A three phase induction motor is basically a constant

speed motor so it’s somewhat difficult to control its

speed. The speed control of induction motor is done at
the cost of decrease in efficiency and low electrical
power factor. Before discussing the methods to control
the speed of three phase induction motor one should
know the basic formulas of speed and torque of three
phase induction motor as the methods of speed control
depends upon these formulas.
Synchronous Speed

Where, f = frequency and P is the number of poles

The speed of induction motor is given by,

Where,
N is the speed of the rotor of an induction motor,
Ns is the synchronous speed,
S is the slip.
The torque produced by three phase induction motor is
given by,

When the rotor is at standstill slip, s is one.

So the equation of torque is,

Where,
E2 is the rotor emf
Ns is the synchronous speed
R2 is the rotor resistance
X2 is the rotor inductive reactance
The Speed of Induction Motor is changed from Both
Stator and Rotor Side. The speed control of three phase
induction motor from stator side are further classified as :
 V / f control or frequency control.
 Changing the number of stator poles.
 Controlling supply voltage.
 Adding rheostat in the stator circuit.
The speed controls of three phase induction motor from
rotor side are further classified as:

 Adding external resistance on rotor side.

 Cascade control method.
 Injecting slip frequency emf into rotor side.

 V / f Control or Frequency Control

Whenever three phase supply is given to three
phase induction motor rotating magnetic field is
produced which rotates at synchronous speed
given by

In three phase induction motor emf is induced by

induction similar to that of transformer which is
given by

Where, K is the winding constant, T is the number

of turns per phase and f is frequency. Now if we
change frequency synchronous speed changes but
with decrease in frequency flux will increase and
this change in value of flux causes saturation of
rotor and stator cores which will further cause
increase in no load current of the motor . So, its
 important to maintain flux , φ constant and it is
only possible if we change voltage. i.e if we
decrease frequency flux increases but at the same
time if we decrease voltage flux will also decease
causing no change in flux and hence it remains
constant. So, here we are keeping the ratio of V/f
as constant. Hence its name is V/ f method. For
controlling the speed of three phase induction
motor by V/f method we have to supply variable
voltage and frequency which is easily obtained by
using converter and inverter set.

In 1891 at the Frankfurt exhibition Nikola Tesla

presented a crude type of poly phase induction motor.
Induction motors are widely used. Nearly 80% of the
world’s AC motors are poly phase induction motors. So
speed control of this motor is an important agenda. The
speed control of poly phase induction motor can be done
through the different methods. Here we will discuss
about the speed control of wound rotor induction motor
using variation of rotor resistance.
The conventional method for variation of rotor resistance
was done by inserting a variable rheostat in series with
the 3 phase winding of motor. This method of speed
control faced problems and this was not economically
viable. The variation of rotor resistance can be done by
using power electronics devices and this is more efficient
method. Here we will show how this can be achieved.
Basic Concept
The torque equation for poly phase induction motor is,

Under normal working condition r2/s≫ r1, x1 and

therefore the equation becomes,

This equation shows that for a constant torque, the slip is

directly proportional to the rotor resistance. If the
resistance in the rotor circuit is increased, the slip is
increased and the speed of the rotor is decreased. This
method is applicable only to wound rotor induction
motor.

From the figure 1 it is clear how does the speed vary with
the change of rotor resistance.
At the normal operating condition the slip increases with
increasing torque hence they are obeying a linear
characteristic. For a fixed load curve, the speed is
downward from n1 to n4. From this figure we can also
obtain the maximum torque at the starting of the
resistance r2”. So, this method has an advantage of
achieving maximum torque at the starting period.
Characteristics
But the maximum torque is independent of the rotor
resistance as per the equation,

This type of speed control is used when the intermittent

speed control is required.
It has some drawbacks
1. The rheostat which is used to vary the resistance per

phase causes unbalancing in rotor.

2. The resistances generate huge losses and generate
heat in the system.
3. In case of a large machine the size of the rheostat
will be large and, in such case, it is not easily
portable.
4. It requires more maintenance, hence the cost
associated with it is more.
5. This method cannot be used for industrial

automation purpose since we have to change

manually the value of the resistance.
The above mentioned problems can easily be eliminated
by using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), or Pulse
Duration Modulation (PDM) with the bridge rectifier and
a switching transistor.
Rotor resistance can also be varied steplessly using the
circuit shown in figure (a). The AC output voltage of the
rotor is rectified by diode bridge rectifier and fed to
parallel combination of fixed resistor R and a
semiconductor switching transistor Tr. Effective value of
resistance across terminal A and B i.e., RAB is varied by
varying duty cycle of the transistor Tr, which in turn
varies the resistance of the rotor circuit. Inductance is
added to the circuit to reduces the ripple and
discontinuity in the dc link current Id. Rotor current
waveform is shown in the fig.(b) when the ripple is
neglected. Thus the rms value of the current will be

Resistance between A and B terminal will be zero when

the transistor is on and it will be R when it is off.
Therefore average value of resistance between the
terminals is given by

Where, δ is the duty ratio of the transistor.

