Fault Tolerant Multiphase Electrical Drives: The Impact of Design

Eric Semail (1) , Xavier Kestelyn (1) , Fabrice Locment (1)

1 L2EP - Laboratoire d’Électrotechnique et d’Électronique de Puissance - ULR 2697

This paper deals with fault tolerant multiphase electrical drives. The quality of the torque of a vector-controlled Permanent Magnet (PM) Synchronous Machine supplied by a multi-leg Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) is examined in normal operation and when one or two phases are open-circuited. It is then deduced that a seven-phase machine is a good compromise allowing high torque-to-volume density and easy control with smooth torque in fault operation. Experimental results confirm the predicted characteristics.

Mots clés: Multiphase machine; Fault tolerance; design; Synchronous machine; Axial Flux machine

Domaines: Automatique / Robotique; Electromagnétisme; Energie électrique

Eric Semail, Xavier Kestelyn, Fabrice Locment. Fault Tolerant Multiphase Electrical Drives: The Impact of Design. European Physical Journal: Applied Physics, 2008, 43 (2), pp.159-162. ⟨10.1051/epjap:2008057⟩. ⟨hal-00819009⟩