Speed Control of Induction Machines

➢ Speed control means speed variation either under open loop (feedforward) or
closed loop conditions.
➢ All speed control techniques are based on the following equation:

120𝑓𝑠
𝑛𝑟 = 1−𝑠
2𝑝
The equation suggests that the speed may be modified through:
• Pole number 2𝑝 change: through pole changing windings
• Frequency 𝑓𝑠 control: through frequency converters.
• Slip 𝑠 variation: through voltage reduction or slip energy recovery (for wound
rotor only).
Electric Drives Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 1
1) The Voltage Control Method
➢ The applied stator voltage is reduced through autotransformers or AC
voltage controller (not recommended due to induced line harmonics).
➢ This technique may be used for fan or pumping loads.
➢ The torque is proportional to the voltage squared, while the slip for
maximum torque will remain the same.
Disadvantage:
o Torque reduction
o High rotor copper losses, hence low efficiency (s increases as
voltage decreases).

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 2

Torque speed curves for different voltage levels

(a) (b)
(a) Standard motor, where Sm= 0.04 – 0.10
(b) High rotor resistance motor, where Sm > 0.7 – 0.8.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 3

1) The Voltage Control Method
The speed can be varied till the critical slip Sm is reached,
i.e.
𝑚𝑖𝑛
120𝑓𝑠
𝑛𝑟 = 1 − S𝑚
2𝑝

In standard motors, this means an ideal speed control

range of approximately 10%. However, for machines
with high rotor resistance, the speed control range may
be as high as 100%.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 4

2) The pole-changing method
• There are different pole-changing winding layouts with different connections of
phases to produce either constant power or constant torque operation for the two
different pole numbers.
• This technique may also be called Pole

Amplitude Modulation (PAM).

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 5

2) The pole-changing method
• Pole-changing windings are useful for applications requiring
wide speed range Nmax / Nbase > 3, such as spindle drives or
automobile electric propulsion.
• This solution is a useful technique to reduce motor size when
combined with frequency control technique.
Disadvantage:
o Speed changes in discrete steps.
o Complex stator winding.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 6

Dahlander pole changing motor
The speed of the motor is varied by changing the number of poles; this is
achieved by altering the wiring connections inside the motor.

Low speed (Delta connection) and high speed (double

star connection)

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 7

3) Variable rotor resistance
Addition of resistance to the rotor 𝑅2
circuit does not change the magnitude 𝑠𝑚𝑇 ≈
𝑋1 + 𝑋2
of maximum torque developed but
changes the speed at which this
maximum torque occurs.
Disadvantage:
o high rotor copper losses,
hence low efficiency.
o Applied for slip ring rotor only.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 8

4) Variable Frequency Methods
The machine synchronous speed can simply be changed by varying the applied stator
frequency while voltage is kept constant so does the motor speed for a given slip.
This is carried out using static converters, which are capable of providing a variable
voltage magnitude and frequency.

3𝑉12
𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 ≈
2𝜔𝑠 𝑋1 + 𝑋2

For constant V,

1
𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 ∝ 2
𝜔𝑠

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 9

Static Frequency Converters (SFC)
Frequency converters convert AC electrical power of one frequency into AC
electrical power of another frequency. This is carried out directly or
indirectly (by first converting the supply into dc).
They are classified into:
1. Frequency converters with energy storage:
➢ Voltage source rectifiers/inverters (VSR/VSI)
➢ Current source converters (CSR/CSI)
2. Frequency converters without energy storage:
➢ Matrix converters
➢ Cycloconverters

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 10

Voltage Source Inverters (Indirect SFC)

Two-level indirect frequency converter using voltage source inverter

Back-to-back converter (BB-VSI) (Bidirectional power flow)

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 11
Current Source Converters (Indirect SFC)

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 12

Matrix Converter (Direct SFC)

Bi-directional switch cell

configurations
Three-phase matrix converter

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 13

Cycloconverter (Direct SFC)

Single-phase cycloconverter
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 14
Three-phase Cycloconverter (Direct SFC)

