About
One of the demanding areas in engineering and technology are electric drives and their power electronic converters. Modern electric drives enable smarter utilization of industrial processes and systems. For all applications and industrial processes, electric drives and their power electronic converters have real and significant potential for improving efficiency, reliability, performance and safety. In this Lab, research is being conducted which is focused on various aspects of electrical machines and their associated drive system. The objective is to provide better solutions for electromagnetic energy conversion systems through addressing the current challenges in electric machines and drives design, analysis, optimization, and fault diagnostics.
People
Faculty in Charges: Mr. Praveen Kumar N., Mr. Vijith K.
Supporting Staff: Mr. Sithan P.
Research
Some of the most recent research areas of interest pursued in the Electric Drives and Control Laboratory:
- Design and analysis of Induction Motor, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor, Switched Reluctance Motor through computationally efficient Finite Element simulation tool.
- Development of fault diagnostic procedures for inverter operated Induction machines.
- Design and development of Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) based Electric Vehicle.
- Extension of Field Weakening region of operation in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor.
Facilities
The laboratory has dSPACE DS1104 R&D Controller Board that upgrades PC to a powerful development system for rapid control prototyping. The real-time hardware based on PowerPC technology and its set of I/O interfaces makes the board an ideal solution for developing controllers in various industrial fields. Real-Time Interface provides Simulink blocks for convenient configuration of A/D, D/A, digital I/O lines, incremental encoder interface and PWM
generation. The industrial motors can be controlled by implementing various control strategies like PI control, Vector control, Direct Torque Control etc.,
The lab is equipped with a FPGA based drives control in which FPGA Xilinx block set is integrated with MATLAB and FPGA can be directly controlled from MATLAB. The setup comprises of Xilinx FPGA Zynq Dual ARM Cortex with communication ports, isolated Voltage and Current sensors, ADC, DAC, PWM Card, Encoder interface and Analyzer with DSO.
Also PLC based drives control is carried out with the help of Siemens Simatic PLC, Analog and Digital modules, Siemens variable frequency drive and Siemens HMI. The VFD is controlled through PLC and also integrated with HMI through Siemens Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) Portal.
In addition to this, the laboratory is equipped with various Software packages such as ANSYS Maxwell, ANSYS Simplorer and MATLAB System Generator etc.
Equipment Details:
3.7 kW, 3-Phase, 4 Pole, Induction Motor, Semikron Inverter, WAVECT Kit with Xilinx FPGA Controller, Encoder Interface, Voltage and Current Sensors and oscilloscope, SIEMENS PLC Training Kit S7200 Smart, SIEMENS 3ɸ Induction Motor - 415V, 0.75kW, SIEMENS PLC Kit S7200 Smart with Siemens VFD and HMI, SIEMENS TIA (Totally Integrated Automation), 220V, 3.9 A Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor, 550 W Switched Reluctance Motor, 48V PMDC Motor.
Publications
- Praveen Kumar N. and Isha T. B., FEM based Electromagnetic Signature Analysis of Winding Inter-turn Short-Circuit Fault in Inverter fed Induction Motor, CES Transactions on Electrical Machines and Systems, vol. 3, pp. 309-315, 2019.
- Praveen Kumar N., Isha T. B., Electromagnetic Signature Study of a Closed loop Speed Controlled Three-Phase Induction Motor under Broken Rotor Bar Fault using Finite Element Method, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 2731-2745, 2019.
- Sreedharala Viswanath, N. Praveen Kumar, T. B. Isha, Static Eccentricity Fault in Induction Motor Drive using Finite Element Method, Advances in Electrical and Computer Technologies 2019 (ICAECT-2019), Coimbatore, India.
- Praveen Kumar N., Vinothraj C. and Isha T. B., Effect of Wear and Tear Bearing Fault in Induction Motor Drives using FEM, 2018 IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (PEDES), Chennai, India, 2018.
- Naveen P., Praveen Kumar N., Sriganesh K., Rajesh T., Sushmitha K., Stator Fault Analysis of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor using Finite Element Method, 2019 4th IEEE International Conference on Recent Trends on Electronics, Information & Communication Technology (RTEICT-2019).
- Karthic Krishna M., Kishan Kumar K., Koushik M., Sudhakaran K., Praveen Kumar N., Inter-turn Stator Winding Short Circuit Fault Analysis in Inverter fed Induction Motor using FEM, 2018 3rd IEEE International Conference on Recent Trends in Electronics, Information & Communication Technology (RTEICT-2018).
