122 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 47, NO.
1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011
Novel Voltage Trajectory Control for
Field-Weakening Operation of
Induction Motor Drives
Ping-Yi Lin, Student Member, IEEE, and Yen-Shin Lai, Senior Member, IEEE
AbstractThis paper proposes a new voltage trajectory control
for the field-weakening operation of induction motor drives. The
presented method does not require a lookup table and reduces the
parameter sensitivity. Moreover, the dc-link voltage utilization can
be extended such that the voltage can reach the hexagon trajectory
of the space vector of the voltage. The difference between the
switching period and the summation of active switching times for
inverter pulsewidth modulation control is used for field-weakening
control. As the summation of the active switching times is less
than its switching period, constant torque is retained. In contrast,
the field-weakening control is considered. Smooth and automatic
transition between two field-weakening regions can be achieved
by the calculated q-axis current subjected to the voltage, current,
and maximum pullout torque constraints. Experimental and sim-
ulation results will be presented to fully support the claims.
Index TermsField weakening, induction motor drive.
I. I NTRODUCTION
I T IS WELL known that the applied voltage of induction
motor drives is used to overcome the voltage drop of stator
windings and the back electromotive force (back EMF). More-
over, the back EMF is proportional to the speed, provided the
flux is constant. As the speed increases up to its rated speed, the
applied voltage should be increased and greater than its rated
voltage. Due to the limitation of the inverter and its dc-link
voltage level, the applied voltage cannot be increased further.
One of the solutions is to increase the applied voltage by the
boost stage in front of the dc link. This approach will increase
the hardware cost. An alternative approach is to reduce the flux
level of the induction motor drives [1][18].
Previous approaches for field weakening can be summarized
as follows: 1) 1/r method [1], [2]; 2) model-based method
[2][5]; 3) voltage detection method [6][16]; and 4) lookup-
table approach [17].
Manuscript received March 28, 2010; revised June 8, 2010; accepted
June 21, 2010. Date of publication November 9, 2010; date of current version
January 19, 2011. Paper 2010-IDC-115.R1, presented at the 2009 IEEE Energy
Conversion Congress and Exposition, San Jose, CA, September 2024, and
approved for publication in the IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON I NDUSTRY A PPLI -
CATIONS by the Industrial Drives Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications
Society.
P.-Y. Lin is with the Center for Power Electronics, National Taipei University
of Technology, Taipei 304, Taiwan, and also with Shihlin Electric Corporation,
Hsinchu, Taiwan (e-mail: t6319004@ntut.edu.tw).
Y.-S. Lai is with the Center for Power Electronics, National Taipei University
of Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan (e-mail: yslai@ntut.edu.tw).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIA.2010.2091092
0093-9994/$26.00 2011 IEEE
As shown in [1] and [2], when the speed is greater than its
based speed, the flux level is proportional to 1/r . Although
it is simple, this open-loop field-weakening method cannot
provide the maximum output torque per ampere nor the full
utilization of the dc-link voltage. Moreover, the flux level
cannot be adaptive to load conditions.
For the method shown in [2][5], the d- and q-axis current
references are derived by the induction motor model and the
constraints of voltage and current. This method provides analyt-
ical current references in the field-weakening regions. However,
the results are sensitive to the motor parameters.
As presented in [6][16], the d- and q-axis voltage references
are used for field-weakening control. The voltage reference
reaches its maximum voltage (Vdc / 3 for space vector mod-
ulation), and the error between the voltage reference and its
maximum value gives the d-axis current via the field-weakening
controller. This is insensitive to motor parameters. However, it
cannot fully utilize the dc-link voltage.
In [17], the null switching time of space vector modulation
T0 and the torque command are used for the indexes of the look-
up table (LUT) of the d-axis current. Moreover, the feedback
of the d-axis current and the torque command are the indexes
for the LUT of the q-axis current. Moreover, the maximum slip
frequency value is also derived from the LUT. These tables for
field weakening depend upon the motor.
In this paper, a voltage trajectory control for the field-
weakening operation of induction motor drives will be pre-
sented. For the presented method, the voltage utilization can be
extended to reach the hexagonal trajectory while not requiring
lookup tables. The difference between the switching period and
the summation of active switching times for pulsewidth modula-
tion (PWM) control is used for field-weakening control. As the
summation of active switching times is greater than its switch-
ing period, field-weakening control is considered. Experimental
and comparison results will be presented for confirmation.
II. T HEORY
A. IM Model
The voltage model of the induction motor referring to the
synchronous frame is shown in (1) [18]
Lm e Lm e
e
vds =(rs +pLs )ieds e Ls ieqs +p dr e
Lr Lr qr
Lm e Lm e
e
vqs =e Ls ieds +(rs +pLs )ieqs +e dr +p .
Lr Lr qr
(1)
LIN AND LAI: NOVEL VOLTAGE TRAJECTORY CONTROL FOR FIELD-WEAKENING OPERATION 123

