Pulsewidth Modulation in Motion Control

JOACHIM HOLTZ, Senior Member, IEEE

University of Wuppertal, Germany

1. Introduction
Motion control is the most challenging field of application for electrical drives. Highest performance is required as regards dynamic behaviour, steady-state accuracy, and uniformity of movement at crawling speed. Optimal utilization of the machine and the power converter, and high power densitiy, are as important as good efficiency of the overall system. These stringent performance criteria have to be met covering the full operating range from no-load to overload and from zero speed up to high speeds in the field weakening range. Typical applications are in machine tool control and robotics. Pulsewidth modulation (PWM) techniques play a important role in satisfying the above demands. They have been the subject of intensive research during the last few decades. A large variety of methods, different in their concepts and performance, have been developed and analysed. The choice of an adequate method to implement in a motion control system depends on performance and cost criteria, the machine type, and the semiconductor devices used in the power converter. The basic requirements can be easily met when dc machines are used. Here, the mean armature current is controlled by the duty cycle, while its harmonic content depends on the switching frequency. Similar conditions are encountered with brushless dc motors, i. e. synchronous motors having trapezoidal back-e.m.f. waveforms, and with switched reluctance motors. The problem is different and more involved in the case of induction motor drives, and synchronous motor drives using machines with permanent magnet excitation and sinusoidal back-e.m.f. The revolving field of these machines should be almost free from other components than the fundamental. This necessitates the reduction of the lower order harmonics of the stator currents. The ways to achieve this objective are greatly dependent on the chosen pulsewidth modulation technique.

= I h rms lZh rms six-step

(2)

is used as a figure a merit. Here, the distortion current I h rms (Eqn. 1) of a given switching sequence is referred to the distortion current I), rms six.step of same machine operated in the six-step mode, i. e. with unpulsed rectangular waveforms.

2.2 Harmonic spectrum In a more detailed manner than by the global distortion factor, contributions of individual frequency components are expressed in the harmonic current spectrum. We have discrete current spectra hi(k.fl) i~nthe case of synchronized PWM, where the switching frequency fs= N fl is an integral multiple of the fundamental. N is the pulse number, or gear ratio. Nonsynchronized pulse (sequences produce continuous harmonic current density spectra hd(fl. Note that all spectra in this paper are normalized, e. g.

(3) hiO = ~ t rnrsv) z /Itz rms six-step. They desribe the properties of a pulse modulation scheme independently from the parameters of the connected machine. 2.3 Torque harmonics
The torque ripple produced by a given switching sequence can be expressed as

(4) AT = (Ti,, - Tav)/TR, T,, maximum air-gap torque Tav average aLr-gap torque, and TR rated torque. Although the torque harmonics are produced by the harmonic currents, there is no stringent relationship between both of them. Lower torque ripple can go along with higher current harmonics, and vice versa.
where

2. Performance Criteria
Operation in the switched mode is a very efficient means of controlling the power flow in the machine. The switching harmonics are suppressed to a large extent by the low-pass characteristic of the machine inductances, and by the intertia of the mechanical system. The remaining distortions of the current waveforms and the electromagnetic torque can be valued by performance criteria. - [ 1- 41

2.1 Current harmonics The harmonic currents basically determine the copper losses of the machine, which account for a major portion of the machine losses. The r.m.s. harmonic current

2.4 Switching frequericy Another important parcameteris the switching frequency f , . The harmonic distortion of the ac currents reduce almost linearly with this frequency. Yet, the switching frequency cannot be deliberately increased as the switching losses of semiconductor devices increase proportional to the switching frequency. The regulations regarding electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) are stricter for power conversion equipment operating at higher switching frequency [ 5 ] . This is primarily a cost problem.

2.6 Dynamic performance The dynamics of a motion control system depend greatly on the pulsewidth modulation method. There is always a current control scheme incorporated in a motion control drive, the response time of which dietermines the dynamic performance
of the system. It is influenced by the switching frequency and/

does not only depend on the performance of the pulsewidth modulator, but in addition on the internal impedance of the machine. This influence is eliminated when the distortion factor

or the PWM method used. Some schemes require feedback signals that are free from current harmonics. Filtering of feedback signals increases the response time of the loop.

