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International Compressor Engineering Conference School of Mechanical Engineering

1984

An Application of TRIAC to Capacitor Motor for

Hermetic Compressor
K. Nakane

Y. Tozaki

H. Sakamoto

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Nakane, K.; Tozaki, Y.; and Sakamoto, H., "An Application of TRIAC to Capacitor Motor for Hermetic Compressor" (1984).
International Compressor Engineering Conference. Paper 449.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/icec/449

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 AN APPLICA'l'ION OF 'l'RIAC TO CAPACI'l'OR 1-10'l'OR
FOR lll~Rt~IC'riC COMPRSSO!l

Ka.zuhiro Nakane, Yasuhiro To?.nki,. Ilirota.ka Sakamoto

Shizuoka. Worlw, Mitsubishi Electri.c Corporation

Shizuoka City , Ja.pan

ABSTRACT
This paper refers to a.n n.pplication study of 'l'lUAC
to PSC motor for thft hermetic compessor. It is
1-1ell lcnown that 'l'HIAC rlel nys pharJa ane,le of the
current and has no losses if it is consider(\ as
ideal flwitch. 'l'herefore it is possible to c;et a
ldncl. of variable capacitor lJy connecting ~'HIAC
Nith capacitor in series antl controlline; the fir-
ing angle of it.
oncy and output rati.ngo are 100 V,50/60 J!v. and
100 11. It is a. 1mi 1 t-in motor for the rotary type
hermetic compressor shown in Ji'ie;. 2. 'l'hore are
three types of the wirings of the starting device
for thifl motor,as shown i.n lcig, 3. A shows CSR
moto:r,n shows P'l'C asoist CSR motor and C sho~1s
PTC nssist PSC motor. The customer is able to
choono a most suitable type of them for use.

By use of this vari.able capa.ci.tor for PSC motor,\·11:>

could obtain the performance similar to CSR motor.
Therefore ~1e bel iove that this type motor should
be developed as one of the single phase motor for
the hermetic compressor with the progress of the
electronics.

JN'rRODUC'I'ION

Various kinds of single phase induction motors

such as PSC,CSR,CSIR,RSIR,PTC assist PSC and PTC
assist CSR are used for hermetic compressors. 1-1e
choice one of these according to the purpose for
use.

In recent years,it is prosperous to tr,y the appli-

cation studies of semiconductors to the sphere of
the motor control. An application study of TRIAC
to a single phase induction motor is one of these.
Fig.1 100 W motor used for test

As explainning in this paper,it is possible to cet

a ki.nd of varialJle capacitor 1Jy connecti.ng 'l'RIAC
in series with capacitor of PSC motor a.nd control-
line; the firing angle of it. We call this type
motor TRIAC assist PSC motor in this paper.

This paper refers to the torque characteristic of

'l'RIAC aasist PSG motor and the starting· perfor-
mance on the actual hermetic compressor,bas ed on
the experimental results. And we try to compare it
with the other existing motors. In addition, we
view a possibility of TRIAC assist PSC motor for
hermetic compressors.

TEST MOTOR ANTI CONTROL DEVICE OF 'l'RIAC

2 poles,single phase induction motor shown in Fie;.

l was used for our experiment. its voltage,frequ - Fig.2 Rotary type hermetic compressor

168
 Fir;. 5 shows the control device of TRIAC made for
our ~xpcriment. Fir;. 6 shows its block diae;rnm,
l and Fir;. 7 shows its time charts. It is possible
to set 11p the firinr; o.n(\le of 'l'RIAC lJY 0. l. mace.,
uain~ thjs cotrol device. The detection circujt
for the au:x:Uiar;v Hinrlinr; val tar,e operates to
turn TRIAC into no fire. For this operation, we
1: Main winding make usc of the property which the auxiliary Hi.nd-
A: CSR motor z: Auxiliary inr; voltsr;e increases with revolution in PSC motor
\>tin ding ,as ~hown in Fig. B. And the relation between the
3: Relay auxil iar;v winding voltnr;e nncl the oper;J.tinr; point
4: Starting of the detection circuit has a hysterisis charact-
capacitor eristic as shown in Fig. B.
5: Discharging
resistor
6: Running
capaiitor
7: P'l'C
thermistor
B: FTC assist CSR motor

