D Journal of Energy and Power Engineering 7 (2013) 110-117 DAVID PUBLISHING Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Machine as a Variable Frequency Transformer Ayman Abdel-Khalik1, Ahmed Elserougi1, Ahmed Massoud2 and Shehab Ahmed3 1. Electrical Engineering Department, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21544, Egypt 2. Electrical Engineering Department, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar 3. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Texas A & M University at Qatar, Doha 23874, Qatar Received: April 01, 2012 / Accepted: June 06, 2012 / Published: January 31, 2013. Abstract: VFT (variable frequency transformer) has been recently used as an alternative to HVDC (high voltage direct current) to control power flow between asynchronous networks. VFT consumes less reactive power than a back-to-back HVDC system, provides faster initial transient recovery, and has better natural damping capability. VFT is simply a DFIM (doubly-fed induction machine) where the machine torque controls the power flow from stator to rotor and vice versa. The main disadvantage of this VFT is the slip rings and brushes required for the rotor circuit, especially in bulk power transmission. The BDFM (brushless doubly-fed machine) with nested cage rotor machine is proved to be a comparable alternative to conventional DFIM in many applications with the advantage that all windings being in the stator frame with fixed output terminals. In this paper, the BDFM is used as a BVFT (brushless variable frequency transformer). A prototype machine is designed and simulated to verify the system validity. Key words: Variable frequency transformer, brushless doubly-fed machines, AC machines, induction machine. Nomenclature V I λ p R L M ωm θm Voltage Current Flux linkage Number of pole-pairs Resistance Self-inductance Mutual inductance Mechanical angular speed Rotor angular position Stator peripheral angle 1, 2 s, r d,q Stator windings Stator and rotor d-axis and q-axis Subscripts 1. Introduction Interconnections between power networks can be classified into synchronous and asynchronous ties [1]. Corresponding author: Ahmed Massoud, Ph.D., research fields: power electronics, energy conversion, power quality, and renewable energy. E-mail: ahmed.massoud@qu.edu.qa. Synchronous ties are the most common type in practical power systems. However, synchronization between involved networks is necessary to ensure effective power transfer between them, which is a challenging task especially with weak networks. On the other hand, asynchronous ties can be used to directly connect two power networks experiencing a slight difference between their frequencies. HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission is widely employed as being advantageous for long-distance (more than 800 km), bulk power delivery, and asynchronous interconnections [1]. Recently, VFTs (variable frequency transformers) are recognized as a promising candidate for bi-directional asynchronous power transfer offering many advantageous over HVDC transmission [2]. The VFT technology was introduced in the early 2000s [3]. The world’s first VFT for bulk system power transfer between large asynchronous power networks has been successfully installed and tested at Hydro-Quebec’s Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Machine as a Variable Frequency Transformer Langlois substation in Canada [3]. VFT provides isolation between networks, improves grid stability, meets power transfer needs during normal conditions and supports during fault conditions [4]. A comparison between a back-to-back HVDC system with series compensation, and a variable frequency transformer, when used to control the power flow between weak AC networks, is given in Ref. [4]. The steady state and dynamic simulations show that both technologies are able to control power flow accurately. The merits of variable frequency transformer can be summarized in the following points: less reactive power; less harmonics; faster initial transient recovery; better natural damping capability. VFT is a simply doubly-fed rotating machine which is connected to the involved asynchronous networks (one on the stator side and the other on rotor side) to achieve its function as asynchronous tie between the two networks. The rotor speed is controlled to operate at the slip frequency between the two networks [5]. When two networks with the same frequency are connected, the torque on the shaft is controlled at zero speed [4]. The angle of the rotor is positioned to achieve a scheduled power flow by means of DC drives [5]. The basic concepts and electromagnetic