DEGREE PROJECT, IN CELTE , SECOND LEVEL

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2014

Experimental Transient Behaviour

Characterisation of Induction Motor
fed by Variable Frequency Drives for
Pump Applications

AMER HALILOVIC

KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Experimental Transient Behaviour Characterisation of
Induction Motor fed by Variable Frequency Drives
for Pump Applications

by

Amer Halilović

Master Thesis
in Electrical Machines and Drives

Royal Institute of Technology

School of Electrical Engineering
Department of Electrical Energy Conversion

Supervisor: Martin Zetterquist, Xylem

Examiner: Juliette Soulard, KTH

Stockholm, Sweden, 2014

XR-EE-E2C 2014:008
 Abstract
The use of variable frequency drives in centrifugal pump applications
has raised the question of how to select a drive. Clogging obstacles in
waste water applications create unknown transient loads for the pump
system. A sudden load increase occurrence can clog the pump if the
drive cannot supply enough current to reach the motor’s torque demand.
In order to select a suitable drive, an empirical approach has been im-
plemented, investigating three different drives. Results have shown that
selecting a drive with the highest possible overload capabilities, even
if for a short time is most suitable. Operation in vector speed control
gives the most reliable operation if an automatic parameter tuning is
performed by the drive.

Keywords: Variable Frequency Drive, Centrifugal Pump,

Induction Motor, Volts-per-Hertz Control, Speed Control, Overdi-
mensioning
 Sammanfattning

Användningen av frekvensomriktare i centrifugalpumpar har väckt

frågan om hur en omriktare skall väljas. Igensättande objekt i avlopps-
vatten kan ge upphov till transienta laster i pumpsystemen. En oförut-
sedd lastökning kan sätta igen pumpen om frekvensomriktaren inte kan
förse motorn tillräckligt med ström för att möta momentbehovet. För
att välja en lämplig omriktare har ett empiriskt tillvägagångssätt valts
i en undersökning av tre olika omriktare. Resultat har visat att det är
lämpligast att välja en omriktare med högst överbelastningskapacitet,
även om under en kort tid. Vektor hastighetskontroll är metoden som
ger stabil körning om omriktaren fått automatiskt ställa in motorpara-
metrarna.

Nyckelord: Frekvensomriktare, centrifugalpump, asynkron-

motor, skalärkontroll, hastighetskontroll, överdimensionering
Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my supervisor Martin Zetterquist, Development Engineer at

Xylem Water Solutions AB along with the R&D Manager for Electrical Components
and Systems Jürgen Mökander for the opportunity and the support I received. I
would also like to thank my examiner at KTH, Juliette Soulard, that has been an
inspirational source and guided me with feedback throughout the project. I would
also like to acknowledge the participants in the reference group who contributed
with valuable feedback. A special thanks goes to Per Miskas who assisted me in the
lab.
List of Symbols

I Current [A]
T Torque [T]
T /I Torque-over-current-ratio [Nm/A]
f0 Frequency [Hz]
fsw Switching frequency [kHz]
Vref Reference voltage [V]
Vcarrier Carrier voltage [V]
p Pulse number [-]
M Modulation index [-]
Contents

Contents

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Aim and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Structure of the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Theory Behind Variable Frequency Drives 5

2.1 Overview of a Variable Frequency Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Power Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3 Output Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.4 Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4.1 Volts-per-Hertz Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4.2 Vector Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.5 Drive Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 Direct On-Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.7 DC-link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3 Tested Drives and Motor 15

3.1 Tested Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.1.1 Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.1.2 Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.3 Waveforms and Spectra - Measurements and Analysis . . . . 17
3.1.4 Waveforms and Spectra - Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.2 Test Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4 Test Bench Methodology 33

4.1 Materials: The Test Bench, Measurements and Post Analysis . . . . 33
4.2 Methodology: Test Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5 Test Bench Results 37

5.1 Drive A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.1.1 Locked Rotor Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.1.2 Start Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
 5.1.3 Maximum Torque Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.1.4 Speed Step Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5.1.5 Summary of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5.2 Drive B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.2.1 Locked Rotor Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.2.2 Start Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5.2.3 Maximum Torque Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
5.2.4 Speed Step test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.2.5 Summary of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.3 Drive C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.3.1 Locked Rotor Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.3.2 Start Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.3.3 Load Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.3.4 Speed Step Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.3.5 Summary of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.4 Drive Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

6 Analysis and Discussion 59

6.1 Test Bench Analysis and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.1.1 Drive Size Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.1.2 A Novel Evaluation Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.1.3 The Test Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.2 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6.2.1 Drive Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6.2.2 The Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.2.3 Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

7 Conclusion and Future Work 63

7.1 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
7.1.1 Drive Selection Recomendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
7.2 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Appendices 65

A Complementary Results 67
A.1 Drive A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
A.1.1 Locked Rotor Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
A.1.2 Start Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
A.1.3 Maximum Torque Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
A.1.4 Speed Step Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
A.2 Drive B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
A.2.1 Locked Rotor Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
A.2.2 Start Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
A.2.3 Maximum Torque Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
 A.2.4 Speed Step test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
A.3 Drive C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
A.3.1 Locked Rotor Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
A.3.2 Start Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
A.3.3 Maximum Torque Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
A.3.4 Speed Step Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

References 93
Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Background

Centrifugal pumps are commonly used to transport liquid fluids with low viscosity,
such as water and waste water for example. An electric motor powers a shaft-
mounted impeller which allows, by the use of the liquids centrifugal force, to create
a difference in pressure sucking the water through the pump, see figure 1.1. The
load is typically proportional to the square of the speed in pump applications, which
allows the electric motor to be connected to the three phase electricity network, also
known as directly on-line, DOL. With the development of technology, Variable Fre-
quency Drives, or motor drives, have opened up for the opportunity to control the
speed of the motor, and hence the pump. This has led to that new desirable oper-
ational demands can be met by means of controlling the motor. Since for example,
the flow of the pumped liquid is linearly proportional to speed, the flow can be
more efficiently regulated by controlling the speed. Previously, valves have been
used to regulate the flow. By the means of speed regulation in order to alter the
flow, significant percentage of energy savings can be achieved [1].

Figure 1.1. Cross-section of a centrifugal pump displaying the electric motor and
the impeller [2].

1
 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

Although it is beneficial to use a Variable Frequency Drive, VFD, it does not

provide a perfectly engineered system for all applications. Considerable thought has
to be put in the centrifugal pump selection. By having a pump design suited for
a certain application, energy usage can be optimised along with preventing inter-
nal damage and increasing the life span of the pump. A well defined technological
process has to be outlined when selecting a pump. Parameters such as pressure,
flow and temperature as well as the pumping service and the load curve should be
known in order to define the working parameters of the pump, such as the head,
capacity, suction and discharge pressures [3].

The most important aspect when selecting any component for a system is to be
aware what it is intended to be used for. In pump applications, the power is pro-
portional to the cube of the speed. Everything from impeller to electric motor can
be designed to suit the demands. If the load curve is well defined, a VFD can ac-
cordingly be selected to match the motor. Centrifugal pumps are usually considered
to have non varying load characteristics. That is, the load at a certain operating
point is usually always the same at that point [4]. However, the load is not always
behaving ideally. The load can unexpectedly increase instantaneously if an object
is sucked in towards the pump. When the object hits the impeller, it can either get
stuck or in some cases get through, depending not only on the size of the object
but also on the strength of the system. If the electric motor is strong enough it can
overcome a sudden load increase as long as the required current is not too high.
An electric motor can usually be overloaded for a short period of time, perfectly to
overcome such a load increase. The load will momentarily increase for the VFD as
well, and a problem is encountered if the VFD cannot be overloaded as much as the
motor. This raises a constraint on the VFD. In order to overcome the sudden load
increase, the VFD has to be overdimensioned in regards to the connected motor
in order to be able to supply enough current when the motor is running shortly
in overload mode. Since price goes up with drive size, it is important to define
precisely the level of overdimension for the VFD required by the application.

VFDs are still a technology under development. There are numerous hardware
and software approaches to overcome encountered problems. Research papers have
been addressing the issues on selecting a drive. Each manufacturer has respective
guides on how to select the right drive for a certain application. Recommendations
on how to take into consideration the name plate data of the motor and ambient of
the VFD can be found, among others, in NEMA [5]. However, the answer to the
question about how closely a VFD can be matched to a motor for pump applications
with possible clogging was not found.

In this work, a method of investigating how to choose a drive for a centrifugal

pump is presented. The problem is difficult to address considering all the varying
aspects and system complexity. Therefore, empirical investigations of which factors
that can influence the torque production at a given current in an electric motor for

2
1.2. AIM AND SCOPE

centrifugal pumps are carried out.

As mentioned, the load characteristics are familiar for these applications but it
is a question of whether the VFD can supply enough current to overcome sudden
transients. The dynamical aspect is unknown, and it is uncertain how often and
to what extent transients can occur due to objects that are sucked in towards the
impeller. The characteristics of how the exact load curve looks like is of crucial
importance to be able to address the problem to full extent, and would be of great
value if it was known. This new approach of empirically addressing the problem is
expected open up for new ideas and narrow down the directions to take in order to
gain a complete answer to the question.

1.2 Aim and Scope

The aim of this report is to present the investigations leading to the dimensioning
of a variable frequency drive to an induction motor. Three drives were investigated,
two from the same manufacturer, one with electrolytic capacitor bank and the other
with a film capacitor bank. The third drive is from another manufacturer with an
electrolytic capacitor bank. All drives were of same size with similar functionalities.
The functionalities such as energy optimising functions, acceleration ramp up times,
voltage boosts, switching frequencies and scalar and vector speed control modulation
methods were varied throughout the investigation. The test motor was a squirrel
cage induction motor close to the power rating of the chosen drives.

1.3 Structure of the Report

The plan of this report is as follows. Chapter 2 describes the theory behind electric
drives, from the power converters to control methods. Pump theory and theory
behind induction motors and drive operated motors are as well included in chapter
2. In chapter 3, the tested drives are introduced, their properties and functionalities,
along with the tested induction motor. At the end of the chapter, an analysis of
the input and output waveforms of the drive is performed. The methodology of
the performed tests is found in chapter 4 and the results in the following chapter,
chapter 5. Finally, chapter 6 has further analysis following with discussion and
concluding remarks in chapter 7.

3
Chapter 2

Theory Behind Variable Frequency

Drives

2.1 Overview of a Variable Frequency Drive

A variable frequency drive for AC motors comprises different power electronic con-
verters connected between the grid and the electrical machine. The basic principle
is to convert the ac network voltage to dc in a rectifier in order to change it back
to three-phase ac voltage with a variable frequency in an inverter [6], as illustrated
in figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. Simple block diagram of a variable frequency drive.

The dc-link block in figure 2.1 provides a stiff input to the inverter.

2.2 Power Electronics

Rectifiers, or ac-dc converters, typically convert a single-phase or a three-phase ac
voltage to a dc voltage.
The input to an induction motor in centrifugal pumps is usually a three-phase
supply since the motor commonly has three phases, and therefore the inputs and
outputs of the VFD have as well three phases. Furthermore, there are a numerous
advantages of using a three-phase rectifier over a single phase. A single-phase rec-

5
 CHAPTER 2. THEORY BEHIND VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES

tifier has a much poorer power factor due to the high distortion in the line current.
The dc-current will as well contain more ripple in a single-phase opening for the
opportunity for the three-phase to have smaller capacitors at the output in certain
cases.
The investigated drives have three phases and diode rectifiers. The main differ-
ence between a diode and a thyristor rectifier is that diode rectifiers do not have
the possibility to change the dc output level and additionally, a thyristor rectifier
can work as a line-commutated inverter [6, 7].

Inverters, or dc-ac converters, convert dc voltage into ac voltage and are com-
mon for motor drives where the desire is to be able to control both frequency and
magnitude of a sinusoidal output. The input of the converter is connected to dc-
link and the output to the motor. Since the capacitors in the dc-link stabilises
the voltage, the inverter is voltage stiff, hence said to be a Voltage Stiff Inverter,
VSI. The drives tested in this report have all voltage stiff inverters. Current Stiff
Inverters, CSI, have on the other hand an inductive dc link making it current stiff.
A drawback with current stiff converters is that the current cannot instantaneously
change making it undesirable in certain pump applications [6, 7, 8].
A simple circuit diagram of a three-phase inverter is shown in figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2. Three-phase inverter [8].

