A Unified Computationally Efficient Model Predictive Control for Multilevel Inverter–Fed Multiphase PMSM Drives for Electric Vehicles
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Multiphase PMSM drives fed by multilevel inverters are attractive for transportation electrification because they deliver high reliability, smooth torque, and good voltage quality. However, finite-control-set MPC in these multiphase, high-level converters suffers from an exponential growth of switching candidates, which jeopardizes real-time implementation on automotive-grade controllers. This paper aims to develop a generalized MPC scheme that preserves dynamic performance while drastically reducing computational burden. The proposed method restricts the evaluation to at most$2m$(with$m$denoting the number of phases) neighbouring switching states around the present vector, independent of inverter level, thereby shrinking the search space from$n^{m}$(where$n$is the number of inverter levels) to a small fixed set. An outer ultra-local model-free speed controller generates the$i_{q}^{\ast }$reference directly from speed and current measurements, removing PI retuning across machines and converter configurations. Simulation and dSPACE-based experimental results on three- and five-phase PMSM drives with three-, five-, and seven-level inverters show balanced, nearly sinusoidal currents with reduced current THD and torque ripple comparable to or better than conventional MPC, while keeping execution time within the$< 100~\mu \text{s}$budget for 10 kHz operation. These results confirm the real-time feasibility, harmonic-quality improvement, and scalability of the proposed strategy for multiphase, multilevel traction drives.
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,075
OpenAlex ID: W7134899207