INDISTRIAL DRIVES
Introduction to Microprocessors and Control of Electric
Drives:
Introduction to Microprocessors and Control of Electric Drives – Conventionally, control of
thyristor converter fed electrical drives (both dc and ac) is performed using analog discrete
components. In the drive control, conventional speed control systems have been improved
continuously and gradually in terms of their control performance, as the control devices have
changed from magnetic amplifiers to transistors and IC amplifiers. This hardware oriented
control of drives becomes more and more complex with the increase in sophistication
required, i.e. the requirements of high precision, performance and reliability. The various
controllers, the control circuits for the power converters are realised using hardware oriented
circuits. The control suffers from the drift and parameter variations of the components due to
temperature and the improvement is rather limited. However, the control has the advantage
that it is capable of processing the signals almost simultaneously.
Because of the involved complexity and the limitations of improvement in performance due
to drift problems, several sophisticated methods of controlling ac motors, such as vector
control of induction motors, did not become popular until the developments in the area of
drive technology, which have been very rapid in the recent past. With these the control is
possible with fewer components with the advantages of easy maintenance, economy, ser-
viceability and general applicability. Also this rapid and fast development of digital
technology has been the opening for new concepts of control using microprocessors and
associated digital components, A/D converters, etc. These have resulted in compact control
systems for drives which effectively replace the complex hardware oriented control using
analog discrete components.
The digital processing of speed and angular position is more exact and less expensive than
analog processing, which makes use of tachogenerators and position transducers. The control
is free from drift and parameter variations.
Features of Microprocessors and Control of Electric Drives
The main features of digital control with Microprocessors and Control of Electric Drives that
it is mainly software oriented. When once the necessary algorithms are developed, the
software can be used for different plants with only a few modifications. This is not possible
with dedicated hardware control.
The drive technology using thyristor converter fed dc or ac motors, as expected, has become
very popular owing to the developments in the area of thyristor technology, high speed digital
systems, microprocessors and microcomputers. The future has already begun for the use of
microprocessors and microcomputers in the area of drives. Sophisticated controls of these
drives with high performance and reliability, complicated hardware oriented controls, such as
four quadrant operation of dc motors using dual converters, field orientation or vector control
both in constant flux and flux weakening modes of induction motors and margin angle
control of synchronous motors can be realised with software programs on the microprocessor
and microcomputers with least possible hardware. This hardware includes the interfacing of
the microprocessor to the system. Sometimes to reduce the burden on the microprocessor and
to make it available to perform other functions effectively, the firing circuits with necessary
pulse transformers are realised in terms of hardware. The sensor measuring the terminal
quantities must be interfaced through proper AID converters. The controls become
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INDISTRIAL DRIVES
economically feasible. Various controllers in the closed loop controls can be realised on the
microprocessor by means of software programs. Optimised PWM strategies for the ac motor
can be realised. Advances of new digital techniques make it possible to manage different
operating conditions. Microprocessors and Control of Electric Drives can be very easily
adopted in the parameter identification and adaptation problems using machine models. A
slip energy recovery scheme for both super and sub synchronous operation using vector
control can be realised using high performance processors.
Various sophistications in the control of synchronous motors have also become feasible. One
such sophistication is on-line determination or estimation of the rotor position without any
rotor position sensor on the shaft. The identification and state estimation processes involved
are very easily implemented using Microprocessors and Control of Electric Drives.
An attempt is made in this chapter to describe the role of microprocessor and its function in
the control of electrical drive. The architecture and the types of microprocessors are not
discussed here. A few applications of the microprocessor in the dc and ac drives are discussed
to bring out clearly the stages involved in the design of the control system.
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INDISTRIAL DRIVES
Phase Locked Loop Control (PLL):
A PI controller ideally should provide perfect speed regulation. However, due to
imperfections in sensing and control circuits, the closed-loop schemes described earlier can at
best achieve a speed regulation of 0.2%. The Phase Locked Loop Control (PLL) can achieve
a speed regulation as low as 0.002% which can be useful in conveyers for material handling,
paper and textile mills, and computer peripherals.
The Phase Locked Loop Control are available as inexpensive integrated circuits. Their circuit
is shown in Fig. 3.11(a). Two pulse trains reference pulse train of frequency f * and the
feedback pulse train of frequency f are compared in a phase detector. Output of the phase
detector produces a pulse-width modulated output V c. Pulse-width of Vc depends on the
phase difference between the two input pulse trains and polarity depends on the sign of phase
difference (i.e. lag or load) between them.
The output of the phase detector is filtered by the loop filter to obtain a dc signal and applied
as control voltage to a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO); the output of which is the
feedback signal f. Because of the closed-loop, VCO output frequency changes in a direction
that reduces the phase difference. When steady state is reached, f becomes exactly equal to f*
and the loop is said to have locked.
Control voltage required by VCO to produce f equal to f* comes from the phase difference
between the two input signals. If now f* is altered, f will follow the change and control
voltage required by VCO will be obtained by the adjustment of phase difference between the
two input signals.
An electrical drive employing Phase Locked Loop Control is shown in Fig. 3.11(b). The
VCO is replaced by converter, motor and speed encoder. Output of the loop-filter forms the
control signal for the converter. It alters the converter operation such that the motor speed
adjusts to make the frequency of speed encoder output signal f equal to the frequency of
reference signal f*. By changing f* the motor speed can be changed.
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INDISTRIAL DRIVES
Excellent speed regulation is the main feature of this drive. However, it has two important
disadvantages: transient response is slow and it has a low speed limit below which it becomes
unstable.
Closed Loop Position Control:
A Closed Loop Position Control scheme is shown in Fig. 3.12. It consists of a closed-loop
speed control system with an inner current control loop inside an outermost position loop.
Current and speed-loop restrict the current and speed within safe limits, enhance the speed of
response, reduce the effects of nonlinearities in the converter, motor and load (such as
nonlinear transfer characteristic of converter, coulomb friction, variation of parameters due to
temperature and friction) on the transient and steady state performance of the position control
system. Position controls are required in a number of drive applications, e.g. feed drive in
machine tools, and screw down mechanism in rolling mills.
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Interfacing Stepper Motor with 8051 Microcontroller
Here using Port P0 of 8051 for connecting the stepper motor. HereULN2003 is
used. This is basically a high voltage, high current Darlington transistor array.
Each ULN2003 has seven NPN Darlington pairs. It can provide high voltage
output with common cathode clamp diodes for switching inductive loads.
The Unipolar stepper motor works in three modes.
Wave Drive Mode − In this mode, one coil is energized at a time. So all
four coils are energized one after another. This mode produces less torque
than full step drive mode.
The following table is showing the sequence of input states in different
windings.
Full Drive Mode − In this mode, two coils are energized at the same
time. This mode produces more torque. Here the power consumption is
also high
The following table is showing the sequence of input states in different
windings.
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INDISTRIAL DRIVES
Half Drive Mode − In this mode, one and two coils are energized
alternately. At first, one coil is energized then two coils are energized.
This is basically a combination of wave and full drive mode. It increases
the angular rotation of the motor
The following table is showing the sequence of input states in different
windings.
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