DIRECT TORQUE CONTROL OF INDUCTION MOTOR DRIVES

Giuseppe Buja*, Domenico Casadei**, and Giovanni Serra**

(*) Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Padova, 35 100 Padova, ITALY

(**) Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Bologna, 40 136 Bologna, ITALY

Abstract - Direct Torque Control (DTC) is an emerging 11. THEORETICAL. BACKGROUND

technique for controlling the PWM inverter-fed induction
motor OM) drives. It allows the precise and quick control of A ) IMphase equations
the IM flux and torque without calling for complex control A three-phase symmetric I M is considered with
algorithms. In principle, moreover, it requires only the sinusoidally distributed windings and short-circuited
knowledge of the stator resistance. The tutorial starts by
rotor. The IM structure can be depicted as in Fig. 2.1,
reviewing the basic operation of an IM and of a PWM
inverter using the space vector theory. The field-oriented where a two-pole pitch is drawn and the orignal windings
P O ) control of an IM drive is also reviewed. Then the are replaced by coils located along their magnetic axes. By
concept of DTC is illustrated and three DTC-based neglecting hysteresis, eddy currents and saturation of the
strategies [i.e. Switching Table (ST), Direct Self Control magnetic circuit, the IM equations are
@CS), Space Vector Modulation (SVM)] y e described. The
ST strategy is dealt with in detail, discussing the results
which can be obtained with different choices of the switching
table. Problems associated with the selection of the dpk
vk = Rkik+ - '

amplitude of the hysteresis bands of the flux and torque dt

controllers are illustrated by means of experimental data.
Merits and limits of DTC are reported and a comparison
with FO control is given.

I. INTRODUCTION where k (and h ) denotes a generic winding, the stator-to-

rotor mutual inductances are a cosine function of the angle
In recent years, the commercial applications of the field- between the windings, vk=O for the rotor windings, p is the
oriented (FO) induction motor (IM)drives have greatly pole-pair number, and Wmfis the magnetic energy stored
increased, including steel and paper machines, machine in the motor.
tools, and so on [l]. In parallel, a number of studies has
been developed to find out different solutions for the
control of the IM drives with two objectives, namely i)
fulfilment of the requirements for a precise and quick
control of the motor flux and torque, and ii) reduction of
the complexity of the algorithms involved in a FO control.
Among the various proposals, Direct Torque Control
(DTC) has found wide acceptance and commercial dnves
employing DTC are on the market since a few years [2]-
[12]. Differently from FO control, DTC does not tend to
reproduce the electromechanical behaviour of a dc motor Fig. 2.1. Two-pole pitch IM structure (eme:
rotor position in
drive but is aimed at a complete exploitation of the flux electrical units).
and torque-producingcapabilities of an IM fed by a PWM
inverter. In this sense, DTC can be viewed as a novel B) Space vector
concept in the control of IM drives.
T h s tutorial concerns DTC and the strategies for its A three-phase system g and an associate set of variables
implementation. In detail, the tutorial is organised as xag, x b g , and xcg with no zero-sequence component are
follows. In Section 2 the basic operation of an IM and of a considered. The space vector is a compact and powerful
PWM inverter as well as the FO control are reviewed by representation of xog,xbg, and xcg. In a d,q reference frame
using the space vector theory. In Secuon 3 , the DTC fixed to g and with the axis d aligned along the axis of the
concept is illustrated. Sections 4, 5, and 6 describe three phase ag, the space vector is obtained by means of the
DTC-based strategies, i.e. Switching Table (ST), Direct following transformation:
Self Control (DCS), and Space Vector Modulation (SVM),
respectively. Section 7 presents an improved estimator of
the stator flux. Section 8 concludes the tutorial, giving a
comparison between DTC and FO control.

