IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 41, NO.

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A Hybrid Solution for Load-Commutated-Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Drives

Sangshin Kwak, Student Member, IEEE, and Hamid A. Toliyat, Senior Member, IEEE
AbstractA novel, hybrid solution employing a combination of a load-commutated inverter (LCI) and a voltage-source inverter (VSI) is proposed for induction motor drives. By avoiding the use of output capacitors and a forced dc-commutation circuit, this solution can eliminate all disadvantages related with these circuits in the conventional LCI-based induction motor drives. In addition, improved quality of output current waveforms and faster dynamic response can be achieved. The proposed hybrid scheme features the following tasks: 1) the safe commutation angle for the LCI, controlled by the VSI in the entire speed region of the induction motor and 2) a dc-link current control loop to ensure minimum VSI rating. Advantages of the proposed solution over the conventional LCI-based induction motor drives include the following: 1) sinusoidal motor phase current and voltage based on the instantaneous motor speed control; 2) fast dynamic response by the VSI operation; and 3) elimination of motor circuit resonance and motor torque pulsation. The feasibility of the proposed hybrid circuit for the high-power drive system is veried by computer simulation for a 500-hp induction motor. Experimental results to support the use of the proposed system are also included for a 1-hp induction motor laboratory setup. Index TermsAC output capacitor, hybrid circuit, induction motor, load-commutated inverter (LCI).

I. INTRODUCTION

HE load-commutated-inverter (LCI)-based induction motor drives have been traditionally used in very-high-power applications such as pumps, compressors, and fans drives. The drives are based on economical and reliable current-source inverters (CSIs) using thyristors, and rugged squirrel-cage induction motor. The merits of the LCI-based system result from the fact that it employs converter-grade thyristors and utilizes natural commutation of the thyristors. It provides simplicity, robustness, cost effectiveness, and very low switching losses [6], [11]. Moreover, because it has the CSI topology, it has inherent advantages of CSI: 1) short-circuit protection: the output current is limited by the regulated dc-link current; 2) high converter reliability, due to the unidirectional nature of the switches and the inherent short-circuit protection; and 3) instantaneous and continuous regenerative capabilities

Paper PID-04-28, presented at the 2003 Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, October 1216, and approved for publication in the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS by the Mining Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society. Manuscript submitted for review October 15, 2003 and released for publication October 12, 2004. The authors are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3128 USA (e-mail: sskwak@ee.tamu.edu; toliyat@ee.tamu.edu). Digital Object Identier 10.1109/TIA.2004.841025

[9]. With all these features, the drive is especially benecial to milling operations for the mining industry. Research has been conducted in the last two decades to control the LCI-based induction motor drive and improve its performance for mediumto high-power applications [2][7]. However, the conventional LCI-based induction motor drives have shown some serious difculties. Since the system has a thyristor-based topology, it must guarantee safe commutation for thyristors, requiring that the LCI be faced with a leading power factor in all operating regions. The leading power factor required for natural commutation is generated by additional output capacitors connected in parallel with the induction motor, since the induction motor cannot provide the leading power factor through excitation control employed for the synchronous motor. As the power rating of the induction motor is increased, a larger capacitance is required to create higher leading var requirement taken by the capacitor, which could become unreasonably high. Output capacitors also set up resonance phenomena by the interaction with the motor inductance, seriously restricting the drive performance and causing inherent instability in the high-frequency region [4]. Large output capacitors may cause an undesirable self-excitation under certain conditions, a problem which becomes aggravated at higher speeds [2]. This approach to generate the leading power factor through the output capacitor, although very widely used, has fundamental problems resulted from the approach itself. In addition, at startup and during low speed operation, the leading vars generated by the output capacitor decrease, resulting in the lagging power factor, thus, load commutation is not possible. Therefore, a complex and costly forced dc-commutation circuit is required for the LCI operation at the lower speed region [4]. Moreover, the quasisquare-wave motor current waveforms in the low-speed region, rich in low-order harmonics, can produce considerable current harmonics and resultant losses as well as voltage spikes in the stator leakage inductance of the motor, potentially hazardous for early machine failure [8], [10]. In this paper, a novel hybrid solution for the LCI-based induction motor drive using a parallel assembly of an LCI and a voltage-source inverter (VSI), is proposed. The operation of the proposed circuit is investigated and described. It is shown that all problems caused by the output capacitors and the dc-commutation circuit in the conventional LCI-based induction motor system can be overcome by the proposed solution. This hybrid solution has the following features and advantages. 1) The leading power factor required for load commutation of the LCI is fully provided by the VSI in all operating

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Fig. 1.