The inverter in figure 2.2 is a 6-pulse inverter which the converters in the chosen
drives are as well. A three-phase full-bridge converter will produce six pulses. If
two six-pulse converters would be connected in series or parallel, a 12-pulse con-
verter would be formed which can achieve higher voltage or current ratings. The
12-pulse converter would have a better harmonic performance but could be alike to
having a six-pulse converter with an LC-filter connected to the output reducing the
ripple in the output current. The cost of the above mentioned configurations are
approximately the same, in no favour to any of the converters. 12-pulse converters

6
2.3. OUTPUT WAVEFORMS

are more common for power ranges above 1000 kW, such as in HVDC applications
and traction drives [9].

2.3 Output Waveforms

The output level of the inverter in figure 2.2 varies as each switch pair is closed in
sequence at a time. The pulses can be allowed to vary in length yielding to the
techniques of Pulse-Width Modulation, PWM. One way is to compare a sinusoidal
reference wave to a sawtooth, or triangular, carrier wave. The generated wave,
see figure 2.3, will have a sinusoidal fundamental that can vary in amplitude and
frequency.

Figure 2.3. PWM switching technique [6].

Each generated wave, using specific techniques, will have their corresponding
harmonic spectra. Depending on the application, the unwanted harmonics can be
eliminated or significantly reduced using different techniques [8].

Figure 2.4 shows an example of a harmonic spectra for a carrier based modula-
tion method.

7
 CHAPTER 2. THEORY BEHIND VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES

Figure 2.4. An example of a harmonic spectra for a carrier based modulation

method where m and n are orders of carrier and sideband harmonics, respectively
[10].

The pulse number, p, and the modulation index, M , are defined as follows,

fsw
p= (2.1)
f0
where fsw is the switching frequency and f0 is the frequency of the carrier
waveform, and

Vref
M= (2.2)
Vcarrier
where Vref is the amplitude of the reference waveform while Vcarrier refers to
the amplitude of the carrier waveform.

The first bar in figure 2.4 shows the fundamental at an order of 1. The peak
value is in this case 0.8 p.u. and corresponds to the modulation index. The second
harmonic present in the figure is the base band harmonic of the fundamental at order
3. Depending on the modulation technique, this harmonic can either be absent or
even injected. The figure illustrates the different orders of harmonics as carrier and
base band harmonics with indexes m and n, respectively. The first carrier harmonic,
i.e. m = 1, is in this example at order 21. The first carrier corresponds to the pulse
number p, referring to equation 2.1, where the order of the harmonic of the carrier
harmonic is the pulse number. In this case, the switching frequency would then be:

fsw = p · f0 = 21 · 50 = 1050 Hz. (2.3)

assuming that the reference frequency is 50 Hz, which implies that the funda-
mental adapts this frequency. The second order carrier, which is situated at twice
the order of the first, i.e. at harmonic order 42, is not present as seen in this ex-
ample since only odd carrier multiples are present. Furthermore, each carrier is
surrounded by side bands, where only even side bands are present around odd car-
riers while odd side bands are only present around even carriers. Figure 2.4 is a

8
2.4. CONTROL

typical example of a sinusoidal reference waveform with a triangular carrier and a

third-harmonic injection in the phase voltage.
By injecting a third harmonic in the phase voltage operation in the overmodu-
lation region is allowed. Operating in the overmodulation region can give a higher
fundamental output waveform. The injected harmonic will be eliminated in the
line-to-line voltage, but it will let M increase up to 1.15. Other methods such as
space vector modulation rather than the carrier PWM can be used to choose the
zero vector placement in order to enter the overmodulation region safely in same
manners. A quasi-square wave can give the highest value of M in the overmodula-
tion region reaching M = 1.273 [8, 10].

Space vector modulation, SVM, is based on that the possible switch combina-
tions for an inverter leads to discrete output voltages that can be represented as
vectors. The reference vector is represented by the reference voltage generating
through this technique a combination of state vectors in order to obtain an average
output voltage [11].
The difference between PWM and SVM is that the latter uses a vector presen-
tation of the voltages while the PWM technique uses carrier and reference waves in
order to generate switching of the inverter. The switching sequence in SVM can be
controlled manually in order to improve current ripple, minimise switching losses
and eliminate common-mode voltages, making it more suitable to use over PWM
in certain cases. Although, SVM is merely a vector presentation of PWM with
a third-harmonic injection [12]. In PWM, the modulation strategy defines when
the switching will occur. Despite that it is shown in [8] that switching in between
half carrier periods improves the VSI maximum output voltage and the harmonic
performance, it cannot be achieved by this technique. Therefore, SVM opens up to
the opportunity of better harmonic performance and higher output voltages. SVM
performs better than conventional PWM in the higher modulation index region [13].
The main benefit of SVM is that it has the additional degree of freedom of choosing
the switches which can be used to improve the harmonic performance [8].

2.4 Control

There are several control strategies in order to operate a motor with a variable
frequency drive. Basically, the strategies can be divided into two groups, scalar
based controllers and vector based controllers. The drives of choice have a scalar
Volts-per-Hertz, V/f -control, a Direct Torque Control, DTC, and a Speed Control,
all sensorless. The two investigated strategies will be the V/f -control and the speed
control since they are commonly used in pump applications and there is no clear
benefit in controlling the torque over the speed.

9
 CHAPTER 2. THEORY BEHIND VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES

2.4.1 Volts-per-Hertz Control

V/f -control is a traditional scalar method of controlling inverter-fed induction mo-
tors. The magnitude of the stator voltage and the excitation frequency varies lin-
early with each other. How a V/f -control works is illustrated with a block diagram
in figure 2.5.

Figure 2.5. V/f -control block diagram.

The motor current is monitored in the current limit block. The value of the
frequency is changed depending on the value of the current. The output goes to
a block that adjusts the volts-per-hertz ratio defining the voltage magnitude sent
to the voltage control block. Successively, the current to the motor is determined
by the voltage control block that indicates the position of the flux with regards to
the current. It is crucial that this angle is correct, otherwise the motor might not
be in stable operation, as which can happen at low speeds or sporadic operations.
In order to keep the speed close to the desired speed, a block that alters the fre-
quency reference when the load changes can be introduced, often referred as slip
compensation [14].

2.4.2 Vector Control

Vector control is based on relations valid for dynamic states on the contrary to
the steady state based relationships in scalar control. Instantaneous positions of
voltage, current and flux space vectors can be controlled in addition to magnitude
and frequency which was the only option in scalar control. In vector control, the
angle between the voltage and current is known. The motor current is controlled by
this angle that now opens up for improved torque control and low speed operation.
Torque current estimations can give a better slip approximation which gives a better
control of the speed [14].

10
2.5. DRIVE REQUIREMENTS

In Field-Orientated Control, FOC, the motor flux and torque can be controlled
independently. The knowledge of the exact orientation of the space vectors can help
in overcoming control problems [14, 15]. With field-orientated control of induction
machines, the torque can almost right away reach the torque demand [16, 17].
FOC can be rotor flux orientated or stator flux orientated where the main idea
is to have a linear relationship between the control variables and torque. The
relationship is achieved by transforming the motor equations in a coordinate system
that rotates with the stator or rotor flux vectors, respectively [15]. The direct and
indirect rotor flux orientated control were first introduced by Blaschke [18] and
Hasse [19].

2.5 Drive Requirements

Choosing the right power electronics and modulation methods depends on the ap-
plication and the choice of the motor drive. If the current rises above its ratings
in the machine, the machine will heat up. An electric motor can be overloaded for
short periods of time without damaging the motor. But on the other hand, the
drive cannot withstand an overload in percentage as large as the motor. Therefore,
the drive is more prone to overheat. Depending on the application, it can be de-
sirable to overdimension the electronics in order to be able to overload the motor [6].

Furthermore, the switching frequency of the power converter can reduce the
current ripple in the motor without having a large inductance in the motor. By
increasing the switching frequency the losses in the converter increase linearly [6].

Considerations needs to be payed when choosing converters and modulation

methods to that the machine is probably designed for a certain frequency from the
supply. The stray and eddy current losses will increase with the use of converters
because of the introduction of harmonics of different orders in the system. The
introduced harmonics can lead to torque pulsations and can have an effect for lower
frequencies. Depending on the motor design, the harmonic losses can be higher with
a PWM inverter compared to a square-wave inverter [6] for example.

A VFD ramps up the frequency from 0 to the designated value. The current
demand is relatively low if the slip can be held small. If the designated value is 50
Hz, as when connected Direct On-Line, the start current would be high.

2.6 Direct On-Line

Direct On-Line Start (DOL) is a starting method where the motor is directly con-
nected to the three-phase electric power supply. The motor will draw a high current
and operate at locked-rotor torque during the acceleration only to decrease the cur-
rent drawn at reached speed. It is a much simpler method of starting a machine

11
 CHAPTER 2. THEORY BEHIND VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES

but will have to have a stiff power supply as it can have an impact on the whole
system. During the start up, the motor will build up heat which can lead to a break
down if the motor is shut down and started repeatedly in an insufficient period of
time [20].
In pump applications, where the load has quadratic characteristics, the acceler-
ation time will be longer exposing the machine to a longer overheating time [21].
Another disadvantage of direct-on-line starting is the high torque oscillations in
the initial stage of the starting process which reduces the life time of mechanical
couplings and hence the pump [22].

2.7 DC-link
In order to provide a stiff input to the inverter in the drive system, a dc-link com-
prised of capacitors is used that smooths the ripple in the dc output voltage and
balances the instantaneous power difference between the input and the output [23].
The dc link is highlighted in figure 2.6.

Figure 2.6. The DC link in a variable frequency drive.

The operating conditions vary with capacitor type. Electrolytic capacitor tech-
nology has been used for years and is now gradually being replaced by film capacitors
that is now able to match the low cost. The foremost important parameters to con-
sider in power electronic applications is the current and voltage ripple. A good
output profile is of outmost importance in order to get a well performing inverter
providing the desired output ac wave.

Electrolytic capacitors have more capacitance per volume compared to film ca-
pacitors. The fact yields to that more film capacitors, in number, have to be used
in order to match the size of the capacitance of electrolytic type. Film capacitors
are therefore charged and discharged more frequently per a 20 ms period. This
can create more ripple in the dc voltage. A high ripple can create difficulties in
modulating the rectified voltage. One of the reason why film capacitors are not as
common as electrolytic capacitors on the market.
There is a trade-off when replacing electrolytic capacitors with film. The number
of film capacitors needs to increase in order to keep the ripple down to the same
level and be able to remain at the same switching frequency.

12
2.7. DC-LINK

The benefit of using film capacitors is that they can achieve a higher power
factor and a higher cosφ compared to electrolytic capacitors.
The power factor is defined as the ratio of active power over apparent power.
With the introduction of harmonics, the power factor will decrease. More current
will be needed to deliver the same amount of active power in that case. Although,
cosφ can still remain the same. cosφ is the angle between the voltage and the
current. The difficulty is to maintain a power factor as close to 1 as possible.

13
Chapter 3

Tested Drives and Motor

3.1 Tested Drives

Three drives were investigated. The selection of the drives was mainly based on
what was already in use with induction motors in pump applications. All three
drives were of same nominal ratings. Two were from the same manufacturer with
same functionalities but with different hardware, named here Drive A and Drive B,
respectively. The third drive was from a different manufacturer, named Drive C in
this report.

3.1.1 Hardware
Drive A
Output Power: 15 kW
Rated Voltage: 400 V
Rated Current: 30 A
DC-link Capacitors: Electrolytic
Overload Capability: 200% for 4 seconds

Drive B
Output Power: 15 kW
Rated Voltage: 400 V
Rated Current: 30 A
DC-link Capacitors: Film
Overload Capability: 200% for 4 seconds

Drive C
Output Power: 15 kW
Rated Voltage: 400 V
Rated Current: 30 A

15
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

DC-link Capacitors: Electrolytic

Overload Capability: 110% for 60 seconds

3.1.2 Functionality
Drive A and B, from the same manufacturer, have the same functions. Everything
from available switching frequency to control methods is similar. The third drive
shares some of the functions found in drive A and B. They are though designed in
other manners since the drive is from another manufacturer.

Following is a list of drive parameter settings for each drive and description of
their functionalities.

Automatic Parameter Tune - Drive A, B and C

The electric parameters of the connected motor are determined by initiating this
function.

Energy Optimising Function - Drive A, B and C

Drive A and B’s energy optimising function works in the way that the out-
put voltage applied to the motor is reduced in order to reduce the overall energy
consumption. The function is intended to be used when the motor is running at
constant speed and when it is not heavily loaded.
For Drive C, the function is described as to make the output voltage suit the
current load situation. The nominal value of cosφ has to be set correctly in order
for the function to work optimally. It does as well reduce the applied voltage at a
given low load.