C: FTC assist PSG motor

Fig. 3 Wiring diagrams of the hermetic

compressor motors for refrige- Fig. 5 Control device of TRIAC
rator

Fir;. L1 sho~rs the Wl-rl-ng diae;ram of TRIAC assiot

PSC motor described in this paper. TRIAC is conne-
cted in series with capacitor of PSC motor.
Heoti fioation
ht tenation

Voltage comparator

D
TRIJ\C
Main
\ .---winding
0J \
Auxiliary
winding
A: To main •1nd1ng
\. B: ~·o running c•pacitor
Runn1ng C: To auxiliary winoint
capacitor D: To common

Fig. !1 Wiring_diagram of Fig. 6 Block diagram of the control device

TRIAC assist PSG motor

169
 Source
voltage
~~~vvv
lr
\J'C
I lr
Aux. winding! A
II 1 1 II
V 1 I /'\
V
A
V
1\ (\ (\ (\
1 r 11 ,,v V~\..J\,
voltase
II ll ,,
1 ,1 ,1 I
lr • 1 11 I
- - -... Time
ditector
Zero
I
I
I
I
I I
Firing angle
Counters
Latches = o<>
Firing angle
= 180"
../ v~f· :evel "'
fica-:.:=:~;;~=:::::::::::::::::=:;:===::=:::::
,-tion
Recti Fig. 9 Definit ion of the firing angle
Attenation
Vol tase
comparator
Control _uL...-JL..-L-...L.-JII__._....L.-J
Drivers
logic

[l [\ An
v v 1V\/
\1\1\
\:
---- --- Time H
nl
Fig. 7 Time chart of control device ..-I

!il{;h "0
:.>

.0
i .5 I
d
Slip
.
.....
bO
~ .. 30
'-'
bO
<11
r-l
S...
Main winding
<11 60 current
Speed ..-I
ii'o
Fire !!
0 No fire . 90
Fig. 8 Illustr ating the relation ship
between speed-t orque .
aux. voltage curves and fire Fig. 10 Illustr ating the phase angle
of TRIAC relation ship between main
winding current and aux. winding
current (Base is source voltage )
correspo~ding to slip,fo r PSG motor

TORQUE C!IARACTERRISTIC OF TRIAC ASSIST PSC MOTOR

We define the firing angle of TRIAC as shown in

Fig, 9 in this paper, i.e.,?:er o riee,ree of the
firing angle correspo nds to zero d.egree of the
source voltage. Ji'ir,. 10 shows the phase angle of
the main winding and auxiliar y winding currents
for PSC motor used for our experime nt,which the
source voltage is base. General ly,the main winding
current lags the source voltage, and the auxiliar y
1~inding current leads the source voltage. '
'!'here fore, in case that the firing angle of TRIAC
is zero degree, the auxiliar y l·linding current is
chopped by angular lead for the source voltage.
Fie,-. 11 sho~1s the measured waveform s of the source
vol~ege (E ) and the auxiliar y winding current
1
(I ) correspo nding to the firing angle of 0" 47-5°
a 1
and 7 3.4 ° s,t slip~l (at starting ) for TRIAC assist
PSC mo·tor. As seen from this figure,t he phase '
angle of I lags as the firing engle of TRIAC
a.
increase s. That is to say,it shows the characte; -·
ristic of a kind of variable inductan ce. "

170
 1000 2000 3000
Spee d (r.p .m.)

Fig. 12 Mea sured spee d-to rque curv e

for TRIAC assi st PSC moto r

The relat ion betw een the start ing torqu

e and the
firinB ' angle of TRIAC is sho\m in Fig.
valu es of the start ing torqu e were obtai13, Thes e
above meas ured spee d-tor que' ourv es. As ned from
this figu re,th e maximum poin t of the seen from
Firi ng angl e start ing
=73. W torq1.1e is given at the firin g angle of
near ly 50
degr ees. Its value is abou t 3·3 time s
the start ing torqu e of PSC moto r,whi ch as much as
broke n line 'in Fig. 13. And in this figui's shown as
sta.r ting torqu e equa ls zero at the firin re,th e
near ly 115 degr ees. It means sino< . .. g angle of
0
equa tion (1), i.e.t he phase diffe renc in the· · · ·
e betw een the

Fig. 11 Mea sured aux. wind ing curr ent

tif TBIAC assi st PSC moto r (slip =l)
00
0 0
Star ting torqu e of PSC moto r is exp~e
