TITLE

SPEED CONTROL OF VSI BASED INDUCTION MTOR USING

ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

(i)
DECLARATION

(ii)
ACKOWLEDMENTS

(iii)
 ABSTRACT

The rapid development of power electronic devices and converter technologies in the
past few decades, however, has made possible efficient speed control by varying the
supply frequency and voltage, giving rise to various forms of adjustable-speed
induction motor drives. Earlier the type of controller used was proportional integrator
controller. But by using this load disturbance is more and sluggish in nature. So by
using ANN controller the advantage is that the load disturbance decreases and accuracy
increases. The ANN is properly trained to learn the dynamics of the Induction Motor.
This project briefly discusses the dynamic modeling and simulation of induction motor
using MATLAB/SIMULINK. ANN-based control of induction motor will prove to be
more reliable than PI control method. Comparison between Proportional integrator
controller (PI) and ANN controller-based dynamic performance of induction motor
drive has been presented. By performing the simulation on this induction motor model
there is no doubt that the neural network controller has a better dynamic behavior, with
a rapid settling time, no overshoot, almost instantaneous rejection of load disturbance,
perfect speed tracking and deals well with parameter variations of the motor. The
performance of the induction motor drive has been analyzed for no load, constant load,
and change in speed conditions. In this project, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)
based efficient speed control of an Induction Motor has been achieved.

(iv)
 CONTENTS

Abstract ()

Contents of the Thesis ()

List of Tables ()

List of Figures ()

Abbreviations ()

Nomenclature ()

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION ()

1.1 Introduction ()

1.2 Literature Survey ()

1.3 Problem formulation ()

1.4 Objective of the thesis ()

1.5 Organization of the thesis ()

CHAPTER 2 : COMPONENTS ()

CHAPTER 3 : METHODOLOGY ()

CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT ()

CHAPTER 5 : CONCLUSIONS ()

5.1 Conclusions ()

5.2 Scope for the future work ()

REFERENCES
(v)
(vi)
LIST OF TABLES

(vii)
 LIST OF FIGURES

1. Figure 1.1: Hardware Block Diagram. (2)

2. Figure 2.1: Torque-speed characteristics at constant voltage (9)

and frequency.

3. Figure 2.2: Hex bridge of Inverter (10)

4. Figure 2.3: PWM illustration by the sine-triangle comparison (11)

Method (a) sine triangle comparison (b) switching pulses

5. Figure 2.4: Generation of the switching signals for top devices (12)
(a) S1 (b) S3 (c) S5
6. Figure 2.5: Generation of the switching signals for bottom (12)
Devices (a) S4 (b) S6 (c) S2
7. Figure 2.5: Three phase Voltage Source Inverter (16)
8. Figure 2.6: Proportional Integral (PI) controller block diagram (20)

9. Figure 2.7: An artificial neuron (22)

10. Figure 2.8: Feed-Forward network (23)

11. Figure 2.9: Flowchart for error back propagation algorithm (28)

12. Figure 2.10: Training of artificial neural networks (30)

(supervised learning)

ABBREVIATIONS
(viii)
1. EMF - Electromotive force.

2. VSI - Voltage Source Inverter.

3. PI - Proportional Integral.

4. PID - Proportional Integral Derivative.

5. AC - Alternating Current.

6. NN - Neural Network.

(ix)
(x)
 CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION & PRELIMINARIES

1.1 Introduction

Induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the

rotor torque produced is caused by electromagnetic induction from the stator winding
of the magnetic field. Rotor induction motor can either type of wound or squirrel-cage.
There are two types of Induction Motors; one is named as Single Phase Induction
Motor, while the second one is named as 3 Phase Induction Motor. An Induction motor
is also called asynchronous motor, because the speed of rotation of its rotor is less
than stator. In other words, it does not run at its synchronous speed . Its is the most
widely used motors for appliances, industrial control, and automation, and often called
the workhorse of the motion industry because of its robustness, reliable, low cost, high
efficiency and durable. Three-phase induction motors are widely used in industrial
drives and single-phase induction motors are widely used for smaller loads especially
in domestic appliances, such as washing machines and fans. Conventionally,
mechanical gear system is used to obtain variable speed. Recently, electronic power
and control systems have matured to allow these components to be used for motor
control in place of mechanical gears. These electronics not only control the motor’s
speed, but can improve the motor’s dynamic and steady state characteristics.