where K is a coefficient which is taken equal to 213

(amplitude-invariant transformation) and the superscript

IEEE Catalog Number: 97TH8280 -Tu2- ISIE'W - Guimar%~,Portugal

of X denotes the reference frame. In a d,q reference frame
T = -pis
3 7 jqs (2.6b)
rotating with respect it0 g and denoted with t, the space 2
vector is defined as 3 7
T = --pir jqr (2.6~)
2
(2.3)
where 0 stands for scalar product and the space vectors are
related to the same reference frame.
where (0, - OOg)is the angle between the axis d and that Parameters of inteirest for IM operation are the rotor
of the phase ag. According to Fig. 2.2, (2.2) and (2.3) can time constant and the total leakage coefficient, siven
y!
be specified as follows for an IM: the axis of the phase us
is taken as reference for the angular displacements, g=s Lr
=-; 0 = 1 - - - 1;
and 8,=0 for stator viuiables, g=r and 8, =e,, for rotor (2.7)
R, LA Lr
variables.
0)PWMinverter equations
A three-phase voltage PWM inverter is considered. The
inverter can be depicted as in Fig. 2.3, where E is the dc
link voltage, and Sa, ,Sb,and S, are the states of the upper
switches (S=l means switch on, S=O switch off). The
states of the lower switches are the opposite of the upper
ones to prevent short-circuit of the supply. Therefore the
possible inverter configurations are 23=8.

Md,q rotating reference frame.

Fig. 2.2. I

C) IMspace vector equations

The IM flux and voltage equations, written in terms of
space vectors related to a rotating d,q reference frame
common to stator and rotor, become Fig. 2.3. Three-phase P I b l voltage inverkr

(2.4a) If the load is a symmetric IM, the phase voltages

generated by the PWM inverter and applied to the stator
are constrained by

o = ~ ~ +f -: + j ( w , - wme)ijii
dui;
dt In terms of Sa, Sb, and. S,, they can be expressed as

DTC operation is usefdly analysed by writing the stator 2sa- s, - scE

equations in a d,q reference frame fixed to the stator and vas =
3
the rotor equations in a d,q reference frame fixed to the Sa + 2sb - Sc
rotor, i.e. by vbs = E
3

The space vector of (2.9) is

dq;
v s = Rsis +-
-S -s

dt ZZ
(2.5b)
-r d@L S, +SheI - +S,e (2.10)
0 = Rrir +- 3
dt

The I M torque equation can be expressed in several and takes the 8 values v k @=l-S) shown in Fig. 2.4. The
ways; those used in the following are space vectors with k=1-6 have the same amplitude (2E/3)
and phase angles equal to (k-l)n/3.The remaining two
3 L - space vectors (k=0,7) (coincideswith the zero space vector.
T =- p A i s jFr (2.6a)
2 Lr

IEEE Catalog Number: 97TH8280 -Tu3- IS” - G u i i e s , Portugal

 (2.14)

As pointed out by (2.14), the indirect FO control is

- - -
V,(011) V,(OOO) - V,(lOO) sensitive to variations of 7,.They cause a misalignment

Fig. 2.4. Inverter output voltage phase vectors.

E) FO operation
FO denotes IM operation in a d,g reference frame
synchronously rotating with one of the motor fluxes. The
most suitable orientation is with the rotor flux, yielding to
Fig. 2.6. Scheme of an indirect FO Ih4 drive with current control
(2.11)
in the stationary frame (constant rotor flux operation).

With no loss of generality, the axis d can be aligned along

Direct FO. The rotor flux space vector position is here
the space vector of the rotor flux (6t =BPK). Thus,
detected by means either of sensors incorporated in the
omitting the superscript t=qhere and in the following, motor or of an observer entered by quantities available at
the motor terminals. The first solution is commonly
disregarded as it requires special motors whilst the second
one introduces again a sensitivity to the motor parameters.
By substituting (2.11) and (2.12) into (2.4) and (2.6a), the
following scalar equations can be derived: 111. DTC CONCEPT
A) Relationship between the voltage vectors and the flux
(2.13a) variation
Eq. (2.5b), neglecting the stator resistance voltage drop,
T 3 Lm
= -p-priqs
(2.13b) can be written as
2 Lr -S