Acceleration Ramp Up Time - Drive A, B and C

The parameter determines how long time it will take for the frequency to accel-
erate from 0 to its designated value in Hertz.
The lowest value that can be set for drive A and B is 0.0 seconds. 1 second is
the lowest value for drive C.

Switching Frequency - Drive A, B and C

The switching frequency for Drive A and B can be set from 4 to 24 kHz while
in drive C, from 2 to 16 kHz.

Control - Drive A and B

The control methods for Drive A and B comprises of a scalar Voltz-per-Hertz,

16
3.1. TESTED DRIVES

V/f -control, and a vector speed control.

V/f Voltage Boost - Drive A and B

The function increases the applied motor voltage at low frequencies. The func-
tion only works in V/f -control. The purpose is to make motor starts easier.

Switching Pattern - Drive C

Two different switching patterns are available within drive C: SFAVM, Stator
Flux Asynchronous Vector Modulation, and 60◦ AVM, 60 Degree Asynchronous Vec-
tor Modulation. 60◦ AVM is suitable for low speed performance and SFAVM suits
high speed efficiency and at full motor output.

Overmodulation - Drive C

Drive C offers the possibility whether to allow the VFD to enter the overmodu-
lation region or not.

Modulation Random - Drive C

Drive C has a function that reduces acoustic motor switching noise by changing
the synchronism of the PWM.

3.1.3 Waveforms and Spectra - Measurements and Analysis

The following section analyses waveforms and harmonic spectra measured on the
input and outputs of the three drives.

The drives were connected to induction motors with name plate data:

Motor 1:
3-phase, 50 Hz, 3.1 kW, 1445 rpm, 400 V, 6.7 A, cosφ=0.80

Motor 2:
3-phase, 50 Hz, 15 kW, 2915 rpm, 400 V, 27 A, cosφ=0.88

Both motors were run at no load, as the objective was to study the shape of the
waveforms and the harmonic spectra.

The input current waveform of Drive A connected to Motor 1 is shown in figure

3.1. The drive was set to operate in V/f -control and the switching frequency was
set to 4 kHz.

17
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

Figure 3.1. Drive A connected to motor 1, input phase current waveform, operated
in V/f -control with fsw = 4 kHz.

The shape of the current in figure 3.1 indicates that Drive A has electrolytic
capacitors in the dc-bank. The switching frequency or the modulation method did
not have an impact on the waveform nor the corresponding harmonic spectrum in
the input phase current.
The output phase voltage and the corresponding harmonic spectrum of drive A
connected to motor 1 is shown in figure 3.2 when the drive was running in V/f -
control. The switching frequency was set to 4 kHz.

18
3.1. TESTED DRIVES

Figure 3.2. Drive A connected to motor 1, output phase voltage waveform and
corresponding harmonic spectrum, V/f -control, fsw = 4 kHz.

Figure 3.2 shows the phase voltage waveform and the corresponding spectrum.
It is visible that only odd carrier harmonics are present and only even side bands
around odd carriers and odd side bands around even carriers. There is also a third
harmonic present with a 1/6th amplitude of the fundamental. The switching fre-
quency can be calculated by the use of equation 2.1 giving:

Drive settings: fsw = 4 kHz, calculated: fsw = p · f0 = 40 · 50 = 2 kHz

When the switching frequency was later set to 16 and 24 kHz, the pulse number
was at an order of 160 and 240, respectively, giving:

Drive settings: fsw = 16 kHz, calculated: fsw = p · f0 = 160 · 50 = 8 kHz

Drive settings: fsw = 24 kHz, calculated: fsw = p · f0 = 240 · 50 = 12 kHz

The above results show that the actual switching frequency is only half of the
switching frequency set in the drive parameter settings.

19
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

Figure 3.3 shows the line-to-line output voltage waveform and corresponding
harmonic spectrum of drive A connected to motor 1.

Figure 3.3. Drive A connected to motor 1, output line-to-line voltage waveform and
corresponding harmonic spectrum, V/f -control, fsw = 4 kHz.

The third harmonic is cancelled in the line-to-line voltage shown in figure 3.3
yielding to a smaller harmonic distortion, in accordance to theory. As before, even
side bands are present around the odd carrier, while odd side bands are present
around even carriers. Both the first odd and the first even carrier are suppressed.
Similar to before, the pulse number in figure 3.3 is 40 giving half the switching
frequency of the stated by the drive manufacturer. As the switching frequency was
increased to other values, half of what was set was obtained as for previous cases.

Figure 3.4 shows the input current waveform of the film capacitor drive, Drive
B, connected to motor 2.

20
3.1. TESTED DRIVES

Figure 3.4. Drive B connected to motor 2, input phase current waveform and
corresponding harmonic spectrum, V/f -control, fsw = 4 kHz.

The waveform of the output current shown in figure 3.4 suggests that the dc-
bank is of film capacitor type. The red line shows the level of the RMS value.

Drive B connected to motor 2 was running in V/f -control. The switching fre-
quency was set to 4 kHz. The output waveform of voltage and corresponding har-
monic spectrum is shown in figure 3.5.

21
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

Figure 3.5. Drive B connected to motor 2, output phase voltage waveform and
corresponding harmonic spectrum, V/f -control, fsw = 4 kHz.

The figure, 3.5, showing the phase voltage shows similar results to as before
with around odd carriers odd side bands are suppressed and around even carriers
even side bands are suppressed. In this case, there was no third harmonic injection.
What is interesting to note is that the indicated pulse number, here p = 100, differs
from before:

Drive was set to fsw = 4 kHz, calculated: fsw = p · f0 = 100 · 50 = 5 kHz

Figure 3.6 shows the line-to-line voltage of drive B connected to motor 2.

22
3.1. TESTED DRIVES

Figure 3.6. Drive B connected to motor 2, output line-to-line voltage waveform and
corresponding harmonic spectrum, V/f -control, fsw = 4 kHz.

The result of the switching frequency mentioned above was confirmed as well in
the line-to-line output, figure 3.6.
Figure 3.7 shows the phase voltage and corresponding spectrum when the switch-
ing frequency was set to 16 kHz in drive B, connected to motor 2.

23
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

Figure 3.7. Drive B connected to motor 2, output phase voltage waveform and
corresponding harmonic spectrum, V/f -control, fsw = 16 kHz.

Figure 3.7 shows that now there was a third harmonic injected in this case. The
calculated switching frequency from the harmonic spectrum tells:

Drive was set to fsw = 16 kHz, calculated: fsw = p · f0 = 160 · 50 = 8 kHz

The actual switching frequency was only the half of what was set in the drive,
at 16 kHz.

The input phase current waveform of Drive C connected to motor 2 is shown in

figure 3.8. The switching frequency was set to 4 kHz and the switching pattern was
60◦ AVM.

24
3.1. TESTED DRIVES

Figure 3.8. Drive C connected to motor2, input phase current waveform, fsw = 4
kHz.

The current shown in figure 3.8 shows typical characteristics of electrolytic ca-
pacitors in the dc-bank.

The output waveform and corresponding spectra of the phase and line-to-line
voltage waveform is displayed in figure 3.9 and 3.10, respectively, for drive C con-
nected to motor 2. The switching pattern was 60◦ AVM and the switching frequency
2 kHz.

25
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

Figure 3.9. Drive C, output phase voltage waveform and corresponding harmonic
spectrum, fsw = 2 kHz.

26
3.1. TESTED DRIVES

Figure 3.10. Drive C, output line-to-line voltage waveform and corresponding har-
monic spectrum, fsw = 2 kHz.

Figure 3.9 and 3.10 show the phase and line-to-line voltage, respectively, when
the switching frequency was set to 2 kHz. The harmonic spectra for both waveforms
indicate a pulse number of 40 yielding to a switching frequency of 2 kHz. The third
harmonic is higher in amplitude than the fundamental in the phase voltage but
is cancelled out, as before, in the line-to-line voltage. More low order harmonics
appear in the phase voltage compared to the other drives but are suppressed in the
line-to-line voltage. As for previous drives, the phase voltage has only odd carrier
harmonics. The odd side bands around odd carriers are suppressed while the even
sidebands are suppressed around even carriers. Furthermore, in the line-to-line volt-
age, the first carrier is suppressed.

3.1.4 Waveforms and Spectra - Discussion

A drive manufacturer keeps secret how the output waveforms are modulated. With
that in mind, it is clear that it is quite difficult to figure out the modulation tech-
niques. What can be done is to evaluate the harmonic spectrum, the harmonic
distortion and to look at the waveforms, the frequency of the fundamental, if it is
near what is promised, and the amplitudes. As a customer, what is interesting to

27
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

know is how to operate the drive, which functions will do what and what will be
the performance. Another important thing for the user is to understand the impact
of the output on their application.
The method chosen in this report to evaluate the drive performance was to look
at the waveform, the shape and amplitude and the harmonic spectrum. The raw
data of the output was sampled with an oscilloscope to a USB which was then post
processed in Matlab in order to generate the harmonic spectrum. A few points
might get lost in this process considering that the oscilloscope can only save 1000
points onto a USB-stick. Since the output frequency on the VFD’s was chosen to
50 Hz, the scope of one period on the oscilloscope was 20 ms, which is just below
the boundary of possible aliasing effects, considering the fast switching frequency
in the kHz-range.

The results from the output waveforms of Drive A were surprising. The switch-
ing frequency indicated by the harmonic spectrum showed always half of what was
configured in the drive. It is strange that there would be harmonic groups in orders
lower than the first carrier group of harmonics.
Drive B, which is the same type and from the same manufacturer as Drive A
but with film capacitors instead of electrolytic capacitors in the dc-bank, showed
also a deviating switching frequency compared to the configured value in the drive.
For a low frequency of 4 kHz set in the drive the switching frequency was actually 1
kHz higher, while for a higher switching frequency of 16 kHz, the obtained switching
frequency was 8 kHz. A 1 kHz higher switching frequency might not matter in some
applications, but half the switching frequency of the promised can lead to undesired
performances or unwanted noise, depending on the application.
Since both Drive A and B are from the same manufacturer it could be that
they use the same modulation techniques for both drives, but since the dc bank is
different the power factor might be better for one of the drives. Nevertheless, the
pulse number indicated by the harmonic spectrum should still correspond to the
switching frequency since it is defined in that manner.

The results obtained by Drive C, which indicate that the switching frequency
configured in the drive corresponds to the obtained by the generated harmonic
spectra in Matlab allows to conclude that the measurement method and the post
processing is done accurately.

The harmonic spectra indicate that the modulation techniques will for instance
allow an entering in the overmodulation region, as can be seen with third-harmonic
injections, yielding to a higher voltage output. With the possibility of higher output
values, the motor can be allowed to produce more torque.

28
3.2. TEST MOTOR

3.2 Test Motor

The selected motor was an induction motor with a squirrel cage rotor. The name-
plate info and the motor parameters are found in table 3.1.

Table 3.1. Motor parameters and nameplate data of the induction motor.

Frequency 50 Hz Rs 0.799 Ω
Voltage 3×400 V Rr 27.3 Ω
Current 27 A Xs 1.80 Ω
No. of Phases 3 Xr 1.63 Ω
Speed 2915 rpm Xm 63.9 Ω
Power Factor 0.88
Input Power 16.6 kW Torque 49 Nm
Shaft Power 15 kW Rotor Inertia 0.019 kgm2

Theoretical calculated torque and current versus speed curves are found in fig-
ures 3.11 and 3.12, respectively.

Figure 3.11. Theoretically calculated torque-speed curve according to given motor

parameters in table 3.1.

29
 CHAPTER 3. TESTED DRIVES AND MOTOR

Figure 3.12. Theoretically calculated current-speed curve according to given motor

parameters in table 3.1.

The curves shown in figure 3.11 and 3.12 are elaborated to study a running
motor. The theoretical curves are designed to replicate the behaviour from the
speed at the pull-out torque, 2250 rpm, to synchronous speed, 3000 rpm. Therefore,
it does not reflect the starting behaviour truly.
According to figure 3.11 and 3.12, the starting torque, at speed 0 rpm, is 105
Nm drawing 215 A. The maximum torque occurs at 2250 rpm with a current of
150 A giving 175 Nm. At a 100 % load the speed is 2915 rpm and the torque and
current are 49 Nm and 27 A, respectively. At no load the current is 10 A.

