POWER CONVERTER STRATEGIES FOR SWITCHED RELUCTANCE MOTOR
3.4 The Asymmetrical Half Bridge Converter
3.4.1 AHB Converter Introduction and Principle of Operation
The Asymmetrical Half Bridge (ARB) converter is the most popular converter for SRMs due to the following advantages.
1. Robustness in the case of switching element or driver failures because each phase operates independently.
2. Efficiency due to recovery of commutation energy.
3. "Hard" and "soft" chopping options for improved torque and current control.
4. Phases can be overlapped to minimize torque ripple.
Each machine phase is connected to an asymmetric half bridge consisting of two power switches and two diodes. The figure below illustrates its configuration for a four phase (8/6) SRM [3.5].
n
Dl D5 DI~
c-Vdc
Fig. 3.1 AHB converter for a four phase SRM
Vdc is applied on phase SI-SI' when the top switch Ql1 and bottom switch Q12 are turned on simultaneously, as shown in Fig. 3.2 (a). This is called the on commutation or "hard"
chopping "on" mode. This mode can be initiated before the rotor and stator poles start overlapping so that the phase current approaches the reference value as quickly as possible before the phase inductance begins to increase. C is the DC link capacitor which reduces the DC link ripple caused by the flow of current through the internal resistance of the DC source.
When the current reaches the reference value, the converter goes into current regulation mode or "soft" chopping mode, as shown in Fig. 3.2 (b). The phase SI-SI' current is
Power Converter Strategies for Switched Reluctance Motor
Chapter 3 Page 3.5
maintained at the reference value by PWM or hysteresis switching ofQI2 while leaving Ql1 on continuously or switching Q11 while leaving Q12 on continuously (advanced scheduling of these two modes can be performed to ensure equal distribution of conduction and switching losses between all devices).
Fig. 3.2 (c) shows the phase Sl-SI' commutating current path when QIl and Q12 are off.
This is called the hard chopping "off' mode, used for rapid off phase commutation. The current flows through diode D I, the dc source, D2 and phase S I-S 1'. The voltage across the phase is -Vdc-2 Vfd, where Vfd is the forward diode voltage drop.
While one phase is demagnetizing, another phase can be magnetized. This helps to reduce the torque ripple during the commutation as shown in Fig.2.31 (e).
This converter provides a high degree of control flexibility in that the current control can be totally independent for each phase, allowing operation with any desired phase overlap. This is a critical feature for achieving torque ripple minimization control performance as discussed in section 2.7.
The nominal voltage rating of all the switching devices and diodes is
±
V dc, which is relatively low. The energy from the commutating phases is also transferred back to the source, which is the efficient utilization of energy.The disadvantage of this converter is the high number of power switches for each phase (two switches and two diodes), which makes the converter cost relatively high.
3.4.2 Locked Rotor Test for Different Operation Modes of AHB Converter for Phase SI-SI'
There are two different tests for each power converter in PSCAD to show their characteristics. The first is the hard chopping on and off test which means the top and bottom switches are both on or both off; the second is the freewheeling test which means one switch is kept on all the time, while the other is toggled to regulate the current. This is also called the soft chopping mode. Details of the per phase SRM electrical model (a 0.316Q resistor and variable inductor G 1 connected in series) are discussed in detail in Section 3.9. The
Power Converter Strategies for Switched Reluctance Motor
Chapter 3 Page 3.6
same model is first used to compare the commutation and current regulation performance of the four selected converter topologies at an arbitrary locked rotor angle of 50 .
- c
- Vdc
D ~
a) Hard on mode for phase Sl-Sl '
- c
- Vdc
c) Hard offmodefor phase Sl-Sl'
Dl
c
--Vdc
b) Freewheeling (soft chopping) mode for phase Sl-Sl '
Fig. 3.2 Modes of operation of the AHB converter
Power Converter Strategies for Switched Reluctance Motor
Dl
Chapter 3 Page 3.7
• Hard Chopping Mode
Hard chopping on and off for phase S I-S 1 ' is achieved by feeding the Q 1 signal shown in Fig. 3.3 and to the bases of both Qll and Q12, as shown in Fig 3.4.
In Fig. 3.4, the Ql signal is scaled by a gain of20 for clarity, and labeled 20*Ql. The effect of phase inductance saturation can be seen in the response of current 11 when Q 1 switches from 0 to 1 (on) at t = Os. The 11 response when Ql switches from 1 to 0 (off) at t = O.ls is faster due to the difference between the on and off commutation voltage, as shown on the Ell curve in Fig. 3.4.