wpr-Ume= --
L, ,i
(2.13~) (3.1)
2, Pr or
-s -s
Eqs. (2.13) are the key relationships describing the FO dPs E Vsdt
operation of an IM. In particular, (2.13a) and (2.13b)
show that torque and rotor flux depend in a decoupled way If the time interval is sutticiently short, it results
on the components ids and i,, of the stator current.
FO operation is achieved by forcing the desired
amplitude of ids and of i, into the stator through a closed-
loop control. To this end, the phase angle of the rotor
Eq. (3.3) shows that the applied voltage space vector
flux space vector, i.e. of the rotor flux reference frame, produces a stator flux variation which has the same
must be known. It can be determined either in a indirect direction of the voltage space vector and an amplitude
way or in a drect way, yielding to two FO control which is proportional to the voltage and to the time
strategies. interval during whch the voltage is applied.
Indirect FO. Under FO the angular slip frequency of the
rotor flux space vector is given by (2.13~).By assuming a B) Relationship between the voltage vectors and the
constant rotor flux operation and a prompt response of the torque variation
current loop, T ~ ,ids and i,, can be replaced by their By eliminating is from (2.5a), one obtains
references and f3ir is obtained as

IEEE Catalog Number: 97TH8280


Substitution of (3.4) into (2.6~)yields to
(3.5)
Eq. (3.5) shows that the torque is proportional to the
scalar product between stator and rotor fluxes (after 90'
degree rotation of the latter one) both in a rotor reference
frame.
It can be proven that the space vector of the rotor flux is
related to that of the slator flux by the following equation
in the s-domain:
i.e. by a first-order delay equation.
From (3.1)-(3.6), the basic principle of DTC can be
derived:
0 the only quantity tlriven by the inverter is the stator
voltage space vector,
0 the stator voltage space vector commands practically
the variation of the stator flux space vector,
0 any variation of the stator flux space vector leads to a
variation of the torque due to both the amplitude
variation and the phase angle variation between the
stator and rotor flwt space vectors.
+Q P-
T*
Fig. 3.1. Basic DTC block diagram.
The basic DTC block diagram is shown in Fig. 3.1. The
actual value of the stator flux space vector is evaluated
from the stator voltage equation in (2.5b)
(3.7)
while the torque is evaluated by means of (2.6b). The
switching configuration selection block in Fig. 3.1 sets the
states of the inverter switches on the basis of the
instantaneous errors of torque AT and flux AT,.
The actual values of y: and :T are calculated by using
IEEE Catalog Number: 97THS280 -Tu5-
the DC link voltage E.,the inverter switching states Sa, s b ,
and Sc, and the motor line currents i, and i,.
IV. ST STRATEGY
A) ST operation
With the ST strategy, the inverter voltage space vector is
selected -for each sampling period- in order to maintain
the torque and stator flux amplitudes withln the limits of
two hysteresis bands. The selection is carried out on the
basis of the errors in the torque and in the stator flux. Let
be the stator flux spaice vector located in the k-th sector
(k=1,2,3,4,5,6) of the: d-q plane. In order to increase its
magmtude the voltage space vectors vk, vk+l,vk-1can be
selected (Fig. 4.1). Conversely, the decrement of 'pscan be
obtained by selecting vk+2, vk.2, vk+,.The zero voltage
space vector does not affect substantially the stator flux,
With the exception of the small flux weakening due to the
voltage drop on the stator resistance.
/
/
.
/ \
Fig. 4.1 - Inverter output voltage space vectors and
corresponding stator flux variations in a time interval At.
In the following, the counter-clockwise hrection is
assumed to be positive for the space vector rotation (Fig.
4. l), the motor speed and the torque.
The voltage space vector utilised to control the stator
flux affects also the torque. Tab. I summarises the
combined action of each space vector on both the stator
flux and the torque. As it appears from the table, for both
positive and negative motor speed, an increment of torque
(+) is obtained by applying two voltage vectors only, that
are vk+,and vk+,.Conversely, a decrement of torque (+)
can be obtained by applying Vk-1 or vk-2. The radial
voltage space vectors vk, vk+,and the zero voltage space
vector act on the torque in accordance to the motor speed
direction as specified in Tab. I. In this table, a single
arrow means a small influence on the flux or torque
variations, whilst two arrows denote a larger influence.
The hysteresis band technique leads to four possible
conditions regarding to the stator flux and torque errors.
For each condition it is possible to find at least one voltage
space vector which acts in the way of reducing the errors.
It is then possible to drive the stator flux and the torque so
as to follow any desired track curve.
ISIE'97 - -SS, Portugal
‘fABLII I - I’LUX AND TCJRQUE VARIATIONS DUE TO THE APPLIED VOLTAGE 0.40
THD
0.30

