Grid-connected Induction Motors Research Articles

Improve the voltage profile of the grid-integrated induction motor with a fuzzy-based voltage source converter

This article suggests installing a series compensator on grid-connected induction motors that allows for the ride-through of unbalanced voltage sag. Fuzzy logic controls the motor voltages in a standard three-phase voltage source inverter or voltage source inverter (VSI). An open-ended three-phase machine and the grid form a series connection for the VSI. The proposed system is well suited for uses where frequency variation is unnecessary, such as with large pumps or fans. There is no requirement for a direct current (DC) source or injection transformer when conducting an electric mutual coupling The severity of the sag in the grid voltage that will prevent EMC from shutting down is proportional to the load on the motors. An increase in the voltage of the DC link may be necessary if the voltage is not balanced. A 1.5 hp four-pole induction motor was used alongside grid voltage disturbances to test the proposed compensator's ride-through capability. Grid's current analysis demonstrates that the proposed system does not require the addition of a passive filter to achieve low levels of total harmonic distortion (THD). Additionally, the control strategy, component ratings, and analysis of the converter's output voltage operating principle and pulse width modulation technique are covered. The system's viability is shown via simulation and experimental results.

Mitigation of circulating current and common mode voltage in grid-connected induction motor drive using modified PID-fuzzy controller

Mitigation of circulating current and common mode voltage in grid-connected induction motor drive using modified PID-fuzzy controller

Performance Improvement of Grid-Connected Induction Motors through an Auxiliary Winding Set

A technique to improve the performance of grid-connected induction motors by exploiting an auxiliary winding set is proposed in this paper. This auxiliary winding features the same distribution of the main winding, although with a reduced number of turns and it is fed by an inverter a fraction of the power in comparison with the rated size of the induction motor. As shown in the paper, through the auxiliary winding, it is possible to set the machine power factor, increasing the efficiency of the power conversion system and mitigating speed oscillations due to torque disturbances. A mitigation of the grid current peaks due to motor start-up is obtainable. First, the proposed technique is theoretically introduced, then a feasibility assessment is accomplished by simulations.

Grid-Connected Induction Motor Using a Floating DC-Link Converter Under Unbalanced Voltage Sag

This article proposes a series compensator with unbalanced voltage sag ride-through capability applied to grid-connected induction motors. A conventional three-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) is intended to regulate the motor voltages. The VSI is connected in series with the grid and a three-phase machine with open-ended windings. The proposed system is suitable for applications in which no frequency variation is required, like large pumps or fans. The VSI dc-link voltage operates as a floating capacitor through the energy minimized compensation (EMC) technique, in which there is no dc source or injection transformer. The motor load condition determines the minimum grid voltage positive component (sag severity) to keep EMC operation. Meanwhile, a voltage unbalance may increase the dc-link voltage requirements. A 1.5-hp four-pole induction motor has been used to verify the ride-through capability of the proposed compensator under grid voltage disturbances. A total harmonic distortion (THD) analysis of grid currents demonstrates that the proposed system provides low THD even if no passive filter is used. The operating principle, converter output voltage analysis, pulsewidth modulation technique, control strategy, and components ratings are discussed as well. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the system.

Stray Loss Model for Induction Motors With Using Equivalent Circuit Parameters

This article presents new models to estimate the stray load losses (SLs) of an induction motor using equivalent circuit parameters(ECPs). The stator and rotor slot geometries influence the magnetic field distribution in a motor, and this has a direct impact on the stray load losses. In equivalent circuits, the influence of slots on the magnetic field is represented by stator and rotor leakage inductances and the magnetizing inductance. In this work, the SL is modeled as a function of these inductances for grid-connected induction motors. The validity and accuracy of the proposed models are shown using the test data of 18 premium efficiency motors. It is also shown that the proposed SL model is accurate enough to be used in the design phase. The applicability of the proposed model for the design of IMs is demonstrated by designing, prototyping and testing four different induction motors of the same power ratings.

