A Multirate Field Construction Technique for

Efficient Modeling of the Fields and Forces

within Inverter-Fed Induction Machines
Dezheng Wu, Steve Pekarek
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Purdue University
September 30, 2010
Motivation for Research
Fields-based modeling of machines valuable analysis tool
Investigate slot geometries, material properties
Calculate force vector (radial and tangential)
Readily model induced currents in magnetic material
Limitation as a design tool
Numerical computation expensive
Field construction
Attempt to establish a fields-based model while minimizing
computation requirements
FC of induction machine initially considered by OConnell/Krein in
parallel with Wu/Pekarek
2
Field Construction Basic Idea
Use a minimal number of FEA solutions to characterize
machine behavior
Create basis functions for stator and rotor magnetic fields
Construct the magnetic field in the airgap using stator
field and rotor basis functions under arbitrary current
B
n
=B
ns
+B
nr
B
t
=B
ts
+B
tr
Calculate torque and radial force using the Maxwell Stress
Tensor (MST) method under arbitrary stator excitation and
rotor speed
_ a
2 2
0 0
1 1
. ,
2
t n t n n t
f B B f B B

= =
)
2
2 2
0 0
Torque , Radial Force
2
z
e t s s r z n s
P R l
T f d F l f R d
T T
J J J

= =

3
Assumptions
The flux density in the axial direction is zero
Hysteresis in the iron is neglected
Thermal conditions are assumed constant
No deformation occurs in stator and rotor teeth
Linear magnetics
sm
J
rm
J
rm
U
4
Stator Basis Function Derivation
)
)
sm ts
sm ns
k
k
J
J
)
)
0
0
/
/
I B k
I B k
tas sm ts
nas sm ns
=
=
J
J
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
-0. 02
-0. 01
0
0. 01
0. 02
deg] [
sm
J
[
T
/
A
]
n
s
k
k
ns
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
-0. 01
-0. 005
0
0.005
0.01
deg] [
sm
J
k
ts
5
Rotor Basis Function (k
nr
,k
tr
) Derivation
Impulse Response
1. Set a discrete-time impulse input to a
transient FEA program
i
as
(t) = I
0
when t = t
0
i
as
(t) = 0 when t t
0
2. Record the flux density components
(B
nid
, B
tid
) for t t
0
.
3. Subtract the stator magnetic field
B
nr
= B
nid
i
as
k
ns
, B
tr
= B
tid
i
as
k
ts
4. Divided by I
0
k
nr
= B
nr
/ I
0
, k
tr
= B
tr
/ I
0
v
) )
rm tr rm nr
k k J J ,
ts ns
k k ,
)
)
0
0
/
/
I B k
I B k
tr rm tr
nr rm nr
=
=
J
J

6
Complete Characterization Process
7
Magnetic Flux Density Due to Stator
The flux density generated by arbitrary stator phase-a current
is approximated as
Due to symmetry, the total flux density generated by stator
currents
) )
) )
nas sm as ns sm
tas sm as ts sm
B i k
B i k
J J
J J
=
=
) )
) )
2 2 2 4
3 3
due to
due to
2 2 2 4
3 3
ns sm as ns sm bs ns sm cs ns sm
cs bs
ts sm as ts sm bs ts sm cs ts sm
B i k i k i k
P P
i
i
B i k i k i k
P P
T T
J J J J
T T
J J J J

= + +



= + +



8
Magnetic Flux Density Due to Rotor
) ) ) ) )
) ) )
)
2 2 2 4
, , , ,
3 3
2 2
, ,
3
2 4
,
3
xr rm as xr rm bs xr rm cs xr rm
as xr sm rm bs xr sm rm
cs xr sm rm
B t i t k t i t k t i t k t
P P
i t k t i t k t
P
i t k t
P
T T
J J J J
T
J U J U
T
J U

= - + - + -



= - + -



+ -



Obtain rotor magnetic field using the convolution of stator current
signal and rotor basis function
where x can be n or t
due to i
as
due to i
bs
due to i
cs
9
Complete Field Construction
Stator Current as Model Input
) ) )
) ) )
, , ,
, , ,
n sm k ns sm k nr sm k
t sm k ts sm k tr sm k
B t B t B t
B t B t B t
J J J
J J J
= +
= +
Obtain the total flux density in the discrete-time form
) ) )
)
)
1
1
1
, ( ) ( ),
2 2
( ) ( ) ,
3
2 4
( ) ( ) ,
3
k
xr sm k as m xr sm rm k rm m k m
m
k
bs m xr sm rm k rm m k m
m
k
cs m xr sm rm k rm m k m
m
B t i t k t t t t
i t k t t t t
P
i t k t t t t
P
J J U U
T
J U U
T
J U U
=
=
=
= +

