St.

JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
II YEAR / III SEMESTER

ELECTRICAL DRIVES AND CONTROL

UNIT - V

CONVENTIONAL AND SOLID STATE SPEED CONTROL OF AC DRIVES

Speed Control of Three Phase Induction Motor:
A 3 phase induction motor is practically a constant speed motor just like a DC shunt motor. The
speed of DC shunt motor can be adjusted between wide range with good efficiency and speed regulation by
shunt field regulators, but in induction motors, speed cannot be changed without loosing efficiency and good
speed regulation.

For the Induction motor, we know that:

120 f
N  N s (1  s )  (1  s )
p
It is clear that, speed of the induction motor can be changed either by changing its synchronous
120 f
speed, N or by changing the slip, s. Also, synchronous speed is given by N s  . By varying f and P,
p
speed can be controlled.

Torque produced by 3 phase induction motor is given by

2
sE 2 R2 2
T 2
 E2  V 2
R 2  ( sX 2 ) 2

2
From this expression, T  E 2  V 2 Varying applied voltage will also playa major role in speed change.
Hence, to change the speed of an induction motor, it is essential to change at least one of the above factors.
Different methods of achieving speed control of induction motors may be grouped under two major
headings.

Control from stator side

1. By changing the applied voltage
2. By changing the applied frequency
3. By changing the number of stator poles
4. Voltage / frequency (V/f) control

Control from rotor side

1. Rotor rheostat control
2. By operating two motors in cascade
3. By injection of an emf in the rotor circuit
4. Slip power recovery control

Changing Applied Voltage

Although this is the easiest and most economical, this method is very rarely used due to the following
reasons.
A Large change in voltage is required even for a small change in speed. This large change in voltage
will result in a larger change in flux density. It will disturb the magnetic conditions of motor, thereby
affecting the performance of motor. Based on some approximate relationship at low slip values, the
following equations can be written.

' sV 3 sV 2
I2  and T 
R2
'
2  n s R2 '

2
 For a motor operating at full load slip, if the slip is to be doubled for constant load torque, based on
the above equations, the voltage must be reduced by a factor of 1 / 2 and the corresponding current I2’ rises
to 2 of the full load value motor, therefore, tends to get overheated. The method, therefore, is not suitable
for speed control.
It has a limited use for motors driving fan type loads whose torque requirement is proportional to the square
of the speed.
It is a commonly used method for ceiling fans driven by single phase induction motors which have large
standstill impedance limiting the current drawn by the stator.

3 AC
Supply

3 Induction
Motor

3 Auto Transformer

Schematic diagram of Stator Voltage Control of three phase Induction Motor

Torque in Nm

Speed in RPM
Speed Torque Characteristics of three phase induction motor with varying Stator Voltage

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Change in Stator Supply Frequency Control:

In steady state, the induction motor operates in the small-slip region, where the speed of the motor is
always close to the synchronous speed of the rotating flux.

120 f  120 f 
N  N s (1  s )  (1  s )  N s  
p  p 

Where ‘f’ is the frequency of the stator voltage and ‘p’ is the number of poles. Since the synchronous
speed is directly proportional to the frequency of the stator voltage, any change in frequency results in an
equivalent change in motor speed.

If you plot the motor speed torque characteristics for different values of supply frequencies, you can
obtain a family of characteristics.

Frequency manipulation appears to be an effective method for speed control that requires a simple
dc/ac converter with variable switching intervals by means of solid state control. Otherwise, the variable
frequency achieved conventionally by using rotary converters. However, there are severe limitations to this
method: very low frequencies may cause motor damage due to excessive currents, and large frequencies may
stall the motor. These limitations are,

1. An increase in the no-load speed (synchronous speed).

2. A decrease in the maximum torque.
3. A decrease in the starting torque.
4. An increase in speed at the maximum torque.
5. A decrease in the starting current.

Speed Torque Characteristics of three phase Induction Motor with varying Stator Supply Frequency

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Changing Number of Stator Poles

This method is easily applicable to squirrel cage motors because the squirrel cage motor adopts itself
to any number of stator poles.
It is possible to have one, two or four speeds in steps, by changing the number of stator poles. A continuous
smooth speed control is not possible by this method.

