VFD – Variable Frequency Drive

Nguyễn Tấn Đời

Inverter Overview
 Industry requires higher and higher production speeds, and better methods
for even more efficient production systems are developed constantly.
 Electric motors represent major components of these production systems.
 Different methods for changing the speed of three-phase induction motors
were developed, but most of these are linked to considerable power losses or
large investments.
 The development of inverters permits the efficient use of induction motors
with variable speeds.
 The modern inverter is an electronic device, which controls the speed of
induction motors by changing frequency and voltage according to load and
desired motor speed.
 The motor can achieve a high torque at all speeds.
Structure of Inverter
Mains Rectifiers and Intermedia Circuit
Inverters
 The inverter is the last main drive element in front of the
motor. It changes the DC voltage into a supply having
variable frequency and voltage.
 Various switching devices are used such as: BJT (Bipolar
Junction Transistor), GTO (Gate Turn Off Transistor), FET
(Field Effect Transistor), IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar
Transistor).
 Modern AC drives are usually equipped with IGBT. The new
generations of these semiconductors achieve high
performances of up to approx. 350 kW.
 How can a DC supply be transformed into an AC supply
with variable voltage and frequency?
 The inverter’s components act as switches (controlled by a
microprocessor) and switch positive or negative voltage to the
motor winding.
 For most AC drives, the frequency and voltage changes are
achieved by means of pulse width modulation (PWM).
Single phase Inverter
Three phase Inverter
Diagram of PWM
Frequency-Voltage ratio
 The AC variable speed drive operates by
providing near optimum conditions of voltage
frequency and current approaching mains
performance, by changing the voltage, a good
approach to these operational conditions.
 A linear voltage/frequency relationship from 0
to 50 Hz and 0 - 400 V serves as standard for
most applications.
 If the frequency exceeds 50 Hz, the voltage is
not increased further (limited to input voltage)
and the motor can no longer achieve the rated
output and therefore cannot be fully loaded.
Frequency-Voltage ratio
 To operate higher than nominal frequency,
the motors connection has to be changed
so that the frequency limit (usually 50 Hz)
can be increased without excessive stress
on the motor.
 A standard ratio is: 230V - 50Hz and
380V - 87Hz.
 The motor can be operated with a nominal
load (at constant torque) of up to 87 Hz.
 Voltage Increase or Boost
 The linear V/F ratio provides very low torque at
low frequencies (< 5 Hz). The motor has almost
no torque, so that it stops during low speed.
 To avoid this, a voltage increase or “boost” has
to be set for low speeds.
 Depending on the drive type, the user can
achieve this in several ways:
 Auto-Boost: The voltage increase is determined by the
inverter’s software. This type of torque boost covers the
majority of applications.
 Torque Boost: The V/F ratio is biased with a fixed
voltage only at low frequencies. The motor current rises
very steeply. User should care in setting to avoid motor
over heating.
 Slip Compensation
 If a three-phase induction motor is loaded, its
speed decreases while its slip increases
(usually 3-5%).
 If such a speed reduction is undesirable, then
the drive may use slip compensation, the drive
automatically increases the output frequency
so that the speed does not decrease.
 This compensation permits a speed accuracy
of approx. 0.5 %, although lower errors can be
programmed if required.
 Reference
 The Reference determines the drive output frequency ~ the speed of the motor.
 The reference can be fed to the drive in various ways:
 By means of a potentiometer (typically 10 kOhm)
 By means of an analogue signal (0...10V or 4...20 mA)
 Via a serial interface
 Via a field bus
 It is also possible to program different set frequencies in the drive and to
activate these via inputs if and when required. (Digital inputs)
Direction Reversal & Braking
 As the driver’s rotating field is generated electronically, a simple control
command is sufficient for changing the motor’s rotation.
 If the frequency is reduced while the motor is running, the rotor turns faster
than the rotating field in the stator.
 The motor acts as an induction generator.
 The energy from the motor is fed back to the drive, where it is in turn stored in
the intermediate circuit again.
 Only a limited amount of energy can be absorbed and the excess energy
leads to a voltage increase on the DC capacitors.
 If the voltage exceeds a certain value, the drive switches itself off. To avoid
this, the energy has to be dissipated.
 This can be achieved in various ways.
 Dissipating Excess Energy
 Brake-Chopper:
Energy is dissipated by means of a semi conductor
switch connected to a resistor, braking duty < 30%.
 Feed-Back:
Energy is fed back into the network by means of a
separate inverter which resynthesises the energy
and synchronises it with the power supply, braking
duty = 100%.
 Common DC bus:
The intermediate circuits of several drives can be
connected together. This means that the brake
energy for one drive is fed back to other drives
(which may not be braking).
 Advantages of AC Drives
 Energy saving:
Energy is saved if the motor runs at a speed corresponding to the load requirement at
that moment. This applies to pumps and fans in particular. Current consumption is also
reduced during low speed and high torque conditions.
 Process optimisation:
Adapting the speed to the production process results in several advantages, e.g,
efficient production and optimum use of systems.
 Reducing Mechanical Stress:
The number of starts and stops can be increased compared to DOL operation. This
means that an unnecessarily high stress on the machine mechanics can be reduced.
 Low maintenance requirement:
AC drives require only periodic maintenance (fans, filters, connections) and since they
are usually digital, require only occasional adjustment.
 Improved working surroundings:
A conveyor belt’s speed can be adapted to the working speed, can avoid slow starts
and stops, which prevent the products on the conveyor belt from falling over.
Applications
Siemens Simatic V20 Inverter
Mitsubishi FR E700 Inverter
Allen Bradley PF 520 Inverter