Design of Controller based economic single-phase to

three-phase converter shaping for low-cost AC motor

Khadija Hanif 2017-UET-QET.SWL-BSC.ENGG-ELECT-06

Shehzad Ali 2017-UET-QET.SWL-BSC.ENGG-ELECT-09

M. Junaid Zafar 2017-UET-QET.SWL-BSC.ENGG-ELECT-13

Department of Electrical Engineering

Quaid-e-Azam COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

SAHIWAL – PAKISTAN

1
2
 Abstract
A variety of commercial and industrial electrical equipment’s require three phase voltage
supply. While small commercial workshops do not prefer the installation of the three-phase
voltage supply due to the high cost. To address the above said problem, in depth knowledge
about the problem and an extensive research work is required. Therefore, an extensive and
comprehensive research work is performed to propose a solution for the above said
problems in this project. This project is based on high-speed switching bridge converter and
Hexa bridge inverter consist on N channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect
Transistor (MOSFET). Each MOSFET conducts for 180 degrees and gating signals of each
phase are advanced by 120 degrees. In this way a single phase to three phase voltage
converters will be implemented. Moreover, to meet the demand of the industry a variable
frequency drive method and Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation will be implemented to
control the speed of induction motor. The process of VFD is divided into two stages, the AC
to DC converter and the DC to AC converter. First, a single- phase AC voltage of 220V is
converted into DC voltage using a single- phase bridge rectifier. After rectifier power goes
to capacitors which convert the pulsating DC into pure DC and deliver that power to the
inverter section. The Inverter contains MOSFETS that deliver power to an induction motor.
A controller is used for automatic switching of transistor. As in industry, it is a complex
problem to control the VAR demand of a three-phase induction motor which makes the
power factor more lagging. Ultimately, the industry has to pay penalty to the utility power
company for its increasing lagging loads. This project offers three phase inverter which will
reduce power bills and improve system operating characteristics by reducing excessive
voltage drops.

Key words: MOSFETS, LCD, DC, AC

3
Contents
............................................................................................................................................................... 1

Abstract.................................................................................................................................................3

CHAPTER 1..........................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................5

1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................6

1.1 Background..................................................................................................................................6

1.2 Problem Statement and Main Contribution..................................................................................8

1.3 Aim and Objective.......................................................................................................................9

1.4 Scope of the project.....................................................................................................................9

1.5Organization of Thesis................................................................................................................10

1.6 Summary...................................................................................................................................10

2. Literature Review............................................................................................................................12

2.1 Study of converter......................................................................................................................12

2.1.1Half-wave Rectification.......................................................................................................13

2.1.2 Full wave converter............................................................................................................13

2.2 Study of inverter........................................................................................................................15

2.2.1 Three phase inverter............................................................................................................17

2.3 Pulse width modulation control.................................................................................................19

2.3.1 Different schemes of pulse-width modulation.....................................................................20

2.4Three phase inverter...................................................................................................................21

2.4.2Circuit diagram of inverter...................................................................................................23

2.4.3Derivation of line-to-line voltage.........................................................................................23

Reference.............................................................................................................................................27

4
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Objectives

In this chapter, the main focus is on describing the general structure of our project. This
chapter mainly concentrates on:
1) Background of three phase inverter
2) Problem statement
3) Aims and Objective
4) Scope of the Project
5) Thesis outline
6) Summary

5
1 Introduction

1.1 Background

There are many solutions to drive three phase motor from a single-phase AC main. We
commonly have a single-phase power supply in residential and mainly in rural areas. In the
past, single phase to three phase conversion systems was made by the connection of passive
elements capacitors and reactors. Such kinds of a system have disadvantages and limitations.
sSo, to overcome these disadvantages the thyristors and power electronics devices were used
mostly thyristors and power transistors like SCRs, MOSFETs, and GTOs etc [1].

Since the beginning of the solid-state power electronics, the semiconductor devices were used
to drive the power processors. Looking at the semiconductor devices used in the formerly
controlled rectifiers and comparing them with the new technologies. It makes possible to
form out the impressive development. However, in areas where only a single phase is
available, we should convert a single phase to a three-phase supply [2].

