AC Induction Motor
Vector Control System
Design Tool

Why Purchase This Tool? 

Using this comprehensive simulation and design tool, designers can rapidly develop and optimize a complete vector drive product and directly observe the closed-loop performance and interaction of an AC induction motor, an attached mechanism and the vector motor controller - even before prototyping.

Although many variable speed AC motor applications require the high performance offered by vector control, the time and cost to develop and optimize a complete robust vector drive product can be very substantial. This comprehensive simulation and design tool enables designers to rapidly develop a product. Designers can observe the closed-loop performance and simultaneous interaction of AC induction motor electrodynamics, a complex mechanical load and the vector drive digital control dynamics before prototyping begins, and detect and correct harmful interaction.

Because this fully parametric simulation model and design tool is based on the flexible, open architecture of SIMULINK and MATLAB, the model allows users to explore a multitude of what if possibilities, tune performance and debug any problems before or concurrent with prototype development. The user has direct visual access to the internal states of each of the interconnected and simultaneously operating electrical, mechanical and control portions of the system. The designer may also evaluate the effect of worst-case component tolerances, fairly evaluate competing control and sensing schemes, and explore the closed-loop effect of various loads, including mechanical resonances and friction.

Purchasing a mature tool like this that has been developed by an expert both in motor control systems and dynamics modeling saves the time, frustration and considerable expense of attempting to do it yourself. However, you still have the freedom to easily change both the simulation model structure and parameters as you see fit.

Tool Features

• Fully integrates motor electrodynamics, mechanical load dynamics and vector drive digital control system dynamics
• Visually intuitive, interconnected, on-screen block diagrams.
• May be customized for specific product applications.
• All parameters easily modified for rapid evaluation.
• Internal states of the vector controller, mechanics and electronics are readily observed using on-screen scopes.
• Vector control system includes: Park and Clark transformations between 3Ø stator and d-q field-oriented coordinates, feedforward field orientor, rotor flux estimator, field weakening, slip calculator, flux torque calculator, voltage decoupler, peak voltage and current detection, sample time and A/D quantization effects, and current, flux, voltage, torque and speed controllers, PWM voltage or hysteretic current control.
• Stand-alone state-space 3Ø AC induction motor model with motor parameters derived from industrial motor specs.
• Mechanical load containing structural flexibility and friction.

Applications

• High Performance Engine and Vehicle Dynamometers
• Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Propulsion
• Variable Speed AC Motor Drives
• Belt Drive Systems
• Robotics and Material Handling
• Precision Servo Systems

Sample Output

Here is what you would see on just four (of many) scopes displayed during a typical simulation:

A 40 HP motor is already spinning as the vector control system is turned on.
The torque response is seen to be equally responsive both at high and very low speeds.

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© 1996-2008 Michael D. Sidman, Ph.D. Engineering Consultant. All Rights Reserved.