Paper

On

PresentedBy:
P.NATARAJU S.E.V.S.RAGHUVARMA
rd
3
yearE.E.E.
GMRIT

rd
3
yearE.E.E.
GMRIT

Abstract:
Ourvaryingindustrialneedsdemandmoreprecisecontroloftheoutputsofourbasicelectricalprime
moversi.e,THEMOTORS.Basicallydcmotorsareeasytocontrolcomparedtotheiraccounterparts,butthey
havetheirownlimitationswithincreaseincapacity.Converselyacmotorsinparticularsquirrelcageinduction
motorsareveryeconomicalbuttheirspeedcontroliscomparativelydifficultbecauseitrequiresalterationofsupply
frequencies.
Duetotechnologicaladvancementssomedriveswhichcancontrolacmotorsareavailablewhichare
economical,easytouseandwhichcanprovidewiderangeofspeedcontrolbothbelowandabovebasespeeds.
Thesedrivesfundamentallyalterthevoltageandfrequencybeingfedtomotoraccordingtotherequirementsusing
atechniquecalledpulsewidthmodulation(PWM).
Theseareincreasinglybecomingpopularduetheirreasonablecostandotheruserfriendlyfeatures.Since
theyuseembeddedsystemstheycanbeinterfacedtothecomputersandcanbeprogrammedforautomaticcontrol
reducingmanualintervention.

VariableVoltageVariablefrequencydrive

A
variablefrequencydrive(VVVFD)
isasystemforcontrollingtherotationalspeedofan
alternating
current
(AC)
electricmotor
bycontrollingthefrequencyoftheelectricalpowersuppliedtothemotor.Avariable
frequencydriveisaspecifictypeof
adjustablespeeddrive
.Variablefrequencydrivesarealsoknownas
adjustablefrequencydrives(AFD),variablespeeddrives(VSD),ACdrivesorinverterdrives.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Operatingprinciple

Example

VVVFDsystemdescription

VVVFDcontroller

VVVFDoperatorinterface

VVVFDOperation

A
vailableVVVFDpowerratings

Shrinkingcostandsize

INTRODUCTION

Inductionmotorshavebeenusedinthepastmainlyinapplicationsrequiringaconstantspeed
Becauseconventionalmethodsofspeedcontrolhavebeeneitherexpensiveorinefficient.
Variablespeedapplicationshavebeendominatedbydcdrives.AvailabilityofThyristors,PowerTransistors,IGBT
haveallowedthatdevelopmentofvariablespeedinductionmotordrives

Themaindrawbackofdcmotorsisapresenceofcommutatorandbrushes,whichrequirefrequent

maintenanceandmakethemunsuitableforexplosiveanddirtyenvironment.
Ontheotherhand,I.Ms,particularlysquirrelcagearerugged,cheaper,lighter,smaller,moreeffcient,require
lowermaintenanceandcanoperateindirtyandexplosiveenvironments.
Althoughvariablespeedinductionmotordrivesaregenerallyexpensivethandcdrives,
Theyareusedinnumberofapplicationslikecranes,conveyersetc.becauseoftheadvantagesofInductionmotors.

SPEEDCONTROL

Following

methodsareemployedforspeedcontrolofInductionmotors:

1.

Polechanging

2.Statorvoltagecontrol

3.Supplyfrequencycontrol

4.Eddycurrentcoupling

5.Rotorresistancecontrol

6.Slippowerrecovery

Wearegoingtostudysupplyfrequencycontrolmethod.wecanconvenientlyadjustthespeedofmotorby
changingthefrequencyappliedtothemotor.Wecouldadjustmotorspeedbyadjustingthenumberofpoles,but
thisphysicalchangetothemotor,wouldrequirerewinding,andresultinastepchangetothespeed.Sofor

convenience,costefficiencyandprecision,wechangethefrequency.