115

t
hi

and the carrier signal become equal. A distorted reference waveform, containing only triplen harmonics to an extent 0 that its maximum assumes a flat-top shape (Fig. 2b), increases the maximum modulation index to a second limit Fig. 2: Reference waveforms a) sinusoidal mmm2 7 x/6..\/3 = 0.907. The added triplen harmonics mod- b) triplen harmonics added ify the switched voltage waveforms; they do not produce harmonic currents in a three-phase system. - [6,71

"B

.05

3.1.2 Space vector modulation The space vector modulation averages three consecutive switching state vectors ya, & , and & (Fig. 3a) over the time interval of a subcycle T, = 1/2f,. The resultant average voltage vector must equal the sampled reference vector &**(t), hence
2
4

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.4

.6

rn-

.8

6kHz

f-

Fig. 1: Suboscillation method a) signal flow diagram, c) distortion factor

b) waveforms, phase a d) harmonic spectrum

PWM methods for the most commonly used voltage-source inverters are either impressing the voltages, or the currents into the stator windings of the machine. The respective approach also influences upon the structure of the drive control system: The methods of the first category operate in an openloop feed-forward fashion. Closed-loop PWM schemes inject the stator currents into the machine and require different drive control structures.

3. Feedforward Schemes
Feedforward schemes generate switched three-phase voltages, the normalized fundamental space vector gl(r) of which equals a given reference vector &*(t). The ratio m = u*/ul sixis called the modulation index, where uI sin-step is the fundamental voltage of a six-step waveform. We have m c 1 for pulsewidth control and m = 1 in the six-step mode.

2fs' &a 4- tb &) = &*(ts) (5) determines the on-durations t, of ya, and tb of & , respectively. &*(t,) is the reference vector at sampling instant r , (Fig. 3a), the sampling frequency being 2fs. The remaining portion of a subcycle to = T, fa - tb (6) is the on-duration of the zero vector &. For minimum harmonic distortion, ya and &, are chosen as the two active switching state vectors adjacent to the space vector U*. The minimum number of inverter commutations is obtained in the typical sequence ya - & , - &, - &, - &a - & , . At higher modulation index, the sequence & , - gP - ur - gP yields lower current harmonics, where 4 is the nonzero switching state vector in proximity to U*,&the vector in the more remote location. The modulator Fig. 3b ouputs & as the k-th switching state vector. The maximum modulation index is mmm = 0.907. 18, 10,221

jIm

3.1 Carrier based pulsewidth modulators These are the classical and most widely used methods of pulsewidth modulation. Their common characteristic are subcycles of constant time duration, a subcycle being defined as the time interval T, during which any active inverter leg assumes two consecutive switching states of opposite voltage polarity. Operation at constant duration of subcycles is reflected in the harmonic spectrum by two salient sidebands, centered around the carrier frequency, and additional frequency bands around integral multiples of the carrier.
3.1 .I Suboscillation method This method employs individual modulators in each of the three phases, Fig. la. Exemplified waveforms for phase a are shown in Fig. lb, consisting of the sinusoidal reference voltage uu* and the triangular carrier signal U , of frequencyf,. The switched output waveform is U;. The distortion factor d at constant carrier frequency as a function of the modulation index is displayed in Fig. IC,and a harmonic spectrum in Fig. Id. Note that the maximum modulation index mma I = n/4 = 85 occurs at a point where the amplitudes of the reference

Fig. 3: Space vector modulation a) switching vectors ya, b) signal flow diagram
3.1.3

and reference U* and k,

Synchronized carrier modulation The above methods operate at constant carrier frequency, while the fundamental frequency is varying. Hence the switching sequence is nonperiodic in principle, and the Fourier spectra are continuous, containing also frequencies lower than the lowest carrier sideband. These subharmonics are undesired as they produce additional losses and torque harmonics of lower frequency. A synchronization between the carrier frequency and the controlling fundamental avoids these drawbacks which are especially prominent if the frequency ratiof,fl[ is low. The performance of synchronized carrier PWM is illustrated in Fig. 4 for the suboscillation technique and the space

