Paper No. T4-2.10, pp.

1-4

16th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM on

POWER ELECTRONICS - Ee 2011

NOVI SAD, REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, October 26th - 28th, 2011

MV VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE FOR COAL

MILL CAPACITY IMPROVEMENT
Žarko Janda, Aleksandar Nikolić
Electrical Engineering Institute Nikola Tesla, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract: One possible solution for coal mill capacity the mill will determine the starting and control method
increase is analyzed and presented in the paper. It is that best suits the mill drive needs. This results in the
based on application of MV variable speed drive with application being optimized to best serve the power plant
increased frequency of motor voltage supply in the range needs. The precise optimum mill RPM is determined by
of 50-55Hz. In the paper the thorough analysis of the the forces of the material and additional mass
existing MV drive is presented and possibilities of mill components located in the mill. With variable speed
capacity increase by speed increase are validated systems, every newly commissioned drive system can be
through experiments and calculations. set to its optimum speed and its speed can be easily
Key Words: MV drive/Variable speed/Coal mill adjusted at any time to suit different process
requirements. This provides the user with both the
1. INTRODUCTION capabilities to soft start the mill (to eliminate the power
system disturbances by the inrush current when starting
In virtually all mining operations, mill systems are a
the mill at full voltage) and still produce sufficient torque
critical part of the process to provide economical,
to accelerate the load to the required process speed under
reliable and energy efficient grinding. For a variety of
reduced mechanical and electrical stress.
ores, cement clinker and other materials, mills transform
There are two main possibilities for coal mill capacity
masses of raw material and refine it to a usable size. The
increase: the mill mechanical reconstruction by
physical size of a mill (in many cases spanning 15–20
increasing mill drum size and by increasing the mill
meters in diameter and 30–50 meters in length) provides
rotational speed. The first solution, by increasing the mill
mechanical and electrical engineers a challenge to start
drum size, is the change of existing mill with bigger one,
the mill without affecting other processes in the
what is costly.
operation. Industry has now seen a shift in technology to
The second solution is based on enhanced motor
use variable speed drives to deal with the mill’s high
voltage supply by increasing frequency, what is possible
starting torque requirement and optimized grinding
by MV inverter. The main goal in this case is to supply
speed, which results in increased production rates.
50Hz and 55Hz, if possible [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8],
motor with rated voltage and frequency in range between
Operating mills at a slightly lower speed or even a
[9].
slightly higher speed than line frequency gives process
engineers the advantage of the mills being optimized for .
the grade of material and desired throughput of the final
process [1]. 3. MV DRIVE ANALYSIS
The problem under scope is how to increase the The double cage 6kV 800kW motor is driving coal
boiler power in thermal power plant (TPP) slightly (in mill via dry powder clutch, PULVIS type (Fig. 1).
range 5 to 10%). To get the target boiler power increase
in order of 5 to 10% of rated power, it is necessary to
increase the fuel intake and one of the possibilities for
that is the coal grinding mill capacity increase.
There are six coal mills supplying one boiler in
Thermal power plant „Nikola Tesla – A“ configuration
and question is how to slightly increase mill capacity.
The coal mills under consideration are of fan type and
they are started unloaded by the rule.

2. MILL DRIVE REQUIREMENTS

The selection of a suitable starting and controlling
method for the motor and load combination is becoming
increasingly more important if the system requires
variable speed control. The mechanical arrangement of Fig. 1. Mill drive in thermal power plant

1
 Dry clutch has slipping limit above the rated motor analysis, as shown in Fig. 4. For MV cage motors, the
torque, so during the normal operation dry clutch has stator resistance can be neglected and core losses can be
zero slip and zero power losses. During mill start up the presented as simple parallel branch.

− base voltage is equal to rated phase voltage

clutch is slipping so the smooth run up of the mill is For the following analysis, the base pu values are:
enabled.
To find out if there is enough room for driving motor U b = U n , phase ,
−
speed increase by frequency increase beyond rated, it is
Ib = In ,
base current is equal to motor rated current
necessary to perform the following steps:

−
1. To find the parameters of motor equivalent circuit,

synchronous angular speed ωb = ω s ,

2. To record carefully the mill coal load increase after base angular peed equal to electrical
motor start up.
3.1. The motor inrush current during DOL start
− base power Pb = 3 ⋅ U b I b ,
and derived base values are:
To find out parameters of the motor equivalent
− base torque T = Pb ⋅ p where p is the pole pairs
electric circuit, the manufacturer’s data are used and
some convenient experiments are performed, like direct ωb
b

on line motor start. Motor and drive data are given in

appendix. One such experiment has been performed number.
using power quality analyzer (Fig. 2) and stator current
record is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4. Standard motor „Г “equivalent circuit valid for

normal operation range of the cage motor right of the
maximum torque (small slip range)

torque. Rated motor torque is Tnom = 15433Nm and base

The pull out torque is declared to be 1.9 of rated

torque is Tb = 21240Nm , so the pull out torque is now

defined as Tmax = 1.38 pu . Now the short circuit reactance
of the motor is (1):
Λ sc = = 0.362 pu ,
1
2 ⋅ Tmax
Fig. 2. Experimental measurements on the existing drive (1)