Multiple, stator winding method

The change of number of poles is achieved by having two or more entirely independent stator-
windings in the same slots of stator core. Each winding gives a different number of poles and hence different
synchronous speeds. Motors with four independent stator winding are also in use and they give four different
synchronous speeds.

The various limitations of this method are,

i.. Only step change in speed is possible i.e., no smooth variation of speed.
ii. High cost of the motor.
iii. Design complexity

This method has been used for elevator motors, traction motors and also for small motors driving
machine tools.

The drawback of this method is that, only a step change of speed is possible.

Rotor Side Control

Rotor Resistance or Rheostat Control:
This method is similar to the armature resistance control method applied to DC shunt motors. This
method is applicable to slip ring induction motors alone and the speed is varied by adding external resistance
into the rotor circuit.
s
It has been already discussed that, for small slip values, T  Therefore, for the constant torque
R2
given, slip can be increased i.e., speed can be decreased by increasing rotor resistance R2. For this purpose,
rotor starter may be used. If itself acts starting rheostat and speed controller. Otherwise, if we do not consider
the starting arrangement, for controlling speed, we can use a star connected rheostat as shown in Fig.

Drawbacks
1. With increase in rotor resistance, I2 R losses also increases. It will result in decrease in efficiency.
2. Speed not only depends on rotor resistance R2, but also on the load.
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There is double dependence of speed. Because of this accurate control is not possible.
Due to the above points, this method is used where speed changes are needed for short periods only.

Rotor Resistance Control of Slip Ring Induction Motor Speed Torque Characteristics of Rotor
Resistance Control in Wound Rotor IM
Rotor Slip Power Control
A slip ring induction motor can be operated at reduced speeds by inserting external resistances in the
rotor circuit through slip rings. In this method, certain amount of slip power i.e., the rotor power at slip
frequency is lost as heat in the external resistances.

As a logical extension of this, an interesting method of speed control of slip ring motor is developed
based on economical use of slip power through suitable slip power converters.

The principal methods of speed control of wound rotor motors by slip power control are
1. Cascade operation
2. Injecting an emf into rotor circuit

1. Cascade operation

When multiple speeds are required, motors are sometimes operated in tandem or in cascade mode. In
this mode, two motors are coupled to the same shaft (Fig.).

The stator winding of the first main motor is connected to the mains in the usual way, while that of
the second stator is fed from the rotor winding of the first. The first motor necessarily be of slip ring motor
and the second one may be either squirrel cage motor (or) slip ring motor.

The motors maybe so connected that both tend to run in the same direction or the phase rotation of
one motor may be reversed, thus tending it to make it rotate in the reverse direction. In either case, the set
win run after it is started, but in the latter case, no starting torque is developed and for this reason, this
connection is rarely used.

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 The first case is called as cumulative cascade and the second case is called as differential cascade. If
P1 and P2 are not equal, four synchronous speeds are possible, two with tandem operation and one for each
motor separately.

The expression for speed of the set is derived as follows:

Let the frequency of the supply voltage be fl and let the machines M1 and M2 have P1 and P2 number of
poles respectively.

Let the two machines, M1 and M2 run with slip of S1 and S2 respectively.

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Disadvantages
1. It requires two motors which makes the set expensive.
2. Smooth speed control is not possible.
3. Operation is complicated,
4. Set cannot be operated if PA = PB
8
 5. The starting torque is not sufficient to start the set especially in differential cascade.

2. Injection of an EMF into Rotor Circuit:

In this method, an emf is injected into the rotor circuit. The frequency of rotor circuit is at slip
frequency and hence the emf to be injected must be at slip frequency. If the injected emf is in phase with the
rotor induced emf, effective rotor resistance decreases. If the injected emf is in direct phase opposition to the
rotor induced emf, effective rotor resistance increases. So, by controlling the magnitude of the injected emf,
rotor resistance and hence the effective speed can be controlled.

Two methods are available using this principle. They are

i. Kramer System
ii. Scherbius System

Kramer system
This method is applicable to larger rating motors of 4000 kW or above. The main advantage of this
method is that, any speed within the working range i.e., smooth step less speed control is possible.

