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Published in IET Power Electronics
Received on 16th March 2012
Revised on 20th September 2012
Accepted on 30th September 2012
doi: 10.1049/iet-pel.2012.0121

ISSN 1755-4535

Torque ripple reduction technique with improved flux

response for a direct torque control induction
motor drive
Bhoopendra Singh1, Shailendra Jain2, Sanjeet Dwivedi3
1
University Institute of Technology, RGPV Bhopal, India
2
MANIT Bhopal, India
3
Danfoss Power Electronics, Denmark
E-mail: bhoopendrasingh1@gmail.com

Abstract: The availability of limited voltage vectors in a conventional direct torque control drive fed from a two-level inverter
causes torque and current ripples. In this study, a new torque ripple reduction technique with a modified look up table
incorporating a larger number of synthesised non-zero active voltage vectors is proposed to overcome the limitations of
the conventional and duty ratio control switching strategies. The voltage vector selection criteria in the proposed technique
are based to prevent the stator flux demagnetisation during the low-speed operation with significant reduction in torque
and current ripple. The proposed switching strategy is investigated through simulation and experimentally validated on a test
drive.

1 Introduction Although such ripples are primarily filtered by the inertia

In a direct torque control (DTC) induction motor drive, the
basic concept is to control both stator flux and
electromagnetic torque of the machine simultaneously by
the application of one of the six active full voltage vectors
and two zero-voltage vectors generated by an inverter. The
stator flux and torque track their reference values within the
limits of two hysteresis bands with two hysteresis
comparators and a heuristic switching table to obtain quick
dynamic response [1–4]. Torque and current ripples with
variable switching operation are the major concerns with a
basic DTC drive. A variable switching frequency operation
is attributed to the presence of hysteresis comparators for
implementing the control algorithm [4]. The implementation
of the control strategy by digital controllers requires the
time discretisation of the process into smaller sampling
intervals, which also leads to undesirable ripples in torque
and current [4, 5].
A DTC drive can be operated in either torque control mode
or speed control mode. In speed control mode the error signal
generated because of the difference between reference speed
and actual speed is fed to a proportional integrative and
derivative (PID) controller which generates reference torque
command. This reference torque is then compared with
actual estimated torque of the drive. Based on the torque
error, appropriate voltage vectors are fed to the drive so
that actual torque tracks the reference torque and thus
motor attains its reference speed. Thus it can be concluded
that ripples in torque leads to speed ripple, thus
deteriorating the steady-state performance of the drive.
of the motor and the coupled load at high speeds.
However, at low speeds this torque and speed ripples
during no load condition may not be damped and are the
cause of acoustic noise and mechanical vibrations [6].
Torque ripples finally leads to ripple in stator current,
resulting in an increment in harmonic distortion of stator
current.
In the past decades as reported in literature, DTC based on
the space-vector modulation (DTC) is one of the most popular
solutions for the mitigation of above-mentioned short
comings of conventional DTC drive [7–9]. A constant
frequency operation with reduced torque and current
ripples, but at the expense of increased complexity is the
highlights of implementing a DTC drive with space-vector
modulation.
Another approach for torque ripple minimisation is to
replace a two-level inverter with a multilevel inverter [10–
14]. Availability of more voltage vectors for a given
requirement of torque and flux resulted in an improved
response of the drive in terms of torque ripples, but at the
cost of enhancement in control complexity and a higher
device count. Thus affecting the robustness, simplicity in
control and reliability of the drive which are the key
features of a DTC drive.
In a conventional DTC drive, increased torque and current
ripples are also attributed to the application of a single voltage
vector for the entire sampling period. These ripples can easily
be reduced by applying the selected voltage vector only for a
part of the sampling period. This technique, also known as
duty ratio control [15–18], results in an increased number

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estimation [21, 22]. Thus the aim of this paper is to reduce
the torque, current and flux ripple while maintaining the
simplicity of control algorithm. The proposed control
strategy is illustrated by simulation and validated through
experimental results.