0.20

0.10

0.00 I I I I I I I
c I 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14
A@/%
Fig. 4.2 - THD factor as a function of the hysteresis bands

Different switching solutions can be employed to control

the torque according to whether the flux has to be reduced
or increased. Each solution affects the drive behaviour in
terms of torque and current ripple, switching frequency,
and two- or four-quadrant operation capability. In Tab. I1
four switching solutions are given. Strategies A, B and C
can be used for two-quadrant operation, while strategy D
is suitable for four-quadrant operatiog. A convenient
control technique which utilises a different switching
solution according to the operating speed range can be
also utilised. The advantages of this control technique are
mainly related to the improvement of the transient
response in the whole speed range.
TABLE11 - POSSIBLE SWITCHING SOLUTIONS
Solution C vk+l vk+2 vk
Solution D vk+l vk+2 vk-1
B) Effects of the hysteresis band amplitudes
The amplitudes of the stator flux and torque hysteresis
bands have a relevant effect on the drive performance. In
particular, the harmonic current distortion, the average
inverter switching frequency, the torque pulsation and the
dnve losses are strongly affected by the amplitudes of
these bands. As an example, Fig. 4.2 reports the Total
Harmonic Distortion (THD)factor of the output current as
a function of the band amplitudes and Fig. 4.3 reports the
average switching frequency of the inverter.
The results show that the amplitude of the stator flux
hysteresis band mainly affects the motor current
distortion, producing low order harmonics. Therefore high
amplitudes of this band give rise to high harmonic copper
losses. The switching frequency and the associated
switchmg losses are mainly affected by the amplitude of
the torque hysteresis band. In case that the swtchmg
characteristics and the motor parameters are known, it is
possible to determine the amplitudes of the two bands in
order to minimise the sum of the harmonic copper losses
and switching losses.
8 k
6.60 0.62 0.64 o.da 0.68 o.io o h 0.i4
A@’/%
Fig. 4.3 - Average inverter switchmg frequency as a function
of the hysteresis band amplitudes.
V. DSC STRATEGY
In high power electrical drives the semiconductor
devices cannot work at high switching frequency. As a
consequence it is not possible to achieve full control of
vk+3 flux and torque. The DSC strategy is aimed at minimising
vk-2 the number of commutation in each cycle of the supply to
the detriment of the flux control. With this strategy, in
fact, the torque is kept under control by using a hysteresis
band as in a ST strategy, while the stator flux is controlled
in order to describe a regular hexagon.
The DSC scheme is drawn in Fig. 5.1 and the control
principle of the stator flux is given in Fig. 5.2. In the
scheme the phase fluxes (p’%, (p’bs, (p’,, are calculated and
compared with the amplitude reference ~ p ’ ~ ’ The
. results of
the comparisons provide the signals sa’, Sb’, s,’ which are
processed by the modulator block to determine the voltage
space vector that ensures travelling of the stator flux along
the hexagonal path. The calculated torque is compared
with the reference one and, on the basis of the torque
error, the modulator block selects either the zero voltage
space vector or the voltage space vector corresponding to
the signals sa’, ~ b ’ ,s,’.
From Fig. 5.1 it can be noted that the DSC strategy is a
part~cularcase of the ST one, i.e. the same stator flux path
and the same line current waveform are obtained with the
ST strategy by using an amplitude of the stator flux
hysteresis band equal to 0.134 times the reference value of
the stator flux.