design of VFT are presented in Ref. [6] while its mathematical model is given in Refs. [7, 8] and simulated under different operational conditions. Being an effective mean to control power flow in weak interconnections, the VFT is also used to reduce the power fluctuations of a large-scale grid-connected offshore wind farm [9]. The BDFM (brushless doubly-fed machine) with nested cage rotor machine topology provides advantages that may warrant its application despite an apparent power density penalty [10-12]. It was proposed as an attractive alternative to conventional DFIM (doubly-fed induction machine) in many applications, especially in variable speed drive for large induction machines [10], wind applications [11], 111 and contactless power delivery systems [12]. The main advantage of BVFT (brushless variable frequency transformer) is that all machine windings in the stator with fixed output terminals. In this paper, a BDFM with nested cage rotor is used to functionally replace the conventional VFT to interconnect two asynchronous networks. BVFT is presented to overcome the brushes problem. The theory of operation of the proposed system is firstly described. A prototype machine is then designed [13, 14] and its inductances are calculated using modified winding function [15]. Based on suitable transformations, the dq-model [16-19] for this machine is then presented and used to simulate the machine in different operational modes. 2. Proposed Brushless Variable Frequency Transformer The proposed BVFT is simply a BDFM with a nested cage rotor. The stator comprises two three-phase windings with p1 and p2 pole pairs. The rotor is a nested cage rotor, with number of nests equals to the sum of the stator pole pairs (p1 + p2) [16]. The nested cage rotor has the same construction as conventional squirrel cage rotor, however, the main difference between them is that, in conventional squirrel cage rotor all bars are connected from both sides with two end rings. However, in nested cage rotor the bars are divided into (p1 + p2) groups. The selection of the suitable number of poles is a design factor and depends on many factors as magnetic saturation and radial forces. In the proposed design, the selected number of poles is 6/2 stator winding pole number combination. The selection gives an approximate quasi square flux pattern and shows great promise in many applications such as wind-power generators and pump drives [20]. The general layout of the proposed system is shown in Fig. 1 and the machine construction is shown in Fig. 2. The capacitor banks shown in Fig. 1 are designed to supply the reactive power required for machine magnetization. The operation of the proposed BVFT is 112 Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Machine as a Variable Frequency Transformer cage induction machine is used to build a prototype BVFT. The stator is rewound to accommodate two stator windings with 6/2 pole combination. The number of turns per phase for both windings and their cross sectional areas are selected to ensure same acceptable air gap flux and power. A nested cage rotor is designed to fit into the machine stator. Since the prototype machine is still under construction, this paper introduces the machine design, modeling, and simulation to prove the idea. Experimental verification will be considered in future. Fig. 1 Proposed BVFT. 3. Machine Design Fig. 2 Construction of the proposed brushless variable frequency transformer. similar to the conventional VFT using DFIM [6], where the BVFT is used to connect two networks experiencing a slight difference between their frequencies. The two networks are connected to the two stator windings. The power can be transferred from one side to the other side by controlling the torque applied to the machine. Generally, DC motor is mechanically coupled on the BDFM shaft for controlling the shaft torque and hence the amount of transferred power between the two involved asynchronous networks [5]. For example, if the torque is positive, the power is transferred from first stator winding to the second stator winding and vice versa. The rotor of the VFT spins at a speed that is proportional to the difference between the two networks frequencies f1 and f2 [16]. m 2 f1 f 2 p1 p2 (1) When two networks with the same nominal frequency are interconnected, the torque on the shaft of the VFT must be controlled at stall or near stall conditions. The stator frame of an existing 3 hp squirrel The prototype machine will be constructed using an existing 380 V, 3 hp squirrel cage rotor induction machine. The design is restricted with the stator dimensions given in Table 1. The stator is rewound to house two stator windings with dissimilar pole numbers (p1, p2). The suggested number of poles are (6, 2), respectively. However, a nested cage will be built with same diameter as old rotor. 