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 15

5) V/f speed control
• The concept of V/f control implies that the stator voltage magnitude is
varied with frequency such that the air gap flux is kept constant below
rated speed.
• For speeds above rated speed, frequency is increased while the voltage is
kept constant.
• The various voltage-frequency control techniques are classified into the
following categories:
➢ V/f scalar control
➢ Rotor flux vector control
➢ Stator flux vector control
➢ Direct torque and flux control

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 16

Difference between Scalar and Vector Control
• The V/f scalar control was first introduced and widely used in open loop
speed control in driving fans, pumps, etc., which have the load torque
dependent on speed squared, or more.
• This method is rather simple, but the torque response tends to be
sluggish.
• A high torque response performance entails separate flux and torque
control, similar to DC machines, which is called Vector Control (VC).
• In VC technique, the stator current is decomposed into two components:
➢ The direct component controls the machine air gap flux.
➢ The quadrature component controls the machine torque.
This way, the current or voltage phase and amplitude as well as frequency
are continuously controlled. Hence, a very quick torque response is
obtained, as required, for example, in servo drives.
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 17
V/f speed control Concept
• If the stator voltage magnitude is varied with frequency such that the air
gap flux is kept constant blow rated speed, the machine maximum torque
will be constant.
• For speeds above rated speed (constant power region), frequency is
increased while the voltage is kept constant.

3𝑉12
𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 ≈ 2
𝜔𝑠 𝑙1 + 𝑙2
For constant V/f ratio,

𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 ≈ Constant

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 18

V/f speed control characteristics
• The output voltage of the controller follows a defined characteristic. At low
output frequencies, the characteristic can be boosted.
• It can be adapted to different load profiles.
➢ Linear characteristic for drives with constant load torque over the speed.
➢ Quadratic characteristic for drives with quadratic load torque over the speed,
such as centrifugal pump
and fan drives. This
pattern calls for a
reduced magnetizing
current at lower speeds
in order to achieve higher
efficiency.
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 19
Linear V/f speed control
• The relation between voltage magnitude and frequency is
typically given as

𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉0 + 𝐾0 𝑓𝑠 ∙ 𝑓𝑠 𝑓𝑠 < 𝑓𝑏
𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑏 𝑓𝑏 < 𝑓𝑠 < 𝑓𝑚𝑎𝑥
Where,
𝑉0 is called the voltage boost used to overcome the stator
resistance voltage drop at low frequencies (speeds), and
𝑉𝑏 and 𝑓𝑏 are the base voltage and frequency, respectively.
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 20
Different Linear V/f speed Patterns

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 21

Linear V/f speed control (Cont.)
From torque equation, and if slip is small enough, the torque slip curve in
the stable region can be approximated by;
2 2
3𝑉𝑠2 3 𝑉𝑠 3 𝑉𝑠
𝑇𝑑 ≈ ′ 𝑠 = ′ 𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 = ′ 𝜔𝑠 − 𝜔𝑚
𝑅𝑟 𝜔𝑠 𝑅𝑟 𝜔𝑠 𝑅𝑟 𝜔𝑠
The maximum torque is also given by;
𝜔𝑒 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑠 = 𝑝𝜔𝑠 3𝑉𝑠2
𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 ≈
2𝜔𝑠 𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑞
𝑝 :pole pairs and
𝜔𝑒 is the electrical angular frequency.

For a constant V/f ratio, the maximum

torque will be constant, and the torque
speed curve can be assumed linear (similar
to dc machines).
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 22
Linear V/f speed control (Cont.)
• With the previous approximation, safe operation can be provided for
frequencies above 3-5 Hz.
• For very low frequencies (speeds), a boosting voltage is required. This
can be explained by using the approximate equivalent circuit shown.

