VFD’s – Understanding Topologies

By Doug Marshall, P.Eng. and Greg Loziak, A.Sc.T.

Introduction

AC, or induction motor drives, also referred to as ASD’s (adjustable speed drives), can control
motor speed and torque by either voltage, current, frequency or voltage/frequency control. The
latter is commonly referred to as a VFD or variable frequency drive. Voltage, current and
frequency controlled ASD’s provide limited speed and torque control while VFD’s can provide
constant motor torque with low inrush current throughout it’s speed range and are almost
exclusively in use today.

VFD’s consist of three basic stages, either an active or passive converter stage; a DC link which
may be reactors (current source) or capacitors (voltage source) and an inverter stage which may
be a bi-level, muti-level, pulse width modulated or a combination of them. All do the same thing,
which is to convert a fixed voltage and frequency source into a variable voltage and frequency
source to provide an induction motor with the comparable speed and torque characteristics of a
DC motor from zero to base or rated speed.

These various topologies have different characteristics regarding line power factor, line & load
harmonics, neutral voltage shift, efficiency & torque pulsations to name a few, all of which have
a bearing on motor performance and reliability as well as having an effect on power quality on
the customer’s electrical system. The following paper describes the various topologies and
compares nine different characteristics. A mathematical explanation for these different
properties is quite involved and beyond the scope of this article.

Stages

There are three basic stages to a VFD; the converter, to rectify the fixed AC signal, the DC link
to store energy and the inverter, to recreate a sine wave with variable amplitude and frequency

Converter Stage

There are many variants to the rectifier or converter stage but all convert the 60 Hz sine wave to
a fixed or variable DC voltage or current. Earlier technology used an active rectification
methodology of either half, full or dual converter stages using thyristors to provide 1, 2 or 4
quadrant power rectification. By varying the delay angle of the thyristors, the voltage or current
RMS value could be adjusted as required by the motor load. However line harmonics were
generated and a poor power factor resulted at lower DC voltages. This was corrected somewhat
by the introduction of GTO (Gate Turn Off) thyristors and IGBT’s (Insulated Gate Bipolar
Transistors) which, through extinction or symmetrical angle control (forced commutation), can
reduce the lower order harmonics and improve power factor. The introduction of PWM (or pulse
width modulated) gating control of these devices, whereby multiple pulses of varying

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(modulated) width per half cycle effectively replaced the lower order with higher order, easily
filtered harmonics and thus improved converter design considerably.

Variable Current Source Converter using PWM

Variable Voltage Source Converter using PWM

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DC Link

Whichever converter stage is employed, the energy must be stored in a DC link which may be
either a voltage link (shunt capacitors) or current link (series reactors). This energy source is then
the supply for the last stage, the inverter section.

Inverter Stage

The inverter stage recreates an approximation to an output sine wave from the DC link. The DC
link may be fixed or variable and be a voltage or current source. In order to generate a signal
with low harmonic content and have variable frequency, multilevel DC voltages and switching
frequencies are employed. The more levels and higher switching frequencies that can be
designed into the inverter will result in a cleaner approximation to a pure fundamental 60 Hz
waveform with minimal ripple or harmonics. The three basic inverter topologies are the diode
clamped, flying capacitor and the cascade multilevel inverter. Another method which is in
common use today is to use PWM to create a series of modulated voltage or current pulses which
are controlled in width and frequency to create a close approximation to a current or voltage sine
wave of varying amplitude and frequency.

PWM Inverter Voltage & Current Waveform

Topologies

There are five basic topologies: Variable Voltage, Variable Current, Voltage Source, Current
Source and Multi-level Voltage Source Inverter. All maintain a constant V/f ratio which is
determined by the motor design to maintain a constant torque over the speed range without
saturating the motor laminations.

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Variable Voltage Inverter (VVI)

A variable voltage inverter uses a variable voltage DC source whose magnitude is controlled by
the converter stage and is dependent upon the converter’s thyristor, GTO or IGBT delay angles
or if a PWM controlled converter, its modulation index. The inverter uses a two level switching
sequence of positive and then negative voltage pulses of fixed duty cycle. Frequency is
controlled by the frequency of positive and negative pulses over a cycle and whose magnitude is
controlled by the DC link amplitude.

Variable Current Inverter (VCI)

A variable current inverter uses a variable current DC source whose magnitude is controlled by
the converter stage and is dependent upon the converter’s thyristor, GTO or IGBT delay angles
or if a PWM controlled converter, its modulation index. The inverter uses a two level switching
sequence of positive and then negative current pulses of fixed duty cycle. Frequency is
controlled by the frequency of positive and negative pulses over a cycle and whose magnitude is
controlled by the DC link amplitude.

Voltage Source Inverter (VSI)

A voltage source inverter uses a fixed DC voltage (shunt capacitors) supplied by the converter
stage via passive rectification and recreates an output sine wave. The voltage output is fixed and
independent of load impedance and using pulse width modulation, consists of a modulated series
of voltage pulses which alternate in polarity. The voltage pulse waveform is supplied to the
motor stator windings and the inductance acts as a filter to re-create a close approximation of a
current sine wave. By varying the voltage pulse width and frequency, the current sine wave
amplitude & frequency can be varied to provide speed and torque control of the motor.

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Current Source Inverters (CSI)

A current source inverter is the dual of a voltage source inverter. It uses a fixed DC current
(series reactors) supplied by the converter stage via passive rectification. The current output is
fixed, independent of load impedance and using pulse width modulation and consists of a
modulated series of current pulses which alternate in polarity. The current pulse waveform is
supplied to the motor stator windings and the inductance acts as a filter to re-create a close
approximation of a voltage sine wave. By varying the current pulse width and frequency, the
voltage sine wave amplitude & frequency can be varied to provide speed and torque control of
the motor.

