Model-Predictive Control of Open-End Winding Synchronous Reluctance Motor Drives

The aim of this manuscript is twofold. Firstly, it presents an analytical approach to study a synchronous reluctance motor drive configured in open-end winding. The intention is to identify the potential benefits of the floating capacitor configuration over the classical single inverter supply in terms of enlargement of the constant power speed range. A deep investigation was carried out on how varying the floating capacitor voltage level allows to modify the torque-versus-speed characteristics, enabling the drive to work at favorable operating points with high power factor. Secondly, the potential of the predictive control is exploited for such multi-variable system avoiding the non-trivial tuning difficulties necessary when standard controllers are considered, and allowing two converters to be controlled with a single cost function. Simulation results prove the desired operations with high power factor and extended constant torque region while keeping good dynamic performance.