COMPONENTS IN AC DRIVE

The three basic sections of a

drive are:
1) Rectifier
2) DC LINK
3) Inverter
The rectifier unit:
In an ac drive the supply voltage is made to pass through a rectifier unit
where the three phase ac supply is converted into dc supply. The rectifier
unit can be either unidirectional or bi directional .when unidirectional the
ac drive can accelerate and run the motor by taking energy from the
network. If bidirectional the ac drive can also take the mechanical energy
from the motor and process and feed it back to the electrical network.
Dc link:
The dc bus comprises with a filter section where harmonics generated
during ac to dc conversion are filtered out. The dc circuit will store the
electrical energy from the rectifier for the inverter to use.in most of the
cases the energy is stored in high power capacitors.
The inverter unit:
The inverter section comprises with six IGBT’s where the filtered dc is
converted to quasi sinusoidal wave of ac supply which is then connected
to the ac motor. The inverter uses modulation techniques to create the
three phase ac output for the motor. The frequency can be adjusted to
match the process.
The various types of inverters:
In ac drive the inverter which converts dc power back to ac of required
frequency can be of different types.

Current source inverter:

 The current source inverter (CSI) receives DC power from an
adjustable current source and adjusts the frequency and current.

CSI -CURRENT SOURCE INVERTER

• AC current transformers are used to adjust the controlled rectifier.
Input converter is similar to the VVI drive. A current regulator presets DC
bus current.
• The inverter delivers six step current frequency pulse, which the voltage
waveform follows. Switches in the inverter can be transistors,thyristorsor
gate turnoff thyristors (GTOs).
• The capacitor in the inverter is matched to motor size.
• Voltage exhibits commutation spikes when the thyristors fire.
• Because it is difficult to control the motor by current only, the CSI
requires a large filter inductor and complex regulator.
• CSI drives are short circuit proof because of a constant circuit with the
motor.
• They are not suitable for parallel motor operation.
• Braking power is returned to the distribution system.
• The CSI drive’s main advantage is in its ability to controlcurrent and,
therefore, control torque. This applies in variable torque applications.
• CSI-type drives have a higher horsepower range than VVI and PWM
(typically up to 5000 horsepower).
 THE BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A CSI

CSI WAVEFORMS:

 Voltage exhibits commutation spikes when the thyristors fire.

 Unclipped voltage spikes can cause motor insulation breakdown.
 Current wave shape creates cogging at low speeds.

Benefits:
 Regeneration.
 Synchronous transfer.
Limitations:
 Limited speed range .
 Poor input power factor.
 Poor multi-motor capability.
 Limited ride through capability.
 May require motor matching.
 Increased line harmonics .
 Poor efficiency (Typically 94 - 96%).
 Sensitivity to line transients.
VARIABLE VOLTAGE INVERTER (VVI)
 The variable voltage inverter (VVI), or square-wave six-step voltage
source inverter (VSI), receives DC power from an adjustable voltage
source and adjusts the frequency and voltage.

 A controlled rectifier transforms supply AC to variable voltage DC. The

converter can be an SCR (siliconcontrolled rectifier) bridge or a diode
bridge rectifier with a DC chopper.
 The voltage regulator presets DC bus voltage to motor requirements.
 VARIABLE VOLTAGE INVERTER
 Output frequency is controlled by switching transistors or thyristors
in six steps.
 VVI inverters control voltage in a separate section from the
frequency generation output.
VVI WAVEFORMS:

• Approximate sine current waveform follows voltage.

• VVI is the simplest adjustable frequency drive and most economical;
however, it has the poorest output waveform.It requires the most
filtering to the inverter.
• Ranges available are typically up to 500 horsepower but can be up to
1000 horsepower.
• Voltage source inverters use a constant DC link voltage.
Benefits of VVI:
 Good speed range
 Multi-motor
 Simple regulator

Limitations of VVI:
 Poor input power factor
 Limited ride through
 Increased input harmonics
 Low speed cogging
 Poor efficiency (typically 95%)
 Sensitivity to line transients

PWM INVERTERS:
 The pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter is the most commonly
chosen. It receives DC power from a fixed voltage source and adjusts
the frequency and voltage. (PWM types cause the least harmonic
noise).
 Diode rectifiers provide constant DC voltage. Since the inverter
receives a fixed voltage, the amplitude of output waveform is fixed.
  The inverter adjusts the width of output voltage pulses as well as
frequency so that voltage is approximately sinusoidal.

PWM-PULSE WIDTH MODULATOR

• The better waveforms require less filtering; however, PWM inverters
are the most complex type and switching losses can be high.
• The range of PWM inverters is typically up to 3000 horsepower, but
each manufacturer may list larger sizes (usually customengineered).

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A PWM INVERTER

• Motors run smoothly at high and low speed (no cogging); however,
they are current limited.
• PWM drives can run multiple parallel motors with acceleration rate
matched to total motor load.
• At low speeds, PWM drives may require a voltage boost to generator
required torque.
• A vector drive can control similar to a DC drive.

PWM INVERTER WAVEFORMS

• PWM is the most costly of the three main AC ASD types.
• Pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) drives are a variation of PWM
drives.
PULSE WIDTH MODULATION:
 The six IGBT’s are made to switch on and off continuously at a
particular frequency.
 The switching time decides the ac frequency to be generated.
Benefits of PWM inverters:
 Constant input P.F.
 Wide speed range
 High efficiency (97 - 98%)
 Ride through options
 Open circuit protection
 Common bus regeneration
 Smooth low speed operation
 Vector control performance (optional)

Limitations of PWM inverters:

 Extra hardware for regeneration to line
 Motor noise (solved with IGBT’s)
 Possible Cable length limitations (with IGBT’s)
Why do we use IGBT ?
• Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a high power switching
device.
• The semiconductor device that is to be used in the inverting unit
must be a high current carrying and high switching device.
• The transistor is high switching device but due to it’s high
impedance it gets heated up when it carries high currents.
• Thyristor can carry high currents but do not have high switching
frequency.So IGBT’s are used for inverson in ac drives.