Active and Reactive Power Joint Balancing for Analyzing Short-Term Voltage Instability Caused by Induction Motor

Short-term voltage instability has a sensational effect once it occurs with massive loss of load, possibly area instability, and voltage collapse. This paper analyzes the short-term voltage instability caused by induction motor from the viewpoint of active and reactive power joint balancing. The analysis method is based on (1) the reactive power balancing between system supply and induction motor demand, and (2) the active power balancing between air-gap power and mechanical power, which is expressed by the region of rotor acceleration and deceleration in the Q-V plane. With the region of rotor acceleration and deceleration in the Q-V plane and the reactive power balancing, the movement direction of the operating point can be visually observed in the Q-V plane, thereby achieving a clear comprehension of physical properties behind the short-term voltage instability phenomenon. Furthermore, the instability mechanisms of two kinds of grid-connected induction motor operation conditions after a large disturbance are discussed to explain the basic theory of the analysis method and to provide examples of its application. Time-domain simulations are presented for a single-load infinite-bus system to validate the analyses.

Power-Balancing Based Induction Machine Model for Power System Dynamic Analysis in Electromechanical Timescale

Power balance, including active and reactive power, between the system supply and the demand from induction motor loads is a potentially necessary condition for system stable operation. Motion of system states depends on the balancing of active and reactive powers. Therefore, this paper proposes an induction machine model in electromechanical timescale from a power balancing viewpoint, in which the induction motor load is modeled as a voltage vector driven by power balancing between the system supply and the demand from induction motor load, so as to describe the dynamic characteristics of induction motor loads in a physical way for power system dynamic analysis. Then a voltage magnitude-phase dynamic analysis with the proposed induction machine model is constructed. Based on the voltage magnitude-phase dynamic analysis, the characteristics of grid-connected induction motor loads are explored, and the instability mechanisms of grid-connected induction motor loads induced by a large disturbance are discussed. It is shown that the dynamic behavior of grid-connected induction motor loads can be described as the dynamic process of the terminal voltage vector driven by coupled active and reactive power balancing in different timescales. In this way, the dynamic behavior of induction motor loads in terms of voltage magnitude-phase dynamics and its physical characteristics are clearly illustrated. Time-domain simulation results are presented to validate the above analyses.

Online temperature monitoring of a grid connected induction motor

This paper proposes a novel method for continuous temperature measurement of the stator winding of an induction machine. The method is based on measuring stator winding resistance by injecting a DC current test signal into the motor neutral point without interrupting its normal operation. The entire stator winding is used as a sensor without additional thermal sensors, while DC voltage and current need to be measured solely. Virtually equal currents are injected in each phase thereby minimizing the influence on the motor torque inherent to contemporary signal injection-based methods. The measurement results obtained using the proposed method are compared to results obtained using the standard resistance-based method and direct measurements obtained from thermocouples embedded in the windings. An excellent match is achieved under various loading levels and variable cooling conditions, thus proving the accuracy and robustness of the proposed method.

Application of Linear-Phase Filters in Induction Motor Speed Detection

In rotor-slot-harmonic-based speed detection schemes, a grid-connected induction motor's rotational speed isresolved from the phase of a rotor slot harmonic signal for condition monitoring purposes. In such schemes,frequency-selective digital filters are often applied to attenuate interferences in sampled motor currents before rotorslot harmonic signals are extracted. This paper demonstrates that the use of linear-phase filters, which is a family ofdigital filters with linear phase responses, helps preserve the rotor slot harmonic signal's phase during the filteringoperation. This paper also shows that, for grid-connected induction motors with periodically time-varying loads, therotor slot harmonic signal's frequency is modulated by periodic speed oscillations and hence contains multiple sidebandsin the frequency spectrum. Experimental results further show that linear-phase filters allow for a more accuratedetection of the induction motor speed than filters with nonlinear phase responses.