The objective is to control the speed of main motor A. Auxiliary equipments needed are DC motor
and rotary converter. A separate DC supply is required to excite the field winding of dc motor and exciting
winding of rotary converter. The variable resistance introduced in the field circuit of de motor acts as field
regulator (Fig.).

The rotary converter converts the low slip frequency ac power into de power which is used to drive a
de shunt motor B, mechanically coupled to the main motor A. The main motor is coupled to the shaft of de
shunt motor B. The slip rings of A are connected to the rotary converter C. The de output of C is used to
drive B. Both C and B are excited from the de bus bar. When the field resistance R is changed, back emf of
motor B changes. Thus, the dc voltage at the commutator of C changes.

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 Schematics Arrangement of Conventional Kramer System

The rotary converter has a fixed ratio between ac side and de side voltages. Thus voltage on its ac
side also changes. This ac voltage is given to the slip rings of main motor A. So, the voltage injected in the
rotor of main motor changes which produces the required speed control.

Another advantage of this system is that, if rotary converter is over excited, it draws leading current which
compensates for the lagging current drawn by main motor A and hence power factor improvement is also
possible.

Scherbius System
In this method, a special 3 phase or 6 phase AC commutator motor, called as Scherbius machine is
used. The Scherbius machine is excited at slip frequency from the rotor of main motor, through a regulating
transformer. Either by varying the tap settings on the regulating transformer or by changing the position of
brushes of special machine, or by changing both, voltage developed in the rotor of Scherbius machine can be
varied. This is injected into the rotor of main motor. This controls the speed of main motor (Fig.).

The main difference between the above two systems is that, here, slip energy is not converted into de.
The slip energy is directly fed to the Scherbius machine.
The only disadvantage of these methods is that it can be applied for slip ring induction motors only.

Schematics Arrangement of Conventional Scherbius System

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Solid State Control of Three-Phase Induction Motor
The control of de motors requires providing a variable de voltage, which can be obtained from de
choppers or controlled rectifiers. These voltage controllers are simple and less expensive. De motors are
relatively expensive and require more maintenance, due to the brushes and commutators. The speed control
of ac drives generally requires complex control algorithms that can be performed by microprocessors and/or
microcomputers along with fast switching power converters.
Some of the advantage of ac motors over de motors is:

1. A.C. motors are lightweight (20 to 40% lighter than equivalent de motors).
2. A.C. motor drives are built for high speeds in large power ratings and due to low inertia they have a
fast response.
3. They are inexpensive, and require low maintenance compared to de motors.

One of the disadvantages of a.c. motors is getting an efficient smooth speed control is a problem. The
advantages of ac drives outweigh the disadvantages.

In order to obtain variable speed in an ac drive, the supply frequency, voltage or current have to be
varied. The power converters, inverters and ac voltage controllers can control the frequency, voltage and/or
current to meet the drive requirements.

There are two types of ac drives:

(i) Induction motor drives
(ii) Synchronous motor drives

The speed and torque of induction motors can be varied by one of the following methods
1. Stator Voltage Control
2. Voltage and frequency control
3. Slip power recovery scheme

The stator voltage can be varied by

1. Three-phase ac voltage controllers or Regulators
2. Voltage-fed variable dc-link inverters
3. Pulse-width modulation (PWM) inverters.

Stator Voltage Control

Stator voltage control for three phase induction motors of both squirrel cage as well as slip ring
induction motor can be implemented by using three phase AC Voltage controllers.

A simple method of controlling speed in a cage-type induction motor is by varying the stator voltage
at constant supply frequency. Stator voltage control is also used for “soft start” to limit the stator current
during periods of low rotor speeds. Fig. shows the torque-speed curves with variable stator voltage. Often,
low-power motor drives use this type of speed control due to the simplicity of the drive circuit. The fig.
shows two commonly used symmetrical three phase ac voltage controller for delta and star connected stators.
For small size motors, TRIACs may be used.

