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Postfault Operation Strategy With Minimum Harmonic Injection for Cascaded

H-Bridge Inverters Driving a Multiphase Motor

Article in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics · January 2025

DOI: 10.1109/TPEL.2024.3456390

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 1

Postfault Operation Strategy With Minimum

Harmonic Injection for Cascaded H-Bridge Inverters
Driving a Multiphase Motor
Óscar López, Senior Member, IEEE, Jacobo Álvarez, Alejandro G. Yepes, Member, IEEE, Martín
Medina-Sánchez, and Jesús Doval-Gandoy, Member, IEEE

Abstract—Multiphase motor drives based on cascaded H-

bridge (CHB) voltage source inverters (VSIs) offer enhanced PWM
reliability by accommodating both motor and VSI faults. The VSI
faults, the most prevalent type, can be addressed by bypassing va vb vn Trigger signals
damaged H-Bridges. However, operating the VSI in this condition
κa Cell Cell Cell
without an appropriate postfault strategy can increase the torque
a1 a2 aκ V a Ia
ripple and losses, and reduce the maximum motor speed. While
conventional postfault strategies for three-phase CHB VSIs can n-phase
motor
be extended to more phases, they often result in a suboptimal να κb Cell Cell Cell
performance because the extra degrees of freedom available Postfault b1 b2 bκ M
in multiphase motors are ignored. Recently, these degrees of νβ strategy Vb Ib
freedom have been exploited for the postfault operation of n-
phase CHB VSIs to maximize the drive speed range without
field weakening or torque ripple. However, excessive low-order Cell Cell Cell
κn
xy harmonics arose in the stator current, producing a significant n1 n2 nκ
increase in its copper losses, which were limited by the use of Vn In
a bulky filter. This article proposes a novel postfault operation
strategy for n-phase CHB VSIs that dramatically reduces the Bypass contactor
Power cell
stator copper losses by minimizing the injection of low-order xy
harmonics in the stator voltage, effectively eliminating the filter Grid Transformer
requirement, while maintaining a wide speed range without field
weakening or torque ripple. Experimental results obtained with Vdc
a five-level five-phase motor drive corroborate the theoretical
findings. This paper is accompanied by a Matlab script with the
proposed strategy coded for the five-phase case. Rectifier H-bridge

Index Terms—Carrier-based pulse-width modulation, multi- Fig. 1. Fault-tolerant n-phase motor drive based on a CHB VSI with κ cells
phase drive, stator copper losses, VSI. per phase, where να and νβ are the αβ components of the desired stator
voltage, and κi and vi stand for the number of nonbypassed cells and the
PWM reference, respectively, corresponding to phase i.
I. I NTRODUCTION
RODUCTION losses in industrial high-power medium- operation when an adequate hardware or software postfault
P voltage motor drives can be alleviated by adopting fault-
tolerant drives with an adequate postfault operation strat-
strategy is adopted [1], [3], [7]–[13].
Hardware postfault strategies rely on adding redundant
egy [1], [2]. A drive offering exceptional fault tolerance is power cells to each phase [7], [8]. These cells remain inactive
the multiphase motor drive based on a cascaded H-bridge during normal operation. After a fault occurs, the damaged
(CHB) voltage source inverter (VSI), depicted in Fig. 1 [3]. cell is bypassed, and its function is taken over by a redundant
The CHB VSI is a multilevel topology in which each phase one [8]. As the number of phases increases, the cost and
consists of a string of equal power cells connected in series [4]. volume of the VSI also grow due to the presence of these
This modular structure enables the bypassing of damaged cells idle cells. Conversely, software strategies do not require addi-
without stopping the motor [5], [6], bringing nearly continuous tional hardware, which is especially beneficial in multiphase
drives; however, they have to manage the VSI imbalance and
This work was supported by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 FEDER, the output voltage limitations that arise in the phases with
UE under Project PID2021-124136OB-I00. Funding for open access charge:
Universidade de Vigo/CRUE-CISUG. bypassed cells [1]. A simple software approach is to bypass
Ó. López ([email protected]), J. Álvarez ([email protected]), A. G. Yepes an equal number of cells in all phases [1], [9]. However, this
([email protected]), M. Medina-Sánchez ([email protected]) wastes some useful healthy cells. The most effective software
and J. Doval-Gandoy ([email protected]) are with the Applied Power Elec-
tronics Technology (APET) Research Group, CINTECX, Universidade de strategies are those that take advantage of all the healthy
Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain. cells in the CHB VSI during the fault [1], [3], [10], [11].
 2

Three-phase strategies typically inject a zero sequence into for multiphase CHB VSIs with bypassed cells that calculates
the PWM references [1], [10], [11]. This injection can be online the PWM references with minimum injection of xy har-
performed by phase-shifting the fundamental of the PWM monic components and no αβ distortion. Compared with state-
references, as shown in [1] with a successful industrial ap- of-the-art method (i.e., MIN), this new approach significantly
plication [7]. This strategy is improved in [10] by adapting reduces stator copper losses and consequently eliminates the
the PWM reference amplitudes, in addition to the phase shift. need for an xy filter, while maintaining the to theoretical
However, the optimal zero-sequence injection is achieved with maximum speed without flux weakening or torque ripple.
the strategy by Carnielutti et al. [11], which maximizes the The rest of the manuscript is organized as follows. Section II
instantaneous stator voltage without introducing distortion in reviews the model of a multiphase motor drive with bypassed
the flux/torque-producing (αβ) components. This translates cells in the CHB VSI, states the optimization problem, presents
to potentially maximize the motor speed without requiring the new postfault strategy and illustrates its application with
field weakening or introducing torque ripple. This optimal a small example. The new technique, designated as minimum
strategy is extended for more than three phases in [3], which xy (MXY) strategy, is analyzed and compared with the MIN
concluded that ignoring the extra degrees of freedom available strategy [3] by simulation in Section III, and experimentally,
in multiphase motors [14] leads to an unnecessary reduction in without an xy filter, in Section IV. Finally, Section V states
achievable speed. Such degrees of freedom are exploited by the the conclusions.
minimum infinity-norm (MIN) postfault strategy, introduced
II. P OSTFAULT MXY I NJECTION S TRATEGY
in [3], to theoretically maximize the multiphase motor speed
without flux weakening. This is accomplished by injecting A. Multiphase Motor Drive With Bypassed Cells
the appropriate zero sequence and nonflux/torque producing The mathematical model of a multiphase motor is simplified
(xy) components into the PWM reference to minimize its if, under certain assumptions, the electrical variables are
peak value without distorting the αβ components, provided expressed in an orthogonal coordinate system defined by the
the stator windings are distributed. These injected xy voltages generalized Clarke transformation C [24]. This transformation
introduce low-order harmonics into the stator currents, which decomposes the n-dimensional voltage, current and flux vec-
produce small (leakage) flux that minimally couples with the tors of a n-phase motor into αβ, xy and zero-sequence com-
rotor [15], [16]. Consequently, they primarily affect the stator ponents [25]. Assuming the stator windings are sinusoidally
copper losses, with their impact on rotor and core losses distributed, the electromechanical energy conversion process
being very limited [16] and often neglected [3], [17]–[22]. depends only on the αβ components of currents and flux,
However, if these currents are sufficiently high they can lead which can be controlled by means of the αβ components of
to unacceptable additional stator copper losses, necessitating the stator voltages [24]. Therefore, disregarding the nonlin-
the installation of a hardware xy filter [3]. Thus, to minimize earities of the PWM and VSI, the reference voltage vector
def
extra stator losses and, consequently, filter size, it is essential v = [v1 , v2 , . . . , vn ]T , which gathers the PWM reference for
to reduce the xy components injected into the PWM reference each phase vi , must obey the following equality constraints.
signals.
ν α = cα v (1a)
The minimization of the xy components for healthy two-
level five-phase VSIs is investigated in [17], [18], [21], [23], νβ = cβ v (1b)
where optimization problems are solved to constrain the PWM where να and νβ are the desired αβ components for the
references and effectively prevent the modulator saturation, stator voltage (which are provided by the drive controller),
thereby avoiding distortion in the αβ components. These and cα and cβ are the rows in C that permit to calculate such
investigations are subsequently extended for n-phase symmet- components for a given n-dimensional vector v.
rical motors in [22], showing that the minimization of the xy Other voltage components different from να and νβ can be
components of the PWM reference signals leads to a drastic added to v since they do not affect the torque, the air-gap
reduction of the stator copper losses. All the aforementioned flux [14] nor the core and rotor losses [16], [20]. In prin-
techniques exploit the existing symmetry in healthy two-level ciple, the zero-sequence voltage components can be injected
multiphase drives in order to solve the minimization problem without restriction because they do not produce additional
in a reduced number of scenarios (e.g., a few regions in the stator currents, provided the neutrals of the stator windings are
first sector of the αβ plane [18]). However, such symmetry isolated [2]. On the contrary, the xy voltage injection should
is lost when the CHB VSI becomes unbalanced due to the be minimized due to the fact that they cause undesired stator
bypassed cells [3], rendering the offline optimization approach current components that increase stator copper losses [14],
impractical due to the overwhelming number of scenarios that [22]. Such minimization can be stated in the form of a cost
must be considered, encompassing all possible configurations function defined as the weighted sum of all the injected xy
of bypassed cells. Consequently, none of the existing two- components squared:
level multiphase strategies can be extended to the case of CHB def
X
VSI with bypassed cells. Therefore, the only postfault strategy q(v) = wi (ci v)2 with all wi > 0 (2)
identified in the literature that exploits the degrees of freedom i∈{xy}