This type of converter is required in those areas where the three-phase electric power is not
present. Most of these areas are domestic areas where most of that appliance runs on a single-
phase power supply. The Mean reason of not giving three phase electric power to the
domestic customers is its high cost of connection installation. But if anyone wants to run a
three-phase appliance on a single-phase electric supply, the single phase to three phase
converter can be used [3].

In the present time, in the most of the applications, AC machines are preferred over DC
machines due to their simple and most strong construction without any mechanical
commentators Induction motors are commonly used in many commercial, industrial and
utility applications. This is because the motor has very low manufacturing cost, wide speed
range, high efficiency and robustness However, the use of induction motors also has its
disadvantages, these lies mostly in its difficult controllability, due to its complex
mathematical model.

In fact, more than 65 percent of industrial electrical energy is consumed by motors. Hence,
electric industry plays a vital role in the progress of a country because all the other industries

6
are directly or indirectly based on the electrical energy and it becomes even more critical
when a country like Pakistan is in consideration. Energy crises have been glued with Pakistan
for almost last two decades and because of that, energy saving becomes as much crucial as
much as using it.
.
Induction motor is essentially a constant-speed motor. Its speed of rotation is determined by
the synchronous speed. In many industrial applications wide variation in motor speed is
required. This can be achieved by changing the stator frequency of the motor thereby
changing the synchronous speed. Therefore, Motor control is an important. There are various
control techniques available for the speed control of induction motor that are changing stator
poles technique, torque vector control and several others.

The reason of using three phase power is that three phase appliances are present in high
ratings as compared to appliances available in single phase. For example, In single phase AC
electric power system, the power falls to zero three times during one complete cycle i.e., at
the interval of 0, π (180) and 2π (360) below. Whereas in three phase electric system the
power never falls to zero and a continuous same power is delivered to the load at all time [4].

In this project, we will use a variable frequency drive control technique for the control of
three phase induction motor. A Variable Frequency Drive is a type of controller that drives an
electric motor by varying the frequency and voltage supplied to the electric motor. Other
names for a VFD are Variable Speed Drive, Adjustable Speed Drive, AC Drive, Micro-drive,
and Inverter. Frequency is directly related to the motor's speed. In other words, high
frequency, high speed. If an application does not require an electric motor to work at full
speed, the VFD can be used to decrees the frequency and voltage to meet the requirements of
the electric motor's load. As the motor speed requirements changes, the VFD can simply turn
up or down the motor speed to meet the speed requirement
For this we have to set aside voltage and frequency fraction constant. There would
compulsory to increase the maximum allowed current of the speed control unit, thus making
it likely to sell their products to a wider range of customers with different needs for example
control of pumps and more powerful fans, so at this time it is important to minimize the
losses created in the machine or motor. AC drives, inverters and adjustable frequency drives
are used to control the speed of AC motor. AC drives receive AC power and convert it to a
variable frequency, variable voltage output for controlling motor operation. The three

7
common inverter types are Current source inverter, Voltage source inverter, Pulse width
modulation inverter.

Often motors run below their rated capacity and as stated above that more than 65 percent of
the industrial load is contributed by motors, so a large amount of energy can be saved by
controlling the power that is fed into the machine. Variable frequency drives exactly do that
i.e., they save energy because they can change the speed of an electrical motor by controlling
the power that is fed into the machine.

This project proposes best solution for phase conversion with very low cost, moderate motor
performance during start up and high steady state performance at normal frequency. This
system fits the requirements in rural areas where only a single-phase supply is available [5].

A wide variety of possible circuits that could be used after the study for single phase to three
phase voltage conversion but these techniques have some disadvantages as well as for
example thyristors are used in combination with LC components. The disadvantage of this
conversion technique is that the LC values must be matched with the load impedances. To
avoid these all disadvantages, we adopt a new technique to convert the single phase to three
phases with the help of electronic converter and transistor [6]. So due to its vast applications,
popularity and significance in today ‘s industry, we were inclined to work on variable
frequency drives

1.2 Problem Statement and Main Contribution

According to power distribution network, both single phase and 3 phase power supplied to
consumer but only industry install the 3-phase supply system while residential and rural areas
don’t. The concern issue is cost installation. Basically, the cost of installing three-phase
power is often high due to high cost for a three-phase extension.
In the places where only a single-phase utility is available, a single-phase to three-phase
power converter system is required to feed the three phase induction motor drives.
The rate structure of a three-phase service is higher than single-phase service. By having this
converter the cost can be reduce.
Our research questions are how to design the efficient single phase to three phase electronic
converter and how to control the speed of the three-phase induction motor.