Three-phase motors usually drive industrial fans and pumps. A phase controlled thyristorised ac
controller is used for getting a variable stator voltage at constant frequency. This thyristor voltage controller
for speed control of 3-phase Induction motors is shown in Fig. Motor may be connected in star or delta. In
delta connection, third harmonic voltage produced by motor back emf causes circulating current through the
windings which increases losses and thermal loading of motor, Speed control is obtained by varying
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conduction period of thyristors. For low power ratings, anti-paralleled thyristor pair in each phase can be
replaced by TRIACs. Since voltage controllers, both single and three phases, allow a stepless control of
voltage from its zero value, they are also used for soft start of motors.
Torque produced by 3 phase induction motor is given by
2
sE 2 R2 2
T 2
 E2  V 2
R 2  ( sX 2 ) 2

2
From this expression, T  E 2  V 2 Varying applied voltage will also play a major role in speed change.

The figure 7.15.(a) is Delta connected ac voltage controller and (b) Star connected ac voltage controller.

Advantages
1. The ac voltage controllers are very simple.

Disadvantages
1. Due to limited speed range requirements,
2. The harmonic contents are high
3. The input PF of the controllers is low.
4. Starting torque is low
They are used mainly in low-power applications, such as fans, blowers, and centrifugal pumps.

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Applications of AC Voltage Controllers
 Lighting / Illumination control in ac power circuits.
 Induction heating.
 Industrial heating & Domestic heating.
 Transformer tap changing (on load transformer tap changing).
 Speed control of induction motors (single phase and poly phase ac induction motor control).
 AC magnet controls

Constant V/f (Volt/Hertz) Control of Induction Motor:

Let,
V = rated voltage of the motor
f = rated frequency of the motor

When the motor is operated in constant v/f control with the base speed.
– For a frequency kf
– The motor terminal voltage will be kV

Where k is a factor such that 0< k <1,

The frequency is changes from 0 to rated frequency , voltage changes from o to rated voltage V, k
changes from 0 to 1

For an induction motor the emf equation is

E1 = 4.44 Kw Nph f r

Where, V- Stator supply voltage

Kw – Stator winding factor
Nph – Stator series turns per phase
f - Stator supply frequency
r – Resultant air gap flux per phase
E1 – Stator induced emf per phase
Neglecting losses E1  V
1 V 
Also  r   
4.44 N ph K w  f 
Therefore, if supply frequency is changed, the value of air gap flux also gets affected. This may result
into saturation of stator and rotor cores. Such a saturation leads to the sharp increase in the no load current of
the motor. Hence it is necessary to maintain air gap flux constant when supply frequency is changed. To
achieve this, when f is varied, V must be also varied such that (V/f ) remains constant.

• The speed control of 3 induction motor mostly prepares this control method.
• The increase in the supply frequency increases the motor speed and also reduces the max torque of
the motor.
• But the increase in voltage results in an increase in the max torque of the motor.
• If we combine these two features
– We can achieve a control design by which the speed increases and torque is kept the same.
This is known as V/f control.
• The change in V/f is a powerful method for speed control of induction motor.

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• There are several variations where the V/f ratio is also adjusted to provide a special operating
performance.
• The most common method is the fixed V/f ratio.
• Fig shows the N-T char., for fixed V/f ratio.
• From the fig,
• Tm should be constant by keeping fixed V/f ratio
– The relation between max torque and V/f is, Tmax = k (V/f)2
• From this equation,
– (V/f) is maintained constant, Tmax also remains constant and air gap flux is also constant.
– Therefore motor operates in constant torque mode
• The low frequency operation at a constant V/f is not satisfactory particularly at very low frequency.
• Due to this very low frequency
– Starting torque and breaking torque considerably decreases and no - load current
increases.
– The air gap flux cannot be maintained constant at low frequency maintaining at constant V/f
ratio
– Therefore we can maintain the V/f ratio constant, the supply voltage should be increasing.
– The V/f control method,
– One must be careful not to increase the voltage magnitude beyond the rating of the motor.
– The increased voltage can cause instant damage to the insulations of the motor winding.
– Normally the voltage should be kept below 110% of the rated value.
– The main features are,
– The max torque should be constant.
– The starting current is also constant
Voltage, V

Frequency, f

Constant V/ f Control Speed torque characteristics of Constant V/ f Control

• The torque and speed of induction motors can be controlled by changing the supply frequency.
• We can notice from Eq. that at the rated voltage and rated frequency, the flux is the rated value.
• If the voltage is maintained fixed at its rated value while the frequency is reduced below its rated
value, the flux increases.
• This would cause saturation of the air-gap flux, and the motor parameters would not be valid in
determining the torque-speed characteristics.
• At low frequency, the reactances decrease and the motor current may be too high. This type of
frequency control is not normally used.

