Ingenious Digital controller for Switched Reluctance Motor using Verilog (HDL)

S.Paramasivam, R.Arumugam, S.Vijayan, SBalamurugan, G.Venkatesan and B.Umamaheswari Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Anna University-Chennai-600025-India paramaskam sk3rediffmail.com and atuniueainiiiannauniv.edu

Abstract- This paper presents an advanced method of position- estimation and PWM generation for a Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) using Verilog. SRM cannot be run directly from the mains and requires a power converter and amicable controller, which must be integrated with the motor. The conventional controllers occupy more space and consume more energy. In this paper, Verilog has been used for the rotor position estimation and PWM generation to control a 3 phase 614 pole Switched Reluctance Motor. With this method it is possible to save a considerable amount of energy as well as space in the controller circuits since all the control algorithms are implemented using a single chip. Both voltage and current control techniques are discussed.

'

ingenious digital controller of a Switched Reluctance Motor using Verilog is developed by using verilogger pro 6.5 Ink.

ROTOR POSITION ESTIMATION

A number of methods are available in literature for the estimation of the rotor position of a SR motor [3,4,5]. Among these methods, a non-intrusive method involving fluxicurrent is adopted. By knowing the phase current and voltage of an energized phase of the motor, the rotor position can he estimated using following relationship ( I ) . The block diagram of the rotor position estimation is shown in Figure. (I). The unique relationship between the flux, current and rotor position in an SRM at any instant of time is shown in Figure. (2).

Keywords: Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM), PWM, Rotor position, Digital Controller and Verilog
'

Y = j(V - 1R)dt

(1)

1. INTRODUCTION
A Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) is a doubly salient and singly excited motor [1,2].It has a simple magnetic structure, which carries windings on its stator and no windings on the rotor. The motor operates on the principle that the rotor tends to occupy the position, where the inductance of the energized phase windings is maximized. The operation of the motor is controlled by suitably choosing the instances of switching o d o f f of excitation. Thus the determination of the rotor position is very important for the precise control of the motor. Many methods are available for the determination of the rotor position of an SRM. .Of these methods, a non-intrusive method using flux-current characteristics is enunciated in this paper since this method gives accurate flux estimations at higher speeds. A Look-up table relating flux-current-rotor position is pre-computed from the static characteristics of the motor using Magnet 6 . The use of single chip design with all control algorithms saves a considerable amount of time and gives a better rotor position estimation. Once a rotor position is computed the controller will he able to generate the necessary PWM signals to switch o d o f f the converter circuit, The proposed method incorporates the voltage and current control, which has not been taken into account in the earlier methods available in the'literature for S R M control. The key aspect of the research is to get the desired rotor position and PWM generation as the controller output. The hardware description for implementing the

Y = I(V-IR)dt

Lr-7
+ e

Look Up Table

Figure 1. BlockDiagram of Rotor Position Estimation Once the flux linkage value is found from the above equation (I); then the position of the rotor can be found from the look-up table, which contains the flux linkage ( y ), current (i) and rotor position (8) of the motor.

&NECESSITY OF ROTOR POSITION ESTIMATION

It is necessary to estimate the rotor position to have a better operation of the motor. The flux-current characteristics are obtained by conducting magnetic field simulation on the motor under static conditions using Magnet 6. In our research the pre-computed v/ -i-0 characteristics are stored in a look-up table to estimate the rotor position from the measured phase voltages and phase currents. Position estimation updates are carried out sequentially by measuring voltage and current from the three phases. Most of the indirect rotor position estimation algorithms do not

TENCON 2003 1994

concentrate on the starting condition. In this paper a soft staning algorithm is included.

select the destination of input. Thcse outputs arc given l o active phase detector.

5.3 Aclive phase delecloi

Flux Linkage -Current Characteristics
I

i i

10

15

Current in Amperes

The purpose of the Active phase detector is to detect the phasc to be cnergized at startup. Active Phase Detector is a simple current comparator, which compares the magnitudc of the current of thc threc phases. The phase, which is carrying largest current is said to be active phase, since it will lhave lower inductance due to higher air gap reluctance. Three phase currents are sensed and fed to the active phase detector. It compares phase currents and outputs active phasc current value. This phase current value is passed to flux-linkage estimator. A simple program of the active phase detector is given below. Program 15.61 inodule active-.phasc-detctor iout,il,i2,i3,vl ,v2,v3); output [7:0] vout, iout; reg [7:0] vout,ioiit; input [7:0] il,i2,i3,vl,v2,v3; always @(il or i2 or i3 or V I or v2 or v3 ) if(il>iZ&&il>i3) begin iout=il ; voot=vl; end else if(i2>i l&&i2>i3) hegin iout=i2; voutLv2;end else if(i3>iZ&&i3>il) begin iout=i3; vout=v3;end endmodule 5.4 /'lux Linkage eslimator The ilux linkage is calculated using recursive estimation tcchnique. i.e., the dh value of the flux linkagc is found Cram nth value of the voltage , current and (n-l)Ih value of the flux linkage, which ensures the better estimation of the flux linkage.