Before the development of semiconductor power electronics, induction motors

were mainly used in fixed speed applications because it was difficult to vary the
frequency. There are 4 ways to control the speed of three phase induction motor from
stator side which are further classified as v/f control or frequency control, changing the
number of stator poles, controlling supply voltage and by adding rheostat in the stator
circuit. The speed controls of three phase induction motor also can be done from rotor
side which is by adding external resistance on rotor side, cascade control method and
by injecting slip frequency emf into rotor side. Another way is VVVF or V/f method
which is most suitable for applications without position control requirements or the
need for high accuracy of speed control.

PID, Fuzzy logic, and neural network are the examples of algorithm techniques used
in induction motor drive applications. Common controller for induction motor is a
(1)
Proportional-Integral, but with the more demanding and sophisticated application, a
conventional PI controller, PI-Fuzzy controller, Artificial Neural Network controller. In
this project, one method of controller will be implemented on a 3 phase 0.75kW, cage
type induction motor in addition to a VSI.

The design method Artificial Neural Network controllers possess high

performances in different areas. This Artificial Neural Network is based on the input-
target training criteria where a sample value will be given to the controller. For
experimental analysis, Matlab & Simulink version R2019b will be used. The more
number of values given for the training, the more accurate the result is. The computer
simulation program, which will be used to predict the performance of the designed PI
and Artificial neural network controlled system. The variables of the simulated
program such as currents, speed, torque etc., are observed from the scope graphic
window. The waveforms obtained from the simulation results are evaluated.

Figure 1.1: Hardware Block Diagram

(2)
1.2 Literature Survey

(3)
1.3 Problem Formulation

ANN controller is one of the intelligent controller, which is usually utilized for
two purposes: for constructing non-linear controllers and for adding human intelligence
to controllers, such as perception(sensory information process), understanding,
recognition, inference, learning, diagnosis and others. For the ANN controller the
accuracy of the result depends up on the number of test samples given to it. Induction
motor which is also called asynchronous motor derive their name from the way the
rotor magnetic field is created from the rotating stator magnetic field that induced
currents in the short circuited rotor. The three-phase induction motor is the most widely
used electric motor worldwide in industrial facilities and large buildings. It is the most
favorable drive solution in terms of price and quality. The three phase induction motor
are classified into two types which are Squirrel cage induction motor and Slip ring
induction motor or wound induction motor or phase wound induction motor.

Speaking of 3-phase induction motor, the main thing is concerned with how to
control the speed and keep the motor speed maintain to the desired value. The speed
control of induction motor is more important to achieve maximum torque and
efficiency. Generally, to control the speed of three-phase Induction Motor is by using
DOL, variable resister and frequency inverter. When focusing attention on the speed
control segment of the three phase induction motor, conventional controller have some
problems such as less efficiency due to slow respond, steady state error or sluggish
response to the perturbation in reference setting.

The conventional control method such as PI, PD and PID controller is widely
used in motor control system due to the simple control structure and easiness of design.
However tuning the parameters of controller is a difficult task for varieties of plant
parameters and the nonlinear operating condition; fixed gain PI controllers cannot
provide the desired control performance. The control and estimation of ac drives in
general are considerably more complex than those of dc drives, and this complexity
increases if high performances are demanded. The main reasons for this complexity are
the need of variable-frequency, harmonically optimum converter power supplies, the
complex dynamics of ac machines, machine parameter variations, and difficulties of
processing feedback signals in the presence of harmonic PI controller can never achieve

(4)
perfect control, that is keep the speed of induction motor continuously at the desired set
point value in the presence of disturbance or set point changes.

To enhance the capabilities of traditional controller, several approaches such as

fuzzy logic or artificial neural network controller have been suggested to be adding to
the system in order to make speed more stable.

1.4 Objective of the thesis

Objectives of this project are listed as follows:

i. To design a closed-loop control for a three phase induction

motor.

ii. To design a of Artificial neural network controller to control

the speed of a three phase induction motor.

iii. To develop the hardware of Artificial neural network

controller and three-phase inverter to control the three phase
induction motor.

iv. To successfully make a communication between computer

and three phase induction motor using Matlab software.

v. To improve the speed-time characteristics of an induction

motor using an ANN controller.