of multiphase motors and is suitable for this specific kind of where ci is the ith row of C, which permits to calculate one of
VSI is the aforementioned MIN strategy. the xy components of v, and wi is the corresponding weight-
This article proposes a novel postfault operation strategy ing factor. Although the wi values can be chosen arbitrarily,
 3

selecting them proportionally to the inverse of the impedance a equality-constrained quadratic program is solved imposing
squared of the corresponding xy plane leads to a cost function such set of constraints and ignoring the rest:
that reflects the excess of the stator copper losses caused by
the xy injection process [21]. This proportionality, particularly 1 T
minimize q(v) = v Qv (6a)
at high speeds where this injection typically occurs, can be v 2
expressed as wi ∝ 1/(hi Llsi )2 , where hi and Llsi are the subject to ν α = cα v (6b)
dominant harmonic order and the stator leakage inductance νβ = cβ v (6c)
corresponding to the ith xy component, respectively [21]. li = ei v for all i ∈ L (6d)
Obviously, q(v) would be zero if no xy components were
ui = ei v for all i ∈ U (6e)
injected in v. However, it is well known that injecting zero
xy components may lead to a reference that the VSI cannot
synthesize [3], [23], and therefore the VSI output voltage where L and U are the sets containing the indexes of the
constraints need to be taken into consideration. In general, inequality constraints that are active at the solution for the
the phase i of a VSI can synthesize any PWM reference vi lower and upper boundaries, respectively. In other words, the
between some lower and upper bounds: set L (U) includes the phases of the VSI that should be
clamped to their minimum (maximum) output levels to achieve
li ≤ vi ≤ ui with i ∈ {1, 2, . . . , n}. (3) minimum xy harmonic injection. If the solution of (6) meets
a subset of certain optimality conditions, it is accepted as the
For the case of the CHB VSI in Fig. 1, these bounds are [3] solution of the original problem in (5). Otherwise a different
educated guess of L and U that avoids choices that will not
li = −κi lead to a solution is made, and the process is repeated.
with i ∈ {1, 2, . . . , n} (4) The complete set of the aforementioned optimality condi-
ui = +κi
tions that any solution v∗ of (5) must observe is
where κi is number of healthy (nonbypassed) cells in phase i. X X
Qv∗ − cT T
α λα − cβ λβ − eT
i µi + eT
i µi = 0 (7a)
i∈L i∈U
B. Optimization Problem Statement
Equations (1) to (3) define an optimization problem that can cα v∗ = να (7b)
be stated as ∗
cβ v = νβ (7c)
∗
1 T ei v = li for all i ∈ L (7d)
minimize q(v) = v Qv (5a)
v 2 ei v∗ = ui for all i ∈ U (7e)
subject to να = cα v (5b) ∗
li ≤ ei v ≤ ui for all i ∈
/ L∪U (7f)
ν β = cβ v (5c) µi ≥ 0 for all i ∈ L ∪ U (7g)
li ≤ ei v ≤ ui for all i ∈ {1, 2, . . . , n} (5d)
where λα , λβ and µi are arbitrary constants called Lagrange
where the factor 1/2 is included for convenience, Q is multipliers [26]. The multipliers λα and λβ correspond to the
the symmetric positive semidefinite matrix that results from equality constraints (5b) and (5c), respectively, and each µi
rewriting the quadratic form defined in (2) in matrix format, corresponds to the ith inequality constraint in (5d), which is
def
and ei = [0, . . . , 1, . . . , 0] is the standard unit vector whose active at the solution. It is important to note that (7a) to (7e)
components are all zero except for the ith one whose value are the optimality conditions corresponding to the solutions of
is one. The solution of this problem is the optimal PWM the equality-constrained problem in (6). Hence, the remaining
def
reference vector v∗ = [v1∗ , v2∗ , . . . , vn∗ ]T that minimizes the conditions (7f) and (7g) are the aforementioned subset of
xy injection. optimality conditions that this solution has to meet to be also
Given that Q is positive (semi)definite and all the constraints accepted as a solution of the original problem in (5).
are linear, the problem in (5) is an optimization problem called
convex quadratic program [26]. Two effective methods to
solve convex quadratic programs are the interior-point and the C. Proposed Active-Set Method for MXY Injection
active-set methods. The latter are generally preferred when the
number of unknowns and constraints is small (below hundreds) The proposed active-set method is based on the iterative
because they are easy to implement and provide an exact method described in [26]. At each iteration k a guess of the
solution after a small number of iterations [26], [27]. active sets Lk and Uk , called working sets, and a feasible
The active-set methods are founded on the observation guess of the solution vk are considered in order to compute the
def
that equality-constrained problems are simpler to solve than optimal step vector p∗k = [p∗1,k , p∗2,k , . . . , p∗n,k ]T that reaches
inequality-constrained ones. These methods start by making a the optimal solution from vk such that
guess of the subset of inequality constraints in (5d) that are
def
active (i.e., satisfied as equalities) at the solution v∗ . Next, v∗ = vk + p∗k . (8)
 4

This optimal step is obtained by solving the following opti-

v 2 = u2
v2 = l2
mization subproblem that results from introducing the change q = 30
v1 = u1
of variable v = vk + pk into (6). vk q = 20
δk p∗k vk+1
1 T p∗k
p Qpk + (Qvk )T pk
q = 10
minimize (9a)
pk 2 k Feasible region pk+1 vk + p∗k
subject to cα pk = να − cα vk (9b)
vk+2 = v∗
cβ pk = νβ − cβ vk (9c)
ei pk = 0 for all i ∈ Lk ∪ Uk . (9d) v1 = l1

