Effects of Voltage Unbalance on Torque and Efficiency

of a Three-phase Induction Motor

Ana Bárbara Fernandes Neves Marcus Vinícius Borges de Mendonça
Anésio de Leles Ferreira Filho Department of Electrical Engineering,
Department of Eletrical Engineering University of Triângulo Mineiro
University of Brasília Uberaba, Brazil
Brasília, Brazil

Abstract—This paper presents theoretical and experimental
analysis of the voltage unbalance effects in a three-phase
induction motor. A theoretical background about the TIM's per-
phase equivalent circuit for each sequence voltage component
will be presented. After, will be shown the equations
development for calculating torque and efficiency. The
experimental results involve the application in laboratory of
four data banks, totaling 2000 conditions, to understand torque
and efficiency behavior.
Index Terms--Energy efficiency, Induction motors, Power
quality, Sensitivity analysis, Torque
I. INTRODUCTION
Over the last years, several studies have been published
addressing the effect of voltage unbalance on the torque and
efficiency of the induction motor [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7].
Although there are numerous conferences where are
discussed issues related to power quality, specialists point out
that there are several gaps in the literature that need to be
filled. Facing the high usage of the induction motor and the
assurance that disturbances related to power quality affects
their performance, some aspects still need to be studied.
In this scenario, this article discusses and analyzes the
effects of an unbalanced supply in a three-phase induction
motor (TIM), specifically on torque and efficiency. The
analysis is based on an application in the laboratory of four
data banks. With these results, this article presents a
quantitative and qualitative analysis of how much the torque
and efficiency are affected when there are changes in
magnitudes, angles, or both simultaneously.
II. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS
A. Voltage Unbalance Definition
Voltage unbalance is a phenomenon associated with
changes in the pattern of the three-phase distribution system
[9]. This pattern is given by a balanced system, consisting of
equal voltage magnitude and phase shift of 120° between
them. Voltage unbalance is represented by different values of
magnitudes or angles, or either the two conditions
simultaneously.
For analysis of voltage unbalance, it is used a method
proposed by Fortescue known as the symmetrical components.
This method consists of expressing the system as the sum of
three symmetrical sets of balanced phasors. These systems are
called positive, negative and zero sequence,
respectively.[8].The unbalance can be quantified by the
Voltage Unbalance Factor (VUF) defined as the ratio between
the negative sequence voltage (V2) and the positive sequence
voltage (V1) [10]. Based on this theory, the circuit that
represents the TIM’s per-phase equivalent circuit can be
adapted for the sequence components.
B. Per-phase Equivalent Circuit
The per-phase equivalent circuits adapted for the positive,
negative and zero sequence components are shown on Fig. 1,
2 and 3. In these figures, Rs, Xs, Rr and Xr are the resistance
and reactance of stator and rotor, respectively, Rm is the core
losses resistance and the magnetizing reactance is
Xm.I and I are the stator and rotor currents, respectively, and
“s” is the slip.R and R are the resistances that
represent the load. The indexes 0, 1 or 2 with these quantities
represent the sequence component that it relates to, zero,
positive and negative, respectively. The zero sequence
component does not exceed the gap of the machine, so Fig. 3
does not have the part that corresponds to the rotor.
Consequently, there is no output power and torque related to
this component.
Fig. 1.Per-phase equivalent circuit for positive sequence

This work was supported by Department of Electrical Engineering,

University of Brasilia.
978-1-4673-6487-4/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE

679
 Fig. 2.Per-phase equivalent circuit for negaative sequence
P 3 V I cos θV I V I cos θV I V I cos θV I (7)

The efficiency is given by (8).

P P PRL
% 100 (8)
P
Fig. 3.Per-phase equivalent circuit for zerro sequence
It is noted that, when the motor isi supplied by unbalanced
C. Equationing conditions, there are parcels related
d to the positive, negative
The torque in a machine supplied by unbbalanced voltages and zero sequence components. Bu ut, this paper adopts the
is the sum of positive and negative sequencees torque shown in motor connected in delta, so there is no zero sequence.
(1) and (2), respectively. III. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
This section presents the experim
mental results for four data
3V k R (1) banks acquired in laboratory to ev valuate TIM's torque and
T efficiency. The graphs show asteriisks for each unbalanced
sw
condition that supply the motor, a spplit of colors for different
V2 values and a curve obtained by b polynomial regression
3V k R (2) which best represents the data behaviior.
T
2 s w A. Data Banks description
The main characteristics of DB1, DB2, DB3 and DB4 are
In (1) and (2)w is the synchronous speedd,k andk are two shown in Table I.
constants given by (3) and (4), respectively.
TABLE I. DATA BANK
KS INFORMATION