The experiment is performed with unloaded mill. By and it is valid for motor speed right of the maximum
analyzing the recorded start up current waveform, it is torque, in the vicinity of rated speed. The next useful
possible to notice the moment of clutch locking, 34 relation is the equation (2), relating rated motor torque
seconds after start. with rotor angular frequency and rotor resistance, when

Rr ⋅ ω r , n
motor is supplied with rated voltage and frequency,
Tn =
1000

Λ sc ⋅ ω r ,n + Rr
800 (2)
2 2 2
600

as Rr = 0.012734 pu . So, the all necessary parameters are

400 From equation (2) the rotor resistance is derived
motor current [A]

200

0
available for modeling purpose in the motor speed range
-200 right of the maximum torque.
-400

-600 3.2. The mill loading sequence after DOL start

-800
For analysis of the possibility for the motor speed
-1000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 increase and corresponding coal mill capacity increase, it
time [s] is necessary to find out coal load influence after the
motor start. In Fig. 5 the motor power in kW is shown,
Fig. 3. Inrush current during direct on line start of coal recorded just after the motor start up has been
mill motor accomplished.

Normal operation range of the cage motor under

consideration is to the right of the maximum torque (at
torque – speed curve), so the simple standard motor „Г“
equivalent circuit can be employed for approximate

2
 PKW or 0.499 pu. Using this value it is possible to determine if
600 the power in the weakening field speed range exceeds
575
rated power or not. Rated power in pu is expressed as
550
(6):
525

Pn = = 0.72 pu
800000
6000 ⋅ 107 ⋅ 3
500
power [kW]

475

450
(6)
425
Now it is possible to check if the power necessary to
400
drive mill at 110% of rated speed is exceeding the rated
375

350
power in field weakening speed range or not. The
325
necessary driving power at 110% of rated mill speed is
expressed by (7):
P2 mech = T2 ⋅ 1.1 = 0.55 pu
300
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
time [sec]
(7)
Fig. 5. Motor power versus time while mill has been what means that the motor under consideration is not
taking load after start up overloaded if operated with 110% increased speed
continuously.
From the Fig. 5 it is obvious that the existing motor is The next step is to determine the motor current at
not fully loaded by coal mill after taking the full mill 110% of rated speed. Using no load motor data is
coal intake. In such way there is available additional free possible to find out the magnetizing motor impedance at
motor capacity. The motor current at usual load is about 50 Hz (8)
Zo = (8.07 + j87.326)Ω
64A and sometimes 70A. The precise current profile in
time during mill load up is shown in Fig. 6. (8)
68 or for 55 Hz:

Zo 2 = (8.07 + j87.326 )Ω = (8.07 + j 96.06)Ω (9)

66
55
64
50
motor current RMS [A]

62

60 From torque expression valid for field weakening

58 region:

⎛U ⎞ Rr ⋅ ω r , 2
T2 = ⎜⎜ s ⎟⎟
56
2

⎝ ωs ⎠ Λ sc ⋅ ω r , 2 + Rr
54 (10)
2 2 2
52

it is possible to find out the rotor angular frequency ω r , 2

50

48

under torque load T2 at motor voltage U s = 1 pu and

0 2 4 6 8 10

time [min]

voltage angular frequency ω s = 1.1 pu and the rotor

angular frequency is ω r , 2 = 0.0081 pu .
Fig. 6. Motor current versus time while mill has been
taking load after start
Now it is possible to derive the rotor impedance in
4. TARGET COAL MILL OPERATION the new operating point as (11):
Z 2 = (1.572 + j 0.4)pu = (50.9 + j12.95)Ω (11)
The target is to get coal mill running at 110% of the
previous operating speed. Originally, the mill load torque Finally, the motor current at 55Hz driving the coal
can be determined by air gap power (3): mill is derived to be 85A, according to presented

3 ⋅ Rs ⋅ I 2
simplified approximate analysis. Impedances (11) and
P1 = Pin − Po −
(9) are connected in parallel in order to get the motor
1000 current under specified mill load at 55Hz.
3 ⋅ 0.3 ⋅ 64 2
= 500kW − 37.8kW −
(3) According to motor rated current of 107A it is wise
practice to take into account some overload ability, so
= 458.5kW
1000
the chosen rated current of MV inverter should be 140A.
The preferred MV inverter rated current is 140A,
and the mill torque at rated speed is determined by (4): motor voltage 6.6kV, MV bus supply voltage 6.3kV
P1 ⋅ p
T1 = = 8757 Nm
inverter transformer rating is 1250kVA and auxiliary

ωs
(4) voltage is 3 x 380VAC.
After MV inverter installation, the PULVIS dry
clutch will be immobilized and mill start up will be
By grinding mill speed increase of 10% the
performed under almost rated slip during complete start
corresponding mill torque is increased for 21%,
up, without high inrush current.
according to quadratic law. So, the target mill torque is:
T2 = 1.21 ⋅ T1 = 10596Nm , (5)

