DIRECT TORQUE CONTROL (DTC) IN INDUCTION MOTOR

M.G.Morshad , Additional Chief Manager / Elec Mtce

Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.

Introduction
Electric motor is an electromechanical energy-converting device. It converts electrical energy to mechanical kinetic energy and mechanical device (machine) - pump, fan, conveyor, crane etc coupled to the electric motor, translates this energy to final work. Normally machine requires constant speed for doing the assigned work and therefore electric motor of constant speed, mainly induction motor is preferred for rotating the machine. But there are some applications, where machines demand variable speed for better performance of the system. In such application variable speed motor is required for driving the machine. DC motor is always considered as most suitable for variable speed application. It is because of its field orientation configuration (armature is kept at right angle to the field with the help of commutator), which allows controlling of torque and flux independently. But higher cost and restriction in application have made DC motor unsuitable for most of the industries. As an alternative, various methods for controlling the speed of industry friendly induction motor have been developed. Out of those, V/f method, which is also known as scalar control, has got the wide popularity in industries though its performance is not as good as DC motor. To obtain the performance similar to DC motor, field orientation in induction motor has been tried since seventies. With the advent of modern technology it became possible only in early nineties. This new method is known as vector control. Direct Torque Control or DTC is a simplest form of vector control with fasted dynamic response. It has got the attention of all modern industries for its simplicity, adoptability, and high dynamic response. Considering the future prospect of this new

technology, an effort is being made through this article to describe the basic principle of DTC, which might help to select the right drive for DTC application.

Fundamentals of induction motor-When three phase voltages are applied to the stator of induction motor a rotating magnetic field of constant amplitude is produced in air gap - which rotates at (120 x f) /P RPM (synchronous speed). Flux of rotating magnetic field cuts stationary stator winding as well as rotor bars simultaneously. As an effect, back emf in stator (which opposes the applied

voltage) and rotor voltage - proportional to the relative speed between rotating field and rotor are induced. Since rotor bars are short circuited, current starts flowing through the bars and a magnetic field is produced in rotor. The attraction between stator and rotor poles created by the respective magnetic fields causes development of electromagnetic torque and rotor starts rotating in the direction of stator magnetic field just below the synchronous speed.

Speed variation in induction motor

Speed of induction motor can be varied by - 1) Changing pole. 2) Varying stator voltage 3) Varying slip. 4) Varying stator frequency. Out of those, variable frequency method has so far been popular in industry because of it ability to change the motor speed widely in a stepless manner. But simple variation of frequency cannot give the desire result, since induced back emf (E = K f) of the motor gets changed with the variation of stator frequency. During operation at lower speed (frequency less than 50 Hz), back emf will be less, which allows the motor to draw high current. Similarly at higher speed (frequency greater than 50 Hz), back emf will be high which demands higher voltage to operate the motor. Because of such inconvenience, voltage and frequency are varied simultaneously for keeping the motor flux constant. This method of speed control is known as V/f control. Since motor torque is proportional to (V) 2, variation of operating voltage in accordance with the applied frequency for maintaining V/f = constant, makes the motor to deliver low torque at lower speed. Therefore this method is mainly suitable for controlling the speed of variable torque load like centrifugal pump, fan blower etc where T N 2. For constant torque load like conveyor, crane, hoist etc, voltage boost is needed at lower speed. But poor dynamic response in v/f method makes it unsuitable for accurate control. Alternatively DTC has got the capability to deliver fast dynamic response and accurate control. It is achieved through field orientation by knowing electromagnetic state of the motor.

Concept of field orientationThe force of attraction between stator and rotor magnetic poles creates the required electromagnetic torque in electrical motor and the torque is defined by the following relation

--

Rotor magnetic field axis N

= Torque angle
S Stator magnetic field axis

T = (Stator magnetic field strength) X (Rotor magnetic field strength) X Sin, where is the angle between stator and rotor magnetic field axis known as torque angle. It shows from the relation that for obtaining maximum torque, (Torque angle) must be 900. Or alternately it can be said that maximum torque can be produced if stator magnetic field is kept perpendicular to rotor magnetic field. In a separately excited DC motor, it is

maintained by keeping armature axis at right angle to the field axis with the help of commutator. This condition is known as field orientation. Once the field orientation is achieved, torque in DC motor is easily controlled by varying the armature current and by keeping the magnetizing current constant. Being a singly excited machine similar decoupling of torque and flux is not directly possible in induction motor. It is possible only if motor parameters are estimated with respect to the two-reference axis (Q and D axis) and field orientation similar to separately excited DC motor is achieved electronically. Motor parameters along the two-reference axis can be estimated by mathematical modeling of induction motor.

