Adaptive Heuristic Direct Torque Control for High‐Phase Electronic Pole‐Changing Induction Machines: Hardware‐in‐the‐Loop and Experimental Evaluation

ABSTRACT

High‐phase electronic pole‐changing induction machines (ePCIMs) offer inherent redundancy and extended torque‐speed capability, making them suitable for high‐power traction applications such as electric buses and heavy‐duty electric vehicles. However, pole‐changing transitions produce severe transient currents that degrade dynamic performance and reduce system reliability. This paper proposes an adaptive heuristic direct torque control (DTC) strategy to regulate transient behaviour during pole‐changing operations. The proposed method employs a state‐dependent adaptive framework that dynamically adjusts control actions according to operating conditions. Consequently, transient current overshoot is significantly reduced without compromising the fast torque response of DTC. To enable cost‐effective and flexible evaluation of pole‐changing dynamics prior to full‐scale prototyping, a real‐time hardware‐in‐the‐loop (HIL) platform is developed. The proposed strategy is subsequently verified through both HIL emulation and experimental testing on a nine‐phase prototype. Results demonstrate that the proposed controller reduces transient current peaks dramatically compared with instantaneous pole‐changing whilst maintaining comparable transition times. Furthermore, compared with gradual pole‐changing method, the proposed approach significantly shortens the transition duration whilst preserving stable dynamic performance. The close agreement between HIL and experimental results confirms the robustness and practical feasibility of the proposed method for reliable mode‐transition control in advanced ePCIM traction drives.