(5)
1.5 Organization of the thesis

This dissertation shows how a model can help Induction motor system to improve the
speed control, stability and characteristics w.r.t to time.

The organization of this thesis is as follows:

Chapter 1 introduces about the induction motor used and the type of software used to
simulate the model i.e.; Matlab/Simulink (R2019b). We first describes about the
problem statement and problem formulation for this thesis. This chapter also deals with
the organization of the thesis.

Chapter 2 is focusing on reviewing the literature the components that are being used in
the model and their introduction theory along with equations.

Chapter 3 provides a brief description on the.

In Chapter 4, we extend our performance studies from a point-to-point analysis to

highlight another capability of our model - algorithm design and analysis. In these
chapters, we are focusing on pattern, discuss an efficient algorithm, and make use of
our model parameters to show that this algorithm is optimistic.

We also show that, in Chapter 5 gives a summary of this dissertation as well as

discusses on directions for future work. Last but not the least; Appendix contains the
full description of all benchmark methodologies of our thesis model.

(6)
 CHAPTER 2:

2.1 Induction motor

In modern industrialized countries, more than half the total electrical energy used
is converted to mechanical energy through AC induction motors. They are used to drive
pumps, fans, compressors, mixers, agitators, mills, conveyors, crushers, machine tools,
cranes, etc. This type of electric motor is so popular due to its simplicity, reliability,
less maintenance and low cost. Initially the principle of speed control was based on
steady state consideration of the induction motor. V/f control was the commonly used
one for the open-loop speed control of drives with low dynamic requirements. Slip
frequency control was another well known technique with better dynamics In this
chapter, literature review of PI controller speed control of induction motor and the
strategies for pulse width modulation technique are narrated. Approaches for sensor
less operation of induction motor are reviewed.

Three-phase induction motor is a very popular motor and most widely used in the
electrical industry. They run at a constant speed from no load to full load. However,
speed is frequency dependent and so the motor cannot be easily adapted to control the
speed. That’s why it is essentially being known as a constant speed motor and its speed
cannot be changed easily. For this factor, the DC motor is said to be even better when
dealing with the factor of speed variations. However, 3-phase induction motors is
simple, durable, low price, easy to maintain and can be made with features to suit most
requirements of the industry. The most popular type is the 3-phase, squirrel-cage AC
induction motor. It is a maintenance-free, less noisy and efficient motor. The stator is
supplied by a balanced 3-phase AC power source.

The synchronous speed Ns of the motor is calculated by Equation given below

Ns = (120*f)/p

Where;

(7)
 Ns = Synchronous speed,

f = the synchronous stator frequency,

p = the number of stator poles.

The principle of operation of three phase induction motors is based on creating a

rotating magnetic field in the air gap between the stator and rotor. The rotating field can
be obtained by feeding the stator windings from a three phase alternating current
source. Thus, the currents in the windings generate are revolving magnetic field having
the same angular speed of the source frequency in the air gap. Meanwhile, the
continuous change in the stator field induces currents in the rotor's squirrel-cage bars
causing another field in the rotor. Both the rotor and stator fields interact with each
other in the air gap causing the rotor to rotate. The rotor flux lags that of the stator
causing the rotor speed to slip. The ratio of slip and synchronous speeds is called the
motor slip.

The motor speed is controlled by variation of a stator frequency with the influence of
the load torque.

Torque Motor Torque

Work Point

Load Torque

Speed

Motor Generator

Figure 2.1: Torque-speed characteristics at constant voltage and frequency

(8)
2.2 Inverter (DC to AC)

Power converter which is known as inverter is an electrical device that can change
direct current DC to alternating current AC. The converted AC can be at any
required of voltage and frequency usually used in transformer, switching and control
circuit. It also be used from small switching power supplies to large high-voltage
electric equipment applications that transport bulk power and solid-state inverters
have no moving parts. Commonly inverter is used to supply solar panels or batteries
and it perform the opposite function of a rectifier. The electrical inverter is high-
power electronic oscillator because generally AC to DC converter was made to work
in reverse and thus was inverted which is to convert DC to AC.