2 DTC operation
From the basic equation governing induction motor operation
stator flux λs is given by


 
ls = Vs − Rs Is dt (1)

Neglecting the drop in stator resistance

Fig. 1 Flux and torque control in a DTC drive Dls = Vs Dt (2)

where Δt is the time interval of application of the applied

of voltage vectors beyond the available ones, without any
voltage vector. Electromagnetic torque in an induction
increase in the number of semiconductor switches in the
motor is given by (3)
inverter.
The duty ratio control technique requires frequent Lm    
application of zero-voltage vectors, which provokes some Te = P l l sin(d) (3)
problems such as the demagnetisation phenomenon of the sLs Lr s r
stator flux, especially in the low-speed region. When a
zero-voltage vector is applied to decrease the developed where
torque by holding the stator flux movement a corresponding
decrement in stator flux is observed, which in magnitude is L2m
s=1−
equivalent to the voltage drop across the stator resistance. Ls Lr
During the low-speed operation of the drive the problem of
demagnetisation is further aggravated at sector boundaries, It can be concluded that an increment in torque can be
when the stator flux vector moves from one sector to the achieved by increasing the angle between stator and rotor
next sector. Rotation of switching sector [19] and multilevel flux vectors. Splitting the vector Δλs into horizontal and
inverters with intermediate voltage vectors [20] have been orthogonal components it can be concluded that orthogonal
reported to overcome this problem. The reported solutions component of Δλs is responsible for torque control and the
for the mitigation of the above-mentioned limitations of a horizontal component controls the flux as shown in Fig. 1.
conventional DTC drives are mostly complex algorithm.
In this paper, a new simple torque ripple reduction 3 Flux estimation
technique with help of a modified look up table
incorporating a larger number of synthesised non-zero To overcome the limitations of a pure integrator for stator flux
active voltage vectors generated by a two-level voltage estimation during low-speed operation, a low pass filter with
source inverter is proposed and comprehensively studied. feedback compensation integration algorithm (Mod LPF)
The voltage vector selection algorithm is based to prevent shown in Fig. 2 and expressed by (4) is implemented for
the stator flux demagnetisation during the low-speed flux estimation
operation with significant torque ripple reduction.
A low pass filter (LPF)-based digital integration algorithm 1 vc
l s = Es + llim (4)
with feedback compensation is implemented for flux s + vc s
s + vc

Fig. 2 Flux estimation by Mod LPF with feedback compensation

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The first part of the equation represents an LPF, whereas the The first term of equation that is feedforward component is
second part realises a compensating feedback signal which is the output of an LPF, whereas the second term is the
used to compensate the error in the output. The parameter compensating feedback input, which can be expressed in
llim
s in the second term of new integration algorithm is the discrete by (14)
output of a saturation block, which stops the integration  
when the output signal exceeds the reference stator flux s s + vc = Es
lFF (9)
amplitude. The value of llim s can be obtained from the sine
s × s + ls × vc = Es
lFF
and cosine values of the angle obtained by integrating the FF
(10)
stator angular frequency we given by (5) and (6)

s (k) − ls (k − 1)
lFF FF

u = we dt (5) + lFF
s (k) × vc = Es (k) (11)
Dts
1  
where stator frequency can be given by s (k) =
lFF Dts Es (k) + lFF
s (k − 1) (12)
1 + Dts vc
Esb lsa − Esa lsb
we = (6) Similarly, the second term can be expressed in discrete by the
|l s |2 following equations