IEEE Catalog Number: 97TH8280 -TU6 - ISIE’97 - Guim~a%, Portugal


Instantaneous F
Estim.
Fig. 5.1 - Block diagram of the DSC scheme
Fig. 5.2. Vector representation of the DSC strategy.
VI.SiVM STRATEGY
The presence of hysteresis controllers in the ST strategy
produces switching fiequency-variable operation of the
PWM inverter. In the literature some strategies, based on
Space Vector Modulation (SVM) technique, have been
presented which enable operation at a constant switching
frequency. One of them is the Stator Flux Vector Control
(SFVC) which utilises the stator flux components as
control variables.
The control principlle of SFVC is summarised in the
scheme of Fig. 6.1. According to this strategy, the stator
flux components in a rotor flux reference frame
: and vis are calculated from the torque and rotor flux
p
commands and afterwards are transformed into a stator
reference frame. The transformation angle O i r is the
phase angle of the rotor flux space vector in a stator
reference frame and can be derived from the following
equation:
By comparing the reference value of the stator flux space
vector with the estimated one, the error in the stator flux
space vector is readily obtained. The knowledge of this
error allows the determination of the appropriate voltage
space vector which the P W M inverter has to apply to Ih4
during the next sampling period t,, using the following
equation
IEEE Catalog Number: 9r7THS280
->
3
4
Fig. 6.1. Block diagram of the SVM scheme
The required voltage space vector F: is then synthesised
by means of the SWvl techmque. In the scheme of Fig.
6.1, the algorithm wlhich sets the flux reference level in
the flux weakening region is implemented by acting on
the rotor flux command.
VII. IMPROVEDISTATOR FLUX ESTIMATOR
At low speed the stator flux estimation given by (3.13)
deteriorates owing to the effect of an inaccurate value of
the stator resistance. An error in the stator resistance
causes a deviation of the stator flux space vector from a
circular trajectory centred in the origin. As a consequence,
the stator flux exhibits undesired oscillations of
magnitude. This, in turn,produces torque fluctuations and
acoustic noise. In alddition to an error in the stator
resistance, the curren,t sensor offsets also affect the drive
behaviour, particularly in the low speed range. In order to
maintain good perfonmance at low speed, improved stator
flux estimators are used.
A block diagram of a S V M scheme with an improved
stator flux estimator is drawn in Fig. 7.1. Operation of the
estimator is based on the low pass filtering action of the
rotor back-emf and the rotor flux command. The rotor flux
estimator can be expressed by the following equation in
the s-domain
--s 7 --s 1 --s*
e, + --or
Or = I+zs l+ZS
where z is a time constant. The rotor back-emf Frs is
calculated as
(7.2)
The space vector of ,the rotor flux in the stator reference
frame @,"* has the same magnitude of the reference and
the phase angle of tbe estimated one. The estimated space
vector of the stator flux ?ji is obtained from (6.1)
(7.3)
- TU7 - ISIE'97 - Guimarses, Portugal
 It can be verified that with an appropriate selection of z,
the stator flux estimator based on (7.1)-(7.3) allows a
strong rcduction of the sensitivity of the control scheme to
an crror in the stator resistance and to current sensor
offsets.
Eq 1.3
ATAN
L - - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Fig. 7. I . SVM scheme with improved stator flux estimator.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
The tutorial has presented the DTC concept and its
application to the P W M inverter-fed IM drives. In
comparison with FO control, DTC has the following
merits:
- no need of current loops and variable transformation,
- no need of a speed sensor for implementing the IM flux
and torque control,
- no need of the IM parameters, apart from the stator
resistance.
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Portugal