8
We hypothesized a three-phase inverter by PWM technique and variable frequency drive
method. The given method permits to reduce the rectifier switch current and the harmonic
distortion of the inverter output. The main contribution of this project is to design the
efficient power electronic converter for domestic and Industrial purpose, modelling of three
phase inverters in its simulation in proteus

1.3 Aim and Objective

The aim of the project is to design more intuitive modalities, and to evaluate those modalities.
Project will be really helpful in understanding the vast applications and use of power
electronics at industrial level. We got the knowledge of controller, inverter circuits, the
driving techniques and capability of various switching devices.

The main objective was to design a circuit utilizing the modern power electronics that will
help various industrial process to run economically by saving energy, and there was no better
way to do but by controlling the speed and torque of electrical drives that are essential part of
every industry.

1.4 Scope of the project

The need to save energy and economy has given engineers to build devices that are not only
economical but also cost effective. Variable frequency drive provides us with both quality
and economy. These features have made industrialists to switch to variable frequency drives.
VFD provides speed control by maintaining constant torque. Therefore, applications that
require maintaining constant torque all the times are being switched to VFD.

In our project we have tried to design an economical but efficient drive. This project can be
used for speed control of medium sized motors. We know that the motors seldom operate at
full load and mostly operates at less than full load so our design can be used in these
situations providing economy and quality. We have used sinusoidal PWM in our project so
the output waveform closely replicates the Sine wave, hence loads that need pure sine wave
for their operation can be connected to the VFD. Besides due to sinusoidal nature the losses
are reduced considerably.

9
1.5Organization of Thesis

The organization of this report is shown in the figure below.

Design of Controller based economic

single phase to three phase converter
shaping for low cost AC motor

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Figure 1: Organization of Thesis

Chapter 3:Project Design

1.6 Summary

In this chapter we have stated and discussed the background of single phase to three phase
converter and the conventional problems that occur by using these techniques. Also, the
issues that occurred in run time condition. A fair solution was provided to solve these
problems, along with the objectives and motivational aspects of this project.

10
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Objectives

In this chapter, the main focus is on describing the research that we did for project. This
chapter is mainly concentrated on research work on:
1) Study of converter
2) Study of inverter
3) Study of Pulse width modulation
4) Types of three phase converter
5) Performance parameters
6) Study of three phase induction motor
7) Summary

11
2. Literature Review

In this literature survey, we come to know about the various techniques to drive single phase
to three phase drive system using an electronic converter. Here some systems used Fuzzy
logic control technique, controlling of circulating current and pulse width modulation and
some mixing methods are included to build single phase to three phase converter. With the
recent progress in power semiconductor devices technology increase advancements in
electronic control methods and variable speed control methods. The control methods for the
speed of motor are controlling of circulating current and pulse width modulation. As our
project consist of the conversion of Ac to Dc and then Dc to three phase Ac supply with pulse
width modulation technique because this is very efficient technique to produce three phase
AC supply and having a less distortion.

2.1 Study of converter

We have studied different techniques to convert Ac to Dc converter which contains half wave
converter and full wave converter. The rectification process is done by a diode. The diode
has two terminal devices first is anode and second is cathode power diode are of three types:
general purpose diode, high speed and Schottky diode The study of topologies with a reduced
number of switches is important in power electronics, since it may provide alternative
solutions to reduce the cost of the energy conversion process still preserving power quality in
this converter section. In this project, we make full bridge rectifier because of a bridge
rectifier convert Ac complete cycle into Dc current [3].

2.2 Study of inverter

Devices that convert Dc supply to Ac supply are called inverters. The purpose of an inverter is to
change a dc input voltage to ac output voltage which will be symmetric and will have required
magnitude and frequency. The output voltage can be change by changing the input Dc voltage and
keeping constant inverter gain, however, if the input dc voltage is fixed and cannot be controlled, the
gain of the inverter has to be changed to obtain a variable output voltage. Varying the gain of the
inverter is mainly done by a technique which is known as Pulse Width Modulation.