Supply Frequency Tracking in Resistance-Based Induction Motor's Rotor Temperature Estimation

In resistance-based rotor temperature estimation schemes, a grid-connected induction motor's rotor temperature is derived from a resistance quantity based on an equivalent circuit model. This temperature is susceptible to fluctuations in the motor's supply frequency. In this paper, the relationship between supply frequency fluctuations and accuracy in resistance-based rotor temperature estimates is analyzed, and a complex adaptive phase discriminator is proposed to track the supply frequency fluctuations for grid-connected induction motors. A complex voltage vector is constructed from polyphase voltage measurements and passed through a frequency-selective digital filter to attenuate harmonics and interference. The complex adaptive phase discriminator then operates on the filtered voltage signal, iteratively adapting a complex reference signal's phase to align it with the filtered voltage signal. The power grid's supply frequency is directly estimated from the adapted phase on a sample-by-sample basis. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed complex adaptive phase discriminator helps produce rotor temperature estimates with increased accuracy.

2/4-POLE Split-Phase Capacitor Motor for Small Compressors: A Comprehensive Motor Characterization

Compressor electric motor drives play a key role in the energy consumption of residential refrigerators. Electrical efficiency, robustness to starting and overloads and speed variation range define the performance of compressor electric motor drives. Between the lowest cost fixed-speed split-phase capacitor grid-connected induction motor, with lower efficiency, and the higher efficiency grid-connected cage permanent-magnet (PM) rotor split-phase capacitor motor and the inverter fed variable speed PM synchronous motor of highest initial costs, we introduce in this paper a 2 speed grid-connected motor drive. The proposed topology uses a separate split-phase winding, cage-PM-4-pole rotor synchronous motor (PMSM) for low speed (4 poles) and a single-phase (main) winding for 2-pole operation. The tentative target is 85% efficiency at 50 W output for 4-poles (low speed) PMSM operation with good starting and about 60% efficiency in 2-pole (high speed) induction motor operation at 100 W, with smooth transients from low to high speed under full torque load. Circuit models for steady state and for transients with dedicated Matlab codes have been developed, with key FEM validation, to substantiate full scale experiments, and an optimal design methodology embedding both operation modes was put forward, as main theoretical contributions.

Induction-Motor Rotor Temperature Estimation Using Superheterodyne Receivers

A rotor temperature estimator is proposed in this paper for grid-connected squirrel-cage induction motors during dynamic or steady-state operations. The method utilizes a pipelined architecture with two superheterodyne receivers that operate on a common complex current vector input. The first superheterodyne receiver detects motor speed by extracting an instantaneous rotor-slot-harmonic frequency from the complex current vector. The second superheterodyne receiver extracts a complex fundamental current vector from the same complex current vector. Given a few known motor parameters and a complex voltage vector, a model-reference adaptive system then produces an estimate of the rotor time constant from the superheterodyne receivers' outputs. Finally, the rotor temperature is derived from the estimated rotor time constant via a correlation between the rotor temperature and its resistance. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of estimating induction-motor rotor temperature on a sample-by-sample basis without using temperature or speed sensors.

Filter Design for Estimating Parameters of Induction Motors With Time-Varying Loads

Periodically time-varying loads such as reciprocating compressors produce torque and speed oscillations in grid-connected induction motors. In each compression cycle, the torque and speed oscillations manifest themselves through periodic pulsations in the induction motor's stator currents. In resistance-based rotor temperature tracking and overheating monitoring, low- or bandpass filters are frequently used to estimate induction motor electrical parameters from stator currents that contain periodic pulsations. Design of such filters relies on comprehensive knowledge of the load-related periodic pulsations in the stator currents. In this paper, a narrow-band angle modulation concept is first formulated in the framework of complex vector analysis to explain the periodic pulsations in the stator current. Carson's rule is then introduced to establish an empirical relationship between the stator current's modulating frequency and the appropriate bandwidth for low- or bandpass filters. The proposed filter design rules are experimentally validated, and explanations are provided using the phase angle between the motor's complex stator current and voltage vectors.