Fig. 1. Current and voltage constraints (e3 > e2 > e1 ). Fig. 3. Current and voltage constraints in field-weakening region I (e3 >
e2 > e1 ).

Fig. 4. Current and voltage constraints in field-weakening region II (e3 >

Fig. 2. Current and voltage constraints in constant torque region. e2 > e1 ).

B. Voltage and Current Constraints

Under steady state and rotor flux orientation, the model can
The maximum torque of the induction motor with field weak-
be further simplified as
ening is determined by both the voltage and current constraints
as shown in (5) and (6). The maximum voltage value, denoted
e
vds = rs ieds e Ls ieqs by Vs_MAX , is determined by the dc-link capacitor and PWM
method. The maximum current value, indicated by Is_MAX , is
e
vqs = rs ieqs + e Ls ieds . (2)
limited by the inverter and motor

The electromagnetic torque of the induction motor is e2 + v e2 V
vds (5)
qs s_MAX

3 P Lm  e e 
Te = dr iqs eqr ieds . ds + iqs Is_MAX .
ie2 e2 (6)
(3)
2 2 Lr
Substituting (2) into (5) while neglecting the voltage drop
Under steady state and rotor flux orientation condition, (3) across the stator resistor gives
can be rewritten as
ie2 ie2
qs
2 +   1.
ds
3P L2m e e  (7)
Te = i i . (4) Vs_MAX Vs_MAX 2
22 Lr ds qs e Ls e Ls
124 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 47, NO. 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011
Fig. 5. Induction motor drives with the proposed field-weakening method.
The current and voltage constraints are shown in (6) and
(7), respectively. The current constraint shown in Fig. 1 is a
circle (dashed line). Moreover, the voltage constraint (solid line,
ellipse) depends upon the synchronous speed which shrinks as
the speed goes up. The torque equation subject to the current is
drawn in Fig. 1 and indicated by the dotted line.
C. Constant Torque Region
In this region, the speed is less than the rated speed, and the
d-axis current is constant. Therefore, the torque is proportional
to the q-axis current as shown in Fig. 2. Moreover, the q-axis
current is limited by
 