3
5. COMPARISON BETWEEN MV AND LV COAL APPENDIX
MILL DRIVE SOLUTION Motor rated data and additional data
̇
There are several possibilities in practice how to
number of poles 12
̇
implement variable speed drive for coal mills in TPP.
̇
rated line voltage 6 kV
One popular approach is to implement the low voltage
rated frequency 50 Hz
̇
(LV) variable frequency inverter and appropriate motor.
rated current 107 A
̇
The recently finished feasibility analysis regarding the
̇
rated shaft power 800 kW
implementation of variable speed inverter drive for coal
rated power factor 0.77
̇
mills at one TPP, [10] highlighted the two possible coal
rated efficiency 93.27%
̇
mill drive solutions for mill shaft power rated at 800 kW.
̇
rated rpm 495
The first one is based on MV variable speed inverter
Tmax/Tnom 1.9
̇
and total cost is estimated to be 201.5 kEuro, considering
̇
Tstall/Tnom 1.63
that there is no need for mechanical speed reductor and
no load power losses 37.8 kW
̇
accounting MV average cable length of 100 m (estimated
no load motor current 39.5 A
̇
cost are: variable speed inverter 140 kEuro, housing 12
stator resistance at 18°C 0.2425 Ω
kEuro, auxiliary equipment 12 kEuro, inverter input
transformer 32 kEuro, 100 m of XP41 3 x 70 mm2 input
7. REFERENCES
[1] Rockwell Automation, “Ball and Sag Mill Solutions”,
power cable priced at 2.3 kEuro and 100 m of XP41 3 x
95 mm2 output power cable priced at 3.2 kEuro).

[2] B.Wu, “High-Power Converters and AC Drives”,

The alternative low voltage solution is based on step
down 6/0.7 kV/kV transformer (32-37.5, kEuro), LV
variable speed inverter (100 ÷ 120 kEuro), inverter
housing with auxiliary equipment (10 kEuro), LV
induction motor (82 ÷ 90 kEuro), 100 m of XP41 3 x 70
mm2 input power cable priced at 2.3 kEuro and 100 m of
3 x 3 x PP41 3 x 150/70 mm2 output power cable priced
at 35.1 kEuro. In total, the low voltage solution of coal
mill drive rated at 800 kW with step down transformer
and new induction motor is priced somewhere between
261.4 and 294.9 kEuro. It is obvious that for the case
study power levels of coal mill drives, there is a clear
advantage of MV variable speed inverter over LV
solution.
6. CONCLUSION
In the paper a one solution for increasing the coal
mill capacity in thermal power plant is presented. It is
based on application of MV frequency converter that
operates in the field weakening regime (range of 50-
55Hz) in order to obtain 5-10% increase of boiler
power, by increasing coal mill capacity. In the paper
the thorough analysis of the existing MV drive is
presented, based on calculations and simulations using
manufactures and plant data. The possibilities of mill
capacity increase by speed increase are validated
through simulations and experiments performed on the
real plant. Additional benefits are reduced mechanical
stress during start up and the additional possibility of
mill slow running for inspection purposes. Finally, the
process of selecting the appropriate MV inverter has
been presented and thoroughly explained.
Application profile, Canada, October 2000.
Wiley-IEEE Press, USA, 2005.
[3] F.Wang, “Multilevel PWM VSIs”, IEEE Industry
Applications Magazine, July/August 2004, pp. 51-58.
[4] Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services, “Raw Coal
Loading and Belt Conveyer System at the Nochten
Opencast Mine”, Trans Tech Publication No. 2,
Clausthal – Zellerfeld, Germany, March/April 1998.
[5] Siemens, “Perfect Harmony – Medium Voltage Drive
Converters”, Technical publication, 2010.
[6] ABB Switzerland Ltd, “Medium Voltage AC Drives for
Speed and Torque Control of 315–5000kW Motors”,
Technical publication 3BHT 490 400 R0001 Rev. C,
Switzerland, 2005.
[7] Mitsubishi Electric, “Energy-saving Type Mitsubishi
High-voltage Inverter”, Technical publication, Japan,
March 2002.
[8] R. Hanna, S.Prabhu, “Medium-Voltage Adjustable-
Speed Drives—Users’ and Manufacturers’
Experiences”, IEEE Transactions on Industry
Applications, Vol. 33, No. 6, November/December
1997, pp. 1407-1415.
[9] Jul-Ki Seok, Seung-Ki Sul, “Pseudorotor-Flux-
Oriented Control of an Induction Machine for Deep-
Bar-Effect Compensation”, IEEE Transactions on
Industry Applications, Vol. 34, No. 3,
November/December 1998, pp. 429-434.
[10] Ž. Janda, B. Jeftenić, V. Jerinić, „Technical and
economic aspects of the implementation of variable
speed inverter drives for coal mills at power unit A4“,
feasibility study final report (in serbian), done for
thermal power plant „Nikola Tesla A“, EE institute
„Nikola Tesla, Belgrade, 2007