MODULE 3

DC MOTOR DRIVES

ELECTRICAL MACHINES IN EVS AND HEVS:

Vehicle propulsion has specific requirements that distinguish stationary and onboard motors.
Every kilogram onboard the vehicle represents an increase in structural load. This increase
structural load results in lower efficiency due to increase in the friction that the vehicle has to
overcome. Higher efficiency is equivalent to a reduction in energy demand and hence, reduced
battery weight. The fundamental requirement for traction motors used in EVs is to generate
propulsion torque over a wide speed range. These motors have intrinsically neither nominal speed
nor nominal power. The power rating mentioned in the catalog and on the name plate of the motor
corresponds to the maximum power that the drive can deliver. Two most commonly used motors
in EV propulsion are Permanent Magnet (PM) Motors and Induction Motors (IM). These two
motors will be investigated in detail in the coming lectures. However, before going into the details
of these machines some basic fundamentals of electrical machines, such as torque production, are
discussed in this chapter.
DC MOTOR DRIVES:
DC motor drives have been widely used in applications requiring adjustable speed, good speed
regulation, and frequent starting, braking and reversing. Various DC motor drives have been widely
applied to different electric traction.

Principle of operation:

The operation principle of a DC motor is straightforward. When a wire carrying electric current is
placed in a magnetic field, a magnetic force acting on the wire is produced. The force is perpendicular
to the wire and the magnetic field as shown in Figure 1. The magnetic force is proportional to the
wire length, magnitude of the electric current, and the density of the magnetic field, that is,

….............. eq1
When the wire is shaped into a coil, as shown in Figure 1, the magnetic forces acting on both sides
produce a torque, which is expressed as

… .................. eq2

Figure 1: Operation principle of a DC motor

where α is the angle between the coil plane and magnetic field as shown in Figure 1. The magnetic
field may be produced by a set of windings or permanent magnets.
The former is called wound-field DC motor and the latter is called the PM DC motor.

The coil carrying the electric current is called the armature. In practice, the armature consists of a
number of coils. In order to obtain continuous and maximum torque, slip rings and brushes are used
to conduct each coil at the position of α=0.

Practically, the performance of DC motors can be described by the armature voltage, back
electromotive force (EMF), and field flux. Typically, there are four types of wound-field DC motors,
depending on the mutual interconnection between the field and armature windings. They are
separately excited, shunt excited, series excited, and compound excited as shown in Figure 2.

In the case of a separately excited motor, the field and armature voltage can be controlled
independently of one another. In a shunt motor, the field and armature are connected in parallel to a
common source. Therefore, an independent control of field current and armature or armature voltage
can be achieved by inserting a resistance into the appropriate circuit. This is an inefficient method of
control. The efficient method is to use power electronics-based DC– DC converters in the appropriate
circuit to replace the resistance. The DC–DC converters can be actively controlled to produce proper
armature and field voltage. In the case of a series motor, the field current is the same as the armature
current; therefore, field flux is a function of armature current.
In a cumulative compound motor, the magneto motive force (mmf) of a series field is a function of
the armature current and is in the same direction as the mmf of the shunt field.

Figure 2: Wound-field DC motors

The steady-state equivalent circuit of the armature of a DC motor is shown in Figure 3. The resistor
Ra is the resistance of the armature circuit. For separately excited and shunt DC motors, it is equal to
the resistance of the armature windings; for the series and compound motors, it is the sum of armature
and series field winding resistances.
 Figure 3: Steady-state equivalent circuit of the armature circuit of a DC motor

… ...... eq3

where φ is the flux per pole in Webers, Ia is the armature current in A, Va is the armature voltage in
volt, Ra is the resistance of the armature circuit in ohms, ωm is the speed of the armature in rad/sec,
T is the torque developed by the motor in Nm, and Ke is constant.