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Different configuration Inverter fed three phase induction motor

Various Configuration of Inverter fed three phase Induction Motor Drive

• In the stepped wave inverter the o/p frequency can be varied by varying T.
– o/p voltage can be varied by varying i/p DC voltage.
• When the i/p voltage is DC
– Variable DC i/p voltage is obtained by connecting a chopper b/w DC supply and inverter.

15
 – Shown fig
• Here dc supply is given to the DC chopper
– DC chopper – fixed DC to variable DC voltage
– This voltage is fed to the filter
– Filter – filter out the harmonics in DC link voltage
– The DC voltage is fed to the six step inverter.
• The Inverter o/p voltage is variable fz variable voltage
– It is fed to the 3Φ IM
• When the i/p voltage is AC
– Variable DC i/p voltage is obtained by connecting a controlled rectifier b/w AC supply &
inverter
– It is shown in fig
• Here 3Φ AC supply is fed to the controlled rectifier
– It converts fixed AC in to variable DC voltage
– This voltage is fed to the filter
– Filter reduces the harmonics
• The filtered o/p is fed to the inverter,
– The inverter o/p voltage can be varied by varying DC voltage.
• The o/p frequency can be varied by time period of the inverter.

Variable voltage variable frequency (VVVF) Control

The VVVF AC drive is the power electronic controller used to control the speed of 3phase AC
motors (Synchronous or Induction) by varying the frequency and the voltage applied to the motor terminals.
Voltage and frequency relationship is decided based on the motor name plate data and the load
characteristics.

Typical power circuit configuration involves three phase diode rectifier at the input, which converts
the AC input to DC voltage. LC or C filter reduces the ripple in the DC voltage. Three phase IGBT AC drive
stage converts this DC voltage into variable voltage variable frequency output as per the desired pattern

The variable voltage variable frequency supply (VVVF) for an induction motor drive consists of a
uncontrolled (Fig.) or controlled rectifier (Fig.) (fixed voltage fixed frequency ac to variable/fixed voltage
dc) and an inverter (dc to variable voltage/variable frequency ac). If rectification is uncontrolled, as in diode
rectifiers, the voltage and frequency can both be controlled in a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) inverter as
shown in Fig. The dc link filter consists of a capacitor to keep the input voltage to the inverter stable and
ripple-free.

Variable Voltage Variable Frequency (VVVF) Induction Motor Drive

On the other hand, a controlled rectifier can be used to vary the dc link voltage, while a square wave
inverter can be used to change the frequency. This configuration is shown in Fig. Variable Voltage Variable
16
Frequency (VVVF) drive suitable for a motor operating at low speed where both voltage and frequency are
simultaneously varied linearly.

Voltage Source Inverter Fed Three Phase Induction Motor (VSI)

• An inverter is defined as converter that converts DC into AC.

– An inverter called VSI
– If viewed from load side, the AC terminals of the inverter function as a voltage source.
i.e., the i/p voltage should be constant
• The VSI has low internal impedance.
– Because of this the terminal voltage of a VSI remains constant with variations in load
• VSI allows a variable fz supply to be obtained from a DC supply.
• MOSFETs is used in low voltage & power inverters
– Power transistor & IGBT – medium power level
– GTOs, IGCTs – high power level
• Fig shows a VSI employing IGBTs
• Voltage source inverter can be operated as a
– Stepped wave inverter or
– PWM inverter
• Inverter operated as a stepped wave inverter,
– IGBTs are switched in the sequence of T/6
– Each IGBT is kept an duration T/2
- Fig shows stepped wave inverter line voltage waveform

One of the most common converter topologies that is very widely used in industry is shown in this
figure. It consists of a three-phase bridge inverter with a three-phase diode rectifier in the front end or
Battery Source. The rectifier (which can be single or three-phase) converts ac to uncontrolled dc. The
harmonics in the dc link are filtered by an LC or C filter to generate smooth voltage Vd for the inverter. The
inverter consists of three half-bridges or phase legs to generate three-phase ac for industrial motor drives or
other applications.