Electrical power consumed by the RAB resistor per phase
is

From this equation we can suggest that rotor circuit

resistance per phase is increased by 0.5(1-δ)R. Thus total
circuit resistance can be evaluated.
Therefore the total rotor resistance is varied from Rr to
0.5(1-δ)R as δ is varied from 1 to 0.
Advantages of Speed Control of Induction Motor Using
Static Devices
1. Smooth variations of rotor resistance.
2. Simplicity of operation using close loop control.

3. Quick response of system.

4. Rotor resistance unbalanced can be eliminated

using power electronics devices.

The Single Phase to Single Phase CCV is very rarely
used, but to understand the operation of a CCV it should
be first studied so that we can understand the Three
Phase CCV. The Single Phase to Single Phase CCV has
two pairs of full wave rectifier circuit, each consisting of
four SCR. One set is placed straight while the other is
placed in anti-parallel direction as shown on the picture
below.
All the gate terminals of the SCR’s will be connected to
a control circuit which is not shown in the circuit above.
This control circuit will be responsible for triggering the
SCRs. To understand the working of the circuit let us
assume that he input AC supply is of 50Hz frequency
and the Load to be a pure resistive load and the firing
angle of the SCR (α) to be 0°. Since the firing angle is at
0° the SCR when turned on will act like a diode in
forward direction and when turned off will act like a
diode in reverse direction. Let us analyse the wave form
below to understand how frequency is stepped down
using a CCV

The waveform of the supply voltage frequency is

denoted by Vs and the wave form of the output voltage
frequency is denoted by Vo. Here we are trying to
convert the supply voltage frequency to 1/4 th of its value.
So to do that for the first two cycles of the supply voltage
we will use the positive Bridge rectifier and for the
following next two cycles we will use the negative
bridge rectifier. Thus we have four positive pulses in the
positive region and then four in the negative region as
shown in the output frequency waveform Vo. The
current waveform for this circuit will be the same as
voltage waveform since the load is assumed to be purely
resistive. Although the magnitude of the waveform will
change based on the value of resistance of the load.
The output frequency is represented using the dotted line
on the Vo waveform, since it changes polarity only for
every two cycles of the input waveform the output
frequency with 1/4th of the input frequency, in our case
for an input frequency of 50Hz the output frequency will
be (1/4 * 50) around 12.5Hz. This output frequency can
be controlled by varying the triggering mechanism in the
control circuit.
Parameter Cyclo-Converter D.C Link
Converter

Principle Cyclo-Converter D.C link

converts A.C at converter uses
one frequency to two power stages
A.C at some other A.C to D.C
with a single stage converter and
of power then D.C to A.C
conversion. converter

Forced Not Required Required

commutation
required
Parameter Cyclo-Converter D.C Link
Converter

Losses Low High

Power factor Low High

Output Can vary in steps Smooth control is

frequency possible

Number of Large Small

thyristors

Applications Suitable for low Suitable for high

speed large power frequency
drives applications

The circuit which converts DC power in to AC power is

called an inverter. The inverter in which the
commutating elements L and C are connected in series
with the load to form an under damped circuit is called a
series inverter. In the basic series inverter, the thyristors
turn off when the load current becomes zero, due to the
natural characteristic of the circuit and hence it is called a
self-commutated or natural commutated or load
commutated inverter. This type of inverter produces
damped sinusoidal ac current waveform at high output
frequency and is commonly used in relatively fixed
output applications (E.g. Induction heating, fluorescent
lighting and ultrasonic generators) Due to high
frequency, the size of commutating components is small.
Fig. 1shows the circuit diagram of a basic series inverter
using two thyristors T1 and T2, commutating capacitor
C, commutating inductor L and the load resistance R L.