Multilevel Voltage Source Inverter (MVSI)

Multilevel voltage source inverters use a combination of diode clamping and pulse width
modulation. By building up voltage levels sequentially in combination with varying pulse widths
(PWM), the voltage sine wave will consist of gradually increasing and decreasing voltage levels.
The more levels, the more distortion free the voltage sine wave is. Motor winding induction
smooths out the current waveform by integrating the voltage pulses into a nearly distortion free
current waveform.

Multilevel Voltage Waveform

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 Comparison of Topologies (VVI, VCI, VSI, CSI, MVSI)

Type Converter DC Link DC Source Inverter AC Voltage AC Current

VVI Active Shunt Variable Bi-level Bi-level Sine Wave of
PWM Capacitators Voltage Pulses of varying
varying amplitude &
amplitude & frequency
frequency
VCI Active Series Variable Bi-level Sine Wave of Bi-level
PWM Reactors Current amplitude & Pulses of varying
frequency amplitude &
frequency
VSI Passive Shunt Fixed PWM Fixed Amplitude Sine Wave
Diodes Capacitators Voltage & Modulated Varying
Pulses Amplitude &
Frequency
CSI Passive Series Fixed PWM Sine Wave Fixed Amplitude
Diodes Reactors Current Varying & Modulated
Amplitude & Pulses
Frequency
MVSI Passive Shunt Fixed PWM and Sine Wave Sine Wave
Diodes Capacitators Voltage Diode Varying Varying
Clamping Amplitude & Amplitude &
Frequency Frequency

Characteristic Differences

Input Power Factor

The current source inverter uses a large capacitor (0.4 to 0.5 pu/hp) in its input circuit as a way
of correcting power factor. During idle periods this capacitor may affect power factor upstream.
These large capacitors can also have an undesirable effect at idle in resonating with other
components online. Power factor is expected to be leading from 0 HZ to approximately 45 HZ,
and from frequencies beyond 45 HZ it will be 0.85 to 0.97 lagging. The voltage source VFD’s
using a passive converter (VSI) with a phase shift transformer on the input maintain a high
power factor throughout its frequency range.

Line Harmonics

VFD’s employing a passive converter stage such as a 3 phase full wave rectifier will not reflect
any harmonic distortion back into the plant’s distribution system. No power filters are required.
Power factor to the utility is always high, rated at 95% or better throughout the speed range.

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Load Harmonics

VFD’s that employ a multi-level / PWM inverter section generate a very low THD voltage and
current waveform to the motor. Thus, standard induction motors may be employed when used in
conjunction with this topology.

Cogging Effect

One of the biggest problems inherent with Current Source VFDs is that they have always been
known to offer very little stability and control at lower frequencies. When operating at
frequencies below 5 - 6 HZ we can expect that this drive may operate the motor with a “cogging”
effect or jerking torque. This can be very hard on motors and gearboxes and with especially
heavy loads such as hoists, control may be lost at lower frequencies and the motor could actually
spin backwards. This problem can be minimized or possibly eliminated by the addition of an
encoder, which sends a shaft speed signal back to the VFD for feedback control.

Loading Effects

Current source VFDs historically do not run well with light loads. Voltage source VFDs will
operate well through the entire speed range, from 0 to 60 HZ and above.

Neutral Voltage Shift

As a general rule, current source inverters operate with a greater level of Neutral Voltage Shift
than voltage source inverters. This neutral shift can cause additional stress on the motor winding
insulation, thus shortening the life expectancy of the motor unless it is specifically built to a
higher design standard. A current source inverter operates with a ground fault loss of 0.2 to 0.6
amps at all times. This is caused as it tries to compensate the floating neutral inherent to any
current source drive. This can cause nuisance ground fault trips on any of the protective relaying
equipment.

Efficiency

Losses in a VFD are due to the passive elements; either the DC Link reactors, transformers or
capacitors. There is resistance in both devices as they are not ‘ideal’ however both resistances are
comparable on a per unit basis. Therefore voltage source
VFD’s and current source VFD’s are comparable at the higher frequencies.

Motor Stresses (dv/dt)

When current source switch current, voltage spikes are impressed on the motor windings causing
stress. A muti-level inverter limits these spikes to a lower per unit voltage level thus mitigating
this winding stress.

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Torque Pulsations

A voltage source inverter will not produce torque pulsations which are inherent with current
source inverters. You can expect unrestricted use of rated motor torque throughout the speed
range.

Short Circuit Protection

Current source VFD’s have built in short circuit protection because of the series reactors.
Voltage source VFD’s do not and therefore short circuits are higher if a bolted fault appears at
the output of the inverter. The diodes in the converter and active devices in the inverter section
must be able to withstand these higher short circuit currents and upstream protective devices
must be rated to interrupt them.

Conclusion

Today’s VFD’s are the result of 20 years of design evolution and have evolved from earlier
current source designs with active rectification at the converter stage, large reactors and output
inverters which generated sine wave signals with appreciable lower order harmonics. This design
provided a great leap forward in induction motor control and made the use of expensive and high
maintenance DC or slip ring motors virtually obsolete. However, they had relatively low power
factor, relatively high line and load harmonics, caused a neutral point shift and generated voltage
transients thus requiring motors with higher voltage insulation and windings that could handle
the higher heating due to harmonic generation.

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The evolution is towards a muti-level voltage source topology and the use of passive rectification
and a voltage DC link of capacitors. The inverters are multilevel and use pulse width modulation
to provide voltage & current sine waves of low harmonic distortion, balanced voltages, are
highly efficient at all power levels and frequencies and have a high power factor.

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