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vector modulation. The latter appears superior at lower pulse numbers, the difference becoming insignificant as N increases. The curves exhibit no differences at lower modulation index. This range is of little practical use for constant vlfi loads where d decreases if m is reduced, Fig. IC. - [l 13

holds, where fact is the resultant on-time of kc,, tl is another solution of (7) which is disregarded, and T is a constant, the inverse of which adjusts the average switching frequency. Once the on-time tactof &,ct has elapsed, ul is chosen as bct for the next switching interval, u2 becomes ul, and the cyclic process starts again. Since the reference vector enters into (7) not as a sampled constant but as a time-varying quantity, the duration of the individual subcycles becomes time-varying, too. This results in a frequency modulation of the carrier signal. The way how the durations of the subcycles vary is exemplified in Fig. 6c. A comparison of the harmonic spectra Fig. 6d and Fig. Id demonstrates the desired effect. - [13, 141

"

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.8

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.4

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m-

.8

Fig. 4: Distortion factor versus modulation index a) synchronized suboscillation method b) synchronized space vector modulation 3.1.4 Sampling techniques The suboscillation method is simple to implement using analogue integrators and comparators for the generation of the triangular carrier and the switching instants. It is problematic, however, to detect the crossing instant of two time-variable signals, Fig. lb, when a microprocessor is used for PWM control. This difficulty can be bypassed with the help of sampling techniques. The sinusoidal reference wave is sampled only at certain time instants. To use synchronized modulation is advantageous in that the sampling instants tk = k/(fl .N), tk tk+l k = 1 ... N are known a priori. Hence the sampling values sin(ol.tk)can be stored in the 0 processor memory with the modulation index as a paramet 4 ter. Based on these, the switching instants are computed onFig. 5: PWM sampling line as the points where the tritechnique, waveforms angular slope reaches the respective sampled value, Fig. 5. The performance of a pulsewidth modulator based on sampling techniques is slightly inferior than that of the suboscillation method, but only at low pulse numbers. - [ 121
i _

t
hi
.05

-1

0 0

6kHz

Fig. 6: Carrierless PWM a) signal flow diagram c) subcycle duration T, measured over a fundamental cycle

f
b) voltage vectors d) harmonic spectrum

3.2 Carrierless modulation The typical harmonic spectrum of carrier controlled pulsewidth modulation exhibits prominent harmonic amplitudes around the carrier frequency and its harmonics. Acoustic noise can be generated by the machine at these frequencies through the effects of magnetostriction and mechanical resonances of the active iron and its supporting mechanical structures. It can be considered advantageous to have the harmonic energy distributed over a larger frequency range instead of being concentrated in few discrete frequencies. A way to achieve this is a modified space vector modulation in which the complex volt-second contribution of the actual switching state vector bact is continuously monitored, Fig. 6. The on-time of this vector terminates when
&act

3.4 Inverter switching delay It was assumed until now that the inverter switches behave ideally. This is not true for nearly all types of semiconductor switches. Minority carrier devices in particular have their turn-off delayed owing to the storage effect. The storage time varies with the current and the device temperature. To avoid short-circuits of the bridge legs, a delay time Td must be introduced by the inverter control. The delay time counts from the time instant at which one switch is turned off and terminates when the opposite switch is turned on. The delay time Td is set as the maximum value of storage time T,,plus a safety time interval. We have now two different cases. If the load current flows through the active semiconductor switch, the phase voltage polarity reverses at the beginning of the safety time interval. It reverses at its end if the current has the opposite polarity, flowing through the antiparallel feedback diode of the opposite semiconductor switch. Consequently, the actual duty cycles of the bridge legs diffcr from the ones of their respective control signals. The difference can be described by an error voltage vector

laact + U1 tl + U 2 . V

- tact - t l ) = U*(t).T

(7)

A =p* - hV = (Td - T , t ) / T , * &(U.

