Unit-6 electrical drives

Drives are employed for systems that require motion control – e.g.
transportation system, fans, robots, pumps, machine tools, etc.Drives that use
electric motors as the prime movers are known as electrical drives.
A typical conventional electric drive system for variable speed application
employing multi-machine system is shown in Figure 1. The system is obviously
bulky, expensive, inflexible and require regular maintenance. In the past,
induction and synchronous machines were used for constant speed
applications – this was mainly because of the unavailability of variable
frequency supply.

With the advancement of power electronics, microprocessors and digital

electronics, typical electric drive systems nowadays are becoming more
compact, efficient, cheaper and versatile – this is shown in Figure 2. The
voltage and current applied to the motor can be changed at will by employing
power electronic converters. AC motor is no longer limited to application where
only AC source is available, however, it can also be used when the power
source available is DC or vice versa

Power
Power Processor Motor Load
Source (Power electronic
Converters)

feedback
Control Control
Unit

Figure 2 Modern Electric drive system employing power electronic

converters
Components of Electrical Drives
The main components of a modern electrical drive are the motors, power
processor, control unit and electrical source. These are briefly discussed below.

a) Motors
Motors obtain power from electrical sources. They convert energy from
electrical to mechanical - therefore can be regarded as energy converters. In
braking mode, the flow of power is reversed. Depending upon the type of
power converters used, it is also possible for the power to be fed back to the
sources rather than dissipated as heat.
There are several types of motors used in electric drives – choice of type
used depends on applications, cost, environmental factors and also the type
of sources available.. Broadly, they can be classified as either DC or AC
motors:
DC motors (wound or permanent
magnet) AC motors
Induction motors – squirrel cage, wound rotor
Synchronous motors – wound field, permanent
magnet Brushless DC motor – require power
electronic converters Stepper motors – require
power electronic converters
Synchronous reluctance motors or switched reluctance motor – require
power electronic converters

b) Power processor or power modulator

Since the electrical sources are normally uncontrollable, it is therefore
necessary to be able to control the flow of power to the motor – this is
achieved using power processor or power modulator. With controllable
sources, the motor can be reversed, brake or can be operated with variable
speed. Conventional methods used, for example, variable impedance or
relays, to shape the voltage or current that is supplied to the motor – these
methods however are inflexible and inefficient. Modern electric drives
normally used power electronic converters to shape the desired voltage or
current supplied to the motor. In other words, the characteristic of the
motors can be changed at will. Power electronic converters have several
advantages over classical methods of power conversion, such as :
 More efficient – since ideally no losses occur in power electronic converters 
 Flexible – voltage and current can be shaped by simply controlling switching
 functions of the power converter 
 Compact – smaller, compact and higher ratings solid–state power electronic
devices are continuously being developed – the prices are getting cheaper. 

Converters are used to convert and possibly regulate (i.e. using closed-loop
control) the available sources to suit the load i.e. motors.
c) Control Unit
The complexity of the control unit depends on the desired drive performance
and the type of motors used. A controller can be as simple as few op-amps
 and/or a few digital ICs, or it can be as complex as the combinations of
several ASICs and digital signal processors (DSPs). 

d) Source
Electrical sources or power supplies provide the energy to the electrical
motors. For high efficiency operation, the power obtained from the electrical
sources need to be regulated using power electronic converters
Power sources can be of AC or DC in nature and normally are
uncontrollable, i.e. their magnitudes or frequencies are fixed or depend on
the sources of energy such as solar or wind. AC source can be either three-
phase or single-phase; 3-phase sources are normally for high power
applications

Comparison between DC and AC drives

Motors :
 DC require maintenance, heavy, expensive, speed limited by mechanical
 construction 
 AC less maintenance, light, cheaper, robust, high speed (esp. squirrel–
cage type) 


Four-quadrant operation of a drive system

The ω–T plane with motor’s shaft cross sectional area is shown:

ω
Te
Te
ω ω

II I

T
Te III IV
Te
ω ω

Figure 14 Four-quadrant operation of a drive system

The positive or forward speed is arbitrarily chosen in counterclockwise

direction (it can also be chosen as clockwise). The positive torque is in the
direction that will produce acceleration in forward speed, as shown above.
The plane is divided into 4 quadrants , thus 4 modes of operation. The
quadrants are marked as I, II, III and IV

Quadrant I
Both torque and speed are positive – the motor rotates in forward direction,
which is in the same direction as the motor torque. The power of the motor is
the product of the speed and torque (P = Teω), therefore the power of the motor
is positive. Energy is converted from electrical form to mechanical form, which
is used to rotate the motor. The mode of operation is known as forward
motoring.

Quadrant II
The speed is in forward direction but the motor torque is in opposite direction
or negative value. The torque produced by the motor is used to ‘brake’ the
forward rotation of the motor. The mechanical energy during the braking, is
converted to electrical energy – thus the flow of energy is from the mechanical
system to the electrical system. The product of the torque and speed is negative
thus the power is negative, implying that the motor operates in braking mode.
The mode of operation is known as forward braking.

Quadrant III
The speed and the torque of the motor are in the same direction but are both
negative. The reverse electrical torque is used to rotate the motor in reverse
direction. The power, i.e. the product of the torque and speed, is positive
implying that the motor operates in motoring mode. The energy is converted
from electrical form to mechanical form. This mode of operation is known as
reverse motoring.

Quadrant IV
The speed is in reverse direction but the torque is positive. The motor torque is
used to ‘brake’ the reverse rotation of the motor. The mechanical energy gained
during the braking is converted to electrical form – thus power flow from the
mechanical system to the electrical system. The product of the speed and
torque is negative implying that the motor operates in braking mode. This
mode of operation is known as reverse braking