The objective of the dissertation is to develop simplified analytical models for typical linear-motion and rotary-motion energy-conversion systems under active DC excitation without tedious numerical-simulation effort, and provide practical implementation of the models in optimal-design and thermal-protection aspects. The model of a vacuum automatic circuit recloser (a typical linear-motion system under DC excitation) is first developed in the form of a non-linear discontinuous eighth-order dynamic system. The model is then used to simulate the transient mechanical and electromagnetic performance during the opening and closing movements of the recloser. Such a model is not found in the literature. Although the model is based on certain simplifying assumptions, the result is validated by high-speed-camera measurements. In addition, the impact of key design variables is explored, based on which an improved recloser design is proposed, and helps to optimize capital and production costs without degrading performance. Further analytical investigation is carried out in modeling an inverter-fed induction motor (IM) (a typical rotary-motion system) with active DC injection. The IM is closed-loop controlled via two popular motor-control algorithms, namely, the direct-torque-control (DTC) algorithm and field-oriented-control (FOC) algorithm. Quantitative relationships between the changes of various machine variables during the active DC excitation are provided in the theoretical analysis. The developed DC-injection model is further simplified for practical implementation. The developed IM model under DC injection results in practical ways to excite a proper amount of DC current directly or indirectly into IM stator windings via different closed-loop motor-control algorithms. In a DTC motor-drive system, the modeling work makes it possible to excite the DC current indirectly inside the motor by superimposing a stator-flux-linkage-bias command in the flux-control loop or a torque-ripple command in the torque-control loop. The proposed flux-linkage-injection and torque-injection methods are the first novel efforts to implement the DC-signal-injection method in a DTC motor-drive system. In addition, the analysis carried out in a standard FOC drive system brings about an improved DC-current-injection approach: the torque ripple in this method is significantly mitigated compared to all existing DC-injection methods in FOC systems. The proposed DC-injection methods, either in a DTC or an FOC system, lead to a simple, low-cost, accurate, and non-invasive thermal-monitoring scheme for closed-loop-controlled IMs, where the stator temperature is indirectly estimated from stator resistance. Furthermore, considering inverter non-idealities, there is a challenge for a typical inverter drive to accurately estimate the DC component of motor terminal voltages. The existing methods are extended to provide a complete study of the real-time signal-processing technique for both DTC and FOC algorithms, and are finally implemented in a custom-built programmable motor-drive system. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique gives accurate and robust stator-temperature estimation, regardless of the operating conditions and cooling modes. The analytical modeling method for the linear-motion and rotary-motion energy-conversion systems can be further extended to other power devices with similar mechanisms, and implemented in optimal design, control, and thermal-protection areas.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Wind energy has proven to be a viable source of clean energy, and the worldwide demand is growing rapidly. Variable speed topologies, with synchronous generators and full-scale converters, are becoming more popular, and the e ective control of these systems is a current trend in wind energy research. The purpose of this study is the modelling, design, simulation and implementation of a small-scale, variable speed wind energy conversion system, incorporating the position sensorless direct torque control with space vector modulation, of a permanent magnet synchronous generator, including an RLC converter lter. Another aim is the development of a gain scheduling algorithm that facilitates the high level control of the system. Mathematical models of the combined lter-generator model, in the stationary and rotating reference frames, are presented and discussed, from which equivalent approximate transfer functions are derived for the design of the controller gains. The design of the controller gains, RLC lter components, gain scheduling concept and maximum power point tracking controller are presented. It is discovered that the RLC lter damping resistance has a signi cant e ect on the resonance frequency of the system. The system is simulated dynamically in both Simulink and the VHDL-AMS programming language. Additionally, the maximum power point tracking controller is simulated in the VHDL-AMS simulation, including a wind turbine simulator. The simulation results demonstrate good dynamic performance, as well as the variable speed operation of the system. The practical results of torque and speed controllers show satisfactory performance, and correlate well with simulated results. The detailed gain scheduling algorithm is presented and discussed. A nal test of the complete system yields satisfactory practical results, and con rms that the objectives of this thesis have been reached.

