. The instantaneous torque represents the work variation Wm at constant current for an innitesimal rotor displacement . This is illustrated in
Figure 2.10. During the displacement there is an exchange of energy with the
supply, and there is also a change in the stored magnetic energy. The constantcurrent constraint ensures that during such a displacement, the mechanical
work done is exactly equal to the change in magnetic co-energy.
Flux-linkage
Y C
D
B
A
DWe = DWf + DWm
DWm
O
i
Current
(2.23)
(2.24)
The input electrical power goes partly to the increase of the magnetic energy
stored in the self-inductance. The other part is transformed into mechanical
output power:
26
Principle of Operation
We = Wf + Wm
(2.25)
and the mechanical work done is found to be equal to the area enclosed by
both ux-linkage curves:
Wm = T = We Wf = OAB
(2.26)
By applying the co-energy method to each rotor position and for the whole
range of phase currents, the instantaneous torque curves can be build. An important observation is that not all the supply energy is converted into mechanical work, some of it being stored in the magnetic eld. This has an important
eect on the rating of the controller and the need for lter capacitors [Mil 93].
The torque curves for a four-phase 8/6 SRM are presented in Figure 2.11.
They have been obtained using the nite element analysis, as it will be developed in Chapter IV.
Imax
T [Nm]
2
Imin
0
-2
-4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
q []
27
qNr
W
2
T
2
T + qRIRMS
(2.27)
(2.28)
IRMS is the root mean-square value of the current in one phase. The torque
ripple Tr is:
Tr =
Tmax Tmin
Tave
(2.29)
where Tmax , Tmin and Tave are, respectively, the maximum, minimum and
average torque values.
2.6
As developed till now, the basic operating principle of the SRM is quite simple:
as current is passed through one of the stator windings, torque is generated by
the tendency of the rotor to align with the excited stator pole. The direction
of the torque generated is a function of the rotor position with respect to
the energized phase, and is independent of the direction of current owing
through the phase winding. Continuous torque can be produced by intelligently
synchronizing each phases excitation with the rotor position. The amount of
current owing through the SRM winding is controlled by switching on and
o power electronic devices, such as MOSFETs or IGBTs, which can connect
each SRM phase to the DC bus. The power electronic inverter topology is
an important issue in SRM control because it largely dictates how the motor
can be controlled. During the last years, various converters congurations
used in SRM drive have been developed in the research laboratories. Their
functionality emerges from some basic technical and economical requirements
and constraints.
There are numerous options available, and invariably the decision will come
down to a trade-o between the cost of the converter components against having
enough control capability (independent control of phases, current feedback,
etc.) built into the drive. The dependency of the torque production cycles of
the rotor position and the current value owing into the phase winding suggests
28
Principle of Operation
the existence of control intervals. The construction of the SRM drive converters
has to be done after the analysis of the control cycle interval. Based on this, a
conguration of converters used in SRM drives is developed.
2.6.1
IV quadrant
5
4
Interval
Interval
4
3
1
0
0
0
20
40 60 80 100 120
Rotor position, q []
III quadrant
40 60 80 100 120
Rotor position, q []
II quadrant
Interval
Interval
20
0
-120 -100 -80 -60 -40 -20
Rotor position, q []
29
Li(s )
UN
(2.30)
In order to avoid the ripple torque, for motoring and generating mode, the
advanced turn-on angle has a limitation imposed by the motor geometry.
In the motoring mode, the maximum advanced turn-on angle is limited
to the angular dimension of unaligned position. For generating mode, the
limitation is due to the angular dimension of aligned position.
1 r (r + s ) motoring mode
1 | r s |
generating mode
(2.31)
30
Principle of Operation
increase of the current. The solution is to transform a natural rest into
extinction interval, independent of the rotor position. The process is
not easy. Meanwhile the SRM continues to rotate, which may provoke a
change of the interval.
L, i
L, i
L
L, i
L
0
a)
b)
c)
31
topologies exist, and each one has its own merits and drawbacks. Function
of the converter topology, a fourth angle can be established called freewheeling
angle, delimiting the freewheeling interval. The role of the freewheeling interval
is to return the energy to the supply via the diodes after the commutation.
During a typical motoring stroke the locus of the operating point [i, ] follows
a curve similar to the one shown in Figure 2.14c. (current with respect of the
rotor position). In the same gure, the inductance curve for a constant current
is presented in order to make the whole process clearer.