ieqs_Limit = Is2_MAX ie2 ds = Is2_MAX Idse2
_rated . (8)
D. Field-Weakening Region I
As shown in Fig. 3, the ellipse shrinks as the speed increases
and goes beyond its rated speed. Moreover, the maximum
torque occurs as the intersection points of the ellipse and current
constraint circle. In this region, ieds is no longer constant and
is determined by the field-weakening controller. Moreover, the
q-axis current is limited by
 the reference of the d-axis current for constant torque region
ieqs_Limit1 = Is2_MAX ie2 ds . (9)
E. Field-Weakening Region II
The induction motor operates in field-weakening region II
when the speed increases further and the ellipse is encircled
by the current constraint circle as shown in Fig. 4. In this
region, ieds is no longer constant and is determined by the field-
weakening controller which is limited by the voltage constraint
only. Although the q-axis current is no longer limited by the
current constraint circle, it is still limited by the maximum pull-
out torque of the induction motor. Under this circumstance, it
can be shown by (4) and (7) that the maximum slip frequency
and the maximum q-axis current are
1
sl_MAX = (10)
r
ie
ieqs_Limit2 = sl_MAX r ie
ds =
ds
. (11)
III. P ROPOSED M ETHOD
Fig. 5 shows the induction motor drives with the proposed
field-weakening method. The difference between the switching
period and the summation of active switching times for inverter
PWM control is used for field-weakening control as shown
in Fig. 5. As the active times of the inverter are equal to its
switching times, it indicates that the voltage trajectory reaches
its hexagon for space vector modulation. Therefore, the DC-
link voltage can be extended, thereby increasing the maximum
output torque. The rated value of the d-axis current provides
control. However, the output of the field-weakening controller
and the rated value of the d-axis current reference provide the
reference of the d-axis current as the motor operates in field-
weakening regions.
The q-axis current reference limitation is determined by the
flow chart shown in Fig. 6. In the constant torque region,
the current limitation is shown in (8). In the field-weakening
LIN AND LAI: NOVEL VOLTAGE TRAJECTORY CONTROL FOR FIELD-WEAKENING OPERATION
Fig. 6. Flow chart for the q-axis current control of the proposed method.
regions, the current limitation in Region I (see (9)) or the current
subject to the maximum slip frequency (see (11)) is used for the
q-axis current reference limitation. As ieqs_Limit1 > ieqs_Limit2 ,
the induction motor operates in Region II. Otherwise, the
induction motor operates in Region I to give the maximum
output torque.
As shown in [15], which is essentially a kind of voltage
detection
method, the dc-link voltage utilization limitation is
Vdc / 3. For the proposed method, this figure can be extended
to reach the hexagon of the voltage trajectory. Comparing the
proposed method in Fig. 5 and the method shown in [17],
look-up tables for deriving the maximum slip frequency, d-axis
current, and q-axis references are not required for the presented
method.
In short, the proposed method has the following special
features.
1) It has no need of a lookup table.
2) It extends the utilization of the dc-link voltage.
3) It reduces the parameter sensitivity.
4) It can achieve maximum torque.
5) It has smooth transition among the field-weakening re-
gions and constant torque region.
125
Fig. 7. Test rig for experimental work.
TABLE I
S PECIFICATIONS OF I NDUCTION M OTOR , 750 W
IV. S IMULATION AND E XPERIMENTAL R ESULTS
Fig. 7 shows the test rig for experimental work. The spec-
ifications of the induction motor are shown in Table I. The
presented method is realized by a DSP-based controller in soft-
ware. Only the current and shaft sensors are required for field-
weakening control. The dc-link voltage is sensed for inverter
PWM control.
Simulation results are shown in Fig. 8 as the motor starts
from standstill to 7200 r/min. The q-axis current increases in
FW region I (field-weakening region I) and decreases in FW
region II (field-weakening region II) as shown in Fig. 8(b).
These results confirm the theoretical analysis shown in Figs. 3
and 4. Moreover, in FW region II, the slip frequency can
achieve its maximum value (dashed line) as shown in Fig. 8(d).
Moreover, as shown in Fig. 8(e), the voltage trajectory reaches
the hexagon of the space vector as the induction motor operates
in the field-weakening region, thereby confirming the proposed
technique.
Fig. 9 shows the experimental results as the motor starts
from standstill to 7200 r/min. The results well agree with
the simulation results. As shown in Fig. 9(a), the speed is
smooth. During the acceleration process, the q-axis current
increases in FW region I and decreases in FW region II
as shown in Fig. 9(b). Similar evidence for confirming the
effectiveness of the proposed method is shown in Fig. 9(d)
and (e). As shown in Fig. 9(d), the slip frequency reaches
its maximum value (dashed line) in field-weakening region II
(FW II) in the acceleration process. Moreover, the voltage
trajectory becomes hexagonal to reach its maximum voltage
utilization.
Moreover, the d-axis current becomes constant in the con-
stant torque region and decreases as the speed goes up to field-
weakening regions as shown in Fig. 9(c).
126 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 47, NO. 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011

