Slip Frequency Controlled Inverter-Fed Single-Phase
Induction Motors
Naser Abdel-Rahim
EE Department
Benha University
Abstract
Single-phase induction motors are widely used in
many applications. Improvements in its
performance means a great saving in electrical
energy consumption. An inverter-fed variable
frequency motor is a typical example of such
improvement. In this regard, the paper presents a
comprehensive analysis of the performance of the
single-phase induction motor when it is fed with an
inverter. Dynamic models and analysis of the motor
behavior during transient and steady state phases
are presented. A speed controller based on slip
frequency technique is proposed. The controlled
motor exhibited better performance at both staring
and steady state.
I. Introduction
Single-phase iduction motors are widely used in
many domestic applications where a single-phase
supply is the avialable power supply. They are
used in commercial and industrial applications for
small ratings [1].
The continuous increase in the cost of energy
has given great impetus for energy conservation
and higher effeciency. This is implemented in
many cases by using a speed control technique to
operate the scheme at the most appropriate speed.
An example of this application is air conditioning
control.
Analysis of induction motors controlled with
power inverters has been investigated extensively
[1-4]. However, most of these studies deal with
three-phase induction motors. Although single-
phase induction motors are usually built with
small power, they are widely used in domestic and
commercial applications, more so than three-phase
induction motors are. In fact, the single-phase
induction motor is the most commonly used motor
978-1-4244-1933-3/08/$25.00 ©2008 IEEE
Adel Shaltout
Dept. of Elect. Power & Machines
Cairo University
used in the utility network. However, the anlysis
of single-phase induction motors have not
recieveced considerable attention in the literature
as of yet.
This paper presents a control scheme for a single
phase induction motor fed with an inverter. One of
the main objectives in this scheme is to reduce the
cost of the inverter. This is achieved in the
proposed technique by using a slip-frequency
controller to limit the starting current of the motor.
Such a current is the main criterion which
determines the cost of the inverter.
This paper contributes to the analysis of single-
phase induction motors, and is set to examine their
performance when fed with slip frequency
controlled inverter.
II. Model of Single-Phase Induction Motor
Single-phase induction motors are usually
constructed with two windings on the stator side
and squirrel cage winding in the rotor side. The
auxiliary winding is used to produce a rotating
field to start the motor. The axis of the auxiliary
winding is placed 90o electrical ahead of the main
winding as shown in Figure 1.a.
The dynamic simulation of the motor is
presented in the stationary d-q frame to facilitate
the application of the inverter and, later on, the
feedback regulators. Since the axes of the main
and auxiliary windings are already orthogonal, the
stationary d-q axes are chosen aligned with the
orthogonal axes of the physical windings. The
squirrel cage rotor is represented by equivalent
two coils transformed to the stationary d-q axis as
shown in Figure 1.b.
382
 Ψsd, Ψsq, Ψrd, Ψrq
D-axis
are the d-q- stator and rotor
Auxilliary Auxilliary
flux linkage, respectively,
Windings
i'sd
Windings Xsd is the d-axis stator leakage reactance,
v'sd
rr is the rotor resistance,
vs Rotor Q-axis
rsd, rsq are the d-q- stator resistances,
Main
Windings
vs
i sd Main
Windings
ωm is the base speed, 314 rad/sec,
vsd

(a) (b)
vs ωr is the rotor speed, electric rad/sec,
Te is the developed torque,
Figure 1: D-Q transformation of the single-phase TL is the load torque,
induction motor Tdamp is the damping torque,
P is the number of poles.
Since the two stator windings; namely the main
and auxiliary coils, have different number of turns, III. Single-phase Motor Performance with
they will yield different mutual reactances. Constant Frequency Supply
Therefore, a transformation is made to transfer the
The transient performance of the motor under
auxiliary winding to an equivalent winding with
study, the data of which are given in Appendix I,
the same number of turns as that of the main coil.
is depicted in Figure 2 and Figure 3. The motor is
The new variables referred to the equivalent coil
supplied with a sinusoidal supply, and is driving a
are given as follows:
constant load torque. The capacitor start process is
v sd' =V sd .(N sq / N sd ) simulated by disconnecting the auxiliary winding
at 2/3 the synchronous speed at the zero crossing
rsd' = rsd .(N sq / N sd )2 of the current. This switching operation is
(1)
X sd' = X sd .(N sq / N sd ) 2 demonstrated by disconnection of the auxiliary
current, and hence a reduction in the speed
X c' = X c .(N sq / N sd )2 acceleration.
Time response of the electromagnetic torque
The voltage equation of the motor can be written
exhibits two modes of oscillation. At the initial
in the d-q stationary frame as follows [4]:
•
stage of the starting period, a supply frequency
' 1 component is generated. This is due to the
v sd = rsd' i sd' + ψ sd + v 'c
ωo interaction of the stator dc transient current with
• the synchronously rotating magnetic field of the
1
v sq = rsq i sq + ψ sq rotor. The magnitude of this component depends
ωo on the phase angle of the supply voltage at the
ωr 1 • instant of switching, and it decreases with time as
0 = rr i rd + ψ ψ rd + (2). the dc component decreases. The double
ωo ωo rq frequency component is due to the interaction of
1 • ω the backward component of the stator field with
0 = rr i rq + ψ rq − r ψ rd the synchronously rotating field of the rotor. This
ωo ωo component exhibits building up of torque
• oscillations during the presence of the auxiliary
v c' = ωo X c i sd current then such oscillations decrease as the
backward field decreases, but the oscillations
The equations of motion are given by: persist to exist and result in torque oscillations at
p steady state.
Te = (ψ sd i sq −ψ sq i sd' )
2ωo
(3).
•P
ωm = (Te −T L −T damp )
2J
Where:

383
 (a)
100

50
Imain (A)

-50

-100
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
(b)
40

20
Iaux (A)

-20

-40
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Time in seconds

Figure 2: Main and auxiliary windings currents with a Figure 4: Equivalent circuit of the 1-phase I.M.
sinusoidal supply at full-load
rr
(a) + jX r
50
I magf = I main s
Electric torque (Nm)

rr
0 + j (X r + X m ) (5).
s
-50
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 rr + js × X r
= I main
200
(b)
rr + js × ( X r + X m )
speed (rad./sec.)

150
rr
100
+ jX r
50

0 I magb = I main 2−s

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
rr
+ j (X r + X m
time (sec.)
(6).
Figure 3: Transient behavior with a sinusoidal supply at 2−s
full-load rr + j (2 − s )X r
= I main
IV. The Proposed Control Scheme rr + j (2 − s )(X r + X m )
A variable frequency supply is used in this paper Since
to control the speed of the 1-phase induction ωs − ωm ωsL
motor. The objective of this controller is to s= = (7),
ωs ωs
improve the performance of the motor.
The slip-frequency (also known as constant air Eq. (5) can be expressed in terms of ωsL as,
gap flux) control scheme is used in this paper to rr + j ωsL × L r
I magf = I main (8).
operate the 1-phase motor. The essence of this rr + j ωsL × (L r + L m )
controller is to maintain the motor air gap flux at Similarly, Eq. (6) can be rewritten as
its rated value at various operating conditions.
rr + j 2X r − j ωsL L r
This ensures that the motor is fully utilized. This I magb = I main (9),
means that a highest torque can be obtained for the rr + j 2(X r + X m ) − j ωsL (L r + L m )
same current or, in other words, a minimum where,
current is required to develop the same torque. Lm is the magnetizing inductance,
Figure 4 shows the equivalent circuit of the 1- Lr is the rotor leakage inductance,
phase induction motor. It can be seen from this ωs is the frequency of the inverter output
circuit that the magnitude of the magnetizing voltage in rad./sec.,
current can be obtained as follows: ωm is the motor speed in rad./sec.
2 2 Substituting Eq. (8) and (9) into Eq. (4) yields
I mag = I magf + I magb (4). 2
rr + js × X r
Where, Imagf and Imagb are the forward and +
rr + js × (X r + X m ) (10).
backward components of the magnetizing current I mag = I main 2
of the main winding and are given by: rr + j 2X r − j ωsL L r
rr + j 2(X r + X m ) − j ωsL (L r + L m )