1) The load voltage waveform has more distortion due to

the time delay. This distortion is specially high for
frequencies less than the resonance frequency.
2) The maximum inverter frequency is limited to a value
that is slightly less than the circuit ringing frequency. If
the inverter frequency exceeds the circuit ringing
frequency, the d.c. source will be short-circuited.
3) The commutating element must have high rating
because these components carry the load current
continuously and the capacitor supplies the load current
in every alternate half-cycle.
4) Load current is drawn from the d.c. source only during
one half-cycle and this increases the peak current rating
of the d.c. source. Since the current drawn from the d.c.
source is not continuous in nature, more ripples are
present in it.
5) The peak amplitude and duration of the load current in
each half-cycle depends on load parameters, resulting in
poor output regulation for the inverter.

1. Every unit that is connected in a parallel circuit gets

equal amount of voltage.
2. It becomes easy to connect or disconnect a new
element without affecting the working of other elements.
3. If any fault happened to the circuit, then also the
current is able to pass through the circuit through
different paths.

The total harmonic distortion (THD or THDi) is a

measurement of the harmonic distortion present in a
signal and is defined as the ratio of the sum of the powers
of all harmonic components to the power of
the fundamental frequency. Distortion factor, a closely
related term, is sometimes used as a synonym.
In audio systems, lower distortion means the components
in a loudspeaker, amplifier or microphone or other
equipment produce a more accurate reproduction of an
audio recording.
In radio communications, devices with lower THD tend
to produce less unintentional interference with other
electronic devices. Since harmonic distortion tends to
widen the frequency spectrum of the output emissions
from a device by adding signals at multiples of the input
frequency, devices with high THD are less suitable in
applications such as spectrum sharing and spectrum
sensing.[1]
In power systems, lower THD implies lower peak
currents, less heating, lower electromagnetic emissions,
and less core loss in motors.[2] IEEE std 519-2014 covers
the recommended practice and requirements for
harmonic control in electric power systems.[3]

Harmonic Distortions
Harmonic distortions are common voltage and current
variations due to changes in frequencies within the
electrical distribution systems. In particular, there are
deviations from the typical sinusoidal variations in
voltages or currents. Harmonics are mainly caused by
nonlinear loads such as those associated with power
electronic converters including variable frequency
drives (VFDs) installed for fans and pumps serving
building air conditioning systems (Vedam and Sarma,
2009). Specifically, these converters draw a
nonsinusoidal current/voltage and introduce nonlinear
loads throughout the electrical distribution systems. The
problems due to harmonic distortions are nowadays
common in buildings since computers and other power
electronics are heavily utilized. In particular, harmonic
distortions can cause several disturbances and damages
including wire overheating and power loss. 

In this section we will discuss the operation and

performance of a single-phase full wave ac voltage
controller with RL load. In practice most of the loads are
of RL type. For example, if we consider a single-phase
full wave ac voltage controller controlling the speed of a
single-phase ac induction motor, the load which is the
induction motor winding is an RL type of load, where R
represents the motor winding resistance and L represents
the motor winding inductance. 29 A single phase full
wave ac voltage controller circuit (bidirectional
controller) with an RL load using two thyristors T1 and
T2 (T1 and T2 are two SCRs) connected in parallel is
shown in the figure below. In place of two thyristors a
single Triac can be used to implement a full wave ac
controller, if a suitable Traic is available for the desired
RMS load current and the RMS output voltage ratings.
The thyristor T1 is forward biased during the positive
half cycle of input supply. Let us assume that T1 is
triggered at ω α t = α, by applying a suitable gate trigger
pulse to T1 during the positive half cycle of input supply.
The output voltage across the load follows the input
supply voltage when T1 is ON. The load current Io flows
through the thyristor T1 and through the load in the
downward direction. This load current pulse flowing
through T1 can be considered as the positive current
pulse. Due to the inductance in the load, the load current
O i flowing through T1 would not fall to zero at ω t = π,
when the input supply voltage starts to become negative.
The thyristor T1 will continue to conduct the load current
until all the inductive energy stored in the load inductor
L is completely utilized and the load current through T1
falls to zero at ω t = β, where β is referred to as the
Extinction angle, (the value of ωt ) at which the load
current falls to zero. The extinction angle β is measured
from the point of the beginning of the positive half cycle
of input supply to the point where the load current falls
to zero.
TO DERIVE AN EXPRESSION FOR THE RMS
VALUE OF OUTPUT VOLTAGE, FOR ON-OFF
CONTROL METHOD. 1 V Sin

t


2 2
ON m
O t
 t.d
0
T t

Output VORMS  
RMS
voltage

V2

VORMS   tO N
m

 Sin2
T
t.d t
O

Sin2  1 Cos2

Substitut 2
0

ing for


V 2ONt 1 
VORMS    Cos
2 dt t
0  2 
m

 

TO

V t t

2mTO ON  d t   
2

VORMS  
ON

0 
 0 2t.d t 
Cos 
 
mO
Tt
2
VORMS  

2
V 
ON 

t
0

Sin2 tON
t 
2
0



V
  0 sin sin 0
VORMS  
2 m
ON
2 O t ON 2t 2  
  
T

t = An integral number of input cycles; Hence

No ON
w
tON  T , 2T , 3T , 4T , 5T ,..... & tON  2 ,
4 , 6 ,8 ,10 ,......

