INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRIC DRIVES

By
Dr. P.K Biswas
Asst. Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
NIT Mizoram
 Drives are systems employed for motion control

Require prime movers

Drives that employ electric motors as

prime movers are known as Electrical Drives

An electric drive can be defined as an electromechanically device for converting

electrical energy into impart motion to different machines and mechanism for
various kind of process control.
Motion control is required in large number of industrial and domestic
application like transportation system, rolling mills, paper mills, textile mills,
machine tools ,fans, pumps, robots, washing machines, lifting goods by hoist
and eranes, electric locomotives, pumps and compressors system employed for
motion control are known as Drives. Drives employing the motion known as
electric drive.
 Block Diagram of Electric Drive

The block diagram of an electric drive is shown below, and the load in the diagram
signifies different kinds of equipment which can be built with an electric motor such as
washing machine, pumps, fans, etc. The electric drive can be built with source, power
modulator, motor, load, sensing unit, control unit, an input command.

Block diagram of an electric drive

• Power Source
The power source in the above block diagram offers the necessary energy for the
system. And both the converter and the motor interfaces by the power source to
provide changeable voltage, frequency and current to the motor.
A source can be anything AC or DC used in the system. 1 -Φ or 3 Φ, 50 Hz Ac is
mostly used in the drive system in most locations. Lower power drives are generally
fed from the single phase supply and high power drives are generally fed from the 3
phase supply. Some of the drives are also fed from the battery source.

• Power Modulator
This modulator can be used to control the o/p power of the supply. The power
controlling of the motor can be done in such a way that the electrical motor sends out
the speed-torque feature which is necessary with the load.
The main function of power modulator is to modulate the flow of power from a source
to the motor. It modulates the power as per torque-speed characteristics required by
the load.
It converts the energy in a suitable form which required by the motor.
It regulates source and motor currents within some required value. It regulates the
current in starting, braking and some speed reversal conditions.
• Load
The mechanical load can be decided by the environment of the industrial process &
the power source can be decided by an available source at the place. However, we
can choose the other electric components namely electric motor, controller, &
converter.
• Control Unit
The control unit is mainly used to control the power modulator, and this modulator
can operate at power levels as well as small voltage. And it also works the power
modulator as preferred. This unit produces the rules for the safety of the motor as
well as power modulator. The i/p control signal regulates the drive’s working point
from i/p toward the control unit.

• Sensing Unit
The sensing unit in the block diagram is used to sense the particular drive factor
such as speed, motor current. This unit is mainly used for the operation of closed
loop otherwise protection.

• Motor
The electric motor intended for the specific application can be chosen by believing
various features such as price, reaching the level of power & performance
necessary by the load throughout the stable state as well as active operations.
Conventional electric drives (variable speed)

• Bulky
• Inefficient
• inflexible
Modern electric drives (With power electronic converters)

• Small
• Efficient
• Flexible
❖How to write drive specification:
➢ Power rating / Voltage supply
➢Time rating:- (a) Short time, (b)Intermediate,(c) Continuous
➢ speed :- base speed, speed range ,maximum and minimum speed regulation.
➢Torque:- Base/Rated Torque, Starting Torque, Maximum Torque, Pull up torque.
➢Starter:- 3- point stater,4-point starter(for DC motor drive).DOL(Direct on
line),star-delta, Autotransformer, Part winding starter ,Rotor Resistance starter.
➢Acceleration:-(a)constant torque acceleration.
(b)constant speed acceleration
➢ Braking (a) Internal
•Dynamic Braking
•Regenerative Braking
•Plugging Braking
(b)External
➢Reversibility
➢Repair ability
➢Economic points
❖How to choice in electrical drives
Many types of electrical drives are available. The motor may be a dc motor or an ac
motor. In each of these motors many choices are available. Many power convert
tropologies exist. The selection of a variable speed and drive includes selection of
motor, selection of power electronic converter and control equipment. A number of
factors have to be taken into account in choosing the drive .some of these are:
➢Operation:-

•steady state (nature of speed torque characteristics, speed

regulation range, efficiency, duty cycle, speed fluctuation).
•Transient (acceleration and deceleration, starting, braking and reversing performance).

➢Source:- ( Type of source ac or dc) Voltage fluctuation, power factors, harmonics and
their effects on other load.
➢Capital and running cost maintenance cost.
➢Space and weight.
➢Environment and location.
➢Requirement or skilled personnel for operation and maintenance.
➢Availability of spare parts.
➢Reliability of drive.
Advantage of Electrical Drives
(i) They have flexible control characteristics.
(ii) They are available in range of torque, speed and power.
(iii) Electric motor have high efficiency, low no lord losses and short time over
loading capability.
(iv) They are adaptable to almost any operating conditions (explosive and radio active
environment) .
(v) They do not pollute the environment.
(vi) They can operate in all the four quadrant operation.
(vii) They can stared instantly and can immediately be fully loaded.

