SPEED CONTROL OF INDUCTION MOTORS

Introduction

Until recently, induction machines were used in applications for which adjustable
speed is not required.

Compared to dc motors, changing the speed of an induction motor demands

elaborate and complex schemes.

Before the power electronics era, and the pulse width modulation in particular, the
speed control of induction machines was limited to highly inefficient methods with
a narrow range of speed.

With the advances in solid-state devices and variable-frequency power converters,

different approaches to induction motor drive systems have emerged and
developed that result in more sophisticated operations.

Induction machines can now be used in high-performance applications where

precise movement is required.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SPEED CONTROL

The speed control of an induction motor requires more elaborate techniques than
the speed control of dc machines.

First, however, let us analyze the basic relationship for the speed-torque
characteristics of an induction motor given in Equation (5.57).
By examining this equation, one can conclude that the speed ω (or 'slip s) can be
controlled if at least one of the following variables or parameters is altered:

1. armature or rotor resistance

2. armature or rotor inductance

3. magnitude of terminal voltage

4. frequency of terminal voltage

As discussed later in this chapter, each of the above techniques by itself is not
sufficient.

However, when more than one are combined, the control of the induction
motor becomes more effective.

Although it is not evident by examining Equation (7.1), there are other useful
and effective techniques for speed control. Among them are:

5. rotor voltage injection

6. slip energy recovery

7. voltage/frequency control

These seven techniques are described in this chapter, although in a different order
so the information flow from one method to the other is logical.
CONTROLLING SPEED USING ROTOR
RESISTANCE

Due to the complexity of equation (7.1), it is difficult to show the impact of rotor
resistance on motor speed.

However, if we are to study steady-state operation, we can use the small-slip

approximation described in the approximate speed-torque Equation below.

This is justifiable since at steady state, the speed of the motor is near the
synchronous speed.

Keep in mind that V is a line-to-line quantity. If the voltage, frequency, and torque
are kept constant, the increase in R'2 results in an increase in the slip. Hence, the
motor speed is reduced.

Figure 7.1 shows the motor characteristics for the case when a resistance Radd
is added to the rotor circuit. As we explained in Topic 6, the increase in rotor
resistance does not change the synchronous speed or the magnitude of the maxi
mum torque; it only skews the characteristics so the maximum torque occurs at a
lower speed.

Adding a resistance to the rotor circuit does not cause the motor speed to change
by any appreciable value at light loading conditions.

The difference in speed between points 1 and 2 in Figure 7.1 is rather small.

Although at heavy loading conditions, T2, the motor speed may change by a wider
range-from point 3 to point 4-the speed range is still narrow.

Therefore, controlling the motor speed by changing the rotor (or stator) resistance
is not considered a realistic option. In addition, this method increases the motor
losses substantially as illustrated in the next example.
CONTROLLING SPEED BY ADJUSTING THE
STATOR VOLTAGE

Several techniques can be used to change the stator voltage of the motor.

Among them are fixed pulse modulation (FPM), or the phase

control shown in Figure 7.7.

The circuit configuration of phase control is a full-wave, three-phase SCR

converter.

In this circuit, the induction motor is connected to a three-phase supply voltage via
back-to-back SCR pairs. For each phase, one SCR conducts the current in one
direction (from the source to the motor), and the other SCR conducts the current
in the second half of the cycle (from motor to source).
If the triggering of these SCRs is controlled, the voltage across the stator terminals
can change from zero to almost full voltage.

As seen in Equation (7.1), the torque of the motor is proportional to the

square of its stator voltage.

For the same slip and frequency, a small change in motor voltage results in a
relatively large change in torque.

A 10% reduction in voltage causes a 19% reduction in developed torque as well as

the starting and maximum torques.
The characteristics of the motor under voltage control are shown in Figure 7.8.
The figure is based on Equation (7.1) and shows two curves for two different
values
of the stator voltage. Note that the slip at the maximum torque remains unchanged
since it is not a function of voltage.

For normal operation in the linear region, the figure shows that the motor speed
can be modestly changed when the voltage is altered.

However, a wide range of speed control cannot be accomplished by this technique.

Nevertheless, it is an excellent method for reducing starting current and increasing

efficiency during light loading conditions.

The starting current is reduced since it is directly proportional to the stator voltage.

The losses are reduced, particularly core losses, which are proportional to the
square of the voltage.

Keep in mind that the terminal voltage cannot exceed the rated value to prevent
the damage of the windings' insulation.

Thus, this technique is only suitable for speed reduction below the rated speed.
CONTROLLING SPEED BY ADJUSTING THE
SUPPLY FREQUENCY

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

Where f is the frequency of the stator voltage and p is the number of poles.

Since the synchronous speed is directly proportional to the frequency of the stator
voltage, any change in frequency results in an equivalent change in motor speed.

If you plot the motor characteristics of Equations (7.1) for different values of
supply frequencies, you can obtain a family of characteristics similar to the ones
shown in Figure 7.9.

The effect of frequency on motor current is given by Equation (7.30),

The current characteristics of the motor are shown in Figure 7.10.

Frequency manipulation appears to be an effective method for speed control that

requires a simple dc/ac converter with variable switching intervals.