Any solution of this equality-constrained subproblem must

Fig. 2. Application of δk to prevent constraint violation. At iteration k:
obey the following optimality conditions [26]: Lk = Uk = ∅. At iteration k + 1: Lk+1 = ∅ and Uk+1 = {2}.
X X
Qp∗k −cT T
α λα,k −cβ λβ,k − eT
i µi,k + eT
i µi,k = −(Qv)
T

i∈Lk i∈Uk
(10a) The vector component i at which the above minimum occurs
is called the blocking constraint and should be added to the
cα p∗k = να − cα vk (10b) corresponding working set before the next iteration as follows:
cβ p∗k = ν β − cβ v k (10c) (
Uk ∪ {i} if p∗i,k > 0
ei p∗k =0 for all i ∈ Lk ∪ Uk (10d) Uk+1 = (15a)
Uk otherwise
which form a system of linear equations that must be solved (
Lk ∪ {i} if p∗i,k < 0
for p∗k , λα,k , λβ,k and µi,k , with i ∈ Lk ∪ Uk . An effective Lk+1 = (15b)
solution method is proposed in the Appendix. Lk otherwise.
By adding the resulting p∗k to vk , as per (8), the solution Fig. 2 illustrates the application of δk to prevent constraint
of the equality-constrained problem in (6) is obtained, which violation. At iteration k, advancing the optimal step p∗k would
will also be a solution of the original problem if it meets the lead to an unfeasible solution vk + p∗k , due to the violation
aforementioned subset of optimality conditions (7f) and (7g). of the constraint v2 ≤ u2 . To address this, only a fraction
When (7f) is not satisfied, the obtained solution is unfea- of this step is advanced up to the boundary v2 = u2 , and
sible, which means that the VSI is unable to synthesize such this blocking constraint is included in the upper working set
PWM reference. In this case only a fraction of the optimal step as Uk+1 = {2}. By activating this constraint, the optimal
def
p∗k = [p∗1,k , p∗2,k , . . . , p∗n,k ]T is advanced and a new feasible solution is finally reached in the subsequent iteration. When
guess for the solution is calculated as the last optimality condition (7g) is not satisfied, indicating
the existence of some negative Lagrange multiplier µi,k , the
vk+1 = vk + δk p∗k (11)
value of the cost function may be decreased by dropping some
where δk is the step-length parameter, which is chosen to active constraints. In this case, the constraint j corresponding
be the largest value in the range [0, 1] leading to a vk+1 to the most negative Lagrange multiplier
observing (7f). The value of δk can be computed considering
j = arg min µi,k for i ∈ Lk ∪ Uk (16)
that, according to (11), the ith component of the vector vk+1 is i
vi,k+1 = vi,k +δk p∗i,k . Hence, if p∗i,k is positive, vi,k+1 > vi,k ; is removed from the working sets as follows:
then, the upper bound ui could potentially be surpassed, and (
the constraint vi,k+1 ≤ ui must be observed, which leads to Lk \{j} if j ∈ Lk
Lk+1 = (17a)
ui − vi,k Lk otherwise
δk < if p∗i,k > 0. (12)
p∗i,k
(
Uk \{j} if j ∈ Uk
Uk+1 = (17b)
Otherwise, if is negative, the lower bound li is the one
p∗i,k Uk otherwise.
that could potentially be surpassed, leading to
li − vi,k
δk < if p∗i,k < 0. (13)
p∗i,k D. Proposed Active-Set Algorithm for MXY Injection
It is important to note that neither bound is surpassed if p∗i,k The algorithm developed to implement the proposed active-
is zero because in this case the PWM reference for phase i set method permits to calculate, at every switching cycle, the
vi,k+1 = vi,k is feasible, being this true for all clamped optimal PWM reference vector v∗ for a given reference stator
def
phases: i ∈ Lk ∪ Uk . Consequently, the PWM reference vector voltage ν = [να , νβ ]T , taking into account the number of
vk+1 that results from (11) will observe (7f) by choosing the nonbypassed cells in each phase κi (see Fig. 1). In what
following step-length parameter: follows, the framed number j indicates the matching line in
! the pseudo-code listing outlined in Table I.
ui − vi,k li − vi,k 1 First, the boundaries li and ui of the feasible voltage
δk = min 1, min , min . (14)
i∈L
/ k ∪Uk p∗
i,k >0 p∗i,k p∗
i,k <0 p∗i,k range for each phase i of the VSI are calculated from κi
 5

TABLE I E. Example for a Faulty Five-Phase CHB VSI

P ROPOSED ACTIVE -S ET A LGORITHM FOR MXY I NJECTION
The application of the proposed postfault strategy is illus-
trated for a five-phase (n = 5) CHB VSI with two power
1 Calculate li and ui from κi according to (4);
2 Determine a feasible starting voltage vector v0 ; cells per phase when cell a1 is bypassed (see Fig. 1). In
3 Set L0 and U0 to be subsets of the active constraints at v0 ; such situation, the numbers of nonbypassed cells per phase
4 for k = 0, 1, 2, . . . are κa = 1 and κb = κc = κd = κe = 2. Considering
5 Solve (10) for the optimal step p∗k ; // See Table II. the amplitude-invariant Clarke transformation [24] and the
6 if p∗k ̸= 0 // The optimal step is non−zero. weighting factors wx = wy = 1 for the cost function (2)
7 Compute δk from (14);
8 Update vk+1 ← vk + δk p∗k ; // See (11). leads to cα = [0.4, 0.124, −0.324, −0.324, 0.124], cβ =
9 if δk < 1 // There is a new blocking constraint. [0, 0.380, 0.235, −0.235, −0.380] and
10 Update Lk+1 and Uk+1 according to (15);  
11 else // There is no new blocking constraint. 0.320 −0.259 0.099 0.099 −0.259
12 Keep Lk+1 ← Lk and Uk+1 ← Uk ; −0.259 0.320 −0.259 0.099 0.099
13 end if
 
Q= 0.099 −0.259 0.320 −0.259 0.099.
14 else // The step is zero, thus condition (7f) is satisfied. 
15 Solve (10) for the multipliers µi,k ; // See Table II.
 0.099 0.099 −0.259 0.320 −0.259
16 if µi,k ≥ 0 // The last condition (7g) is satisfied. −0.259 0.099 0.099 −0.259 0.320
17 stop with solution v∗ = vk for the PWM reference;
18 else // Drop one constraint. Given a desired stator voltage vector1 ν = [να , νβ ]T =
19 Update Lk+1 and Uk+1 according to (16) and (17); [1.308, 1.308]T p.u., the optimization problem stated in (5)
20 Keep vk+1 ← vk ; becomes fully defined, and it is subsequently solved for v by
21 end if
22 end if following the steps outlined in Table I.
23 end for 1 First, the calculation of the boundaries of the feasible
voltage range for each VSI yields la = −1, ua = 1, lb = lc =
ld = le = −2 and ub = uc = ud = ue = 2. 2–3 Assuming a
warm start with initial vector v0 = [1, 0, 0, −2, −2]T p.u., the
initial subsets of the active constraints at v0 , i.e., its clamped
according to (4). 2 Next, a feasible starting voltage vector
phases, are L0 = {d, e} and U0 = {a}.
v0 = [v1,0 , v2,0 , . . . , vn,0 ]T is determined. Using a v0 close
to the solution (“warm start”) may expedite the algorithm 1) Iteration k = 0: 5 The application of the first eight
convergence. A practical choice for the starting vector could instructions outlined in Table II yields the optimal step vector
be the solution obtained in the previous VSI switching cycle. p∗0 = [0, 0.949, −1.208, 0, 0]T p.u. 6–7 Since p∗0 ̸= 0, the
However, any v0 that satisfies the inequality constraints in (5d) step-length parameter is calculated by using (14), which
can be employed as starting vector when no information about results in δ0 = 1. 8 Next, the PWM reference is updated
the solution is available (“cold start”). 3 Next, the initial to v1 = [1, 0.949, −1.208, −2, −2]T p.u., according to (11).
11–12 Furthermore, since δ0 = 1, the working sets remain the
working sets L0 are U0 are constructed by incorporating all
(or part) of the indexes i for which vi,0 = li or vi,0 = ui , same, which means L1 = {d, e} and U1 = {a}.
respectively. 4 After that, an iterative process begins. 5 At 2) Iteration k = 1: 5 From v1 , the calculation of a new
each iteration k, the system in (10) is solved for the optimal optimal step yields p∗1 = [0, 0, 0, 0, 0]T p.u. 14 Considering
step p∗k , considering ν = [να , νβ ]T . This can be achieved that p∗1 = 0, the vector v1 is a potential solution of the
by employing the method proposed in Appendix. 6–8 If p∗k is optimization problem and the Lagrange multipliers associated
non-zero, the step-length parameter δk is calculated using (14) with the phases in the set L1 ∪ U1 must be determined.
and the PWM reference vector is updated to vk+1 considering 15 This is done by following the last two steps described
(11). 9–10 If δk < 1, the step along p∗k is blocked by some in Table II, which lead to µa,1 = −0.0851, µd,1 = 0.747
constraint that is not currently in Lk or Uk ; thus, this new and µe,1 = −0.562. 18 The existence of negative multipliers
constraint is added to the appropriate working set according reveals that v1 cannot be a solution of the problem. 19 As a
to (15). 11–12 Otherwise, if δk = 1, the step is not blocked, result, the phase with the most negative multiplier (phase e)
and the working sets are kept for the next iteration, meaning is dropped from the working sets, leading to L2 = {d} and
that Lk+1 = Lk and Uk+1 = Uk . U2 = {a}. 20 Meanwhile, the PWM reference vector remains
unchanged: v2 = [1, 0.949, −1.208, −2, −2]T p.u.
If p∗k = 0, then the vector vk satisfies the optimality
14
3) Iteration k = 2: 5–8 & 11–12 The computation of the new
condition (7f). 15 In this case, the Lagrange multipliers µi,k
optimal step vector from the PWM reference v2 results in
for all i ∈ Uk ∪Lk are computed by solving (10), which can be
p∗2 = [0, 0.568, 0.568, 0, 0.920]T p.u., which is non-zero. This
done using the method in Table II. 16–17 If the resulting µi,k
leads to the step-length parameter δ2 = 1 and the new PWM
are all non-negative, the last optimality condition (7g) is sat-
reference v3 = [1, 1.517, −0.639, −2, −1.080]T p.u., while
isfied, and therefore the algorithm terminates with the optimal
the working sets do not change: L3 = {d} and U3 = {a}.
solution v∗ = vk for the PWM reference. 18–19 Otherwise, a
new iteration is carried out after dropping the constraint given 1 The normalization factor for voltages is the voltage step of the CHB VSI
by (16) from the working sets according to (17). 20 For this (i.e., 1 p.u. = Vdc ), while for time variables, it is the fundamental period
new iteration, the PWM reference is maintained: vk+1 = vk . (i.e., 1 p.u. = 20 ms at 50 Hz).
 6

