Voltage Control of Multiphase Cage Induction Generators at a Speed Varying over a Wide Range

Abstract

The subject of this publication is a method of controlling the DC voltage of a PWM rectifier supplied by a multiphase cage induction generator with the number of stator phases greater than three operating in a wide range of driving speeds. Voltage regulation is performed by changing the frequency and amplitude of the stator voltages with simultaneous switching of the phase sequence of these voltages. The step change of the voltage sequence is made in the designated ranges of the generator speed, which enables the stabilization of the output voltage in a wide range from the minimum speed of about 25% of the rated speed. Such sequence switching changes the number of pole pairs produced by the winding for each supply sequence. The difference compared to multi-speed induction machines is that, in the presented solution, there is only one winding, not a few, which enables good use of the machine’s magnetic core in the same dimensions as for the three-phase machine of a similar power. Steady-state characteristics and dynamic operation were obtained using laboratory measurements of a standalone nine-phase induction generator. The automatic control system maintained the output voltage at the set level, regardless of the generator load and driving power.