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THOMAS VINZ

DCS880
DC fundamentals

3ADW000547R0401 DC fundamentals en d
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Contents

 DC machines:
 Introduction.
 Design.
 Separately excited DC machine.
 DC drive:
 General.
 Armature converter.
 Control structure.

December 13, 2024 Slide 2

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DC machines
Introduction, highlights

DC machines highlights
DC machines are well known for
– Full torque from zero speed.
– Wide field weakening range.
– Excellent control behavior.

Correlation for control

– Field current and armature current are responsible for torque.
– Armature voltage and armature current are responsible for power.

DC machines have half size compared to Standard AC machines.

December 13, 2024 Slide 3

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DC machines
Introduction, torque and power compared to size

Power
is equal

P = 11 kW P = 11 kW P = 11 kW
n = 1140 rpm n = 960 rpm n = 730 rpm
M = 76 Nm M = 110 Nm M = 150 Nm

Torque
is equal

P = 22 kW P = 15 kW P = 11 kW
n = 1440 rpm n = 960 rpm n = 730 rpm
M = 150 Nm M = 150 Nm M = 150 Nm

December 13, 2024 Slide 4

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DC machines
Design, stator

Stator of a DC machine (field)

 The stator is the stationary part.
 It provides the field (flux).
 Main poles are the field windings.
 Interpole and compensation windings eliminate unwanted effects.

December 13, 2024 Slide 5

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DC machines
Design, magnetic fields

Magnetic field in a DC machine

 This is a stator of a 2-pole machine. 𝐼
 Field winding generates an electro-magnetic field between the poles.

December 13, 2024 Slide 6

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DC machines
Design, magnetic fields

Rotation, motion and torque

 Brushes and conductors must be implemented. 𝐼
 Current in brushes and conductors is required to generate a second
electro-magnetic field.
 The force between the two electro-magnetic fields generates the torque.

Brushes

December 13, 2024 Slide 7

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DC machines
Design, interpole windings

Interpole windings
 The inductance in the armature circuit affects the electro-magnetic-field. Ia
 The interpole windings generate an opposite electro-magnetic field.
 This leads to a smoother commutation.

nN n

Ia
1/2 Ia

t
-1/2 Ia

December 13, 2024 Slide 8

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DC machines
Design, compensation windings

Effect of compensation windings

 The compensation windings carry rotor current.
 The compensation windings neutralize the effect of unwanted flux (e.g.,
armature reaction).
 The compensation windings prevent magnetic saturation in the stator.
 Thus, it is possible to operate the machine at higher loads.

December 13, 2024 Slide 9

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DC machines
Design, compensation windings

120

100

80
Power (%)

Uncomp
60
Comp

Field weakening factor

40 1:3

20 Field weakening factor

1:5

0
Speed

December 13, 2024 Slide 10

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DC machines
Design, windings

Sum up windings
Field windings
 Create an electro-magnetic field.
 Used for flux.

Interpole windings
 Prevent uneven field. This leads to a smoother commutation.

Compensation windings
 Prevents magnetic saturation.
 Increases field weakening range.

December 13, 2024 Slide 11

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DC machines
Design, rotor

Rotor of a DC machine (armature)

 The rotor is the moving part.
 It develops the torque.
 It contains the armature winding.
 The shaft is the center axis.
 The commutator connected with the windings.

December 13, 2024 Slide 12

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DC machines
Design, commutator

Commutator of a DC machine
 The commutator is used to transfer the energy.
 The fins are connected to the windings.
 The brushes provide the electrical contact.
 The neutral zone is perpendicular to
the main field.

December 13, 2024 Slide 13

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DC machines
Design, ABB machine

Compactness
 Can be used as motor and generator.
 The shaft is mounted between bearings.
 The terminal box is used to connect the cables.

December 13, 2024 Slide 14

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DC machines
Design, ABB machine

The terminal box includes connectors.

Non drive side with commutator, analog tacho or

encoder.

Middle part with the windings.

Drive side with the shaft.

