A Fault-Tolerant Multilevel Inverter for Improving the Performance of a Pole–Phase Modulated Nine-Phase Induction Motor Drive

In this paper, a fault-tolerant multiphase multilevel inverter (MPMLI) configuration is proposed based on the dual inverter concept. This configuration helps to improve the performance of pole–phase modulated multiphase induction motor (PPMMIM) drive in both normal and switch failure conditions. Comparing to the existing multilevel inverter topologies for multiphase induction motor (MIM) drives, the proposed MPMLI configuration requires less number of dc sources and power electronic devices. The proposed MPMLI configuration is able to sustain under various faulty conditions, which can improve the reliability of the system. In addition, dc-link utilization (DLU) in low-pole mode is improved by using space vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM). In high-pole mode, carrier-phase-shifted 3-Φ SVPWM is used for reducing the torque ripple. This MPMLI configuration produces a multilevel voltage profile across the effective phase in 3-phase 12-pole mode. By maintaining the V/f ratio constant, the proposed MPMLI-fed MIM drive facilitates a wide range of load torque with half of the rated speed in faulty condition. This advantage makes it suitable for traction and electric vehicle applications where reliability and wide range of torque–speed are the major concerns. The performance of proposed MPMLI-fed 5 hp, 9-φ PPMMIM drive is simulated by finite-element method (FEM) in ANSYS Maxwell 2-D and experimentally verified by laboratory prototype under normal and faulty conditions.