2.2.1 Three phase inverter

The standard three-phase inverter has as its genesis, the hex-bridge. There are
two kinds of switches that were considered for this range of power applications,
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) or MOSFETs. The hex-bridge takes a
DC voltage and uses six switches (MOSFETS) arranged in three phase legs as
shown in Figure 2.2. The power circuit consists of six self-commuted semiconductor
switches S1 to S6. The switch pairs (S1, S4), (S3, S6), and (S5, S2) form three legs
of the inverter. The switches in the same leg conduct alternately. Sometime must
elapse before the turn-off of one switch and turn on of another to ensure that both do
not conduct simultaneously.

Their simultaneous operation will cause a short circuit of the dc source resulting in

a very fast rise in current. This fault, known as short-through fault can only be

cleared by fast-acting fuse links.

(9)
 vdc S11 S31 S51

S41 S61 S21

A B C

Figure 2.2: Hex bridge of Inverter

The single phase voltage source inverters PWM technique can be used in three-

phase inverters, in which three sine waves phase shifted by 0°, 120°, 240° with the

frequency of the desired output voltage is compared with a very high frequency

carrier triangle, the two signals are mixed in a comparator whose output is high or

wide in time range when the sine wave is in positive side of the triangle and the

comparator output is low or thin in time range when the sine wave signal is in

negative side of the triangle. This phenomenon is shown. As is explained the output

voltage from the inverter is not smooth but is a discrete waveform and so it is more

likely than the output wave consists of harmonics, which are not usually desirable

since they deteriorate the performance of the load, to which these voltages are

applied.

(10)
 1

-1 Time (sec)

0 Time (sec)

Figure 2.3: PWM illustration by the sine-triangle comparison method

(a) sine triangle comparison

(b) switching pulses

S1 (a)

S3 (b)

(11)
 1 (c)

S5 0

Figure 2.4: Generation of the switching signals for top devices (a) S1 (b) S3 (c) S5

S4 (a)
0

S6 0 (b)

S2 (c)

Figure 2.5: Generation of the switching signals for bottom devices (a) S4 (b) S6 (c) S2

The advantage of inverter is to reduce the consumption of power by converting DC

to AC. This alternated power can be maintained in any frequency or voltage with the
use of an appropriate transformers, circuits and switches to support the electrical
equipment at home and office. Disadvantages of inverter are not ideal for inductive

(12)
AC and motor loads. It is also sensitive electronics devices can be damaged by poor
waveforms.

2.2.2 Pulse Width Modulation of Inverters

The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is one of the most widely used technique
applied in the inverter (DC/AC converter) to output an AC waveform with variable
voltage and variable frequency for use in mostly variable speed motor drives. The
implementation of the complex PWM algorithms have been made easier with the
advent of fast digital signal processors, microcontrollers and Field Programmable Gate
Arrays (FPGA). The concept of harmonic distortion is used as the performance index to
compare various PWM algorithms. The most important aim of the modulation
strategies is to achieve the maximum voltage with the lowest harmonic distortion. Total
Harmonic Distortion (THD) and Weighted Total Harmonic Distortion (WTHD) are the
commonly used performance evaluation methods.

In the literature, the enormous amount of material published made it

challenging one to identify basic modulation principles and apply them to particular
implementations and the research is still active in this area. In spite of these massive
research works, only three significantly different alternatives for determining the
converter switching pattern that have been proposed for fixed frequency modulation
systems. These alternatives are:

i) Naturally sampled PWM: Switching at the intersection of a target reference

waveform and a high frequency carrier;

ii) Regular sampled PWM: Switching at the intersection between a regularly sampled
reference waveform and a high frequency carrier and

iii) Direct PWM: Switching so that the integrated area of the target reference
waveform over the carrier interval is the same as the integrated area of the converter
switched output. Of the many variations of these three alternatives published, the
classification according to switching frequency is:

a) Low switching frequency control:

i) Programmed PWM.

(13)
ii) Space Vector Control PWM.

b) High switching frequency control:

i) Sinusoidal PWM.