λ (3) Data Bank Voltage magnitudes Angles

k R
jX λ R jX λ λ Equal magnitudes varying
DB1 Fixed in 0°, -120°, 120°
from 189 V to 233 V

α Equal magnitudes varying

(4) DB2 Fixed in 0°, -120°, 120°
k R from 189 V to 233 V
jX α R jX α α
DB3 Magnitudes fixed in 220 V Varying ± 5°

For (3) and (4) λ is the parallel betweenR

R and j X and Different magnitudes varying
g
DB4 Varying ± 5°
ρ is the parallel between R and j X . from 201 V to 231 V

It is notable that the torque in (2) has a m

minus sign, which
is justified by the fact thatV2generates a torqque in the opposite
direction to that produced by V1, inducing a braking force on
the machine. The total torque is given by thhe sum of (1) and
(2).
The output power (P ) can be calculatedd by adding P1and
P2, these powers correspond to the positive and negative
sequences, (5) and (6) respectively. Beforee it, subtract from
this result the value related to rotational llosses inherent to
friction and ventilation,PRL , which were not represented in the
equivalent circuit of the TIM. However, forr the calculations,
these losses are considered fixed.
1 s
P 3V k R
s load and a computer to communiccate with the equipments,
s 1
P 3V k R
2 s
The input power (Pin) is calculated by (77), where θV I is
the angle between V andI ; θV I is the aangle between V
and I ; andθV I is the angle between V andI .
These databases were built consiidering a range of voltage
variation between 189 V and 233 V. V This limit was chosen
because this range contain adequatee and precarious voltages
when the nominal is 127/220 V, according to the Brazilian
standard [9]. DB1 has 32conditions, DB2 has 730, DB3 has 4
conditions and DB4 has 1234, totalin
ng 2000 conditions.
B. Laboratory structure
On the tests, it is used a closed loop system composed of
several equipments: a programm mable power source for
disturbances, a class A instrumen nt for measuring power
quality quantities, a torque senso or, an encoder, a data
acquisition board for reading the sensors measurements, a
(5) three-phase induction motor, a DC current generator used as
sending information and receiving th he measures.
(6) The TIM employed has the t following nominal
specifications: 1.5 kW, 6.2 A for a delta connection, 84%
efficiency and 8.1 N.m torque. Thee TIM is supplied for two
hours by balanced voltages to reach a steady state. After it, the
motor is supplied by each unbalaanced condition for one

680
minute. Measurements are taken every three seconds and the
value considered for each condition is the arithmetic mean.
C. DB1 results – Balanced voltages
DB1 values will be considered as a reference in this work.
Torque and efficiency in respect to V1 are shown in Fig. 4.
8.65
Torque (N.m)
which culminates in an increase in efficiency. Moreover, after
this point, the input power increases more than the output
power, leading to a reduction in efficiency. Thus, it is
concluded that, after 212 V, the losses in the machine increase.
D. DB2 results- Unbalanced Magnitudes
Fig. 6 shows graphs with TIM's torque and efficiency in
respect to V1.

8.6
8.8
8.55 8.6

Torque (N.m)
8.4
8.5
8.2
8.45 8
180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250
Positive Sequence Voltage (V) 7.8
190 200 210 220 230 240
85 Positive Sequence Voltage (V)

84
Efficiency (%)

84

Efficiency (%)
83
83
82
82
81

81 80
180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 190 200 210 220 230 240
Positive Sequence Voltage (V) Positive Sequence Voltage (V)

Fig. 4 – Torque and efficiency with respect to positive sequence voltage
for DB1.
Analyzing Fig. 4 it is noticed that the torque grows with
the increasing of positive sequence voltage. However, this
conclusion should be taken with care, because this analysis is
only possible due to the scale used in the y-axis. In reality,
there is very little variation of approximately 0.15 Nm, which
is around 1.9% of the nominal value. Also in Fig. 4, it is
shown a parabolic behavior of the efficiency curve. Similarly
to the torque analysis, this one should be done with caution. It
has a range at about 2.45% in the efficiency, which represents
around 2.9% of the nominal. Fig. 5 will be presented in order
to understand the shape of the efficiency curve.
1950
Input Power (W)
Fig.6 – Conjugado e rendimento do MIT para o DB2
It is observed from Fig. 6 that the torque values vary from
8 to 8.6 Nm, a range of 0.6 Nm, which corresponds to 7.4% of
the nominal. For DB1, the variation found is approximately
four times lower. Also, it is clearly noted in the graph that the
lowest negative sequence values are associated with higher
values of torque. With this, it can be inferred that the presence
of V2 leads to lower torque, even though this reduction is
small and, in many cases, negligible. This conclusion is
consistent with what has been said in section II on (2), where
the torque related to negative sequence is shown with a minus
sign.
Still in Fig. 6, it is observed the efficiency behavior.
Between the highest and the lowest value there is a difference