A summary of the Direct On-Line, DOL, values are found in table 3.2. The
values are obtained from running the motor directly connected to the grid. The
shaft was connected to a test bench with a relatively high inertia compared to a
centrifugal pump when started at standstill in water. When the motor is running
with minimum load it has the additional inertia from the test bench. It is therefore
considered to be loaded with the least possible load.

30
3.2. TEST MOTOR

Table 3.2. DOL performance values of the tested induction motor.

Run Voltage [V] cosφ [-] Speed [rpm] Torque [Nm] Current [A]
Locked Rotor - - 0 137.5 229.7
125% Load 400.7 0.9214 2864.6 75.01 40.24
100% Load 400.0 0.9131 2899.2 59.29 31.89
75% Load 400.9 0.8827 2928.7 44.03 24.26
50% Load 399.8 0.8114 2951.7 29.12 17.60
25% Load 399.5 0.5991 2976.4 14.45 12.24
Min. Load 398.9 0.3213 2993.5 5.36 9.96

The locked rotor test values in table 3.2 are extrapolated at rated voltage, 400
V, from tests performed at lower ratings. The tests are carried out in that way in
order to prevent too high currents forces in the test bench. Values in table 3.2 is in
accordance with figures 3.11 3.12 between the two points, 2250 and 3000 rpm.

31
Chapter 4

Test Bench Methodology

4.1 Materials: The Test Bench, Measurements and Post

Analysis
In the following section the equipment used to perform the tests are listed and
briefly described.

Drives and Motor The drives described in section 3.1 are the test objects and
the motor described in section 3.2 acts as the load of the test objects.

Test Bench The motor, connected to the VFD, was mounted in a test bench.
The shaft was connected to a braking motor which applied a load on the motor
shaft. The test bench had therefore its own inertia which the induction motor had
to overcome.

Braking Motor The braking motor was a HDP Servomotor from ABB Sace -
Italy. The motor had a maximum speed of 3600 rpm and the rated torque 657.6
Nm.

Oscilloscope Agilent Technologies DSO7054A Oscilloscope was used to display

torque and current and to save data to a USB stick which was used to transfer data
to a computer for post processing purposes.

Torque Transducer HBM T10F/FS 1000 Nm, a torque transducer was used to
measure the shaft torque, connected to the oscilloscope.

Ammeter Clamp Agilent 1146A, the clamp was used to measure VFD’s output
phase current, connected to the oscilloscope.

Matlab® was used to post process data and generate torque and current graphs.

33
 CHAPTER 4. TEST BENCH METHODOLOGY

4.2 Methodology: Test Procedures

A way to investigate drive behaviour in waste water applications is to study the
response during transient loads. By instantly increasing the load, the short term
overload capability could be investigated. The amount of load and test time pe-
riod could be varied in order to examine how much and for how long the drive can
withstand the excessive load. Such a test would directly correspond to a clogging
scenario where excessive load is applied for a short time. However, the available
test bench did not have the possibility to instantly increase the load. The possible
load ramp time was long. But it could still provide a feeling of how high the torque
production can be and how much current can be delivered by the drive, and for how
long.

The following tests were performed in the test bench.

Locked Rotor Test

The locked rotor test had the objective of studying the current and the starting
torque. The test was performed by blocking the rotor. The initial current and
torque was obtained at 0 rpm.

Start Test
The test was carried out by programming the drive for a ramp from stand-still to
50 Hz. The start-up capabilities of the drives were investigated by studying how
low the acceleration ramp time could be programmed yet still be able to accelerate
the motor and how high the torque and current were.

Maximum Torque Test

The purpose of this test was to examine how much torque the motor produces at
maximum load and how much current is drawn at that point from the VFD. The
test was conducted in the way that the VFD operated the motor at 50 Hz and then
the test bench brake was applied and increased to full load until the drive reached
its maximum current and tripped, i.e. shuts off in order to protect itself.

Speed Step Test

The output frequency of the VFD was increased from, and to, a fixed value in order
to model a step change in the load. Since it is not possible to suddenly apply a
short load increase by means of the test bench torque, the loading of the motor was
simulated by increasing the speed. The larger the step in frequency and the shorter
the acceleration time was, the heavier the load appeared to be, that is, the greater
the torque increase would be. How much torque could be produced and how much
current was drawn from the VFD at that point was of interest to examine. The

34
4.2. METHODOLOGY: TEST PROCEDURES

test bench was inactive during the tests, only contributing to the total inertia on
the motor shaft, i.e. the test was run at minimum load.

VFD configurations
The VFD configurations were changed through out the tests in order to study the
effects of the different possible configurations on the drive’s performance. Modu-
lation techniques, switching frequency, acceleration ramp time, energy optimising
functions and additional available functions were varied.

35
Chapter 5

Test Bench Results

The results of the test bench are divided into three sections for the three drives,
respectively. Each section contains results of tests performed with altering drive
settings. At the end of each drive section, a short summary is presented. The last
section contains a table that summarises chosen results that demonstrated good
performance. The table acts as an aid in order to make a comparison between the
drives. In Appendix A, complementary results are presented in additional tables
and figures.

5.1 Drive A

The results presented in this section are obtained by operating Drive A in Locked
Rotor, Start, Maximum Torque and Speed Step Tests when running in V/f and
speed control and altering the VFD settings: Switching Frequency, Acceleration
Ramp Time and Voltage Boost, as well as running in energy optimisation.

5.1.1 Locked Rotor Test

The highest torque value in the locked rotor test was achieved in V/f -control with
a voltage boost of 2.5%. The phase current and torque are shown in figure 5.1.

37
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

Iv
80
77
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
133
120

100

80
[Nm]

60

40

20

0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.1. Phase current and torque, locked rotor test, V/f -control, acceleration
ramp time: 1 s, Voltage boost: 2.5 %, fsw = 24 kHz.

Figure 5.1 shows that the motor gave 133 Nm which is slightly lower than the
starting torque achieved with DOL, 137.5 Nm. On the other hand, the current is
significantly lower 77 A, peak, compared to 229.7 A rms.
The drive was feeding the motor with a current at only 5 Hz in the test shown in
figure 5.1, although the drive was set to run in 50 Hz. The torque was also pulsating
at a frequency of around 5 Hz and was damped throughout the test run until the
drive tripped after 3 seconds.

Figure 5.2 shows current and torque of the test that got the highest torque-over-
current ratio, 1.66, in speed control.

38
5.1. DRIVE A

Iv
60 61
40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
t [s]

T
100 101

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
t [s]

Figure 5.2. Phase current and torque, locked rotor test, speed control, acceleration
ramp time: 0 s, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz.

The oscillation, at only 3 Hz, of the torque was lower in amplitude in speed
control mode compared to V/f -control, as seen when comparing figures 5.1 and 5.2.
The drive supplied the motor with current for over 3 seconds until it tripped.

Comparing the results between V/f -control and speed control, it is noticeable
that the V/f -control configuration for highest torque achieves a 30 % higher torque
with a 25 % higher current demand from the VFD compared to the speed control
configuration that gave the highest torque. That is, 133 Nm was the highest torque
value for 77 A in V/f -control and in speed control, the highest torque was 101 Nm
for 61 A. Hence, the highest torque-over-current ratio was achieved in the V/f -
control run, a ratio of 1.72. Moreover, the speed control configuration gave similar
results for different combinations of acceleration time, voltage boost and switching
frequency while the V/f -control could not deliver any significant torque without a
ramped acceleration or a voltage boost. The energy efficiency function produced
more torque for less current in speed control mode compared to the V/f -control
mode.
The change in switching frequency in both control modes did not indicate an
impact neither on torque production nor current demand.
The results of the performed locked rotor tests can be found in the tables of
section Appendix A.1.1.

39
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

5.1.2 Start Test

The start test was conducted by starting the drive from 0 to 50 Hz with different
acceleration times, boost levels and in two different control modes. The switching
frequency was held constant at 12 kHz for all tests.

The results from V/f -control settings indicated that with a voltage boost the
acceleration time could be reduced. The minimum possible acceleration time with
a 2.5 % voltage boost was 3.2 s compared to no boost at 3.3 s. If the voltage boost
was chosen to 5 % the drive could not start.
The current and torque graph of a test with an acceleration ramp time set to
3.0 s and a voltage boost of 2.5 % is shown in figure 5.3.

Iu
100

78
50
[A]

−50

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
80 78

60

40
[Nm]

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.3. Phase current and torque, start test, V/f -control, acceleration ramp
time: 3.0 s, voltage boost: 2.5 %, fsw = 12 kHz.

The drive tripped in the test shown in figure 5.3 but still managed to reach 50
Hz. The drive was running for just above 3 seconds. The inertia was too large to
withstand the current demand at that torque production resulting in a trip. The
other test runs that managed to start the motor without tripping had all around 3.5
second runs of accelerating the motor. The torque was again oscillating at around
4 Hz, only to stabilise with the increase of speed as seen in figure 5.3.

A test run was conducted when the drive was reset to factory settings. The
mode was V/f -control with no voltage boost and an acceleration ramp time set to
4.0 s. The drive has no reference values to the connected motor when reset, i.e.
motor nameplate data and parameters were not set in the drive. It still managed
to start the motor if the acceleration ramp time was 4.0 seconds or above.
The drive was running the motor with a high output current for a high torque

40
5.1. DRIVE A

value for over 4 seconds. The drive was feeding the motor with around 30 A in 0.5 s
before the motor started spinning. The torque did not oscillate with these settings.
The torque-over-current ratio was 1.32 which was 30% higher than the highest value
among all start tests conducted in V/f -control.

The shortest possible acceleration ramp time in speed control without tripping
the drive was 2.9 seconds. A lower value compared to the shortest time of 3.2
seconds in V/f -control with a voltage boost of 2.5%. Figure 5.4 shows the current
and torque of the best performing test.

Iu
80 77
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100

86
80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.4. Phase current and torque, start test, speed control, acceleration ramp
time: 2.9 s, fsw = 12 kHz, factory reset.

As seen from figure 5.4 the torque is not oscillating and the drive is supplying
the motor with 77 A peak value for over 2.5 seconds.
Detailed presentation of results can be found in Appendix A.1.2.

5.1.3 Maximum Torque Test

The motor was running with minimum load at 50 Hz prior the applied load increase
to the point of tripping the drive.
The test was conducted in V/f -control and speed control, respectively, and for
different switching frequencies.
The amount of torque produced in both V/f -control and speed control mode
was around 100 Nm for all runs. It could be observed that the current stayed in
a smaller spread in speed control mode compared to the V/f -control, where the
current had values from 70 to 90 A not following the increase of the switching
frequency. The highest drawn current in the speed control configuration was when

41
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

the energy optimisation function was active, 88 A. Otherwise, the current stayed
at 82-86 A. Why the current was higher when running in energy optimisation was
because the applied motor voltage was decreased. The motor was operated in field
weakening. As the load increased, the drive tried to compensate for the load by
maintaining the torque. Since the voltage could not increase fast enough, more
current was consumed.
Figure 5.5 shows the test performed V/f -control.

Iu

80
71
60
40
20
[A]

0
−20
−40
−60
−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
t[s]

100 100

80
[Nm]

60

40

20

0
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
t[s]

Figure 5.5. Phase current and torque, maximum torque test performed in V/f -
control with fsw = 12 kHz.

Figure 5.5 indicates a linear increase of the torque as the motor was loaded until
the drive tripped.
A summary of the results obtained can be found in tables in Appendix A.1.3.

5.1.4 Speed Step Test

The speed step was conducted by changing the frequency of the VFD from an initial
to a final value.
With a higher frequency step and a shorter acceleration time, the slip was larger,
leading to a higher torque production and demanding more current. The shortest
acceleration ramp time for steps 45-50 Hz, 40-50 Hz, 31-50 Hz and 31-40 Hz was
1.5 seconds without having the drive to trip, while for the step 45-55 Hz, the drive
could withstand 1.0 seconds without tripping. The choice of switching frequency
did not show to have an impact on current demand and torque production. The
drive could not run if it was set below 31 Hz. The V/f -control could not maintain
operation at low frequencies.

42
5.1. DRIVE A

Figure 5.6 shows the speed step test performed in V/f -control from 40 to 50 Hz
with the acceleration ramp time set to 1.5 s.

Figure 5.6. Phase current and torque, speed step test in V/f -control, fsw = 12 kHz,
acceleration time: 1.5 s, 40-50 Hz, rise time: 0.3 s.