OPERATINGPRINCIPLE
VariablefrequencydrivesoperateundertheprinciplethatthesynchronousspeedofanACmotoris
determinedbythefrequencyoftheACsupplyandthenumberofpolesinthestatorwinding,accordingtothe
relation:

Where,
RPM=Revolutionsperminute
f=ACpowerfrequency(Hertz)
p=Numberofpoles(anevennumber)
Synchronousmotorsoperateatthesynchronousspeeddeterminedbytheaboveequation.Thespeedofaninduction
motorisslightlylessthanthesynchronousspeed.
Example
A4polemotorthatisconnecteddirectlyto60Hzutility(mains)powerwouldhaveasynchronousspeedof1800
RPM:
120x60=1800rpm
4
Ifthemotorisaninductionmotor,theoperatingspeedatfullloadwillbeabout1750RPM.
Ifthemotorisconnectedtoaspeedcontrollerthatprovidespowerat40Hz,thesynchronousspeedwouldbe1200
RPM:
120x40=1200rpm
4
Voltageinducedinstatorisproportionaltotheproductofsupplyfrequenciesandareaflux,ifstatordropis
neglected,terminalvoltagecanbeconsideredproportionaltoproductoffrequencyandflux.
Anyreductioninsupplyfrequencieswithoutchangeinterminalvoltagecausesanincreaseairgapflux.The
increaseinfluxwillsaturatethemotor.Whileanincreaseinfluxbeyondratedvalueisundesirablefromthe
considerationofsaturationeffects.Adecreaseinfluxisavoidedtoretainthetorquecapabilityofthemotor
Thereforethevariablefrequencycontrolbelowtheratedfrequencyisgenerallycarriedoutatratedairgap
fluxbyvaryingtheterminalvoltagewithfrequencysoastomaintain(V/F)ratioconstantatratedvalue.

K(v/f)

2
(L
+L
)
s
r

+
T
max
=

WhereKisconstant,
Thisequationsuggeststhatwithaconstant(v/f)ratio,motordevelopsamaximumtorque,exceptatlow
speeds.Motorthereforeoperatesinconstanttorquemode.Whenitisrequiredthatsamemaximumtorqueretained
atlowspeedsalsoinmonitoringoperation,(v/f)ratioisincreasedatlowfrequencies.
Thevariablefrequencycontrolprovidesagoodrunningandtransientperformancebecauseoffollowing
features:
1.Speedcontrolandbrakingoperationsareavailablefromzerotoabovebasespeedoperations.
2.Duringtransient(starting,brakingandspeedreversal)theoperationcanbecarriedoutattthemax.torquewhile
reducedcurrentgivinggooddynamicresponse.
3.Cu.Lossesarelow,theefficiencyandpowerfactorarehighastheoperationisrestrictedb/wsyn.Speedand
max.Torquepointatallfrequencies.
4.Dropinspeedfromnoladtofullloadissmall.
Fig.Showsthetorquedevelopingcharacteristicofeverymotor:theVoltsperHertzratio(V/F).Wechange
thisratiotochangemotortorque.Aninductionmotorconnectedtoa460V,60Hzsourcehasaratioof7.67.
As
longasthisratiostaysinproportion,themotorwilldevelopratedtorque
.Adriveprovidesmanydifferent
frequencyoutputs.Atanygivenfrequencyoutputofthedrive,yougetanewtorquecurve.

Volts

460/60=7.67(v/hz)

Ifsupplyis230volts

230/60=3.83(v/hz)

Hertz

V/FRatio

VVVFDsystemdescription

VVVFDsystem

AvariablefrequencydrivesystemgenerallyconsistsofanACmotor,acontrollerandanoperatorinterface.