2.2.3 Sinusoidal PWM

The classical Sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) is a form of naturally sampled PWM

which uses a triangular carrier to compare against the reference (control/modulating)
waveform. The ratio of the amplitude of carrier signal and the control signal is called
‘modulation ratio’. If the reference signal is higher than the carrier, the corresponding
inverter cell outputs positive voltage; otherwise, the corresponding inverter cell outputs
negative voltage. The major limitation with this naturally sampled PWM is the
difficulty of its implementation in a digital modulation system due to the intersection
between the reference sinusoid and triangular carrier as defined by a transcendental
equation which is complex to calculate. This limitation can be overcome by adopting a
regular sampled PWM strategy, in which the low frequency reference waveforms are
sampled and then held constant during each carrier interval. These sampled values are
compared against the triangular carrier waveform to control the switching process of
each phase leg, instead of the sinusoidal varying reference. Even though the method is
very simple, it has the following drawbacks:

i) SPWM is unable to fully utilize the available DC bus supply voltage to the voltage
source inverter.

ii) The method cannot completely eliminate the low order harmonics. Therefore the low
order harmonics cause loss and high filter requirements.

iii) The high switching frequency causes high switching loss and low efficiency.

iv) To reduce run-time processing load for slow controllers, three 120° phase shifted
sine tables are created in the controller memory. This is an inefficient usage of the
controller memory.

(14)
v) There is no degree of freedom in implementation. It has a relatively robust harmonic
spectrum as the harmonic spectrum of the resulting waveform is tied to the selected
switching frequency.

2.2.4 Voltage source Inverter

In voltage source inverter the direct current remains constant. By using

normal AC source without any conversion the output voltage waveform depends up on
the load. So, there is a change to decrease the efficiency of the induction motor. But by
using VSI there are few issues that can overcome:

 (i) It has a small size. 

(ii) Its output voltage waveform does not depend on the  type of load.

Single-phase VSIs are used primarily for low power range applications, while three-
phase VSIs cover both medium and high power range applications. It shows the circuit
schematic for a three-phase VSI. Switches in any of the three legs of the inverter cannot
be switched off simultaneously due to this resulting in the voltages being dependent on
the respective line current's polarity. States 7 and 8 produce zero AC line voltages,
which result in AC line currents freewheeling through either the upper or the lower
components. However, the line voltages for states 1 through 6 produce an AC line
voltage consisting of the discrete values of Vi, 0 or –Vi.

For three-phase SPWM, three modulating signals that are 120 degrees out of
phase with one another are used in order to produce out of phase load voltages. In order
to preserve the PWM features with a single carrier signal, the normalized carrier
frequency, mf, needs to be a multiple of three. This keeps the magnitude of the phase
voltages identical, but out of phase with each other by 120 degrees. The maximum
achievable phase voltage amplitude in the linear region, ma less than or equal to one,

(15)
is vphase = vi / 2. The maximum achievable line voltage amplitude is Vab1 = vab • √3/ 2

Figure 2.6: Three phase Voltage source Inverter

The only way to control the load voltage is by changing the input DC voltage.

2.2.5 PRINCIPLE OF VOLTAGE SOURCE INVERTER

Rectifier fed inverter system has two stage converters. In this research inverter
side control is described. Rectifier side control is used to find out duty cycle. Most
inverter applications require a means of voltage control. This control may be
required because of variations in the inverter source voltage and regulation within
the inverter. It can be grouped into three categories,

1. Control of voltage supplied to the inverter

2. Control of voltage within the inverter

(16)
 3. Control of voltage delivered by the inverter

With the introduction of high speed, efficient and extremely reliable solid state
switching devices, including transistor and silicon controlled rectifier, considerable
effort has been put to develop new methods of voltage control. In general, these
improved controls involve switching techniques where the voltage control is
achieved by some form of switching time-ratio control. One of the most
advantageous means of controlling inverter output voltage is to incorporate
switching time-ratio controls within the inverter circuit. With implementation of this
technique, it is often possible to include inverter output voltage control without
significantly adding to the total number of circuit components. A single phase pulse
width control technique is discussed here to illustrate the important principles of this
means of controls. By properly gating the inverter controlled rectifying device it is
possible to vary the amplitude of fundamental component of inverter output voltage.

2.2.6 Sensor less Control of Induction Machine

During the past decade, sensor less speed control of induction machine has
become a mature technology for a wide speed range. Sensor less control of Induction
machine is now attracting wide attention, both in the field of electrical drives and in the
field of dynamic control. The advantages of speed sensor less AC drives are reduced
hardware complexity, lower cost, elimination of sensor cable, better noise immunity,
increased reliability, access to both sides of the shaft, less maintenance requirements
and higher robustness. The use of encoders increases the drive’s price and affects the
reliability which is of utmost concern to many operational situations especially the
electric vehicle industry. In the literature, many research efforts have been made for
rotor speed estimation in the sensor less speed control. They can be broadly classified
into:

i) Those based on non ideal phenomena such as rotor slot harmonics and high
frequency signal injection methods and

ii) Methods rely on the model of the induction motor. The former require spectrum
analysis which is time consuming procedure and allow a narrow band of speed control.
The later methods are characterized by their simplicity, but sensitive to parameter
(17)
variations. The role of stator resistance is important and its value has to be known with
good precision for obtaining accurate speed estimation in the low speed region. Any
mismatch between actual and set values of stator resistance within the model of speed
estimation may lead not only to substantial error in speed estimation but also to
instability.

