CONTROL OF INDUCTION MOTORS

A. PANKHURST
Alstom Transport Great Britain
1.0

performance from an AC induction motor with a better

efficiency than a DC motor.

INTRODUCTION

Induction motors have existed for many years but were

always limited in their application because the supply
needed for variable speed control could only be
provided by rotary converters, otherwise a three-phase
fixed supply could be used to give a fixed-speed
control. [Reference 1]. For this reason induction motors
have been used in industrial installations for some time
but their use for traction systems has only recently
gained widespread acceptance with the advent of
cheaper, higher ratings of static inverters and cheaper
microprocessors with enough processing power to
handle the control.

The stator e.m.f. is created by the coils of the machine

cutting through flux at angular frequency 1, defined
by the following equation
E1max = 11maxN1

where 1= 2f1

E1rms = E1max = 4.44f11N1

-------2
where f1 is the frequency of the stator voltage, 1 is the
rms flux produced by the stator windings and N1 is the
effective number of stator turns.

It is assumed in this paper that other authors will

explain the details of induction motor operation and
power electronic inverters; only the aspects relevant to
controlling induction motors will be dealt with here.

If the ratio of e.m.f. to frequency is kept constant, from

this equation it follows that the machine flux will be
constant.

Why AC induction motors?

Using the equivalent circuit for the induction motor

shown in Figure 2.1,

The DC motor is quite complex to manufacture and

also has significant maintenance costs during its life but
has a simple controller.

I1
R1

AC induction motors are easier to manufacture with

less maintenance during their life but the controller is
more complex. With advances in the power of
microprocessors the complexity of the controller is not
as important. In addition the AC induction motor gives
a higher power to volume ratio and a higher power to
weight ratio than its equivalent DC motor.

V1

These advantages have made the AC induction motor a

more popular choice. The fact that the AC induction
motor is more robust and easier to maintain than its DC
equivalent is an important issue, especially if the carbuilder is responsible for train maintenance.

Xm

Xt
R2
s

the torque developed in the steady state by the motor

can be related to the rotor speed by

Te =
2.0
INVERTER-FED INDUCTION MOTOR
CHARACTERISTICS

3V12(R2/s)P
------------------------2
{[(R2/s)+ R1]2 + Xt }

where R2/s represents the rotor resistance and the

mechanical load relative to the stator, P is the number
of pole pairs, Xt is the total reactance of the rotor and
stator relative to the stator, is the angular frequency
of the supply voltage and s is the slip of the rotor
relative to the stator. The resistance of the magnetising
inductance has been assumed to be negligible.

With variable frequency, variable voltage supplies

available, it is possible to exploit the advantages of the
induction motor characteristic, giving high starting
torque with a relatively low starting current. Even a
crude square-wave voltage can be used because the
inductance of the motor windings smoothes the current
waveform. It is also possible to extract a higher

73

and since Xt also contains , Tmax is proportional to

(V1/)2. hence if this ratio is fixed then so is the peak
torque that can be achieved.
This is exactly the characteristic that a traction drive
needs, as at low speeds the inertia and mass of the train
requires high starting torque but once running at speed
requires much reduced torque to keep the train moving.
Graph 2.4 shows a general Torque-speed curve for a
train, with the torque-speed curves through the range of
frequencies superimposed on it.

From Graph 2.2, the typical Torque-Speed curve is

shown for a fixed frequency supply. The corresponding
line current is shown as a dotted curve.
General Torque-speed and Current-speed Characteristics
600

Tmax
Torque

500
current

400

300

Tractive Effort

200 Tstart

CONSTANT

CONSTANT

TORQUE

POWER

Tnom ----100

Tmin
0

0.2

0.4
0.6
unit speed

0.8

without
voltage
boost

The motor would normally be run within the limits

marked Tmax and Tmin. If the slip is allowed to
increase past the point of Tmax, the motor will lose
speed and start to overheat as the current increases. It is
also true that the motor has a high efficiency in the
region of Tmax and Tmin.

