International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014)

Comparative Performance Analysis of Induction Motor Using

Semiconductor Devices in Terms of Firing Angle
Umar Farooq Siddiqui1, Ajit Verma2, Shilpa Soni3
All above problems can be change by rapidly replacing
using power electronics converter based induction motor
which became too popular in a very short duration of time.
This power electronic convertor based model is used to
reduce harmonic component as well as THD in the output
side of the motor. This power electronics converter based
induction motor commonly called soft starter induction
motor. AC voltage controllers or voltage regulator or
control circuit unit can use highly speed power electronics
switches such as thyristors, Insulated gate bipolar transister,
Bipolar Junction Transister, Metal Oxide Semiconductor
Field Effect Transistor Controlled Thyrister, Static
Induction Transistor, Gate Turn Off, triac. Each of the
switches have its own specialty with respect to the power
supply. Normally thyrister and IGBT more commonly
employed in soft starting of induction motor. This
techniques are more economical, convenient and reliable.
Thyrister based large induction motor with soft starter used
in medium voltage rating where light load connected at
output side of motor and required low torque. By using soft
starter scheme value of supply current as well as voltage of
induction motor can control and initially this scheme
produced smooth acceleration and jerk free starting to
motor. Voltage and harmonics as well as THD can be
controlled by controlling firing angle of thyristers. This
paper introduce topology of three phase controlled
rectifiers and proposed an accurate Statistical method
to calculate their input current harmonic components,
and calculate THD and harmonic currents with accurate
simulation in various firing angles, then investigate
Effect of load variations in terms of firing angle variations
on harmonic currents. Finally a harmonic current database
of rectiers is obtained in terms of firing angle and load
variations. for soft starting of induction motor, thyristors
initially triggered at higher value of firing angle, because of
this value of voltage become low ,that means firing angle is
inversely proportional to the supply voltage. At standstill
condition of induction motor initial starting torque is
directly proportional to the square of the supply voltage.
The value of torque depends on output connecting load of
induction motor. With increasing load the speed of
induction motor decreases. Thus value of supply voltage
depend on the output load.

Abstract Due to harmonics, sudden voltage dips and large

fluctuating torque causes a great problem in the starting of
large induction motor. Some times due to tripping of relay,
equipment failure, surge, no load or overload motor voltage
fluctuates resulting in the failure of motor starting. This paper
discusses the solution of these problems by using soft starter
technique. Soft starting of induction motor is obtained by
using power switching devices. In this paper THD is
calculated by various firing angles, and influence of load
variations in terms of firing angle has been investigated for
Thyristor and IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor).
Keywords Variable speed induction motor, Soft Starter,
Thyristor, IGBT, Firing Angle, THD.

I. INTRODUCTION
Harmonic is component of a sine wave that is an integer
multiple of the fundamental wave. Harmonics cause losses
and depreciation in the transmission and distribution
equipment and power consumers, so to control them is
essential. One method is to insert filter between the supply
and machine. If the supply output voltage contain high
frequency harmonics, these can be reduce by low-size
filter. For attenuation of low-frequency harmonics,
however, the size of filter components increases. This
makes the filter circuit costly, bulky and weighty and in
addition, the transient response of the system become
sluggish. This shows that lower order harmonics from the
system output voltage should be reduce by some means
other than the filter. Subsequent to this, high frequency
component from this voltage can easily be attenuated by
using a semiconductor based control circuit model. This
controlled circuit not only reduce harmonics as well as
reduce problem of direct online starting and give smooth
and jerk free stating to the machine. Appearance of
semiconductor and nonlinear elements such as diode,
Thyristor and so on and great use of them in the power
system make new factor for development harmonic. use of
nonlinear loads connected to distribution network,
including multiple rectifiers is growing. Increase their
number create a lot of problem in Electricity network.
Some of this problems are Transformers and motors
heating, Increasing current of parallel capacitors,
Increasing current of Neutral wire in Four-wire three phase
systems, destroy voltage shape and etc.
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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014)
This paper focuses on the classical topology of the soft
starter based on thyristor and IGBT power switches for
induction motor. Thus this surely affects the starting of
induction motor on load. Additionally the output voltage
quality is poor resulting in high distortion and poor power
factor. For higher values of firing angle, THD is elevated.
When the load is vacuous the soft starter method is
dexterous. The major improvement with this scheme is the
continuous ac side input current in contrast to the
conventional ac regulator where the input current happens
to be discontinuous. Triggering angle of the thyristor
defines switching function and controller implements it.
This in turn improves the transient response. This method
mends the execution of the motor by dislodging the supply
frequency torque pulsation. Block diagram of split phase
induction motor with soft starter is shown in fig.

