2013 International Conference on Electrical Information and Communication Technology (EICT)

Comparison of DTC and FOC for FSTP Inverter Fed

IPMSM Drives
Tanvir Ahmed, Anupam Das, and Kalyan Kumar Halder
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Khulna University of Engineering and Technology
Khulna-9203, Bangladesh

Email: tanvir2362@gmail.com
AbstractThis paper presents a comparative study between
eld oriented control (FOC) and direct torque control (DTC),
two most popular control strategies for inverter fed interior
permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) drives. The
comparison is done in four switch three phase (FSTP) inverter
scheme instead of six switch three phase (SSTP) inverter scheme.
The FSTP inverter scheme is better than SSTP inverter scheme
because of the reduction in price, switching losses and the complexity of the control board. The comparison is based on various
conditions such as normal operating condition, sudden change
in load torque, speed reversal and change in stator resistance.
To validate the effectiveness of the drive systems, simulation is
carried out in MATLAB environment. The simulation results and
comparative study have been found quite satisfactory.

II.

A mathematical model of the IPMSM is required for proper

simulation of the system. The dynamic model of the IPMSM
motor in the synchronously rotating d q reference frame can
be expressed as follows [11]:

In recent years, the inverter fed ac motor has largely taken

over as the preferred solution for variable speed applications.
Considering high-performance motion control, eld oriented
control (FOC), or more recently direct torque control (DTC)
are used. The vector control philosophy started to be developed around 1970. Several types of vector control are possible: rotor-oriented, rotor-ux-oriented, stator-ux-oriented and
magnetizing-ux-oriented. On the other hand, the publication
of the DTC theory actually goes back to 1971. Recently, it
is being considered as an industrial alternative to the FOC
strategy. These control strategies are different on the operation
principle but their objectives are the same.
Now, which one gives better performance for FSTP inverter
fed IPMSM? This question has not been answered yet. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present a comparative
study in order to reach a verdict on the superiority between
these two control strategies.

978-1-4799-2299-4/13/$31.00 2013 IEEE

(1)

vq = Riq + pLq iq + r f + r Ld id

(2)

Te =

I NTRODUCTION

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) are

widely used because of their advantages such as rugged
construction, easy maintenance, high efciency, high power
factor, etc. Over the last few decades, several control systems
have been proposed for the PMSMs [1][5]. These PMSMs are
usually fed by SSTP inverters. However, they are relatively expensive because they need six switches and corresponding gate
drive circuits. Hence, the schemes using FSTP inverters have
been widely researched for cost reduction by the elimination
of power switches and additional circuits such as gate drives
[6][10].

vd = Rid + pLd id r Lq iq

The developed electromagnetic torque is given as:

KeywordsDirect torque control, eld oriented control, four

switch three phase inverter, interior permanent magnet synchronous
motor, and robustness.

I.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF IPMSM

3Pp
(f iq + (Ld Lq ) id iq )
2

(3)

The mechanical motion of the IPMSM can be expressed

as:
Te = Tl + Jm pm + Bm m

(4)

r = Pp m

(5)

Where,
vd and vq = the dq- axes stator voltages;
id and iq = the dq- axes stator currents;
Ld and Lq = the dq- axes inductances;
f = the permanent magnetic ux linkage;
R = the stator resistance;
r = the angular speed of rotor;
m = the mechanical speed of rotor;
Te = the electromagnetic torque;
Jm = the motor inertia;
Bm = the motor friction coefcient;
Pp = the number of pole pairs;
p=

d
dt .

AC Supply

d

s

d

d







d

s

d

Torque
Hysteresis
Controller

PI

/WD^D

Front-end Rectifier

Switching
Table

 




d



Flux Hysteresis

Four Switch Inverter

Controller

Fig. 1.

FSTP inverter fed IPMSM drive.

III.

Calculator




FOUR SWITCH THREE PHASE INVERTER

MODEL

In the four switch inverter, as shown in Fig. 1, a three

phase system is obtained by connecting the phase c terminal
of the stator windings directly to the centre tap of the dc
link capacitors. The single phase ac supply is rectied by the
front-end rectier. The capacitors are used to level the output
dc voltage. The three phase voltages to the IPMSM can be
expressed as follows [12]:
Vdc
[4Sa 2Sb 1]
(6)
3
Vdc
[4Sb 2Sa 1]
Vb =
(7)
3
Vdc
[Sa Sb + 1]
(8)
Vc =
3
where Vdc is the maximum voltage across the dc link capacitors, Sa and Sb are the switching states (0 or 1) of upper
switches in the legs of phases a and b respectively.

Encoder

 


Fig. 2.

DIRECT TORQUE CONTROL SYSTEM

The complete block diagram of DTC based IPMSM drive

system is shown in Fig. 2. The basic idea of DTC for IPMSM
is to control the torque and ux linkage by selecting the voltage
space vectors properly, which is based on the relationship
between the lip frequency and torque. The voltage vector plane
of a four switch inverter fed system is divided into four sectors
as shown in Fig. 3. A voltage vector switching table for the
four switch inverter fed DTC system is tabulated in Table I.
TABLE I.