Speed

The torque-speed curves superimposed on the graph

are all at constant V/f to maintain constant flux, except
at very low frequency, when the voltage must be
boosted otherwise the available torque is reduced as
shown. The working point on the torque curve simply
moves along the characteristic.

Graph 2.3 shows the equivalent torque curve for a

variable frequency, variable voltage supply at a few
particular values.
Torque-speed curves for supplies at constant V/f

For braking, the direction of the slip can simply be

reversed by changing the firing sequence of the inverter
to reduce the stator frequency and the motor will then
generate electrical energy back into the supply or a
brake resistor.

3000

2500

2000

Swapping the sequence of two phases of the inverter

reverses the train direction. This means that the
reversing switch necessary with a D.C. motor to allow
regeneration is not needed.

1500
<--- decreasing frequency

Torque
1000

500

0
0

3.0
10

20

30

40
speed

50

60

70

SCALAR CONTROL

80

The control operates over two distinct regions of the

motor characteristic: constant flux and constant
voltage, as shown in Graph 3.1.

As the frequency is decreased, so the level of starting

current is reduced and yet the peak torque is still kept
high. This is because the equation for torque at its
maximum can reduce to
Tmax ~ 3V12
--------2..Xt

74

CONSTANT FLUX
Torque

CONSTANT VOLTAGE

control loops. A simple control configuration is shown

in Figure 3.2.

Frequency
Voltage

measured rotor speed

Flux

fm

dem

Fd

Fs

WAVEFORM
GENERATOR

PID
LOOPS

dem

V/Hz dem

FIRING

POWER
INVERTER

IM

PULSES

ach

Slip

ach

ESTIMATOR

ia, ib, ic
vab, vac

Fs - slip frequency
Fd - demand (stator) frequency

speed

Torque and flux are rather difficult to measure in

practice, particularly on a traction motor that exists in
too harsh an environment for delicate measuring
equipment. Instead, measurements of the phase
voltages, phase currents and the speed of the motor are
made using Hall Effect devices and a tachogenerator or
speed probe. From these variables, the torque and flux
are calculated using an Estimator, which is a simplified
model of these quantities. A simple comparator of these
values with the demand creates the necessary error
signal, which is then used to create the required slip
frequency demand and Volts/Hz demand. The rotor
speed is added to the slip frequency to calculate the
necessary stator frequency and then these values of
Frequency and Volts/Hz are used to modify the inverter
switching patterns being generated by the Waveform
Generator. (Note the positive feedback of rotor speed
in the control loop.) In practice, only two currents and
two voltages will be needed as the third can be
calculated from the relation:

In the first region, the ratio of voltage to frequency is

kept constant as the voltage and the frequency are
steadily increased to increase the speed. This way, the
torque produced by the motor remains in the desired
region of the torque-speed curve.
The second region is the constant voltage region, when
the maximum modulation of the inverter feeding the
motor is reached and the switching pattern changes
from PWM to square-wave, which gives the maximum
voltage that a switched waveform can achieve. Control
of the flux is lost as only the frequency can be
increased from this point, so the effect is the same as
"field-weakening" in a D.C.motor and the electrical slip
increases.
This curve is analogous to the DC motor characteristic.
There is also a small region at start-up, from about 0 to
5Hz, where the flux value fixed by V/f must be boosted
to maintain the torque. At high frequency, reactance is
higher and this dominates the behavior of the machine
more than the stator resistance. At low frequency,
reactance is lower and therefore the stator resistance
dominates the behavior. In order to achieve the same
flux at low frequency as at high frequency it is
therefore necessary to supply more stator current and
hence the stator voltage has to be higher [refer back to
Figure 2.1]. There will be other factors affecting the
torque which the motor can produce, such as a line
current limit and the power rating of the drive, which
can either limit the torque available before maximum
modulation is reached or change the shape of the
curves within the maximum modulation (square-wave)
region.

ia + ib + ic = 0 and
va + vb + vc = 0.
The most usual method of train control is through
Tractive Effort Demand selected by the driver, who
chooses a percentage of full tractive effort that is
judged to be necessary to move the train. If 80% is
selected, that is 80% of the maximum tractive effort at
that speed on the curve shown in Graph 3.1. This is
converted into a torque demand, which feeds into the
control system as shown. As the train gathers speed, so
the curve programmed into the controller will change
the torque demand input and the loops will control the
slip frequency to develop the necessary torque in the
motor. The driver will then reduce the tractive effort
demand as the train approaches the required speed and
hence torque demand is reduced. Some systems also
have a desired speed control for the driver to set which
will override the torque demand once the required
speed has been reached, rather like cruise control on a
car.