From equations 3 one can obtain:

… ................. eq4

Equations 3 are applicable to all the DC motors, namely, separately (or shunt) excited, series, and
compound motors. In the case of separately excited motors, if the field voltage is maintained as
constant, one can assume the flux to be practically constant as the torque changes. In this case, the
speed–torque characteristic of a separately excited motor is a straight line, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Speed characteristics of DC motors

The non-load speed ωm0 is determined by the values of the armature voltage and the field excitation.
Speed decreases as torque increases, and speed regulation depends on the armature circuit resistance.
Separately excited motors are used in applications requiring good speed regulation and proper
adjustable speed.

In the case of series motors, the flux is a function of armature current. In an unsaturated region of the
magnetization characteristic, φ can be assumed to be proportional to Ia. Thus

............... eq5

By equations 3&5, the torque for series excited DC motors can obtained as

……………….eq6

A speed–torque characteristic of a series DC motor is shown in Figure 4.In the case of series, any in
magnetic flux. Because flux increases with the torque, the speed drops to maintain a balance between
the induced voltage and the supply voltage. The characteristic, therefore, shows a dramatic drop.

A motor of standard design works at the knee point of the magnetization curve at the rated torque.
At heavy torque (large current) overload, the magnetic circuit saturates and the speed–torque curve
approaches a straight line.

Series DC motors are suitable for applications requiring high starting torque and heavy torque
overload, such as traction. This was just the case for electric traction before the power electronics
and micro control era. However, series DC motors for traction application have some disadvantages.
They are not allowed to operate without load torque with full supply voltage. Otherwise, their speed
will quickly increase up to a very high value. Another disadvantage is the difficulty in regenerative
braking. The speed–torque characteristics are between series and separately excited (shunt) motors,
as shown in Figure 4.

COMBINED ARMATURE VOLTAGE AND FIELD CONTROL

The independence of armature voltage and field provides more flexible control of the speed and
torque than other types of DC motors. In EV and HEV applications, the most desirable speed–torque
characteristic is to have a constant torque below a certain speed (base speed), with the torque dropping
parabolically with the increase of speed (constant power) in the range above the base speed, as shown
in Figure 4. In the range of lower than base speed, the armature current and field are set at their rated
values, producing the rated torque. From equations (3), it is clear that the armature voltage must be
increased proportionally with the increase of the speed. At the base speed, the armature voltage
reaches its rated value (equal to the source voltage) and cannot be increased further. In order to
further increase the speed, the field must be weakened with the increase of the speed, and then the
back EMF E and armature current must be maintained constant. The torque produced drops
parabolically with the increase in the speed and the output power remains constant, as shown in
Figure 5.
 Figure 5: Torque and power limitations in combined armature voltage and field control

CHOPPER CONTROL OF DC MOTORS

Choppers are used for the control of DC motors because of a number of advantages such as high
efficiency, flexibility in control, light weight, small size, quick response, and regeneration down to
very low speeds. Presently, the separately excited DC motors are usually used in traction, due to the
control flexibility of armature voltage and field.

For a DC motor control in open-loop and closed-loop configurations, the chopper offers a number of
advantages due to its high operation frequency. High operation frequency results in high-frequency.
of discontinuous conduction in the speed–torque plane. A reduction in the armature current ripple
reduces the armature losses. A reduction or elimination of the discontinuous conduction region
improves speed regulation and the transient response of the drive.
The power electronic circuit and the steady-state waveform of a DC chopper drive are shown in

Figure 6: Principle of operation of a step down (or class A) chopper: (a) basic chopper circuit;
(b) to (e) waveforms
 A DC voltage source, V, supplies an inductive load through a self-commutated semiconductor switch
S. The symbol of a self-commutated semiconductor switch has been used because a chopper can be
built using any device among thyristors with a forced commutation circuit: GTO, power transistor,
MOSFET, and IGBT. The diode shows the direction in which the device can carry current. A diode
DF is connected in parallel with the load. The semiconductor switch S is operated periodically over a
period T and remains closed for a time ton=δT with 0≤δ≤1. The variable δ=ton/T is called the duty
ratio or duty cycle of a chopper. Figure 6.8also shows the waveform of control signal ic. Control signal
ic will be the base current for a transistor chopper, and a gate current for the GTO of a GTO chopper
or the main thyristor of a thyristor chopper. If a power MOSFET is used, it will be a gate to the source
voltage. When the control signal is present, the semiconductor switch S will conduct, if forward biased.
It is assumed that the circuit operation has been arranged such that the removal of ic will turn off the
switch.