At A the power electronic switch is turn-on and the current starts to ow
in the phase winding. It increases till the angle B where it reaches its reference
value. Usually this angle coincides with the beginning of overlap of rotor and
stator poles. The turn-on angle A is situated on the unaligned magnetization
curve (Figure 2.14a.). At turn-o angle C the supply voltage is reversed and
the current freewheels through the diode.
32
Principle of Operation
curve CD (Figure 2.14b.). The supply voltage is reversed and the energy WD
is delivered. During the freewheeling interval, the current still ows into the
phase winding, which obviously generates a torque. The area WmD in this case
expresses the mechanical work done. Mathematically, this can be expressed as
WmD = Wsme WD .
A rough energy balance can be deducted graphically. The result suggests
that at each stroke the total mechanical work done during the power electronic
device and freewheeling diode period represents about 2/3 of the supplied energy, while the remaining energy is returned to the supply. As seen, the use
of a freewheeling angle is not necessary for controlling the switched reluctance
motor. Its only advantage is the energy eciency improvement. However,
this advantage has its limitations by the torque ripple produced during the
freewheeling period. Without a fully inverted voltage immediately after the
turn-o angle C, the time necessary for zeroing the current is higher. For high
speeds, this can provoke negative torque generation, and the price paid is a signicant degradation of the motor performances (average torque, ripple torque,
etc.).
2.6.2
Four-quadrant operation
2.6.3
Dynamic Operation
33
L, i
L
w>0
T<0
L, i
w>0
T>0
i
L
T
L, i
i
w<0
T<0
L, i
w<0
T>0
L
i
q
T
34
Principle of Operation
angle and o at the commutation angle controls the process. Current control is
achieved with closed-loop control by a chopping action using either a PWM or
hysteresis switching control of the converter. The current controller structure
is dierent, depending on the switching strategy chosen.
PWM Current Control
The selection of the Pulse Width Modulation strategy is an important issue
in SRM control, as it dictates how the motor can be controlled. The PWM
strategy is also directly related to the power electronic converter topology.
Assuming that each phase of the SRM can be independently controlled, there
are three PWM strategies.
Single pulse operation
Each phase must be energized at its turn-on angle and switched o at
its turn-o angle. In single pulse operation, the power supply is kept
switched on during the dwell angle and is switched o at the phase commutation angle. As there is no control of the current and as there is
a sharp increase in the rate of change of current, this PWM strategy
is used when the amount of time available to get the desired current is
short. Typically, single pulse operation is used at high speed.
Chopping voltage strategy
The chopping voltage strategy is useful for controlling the current at low
speeds. This PWM strategy works with a xed chopping frequency. In
this case, the supply voltage is chopped at a xed frequency with a duty
cycle depending on the current error. Thus both current and rate of
change of current can be controlled.
The chopping voltage strategy can be separated into two modes: hard and
soft chopping strategies. The xed duty-cycle is dened as d = ton /T , where
ton is the on time and T is the period of the chopping frequency. PWM width
is determined by comparing the measured phase current and the required reference current (Figure 2.16).
iref
e
+-
+
+
if duty_cycle T
duty_cycle = T
end;
if duty_cycle 0
duty_cycle = 0
end;
duty_cycle
-1
35
K is the proportional gain and depends on the motor parameters and also
on dc bus voltage. Considering S the number of steps allowed in one PWM
cycle, the proportional gain K can be determined. Let i be the change in
phase current for 100% change in PWM duty cycle. The parameter i depends
on motor and converter types. The proportional gain K can be dened as:
S
(2.32)
i
Krishnan in [Kri 01] suggests that to obtain a high response speed, its value
is in the range of 30 to 70.
K=
(2.33)
di
<0
dt
(2.34)
and
| Ueq |<| UN |
(2.35)
U=
UN
UN
i < 0
i > 0
(2.36)
Soft chopping
U=
UN
0
i < 0
i > 0
(2.37)
(2.38)
The hysteresis controller is used to limit the phase current within a preset
hysteresis band. As the supply voltage is xed, the result is that the switching
36
Principle of Operation
frequency varies as the current error varies. The current chopping is not xed
frequency. This PWM method is more commonly implemented in drives, where
motor speed and load do not vary too much, so that the variation in switching is
small. As seen previously, here again both hard and soft chopping schemes are
possible. Hysteresis controllers realize the switching logic, one for each phase
(Figure 2.17). Note that the strategy described in the gure is soft chopping,
the output voltage having two values +Udc and 0. A similar strategy can be
achieved by switching the output voltage between +Udc and Udc .