4) Iteration k = 3: 5 The optimal step from v3 is found in [3]. Assuming the motor can accommodate the injected xy
to be p∗3 = 0, indicating that the Lagrange multipliers must currents, this voltage limit can be translated into the maximum
be determined. 14–15 The multipliers for phases a and d speed achievable by the motor drive without field weakening,
√
result in µa,3 = µd,3 = 0.1959. 16 Since all multipliers i.e., without torque derating, as ω̂max = v̂max ωr Vdc / 2/Vr
are non-negative, v3 is finally the solution of the problem. where ωr is the rated motor speed and Vr is the rated motor
17 Therefore, the algorithm terminates with the optimal PWM voltage. In a healthy condition, the MXY strategy achieves
reference v∗ = [1, 1.517, −0.639, −2, −1.080]T p.u., and zero cost, i.e., it does not perform xy injection, up to the
with the phases d and a clamped to their minimum and theoretical maximum amplitude for the stator voltage reference
maximum voltage levels, respectively. ∥ν∥ = κ/ cos(π/10) = 2.10 p.u. [3], [23]. When one cell (a1)
is bypassed, MXY begins injecting xy components at an
amplitude of ∥ν∥ ≈ 1.58 p.u. In contrast, the performance
III. S IMULATION R ESULTS
of the MIN strategy is significantly worse in this scenario,
The proposed MXY postfault strategy is analyzed via sim- as it injects a substantially higher amount of xy components
ulation and compared with the MIN strategy [3] considering across the entire range of reference stator voltage amplitudes.
the amplitude-invariant Clarke transformation and the same When two cells in adjacent phases (a1 & b1) are bypassed,
parameters of the experimental setup, namely, five phases avoiding distortion in the αβ components requires xy injection
and two cells per phase. For convenience, it is assumed that for amplitudes between 1.58 p.u. and 1.85 p.u. If ∥ν∥ exceeds
the fault occurs in cell a1 (see Fig. 1), which represents 1.85 p.u., such distortion would become unavoidable. The
a challenging scenario since the range of feasible output simulations also reveal that when the two bypassed cells are in
voltages for the corresponding phase is halved compared to non adjacent phases (a1 & c1) the scenario is more challenging,
the healthy condition. A single fault in any other phase would as a substantially greater amount of xy component injection
yield comparable results, due to symmetry. The supplementary is required, which must be performed from ∥ν∥ = 1.05 p.u.
material accompanying this article includes the Matlab code up to ∥ν∥ = 1.70 p.u. This finding is consistent with the
for the postfault strategies compared in this section. conclusions drawn from other articles studying the fault toler-
Fig. 3 compares the results obtained with the MXY and ance of five-phase motors [19]. Notably, in all fault scenarios,
the MIN postfault strategies for a sinusoidal stator voltage the MXY strategy achieves the theoretical maximum ∥ν∥
reference with an amplitude of 1.85 p.u. In a healthy con- attainable by the CHB VSI without distortion in the αβ
dition, with no bypassed cells, MXY yields the same PWM components v̂max [3]. However, other practical limitations of
reference as the generalized min-max injection technique by the motor drive, such as machine overheating or limitations in
Carnielutti [3], [28], as expected. This is because in this situa- the VSI output current, often are more restrictive. It is under
tion, no xy injection is necessary, and the Carnielutti’s method these circumstances that the optimal xy injection performed
already provides an optimal solution. When cell a1 is bypassed by the MXY strategy largely widens the speed range compared
(κa = 1), the boundaries of the feasible voltage range of phase with the MIN strategy, as will be shown in the experimental
a shrink from la = −2 p.u. and ua = 2 p.u. to la = −1 p.u. tests.
and ua = 1 p.u., respectively. In this fault scenario, the MXY The MXY injection strategy, while advantageous, necessi-
strategy injects the minimum xy components necessary to tates a demanding iterative computational process. The con-
prevent distorting the αβ components, which results in the vergence of the for-loop within the algorithm in Table I, and
clamping of some VSI phases during some time intervals. In consequently the computation time, depends on the starting
contrast, the behavior of the MIN strategy is completely differ- voltage (cold/warm start) and the input vector ν. Fig. 5
ent under the same scenario. The MIN strategy minimizes the shows the number of for-loop iterations needed to obtain
peak values of the PWM references to avoid αβ distortion, the PWM reference for each switching cycle for the case in
resulting in no phase clamping and, consequently, more xy Fig. 3(b) (sinusoidal reference with ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. and cell
component injection than it is strictly required. This conclusion a1 bypassed) considering cold and warm starts. Cold starts use
is obtained by comparing the middle bottom plots in Fig. 3. a zero initial vector v0 in all cycles, while warm starts utilize
The stator current components drawn by an induction motor the optimal solution v∗ from the prior cycle. The simulations
that matches the experimental setup are plotted at the bottom show convergence within five iterations for both methods,
of Fig. 3. The simulation results confirm that neither the MXY but warm starts typically require only two iterations (2.067
nor the MIN strategies introduces distortion in the αβ current average per cycle) compared to cold starts (3.315 average per
components. However, the MXY strategy injects significantly cycle).
less xy current. Therefore, both techniques would produce the
same torque profile, but the MXYstrategy offers the advantage
IV. E XPERIMENTAL R ESULTS
of lower stator copper losses.
Fig. 4 plots the value of cost function q(v), with weighting The proposed postfault strategy is evaluated with the same
factors wx = wy = 1, averaged over a fundamental period, for experimental setup used in [3], but without the bulky xy
the reference voltages obtained by using the MXY and MIN current filter. Fig. 6 depicts this setup, which consists of a
strategies up to ∥ν∥ = v̂max , which is the maximum voltage five-phase induction motor drive mechanically coupled to a
achievable by the CHB VSI without αβ distortion. The value dc generator loaded with a resistor bank. The induction motor
of v̂max for any bypassed cell configuration was established is rated for 110 V at 50 Hz, with a speed of 1380 r/min
 7

MXY with healthy CHB VSI (κa = 2) MXY with cell a1 bypassed (κa = 1) MIN with cell a1 bypassed (κa = 1)
PWM reference (p.u.) Voltage reference (p.u.)
νβ να
2.0
να = νβ = 1.308 p.u.
1.0

0.0

−1.0

−2.0

vc vb va ve vd
2.0
ua
1.0

0.0
la
−1.0

−2.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0
Time (p.u.)
PWM reference (p.u.)

