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Multiphase drives exhibit remarkable advantages (e.g., fault tolerance) over three-phase ones. Six-phase drives are particularly attractive, given their moderate complexity and suitability for off-the-shelf three-phase converters. Regarding the stator winding arrangement, the symmetrical one offers superior postfault capabilities in most scenarios. On the other hand, resistance asymmetry in the stator phases or connections may arise due to different causes. The conventional full-range minimum-loss strategy (FRMLS) generates stator-current references under open-phase (infinite resistance) faults so that torque ripple is prevented while minimizing the losses for each torque ($\boldsymbol{d}$ - $\boldsymbol{q}$ current) value and maximizing the torque range; however, this method is unsuitable for unequal resistances of finite value. This article proposes an FRMLS for setting the current references to reach these goals in symmetrical six-phase drives with any resistance asymmetry. The optimum references are found online depending on the resistances, without lookup tables. The phase currents are individually limited by an iterative algorithm, so that minimum stator copper loss (SCL) is achieved over the maximum admissible torque range. In this manner, unlike the conventional FRMLS, minimum SCL and maximum torque range are attained even for finite resistance imbalance. The currents in phases affected by high resistances are suitably reduced. Experimental results are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicle charging technology has recently witnessed massive developments due to its significant role in the ever-growing number of electric vehicles on the market. The integrated on-board charger technology (IOBC) represents an effective and attractive solution to reduce EV size, cost, and weight. IOBC technology employs propulsion components, such as the motor and its converter, in the charging process. The main objective of IOBC is to achieve the maximum charging current with zero average/pulsating torque so that mechanical interlocking can be dispensed. Recently, some of the IOBC topologies have adopted machines with six-phase stators to exploit the many advantages of multiphase-based systems. This paper investigates the effect of the winding design, namely, chorded or un-chorded designs, as well as the winding configuration, namely, dual three-phase, asymmetrical, or symmetrical winding configurations, on the current quality of a six-phase-based non-isolated IOBC. The relation between the winding design and the induced low order harmonics in the charging current is first clarified. The required current controller structure is then proposed, which ensures balanced grid line currents with high quality, under either healthy or one-phase fault conditions. Finally, a comparative study between all available designs with the proposed current controller is carried out to validate the theoretical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multiphase induction motor is considered to be the promising alternative to the conventional three-phase induction motor, especially in safety-critical applications because of its inherent fault-tolerant feature. Therefore, the attention of many researchers has been paid to develop different techniques for detecting various fault types of multiphase induction motors, to securely switch the control mode of the multiphase drive system to its post-fault operation mode. Therefore, several fault detection methods have been researched and adapted; one of these methods is the indices-based fault detection technique. This technique was firstly introduced to detect open-phase fault of multiphase induction motors. The main advantage of this technique is that its mathematical formulation is straightforward and can easily be understood and implemented. In this paper, the study of the indices-based fault detection technique has been extended to test its applicability in detecting some other stator and rotor fault types of multiphase induction motors, namely, open-phase, open-switch, bad connection and broken rotor bar faults. Experimental and simulation validations of this technique are also introduced using a 1 kW prototype symmetrical six-phase induction motor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]