Speed and Torque Estimation of Variable Frequency Drives With Effective Values of Stator Currents
Speed and Torque Estimation of Variable Frequency Drives With Effective Values of Stator Currents
             Abstract: We introduce a new method for torque and speed estimation of induction motors
             under voltage/frequency (V/f) open-loop control. In contrast to existing approaches that need
             the phase current, the proposed algorithm only requires the effective value (root mean square)
             of the stator current and the synchronous frequency, which are usually available from variable
             frequency inverter (VFI) at no additional cost. Our approach is particularly useful for inverter-
             fed motor-pumps in which the load varies slowly. We demonstrate the proposed algorithm is able
             to estimate the pump torque, speed, differential pressure and flow rate in a hydraulic process
             with a progressive cavity pump.
             Keywords: Inverter drives; induction motors; torque motors; speed motors; parameter
             estimation; positive displacement pumps
                                   dψsd
                  usd = Rs isd +          − ωs ψsq ,       (1)
                                    dt
                                   dψsq
                  usq   = Rs isq +       + ωs ψsd ,        (2)                     5
                                    dt
                  ψsd   = Ls isd + Lm ird ,                (3)
                  ψsq   = Ls isq + Lm irq ,                (4)
                                                                             isq
                                                                                   0
where isd , isq and ird , irq are the stator and the rotor
currents in d and q axes, respectively. Likewise, usd ,
usq and ψsd , ψsq describe the stator voltages and the
electromagnetic fluxes in the mentioned coordinate frame.
                                                                                 -5
The index s always refers to the stator variables and the
index r refers to the rotor variables. Rs and Rr represent
the resistances, whereas Ls , Lr , and Lm represent the
                                                                                          -5            0              5
stator, rotor, and mutual inductances, respectively. The
                                                                                                       isd
parameter
                                 L2
                      σ =1− m .                        (5)        Fig. 1. Curves that specify the currents in d and q axes.
                                Ls Lr
is called leakage factor. Neglecting the motor saturation         these two variables results depending on the shaft torque.
and assuming that the leakage and mutual inductances              An estimation of the actual motor speed and shaft torque
are constant, the parameter σ is also constant.                   are therefore of obvious interest. We present our estimation
In steady state, the rotor flux coordinate system rotates         algorithm for this purpose in what follows.
with the synchronous rotational speed ωs . In this represen-
tation the d-axis current (isd ) builds up the electromag-        2.1 Estimation of motor speed in V/f control
netic flux ψrd , and the q-axis current (isq ) is proportional
to the electromagnetic torque of the motor. Moreover, the         Most VFIs provide the effective value of one phase of
following relations hold in steady state:                         stator current Ieff as a measurement signal. In our speed
       dψsd         dψsq                         Lm               estimation algorithm the synchronous rotational speed ωs
             = 0,        = 0, ird = 0, irq = −       isq , (6)
         dt          dt                           Lr              serves as the input, Ieff is the measured signal, and the
(see, e.g., Quang and Dittrich (2015)). Applying the sim-         actual motor speed ωm represents the estimation signal.