PWM reference (p.u.)

PWM reference (p.u.)

2 MXY 2 MXY 2 MIN
(vα , vβ ) (vα , vβ ) (vα , vβ )
1 1 1

0 0 0
(vx , vy )
(vx , vy )
−1 −1 −1 (vx , vy )

−2 −2 −2
−2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2
PWM reference (p.u.) PWM reference (p.u.) PWM reference (p.u.)

4 MXY 4 MXY 4 MIN

Stator current (A)

Stator current (A)

2 (Iα , Iβ ) 2 (Iα , Iβ ) Stator current (A) 2 (Iα , Iβ )

0 (Ix , Iy )
0 0

−2 −2 (Ix , Iy ) −2
(Ix , Iy )
−4 −4 −4
−4 −2 0 2 4 −4 −2 0 2 4 −4 −2 0 2 4
Stator current (A) Stator current (A) Stator current (A)
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 3. PWM reference signals (middle) and stator currents (bottom) obtained for a reference stator voltage (top) with amplitude ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. for
(a) healthy situation with MXY, and fault scenario with cell a1 bypassed using (b) the MXY and (c) the MIN strategies. Dashed black lines show the lower
la and the upper ua boundaries of the range of feasible voltages for the phase a. The highlighted points correspond with the example in Section II-E.

(8% slip). It features 530-mH magnetizing inductance, 25-mH of a dSPACE DS1103 PPC controller board. The reference
stator leakage inductance, 50-mH rotor leakage inductance, stator-voltage vectors ν = [να , νβ ]T are calculated in open
9.5-Ω stator resistance, and 7.0-Ω rotor resistance. The CHB loop with the Volts/Hertz criterion [29]. No compensations
VSI employs two cells per phase (κ = 2). Each cell is for semiconductor voltage drops, dead times, or any other VSI
an H-bridge constructed using four IRGB6B60KD insulated- nonlinearity [30] have been considered.
gate bipolar transistors. The cells are supplied by a single-
phase diode rectifier connected to a bank of aluminum elec- Fig. 7 presents experimental results obtained with the MXY
trolytic capacitors with a total capacitance of 940 µF. The and MIN strategies for a stator voltage reference of amplitude
dc-link voltage of each cell is Vdc = 76 V. The trigger ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u. at 34 Hz and rated slip (8%). The top captures
signals transmitted by optical fiber to the transistor drivers show, for phases a and b of the VSI, the raw output voltages
are generated by a Xilinx Zynq-7000 system-on-chip using (Va and Vb in Fig. 1), which exhibit five levels, and the
the symmetric regular sampled phase-shifted carrier PWM same signals low-pass filtered (V̄a and V̄b ) with a cutoff
technique [29]. The transistors switch at 2.5 kHz with a 5- frequency of 1.46 kHz. The filtered VSI output voltages for all
µs dead time. The PWM reference vectors v are computed phases are presented in the middle top oscilloscope captures.
using the postfault strategies under test by the PowerPC 604e The stator currents (Ia , Ib ,. . . in Fig. 1) are shown in the
middle bottom captures, whereas their αβ and xy components
 8

Grid Transformers Rectifiers Full-bridges

MIN a1 bypassed
1 {Vi }
G
Cost q(v) averaged

MXY a1 bypassed

∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u.

0.8
5-phase Load
MXY a1&b1 bypassed induction

Trigger
signals
0.6 5-level 5-phase CHB VSI motor

∥ν∥ = 2.08 p.u.

Speed {vi }
να
0.4 refer. Volt Symmetric
νβ MXY
Hertz phase-shifted
{κi } (Table I)
carrier PWM
0.2
dSPACE DS1103 PPC Zynq-7000 i = {a, b, c, d, e}
MXY a1&c1 byp. MXY healthy
0 (a)
0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2
Amplitude of the reference stator voltage ∥ν∥ (p.u.)
5-level 5-phase CHB VSI
TPS 2024B oscilloscope
Fig. 4. Value of the cost function q(v) averaged over a fundamental period
with respect to the amplitude of the reference stator voltage ∥ν∥ without αβ Optical fiber link
distortion. The highlighted points correspond to the simulations in Fig. 3.

6
Transformers
Cold start Warm start Diode rectifiers dSPACE DS1103 PPC
For-loop iteration number

5
5-phase induction motor Zynq-7000
4
3.315 Tachogenerator
3
Load resistors dc generator
2.067
2
(b)
1 Fig. 6. Experimental test rig based on a five-level five-phase CHB VSI.
Cell a1 bypassed and ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. (a) Block diagram. (b) Picture.
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Time (p.u.)
for a stator voltage reference of amplitude ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u.
Fig. 5. For-loop iteration number within the algorithm of the MXY strategy at 46 Hz and 8% slip. Fig. 8(a) shows that, with a healthy
with cold and warm start for 400 samples of a fundamental period when VSI, the MXY strategy produces stator currents with αβ
the cell a1 is bypassed and the amplitude of the reference stator voltage is
∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. components following a circular trajectory and with negligible
xy components. Figs. 8(b) and 8(c) reveal that, when one cell
(a1) or two cells in adjacent phases (a1 & b1) are bypassed,
are plotted at the bottom. The measurements in Fig. 7(a) respectively, the MXY strategy preserves the circular trajectory
correspond to the healthy VSI operation under the MXY of the αβ stator currents, while the xy currents are restricted.
strategy, which in this situation yields the same results as These experimental measurements align with the simulation
the generalized min-max injection by Carnielutti [3], [28]. results presented in Fig. 4 for ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u.
The raw VSI output voltages have five levels, as usual [29], Fig. 9(a) and Fig. 9(b) present the harmonic analysis that
the stator currents form a balanced five-phase system, and correspond to the tests depicted in Fig. 7(c) and Fig. 8(b),
their αβ components trace a circular trajectory, while their xy respectively. The top plot in Fig. 9(a) shows that for a reference
components remain negligible. When the cell a1 is bypassed, stator voltage with an amplitude of ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u., the
the raw output voltage of phase a Va becomes a three-level MIN strategy generates a PWM reference with a fundamental
waveform. Fig. 7(b) shows that, using the MXY strategy in amplitude of 1.4 p.u., matching the reference, exhibiting no
this scenario, the stator currents are roughly the same as in αβ harmonics, small zero-sequence harmonics and relatively
healthy condition. As a result, the αβ components of the large xy harmonics. The corresponding bottom plot reveals
current still follow a circular trajectory and slight xy current that these xy harmonics induce substantial xy stator current
components arise. Conversely, Fig. 7(c) proves that using the harmonics due to the low impedance seen by the xy com-
MIN strategy without an xy filter under the same fault scenario ponents [14]. The αβ current harmonics that also arise are
induces excessive xy stator currents, while the trajectory of the attributed to the aforementioned VSI nonlinearities. The top
αβ stator currents exhibits some distortion attributable to the plot in Fig. 9(b) depicts the harmonic components in the PWM
inherent VSI nonlinearities. Notably, these measurements are reference for a more demanding reference stator voltage, with
consistent with the simulation outcomes presented in Fig. 4 an amplitude of ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u., which forces the MXY
for ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u. strategy to perform xy injection. Even in this more challenging
The same test procedure is followed in Fig. 8 to examine scenario, the MXY strategy injects lower xy and higher zero-
the behavior of the MXY strategy under various scenarios sequence harmonics in the PWM reference compared with the
 9