12
Based on the power supply, inverters can be broadly classified into two types: Voltage
Source Inverter and Current Source Inverter. A Voltage Source Inverter has small impedance
at its input terminal that is, it has a stiff dc voltage source, whereas, for a Current Source
Inverter, it is supplied with adjustable current from a Dc source with high impedance in this
case. For the purpose of our project, all analysis has been done for Voltage Source Inverters
(VSI). There are two types which are Single Phase Inverters and three Phase Inverters. Both
types can use controllable turn-on and turn-off devices e.g. BJTs, MOSFETs, IGBTs etc. In
this project, we use MOSFET transistor because its switching frequency is much greater than
BJTs and low on state voltage drop and also having high voltage and current capability [5].

The conversion of dc power to three-phase Ac powers exclusively performed in the switched

mode. Power semiconductor switches effectuate temporary connection set high repetition
rates between the dc terminals and the three phases of the Ac drive motor. The power flow
in each phase of motor is controlled by the on/off ratio, or duty cycle, of the respective
switches. The desired sinusoidal waveform of the currents is achieved by varying the duty
cycles sinusoidal with time, employing techniques of pulse width modulation (PWM).
Applications of three-phase power converters are on the rise, because they provide several
advantages including capability to handle high power, modularity, high reliability, less
voltage or current ripple, and fast dynamic response [6].

2.2.1 Three phase inverter

Three phase inverters are normally used for high power application. Three single phase half
bridge inverter can be connected in parallel as to form the configuration of three phase
inverter. The gating signal of single-phase inverters should be advanced or delayed by 120
degree with respect to each other to obtain three phase balanced voltage.

Three phase output can be obtain from a configuration of twelve transistor and twelve diode
and also obtain from six transistor and six diodes. Two types of control signal can be applied
to the transistor 180degree conduction and 120degree conduction. The 18o degree conduction
has better utilization of the switches is the preferred method.
.

13
2.3 Pulse width modulation control
The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is a technique which is generated by constant amplitude
pulse by modulating the pulse duration. Analog PWM control requires the generation of both
carrier and reference signals that are fed into the comparator and based on some rational
output, the final output is generated. The reference signal is output signal it may be sinusoidal
or square wave or modified square wave, while the carrier signal is either a saw tooth or
triangular wave at a frequency. There are various types of PWM techniques and so we get
different output and the choice of the inverter depends on cost, noise and efficiency.

The advantages of PWM control are

1. No additional components are required with this method.

2. Lower order harmonics are eliminated or minimized along with its output voltage
control. Hence, the filtering requirements are minimized since higher order harmonics
can be filtered easily.

2.4Three phase inverter

A three phase output may also be obtained by a configuration of six convenient switches and
six diodes. Two types of control signals can be applied to these switches which are 120 0 and
1800.

1. 1200 degree mode of conduction.

2. 1800 degree mode of conduction.

 1800 mode of operation

Each transistor conducts for a period of 180 0. Three of the transistors remain on at any instant
of time. When T1is switched on, terminal a is connected to positive terminal of dc input
voltage. When T2- is switched on, terminal is brought to negative terminal of dc input. There
are six modes of operation in a cycle and duration of each mode is 600.

14
The load can be connected in either star or delta. Switches of any leg of the inverter cannot be
switched on at the same time since this would result in a short circuit across the dc link
voltage supply. Similarly to avoid undefined states and thus undefined ac output line voltage,
the switches of any leg of the inverter may not be switched off simultaneously since this can
result in voltages that depend on respective line current polarity

2.4.1Conduction mode of inverter

Transistor Conduction angel

T1 00
T2 600
T3 1200
T4 1800
T5 2400
T6 3000

Table 1: Conduction mode of inverter

According to this table there are six transistors that used to convert dc supply into three phase
Ac supply.