The rise time was 0.3 seconds in the test shown in figure 5.6 the current demand
was 79 A. The torque was 99 Nm.
Figure 5.7 shows a speed step from 40 to 50 Hz with the acceleration ramp time
set to 1.4 s giving the rise time from 40 to 50 Hz to be 0.28 seconds.

Figure 5.7. Phase current and torque, speed step test in V/f -control, fsw = 12 kHz,
acceleration time: 1.4 s, 40-50 Hz, rise time: 0.28 s.

The test shown in figure 5.7 shows that the drive trips but only after the drive
reaches 50 Hz. The rotor was still slipping too much demanding a high current for

43
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

a long period of time resulting in a trip of the drive.

In speed control, the shortest acceleration ramp time was set to 0.1 seconds for
all frequency steps: 45-50, 40-50, 35-50 and 45-55 Hz without forcing the drive to a
trip. The torque did not exceed 90 Nm while the current reached up to 78 A. The
test run that produced the most torque, 90 Nm and had the highest torque-over-
current ratio is shown in figure 5.8.

Iu
80
74
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100
90
80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.8. Phase current and torque, speed step test in speed control, fsw = 12
kHz, acceleration time: 0.1 s, 40-50 Hz.

The performed test shown in figure 5.8 showed a rapid increase in frequency.
When the drive reached 50 Hz, the torque slopes down to a steady value just before
the torque dips because of the rotor exceeding synchronous speed. From both torque
and current curves, it is visible that the control algorithm looks different for speed
control compared to V/f -control.
The results from both V/f -control and speed control can be found in tables in
Appendix A.1.4.

5.1.5 Summary of Results

Drive A showed better performance when set in speed control. The switching fre-
quency did not impact the results. The four tests indicate stable operation and a
reliable performance. The maximum torque obtained was around 100 Nm which
was lower than in V/f -control where it reached 133 Nm. The drive could start with
a shorter acceleration ramp time in speed control compared to V/f -control. The
drive showed better performance when an automatic parameter tune was performed
compared to a factory reset. During the speed step test in speed control, the drive

44
5.2. DRIVE B

could be overloaded by 90%. The operation in overload lasted for only 0.5 s due to
the limitation of the performed frequency step.

5.2 Drive B
In this section, the results are presented of the tests performed with Drive B in
Locked Rotor, Start, Maximum Torque and Speed Step Tests when running in V/f
and speed control and altering the VFD settings: Switching Frequency, Acceleration
Ramp Time and Voltage Boost, as well as running in energy optimisation.

5.2.1 Locked Rotor Test

The first locked rotor tests with Drive B were performed in V/f -control. The
output frequency was set to 50 Hz while the switching frequency, voltage boost and
acceleration time varied.
The obtained results showed the difficulty in selecting the right parameters to
achieve high torque values, especially highlighted when the voltage boost was set
to 10%. The drive could not start. The highest torque production was when the
acceleration and voltage boost were set to zero shown in figure 5.9. The change in
the switching frequency did not make significant changes in current nor torque.

Iu
100

86
80

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
120

108
100

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.9. Phase current and torque, locked rotor test, V/f -control, acceleration
time: 0 s, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz.

The best result obtained in V/f -control in the locked rotor test is the test shown

45
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

in figure 5.9, with a current of 86 A and a torque of 108 Nm oscillating at 3.2 Hz

giving a T/I-ratio of 1.26.

The highest torque value obtained in speed control was obtained with fsw = 12
kHz and an acceleration time of 6 s, the current drawn was the lowest, 82 A. The
torque was oscillating at around 3 Hz. The torque stayed at values around 100 Nm
if the acceleration ramp time was not set to zero. Otherwise, the torque was slightly
smaller as can be seen in tables in Appendix A.2.1.

5.2.2 Start Test

The start test was conducted from 0 to 50 Hz with lowest possible acceleration ramp
time in V/f and speed control. The switching frequency was set to 12 kHz.
As the acceleration time decreased, the torque increased. The highest torque
value in V/f -control was reached at around 100 Nm drawing just above 80 A. The
applied voltage boost of 5 % did not seem to increase the torque nor decrease the
current at an acceleration time of 2.5 s. Figure 5.10 shows the current and torque
for the speed step test conducted in V/f -mode with an acceleration ramp time of
2.5 seconds.

Iu
100

80 83

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
120

100 102

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.10. Phase current and torque, speed step test, 0-50 Hz, V/f -control,
acceleration ramp time: 2.5 s, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz.

The current reached 81 A and the torque 102 Nm in the conducted test shown
in figure 5.10.

46
5.2. DRIVE B

For all tests conducted in speed control, the current stayed around 80 A and the
torque around 97 Nm.
The shortest acceleration time was 2.2 s without having the drive to trip. The
drive supplied 82 A with a 97 Nm torque giving the torque-over-current ratio 1.19.

Then the drive was reset to factory defaults. The shortest manageable acceler-
ation ramp time was 2.7 s in V/f -control. The current reached 74 A with a 98 Nm
torque giving a 1.33 torque-over-current ratio.

In speed control, the highest torque value, higher than previous test, was when
the acceleration time was 0.1 s giving 122 Nm with a current of 85 A. The test is
depicted in figure 5.11.

Iu
100

80
85

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
140

120 122

100

80
[Nm]

60

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.11. Phase current and torque, start test, 0-50 Hz, speed control, accelera-
tion ramp time: 0.1 s, fsw = 12 kHz, factory reset.

The test depicted in figure 5.11 has the highest value of torque-over-current
ratio, 1.44, and the lowest possible acceleration time of the start tests conducted
in both V/f -control and speed control with Drive B as can be seen in the tables of
Appendix A.2.2.

5.2.3 Maximum Torque Test

Motor load was applied until the drive tripped in the maximum torque test. The
test was conducted with an automatic motor parameter identification performed.
Switching frequency was varied and the initiation of the energy optimising function.

47
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

In V/f -control, the highest torque was obtained when the energy optimisation
function was inactive with a switching frequency of 4 kHz. The test conducted when
the energy optimisation function was active shows a nonlinear torque curve. With
a switching frequency of 24 kHz, most current was drawn, 85 A.

The highest torque produced when the drive was operating in speed control was
with fsw = 24 kHz drawing 88 A. Lowest current drawn, at 83 A, was when the
energy optimisation function was active, still being able to withstand just above
100 Nm. Figure 5.12 shows the test.

Iu
100

80 83

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5
t [s]

T
120

100
103

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5
t [s]

Figure 5.12. Phase current and torque, load test, speed control, fsw = 4 kHz,
Energy Optimisation Function active.

The curve shapes when the energy optimisation was active, figure 5.12, were
different in contrast to other test runs. The torque curve was not increasing linearly
and the current was shifting between low and high values. It can clearly be observed
that the drive was trying to manage the load increase, optimising the energy.
More tests are depicted in Appendix A.2.3.

5.2.4 Speed Step test

The speed step tests conducted from an initial to a final frequency value when
operating in V/f and speed control for different rise times and different steps had
fsw set to 12 kHz.
The drive managed to make a step from 45 to 50 Hz with an acceleration ramp
time set to 0 when operating in V/f -control. It was although not the highest current

48
5.2. DRIVE B

drawn nor the highest torque production. For the step 45 to 50 Hz, the current was
around 50 to 55 A, but could also reach 62 A, while the torque was at around 63
Nm.
In speed control, for the step 45 to 50 Hz, the torque was around 64 Nm while
the current was around 50 to 55 A. As the step increased, 40 to 50 Hz, so did
the torque and current, around 96 Nm and around 82 A, respectively. There was
a slight increase in both current and torque when the step was further increased
to 35-50 Hz. When the drive entered field weakening region, 45-55 Hz steps, the
current was around 85 A and the torque up to 90 Nm as shown in figure 5.13.

Iu
100

86
80

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100

90
80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure 5.13. Phase current and torque, speed step test, 45-55 Hz, speed control,
acceleration time: 0.1 s, fsw = 12 kHz.

The minimum possible acceleration ramp time was set to 0.0 s. The drive never
tripped in speed control during the speed step test which can be observed in the
complementary results of Appendix A.2.4.

5.2.5 Summary of Results

Drive B could start the motor to 50 Hz with the smallest acceleration ramp time
tuned in speed control. The speed control showed reliable operation. When the
drive was reset to factory default it performed well while running but it could not
be turned off without tripping the drive. High torque values, up to 122 Nm, were
obtained with a corresponding peak current of 85 A. The drive did, however, manage
to operate the motor without tripping while running. In speed control, the drive
could be overloaded by 105% for one second during the speed step test.

49
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

5.3 Drive C
The results of the tests performed with Drive C are presented. Locked rotor, Start,
Maximum Torque and Speed Step Tests are conducted while varying acceleration
time, switch pattern and switching frequency as well as initiating special functions
such as energy optimisation.

5.3.1 Locked Rotor Test

With the switching pattern set to 60◦ AVM, the highest torque value and the highest
torque current ratio was obtained when the energy optimising function was active.
The torque reached 78 Nm while the current was 47 A. The torque reached more
than 10 Nm higher than when the energy optimising function was inactive. The
switching frequency did not seem to have a significant impact as summarised in
tables in Appendix A.3.1.
The figure 5.14 shows a locked rotor test performed with the energy optimising
function active.

Iu
50
47
40

30

20

10
[A]

−10

−20

−30

−40

−50
−8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
t [s]

T
80
78
70

60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
t [s]

Figure 5.14. Phase current and torque, locked rotor test, 60◦ AVM, acceleration
time: 1.00 s, fsw = 8 kHz, energy optimisation.

The torque curve shows oscillations of larger amplitude in figure 5.14 where the
energy optimisation function was active. All torque curves showed an oscillation
at around 3 Hz. It is visible from the figure that the locked rotor test could be
performed for up to 18 seconds without the drive tripping.

50
5.3. DRIVE C

It was hard to tell if the switching frequency has an impact at all when the
drive was working in SFAVM. The highest torque was once again produced when
the energy optimisation function was active giving 73 Nm for 51 A.

5.3.2 Start Test

The start tests, 0 to 50 Hz, were firstly performed with manually configured param-
eters with default torque and current limits at 117 % and 110 %, respectively, in
60◦ AVM. The drive was unable to start the motor for any acceleration ramp time.
After an automatic parameter setting was performed, with same torque and
current limit settings, the drive could now start. The highest torque value was 63
Nm at 62 A when setting the acceleration ramp time to the minimum value of 1 s.
When the torque and current limits were increased to their respective maximum
values, 234.7 % and 117.3 %, the drive performed better.
Figure 5.15 shows when the drive was running in energy optimisation mode.

Iu
80
69
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70
68
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure 5.15. Phase current and torque, start test, 60◦ AVM, acceleration time: 1.5
s, fsw = 8 kHz, energy optimisation.

The torque curves for all test show similar pattern except for the test with the
energy optimisation active in figure 5.15. The tests overall showed quite low values
of torque. The shortest possible acceleration ramp time was set to the minimum, 1
second.

The results from when the drive ran in SFAVM mode show that the drive can
start the motor when the acceleration ramp time is set to the minimum value, 1

51
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

second, if the switching frequency is 10 kHz. The torque reached 66 Nm and the
current 66 A.
When the energy optimisation function was active, the drive could only start
the motor if the acceleration ramp time was set to 1.5 seconds or above.
More results can be found in Appendix A.3.2.

5.3.3 Load Test

The load test was performed by loading the motor to the maximum when the drive
was operating at 50 Hz.
The torque for all tests was 70 Nm in 60◦ AVM except for the one with the
energy optimising function active that reached just a slightly higher value of 71
Nm. The value of the switching frequency did not seem to have an impact.
Figure 5.16 shows a load test performed with a switching frequency of 8 kHz.

Iu
80

60 63

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

T
70 70

60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

Figure 5.16. Phase current and torque, load test, 60◦ AVM, fsw = 8 kHz.

The current in figure 5.16 reached 63 A giving the highest torque-over-current

ratio, 1.10, in this mode.
Figure 5.17 shows a test when the energy optimisation function was active.

52
5.3. DRIVE C

Iu
80

60
65

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

T
80

70 71

60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

Figure 5.17. Phase current and torque, load test, 60◦ AVM, fsw = 8 kHz, energy
optimisation.

