Alberto Tenconi

Bio: Alberto Tenconi is an academic researcher from Polytechnic University of Turin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Induction motor & Synchronous motor. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 160 publications receiving 4309 citations. Previous affiliations of Alberto Tenconi include Instituto Politécnico Nacional.

A comparison between the axial flux and the radial flux structures for PM synchronous motors

Abstract: The aim of this paper is the comparison of the axial flux (AF) structures versus the conventional radial flux (RF) structures for permanent-magnet synchronous motors. The comparison procedure is based on simple thermal considerations. Two motor typologies are chosen and compared in terms of delivered electromagnetic torque. The comparison is developed for different motor dimensions and the pole number influence is put into evidence. The paper reports the complete comparison procedure and the related results analysis. The obtained results show that, when the axial length is very short and the pole number is high, the AF motors can be an attractive alternative to the conventional RF solutions.

Enhanced power quality control strategy for single-phase inverters in distributed generation systems

Abstract: Power electronic converters are commonly used for interfacing distributed generation systems to the electrical power network. This paper deals with a single-phase inverter for distributed generation systems requiring power quality features, such as harmonic and reactive power compensation for grid-connected operation. The idea is to integrate the DG unit functions with shunt active power filter capabilities. With the proposed approach, the inverter controls the active power flow from the renewable energy source to the grid and also performs the non-linear load current harmonic compensation keeping the grid current almost sinusoidal. The control scheme employs a current reference generator based on Sinusoidal Signal Integrator (SSI) and Instantaneous Reactive Power (IRP) theory together with a repetitive current controller. Experimental results obtained on a 4 kVA inverter prototype demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed solution.

Digital field oriented control for dual three-phase induction motor drives

Abstract: A direct rotor-field-oriented control of a dual-three phase induction motor drive is described in this paper. The induction machine has two sets of stator three-phase windings spatially shifted by 30 electrical degrees. The stator windings are fed by a current-controlled pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) six-phase voltage-source inverter. Three key issues are discussed: (1) the machine dynamic model is based on the vector space decomposition theory; (2) the PWM strategy uses the double zero-sequence injection modulation technique which gives good results with low computational and hardware requirements; and (3) to eliminate the inherent asymmetries of the drive power section, a new current control scheme is proposed. Experimental results are presented for a 10-kW dual three-phase induction motor drive prototype.

Low stray inductance bus bar design and construction for good EMC performance in power electronic circuits

Abstract: Ten years after the publication of the EC Directive 89/336 on electromagnetic compatibility, the impact of this directive on design and lay-out of modern electrical and electronic equipment can be observed. Many research and development studies have proposed and evaluated detailed improvements in the area of component design, component selection, circuit lay-out, shielding and active and passive filtering. New and innovative solutions to minimize noise, especially common mode conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI), in power electronic circuits continue to be developed. In this paper, the authors investigate to what extent EMI caused by power electronic devices in hard switching inverter topologies can be minimized using ultra-low inductive planar busbars. The concept followed in this study is to tackle EMI directly at the source where most EMI is generated; in other words, to reduce the parasitic magnetic energy stored in the inverter DC link to reduce high voltage spikes during switching. A planar busbar was built, tested and analyzed. Measurements show the validity of the theoretical, but simple, design procedure for planar busbars in power converters.

Electrical Machines for High-Speed Applications: Design Considerations and Tradeoffs

Abstract: The high-speed (HS) electric machines are gaining attention in several different applications, and the development of advanced materials, electronic components, and control algorithms is pushing ahead the technological speed limits. In the electromagnetic sizing of HS machines, the mechanical and thermal involvements are very tight to make it necessary to deal with all the different aspects at the same time. This paper aims to summarize and discuss the electrical and the mechanical aspects involved in the HS machine design, highlighting the main issues and the tradeoffs that the designer has to consider. Furthermore, the correlation between volume reduction and speed increase, based on commercial high-frequency rotor-stator units, is also presented.

Multiphase Electric Machines for Variable-Speed Applications

Abstract: Although the concept of variable-speed drives, based on utilization of multiphase machines, dates back to the late 1960s, it was not until the mid- to late 1990s that multiphase drives became serious contenders for various applications. These include electric ship propulsion, locomotive traction, electric and hybrid electric vehicles, ldquomore-electricrdquo aircraft, and high-power industrial applications. As a consequence, there has been a substantial increase in the interest for such drive systems worldwide, resulting in a huge volume of work published during the last ten years. An attempt is made in this paper to provide a brief review of the current state of the art in the area. After addressing the reasons for potential use of multiphase rather than three-phase drives and the available approaches to multiphase machine designs, various control schemes are surveyed. This is followed by a discussion of the multiphase voltage source inverter control. Various possibilities for the use of additional degrees of freedom that exist in multiphase machines are further elaborated. Finally, multiphase machine applications in electric energy generation are addressed.

Multiphase induction motor drives - : a technology status review

Abstract: The area of multiphase variable-speed motor drives in general and multiphase induction motor drives in particular has experienced a substantial growth since the beginning of this century. Research has been conducted worldwide and numerous interesting developments have been reported in the literature. An attempt is made to provide a detailed overview of the current state-of-the-art in this area. The elaborated aspects include advantages of multiphase induction machines, modelling of multiphase induction machines, basic vector control and direct torque control schemes and PWM control of multiphase voltage source inverters. The authors also provide a detailed survey of the control strategies for five-phase and asymmetrical six-phase induction motor drives, as well as an overview of the approaches to the design of fault tolerant strategies for post-fault drive operation, and a discussion of multiphase multi-motor drives with single inverter supply. Experimental results, collected from various multiphase induction motor drive laboratory rigs, are also included to facilitate the understanding of the drive operation.

FOC and DTC: two viable schemes for induction motors torque control

Abstract: Field-oriented control and direct torque control are becoming the industrial standards for induction motors torque control. This paper is aimed at giving a contribution for a detailed comparison between the two control techniques, emphasizing advantages and disadvantages. The performance of the two control schemes is evaluated in terms of torque and current ripple, and transient response to step variations of the torque command. The analysis has been carried out on the basis of the results obtained by numerical simulations, where secondary effects introduced by hardware implementation are not present.

Reliability of Capacitors for DC-Link Applications in Power Electronic Converters—An Overview

Abstract: DC-link capacitors are an important part in the majority of power electronic converters which contribute to cost, size and failure rate on a considerable scale. From capacitor users' viewpoint, this paper presents a review on the improvement of reliability of dc link in power electronic converters from two aspects: 1) reliability-oriented dc-link design solutions; 2) conditioning monitoring of dc-link capacitors during operation. Failure mechanisms, failure modes and lifetime models of capacitors suitable for the applications are also discussed as a basis to understand the physics-of-failure. This review serves to provide a clear picture of the state-of-the-art research in this area and to identify the corresponding challenges and future research directions for capacitors and their dc-link applications.