000 °
ssed as the 0
follo~ting equa tion, as well
known. 0
00 0
(1) 0

0 0
wher e
I mr . Main wind ing curre nt 0
0
Ias Aux iliary windi ne; curre nt oo
0(1 Phas e diffe renc e betw 10
een I
m and I a
0
T s Sta~ting torqu e - - - - - - - - - - - _qo -
6
Ther efore it ie poss ible to cont rol Ts · ~Starting torq ue of PSC
by cont rol-
ling Iasin ~, i.e., by cont rolli ng the
fi~in g
angle of TRIAC for TRIAC assi st PSC moto
r.
Fig. 12 shows the meas ured moto r spee 0 0
d-tor que 0
curv es for TRIAC assis t PSC moto~,corr
eepondine; 0
to each firin g angle shown in Fig. 11.
meas ured f~om firin g angle of 0 degre They are
degr ees. It is appa rent that the speee to 140 b
curve chang es as the fir).n g angle of d-tor que 3b 6b 9b 1
1~0 I I
TRIAC chang es Firi ng angl e (deg ree)

Fig. 13 Rela tion betw een meas ured

star ting torq ue and firin g ,
angl e for 'rRIAC ·ass ist PSG moto r

171
main winding current and auxiliary winding current torque of PSC motor,whioh is shown as broken line
becomes zero degree at this firing angle. Increas- in Firr. 14.
ing more than this firing angle 1 the-auxiliary
l'linding current lags the main tlinding current 1
i.e, sj_nO(<O; T < 0 in'the equation (1). It IPig. 15 sho1-1s the rela.tj on between the starting
. B
means the motor rotates in reverse. ~.nd llreak-down torque and the firing angle of
'l'fi.IAC. 'l'he values of the torques are expressed a.s
Fig. 14 shows the relation between the break-down ratio,~lhich is 1 in case of PSG motor. 'l'he pointe
torque and the firing angle of 'l'RIAC. These values of the maximum startinr.; and break-down torque
of' the break-dolm torque Here obtained from above corresponding to the firing angle of 'rRIAC shift a
measured speert-torque curves in the same manner as :fel·l. And the starting torque is high ratio more
the stfl.rting torCJ_ne. As aeon from this figure,tho -blum -the break-c-lown torque.
maximum point of tho break-down torq\te is Bi von at
the firing angle of nearly 55 degrees. Its value 0
ierabout 1.4 times as much as the break-down U)
p,
70 .jJ 4
I
. Starting torque
U)
·rl
UlO
~~3- . oooo oo.
oo
0
Oo oo
~ 00 00
H
p:; 2 0
E---1
0
•r-t
oo
.jJ I:>. A J:>.J:>.I:>. A;AI:>.I:>.AAI:>.~:>.AA~~O
m 1-
H
QJ
;:J
o•
H
0
8

0]1----~~~~r-,--,--,,--,--.--TI--r--rj--rl
-1,
-,r-,-
0 30 60 90 120 0 30 60 90 120
Firing angle (degree) Firing angle (degree)
Fig. 14 Relation between measured F'ig. 15 Relation between the starting
break-down torque and firing angle a~d break-down torque ratio
for TRIAC assist PSC .motor (PSC=l) and firing angle
for.TRIAG assist PSG motor

El ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ea~Wi~~~~hF~+f~~~t,+~~Hw.~ft~~~~~~~~~~~~f~=~-l~~.;~:~.!·~~i~-~~~u~~~~~~~,,~:~
11 -~:..r:'l. .. r\:

.l·msec. A
E1 ; Source voltage I 1 i Common line current
Ea; Auxiliary winding
voltage
Iai Auxiliary winding current
I m'• Main winding current

Fig. 16 Starting test data of TRIAC assist PSC ·motor

on the actual hermetic compressor

172
 STAUTTIW PERFORMANCE ON THE AC'I'UAL HERMETIC
COMPRESSOR
Fig. 16 shows the electr ical perfor mance data of
TRIAC assist PSC motor from start to full speed on
the actual herme tic compr ssor shown in Fig. 2. It
shows the case that the firing angle of TRIAC is
setted up at 50 degree s,whi.c h we can ge.t the
maximum value of the starti ng torque . From a
practi cal point of view,w e need set up the firing
angle to take into coside ration of the starti ng,
break- down or transi ent accera ted torque s co-
