DC Current Control for a Single-Stage Current Source Inverter in Motor Drive Application

The current source inverter (CSI) is a power electronics topology that allows for the realization of variable speed drives (VSD). Compared to the most common voltage source inverter (VSI), which can be directly connected to a voltage source, the CSI needs a prestage to generate a constant current bus. This article therefore seeks to challenge this accepted consideration that a CSI always needs this precircuit and seeks to remove this circuit by proposing an innovative idc current control scheme. The proposed scheme is applied to a single stage motor drive driven by a CSI converter. It is shown how implementing this control scheme removes the need for the front-end stage, thus removing an unnecessary converter and optimizing the efficiency at the same time. The CSI state-space equations are presented and the developed models are verified using simulations. Stability analysis of small-signal model is considered through Nyquist criterion with the robustness in presence of variations of the most important system parameters. Experimental results driving a permanent magnet synchronous machine(PMSM) are shown confirming the validity of the proposed control, potentially paving the way to a larger adoption of the CSI topologies for motor drive applications.

Automated summary

This article discusses the application of the current source inverter (CSI) in motor drives, proposing an innovative current control scheme to enhance efficiency and remove unnecessary converters. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is validated through experimental results, potentially paving the way for wider adoption of CSI in motor drive applications.