MXY MXY MIN

Va Va
Va
V̄a V̄a V̄a
Cell a1 bypassed Cell a1 bypassed

Vb Vb Vb
V̄b V̄b V̄b

MXY MXY MIN

V̄c V̄b V̄a V̄e V̄d V̄c V̄d V̄d V̄c V̄b V̄a V̄e
V̄b V̄e

V̄a

MXY MXY MIN Ib Id

Ia
Ic Ib Ia Ie Id Ic Ib Ia Ie Id Ic

Ie

2 MXY 2 MXY 2 MIN

(Iα , Iβ ) (Iα , Iβ )
1 1 1
Current (A)

Current (A)

Current (A)
(Ix , Iy ) (Ix , Iy )
0 0 0

−1 −1 −1 (Iα , Iβ )

−2 −2 −2 (Ix , Iy )
−2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2
Current (A) Current (A) Current (A)
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 7. Experimental measurements for ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u., 34 Hz and 8% slip. Raw VSI output voltages, with some waveforms omitted for clarity (top), filtered
output voltages (middle top), raw stator currents (middle bottom) and αβ and xy components of the stator currents (bottom). (a) Healthy VSI with MXY,
and cell a1 bypassed with (b) MXY and (c) MIN.

MIN strategy, which results in lower stator current harmonics, by dashed lines), compared with the healthy condition. How-
as the corresponding bottom plot shows. ever, when xy components are injected in the PWM reference
(indicated by solid lines), the copper losses invariably rise.
Fig. 10 plots the estimated stator copper losses with respect
More importantly, such losses increment aligns with the value
to the rotor speed for the experiments conducted in Figs. 7
of the averaged cost function obtained by simulation, which
and 8, along with the case of using the MXY strategy when
is presented in Fig. 4. This experimental finding supports the
the cells a1 and c1 are both bypassed. The speed achievable in
assumption that minimizing the cost function q(v) greatly
these tests is limited by the instantaneous VSI output current.
reduces the stator copper losses.
Other hardware setups could imply different limitations that
would require a specific analysis for the maximum achievable The machine parameters and the preceding experimental
speed without field weakening. With the current setup, the data were used to estimate the electromagnetic torque using the
MIN strategy with cell a1 bypassed can only be tested up machine model presented in [31]. As shown in Fig. 11(a), for
to 976 r/min. This is significantly lower than with the MXY the experiments in Fig. 7 with ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u., both MXY and
strategy, which reaches 1346 r/min under the same conditions MIN strategies achieve a similar average torque, of approxi-
exhibiting comparable stator copper losses. Notably, the MIN mately 2.9 Nm. However, the torque ripple increases when
strategy consistently produces significantly higher stator losses using the MIN strategy without an xy filter. This is attributed
than the MXY strategy across all speeds and scenarios tested. to the previously mentioned distortion in the αβ stator current
In all fault scenarios, the MXY technique does not increase the trajectory observed in Fig. 7(c). Similarly, Fig. 11(b) presents
losses when it does not perform actual xy injection (indicated the estimated torque for the experiments in Fig. 8. Here, the
 10

MXY MXY MXY

Va Va Va
V̄a V̄a V̄a
Cell a1 bypassed Cell a1 bypassed

Vb Vb Vb
V̄b V̄b V̄b
Cell b1 bypassed

MXY MXY MXY

V̄c V̄b V̄a V̄e V̄d V̄c V̄b V̄d V̄c V̄e V̄d
V̄a V̄e V̄b V̄a

MXY MXY Ib MXY Ic Ib Ie

Id Ic Ib Ia Ie Id Ie Id

Ia Ia

Ic

2 MXY (Iα , Iβ ) 2 MXY (Iα , Iβ ) 2 MXY (Iα , Iβ )

1 1 1
Current (A)

Current (A)

Current (A)
(Ix , Iy )
0 0 0

−1 −1 −1
(Ix , Iy )
−2 −2 −2 (Ix , Iy )
−2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2 −2 −1 0 1 2
Current (A) Current (A) Current (A)
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 8. Experimental measurements for the MXY strategy, ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u., 46 Hz and 8% slip. Raw VSI output voltages, with some waveforms omitted for
clarity (top), filtered output voltages (middle top), raw stator currents (middle bottom) and αβ and xy components of the stator currents (bottom). (a) Healthy
VSI. (b) Cell a1 bypassed. (c) Cells a1 and b1 bypassed.

MXY strategy achieves under different fault scenarios with At ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. the efficiencies achieved with MXY are
∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. an average torque, of roughly 3.4 Nm, and a 74.2% in healthy conditions, 71.1% with cell a1 bypassed and
torque ripple similar to the healthy situation. This aligns with 68.0% with cells a1 & b1 bypassed.
the aforementioned low distortion observed in the circular αβ Fig. 12 shows the response of the motor drive with the
stator current trajectories shown in the bottom plots in Fig. 8. MXY strategy when cell a1 is bypassed at time t = 50 ms for
In all cases, the effect of the torque ripple on the rotor speed is ∥ν∥ = 2.0 p.u. at 48.8 Hz. Initially, the CHB VSI operates
small, which remains roughly constant during the experiments. with all cells healthy (κa = 2), thus MXY does not perform
Notably, Fig. 11 also demonstrates that, with cells a1 and any xy injection. In this condition, the measured stator currents
b1 bypassed, the MXY strategy reaches the theoretical limit exhibit balanced αβ components with negligible xy compo-
achievable by the drive in this scenario, without distortion in nents. When the cell a1 is bypassed (κa = 1), MXY prevents
the αβ plane or the need for field weakening [3]. αβ distortion by injecting optimal xy components. The rapid
The experimental overall drive efficiency, defined as the response of the MXY strategy results in negligible disturbance
ratio of estimated mechanical output power to the input dc in the electromagnetic torque and rotor speed compared to
power and assessed in the cases presented in Fig. 11, aligns their natural variations caused by drive nonlinearities.
with the observed stator copper losses. For the MXY strategy The box plot in Fig. 13 compares the variation of the
at ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u., the efficiency in healthy conditions is execution times with the amplitude of the reference stator
73.1% and with cell a1 bypassed is 70.5%. Under the same voltage ∥ν∥ for the MXY task with cold start and the MIN
faulty condition, the efficiency with MIN reduces to 49.1%. task running on the dSPACE board. This board features a
 11

Zero-sequence harmonics αβ harmonics xy harmonics

2 MIN 2 MXY 1.85 p.u.

3 2.5
PWM reference (p.u.)

PWM reference (p.u.)

1.5 1.4 p.u. 1.5

Torque (N m)

Torque (N m)
2.5 2
1 1 2 1.5 MXY healthy
1.5 MXY a1 bypassed
MXY healthy 1
0.5 0.5
1 MXY a1 bypassed MXY a1&b1 bypassed
MIN a1 bypassed 0.5
0.5
0 0 ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u. at 34 Hz ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. at 46 Hz
−7 −5 −3 −1 +1 +3 +5 +7 −7 −5 −3 −1 +1 +3 +5 +7 0 0
Harmonic Harmonic

Rotor speed (rpm)

Rotor speed (rpm)

1200
1.4 MIN 8% slip 1.4 MXY 8% slip 800 MXY healthy MXY a1&b1 bypassed
1.2 1.2
MXY a1 bypassed 800 MXY a1 bypassed
Stator current (A)

Stator current (A)

1 1 MIN a1 bypassed MXY healthy

0.8 0.8 400
0.6 0.6
400
0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 5 10 15 20 25
0
−7 −5 −3 −1 +1 +3 +5 +7
0
−7 −5 −3 −1 +1 +3 +5 +7
Time (ms) Time (ms)
Harmonic Harmonic (a) (b)
(a) (b) Fig. 11. Experimentally estimated torque and measured rotor speed at 8%
slip with (a) MXY and MIN for ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u. at 34 Hz, and (b) MXY for
Fig. 9. Harmonic analysis of the PWM voltage reference (top) and the ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. at 46 Hz.
stator currents at 8% slip (bottom). (a) MIN for ∥ν∥ = 1.4 p.u. at 34 Hz.
(b) MXY for ∥ν∥ = 1.85 p.u. at 46 Hz. The negative sign indicates harmonic
components rotating in the opposite direction of the fundamental.