Variable-speed Induction motor drives are nowadays used for various kinds of industrial processes, transportation systems, wind turbines and household appliances in the world. The majority of drives are for general purpose speed control applications where accurate speed control is not required for entire speed range. But for high dynamic drive application, very precise and fast control of induction motor drive is essential. For such applications, sophisticated and well-performing control design is a key issue. Precise and accurate torque control of the Induction Motor (IM) can only be accomplished by vector control and direct torque control. In terms of space vector theory, vector control implies that the instantaneous torque is controlled by way of the stator current vector that is orthogonal to the rotor flux vector. Precise knowledge of the rotor flux angle is therefore essential for a vector controlled IM. IMs do not allow the flux position to be easily measured, so most modern vector controlled IM drives rely on flux estimation. This means that the flux angle is derived from a flux estimator, using the dynamic model of the IM. Given that the rotor speed of the IM is measured by a mechanical shaft sensor. Flux estimation is a fairly easy task. However, vector control of IM without mechanical shaft speed sensor is of current interest in industrial environment. The driving motivations behind the development in sensorless control are lower cost, improved reliability and operating environment. In this thesis, a sensorless vector control scheme for rotor flux estimation using current error space phasor based hysteresis controller is proposed including the method for estimation of leakage inductance, Ls. For frequencies of operation less than 25 Hz, the rotor voltage and hence the rotor flux position is computed during the inverter zero voltage space vector using steady state model of IM. For above 25 Hz, active vector period and steady state model of IM is used. The whole rotor flux estimation scheme is dependent on current error space phasor and the steady state motor model, with rotor flux as a reference vector. Since no terminal voltage sensing is involved, dead time effects will not create problem in rotor flux sensing at low frequencies of operation. But appropriate device on-state drop are compensated at low frequencies (below 5 Hz) of operation to achieve a steady state operation up to less than 1 Hz. A constant switching frequency hysteresis current controller is used in inner current control loop for the PWM regulation, with smooth transition of operation to six-step mode operation. A simple Ls estimation based on current error space phasor is also proposed to nullify the deteriorating effect on rotor flux estimation. The parameter sensitivity of the control scheme to changes in the stator resistance Rs is also investigated. The drive scheme is tested up to a low frequency operation less than 1 Hz. The extensive simulation and experiment results are presented to show the proposed scheme’s good dynamic performance extending up to six-step operation. In contrast to vector control, direct torque control (DTC) method requires the knowledge of stator resistance only and thereby decreasing the associated sensitivity to parameters variation and the elimination of speed information. DTC as compared to vector control does not require co-ordinate transformation and PI controller. DTC is easy to implement because it needs only two hysteresis comparators and a lookup table for both flux and torque control. This thesis also investigates the possibilities in improvement of direct torque control scheme for high performance induction motor drive applications. Here, two schemes are proposed based on the direct torque control scheme for IM drive using 12-sided polygonal voltage space vectors for fast torque control. The torque control scheme based on DTC algorithm is proposed using 12-sided polygonal voltage space vector. The basic DTC scheme is used to control the torque. But the IM drive is open-end type. For torque control, the voltage space vectors orthogonal to stator flux vector in 12-sided polygonal space vector structure are used as hexagonal space vector based DTC scheme. The advantages achieved due to 12-sided polygonal space vector are mainly fast torque control and small torque ripple. The fast transient of torque with precise control is achieved using voltage space vector placed with a resolution of ±15. The torque ripple will be less as 6n±1 (n=odd) harmonic torque is totally eliminated from the whole range of PWM modulation. The comparative analysis of proposed 12-sided polygonal voltage space vector based DTC and conventional hexagonal space vector based DTC is also presented. Extensive simulation and experiment results are also presented to show the fast torque control at speeds of operation ranging from 5 Hz to the rated speed. The concept of 12-sided polygonal space vector based DTC is further extended for a variable speed control scheme using estimated fundamental stator voltage for sector identification. The conventional DTC scheme uses stator flux vector for identification of the sector and the switching vector are selected based on this sector information to control stator flux and torque. However, the proposed DTC scheme selects switching vectors based on the sector information of the estimated fundamental stator voltage vector and its relative position with respect to the stator flux vector. The fundamental stator voltage estimation is based on the steady state model of IM and information of synchronous frequency which is derived from computed stator flux using a low pass filter technique. The proposed DTC scheme utilizes the exact position of fundamental stator voltage vector and stator flux vector position to select optimal switching vector for fast control of torque with small variation of stator flux within hysteresis band. The present DTC scheme allows the full load torque control with fast transient response to very low speeds of operation below 5 Hz. The extensive simulation and experiment results are presented to show the fast torque control for speed of operation from zero speed to rated speed. However, the present scheme will have all the advantages of DTC scheme using stator flux vector for sector identification. All the above propositions are first simulated by MATLAB/Simulink and subsequently verified by an experimental laboratory prototype. The proposed control schemes are experimentally verified on a 3.7 kW IM drive. The control algorithms of the sensorless vector control using current error space phasor as well as DTC using 12-sided polygonal voltage space vector are completely implemented on a TI TMS320LF2812 DSP controller platform. These are some of the constituents for chapters 2, 3 and 4 in this thesis. Additionally, the first chapter also covers a brief survey on some of the recent progresses made in the field of sensorless vector control, direct torque control and current hysteresis controller. The thesis concludes with suggestion for further exploration.