The torque curve in figure 5.17 looks different compared to the result in figure
5.16. In figure 5.16 the drive went into a protection mode when it reached the torque
peak and slowed down the speed in order to be able to keep the motor running until
it tripped. In figure 5.17, the drive tried to adapt the voltage to the current load
situation which made the run longer before going into protection mode and tripping.

The test results when the drive was set to SFAVM mode indicated that the
torque was around 70 Nm for all tests. The drive went into protection mode after
reaching the highest torque value, 70 Nm.
When the drive was running in energy optimisation, current drawn was 62 A
and the torque 72 Nm. The torque curve indicated that the drive could manage
the load increase by adapting to the current load, preventing the drive to go into
protection mode.
Tables summarising more of the results can be found in Appendix A.3.3.

5.3.4 Speed Step Test

The speed step test was performed by increasing the frequency from 40 to 50 Hz.

Figure 5.18 shows a test performed in 60◦ AVM with the acceleration ramp time
set to 1.15 s, the lowest manageable value.

53
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

Iu
80

60 63

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70

65
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure 5.18. Phase current and torque, speed step test, 60◦ AVM, 40-50
Hz,acceleration time: 1.15 s, fsw = 2 kHz.

The torque produced in figure 5.18 was 65 Nm for 63 A. Figure 5.19 shows a
test when the acceleration ramp time was set to 1.10 s.

54
5.3. DRIVE C

Iu
80 79
60

40

20

0
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
60

50
52

40

30
[Nm]

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure 5.19. Phase current and torque, speed step test, 60◦ AVM, 40-50 Hz, accel-
eration time: 1.10 s, fsw = 2 kHz.

Figure 5.19 clearly shows how the VFD tries to overcome the load increase.
There is a first peak in the torque up to 52 Nm which seems to trigger the Protec-
tion Mode after which the drive slowly increases the frequency in order to reach the
desired output.

If the switching frequency was 8 or 10 kHz in SFAVM, the drive managed to

step up the output frequency with the minimum acceleration ramp time possible, 1
second.
Figure 5.20 shows a test run with the energy optimising function active.

55
 CHAPTER 5. TEST BENCH RESULTS

Iu
80

60 62

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70
66
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure 5.20. Phase current and torque, speed step test, SFAVM, 40-50 Hz, acceler-
ation time: 1.00 s, fsw = 8 kHz, energy optimisation.

The result shown in figure 5.20 showed a current of 62 A drawn from the drive
when the torque was 66 Nm. The torque gradually increased compared to the more
steep increase when the energy optimising function was inactive. Additional figures
and summarising tables of the speed step tests performed with drive C can be found
in Appendix A.3.4.

5.3.5 Summary of Results

Running with energy optimising function active gave the best performance during
all four conducted tests. The drive only operates if the automatic parameter tuning
function has been carried out. The drive could be overloaded by 60% during the
speed step tests. The speed step test was limited by time because of the formation
of the test. Therefore, the drive was overloaded for only 3 seconds. The torque
never exceeded more than 80 Nm during the tests without resulting in a trip.

5.4 Drive Comparison

Table 5.1 summarises the best obtained results during the conducted tests for the
three drives. First column describes which test was conducted. Beneath the drive
columns, torque and maximum current values are shown. In italic, the torque-over-
current ratio or the shortest possible acceleration ramp time is shown.

56
5.4. DRIVE COMPARISON

Table 5.1. A comparison between the three drives during the best performances
from the tests.

Studying table 5.1 it is observable that Drive C could not provide as much torque
as the other two drives. The lowest possible acceleration time was 1.0 s for drive C.
For drive A and B, the acceleration ramp time could be set to the lowest possible
value, 0.0 s. Drive A gave the overall highest torque value, 133 Nm. Drive B could
accelerate the fastest from standstill to 50 Hz. It reached high torque values and
could manage to accelerate the fastest compared to the other drives.

57
Chapter 6

Analysis and Discussion

6.1 Test Bench Analysis and Discussion

6.1.1 Drive Size Selection
The nominal current of the motor at 27 A was tightly matched to the 30 A rated
current of the drives, both 15 kW. A decision following drive manufacturer’s rec-
ommendations for centrifugal pumps, keeping in mind that centrifugal pumps are
normally considered free of overloads [4]. Other drive manufacturers recommend an
overdimensioned drive with regards to the induction motor to be able to meet the
overload capability of the motor. It was therefore interesting to investigate how a
tightly matched drive would respond to a dynamically varying load. A load profile
occurring in waste water applications.

6.1.2 A Novel Evaluation Method

Because of the limitation of suddenly increasing the load in the test bench, new
test procedures were discussed in the group. The speed step test was predicted to
be a simple and accurate way to analyse the dynamic behaviour. A novel approach
elaborated within the group. Furthermore, the other conducted tests would act as
both verifications and supplements to the speed step test. The combination of all
tests present a new approach where the drive-motor performance is analysed from
different aspects which widens the perspective of the obtained results.

6.1.3 The Test Results

The test runs with Drive A showed the impact of the parameter choices on the drive
performance. The most surprising result was that the highest overload was achieved
when the drive was operating in V/f -control during the locked rotor test. Drive
B, on the contrary, operated better in vector control, which was to be expected.
The other major difference between the drives was that drive B could perform

59
 CHAPTER 6. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

equally well with or without an automatic motor parameter tuning. Keeping in

mind that the drive was unable to shut off without tripping was a major drawback.
An unacceptable behaviour. Drive A, on the other hand, showed better performance
if the drive settings were configured with consideration after an automatic motor
parameter tuning. The test results from both drives did although show that it is
most reliable to operate in vector control.
As Drive C has a longer overload time compared to Drive A and B, the tests
duration were significantly longer. The drive did not, however, reach as high over-
load in percent as the other two drives. The most surprising test result of Drive
C was that it performed better with the energy optimising function active. This
was not the case for Drive A and B. The energy optimising function should be used
only when operating in non-varying load conditions, following drive manufacturer’s
recommendations. The reason why the drive performance was improved could be
that the drive had a chance to follow the dynamically varying load with the longer
overload time.

6.2 Discussion
6.2.1 Drive Selection
There are a couple of heavy parameters to consider when selecting a drive for pump
applications. What is pumped? Which pump is used? What motor is inside that
pump? How does the load curve look like? The questions are many, and the crucial
key matters, such as the transient load curve, remain uninvestigated. This report
has put forward results of an empirical investigation on how to test drives and
what to take into consideration when it comes to producing the maximum available
torque for the least amount of current. As mentioned before, centrifugal pumps
are considered to not have varying load characteristics, but in waste water they
can encounter sudden load increases. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to allow
the motor to produce the maximum available torque without having the drive to
trip. With that in mind, Drive C was the least suitable drive for centrifugal pump
applications since it could not be overloaded as much as Drives A and B. Instead,
it had a long term overload capacity, which is not a favourable option. Rather to
have the highest torque possible for just one second than a lower torque for a longer
time. The reason is because if an object gets stuck in the impeller, it will need
one strong push and not a slightly higher push over a longer time. The tests did
although show that Drive C could be overloaded up to 60% more for a few seconds,
but not for 60 seconds, as specified. Drive A and B, on the other hand, met their
specifications.
As the drives were tightly matched to the motor, an interesting result is that
Drive A, which had a 100% overload capability could almost reach the starting
torque value of the motor in the locked rotor test. It reached 133 Nm while the
DOL showed a capability of 137.5 Nm. Since there was no track in what exact
position the rotor was locked, it could be that the maximum starting torque was

60
6.2. DISCUSSION

reached in that locking position. Therefore, a drive that is rated as the motor could
with a 100% overload reach the starting torque values.

6.2.2 The Topic

The vast topic with its many broad components could be approached in many ways.
Each approach can be beneficial in its own way and contribute to the answer through
another direction. Papers such as NEMA’s Application Guide for AC Adjustable
Speed Drive Systems [5] treats the topics, among others, of what to consider from the
end users electrical perspective. Industry guides from drive manufacturers consider
the fact that they want to provide a reliable motor operation to their customers,
focusing on protecting the drive and also making sure that the customers own motor
is protected. Papers that present a drive system and motor simulations focuses on
to show how the operating characteristics look like and are generalised. Moreover,
the articles that take into account the load curve, that is the centrifugal pumps
submerged under water speak about how to select the pump in the sense of flow
characteristics and other pump characteristics, and not how to select a VFD that
can manage transient load characteristics [1, 3]. Hence, work on how to select drives
for pump applications are hard to come across. The initial idea of this project was
to make a generalised simulation that would correspond to the test bench results
and that could be further developed by using different load characteristics in order
to investigate how to dimension a drive for such an unknown load. In the best
of cases, a model would be obtained where given parameters are entered and the
result would be a recommendation on how much to overdimension the drive for a
certain load characteristic and motor size. The first obstacle that was faced was the
fact that it was a long chain of topics that haven’t been thoroughly treated linked
to each other. Therefore, the decision to tackle the problem by empirically testing
the drive performance was chosen since little had been done in this field concerning
drive operated centrifugal pumps. In order to gain good knowledge on the drive
control methods, applied motor voltage should have been measured, as discussed
previously. The simulation model could be tuned to behave more closely to reality.
The idea was that this project would be a part of further projects developing
this area. After investigating the possible motor-drive performance it would be
naturally to start making thorough simulations. Next step is to investigate the
true load characteristics of waste water and try to obtain a realistic response of the
simulation models to be able to answer the initial question.

6.2.3 Simulations
The first approach was to model the chosen induction motor in order to simulate
different models of variable frequency drives. The model was supposed to grow
from a specific case to a more generalised model of squirrel cage induction motors
connected to variable frequency drives.

61
 CHAPTER 6. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

The motor model and the drive were supposed to correspond to the available
equipment. The aim was to be able to simulate transient loads and study the be-
haviour of the system. The result would be a recommendation on how much the
drive should be overdimensioned given the motor loading case.

The choice of modelling tool was Simulink by MathWorks. The environment

offers both circuit and signal modelling. The signal modelling of the system acted
faster than the system built up of circuits, therefore, the signal approach was chosen.
If the entire system should be built, with actual component characteristics, the
model should comprise of circuits. Each component can be modelled more realisti-
cally by including for instance the stray inductances and capacitances between each
component. There is always the possibility to develop a model to the smallest detail
increasing the complexity and the accuracy of the model.

Points of consideration when making a model for simulations are

• The output of a VFD can be hard to replicate since the modulation technique
is a manufacturer’s secret.

• Measurements of the phase and line-to-line voltage waveforms can be a guide

to how the waveform should be reconstructed.

• Studying the harmonic spectra can reveal the characteristics of the modulation
method.

• The control algorithms can be adjusted by studying the applied motor voltage
and the shaft speed.

• The induction motor model has to be dynamical.

• Higher accuracy can be obtained if the model is adjusted to suit the replicated
event for each simulation case.

A lot of effort and consideration has to be made in order to obtain a model that
resembles the reality. Therefore, the conclusion made was that a great deal of work
had to be carried out that would lead to little valuable results.
The drive is a black box regarding software and a combination of both software
and hardware, making modelling of the chosen drives difficult. A drive with cheap
components can still operate well if the programmed algorithms can compensate,
and so on. With the mentioned arguments in mind, the approach of gathering
empirical data in the lab and post analysing was chosen.

62
Chapter 7

Conclusion and Future Work

7.1 Concluding Remarks

The test results from the locked rotor test and start test clearly indicated that it
would be possible to run a centrifugal pump that is in the same kW-size as the
operating variable frequency drive. If it is a bigger system on a remote location, the
drive should be overdimensioned. The reason is that the drive would be the bottle
neck if the system would be overloaded. By introducing drive systems in pump ap-
plications, already money is saved because of the possibility to decrease the speed
instead of flow-reducing valves. Furthermore, safe operation can be carried out
since the drive can soft start the motor avoiding high inrush currents and can also
provide remote monitoring. The motor will be prevented of going in overload and
hence will not be excessively heated which can reduce the life time of the motor.
The benefits, both regarding economy and sustainability, are numerous which can
be arguments in buying an overdimensioned drive in order to also obtain a reliable
system.

Initially, when installing a drive to a motor, all limiting drive parameters should
be set to maximum. The name plate data of the motor should be entered and an
automatic tuning of the motor parameters should be performed. Lastly, in order
to maintain a non-varying, stable, reliable operation, vector speed control should
be selected. Vector control has shown that it can give high torque values and still
maintain a low current.