In order to control the induction motor on the steep part

of the Torque-speed curve, feedback is necessary to
compare with the demanded value, as in any control
system. If the load were constant or of a known
characteristic then a basic control scheme might simply
measure the rotor speed, calculate the slip frequency,
compare it with the required value and then look up the
necessary voltage and frequency values at the required
flux to feed to the inverter. However, traction does not
have that luxury and needs independent torque and flux

There are two main limitations with this technique.

Firstly, if the current or voltage is changed then this has
an effect not only on the torque produced by the motor
but also on the flux. The flux will tend to reduce
75

transiently, and hence the slip, when a change in torque

demand is applied and the flux loop is slow to respond
in correcting this. It is not possible to control the fieldproducing element of the current and voltage
independently of the armature element, in terms of DC
motor control. Secondly, the control can only ever be
as good as the Estimator, which may be less accurate at
one end of the temperature scale when the motor
resistance is significantly different and also at low
Inverter fundamental frequency. The Estimator may
also have difficulty in modeling the saturation effects in
the motor, which are usually non-linear.

though others have developed the theory further such as

Blasche, and initially they were used in order to
understand an AC machine in the terms of a DC
machine, with which engineers were much more
familiar. It is only within the last 20 years or so that the
application of these equations to a vector has been
recognised and put into practice.
As has already been described in the scalar control
section, the problems of controlling induction motors at
variable speed and load arise because the flux of the
airgap cannot be made independent of the torque. The
flux is generated by a reaction between the powered
stator and the unpowered rotor so by considering only
the magnitude of the flux there is no possibility of
controlling the dynamic behavior of the flux.
Considering Figure 4.1, the three stator windings
produce flux which induce voltages in each of the rotor
windings and hence a flux to react against the stator
flux.

In standard machine control texts, there are control

schemes which do not use a direct measurement of the
rotor speed, these are not covered here, as it is always
necessary to know the speed for other functions. It can
be desirable to use a control scheme without speed
sensors, as these are components that can reduce the
reliability of the drive but these control schemes are
significantly more complicated. There are schemes
covered for changing the rotor resistance but these are
not accurate enough and too complex for the marginal
benefits they give.

Va

three-phase
machine

ra
4.0

VECTOR CONTROL

rb

rc
Vc

Vb

This is not an easy topic to explain or understand,

therefore there are two sections following. One is the
simplified overview and the other is a more detailed
approach, for those with a more detailed engineering
interest.

In the equivalent machine shown in Figure 4.2, the

phases are at 90 to each other and cannot interact.
(Flux has to be perpendicular to the conductor cutting
through it in order to generate an e.m.f.)

4.1
The Executive Summary of Vector
Control

V1

The essence of vector control is that the rotating flux in

the airgap of the motor is considered as a vector, that
is, having both magnitude and direction. These
variables need to be accurately controlled as they vary
with time. The aim is to control the dynamic behavior
of the machine and the steady-state characteristics by
translating the machine equations into a reference
frame that is aligned to the machine flux. If the
controller is tracking the machine flux changes in real
time, it will be much simpler to detect and correct for
error between the demanded and the actual values.

two-phase
equivalent
machine

r1
V2
r2

The aim is therefore to re-write the equations for the

motor flux and torque so that the torque equation
relates to one perpendicular winding and the flux
equation relates to the other perpendicular winding.
Using one of the perpendicular axes aligned with one
of the actual fluxes in the airgap, this simplifies the
equations.

