Power Electronics in Motor Drives

Martin Brown

Elektor International Media BV

p.o box 11
6114 ZG Susteren
The Netherlands

eISBN 978-1-907920-00-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material
form, including photocopying, or storing in any medium by electronic
means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of
this publication, without the written permission of the copyright holder
except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1P
9HE. Applications for the copyright holders written permission to
reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers.
The publishers have used their best efforts in ensuring the correctness of the
information contained in this book. They do not assume, and hereby
disclaim, any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors
or omissions in this book, whether such errors or omissions result from
negligence, accident or any other cause.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-0-905705-89-7
Front cover photographs Siemens AG 2010, All rights reserved
Prepress production: Hans van de Weijer
First published in the United Kingdom 2010
Printed in the Netherlands by Wilco, Amersfoort
Elektor International Media BV 2010
109019-UK

Table of Contents
Table of Contents ......................................................................................... 1
Introduction .................................................................................................. 3
About the Author ......................................................................................... 5
1.
You probably know this but ................................................................. 6
Some Basic Equations .......................................................................... 6
Components and Ohms Law................................................................. 7
Mechanics ........................................................................................... 16
Power .................................................................................................. 20
2.
Power Electronic Components and Building Blocks..................... 23
Active Components ............................................................................ 23
Stepping up and Stepping down ......................................................... 35
Phase control....................................................................................... 39
Inverters .............................................................................................. 41
3.
Motors................................................................................................ 44
Basic Principles The Electromagnetic Effect .................................. 44
The DC Motor..................................................................................... 44
Basic Equations of the DC motor ....................................................... 46
4.
DC Drives .......................................................................................... 68
Introduction......................................................................................... 68
The DC Drive ..................................................................................... 70
The Three Phase Controller Rectifier ................................................. 75
Forward and Reversing, Motoring and Generating ............................ 80
DC Drives A Practical Design......................................................... 85
5.
AC Drives .......................................................................................... 92
Introduction......................................................................................... 92
The Variable Voltage, Variable Frequency Inverter .......................... 93
Modulation methods ........................................................................... 97
Reversing and Regenerating ............................................................. 105
6.
Drive Control and Protection Systems ......................................... 110
Power Supply.................................................................................... 111
Inputs and Outputs............................................................................ 111
Central Processor Unit...................................................................... 118
Closed and Open Loop Control ........................................................ 123
Drive and Motor Protection .............................................................. 132

7.

AC Drive Control and Construction............................................. 137

Introduction....................................................................................... 137
Intelligent Circuitry The ASIC ...................................................... 138
Hot Side Electronics ......................................................................... 142
Rectifier and DC Link Components ................................................. 153
Losses and Efficiency ....................................................................... 154
Protection and Filtering .................................................................... 155
8.
Features, Functions and Jargon .................................................... 162
Introduction....................................................................................... 162
Selecting and Setting - Parameters and Programming ..................... 162
Basic Features and Functions ........................................................... 163
Some Useful Features ....................................................................... 176
Advanced Features............................................................................ 181
Features for Pumps and Fans............................................................ 189
9.
Applications of AC Drives.............................................................. 192
Fans and pumps ................................................................................ 192
Material Handling............................................................................. 203
Applications in Machines ................................................................. 209
10. EMC, Harmonics and Installation ................................................ 213
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)............................................. 213
Harmonics......................................................................................... 223
Installation ........................................................................................ 226
11. Whatever Next? .............................................................................. 229
A Growing Market............................................................................ 229
Changing Technologies .................................................................... 229
Driving the Growth and Development ............................................. 231
Final Thoughts .................................................................................. 233
Index .......................................................................................................... 234

Introduction
This book is not about drive or power electronic theory. It is not about
complex topologies, control algorithms, and stability criteria.
It is much more about the real world of AC drives designers and users.
There are a few people who need to understand the complexities of motor
simulation, but there are a great many more who want to understand the
basic principles of AC drive design and operation, and who are interested in
how they are used in the real industrial world.
This book is aimed at them, and at their engineering colleagues who are
interested in, for example, quality control in a sugar mill, but need to know
how their key equipment works. It should also be of interest to automation
engineers and programmers who need to understand the possibilities and
limitations of simple AC drives. I hope it will also appeal to those of you
who have an interest in how industry utilises power electronic components
and systems to produce the things that we need (or think we need) at a price
and quality that we have come to expect.
AC drives are now dominant in general industrial applications, and this
book focuses on simple drive applications, which are those encountered by
most engineers. If you want to understand how a drive and motor work with
a fan or conveyor, this book will help you; if you want to design a factory to
make aluminium foil, you'd better look further.
Electronics is often described as a rapidly changing and complex subject. In
fact, if we discount the blizzard of patents and research papers published
every month, and look instead at commercially available products, we see
that the basic components and circuitry in a power supply or drive have not
changed for many years. What has changed is the price, size and efficiency
of the components, as well as the complexity of the control software that has
greatly improved the reliability and flexibility of all electronic systems.
With the extensive use of computer-aided design, the packaging and cooling
have also been greatly improved.
As a result, modern industrial electronics is smaller, lower cost and more
versatile than older equipment, while still recognisable - at least in the
visible components - to a designer of a previous generation like myself.

Users of drives need to understand the basic principles of how they work,
but it is more important for them to understand how the equipment is used,
and how it can benefit the user.
An important part of this book is therefore the description of the functions
and applications of the drives, and how they interact with the plant and their
equipment. The list of applications is not exhaustive, but is intended to
illustrate the most common uses of the equipment. AC drives, for example
are used in horse exercising machines, fairground rides, and hot tubs.
However, a description of their application in conveyors, grinders and fans
is of more use to most engineers, if not as entertaining.
I have included in the book a description of the basic components that are
used in drives with particular reference to the practical aspects of their
installation in industrial equipment. This is important, if only to understand
what may happen when a capacitor dries out, or an inductor saturates. This
equipment inevitably interacts with the power electronic systems and must
be at least recognisable by any engineer on site.
Finally, I have kept the mathematics to a minimum. Some basic
understanding of mechanical and electrical theory is presumed, and a basic
knowledge of single and three phase AC systems would be useful.
This book is written from a European perspective, which works with a
supply frequency of 50Hz. In most cases 60Hz can be substituted without
losing meaning; where this is not the case, the difference is explained.
Enjoy!

About the Author

Martin Brown graduated from Leicester University and worked in power
electronics, joining Siemens in 1981 where he developed several innovative,
high voltage power supplies for use in the terrestrial side of satellite
communications. In 1987 he worked with a small team to develop a low
cost AC inverter drive to control the speed of industrial induction motors. It
was a technical and commercial success! More drives soon followed and
later Martin became involved with customer applications, visiting sites all
around the world. He continued his travels as a trainer for service, sales and
support personnel as well as customers. He visited customers installations
and plant, experiencing first hand just how drives are really used - and often
abused. This insight, adding to his technical knowledge of the subject has
culminated in a useful mass of experience. Martin retired from Siemens UK
in 2009 and felt his knowledge and experience was worth sharing in this
book. When he isnt writing, he enjoys classic motor cycles, walking and
travelling.

Acknowledgements
Gordon Smith at Leicester University introduced me to power electronics
and the real world of engineering. Ray Stanyard taught me to think and
design practically and laterally at the same time. My colleagues at Siemens
showed that a team of engineers is greater than the sum of its parts. All
these people have contributed, without knowing, to my questionable
capabilities as an engineer and trainer - my thanks to them. Id particularly
like to thank Richard Kenney for his careful proofreading and Paul Ridgway
for his help and advice. Finally, my thanks to my wife Sheila for being there
for so long.