Conventional LCI-based induction motor drive. Fig. 2. Vector diagram of the conventional LCI-based induction motor drive.

regions. This safe commutation for the LCI is achieved by active control of the leading power factor angle through the VSI. 2) All problems caused by the output capacitor in the conventional LCI-based induction motor drives, such as fundamental and harmonic resonance, and inherent instability in the high frequency region, can be solved since the VSI emulates the output capacitor. 3) By avoiding the use of complex and costly forced dc-commutation circuit, the potential risk of commutation failure regarding the dc-commutation circuit and the torque pulsation of the motor can be eliminated. 4) The motor currents and voltages under all running conditions are nearly pure sinusoidal, containing little harmonic components. 5) The proposed system shows fast dynamic response by the VSI operation. 6) Minimum VSI rating and cost are achieved by the proposed strategy. Simulation and experimental results are shown to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system and control structure. II. REVIEW OF STANDARD LCI-BASED INDUCTION MOTOR DRIVE A typical schematic diagram of an LCI-based induction motor drive is shown in Fig. 1. It consists of a three-phase controlled rectier at the input side and a CSI at the output side with a large dc-link inductor. The amplitude of the currents supplied to the motor is controlled by the phase-controlled rectier through a dc-link inductor. The dc-link inductor reduces the current harmonics and ensures that the input of the LCI and, hence, to the motor appears as a current source. The dc current magnitude as well as the motor current magnitude can be controlled by adjusting the ring angle of the controlled rectier. The load inverter can control only the fundamental frequency of motor currents by selecting the gating instances of thyristors. For successful commutation of the thyristors in the LCI, the output must lead the corresponding motor current of the LCI, . Since motor phase currents in induction phase voltage, motors always lag the corresponding motor phase voltages by the induction motor characteristics, a leading power factor is obtained by the output capacitor. The output ac capacitors are required to provide a phase shift of the motor phase current, resulting in a leading power factor. The vector diagram of Fig. 2 explicitly explains how the output capacitor provides a phase shift of the current, resulting in a leading power-factor angle . This leading power factor allows thyristors in the LCI

to commutate at speeds above critical frequency of induction motors. The output capacitor also smoothes out the output current waveform coming from the inverter to nearly sinusoidal in the high-frequency operation by providing a low-impedance path for current harmonics. However, at startup and in the low-speed region, these output capacitors cannot make enough leading angle because the capacitor currents are too small due to high impedance of the capacitors. Thus, additional forced dc-commutation circuits are required to facilitate the commutation from one phase to another phase, by effectively bypassing the ow of dc-link current around the load. With the operation of this circuit, the induction motor can start up and bring the operation to above the critical speed, which will ensure load commutation by output capacitors. However, this conventional LCI-based induction motor system with the output capacitor and the dc-commutation circuit has shown some drawbacks. 1) Since output ac capacitors should fully compensate the effect of inductance in the induction motor in order to provide a phase shift, the required capacitor size must be increased in proportion to the power rating of an induction motor. 2) Output ac capacitors are not reliable, especially in highpower applications. 3) Resonance phenomena can be caused by the interaction between the output capacitor and the inductance of the motor. These fundamental and harmonic resonance problems have seriously restricted the system performance. 4) Inherent instability in the high-frequency region can be caused by the output capacitor. 5) A torque pulsation during low-speed operation can occur by forced commutation performed in the dc-commutation circuit. 6) At startup and during the low-speed region, the quasi-square-wave motor current waveforms, rich in low-order harmonics, produce considerable current harmonics, which can cause losses and heating inside the machine. Furthermore, they can lead to voltage spikes in the stator leakage inductance of the motor. III. PROPOSED HYBRID INVERTER SYSTEM A. Topology and Properties A complete power circuit diagram of the proposed system is illustrated in Fig. 3. It is composed of a three-phase controlled rectier, an LCI followed by a dc-link inductor, and a

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Fig. 4.

Per-phase equivalent circuit of the proposed system.

