Energy-efficient motors

The use of a copper-squirrel cage in induction motors has been analyzed testing a prototype rated 1.1 kW and comparing the performances with a twin machine with an aluminum cage. The comparison has been made using torque, efficiency, starting torque, and starting current. For the considered machine size, the obtained results show that the simple substitution of the aluminum with copper can improve the efficiency of no more than 1.5% at rated load. Taking into account the copper market cost trend, the use of copper cage increases the break-even time due to the higher cost of copper rotor respect to the aluminum one. For this reason, the discussion about the use of copper cage can be still considered ope

Voltage harmonics analysis and efficiency of three-phase induction motor with change in coil pitch of the stator winding.

Variable speed drives employing induction motors have been widely used in industry for decades. Today there is a continually increasing demand for more precise and flexible speed control usually with close attention to energy efficiency. The inverter is used because of its reliability, flexibility and relatively low cost. However its output a.c. voltage is not sinusoidal so the core losses in the induction motors consequently increase. This research is centred on the design and testing of the stator winding configuration of three phase induction motors with various coil pitches and measure the dynamic performance under sinusoidal and PWM supplies. Measurements were carried out to determine the behavior of harmonic losses and the efficiency of four identical three-phase 746 W induction motors with stator coil pitches of 180 , 160 , 140 and 120 . The motors were fed from either a three-phase inverter or a three-phase sinusoidal voltage supply. The switching frequency was varied from 4 kHz to 16 kHz and the modulation frequency was varied between 30 Hz to 60 Hz. Simulations were carried out using OPERA 2D software under sinusoidal voltage supply. The phenomenon of chording by l/n* of pole pitch to suppress the n* harmonic was particularly followed by motors with 120 and 160 coil pitches under sinusoidal voltage supply. This phenomenon was also followed by 120 , 140 and 160 coil pitch motors under PWM voltage supply at all the switching frequencies and modulation * frequencies. The motor with 120 coil pitch showed a drastical increase in the lower order voltage harmonic components with simulation under sinusoidal supply when compared to full pitch motor. The total voltage harmonic distortion due to the third, fifth and ninth harmonics was less for the motor with 120 coil pitch under PWM voltage at higher switching frequencies and under over modulation condition. The efficiency of the same motor was higher at full load and over loads under all the switching frequencies and modulation frequencies. The measurement results and discussion enable motor manufacturers to consider 120 coil pitch motor under PWM voltage supply and 160 coil pitch motor under sinusoidal voltage supply for the 746 W induction motors as the increase in the efficiencies were 12% and 5% respectively when compared to full pitch motor

Harmonic current sideband indicators (HCSBIs) for broken bar detection and diagnostics in cage induction motors

Induction motor bar breakages have been increasingly studied in the last decades because of economic interests in developing techniques that permit on-line, non-invasive, early detection of motor faults in power plants. This work is specifically focused on broken bar detection and fault severity assessment in three phase power cage motors fed by non-sinusoidal voltage sources. In this work some new fault indicators for rotor bar breakages detection in squirrel cage induction motors are proposed, mathematically developed and experimentally proved. They are based on the sidebands of phase current upper harmonics, and they are well suited especially for converter-fed induction motors. The ratios I(7-2s)f/I5f and I(5+2s)f/I7f , I(13-2s)f/I11f and I(11+2s)f/I13f are examples of such new indicators, and they are not dependent on load torque and drive inertia, as classical indicators do. Their frequency-dependence has been also examined both theoretically and experimentally, and it was found less remarkable with respect to other indicators. Moreover, their values increase linearly with the quantity of consecutive broken bars, almost for not too much advanced faults; on 4-poles motors they were found quietly like the per-unit number of broken bars (ratio on total bar number). An original formulation is presented for motor mathematical modeling, based on the Generalized Symmetrical Components Theory, for sidebands amplitude computation. A complete motor model (involving all the elementary machine electrical circuits, as stator belts and rotor mesh loops) has been used for computer simulations; the same model was then transformed by using some complex Fortescue’s matrices to obtain a steady-state linear solution, solvable for stator and rotor currents, in healthy and faulty conditions. By exploiting the model, the formal definition of a set of new broken bar indicators was finally obtained. Machine simulations carried out by running the complete numerical model confirmed the accuracy of the model, and the theoretical previsions. Experimental work was performed by using a square-wave inverter-fed motor with an appositely prepared cage, for easy testing with increasing number of broken bars and without motor dismounting. Moreover, extensive experimentation was carried out on three industrial motors with different power and poles number, with increasing load, frequency and fault gravity for methodology validation. Finally, the ideas exposed in this work led to a patent application, owned by the University of Rome “Sapienza”