operat ed with the loadin e torque in the system .
TRIAC is turned . into no fire at the point A shown
in Fig. 16. At this point, the detect ion circu it
foi: the auxili ary windin g voltag e of the
contro l
device shown in Fig. 5 operat e,and the motor
change s to the condit ion of PSC.
CDr1PARISON OF TRIAC ASSIST PSC MOTOR WITH TilE
EXISTING OTHER MOTORS
We make the perfor mance compa rison of TRIAC assist
PSC motor with the existi ng other motors using the
experi menta l result s obtain ed by changi ng the ·
electr ic parts except for the runnin g capac itor of
the motor shown in Fig. 1.
70
CSR..
Starti ng torgue
Fig. 17 shows the starti ng torque of TRIAC assist
PSC motor at the firing angle of 50 degree s,
togeth er with the existi ng other motors . As seen
from this figure, TRIAC assist PSC motor at the
firj.ng angle of 50 degree s, and CSR and PTG assist
CSR motors having nearly 30 1-' F starti ng capao i tor
have a nearly eq_ual value of the starti ng torque .
And the starti ng torque of TRIAC assist PSC motor
is nearly 1. 3 times value as that of PTC assist
PSG motor having 15 n PTG,and nearly 1.4 times
V!l.lttc as that of PTC aesist PSC motor
having 33 g
PTC.
Ereak- down torgue
Fig. 18 shows the break- down torque of TRIAC
assiet PSC motor at the firing angle of 55 degree
s
,tcget her with the existi ng other motor s. As seen
from this figure, TRIAC assist PSC motor at the
firing angle of 55 degree s and GSR and PTC assist
CSR m~tors having nearly 20 1-l F starti ng capac itor
have vnear ly eq,ual value of the break- down torque
.
And the breal<-down torque of 'l'RIAG asai.st PSG
motor is nearly 1.8 times value as that of PTC
assist PSG motor having 15n PTC,and nearly 1.5
times value as that of FTC assist PSG motor having
33 n PTG.
0

60
assia~
(PTC:~ ;~.
PTC
CSR 0
alOO
PTC assis t
(P'rC: l5Q)
c~Ko
/7'
flO

~ Ql
;:j
0"
~
/""
t.---A

~~,;._ .-7__,--
.

o-------~~ ~--
I-t
0
P'rC=1 5&

o--\-- -1-t'- --i PTC assis t CSR

+'

..
.,
0
0

I
50
PTC=33.o.
o \
~
PTC: assist CSR
(PTC=33Q)
,/ (P'l'C=33n) 7J<ll
PTC=33.Q.
PTC:l 5.o
t
10
0
J1
0
I-< H 0 I
~
H 1- I I
0 0 0 20 hO 60 80 H
o--.
H
20
+'
o..-.. o
+' +'
Start ing capac itor +>•
0 0 40 60 80
s. s ao (tJF) Olf\
+> +'
0
Start ing capac itor ·
0
Olf\U 0
Slf\ a 0a (pF)
o:n -1 ~ o:n o:n PTC assis t CSR motor ~ Jl' u u PTC assis t CSR motor
p., <ll p.. p..
p., QJ
o:n p..
p..
o:n
..-l
+' b.O +' CSR motor +'b.O
rl asrr motor
Ul 1'1 Ul +'
·rl C\l
Ul
Ul b.O
•rl
Ul -~Ul ffi 1/J
·rl
Ul Ul
C\li:: (1j Ultto Ul
·rl C\'51'1 <U
u I-< 0 ·rl
~-rl 8 Ul-< t.)

~~
HI">-< p.. 8
P<--- p:;.,_. p..
8
8
Fig. 17 Measu red start ing torqu e comp arison
of TRIAC assis t PSC motor with the Fig. 18 Measu red break -down torqu e
other motor s comp arison of TRIAC assis t PSC
motor with the other motor s

173
VIEW IN FU'rURE OF TRIAC ASSIST PSC MOTOR FOR THE for restartin~,different from PTC assist PSC or
HERMETIC COMPRESSOR FTC assist CSR motor.

'l'1>ble 1 shows the coat comparison of the electric
parts for various types of mot~ under nearly same
value oondi·tion of ·the atartine; torque. As seen
from this table,TRIAC assist PSC motor is not the
best one of the minimum cost for performance.
As there is a possibility of cost doHn for the
control device by the mass·production or the
integration 1 it is enough to say that TRIAC assist
FSC motor has a possibility of a practical use i~
future.

CONCLUTION

~ )€ A B c D
It is possible to control the motor torque by

Starting
capacitor.