plification (6) to (1) and (2), and inserting (3) and (4) in      The first step for speed estimation concerns computation
(1) yield                                                         of the currents isd and isq . Since the current of each phase
                   usd = Rs isd − ωs σLs isq ,              (7)   of the motor in stator-fixed coordinate system is almost
                                                                  sinusoidal in steady state (the effect of higher harmonics of
                   usq = Rs isq + ωs Ls isd .               (8)   the current caused by the vector modulation is neglected),
The electromagnetic torque Te and the shaft torque Tm             the magnitude of the current vector is = [isd             >
are related by the momentum equations according to                                                                   √ isq ] equals
                                                                  the maximum current of one phase, which is 2Ieff . Hence,
                  Te − Tm − F ωm = J ω̇m ,                  (9)   the mathematical expressions for the magnitude of the Ieff
where F and J are the friction coefficient and the moment         and |us | read:
of inertia, respectively, and ωm represents the mechanical
                                                                                               q
speed in (9). Applying the steady state condition ω̇m = 0                              |us | = u2sq + u2sd ,                   (11)
                                                                                               √ q
results in                                                                                       2 2
                      Tm = Te − F ωm .                     (10)                         Ieff =        isq + i2sd ,             (12)
                                                                                                2
                                                                  Combining (7), (8), and (11) results in the following
Many inverter driven motors operate under the volt-               equation for the magnitude of the stator voltage:
age/frequency (V/f) open-loop control to regulate the                (Rs isd −ωs σLs isq )2 + (Rs isq +ωs Ls isd )2 = |us |2 . (13)
motor speed. The principle of the V/f control relies on
keeping the ratio of the magnitude of voltage vector to           Equations (12) and (13) describe a circle and an ellipse in
frequency, i.e., |us |/|ωs |, constant. The rotor electromag-     isd and isq , respectively, which are illustrated in Figure 1.
netic flux ψrd will then be almost constant and therefore         Since the motor currents are positive in normal operation,
the motor can deliver the nominal torque in the entire            we require the intersection point in the first quadrant
basic speed region. From a control systems perspective, we        marked by the black point in Figure 1. The currents isd
consider the motor under control as a single-input-single-        and isq can be computed as follows. Expanding (13) to
output system, where the synchronous speed represents
the control input, the motor speed represents the system             |us |2 = Rs2 (i2sd + i2sq ) + 2ωs Rs Ls (1 − σ)isd isq +
                                                                                                                                             (14)
output, and the shaft torque is a disturbance. Note that                                                     + ωs2 L2s (σ 2 i2sq + i2sd ),
as the magnitude of the voltage is set proportionally to
the synchronous frequency by the inverter, this variable          and substituting
                                                                                                   q
is neither control input nor output. We emphasize that                                     isd =         2 − i2
                                                                                                       2Ieff                                 (15)
                                                                                                              sq
under V/f control the motor speed is not exactly equal
to the synchronous speed, and a slip (up to 3%) between           results in
                                                              8866
 Preprints of the 21st IFAC World Congress (Virtual)
 Berlin, Germany, July 12-17, 2020
                                                  
     |us |2 − 2(Rs2 + ωs2 L2s )Ieff
                                2
                                    = (1 − σ)ωs Ls 2Rs isq ×              parallel to the mutual inductance (see, e.g., Sen (2007)).
                       q                                                 This resistance is defined by
                    × 2Ieff   2 − i2 − ω L (1 + σ)i2 .
                                     sq    s s       sq      (16)                                    3 (ωs |ψm |)2
                                                                                              RFe =                ,            (24)
                                                                                                     2    PFe
 It proves to be convenient to introduce the auxiliary
 variables                                                                where ψm is the mutual flux linkage. ψm can be expressed
                                                                          in terms of the stator and rotor currents with the formula
             a1 = 2Rs , a2 = ωs Ls (1 + σ),                                                                           >
                                                                                        ψm = Lm [isd + ird isq + irq ] .        (25)
                   |us |2 − 2(Rs2 + ωs2 L2s )Ieff
                                               2    (17)
             a3 =                                 ,                       Subsequently, substituting the rotor currents from (25) by
                           ωs Ls (1 − σ)                                  the ones in (6), the magnitude of mutual flux linkage can
 which permit expressing (16) as                                          be determined from the
                         q                                                                      q stator currents
              a3 = a1 isq 2Ieff2 − i2 − a i2 .
