ELEC4613 - Electric Drive Systems

Course Outline – Semester 2, 2015

Course Staff
Course Convener: Professor Faz Rahman, Room EE133, f.rahman@unsw.edu.au
Tutor: Professor Faz Rahman, Room EE133, f.rahman@unsw.edu.au
Laboratory Contact: Gamini Liyadipitiya, Room EE119, g.liyadipitiya@unsw.edu.au

Keeping Informed: Announcements may be made during classes, via email (to your
student email address) and/or via online learning and teaching platforms –
https://subjects.ee.unsw.edu.au/elec4613/. Please note that you will be deemed to have
received this information, so you should take careful note of all announcements.

Course Summary
Contact Hours
The course consists of 3 hours of lectures, a 1-hour tutorial, and a 3-hour laboratory session
each week.

Lectures Day Time Location

Tuesday 1 - 3pm EEG25
Thursday 3 - 4pm EE224

Tutorials Thursday 3 – 4pm Webst 256

Laboratory See lab group
time-table

Context and Aims

Course Details
Credits
This is a 6 UoC course and the expected workload is 10–12 hours per week throughout the
13 week session. It comprises of 3 hours of lectures/week, 0.5 hour of tutorial/week and 4
laboratory experiments (of 3 hours duration each) over the duration of the 13-week session.

Relationship to Other Courses

This is a 4th year/postgraduate professional elective course in the School of Electrical
Engineering and Telecommunications. It has a laboratory component which is compulsory
for both under and post-graduate students.
Pre-requisites and Assumed Knowledge
The pre-requisite for this course is ELEC3105 -Energy Systems I in EET, UNSW, or an
equivalent first course in Energy Systems/Electrical Machines. It is essential that you are
familiar with dominant types of electrical machines before this course is attempted.

Following Courses
NA

Learning outcomes
The aim of this course is to equip students with knowledge of variable-speed drives and
motion control systems which are used in many industrial processes such as in conveyors,
machine tools, pumps, compressors, mining drives, electric vehicles, ship propulsion, wind
energy systems, air-craft actuators, servo drives and automation systems, to name a few.
The course stresses the basic understanding of characteristic of machines driven from
appropriate power electronic converters and controllers. The steady-state behaviour of such
drives will be primarily covered and some dynamic issues of drive representation and control
system design will also be introduced.

Student Learning Outcomes and Graduate attributes

At the conclusion of this course, the students should be able to:

1. understand fundamental elements of drive systems, analyse the steady-state

characteristics of a few commonly used types of drives used in the industry.
2. understand the performance of these drives supplied from appropriate converters.
3. understand the quadrant operation of various types of drives and their control
requirements, selection of converters, components, etc.
4. understand how to design the hierarchical control structures for drive systems.
5. select and design important elements of a drive system.
6. apply the theories of electrical machines, power electronic converters and control
system design to implement drive systems which are appropriate for specific
performances.

This course is designed to provide the above learning outcomes which arise from targeted
graduate capabilities listed in Appendix A. The targeted graduate capabilities broadly
support the UNSW and Faculty of Engineering graduate capabilities (listed in Appendix B).
This course also addresses the Engineers Australia (National Accreditation Body) Stage I
competency standard as outlined in Appendix C.

Syllabus

Elements of electric drive systems; requirements of industrial drives. Drive representation,

quadrant operation, dynamic and regenerative braking. DC motors, converters for DC motor
drives, performance analysis. Performance analysis of synchronous motor drives with
variable voltage or current source and variable frequency supply. Performance analysis of
induction motor drives with variable voltage or current source and variable frequency supply.
Machine dynamics using orthogonal reference frame representations. Field oriented (or
vector) control of synchronous and induction motor drives.
Lecture Content/Schedule

There will be three hours of lecture per week. The total number of lecture hours over the 12-
week session will about 33, the remaining 3 hours will comprise of problem
solving/tutorial/computer modelling sessions in lieu of formal lectures. Lecture notes are
available from the course Lecture Notes webpage.