+ +



+ +

In the computer, the discrete convolution of the stator current

and rotor basis function
where x can be n or t
10
11
Voltage-Input-Based FC Technique
v i
Current-input-
based FC
i
v B
n
, B
t
Basic idea:
Stator voltage equations are used to relate voltage and current:
0 0 0
qs qs s ds qs
ds ds s qs ds
s s s s
v i r p
v i r p
v i r p
[P P
[P P
P
= + +
= +
= +
,
,
0 0
qs ss qs qs r
ds ss ds ds r
s ls s
L i
L i
L i
P P
P P
P
= +
= +
=
where [ is the angular speed of an arbitrary reference frame, and the
flux linkages are expressed as
Due to the
induced rotor
current
Unknowns: L
ss
, L
ls
,
qs,r
,
ds,r
12
Characterization of Rotor Basis
Flux Linkage
Use the same FEA solutions as in the characterization of stator and rotor
basis functions.
Impulse
response
(vector)
Static FEA
Solution
Transient
FEA Solution
i
as
= constant
i
as
= impulse
={
P
abcs
(t)
P
abcs
L
ss
, L
ls
k
P
t)
L
ss
=
P
as
P
bs
i
as
L
ls
=
P
as
+2P
bs
i
as
k
P
(t)=
P
qs
(t)L
ss
i
qs
(t)
2I
p
/3
I
p
, when t=0
0 , else
13
Calculate P
qs,r
, P
ds,r
Procedure:
1. convolution.
2. transformation between reference frames
,
1 ,
( ) ( )
( , ) ( )
( ) ( )
n
qs r n qs m
n m n m
m ds r n ds m
t i t
t t k t t
t i t
P
P
P
=

=

| |

K
cos( ) sin( )
( , )
sin( ) cos( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
n m
n m
r n r m
t t
t t
t t
E F E F
E F E F
E U U
F U U


=


|
=
=
K
where U
r
is the electric rotor angle, and U is the angle of the reference frame
14
Voltage-Input Based FC Diagram
Then i
qd0s
i
abcs
,
and i
abcs
are then used in
the current-input-based
FC
B
n
, B
t Maxwell Stress
Tensor Method
f
n
, f
t
+
B
ns
, B
ts
B
nr
, B
tr
Inverse
Reference Frame
Transformation
i
qd0s
v
qd0s
i
as
, i
bs
, i
cs Current-Input-Based FC
Coupled
Stator Circuit
k
ns
, k
ts
k
nr
, k
tr
Convolution
i
qds
= L
-1
S
An Induction Machine Fed By An Inverter
15
) )
)
)
3
3
3
cos cos 3
2
cos cos 3
3
2
cos cos 3
3
a e e
c e e
c e e
d d t d t
d d t d t
d d t d t
[ [
T
[ [
T
[ [
=

= +



= +


3
/ 6, 120
e
d d [ T = =
A sine-PWM modulation with 3rd-harmonic injection is used. The duty
cycles for the three phases are
v
Induction Machine
dc

v
ag
+

v
bg
+

v
cg
+

+
+
v
as

v
bs

v
cs
+
+
Challenges
16
Wide Range of Time Scales (Switching Frequency versus Rotor Time Constant)
Resolution of n Hz requires a discrete-time simulation of 1/n second
For a simulation with step size h, the maximum frequency obtained using a
discrete-time Fourier transform is 1/(2h)
Total number of sampling steps in the steady state that is required is 1/(nh)
Example:
Desired frequency resolution is 1 Hz
Step size is 10 s
Total number of simulation steps required in steady state is 100,000.
The large size of rotor basis function and amount of sampling steps add difficulties
to computer memory and the computational effort.
Computational Burden of FC
Dominated by Convolution
Assume Flux Densities are Calculated at p points in
the Airgap with N samples
) ) )
)
)
1
1
1
, ( ) ( ),
2 2
( ) ( ) ,
3
2 4
( ) ( ) ,
3
k
xr sm k as m xr sm rm k rm m k m
m
k
bs m xr sm rm k rm m k m
m
k
cs m xr sm rm k rm m k m
m
B t i t k t t t t
i t k t t t t
P
i t k t t t t
P
J J U U
T
J U U
T
J U U
=
=
=
= +

