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A current error space phasor based simple hysteresis controller is proposed in this paper to control the switching frequency variation in two-level pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) inverter-fed induction motor (IM) drives. A parabolic boundary for the current error space phasor is suggested for the first time to obtain the switching frequency spectrum for output voltage with hysteresis controller similar to the constant switching frequency voltage-controlled space vector PWM-based IM drive. A novel concept of online variation of this parabolic boundary, which depends on the operating speed of motor, is presented. A generalized technique that determines the set of unique parabolic boundaries for a two-level inverter feeding any given induction motor is described. The sector change logic is self-adaptive and is capable of taking the drive up to the six-step mode if needed. Steady-state and transient performance of proposed controller is experimentally verified on a 3.7-kW IM drive in the entire speed range. Close resemblance of the simulation and experimental results is shown. Index Terms--Current error space phasor, hysteresis controller, parabolic boundary, switching frequency variation control.

For a dual five-level inverter-fed induction motor (IM) drive, effects of dc-neutral currents on dc-link capacitor voltage fluctuations are analyzed in this paper. Operating limitations in achieving the dual task of common-mode voltage elimination and dc-link capacitor voltage balancing with a single dc power supply are further investigated for the proposed drive. In this paper, an open-loop control scheme, which uses only the availability of redundant switching states for the inverter control, is presented. Limitation of proposed open-loop control to take corrective action for any existing unbalance in capacitor voltages calls for a closed-loop control scheme, which is presented in Part II of this paper. Index Terms--Common-mode voltage (CMV) elimination, dc-link capacitor voltage balancing, induction motor (IM) drive, multilevel inverter, open-loop control, switching-state redundancy.

A dc link capacitor voltage balancing scheme along with common mode voltage elimination is proposed for an induction motor drive, with open-end winding structure. The motor is fed from both the ends with three-level inverters generating a five level output voltage space phasor structure. If switching combinations, with zero common mode voltage in the pole voltage, are used, then the resultant voltage space vector combinations are equivalent to that of a three-level inverter. The proposed inverter vector locations exhibit greater multiplicity in the inverter switching combinations which is suitably exploited to arrive at a capacitor voltage balancing scheme. This allows the use of a single dc link power supply for the combined inverter structure. The simultaneous task of common mode voltage elimination with dc link capacitor voltage balancing, using only the switching state redundancies, is experimentally verified on a 1.5-kW induction motor drive. Index Terms--Capacitor voltage balancing, common mode voltage elimination, multilevel inverters.

Split-phase (six-phase) induction motor stator windings consist of two sets of three phase windings, which are spatially phase separated by 30 electrical degrees. Due to mutual cancellation of the air gap flux for all the 6n [+ or -] 1 (n : 1, 3, 5....) order harmonic voltages, called zero sequence components, large harmonic currents are generated in the stator phases. Only the 12n [+ or -] 1 (n = 0, 1, 2, 3....)-order harmonic voltage components contribute toward the air gap flux and electromagnetic torque production in the machine. In this paper, a novel scheme is proposed where two six-phase induction motors are connected in series with proper phase sequence so that the zero sequence component voltages of one machine act as torque and flux producing components for the other. Thus, the two six-phase motors can be independently controlled from a single six-phase inverter. A vector control scheme for the dual motor drive is developed and experimentally verified in this paper. Index Terms--multiphase winding, series-connected multimotor control, vector control.

Pulse-width modulated (PWM) inverters are known to generate common mode voltages which cause motor bearing currents in the induction motor drives. They also result in leakage currents which act as sources of conducted electromagnetic interference in the drive system. The common mode voltage generated by a conventional three-level inverter can be eliminated by switching only the voltage space vectors which do not produce the common mode voltage. This paper presents a PWM switching strategy to eliminate common mode voltage using the open-end winding configuration for the induction motor. The switching strategy presented in this paper, does not generate any alternating common mode voltages in the drive system and hence the electrostatic coupling of the common mode voltage, which results in the bearing currents and the leakage currents, is avoided. The proposed scheme is devoid of neutral point voltage fluctuations and does not require neutral point damping diodes, when compared to the common mode elimination scheme based on the conventional three-level inverter topology. Also, the present scheme uses a single dc-link with half the voltage compared to the conventional three-level inverter based scheme. Index Terms--Common mode voltage, open-end winding induction motor drive.