2.3 Controller

In order to compete with DC motor in term of controlling the speed,

additional system which is consist of power electronic devices is needed for better
output of induction motor. Induction motor is difficult to maintain a constant speed
whenever the load is changed. Recently, many controllers have been developed and
they can be divided into two classifications which is passive and adaptive power
controller. The example for passive power controller is hysteresis, relay and sliding
mode control and for adaptive power controller is PI, PID, Artificial neural network
and NN predictive controller. Each of them has their own advantages and
disadvantages, such as simple structure and low maintenance cost.

2.3.1 Adaptive controller

Adaptive controller is a controller that can modify its behavior in response to

changes in the dynamics of the process and the disturbances. A great number of
industrial control loops are under adaptive control. These include a wide range of
applications in aerospace, process control, ship steering, robotics and other industrial
control systems.

2.3.2 Proportional- Integral (PI) controller

The most commonly used controller for the speed control of Induction motor
is PI controller. The combination of proportional and integral terms is important to
increase the speed of the response and also to eliminate the steady state error. The
PID controller block is reduced to P and I blocks only.

+ e

P +

PLANT Y
(18)
 I

Figure 2.6: Proportional Integral (PI) controller block diagram

Kp and Ki are the tuning knobs, are adjusted to obtain the desired output, e is error.
However, the PI controller has some disadvantages such as the high starting
overshoot, sensitivity to controller gains and sluggish response due to sudden
disturbance. So, the relatively a new intelligent controller by using Matlab/Simulink
package give better responses than the traditional PI controller for the speed control.
Torque is the fundamental variable of an induction machine, to get the accurate
control of speed and position is by controlling the torque of induction machines.

The performance of intelligent controller for the speed control has been verified
compared with the conventional PI controller performance. It is very good dynamic
performance and robustness during the transient period and during the sudden load
disturbance.

2.3.3 ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

An Artificial Neural network (ANN) is an information processing Paradigm that is

inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, process information.
It is composed of a large number of highly interconnected processing elements
(neurons) working in unison to solve specific problems. An ANN is configured for a
specific application, speed control or energy saver, through a learning process.

2.3.3.1 Characteristics of Neural Networks

i) The Neural Network (NNs) can map their input patterns to their associated output

Patterns.

ii) NN architecture can be trained with known examples of a problem before they are
(19)
Tested for their ‘inference’ capability on unknown instances of the problem. They can
therefore identify new objects previously untrained.

2.3.3.2 Perceptron

The perceptron is a mathematical model of a biological neuron. In biological neurons,

the dendrite receives electrical signals from the axons of other neurons. In the
perceptron, these electrical signals are represented as numerical values. At the synapses
between the dendrites and axons, electrical signals are modulated in various amounts.
This is also modeled in the perceptron by multiplying each input value called the
weight. An artificial neuron is shown in figure 2.7

Figure 2.7 an artificial neuron (perceptron)

An actual neuron fires an output signal only when the total strength of the an input
signal exceeds a certain threshold. This phenomenon in a perceptron is Modeled by
calculating the weighted sum of the inputs to represent the total strength of the input
signals, and applying a step function on the sum to Determine its output. As in
biological neural networks, this output is fed to other perceptrons. A perceptron
calculates the weighted sum of the input values. The strength of the connection between
an input and a neuron is noted by the value of the weight. Negative weight values
reflect inhibitory connections and positive values designate excitatory connections. A
neural network’s knowledge is stored within these synaptic weights.

2.3.4 ARCHITECTURE OF NEURAL NETWORKS

(20)
Two types of architecture of neural networks are feed-forward and feedback Networks.