1900
of 3.1%, which corresponds to approximately 3.7% of the
nominal value. It is found that the highest efficiency values
1850
are associated with the lowest values of V2, and with the
presence of this component there is a greater range of
1800 variation when compared to that obtained with the DB1. To
180 190 200 210 220 230
Positive Sequence Voltage (V)
240 250
better understand the torque and efficiency behavior, the input
and output power will be analyzed through Fig. 7.
1600
Output Power (W)

1950
1580
Input Power (W)

1900
1560
1850

1540 1800

1520 1750
180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250 190 200 210 220 230 240
Positive Sequence Voltage (V)
Positive Sequence Voltage (V)
1600
Fig.5 – TIM’s input and output power for DB1
Output Power (W)

1550
Fig. 5 shows the input and output motor power, since the
performance is obtained by the ratio between these quantities. 1500

It is observed from this figure that an increase in V1 causes 1450

the increase of Pin and Pout. The powers have a parabolic 190 200 210 220 230 240

behavior but different concavities. Thus, before V1 equal to

Positive Sequence Voltage (V)

212 V, the output power increases more than the input power, Fig. 7 – TIM’s input and output power for DB2

681
 In Fig. 7 is deduced that the highest values of powers are Fig. 9 shows the torque and efficiency in respect to
related to the lowest values of V2. Comparing the behavior of positive sequence current (I1). It can be observed in the graphs
those powers to the one seen in Fig. 5, it can be verified that of this figure that the highest values of positive sequence
the input power has a same behavior for unbalanced and current are related to the lowest values of the negative
balanced voltages. However, analyzing the output power, it is sequence voltage. The positive sequence current is not a good
noticed that for balanced voltages, it has a concavity facing quantity to relate to the value of efficiency, since a certain
downwards, whereas for unbalanced conditions, this concavity value of I1 is associated with several conditions that culminate
is back up. This explains the behavior of the efficiency shown in different amounts of efficiency.
in Fig. 6, where the curve displays a concavity facing
downwards slightly accentuated. Fig. 10 presents torque and efficiency in respect to the
negative sequence current (I2).
Comparing Fig. 5 to Fig. 7, for the DB1, the input power
deviates 100W and the output 60 W. As for the DB2, the input
8.8
8.6
power varies 115 W and the output 120 W. Moreover, it is

Torque (N.m)
noteworthy that the minimum and maximum values of powers
8.4
8.2
were reduced with the presence of V2. Thus, it is concluded 8
not only that V2 causes a reduction in the output and input 7.8
power but also that, for a fixed V1value, there is a wide range 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Negative Sequence Current (A)
1.2 1.4

of power variations. 84

Fig. 8 shown TIM’s torque and efficiency with respect to

Efficiency (%)
83
VUF It can be noted, observing the curve, that torque and 82
efficiency reduce with the increment of VUF. However, if the
asterisks were analyzed, it is found that certain conditions 81

have greater torque and efficiency than conditions with a 80

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
lower VUF. Thus, it can be inferred that the VUF is not the Negative Sequence Current (A)

best index to relate the torque and efficiency to the unbalance. Fig. 10 – TIM’s torque and efficiency for DB2 in respect to negative
8.8 sequence current

It can be seen that I2is a good indicator of the torque value.

8.6
Torque (N.m)

8.4
The greater I2 is, the smaller will be the torque value. This
8.2 conclusion is possible, because a value of I2 is related to
8 conditions that culminate in close torque values. The same can
7.8 not be said for the efficiency, since some conditions with a
higher current, lead to efficiency values higher than in
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Voltage Unbalance Factor (%)
conditions with lower I2 values.
84
E. DB3 results – Unbalanced Angles
Efficiency (%)

83

82
Table II shows the results for DB3 conditions. The first
row of the table shows the balanced condition and the last line
81 shows the average of the conditions for an easier comparison.
80
It is noted that the unbalanced angles, even making V2 and I2
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 appear, does not influence on torque and on I1. There is a
variation in power and efficiency, but it is very small. Thus, it
Voltage Unbalance Factor (%)

