Coupled Simulation of an Indirect Field Oriented Controlled Induction Motor Drive

Conventionally, system simulations of induction motor drives use lumped parameters model of the motor. This approach assumes motor parameters to be constant during the entire operation of the drive. Unfortunately, these are known to vary significantly over the operating range of the motor due to factors such as magnetic saturation, skin effects, and operating temperature. The variations in motor parameters affect motor output and control parameters resulting in degraded drive performance. One way of overcoming this problem is by coupling the field model of the induction motor with the drive simulation. By replacing the lumped parameters model with the field model, the influence of different operating conditions on motor parameters can be taken into account dynamically. In this thesis such an approach is investigated by coupling the finite element analysis of an induction motor with the system simulation of the field oriented controlled drive. The results obtained for the coupled simulation are promising and possible future works to make this method of simulation more accurate and reliable are recommended.