+ +



+ +

( 1) ( [ ]) ([ ] 1)
2
( ) computations
px px N N x
xr
O pN
= B C i
17
Multirate Field Construction
18
In the slow subsystem, FC is used with sampling rate of :
Input i
as,lf
, i
bs,lf
, i
bs,lf
Output B
n,lf ,
B
t,lf
Low Sampling Reduces Dimension of Convolution Matrix
In the fast subsystem, Fast FC is used with sampling rate of :
Input i
as,hf
, i
bs,hf
, i
bs,hf
Output B
n,hf ,
B
t,hf
Truncate Fast Impulse Response at samples
Truncated Impulse Response Reduces Dimension of Convolution Matrix
Indeed Size of the Matrix Nearly Independent of Switching Frequency
1/
slow
h
1/
fast
h
fast
N
Partition Currents into Fast and Slow Components
Use slow impulse response to calculate slow component of flux density
Use fast impulse response to calculate fast component of flux density
Multirate Field Construction
19
, , as hf as as lf
i i id =
High-frequency
component i
as,hf
Low-frequency
component i
as,lf
Re-sampling i
as
0.22 0.225 0.23 0.235 0.24 0.245 0.25 0.255 0.26
40
30
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
Time (sec)
i
a
s

(
A
)
Total current
Low-frequency component
High-frequency component
(time step of )
slow
h (time step of )
fast
h
Example Induction Machine Studied
3-phase 4-pole squirrel-cage induction machine
36 stator slots, 45 rotor slots
Rated power: 5 horsepower
Rated speed: 1760 rpm
r
s
= 1.2 ;
sm
J
rm
J
rm
U
sm rm rm
J J U = +
Machine parameters Value
Airgap 1.42 mm
Rotor outer diameter 136.92 mm
Stator outer diameter 228.6 mm
Stack length 88.9 mm
Shaft diameter 39.4 mm
Lamination material M-19
Stator winding
material
Copper
Rotor bar material Aluminum
Number of turns per
coil
22
Number of coils per
phase
6 coils in series
connection
20
Example Operating Conditions
21
[
rm
=1760 rpm
V
dc
= 280 V
Sine-PWM modulation with 3
rd
harmonics injected
Switching frequency = 1 kHz (set low for FEA computation)
Step size of FC = 1 ms (slow subsystem),
0.01 ms (fast subsystem) (oversampled)
Nfast = 100 samples
B
n,lf
= O(999 x 1000
2
) calculations/second
B
n,hf
= O(999 x 100
2
) calculations/second
If used Single-rate FC = O(999x100000
2
) calculations/second
Step size of FEA = 0.01 ms
0.2 0.21 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.26
40
30
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
Time (sec)
i
a
s

(
A
)
FEA
FC
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
0
1
2
3
4
5
Frequency (Hz)
i
a
s

(
A
)
FEA
FC
Result Stator Current
22
FEA ~ 270 hours
FC ~ 48 minutes
i
as
Frequency spectrum of i
as
f
sw
-2f
e
f
sw
+2f
e
f
sw
-4f
e
f
sw
+4f
e
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
0
1
2
3
4
5
Frequency (Hz)
T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
FEA
FC
Result -- Torque
23
Torque
Frequency spectrum of Torque
f
sw
-3f
e
f
sw
+3f
e
0.2 0.21 0.22 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.26
10
15
20
25
30
T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
Time (sec)
FEA
FC
Conclusions
Method to efficiently model fields and forces in
inverter-fed induction machines presented
Requires Minimal FEA Evaluations (at Standstill)
Multi-rate Leads to Relatively Low Computation
Burden
Does Not Increase with Switching Frequency
Can be Applied to Flux Density Field Construciton in
Iron, i.e. Calculate Core Loss
Requires a Partition of Time Scales
24
Acknowledgement
This work is made possible through the Office of
Naval Research Grant no. N00014-02-1-0623.
25