During the on interval of the switch (0≤t≤δT), the load is subjected to a voltage V and the load current
increases from ia1 to ia2. The switch is opened at t=δT. During the off period of the switch (δT≤t≤1),
the load inductance maintains the flow of current through diode DF. The load terminal voltage remains
zero (if the voltage drop on the diode is ignored in comparison to V) and the current decreases from
ia2 to ia1. The internal 0≤t≤δT is called the duty interval and the interval δT≤t≤T is known as the
freewheeling interval.

Diode DF provides a path for the load current to flow when switch S is off, and thus improves the load
current waveform. Furthermore, by maintaining the continuity of the load current at turn off, it
prevents transient voltage from appearing across switch S, due to the sudden change of the load current.

The source current waveform is also shown in Figure 6.8e. The source current flows only during the
duty interval and is equal to the load current. The direct component or average value of the load
voltage Va is given by

……………..eqn 7

By controlling δ between 0 and 1, the load voltage can be varied from 0 to V; thus, a chopper allows
a variable DC voltage to be obtained from a fixed voltage DC source. The switch S can be controlled
in various ways for varying the duty ratio δ.

The control technologies can be divided into the following categories:

1. Time ratio control (TRC).
2. Current limit control (CLC).

In TRC, also known as pulse width control, the ratio of on time to chopper period is controlled. The
TRC can be further divided as follows:
1. Constant frequency TRC:
2. The chopper period T is kept fixed & the on period of the switch varied to control the duty ratio δ.
3. Varied frequency TRC:
4. Here, δ is varied either by keeping ton constant and varying T or by varying both ton & T.

In variable frequency control with constant on-time, low-output voltage is obtained at very low
values of chopper frequencies. The operation of a chopper at low frequencies adversely affects
the motor performance. Furthermore, the operation of a chopper with variable frequencies
makes the design of an input filter very difficult. Thus, variable frequency control is rarely used.
In current limit control, also known as point-by-point control, δ is controlled indirectly by
controlling the load current between certain specified maximum and minimum values. When the
load current reaches a specified maximum value, the switch disconnects the load from the source
and reconnects It when the current reaches a specified minimum value. For a DC motor load, this
type of control is, in effect, a variable frequency variable on time control.

The following important points can be noted from the waveform of Figure 8:

1. The source current is not continuous but flows in pulses. The pulsed current makes the peak input
power demand high and may cause fluctuation in the source voltage. The source current waveform
can be resolved into DC and AC harmonics. The fundamental AC harmonic frequency is the same as
the chopper frequency.

2. The AC harmonics are undesirable because they interfere with other loads connected to the DC
source and cause radio frequency interference through conduction and electromagnetic radiation.
Therefore, an L-C filter is usually incorporated between the chopper and the DC source. At higher
chopper frequencies, harmonics can be reduced to a tolerable level by a cheaper filter. From this point,
a chopper should be operated at the highest possible frequency.

3. The load terminal voltage is not a perfect direct voltage. In addition to a direct component, it has
harmonics of the chopping frequency and its multiples. The load current also has an AC ripple.

The chopper of Figure 6 is called a class A chopper. It is one of a number of chopper circuits that are
used for the control of DC motors. This chopper is capable of providing only a positive voltage and a
positive current. It is therefore called a single-quadrant chopper, capable of providing DC separately
excited motor control in the first quadrant, positive speed, and positive torque. Since it can vary the
output voltage from V to 0, it is also a step-down chopper or a DC to DC buck converter. The basic
principle involved can also be used to realize a step-up chopper or DC to DC boost converter. The
circuit diagram and steady-state waveforms of a step-up chopper are shown in Figure 8. This chopper
is known as a class B chopper. The presence of control signal ic indicates the duration for which the
switch can conduct if forward-biased. During a chopping period T, it remains closed for an interval 0
≤t≤δT and remains open for an interval δT≤t≤T. During the on period, iS increases from iS1 to iS2,
thus increasing the magnitude of energy stored in inductance L. When the switch is opened, current
flows through the parallel combination of the load and capacitor C. Since the current is forced against
the higher voltage, the rate of change of the current is negative. It decreases from iS2 to iS1 in the
switch’s off period. The energy store din the inductance L and the energy supplied by the low-voltage
source are given to the load. The capacitor C serves two purposes. At the instant of opening of switch
S, the source current, iS, and load current, ia, are not the same. In the absence of C, the turn off of S
will force the two currents to have the same values.