3.1 Stator Design For simplicity, the stator is wound with two single layers windings. The lower layer comprises the 6-pole winding while the upper layer houses the 2-pole winding. Since an existing stator is used, the only design criterion is the number of turns for each winding. The stator coils are fully pitched because each winding is wound with only one layer. For total number of slots 36, the number of slots per phase per pole for the 6-pole and the 2-pole windings are 2 and 6, respectively. Since it is required to replace the single three-phase winding of the existing induction machine by two separate three-phase windings, hence, the rated voltage for both stator windings is selected to be half that of the existing machine of 110 V. The current rating for both winding will be selected the same as that of the induction machine. Conventional design steps as in Refs. [13, 14] are followed to select the required number of turns for both windings. The design should fulfil the following requirements: 113 Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Machine as a Variable Frequency Transformer Table 1 Existing 3 hp induction machine ratings and dimensions. 220 V 5A 1,420 rpm 117.6 mm 90.7 mm 0.5 mm 14.4 mm 21.1 mm 36 44 (1) The magnitude of the MMF (magneto motive foce) produced by the 6-pole winding is 1/2 that of the 2-pole winding to ensure that the peak value of the total MMF equals that of the 2-pole winding when fed separately with rated current, as shown in Fig. 3; (2) The back iron flux with both windings carrying full-load current will not cause core saturation. The suitable numbers of turns per phase for the 6-pole and the 2-pole windings are found to be 300 turn and 198 turn, respectively. 3.2 Rotor Design In nested cage rotor, the number of rotor nests is chosen equal to the sum of the pair-poles of the two stator windings (p1 + p2). Hence, for the selected number of pole-pairs, the required number of nests will be four. The number of loops per nest, n, is chosen to minimize rotor MMF harmonic content. As the number of loops per nest increases, the harmonic content decreases, but with corresponding reduction in the inter-loop space through which the flux passes. Typically, 3-6 loops per nest are used [20]. The selected number of bars is 40, where each nest has five loops as shown in Fig. 4. Same bar dimensions as the existing rotor will be assumed for the designed rotor and is used to calculate the resistance of different nested loops. 4. Machine Modelling The machine is modeled using conventional dq model [16-20]. The machine modeling commences with inductance calculation using modified winding 6-pole MMF 2-pole MMF Total MMF 1 0.5 MMF, pu Rated phase voltage Rated current Rated speed Stator inner diameter (D) Rotor stack length (L) Air gap length (g) Stator back iron Slot height Number of stator slots Number of rotor bars 1.5 0 -0.5 -1 -1.5 0 60 120 180 240 Peripheral angle , deg 300 360 Fig. 3 MMF distribution with stator peripheral angle. Fig. 4 Nested cage rotor. function [15] and based on machine dimensions then the corresponding dq-model is presented. 4.1 Inductance Calculation The first step for machine modeling is to calculate the machine inductance matrix. The modified winding function method [15] is used to calculate the machine inductance matrix. The general expression for mutual inductance between any two circuits i and j in any electrical machine is given in Eq. (2). Lij o L D 2 2 N , N , g , d 1 i m mj m m (2) 0 where: N i , m is the turn function of winding i; N mj , m is the modified turn function of winding j; g 1 , m is the inverse air gap function. For cylindrical rotor, it is constant and equals the reciprocal of the air gap length, g. For the prototype machine type, there are six turn functions for the stator windings and 20 turn functions for the rotor nested loops. Firstly, all turn functions are calculated as a function of the peripheral angle. Then, substituting in Eq. (2), the inductance matrix elements as a function of rotor position are calculated [15]. In this 114 Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Machine as a Variable Frequency Transformer case, the inductance matrix dimension will be 26 × 26. To simplify the machine model, to reduce the number of equation, and to eliminate the inductance dependency on rotor position, dq-model is obtained from the phase model through suitable transformations [16, 18]. The final dimension of the resulting inductance matrix will be 14 × 14 but with constant coefficients. The complete calculation of the final inductance matrix is shown in Refs. [17, 19] and is given in the appendix. 