The accuracy of the modified flux estimation algorithm thus is lcom = llim
vc
(13)
strongly dependent on the value of angle (θ), which can either s s
s + vc
be obtained from the stator frequency or from the flux
components (λsα, λsβ). At low speeds (low frequencies), 1  com 
s (k) =
lcom ls (k − 1) + Dts vc llim
s (k) (14)
accuracy of calculation is jeopardised by the large percentage 1 + Dts vc
of ripple in we. Hence, using the ratio of sine and cosine of
angle (θ) based on the estimated flux components at low Let
speeds leads to better results than the calculation based on
electrical frequency. 1 Dts vc Dts
The final expression of the Mod LPF for implementation = K1 , K and = K3
1 + Dts vc 1 + Dts vc 2 1 + Dts vc
on a discrete controller can be developed with the help of
(7)–(14) The schematic block diagram for implementation of the flux
1 vc estimation algorithm on a discrete controller can be
ls = Es + llim (7) developed with the help of (12) and (14) and is shown in
s + vc s
s + vc
Fig. 3.
or
4 Torque estimation and control
ls = lFF
s + lcom
s (8)
4.1 Torque estimation

The expression for estimated torque in stationary reference

where frame can be given by (15)
1 vc 3  
Es = lFF and llim = l com Te = P × lsa × isb − lsb × isa (15)
s + vc s s
s + vc s
2

Fig. 3 Schematic block diagram based on discrete equation

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where isβ and isα are the two axis stator current components voltage vectors for a particular torque and flux requirement,
obtained by applying the Clarkes transformation (stationary when the stator flux is located in sector 1 (− π/3 to π/3 rad).
three-axis to two-axis transformation) given by (16), An alternate switching technique with the features of more
whereas λsα and λsβ are the orthogonal flux components available voltage vectors, using duty ratio control can be
discussed in Section 3 observed in Figs. 4c and d. Table 1 illustrates the voltage
vector selection principle of duty ratio control when stator
⎡ ⎤
  Ia flux is located in sector 1.
Is a 2/3 −1/3
√

1/3
√

⎣ Ib ⎦ In a conventional DTC drive fed from a two-level inverter,

= (16)
Is b 0 2/ 3 −2/ 3 for a given torque and flux requirement, the available active
Ic
vectors are six (V1 − V6) and two zero (V0 and V7) vectors,
whereas with duty ratio control method, the number
Thus for the estimation of torque, the variables that are to be increases to six full (V1 − V6) and six half vectors (V10 −
measured are the two-stator phase currents and DC-link V60). Any half-voltage vector Vk0 can be synthesised by a
voltage. For the proposed DTC drive; the numbers of full vector Vk and a zero vector in any sampling period.
sensing devices are two Hall Effect current sensors, a Furthermore, unlike in a conventional DTC drive where
voltage sensor for sensing DC-link voltage and a speed
feedback device. The stator phase voltages are estimated
with the help of DC-link voltage VDC and pwm switching
signals fed to the voltage source inverter as expressed by Table 1 Switching table for duty ratio control
(17), where Da, Db and Dc, are the duty ratios assigned to Flux Torque Voltage Flux Torque Voltage
the three switches of the voltage source inverter vector vector
⎡ ⎤
  Da F↑ T↑↑ (large V2 F↓ T↑↑ (large V3
Vsa 2/3 −1/2 √

−1/2
√

⎣ Db ⎦
= VDC (17) increase) increase)
Vsb 0 1/ 3 −1/ 3 T ↑ (small V20 T ↑ (small V30
Dc increase) increase)
T ↔ (no V0, V7 T ↔ (no V 0 , V7
change) change)
T ↓ (small V60 T ↓ (small V50
4.2 Conventional and duty ratio torque control decrease) decrease)
T↓↓ (large V6 T↓↓ (large V5
The switching strategy in a conventional DTC drive can be decrease) decrease)
explained by Figs. 4a and b, which illustrates the selection of

Fig. 4 Switching strategies in conventional and duty ratio torque control DTC
a Voltage vector selection strategy in conventional method with limited voltage vectors
b Available vectors in conventional DTC
c Voltage vector selection by duty ratio control technique
d Available voltage vectors in duty ratio control

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Table 2 Proposed novel switching technique drop across the stator resistance given by (20)
Flux Torque Voltage Flux Torque Voltage
vector vector Dls = −Rs
is (k) Dt (20)