POWER FACTOR COMPARISON:

• The power factor of VVI and CSI drives declines with speed as the
thyristor firing angle varies in the controlled rectifier.
• PWM drives have near unity power factor throughout the speedrange,
due to the diode rectifier and constant voltage DC bus.
• Note that true Root-Mean-Square (RMS) meters will determine the real
power factor on three-phase systems. It may be less than the
displacement power factor (kW/kVA) which appearson single-phase
meters.
TYPES OF ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVES:
 Speed adjustment techniques have been used in transmitting
mechanical power to machinery since the earliest use of powered
machinery.

 Before electric motors were invented, mechanical speed changers

were used to control the mechanical power provided by water
wheels and steam engines.

 When electric motors came into use, means of controlling their

speed were developed almost immediately.
  Today, various types of mechanical drives, hydraulic drives and
electric drives compete with one another in the industrial drives
market.

MECHANICAL ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVES:

 There are two types of mechanical drives, variable pitch drives and
traction drives.
 Variable pitch drives are pulley and belt drives in which the pitch
diameter of one or both pulleys can be adjusted.
 Traction drives transmit power through metal rollers running against
mating metal rollers.
 The input/output speed ratio is adjusted by moving the rollers to
change the diameters of the contact path. Many different roller
shapes and mechanical designs have been used.

CONSTANT SPEED MOTOR

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF MECHANICAL ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVE

Benefits of mechanical adjustable speed drives:
 Low cost
 Easy servicing

Limitations of mechanical adjustable speed drives:

 Limited speed range
 Low efficiency
 Belt/sheave maintenance
 Size
HYDRAULIC ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVES:
There are three types of hydraulic drives, those are hydrostatic drives,
hydrodynamic drives and hydroviscous drives.
 A hydrostatic drive consists of a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic
motor.
 Since positive displacement pumps and motors are used, one
revolution of the pump or motor corresponds to a set volume of
fluid flow that is determined by the displacement regardless of
speed or torque.
 Speed is regulated by regulating the fluid flow with a valve or by
changing the displacement of the pump or motor.
 Many different design variations have been used. A swash plate
drive employs an axial piston pump and/or motor in which the
swash plate angle can be changed to adjust the displacement and
thus adjust the speed.
  Hydrodynamic drives or fluid couplings use oil to transmit torque
between an impeller on the constant-speed input shaft and a rotor
on the adjustable-speed output shaft.
 The torque converter in the automatic transmission of a car is a
hydrodynamic drive.
 A hydroviscous drive consists of one or more discs or connected to
the input shaft pressed against a similar disc or discs connected to
the output shaft.
 Torque is transmitted from the input shaft to the output shaft
through an oil film between the discs.
 The transmitted torque is proportional to the pressure exerted by a
hydraulic cylinder that presses the discs together.

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF HYDRAULIC ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVE

Benefits of hydraulic adjustable speed drives:

 High torque
 Wide speed range
 Simple control
 Small motor size
Limitations of hydraulic adjustable speed drives:
 Piping and fluids
 Control options
 Maintenance
EDDY CURRENT ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVE:
 Eddy Current drive is a combination of a constant speed AC induction
motor, coupled to an eddy current clutch.
 The function of an eddy current clutch is to transmit a controlled
torque from the induction motor, (prime mover) to the load (driven
machine).
 The medium of torque transmission is a controlled magnetic field,
generated by a stationary field coil.
 A thyristor base electronic controller is used to convert a relatively
small amount of AC power into DC power in order to excite the field
coil.
WORKING PRINCIPLE
 The Drum-fan assembly, forming the input member, is driven at a
constant speed, by a fixed speed prime-mover which, in this case, is
a flanged AC motor.
 The output member consists of a low inertia pole assembly,
connected to the output shaft of the drive.
 Thus there is no mechanical linkage between the driving and driven
members to cause any mechanical wear and tear.
 When the stationary field coil is excited by a low voltage, (typically
45 volts DC, from the solid state electronic controller) a strong
magnetic field is developed around the coil.
  The magnetic lines of force from the coil are guided to the pole
pieces, through the working air gaps, into the drum assembly and
back to the coil thus forming a closed magnetic circuit.
 The flux path through the working gaps between the pole.

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF EDDY CURRENT ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVE

 The flux lines are seen concentrated in the air gap near the pole
faces, resulting in a varying magnetic field around the periphery of
the drum.
 Since the drum rotates in relation to the pole assembly, the surface
of the drum experiences a time rate of change of magnetic field.
 Depending on the relative speeds between these members, the
induced cross currents (eddy currents), flow in the drum material.
 The direction of flow of these induced currents is perpendicular to
the magnetic flow lines, as shown with conventional 0 and + signs.
 The reactive magnetic field caused by these cross currents is
responsible for the torque transmission from the input to the output
members, in these forms of torque transmitters.
  The extent of torque transmission, depends both on the magnetic
field strength and the relative speeds (slip speed) between the drum
and the pole.
 An increase in excitation, therefore, can correspondingly reduce the
slip required to transmit a desired level of torque, thus providing an
easy electrical means to control the drive speed.
Benefits of eddy current adjustable speed drive:
 Initial cost
 Allows torque control
 Simple control
Limitations of eddy current adjustable speed drive:
 Heat generation
 Size and Power consumption