Course Content Approx Hours

Analysis of steady-state performance

Section 1. Introduction to Electrical Drives 4

Rotational Systems, Load couplings, representation of torque
referred to motor and load shafts; Energy relationship.
Quadrant operation; Steady-state and dynamic operation

Section 2. DC motor drives 4

Review of DC motors and characteristics
Switched-mode PWM converters.
Single- and three-phase thyristor converter circuits.
Analysis of converter and DC motor circuits.
Effects of discontinuous conduction on drive.

Section 3. Brushless DC drives 1.5

BLDC machine fundamentals; Analysis of machine back emf and

torque; Ideal back-emf and current waveforms, Sensor
requirements

Section 4. Synchronous motor drives 5

Review of synchronous motors and characteristics

Salient and non-salient pole machines; Reluctance motors
Performance under Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) drive
Performance under Current Source Inverter (CSI) drive
Operation with maximum torque, field-weakening and
Unity power factor.

Section 5. Induction motor drives 5.5

Drive characteristics using equivalent circuit representation
Performance with variable-voltage and rotor power
Static Scherbius drive.
Characteristics with VSI-VF inverter and CSI-VF drive
Effect of harmonics on drive performance

Total 21


Dynamics and control of DC and AC machines

6. Dynamics of the separately excited DC motor 2

AC Machine representation in orthogonal axes 3
Representation of machine dynamics; Stator, synchronous
Rotor reference frames. General orthogonal set;
representation of AC machines in orthogonal reference
frames. Representation of synchronous machine dynamics in
the stator and rotor reference frames; d- and q-axes currents
and fluxes; rotor flux oriented control (RFOC).

Representation of induction machine dynamics in the stator 3
and synchronously rotating reference frame; Condition for
alignment of the direct-axis with rotor-flux axis. Indirect rotor-
flux oriented control (RFOC) structure; effect of rotor time-
constant on RFOC.

7. Controller design for electrical drives 5

Role of various control loops in drive systems; drive system
damping; Sensors for speed, position and current.
Hierarchy of control loops for torque/current, speed and position;
Role of the inner current loop(s); design
considerations for torque, speed and position control loop.
Filter design issues; Controller gains and design for specified
bandwidth.
Total 13
Total hours: 34

Teaching Strategies
Delivery Mode
The teaching in this course aims at establishing a good fundamental understanding of the
areas covered using:
 Formal face-to-face lectures, which provide you with a focus on the core analytical
material in the course, together with qualitative, alternative explanations to aid your
understanding;
 Tutorials, which allow for exercises in problem solving and allow time for you to
resolve problems in understanding of lecture material;
 Laboratory sessions, which support the formal lecture material and also provide you
with practical construction, measurement and analytical skills;
 Simulation sessions on PSIM / Matlab Simulink platforms culminating in the analysis
of drive systems performance using such a platform.
Indicative Lecture Schedule

Period Summary of Lecture Program
Week 1 Section 1 (Introduction to Electric Drive Systems)
Week 2 Sections 1 and 2 (DC motor drives –steady-state)
Week 3 Sections 2 and 3 (Brushless DC drives)
Week 4 Sections 3 and 4 (Synchronous motor drives)
Week 5 Section 4
Week 6 Section 5 (Induction motor drives)
Section 5
Week 7
Mid-session test
Week 8 Section 6 (Dynamics of separately excited DC machines)
Section 6 (Machine representation in orthogonal reference frames,
Week 9
Dynamic model of synchronous machines; Rotor flux oriented control).
Break
Section 6. (Dynamic model of induction machines; Rotor flux oriented
Week 10
control).
Week 11 Section 7. (Control of Electric drive Systems)
Section 7. (Control of Electric Drives continued).
Week 12
Assignment due.

Learning in this course

You are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials, labs, and mid-semester exams in order to
maximize learning. You must prepare well for your laboratory classes and your lab work will
be assessed. In addition to the lecture notes/video, you should read relevant sections of the
recommended text. Reading additional texts will further enhance your learning experience.
Group learning is also encouraged. UNSW assumes that self-directed study of this kind is
undertaken in addition to attending face-to-face classes throughout the course.