F↑ T↑↑. (large V2 F↓ T↑↑ (large V3 It can be concluded from (19) that duty ratio method which is
increase) increase) superior to conventional DTC in terms of torque ripple
T ↑ (small V12 T ↑ (small V34 reduction has a poor flux response.
increase) increase)
T ↓ . (small V61 T ↓ (small V45
decrease) decrease) 4.3 Proposed novel switching technique
T↓↓. (large V6 T↓↓ (large V5
decrease) decrease) A new method utilising a larger number of synthesised
intermediate voltage vectors with a modified look up table
is proposed to overcome the limitations of the conventional
there is no discrimination between large and small torque as well as the switching strategies involving duty ratio
errors (ΔTe), in the duty ratio control method the torque control. In the proposed method, torque control is achieved
errors are subdivided into large and small torque errors with by the application of full vectors (V1 − V6) for large torque
the help of a five-level hysteresis comparator. The error and intermediate vectors (V12 − V61) for smaller error
discrimination between the torque errors is achieved on the between reference and estimated torque. The voltage vector
basis of the magnitude of torque hysteresis comparator selection algorithm shown in Table 2 can be verified from
bandwidth (bt). In the proposed approach a torque error Fig. 5a when stator flux is located in sector 1. Large torque
greater than 2 × bt, that is |ΔTe| ≥ 2 × bt is categorised as a error can be minimised by a significant increment in the
large torque error while a torque error |0 ≤ ΔTe ≤ bt| is angular separation between stator and rotor flux vectors,
considered as a small error. which can be achieved by voltage vector V2; however for a
Voltage vectors with reduced duty cycles are synthesised by small increment in torque, the application of the
a full vector and a null vector. This results in an improved intermediate voltage vector V12 results in a smaller
response of the drive in terms of torque ripples, but at the increment in the angular separation. It can be verified from
expense of stator flux demagnetisation and an increase in the switching Table 2 that unlike the switching technique
flux distortion. The demagnetisation effect of zero vectors proposed in the previous section, which utilises a five-level
can be explained with the help of the basic flux expression torque hysteresis comparator; the proposed control
(1), which in discrete form is given by (18) and (19) algorithm is implemented by a four-level comparator. A
voltage vector V12 can be synthesised by two adjacent full
ls (k + 1) = ls (k) + Vs (k)Dt − Rs
is (k)Dt (18) vectors V1 and V2 with 50% duty ratio.
An improvement in stator flux response at sector
Dls = Vs (k)Dt − Rs
is (k) Dt (19) boundaries by the proposed technique can be explained
from Fig. 5b. The stator voltage vector V2, which is
Thus the application of a zero-voltage vector results in a selected according to Table 1 for a torque and flux
decrement in stator flux in magnitude equal to the voltage increment, becomes ineffective to boost the stator flux

Fig. 5 Voltage vector selection and stator flux response

a Voltage vector selection in the proposed novel switching technique
b Available voltage vectors
c Flux droop at sector boundary by a full vector
d Improved flux response by an intermediate vector