December 13, 2024 Slide 15

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DC machines
Design, ABB machine

Typical variants
Air-cooled variant
– IC 06
– IP 23

Water-cooled variant
– IC 86W
– IP 54 or IP 55

December 13, 2024 Slide 16

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DC machines
Separately excited DC machine

Characteristics
 Both, armature and field are supplied by a separate power source.
Equivalent circuit diagram:

Formulas: IA RA LA

IF
T = c * IA * Φ c = Constant UA EMF
T = Torque
UF
 = Flux
c * EMF
n=
Φ Armature Excitation

dIA
EMF = UA - RA * IA – LA *
dt

December 13, 2024 Slide 17

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DC machines
Separately excited DC machine

Armature voltage UN
UA Commutation limit

IN
Armature current
IA

IN
Field weakening factor:
Field current If
nmax
f=
nbase
Torque TN
T
Field weakening area
Output power PN
P
n
nmax
Commutation limit

December 13, 2024 Slide 18

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DC drives
General, layout

MV line
With external excitation
MV/LV
General layout transformer
– MV/LV transformer.
Field fuses AC fuses
Armature circuit
(F3) (F1)
– AC fuses.
Autotransformer Mains contactor
– Mains contactor. (T3) (K1)
– Line reactor.
Field contactor Line reactor
– Armature converter. (K3) (L1)
– DC fuses.
Field ~ ~ Armature
Field circuit. converter - - converter
– Field fuses.
DC fuses
– Autotransformer.
Field
– Field contactor. M Load
winding
– Field converter.

December 13, 2024 Slide 19

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DC drives
General, 6-pulse thyristor bridge (line commutated)

AC line current DC current Id

1 3 5
3  AC network
iL
L1
~
The output
N Ud voltage can be
L2
~ positive or
negative
Mains
uL
voltage

~ L3

Controlled voltage source 4 6 2

depending on firing angle 

December 13, 2024 Slide 20

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DC drives
Armature converter, calculations

DC current and AC current

Relationship between AC and DC current: Id
I L1
𝐼 =𝐼 =𝐼 = 𝐼 ⋅ 0.82 Ud
Example with a motor load (2-Q):

𝐼 = 1000 𝐴 𝑈 = 1000 𝑉
𝐼 = 𝐼 ⋅ 0.82 = 1000 𝐴 ⋅ 0.82 = 820 𝐴

Line reactors, cables, contactors and fuses must be selected depending on 𝑃 =𝑈 𝐼

the RMS values!
𝑃 =1000 V 1000 𝐴 = 1 𝑀𝑊
𝑈 1000 𝑉
𝑈 = = = 852 𝑉
1.35 ⋅ 0.9 cos 𝛼 1.35 ⋅ 0.9 cos 15°

𝑆= 3⋅𝑈 ⋅𝐼 = 852 𝑉 ⋅ 820 𝐴 = 1.21 𝑀𝑉𝐴

December 13, 2024 Slide 21

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DC drives
Armature converter, output voltage

Generating output voltage

Voltages
– Phase voltage (L1, L2, L3).
L1
L3
L1
L2
L3
a=0
L2

– Phase to phase voltage (e.g., L12). a=0

L12

Id
1 3 5
3  AC network
L1 iL
~
 Thyristor 1 and 6 are active. L2 Ud
 The output bubble is shown in red. ~
uL
L3
~
4 6 2

December 13, 2024 Slide 22

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DC drives
Armature converter, output voltage

How a thyristor converter works

6-pulse thyristor bridge with a load

Firing sequence:
– Thyristor 1 + 6
L1
L3
L2

– Thyristor 2 + 1
a=0

– Thyristor 3 + 2
– Thyristor 4 + 3
– Thyristor 5 + 4
– Thyristor 6 + 5 Id
1 3 5
3 ~ AC network
iL
L1
~
L2 Ud
~ uL
L2
~
4 6 2

December 13, 2024 Slide 23

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DC drives
Armature converter, driving mode

Machine is motoring
Positive voltage
– The firing angle  is < 90°.
– The minimum firing angle  is 15°.
The natural firing angle ( = 0°) is the intersection between two phases.
In this example the thyristor is fired after 30° ( = 30°) from the natural firing L1
angle. L3
L2
a=0
L12

= 30°

December 13, 2024 Slide 24

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DC drives
Armature converter, regenerative mode

Machine is generating
Negative voltage
– The firing angle  > 90°.
– The maximum firing angle  is 150°.

L1
L3
L2
a=0
L12

= 150°

December 13, 2024 Slide 25

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DC drives
Armature converter, commutation failure or shoot-through

Commutation failure GDCZ142

WECHSELRICHTERKIPPEN
DC drives can be compromised by a commutation failure causing:
– Damaged fuses.
– Damaged thyristors.
Balancing voltage
Ausgangsgleichspannung

Causes of a commutation failure:  = 180°

t

– Mains power failure.