In all such cases, Vd is usually unregulated. The battery-fed inverter drive is commonly used for
electric/hybrid vehicle drives. Note that because of the diode rectifier in the front end, the converter system
17
cannot regenerate power. The filter capacitor CF sinks the harmonics from the rectifier as well as inverter
sides.

The three-phase inverter of Fig. can be operated in either the square-wave or PWM mode. The
waveforms in square-wave mode are explained in this figure. Three phase legs of the inverter generate
square waves at 120° mutual phase-shift angle, where the output phase voltage magnitudes ( 0.5Vd) are
shown with respect to the artificial dc link center point. The line voltages vab, vbc, and vca are constructed by
subtracting the adjacent phase voltages.

Vdc

Voltage source inverter fed three phase induction motor

For an isolated neutral Y-connected load, the phase voltage wave van due to the absence of triplen
(third or multiple of third) harmonics. The line and load phase voltages have characteristic six-step wave
shapes with suppression of triplen harmonic voltages. With three-phase balanced load, the line currents are
also balanced but may be rich in harmonics. In the square-wave mode, output voltage control is not possible
by the inverter and Vd variation reflects to the output.

2 1 1
v an  v ao  vbo  vco
3 3 3

18
 Three-phase bridge inverter output voltage waves in square-wave (or Six-step) mode.

Cycloconverter Fed Induction Motor Control

Variable frequency supply to an induction motor may be obtained using a cycloconverter. A three phase
three pulse cycloconverter feeding a three phase induction motor is shown in fig.

 AC power at one frequency is converted directly to an AC power at another frequency without any
intermediate DC stage.
 The output of cycloconverter provides ac power at a lower frequency than input.
 Bidirectional power-flow is possible.
 Able to operate with loads of any power factor.
 Generally, output frequency is lower than source frequency.
 Input power factor is worse if the fabricated output voltage is decreased.
 The voltage control is possible in the converter itself, so that the machine operates at its rated flux
conditions.

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  The output frequency of the cycloconverter is limited to 1/3 of input frequency. A speed control
range of 0-33% of base speed is possible.
 It requires many thyrister and it operates by means of line commutation. No need of forced
commutation.
 The cycloconverter fed induction motor drive show that it provides a very smooth low speed
operation with the least torque ripple.
 The cycloconverter is capable of power transfer in either direction between an ac source and motor
load.

Cycloconverter Fed Induction Motor Control

During first half cycle P-converter alone (P - positive) ON state, hence output is positive and during
second half cycle N-converter alone (N - negative) ON state, hence output is negative.
1
The output frequency f 0  whrer T0 – is time period
T0
The firing angle of P-converter is P = T0 / 2
The firing angle of N-converter is N = T0 / 2
Total firing angle P + N =  Also, N =  - P

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Advantages of Cycloconverter

 Direct frequency conversion without any intermediate stage.

 Natural commutation – Compact system.
 Power transfer in either direction.
 Operates in any p.f.
 Capable of regeneration over the complete speed range, down to standstill.
 Commutation failure leads only to blown-off of individual fuses only.
 Delivers a high quality sinusoidal waveform at low output frequencies - since it is fabricated from a
large number of segments of the supply waveform.
 This is often preferable for very low speed applications.

Disadvantages of Cycloconverter
 Large number of thyristors are required in a cycloconverter.
 Complex control circuitry.
 The output frequency is limited to one third of the input frequency. (For reasonable power output and
 efficiency)
 The power factor is low, particularly at reduced output voltages.

Applications
 Speed control of drives.
 Variable input frequency, constant frequency output. (constant frequency power supplies)
 Induction heating. (Low frequency 3- phase to high frequency 1-phase AC)

Drawbacks of stepped wave (VSI) inverter:

• Large harmonics of low fz in the o/p voltage.

• Because of low fz harmonics, the motor losses are increased.
• Motor develops pulsating torque due to 5th, 7th, 13th harmonics.
• Harmonic content in motor current increases at low speed and the m/c saturated at light loads at low
speeds due to high (V/f) ratio.
– These two effects overheat the m/c at low speeds.
• The above drawbacks are eliminated by using PWM inverter.