140 8% slip
MXY a1 bypassed MXY healthy MXY with cell a1 bypassed
120 4
Current (A)

MIN a1 bypassed Id Ib Ie Ic Ia
Stator copper loss (W)

MXY a1&b1 bypassed 2

100 0
80 −2
∥ν∥ = 2.0 p.u. at 48.8 Hz
−4
60
2
Current (A)

Iβ Iα
40 MXY a1&c1 bypassed MXY healthy
0
20
−2
0
400 600 800 1000 1200 4
Ix
Current (A)

Rotor speed (r/min) 2 Iy

0
Fig. 10. Experimentally estimated stator copper losses at 8% slip for the MXY
and the MIN strategies, normalized with respect to the motor rated values. −2
Dashed lines indicate no actual xy injection in the PWM reference. The −4
highlighted points correspond with the experimental measurements presented 4
Torque (Nm)

in Figs. 7 and 8.

2
32-bit PowerPC 604e running at 400 MHz with one floating-
point unit, three integer units and 32 kB L1 caches both 0
Speed (r/min)

for instructions and data. The execution time of the MIN 1500
task varies slightly between 4.4 µs and 5.8 µs, being nearly 1000
independent of ∥ν∥. This is explained by the fact that the
500
number of mathematical operations required by the MIN
strategy is nearly constant. However, the amount of opera- 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
tions performed by the MXY task depends on the number
Time (ms)
of iterations required by the proposed active-set algorithm
to converge (see Fig. 5). Consequently, Fig. 13 shows that Fig. 12. Transient response with the MXY strategy when one cell is bypassed
the execution time of MXY exhibits a wider range, varying for ∥ν∥ = 2.0 p.u. at 48.8 Hz at t = 50 ms. Raw stator currents (top), and
between 7.1 µs and 15 µs. This is because larger values of ∥ν∥ their αβ (middle top) and xy (middle) components, estimated electromagnetic
torque (middle bottom), and rotor speed (bottom).
necessitate more iterations to converge, as an increased number
of constraints become active at the solution. More importantly,
 12

16
PowerPC at 400 MHz
While MXY offers substantial advantages, it incurs a higher
14 computational burden. Future research should focus on devel-
oping efficient algorithms to mitigate this limitation without
Execution time (µs)

12
compromising the efficacy of the MXY postfault strategy.
10 MXY a1 bypassed

8 A PPENDIX
6 MIN a1 bypassed An efficient method for solving the system of linear equa-
tions in (10) at every iteration is necessary to implement the
4
proposed postfault strategy in real time. This linear system can
2 be expressed in matrix form, omitting the iteration index k for
0 the sake of conciseness, as
0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2   ∗  
Q AT ET

Amplitude of the reference stator voltage ∥ν∥ (p.u.) −p g
A 0 0   λ  = h (18a)
Fig. 13. Execution times of the MXY, with cold start, and the MIN strategies E 0 0 µ 0
with the cell a1 bypassed. Each box plot indicates the minimum, maximum,
median, and first and third quartiles of execution-time data set measured over def
a fundamental period. AT = [cT T
α , cβ ] (18b)
T def
E = [. . . , eT
i ,...] for i ∈ L ∪ U (18c)
in the worst case, the execution time of the MXY task triples def
g = Qv (18d)
that of the MIN task, disclosing the need for further research to def T
reduce the computational overhead. Nevertheless, this does not λ = [λα , λβ ] (18e)
necessarily pose a serious limitation for the target applications def
µ = [. . . , µi , . . . , −µj , . . . ]T for i ∈ L and j ∈ U (18f)
of the proposed technique. Medium-voltage drives based on def
CHB VSIs [7] utilize powerful control platforms, which can h = Av − ν (18g)
accommodate the higher computational demands of the MXY def
ν = [να , νβ ] . T
(18h)
strategy.
This system of n + 2 + m linear equations has to be solved for
V. C ONCLUSION p∗ , λ and µ, where m is the size of µ, that is, the number of
This article introduces the MXY postfault strategy, an elements in the set L∪U. Recognizing that, according to (10d),
optimization-based approach to generate optimal PWM ref- some components of p∗ are known to be zero, the vector p∗
erence signals for multiphase motor drives based on CHB can be written as
VSIs, when certain power cells are bypassed due to faults. p∗ = ĒT p̂∗ (19)
The optimal PWM references are determined by exploiting def
where the vector p̂∗ = [. . . , pi , . . . ]T , for all i ∈
/ L ∪ U,
the extra degrees of freedom that exist in multiphase motors, includes just those unknown components in p∗ , and
taking into account the constraints introduced by the reduced
def
output voltage range of the phases with bypassed cells. The ĒT = [. . . , eT
i ,...] for i ∈
/ L∪U (20)
proposed MXY strategy calculates the optimal PWM reference
is the matrix made with all the standard unit vectors not
by injecting the minimum xy components combined with
included in E. If (19) is substituted in (18a), taking into
an appropriate zero-sequence needed to maintain the desired
account that EĒT = 0 and EET = I, being I the identity
αβ components for the stator voltage. While this approach
matrix, the following system of n + 2 linear equations is
inevitably introduces low-order xy harmonics into the stator
obtained:
currents, thereby increasing the stator copper losses, the MXY
 −p̂∗
 
strategy effectively mitigates these unavoidable losses. T T T
  
QĒ A E  g
The proposed strategy is compared with the MIN alterna- λ = . (21)
AĒT

0 0 h
tive, which also employs xy injection but follows a distinct µ
mathematical approach. While MIN was derived by solving The left multiplication of the first block-row equations of this
an infinity-norm optimization problem and relies on closed- new system by E, leads to the following solution for µ:
form expressions, MXY is obtained here through an iterative
solution of a quadratic problem. Both methods generate the µ = EQĒT p̂∗ − EAT λ + Eg (22)
desired αβ stator voltage without distortion, provided it is which, considering (18d) and (19), can be rewritten as
compatible with the constraints imposed by bypassed cells of
the CHB VSI. However, the MXY strategy exhibits superior µ = EQ(v + p∗ ) − EAT λ. (23)
performance in terms of stator copper losses and peak currents Subsequently, by substituting (22) into (21) and after some
across all operating conditions and fault scenarios. This signif- manipulations, a reduced system of n + 2 − m linear equations
icant reduction in losses eliminates the need for the hardware is obtained:
xy filter in the experimental tests, which was recommended for Q̂ ÂT −p̂∗
    
ĝ
mitigating excessive currents generated by the MIN strategy. = (24)
 0 λ h
 13

def def def

where Q̂ = ĒQĒT , Â = AĒT and ĝ = Ēg = ĒQv. TABLE II
This reduced system can be solved by the null-space P ROPOSED M ETHOD TO C ALCULATE THE O PTIMAL S TEP V ECTOR AND
THE L AGRANGE M ULTIPLIERS
method [26] by partitioning the vector p̂∗ as
p̂∗ = Yy + Zz (25) 1 Given Q, cα , cβ , ν = [να , νβ ]T , v, L and U, obtain A, E
and calculate h = Av − ν, according to (18);
where y and z are two vector components of p̂∗ , and Y and Z 2 Obtain Ē according to (20);
are two matrices whose columns span the range and the null- 3 Obtain Q̂ = ĒQĒT , Â = AĒT and ĝ = ĒQv, from (24);
space of Â, respectively. That is, ÂY = I and ÂZ = 0 [26]. 4 Choose two independent columns of  and obtain matrices P,
These two matrices can be calculated as M and N according to (28);
 −1 
M 5 Calculate Y and Z from (26) and (27), respectively;
Y=P (26) 6 Solve (30) for z with (31) or by Cholesky factorization;
0 7 Calculate p̂∗ = −Yh + Zz, according to (25) and (29);