Fig. 3. Circuit diagram of the proposed system.

three-phase VSI. The VSI is connected with the LCI in parallel through a small LC lter. Basically, the proposed system has a combined inverter topology of an LCI and a VSI. Notice that although this conguration is similar to the topology of an active power lter or a tandem inverter, its purpose and operation are quite different from them. The LCI operates in the quasi-square-wave mode with converter-grade thyristors. Consequently, thyristors in the LCI naturally turn on and off only once per cycle of the output current and, therefore, their switching loss is negligible. The main function of the VSI is to apply sinusoidal phase voltages to the induction motor in order to regulate the motor speed as well as provide a safe commutation angle for the LCI. The induction motor speed is controlled by transiently adjusting the output voltage amplitude and frequency of the VSI. In addition, the phase angle of the output voltage is achieved by shifting the ring angle of the LCI suitably to obtain a safe load commutation angle. Therefore, the leading power factor for the LCI operation is entirely obtained by the VSI over the whole speed range of the induction motor. Based on the leading power factor for the LCI provided by the VSI, the proposed system can run an induction motor without the dc-commutation circuit as well as output ac capacitors of the conventional LCI-based induction motor drives. As a result, the proposed system can successfully solve all problems caused by the output capacitors and the forced dc-commutation circuit. In addition, the proposed scheme can generate sinusoidal motor voltages and currents for all speed regions, leading to a reduction in the low-order harmonics injected into the motor. This allows elimination of the torque pulsation and harmonic losses due to motor currents with quasi-square-wave of the conventional LCI. A small LC lter is required to smooth out the pulsewidth-modulated voltages generated by the VSI. Fig. 4 shows a per-phase equivalent circuit of the proposed system. The proposed system has a parallel connection of two , and inverters, the LCI represented by the current source . The VSI imthe VSI represented by the voltage source to the motor. Morepresses a sinusoidal motor phase voltage over, it controls leading power factor for safe commutation of

Fig. 5. Vector diagram of the proposed system.

the LCI. A motor phase current is determined by the sinucontrolled by the VSI. Concursoidal motor phase voltage to the motor. Thererently, the LCI also supplies a current fore, the motor phase current is the sum of the LCI output and the VSI output current . From the opcurrent erating point of view, the fast VSI operates as a master inverter and the slow LCI as a slave. As a result, the proposed system can show a fast system transient response compared with the conventional LCI-based induction motor drive since the proposed system has time response close to the sampling period of the VSI. Fig. 5 shows a current vector diagram of the proposed system. The phase angle represents the leading power-factor angle for safe commutation of the LCI. This angle is controlled by adjusting the phase angle between the motor phase voltage and the gating instant of the LCI. Therefore, this strategy ensures safe commutation of the LCI over all operating speeds of the induction motor. The phase angle denotes the power factor angle of the induction motor. In terms of power rating supplied to the motor, the LCI supplies the real power to the motor load, while the VSI provides the real power corresponding to phase shift between the LCI output current and the motor phase voltage, as well as the reactive and the harmonic power. The LCI is not comparable to the VSI from the cost point of view. Therefore, the VSI power rating should be kept to a minimum to make the proposed system a cost-effective solution. Because the VSI should supply its output current equal to the difference and the LCI output curbetween the motor phase current , the VSI output current is proportional to the rent and , corresponding to . phase angle between should be maintained at a minimum Thus, the phase angle value for small VSI rating. This condition can be obtained by adjusting the leading angle to the minimum value satisfying safe commutation, and controlling the induction motor power factor. Since a high-power induction motor has better power-

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Fig. 7. LCI current, motor phase voltage, motor phase current, and VSI current.

C. Converter Size Consideration and VSI Rating Minimization Strategy

Fig. 6. Overall control scheme of the proposed system.

factor characteristics than a small-rating motor, it is expected that the power-factor angle is small in high-power motor applications. It makes the proposed system more competitive and useful for high-power applications.