(8)

117

where is kaV the average voltage vector of a subcycle. It is seen that the magnitude of & is proportional to the safety time interval T d Tst; its direction changes in discrete steps, depending on the polarity of the phase currents. This is expressed by a polarity vector of constant magnitude

&(U

= 2 / 3 [(sign(i,) + a sign(ib)

+ u2 sign(i,)],

(9)

where a = exp(i2d3). The notation &(L) indicates that this complex function exhibits properties of the sign function. The grapc &(U is shown in Fig. 7 for all possible values of 1. The nonlinear distortion of the average voltage vector bay by variable switching time delay is exemplified in Fig. 8. The distortion , 'A\', I does not depend on the fundamental voltage uI and hence its influence is very strong in the low speed range where the fundamental voltage is also low. The effect influences the waveform of Fig. 7: The polarity vector the currents and may cause electromechanical stability problems in cer4 1 tain operating ranges of the drive. A switching delay compensation scheme for one phase is shown in Fig. 9. There is always a constant time delay established by closed loop control between the logic output signal U' of the pulse modulator and the actual switching instant of the bridge leg. To Fig. 8: Trajectory of voltage haV achieve this, the actual instant sign(uph)is measured and used as a feedback signal. U is the signal which is fed to the time delay logic of the bricf[e leg. The changes of the error voltage vector & act as sudden disturbances on the current control loop. They are compensated only at the next switching of the phase leg. The remaining transient error is mostly tolerable in induction motor ..-.. drive systems; synchronous machines having sinusoidal

back-e.m.f. behave more sensitive to these effects as they tend to operate partly in the discontinuous current mode at light loads. The reason for this adverse effect is the absence of a magnetizing current component in the stator currents. Such machines require more elaborate switching delay compensation schemes when applied to high-performance motion control systems. As an alternative solution, a d-axis current component can be injected into the machine which shortens the discontinuous current time intervals at light loads. - [15-181

4. Feedback PWM Control

These schemes generate the switching sequences inherently in a closed control loop, which is established either for the stator currents or for the stator flux vector. Stator flux schemes are not customary in motion control systems.

4.1

Nonoptimal methods

a(l>

4.1 .I Hysteresis current control The block diagram Fig. 10 shows three hysteresis controllers, one for each phase. Each controller determines the switching state of one inverter leg such that b ud the error of the corresponding phase current is maintained within the hysteresis band. The control method is simple to implement, and its dya) namic performance is excellent. Hys-

t
i

hi

4-

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c) fFig. 10: Hysteresis current control a) signal flow diagram c) amplitude density spectrum b) waveforms

io

20

30 kHz

50

mup 'dl 1
h

I{

..-..

b)

Fig. 9: Switching time delay compensation for one phase a) circuit diagram b) waveforms

teresis current control requires high switching frequency to compensate for some inherent drawbacks: There 1s no intercommunication between the individual hysteresis controllers of the three phases and hence no strategy to generate zero voltage vectors. This increases the switching frequency at lower modulation index. There is a tendency at lower speed to lock into limit-cycles of high-frequency switching which comprise only nonzero voltage vectors. The current error is not strictly limited. It can assume double the value permitted by one hysteresis controller in certain operating conditions. Hysteresis controllers are preferred for ultrasonic switching

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4-u

less than the slope of the triangular carrier signal. This scheme cannot be simply looked at as a pulsewidth modulator having a superimposed current control loop, as also the harmonic currents influence upon the switching instants, Fig. l l c . This ensures a fast response of the current loop, provided that the modulator reacts on instantaneous changes of its reference signal U*. An analogue circuit implementaion of the suboscillation method is an adequate solution. - [21] 4.1.3 Space vector current control The nonzero current ei-ror, inherent to the above scheme, may be undesired in a high-performance vector controlled drive. The error can be eliminated by deriving the back-e.m.f. voltage from a machine model and using it as a compensating feedforward signal, Fig. '12. The controller corrects only minor errors which may originate from a mismatch of the model structur or the model paraimeters. The dynamic performance is improved by feedforward control based on the derivative of the current reference. The influence of current harmonics on the modulated waveform is eliminated if a space vector modulator is implemented in conjunction with digital current controllers, the algorithms of both subsystems being executed in strict synchronism. The generated reference voltage U* is basically free from harmonics. Hence a space vector modulator with its discontinuous sampling input can be used for modulation. - [22]
4.1.4 Current control in1 field coordinates It is a common approach for high-dynamic performance drives to control the components of the current vector after a transformation to field coordinates, Fig. 13. The current reference then represents the torque and machine excitation commands. A low-pass filter is generally used for the feedback signals to reduce their harinonic content and to avoid irregular operation of the pulse modulator. The reference voltage vector U* generated by the cui-rent controllers is transformed back into stator coordinates arid acts on any convenient feedforward PWM scheme. - 1231