Figure.2.Flux linkage- Current Characteristics for different rotor positions

(vout,

4. ROTOR POSITION ESTIMATION ALGORITHM

I. Energize all the phases with reduced voltage for a short period less than 2 msec 2. Measure all the phase currents and voltagcs 3. Set the current comparison count = I . If the current comparison count is not equal to 1, go to step 5 4. Identify the phasc carrying maximum current fur switching (active phase) 5. Calculate the Flux linkage using Eqn ( I ) . 6 . Estimate the Rotor Position From loop up table. 7. Go to step 2

5. CONTROLLER REALIZATION
The Generalized Controller Scheme for the complete digital controller is shown in Figure .3. Six analog signals are sensed through current and voltage sensors and are multiplexed through the 8-1 analog Multiplexer. The Multiplexer output is passed to the %bit ADC that converts analog inputs to digital signals that are fed to the digital controller (Verilog HDL). 'The design implementation was done using Verilogger Pro 6.5 with EDA tools. The block diagram of the Digital Controller using Verilog is shown in Figure. 4 5. I Counter A Counter is used to generate the sequence of numbers, which is used as select line for Demultiplexer. This counter can be operated at any desired fiequency. Hence it is possible to synchronize this digital controller with the 8-bit ADC and associated analog Multiplexer.
5.2 Deniulfiplexer

y,, =(V,-I,,Wt+Y,,-,
V, . is the phase voltage at nlh instant in volts I, . is the phase current at n"' instant in amps v,,.,.is the flux linkage at n-I"' instant in Weber turns R- Resistance of the phase winding in ohms.

(2)

A Demultiplexer is capable of routing a single input line to one of several data-output lines. Control signals are used to

At startup when thc phase is about to be energized, the value ofthe (t1-1)'~ instant flux linkage is assumed to be zero.

Power System Analysis and Management /995

Pig.3.Generalixcd Controller Scliemc for thc completc digital controllcr

Deinultipl
exer

Look-up
'lsblc

.lIEt?, Prcdictor

c y -

Fig.4.Digital controller using Verilog

5.5 Look up Tuhlr

Look up table is formed wherein the values of the flux linkage, current and rotor position are stored. The valucs of the flux linkage and current for different rotor positions o f a 614 pole SKM are obtained form thc electromagnetic simulation software Magnet 6. Thc vdlucs of the flux linkages obtained from Magnet 6 arc fractional numbers. In order to represent the fractional numbers in HEX format, the numbcrs havc to be scaled properly, thcreby it is possible to represent flux linkage and current for different rotor positions in HEX format.
5.6 Rotor position Esfimator

The value of theta is taken from the theta predictor. Where q, is actual speed at n'll instant radlsec, O,,is rotor position valuc at nlh insvmt and Q , , . , is rotor position WIUC at n . ~ ~ " instant.
5.8 Speed compumtor

The actual spccd obtained form thc cquatioii ( 3 ) is compared with the reference spccd and the error is multiplied by K1 in order to get thc duty cycle and currcnt reference (or voltagc and current control schemes rcspectively.
5.9 Current comparator

The main purpose of the rotor position estimator is to estimate the rotor position accurately. The flux linkage ohtaincd form the equation (2) and its corresponding current are used to estimate rotor position from the look up table. The rotor position information obtained form the look up table can be effectively used to switch odoff the phase windings of the SRM.
5.7 Speed estimator

Thc actual current is compared with the reference currcnt. If the reference current is higher than the actual current the output of the current comparator is one according l o the duty cycle otherwisc it will.be zero.

6.PWM GENERATION LOGIC FOR VOLTAGE AND

CURRENT CONTROL
In voltage control techniqucs, the voltage applicd to the motor phases is kept constant during the complete sampling period of the spccd control loop. The commutation of the phases is linked to the position of thc rotor. A speed controller directly controls the voltage applied to thc phase.