                                     sq      2 sq   (18)                            |ψm | = Lm       (isd + ird )2 + (isq + irq )2
                                                                                                 s
 Rearranging (18) yields                                                                                      L2rσ 2
                                                                                          = Lm       i2sd +       i ,                (26)
    (a3 + a2 i2sq )2 = a21 i2sq (2Ieff
                                   2
                                       − i2sq )                                                               L2r sq
    a23 + 2a3 a2 i2sq + a22 i4sq = a21 i2sq (2Ieff
                                                2
                                                   − i2sq )               where Lrσ is the rotor leakage inductance. It is an es-
                                                                          tablished method for the characterization of the iron re-
    a23 + 2 a3 a2 − a21 Ieff2
                                 i2sq + (a21 + a22 )i4sq = 0
                               
                                      p                                   sistance to run a no-load test and to use the measured
     2     −a3 a2 + a21 Ieff2
                                ± a1 −2a3 a2 Ieff   2 + a2 I 4 − a2
                                                            1 eff 3       values of stator voltages and currents of the three phases
    isq =                              2      2                     ,     and the power factor (Sen (2007)). However, since only
                                      a1 + a2
                                                                   (19)   the signals provided by the inverter are available in our
                                                                          case, we do not have a direct access to the mentioned
 where we used a21 + a22 > 0 in the last step, which holds                signal as a function of time. Thus, we consider a simple
 since a1 > 0 and a2 > 0 by definition. Furthermore, (18)                 approximation for modeling the iron resistance suggested
 yields a3 + a2 i2sq > 0, or equivalently,                                by Quang and Dittrich (2015). The iron resistance can be
                             i2sq > −a3 /a2 .                     (20)    stated by an expression proportional to the synchronous
                                                                          speed
 This implies the solution in the last line of (19) with the                                                   ωs
 positive sign applies. Hence,                                                                   RFe = RFe,n        ,            (27)
     s                                                                                                        ωs,n
                               p
                      2 +a
        −a3 a2 + a21 Ieff                    2    2 4
                              1 −2a3 a2 Ieff + a1 Ieff − a3
                                                            2             where RFe,n is the iron resistance at the nominal frequency
isq =                                                         , (21)      ωs,n . We briefly explain how to approximate the parameter
                               a21 + a22
     s                                                                    RFe,n from the nominal data of the motor. To this end, we
                                                                          first compute the nominal currents isd,n and isq,n with
                                        p
                              2 −a
        a3 a2 + (a21 + 2a22 )Ieff                 2      2 4       2
                                       1 −2a3 a2 Ieff + a1 Ieff − a3
isd =                                                                ,    the algorithm from Section 2.1 and the nominal motor
                                   a21 + a22
                                                                          data (current, voltage, and synchronous frequency). The
                                                                (22)
                                                                          nominal mutual flux ψm,n then results with (26). Next,
 where isd is calculated with (15). The speed of a motor                  recalling (6), the iron losses for the nominal operating
 with the number of pole pairs zp can be calculated from the              point equal
 difference between synchronous speed and the slip speed                  PFe,n = Pelec,n − Pm,n − PRs ,n − PRr ,n − Pfr,n
 given by the following equation                                                                                      2
                                                                             = 3Un Ieff,n cos(ϕn ) − Pm,n − 3Rs Ieff,n +
           1        Rr Lm          1         Rr isq
    ωm =       ωs −        isq =       ωs −           , (23)                                             3 L 2 2
           zp       Lr ψrd         zp        Lr isd                                                    − Rr m     i    − Pfr,n . (28)
                                                                                                         2    L2r sq,n
 (for the derivation of (23) see, e.g., Melkebeek (2018),
 pp. 678).                                                                We assume the nominal data of the effective value of the
                                                                          voltage of one phase Un , effective value of stator current
 2.2 Computation of the motor torque                                      Ieff,n , mechanical power Pm,n , the power factor cos(ϕn ),
                                                                          and the friction losses Pfr,n to be available from the motor
 Assuming the currents isq and isd and the speed ωm are                   manufacturer. Thus, by substituting the expression for the
 available, the mechanical power Pm of the motor and the                  iron losses (28) into (24), the iron resistance RFe,n can be
 shaft torque Tm can be computed. We first model the                      determined. Combining (24), (26), and (27) the iron losses
                                                                                   3 (ωs |ψm |)2                        L2 2
                                                                                                                               
 iron losses in the induction motor to achieve a better                                            3 ωs,n 2
 accuracy in the estimation of the mechanical power and                   PFe =                  =         Lm ωs i2sd + rσ   i    . (29)
                                                                                   2    RFe        2 RFe,n               L2r sq
 accordingly the torque. Iron losses PFe appear in the form               result as a function of the frequency ωs .