2.4.2Circuit diagram of inverter

The circuit diagram of three phase inverter given below. The circuit consists of six switching
devices like MOSFET

15
 Figure 2: Circuit diagram of three phase inverter

2.4.3Derivation of line-to-line voltage

For 00-600
g1, g5, g6 on
g1, g5= Vac=0
Vca =0
g1, g6= Vab =Vs
g5, g6= Vcb = Vs
Vbc = -Vs
So result is that vab = Vs, Vbc = -Vs ,Vca =0

For 600-1200
g1, g2, g6 on
g1, g2 = Vca = -vs
g1, g6 = Vab = vs
g2, g6 = Vbc = 0
So result is that Vab = Vs, Vbc = 0 ,Vca = -Vs

For 1200-1800
g1, g2, g3 on
g1, g2 =Vca = -Vs
g2, g3 = Vbc = Vs
g1, g3 = 0 = Vab
So result is that Vab = 0, Vbc = Vs, Vca = - Vs

For 1800-2400
g2, g3, g 4 on
g2, g3 = Vbc = Vs

16
g2, g4 = Vca = 0
g3, g4 = Vab = -Vs
So result is that Vab = -Vs, Vbc = Vs, Vca = 0
For 2400-3000
g3, g4, g5 on
g3, g4 = Vab = -Vs
g4, g5 = Vca = Vs
g3, g5 = Vbc = 0
So result is that Vab = -Vs, Vbc = 0, Vca = Vs

For 3000-3600
g4, g5, g6 on
g4, g5 = Vca = Vs
g5, g6 = Vbc = -Vs
g4, g6=0
So result is that Vab = 0, Vbc = -Vs, Vca = Vs

 States of inverter

Transistor Conductio Voltage(Vab Voltage(Vbc Voltage(Vca

s state n state ) ) )
g1, g5, g6 on 00-600 Vab = Vs Vbc = 0 Vca = -Vs

17
 g1, g2, g6 on 600-1200 Vab = Vs Vbc = 0 Vca = -Vs

g2, g3, g 4 1200-1800 vab = 0 Vbc = Vs Vca = - Vs

on

g2, g3, g 4 1800-2400 Vab = -Vs Vbc = Vs, Vca = 0

on

g3, g4, g5 on 2400-3000 Vab = -Vs Vbc = 0 Vca = Vs

g4, g5, g6 on 3000-3600 Vab = 0 Vbc = -Vs Vca = Vs

Table 2: Three phase inverter conduction mode

Arduino Promini
The Arduino promini is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It consists of:
 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs)
 6 analogue inputs
 1 UARTs (hardware serial ports)
 16 MHz crystal oscillator
 Power jack

The Arduino Mega board has a 32 KB of flash memory for storing the code and 1 KB of
EEPROM. The Arduino Mega board is programmed in simple C language by using the
Arduino Software (IDE).

18
Figure 3: Controller Mega328

Reference
[1] Prasad N. Enjeti, Ashek Rahman, and Ranjit Jakkli, . (No. 3, July 1993). “Economic
Single-Phase to Three-Phase Converter Topologies for Fixed and Variable Frequency
Output”, on Power Electronics,. Vol. 8,

19
[2] O. Ojo, W. Zhiqiao, G. Dong, and S. Asuri. ( Jul./Aug. 2005). “High-performance speed
sensor less control of an induction motor drive using a minimalist single phase PWM
converter. Ind. Appl., vol. 41, no. 4 , pp. 996– 1004

[3] B.K. Lee, B. Fahimi, and M. Ehsani, . (n Proc., 2001,). Overviewof reduced parts
converter topologies for AC motor drives,. pp. 9– 2024 201.

[4] C. B. Jacobina, M. B. de R. Correa,A.M. N. Lima, and E. R. C. da Silva. ( Sep./Oct.

2003.). “AC motor drive systems with a reduced switch count converter,” . vol. 39, no. 5, ,
pp. 1333–1342,

[5] D.-C. LeeandY.-S. Kim. (Apr. 2007). “Control of single-phase-to-three-phase AC/DC/AC

PWM converters for induction motor drives,. Ind. Electron. vol. 54, no. 2 , pp. 797–804.

[6] J. Itoh and K. Fujita. (Jan. 2000.). “Novel unity power factor circuits using zero-vector
control for single-phase input systems, Power Electron. Power Electron., vol. 15, no. 1 , pp.
36–43

20