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Fig. 6 Flux response for speed reversal dynamics
a Speed in rpm (low pass)
b Speed in rpm (mod. low pass)
c Flux response (low pass)
d Flux response (mod. low pass)
because the full voltage vector is almost orthogonal to the
stator flux vector λs(k). On the other hand, it can be seen
that the intermediate voltage vector V12 can be more
effective in increasing the resultant stator flux.
5 Results and discussion
5.1 Simulation results
To confirm the validity of the proposed DTC method,
simulations using Matlab/Simulink have been first carried
out which are further validated experimentally. The drive is
operated in torque control mode with a reference flux of
0.8 wb. A detailed comparison between the proposed and
conventional switching techniques on the basis of torque
and flux response during low-speed operation at different
reference torque is carried out.
5.1.1 Flux estimation: The flux estimation algorithm that
is based on a modified LPF-based digital integration method
has a feedback compensation term which improves the
low-speed dynamic performance of the drive compared to a
conventional LPF-based algorithm. The influence of the
feedback compensation term in the Mod LPF on the
dynamic response of the drive was investigated by subjecting
the drive to a sudden speed reversal command input and also
by operating the drive with step reduction in operating speed
Fig. 7 Dynamic response for low-speed step transition
a Speed in rpm (low pass)
b Speed (mod. low pass)
c Flux response (low pass)
d Flux response (mod. low pass)
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from rated to very low speed (1300–50 rpm). The
performance comparison of modified flux estimation method
with a conventional LPF is shown in Figs. 6 and 7.
From Figs. 6a and 6c, it can be verified that during speed
reversal a distortion in flux is observed at nearly zero speed
crossing instant for a conventional LPF, whereas the Mod
LPF shows a distortion free flux response during speed
reversal instants as observed in Figs. 6b and d. Furthermore
from Figs. 7b and d, it can be concluded that the Mod LPF
shows an improved flux response during low-speed
operation of the drive. From the zoomed portion of the
speed curve shown in Fig. 7a it is observed that flux
distortions at low-speed transition instants also results in
speed overshoots and under shoots .This can be attributed
to the fact that in the LPF since at very low speeds the
operating frequency of the drive becomes less than the
cutoff frequency and hence distortions in flux are observed
as seen in Fig. 7c.
5.1.2 Torque ripple analysis: A comparison of torque
variation slope pattern can be done from Figs. 8a and b.
These simulation results shows the variation of estimated
torque with the applied voltage vectors in conventional as
well as the proposed technique. Comparing the two
switching strategies, from Fig. 8a it can be seen that only
a single full vector V2 is responsible for torque increment
in a particular sampling instant in conventional DTC,
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Fig. 8 Torque slope pattern comparison

a Steep torque slope pattern with full vectors in conventional switching
b Improved torque slope pattern with intermediate vectors in novel switching method

Fig. 9 Stator flux droop by zero vectors in conventional switching technique during low-speed operation
a Stator flux
b Voltage vector

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Fig. 10 Torque ripple comparison because of delay in torque sensor
a Operation without delay
b Operation with delay
c Operation with look up table modification
whereas in the proposed technique a full vector V1 and an
intermediate vector V7 are selected for an increase in
torque as shown by Fig. 8b. From Fig. 8a, it can be
observed that owing to the availability of limited voltage
vectors in a conventional DTC drive, an application of a
full vector V2 followed by another full vector V6 results in
a steep variation in torque. From Fig. 8b, it can be seen
that an application of a full vector V1 followed by an
intermediate voltage vector V7 invokes a two slope pattern
resulting in a decrement in the steepness of slope of torque
variation.
Fig. 9 shows the variation of stator flux with the applied
voltage vectors for low-speed operation .The effect of
application of zero-voltage vectors on stator flux in a
conventional DTC drive can be verified from Fig. 9a. A
droop in stator flux is observed by the application of
Fig. 11 Experimental test drive setup
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zero-voltage vectors (V1 and V8) in the duration between
0.06 and 0.075 s, whereas a constant ripple in flux is
observed when full voltage vectors were applied in
sampling period from 0.055 to 0.06 s
The effect of the delay in the torque control loop is shown
in Fig. 10. It can be verified from the figure that a delay of one
sample instant in the torque sensor may result in an increase in
torque ripples. This can be compensated by modifying the
look up table. This can be explained as follows. For a
required torque and flux increment if a voltage vector Vk is
desired, then the effect of torque sensor delay can be
compensated marginally by selecting voltage vector Vk–1 for
the same increment. This can be verified from Fig 10b that
shows an increase in torque ripple because of introduced
delay in torque sensor, and a marginal improvement in the
response can be verified from Fig. 10c.
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5.2 Experimental results
A test drive setup developed in the laboratory to validate the
simulation results is shown in Fig. 11.The experimental test
drive setup consists of the following elements:
1. Machine unit; a 0.75 kW, 410 V, 50 Hz squirrel-cage
induction motor with a shaft mounted tachogenerator for
speed sensing coupled with dc generator for loading.
2. A power module with MOSFET-based voltage source
inverter with Hall effect sensors and gate drive circuitry.
3. dSpace DS1104 control board.
The parameters of the motor for experimentation are as
follows. Rs = 10.75 Ω, Rr = 9.28 Ω, Ls = Lr = 51.9 mH, P = 4
and Lm = 479.9 mH. The sampling time of the DTC
experiments is taken as 100 µs, whereas the dead time for
the switches is 10 µs. The value of torque and flux
hysteresis comparator bandwidth is takes as 0.5 nm and
0.005 wb. All experimental results are recorded using the
control desk platform of dSpace DS1104.
5.2.1 Torque and current ripple analysis: The
experimental test drive was operated in torque control mode
under the influence of different reference torque (different
operating speed) at 80% loading. The experimentation is
primarily focused on low-speed performance of the drive
which is achieved by operating the drive with reference
torque in the range from 1 to 1.8 nm The performance
parameters to judge the effectiveness of the proposed
method are torque and flux ripples which can be
mathematically expressed by root mean-square torque error
Fig. 12 Torque errors and voltage vectors in conventional and proposed switching technique
a Torque error variation with steep slope pattern because of full vectors in conventional switching method
b Voltage vector
c Improved torque error slope pattern with intermediate vectors in novel switching method
d Voltage vector
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(RMSTE) and root-mean-square flux error (RMSFE) given
by (21) and (22). λs(k) and Te(k) are the flux and estimated
torque at Kth sampling instant and lref s is the reference
stator flux and Teavg is the calculated mean torque