This will cause high induced voltage in the inductance Land the load inductance. Another reason for
using capacitor C is to reduce the load voltage ripple. The purpose of the diode D is to prevent any
flow of current from the load into switch S or source V.
For understanding the step-up operation, capacitor C is assumed to be large enough to maintain a
constant voltage Va across the load. The average voltage across the terminal a, b is given as
 Figure 7: Principle of operation of a step-up (or class B) chopper: (a) basic chopper circuit; (b) to
(d) waveforms

……………..eq8

The average voltage across the inductance L is

…………………eq9

The source voltage is

….......................... eq10

Substituting from equations (8) and (9) into (10) gives

… .............. eq11

According to (11), theoretically the output voltage Va can be changed fromVto∞ by controlling δ from
0 to 1. In practice, Va can be controlled from V to a higher voltage, which depends on the capacitor C,
and the parameters of the load and chopper.

The main advantage of a step-up chopper is the low ripple in the source current. While most
applications require a step-down chopper, the step-up chopper finds application in low-power battery-
driven vehicles. The principle of the step-up chopper is also used in the regenerative braking of DC
motor drives.
 MULTIQUADRANT CONTROL OF CHOPPER-FED DC MOTOR DRIVES:
The application of DC motors on EVs and HEVs requires the motors to operate in Multiquadarant,
including forward motoring, forward braking, backward motoring, and backward braking, as shown in
Figure 8. For vehicles with reverse mechanical gears, two-quadrant operation (forward motoring and
forward braking, or quadrant I and quadrant IV) is required. However, for vehicles without reverse
mechanical gears, four-quadrant operation is needed. Multiquadarant operation of a separately excited DC
motor is implemented by controlling the voltage poles and magnitude through power electronics-based
choppers.

Figure 8: Speed–torque profiles of Multiquadarant operation

TWO-QUADRANT CONTROL OF FORWARD MOTORING AND REGENERATIVE BRAKING:

A two-quadrant operation consisting of forward motoring and forward regenerative braking requires
a chopper capable of giving a positive voltage and current in either direction. This two-quadrant
operation can be realized in the following two schemes.

Single Chopper with a Reverse Switch:

The chopper circuit used for forward motoring and forward regenerative braking is shown in Figure
9, where S is a self-commutated semiconductor switch, operated periodically such that it remains
closed for a duration of δT and remains open for a duration of (1-δ) T.C is the manual switch.
When C is closed and S is in operation, the circuit is similar to that of+

Figure 9: Forward motoring and regenerative braking control with a single chopper
Under these conditions, terminal a is positive and terminal b is negative. Regenerative braking in the
forward direction is obtained when C is opened and the armature connection is reversed with the help
of the reversing switch RS, making terminal b positive and terminal a negative.
During the on- period of the switch S, the motor current flows through a path consisting of the motor
armature, switch S, and diode D1, and increases the energy stored in the armature circuit inductance.
When S is opened, the current flows through the armature diode D2, source V, diode D1 and back to
the armature, thus feeding energy into the source. During motoring, the changeover to regeneration is
done in the following steps. Switch S is deactivated and switch C is opened.
 This forces the armature current to flow through diode D2, source V, and diode D1. The energy stored
in the armature circuit is fed back to the source and the armature current falls to zero. After an adequate
delay to ensure that the current has indeed become zero, the armature connection is reversed and switch
S is reactivated with a suitable value of d to start regeneration.

Class C Two-Quadrant Chopper:

In some applications, a smooth transition from motoring to braking and vice versa is required. For
such applications, the class C chopper is used as shown in Figure 3.10.