Where T is the input supply time period (T = input

cycle time period). Thus we note that sin 2tON 
0
V
VORMS   t m
t
mO
V2
TO

2
N

2O
N

T
O
 VORMS    VS
Vi
RM
S
t t
O O
N N

T T
Where 
2  = RMS value of input supply voltage;
O O

ViR V
MS  m V
S

t
   n  k = duty cycle (d).
Ot nT
ON
N tON nT n
 
tOF mT 
T F m
V n 
O Vk
m
V 
ORMS 
n SS

PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS OF AC VOLTAGE

CONTROLLERS
  RMS Output (Load) Voltage
1
V 
 n2 2  2 t 
sin2 t.d
V 0

ORMS 
 2 n  m 
m


Vmn
VORMS   2m   VS
 n
ViRMS 
k k

VOR k
 VS
MS 

ViRM
S
k

Where VS  ViRMS  = RMS value of input

supply voltage.

 Duty
t
Cycle O  nT

ktON N


TO tON  tOFF  m  nT

Where, k  n = duty cycle (d).
 m  n

 RMS Load Current

V V
I  ORMS   ORMS  ;for a resistive
load Z  R .
L

ORMS  Z RL

 Output AC (Load) Power

 I2
PO ORMS 
 RL

Synchronous motors are constant speed motors. They

run at the synchronous speed of the supply. They are
generally used for constant speed operation under no
load conditions such as to improve the power factor.
Synchronous motors have fewer losses than induction
motors at a given rating.

The speed of a synchronous motor is given by

Where, f = supply frequency and p = number of poles.
As you can see, the synchronous speed depends on the
frequency of the supply and the number of poles of the
rotor. Changing the number of poles is not easy, so we
do not use that method. However, with the invention of
solid-state devices, the frequency of the current fed to
the synchronous motor can be varied. We can control
the speed of the synchronous motor by changing the
frequency of the supply to the motor.
We can use a combination of rectifiers and inverters to
control the speed of synchronous motors. They can be
used in two ways:
Inverter Fed Open Loop Synchronous Motor Drive

In this method, the synchronous motor is supplied by

variable frequency inverter in an open loop. By open
loop, we mean that there is no feedback given to the
supply. The inverter has no information about the
current position of the rotor. This method is preferable
when highly accurate speed control is not required.
Supply from the mains is fed into the rectifier inverter
set where desired frequency can be attained. Depending
on the frequency, the synchronous speed of the motor
can be varied.

In above figure, you can see the block diagram of the

speed control drive. The three-phase supply from the
mains is converted to dc by using rectifiers. Then the
rippled dc is smoothened by using LC filters. The DC is
fed to the inverters. These inverters can be either
voltage source inverters or current source inverter. The
frequency of the supply fed to the motor can be varied
and accordingly speed control of synchronous motor
can be done. Open loop operation is useful when a
number of motors need to be run at exactly the same
speed. This method has a disadvantage though. This
method causes spontaneous oscillation or hunting.
Self Synchronous (Closed – Loop) Operation

