Comprehensive Modulation Strategies for Synchronous Reluctance Motor Drives Used in Weak Grids

Synchronous reluctance machines are considered a cost-effective solution for several industrial applications and present potential efficiency benefits compared to induction motors. In industrial applications, power supply oscillations can lead to short-term disturbances that can affect the drive operation; therefore, the control must be robust to guarantee high efficiency and service continuity. The focus of this study was to identify the speed boundaries considering different values of applied DC-link voltage, taking into account the highly nonlinear magnetic behavior of the machine and its cross-coupling characteristics. In addition, a comprehensive carrier-based implementation of a pulse width modulation strategy was proposed to achieve optimal efficiency in both the machine and converter, which is essential in the presence of “weak” grids. The proposed technique was demonstrated to meet the desired reference torque and rated speed, even during DC-link voltage drops (up to 7.4% of the rated voltage). The proposed methodology was experimentally validated on a 90 kW SynRM drive with a broader modulation range and higher efficiency. This work considered several different supply voltage levels to assess the stability and continuity of torque output and further proved the proposed method.