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What is Variable Frequency

Drive (VFD) & Working
Principle of VFDs

It is important to know the working of VFDs or

Variable frequency drives (VFDs), as they are
extensively used in the AC motor-driven
applications, like variable frequency drive for
motor control, owing to their wide variety
characteristics.

Variable Frequency drives

Compared to conventional motor drives, VFD has

greater functionality and operation capabilities. In
addition to adjustable speed control, variable
frequency drives offer protections like phase,
under, and over-voltage protection. Software and
interfacing options of the VFD’s allow the user to
control the motors at desired levels.

What is Variable Frequency Drive

(VFD)
AC motor speed is controlled in two ways – either
by controlling the voltage or frequency.
Frequency controlling gives better control due to
constant flux density than voltage control. This is
where the working of VFDs comes to play. It is a
power conversion device that converts the fixed
voltage, fixed frequency of the input power to the
variable voltage, the variable frequency output to
control AC induction motors.

It consists of power electronic devices (like IGBT,

MOSFET), high speed central controlling unit
(such as a microprocessor, DSP), and optional
sensing devices depending on the application
used.

Most of the industrial applications require

variable speeds at peak load conditions and
constant speeds at normal operating conditions.
Closed-loop working of VFDs maintains the
speed of the motor at a constant level, even in
case of input and load disturbances.

Working of VFDs
The two main features of variable frequency drive
are adjustable speeds and soft start/stop
capabilities. These two features make VFD’s a
powerful controller to control the AC motors. VFD
consists of mainly four sections; those are
rectifier, intermediate DC link, inverter, and
controlling circuit.

Working of VFDs

Rectifier:

It is the first stage of a variable frequency drive. It

converts AC power fed from mains to DC power.
This section can be unidirectional or bidirectional
based on the application used like the four-
quadrant operation of the motor. It utilizes
diodes, SCR’s, transistors, and other electronic
switching devices.

If it uses diodes, converted DC power is

uncontrolled output while using SCR, DC output
power is varied by gate control. A minimum of six
diodes are required for the three-phase
conversion, so the rectifier unit is considered as
six pulse converter.

DC bus:

DC power from the rectifier section is fed to the

DC link. This section consists of capacitors and
inductors to smooth against ripples and store the
DC power. The main function of the DC link is to
receive, store and deliver DC power.

Inverter:

This section comprises of electronic switches like

transistors, thyristors, IGBT, etc. It receives DC
power from DC link and converts into AC which
is delivered to the motor. It uses modulation
techniques like pulse width modulation to vary
output frequency for controlling the speed of
induction motor.

Control circuit:

It consists of a microprocessor unit and performs

various functions like controlling, configuring
drive settings, fault conditions, and interfacing
communication protocols. It receives a feedback
signal from the motor as current speed reference
and accordingly regulates the ratio of voltage to
frequency to control motor speed.

VFD implementation application

VFD implementation application

VFD can also be implemented by the

microcontroller circuit which is given below.
Similar to VFD it also consists of rectifier section,
filtering, and then inverter section. Here inverter
section gets the firing pulses from the
programmed microcontroller to give variable
voltage and frequency to the load. This project is
called a single-phase to three-phase converter
using SVPWM to control AC voltage and
frequency across the load

Application of VFD
The application of VFD is ac motor speed control
by cyclo converters.

Power from mains is fed to the rectifier circuit

which converts fixed AC to fixed DC. Three leg
converters consist of two diodes connected in
parallel for each phase, such that one of the
diodes conducts when the particular phase is
comparatively more positive or negative.

Application of VFD

Pulsed DC voltage generated from the rectifier is

applied to the DC link circuit. This intermediate
circuit comprises inductors and capacitors. It
filters the pulsed DC by reducing ripple content
and gives DC power a constant level.

To provide variable voltage and variable

frequency to the motor, DC power from the DC
link should be converted to variable AC by
inverter. The inverter consists of IGBTs as
switching devices that are controlled by the PWM
technique.

Similar to the rectifier circuit, inverter switches

also belong to two groups as positive and
negative. Positive side IGBT is responsible for
the positive pulse and negative side IGBT for a
negative pulse at the output of the inverter. So
the obtained output is an alternating current
which is applied to the motor.

Varying the switching period regulates voltage

and frequency simultaneously in the inverter.
Modern VFD uses the latest control techniques
like a scalar, vector, and direct torque controls, to
control the inverter switches in achieving the
variable power.

Output waveforms of VFD

The above figure shows how the voltage and

frequency are varied by a variable frequency
drive. As an example, AC 480V, 60Hz supply is
applied to the VFD which varies the signal
voltage and frequency to have control of the
speed.

As the frequency is decreased, the speed of the

motor also decreases. In the above figure, the
average power applied to the motor is
decreasing while decreasing both voltage and
frequency, provided the ratio of these two
parameters is constant.

Benefits of VFD

VFD connected to the motor

Variable frequency drives not only offer

adjustable speeds for accurate and precise
control applications but also have more benefits
in terms of process control and conservation of
energy. Some of these are given below.

Energy saving

More than 65% of the power is consumed by

electric motors in industries. Both magnitude and
frequency control technique to vary the speed
consumes less power when variable speed is
required by the motor. So a great amount of
energy is conserved by these VFDs.

Closed-loop controlling

VFD allows accurate positioning of the motor

speed by continuously comparing with reference
speed even at changes in the loading conditions
and input disturbances like voltage fluctuations.

• Limits starting current

Induction motor draws current which is 6 to 8

times the nominal current at starting. Compared
to conventional starters, VFD’s gives better
results because it delivers low frequency at the
time of starting. Due to low frequency, the motor
draws less current and this current never
exceeds its nominal rating at starting as well as
operating.

• Smooth operation

It offers smooth operations at starting and

stopping and also reduces thermal and
mechanical stress on motors and belt drives.

High power factor

The inbuilt power factor correction circuit in the

DC link of VFD reduces the need for additional
power factor correction devices.

The power factor for the induction motor is very

low for particularly no-load application, while at
full load, it is 0.88 to 0.9. Low power factor results
in poor utilization of power due to high reactive
losses.

Easy installation

Pre-programmed and factory wired VFDs offer an

easy way for connection and maintenance.

I hope that you have been provided with precise

and ample knowledge about the working of VFDs
in our article. Thank you for spending your
valuable time. We have a simple task for you –
What are the different types of VFDs? Please
give your answers in the comment section below.
If you have any queries on this topic or the
electrical and electronic projects You can also
share your reviews and suggestions regarding
this article in the comment section below.

Photo credits

Variable Frequency Drives by emainc

Basic parts of VFD by machinedesign

Working of VFD by cfnewsads

Output waveforms of VFD by vfds

VFD connected to motor by cfnewsads

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