- N. Praveen Kumar, G. Ashwini, V. Muthukumaran, R. Pavithra, D. Priyanka, P. Balakrishnan, PWM Inverter Switch Short Circuit Fault Analysis in Three Phase Induction Motor Using FEM, Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 640-646, Mar 2018.
- Swathika S., Praveen Kumar N., and Isha T. B., Stator Turn-to-Turn Short-Circuit Fault Analysis in Line Start Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine using Finite Element Method, 2018 3rd IEEE International Conference on Recent Trends in Electronics, Information & Communication Technology (RTEICT-2018).
- Vinothraj C., Praveen Kumar N., and Isha T. B., Bearing fault analysis in induction motor drives using finite element method, International Journal of Engineering and Technology(UAE), vol.7, no.3, pp.30-34, 2018.
- Praveen Kumar N., Sreemathi R., Ragul Chandar K. P., Vaijayanthi V., Praveen Kumar S., PWM Inverter Switch Open-circuit Fault Analysis in Three Phase Induction Motor Drive Using FEM, 2017 International Conference on Energy, Communication, Data Analytics and Soft Computing, ICECDS, 2017.
- Prasob K., N. Praveen Kumar, and T. B. Isha, Inter-turn short circuit fault analysis of PWM inverter fed three-phase induction motor using Finite Element Method, 2017 IEEE International Conference on Circuit, Power and Computing Technologies, ICCPCT, 2017.
- Praveen Kumar N. and Isha T. B., Electromagnetic field analysis of 3-Phase induction motor drive under broken rotor bar fault condition using FEM,2016 IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (PEDES), Trivandrum, India, 2016, pp.1-6.
- Praveen Kumar N., Isha T. B. and Balakrishnan P., Radial electro-magnetic field analysis of induction motor under faulty condition using FEM, 2016 Biennial International Conference on Power and Energy Systems: Towards Sustainable Energy (PESTSE), Bangalore, 2016, pp.1-6.
- Akhila E., Praveen Kumar N., and Isha T. B., Fuzzy logic and PI Controls in Speed Control of Induction Motor, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Springer India 2016., pp.987-1001, Jan. 2016.
- Balakrishnan P., Isha T. B. and Praveen Kumar N., Two Stage on-board battery charger for plug-in electric vehicle applications, International Journal of Control Theory and Applications, vol.9, no.13, pp.6175-6182, 2016.
- Anand J., Balakrishnan P., and Isha T. B., Simulation of Torque Ripple Minimization in Switched Reluctance Motor, International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, vol. 10, no. 55, (spl. Issue), pp. 3548 – 3553, June 2015.
- R. G. Krishnan, T. B. Isha and P. Balakrishnan, A Back EMF based Sensorless Speed Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor, IEEE International conference on circuit power and computing technologies (ICCPCT) – 2017, Baselios Mathews II college of engineering, Kollam, April 2017.
- Pradyumna S. and P. Balakrishnan, Reduction of Torque Ripple in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor, International Conference on Engineering and Advancement in Technonolgy – 2018, Sri Krishna College of Technology, Coimbatore, 22-23 March 2018. [Published in Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control System (JARDC) – 2018, special issue – 03, page no. 918 – 922
About
Renewable energy integration to electric power grid is a challenge even in developed countries as the intermittency and variability of the energy sources like solar radiation and wind speed affect the essential power balance on the grid, if a large share of the demand is required to be met from renewable resources. In order to address research in this domain, the Renewable Energy Technology (RET) Lab was established. RET laboratory developed through assistance from C-WET (presently, NIWE), MNRE and DST, Government of India, equipped with hard and soft experiment systems and real field data collection systems, provides active training support to the graduate and post graduate programme. Collaborations with global academic and industrial establishments too help in imparting quality research in the lab.
People
Research
Wind and solar power generation are geographically distributed and such power plants are to be connected to electric distribution network in many places. These are called micro grids. The Amrita solution involves operation of wind-solar microgrid also integrated with energy storage systems like battery and pumped hydro. A technology has been developed to automatically decide in real time to charge or discharge these storage systems in a dynamic fashion as and when required so that the power balance on the grid is always ensured – that is DEMS.
Projects
1. Development and prototyping of ICT enabled smart charging network components (2018-2020)
Project Incharge: Dr. K. K. Sasi
Co-Project Incharge: Sivraj P., Nithin S., Vijith K.
Funding Agency: DHI, Government of India & DST, Government of India - DHI TPEM Project under FAME India Scheme
2. Energy Management on Smartgrid using embedded Systems (2011-2014)
Project Incharge: Dr. K. K. Sasi
Co-Project Incharge: Dr. T. N. P. Nambiar, Prof. A. T. Devarajan, Dr. P. Supriya