384
 The resulting equation gives the relationship
between the current in the main winding (Imain), the
rotor slip frequency (ωsL), the inverter output
frequency (ωs), and the magnetizing current (Imag).
This equation is incorporated in the current
calculator indicated in Figure 5 to determine the
magnitude of the command signal of the current in
the main winding.
Figure 5 shows the proposed control scheme. The
scheme employs the slip frequency control strategy
in order to realize single-phase IM drive system
with high-dynamic performance. It consists of an
inner current loop and an outer speed feedback
loop. The principle of operation of the control
scheme is as follows. First, the actual motor speed,
ωm, is compared with its reference signal, ωref, to
produce the slip frequency, ωerr. ωerr is conditioned
by the PI regulator and then passed through a
limiter which limits the excursion of the slip
frequency to a maximum predetermined value to
produce ωe. Secondly, ωe is added to the motor
actual speed, ωm, to produce ω. Both ω and ωe are
multiplied by the number of pole pairs of the motor
to produce the commanding signals of the inverter
output frequency, ωs, and the rotor slip frequency,
ωsL. The values of ωsL and ωs are employed in a
current calculator (refer to Eq. (10)) to determine
the magnitude of the commanding signal of the
current in the main windings. Finally, the actual
motor main current is compared with its reference
*
waveform, I main , in a hysteresis current
comparator. The output of the hysteresis
comparator is used to control the inverter switching
devices such that the error between the actual motor
speed and its reference speed is reduced.
From the above, it can be seen that setting a
limit on the maximum value of ωe (i.e. ωsL) sets a
corresponding maximum limit on the motor line
current during both dynamic and transient stages.
Limiting the motor line current to a predetermined
value reduces the power inverter rating and hence,
its cost. In this work, the maximum value of the
motor line current is set to 3.0 pu.
The performance of the closed loop controlled
1-phase induction motor is shown in Figure 6 to
Figure 10. Figure 6 and Figure 7 depict the
performance of the motor when it is started with
full-load. A comparison of these performances
with those of the fixed frequency supply (Figure 2
385
and Figure 3) shows that a reduction is achieved in
the value of the starting current and the
electromagnetic torque oscillations. Figure 8 to
Figure 10 show that the motor can cope with large
change in load torque and maintains the assigned
speed.
V. Conclusions
The paper proposed a feedback control scheme
of an inverter-fed single-phase induction motor.
The proposed controller is based on the slip
frequency scheme to limit the motor slip to a
predetermined value. This scheme allows for
operating the motor at the rated flux, i.e. full
utilization of the motor. Furthermore, it provides
means for limiting the slip and consequently the
motor current. This means a reduction in the
inverter rating and better efficiency.
The performance of the controller is verified and
it is shown that the controller successfully controls
the speed and reduces the current from 70.0 A to
35.0 A. Furthermore, a reduction in the torque
pulsation is achieved.
References
1. Paul C. Krause, Oleg Wasynczuk, Scott D.
Sudhoff, Analysis of Electric Machinery and
Drive Systems, 2nd ed., ISBN: 978-0-471-
14326-0, Wiley-IEEE Press, 2002.
2. I. A. M. Abdel-Halim, H. G. Hamed, and K. M.
Hassaneen, “Modeling and Simulation of VSI-
FED Induction Motors”, Middle East Power
Systems Conference (MEPCON’2000), pp.80-
84.
3. D.M. Manjure and E. Makram ”Effect of
converter Drive on Power Systems”, Middle
East Power Systems Conference
(MEPCON’2000), March 28-30, 2000, pp. 28-
32.
4. Chen-Mun Ong, Simulation of Electric
Machinery, ISBN: 0-13-723785-5, Prentice
Hall, NJ 07458, 1998.
Appendix I: Single-Phase IM parameters
Output power=1/3 hp, 4 Poles, N1/N2=a=1.10, η=76%,
Rated voltage=115.00 V, supply frequency=50 Hz,
X1=2.22 Ω, r1=1.80 Ω, X2=2.80 Ω, r2=4.10 Ω,
Xr =2.22 Ω, rr=1.23 Ω, Xm= 40.22 Ω,
Rotational losses=56 watts, Full load slip=5.0%,
Vdc=170 V ( 115 2 ).
 Figure 5: Proposed control scheme of the 1-phase induction motor

200
(a) Figure 8: Speed response with step change in the load
of the closed loop operation
Speed (rad./sec.)

150

100 Motor speed 100% step in load torque

50
Imain (A.)

50 Command
speed 0
0 (b)
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
-50
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
30
Electric Torque (Nm)

Load torque (Nm)

2
20

10 1

0
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
-10 Time in seconds
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
time (sec.) Figure 9: Response of the current in the main windings
Figure 6: Transient and steady-state performance of the with step change in the load of the closed loop
closed loop operation: speed and electric torque operation
100% step in load torque
Load torque (Nm) Electric torque (Nm)

(a) 40
50
Imain (A)

20
0
0

-20
-50 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
(b) 2
20
Iaux. (A)

1
0

0
-20 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 Time in seconds
time (sec.)

Figure 7: Transient and steady-state performance of the Figure 10: Torque response with step change in the load
closed loop operation: main and auxiliary currents of the closed loop operation
100% step in load torque
200
Speed (rad./sec.)

Command speed

100
Motor speed

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Load torque (Nm)

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Time in seconds

386