The vector may be considered with rotating axes

relative to either the stator or the rotor, giving rise to
the name of each particular technique. If the vector is
resolved into two components along the perpendicular
axes, the two components are independent of each
other and can therefore be used to represent the two
effects of torque and flux, just as in D.C. motor control.
The system of equations was developed by Park,

Two separate control loops are used, one which

measures the actual flux and produces an error to
correct the flux to the desired level and the other which
measures the actual torque and produces an error to

76

correct the torque to the desired level. Varying one

quantity will not have an effect on the other quantity. A
conversion is then made between the error and the
PWM firing pattern needed by the power inverter to
produce the actual quantity in the machine. The control
loops are calculating exactly what is happening in the
machine in actual time, so the response is immediate if
there is any change in load or demand.

The rotor is rotating so there has to be an additional

conversion to give the two phase equivalent currents in
a fixed axis. Figure 4.4 shows the conversions for the
rotor.
ROTOR

Isa

The conclusion could easily be drawn that vector

control has plenty of advantages and no disadvantages.
Sadly, this is not the case. Whilst the dynamic response
is better it also means that the calculations are very
complicated and intensive, which is why it has only
recently become possible to implement due to the
availability of cheaper but more powerful and faster
processors. It is also necessary to include compensation
terms in the equations because the terminal voltage of
the motor is low at low rotor frequency and hence the
calculation of the flux would not be very accurate.
There is also a technique known as "pre-fluxing" the
machine, which means that a low current is fed into the
motor at very low frequency to allow a flux to establish
in the airgap before the controller is released.

Isb

Isc

, axes are rotating in space

D, Q axes are fixed in space

Iq
Id

From Figure 4.5, the stator and rotor currents can be

resolved along the axes D and Q or and to obtain
expressions for the two phase equivalents. The same
can be done for the rotor currents and the magnetising
current.

If the D and Q axes are relative to a fixed position on

the stator then Id and Iq will vary with time.

Consider three phase currents, each with magnitude Is

and displaced by 120 with respect to each other, these
can be resolved along two perpendicular axes to obtain
equivalent two phase currents. The stator is not rotating
so the perpendicular axes can be fixed in space. Figure
4.3 shows the conversion for the stator.

Id=Iscosd
Iq=Issind
where d is the integral of the current frequency, which
is st for the stator at fixed frequency.

STATOR

If, however, the axes are and moving at the

synchronous speed of the stator i.e. the supply
frequency divided by the number of pairs of poles, then
I and I are constant magnitude, analogous to D.C.
currents.

Isb
Iq
D

Id
ws

ws

wr

4.2.1
Generalised Machine Analysis Conversions Between Axes. After many years of the
DC motor being used extensively, a technique was
derived to translate the induction motor behavior into a
format similar to the DC motor to help to understand
the system. Effectively, the three phase windings are
resolved into the equivalent two phase windings, even
though this would not work easily in practice. The
principles of vector control are then built on this
analysis.

Isa

4.2
The Technical Summary of Vector
Control

we axes ,
rotating

I=Iscos
I=Issin

D, Q axes are fixed in space

Isc

where is constant for the stator.

77

Vqse = RsIqs + p(LsIqs) + p(MIqr) + eds

These are the magnitudes of direct and quadrature
currents rotating in the airgap at e.

where p is the operator d/dt, M is the mutual inductance

between rotor and stator and is the rotational
voltage due to the rotating axes (denoted by the suffix
e). When stationary reference axes are used (i.e. aligned
with the stator) this last term is zero. For synchronously
rotating axes, e is the machine synchronous speed s (
supply frequency divided by the pairs of poles). All the
currents are vector quantities.

Using the above diagram it is also possible to relate

quantities between stationary and rotating reference
frames without needing to know the exact position of
the current vectors.
I=Idcos + qsin
I=Iqcos - Idsin
= et (in steady state)

Also define the two rotor voltages, which are zero for a
squirrel-cage motor

A three-phase winding system in the motor is first

converted to an equivalent two phase winding. If the
neutral point of the motor is not connected then there is
no zero-sequence current and the following equations
hold for the "power-invariant" transformation.