 of eddy-current losses and hysteresis losses. Since the rotor
 frequency is much smaller than the stator frequency at                   Once the iron losses are known, we can compute the air
 the frequencies considered here, the iron losses in rotor                gap power according to the formula
 can be neglected. The iron losses significantly increase in                              Pag = Pelec − PRs − PFe ,         (30)
 inverter driven motors due to the harmonic components
 of the voltages and currents caused by the vector space                  where Pelec and PRs indicate the electric power and
 modulation. These losses are usually modeled by adding                   ohmic losses of the stator, respectively. In the rotor flux
 a resistance RFe in the equivalent circuit of the motor                  coordinate system, they are given by
                                                                      8867
Preprints of the 21st IFAC World Congress (Virtual)
Berlin, Germany, July 12-17, 2020
              Pelec =   3
                            us is =    3
                                           (usd isd + usq isq ),   (31)                  ωs
                        2              2                                                                        ωm/ωp                 ∆p
                                                                               VFI       Ieff      estimation             PCP
               PR s =   3
                        2   Rs (i2sd   +   i2sq ).                 (32)                                         Tm/Tp                 Q
                                                                             V/f-curve   |us|      algorithm            char. curve
where the currents isd and isq results from (21) and (22)
and the voltages usd and usq result from (7) and (8). In
summary,                                                                         ωs             RFe,n      motor parameters
                             L2 ωs,n 2      L2 2
                                                 
 Pag = 23 (1 − σ)Ls isq isd − m       isd + rσ  i     ωs .
                              RFe,n         L2r sq
                                                      (33)                                         plate data
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Preprints of the 21st IFAC World Congress (Virtual)
Berlin, Germany, July 12-17, 2020
            12
                                                           ar
            10                                        0b                                                       d)         e)                       FT
                                                                                                                                    f)    g)
             8                                                                                                 VFI        M              Tp , ωp
Q [m3 /h]
ar
                                                                      Pp [kW]
                                                      6b
             6                                                    3
                                                                                                                               PT                   PT
             4                                        6 bar       2
             2                                                    1                           a)                     c)         b)
                                                      0 bar
                 0    100         200          300              400             Fig. 4. Components of the pumping process test setup:
                                n [rpm]                                              a) container; b) PCP; c) control valve; d) VFI; e)
                                                                                     induction motor; f) gear box. Measurement devices:
                                                                                     g) torque and speed transmitter; PT: pressure trans-
Fig. 3. Characteristic curves for the progressive cavity                             mitter; FT: flow transmitter.
     pump. 1
α depends on the geometry of the PCP. However, note that
the starting torque of a PCP is large (see e.g. Wittrisch                                         8
and Cholet (2012), pp. 27) and the approximation (39) is                                          7     isq
only valid for the middle range speeds. We experimentally
                                                                                    current [A]
                                                                                                  6     isd
verified this approximation applies with high accuracy for
the estimation of the torque in the range of 100-400 rpm.                                               Ieff
                                                                                                  5
The values Tp,0 = 15.03 and α = 5.97 apply in our test                                            4
setup. After determining Tp with (38), the differential pres-
sure can be determined with (39). Subsequently, we deter-                                         3
mine the flow rate with the characteristic curve available
                                                                                                  2
from the pump manufacturer. This second characteristic                                             0   20       40      60     80             100        120
curve, which states the flow rate Q as a function of the                                                              time [s]
speed n for fixed differential pressures ∆p, is given in
Figure 3 (solid lines). For our specific test setup, a char-
acteristic curve corresponding to a differential pressure                       Fig. 5. Estimation of the currents isd and isq .