Fig. 8. Simulation results from standstill to 7200 r/min. (a) Speed. (b) q-axis
current. (c) d-axis current. (d) Slip frequency. (e) Voltage trajectory, speed =
7200 r/min.
Fig. 10. Comparison of proposed method and voltage detection method:
Experimental results. (a) Torquespeed curve. (b) Powerspeed curve.

Fig. 10 shows the measured results of the proposed method

and voltage detection method. As shown in Fig. 10(a), the
proposed method provides a higher torque under the same
operation speed in the field-weakening region. Moreover,
the proposed method has a larger power range as com-
pared to that for the voltage detection method as shown
in Fig. 10(b).

V. C ONCLUSION
In this paper, a new field-weakening control method for
induction motor drives is presented which adjusts the d-axis
current component by controlling the voltage trajectory limited
by the hexagon of the space vector modulation. The special fea-
tures of the presented field-weakening method are enumerated
in the following list.
1) It has no need of a lookup table.
2) It extends the utilization of the dc-link voltage.
3) It reduces the parameter sensitivity.
4) It can achieve maximum torque.
5) It has smooth transition among the field-weakening re-
gions and constant torque region.
Experimental and simulation results are presented to con-
Fig. 9. Experimental results from standstill to 7200 r/min. (a) Speed.
(b) q-axis current. (c) d-axis current. (d) Slip frequency. (e) Voltage trajectory, firm these special features and the feasibility of the proposed
speed = 7200 r/min. method.
LIN AND LAI: NOVEL VOLTAGE TRAJECTORY CONTROL FOR FIELD-WEAKENING OPERATION
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Ping-Yi Lin (S08) was born in Taipei, Taiwan,
in 1978. He received the B.S. degree in electric
engineering from the Lunghwa Institute of Technol-
ogy, Taoyuan, Taiwan, in 2000, and the M.S. degree
in electric engineering from National Cheng Kung
University, Tainan, Taiwan, in 2002. He is currently
working toward the Ph.D. degree at National Taipei
University of Technology, Taipei.
Since 2003, he has been with Shihlin Electric
Corporation, Hsinchu, Taiwan, where he has been
involved in developing an IM sensorless control and
PWM algorithm and is currently a Project Leader in the Servo Drive Group. His
research interests include inverter PWM control and electric machine drives and
their digital control.
Yen-Shin Lai (M96SM01) received the M.S.
degree in electronic engineering from National
Taiwan University of Science and Technology,
Taipei, Taiwan, and the Ph.D. degree in elec-
tronic engineering from the University of Bristol,
Bristol, U.K.
He is currently with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, National Taipei University of Technol-
ogy, Taipei, where he became a Lecturer in 1987,
a Full Professor in 1999, and was the Chairperson
during 20032006. He has been a Distinguished
Professor since 2006. His research interests include design of control ICs,
circuit design of dc/dc converters, and inverter control.
Dr. Lai was the recipient of several national and international awards,
including the John Hopkinson Premium for the session 19951996 from the
Institution of Electrical Engineers, the Technical Committee Prize Paper Award
for 2002 from the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Industrial Drives
Committee, the Best Presentation Award for 2004 at IEEE Annual Conference
of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, and the Best Paper Award for 2009
at the Taiwan Power Electronics Conference. He is the Vice-Chair of the IEEE
IAS Industrial Drives Committee, a committee member of the Industrial Power
Converter Committee, and an Associate Editor of the IEEE T RANSACTIONS
ON I NDUSTRIAL E LECTRONICS and the IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON I NDUS -
TRY A PPLICATIONS .