Consultations

You are encouraged to ask questions on the course material, during and after the lecture class
times in the first instance, rather than via email. Lecturer consultation times will be advised
during lectures. You are welcome to email the tutor or laboratory demonstrator, who can answer
your questions on this course and can also provide you with consultation times. ALL email
enquiries should be made from your student email address with ELEC4613 in the subject line,
otherwise they will not be answered.

Tutorial
You should attempt all of your problem sheet questions in advance of attending the tutorial
classes. The importance of adequate preparation prior to each tutorial cannot be
overemphasized, as the effectiveness and usefulness of the tutorial depends to a large
extent on this preparation. Group learning is encouraged. Answers for these questions will
be discussed during the tutorial class and the tutor will cover the more complex questions in
the tutorial class. In addition, during the tutorial class, 1-2 new questions that may not be in
your notes may be provided by the tutor for you to try in class. These questions and
solutions may not be made available on the web, so it is worthwhile for you to attend your
tutorial classes to gain maximum benefit from this course.

Laboratory

The laboratory component of this course exposes you to experiments which are designed to
give you hands-on experience of electric drive concepts that are covered in lectures. It is a
compulsory part of the course and must therefore be completed.

The laboratory for this course consists of four experiments, E1 – E4, which will be conducted
in room EE119. There are two laboratory sets for each experiment. Maximum of two
students can be accommodated for each set. Laboratory will start in week 3 or 4 for students
enrolled in odd and even weeks, respectively. Laboratory sheets are available from the
course website. A laboratory schedule for each enrolled group will be available from the
course web page.

Students are required to read the School Safety Manual for Laboratory and
Laboratory Safety Instructions for Laboratory for this course, and submit the signed
Laboratory Safety Declaration form to the lab supervisor before they start the first
laboratory experiment.

Because of the extensive changes of configuration of each experiment and the indtruction
given for each experiment, late arrival in the laboratory by more than 10 minutes will not
be acceptable. You must arrive in lab well in time on the day of your experiment.

Laboratory experiments:

The following four laboratory experiments have been included. Please see the Lab Schedule
in the course webpage for your schedule of lab attendance.

Experiment E1. Speed control of a DC motor with an inner current loop.

Experiment 2. Induction motor drive with slip-power recovery.
Experiment E3. V/f and rotor flux oriented (vector controlled) induction motor drive
Experiment E4. V/f and rotor flux oriented (vector controlled) synchronous motor
drive

Laboratory Exemption
There is no laboratory exemption for this course. Regardless of whether equivalent labs
have been completed in previous courses, all students enrolled in this course must take the
labs. If, for medical reasons, (note that a valid medical certificate must be provided) you are
unable to attend a lab, you will need to apply for a catch-up lab during another lab time, as
agreed by the laboratory coordinator.

Assessment
The assessment scheme in this course reflects the intention to assess your learning
progress through the semester. Ongoing assessment occurs through the lab marks given by
lab demonstrators according to your performance in each lab and the mid-semester exam.
Laboratory Assessment
You are required to maintain a lab book (or log book) for recording your observations. A lab
book is an A4 size notebook containing a mix of plain pages and graph sheets. You have to
purchase your own lab book from any stores. Each student in a group of two, must submit
the lab book individually to the lab demonstrator at the end of each lab session for marking.
The lab demonstrator will mark the lab-book according the student’s performance in the
laboratory. Please read the on-line Laboratory Guidelines in the course webpage.

It is essential that you complete suggested laboratory preparations before coming to the lab.
You are required to write the aim of the experiment and draw the circuit diagram if any in
your lab book. This will be verified and signed by your demonstrators in the lab. You will be
recording your observations/readings in your lab book first and then completing and
presenting the results sheet to your lab demonstrator before leaving the lab.

Laboratory Assessment marks will be awarded according to your preparation, punctuality,

involvement and presentation of the results obtained, how much of the lab you were able to
complete, your understanding of the experiments conducted during the lab, the quality of the
records entered during your lab work (according to the guidelines given in the labsheet), and
your understanding of the topic covered by the lab.