Advances in Rotating Electric Machines

It is difficult to imagine a modern society without rotating electric machines. Their use has been increasing not only in the traditional fields of application but also in more contemporary fields, including renewable energy conversion systems, electric aircraft, aerospace, electric vehicles, unmanned propulsion systems, robotics, etc. This has contributed to advances in the materials, design methodologies, modeling tools, and manufacturing processes of current electric machines, which are characterized by high compactness, low weight, high power density, high torque density, and high reliability. On the other hand, the growing use of electric machines and drives in more critical applications has pushed forward the research in the area of condition monitoring and fault tolerance, leading to the development of more reliable diagnostic techniques and more fault-tolerant machines. This book presents and disseminates the most recent advances related to the theory, design, modeling, application, control, and condition monitoring of all types of rotating electric machines

Hairpin windings for high reliability and high power density electrical machines

In the last years the increasing demand of higher torque and power densities has led to the adoption of hairpin windings (HWs) in electrical machines, mainly in those intended for automotive applications. However, this winding topology is quite sensitive to AC losses, hence one of their main challenges is represented by their reduction. This work deals with different design aspects related to the enhancements of some performance figures of rotating electrical machines for traction applications, above all power density and reliability, mainly through the adoption of HWs.In the last years the increasing demand of higher torque and power densities has led to the adoption of hairpin windings (HWs) in electrical machines, mainly in those intended for automotive applications. However, this winding topology is quite sensitive to AC losses, hence one of their main challenges is represented by their reduction. This work deals with different design aspects related to the enhancements of some performance figures of rotating electrical machines for traction applications, above all power density and reliability, mainly through the adoption of HWs

PWM Techniques for Control of Dual-Inverter Supplied Six-Phase Drives

Among the different multiphase ac drive solutions, one of the most widely reported in the literature is the six-phase machine. The machines can be realised into two different configurations, symmetrical and asymmetrical. For the symmetrical configuration, the stator winding consists of two sets of three-phase windings that are spatially shifted by 60 degrees where spatial displacement between any two consecutive phases is the same and equal to 60 degrees. For the asymmetrical configuration, the two sets of three-phase windings are spatially shifted by 30 degrees. As a result, the spatial shift between consecutive phases becomes non-equidistant.In this thesis, modulation techniques for both symmetrical and asymmetrical six-phase machines are investigated. The machines are configured in open-end winding configuration where both ends of the stator winding are connected to separate isolated inverters in a topology known as dual-inverter supply. Compared to conventional single-sided supply topology where one end of the winding is connected to an inverter while the other side is star-connected, some additional benefits are offered by the dual-inverter supply topology. First, fault tolerance of the drive is improved, since the supply is realised with two independent inverters. In case one of the inverters is faulted, the other can continue to provide power to the machine. Second, the same phase voltages can be achieved with half the dc-link voltages on the two inverter inputs compared to the single-sided supply, which can be useful in applications such as electric and hybrid electric vehicles and medium sized ships, where the dc voltage levels are limited. Further, due to the nature of the topology, additional diodes and capacitors like in the Neutral Point Clamped (NPC) and Flying Capacitor (FC) VSIs are not required. The latter results in a further advantage - capacitor voltage balancing techniques are not required.Two pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques for control of the dual-inverter supplied six-phase drives are proposed in this thesis. The first is a reference sharing algorithm where the inverters are modulated using reference voltage that is shared equally and unequally between the two modulators. For both symmetrical and asymmetrical six-phase drives, a better performance, in term of total harmonic distortion (THD) of phase voltage is obtained when the reference is shared unequally between the two modulators. The second technique is carrier-based modulation where the modulation of the two inverters is determined by the disposition of the carrier signals. Three variations of carrier signals disposition are investigated namely; the phase disposition (PD-PWM), alternate phase opposition disposition (APOD-PWM) and phase-shifted PWM (PS-PWM). For the symmetrical six-phase drive, the best phase voltage and current THDs are obtained using APOD-PWM while for asymmetrical six-phase drive, the APOD-PWM produces the worst current THD despite having the best voltage THD among the three methods.All the developed modulation techniques are analysed using simulations and experiments undertaken using a laboratory prototypes. The waveforms and spectra of phase voltage and load current obtained from the simulation and experimental works are presented in this thesis together with the THD of both the voltage and current over entire linear modulation range