UN
0
U=
UN
equivalent
equivalent
equivalent
to
to
to
INRUSH interval
FREEWHEEL interval
EXCTINCTION interval
(2.39)
37
Switching the voltage between full positive voltage and 0 is called soft chopping (Figure 2.18a.). Hard chopping (Figure 2.18b.) consists in switching the
supply voltage between fully positive and fully negative voltage. This control
strategy puts more ripples into dc link capacitor, thus reducing its lifetime and
increasing the switching losses of the power switches due to frequent switching
necessitated by the energy exchange. This can be improved by an alternate
switching strategy [Kir 01]. The chopping interval is a synthesis among the
three other intervals.
L
L, i
L, i
+ UDC
+ UDC
- UDC
- UDC
2.6.4
The subject of converter structures for SRM is not well covered in the literature,
relatively few being published about their development. Most of the authors
focus on the development of the control strategies, considering the converter as
ideal, thus practically ignoring it during their analysis. The objective of this
work is to synthesise, from the knowledge of the specications, the structure of
a power electronic converter capable of controlling the SRM in accordance to
the rules, intervals and switching angles developed previously. In this section,
the purpose is to nd straightforward way without using empirical data, the
38
Principle of Operation
II
39
III
K1
K4
K2
K3
40
Principle of Operation
41
Figure 2.22. If the static operating points of the sequences before and after
commutation are on two half-axes of same signs, this commutation can only be
forced (A B and C D). If the static operation points of the sequences
before and after commutation are on two half-axes with contrary signs, this
commutation can only be spontaneous (A D and B C) [Foc 88].
A
I
I
U
D
42
Principle of Operation
both being forced. Their characteristics suggest that K1 and K3 are IGBTs.
The characteristics of K2 and K4 switches suggest a spontaneous turn-on and
respectively turn-o states. This corresponds to forward biased diodes. The
analysis leads to the converter presented in Figure 2.24.
T1
D2
D1
T2
+
-
Figure 2.24: Asymmetric converter for SRM with freewheel and regeneration
capability.
Figure 2.24 shows an asymmetric bridge converter for one phase of the
switched reluctance motor. The rest of the phases are similarly connected.
Turning-on and -o of T1 and T2 for the proposed strategy is shown in Figure
2.25. Turning on T1 and T2 circulates a current in the SRM phase. If the
current rises above the reference value, T1 and T2 are turned o. The energy
stored in the motor winding recharges the dc source through the diodes D1 and
D2, bringing rapidly the current below the reference value, the phase voltage
being negative. During this interval, there is a repeated exchange of energy
between the dc source and machine winding. During turn-on and -o of T1
and T2, the machine phase winding experiences twice the rate of change of dc
link voltage, resulting in a higher deterioration of the insulation. This control
strategy puts more ripples into the dc link capacitor, thus reducing its lifetime
and also increasing the switching losses of the power electronic switches.
From Figure 2.18, it can be seen that inrush and extinction intervals automatically impose simultaneous turn-on and -o of T1 and T2. Soft chopping
implies the existence of the freewheel interval, thus the energy stored into phase
winding is not anymore returned to the source. In this case the time for the
phase current to return under the reference value is higher than previous as
seen in Figure 2.18b. The advantage of the soft chopping is that reduces the
switching frequency and hence the switching losses. This is realized by keeping
T1 turned-on during the inrush, chopping, and freewheel interval. During the
freewheel interval, the current continues to ow in the phase winding, converting the stored energy to useful mechanical work.
Krishnan [Kri 01] describes a unipolar switching strategy derived from the
soft chopping strategy presented previously. The inrush, soft chopping, and
freewheel intervals are identical as presented, but instead of an extended extinction interval, the strategy alternates freewheeling and extinction interval.
43
L
i
T1
T2
D1
D2
+ UDC
0
- UDC
Ip (Rs + m )
Udc
(2.40)
Various power converter congurations exist to control a switched reluctance motor: two-stage power converter, single-switch-per-phase converters,
etc. Each category has advantages and drawbacks. For the present thesis, the
asymmetric converter developed previously has been considered. During the
simulations only the control strategy has been retained, the converter being
44
Principle of Operation
2.7
Closed-loop motor control has the attractive properties of response and optimal
performance for varying load conditions. The switched reluctance motor has
strong similarity to dc and synchronous reluctance machine, but in control it is
very familiar to these machines and therefore, analogous control developments
are not possible [Kri 01]. To overcome the torque ripple of the motor and the
nonlinearity of the torque characteristics, various control solutions have been
developed.