Funding Agency: Indo –Swedish collaboration,
- Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India.
- VINNOVA, Sweden.
Facilities
The laboratory has a rooftop installed solar panels and wind electric generator used for training and research. A weather monitoring system provides data for such studies. The solar and wind power generated on roof top can either be connected to the battery-inverter unit,Or fed to the local grid through Grid tied inverter. The lab has a micro grid research facility developed in house. This facility is known as a Smart Micro Grid Simulator or SMGS. DST of India and VINNOVA of Sweden sponsored development of this facility.
Real Time Data Collection Units continuously monitor voltages, currents, and frequency at all nodes of the microgrid and transfer the data wirelessly to the control server.The data collected are transmitted and recorded with time stamp. The solar and wind generators connected to the SMGS make a unique research facility. This lab has wind turbine emulators fitted with all types of generators – cage induction, DFIG and permanent magnet generator.
In addition to this, the laboratory is equipped with various Software packages such as WAsp , Windpro, ETAP, DigSILENT, PowerFactory,Ansys Fluent and MATLAB etc.
Equipment Details:
Wind Turbine (300W),Fuel cell (20W),Photo Voltaic Panels (68 * 8 = 544W),Grid tied inverter, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (500W),3 Phase Induction Motor (1.1kW),DC Shunt Motor (1.1 kW),1kVA Alternator coupled with 1.5kW DC motor and tachometer, DC rectifier (30A),SEMIKRON Inverters (Inverter + Inverter),SEMIKRON Inverters (Rectifier + Inverter), Altium Nano Board 3000, Xillinx SPARTAN 3AN, Altium Designer, Digital storage oscilloscope 4 channel, Digital storage oscilloscope 2 channel.
Publications
- S. Nithin, K. K. Sasi. T. N. P. Nambiar, Development of a Smart Grid Simulator, Proceedings of the National conference on Power Distribution, CPRI Bangalore, 8-9 Nov 2012.
- N. Honeth, M. Buschle, R. Lagerstrom, K. K. Sasi, S. Nithin, An Extended ArchiMate Metamodel for Microgrid Control System Architectures, Proceedings of 9th IET International Conference on Advances in Power System Control, Operation and Management (APSCOM 2012). 18-21 November 2012, Hong Kong, Organized by the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hong Kong, Power & Energy Section.
- S. Nithin, P. Sivraj, K. K. Sasi, L. Robert, Development of a Real Time Data Collection Unit For Distribution Network in a Smart Grid Environment, proceedings of International conference Power and Energy systems: Towards Sustainable Energy, PESTSE 2014, Amrita School of Engineering, Bangalore, 13 -15 March 2014.
- S. Nithin, K. K. Sasi, Robert Lagerstrom, Direct Load Control on Smart Micro Grid supported by Wireless Communication and Real Time Computation, Communicated to the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Advances in Applied Computing, ICONIAAC 2014, Amrita School of Engineering, Amritapuri.
- D. Prasannavadana and Sasi K. Kottayil, Energy-Aware Intelligent Controller for Dynamic Energy Management on Smart Microgrid, PESTSE 2014, Amrita School of Engineering, Bangalore, 13-15 March 2014
- D. Prasannavadana and Sasi K. Kottayil, Realization of a Smart Micro Grid Central Controller, NCPSE 2014, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, May 1-3, 2014
- A. Vijayakumari, A. T. Devarajan, and N. Devarajan, Effect of Grid Impedance Variation on the Control of Grid Connected Converters with Synchronous Reference Frame Controllers in Micro-Grids, Accepted in Lecture Notes on Electrical Engineering. Springer, 2014.
- M. Välja*, N. Honeth, M. Buschle, R. Lagerström, K. K. Sasi, S. Nithin, An Archimate based analysis of Microgrid Control System Architectures, Proceedings of the International conference on Embedded Systems, ICES 2014.
- K. Deepak Karthik*, S. Nithin, E. Prabhu, Power System Frequency Estimation Technique Using Artificial Neural Network, Proceedings of the International conference on circuit, power and computing Technologies-ICCPCT 2016.
- Sivraj P.*, Nithin S., Sasi K. Kottayil, Smart Microgrid Simulator, International Conference on Smart Grid and Smart Cities – Indian Smart Grid Week 2016, Delhi, 2016.
- Nithin S.*,Sivraj P., Sasi K. Kottayil, Aggregation of Smart Facilities in a Smart City-A Case Study, International Conference on Smart Grid and Smart Cities – Indian Smart Grid Week 2016, Delhi, 2016.
- S. Nithin, Vijith K., Rajinikandh C., Sasi K. Kottayil, Automated Dispatch of Wind Power On Microgrid for Voltage Regulation, Accepted for Publication in the International Journal of Automation and Smart Technology, October 2018.

Fuel Cell Experimental Setup

140 Watts Poly Crystalline Solar PV

Battery with Inverter Connected to Hybrid System

Solar PV Buck Boost Converter

Solar PV Buck Boost Converter Connected to Inverter Battery Setup

Weather Monitoring System

100 Watt Wind Turbine

500 Watts Solar PV

Hybrid Setup