N
1  2
RMSFE =  s − ls (k)
lref (21)
N k=1

 N
1  avg 2
RMSTE =  Te − Te (k) (22)
N k=1
From Figs. 12a and b, it can be observed that in conventional
switching full voltage vectors results in a steep torque slope
pattern. In the modified approach, the torque control is
implemented by a hysteresis comparator with finer
subdivision of torque error into large and small error and
the selection of voltage vectors depends upon torque error
magnitude. Full vectors are chosen for a larger torque error,
whereas intermediate vectors are selected to compensate
small error. It can be verified from Fig. 12c that since the
variation of torque error is in the range of 0.5–1 nm;
hence the selected voltage vectors are intermediate vectors
(V7 − V12), which prevents a large variation in torque error.
The superiority of the novel switching method over
conventional method can be established from Fig. 13,
where the proposed novel switching technique exhibit a
performance with reduced torque ripples at different
operating torque (1 and 1.4 nm). The calculated torque and
flux ripples at different operating torque on the collected
data samples using control desk platform are presented in
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Fig. 13 Torque ripples for a ref. torque of

a 1 nm conventional switching technique
b 1 nm proposed switching method
c 1.4 nm conventional switching technique
d 1.4 nm proposed novel technique

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Table 3 Torque and flux ripple comparison distortion (THD) and ripple factor (RF). The ripples in
stator current affects its rms value and thus the RF can be
Switching Performance comparison
techniques mathematically given by (23) and (24)
Ref. Torque ripple Flux
torque, nm ripple  ex  ex 
nm Pu of mean RF = 100 ×  Irms − Irms
apr
/Irms  (23)
torque
ex
conventional 1.0 0.7431 2.32 0.0199 where Irms is the exactly computed rms value of the collected
1.3 0.59 0.91 0.0144 data samples of the stator current and it can be expressed by
1.5 0.6156 0.8347 0.0136
1.7 0.7855 1.13 0.0145 

proposed 1.0 0.1962 0.2290 0.0135 1 n

1.3 0.2084 0.1740 0.0136
ex
Irms = I(k)2 (24)
1.5 0.2499 0.27 0.0130 n k=1
1.8 0.2383 0.2072 0.0134

