Variable speed is one of the important requirements in most of the electric drives. Earlier dc motors were the only drives that were used in industries requiring - eration over a wide range of speed with step less variation, or requiring fine ac- racy of speed control. Such drives are known as high performance drives. AC - tors because of being highly coupled non-linear devices can not provide fast dynamic response with normal controls. However, recently, because of ready availability of power electronic devices, and digital signal processors ac motors are beginning to be used for high performance drives. Field oriented control or vector control has made a fundamental change with regard to dynamic perfo- ance of ac machines. Vector control makes it possible to control induction or s- chronous motor in a manner similar to control scheme used for the separately - cited dc motor. Recent advances in artificial intelligence techniques have also contributed in the improvement in performance of electric drives. This book presents a comprehensive view of high performance ac drives. It may be considered as both a text book for graduate students and as an up-to-date monograph. It may also be used by R & D professionals involved in the impro- ment of performance of drives in the industries. The book will also be beneficial to the researchers pursuing work on sensorless and direct torque control of electric drives as up-to date references in these topics are provided.