In particular the IGBT fed induction motor are widely

preferred in industries for individual medium to high power
variable speed drive system, driving a group of motors
connected in parallel at economic cost. The IGBT can
switch on and off several thousand times per second and
precisely control the power delivered to the motor.
III. DEVELOPMENT OF MATLAB/SIMULINK MODEL
Simulink is a software package that enables you to
model, simulate, and analyze systems whose outputs
change over time. Such systems are often referred to as
dynamic systems. The Simulink software can be used to
explore the behavior of a wide range of real-world dynamic
systems, including electrical circuits, shock absorbers,
braking systems, and many other electrical, mechanical,
and thermodynamic systems. This section explains how
Simulink works.
Simulating a dynamic system is a two-step process.
First, a user creates a block diagram, using the Simulink
model editor, that graphically depicts time-dependent
mathematical relationships among the system's inputs,
states, and outputs. The user then commands the Simulink
software to simulate the system represented by the model
from a specified start time to a specified stop time.
The sample time of a block is a parameter that indicates
when, during simulation, the block produces outputs and if
appropriate, updates its internal state. The internal state
includes but is not limited to continuous and discrete states
that are logged.
Sample times can also be discrete, continuous, fixed in
minor step, inherited, constant, variable, triggered, or
asynchronous. The following sections discuss these sample
time types, as well as sample time propagation and rate
transitions between block-based or port-based sample
times. You can use this information to control your block
execution rates, debug your model, and verify your model.
A classic block diagram model of a dynamic system
graphically consists of blocks and lines (signals). The
history of these block diagram models is derived from
engineering areas such as Feedback Control Theory and
Signal Processing. A block within a block diagram defines
a dynamic system in itself. The relationships between each
elementary dynamic system in a block diagram are
illustrated by the use of signals connecting the blocks.
Collectively the blocks and lines in a block diagram
describe an overall dynamic system.

Fig. 1 Block Diagram of Soft-Starter Controlled induction motor

drive

II. AC VOLTAGE REGULATOR

Regulators powered from AC power circuits can use
silicon controlled rectifier (SCRs) as the series device.
Whenever the output voltage is below the desired value, the
SCR is triggered, allowing electricity to flow into the load
until the AC mains voltage passes through zero (ending the
half cycle). SCR regulators have the advantages of being
both very efficient and very simple, but because they
cannot terminate an on-going half cycle of conduction, they
are not capable of very accurate voltage regulation in
response to rapidly-changing loads. An alternative is the
SCR shunt regulator which uses the regulator output as a
trigger, both series and shunt designs are noisy, but
powerful, as the device has a low on resistance.
Variable frequency IGBT convertor fed method is
widely used to control the speed harmonic, and starting
current , voltage, rotor speed , output torque of a squirrel
cage induction motor (IM) over a wide range by varying
the stator frequency.

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014)
The Simulink product extends these classic block
diagram models by introducing the notion of two classes of
blocks, nonvirtual blocks and virtual blocks. Nonvirtual
blocks represent elementary systems. Virtual blocks exist
for graphical and organizational convenience only: they
have no effect on the system of equations described by the
block diagram model. You can use virtual blocks to
improve the readability of your models.
The term "time-based block diagram" is used to
distinguish block diagrams that describe dynamic systems
from that of other forms of block diagrams, and the term
block diagram (or model) is used to refer to a time-based
block diagram unless the context requires explicit
distinction. A Simulink block diagram can consist of
layers. Each layer is defined by a subsystem. A subsystem
is part of the overall block diagram and ideally has no
impact on the meaning of the block diagram. Subsystems
are provided primarily to help with the organizational
aspects of a block diagram. Subsystems do not define a
separate block diagram.
The Simulink software differentiates between two
different types of subsystems: virtual and nonvirtual. The
primary difference is that nonvirtual subsystems provide
the ability to control when the contents of the subsystem
are evaluate.
In the modern era, almost all the processes and
techniques are at first simulated before their actual real
time implementation. This reduces a significant portion of
effort and cost of real time implementation. The
performance of the proposed System /process /technique
can be evaluated accurately by using proper simulation
models. The main advantage of the SIMULINK over other
programming software is that, instead of compilation the
simulation model is built systematically by means of
function blocks. A set of machine differential equations can
be modelled by interconnection of appropriate blocks, each
of which performs a specific mathematical operation. Since
the SIMULINK is model operation programme, the
simulation model can be easily developed by addition of
new sub-models to cater for various control functions. The
induction motor could be incorporated in the complete
electric motor drive system from Simulink Library. The
complete simulation model of a single-phase voltage
regulator for soft starting of induction machine using
thyristors is shown in Figure. Single-phase sinusoidal
voltage is generated using voltage source block from
Simulink Library.