– Too high firing angles.
L2 L3 L1
Thus, the working range of the B6-bridge must be limited. With typical firing
angles between 15°and 150°.
Netzspannung


Zündwinkel
0° 30° 60° 90° 120° 150° 180°
Firing angle

December 13, 2024 Slide 26

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DC drives
Armature converter, commutation failure or shoot-through

Commutation failure begins near firing angles of 180°, so typically the firing angles are limited between 15° and 150°
Commutation failure is more likely with 4-Q drives compared to 2-Q drives. In 2-Q drives the condition will merely cause a loss in output voltage. In 4-Q
drives, however, a severe overcurrent will occur. Commutation failure will cause very high current flow through motor, DC-breaker (if present), thyristors and
fuses. It can cause damage to the motor, thyristors and fuses.
Commutation failures usually happens while regenerating. The common causes are:
– Loss of mains or a mains power dip.
– Poor mains quality (too soft mains and thus wide commutation notches).
– Excessive armature voltage.
– Failure or malfunction of a firing pulse circuit.

December 13, 2024 Slide 27

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DC drives
Armature converter, current in a DC drive

Id
DC current 1 2 3 4 5 6

Id 6 1 2 3 4 5

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 t

DC current in one thyristor branch IV 2
2

(120° width)
IV 3
IV2, IV3, IV4 3

IV 4
4

I L1
AC current in the mains
1

(120° = Id and 60° = 0)

IL1, IL2, IL3 I L2
3

6 6

I L3
5

December 13, 2024 Slide 28

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DC drives
Armature converter, voltage of a 2-quadrant (2-Q) drive

Udα calculation for a 2-Q drive

Firing angle between 15° and 150°.
Maximum save DC voltage:

𝑈 = 0.9 • 1.35 • 𝑈 • cos( 15°)

𝑈 = 0.9 • 1.35 • 400𝑉 • cos( 15°) = 470𝑉

Voltage source characteristic:
150° because of commutation (current) and recovery (thyristor). Ud

15° because of safety, due to mains voltage jitter. Ud  cos 

0.9 safety factor for 10 % mains voltage drop.


Maximum firing angle

December 13, 2024 Slide 29

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DC drives
Armature converter, voltage of a 4-quadrant (4-Q) drive

Udα calculation for a 4-Q drive Positive voltage source characteristic:

Ud
Firing angle between 15° and 150°.
Ud  cos 
Maximum save DC voltage:

𝑈 = 0.9 • 1.35 • 𝑈 • cos( 150°)

𝑈 = 0.9 • 1.35 • 400𝑉 • 𝑐𝑜𝑠 (150°) = 420𝑉 Maximum firing angle

150° because of commutation (current) and recovery (thyristor). Negative voltage source characteristic:
15° because of safety, due to mains voltage jitter. Ud

0.9 safety factor for 10 % mains voltage drop.

Ud  cos 

Maximum firing angle

December 13, 2024 Slide 30

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DC drives
Armature converter, continuous and discontinuous armature current

Principle circuit diagram:

IA Continuous
current
LA
Ud

Ud ∼ cos
RA

EMK
~ n, IF Discontinuous
current

December 13, 2024 Slide 31

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DC drives
Armature converter, quadrants

Quadrants Y
The convention for a Cartesian coordinate system is
– The 1st quadrant is on the top right.
– All other numbers follow counterclockwise. II I
Thus follows:

Quadrant I II III IV

X
x-coordinate >0 <0 <0 >0

y-coordinate >0 >0 <0 <0

III IV

December 13, 2024 Slide 32

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DC drives
Armature converter, single bridge (2-Q)

Speed (voltage)
Id

II I
Active braking Driving M

Torque Ud
(current)

III IV Typical applications:

Driving Braking – Extruder.
– Mixer.
– Rod and bar mills.

December 13, 2024 Slide 33

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DC drives
Armature converter, single bridge (4-Q)

Speed (voltage)
Id

II I
Active braking Driving M

Torque Ud
(current)

III IV Typical applications:

Driving Braking – Ski lifts.
– Test rigs.
– Winder.
– For smooth and fast torque reversal.

December 13, 2024 Slide 34

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DC drives
Armature converter, (2-Q) with field reversal

Speed (voltage)
Id

II I
Active braking Driving M

Torque Ud
(current)

Typical applications:
III IV
– Mixer
Driving Braking
– Propulsion
– Slow changeover of torque. Thus, less control
performance
– Useable if P > 500 kW

December 13, 2024 Slide 35

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DC drives
Armature converter, maximum regenerative/generating voltage

Voltage Speed (voltage)

– There is a voltage limitation in quadrants II and IV.