VVVFDcontroller
Just how does a drive provide the frequency and
voltage output necessary to change the speed of a motor?
That's what we'll look at next. Fig. shows a basic PWM
drive. All PWM drives contain these main parts, with
subtledifferencesinhardwareandsoftwarecomponents.
The input section of the drive is the converter. It contains
six diodes, arranged in an electrical bridge. These diodes
convert AC power to DC power. The next sectiontheDC
bussectionseesafixedDCvoltage.
TheDCBussectionfiltersandsmoothesoutthewaveform.Thediodesactuallyreconstructthenegativehalvesof
thewaveformontothepositivehalf.Ina460Vunit,you'dmeasureanaverageDCbusvoltageofabout650Vto
680V.Youcancalculatethisaslinevoltagetimes1.414.Theinductor(L)andthecapacitor(C)worktogetherto
filteroutanyACcomponentoftheDCwaveform.ThesmoothertheDCwaveform,thecleanertheoutput
waveformfromthedrive.
TheDCbusfeedsthefinalsectionofthedrive:theinverter.Asthenameimplies,thissectioninvertstheDC
voltagebacktoAC.But,itdoessoinavariablevoltageandfrequencyoutput.Howdoesitdothis?Thatdepends
onwhatkindofpowerdevicesyourdriveuses.IfyouhavemanySCR(SiliconControlledRectifier)baseddrives
inyourfacility,seetheSidebar.BipolarTransistortechnologybegansupercedingSCRsindrivesinthemid1970s.
Intheearly1990s,thosegavewaytousingInsulatedGateBipolarTransistor(IGBT)technology,whichwillform
thebasisforourdiscussion.

DriveOutputWaveform

SwitchingBuswithIGBTS

Today's inverters use

Insulated Gate Bipolar

Transistors (IGBTs) to switch the DC bus on and off at

specific intervals. In doing so,
the inverter actually creates a
variable AC voltage and frequency output.AsshowninFig.,
the output of the drive doesn't provide anexactreplicaofthe
AC input sine waveform. Instead, it provides voltage pulses
thatareataconstantmagnitude.

Thedrive'scontrolboardsignalsthepowerdevice'scontrolcircuitstoturn"on"thewaveformpositivehalf
ornegativehalfofthepowerdevice.Thisalternatingofpositiveandnegativeswitchesrecreatesthe3phaseoutput.
Thelongerthepowerdeviceremainson,thehighertheoutputvoltage.Thelesstimethepowerdeviceison,
thelowertheoutputvoltageshowninFig.Conversely,thelongerthepowerdeviceisoff,thelowerthe
outputfrequency.

The speed at which power devices switch on and off is the

carrier frequency, also known as the switchfrequency. The
higher the switch frequency,themoreresolutioneachPWM
pulse contains. Typical switch frequencies are 3,000 to
4,000 times per second (3 KHz to 4 KHz). (With an older,
SCRbased drive, switch frequencies are 250 to 500 times
per second). As you can imagine, the higher the switch
frequency, the smoothertheoutput waveformandthehigher
the resolution. However, higher switchfrequenciesdecrease
the efficiency of the drive because of increased heat in the
powerdevices.

An
embedded

microprocessor
governstheoveralloperationoftheVVVFDcontroller.Themain
microprocessorprogrammingisin
firmware
thatisinaccessibletotheVVVFDuser.However,somedegreeof
configurationprogrammingandparameteradjustmentisusuallyprovidedsothattheusercancustomizethe
VVVFDcontrollertosuitspecificmotoranddrivenequipmentrequirements.

VVVFDoperatorinterface
Theoperatorinterfaceprovidesameansforanoperatortostartandstopthemotorandadjusttheoperating
speed.Additionaloperatorcontrolfunctionsmightincludereversingandswitchingbetweenmanualspeed
adjustmentandautomaticcontrolfromanexternal
processcontrol
signal.Theoperatorinterfaceoftenincludesan
alphanumeric
displayand/orindicationlightsandmeterstoprovideinformationabouttheoperationofthedrive.
AnoperatorinterfacekeypadanddisplayunitisoftenprovidedonthefrontoftheVVVFDcontrollerasshownin
thephotographabove.Thekeypaddisplaycanoftenbecableconnectedandmountedashortdistancefromthe
VVVFDcontroller.Mostarealsoprovidedwith
inputandoutput
(I/O)terminalsforconnectingpushbuttons,
switchesandotheroperatorinterfacedevicesorcontrolsignals.A
serialcommunications

port
isalsooften
availabletoallowtheVVVFDtobeconfigured,adjusted,monitoredandcontrolledusingacomputer.