Per phase equivalent circuit (a) Exact. (b) Approximate. (c) Voltage phasor.
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 23
Linear V/f speed control (Cont.)
One can write; 𝑉ത𝑠 = 𝑅𝑠 𝐼𝑠ҧ + 𝑗𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑙𝑠 𝐼𝑠ҧ + 𝐸ത𝑚
If 𝐸ത𝑚 is taken as a reference and by neglecting the
rotor leakage inductance, then
𝐸𝑚 𝐸𝑚
𝐼𝑠ҧ = 𝐼𝑟 − 𝑗𝐼𝑚 Where 𝐼𝑟 = 𝑠 and 𝐼𝑚 =
𝑅𝑟 𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑚
The induced emf voltage magnitude can be written as 𝐸𝑚 = 𝜆𝜔𝑒 , where 𝜆 is
𝜆 𝜆
the rated linkage flux. Then, 𝐼𝑟 = 𝑠𝜔𝑒 and 𝐼𝑚 =
𝑅𝑟 𝐿𝑚
From phasor diagram, the stator voltage magnitude can be approximated by
𝐿𝑙𝑠
𝑉ത𝑠 ≈ 𝐸𝑚 + 𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑙𝑠 𝐼𝑚 + 𝑅𝑠 𝐼𝑟 → 𝑉ത𝑠 ≈ 𝜆𝜔𝑒 1 +
𝐿𝑚
+ 𝑅𝑠 𝐼𝑟 → 𝑉ത𝑠 = 𝐾0 𝜔𝑒 + 𝑉0

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 24

Linear V/f speed control (Cont.)
If 𝑅𝑠 is neglected or 𝜔𝑒 is high, then the ratio 𝑉ത𝑠 Τ𝜔𝑒 is approximately
constant and equals;

𝑉ത𝑠 𝐿𝑙𝑠
=𝜆 1+
𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑚
If 𝜔𝑒 is very small, the stator resistive drop will be significant.
This resistive voltage drop term represents the required boosting voltage,
𝑉0 , for a given rated current.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 25

Exact Solution

The previous approximation yields significant error for small motors under
low frequency operation. The best technique is to calculate the required
voltage to achieve the same maximum torque for a certain minimum
frequency 𝑓0 .

3𝑉𝑠2 𝑓𝑠
𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑓𝑠 =
2
2𝜔𝑠 𝑓𝑠 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑅𝑠2 + 𝑋𝑒𝑞 𝑓𝑠

𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉0 + 𝐾0 𝑓𝑠 ∙ 𝑓𝑠 𝑓𝑠 > 𝑓0

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 26

Exact Solution
Hence, for any frequency 𝑓0 , the required voltage to achieve the same maximum
torque can be found from 2
𝑓
𝑅𝑠 + 𝑅𝑠2 + 0 2
𝑋𝑒𝑞 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓𝑏
𝑓𝑏 𝑓0 2
𝑉𝑠2 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓0 = ∙ ∙ 𝑉𝑠 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓𝑏
2 𝑓𝑏
𝑅𝑠 + 𝑅𝑠2 + 𝑋𝑒𝑞 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓𝑏
𝑓0
For small 𝑓0 , ( ≪) this equation may be approximated by
𝑓𝑏

2 𝑓0
𝑉𝑠 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓0 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓𝑏 ∙ ∙
𝑋𝑒𝑞 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓𝑏 𝑓𝑏
1+
𝑅𝑠

𝑉𝑠 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓𝑏 = 𝐾0 𝑓𝑏 + 𝑉0 (1) 𝑉𝑠 𝑓𝑠 =𝑓0 = 𝐾0 𝑓0 + 𝑉0 (2)

By solving (1) and (2), 𝐾0 and 𝑉0 are obtained
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 27
Different Speed Regions of V/f Controlled Inverter Fed IMs
There are three control regions over the whole speed range.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 28

1) Constant Torque Region
• Slip speed, 𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 , is kept constant and
the stator current is regulated to
obtain a constant torque.
• Voltage linearly increases with
frequency.
• This mode extends for a frequency
range of 0 < fs < fb.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 29

2) Constant Power Region
• Starts at fs > fb .
• Stator voltage is held constant at its rated voltage and the current is regulated
to obtain a constant rated power (𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 ).
• Motor slip increases with speed.
3 𝑉𝑠 2
Since 𝑇𝑑 = 𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 , then
𝑅𝑟′ 𝜔𝑠

2
3 𝑉𝑠 𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝
𝑃𝑑 = ′ 𝜔𝑠 1− ∙ 𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝
𝑅𝑟 𝜔𝑠 𝜔𝑠

For constant 𝑉𝑠 and power,

then 𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 ∝ 𝜔𝑠 .

