Enhanced Control and Analysis of a Five-Leg Inverter Using PWM Strategies for Dual Asynchronous Motor Drives

Abstract

This study offers a detailed control strategy and performance assessment of a five-leg inverter configuration designed for the autonomous operation of two three-phase induction motors. Traditional dual-motor drive systems generally utilize two distinct three-leg inverters, leading to heightened hardware complexity, elevated costs, and greater spatial demands. The suggested five-leg inverter architecture mitigates these restrictions by employing a shared leg between two motor phases, so decreasing the number of power switching devices while preserving complete independent control of both motors. The system functions by sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) integrated with sophisticated indirect vector control techniques. A comprehensive simulation model in MATLAB/Simulink evaluates system performance under balanced load settings, examining critical metrics including voltage waveforms, torque response, and harmonic distortion for each motor. The findings indicate that the five-leg inverter facilitates steady, decoupled motor performance characterized by minimal harmonic distortion and rapid dynamic response. A comparative assessment with a traditional six-leg inverter architecture demonstrates that the suggested topology provides comparable performance while minimizing component count and complexity. This study confirms the practicality and benefits of shared-leg inverter configurations for multi-motor drives, facilitating more compact, economical, and efficient solutions in industrial motor control applications.