– The maximum firing angle  is limited to 150° since the thyristors need a
recovery time β of 30°. II I
– This reduces the motor voltage in a 4-Q drive. Active braking Driving

– 2-Q drives cannot be used for active braking (positive speed direction).
Thus, the motor voltage can be higher. Torque
(current)

III IV
Driving Braking

Maximum generating voltage

December 13, 2024 Slide 36

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DC drives
Armature converter, overview

Id
1 3 5
XL iL
~ iC
EMF

Ud
~
uL

~
4 6 2

Mains Line Thyristor bridge Load

reactor

December 13, 2024 Slide 37

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DC drives
Armature converter, commutation

Commutation in a converter 3AC network

Id
1 3 5
PCC
 Commutation from one thyristor to the next thyristor. L1 iL

 The commutation leads to a: ~

L2 Ud
 Short circuit of the phase voltage at the point of common ~ uL
connection (PCC). L3
 Short circuit of the current at the point of common connection ~ uk
(PCC).. 4 6 2

 The line reactors limit the depth (u) and length (t) of the commutation Line reactors
notches.

u
Phase voltage

 t

December 13, 2024 Slide 38

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DC drives
Armature converter, line reactors

Purpose of line reactors

 Limit the di/dt during commutation.
 Prevent interferences between drives connected to the same line and
other upstream connected equipment.
 Each converter gets its own line reactor!

~ ~
 When thyristor converters operate, the line voltage is short-circuited
during commutation from one thyristor to the next. Line reactors are
used to reduce the commutation spikes to the upstream supply.
 Line reactors lead to a reduction of the maximum available output
voltage, due to their voltage drop.

Load

December 13, 2024 Slide 39

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DC drives
Armature converter, line reactors

Configurations
One line reactor per drive
 uK = 1 % or 4 %.

M M

Dedicated transformer
 One transformer per drive, typically used for large drives.
 uK = 1 % to 10 %.

December 13, 2024 Slide 40

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DC drives
Armature converter, line reactors

Configurations
Autotransformer
 Requires an additional line reactor.
 uK = 1 % or 4 %.

M
H8 drives
 Maximum two drives per transformer.
 uK = 1 % to 10 %.
Aux. voltage

M M

December 13, 2024 Slide 41

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DC drives
Armature converter, fusing

Configurations
Fault in the electronics, application, semiconductors
 Wrong tuning of the controllers.
 Wrong parameter settings.
 Defective printed circuit boards (ageing).
 Defective semiconductor (ageing).
Commutation failure
 Missing mains voltage.
Insulation failures
 In the converter.
 In the wiring.
 In the machine. M

 In the mains power supply.

December 13, 2024 Slide 42

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DC drives
Armature converter, fusing

Fuses protect against

 Damages of semiconductors in the converter.
 Explosion of semiconductors with the risk of fire.
 Damages of the machine (flash over).
Protection philosophy
 Size of the system (cost of investment).
 Application (2-Q, 4-Q, mainly regenerative).
 Acceptable downtime, availability of the system.
 Risk the customer wants to take.
 Mains voltage conditions (stability of the network).
 DC fuses (2 of them) should be used for all regenerative (4-Q) drives to protect the machine in case of a fault during regeneration.

December 13, 2024 Slide 43

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DC drives
Armature converter, fusing

Not according to standard Not according to standard Recommendation for 2-Q drives

fire yes
fire no fire yes explosion yes
explosion no explosion no motor (yes)
motor no motor no semiconductor yes
M semiconductor no M semiconductor no M

Not according to standard Not according to standard Recommendation for 4-Q drive

fire yes fire yes

fire no explosion no explosion yes
explosion no motor yes motor yes
motor yes semiconductor no semiconductor yes
semiconductor no
Standard fuse
M M M
Semiconductor fuse

December 13, 2024 Slide 44

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DC drives
Armature converter, fusing

Fuse dimensioning
Rules
 Basic fuse dimensioning is done according to rated current and rated
voltage.
 Dimensioning based on the I2t-value.
 Fuse must be able to handle overload conditions.
 DC fuses must be rated for the same current and voltage as AC fuses (
AC fuses = DC fuses).

December 13, 2024 Slide 45

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DC drives
Control structure, diagram

December 13, 2024 Slide 46