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The advantages of PWM inverters are,
– Harmonics are reduced
– Losses are reduced
– Smooth motion is obtained at low speeds.
• Fig shows o/p voltage waveform for sinusoidal PWM
• By using this method, the inverter o/p voltage and fz can be controlled.
– There is no need of external control
– V/f can be controlled inverter itself.
• When the i/p voltage is DC, it is directly connected to the PWM inverter.
– It is shown in fig
• When the i/p voltage is AC, DC supply is get from a diode bridge rectifier.
– It is shown below
• Here 3Φ supply is fed to the diode bridge rectifier
– It converts fixed AC to fixed DC voltage
– This voltage is fed to the filter and then PWM inverter
– PWM inverter gives variable an V & f
– By changing the v & f the motor speed can be controlled.

Static Rotor Resistance Control

If the three phase resistor in the circuit of Fig. replaced by a three phase bridge rectifier and chopper,
then it is possible to vary the speed of the induction motor by varying the duty cycle of the chopper. The
fraction of the air gap power which is not converted to mechanical power is known as slip power. This power
is dissipated in the resistor R. The slip power control of induction motors in illustrated in Fig. When the
chopper is OFF (is blocked)? then the effective rotor resistance is R. When the chopper is ON (i.e.
conducting switch) the effective rotor resistance is R = 0. If Ton and Toff are the 'ON' and 'OFF' time periods
respectively, then the effective value of resistance is R

Reff  1   R Where,  or  is duty cycle or ratio = Ton / T ( T  TON  TOFF )

The effective rotor resistance can be adjusted by varying the time periods Ton and Toff. Speed control
below synchronous speed is obtained, by controlling the slip power. If the slip power is made to return to the
mains, then the speed control system can become an efficient one and the capacity of the drive can be
increased.
 They are also used for starting high-power induction motors to limit the in-rush current.
• This method increases the starting torque while limiting the starting current.
• However, this is an inefficient method and there would be imbalances in voltages and currents if the
resistances in the rotor circuit are not equal.
• A wound-rotor induction motor is designed to have a low-rotor resistance so that the running
efficiency is high and the full-load slip is low.
• The increase in the rotor resistance does not affect the value of maximum torque but increases the
slip at maximum torque.
• The wound-rotor motors are widely used in applications requiring frequent starting and braking with
large motor torques (e.g., crane hoists).
• Because of the availability of rotor windings for changing the rotor resistance, the wound rotor offers
greater flexibility for control.
• However, it increases the cost and needs maintenance due to slip rings and brushes.
• The wound-rotor motor is less widely used as compared with the squirrel-case motor.

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 Speed 
3 Wound or
Slip ring IM

Advantages

1. High initial torque at lower values of initial current

2. Wide rang of speed control
3. Improved power factor
4. Smooth speed and resistance control

Static Kramer drive

The slip power in the rotor circuit of an induction motor can be returned to the supply by replacing
the chopper and resistance Ro in Fig. with a three-phase full converter as shown in Fig.

The combination of the diode rectifier and phase controlled inverter is called a converter cascade (or)
sub synchronous cascade. The diode rectifier rectifies the slip frequency voltage of the rotor. The output of
this rectifier is connected to the phase controlled thryristor bridge which operates as an inverter. The slip
power is returned back to the supply through the transformer.

Rectifier is connected to inverter through a smoothing inductor L. The phase control of the inverter
brings in speed control. For the inverter, the firing angle  will be large so that substantial power is fed back
to the AC power bus. A large value of  will result in a poor operating power factor. As the slip power is
returned to the mains, the machine has fairly good efficiency. The machine always operators with nearly
constant air gap flux, as decided by the fixed stator voltage-and frequency.

The losses in the circuits cause a slight reduction in efficiency. This efficiency is further affected by
additional losses due to the non- sinusoidal nature of the rotor current. Therefore the drive motor must be
slightly over dimensioned. The motor used must have a rating 20% higher than the required power. Constant
power control is obtained by Static Kramer Drive.