The report implies that extracting a formula where the input parameters are the
motor nameplate data and the load characteristics which will then yield to a final
answer on which drive to select is difficult. First of all, the true load characteristics
are unknown and second of all it is not only the rated current, voltage, frequency
or the rated power that should be matched. Even if the drive would be perfectly
matched to the motor regarding the size of the two components, the drive can,
depending on the design, run in overload for a certain time interval. The control

63
 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

method of the drive can allow it to surpass critical overloads by adjusting the output
to meet the torque demand. Additionally in pump applications, a clever control can
for instance adjust the shaft speed to overcome overloads and prevent clogging.

7.1.1 Drive Selection Recomendation

This section presents a suggested work procedure in selecting a drive for a centrifugal
pump. It is assumed that the choice of using a centrifugal pump is in line with the
intended application. After following the steps, it should be possible to operate the
motor accordingly.

1) Find out which fluid will be pumped, is it subjected to frequent hard objects
that creates the risk of clogging the pump or is it clean water? If it is the latter,
overdimensioning will not be necessary.

2) Match the nameplate data of the motor to the drive. Voltage, output frequency,
rated current and rated power is to consider. If possible, select a drive that can go
the highest in overload, even if it is just for a second or two - rather than selecting a
smaller overload over a longer time period if the pump is subjected to transient loads.

3) Enter the motor parameters that the drive asks for manually and perform an
automatic tuning of the rest of the parameters. It is important that the drive
recognises the motor characteristics. If there are current or torque limits to be
selected - select the highest possible values.

4) If the pump is submerged in a frequent clogging environment, find out what

the starting torque is of the motor. If the pump is at stand-still and clogged, enough
current must be supplied in order not to block the starting torque capability of the
motor. The motor must be allowed to be started even if there is an obstacle on
the impeller. Additionally, find out what the maximum torque of the motor is and
make sure that the drive can supply enough current to reach that point when it is
operating in overload. If the pump is frequently subjected to transient overloads,
make sure that the drive can supply enough current to allow the motor to produce
maximum torque.

5) Lastly, make sure that environmental recommendations of the drive manufac-

turer are met, such as ambient pressure and temperature, mounting and mainte-
nance directives.

64
7.2. FUTURE WORK

7.2 Future Work

In order to get a deeper understanding of the problem, investigation of the load
characteristics of centrifugal pumps in waste water needs to start. It is not only a
problem for electrical engineers since it also involves the flow of the pump, impeller
and hydraulics. A study of what waste water actually contains and what impact it
has when it loads the electric motor needs to be investigated. The knowledge of the
the transient load curve would help in building a realistic simulation.
To further develop this project and add more depth to the results a final lab
test where a large drive is connected to a small motor could be performed. The
drive can then be set to different ratings fooling the drive to believe that the motor
has a different size. By varying the motor ratings set in the drive, such as rated
current, the drive would trip on different levels and an overview on how much the
drive has to be overdimensioned in order to reach the maximum torque value would
be gained.
Future performed tests needs to measure the applied voltage to the motor. The
gain would be a deeper analysis of drive control methods. Additionally, shaft speed
can tell the total system response, stability and the behaviour of the motor. Due
to limitations in the test bench, these measurements were not performed.
Furthermore, in order to evaluate the speed step test method, frequency over
time could be plotted to study the shape of the curve, whether it is a linear re-
lationship or if it follows another pattern. Comparing the frequency ramp when
starting the drives from 0 to 50 Hz would also give another depth in a complete
evaluation of the speed step test. These measurements would contribute to obtain
a more accurate simulation model.
Further topics would be to try simulation and lab tests for different types of
motors and other drive types.

65
Appendix A

Complementary Results

A.1 Drive A

A.1.1 Locked Rotor Test

Table A.1. Drive A: Results of the locked rotor test performed in V/f -control.

Parameter Settings Results

Acc. Ramp Voltage fsw [kHz] ˆ
Imax [A] Tmax [Nm] T/I- Note
Time [s] Boost [%] ratio
1 2.5 4 77 131 1.70
1 2.5 12 77 131 1.70
1 2.5 24 77 133 1.72
0 0 12 34 1 -
0 0 12 63 1 -
0 10 12 86 80 0.93
6 0 12 83 67 0.81
1 2.5 12 81 80 0.99 Energy Opt.

67
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

Table A.2. Drive A: Results of the locked rotor test performed in speed control.

Parameter Settings Results

Acc. Ramp Voltage fsw [kHz] Iˆmax [A] Tmax [Nm] T/I- Note
Time [s] Boost [%] ratio
1 2.5 4 58 96 1.66
1 2.5 24 59 98 1.66
0 0 12 58 94 1.62
0 0 12 61 101 1.66
0 10 12 61 97 1.59
6 0 12 63 94 1.49
1 2.5 12 58 94 1.62 Energy Opt.

A.1.2 Start Test

Table A.3. Drive A: Results of the start test, 0 to 50 Hz, performed in V/f -control
with fsw = 12 kHz.

Acceleration Time [s] Voltage Boost [%] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
4.0 0.0 74 68 0.92
3.5 0.0 80 72 0.90
3.4 0.0 82 73 0.90
3.3 0.0 83 76 0.91
3.2 0.0 86 76 0.89 Trip
3.0 0.0 78 80 1.02 Trip
4.0 5.0 91 18 0.19 Trip
3.5 5.0 80 16 0.20 Trip
3.3 5.0 86 17 0.20 Trip
4.0 2.5 77 72 0.94
3.3 2.5 77 72 0.94
3.2 2.5 82 73 0.90
3.0 2.5 78 78 1.00 Trip

68
A.1. DRIVE A

Iu
60
53
40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
80
70
60

40
[Nm]

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.1. Drive A: Phase current and torque, start test, V/f -control, acceleration
ramp time: 4.0 s, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz with factory default parameters.

Table A.4. Drive A: Results of the start test, 0 to 50 Hz, performed in speed control
with fsw = 12 kHz.

Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

3.0 74 86 1.16
2.9 77 86 1.12
2.8 75 86 1.14 Trip
2.7 74 86 1.16 Trip
2.0 78 88 1.13 Trip
1.1 75 89 1.18 Trip
1.0 86 89 1.03 Trip
3.0 75 86 1.13 Energy Opt, Trip
2.9 80 1 - Energy Opt, Trip

A.1.3 Maximum Torque Test

Table A.5. Results of the maximum torque test performed in V/f -control.

fsw [kHz] Iˆmax [A] Tmax [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

4 81 103 1.27
12 71 100 1.41
24 91 101 1.11

69
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

Table A.6. Drive A: Results of the maximum torque test performed in speed control.

fsw [kHz] Iˆmax [A] Tmax [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

4 82 104 1.27
12 86 103 1.20
24 83 101 1.22
12 88 102 1.16 Energy Opt.

Iu

80
88
60
40
20
[A].

0
−20
−40
−60
−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

100 102

80
[Nm]

60

40

20

0
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.2. Drive A: Phase current and torque, maximum torque test performed
in speed control with fsw = 12 kHz and the energy optimising function active.

70
A.1. DRIVE A

Iu

80
71
60
40
20
[A]

0
−20
−40
−60
−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
t[s]

100 100

80
[Nm]

60

40

20

0
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
t[s]

Figure A.3. Drive A: Phase current and torque, maximum torque test performed
in V/f -control with fsw = 12 kHz.

Iu

80 86
60
40
20
[A].

0
−20
−40
−60
−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

100 103

80
[Nm]

60

40

20

0
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.4. Drive A: Phase current and torque, load test, speed control, fsw = 12
kHz.

71
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

A.1.4 Speed Step Test

Table A.7. Drive A: Results of the speed step test conducted in V/f -control.

Frequency Acceleration Rise fsw [kHz] I [A] T [Nm] T/I- Note

Step [Hz] Ramp Time [s] Time [s] ratio
45-50 5.0 0.50 4 42 42 1.00
45-50 2.0 0.20 4 54 54 1.00
45-50 1.5 0.15 4 73 91 1.25
45-50 1.0 0.10 4 54 60 1.11 Trip
45-50 6.0 0.60 12 31 37
45-50 1.5 0.15 12 61 91
45-50 1.0 0.10 12 54 60 Trip
45-50 1.0 0.10 24 73 64 0.88 Trip
40-50 1.5 0.30 4 67 84 1.27 Trip
40-50 2.0 0.40 12 76 98
40-50 1.8 0.36 12 77 98
40-50 1.7 0.34 12 77 98
40-50 1.6 0.32 12 78 99
40-50 1.5 0.30 12 80 99
40-50 1.4 0.28 12 73 85 Trip
40-50 2.0 0.40 12 77 98
40-50 1.5 0.30 12 79 99
40-50 1.4 0.28 12 77 99 Trip
31-40 1.5 0.34 12 80 98
31-40 1.4 0.32 12 81 97 Trip
45-55 3.0 12 69 68 0.99
45-55 2.0 12 78 85 1.09
45-55 1.5 12 85 88 1.04
45-55 1.5 12 80 87 1.09
45-55 1.0 12 85 91 1.07
45-55 0.8 12 69 1 0.01 Trip
45-55 0.5 12 47 34 0.73 Trip

72
A.2. DRIVE B

Table A.8. Drive A: Results of the speed step test conducted in speed control.

Frequency Acceleration Rise fsw [kHz] I [A] T [Nm] T/I- Note

Step [Hz] Ramp Time [s] Time [s] ratio
45-50 2.0 12 53 59 1.10
45-50 2.0 12 49 61 1.26
45-50 1.0 12 57 64 1.13
45-50 0.5 12 60 63 1.06
45-50 0.1 12 53 64 1.20
40-50 0.5 12 75 90 1.19
40-50 0.1 12 74 90 1.22
35-50 0.5 12 75 90 1.19
35-50 0.5 12 78 90 1.14 Enrg-Opt
45-55 0.1 12 77 86 1.12

A.2 Drive B

A.2.1 Locked Rotor Test

Table A.9. Drive B: Results of the locked rotor test with an output frequency of 50
Hz in V/f -control.

Acceleration Voltage fsw [kHz] I [A] T [Nm] T/I- Note

Time [s] Boost [%] ratio
1 0 4 83 96 1.15
1 0 24 83 98 1.18
4 0 4 88 99 1.13
4 0 24 85 98 1.16
0 0 12 86 108 1.26
0 10 12 88 31 0.35
6 0 12 88 97 1.11
12 1 2.5 85 97 1.15 Energy Opt.

73
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

Table A.10. Drive B: Results of the locked rotor test performed in speed control
with an output frequency of 50 Hz in speed control.

Acceleration Time [s] fsw [kHz] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

1 4 85 102 1.20
1 12 86 101 1.17
1 24 82 100 1.23
0 12 82 94 1.15
6 12 82 102 1.24
1 12 83 102 1.23 Energy Opt.

Iu
100

80 82

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
120

100 102

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.5. Drive B: Phase current and torque, locked rotor test, speed control,
acceleration time: 6 s, fsw = 12 kHz.

74
A.2. DRIVE B

A.2.2 Start Test

Table A.11. Drive B: Results of the start test, 0-50 Hz, in V/f -control.

V/f -control, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz

Frequency Step [Hz] Acceleration Time [s] Rise Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
0-50 10.0 10.0 29 33 1.11
0-50 5.0 5.0 56 60 1.07
0-50 4.0 4.0 66 75 1.14
0-50 3.0 3.0 80 98 1.22
0-50 2.5 2.5 83 102 1.22
0-50 2.3 2.3 89 102 1.14 Trip
V/f -control, voltage boost: 5 %, fsw = 12 kHz
0-50 2.5 2.5 83 102 1.22
V/f -control, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz, Energy Optimisation Function Active
0-50 2.5 2.5 86 102 1.18

Table A.12. Drive B: Summary of results for the start test, 0-50 Hz in V/f -control,
when factory reset.

V/f -control, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz

Frequency Step [Hz] Acceleration Time [s] Rise Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
0-50 3.0 3.0 72 92 1.28
0-50 2.9 2.9 78 95 1.21
0-50 2.8 2.8 77 98 1.27
0-50 2.7 2.7 74 98 1.33
0-50 2.6 2.6 85 105 1.24 Trip
0-50 2.2 2.2 88 116 1.32 Trip
0-50 2.0 2.0 38 28 0.75 Trip

75
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

I
u
80
74
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100
98

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.6. Drive B: Phase current and torque, speed step test, 0-50 Hz, V/f -
control, acceleration ramp time: 2.7 s, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz, factory
reset.

Table A.13. Drive B: Results of the speed step test, 0-50 Hz, in speed control.

