Model of an induction machine with an arbitrary phase number in Matlab/Simulink for educational use

The use of voltage source inverter (VSI) in high performance drives removes the restriction of the number of motor phases. Due to the reported advantages of multi-phase machines they have become of increasing interest to the industry. This paper provides a Matlab/Simulink built n-phase machine model in terms of physical variables along with the VSI and V/f control scheme that a user can easily set to any phase (n≥3) number. Efforts have been made to produce the simplest model possible, so that a student can easily understand the mathematical model of the machine and relate it to the variables within the Simulink model. After a short theoretical review of the mathematical model of an induction machine with an arbitrary phase number, the Simulink implementation is discussed. Simulation results for a three- and five-phase machine are provided, to prove the validity of the model and capabilities of the developed software.