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The simultaneous elimination of common-mode voltage and DC-link capacitor voltage imbalance is achieved in a five-level inverter scheme for an induction motor drive throughout its operating range. A dual five-level inverter-fed open-end-winding induction motor structure is used for the proposed drive. Initially, the operating limitations of achieving this dual task for the five-level inverter configuration are investigated for a single DC power supply. Subsequently, a switching strategy for a five-level inverter topology with two DC power supplies is proposed to achieve the dual task over the entire speed range of the drive. The proposed drive offers a simple power-bus structure with more redundant switching combinations for inverter voltage vectors, and requires a lower voltage-blocking capacity of the power devices as compared with the conventional single five-level inverter-fed drive. As only the availability of redundant switching combinations for inverter voltage vectors is exploited, the dual task is achieved without disturbing the fundamental component of the inverter output voltage and the scheme does not need any extra control circuit hardware. Experimental verification of the proposed scheme is done on a 1.5 kW induction motor drive in the linear as well as overmodulation range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement of a linear induction motor (LIM) causes eddy currents in the secondary conductor sheet at the entry and the exit of the primary core. The eddy currents of the sheet tend to resist sudden flux variation, allowing only gradual change along the airgap. Hence, the so-called ‘end effect’ causes not only the losses but also airgap flux profile variation changes depending on the speed. In this work, an equivalent circuit model of LIM is developed following Duncan's per phase model. It is then transformed into a synchronous reference frame which is aligned with the secondary flux. Also, a field orientation control scheme is developed which accounts for the end effect. The validity of the proposed LIM model is demonstrated by comparing experimental and simulated voltage current relations. With the proposed control scheme, the (secondary) flux-attenuation problem due to the end effect is shown to be resolved in the high-speed range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]