16 -.e---
·vv connecting 'I'RIAC in series ~1i th oapaci tor of FSC
motor and controlling the firing angle of it.
We obtained the following experimental results in
100 W motor for the hermetic compressor.
Running
capacitor
27 ~

- ....,....._ (1) The value of the maximum starting torque of

TRIAC assist FSC motor is about 3-3 till)eS as

IVIV L
much as the starting torque of PSC motor,and
Relay 55 s.bout 1. 3 times as much as the starting torque
of PTC assiot P3C motor having 15u PTC,and
about 1.<1 ti.mes as much as the starting torque

1/IV~
Discharg- of P'rc aesist FSC motor having 33 n FTC. And·
ing 2
resistor it is· corresponding to CSR or PTC assist CSR

IV -- L
motor having nearly 30j~F starting capacitor.
PTC 26 (2) The value of the maximum brealt-down torque of
TRIAC assist FSC motor is about 1.4 times as
TRIAC ..R

IV1/IV
Control 125
device
Total
<::oat 100 69 53 152
Numerical value
J\:CSR : Ratio
B: PTC assist CSR (Total cost
C: P'l'C assist PSC of A=lOO)
D: TRIAC assist PSC
Table 1 Cost comparison of the electric
parts for various types of motors
(under nealy same condition of
the starting torque)
Ilut the existing motors have some technical prob-
lems to be solved. For example,CSR motor has a
meohanical relay to break the circui-t of the
starting capacitor,therefore it has the problem of
a noise with on-off 1 which is a.n unavoidable prob-
lem. And although P'rc assist CSR motor achieves
the purpose to do away the mechanical relay,it has
a fault that the motor is not able to be restarted
immediately. Decause PTC is required the time for
cooling to be a initial registanoe after the power
supply was turned off. And FTC assist PSC motor
has a same fault as PTC assist CSR motor 1 in add.i-
tion,ita value of the starting torque is insuffi-
cient in comparison with other motors.
TRIAC assist PSC motor has some superior ohracter-
istics comparing with these existing motors. For
exa.mple 1 the mechanical relay is not necessary,
therefore it has not the problem of a noise. In
addition,it is possible to get the starting torque
much as the break-down torque of PSC motor,and
about 1.8 times as much as the break-down
torque of PTC assist PSC motor having 15 Sl FTC
,and about 1.5 times as much s.s the break-down
tortJUe of P'rC assist FSC motor having 33 n PTC
• And it is corresponding to CSR or PTC assist
CSR motor having nearly 20 ~ F starting capaci-
tor.
(3) The maximum point of starting torque is given
at tho firing angle of nearly 50 degrees,and
that of·break-dotm torque is given at 55
der;rees. They shift a little with each other.
TRIAC assist FSC motor has some superior characte~
ristios comparing with the other existing motors.
Although ue cannot to say that it has a sufficient
practical use with the present cost level,it
should be developed as one.of the single phase
motor for the hermetic compressor \~i th the pro-
gress of the electronics.
We reported as for the application of TRIAC to
existina PSC motor in this paper. After this it is
necessary for us to investigate to make the motor
design most suitable for THIAC assist PSC motor,
and tre shall continue to study.
REFTIJTIENCES
(1) S. 011aki , "Characteristics of condenser motor
controlled by antiparallel connected thyris-
tors" 1 'J'he .iournal of the Electric Society of
Japan , 1978
(2) Y. Yoshida , M. Tria , S. Ozaki 1 "On the
variable torque characteristics of capacitor
motor drive by 'l'RIAC" , The "journal of the '
Electric Society of Japan , 1983

174