10

kHz 20

0.5 rns

b)

f-

c)

t-

Fig. 11: Suboscillation current control a) signal flow diagram c) carrier and reference signal b) harmonic spectrum frequency at lower power level using MOSFETs as semiconductor switches. - [19,203 4.1.2 Suboscillation current control A carrier based modulation scheme can be established to form a current control loop as shown in Fig. 11. A proportional-intergral (PI-type) controller is used to derive the reference voltage U* for the pulsewidth modulator from the current error. The back-e.m.f. of the machine acts as a disturbance in this control loop. This voltage contains only the fundamental frequency and varies continuously with time. It is therefore possible to compensate its influence through the I-channel of the PI-controller. However, a steady-state current error will persist (tracking error). This error should be kept low by choosing a high gain for the PI-controller. The gain is limited, on the other hand, as it also amplifies the harmonic currents which must not impair the proper operation of the pulsewidth modulator. This is ensured if the maximum slope of the current error signal is

field coordinates

I
I

stator coordinates

Fig. 13: Current control in field coordinates; 6: field angle

Fig. 12: Space vector current control

4.2 Feedback PWM with real-time optimization 4.2.1 Predictive current control In a closed-loop current control scheme, the error signal is a space vector, &(t) = l*(t) i(t). Limiting the magnitude 1 4 1of this error vector by a boundary value is a means to terminate an actual switching state. This principle is illustrated in Fig. 14b. The boundary has a circular shape, and its location in the complex plane is determined by the current reference vector
I -

119

i*.

When the trajectory of the current vector i touches the boundary line, a decision on the next switching state vector is made by prediction and optimization. To this aim, the trajectories of the current vector are computed, and t h e time required to reach the next boundary is predicted. Note that the error boundary moves i n the complex plane since the current reference is varying with time. Predictions of the on-time are made for all error reducing switching state vectors. Finally, the switching state vector which produces the maximum on-time is selected. This procedure minimizes the switching frequency. The optimization can be also extended over the next two switching state intervals.