Since the proposed hybrid circuit consists of two inverters, the output power distribution between them, given a certain motor power requirement, is important. A rating factor is dened as the ratio of the LCI rating and the VSI rating. Note that two inverters are connected with the same motor phase voltage in their output terminals by assuming that voltage drop due to the output LC lter for the VSI is negligible. Therefore, the rating factor is directly proportional to the ratio of rms values of the VSI output current and the LCI output current (1) The large-power VSI required for the drive results in a very high system cost, which will limit the proposed system. From the cost point of view, the LCI is not comparable to the VSI. As a result, it is desirable to minimize the rating factor under an operating power required for the induction motor. In order to derive the dc-link current control to minimize the VSI rating, the dc-link stage of the LCI is modeled by a pure current source. Fig. 7 illustrates the plots of output currents of the two inverters, the motor phase voltage, and the current. Since the motor currents are sinusoidal quantities and the LCI currents have no ripple components in the dc link, the LCI output current and the motor output current are expressed by

B. Control System Structure The general control block diagram of the proposed hybrid inverter based drive is shown in Fig. 6. The overall control strategy is composed of two main control loops. The rst control loop is the motor speed control based on operation of the VSI. The motor speed can be regulated using a closed-loop speed controller using the slip-speed regulator, which determines the slip-speed reference. The synchronous speed, obtained by adding the actual speed and the slip speed, sets the inverter operating frequency. The voltage amplitude command then is set from the inverter frequency using a function generator, which ensures a nearly constant ux operation. Finally, the phase angle of the motor voltage is decided in order to provide a leading power factor ( ) for the safe commutation of the LCI. The space-vector modulator produces the switching pattern based on the amplitude, frequency, and phase command signal for the sinusoidal output voltage of the VSI. This speed loop control implemented by the VSI ensures a fast dynamic response with much faster sampling period than the conventional LCI. The second control loop is for the dc-link current control using the controlled rectier. This scheme varies the dc-link current in order to keep the VSI rating minimized at steady state. The main function of this loop is to set the dc-link current reference in such a way that the VSI rating is minimized, based . The on the motor current amplitude and the phase angle next section demonstrates theoretically that the converter rating of the VSI can be effectively minimized by properly adjusting the dc-link current.

(2) is the amplitude of the sinusoidal motor phase curwhere rent. The rating factor can be derived, using (1) and (2), by

(3) In (3), it should be noticed that motor phase current amplitude depends on the motor shaft speed and leading power-factor angle is a control factor for the safe commutation of the LCI.

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Fig. 8. Ratio of the dc-link current and motor phase current amplitude as a function of phase angle.

Fig. 9.

Minimized rating factor versus phase angle.

In addition, is the lagging power-factor angle of the induction motor, which is detectable. Then, the dc-link current value which minimizes the VSI rating can be obtained by setting the derivative of with respect to the dc-link current to zero (4) This yields a dc-link current command given by (5)

Equation (5) allows the dc-link current control to achieve the minimum VSI rating requirement based on the motor current and phase shift between the motor current and the LCI output current. This dc-link current control algorithm is implemented by the controlled rectier. It is worth noting that from , the dc-link cur(5), with increased power-factor angles rent value to minimize the rating factor also increases. Fig. 8 illustrates the plot of the dc-link current command as a function of motor phase current amplitude versus phase angle.The miniis mized rating factor (6) It is important to note that the dc-link current value and the corresponding minimized rating factor are unique at every operating point of the induction motor and a given leading power factor angle . Fig. 9 shows a minimized rating factor with the dc-link current value of (5) as a function of phase angle. IV. SIMULATION RESULTS In order to investigate the performance of the proposed hybrid system, a detailed computer simulation was performed using a 500hp induction motor whose parameters are given in the Appendix . Fig. 10 depicts the motor shaft speed under full load. Motor shaft speed was set to 900 r/min, resulting in the frequency of the inverter being 30 Hz. Fig. 11 shows the three-phase motor phase currents and the LCI output currents at steady state. The motor phase current has a phase delay with respect to the LCI output

Fig. 10.

Induction motor shaft speed under full load.

Fig. 11. Motor phase currents and output currents of the LCI at steady state.

current, corresponding to the sum of leading power-factor angle ( ) and the load power-factor angle ( ). The leading powerfactor angle ( ) is controlled for the safe commutation of thyristors using the VSI. A 10 leading angle ( ) between the motor phase voltages and the gating instants of the LCI was used to ensure safe commutation for corresponding thyristor switches. On the other hand, the load power-factor angle ( ) between the motor phase voltage and the motor phase current is determined

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Fig. 12. LCI output current, motor phase current, output current of the VSI, and dc-link inductor current.

