Shaft Positioning for Six-Phase Induction Machines With Open Phases Using Variable Structure Control

In this paper, a new variable structure control law is proposed in order to obtain the shaft positioning of a symmetrical six-phase induction machine when phases are lost and when large variations of inertia occur. The algorithm based on a time-varying switching line guarantees the existence of a sliding mode since the beginning of the shaft motion. Indeed, the surface is first designed to pass through the initial representative point and, subsequently, to move toward a predetermined desired surface via shifting. With this algorithm, the induction machine behavior is exactly the same in healthy or in faulted modes when one or more stator phases are lost and whatever the mechanical shaft configuration is. The capacities of this control technique with a mechanical sensor have been tested in simulation and then validated experimentally on a specific setup.