VVVFDOperation
WhenaVVVFDstartsamotor,itinitiallyappliesalowfrequencyandvoltagetothemotor.The
startingfrequencyistypically2Hzorless.Startingatsuchalowfrequencyavoidsthehighinrushcurrent

thatoccurswhenamotorisstartedbysimplyapplyingtheutility(mains)voltagebyturningonaswitch
.
WhenaVVVFDstarts,theappliedfrequencyandvoltageareincreasedatacontrolledrateorrampedupto
accelerate
theloadwithoutdrawingexcessivecurrent
.Thisstartingmethodtypicallyallowsamotortodevelop
150%ofitsrated
torque
whiledrawingonly150%ofitsratedcurrent.Whenamotorissimplyswitchedon
atfullvoltage,itinitiallydrawsatleast300%ofitsratedcurrentwhileproducinglessthan150%ofitsrated
torque
.Astheloadaccelerates,theavailabletorqueusuallydropsalittleandthenrisestoapeakwhilethecurrent
remainsveryhighuntilthemotorapproachesfullspeed.AVVVFDcanbeadjustedtoproduceasteady150%
startingtorquefromstandstillrightuptofullspeedwhiledrawingonly150%current.
WithaVVVFD,thestoppingsequenceisjusttheoppositeasthestartingsequence.Thefrequencyandvoltage
appliedtothemotorarerampeddownatacontrolledrate.Whenthefrequencyapproacheszero,themotorisshut
off.Asmallamountofbrakingtorqueisavailabletohelp
decelerate
theloadalittlefasterthanitwouldstopifthe
motorweresimplyswitchedoffandallowedtocoast.Additionalbrakingtorquecanbeobtainedbyaddinga
brakingcircuittodissipatethebrakingenergyorreturnittothepowersource.

AvailableVVVFDpowerratings
Variablefrequencydrivesareavailablewithvoltageandcurrentratingstomatchthemajorityof3phase
motorsthataremanufacturedforoperationfromutility(mains)power.VVVFDcontrollersdesignedtooperateat
110voltsto690voltsareoftenclassifiedaslowvoltageunits.Lowvoltageunitsaretypicallydesignedforusewith
motorsratedtodeliver0.2kWor1/4
horsepower
(Hp)uptoatleast750kWor1000Hp.MediumvoltageVVVFD
controllersaredesignedtooperateat2400/4160volts(60Hz),3300volts(50Hz)orupto10kV.Insome
applicationsastepup
Transformer
isplacedbetweenalowvoltagedriveandamediumvoltageload.Medium
voltageunitsaretypicallydesignedforusewithmotorsratedtodeliver375kWor500Hpandabove.Medium
voltagedrivesratedabove7kVand5000or10,000Hpshouldprobablybeconsideredtobeoneofakind(oneoff)
designs.

Shrinkingcostandsize

Drivesvaryinthecomplexityoftheirdesigns,butthedesignscontinuetoimprove.Drivescomeinsmaller
packageswitheachgeneration.Thetrendissimilartothatofthepersonalcomputer.Morefeatures,better
performance,andlowercostwithsuccessivegenerations.Unlikecomputers,however,driveshavedramatically
improvedintheirreliabilityandeaseofuse.Andalsounlikecomputers,thetypicaldriveoftodaydoesn'tspew
gratuitousharmonicsintoyourdistributionsystemnordoesitaffectyourpowerfactor.Drivesareincreasingly

becoming"plugandplay."Aselectronicpowercomponentsimproveinreliabilityanddecreaseinsize,thecostand
sizeofVVVFDswillcontinuetodecrease.Whileallthatisgoingon,theirperformanceandeaseofusewillonly
getbetter.

Conclusion
Duetomanyadvantagesofferedbyacdriveslikeautomaticcontrol,closedloopcontrol,economicalcost
etc.acmotorsarebeingreplacedinfieldswhichwheretotallycapitalizedbydcmotorsliketraction,some
industrialapplicationsetc.

Keywords
Adjustablespeeddrives,synchronousspeed,constanttorque,v/fratio,pulsewidth
modulation(PWM).