We use self-synchronous (closed-loop) operation when

highly accurate speed control is required. In this
method, the inverter output frequency is determined by
the speed of the rotor. The speed of the rotor is fed back
to the differentiator. The difference between the preset
speed and the actual speed is fed to the rectifier.
Accordingly, the inverter changes the frequency and
adjusts the speed of the motor. We get more accurate
control over the motor speed with the closed loop
operation. For example, if speed gets reduced (due to
increase in load), the stator supply frequency gets
reduced so that the rotor stays in synchronism with the
stator magnetic field. No spontaneous oscillation or
hunting occurs in this method.
A three-phase inverter converts a DC input into a three-
phase AC output. Its three arms are normally delayed
by an angle of 120° so as to generate a three-phase AC
supply. The inverter switches each has a ratio of 50%
and switching occurs after every T/6 of the time
T 60°angleinterval60°angleinterval. The switches S1
and S4, the switches S2 and S5 and switches S3 and S6
complement each other.
The figure below shows a circuit for a three-phase
inverter. It is nothing but three single phase inverters
put across the same DC source. The pole voltages in a
three-phase inverter are equal to the pole voltages in
single phase half bridge inverter.
The two types of inverters above have two modes of
conduction − 180° mode of conduction and 120° mode
of conduction.
120° mode of conduction
In this mode of conduction, each electronic device is in
a conduction state for 120°. It is most suitable for a
delta connection in a load because it results in a six-
step type of waveform across any of its phases.
Therefore, at any instant only two devices are
conducting because each device conducts at only 120°.
The terminal A on the load is connected to the positive
end while the terminal B is connected to the negative
end of the source. The terminal C on the load is in a
condition called floating state. Furthermore, the phase
voltages are equal to the load voltages as shown below.
Phase voltages = Line voltages
VAB = V
VBC = −V/2
VCA = −V/2
Waveforms for 120° mode of conduction

A) Three Phase Inverter- 120 Degree Conduction Mode

The 120º mode is similar to 180º at all aspects except
the closing time of each switch is reduced to 120, which
were 180 before.
As usual, let’s start switching sequence by closing the
switch S1 in the first segment and be the start number to
0º. Since the selected time of conduction is 120º the
switch S1 will be opened after 120º, so the S1 was
closed from 0º to 120º.

Since half cycle of the sinusoidal signal goes from 0 to

180º, for the remaining time S1 will be open and is
represented by the gray area above.
Now after 120º of the first phase, the second phase will
also have a positive cycle as mentioned before, so
switch S3 will be closed after S1. This S3 will also be
kept closed for another 120º. So S3 will be closed from
120º to 240º.

Similarly, the third phase also has a positive cycle after

120º of the second phase positive cycle so the switch S5
will be closed after 120º of S3 closing. Once the switch
is closed, it will be kept closed for coming 120º before
being opened and with that, the switch S5 will be closed
from 240º to 360º

This cycle of symmetrical switching will be continued

for achieving the desired three-phase voltage. If we fill
in the beginning and ending switching sequence in the
above table we will have a complete switching pattern
for 120º conduction mode as below.

From the above table we can understand that:

From 0-60: S1&S4 are closed while remaining switches
are opened.
From 60-120: S1 &S6 are closed while remaining
switches are opened.
From 120-180: S3&S6 is closed while remaining
switches are opened.
From 180-240: S2&S3 are closed while remaining
switches are opened
From 240-300: S2&S5 are closed while remaining
switches are opened
From 300-360: S4&S5 are closed while remaining
switches are opened
And this sequence of steps goes on like that. Now let us
draw the simplified circuit for each step to better
understand the current flow and voltage parameters of
the 3 Phase Inverter circuit.
Step1: (for 0-60) S1, S4 are closed while the remaining
four switches are open. In such a case, the simplified
circuit can be shown as below.
So for 0 to 60: Vao = Vs/2, Vco= 0 ; Vbo = -Vs/2
By using these we can derive the line voltages as:

Vab = Vao – V bo = Vs
Vbc = Vbo – Vco = -Vs/2
Vca = Vco – Vao = -Vs/2

Step2: (for 60 to 120) S1 &S6 are closed while the

remaining switches are open. In such a case, the
simplified circuit can be shown as below.
So for 60 to 120: Vbo =0, Vco= -Vs/2 & Vao = Vs/2
By using these we can derive the line voltages as:

Vab = Vao – Vbo = Vs/2

Vbc = Vbo – Vco = Vs/2
Vca = Vco – Vao = -Vs

Step3: (for 120 to 180) S3&S6 are closed while the

remaining switches are open. In such a case, the
simplified circuit can be shown as below.
So for 120 to 180: Vao =0, Vbo= Vs/2 & Vco = -Vs/2
By using these we can derive the line voltages as:

Vab = Vao – V bo = -Vs/2

Vbc = Vbo – Vco = Vs
Vca = Vco – Vao = -Vs/2

Similarly, we can derive the phase voltages and line

voltages for the next upcoming steps. And if we draw a
graph for all the steps then we will get something like
below.
It can be seen in the output graphs of both 180º and
120º switching cases that we have achieved an
alternating three-phase voltage at the three output
terminals. Although the output waveform is not a pure
sine wave, it did resemble the three-phase voltage
waveform. This is a simple ideal circuit and
approximated waveform for understanding 3 phase
inverter working. You can design a working model
based on this theory using thyristors, switching, control,
and protection circuitry.