Disadvantages of Electrical Drives

(i) They have ereated current and voltage harmonics. These harmonics ereate a
number of problems in the electric posted systems.
(ii) The output of large size invertess has substantial harmonics content. The non-
sinusoidal current increase copper and iron losses in rotor and stator. This leads to
additional heating.
(iii) The non -sinusoidal currents and voltage make vibrations in the motors. So the
noise pollution may be generated in the environment.
• Applications of Electrical Drives

The applications of electrical drives include the following.

➢ The main application of this drive is electric traction which means transportation of
materials from one location to another location. The different types of electric
tractions mainly include electric trains, buses, trolleys, trams, and solar-powered
vehicles inbuilt with battery.

➢ Electrical drives are extensively used in the huge number of domestic as well as
industrial applications which includes motors, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning,
Printing Machinery, Air Compressors, Frequency Converters, transportation
systems, factories, Woollen Mills, textile mills, Cement and Sugar Mills, pumps,
fans, robots, Belt Conveyors, Petrochemical Industries, Mining Work etc.

➢ These are used as main movers for petrol or diesel engines, turbines like gas
otherwise steam, motors like hydraulic & electric.
In general electrical drives may be classified into thee types. These are given below

Electrical Drives

Group Drive Individual Drive Multi motor Drive

➢Group drive :- This drive consist of a single motors which drivers one or more line shafts
supported on bearing. It is also called a line shaft drive. The line shafts may be filed with
pulleys and belts or gear of which a group of machines on mechanisms may be operated. This
types of drives are seldom used due to their low efficiency and more economical. There are so
many advantage of group drives which are given below
▪Advantage:-
•A single large motor can be used instead number of small motors
•The rating of the single charge motor may be reduced taking into account the diversity factor
of loads (induction type) thus work at full load increasing efficiency and power factors.
▪ Disadvantage:-
•If the single motor occurs the fault the whole process come to shut down so there is no
flexibility.
•Additional of an extra machines to the main shaft in difficult.
•If some of the losses are increasing the efficiency and power factor.
•The system is not very safe to operate.
•The noise level at the work spot is high.
Individual electric drive:-
In this drive each individual machine is driven by separate motor. This motor also
imparts motion to various other parts of machines spindle drilling machines (universal
motor are used) and lathes. For example, all the operation's connected with operating a
lathe many be performed by a single machine. If these operations have to be performed
at different speeds, transmission device may be required. The efficiency may became
poor over reversal operations, due to power loss, in some cases it is possible to have the
drive motor and driver load in one unit.
Multimotor electric drive:-
In this drive system there are several drives each of which serves to aetuate one of the
working part of the driven mechanism. this type of drive finds application in
complicated machine tools, travellings cranes, rolling mills etc. Automatic control
methods can be employed methods can be employed and each operation can be
executaed under optimum condition.
Modern electric drives

Machine design
Utility interface
Speed sensorless
Renewable energy
Machine Theory

Non-linear control
Real-time control
DSP application
PFC
Speed sensorless
Power electronic converters

• Inter-disciplinary (PE, control system, machine

design, sensors)
• Several research area
• Expanding
 Components in electric drives
Power sources
• DC – batteries, fuel cell, photovoltaic - unregulated
• AC – Single- three- phase utility, wind generator - unregulated
Motors
• DC motors - permanent magnet – wound field
• AC motors – induction, synchronous (IPMSM, SMPSM), brushless DC
• Applications, cost, environment
• Natural speed-torque characteristic is not compatible with load requirements
Control unit
• Complexity depends on performance requirement
• analog- noisy, inflexible, ideally has infinite bandwidth.
• digital – immune to noise, configurable, bandwidth is smaller than the
analog controller’s
• DSP/microprocessor – flexible, lower bandwidth - DSPs perform faster
operation than microprocessors (multiplication in single cycle), can perform
complex estimations
• Electrical isolation between control circuit and power circuit is needed:
• Malfuction in power circuit may damage control circuit
• Safety for the operator
• Avoid conduction of harmonic to control circuit
 Power Electronic converter

ac to dc converter dc to dc Ac voltage dc to ac
Diode rectifier converter controller Cycloconverter converter
Controlled rectifier (Chopper) (inverter)

The power electronic converter is the most important component of variable

speed drive. As a matter of fact the control and variable speed operation is
possible only because of power electronic converter. The design of variable speed
drives has been possible only due to advent of power electronic converters. It is
possible to change the magnitude and frequency of output voltage of converter
through firing angle control of power electronic components in the converter .
• To provide a regulated power supply
• Combination of power electronic converters
• More efficient
• Flexible
• Compact
 AC to DC Converter

DC to AC Converter
 DC to DC Converter

AC to AC Converter
Sensors
• Sensors (voltage, current, speed or torque) is normally required
for closed-loop operation or protection
• Electrical isolation between sensors and control circuit is needed
for the reasons previously explained
• The term ‘sensorless drives’ is normally referred to the drive
system where the speed is estimated rather than measured.
Thank You