by the motor characteristics, which was about 30 in this simuwas set by (5) in order lation. The dc-link current command to minimize the VSI rating. It is noticed that the dc-link current is regulated to about a 18% higher value than the motor curwith 40 phase-shift angle between the LCI rent amplitude and the motor currents. Fig. 12 shows the LCI output current, the motor phase current, the VSI output current, and the dc-link inductor current at steady state, respectively. It can be noted that the VSI output current provides the difference between the motor phase current and the LCI output current in order to supply the active power for the phase shift as well as the reactive power to the motor. The dc-link inductor current shows some harmonic ripple components because of the nite dc-link inductor, which appear in the LCI output current. V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS To validate the proposed topology and control algorithm, the prototype hybrid system was developed using an LCI, a phase-controlled rectier, and a VSI. An insulated-gate-bipolar-transistor (IGBT)-based commercial inverter (SEMIKRON) was used as a VSI. In addition, a prototype of a phase-controlled rectier and an LCI was fabricated in the laboratory. A 120-mH dc-link inductor was used for the LCI. The proposed control structure was implemented with a xed-point digital signal processor (DSP) board (TMS320LF2407). The VSI control signals were provided through the PWM ports of the DSP board. On the other hand, the gating pulse commands of the controlled rectier and the LCI were generated with digital I/O port signals of the DSP board and 20-kHz external oscillator signal due to limited PWM ports of the DSP board. The pulse trains through pulse transformer boards (FCOAUX60) were used to turn on the thyristors of the controlled rectier and the LCI. In the experiment, a 230-V 60-Hz 1-hp general-purpose induction motor was employed as the
Fig. 13. Output current waveforms of the proposed system at steady state at (a) 20 Hz, (b) 40 Hz, and (c) 60 Hz (upper trace: LCI output current [1 A/div); middle trace: VSI output current (1 A/div); lower trace: motor current (1 A/div)].

load. A three-phase output lter was implemented using a 0.5-mH inductor and a 50- F capacitor. Steady-state operation of the proposed system with different output frequency (20, 40, and 60 Hz) is illustrated in Fig. 13. The current waveforms show that the motor currents are sinusoidal with little harmonics and the VSI injects output currents corresponding to the difference between the LCI and the motor current. Fig. 14 illustrates the LCI output current and the motor phase voltage. A leading power-factor angle ( ) between the LCI output current and the motor phase voltage was set to 5 to ensure safe load commutation. Based on this angle, the LCI can operate successfully without any commutation failures over all speed ranges. Fig. 15 shows the LCI output current and the motor current at steady state. Since the 40 phase ) between the LCI and the motor current was deangle ( was regulated to about 18% higher tected, the dc-link current value than the motor current amplitude by the proposed control

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Fig. 14. LCI output current and output phase voltage (1 A/div, output frequency of 60 Hz). Fig. 17. Output current waveforms with a rapid amplitude change at 60-Hz output frequency [upper trace: LCI output current (1 A/div); middle trace: VSI output current (1 A/div); lower trace: motor current (1 A/div)].

Fig. 15. 60 Hz).

LCI output current and output current (1 A/div, output frequency of

Fig. 18. Output current waveforms with a frequency change from 30 to 60 Hz [upper trace: LCI output current (1 A/div); middle trace: VSI output current (1 A/div); lower trace: motor current (1 A/div)].

and the dc-link current. The dc-link current is regulated by the phase shift information between the LCI output current and the motor current. Figs. 17 and 18 depict the output current waveforms under a rapid amplitude change and a rapid frequency change, respectively. VI. CONCLUSION In this paper, a new hybrid solution for the LCI-based induction motor drive has been proposed based on the parallel assembly of the LCI and the VSI. The proposed strategy allows the operation of the LCI with a safe commutation angle provided by the VSI, regardless of the load speed and torque. By eliminating the requirement of the output capacitors and the forced dc-commutation circuit for the conventional LCI-based induction motor drive, this solution is quite free from all problems, such as resonance, inherent instability, and torque pulsation, caused by the conventional LCI drives. In addition, sinusoidal motor phase currents and faster response are obtained with the proposed system. The dc-link current control strategy has been derived and implemented to achieve minimim VSI power rating, according to the phase angle between the motor current and the LCI output current. This paper includes the simulation and experimental results that validate the feasibility of the proposed topology and control algorithm.