This section deals with the description of the control scheme and its main
components. The switched reluctance drive is an electro-mechanical unit, composed of a SRM, a power electronic converter and a controller, all components
being coupled The development starts with the motor model based on the
mathematical description of one phase. It continues with the description of the
interval controller, speed controller and tuning of the speed controller gains
using simulated annealing algorithm.
2.7.1
Motor model
45
(i, ) di (i, ) d
+
(2.41)
i dt
dt
The rst term of the equation corresponds to the voltage due to the phase
resistance R. The second is the contribution of the inductive voltage, and the
last term corresponds to the back-EMF.
The partial derivates of the ux with the current (i,)
and respectively
i
(i,)
with the rotor position are easily found from the magnetization as seen
in Figure 2.27. The variation in time of the current is expressed by the voltage
equation:
1
di
(i, )
= (i,) U Ri
(2.42)
dt
U = Ri +
Figure 2.27: Partial derivatives of the ux with respect to current and rotor
position.
This non-linear model of the switched reluctance motor (Figure 2.28) is very
handy and uses only the partial derivates of the ux-linkage with respect of
rotor position and phase current, derivatives that are stored as look-up tables.
iref
Interval
and
Current
Controller
wref
di
1
y i,q
=
. u - R .i .w
dt y (i,q )
q
46
Principle of Operation
inrush, chopping, extinction and rest intervals, and the intervals extreme limits are named switching angles, which can be found using dierent analytical
or/and simulation methods, function of the criteria chosen (maximising the average torque output, maximizing the machine eciency, reducing ripple torque
level, etc.). This will be developed for an SRM four-phases 8/6 in the next
section.
Postulating a very small sample time, the following transformation from
continuous time to discrete time state space causes a negligible error. By this
transformation, the mechanical equation can be rewritten as explained. The
integration in the continuous time of a variable X is transformed to:
1
Int
=
X
s
(2.43)
In discrete time space the same integration is written as Figure 2.29, which
can be mathematically written as:
Int
Ts
=
X
1 z 1
X
Ts
(2.44)
Int
+
+
1
z
1 z 1
Ts
(2.45)
The mechanical equation written in discrete time space is presented in Figure 2.30. Tolerating a small discretisation error, the transformation from continuous time to the discrete time state space causes a negligible error.
2.7.2
47
General scheme
Interval controller
The optimal switching angle and interval control is very important. The Interval controller module assures the choice of the right instant of each interval
function of rotor position, reference current, and operation quadrant. The
module contains a series of logic functions and look-up tables, the output data
being the optimal switching angles.
Finding the optimal switching angle for a specic SRM application, is an
optimisation problem. The interest points in controlling SRM systems is to
assure the lowest torque ripple, maximum eciency, maximum average torque,
minimal acoustic noise, reducing reactive power ow, etc. These objectives can
be targeted together or individually as a function of the required application.
As described above, optimal switching angles choice strongly depends on the
reference current and machine speed. This feature is developed in Chapter IV.
48
Principle of Operation
2.7.3
Speed Controller
49
loops (Figure 2.32). The inner loop is responsible for the current control and
incorporates a PWM hysteresis controller, activated by the error between set
and measured motor current. The current/torque reference is generated by
the outer control loop, in which the error between reference and actual speed
activates the proportional-integral (PI) speed controller.
K a
J
(s + a)
n2
a s2 + 2n s + n2
(2.46)
Tuning the controller for optimal performance in a non-linear system (possibly together with an anti-windup system) may become a dicult task, especially when load disturbances are involved. Da Silva et al. [Sil 01] propose
on-line optimization of a PI controller with anti-windup circuit using genetic
50
Principle of Operation
algorithm. The genetic algorithm has proven to be capable of nding the optimum or near optimum settings for proportional and integral gains, together
with the setting of the non-linear blocks of anti-windup circuit. An alternative
is the simulated annealing method.
Simulated annealing method
The simulated annealing method is an optimisation technique that can be employed to nd global minima or maxima. The inspiration for simulated annealing comes from the physical process of cooling molten materials down to their
solid state. When molten steel is cooled too quickly, its atoms have no time
to nd the equilibrium position and the product presents a low mechanical
resistance. A slow cooled down schedule ends up with the best nal product,
bringing the steel to a low-energy, optimal state.