Laboratory Exam
There are no lab exams for this course.

Mid-Semester Exam
The mid-session examination tests your general understanding of the course material, and is
designed to give you feedback on your progress through the analytical components of the
course. Questions may be drawn from any course material up to the end of week 6. It may
contain questions requiring some numerical and analytical work, and derivations.

Mark scored in this test should be indicative of the level of understanding of and proficiency
in the topics covered prior to the assignment. The mid-semester exam will take place in
week 7; venue and time for the exam will be advised by the lecturer in due course.

Assignment

The assignment allows self-directed study leading to the solution of partly structured
problems. One assignment topic will be allocated for each student. This will consist of
modelling the steady-state and dynamic responses of one of the laboratory experiments
using a simulation platform (PSIM or Matlab/Simulink).

Marks will be assigned according to how completely and correctly the problems have been
addressed, and the understanding of the course material demonstrated by the report. A
printed assignment report (email attachment will not be acceptable) will be due at the end of
the last lecture in Week 12. Late reports will attract a penalty of 10% per day (including
weekends).

Final Exam
The final exam in this course is a standard closed-book 3-hour written examination.
University approved calculators are allowed. The examination tests analytical and critical
thinking and general understanding of the course material in a controlled fashion. Questions
may be drawn from any aspect of the course (including laboratory). Marks will be assigned
according to the correctness of the responses. Please note that you must pass the final
exam in order to pass the course.
Assessment allocations

The final assessment for the course will will comprise of:

Laboratory, conduct of 4 experiments (compulsory) 20 %

Mid-Session Test in week 7 10 %
Assignment (simulation of an experiment together 10 %
with a lab report on the experiment simulated); to
be submitted in week 12
Final examination (3 hours) 60 %

Total 100 %

Relationship of Assessment Methods to Learning Outcomes

Assessment 1 2 3 4 5 6
Laboratory practical assessments      
Mid-semester exam      
Assignment      
Final exam      

Course Resources
Text Books and References

1. Electric Drive Systems – comprehensive lecture notes from F. Rahman. Lecture

notes in PDF format are available via the School webpage for Lecture Notes.
The following books may be consulted for further reading:

Reference books:

2. Control of Electric Machine Drive Systems - Seung-Ki Sul, IEEE Press and
John Wiley, 2011.
3. Electric Drives, an Integrative Approach, N. Mohan, MINPRE, 2003, ISBN 0-
9715292-5-6.

On-line resources
Lecture Notes, tutorial problem sheets and laboratory sheets for each experiment are
available from
https://subjects.ee.unsw.edu.au/elec4613/
Solutions of tutorial problems will be posted here, soon after the problems are covered in
the scheduled tutorial classes.
Mailing list
Announcements concerning course information will be given in the lectures and/or via email
(which will be sent to your student email address). These will also be placed at the webpage
mentioned above.
Other Matters
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of other people’s work, including the copying of
assignment works and laboratory results from other students. Plagiarism is considered a
form of academic misconduct, and the University has very strict rules that include some
severe penalties. For UNSW policies, penalties and information to help you avoid plagiarism,
see https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism. To find out if you understand plagiarism
correctly, try this short quiz: https://student.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism-quiz.

Student Responsibilities and Conduct

Students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to all UNSW policies (see
https://student.unsw.edu.au/guide), and particular attention is drawn to the following:

Workload
It is expected that you will spend at least ten to twelve hours per week studying a 6 UoC
course, from Week 1 until the final assessment, including both face-to-face classes and
independent, self-directed study. In periods where you need to need to complete
assignments or prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater. Over-commitment
has been a common source of failure for many students. You should take the required
workload into account when planning how to balance study with employment and other
activities.

Attendance
Regular and punctual attendance at all classes is expected. UNSW regulations state that if
students attend less than 80% of scheduled classes they may be refused final assessment.

General Conduct and Behaviour

Consideration and respect for the needs of your fellow students and teaching staff is an
expectation. Conduct which unduly disrupts or interferes with a class is not acceptable and
students may be asked to leave the class.

