Introduction

Electric motors are the general workhorse of industry providing an efficient and reliable
transfer of power for industrial and domestic applications. AC motors consume 25% of
the world’s electricity. The problem with these motors is that they draw a high amount of
ac current at the start which is of no use. The AC motors continue to draw the large
current until they achieve the synchronous speed. Due to the high current, the power
consumption of the motor increases. The excessive current that the motor takes when it
starts, produces sufficient heat and also affects the life span of the motor.

In a country like Pakistan, there is an increasing need for energy conservation and
efficient use of energy enabling commercial and industrial facilities to minimize
production costs, increase profits and stay competitive. In order to save energy and
protect the motor from overheating, the current drawn should be reduced or limited to a
specific value. Variable Frequency Drive is a device that not only reduces the current
but also controls the speed and frequency of the motor. Due to the purpose they serve,
VFDs are also called adjustable speed drive and variable speed drive.

The invention of a variable frequency drive was made possible through power
electronics. Power electronics can help us understand the variable frequency drive in
detail.

There are many other devices that use different methods to reduce the current of the
motor and to control the speed of the motor, but the variable frequency drive has the
most benefits. Soft starters, across-the-line contactors and mechanical drives are other,
less sophisticated types of motor controllers. A soft starter is a solid-state device which
provides a gentle ramp-up to full speed during the startup of an electric motor. An
across-the-line contactor is a type of motor controller which applies the full line voltage
to the electric motor.

Variable speed control was accomplished by simple, yet complex, Mechanical Variable
Speed Drives long before Variable Frequency Drives. [1] Types of mechanical variable
speed drives are variable speed sheaves, traction drive, hydraulic hydrostatic drive and
belt-boxes. [1] Mechanical variable speed drives can increase, decrease or even operate
the motor at full speed, but cannot provide the energy savings and efficiencies of
today’s electronic controls. 

 
 

 The main advantage of using a VFD is less energy consumption and it also has higher
efficiency than other drives. The most common uses of a VFD are for the control of
fans, pumps and compressors, and these applications account for 75% of all the drives
operating globally.
It has been stated that from the energy consumed by the ac motors, 12%-15% is lost
and 10% goes idle when motor does not run at full speed. So the desire of reducing the
energy wastage is made possible by using VFDs.

If an application does not require an electric motor to run at full speed, the VFDs can be
used to ramp down the frequency and the voltage to meet the requirements of the
motor’s load. As the motor speed requirements of the application change, the VFD can
simply vary the motor speed up or down to meet the load requirement.
Variable frequency drives are very important for HVAC systems where large power is
consumed before motor reaches its full speed and a very huge amount of in-rush
current is drawn by motor which causes great loss of energy. The starting current can
be reduced by making use of variable frequency drives and thus they save energy up to
a large extent.

The reasons why speed control drives are needed for electric motors are as follows:
·         Saves energy and improves system efficiency
·         Converts power in hybridization applications
·         Matches the speed of the drive to the process requirements
·         Matches the torque and the power of a drive to the process requirements
·         Improves the working environment
·         Lowers the noise levels (for example from fans and pumps)
·         Reduces mechanical stress on machines to extend their lifetime
·         Shaves peak consumption to avoid peak-demand prices
·         Reduces the motor size required

A Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) is a type of motor controller that drives an electric
motor by varying the voltage and frequency supplied to the electric motor by the power
supply. Even though the drive controls the frequency and voltage of power supplied to
the motor, it is often referred to as speed control, since the result is an adjustment of
motor speed. There is a direct relation between the frequency of motor operation and
speed of motor(RPM). By varying the frequency of the supply, the motor speed can be
adjusted according to the desired value. In other words, the faster the frequency, the
higher the RPM.
N= f*120/p              
 
Where
N = Speed of motor (RPM)
f = Electrical Frequency of motor(Hz)
p = Number of poles of motor
 
VFD mainly consists of four sections; those are rectifier, intermediate DC bus, inverter,
and controlling circuit. It has power electronic devices (like SCRs, MOSFET), high
speed controlling unit (such as microprocessor or DSP) and optional sensing devices
depending on the application.
VFD’s working can be divided into three stages which are as follows:
1. Rectifier (AC to DC conversion)
2. Filter (DC bus)
3. Inverter (DC to AC conversion)

The AC power fed from the mains is converted into DC power by the rectifier which
utilizes SCRs, diodes, thyristors and other electronic switches. DC power from the
rectifier is further directed to the DC bus which consists of capacitors and inductors to
store the power and to remove the ripples resulting in a smooth waveform. The inverter
receives the DC power from the DC bus and converts it into AC using electronic
switches like Mosfets, IGBTs, etc. The AC output is then delivered to the AC motor.
The control circuit performs various functions like configuring drive settings, controlling,
checking fault and interfacing communication protocols. It also receives feedback
signals from the motor about current and speed reference and accordingly regulates the
ratio of voltage to frequency to control motor speed.

[1] Curtis R. Litten, “Comparing mechanical and electronic variable speed drives,”
plantengineering.com, para. 1, Aug. 1, 1999. [Online]. Available:
https://www.plantengineering.com/articles/comparing-mechanical-and-electronic-
variable-speed-drives/ [Accessed: July 17, 2020]

[2]