where I(k) is the instantaneous value of stator current at Kth

Table 3. It can be concluded from the table that by the
proposed switching technique torque ripples get reduced by Table 5 Performance comparisons of the switching techniques
almost 60% as compared with conventional switching
strategy. Furthermore, a reduction in flux ripples can also Conventional Novel switching
be confirmed for the proposed strategy.
torque large torque ripples reduced torque ripples
Current ripples and switching frequency are the other two ripple by 60% with higher
important performance benchmarks to be studied for mean torque
establishing the superiority of any switching technique. flux flux drop at sector improved flux
From Figs. 14a and b, it can be verified that a significant response boundaries during response with
low-speed operation absence of flux drop
reduction in current ripples is achieved by the proposed with high flux ripples at sector boundaries
technique. In Fig. 14c, a constant frequency operation can with reduced flux
be confirmed in novel switching method, whereas from ripples
Fig. 14d an unequal spacing between the voltage vectors switching variable switching constant switching
exhibits a variable frequency operation in conventional frequency frequency operation frequency operation
current high low
DTC drive. The performance parameters to measure the ripples
ripple content in stator current are the total harmonic

Fig. 14 Current ripples and switching frequency

a Stator current waveform for 1 nm ref. torque in novel switching technique
b Conventional current waveform
c Equally spaced voltage vectors exhibiting constant freq. operation in the proposed technique
d Variable freq. operation in conventional DTC

Table 4 RF of stator current

80% load 20% load

300 RPM 800 RPM 300 RPM 800 RPM

Conven., % Modified, % Conven., % Modified, % Conven., % Modified, % Conven., % Modified, %

47.92 4.01 42.13 3.03 53.85 6.38 44.83 1.64

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Fig. 15 Torque ripples

a Conventional technique at 800 rpm
b Modified technique at 800 rpm
c Conventional technique at 300 rpm
d Modified technique at 300 rpm

Fig. 16 Stator current at 300 rpm

a Conventional switching
b Proposed switching

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Fig. 17 Experimentally recorded and mathematically plotted harmonic spectrum for

a Modified technique at 800 rpm
b Conventional technique at 800 rpm
c Modified technique at 800 rpm (plotted)
d Conventional technique at 800 rpm (plotted results)
e Conventional technique at 300 rpm
f Modified technique at 300 rpm
g Modified technique at 300 rpm (plotted)
h Conventional technique at 300 rpm (plotted results)

sampling instant. The approximate√rms

value for a sinusoidal different operating speed is shown in Fig. 17. From
wave form can be given by Imax / 2.
The distortion in stator current because of the high
frequency ripples were studied for different operating speed
and loading conditions. The calculated RFs are summarised
in Table 4.
It can be verified from Table 4 that a considerable reduction
in stator current ripples is achieved by the proposed switching
technique. The corresponding torque ripples for the same
operating conditions are shown in Fig. 15 and the plotted
stator current waveform at 300 RPM of the collected
experimental data samples for RF calculation is shown in
Fig. 16.
The experimentally recorded and mathematically plotted
harmonic spectrum of stator current at 80% loading and
Fig. 17a, 10.5% THD at 800 rpm is observed for the
modified technique, whereas it is 28% for the conventional
method. A reduction in harmonic distortion from 54.1 to
18.5% is also verified from Figs. 17e and f. Figs. 17c, d,
17g and 17h are the mathematically plotted harmonic
spectrum of the collected data samples for the same
operating conditions.
5.2.2 Flux response analysis: In a conventional DTC
drive, a droop in flux is observed when a change in stator
flux sector takes place, and this can be attributed to the fact
that the effect of a chosen voltage vector for a particular
flux requirement is different at sector boundaries.
Furthermore zero-voltage vectors, which are chosen for

Fig. 18 Flux droop by zero vectors and sector transition in conventional DTC
a Flux
b Voltage vector
c Flux sector

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Fig. 19 Improved flux response at sector boundaries in novel switching technique

a Flux
b Voltage vector
c Flux sector

Fig. 20 Steady-state flux response

a Modified technique at 800 rpm
b Conventional technique at 800 rpm
c Modified technique at 300 rpm
d Conventional technique at 300 rpm