2.3.4.1 FEED-forward Networks

Feed-forward ANNs allow signals to travel one way only; from input to output.
There is no feedback (loops) i.e. the output of any layer does not affect that same layer.
Feed -forward ANN’s tend to be straight forward networks that associate inputs with
outputs. This type of organization is also referred to as bottom-down. A feed-forward
network is shown in Figure 2.8

IN1 IN2 IN3 IN4

OUT

Figure 2.8 Feed-Forward network

2.3.4.2 Feedback Networks

Feedback networks can have signals traveling in both directions by

introducing loops in the network. Feedback network are very powerful and
extremely complicated. Feedback networks are dynamic; their ‘state’ changes
continuously until they reach an equilibrium point. They remain at the equilibrium
point until the input changes and a new equilibrium needs to be found. Feedback
architectures are also referred to as interactive or recurrent, although the latter term is
often used to denote feedback connections in single-layer organizations.

2.3.5 NETWORK LAYER

The most common type of artificial neural network consists of three layers. A layer
of “input” units is connected to a layer of “hidden” units, which is connected to a layer

(21)
of “output” units. A vector of predictor variable values is presented to the input layer.
The input neurons perform no action on the values other than distributing them to the
neurons in the hidden and output layers. In addition to the predictor variables, there is
a constant input of 1.0, called the bias that is fed to each of the hidden and output
neurons; the bias is multiplied by a weight and added to the sum going into the
neuron. Arriving at a neuron in the hidden layer, the value from each input neuron is
multiplied by a weight, and the resulting weighted values are added together producing
a combined value. The weighted sum is fed into transfer function, which outputs a
value. Each output neuron receives values from all of the input neurons (including the
bias) and all of the hidden layer neurons. Each value presented to an output neuron is
multiplied by a weight, and the resulting weighted values are added together
producing a combined value. The weighed sum is fed into a transfer fed into a transfer
function, which outputs a value.

2.3.6 TRANSFER FUNCTION

The behavior of an ANN depends on both the weights and the input-output function
(transfer function) that is specified for the units. This function typically falls into one
of the following categories:

 Linear transfer function

 Piecewise linear transfer function
 Threshold transfer function
 Sigmoid transfer function
 Gaussian transfer function
 Multimodal transfer function
 Radial Basis function

2.3.7 BACKPROPAGATION ALGORITHM

A proper selection of tuning parameters such as momentum factor, learning

coefficient, sigmoid gain, and threshold value are required for efficient learning and
designing of a stable network. Weight adjustment is made based on the momentum
method. Using this, the network tends to follow the bottom of narrow gutters in the

(22)
error surface rather than crossing rapidly from side to side. The momentum factor has
significant role in deciding the values of learning rate that will produce rapid learning.
It determines the step size of chance in weights or biases. If momentum factor is zero,
The smoothening is minimum and the entire weight adjustment comes from the newly
calculated change. If momentum factor is one, new adjustment is ignored and the
previous one is replaced. Range, 0 to 1 is a region where the weight adjustment is
smoothed by an amount proportional to the momentum factor. Momentum factor of 0.9
has been found to be suitable for most of the problems. The role of momentum factor is
to increase the speed of learning without leading to oscillations. The momentum term
effectively filters out high frequency variations of the error surface in the weight space,
since it adds the effect of past weight changes on the current direction of movement in
the weight space.

The choice of learning is a tricky task in back propagation algorithm. The range
of learning coefficient that will produce rapid training depends on the number and types
of inputs patterns. The empirical formula to select learning coefficient (Eaton, 1992) is
given in Equation

Where A1 is the number of patterns of type 1 and ᶓ is the number of different pattern
types.

It may be difficult to spot similar patterns under such circumstances and target output
is used to determine a pattern’s style. The use of output defined types results in small
value of learning coefficient which produces slower but stable training. The largest
value of learning coefficient is obtained in each pattern considered is a separate type.
The optimum value lies between these extremes.

A better selection of learning rate is possible if more information is a available

about the input patterns. This coefficient must be smaller when there are many input
patterns as compared to when they are few because the step length is controlled by the
learning coefficient. If the learning coefficient is large, that is, greater than, 0.5, the
weights are changed drastically. This may cause optimum combination of weights to be
‘overshot ’ resulting in oscillations about the optimum. If the learning coefficient is
(23)
small, that is, less than 0.2, the weights are changed in small increment, thus, causing
the system to converge more slowly but with little oscillations. The learning rate bas to
be chosen as high as possible to allow fast learning without leading to oscillations.