Mathematical modeling of induction motor

With the help of Clarke and Park transforms, three-phase induction motor can be modeled in an arbitrary two-axis (D & Q axis) rotating reference frame. The model can estimate the stator current along the direction of two-reference axis D and Q as shown in the fig.

Q axis Axis of stator magnetic field

I sin

S
D axis / Axis of rotor magnetic field

I cos

When stator current component along D axis (Is cos) maintains the motor flux, component along the Q axis (Is sin) maintains the torque of the motor. Therefore simplified equivalent circuit of induction motor can be drown as follows--

Now by producing stator field perpendicular to the rotor field - torque component of stator current along Q axis (Is sin) and maintaining motor flux within hysteresis band - flux component of stator current component along D axis (Is cos), can be achieved in induction motor for decoupling of torque and flux similar to DC motor

Field orientation in induction motor

In induction motor three-phase windings of stator are placed 1200-space angle. Therefore entire winding can be divided in six sections i.e. S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6.

Axis of phase Y

S2

S3 B"

R Y"

S1

Axis of phase R B S6 R"

Y S4

S5 Axis of phase B

A voltage source inverter consists of six semiconductor devices (IGBT / Thyristors) connected across the DC bus. Semiconductor devices act like switches and converts DC bus voltage to AC by operating three semiconductors switches sequentially.

Positive (+)
DC BUS

Voltage Source Inverter

Negative (-)

Y R Motor winding
Now if a voltage source inverter is connected to induction motor, six-voltage vector in six sectors and two zero voltage vector can be produced by operating eight combinations of three switches (1 for + side switch close and 0 for - side switch close) of inverter as shown in fig.

Switch combination 100

Sector/ Angle S1 / 0 - 60

Voltage vector V1

Position of voltage vector

110

S2 / 60 -120

V2

010

S3 / 120-180

V3

011

S4 / 180 - 240

V4

001

S5 / 240 - 300

V5

101 111 & 000

S6 / 300 - 360

V6 V7 & V8

Zero Voltage

Rotor time constant is larger than the stator one, since rotor flux changes slowly compared to the stator flux and therefore rotor flux can be assumed constant. Knowing the rotor position (magnetic field) if stator voltage vectors are chosen to apply perpendicularly, then required field orientation can be achieved. But for such operation motor parameters like rotor position, flux and speed need to be calculated very accurately and based on those calculated values stator voltage vectors are to be applied. It has to be done much faster than the rotor time constant, which is usually between 0.04 and 0.1s; otherwise, high torque ripple might lead to unstable operation. The processing speed of microprocessor is not sufficient for carrying out such operation. Thereby it is achieved through Digital Signal Processing (DSP), which is much faster than microprocessor.

DTC control schematic:

Simplified control diagram of stator flux based DTC is shown in the figure below. It consists of estimator, comparator, selection table and Voltage Source Inverter.

1. Estimator It calculates the instant torque & flux components of stator current (Is sin & Is cos) from the operating motor current. 2. Reference torque (T) & flux () It is the maximum capability of the motor to deliver torque and flux component of stator current which is estimated by the design parameters and idle running of the motor. 3. Torque & flux comparator To avoid saturation of core due to over fluxing (V/f ratio higher than rated) which causes over heating of motor, the torque (Is sin ) and flux (Is cos) components of stator current must be within the hysteresis band of the motor. The function of torque and flux comparator is to receive the error (Reference Instant) signal of torque & flux current component and compare it with the hysteresis band of the motor and then send signal to the switching table of the inverter.

4. Switching table - The torque and flux profile in all the six segments of any motor is determined considering probable condition as shown in the following figure and then based on those conditions a voltage vector selection table II (switching table) is prepared for controlling the operation of inverter.

5. Voltage source inverter- A three phase voltage source inverter is configured as shown below with IGBT for carrying out switching operation as per the switching table.