Vdre = RrIdr + p(LrIdr) + p(MIds) - (e - r)qr = 0

Vqre= RrIqr + p(LrIqr) + p(MIqs) + (e - r)dr = 0
where the rotational voltage term is affected by the
difference in speed between the synchronous speed
used as the reference e and the rotor speed r which
causes a different flux linkage from the stator terms.
The flux linkage terms are defined

Id = (2/3). [Isacosd + Isbcosd - 2/3)+ Isccosd 4/3)

and
Iq = (2/3). [Isasind + Isbsind -2/3) + Iscsin(d 4/3)]

qs = LsIqs + MIqr
ds = LsIds + MIdr
qr = LrIqr + MIqs
dr = LrIdr + MIds

The same transformation can also be applied to the

three phase voltages and when the [d, q] currents and
voltages are multiplied together to calculate the power,
the same result is found as through ordinary calculation
with three phases, hence the term "power invariant". It
is as though the machine has been rewound with the
same number of coils but divided between only two
poles.

The electrical torque produced by the machine can be

written as
Te = 3. P. M. (drIqs qrIds)
-- --- ------------------------2. 2. Lr

This transformation can also be used in scalar control.

The d and q axes can be used to represent any set of
direct and quadrature axes, not just stationary axes.

where P is the number of poles in the machine.

If the voltage in scalar control is altered, there is a
corresponding change in flux as well as torque, and the
flux loop then has to respond to correct this, which is
slow due to the time constant of the inductance. In
vector control however, the control parameters are
monitoring the dynamic characteristics of the machine
too and so the changes made to voltage and frequency
inputs to the motor are immediate.

4.2.2
Generalised Rotating Reference Frame.
Now consider the motor to have two quadrature
equivalent circuits d and q as in Figure 4.6, where the
subscripts s and r refer to stator and rotor quantities and
M is the mutual inductance between to two sets of
windings:
Isd,q

Lr

Ls
Rs

Vsd,q

Ird,q
Rr

4.2.3
Rotor Flux Orientation. So far, the equations
seem to be more complex than for scalar control and no
obvious benefit of de-coupling the flux and torque have
emerged. The next step for vector control is to now
align the rotating axes with the actual flux vector of the
rotor and hence the d component will be on the axis
and the quadrature component will be at 90, hence

Vrd,q

then define the two vector stator voltages relative to a

rotating reference frame

qr = 0

Vdse = RsIds + p(LsIds) + p(MIdr) - eqs

78

All the other equations can then be used to derive

expressions for Idr and dr and finally the equations for
torque and flux are:

Tdem
dem

Te = 3. P. M. (drIqs)
-- -- --------------2 .2. Lr

+-

PI
LOOP
+-

PI
LOOP

2 TO 3
PHASE

WAVEFORM
GENERATOR

INVERTER

FLUX AND
TORQUE
CALCULATION

-+

r
1/s

ANGLE
CORRECTION

which depends on Iqs

and

Id, Iq

dr = Rr.M.Ids
----------Rr + pLr

3 TO 2
PHASE

Is, Vs

Vd, Vq

The values of flux are calculated from integrating the

voltages Vd, Vq. Only two phase currents and two
phase voltages are actually needed as the third value
can be calculated, as described in Section 3.0.

which depends on Ids.

The aim of de-coupled equations for torque and flux
has been achieved.

The scheme can be used for either current-source or

voltage-source inverters. If a voltage-source inverter is
used then there will be an additional stage of PI loops
before the three-phase to two phase conversion and the
waveform generator to convert Id, Iq into Vd, Vq
values.
Once the machine goes into square-wave operation, the
flux cannot be controlled any more as it has reached its
maximum value so the operation changes to scalar
control.

It must be noted however that the rotor current is only

zero for steady state flux and there is a transient effect
on the torque if the flux is allowed to change. A fuller
derivation and treatment of the equations can be found
in Reference 4.
The equations for vector control are usually aligned to
the rotor reference frame as this is the quantity that
controls the flux in the machine, hence the term "rotorflux oriented control". It is then possible to choose the
control methods of either Direct or Indirect calculation
of the vectors, as the angle of the axes is needed to
perform the transformation between the stationary and
rotating reference frames. The Direct method means
that the position of the rotor in the airgap is needed by
direct measurement of the rotor position but this is not
practical for traction applications. The Indirect method,
where the angle of the rotor can be calculated from
integration of speed and corrected from current and
voltage measurements, is usually employed. It is also
true that a direct measurement will be of the air-gap
flux and a correction then has to be made for the rotor
leakage flux.

