Behavior of a Traction Induction Motor with Rotor Flux-Oriented Control

Field-oriented control has proven its viability and superiority in electric power systems, including electric traction. This paper is focused on the implementation of the rotor flux-oriented control with voltage control on a traction induction motor. Firstly, the control scheme and calculation fundamentals are presented. Then, the performance of the system in dynamic and steady-state regimes is presented by simulating the operation of a real traction motor at two prescribed speeds, taking into account the passage of wheels over the rail joints, which is a phenomenon specific to electric locomotives. A low speed (about 20 % of the nominal speed) and the highest speed (about 160 % of the nominal speed) are taken into consideration. It is shown that all the controlled quantities follow the prescribed values well, the peak current through the motor is below the limiting value and the switching frequency is below the imposed limit. Also, the performance in steady-state regime is good.