FPGA-Based Controller for a Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Motor Drive Based on a Four-Level Active-Clamped DC-AC Converter

This paper proposes a closed-loop control implementation fully-embedded into an FPGA for a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive based on a four-level active-clamped converter. The proposed FPGA controller comprises a field-oriented control to drive the PMSM, a DC-link voltage balancing closed-loop control (VBC), and a virtual-vector-based modulator for a four-level active-clamped converter. The VBC and the modulator operate in consonance to preserve the DC-link capacitor voltages balanced. The FPGA design methodology is carefully described and the main aspects to achieve an optimal FPGA implementation using low resources are discussed. Experimental results under different operating conditions are presented to demonstrate the good performance and the feasibility of the proposed controller for motor-drive applications.