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Ntrol Induction Motors by AC Voltage Controllers: N Nmo R o L L
Ntrol Induction Motors by AC Voltage Controllers: N Nmo R o L L
Ntrol Induction Motors by AC Voltage Controllers: N Nmo R o L L
The speed control of induction motors by stator voltage control has been described in
section 6.4.1. It has been shown that a class D design squirrel-cage induction motor
should be used for wide variation of speed. Since the torque to current ratio de-
creases with voltage, the method is suitable for applications requiring a low torque at
low speeds.
The variation of motor voltage is obtained by ac voltage controllers. It may be
recalled that the function of ac voltage controllers is to allow a variable ac voltage of
the same frequency to be obtained from a fixed ac voltage. However, this conversion
is obtained at the expense of a low power factor and a considerable amount of har-
monics in th output voltage of ac voltage controllers. The harrnonic content in-
creases and the power factor decreases with the decrease in output voltage. The
harmonics increase the losses and require derating of the motor. The motor torque
capability, which is already low at low voltages, is further reduced ..
The induction motors controlled by ac voltage controllers find wide applica-
tions in fan, pump, and crane drives.
273
274 Control of Induction Motors by AC Voltage Controllers Chap.7
T,
A---------"""
A
B nn n. '-----" N B
e
Stator
windings
e --------- .
Thus, in C2 the thyristor current rating is reduced by a factor of v'3. Under normal
operation, the maximum voltage to which the thyristors of circuit C, are subjected is
(Y3/2) times smaller than that of the thyristors of circuit C22 However, under ab-
normal conditions, the maximum voltage is the same (that is, equal to the peak of
the line voltage). Such an abnormal condition can arise if thyristors in one of the
phases are rendered conductive by device failure or misfiring, when all phases are
intended to be off. Since such abnormal conditions can always arise, the thyristor
voltage rating is chosen to be higher than the peak of the line voltage. Thus voltage
controller C2 would cost less than circuit C i- However, circuit C2 can be used only
when the machine is delta-connected and both ends of the phase windings are avail-
able. This situation may not exist in many commercially available motors.
A cheaper controller can be obtained by replacing one thyristor in each phase
of circuit C, by a diode. This approach introduces even harmonics. The predominant
harmonic is the second, compared to the fifth and third forothe circuits C, and C2,
respectively. The presence of the low-frequency second harmonic increases the
losses considerably, particularly at low motor speeds.
Asyrnmetrical circuits are obtained by removing one or two antiparallel thyris-
tor pairs from circuit C, and connecting corresponding motor phases directly to the
source. These asyrnmetrical circuits cause asyrnmetrical operation of the induction
motor and increase harmonics. The asyrnmetrical operation and the large harmonic
content substantially derate the motor. The torque capability, which is already low at
low speeds, is greatly reduced. Hence these asymmetrical circuits are not used.
The thyristors of the controllers of figure 7.1 are fired in the sequence of their
numbers with a phase difference of 60 For circuit C" the firing angle a is mea-
0
sured from the instant the phase voltage VAN has a zero value. For circuit C2, the fir-
Sec.7.2 Four-Quadrant Control and Closed-Loop Operation 275
ing angle is measured from the instant the line voltage V AB has a zero value. Let us
define an angle
(7.1)
o wt
The 3-phase circuits of figure 7.1 can provide forward motoring and reverse plugging
operations. The use of the class O design squirrel-cage motor allows higher torques
to be produced, with reduced currents, for low-speed motoring and high-speed brak-
ing operations. The four-quadrant operation with plugging is obtained by the use of
the circuit of figure 7.3a. Thyristor pairs A, B, and e provide operation in quad-
rants I and IV. The speed-torque curve at a fixed stator voltage and for operation in
quadrants I and IV is shown by a solid line in figure 7.4. Use of thyristor pairs A' ,
B, and e' changes the phase sequence, and thus gives operation in quadrants 11 and
111. The speed-torque curve for the same stator voltage and operation in quadrants 11
and III is shown in figure 7.4 by a dotted line. While changing from one set of
thyristor pairs to another-that is, from ABe to A'Be' and vice versa-care
should be taken to ensure that the incoming pair is activated only after the outgoing
276 Control of Induction Motors by AC Voltage Controllers Chap.7
A---_- ...A
e'
B---+-4---+ B
A'
e ----------+ e
(a)
A-_----YH-+ A
B-----+-++ B
e -----+f-- ... e
(b)
pair is fully tumed off. Failure to satisfy this condition will cause short circuiting of
the supply by the conducting thyristors of the two pairs. The protection against such
a fault can be provided only by the fuse links and not by the current control. There-
fore, when changing from one set of thyristor pairs to another, the firing pulses are
withdrawn to force the current to zero. After the current zero is sensed by the zero-
current sensor, a dead time of 5 to 10 ms is allowed to ensure that al! the thyristors
Sec.7.2 Four-Quadrant Control and Closed-Loop Operation 277
/
Plugging /
/
/
o T
(
\ <,
Motoring _
Figure 7.4 Speed-torque curves for a
fixed stator voltage and +ve and -ve
phase sequence.
of the outgoing pair have in fact turned off. Now the pulses are released to the
incoming set of thyristor pairs. In the multiquadrant operation, the current control
(section 3.9) is employed to restrict the motor current below a safe value.