Work Health and Safety

UNSW policy requires each person to work safely and responsibly, in order to avoid
personal injury and to protect the safety of others. Please read the section on Laboratory (in
page 6) about on Laboratory Safety and the requirement of submission of signed Laboratory
Safety Declaration before you commence your lab (marked in red).

Special Consideration and Supplementary Examinations

You must submit all assignments and attend all examinations scheduled for your course.
You should seek assistance early if you suffer illness or misadventure which affects your
course progress. All applications for special consideration must be lodged online through
myUNSW within 3 working days of the assessment, not to course or school staff. For
more detail, consult https://student.unsw.edu.au/special-consideration.

Continual Course Improvement

This course is under constant revision in order to improve the learning outcomes for all
students. Please forward any feedback (positive or negative) on the course to the course
convener or via the Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement Process. You can
also provide feedback to ELSOC who will raise your concerns at student focus group
meetings. As a result of previous feedback obtained for this course and in our efforts to
provide a rich and meaningful learning experience, we have continued to evaluate and
modify our delivery and assessment methods.

Administrative Matters
On issues and procedures regarding such matters as special needs, equity and diversity,
occupational health and safety, enrolment, rights, and general expectations of students,
please refer to the School and UNSW policies:
http://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/electrical-engineering/policies-and-procedures
https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/ABC.html

Appendix A: Targeted Graduate Capabilities

Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications programs are designed to address the
following targeted capabilities which were developed by the school in conjunction with the
requirements of professional and industry bodies:

 The ability to apply knowledge of basic science and fundamental technologies;

 The skills to communicate effectively, not only with engineers but also with the wider
community;
 The capability to undertake challenging analysis and design problems and find optimal
solutions;
 Expertise in decomposing a problem into its constituent parts, and in defining the scope
of each part;
 A working knowledge of how to locate required information and use information
resources to their maximum advantage;
 Proficiency in developing and implementing project plans, investigating alternative
solutions, and critically evaluating differing strategies;
 An understanding of the social, cultural and global responsibilities of the professional
engineer;
 The ability to work effectively as an individual or in a team;
 An understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities;
 The ability to engage in lifelong independent and reflective learning.

Appendix B: UNSW Graduate Capabilities

The course delivery methods and course content directly or indirectly addresses a number of
core UNSW graduate capabilities, as follows

 Developing scholars who have a deep understanding of their discipline, through

lectures and solution of analytical problems in tutorials and assessed by assignments
and written examinations.
 Developing rigorous analysis, critique, and reflection, and ability to apply knowledge
and skills to solving problems. These will be achieved by the laboratory experiments
and interactive checkpoint assessments and lab exams during the labs.
 Developing capable independent and collaborative enquiry, through a series of
tutorials spanning the duration of the course.
 Developing independent, self-directed professionals who are enterprising, innovative,
creative and responsive to change, through challenging design and project tasks.
  Developing citizens who can apply their discipline in other contexts, are culturally
aware and environmentally responsible, through interdisciplinary tasks, seminars and
group activities.

Appendix C: Engineers Australia (EA) Professional

Engineer Competency Standard

Program Intended Learning Outcomes

PE1.1 Comprehensive, theory-based understanding of underpinning 

fundamentals
PE1: Knowledge

PE1.2 Conceptual understanding of underpinning maths, analysis, statistics, 

and Skill Base

computing
PE1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge 
PE1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions
PE1.5 Knowledge of engineering design practice 
PE1.6 Understanding of scope, principles, norms, accountabilities of
sustainable engineering practice
PE2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex problem 
PE2: Engineering

solving
Application

PE2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources 

Ability

PE2.3 Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design

processes
PE2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and
management of engineering projects
PE3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability
PE3: Professional

PE3.2 Effective oral and written communication (professional and lay 

and Personal

domains)
Attributes

PE3.3 Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour 

PE3.4 Professional use and management of information
PE3.5 Orderly management of self, and professional conduct
PE3.6 Effective team membership and team leadership 