Developing Efficient and Reliable Induction Motor Drives

Electric machines, mostly induction machines, constitute over 50% of the electrical load worldwide. Minimizing their input power or power losses would lead to global energy savings. Induction machines are also utilized in transportation, thus their reliability is a major concern. Several real-time loss minimization techniques (LMTs) are investigated for induction motor drive applications which include a hybrid electric vehicle and a propulsion system. These LMTs are reviewed, categorized, and analyzed based on their parameter dependence and convergence speed. The advantages and energy savings resulting from these LMTs are highlighted. Ripple correlation control, a real-time optimization technique mainly used in photovoltaic applications, is also studied as an LMT. The introduction of such LMTs could affect reliability; therefore, a complete reliability model of an induction motor drive is developed. The steps for developing this model, such as fault modeling and system performance evaluation, are discussed. The reliability model and LMTs, are expected to lead to more efficient and reliable induction motor drives.
Speaker Bio
Ali Bazzi is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Power and Energy Group since 2007. He received the B.E. with high distinction and M.E. from the American University of Beirut in 2006 and 2007, respectively. His research interests include the control and real-time optimization of motor drives for different applications including vehicles and propulsion, power electronics applications in photovoltaic systems, and loss estimation for thermal management of power electronics converters. He is also interested in the development of educational platforms for power electronics and motor drives. He is currently the chair of the IEEE PELS/PES joint student chapter at the University of Illinois, and is an active member, author, and/or reviewer in the IEEE Power Electronics, Industry Applications, and Power and Energy Societies.