Figure 10: Forward motoring and regenerative braking control using class C two-quadrant
chopper:(a) chopper circuit and (b) waveforms

The self-commutated semiconductor switch S1 and diodeD1 constitute one chopper and the self-
commutator switch S2 and diodeD2 form another chopper. Both the choppers are controlled
simultaneously, both for motoring and regenerative braking. The switches S1 and S2are closed
alternately. In the chopping period T, S1 is kept on for a duration δT, and S2 is kept on from δT to
T. To avoid a direct, short-circuit across the source, care is taken to ensure that S1 and S2 do not
conduct at the same time. This is generally achieved by providing some delay between the turn off
of one switch and the turn on of another switch. The waveforms of the control signals vaia, and is

In Figure10 (b). In drawing these waveforms, the delay between the turn off of one switch and the
turn on of another switch has been ignored because itis usually very small. The control signals for the
switches S1 and S2 are denoted by ic1 and ic2, respectively. It is assumed that a switch conducts only
when the control signal is present and the switch is forward biased.
 The following points are helpful in understanding the operation of this two-quadrant circuit:

1. In this circuit, discontinuous conduction does not occur, irrespective of its frequency of operation.
Discontinuous conduction occurs interval of time. The current may become zero either during the
freewheeling interval or in the energy transfer interval. In this circuit, freewheeling will occur when
S1 is off and the current is flowing through D1. This will happen in interval δT≤t≤T, which is also the
interval for which S2 receives the control signal. If ia falls to zero in the freewheeling interval, the
back EMF will immediately drive a current through S2 in the reverse direction, thus preventing the
armature current from remaining zero for a finite interval of time. Similarly, energy transfer will be
present when S2 is off and D2is conducting — that is, during the interval 0_t_δT. If the current falls
to zero during this interval, S1 will conduct immediately because ic is present and V_E. The armature
current will flow, preventing discontinuous conduction.

2. Since discontinuous conditions are absent, the motor current will be flowing all the time. Thus,
during the interval 0≤t≤δT, the motor armature will be connected either through S1 or D2.
Consequently, the motor terminal voltage will be V and the rate of change of ia will be positive because
V>E. Similarly, during the interval δT≤t≤T, the motor armature will be shorted either through D1 or
S2. Consequently, the motor voltage will be zero and the rate of change of ia will be negative.

3. During the interval 0≤t≤δT, the positive armature current is carried by S1 and the negative armature
current is carried by D2. The source current flows only during this interval and it is equal to ia. During
the interval δT≤t≤T, the positive current is carried by D1and the negative current is carried by S2.

4. From the motor terminal voltage waveform of Figure 10.

Va=δV. Hence,

… ............... eq12

Equation (12) suggests that the motoring operation takes place when δ=E/V, and that regenerative
braking occurs when δ =E/V. The no-load operation is obtained when δ =E/
 FOUR-QUADRANT OPERATION:
The four-quadrant operation can be obtained by combining two class C choppers (Figure 10) as
shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11: Class E four-quadrant chopper

Which is referred to as a class E chopper. In this chopper, if S2 is kept closed continuously and S1
and S4 are controlled, a two-quadrant chopper is obtained, which provides positive terminal voltage
(positive speed) and the armature current in either direction (positive or negative torque), giving a
motor control in quadrants I and IV. Now if S3 is kept closed continuously and S1 and S4 are (Torque),
giving a motor control in quadrants II and III. This control method has the following features: the
utilization factor of the switches is low due to the asymmetry in the circuit operation. Switches S3
andS2 should remain on for a long period. This can create commutation problems when the switches
use thyristors. The minimum output voltage depends directly on the minimum time for which the
switch can be closed, since there is always a restriction on the minimum time for which the switch
can be closed, particularly in thyristor choppers. The minimum available output voltage, and therefore
the minimum available motor speed, is restricted. To ensure that switches S1 and S4, or S2 and S3 are
not on at the same time, some fixed time interval must elapse between the turn off for one switch and
the turn on of another switch. This restricts the maximum permissible frequency of operation. It also
requires two switching operations during a cycle of the output voltage.