The four-quadrant operation can also be obtained by the circuit of figure 7.3b.
It consists of three pairs of thyristors A, B, and e and a contactor with two normally
open and two normally closed contacts. The operation in quadrants 1 and IV is ob-
tained when the contactor is off and the operation in quadrants II and III is obtained
when the contactor is on. To reduce the contactor rating, the switching operation is
done after the current ceases to flow. Thus, when the need for changeover arises, the
thyristor gate pulses are withdrawn to force the current to zero. The contactor is al-
lowed to operate some time after the current zero is sensed.
Por closed-loop speed control, the inner-current control scheme described in
section 5.1 (fig. 5. lb) for a de motor drive is employed. It consists of an inner-
current control loop and an outer speed loop. Por l-quadrant operation, the voltage
controllers of figure 7.1 are used. Por 4-quadrant operation, the voltage controllers
of figure 7.3 are employed. A closed-loop scheme for the single-quadrant control is
shown in figure 7.5. A four-quadrant closed-loop drive can be realized by using the
AC supply
L 1 L
3-phase
voltage
controller
Wm
Speed Current r, Current Firing
controller limiter controller circuit
Tachogenerator
AC Supply
Absolute
r:::
Speed
J[
Current l.
t::
Current
Ve Ve
Firing
a 3phase
voltage
controller
~-------------------------------------------------------{~
Tachogenerator
voltage controller of figure 7.3a and the drive of figure 7.6. Let us consider the opera-
tion of the drive for speed reversal. When the speed command is set for the reverse
direction, the speed error ewm reverses and exceeds a prescribed limit. The master
controller, on sensing this, withdraws the gate pulses to force the current to zero.
After the zero current is sensed, the master controller provides a delay of 5 to 10 ms
to ensure that the outgoing thyristors have tumed off. Now the gate pulses are re-
leased to the other set of thyristors. The drive first decelerates and then accelerates in
the reverse direction at a constant maximum allowable current and finally settles at
the desired speed.
(7.2)
Sec.7.3 Fan or Pump and Crane Hoist Drives 279
AIso
T L = Cw2m = C(1 - S)2W2 ms (7.3)
where C is a constant.
If the friction, windage, and core loss torques are neglected.
T=TL (7.4)
Substituting from equations (7.2) and (7.3) in equation (7.4) and rearranging the
term gives .
l'
r
= K[O v'"R:
- S)Vs] (7.5)
r
where
K = Y(Cw~sl3) (7.6)
If the magnetizing branch of the equivalent circuit of figure 6.1d is ignored, then
I, = 1; and hence from equation (7.5)
Is = K[O v;&Vs] (7.7)
Equation (7.7) shows that for a given slip, the motor current is inversely propor-
tional to the square root of the rotor resistance, R;. If the full-load stator current and
the motor slip are denoted by Iraledand sraled' respectively, then from equation (7.7)
I
rated
= K[(l- Sraled)vS::;]
v'"R:r
(7.8)
The slip at which the maximum value of I, occurs is obtained by equating (dls/ds) in
equation (7.7) to zero, giving
sm = 1/3 (7.10)
Imax
--
Iraled
= --=-------==
3\13 - 2
S rated)Y Sraled
(7.11)
where Imax is the maximum value of I, - greater than the rated motor current.
Equation (7.11) suggests that the maximum current has a lower value for a
motor with a larger full-load slip. The ratio of maximum to rated motor current has
values of 1.35 and 1.07 for full-Ioad slips of 0.1 and 0.2, respectively. Therefore, if
a motor with a power rating equal to the full-load power requirement of the load is
chosen, it will be overloaded for speeds less than the rated speed.
280 Control of Induction Motors by AC Voltage Controllers Chap. 7
REFERENCES
l. W. Shepherd, Thyristor Control of AC Circuits, Crosby Lockwood Staples, London,
1975.
2. G. K. Dubey, S. R. Doradla, A. Joshi, and R. M. K. Sinha, "Thyristorised power
controllers," Wiley Eastem, 1986.
3. D. A. Paice, "Induction motor speed control by stator voltage control," IEEE Trans. on
PAS, vol. PAS-87, Feb. 1968, pp. 585-590.
4. R. M. Crowder and G. A. Srnith, "Induction motor for crane applications,' lEE Jour,
Electric Power Applications, Dec. 1979, pp. 194-198.
5. T. M. Rowan and T. A. Lipo, "A quantitative analysis of induction motor performance
improvement by SCR voltage control," IEEE Trans. on Ind. Appl., vol. IA-19,
July-Aug. 1983, pp. 545-553.
6. F. M. H. Khater and D. W. Novotny, "An equivalent-circuit model for phase-back
voltage control of ac rnachines,' IEEE Trans. on Ind. Appl., vol. IA-22, Sept./Oct.
1986, pp. 835-841.
PROBLEMS
7.1 Calculate and plot the (Imax/Irated)versus Sratedrelation for Sratedvalues from 0.05 to 0.25.
Also plot the derating versus sratedcurve on the same axis.
7.2 In a pump drive, the fluid flow is to be varied from full to 50 percent. If the full-load slip
is 0.15, calculate the maximum motor current to rated current ratio and the motor
derating.