ELECTRIC DRIVES

Module 1
INTRODUCTION
 ELECTRIC DRIVES-Introduction
• Motion control is required in large number of
industrial & domestic applications.
• Drives- are the systems employed for motion control.
- employ prime movers for supplying
mechanical energy for motion control.
 Introduction (Contd……)
• An industrial drive consists of –
- mechanical working equipment or load which
has to be kept in motion to turn out mechanical work.
- transmission – to transfer energy from prime
mover to the load- gears or belt may be used to match
the speed of the prime mover and the load- may also be
required to convert rotary to linear motion and vice
versa.
- equipment to do this work – called prime mover
• A combination of a prime mover, transmission and
mechanical working load is called a DRIVE.
 Introduction (Contd……)
• Prime movers- diesel or petrol engines, gas or steam
turbines, steam engines, hydraulic motors or electric
motors.
• Most common prime mover is the electric motor.
• Control circuit – consists of relays, switches, solid
state devices etc.
- used to adjust the motor
characteristics and operating conditions with respect to
mechanical load requirements.
• The aggregate of electric motor, the energy transmitting
shaft and the control circuit used to change the prime
mover characteristics is called an ELECTRIC DRIVE.
 Introduction (Contd……)
• Advantages of electric motors as industrial drives:-
* Overload capacity
* Efficiency
* Better dynamic & transient behaviour
* Availability in various sizes and designs to meet
load requirements
• Electric drive – defined as a drive, using an electric
motor as a prime mover, converting electrical energy to
mechanical energy.
• Electric motors require some type of control equipment
to achieve Speed control and Torque control.
• These controls make the motor work on a specific N-T
curve and may be operated using open loop or closed
loop control.
 ELECTRIC DRIVES- Advantages
• Availability over a wide range of power from a
few watts to Mega watts.
• Ability to provide a wide range of torques over
a wide range of speeds. (DC motors are
versatile in this aspect. With the development of
thyristors, AC motors are also now capable of
giving a smooth speed control.)
 Advantages(Contd……)
• Adaptability to almost any type of environment
or operating conditions. (like natural or forced
ventilation, totally enclosed, submerged in
liquids, exposure to explosives or radioactive
environments.)
• No hazardous fuel is required and no exhaust
gases are emitted to pollute the environment.
• Electric drives can have an overload capacity.
This can be made use of in selecting a smaller
motor for short time duties with good
efficiency.
 Advantages(Contd……)
• Using a proper control the motor can be made
to operate on a desired N-T curve to suit the
mechanical load. (Control gear required for
speed control, starting and braking is simple
and easy to operate. Availability of
semiconductor converters have made the
control more flexible.)
 Advantages(Contd……)
• Electric drive is capable of operating in all 4
quadrants of the N-T plane. ( motoring and
braking in either direction of rotation,
regenerative braking where kinetic energy of
the rotating parts is returned to the supply
mains)
 Advantages(Contd……)
• Motors can develop a steady torque because of
symmetry on balanced 3-phase supply which
ensures a quiet operation. (Non sinusoidal
supplies to the motor when fed from the
converters may cause some torque pulsation
due to harmonics particularly at low speeds.)
 Advantages(Contd……)
• Electric motors are available in a variety of
design ratings to make them compatible to any
type of load.
• Drive can be started and accelerated to the
design speed in a very short time. (full load
may be applied immediately. No need of
warming up of the motor and requires less
servicing)
 ELECTRIC DRIVES- Drawbacks
• Requires continuous power supply especially
in vehicle propulsion applications.
• Power supply equipment needs to be carried on
board, requires lot of space and is bulky.
• Problems of saturation of iron and cooling
make the electric motors have a lower
power/weight ratio.
 EVOLUTION OF ELECTRIC DRIVES
Evolutional elements are:-
• Resistors or reactors
• Magnetic amplifiers
• Thermionic and gas-discharge valves
• Solid state control drives
Resistors or reactors:-
❖Initial developments were based on tap-changing
transformers and series and shunt regulators
consisting of resistors or reactors.
❖This produce a change in the applied voltage and
thereby vary the power.
❖This method is inefficient and costly
 EVOLUTION (Contd……)
Magnetic amplifiers:-
❖Led to the complete static control of power without
moving parts.
❖Military and some industrial applications use the
magnetic control of speed and power
Thermionic and gas-discharge valves:-
❖Mercury arc converters and thyratrons were the
popular electronic devices.
❖Electronic controllers are more compact and
efficient than magnetic devices
❖But less reliable
 EVOLUTION (Contd……)
Solid state control drives:-
❖ Thermionic valves have been replaced by semiconductor
devices. This led to the miniaturisation of electronic
circuits.
❖ Semiconductor switching devices called thyristors have
been developed with characteristics similar to gas-
discharge valves.
❖ Advances in the technology and fabrication of thyristors
resulted in improved reliability.
❖ Many industrial controllers use solid state devices
especially thyristors
❖ Electric drives which employs solid state devices like
thyristors for their control operation are called SOLID
STATE DRIVES