Adaptive Proportional-Resonant Current Control for Three-Phase Induction Motors

This paper introduces a frequency-adaptive Proportional Resonant (PR) controller for three-phase induction motors (IMs), distinguished by its conceptual simplicity and strong robustness. Unlike previous works that employ PR controllers in the stationary reference frame as internal current regulators, the novelty of this approach lies in its straightforward gain tuning procedure, which relies exclusively on the motor’s inductance parameters. This design choice eliminates the need for complex identification or optimization techniques, while still ensuring high accuracy. The controller further incorporates dynamic adaptation of the resonant frequency, enabling precise current tracking across varying speed references. In addition, an innovative resonant block is proposed to suppress fifth- and seventh-order harmonics, thereby achieving a substantial reduction in total harmonic distortion. Simulation results confirm that the system delivers outstanding tracking performance, rapid dynamic response, and remarkable robustness under diverse operating conditions. Beyond control accuracy, the proposed strategy achieves a substantial reduction in Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) below 1.76%, a key metric for power quality. This low harmonic content directly minimizes non-productive \(I^2R\) losses in the windings, contributing significantly to improved energy efficiency and meeting stringent industrial standards. Overall, the findings demonstrate that a surprisingly simple control architecture can yield performance levels comparable to more sophisticated schemes, positioning the adaptive PR controller as a compelling and practical solution for high-performance induction motor drives.