Torque Control Accuracy Using Different Techniques for Determination of Induction Motor Rotor Time Constant

Induction motor (IM) drives represent a competitive solution for both industry and transports electrification. Most control solutions for induction motors currently perform the torque regulation by implementing field-oriented control (FOC) algorithms schemes defined in rotating dq coordinates. According to this scenario, the estimation of the d-axis position covers a key role to get good accuracy of the torque regulation. If considering the low-speed operation of the motor, the torque control performance is significantly affected by the accuracy in estimating the rotor time constant. According to the literature, this parameter can be computed using either the results of standard- (no-load and locked rotor tests) or flux-decay tests. However, these tests get unequal values of the rotor time constant, thus leading to a different torque control performance. Therefore, this paper aims at investigating the best value of the rotor time constant to optimize the accuracy of the FOC-based torque control. Experimental results obtained on a 4 poles IM, rated 10 kW at 6000 r/min, are presented.