4.2 dq-Model In dq-model, each stator winding is represented by two dq-coils. Each group of loops, having same colour in Fig. 4, of the nested cage rotor is represented by two dq-coils for more exact representation [17, 20]. Hence, the rotor will be represented by n coils in the d-axis and n coils in the q-axis. For the prototype machine, the total number of coils will be 14, as shown in Fig. 5. Hence, the dq-model for the BDFM, in rotor reference frame, is given in Eq. (3) [17]. vd 1 R1id 1 pd 1 p1 m q1 vq1 R1iq1 pq1 p1m d 1 vd 2 R2id 2 pd 2 p2 m q 2 (3) vq 2 R2iq 2 pq 2 p2m d 2 v drk Rrk idrk pdrk v qrk Rrk iqrk pqrk where k = 1, 2, ..., n. The flux linkage vector is given in Eq. (4). dq1 21 Ls1 22 M s1r 210 idq1 21 0 Ls1 22 M s1r 210 idq 2 21 (4) dq 2 21 0 dqr M rs1 102 M rs 2 102 Lr 1010 idqr 101 101 The inductance matrix is calculated as mentioned in the previous section and the machine parameters are given in the appendix. Finally, the machine torque is given in Eq. (5). Te 3 2 p1 d 1iq1 q1id 1 3 2 p2 d 2iq 2 q 2id 2 (5) 5. Simulation Results The system is simulated with the same controller of the conventional VFT presented in Refs. [7, 8]. This controller ensures the following requirements: Fig. 5 dq representation of BVFT. The rotor speed is regulated at a synchronous speed that depends on the difference between the two networks frequencies and is given in Eq. (1). Shaft torque is controlled by means of the DC machine to achieve a scheduled power flow between the two networks. The proposed system is simulated with a 110 V, 50 Hz network, denoted as network (A), is connected to the 6-pole winding, while the 2-pole is connected to another 110 V network, denoted as network (B), that experiences frequency variation. The frequency of the second network is assumed 49 Hz. Hence, the corresponding synchronous speeds for the two frequencies will be 15 rpm. Firstly, the two networks are synchronized as shown in Ref. [8]. The DC machine is controlled with reference torque shown in Fig. 6a. The two stator winding powers are shown in Fig. 6b. The machine speed is shown in Fig. 6c, where the speed remains synchronized at 15 rpm irrespective to load change. It is clear that the power transfer between the two networks follows the torque reference. With a positive torque applied to the shaft, power is transferred form network A to network B and vice versa. The relatively large difference between the two stator winding powers is due to the relatively high machine losses corresponding to such low power rating. However, for systems with high power rating, this difference should be negligible. The rms currents for both stator windings are shown in Figs. 6d and 6e, while for nested loops are shown in Fig. 6f. It is evident that the outer loops of the nests carry much higher current than the inner loops. This problem has been 115 Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Machine as a Variable Frequency Transformer 20 3000 Ps1 2000 Ps2 Power, W Torque, Nm 10 0 1000 0 -1000 -10 -2000 -20 0 10 20 30 40 -3000 50 0 10 20 Time, s 50 6 6 0 -50 Is2,A 8 4 2 0 10 20 30 Time, s 40 50 0 0 10 (c) 20 30 Time, s 4 40 0 50 0 10 (d) 20 30 Time, s 40 50 (e) 1000 Ir1 500 Ir1 Ir2 400 Ir3 300 Ir4 Rotor loop currents, A Rotor loop currents, A 50 2 600 Ir5 200 100 0 40 (b) 8 Is1, A Speed, rpm (a) 100 -100 30 Time, s 0 10 20 30 40 50 Time, s (f) Ir2 500 Ir3 Ir4 0 Ir5 -500 -1000 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 Time, s 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 (g) Fig. 6 System performance with f1 = 50 Hz and f2 = 49 Hz: (a) torque; (b) winding powers; (c) speed; (d) RMS Is1; (e) RMS Is2; (f) RMS rotor loop currents for a given nest; and (g) instantaneous rotor loop current for a given nest. investigated in Ref. [18] which cause unequal current distribution between different rotor bars yielding unequal rotor heat distribution. Equal current distribution can be tackled by using rotor bars with different cross sectional area, larger cross sections for outer loops and lower cross sections for inner loops. An important reason that justifies why multiple rotor-loop model is used in this paper rather than the much simple single loop representation [17] is the non-negligible phase shift angles between currents in different loops in the same nest, as shown in Fig. 6g. This angle changes as the machine is loaded [18]. This gives a significant error if the whole nest