The application of the simulated annealing method in tuning PI speed controllers has given very good results [Aca 02]. Stochastic search techniques avoid
the requirement for mathematical modelling of the power electronic converter,
drive and load, being able to deal with non-linearities. They simulate the random evolution of a physical system and reach equilibrium as the steady-state
distribution over states of a corresponding Markov chain. Simulated annealing
can be shown to converge to a globally optimal solution. However, it can be
extremely computationally expensive.
A physical system, as it cools down, seeks to reach to a minimum-energy
state. For any discrete set of particles, minimizing the total energy is a combinatorial optimisation problem. Through random transitions generated according
to the above probability distribution, the physics to solve arbitrary combinatorial optimisation problems can be simulated. The simulated annealing tuning
algorithm for proportional-integral (PI) can be formulated as follows.
Set the independent parameters to the initial values;
Set Temperature to a relatively high value;
Perturb the independent parameters;
Calculate the new cost function in the new conditions;
Compare the new and best till now cost functions:
- If the new cost function is lower than or equal to the best, the new one
becomes the best till now;
- If not, choose a random number r uniformly from [0,1]. If r < e(E/kT ) ,
accept the worst solution (the new one) as best till now;
Repeat steps 3-5 an arbitrary number of times n;
If an improvement has been made after n iterations, set the center point
to be the best point.
51
range
kT
(2.47)
52
Principle of Operation
Acceptance probability, PA
1
Acceptance probability
PA
Temperature
0.5
1
0.8
0.3
0.5
0.1
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
displacement/range
53
Cost function
The second step of the algorithm consists in evaluating the proposed solution
B, and corresponds to the point (5) of the simulated annealing algorithm. The
evolution of the error signal in the transitory regime is a required parameter in
the evaluation of quality of an automatic control system. The most common
evaluation criteria for a PI controller are the IAE (integral absolute error), ITSE
(integral of time-multiplied square error), ISE (integral square error) or ITAE
(integral of time-multiplied absolute-value of error) [Mar 87]. For the present
algorithm, the IAE criterion has been chosen for evaluation. The so-called cost
function is:
0.15
| e(t) | dt
E=
(2.49)
1 + exp E
kT
(2.50)
54
Principle of Operation
Temperature []
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Number of temperature levels
70
Stop criterion
Typically, when the value of the current solution has not changed or improved
within the last iteration or so, the search is terminated and the current solution
reported.
2.7.4
55
w+
Reg (s)
w
*
Sgn(T )
Hysteresis
Control
Interval
Controller
This section deals with control of a four-phase 8/6 switched reluctance motor in
all four quadrants. The scheme contains a speed loop (PI control), current loop
(chopping control) and interval controller developed in the previous sections
(Figure 2.37). A specially designed algorithm for the interval controller is
proposed to control the voltage in order to minimise torque ripple. The rotor
position is calculated from the speed integration. Simulation results conrm
torque ripple reduction, illustrate performance and robustness of the control
scheme proposed and show good overall behaviour of an SRM drive model
under various types of disturbances.
The simulated SRM has the following data and parameters: PN = 7.5kW ,
N = 1900r/min, UN = 460V , IN = 32A, Im = 8A, q = 4, Ns = 8, Nr = 6,
Lmin = 10mH, Lmax = 110mH, r = 1.05rad, s = 0.35rad, r = 0.42rad,
f = 0.004N ms/rad, J = 0.0016kg m2 .
U
SRM
UN
56
Principle of Operation
I
0
r
q
II
s + r
(s + r )
r
q
III
s
s qr
IV
r
r + qr
The advance turn-on angle is chosen for the current to reach the desired
level i(0) at = 0:
onadv =
Lu i(0)
UN
(2.51)
The simulation circuit requires the detection of the motor speed and the
phase currents. The rotor position is calculated from the integration of the
drive speed, the initial start position being the 0 angle of the rst phase in
the positive rotation sense (counterclockwise) and the 0 angle of the second
phase in the opposite rotation sense (clockwise). As an observation, for the
positive rotation direction, the phase order is L1, L2, L3, L4, L1, L2,... and for
the negative rotation direction the phase order is L2, L1, L3, L4, L2, L1,...
The phase voltage is manipulated in both the chopping and the extinction
interval. The extinction angle is not xed, but automatically calculated as
a function of current and speed. The SRM was designed to operate in fourquadrants, the control strategies being dierent. For motor operations in both
directions the start of the chopping interval is the instant when the inductance starts to increase. For generation operation the chopping interval begins
when the inductance starts to decrease. The SRM performance depends on the
current value in each phase as a function of the rotor position.