The speed at n'l' instant can he calculated using the following equation (3)
(3)

TENCON 2003 /996

The speed comparator finds the dif'ercnce hetwecn the desired speed and the actual speed and generates the duty cycle, which generates the desired phase voltage for the SRM convertcr. The phase voltage is kept constant during a complete dwell angle of one phase. Thc dwell is inothing but, conduction period of the phase in motoring mode. This method is also called single pulse operation or high-speed operation. The Block diagram of Voltage Control is shown in rigure 5 . I'igure. 7 show the single pulse operation waveform and Figure.8. Shows the RTL model of it

the phases. The purpose of the D-latch in delta modulation control is to maintain the previous state ofthe PWM signal till next input causcs the changc in output, which limits the hndamental switching frcquency O S the convertcr considerably. I:igure.9 and 1 I show the hysteresis and d e b modulation control PWM output waveform for various input conditions and Figure .10 and 12 show the I C I L model 0 1 them.

Figure.5. Block diagram of the Voltage Control In current control techniques the voltage applicd to the motor phases is modulated to reach the desircd current at the powered phase. For most applications, the desired current is constant during the complete sampling pcriod ol' the speed control loop. The commutation of the phases is linked to the position of the rotor. A current controller controls the voltage applied to thc phase with an external speed control loop. The speed comparator processes the difference between the desired spccd and the actual speed and generates the desircd phase current. The current controller evaluates the difference between actual and desired phase current and calculates the appropriate PWM duty cyclc. The phase voltage is defined by a PWM duty cyclc implemented at thc DC-Bus voltage of' the converter. Thus, the phase voltage is modulated at the rate of the current control loop. Therc are two Current control techniques, which are popular for SRM current control.

I:igure.7.PWM Waveforms Ibr Voltage Control

Figure.8. RTL for Voltage Control

7.REGISlER

TRANSFER LEVEL

The Register-Transfcr-Levcl inodels of difrerent control schemes are given below

(a)Single Pulse Operation:

Figure.6. Block diagram of the Hysteresis and Delta Modulation controller They are hysteresis and delta modulation control. The block diagrams of the both controllers are shown in Pigure.6. In hysteresis control method, the reference current generated by the speed comparator will have a bandwidth of +A[, which limits the fundamental switching frequency of the phases. I n Delta modulation control mcthod, the reference current gcnerated by the speed comparator will not have any bandwidth. Whenever the actual curre111greater than thc reference current the phase is turned off and actual currcnt lcsser than the refercnce current thc phase is turned on which increases the fundamental switching li'equcncy of

Number of ports Number of nets Number of instances Number orreferences to this view Numbcr of GND Number of VCC Number of g a m

-129 -679 -630 -0

-1 -I -1840

(b)Hysteresis Control method;

Number of ports Number ol'nets Number of instances Numbcr of references to this view Number of GND Number of gates
-I86

-773 -667
-0

-I -1920

Power System Analysis and Management /997

Figurc. 12. RTL for Delta Modulation current Control

S.CONCLUSION
The design o f a digital controller for an SR Motor has been developed using Verilog(H1)L)which includes indirect rotnr position esliniation techniques. An accurate rotor position detection technique is explained and simulation details are given, which provide an improved way of measuring thc rotor position In SR motor drives. In this rcsearch both voltage and current control arc included. The proposed scheme successfully predicts thc rotor position of the SRM. Since there is a soft start algorithm, 110 difficulty i s expcrienced during starting and in zero speed operation ofthe motor. The position estimator implemented using Verilog (HDL). does not impose restrictions on a11 operating speeds and conditions. The next stage ofthis work will extended to implement the Digital controller using FPGA. When it is implemented, the controller can be fabricated as a single chip, which will occupy lrss space compared with other conventional controllers.

Figure.9. PWM Waveforms for Hysteresis Current Control

Figure.10. RTL for Hysteresis Current Control

REFERENCES
[I]. T.I.E.Miller,"Switched Rcluctancc Motors and their Control" Magna Physics Publishing and Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993.
[2]. R.Krishnan, R.Arumugam and J.F.Lindsay, "Design Procedure for Switched Reluctance Motors", IEEE Trans. On Industry Applications Society, Vo1.24, No.3, pp 456461, MayIJune, 1988.
[3]. lqhal Flusain, "Indirect rotor-position estimation techniques for switched reluctance motors-a review".

Figure. I1.Delta modulation PWM output waveform

(e) Delta Modulation Control method:

[4]. Dr.R.Arumugam, S.Paramasivam, RDhanasekaran and Vthandrasekar "Design of Digital Controller for Switched Reluctance Motor Using VHDL" HDLCON-2002 proceedings, PP 143-149

Number of ports Number of nets Number ofinstanccs Number ofreferences to this view Number of GND Number ofgates

-153 -700 -643 -0

-1

[SI. LBhaskar, "Vcrilog HDL Primer"

[ 6 ] Samir Palinkar,"Verilog HDL,A Gdide to Digital Design Synthesis".

-1878 [7]. www.syncad.com.