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 3

Static Kramer Drive

Static Scherbius drive

In a Scherbius drive, as shown in this figure, the converter system in the Kramer drive is replaced by
a phase-controlled cycloconverter (CCV) so that slip power can be controlled to flow in either direction.
With bidirectional power flow capability, the drive cannot only be controlled for motoring and regeneration,
but for sub-synchronous as well as super synchronous speed regions as well. The range of speed, however,
typically remains limited within }50% of synchronous speed. The speed reversal is not possible (as is
Kramer drive) because it requires reversal of stator supply voltage phase sequence.

The CCV is expensive and has control complexity, but the advantages are a near-sinusoidal rotor
current that gives reduced harmonic loss and a machine over excitation capability that permits leading power
factor operation on the stator side. In fact, CCV’s input lagging DPF can be canceled by machine leading
DPF so that the line PF can be unity or leading. In addition, true synchronous speed operation of the drive is
possible when the CCV operates as a rectifier to generate dc excitation current for the machine. During the
drive operation, the CCV output frequency and phase should closely track those of the rotor output. The step-
down transformer at the input reduces the input voltage so that CCV can operate at the best DPF for the
speed range of operation. Unfortunately, like a Kramer drive, the drive also requires separate resistive
starting.

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 Cycloconverter Fed Static Scherbius Drive

PWM Converter fed Static Scherbius drive

PWM Converter fed Static Scherbius drive

The CCV-based Scherbius drive system discussed in earlier figures can offer improved performance
if the CCV is replaced by the two-sided PWM voltage-fed converter system shown in this figure. The slip
power can be controlled to flow in either direction and vector control can be easily applied to both
converters. DC link voltage Vd should be sufficiently high so that both the line-side and machine-side
converters can always operate in under modulation mode (buck mode with respect to the dc link) to fabricate
sinusoidal machine and line currents.

The PWM rectifier can easily track the variable frequency, variable-magnitude slip voltage including
the ideal dc condition at synchronous speed. This is basically dc-dc converter mode operation of the rectifier.
The line-side step-down transformer helps keep the converter rating low with reasonably low Vd. Note that
the machine stator-side DPF is always lagging, but the line-side converter can be controlled to be leading so
that the total DPF can be maintained at unity.

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Two Mark Questions
1. What are the methods of speed control which can be applied from stator side of induction motor?
2. What are the methods of speed control which cannot be applied from rotor side of induction
motor?
3. Why the variable voltage method is very rarely used?
4. Mention one application area of variable frequency control.
5 Mention the types of schemes under slip power control. .
6. What are the limitations of the method of speed control by changing number of poles?
7. What is slip power control?
8. What are the three methods used in cascading of induction motors.
9. What is Slip Power Recovery Scheme?
10. Mention the two types of schemes under Slip power recovery.
11 Where and when stator voltage control is employed.
12. What is VIf control scheme applied to 3-phase Induction motor?.
13. What is the drawback of VIf control scheme?

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Part – B Questions

1. Draw the power circuit arrangement of three phase variable frequency inverter for the speed control of
three phase induction motor and explain its working. (16)
2. Explain the V/f control method of AC drive with neat sketches. (16)
3. Discuss the speed control of AC motors by using three phase AC Voltage regulators. (16)
4. Explain the speed control schemes of phase wound induction motors. (16)
5. Explain the concatenation operation of three phase induction motors. Hence derive the speed experienced
for the cascaded set. (16)
6. Explain in detail about Slip power recovery scheme. (16)
7. Explain the different methods of speed control used in three phase induction motors. (16)
8. Explain the working of following methods with neat circuit diagram.
i) Kramer system ii) Scherbius system (16)
9. Explain in detail rotor resistance method of speed control of a slip ring induction motor. (16)
10. (i) Explain the operation of Pole changing method of speed control. (8)
(ii) Explain the pole amplitude modulation method. (8)
11. Explain the static Kramer method and static Scherbius method of speed control of three phase induction
motor. (16)
12. Explain in detail about the various methods of solid state speed control techniques by using inverters.
(16)
13. Explain the solid state stator voltage control technique for the speed control of three phase induction
motor. (16)
14. Explain the various methods of speed control of a three phase induction motor when fed through
semiconductor devices.

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