Le développement de commandes en boucle fermée pour des entraînements électriques nécessite l'installation de capteurs pour avoir l'information de la rétroaction. Cependant, un éventuel défaut survenant sur l'un des capteurs installés (de courant, de vitesse/position,…) implique un disfonctionnement de la commande conduisant dans la plupart du temps à la mise hors service du système. Ces conséquences sont contraires aux exigences des industriels qui demandent des degrés de fiabilité du système de plus en plus élevés. Des statistiques montrent que le défaut capteur est fréquent. Il est donc impératif de trouver des solutions pour assurer la continuité de service des systèmes électriques dans le cas de présence de ce type de défaut. Tout d'abord, l'étude présentée dans ce manuscrit présente les technologies des différents capteurs installés et ce pour comprendre les raisons et le type de pannes qui pourraient survenir. Ensuite, le système sur lequel la validation des algorithmes développés est décrit. Il s'agit d'un entraînement électrique basé sur une machine à Double Alimentation (MADA) fonctionnant en mode moteur et connectée au réseau via deux convertisseurs. La commande associée est une Commande Directe de Couple (CDC). Elle est validée en mode sain aussi bien par simulation qu'expérimentalement. Après, les études réalisées prennent en considération les défauts capteurs de courants alternatifs et de vitesse/position. Les algorithmes développés, permettant une continuité de service, utilisent une redondance analytique et sont basés sur l'estimation et aussi sur la Détection et l'Isolation d'un éventuel Défaut (DID). Ils sont caractérisés par leur simplicité. Aussi, ils ne sont pas gourmands en termes de consommation en ressources matérielles et leur temps d'exécution est très court. Enfin, la validation expérimentale de ces algorithmes montre bien leur efficacité en cas de défaut, vu que le système s'avère insensible au défaut et continue à fonctionner sans interruption. La commande obtenue est alors tolérante aux défauts capteurs. / The development of closed loop controls for electrical drives requires the sensor installations in order to get feed back information. Nevertheless, any occurred sensor fault (current sensor,speed/position sensor,…) shows an operation system deterioration which leads in most cases to its shut down. This consequence is in contrast to industrial expectations especially concerning the system high accuracy that they are asking for. Statistic studies point out the sensor faults as frequent. So, it is necessary to find out solutions ensuring the system service continuity in case of any sensor fault. Firstly, the study presented in this work shows the used sensor technologies in order to understand both of the reason and the kind of occurred faults. Secondly, the studied system is presented which is an electrical drive based on a Doubly Fed Induction Machine (DFIM) operating in motor mode and connected to the grid by two inverters. The control developed is a Direct Torque Control (DTC). The control validation, in healthy operating mode, is realised throw simulation and experimentally. After, a study considering alternative current sensor and speed/position sensor faults are achieved. The developed algorithms are based on signal estimation, on a Fault Detection Isolation (FDI) and reconfiguration algorithms. In fact, they are simple to carry out, they don't need much hardware resources for implementation and their execution time is short. Finally, the experimental validation of the developed algorithms shows their efficiency. The system continues working even in presence of a sensor fault. Thus, the obtained control becomes a fault tolerant control thanks to these algorithms.