Fig.2 Single-Phase Soft Starter Using Thyristors With R-L Load

TABLE 1
THD for various firing angle for thyristor based soft starter

S.
No.
1
2

Firing
Angle
R-L
Load
(THD
%)
Split
Phase
IM
(THD
%)

1.71

2.19

2.55

5.69

15.1

30.08

0.19

0.20

0.24

2.35

7.37

16.39

Fast switching devices are commonly used these days

for all industrial applications. Thyristors have low
switching frequency so the fast switching devices such as
MOSFETs and IGBTs are used. Here discrete PWM
generator is used for controlling purpose. Thus a simulation
model is developed in this section incorporating a soft start
system using IGBTs as shown in Figure below.

282

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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014)
Where = Phase angle between source voltage and
current
The source voltage is given by the following eq.
Va=2 Vs sin t

. (5)

The output voltage is given by

Vs2 sin (t) d (t)} 1/2 (6)

Vo = {

Vo = Vs {1 - +
Where,
Fig.3 Simulink Model Of a Single-Phase Soft Starter Using IGBT
With R-L Load

2
3

is a conduction angle

Total harmonic distortion is defined as the ratio of the

rms value of all harmonic components to the rms value of
the fundamental frequency:

Firing
Angle

. (8)

THD =

R-L Load
(THD %)
Split
Phase IM
(THD %)

Total Harmonic Distortion in terms of power :

4.09

3.87

7.63

15.74

23.13

74.86

22.1

22.03

23.53

37.65

66.95

95.14

In = 1/

.. (9)

THD =

Total Harmonic Distortion in terms of voltage:

The RMS value of the nth harmonic of input current

corresponding with the following relation:

Input and output power of non-sinusoidal waveforms

can be obtained by

(an2 + bn2)1/2. (1)

Poutput = Vrms(o/p) Irms(o/p) .... (11)

(2)

... (10)

In =
Where
an=

(7)

Vo = Output RMS voltage

Io= Output RMS Current
Is = Input RMS current

TABLE 2
THD for various firing angle for IGBT based soft starter

S.
No.
1

}1/2

Irms(o/p) =

{1 - +

}1/2. .(13)

]
IV. RESULT

and
bn =

The total rms value is given by following eq.:

I(rms) = ( I1(rms)+ I2(rms)+I3(rms)+I4(rms).+In(rms))1/2.(3)
Input current of the system is given by following eq.
Ia = (2

) Id
1)

1)
1)

+
+..]

1)

+
Fig.4 Thyrister and IGBT based model i/p voltage at R-L load

.. (4)

283

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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014)

Fig.9 Frequency vs. Time for IGBT based model

Fig.5 Thyristor based model o/p voltage at R-L load

Fig.10 Total harmonic distortion at 50 Hz frequency

Fig.6 Frequency vs. Time for Thyristor based model

V. CONCLUSION
The paper discusses the performance of induction motor
drive supplied from a variable voltage soft starter. It is
concluded that when the firing angle goes high, speed
changes and THD also increases with increasing firing
angle, motor fails in critical cases. As IGBTs requires
filters to be used as power switch, large amount of
distortion cab be observed in the input voltage which
results in drive system instability, we set firing angle is set
at its minimum value for reducing fluctuation and THD.

Fig.7 Total harmonic distortion at 50 Hz frequency

VI. NOMENCLATURE
Conduction angle
Extinction angle
Vo Output RMS voltage
Io Output RMS Current
Isn nth harmonic input current
Is Input RMS current
HF Harmonic Factor
DF Displacement Factor
PF Power Factor

Fig.8 O/P Voltage waveform Of IGBT based model

284

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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014)
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