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torque decrement also results in a significant droop in stator
flux and it can be verified from Fig. 18 in which a plot of
stator flux under the influence of different voltage vectors
along with stator flux location is shown. The arrow marks
in the figure points the instants of sector change and
application of zero-voltage vectors and the corresponding
distortion in stator flux. On the contrary, as shown in
Fig. 19, an improved flux response in terms of elimination
of flux droop at sector boundaries and a minimisation in
flux distortion because of zero-voltage vectors validate the
superiority of the modified method over conventional DTC.
The effectiveness of the proposed technique in improving
the steady-state flux response can be verified from Fig. 20,
which shows the plot of estimated orthogonal flux
components (λsα, λsβ). Figs. 20a and b) shows the flux
response at 800 rpm for the modified and conventional
methods, respectively, whereas the flux response at 300 rpm
is shown by Figs. 20c and d ). An improvement in
steady-state flux response in the form of reduction in flux
distortion can easily be verified from these figures.
5.2.3 Operating speed range: The drive can be
operated in a wide speed which can be verified
Fig. 21 Steady-state response above base speed
a Simulation results
b Experimental results
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from Figs. 21 and 23, which shows forward, reverse
speed tracking and the operation of the drive above base
speed.
To study the operation of the drive above the base speed,
the drive was operated in flux weakening mode at 1800
rpm. The base speed and the nominal flux of the drive are
1450 rpm and 0.8 wb, respectively, at the base frequency of
50 Hz. The steady-state response at 1800 rpm is shown in
Fig. 21b. It can be verified from the experimental results
that the operating flux remains constant and follows the
reference flux in the field weakening region with ripple free
steady-state speed response .The simulation results for the
same operating conditions are shown in Fig. 21a, and a
close similarity between the simulation and experimental
results can be observed .The experimental recorded
harmonic spectrum of stator current above the base speed
(1800 rpm) are shown in Fig. 22. From the experimental
results it can be concluded that the operating frequency of
the drive at 1800 rpm is approx 69 Hz. The speed tracking
performance in forward and reverse direction can be
verified from Figs. 23a and b. The drive is subjected to a
continuous change in reference speed by the help of control
desk platform of dSpace having the feature of online
IET Power Electron., 2013, Vol. 6, Iss. 2, pp. 326–342
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Fig. 22 Harmonic spectrum of stator current at 1800 rpm
a Experimentally recorded
b Mathematically plotted with experimental data samples
Fig. 23 Experimental speed tracking response
a Forward direction
b Reverse direction
change in an input parameter. From Figs. 23a and b, it can be
seen that the actual rotor speed tracks the reference speed
from 1400 to 400 rpm in forward direction and from
−1500 to 0 rpm in reverse direction. Thus it can be
concluded that the drive can be operated in a wide
speed range in forward and reverse directions as well as
IET Power Electron., 2013, Vol. 6, Iss. 2, pp. 326–342
doi: 10.1049/iet-pel.2012.0121
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operation above the base speed is also possible with field
weakening.
In Table 5, a comparison of the two switching
techniques is summarised which clearly highlights the
superiority of proposed switching technique over
conventional method.
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6 Conclusion
In this paper, a novel switching technique for DTC-controlled
induction motors with a modified look up table incorporated
with a larger number of voltage vectors has been presented.
The proposed technique proves superior to conventional
method with reduced torque ripples by almost 60% and a
significant reduction in stator current ripples. A constant
frequency operation with an improved flux response at
sector transition during low-speed operation has been
achieved by the proposed technique. Furthermore, absence
of zero-voltage vectors has also resulted in reduction in flux
ripples during low-speed operation. Thus a study on a DTC
drive from the perspective of torque and current ripple
reduction with a better flux response is carried out
extensively and the effectiveness of the proposed
investigation has been verified experimentally.
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IET Power Electron., 2013, Vol. 6, Iss. 2, pp. 326–342
doi: 10.1049/iet-pel.2012.0121