0
0
1
1

Block diagram of the DTC scheme of IPMSM.

S1
V4
V3
V1
V2

S2
V1
V4
V2
V3

S3
V2
V1
V3
V4

s 
s 

s 

s 


s 

^

^

^
^


s

s
Fig. 3.

Voltage vectors of a FSTP inverter fed system.

where so is the initial value of the stator ux linkage. The

composite and components of vector s can be obtained:
t
s (t) =

(Vs Rs Is ) dt

(10)

(Vs Rs Is ) dt

(11)

t
s (t) =
0

V OLTAGE V ECTOR TABLE

0
1
0
1


IPMSM

Va =

IV.

Stator ux linkage can be written as:


s = (s )2 + (s )2

S4
V3
V2
V4
V1

(12)

The angle is equal to:

The basic principle of the DTC is to select proper voltage
using a pre-dened switching table. The selection is based on
the hysteresis control of the stator ux linkage and the torque.
In the basic form the stator ux linkage is estimated with:
t
s (t) =

(Vs Rs Is ) dt + so
0

(9)

s = tan

s
s


(13)

The torque can then be estimated with:

Te =

3
Pp (s Is Is s )
2

(14)

AC Supply

PWM
Inverter

Rectifier

Ta Tb Tc
Encoder
Hysteresis
Controller

VI.

IPMSM

SIMULATION RESULTS

The performance comparison between DTC and FOC is

made in terms of speed, torque and current response. The static
and dynamic performances of the DTC and FOC schemes are
obtained by simulation performed in MATLAB.

Controller

Coordinate
Translator

Fig. 4.

Speed(rpm)

Block diagram of the FOC scheme of IPMSM.

1600

1600

1400

1400

1200

1200

1000
reference speed
actual speed

800
600

200
1.0

1.5

2.0

0
0.0

2.5

d = f + Ld Id
d = Lq Iq

1.0

2.5

15

(15)

load torque
developed torque

2.0

2.5

(17)

5
0
-5

1.5
1.0
0.5

-10
-15
0.0

(18)

load torque
developed torque

2.0
Torque(N-m)

10

(16)

1.5

Time(sec)

(a)

Torque(N-m)

and

0.5

Time(sec)

The machine model of PMSM can be described in the rotor

rotating reference frame as follows:
d
id + Rs id s Lq iq
dt
d
vd = Lq iq + Rs iq s Ld id
dt

600
400

0.5

reference speed
actual speed

800

200

FIELD ORIENTED CONTROL SYSTEM

vd = Ld

1000

400

0
0.0

V.

Speed(rpm)

Speed Loop

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

0.0
0.0

2.5

0.5

1.0

Time(sec)

1.5

2.0

2.5

Time(sec)

where d and q are the stator ux linkages.

(b)

The corresponding electromagnetic torque is:

15

The rotor ux is produced only in the q-axis

current vector is generated in the axis in FOC.
generated motor torque is linearly proportional to
current, as the d-axis rotor ux is constant, the
torque per ampere can be achieved.

5
0
-5

-15
0.20

(21)

5
0
-5
-10

0.21

0.22

0.23

0.24

-15
0.20

0.25

0.21

Time(sec)

0.22

0.23

0.24

0.25

Time(sec)

(c)

0.6

0.4

0.4
Flux beta(wb)

0.6

0.2
0.0
-0.2
-0.4

0.2
0.0
-0.2
-0.4

-0.6
-0.6

(22)

ia
ib
ic

10

-10

The primary principle in controlling an IPMSM drive is

based on eld orientation. Fig. 4 shows the complete block
diagram of FOC based IPMSM drive. Since the magnetic
ux generated from the PM rotor is xed in relation to the
rotor shaft position, the ux position in the coordinates can be
determines by the shaft position sensor. If id = 0, the d-axis
ux linkage d is xed. Since f is constant for an IPMSM,
the electromagnetic torque is then proportional to iq , which is
determined by the closed loop control.
3
Te = P f iq
2

Current(amp)

(20)

Flux beta(wb)

where m

dm
+ Bm m = T e T l
Jm
dt
dm
= m
dt
is the rotor angular displacement.

15

ia
ib
ic

10

Current(amp)

3
Pp [f iq + (Ld Lq ) id iq ]
(19)
2
The associated electromechanical equations are as follows:
Te =

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

-0.6
-0.6

0.6

Flux alpha(wb)

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

Flux alpha(wb)

(d)

while the
Since the
the q-axis
maximum

Fig. 5. Comparison of DTC and FOC in terms of (a) speed response (b)
torque response, (c) three phase currents and (d) ux locus under normal
operating condition. Left side gures represent the curve for DTC and right
side gures represent curve for FOC.