∆p [bar] ∈ {0, 2, 4, 6} can be approximated by
                                                                                points. The PCP is driven by an induction motor 2 . The
          Q(t) = Qnref ,∆p + knref ,∆p (n(t) − nref ),   (40)                   iron resistance at nominal operating point is approximated
where Qnref ,∆p [m3 /h] ∈ {2.9, 2.72, 2.15, 0.536} is the                       by (27), where for this case RFe,n = 628 Ω has been
flow rate value corresponding to the reference speed                            calculated. The motor and pump are connected via a gear
nref [rpm] = 100 and knref∈{0.0283, 0.0283, 0.0285, 0.0298}.                    box with the transmission ratio γ = 2.94 and the efficiency
The flow rate Q(t) corresponding to a differential pressure                     η = 0.96. By using the algorithm introduced in Quang
∆p ∈ [∆p1 , ∆p2 ] at a speed n(t), where ∆p1 = 2b ∆p                            and Dittrich (2015) (pp. 207), we determined the motor
                                                           2 c
                ∆p                                                              parameters
and ∆p2 = 2b 2 c + 2 (b·c is the floor operator) can be
computed in the following way. We obtain the variable                                     Rs = Rr = 1.16Ω, Lm = 0.16 H,
Q1 (t) by inserting n(t), Qnref ,∆p1 , and knref ,∆p1 in (40).                                      Ls = Lr = 0.19 H, σ = 0.0812       (43)
Analogously, the variable Q2 (t) is computed at the same                        from the nominal data. The friction coefficient of the
speed with the differential pressure ∆p2 . Then, the flow                       shaft is taken from the motor manufacturer data sheet as
rate Q(t) can be calculated by the linear interpolation of                      F = 7.69 × 10−4 . The VFI is set to V/f open loop mode.
Q1 (t) and Q2 (t) as                                                            We record the pump speed, torque, flow rate, and pressure
              Q(t) = θ Q1 (t) + (1 − θ)Q2 (t),            (41)                  signals of the pump separately by additional sensors for
                                                                                verification purposes. Note that these additional sensors
where the parameter 0 ≤ θ ≤ 1 is defined by
                                                                                are not used for the proposed algorithm. All data is
                           ∆p2 − ∆p                                             recorded with the sampling time 1 ms.
                      θ=               .                  (42)
                               2
                                                                                Starting from the synchronous frequency 10 Hz, we incre-
                                                                                ment the motor synchronous frequency by steps of 10 Hz
3.2 Results                                                                     every 30 s. The position of the control valve c) is kept
                                                                                constant. Figure 5 shows the estimated current signals isd
Figure 2 shows a sketch of the experimental setup. The                          and isq , and the measured signal Ieff . The flux producing
fluid pumped from the container a) passes through the                           current isd is almost constant as expected, whereas the
                                                                                2
PCP b) and the control valve c), and eventually flows back                        SK-112MH/4 manufactured by Nord GmbH. Nominal data: power
to the container a). The control valve produces a back                          4 KW, current 8A in star connection, frequency fn = 50 Hz, effective
pressure, allowing the realization of different operational                     voltage of one phase with respect to the star connection point
                                                                                Un = 230 V, speed nn = 1440 rpm, power factor cos ϕn = 0.83,
1      10-6L manufactured by Seepex GmbH with undersize rotor.                  and number of pole pairs zp = 2.
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              400                                                             60
              300
                                                                   Tp [Nm]
                                                                              40
   n [rpm]
              200
                                                                              20
              100
               0                                                              0
                     20        40       60     80     100   120                      20       40       60     80        100      120
                                      time [s]                                                       time [s]
               8                                                              10
   ∆p [bar]
6 8
                                                                  Q [m3 /h]
               4                                                              6
               2                                                              4
               0                                                              2
                     20        40       60     80     100   120                      20       40       60     80        100      120
                                      time [s]                                                       time [s]
Fig. 6. Estimation signals (dashed) and reference measurements (solid) for the PCP process.
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