is represented by a single coil. Comparing the simulation results with those are given in Refs. [7, 8], the proposed BVFT is shown to be an attractive alternative to conventional VFT while retaining the advantage of the absence of brushes and the presence of all windings in the stator. The BVFT characteristic curves in per unit (pu), representing the machine winding powers, current, and efficiency, are shown in Fig. 7. The base values are defined as the values correspond to rated winding current. The efficiency is defined as the ratio between the transmitted power and received power between the two networks. It is notable that the output rated transmitted power at rated current is approximately 60% that of the existing 3 hp squirrel cage machine. This is due to the non-optimal design of the machine since an existing machine is used to build the prototype one. However, machine optimal design is expected to increase the machine power density. Moreover, this machine type is generally disadvantageous due to its relatively lower power density when compared with squirrel cage machine. However, when it is compared with DFIM 116 Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Machine as a Variable Frequency Transformer 1 1 80 P s1 0.8 Power transfer from network B to A Power transfer from network A to B -0.5 70 Is2 60 Efficiency, % 0 P s2 Current, pu Power, pu 0.5 Is1 0.6 0.4 50 40 30 0.2 20 -1 -1 -0.5 0 Torque, pu 0.5 1 0 -1 -0.5 0 Torque, pu 0.5 1 10 -1 -0.5 0 Torque, pu 0.5 (a) (b) (c) Fig. 7 Characteristic curves in pu for torque versus: (a) winding powers; (b) winding currents; and (c) efficiency (Pbased = 1,850 W, Ibase = 5 A, and Tbase = 13.6 Nm). with same power, the power density penalty will be less. This may warrant its application with the fixed output terminal advantage obtained. 6. Conclusions In this paper, a brushless variable frequency transformer is proposed, based on conventional brushless doubly-fed machine, to control power flow in weak interconnections. Its two stator windings are used to connect two networks experiencing a slight difference between their frequencies. By controlling the shaft torque using a DC machine, the power flow between the two networks can be controlled much similar to conventional VFT. A prototype model which is still under construction is designed and simulated to verify the validity of the proposed system. The winding function method is used to calculate the machine inductance matrix which is then used to develop the machine dq-model. Despite an apparent power density penalty, simulation results show that the proposed BVFT may be an attractive alternative to conventional VFT while retaining the advantage of the absence of brushes and the presence of all windings in the stator with fixed output terminals, which is much suitable for bulk power transmission. Acknowledgments This publication was made possible by NPRP (National Priorities Research Program) grant NPRP 08-504-2-197 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. References [1] M.P. Bahrman, Overview of HVDC transmission, in: 2006 IEEE PES Power Systems Conference and Exposition, Atlanta, 2006, pp. 18-23. [2] R. Piwko, E. Larsen, Variable frequency transformer—FACTS technology for asynchronous power transfer, in: 2005/2006 IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 2006, pp. 1426-1428. [3] D. Nadeau, A 100-MW variable frequency transformer (VFT) on the Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie network—the behavior during disturbance, in: IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, Tampa, 2007, pp. 1-5. [4] B. Bagen, D. Jacobson, G. Lane, H. 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Wallace, R. Spee, H. Lauw, Dynamic modeling of brushless doubly-fed machines, in: Conf. Rec. IEEE IAS Annu. Meeting, 1989, pp. 329-334. S. Boger, A. Wallace, R. Spee, Investigation of appropriate pole number combinations for brushless doubly-fed machines applied to pump drives, IEEE Ind. Appl. 1 (1996) 189-194. Appendix The machine calculated parameters are as follows: R1 = 1.5 Ω, R2 = 1 Ω, L1 = 244 mH, L2 = 917 mH, Rr1 = 0.18 mΩ, Rr2 = 0.16 mΩ, Rr3 = 0.14 mΩ, Rr4 = 0.12 mΩ, Rr5 = 0.1 mΩ 0 15 0 11.4 0 7.7 0 19.2 0 19.2 0 15 0 11.4 0 7.7 0 15.3 0 11.4 0. 7.7 0 15 0 15 0 15.3 0 11.4 0 7.7 11.4 0 11.4 0 11.6 0 7.7 0 Lr 11.4 0 11.4 0 11.6 0 7.7 0 7.7 0 7.7 0 7.7 0 7.8 0 7.7 0 7.7 0 7.7 0 7.8 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 3.9 0 0 3.9 3.9 0 0 3.9 3.9 0 H , 0 3.9 3.9 0 0 3.9 4 0 0 4 0.8 0 0.93 0 0.9 0 0.72 0 0.41 0 M s1r mH , 0 0.8 0 0.93 0 0.9 0 0.72 0 0.41 0 3 0 2.3 0 1.6 0 0.82 0 3.6 M s2r mH. 0 3.6 0 2.9 0 2.3 0 1.6 0 0.82