Magnetic Material Modelling of Electrical Machines

The need for electromechanical energy conversion that takes place in electric motors, generators, and actuators is an important aspect associated with current development. The efficiency and effectiveness of the conversion process depends on both the design of the devices and the materials used in those devices. In this context, this book addresses important aspects of electrical machines, namely their materials, design, and optimization. It is essential for the design process of electrical machines to be carried out through extensive numerical field computations. Thus, the reprint also focuses on the accuracy of these computations, as well as the quality of the material models that are adopted. Another aspect of interest is the modeling of properties such as hysteresis, alternating and rotating losses and demagnetization. In addition, the characterization of materials and their dependence on mechanical quantities such as stresses and temperature are also considered. The reprint also addresses another aspect that needs to be considered for the development of the optimal global system in some applications, which is the case of drives that are associated with electrical machines

Design and Construction Modifications of Switched Reluctance Machines

Although the design principles of the Switched Reluctance Machines (SRMs) are available in different fragments in numerous bibliography positions, there no exists the complex design procedure of whole drive system taking into account the SR Machine, control system and supply device as well. The hybrid design method for SRM drives with application of new analytical calculation methods, finite element method and simulation models is proposed in this thesis. The calculation/design system is characterised by important effectivity and reliability. The new possibilities in analytical determination of saturation effects and core losses under various modes of control, including sensorless method, are also taken into account. The correctness of the proposed design algorithms are verified by laboratory tests made on three motor prototypes manufactured in industry for concrete application. This dissertation provides the elements indispensable for more accurate and complex analysis and design of drives with switch reluctance motors. The elements of electrical motor and control system design as well as the considerations on the choice of supply device and controller subsystems are jointed in the thesis for final receiving of the design tool for considered industrial drive system

Design and development of axial-field air-cored brushless DC motors

This thesis is concerned with the principle and operation of axial-field brushless dc motors. It also describes the development of a brushless dc drive system which consists of three system elements: a disc-motor, an electronic power regulator, and a microprocessor-based controller. The principle of axial-field machines is discussed, and attention is given to the effect of the air-gap flux distribution on the emf waveform. By controlling the flux distribution, the induced emf is optimised for inverter-fed operation. The aim of the optimisation is to increase the motor's power density, and to simplify the interfacing between the control electronics and the motor. The designs and operations of three prototype motors are described, and certain problems relating to brushless dc motors, and to disc-motors in particular are discussed. These problems include undercommutation, and the effect of the drive configuration on the armature current. The design of the electronic power regulator and the selection of a suitable pulse-width modulation < r*WM) strategy for current control are presented. The features of the 3-phase 4-quadrant regulator, which capitalised on the special characteristics of the disc-motor, include the use of power MOSFETs as the PWM devices, and the use of an inverter bridge of which only the bottom-half is PWMed. A model of the switching regulator is also presented. The microprocessor-based controller sub-system controls the commutation sequence and the switching pulse-width of the power regulator to provide a constant torque output from the drive system. Both the commutation and the pulse-width controls are implemented by using the look-up table technique. The commutation signals are derived from a specially developed rotor position detector which can be used to provide automatic commutation advancing