5.0
OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING
INDUCTION MOTOR CONTROL

Although the methods of controlling the motor to give

the desired flux and torque have been discussed, there
are other effects that must be considered in the control
of an induction motor in traction applications.
One important consideration is that the production of
electrical torque on the rotor shaft is not the end of the
matter. Almost all traction systems do not use the motor
shaft as the axle but instead employ gears and
couplings to increase the mechanical torque applied to
the wheels and absorb some of the mechanical shocks
associated with the wheel-rail interface. This means
that not only must the gear ratio be accounted for but
also the energy losses in the gear coupling, the wheel
diameter and the adhesion of the wheel to the rail.
Hence the term "Tractive Effort" is used to take
account of these effects when calculating the terms to
feed into the controller.

There are also published schemes which use stator-flux

oriented or even magnetising-flux-oriented control - as
with all engineering, there are trade-offs to be
considered in the choice of scheme used in a particular
application.
It should be noted that indirect vector control schemes
are prone to variation due to the reliance on motor
parameters in the rotor in calculating the flux.

The Tractive Effort-speed characteristic will depend on

the application concerned. A locomotive hauling loads
of ore from a mine, where the train length could be up
to 1 mile long with steep gradients to climb, will need
high tractive effort over a low speed range but no high
speed capability. Conversely, a passenger train with

4.2.4
Implementation of Control Scheme with a
Two-axis Model. A possible scheme for Indirect
"rotor-flux oriented control" is shown in Figure 4.7.

79

IM

stations far apart will need a relatively low starting

tractive effort but high speed capability. A metro or
commuter multiple unit serving stations which are close
together will need a high tractive effort for low speed
acceleration and high braking effort across the speed
range to ensure maximum electric brake but will not
need high speed capability.

possibly with dire consequences for the motor.

Regardless of the pull-out torque, the most heavily
loaded motor is going to run hotter than the others do
because it is drawing more current. For these reasons,
simulations must be done to find out what is the
maximum tolerance allowed on the wheel diameter
variation for a particular systems characteristics. The
designer must then advise the operator of these limits
and when the wheels are turned to remove flats, these
limits must be respected. It is also usual for the control
software to monitor the different axle speeds and limit
the control demand to safeguard the motors. For most
systems a difference of about 15% between the highest
and lowest motor efforts is the maximum that can be
tolerated. If the wheel diameter tolerances are not
adhered to, a loss of performance may be noticed as the
software protection is activated.

If a D.C. line is feeding the inverter, there will often be

a power filter employed to reduce harmonics in the line
that are generated by the inverter. This can have a
significant effect on the stability of the controller if
ignored. A filter-ripple compensation loop will often
need to be implemented to avoid ringing of the filter at
its natural frequency, which would then cause an
incorrect voltage to be seen by the motor.
The weight of the train being driven must also be
considered in the motor control. If a train is heavily
laden then more torque will be required to start the
train and to achieve the desired speed. This must be
included in the calculation of tractive effort demand.

It is also necessary to include detection and correction

for wheelslip and slide. If a wheel starts to slip or slide,
the torque on that wheel will tend to reduce because the
electrical slip tends to reduce. The control system will
still try and maintain the demanded torque and so it
increases the electrical slip to compensate. If there is no
slip-slide detection system and therefore no action is
taken, the stator frequency, and hence the rotor
frequency will accelerate rapidly in motoring
(decelerate in braking) until a maximum (minimum in
braking) stator frequency is reached. In the case of
more than one motor being fed from one inverter, all
the wheels will go into slip and if only electric braking
is being used, all the wheels will go into slide. Either
condition has serious mechanical consequences: sliding
forms "flats" on the wheel; slipping grinds the wheel
and rail together. There are many ways of detecting and
acting on wheel-slip or slide but the general principle is
to monitor the rotational speed of each motor and on
detecting any reading much different from the others,
reduce the tractive effort to zero for a short period and
then reapply a slightly lower tractive effort demand. It
is basically a "try-it-and-see" kind of approach.

