Fault-Tolerant Multilevel Converter to Feed a Switched Reluctance Machine

Abstract

The switched reluctance machine (SRM) is one of the most interesting machines, being adopted for many applications. However, this machine requires a power electronic converter that usually is the most fragile element of the system. Thus, in order to ensure high reliability for this system, it is fundamental to design a power electronic converter with fault-tolerant capability. In this context, a new solution is proposed to give this capability to the system. This converter was designed with the purpose to ensure fault-tolerant capability to two types of switch faults, namely open- and short-circuit. Moreover, apart from this feature, the proposed topology is characterized by a multilevel operation that allows improvement of the performance of the SRM, taking into consideration a wide speed range. Although the proposed solution is presented for an 8/6 SRM, it can be used for other configurations. The operation of the proposed topology will be described for the two modes, fault-tolerant and normal operation. Another aspect that is addressed in this paper is the proposal of fault detection and diagnosis method for this fault-tolerant inverter. It was specifically developed for a multilevel SRM drive. The theoretical assumptions will be verified through two different types of tests, firstly by simulation and secondly by experiments with a laboratory prototype.

PV Generator-Fed Water Pumping System Based on a SRM with a Multilevel Fault-Tolerant Converter

“…On the other hand, it does not provide full fault-tolerant operation, since for some faults, it does not offer the ability to restore the initial operation. Another aspect is the modularity, for which the topologies [35,47] present low abilities. On the other hand, the topology of [48] presents a high capability regarding the modularity, since it uses NPC legs that are also used in the drives.…”

“…However, they become severely affected regarding their fault tolerance capability. In this way, an NPC topology, modified by adding active switches to the inverter's clamping diodes, combined with another group of power switches and diodes linked to each branch of the converter, was also proposed [47]. However, the number of switches of the converter is very high.…”

Enhancement of motor speed identification using artificial neural networks

“…For the localization of the back propagation neural network model's speed identification approach, it still has several weaknesses, such as sluggish con stringency speed, fast convergence to local minimum points and a poor capacity to generalize [5], [6]. Despite these drawbacks, the back propagation neural network model has been extensively employed in recent years [7], [8]. As a result, optimizing the back propagation neural network has long been a major focus of study.…”

“…In neural network weights and thresholds optimization, it demonstrates excellent qualities. It is a powerful tool [8], [10]. This integrated approach was able to properly determine the motor's rotational speed in a simulated experiment using DTC [11], [12].…”

Implementation Challenges: Universal R-Dump Converter for Switched Reluctance Motor

“…A novel L-dump converter is presented in [4] and discussed about the voltage stress and performance of the converter. A multilevel operating fault tolerant converter is proposed in [5] and challenges faced by a multilevel converter are discussed in [6]. A novel modular converter using six-pack IGBT modules is presented in [7], in which the advantages are compared with existing modular approaches.…”