Wound-Field Synchronous Machine Drives

Wound-Field Synchronous Machine Drives
Introduction
For high power (multi-MW) applications,
the high efficiency of synchronous motors
makes them more appealing than induction
motors. Indeed, most of todays electrical
power generators are 3u synchronous
generators.

Brushless dc Excitation
Wound-field synchronous motors require dc
current excitation in the rotor winding. This
excitation is traditionally done through the
use of slip rings and brushes. However,
these have several disadvantages such as
requiring maintenance, arcing (which
means they cannot be used in hazardous
environments), etc. An alternative approach
is to use brushless excitation which is
illustrated on the next slide.

Brushless dc Excitation (contd)

Brushless dc Excitation (contd)
A wound-rotor induction motor (WRIM) is
mounted on the same shaft as the wound-
field synchronous motor. This is acting as a
rotating transformer with the rotor as the
primary and the stator as the secondary.
The stator of the WRIM is fed by a 60Hz
supply and the rotor of the WRIM rotates at
a speed set by the supply frequency. The
slip voltage in the rotor winding of the
WRIM is rectified to provide the current
feed to the rotor windings of the
synchronous motor.
Load Commutated Current-Fed
Inverters
Thyristor current-fed, load commutated
inverters (LCIs) are very popular for
high power (multi-MW) wound-field
synchronous motor drives.
We will briefly review current-fed
thyristor inverters and then discuss
load commutated inverters in some
detail. We will then see how to apply
them to wound-field synchronous motor
drives.

Review of Current-Fed Thyristor
Inverter
Let us first briefly review the operation of
the current-fed thyristor inverter.
Inverter (contd)
Initially, ignore commutation considerations.
Induction motor load is modeled by back emf
generator and leakage inductance in each
phase of the winding.

The constant dc current I
d
is switched
through the thyristors to create a 3u 6-step
symmetrical line current waves as shown on
the next slide.
Inverter (contd)

Inverter (contd)
The load or line current may be expressed
by a Fourier series as:

where the peak value of the fundamental
component is given . Each thyristor
conducts for radians. At any instant
one upper thyristor and one lower thyristor
conduct.
2 3 1 1
cos cos5 cos7 ...
5 7
a d
i I t t t e e e
t
(
= +
(

2 3 /
d
I t
2 / 3 t
Inverter (contd)
The dc link is considered harmonic-free
and the commutation effect between
thyristors is ignored.
At steady state the voltage output from
the rectifier block = input voltage of
inverter.
For a variable speed drive the inverter
can be operated at variable frequency
and variable dc current I
d
.

Inverter (contd)
If thyristor firing angle o > 0, inverter
behavior.

If thyristor firing angle o=0, rectifier
behavior.

Max. power transfer occurs when o=t.
Inverter Operation Modes
Two inverter operation modes are
established depending on the thyristor
firing angle:
1) Load-commutated inverter
Applies when t/2<o<t.

2) Force-commutated inverter
Applies when t<o<3t/2.

Load-Commutated Inverter Mode
Consider o=3t/4. In this case v
ca
< 0 =>
thyristor Q
5
is turned off by the load. This
requires load to operate at leading power
factor => motoring mode of a synchronous
machine operating in over-excitation.
V
d
=-V
d0
coso

Load Commutated Inverters
Let us initially consider a single-phase
inverter before discussing the 3u case. A
single-phase, current-fed, parallel
resonant inverter with load commutation
is shown below:

Load Commutated Inverters (contd)
A phase-controlled rectifier provides the dc
input and a large capacitor C provides the
load commutation of the thyristors. Assuming
perfect filtering of harmonics by the capacitor
and the dc link inductor, the inverter load
voltage and current waves are shown below:

The thyristor pairs Q
1
Q
2
and Q
3
Q
4
are
switched alternately for t angle to
produce the square wave output. The
fundamental of the current wave leads
the sinusoidal voltage wave by |. Thus,
when Q
1
Q
2
turn on, the Q
3
Q
4
pair has a
negative voltage for duration | which
provides the load commutation. Since
|=et
q
, the time t
q
must be sufficiently
long for the thyristors to turn off.
The equations for the inverter circuit are:

where R
d
is the resistance of the inductor L
d
.
L
L L
di
v i R L
dt
= +
L
c
dv
i C
dt
=
'
1 2 L L C
i i i i i = + =
1 2 d
i i i = +
d
d L d d d
di
v v i R L
dt
= +
These equations can be expressed in state-
variable form and solved to model the
steady state and dynamic performance of
the inverter.
We will now consider an approximate
steady state analysis assuming that L
d
is of
infinite size and is lossless. We will also
assume that the load is highly inductive,
i.e. eL>>R.
Consider the series R-L load to be resolved
into parallel R
1
and L
1
components in which
real current I
P
flows through R
1
and
reactive current I
Q
flows through L
1
. The
load impedance Z
L
can be written as:
1 1
1 1
L
R j L
Z R j L
R j L
e
e
e
= + =
+
2 2 2
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1
R L R L
j
R j L R j L
e e
e e
= +
+ +
If the load is highly inductive (as we had
assumed) R
1
>>eL
1
and

and L ~ L
1
.

The fundamental component of the current
is given by:
2 2
1
1
L
R
R
e
'
2 2
L d
I I
t
=
The real and reactive components of the
load current are given by:

and

where . Through some
algebraic manipulation we get:

and
'
1
cos
L
P L
V
I I
R
| = =
' '
'
sin
L
Q L
C
V
I I
X
| = =
'
1
|| 1/
C
X j L j C e e =
2
'
1
2 2
L
L
d
V
I
RV t
=
2 ' 2
1
'
8
C
L d
C
R X
V V
X
t
+
=
From the above equations we can
calculate the load voltage, currents, and
commutation angle |.

Example:
Single-phase synchronous motor;
V
d
=200V, f=60Hz, R=0.2O, L=1.2mH,
I
d
=240A, C=150F. Find |.
There are basically two control variables
for the load commutated inverter - the
dc link current and the frequency. For a
variable load, a variable capacitance can
be used to provide desired margin of
commutation angle |. However, a better
way to operate is to use a PLL to control
the inverter frequency to just above the
load resonance frequency.
The single-phase inverter concepts can be
extended to 3u LCIs. The figure below
shows a three-phase LCI with lagging
power factor load. Here load commutation
is achieved by using a leading VAR load
connected at the load terminal.

In the case of a variable load, a fixed
capacitor bank is connected at the
terminals and the inverter frequency
adjusted so that the effective inverter
load has a leading PF so that
commutation occurs at a fixed angle |.
As mentioned earlier, thyristor current-fed,
load commutated inverters (LCIs) are very
popular for high power (multi-MW) wound-
field synchronous motor drives where it is
easy to maintain the required leading PF
angle by adjusting the field excitation.

The fundamental frequency phasor diagram for
a salient pole synchronous machine under
motoring condition is shown below:

Note: The winding resistance and the
commutation overlap effect have been neglected.
A flux linkage has been included in the
phasor diagram where
f
= field flux linkage,
a
=armature reaction flux linkage and
S
=resultant stator flux. We can write the
d
e

and q
e
components of
a
as follows:

For a salient pole machine, L
d
=L
q
the phasors
a
and I
s
are not in phase.
2 sin( )
ds ds ds ds s
L I L I o | = = +
2 sin( )
qs qs qs qs s
L I L I o | = = +
The motor phase voltage and current waves
are shown below including the commutation
overlap effect:

The load commutated inverter with an
over-excited synchronous machine load
depends on sufficient back emf which is
not available at low speeds. The critical
speed required for load commutation to
work is about 5% of base speed. A forced
commutation approach is required below
these speeds and to start the motor. (see
Bose text pp. 284-285 for details).
Load-Commutated Inverter Drive
Having seen how a current-fed, thyristor
inverter can be load commutated with a
wound-field synchronous motor by
operating the machine at a leading power
factor, we can now consider how to design
a self-controlled drive system for a wound-
field synchronous motor based on a load-
commutated inverter drive. As mentioned
earlier, this type of drive is popular for high
power (multi-MW) drives for compressors,
pumps, ship propulsion, etc.
(contd)
A block diagram of a self-controlled load-
commutated, current-fed inverter drive for a
wound-field synchronous motor is shown below:

(contd)
The phasor diagram for the LCI in
motoring mode driving a synchronous
motor is shown below:

Note: The saliency and stator resistance
have been neglected.
(contd)
The field flux
f
is established by the field
current I
f
and depends on the rotor position.
The armature flux
a
=I
s
L
s
is determined by
the stator current and stator winding
inductance. The delay angle command o
d
*

sets the position of
a
relative to
f
since
a

leads
f
by | given by:

where o= torque angle.
'
2
t
| t o o |
| |
= = + +
|
\ .
(contd)
Thyristors require a minimum turn-off
time t
off
for successful commutation. This
corresponds to a turn-off angle =et
off
.
For reliable operation of a LCI drive and
minimum reactive current loading to the
synchronous motor, turning off the
thyristors at a fixed time every cycle is a
good approach. A complete speed control
system for a LCI synchronous motor drive
incorporating constant turn-off angle
control is shown on the next slide.
(contd)

(contd)
This drive operates in the constant torque
region in motoring mode with stator flux
s
maintained constant (open loop). There
are four control elements:
Speed and dc link current control
Field flux/field current control
Generation of
f
*
, o
d
*
, o
*
and
*
command
signals (where is the commutation
overlap angle)
Delay angle control.
(contd)
Speed and dc link current control:
e
r
compared to e
r
*
and error goes
through P-I controller and absolute value
circuit -> I
d
*. I
d
and I
d
*
compared and
controls thyristor firing angle o in rectifier
to control dc link current.
The generated motor torque I
d
(see
Bose text pg. 499 for derivation).

3 6
cos '
2
e s d d
P
T I K I |
t
| |
= =
|
\ .
(contd)
Field flux/field current control:
The command field flux
f
*
is given by:

where
s
*
= constant,
a
*
=L
s
I
s
=K
a
I
d
*
and
|
*
=
*
+k
*
. To obtain | we need
*
which
can either be measured or calculated using
the expression:
* *2 *2 * * *
2 cos
2
f s a s a
t
|
| |
= + +
|
\ .
*
1 * *
*
2
cos cos
6
c d
s
L I

(
=
(

(contd)
The command flux current I
f
*
is then
generated from the command flux
f
*
by
through a function generator that
corrects for saturation effects. A phase-
controlled rectifier can then be used to
control the flux current as shown in the
system block diagram.
(contd)
Generation of
f
*
, o
d
*
, o
*
and
*
command
signals:
We have discussed how all of the
command signals can be obtained with
the exception of the o
*
angle. This is
obtained from the equation:
* 1 *
6 cos
sin
s
d
f
L
I
|
o
t
(
=
(
(

(contd)
Delay Angle Control:
For a six-step inverter we need six
discrete firing pulses at t/3 intervals
apart within a cycle. A block diagram
showing how this can be achieved is
shown on the next slide.
(contd)

(contd)
(contd)
The corresponding alignment of reference
signal S
1
and the waveforms for phase a in
motoring mode are shown below. These
diagrams can be used to determine the
inverter firing angles.