A. Normal Operating Condition

2000

2000

1500

1500

reference speed
actual speed

500

1000
Speed(rpm)

Speed(rpm)

1000
0
-500
-1000

reference speed
actual speed

0
-500
-1500

-2000

-2000

Time(sec)

Time(sec)

(a)

30

load torque
developed torque

B. Load Change Condition

Torque(N-m)

10
0

-20
-30

load torque
developed torque

20

-10

Fig. 6(a) and (b) show the speed and torque responses under
load change condition, respectively. We investigated that when
load increases speed falls down from reference speed and then
automatically reaches the rated speed. We used 1.5 N-m as
reference torque and changed it to 2 N-m for simulating load
change condition. For DTC we changed the load at 0.5 sec and
it reached the reference speed at 1.2 sec. On the other hand,
for FOC we changed the torque at 1.5 sec and it reached the
reference speed very quickly.

500

-1000

-1500

Torque(N-m)

The motor starting performance at the rated speed of

1500 rpm is shown Fig. 5(a). Speed response for DTC is
faster than FOC as it reaches the reference speed at 0.25
sec whereas that of FOC reaches at 0.8 sec. Fig. 5(b) shows
the developed torque that oscillates around the load torque
(=1.5 N-m) when the set speed is reached. It is noticed that
higher electromagnetic torque is generated during the motor
acceleration. From the gure it is clear that Torque response
of DTC is better than that of FOC. Fig. 5(c) shows the actual
3-phase currents for both control schemes. Current response of
DTC is quite acceptable for healthy motor operation though
FOC gives better response than DTC. Fig. 5(d) shows the
trajectory of the stator ux linkage. They are quite same for
both DTC and FOC and as far our expectation.

1
0
-1
-2

-3

Time(sec)

Time(sec)

(b)
Fig. 7. Comparison of DTC and FOC at speed reversal condition in terms
of (a) speed and (b) torque.

D. Effect of Change of Stator Resistance

C. Speed Reversal Condition

Fig. 8(a) and (b) show the speed response curve and three
phase current response curve when the stator resistance is
increasing, respectively. From the simulation gure we can
see that there is no effect on speed or current response for an
increase in stator resistance.

1600

1600

1600

1400

1400

1400

1200

1200

800

reference speed
actual speed

600

1000
800

reference speed
actual speed

600

800
600

400

400

200

200

200

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

0
0.0

2.5

0.5

1.0

1.5

0
0.0

2.0

1.0

1.5

2.0

20

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

15
ia
ib
ic

2.0
1.5
1.0

ia
ib
ic

10
Current(amp)

Current(amp)

10
Torque(N-m)

Torque(N-m)

0.5

Time(sec)

load torque
developed torque

2.5

-5

0
0.0

2.5

Time(sec)

3.0
load torque
developed torque

600

(a)

15

800

200
0.5

(a)

10

1000

400

Time(sec)

Time(sec)

reference speed
actual speed

1200

1000

400

0
0.0

1400
Speed(rpm)

1000

1600
reference speed
actual speed

1200
Speed(rpm)

Speed(rpm)

Speed(rpm)

Fig. 7(a) and (b) show speed curve and the torque response
under speed reversal condition respectively. By analyzing these
gures we can see that DTC shows slightly better speed and
torque response than FOC under speed reversal condition.

5
0
-5

-10
-10

0.5

-15
0.0

0.0
0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Time(sec)

-10

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Time(sec)

-20
0.20

0.21

0.22

0.23

0.24

-15
0.20

0.25

Time(sec)

0.21

0.22

0.23

0.24

0.25

Time(sec)

(b)

(b)

Fig. 6. Comparison of DTC and FOC at the variation of load torque in terms
of (a) speed and (b) torque.

Fig. 8. Comparison of DTC and FOC for step change of stator resistance in
terms of (a) speed and (b) current.

VII.

C ONCLUSION

In this paper, a performance analysis of FOC and DTC

schemes for FSTP inverter fed IPMSM drives has been investigated by simulation with a view to distinguishing their
respective advantages and disadvantages. A detailed model for
IPMSM drive system with DTC and FOC has been developed
and operations have been studied using two current control
schemes. A speed controller has been designed successfully for
closed loop operation of the IPMSM drives system so that the
motor runs at the reference speed. Robustness is present in both
FOC and DTC schemes. Parameter sensitivity is large in FOC
scheme, on the other hand it is average in DTC scheme. DTC
reduces the speed response time, whereas FOC gives better
current response. On different conditions, both the schemes
showed very similar simulation output. So, we can conclude
that it is hard to comprehend the superiority between DTC and
FOC.
VIII.

APPENDIX

Motor parameters used in this simulation are given below:

Parameter Name
Number of pole pairs, Pp
Stator Resistance, Rs
Permanent Magnet Flux Linkage, f
Flux Density, Bm
Moment of Inertia, Jm
Rated Voltage, Vdc
d-axis inductance, Ld
q-axis inductance, Lq
Rated speed, m

Parameter Value
2
1.93 ohm
0.311
0.001 Wb/m2
0.003
300V
0.0244H
0.07957H
1500 rpm

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