Fault-tolerant, matrix converter, permanent magnet synchronous motor drive for open-circuit failures

A fault-tolerant matrix converter drive topology, which can be effectively used to drive a permanent magnet synchronous motor for research in critical applications, with particularly emphasis on aerospace applications, is presented. The proposed matrix converter configuration, a four output-phase matrix converter, uses a normally redundant output phase connected between the input supply and the neutral point of the motor in order to provide fault-tolerant capability in the presence of faults. This proposed fault-tolerant matrix converter can deal with open-circuit faults caused by failures in either the power converter or machine windings. Without using any additional connecting devices and without modifying the modulation technique, the satisfactory system performance under faulty operating conditions can be achieved using the developed control strategy. The space vector representation of the direct space vector modulation technique is adaptable so that the technique used for a conventional three-phase matrix converter can be applied to the four-phase matrix converter even in the fault-tolerant mode. The verification of the proposed fault-tolerant matrix converter drive is confirmed using extensive simulation and experimental results.