However, there are severe limitations to this method:

very low frequencies may cause motor damage due to excessive currents,

and large frequencies may stall the motor.

These limitations are discussed in the following sections.

EFFECT OF EXCESSIVELY HIGH FREQUENCY

As shown in Figures 7.9 and 7.10, the increase in supply frequency results in the
following five changes:

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

This increase is due to the increase in frequency as given by Equation (7.29).

2. A decrease in the maximum torque. The maximum torque is described.

The maximum torque equation is rewritten for a single phase in (7.31).
The voltage V is a phase-to-neutral value.
It shows that the maximum torque is inversely proportional to both the
synchronous speed ωs and the equivalent reactance of the windings Xeq.

Each of these quantities increases by increasing the frequency. Hence, the

maximum torque decreases when the frequency of the supply voltage increases.
3. A decrease in the starting torque.

The starting torque of the induction motor, Tst is computed by Equation

(7.32) for a single phase system.

As seen in this equation, the starting torque decreases when the synchronous
speed and equivalent reactance increase.

This is due to the increase in frequency.

4. An increase in speed at the maximum torque.

Due to the increase in frequency, the slip at maximum torque Smax decreases
when the equivalent reactance increases.

Also, the speed at maximum torque nmax given by Equation (7.33) increases.

5. A decrease in the starting current. This can be seen from Equation

When the frequency increases, the equivalent reactance increases and the starting
current decreases.

At high frequencies, the resistance of the motor windings

may also increase due to the skin effect.

Now let us examine the case when the increase in frequency is excessive.

Figure 7.11 shows two characteristics for two different values of stator frequency.

Assume that the load torque is constant, and the motor operates initially at
frequency f1.

The steady-state operation is represented by point 1.

Now assume that the frequency of the stator voltage increases to a higher value f2
where the new maximum torque of the motor is less than the load torque.

In this case, no steady-state operating point can be achieved, and the motor
eventually stalls or even operates under braking.

One solution to this problem is to increase the supply voltage when the frequency
increases.

This will be discussed in a later section.

EFFECT OF EXCESSIVELY LOW FREQUENCY

Reducing the supply frequency reduces the speed of the motor.

However, frequency reduction may result in an increase in motor current as given

in Equation (7.30) and Figure 7.10.

At very low frequencies, the equivalent reactance of the motor Xeq is very low.

Since Xeq is the limiting parameter for motor current at starting, its large
reduction could lead to an excessive current beyond the ratings of the machine.

The following example explains this effect.

VOLTAGE/FREQUENCY CONTROL

As seen in Figure 7.11, the increase in the supply frequency increases the motor
speed and also reduces the maximum torque of the motor.

Furthermore, in Figure 7.8, we see that the increase in voltage results in an increase
in the maximum torque of the motor.

If we combine these two features, we can achieve a control design by which the
speed increases and the torque is kept the same.

This is known as voltage/frequency control, v/f

Figure 7.12 shows three characteristics; one is used as our reference at voltage
V1 and frequency f1.

For the arbitrary fan-type load in the figure, the reference operating
point is 1.

If we increase the frequency of the supply to f2 while keeping the voltage V1

unchanged, the speed of the motor increases and the maximum torque
decreases.

The load torque in this case is higher than the maximum torque provided
by the motor.

Thus, no steady-state operating point can be achieved and the

motor eventually stalls.

Now let us keep the supply frequency to the new value at f2 , but increase the
magnitude of the voltage to V2 .

The motor characteristics in this case stretch and the maximum torque increases.

The motor operates at point 2, and a new steady-state point is achieved.

The change in voltage and frequency is a powerful method for speed control.

Note that both frequency and voltage can change simultaneously by the pulse-
width modulation technique.

This type of control is common for induction motors. There are several variations
where the v/f ratio is also adjusted to provide a special operating performance.

The most common method, though, is the fixed v/f ratio .

An induction motor operating under constant v/f control exhibits the characteristics
shown in Figures 7.13 and 7.14.

Note that the changes in the maximum torque are not substantial.

This can be explained by examining Equation (7.36).

.
Keep in mind that V in Equation (7.36) is a line-to-line quantity.

If we assume that the equivalent inductive reactance Xeq, at frequencies near the
rated value, is much larger than the armature resistance, then Equation (7.36) can
be approximated by Equation (7.3 7).
where p is the number of poles and Leq is the equivalent inductance of the motor
windings.

It is clear that when the v/f ratio is constant, the maximum torque is unchanged.

Keep in mind that this approximation may not be valid at very low frequencies
when Xeq is not much larger than R1 .

Another feature of the constant v/f control is that the magnitude of the starting
current is almost constant.

Examine Equation (7.34),

and assume that

This assumption is valid for frequencies close to the rated frequency.

The starting current can then be approximated by Equation (7.38).

Equation (7.38) shows that when v/f is kept constant, the starting current remains
unchanged; this is another advantage of v/f control.

When the change in voltage is used to control the induction machine, whether it is
a voltage control or v/f control, one must be careful not to increase the voltage
magnitude beyond the ratings of the motor.

Excessive voltage can cause instant damage to the insulation of the motor's
windings, leading to shorts and internal faults.

Usually the voltage should be kept below 110% of the rated value.