1.40 • Q1 (P.u.) 1.20
1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 -020 -0.40
i
0.000
I
0.050
Graphs
i
0.100 Time (8)
I
0.150
Fig. 3.3 Switching Signals/or hard chopping
• Soft vs Hard Chopping Current Control
I
0.200
The relative current control performance of the four selected topologies is investigated by enabling a simple hysteresis control1er (with lower and upper thresholds at 4.5A and 5.5A) at t=O.ls, instead of simply switching Q11 and Q12 off at this time (off commutation). Fig. 3.5 (a) shows the soft chopping current response of phase Sl-Sl'. This was obtained by using Q11=1 and QI2=Q, as shown in Fig. 3.6(a). Fig. 3.5(b) shows the current control performance with hard chopping. This was obtained by using QII=QI2=Q, as shown in Fig.
3.6(b). The soft and hard chopping hysteresis current control circuits can be seen m Appendix B.I.
Power Converter Strategies for Switched Reluctance Motor
Chapter 3
~ t
co
11
.b:
~ , b:
=rL= Q1
Graphs
I -
20·Q1 (P.u.) 1- 11(AHB) (A) 20.017.5
15.0 ~
12.5
J
10.0
/
7
\7.5 17
\
5.0
7" \
2.5
17 \.
0.0
i i I I I I
0.000 0.Q25 0.050 0.075 0.100 0.125 Time (s)
Graphs
10.0 - E11 (VI
7.5
----
5.0 2.5 0.0 -2.5 -5.0 -7.5 -10.0
-12.5
-
-15.0
0.000 0.Q25 0.050 0.075 0.100 0.125 Time (s)
Page 3.8
i i i
0.150 0.175 0.200
0.150 0.175 0.200
Fig. 3.4 AHB hard chopping circuit and phase current Ii (A) and phase voltage Ell (V) results (logic switching signal Ql is multiplied by 20 to make it more visible)
Power Converter Strategies for Switched Reluctance Motor
I -
20*Q1 (P.u.) 20.017.5
15.0 . /
12.5
/
10.0
I
7.5
/
5.0 V
/ '
2.5
V
0.0
i i i
0.000 0.D25 0.050
I -
20*Q1 (P.u.) 20.015.0 . /
/
10.0
5.0
/
V
0.0
i I
0.000 0.050
Chapter 3
Graphs
I-
I1(AHB (A)1 \
\
"
I .... A-
A. A. A ~ Aoi i i i i i
0.075 0.100 0.125 0.150 0.175 0.200 Time (s)
(aj Soft chopping
Graphs
1- lliAHBJ (A)
\
A A - A - " A .. AA. ... ' "i
0.100 Time (s)
(bj Hard chopping
..
~ ~i
0.150
~y
i
0.200
Page 3.9
Fig. 3.5 Phase current of AHB converter under soft chopping and hard chopping with hysteresis current control
It can be seen from Fig. 3.5 that the current switching frequency in soft chopping is less than that in hard chopping for the same hysteresis band. Lower energy means fewer switching energy loss events per unit time. Soft chopping is thus more efficient than hard chopping.
Especially the smaller phase voltage excursions in soft chopping also produce lower current ripple (and therefore lower torque ripple), in digital hysteresis control schemes where the error signal is sampled at a fixed frequency. Comparison of the current response immediately after O.1s, however, shows that the commutation current tracking error is less for hard chopping. It will thus produce less commutation torque ripple. The control methods presented in chapters 4 and 5 of this thesis therefore use only hard chopping. Optimal use of both hard and soft chopping could form part of future work.
Power Converter Strategies for Switched Reluctance Motor
-
.u.1.40 Q1 (P )
-0.40
1.40 - Q (P.u.)
-0.40
i
0.000 0.050
1.40
I -
Q1 (P.u.)-0.40
1.40 - .Q (P.u.)
-0.40
i i
0.000 0.050
Chapter 3
Graphs
i
0.100 Time (5)
(a) Graphs
i
0.100 Time (5)
(b)
Page 3.10
i i
0.150 0.200
I
i i
0.150 0.200
Fig. 3.6 Switching signals for soft (a) vs hard (b) chopping current control
The AHB converter topology is robust and flexible. It is also easy to achieve current and torque control with phase overlap, which is crucial for torque ripple minimization. The main disadvantage of the AHB is the relatively high number of power switches per phase. This results in a relatively low converter efficiency and relatively high cost. All other converters try to reduce the number of power switches and/or use a capacitor to minimize commutation (switch on and off) times. In the next section, the (n+l) switch converter is introduced because it uses less power switches compared with the AHB converter. Capacitor assisted commutation schemes are presented in sections 3.6 and 3.7.
Power Converter Strategies for Switched Reluctance Motor
Chapter 3 Page 3.11