Speed control, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz

Frequency Step [Hz] Acceleration Time [s] Rise Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
0-50 2.5 2.5 83 97 1.17
0-50 2.4 2.4 80 96 1.21
0-50 2.3 2.3 80 97 1.21
0-50 2.2 2.2 82 97 1.19
0-50 2.1 2.1 80 98 1.22 Trip
0-50 2.0 2.0 82 98 1.20 Trip
Speed control, fsw = 12 kHz, Energy Optimisation Function Active
0-50 2.2 2.2 82 98 1.20

76
A.2. DRIVE B

I
u
100

80 82

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100
97

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.7. Drive B: Phase current and torque, speed step test, 0-50 Hz, speed
control, acceleration ramp time: 2.2 s, fsw = 12 kHz.

Table A.14. Drive B: Summary of results for the speed step test, 0-50 Hz in speed
control, when factory reset

Speed control, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz

Frequency Step [Hz] Acceleration Time [s] Rise Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
0-50 2.7 2.7 77 103 1.35
0-50 2.5 2.5 N/A 112 N/A
0-50 2.0 2.0 86 113 1.32
0-50 1.0 1.0 85 116 1.37
0-50 0.1 0.1 85 122 1.44

77
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

A.2.3 Maximum Torque Test

Table A.15. Drive B: Results for the load test with output frequency 50 Hz and a
voltage boost 0% in V/f -control.

V/f -control
fsw [kHz] Energy Optimisation Function I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
4 inactive 72 98 1.36
4 active 71 97 1.38
24 inactive 85 98 1.16

Iu
80
72
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100
98

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.8. Drive B: Phase current and torque, load test, V/f -control, fsw = 4
kHz.

78
A.2. DRIVE B

I
u
80
71
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100
97

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.9. Drive B: Phase current and torque, load test, V/f -control, fsw = 4
kHz, Energy Optimisation Function active.

Table A.16. Drive B: Summary of results for the load test with output frequency
50 Hz and a voltage boost 0%.

Speed Control
fsw [kHz] Energy Optimisation Function I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
4 inactive 86 99 1.15
4 active 88 103 1.17
4 active 83 103 1.24
4 active 83 102 1.22
24 inactive 86 104 1.21
24 inactive 88 105 1.19

79
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

I
u
100

86
80

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
100 99

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.10. Drive B: Phase current and torque, load test, speed control, fsw = 4
kHz.

Iu
100

86
80

60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80

−100
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
120

100
104

80

60
[Nm]

40

20

−20
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.11. Drive B: Phase current and torque, load test, speed control, fsw = 24
kHz.

80
A.2. DRIVE B

A.2.4 Speed Step test

Table A.17. Drive B: Summary of results for the speed step test in V/f -control.

V/f -control, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz

Frequency Step [Hz] Acceleration Time [s] Rise Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
45-50 2.0 0.20 53 62 1.16
45-50 1.5 0.15 53 63 1.17
45-50 1.3 0.13 62 65 1.22
45-50 1.2 0.12 49 63 1.30
45-50 1.2 0.12 55 63 1.13
45-50 1.1 0.11 53 63 1.18
45-50 1.0 0.10 55 63 1.15
45-50 0.8 0.08 52 63 1.22
45-50 0.5 0.05 53 64 1.20
45-50 0.3 0.03 53 64 1.20
45-50 0.1 0.01 53 64 1.20
45-50 0.0 - 53 64 1.1965
45-55 3.0 0.5455 75 77 1.02
45-55 2.0 0.3636 44 55 1.25 Trip
45-55 0.5 0.0909 85 83 0.98 Trip
40-50 3.0 0.60 83 96 1.03
40-50 2.9 0.58 78 90 1.15
40-50 2.8 0.56 85 90 1.06 Trip
40-50 2.8 0.56 85 90 1.06 Trip
40-50 2.5 0.50 80 93 1.17 Trip
40-50 2.0 0.40 86 97 1.13 Trip
V/f -control, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz, Energy Optimisation Function Active
40-50 3.0 0.60 89 96 1.08 Trip
40-50 2.8 0.56 88 98 1.10 Trip

81
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

I
u
60
53

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

T
70

64
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−2.5 −2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
t [s]

Figure A.12. Drive B: Phase current and torque, speed step test, 45-50 Hz, V/f -
control, acceleration ramp time: 0.0 s, voltage boost: 0 %, fsw = 12 kHz.

Table A.18. Drive B: Summary of results for the speed step test in speed control.

Speed control, fsw = 12 kHz

Frequency Step [Hz] Acceleration Time [s] Rise Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note
45-50 2.0 0.20 47 63 1.33
45-50 1.0 0.10 49 65 1.32
45-50 1.0 0.10 57 64 1.13
45-50 0.1 0.01 53 65 1.22
45-50 0.1 0.01 50 64 1.27
45-50 0.0 - 55 66 1.20
45-50 0.0 - 57 64 1.13
40-50 1.0 0.20 83 96 1.16
40-50 0.5 0.10 80 96 1.20
40-50 0.2 0.04 78 96 1.23
40-50 0.0 - 85 96 1.14
35-50 0.1 0.03 86 98 1.13
35-50 0.0 - 88 98 1.11
35-50 1.0 0.30 89 99 1.11 Energy Opt.
45-55 0.5 0.0909 85 90 1.07
45-55 0.1 0.0182 86 90 1.05

82
A.3. DRIVE C

A.3 Drive C
A.3.1 Locked Rotor Test

Table A.19. Drive C: Summary of results for the locked rotor test performed with
automatic parameter configuration in 60◦ AVM.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 2 44 64 1.44
2 2 47 62 1.31
2 1 51 65 1.28
2 1 44 65 1.47
8 2 46 58 1.27 (Trip)
8 1 44 60 1.36
8 1 47 78 1.64 Energy Opt.
8 1 51 60 1.19 Overmod, PWMrndm off
8 1 49 60 1.23 PWM Random, Trip
16 2 44 58 1.31
16 1 47 60 1.27

Iu
50
44
40

30

20

10
[A]

−10

−20

−30

−40

−50
−8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
t [s]

T
70

60 60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
t [s]

Figure A.13. Drive C: Phase current and torque, locked rotor test, 60◦ AVM,
acceleration time: 1.00 s, fsw = 8 kHz.

83
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

Table A.20. Drive C: Summary of results for the locked rotor test performed with
automatically configured parameters in SFAVM.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 2 43 63 1.46 (Trip)
2 1 51 65 1.28
8 1 46 61 1.34 (Trip)
8 1 51 73 1.44 Energy Opt.
8 1 51 61 1.20 Overmodulation
8 2 47 57 1.20 PWM Random
8 1 49 60 1.23 PWM Random, (Trip)
10 1 52 60 1.1411

Iu
60

51
40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60
−8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
t [s]

T
80

73
70

60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
t [s]

Figure A.14. Drive C: Phase current and torque, locked rotor test, SFAVM, accel-
eration time: 1 s, fsw = 8 kHz, energy optimisation.

84
A.3. DRIVE C

A.3.2 Start Test

Table A.21. Drive C: Summary of results for start test performed with manually
configured parameters in 60◦ AVM.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 2 66 66 1.00 Trip
2 5 76 61 0.80 Trip
2 20 66 64 0.97 Trip

Iu
80
76
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70

60 61

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure A.15. Drive C: Phase current and torque, start test, manually configured
parameters, 60◦ AVM, acceleration time: 5 s, fsw = 2 kHz.

Table A.22. Drive C: Summary of results for start test performed with automatic
parameter configuration in 60◦ AVM.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 5 47 49 1.03
2 2 58 58 0.99
2 1 62 63 1.02
8 1 79 59 0.75 Trip

85
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

Iu
80

60 62

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70

63
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure A.16. Drive C: Phase current and torque, start test, automatically config-
ured parameters, 60◦ AVM, acceleration time: 1 s, fsw = 2 kHz.

Table A.23. Drive C: Summary of results for start test performed with automatic
configured parameters in 60◦ AVM and limits set to maximum.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

8 2.0 60 65 1.08
8 1.0 65 66 1.02
8 1.0 68 66 0.98 Overmodulation
8 1.0 69 66 0.96 PWM Random
8 1.5 69 68 0.98 Energy Opt.
8 1.0 77 66 0.85 Energy Opt. Trip
16 2.0 58 64 1.09
16 1.2 63 66 1.04
16 1.1 74 65 0.88
16 1.0 72 66 0.91
16 1.0 76 65 0.85 Trip

86
A.3. DRIVE C

Iu
80

60
65

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70
66
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure A.17. Drive C: Phase current and torque, start test, 60◦ AVM, acceleration
time: 1 s, fsw = 8 kHz.

Table A.24. Drive C: Summary of results for speed step test performed with auto-
matically configured parameters in SFAVM.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 1.50 63 65 1.02
2 1.20 69 66 0.95
2 1.11 77 63 0.82 Trip
2 1.10 77 63 0.82 Trip
2 1.00 64 90 0.71 Trip
8 1.15 68 65 0.96
8 1.00 63 77 0.82 Trip
10 1.15 66 65 0.98
10 1.00 66 66 0.99
10 1.50 69 66 0.96 Energy Opt.
10 1.15 77 63 0.82 Energy Opt. Trip
10 1.00 87 66 0.76 Energy Opt. Trip
10 1.00 71 65 0.92 Overmodulation
10 1.00 63 65 1.03 PWM Random

87
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

Iu
80

66
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70
66
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure A.18. Drive C: Phase current and torque, speed step test, SFAVM, acceler-
ation time: 1.00 s, fsw = 10 kHz.

Iu
80
69
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

T
70
66
60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
t [s]

Figure A.19. Drive C: Phase current and torque, speed step test, SFAVM, acceler-
ation time: 1.50 s, fsw = 10 kHz, energy optimisation.

88
A.3. DRIVE C

A.3.3 Maximum Torque Test

Table A.25. Drive C: Summary of results for the load test performed with auto-
matically configured parameters in 60◦ AVM.

fsw [kHz] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 65 70 1.08
2 68 70 1.04
8 63 70 1.10
8 65 71 1.09 Energy opt.
8 68 70 1.04 Overmodulation
8 69 70 1.01 Overmodulation
8 68 70 1.03 PWM Random
16 68 70 1.04

Table A.26. Drive C: Summary of results for the load test performed with auto-
matically configured parameters in SFAVM.

fsw [kHz] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 63 70 1.10
2 66 70 1.05
8 63 70 1.10
8 62 72 1.17 Energy opt.
8 60 70 1.17 Overmodulation
8 62 70 1.14 PWM Random
10 62 70 1.13

89
 APPENDIX A. COMPLEMENTARY RESULTS

Iu
80

66
60

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

T
70 70

60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

Figure A.20. Drive C: Phase current and torque, load test, SFAVM, fsw = 8 kHz.

Iu
80

60 62

40

20
[A]

−20

−40

−60

−80
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

T
80

70 72

60

50

40
[Nm]

30

20

10

−10
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t [s]

Figure A.21. Drive C: Phase current and torque, load test, SFAVM, fsw = 8 kHz,
energy optimisation.

90
A.3. DRIVE C

A.3.4 Speed Step Test

Table A.27. Drive C: Summary of results for the speed step test, 40 to 50 Hz,
performed with automatically configured parameters in 60◦ AVM.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 1.50 68 64 0.94
2 1.25 66 64 0.96
2 1.15 63 65 1.02
2 1.10 79 52 0.66 Adjusted
2 1.00 63 53 0.83 Adjusted
8 1.15 68 66 0.97
8 1.00 69 66 0.95
8 1.00 68 71 1.04 Energy Opt.
8 1.00 66 66 1.00 Overmodulation
8 1.00 63 66 1.05 PWM Random
16 1.00 68 66 0.97

Table A.28. Drive C: Summary of results for the speed step test, 40 to 50 Hz,
performed with automatically configured parameters in SFAVM.

fsw [kHz] Acceleration Time [s] I [A] T [Nm] T/I-ratio Note

2 1.50 69 65 0.93
2 1.25 65 65 1.00
2 1.15 63 65 1.02 Adjusted
2 1.10 76 53 0.70 Adjusted
2 1.00 80 51 0.64 Adjusted
8 1.25 62 65 1.05
8 1.00 71 70 0.98
8 1.00 62 66 1.07 Energy Opt.
8 1.00 63 67 1.06 Overmodulation
8 1.00 65 66 1.02 PWM Random
10 1.00 69 65 0.93

91
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