−M−1 N
 8 Calculate p∗ = ĒT p̂∗ , according to (19);
Z=P (27) 9 Calculate λ = YT Q̂p̂∗ + YT ĝ, according to (32);
I
10 Calculate µ = EQ(v + p∗ ) − EAT λ, according to (23);
where M is a 2×2 submatrix made with any two independent
columns of Â, N is the submatrix made with all remaining
columns of Â, and P is defined as the permutation matrix that
has no solution when there are not two linearly independent
rearranges the columns of  such that
columns in Â, which thwarts the decomposition presented
def
ÂP = [M|N]. (28) in (28). This scenario arises when the reference stator vector
ν lays in the overmodulation region, that is, when xy and zero
It is important to remark that all the columns of A, and sequence injection cannot prevent distortion in the αβ plane.
consequently, all the columns of Â, are linearly independent Conversely, the system has infinite solutions when the matrix
for all multiphase motors except for those having an even ZT Q̂Z is singular. In this case, there exist infinite optimal
number of phases with a symmetrical winding arrangement. solutions, all of which yield the same value of the cost function
Therefore, except in these particular cases, a convenient choice q(v) but differ solely in the zero-sequence component. One
for P is the identity matrix I. If (25) is substituted in (24) such optimal solution can be obtained by calculating a PWM
taking into account (26) and (27) it results in reference vector v, either by no xy injection at all or by clamp-
y = −h (29) ing at least one phase in every group of isolated windings,
followed by the injection of an appropriate zero-sequence (e.g.,
while z can be obtained by solving the system of n − 2 − m the generalized min-max injection by Carnielutti [3], [28]).
linear equations
(ZT Q̂Z)z = ZT (Q̂Yh − ĝ) (30) R EFERENCES
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[10] P. Lezana and G. Ortiz, “Extended operation of cascade multicell [31] L. Vancini, M. Mengoni, G. Rizzoli, L. Zarri, and A. Tani, “High-torque
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[12] A. Mora, P. Lezana, and J. Juliet, “Control scheme for an induction Óscar López (Senior Member, IEEE) received the
motor fed by a cascade multicell converter under internal fault,” IEEE M.Sc. and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering
Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 61, no. 11, pp. 5948–5955, Nov. 2014. doi from Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain, in 2001
[13] S. Ouni, M. Narimani, Z. Cheng, and N. R. Zargari, “A new postfault and 2009, respectively.
control method for CHB inverter to increase maximum output voltage,” Since 2004, he is an Associate Professor at the
IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 56, no. 5, pp. 5499–5510, Sep.-Oct. 2020. Universidade de Vigo. He is a member of the
doi Applied Power Electronics Technology Research
[14] E. Levi, “Advances in converter control and innovative exploitation of Group, Universidade de Vigo. His research interest
additional degrees of freedom for multiphase machines,” IEEE Trans. are in the areas of ac power conversion.
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[15] E. A. Klingshirn, “High phase order induction motors - Part I-
Description and theoretical considerations,” IEEE Trans. Power App.
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[16] A. Shawier, A. S. Abdel-Khalik, R. A. Hamdy, K. H. Ahmed, and
S. Ahmed, “Postfault operation of five-phase induction machine with Jacobo Álvarez was born in Vigo, Spain, in 1967.
minimum total losses under single open-phase fault,” IEEE Access, He is Engineer by the University of Vigo, Vigo,
vol. 8, pp. 208 696–208 706, 2020. doi Spain in 1991. He received the Ph.D. degree in
[17] M. J. Durán, J. Prieto, and F. Barrero, “Space vector PWM with Electronics from Universidade de Vigo in 1995.
reduced common-mode voltage for five-phase induction motor drives He has been an Associate Professor at the Uni-
operating in overmodulation zone,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., versity of Vigo since 1997. His main topics of
vol. 28, no. 8, pp. 4030–4040, Aug. 2013. doi interest are Programmable Logic Devices and Field
[18] G. Carrasco and C. A. Silva, “Space vector PWM method for five-phase Programmable Gate Arrays architectures and design
two-level VSI with minimum harmonic injection in the overmodulation methods, applied to industrial control problems.
region,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 2042–2053,
May 2013. doi
[19] H. Liu, D. Wang, X. Yi, X. Zheng, X. Yu, and B. Pan, “Loss reduction
of five-phase induction motor with third harmonic injection throughout
widest torque range under open-circuit faults,” IEEE Trans. Emerg. Sel.
Topics Power Electron., vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 4643–4658, Oct. 2023. doi Alejandro G. Yepes (Senior Member, IEEE) re-
[20] A. G. Yepes, A. Shawier, W. E. Abdel-Azim, A. Abdel-Khalik, ceived the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical
S. Ahmed, and J. Doval-Gandoy, “General online current-harmonic engineering from Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain,
generation for increased torque capability with minimum stator copper in 2009 and 2011, respectively.
loss in fault-tolerant multiphase induction motor drives,” IEEE Trans. Since 2008, he has been with the Applied Power
Transport. Electrific., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 4650–4667, Sep. 2023. doi Electronics Technology Research Group, Universi-
dade de Vigo. August 2016 to June 2018, he was
[21] M. Medina-Sánchez, A. G. Yepes, Ó. López, and J. Doval-Gandoy,
a visiting scholar with the Department of Electrical
“Assessment and exploitation of the minimum current harmonic
and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University,
distortion under overmodulation in five-phase induction motor drives,”
College Station, TX, USA. His research interests are
IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 4289–4305, Apr.
in the areas of ac power conversion, with special
2023. doi
focus, currently, on multiphase machine drives.
[22] M. Medina-Sánchez, A. G. Yepes, Ó. López, A. S. Abdel-Khalik,
and J. Doval-Gandoy, “A carrier-based overmodulation strategy with
minimum voltage distortion for symmetrical n-phase induction motor
drives,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 38, no. 12, pp. 15 055–15 071,
Dec. 2023. doi Martín Medina-Sánchez received the M.Sc. degree
[23] L. Vancini, M. Mengoni, G. Rizzoli, G. Sala, L. Zarri, and A. Tani, in electrical engineering from the Escuela Superior
“Carrier-based PWM overmodulation strategies for five-phase inverters,” Politécnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador, in
IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 6988–6999, Jun. 2021. 2017.
doi He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree
[24] D. C. White and H. H. Woodson, Electromechanical energy conversion. in electrical engineering with the Applied Power
The MIT Press, Nov. 1968. Electronics Technology Research Group (APET),
[25] E. Levi, “Multiphase electric machines for variable-speed applications,” Universidade de Vigo. His research interests include
IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 1893–1909, May 2008. multiphase drives and power electronics.
doi
[26] J. Nocedal and S. Wright, Numerical optimization. Springer-Verlag
GmbH, 2006.
[27] N. I. M. Gould and P. L. Toint, “Numerical methods for large-scale
non-convex quadratic programming,” in Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Ind.
Applied Mathematics Indian Subcontinent, 2002, pp. 149–179. doi Jesús Doval-Gandoy (Member, IEEE) received the
[28] F. Carnielutti, H. Pinheiro, and C. Rech, “Generalized carrier-based M.Sc. degree in 1991 from the Polytechnic Univer-
modulation strategy for cascaded multilevel converters operating under sity of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, and the Ph.D. degree
fault conditions,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 59, no. 2, pp. from Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain, in 1999,
679–689, Feb. 2012. doi both in electrical engineering.
[29] D. G. Holmes and T. A. Lipo, Pulse width modulation for power He is currently a Professor and the Head of
converters: principles and practice. John Wiley & Sons, 2003. the Applied Power Electronics Technology Research
[30] A. Mora, J. Juliet, A. Santander, and P. Lezana, “Dead-time and Group (APET), Universidade de Vigo. His research
semiconductor voltage drop compensation for cascaded H-bridge interest includes ac power conversion.
converters,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 63, no. 12, pp. 7833–7842,
Dec. 2016. doi

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