For passenger comfort, most traction controllers are

required to keep within a "jerk limit". This quantity is
the maximum rate of acceleration, usually measured in
kNs-1, and limits the rate of change of control
variables. In commuter systems, where most of the train
journey is spent accelerating and decelerating, a higher
figure is usually allowed otherwise the journey-time
would be severely affected.
Control of an induction machine at very low speeds is
always problematic due to the implementation of the
controller in electronic hardware. The integrator terms
have to have a low frequency cut-off otherwise DC
offset values could saturate the integrator ("integrator
wind-up") so it is not easy to set the flux required.
In systems where more than one motor is fed by an
inverter, there are special considerations to ensure that
the control can function correctly. The motors may be
on different bogies as well as different axles and the
variation in wheel diameters between the different axles
can have a profound effect on the inverter control. The
reason for this is that for a given rail speed of the train,
axles with different wheel diameters will have different
rotational speeds. It therefore follows that the rotor
shaft speed of each motor will be different and thus the
slip frequency will be different, since the stator
frequency is that of the inverter and hence the same for
each motor. Referring back to Graph 2.2, it can be seen
that a different slip frequency will produce different
torques in the motors for the same applied voltage and
so one of the motors is going to be working harder than
the others. If the control was already working near to
the pull-out torque at the top if the curve, the variation
may be enough to push one motor past the pull-out
torque and therefore the whole control will collapse,

The traction control software will usually be configured

to detect and act on any system failures that might
result in problems for the motor control. Examples are
device failure in the inverter, demand input failures
from the drivers controls and speed probe failures. The
strategy for detection and handling of such faults are
individual not only to each manufacturer but also to
each system, depending on the drive characteristics.

6.0

FUTURE TRENDS

Vector control is very much the standard method for ac

drives at the moment but the challenge of improving
what already exists drives improvements in algorithms
and also cost reduction. There is always a challenge to
overcome the problems of controlling a non-linear
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5. Leonhard W, Springer-Verlag, 1985, "Control of

Electrical Drives"

system, which the induction motor is, and to achieve

better overall control for the whole speed range whilst
simplifying the calculations. The following are
included as interest items only; it is not intended to be a
detailed account.

6. Bose B.K, 1987, "Power Electronics and Drives",

Prentice-Hall

Sensorless drives are also becoming more common.

Many schemes do not use phase voltage measurement.
Some schemes do not have speed sensors. Their main
advantage to be gained from schemes without sensors is
cost and reliability. The control algorithms are more
complex because they have to include additional
elements to calculate the phase voltage from the link
voltage and the device switching patterns and a speed
estimator. In principle therefore it is possible to control
an Inverter from three measurements only two phase
currents and the link voltage.
To further improve the control and efficiency of the
drive it is possible to use more complex flux control
algorithms. Flux demand can be varied with speed and
torque demand to operate at the ideal point. Control
of the Flux demand can also limit Short Circuit torque
values in the event of a power module failure.
Some schemes use variable values for rotor and stator
resistance to improve estimator accuracy and hence
improve control performance. These can be successful
but often need careful tuning to be of real benefit.
Wheelcreep control systems that are advanced
Wheelslip/Slide control systems need motor control
algorithms that are faster and more accurate as many
rely on rapid modification of the Tractive/Brake effort.
This can be achieved by better systems to de-couple the
Id and Iq control.

7.0

REFERENCES

The following references, whilst not exhaustive, can

provide further discussion of the subject matter
covered.
1. Maclean G.W., Nix G.F., Alwash S.R., 1989,
"Performance and design of induction motors with
square-wave excitation", IEE Proceedings, 116, 1405 1411.
2. Slemon G.R. and Straughen A., 1980 "Electrical
Machines", Addison Wesley
3. Chapman S.J., 1985, "Electric Machinery
Fundamentals, McGraw-Hill,
4. Vas P, 1990. "Vector Control of AC Machines",
Oxford Science Publications

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