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 30

2) Constant Power Region (Cont.)
• The maximum speed under this mode happens when the maximum torque
locus intersects with the constant power locus and can be found as follows:

𝜔𝑒 3𝑉𝑠2 𝑅𝑟′
𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 ∙
𝑝
1 − 𝑠𝑚 → 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = 1−
2𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑞 𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑞

• By solving the previous equation, the maximum frequency 𝜔e𝑚𝑎𝑥 for

same rated power output is obtained. The corresponding maximum
speed will then be

𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝜔𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅𝑟′ 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅𝑟′
𝜔𝑚 =
𝑝
1 − 𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝜔𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑞 → 𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 =
𝑝𝐿𝑒𝑞

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 31

3) Breakdown Torque Region
• This region is also called constant power × speed region or constant slip
region.
• The power is inversely proportional to the speed or torque is inversely
proportional to the speed squared. This emulates a dc series motor
characteristics (𝑇𝑑 𝜔2 = cosntant)
• Stator voltage is held at its rated value.
• Slip speed is kept constant just below its pull-out torque value

𝑅𝑟′ 𝑅𝑟′
𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝜔𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 =
𝑝𝐿𝑒𝑞
→ 𝜔𝑒 = 𝑝 𝜔𝑚 +
𝑝𝐿𝑒𝑞

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 32

Different Speed Regions

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 33

Example 1
For the 30Hp 3-ph induction machine
nameplate shown, find:
1. The motor rated torque
2. The rated slip speed 𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝
3. The required frequency to run the
motor at speed of 1025 rpm while
delivering rated output torque,
4. The required frequency to run at
speed of 1025 rpm while delivering ½
rated output torque
5. The motor speed if the supply frequency is set to 30Hz while the motor is
delivering rated output torque
6. The required frequency to run at speed of 3000 rpm while delivering rated
output power.

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 34

Example 2
A 3-ph 10kW, 380V, 50Hz, 4-pole star connected induction motor has the
following parameters:
𝑅𝑠 = 𝑅𝑟 = 0.4316Ω, 𝑋𝑒𝑞 = 1.8Ω, and 𝑋𝑚 = 40.
Find the required V/f relation expressed in the following formula which
ensures a constant air gap flux and same maximum torque up to rated speed;
𝑉𝑠 = 𝐾0 𝑓𝑠 + 𝑉0 𝑓𝑠 > 3𝐻𝑧
Find also the maximum achievable speed for the same rated power output.
3.97𝑉
Answers: 𝑉𝑠 = ∙ 𝑓𝑠 + 21.6𝑉, 𝑓𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 188𝐻𝑧 and 𝑛𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑥 =5300rpm
𝐻𝑧
3𝑉12
𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
2𝜔𝑠 𝑅1 + 𝑅12 + 𝑋1 + 𝑋2 2

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 35

Effect of Stator Connection on V/f Profile
• Induction motors which are designed for a rated frequency of 50 Hz in star
connection, can be operated in delta connection with rated based
frequency of 87 Hz (50 3 Hz) for the same phase voltage.
𝑌 ∆
𝑉𝑝ℎ 𝑉𝑝ℎ
𝜆𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = =
𝜔𝑒 𝜔𝑒 3
• The field−weakening range starts above 87Hz.
• The motor line current and power increase by the factor 3 = 1.73.
Advantages
• Higher speed−setting range
• 73% higher power output with standard motors.
Limitations:
• The mechanical limit speed.
• The increased thermal load and voltage stress.
Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 36
Comparison between V/f and 87Hz characteristics

Dr. Ayman Abdel-Khalik 37