(contd)
The absolute position sensor can be
eliminated and the machine terminal
voltage signals can be used instead to
estimate the rotor position for inverter
firing angle determination. Details are
presented in the Bose textbook pp. 504-
507.
Cycloconverter Drive
High power, wound-field synchronous
motors can be operated at unity power
factor when excited by phase-controlled,
line-commutated, thyristor
cycloconverters. Drive control for such
drives can be both scalar and vector
control, similar to that of the voltage-fed
inverter drive.
The next slide shows a simple scalar
control method for a cycloconverter drive
for a wound-field synchronous motor.
Cycloconverter Drive (contd)

There are three control variables in this
control system:
The stator current amplitude,
Phase angle, | (see phasor diagram below)
The field current, I
f
.

s
I
The torque generated by the motor is
proportional to the in-phase stator current.
The command stator current I
s
*
is generated
from the error in the speed control loop.
The angle | and the field current I
f
can be
determined from I
s
as
shown in the figure. Thus,
I
s
*
is used to generate |
*

and I
f
*
using function
generators.

The position sensor and encoder generate
the cosu
e
and sinu
e
signals and the speed
signal, e
r
. The 2-phase unit signals are
converted to 3-phase unit signals using the
following transformations:
cos
a e
U u =
2 1 3
cos cos sin
3 2 2
a e e e
U
t
u u u
| |
= = +
|
\ .
2 1 3
cos cos sin
3 2 2
a e e e
U
t
u u u
| |
= + =
|
\ .
Each of the 3u unit signals is then
multiplied by I
s
*
and phase shifted by
angle |
*
to produce the three phase
current command signals as follows:

*
* '*
s
a a
i I U | = Z
*
* '*
s
b b
i I U | = Z
*
* '*
s
c c
i I U | = Z
The performance of the cycloconverter drive
can be enhanced if vector control is used
rather than scalar control. In the constant
torque region, the field current must be
increased if we want to increase the developed
torque at the constant rated stator flux.
However, the field current response is slow
and this leads to sluggish motor response. In
vector control we inject a transient
magnetizing current in the direction of the
stator flux to obtain a much faster response
than with scalar control. This current is set to
zero in steady state to maintain unity PF.
A vector control implementation is shown:

A phasor diagram for the vector control
approach is shown below:

Notable points from phasor diagram:

The torque component of the stator current I
T

is in phase with V
s
and forms a triangle with
I
s
and the injected magnetizing current I
M
.
I
M
=0 at steady state and I
T
=I
s
.
The magnetizing current, I
m
, the field current
I
f
, and the torque component of the stator
current I
T
form a right-angled triangle (which
is a scaled version of the flux triangle).

There are three sets of d-q axes:
- d
e
-q
e
in reference frame of rotor;
- d
s
-q
s
in reference frame of stator;
- d
e
-q
e
with q
e
aligned with V
s
and d
e
aligned
with
s
.
At steady state,
s
and
a
are at quadrature.
Also, I
s
is in phase with V
s
which leads
s
by
90 => unity PF.

From the phasor diagram, at steady state, we
can write:

This equation gives the control equation for
I
f
*
. Under transient conditions, the command
injected transient magnetizing current, I
M
*
, is
given by:

Under steady state conditions, I
M
=0 and the
above steady state equation is re-established.

cos
m f
I I o =
* *
cos
M m f
I I I o =
Control features of the vector control of a
wound-field synchronous motor drive:
Speed control error generates the torque
component of current through P-I controller.
Command currents I
T
*
and I
M
*
are compared
to feedback currents, I
T
and I
M
to generate
command voltages v
T
*

and v
M
*
through P-I
compensators.
A vector rotator uses unit control signals
coso and sino to transform the v
T
*
and v
M
*

signals to phase command voltages v
a
*
, v
b
*
,
and v
c
*
.

A transient change in the required torque
causes I
M
to be injected because of the
sluggish response of I
f
, thereby maintaining
a constant flux
s
. As I
f
builds up, I
M
drops
down to reach zero when I
f
has reached its
new steady state value.

The complete vector control feedback
signal processing is shown on the next
slide.


Wound-Field Synchronous Machine Drives

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