Operation
When motor runs at higher speed, stator flux becomes lower than required ( =1). For increasing stator flux in S1 sector, voltage vectors V2 , V0 & V6 are to be applied with respect to the torque demand - above reference (+1), reference (0) and below reference (1). Similarly when motor runs at lower speed, stator flux becomes higher than required ( =0). For decreasing stator flux voltage vectors V3, V7 & V5 are to be applied with respect to the torque demand - above reference (+1), reference (0) and below reference (-1). Continuous adjustment of torque with respect to the reference makes motor torque pulsating in nature as shown in the following figure. But due to high processing speed of DSP (25 microseconds per cycle) such torque ripples are not seen in practical application.

V0

V7

V0

V7

V0

V7
WHEN =1

V2 V6 V3 V1 V4 V2 V5 V3 V6 V4 V1 V5

S1 V7

S2 V0

S3 V7

S4 V0

S5 V7

S6 V0
WHEN =0

V3 V5 V4 V6 V5 V1 V6 V2 V1 V3 V2 V4

SIMPLIFIED CONTROL LOGIC FOR DTC Find section of operation (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6)

Measure - motor current (R & Y phases) & DC voltage and estimate

Actual speed Is set speed > actual speed? NO Increase frequency YES Reduce frequency

Actual torque

Actual flux

Compare reference torque () with actual 0 = Reference +1 = Low -1 = High

Compare actual flux () within hysteresis band 0 = Low 1 = High

Commutate IGBT as per the following look up table

APPLICATION Because of field orientation control DTC can achieve rated torque at lowest speed without increasing motor current beyond full load. Therefore it is suitable for speed variation of constant torque load like conveyor belt, crane hoist etc. With rotor position feed back, maximum torque at zero speed is also possible to achieve. In such cases motor has to be cooled by independent fan.

PERFORMANCE SUMMARIES V/f control- Motor torque is speed dependent Voltage boost is needed for obtaining high torque at lower speed. Mainly suitable for the application of variable torque load. Dynamic response is slow (because of PWM). Accurate and precious control cannot be achieved due to slow dynamic response. DTC - Motor torque is load dependent Control is simple and without PWM. Dynamic response is very fast Most suitable for the application of accurate and precious control. Torque pulsation is observed due to continuous adjustment of torque. Motor always consumes optimum power due to field orientation. Does not generate current harmonic (due to absence of PWM). Special winding insulation is required for withstanding voltage spike generated by IGBT during switching Separate motor cooling fan is needed if motor is operated continuously at lower speed. Shaft torque is smooth. Generates current harmonic (due to PWM). Motor needs to be derated

CONCLUSIONDTC is the latest development in the field of VSD technology. Researches are still going on to improve its performance further and in near future it will replace all types of conventional variable speed drive including DC motor. When cost reduction is considered as the index of growth - industry might afford to achieve that goal by installing DTC in place of conventional variable speed drives.

REFERENCES 1. Power Electronics and Variable Frequency Drives - B. K. Bose -- - IEEE Press, 1997. 2. Sensorless Control of AC Drives IEEE Press, 1996. 3. Torque Ripple Reduction in DTC of Induction Motor Driven by Three-Level Inverter With Low Switching Frequency - Kyo-Beum Lee, Student Member, IEEE, Joong-Ho Song, Member, IEEE, Ick Choy, and Ji-Yoon Yoo, Member, IEEE 4. Direct Torque Control of Induction Motors - Antoni Arias Pujol 5. High Performance Control of Induction Motor Drives - Bimal K. Bose, Life Fellow, IEEE Department of Electrical Engineering The University of Tennessee, Knoxville USA 6. The Direct Control of Induction Motors. Ludtke, I. - Thesis - Department of Electronics and Information Technology - University of Glamorgan. - K.Rajashekara, A.Kawamura and K. Matsuse

M.G.Morshad Additional Chief Manager Electrical Maintenance I Thermal Power Station II Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd Dist Cuddalore, Neyveli Tamil Nadu Cell: 09487154163 Email: energymanager.ts2@nlcindia.com

M.G.Morshad Qr No 139/D Type II, Block 7 NLC Township Neyveli , Tamil nadu 607803 Cell: 09487154163 Email: mollamorshad@gmail.com