6. References
1. E. A. Klingshirn and H. E. Jordan: A Polyphase Induction Motor Performance and Losses on Nonsinusoidal Voltage Sources. IEEE Trans. Power App. Syst. (1968), pp. 624-631. 2. J. M. D. Murphy and M. G. Egan: A Comparison of PWM Strategies for Inverter-Fed Induction Motors. IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. (1983), pp. 363-369. 3. T. A. Lipo, P. C. Krause and H. E. Jordan: Harmonic Torque and Speed Pulsations in a Rectifier-Inverter Induction Motor Drive. IEEE Trans. Power App. Syst. (1969). pp. 579-587. 4. J. T. Boys and P. G. Handley: Harmonic Analysis of Space Vector Modulated PWM Waveforms. IEE Proc. B (1990), pp. 197-204. 5. CISPRE 11 and CISPRE 14 International Standards 6. A. SchBnung and H. Stemmler: Static Frequency Changers with Subharmonic Control in Conjunction with Reversible Variable Speed AC Drives. Brown Boveri Rev. (1964). pp. 555-577. 7. D. Grant and J. Houldsworth: PWM AC Motor Drive Employing Ultrasonic Carrier. IEE Conf. PEVSD, Lond. (1984), pp. 234-240. 8. A. Busse and J. Holtz: Multiloop Control of a Unity Power Factor Fast-Switching AC to DC Converter. IEEEIPESC, Cambridge (1982), pp. 171-179. 9. J. Holtz, P. Lammert and W. Lotzkat: High-speed Drive System with Ultrasonic MOSFET PWM Inverter and Single-Chip Microprocessor Control. IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. (1987), pp. 1010-1015. 10.0. Ogasawara, H. Akagi, A. Nabae: A Novel PWM Scheme of Voltage Source Inverters Based on Space Vector Theory. EPE Europ. Conf. Pow. Elec. andAppl.,Aachen (1989), pp. 1197-1202. 11. G. B. Kliman and A. B. Plunkett: Development of a Modulation Strategy for a PWM Inverter Drive. IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. (1979), pp. 702-709. 12. S . R. Bowes and M. J. Mount: Microprocessor Control of PWM Inverters. IEE Proc. B (1981), pp. 293-305. 13. I. Holtz and L. Springob: Reduced Harmonics PWM Controlled Line-Side Converter for Electric Drives. IEEEIIAS Ann. Meet., Seattle (1990), pp. 959-964. 14. T. G. Habetler, D. Divan: Acoustic Noise Reduction in Sinusoidal PWM Drives Using a Randomly Modulated Carrier. IEEE Trans. Power Electr. (1991), pp. 356-363. 15. W. Lotzkat: Aufwandarme und netzausfallsichere Frequenzumrichter zur parameterunempfindlichenRegelung von Asynchronmaschinen fur industrielle Standardantriebe. Ph.D.-Thesis,Wuppertal Univ. (1991). 16. Y . Murai, T. Watanabe and H. Iwasaki: Waveform Distortion and Correction Circuit for PWM Inverters with Switching Lag-Times. IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. (1987), pp. 881-886. 17. R. D. Klug: Effects and Correction of Switching Dead-Times in 3Phase PWM Inverter Drives. EPE Europ. Con$ Power Electr. ana Appl., Aachen (1989), pp. 1261-1266. 18. Y. Wang, H. Grotstollen: Control Strategies for the Discontiuoua Current Mode of AC Drives with PWM Inverters. EPE Europ. Conf. Power Elec. andAppl., Florencelltaly (1991), pp. 31217-222 19. D. M. Brod and D. W. Novotny: Current Control of VSI-PWM Inverters. IEEE Trans, Ind. Appl. (1989, pp. 562-570. 20. S . Salama, S . Lemon: Overshoot and Limit Cycle Free Curreni Control Method for PWM Inverter. EPE Europ. Conf. Power Elec. tronics and Appl., Florencelltaly (1991), pp. 31247-251. 21. V. R. Stefanovic: Present Trends in Variable Speed AC Drives IPEC Tokyo (1983), pp. 438-449. 22. G. Pfaff, A. Weschta and A. Wick: Design and Experimental Re sults of a Brushless AC Servo Drive. IEEEIIAS Ann. Meet. Sur Francisco (1982), pp. 692-697. 23. W. Leonhard: Control of AC Machines with the Help Microelec tronics. IFAC Symp., Lausanne (1983), pp. 35-58 Survey. 24. J. Holtz and S . Stadtfeld: A Predictive Controller for the Stato Current Vector of AC Machines Fed from a Switched Voltagc Source. IPEC Tokyo (1983), pp. 1665-1675. 25. J. Holtz and S. Stadtfeld: A PWM Inverter Drive System with On Line Optimized Pulse Patterns. EPE Europ. Conf. Power Elecrr and Appl., Brussels (1985), pp. 3.21-3.25. 26. U. Boelkens: Vergleichende Untersuchung von trajektorienorienti erten Steuerverfahren fur dreiphasige Pulswechselrichter zur Spei sung von Asynchronmaschinen. Ph.D.-Thesis, Wuppertal Univer sity (1989).

"

-2

.4

.6 .8

.I

.2

.3

.4

.5

rn-

m--,

Fig. 14: Predictive current control a) signal flow diagram b) reference current and actual current vector c ) switching frequency and d) torque ripple
T h e predictions take about 20 ps on a DSP. T h e computation time can b e neutralized by double prediction. Even so, the application is restricted t o switching frequencies around 1 kHz. Since the distortion factor d is almost fixed by the boundary condition, t h e performance a t varying modulation index is primarily reflected in the switching frequency. This is demonstrated in Fig. 14c and Fig. 14d f o r the case o f a predictive current controller which always maximizes the on-durations of t h e next two switching state vectors. - [24-261

5. Future Trends
Analog methods, like hysteresis control and suboscillation current control are still in use, especially a t lower drive power. These methods will be gradually substituted by microprocessor or microcontroller based control systems. Many P W M schemes lend themselves t o an implementation where memories and counters are used as external digital circuits to handle the high switching frequency of modern semiconductor devices with adequate timing accuracy. T h e use of ASICs for P W M applications will increase.

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