Fig. 8 – TIM’s torque and efficiency for DB2 in respect to FD is possible to conclude that the unbalance caused by the
changes on the voltage angles does not cause significant
8.8
effects on torque and efficiency.
8.6
Torque (N.m)

8.4
TABLE II. DB3 RESULTS
8.2
Vb Vc
8 I1 I2 T Pin Pout
7.8
Angle Angle
6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 -120 120 6.4 0 8.7 84.5 1872.06 1582.49
Positive Sequence Current (A)
-115 120 6.4 1.1 8.7 84.5 1886.46 1593.67
84
-125 120 6.4 1.1 8.7 84.9 1883.37 1599.05
-120 115 6.4 1.1 8.7 84.8 1881.69 1595.28
Efficiency (%)

83

82
-120 125 6.4 1.1 8.7 84.5 1883.12 1591.34
Average 6.4 0.9 8.7 84.64 1881.34 1592.37
81

80
6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 F. DB4 results – Unbalanced magnitudes and angles
Positive Sequence Current (A)
Fig.11 shows the torque and the efficiency in respect to V1.
Fig. 9 – TIM’s torque and efficiency for DB2 in respect to the positive
sequence current

682
 8.5
8.4
Torque (N.m)
8.3
8.2
8.1
8
200 205 210 215 220 225
Positive Sequence Voltage (V)
86
Efficiency (%)
85
84
83
82
200 205 210 215 220 225
Positive Sequence Voltage (V)
Fig. 11 – Torque in respect to the positive sequence for DB4
It is observed in Fig.11 that the variation range of the
torque is 0.36 N.m, 4.5% of the nominal value, and the
minimum is 8.12 N.m. Considering Fig.4 and 6 on the stretch
from 201 to 231, the ranges of variation are 0.8 % and 7.4 %
of the nominal and the minimums torques are 8.5 N.m and
8 N.m. Comparing these values, it follows that the highest
variation range and the minimum torque occurs when there is
unbalanced magnitudes only. For V1equal to 220 V, in Fig.4, 6
and 11 the torque is 8.58, 8.2 and 8.2 N.m, respectively.
Comparing these conditions, it can be noted that the unbalance
on the voltage magnitudes is more damaging to torque.
Also in Fig.11, it can be noted that the efficiency varies in
a range of 2.74%, 3.24% of the nominal. Considering a range
from 201 to 231, in Fig. 4 and 6 the efficiency has a variation
range of 1.18% and 3.1% of the nominal, respectively. The
highest variation is found when there are unbalanced
magnitudes and angles. Looking at the efficiency behavior
curve for DB1, DB2 and DB4, considering a V1 of 220 V, it
can be found 83.8%, 82% and 83.8%, respectively. Therefore,
it is concluded that, although the DB4 culminate in a greater
range of variation, the worst performance is obtained with
DB2. This occurs because the voltage magnitudes of DB2
conditions vary more than those of DB4. Since the results of
DB3 show that changes in the angle do not generate effects,
the changes observed with the DB4 are related to variations on
voltage magnitudes.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
This article presents a detailed analysis on the effects
caused by unbalanced voltage on the induction motor. With
the results obtained from the data banks application in
laboratory, it is possible to evaluate the behavior of torque and
efficiency when there is unbalance.
With DB1, it is concluded that the torque grows with an
increase in positive sequence voltage. DB2 showed that, for a
fixed value of V1, the smaller the negative sequence voltage is,
the greater torque will be. This analysis can be done on
efficiency too. The presence of V2 leads to flow I2 and with an
increase in V2, I2 increases and I1decreases, for a fixed value
of V1. It was also observed that the presence of V2 increases
the variation range of torque, efficiency, input and output
power to a given value of V1. Furthermore, the increase of V2
leads to a reduction on input and output power.
It was also noted that the VUF is not a good index to relate
the unbalance to the effects on torque and efficiency.
However, I2 showed up as good indicator. The larger I2 is, the
lower the torque will be and to a determined value of I2there is
very small range of variation on the torque.
The DB3 showed that the unbalanced angles do not change
230 235
the value of the torque. The changes seen on efficiency and on
powers are very small and may even be neglected.
Comparing the data banks, it can be noted that the DB4
culminates in larger ranges of variation, but the worst torque
and efficiency are obtained with DB2. This happens because
the voltage magnitudes variations for DB2 are greater than for
230 235
DB4. Since the DB3results show that changes in the angle do
not generate effects, the changes observed with the DB4 are
related to changes on voltage magnitudes. Thus, it is
concluded that the unbalance on the voltages magnitudes is
what causes noticeable effects on torque and efficiency.
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