The problem at hand decides the number of nodes in the first and third layers. There is
no general criterion about deciding the number of hidden nodes. The guiding criterion
is to select the minimum nodes which would not impair the network performances so
that the memory demand for storing the weights can be kept minimum. Mirchandani
and Cao (1989) have proved that the number of separable regions in the input space, Q,
is a function of the number of hidden nodes H in BPN and H=Q-1. Huang and Huang
(1991) argue that in terms of learning efficiency, the optimal number of hidden neurons
to realize a binary valued function is experimentally fount out be H=U-1, where U is
the number of elements in the learning set. They have also proved that this is the least
upper bound on the number of hidden neurons needed to realize an arbitrary real valued
function defined by set with K elements.

The training time can be reduced by the use of momentum factor because it
enhances the training process. The momentum also overcomes the effect of local
minima. The use of momentum term will often carry a weight change process through
one or local minima and get it into global minima. There are a substantial number of
advanced algorithms or other procedures that have been proposed as a means to speed
up the training of back propagation network. Parker (1987) proposed a method called
second order back propagation that used second derivative to produce more accurate
estimation of weights change. The computational requirements were great and were
generally viewed as not being cost effective compared to other methods.

The back propagation algorithm is the most widely used method for determining
the error derivative of the weights. The summary of the back propagation training
algorithm is given below. To train the neural network using error back propagation
training algorithm, Pt training pairs of input vector and desired output vectors assumed.
H number of hidden neurons and K number of output neurons are considered.

(24)
Figure 2.9: Flowchart for error back propagation algorithm

(25)
Step 1: ɳ>0, Emax chosen.

Weight Wand V is eliminated at small random values: w is (k X H); V is (H X I).

q←1, r←1, E←0

Step 2: Training step starts here. Input is presented and the layers’ output are computed

Z← zr, d← dr

Y j ← f (vt h z), for h= 1, 2,……….., H. (2.7)

Where vh , a column vector, is the hth row of V, and

ok← f (wtk y), for K=1, 2,……., K (2.8)

Where Wk, a column vector, is the kith row of W.

Step 3: Error value is computed:

1
E← (dk – ok)2 +E, for K=1,2,…….k. (2.9)
2

Step 4: Error signal vectors o and y of both layers are computed. Vector o is

(K X 1), y is (H X 1). The error signal terms of the output layer in this step are

1
ok = ( dk – ok)(1 – or), for K=1,2,…….,H. (2.10)
2

Step 5: Output layer weights are adjusted:

Wkh ←Wkh +ɳ y for K=1, 2,……., k and h=1, 2,……, H.

ok h (2.10)

Step 6: Hidden layer weights are adjusted:

Vhi ← Vhi +ɳ yhZi for h=1, 2,….., H and i=1, 2,….., I. (2.11)

Step 7: If r<Pt then r←r+1, q←q+1, and go to step 2; otherwise, go to step 8.

Step 8: The training cycle is completed.

(26)
For E<Emax terminate the training session. Output weights W, V q, and E.

If E>Emax, then E←0, r←1, and initiate the new training cycle by going to step.

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 TRAINING OF ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

A neural network has to be configured such that the applications of a set of

inputs produce the desired set of outputs. Various methods to set the strengths of the
connections exist. One way is to set the weights explicitly, using a priori knowledge.
Another way is to ‘train’ the neural network feeding the teaching patterns and letting it
change its weights according to some learning rule. In the supervised learning or
associative learning, the network is trained by providing the input and matching output
patterns. These input-output pairs can be provided by an external teacher, or by the
system, which contains the neural network (self supervised).

(27)
 Figure 2.10: Training of artificial neural networks (supervised learning)

In an unsupervised learning or self-organization, an output unit is trained to

respond to clusters of pattern within the input. In this paradigm the system is supposed
to discover statistically salient features of the input population. Unlike the supervised
learning paradigm, there is no a priori set of categories into which the patterns are to be
classified. Reinforcement type of learning may be considered as an intermediate from
of the above two types of learning. Here the learning machine does some action on the
environment and gets a feedback response from the environment. The learning system
grades its action good (rewarding) or bad (punishable) based on the environmental
response and accordingly adjusts its parameters. Generally, parameter adjustment is
continued until an equilibrium state occurs, following which there will be no more
changes in its parameters.

(28)