Fig. 16. (a) Supply line voltage and input current of the controlled rectier (1 A/div) and (b) dc-link current at steady state (1 A/div).

strategy to minimize the VSI power rating. Fig. 16 shows the supply line voltage, the input current of the controlled rectier,

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APPENDIX INDUCTION MOTOR PARAMETERS Induction motor parameters are as follows: rated power 500 hp; inertia (J) 11.06 kg m ; number of poles 4; 0.262 ; 0.187 ; 54.02 ; 1.206 ; 1.206 . REFERENCES
[1] W. Leonhard, Control of Electric Drives. Berlin, Germany: SpringerVerlag, 1985. [2] S. D. Umans and H. L. Hess, Modeling and analysis of the wanlass three phase induction motor conguration, IEEE Trans. Power App. Syst., vol. PAS-102, no. 1, pp. 29122921, Sep. 1983. [3] H. L. Hess, D. M. Divan, and Y. Xue, Modulation strategies for a new SCR-based induction motor drive system with a wide speed range, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 16481655, Nov./Dec. 1994. [4] H. Mok, S. K. Sul, and M. H. Park, A load commutated inverter-fed induction motor drive system using a novel DC-side commutation circuit, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 736745, May/Jun. 1994. [5] B. Singh, K. B. Naik, and A. K. Goel, Steady state of an inverter-fed induction motor employing natural commutation, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 117123, Jan. 1990. [6] H. A. Toliyat, N. Sultana, D. S. Shet, and J. C. Moreira, Brushless permanent magnet (BPM) motor drive system using load-commutated inverter, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 831837, Sep. 1999. [7] S. Nishikata and T. Kataoka, Dynamic control of a self-controlled synchronous motor drive system, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 598604, May/Jun. 1984. [8] A. M. Trzynadlowski, N. Patriciu, F. Blaabjerg, and J. K. Pedersen, A hybrid, current-source/voltage-source power inverter circuit, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 866871, Nov. 2001. [9] J. R. Espinoza and G. Joos, A current-source-inverter-fed induction motor drive system with reduced losses, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 796805, Jul./Aug. 1998. [10] R. Emery and J. Eugene, Harmonic losses in LCI-fed synchronous motors, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 948954, Jul./Aug. 2002. [11] B. Odegard, C. A. Stulz, and P. K. Steimer, High-Speed, variable-speed drive system in megawatt power range, IEEE Ind. Appl. Mag., vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 4350, May/Jun. 1996.

Sangshin Kwak (S02) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electronics engineering from Kyungpook National University, Taegu, Korea, in 1997 and 1999, respectively. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station. During the summer of 2004, he was with the Whirlpool R&D Center, Benton Harbor, MI. His main research interests are ac/dc, dc/ac, and ac/ac power converters topologies and controls, adjustable-speed drives, and DSP-based power electronics control.

Hamid A. Toliyat (S87M91SM96) received the B.S. degree from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 1982, the M.S. degree from West Virginia University, Morgantown, in 1986, and the Ph.D. degree the from University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1991, all in electrical engineering. Following receipt of the Ph.D. degree, he joined the faculty of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran, as an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. In March 1994, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, where he is currently the E. D. Brockett Professor of Electrical Engineering. His main research interests and experience include analysis and design of electrical machines, variable-speed drives for traction and propulsion applications, fault diagnosis of electric machinery, and sensorless variable-speed drives. He has authored over 230 published technical papers in these elds and has ten issued or pending U.S. patents. He is actively involved in presenting short courses and consulting in his area of expertise to various industries. He is the author of DSP-Based Electromechanical Motion Control (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2003) and the Co-Editor of the Handbook of Electric Motors (New York: Marcel Dekker, 2004, 2nd. ed.). Dr. Toliyat received the prestigious Cyrill Veinott Award in Electromechanical Energy Conversion from the IEEE Power Engineering Society in 2004, TEES Fellow Award in 2004, Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003, E. D. Brockett Professorship Award in 2002, Eugene Webb Faculty Fellow Award in 2000, and Texas A&M Select Young Investigator Award in 1999 from Texas A&M University. He also received the Space Act Award from NASA in 1999, and Schlumberger Foundation Technical Awards in 2000 and 2001. He is an Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION and was an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS. He is also Chairman of the Electric Machines Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society and a Member of Sigma Xi. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE Power Engineering, IEEE Industry Applications, IEEE Industrial Electronics, and IEEE Power Electronics Societies, and the recipient of the 1996 IEEE Power Engineering Society Prize Paper Award for his paper, Analysis of Concentrated Winding Induction Machines for Adjustable Speed Drive ApplicationsExperimental Results..