57
(2.52)
The torques of each phase can be expressed using the torque distribution
functions (fA () and fB ()) as:
TA = T fA ()
and TB = T fB ()
(2.53)
Note that they are function of the rotor position. Combining (2.52) with
(2.53) results that at any instant:
fA () + fB () = 1
(2.54)
(2.55)
The conduction period of one phase is limited by the eective torque zone
(2.17). Between two phases, the rotor has to move with an angular distance of
r /q. Before this angle, only the rst phase (in this case phase A) is able to
produce torque. The maximum eective torque zone of one phase is determined
by the stator pole-arc width, s . Thus, the limits of the commutation interval
58
Principle of Operation
are [ qr , s ]. The initial commutation angle (i ) must be situated in this interval. For higher speeds and currents (as it will be shown in Chapter IV), it is
preferably to chose i as close as possible of the minimum extreme of the commutation interval. In this thesis, i = qr has been considered. Summarising,
the torque distribution function of phase A is:
1,
0 < qr
FA (, i ), qr < s
(2.56)
fA () =
0,
s < r
Conform to (2.54), the torque distribution function of phase B is fB () =
1 fA (). The choice of the distribution function during the commutation
interval (FA (, i )) can be made using various criteria such as minimum stator
losses, minimum peak current, etc [Kri 01]. The simplest form is a linear
function with a negative slope (phase A). In this thesis, an exponential function
depending on the rotor position has been chosen. This function satises the
boundary conditions of the commutation interval: FA (i ) = 1 and FA ( qr ) 0.
FA (, i ) = e(i )
(2.57)
Neglecting the saturation, the relation (2.16) allows to translate the reference torque into reference current. In this case, the implementation of the
current distribution function is relatively easy. In the non-linear case, the relation torque-current is much more dicult to be expressed in a mathematical
function. Usually, this is made using the look-up tables (as it will be explained
in Chapter III). Figure 2.38 shows the behaviour of the proposed distribution
function in creation of the resulting commutation air gap torque.
1.4
Distribution functions
1.2
fA(q)
fB(q)
fA(q) + fB(q)
1
0.8
Commutation
interval
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0
10
15
20
q []
25
30
35
59
+
-
2T
(dL/dq)
+
KI
60
Principle of Operation
16
KP [A/(rad/s)]
KI [A/rad]
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Number of accepted solutions
70
61
180
IAE = 1.96 rad
IAE = 2.62 rad
IAE = 2.0 rad
w [rad/s]
150
100
50
0
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
t [s]
5
4
3
2
1
0
0.16
0.17
0.18
t [s]
0.19
0.2
62
Principle of Operation
SRM (8/6) is very popular for reducing torque ripple further. It is important
to remember that it is not the electromagnetically developed torque that is
likely to be of primary interest to the user, but the speed ripple. Figure 2.46
shows the typical instantaneous torque of an SRM. The controller imposes a
maximum torque so that the reference speed is reached in the time delay set.
After the reference speed (ref = 60 rad/s) is reached, the motor torque falls
to a specic value (load torque Tload = 3 N m) in order to assure constant
speed. The system was simulated in both cases, without (left) and with (right)
torque distribution function (TDF).
The results demonstrate the reduction of the torque ripple produced by
SRM using torque distribution function control. The resulting torque is given
by the sum of instantaneous torques of each phase, as explained in (2.12).
Conform to (2.17), the instantaneous torque of one phase is a function mainly
2.8. Conclusions
63
With
Torque Distribution Function
18
18
16
16
14
14
12
T [Nm]
T [Nm]
Without
Torque Distribution Function
10
8
12
10
8
4
2
2
0
-200
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
-200
200
400
Rotor position []
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Rotor position []
Figure 2.46: SRM torque without (left) and with TDF (right).
of the value of the current owing. The problem is that this current is not
dropping instantaneously to zero due to the inductance even when full inverted
voltage is applied (extinction interval). The sum of two instantaneous torques
provokes an overshoot of the total torque. The current control using hysteresis technique is very fast, but still not instantaneous, producing the irregular
resulting torque (Figure 2.47).
2.8
Conclusions
The goal of this chapter was to introduce the basic principles of switched reluctance motor, main machine and converter topologies, mathematical approach,
and full four quadrants operating conditions. The focus has been on developing a general control scheme based on the control variables in the linear and
non-linear analysis.
64
Principle of Operation