Lebanese University

Faculty of Engineering III

Scalar Speed Control of Induction Motors

Using Pulse Width Modulation

Rami Al Halabi

Communication and Mini Project

Semester VII 2014/2015
Dr. Youssef Harkous

Scalar Speed Control of Induction Motors

Using Pulse Width Modulation

Keywords
Open loop control, induction motor drive, pulse width modulation, scalar control

Abstract
The objective of research was to present the open loop speed control of variable-voltage variablefrequency (VVVF) induction motor drive. The main issues regarding a two-level PWM controller were
designed for controlling an induction motor. The speed response results were compared. The study
used Simulink program and adjustment of controller parameters were set consistently with the
mathematic equation of the motor. In this study, the 1.6 kW model of three-phase induction motor
was used in the simulation. The results showed that the variable frequency PWM controller can drive
the induction motor system more at varying speed, with a small variation of output torque.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Introduction

Chapter 1: Asynchronous Motors

Introduction

Structure and Operation

Torque and Speed Characteristics

Scalar Control of Speed and Torque

Chapter 2: PWM and Inverters

Introduction

10

Pulse Width Modulation

10

Generation of PWM Signals

11

Using Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Bridges

12

Chapter 3: Simulation
Introduction

13

Control Part

13

High Power part

14

Chapter 4: Results and Discussion

Introduction

15

Speed

15

Torque

16

Current

16

Fourier Analysis

17

IGBT Currents

18

PWM Output at Different Frequencies (Vab)

18

Conclusion

19

References

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List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Basic Structure of 3-phase induction motor

Fig. 1.2 Creation of rotating magnetic field

Fig. 1.3 Wound rotor with slip rings

Fig. 1.4 Squirrel cage rotor with bars

Fig. 1.5 Equivalent circuit of AC induction motor

Fig. 1.6 Torque as function of slip characteristics

Fig. 1.7 Torque curves at varying frequencies

Fig. 2.1 Induction as function of PWM voltage

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Fig. 2.2 Intersection method for generating a single-phase PWM signal

11

Fig. 2.3 Generating a 3-phase 6-pulse PWM signal

11

Fig. 2.4 3-Arm IGBT Bridge

12

Fig. 3.1 Simulation (part 1)

13

Fig. 3.2 Simulation (part 2)

14

Fig. 4.1 Rotor Speed Characteristics at Different Frequencies

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Fig. 4.2 Torque Characteristics at Different Frequencies

16

Fig. 4.3 Current Variation at Different Frequencies

16

Fig. 4.4 Magnitude Fourier Analysis at Different Frequencies

17

Fig. 4.5 Fourier Phase Analysis at Different Frequencies

17

Fig. 4.6 Complementary IGBT Currents

18

Fig. 4.7 Vab at Different Frequencies

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Introduction

As our industrial technologies evolve and develop, we find ourselves in need for more control over the
machines we use. Quality control is such a big aspect of industry nowadays, and so the tolerance of errors
allowed to occur has much decreased. The human race has evolved over the last 160 years from using steam
powered or horse powered mechanical contraptions, to using servomotors and induction motors.
DC motors were introduced in the 1870s and played a critical role in the second industrial revolution.
They were widely used in locomotives and trams but their high maintenance and high costs made them less
favorable in industry. The invention of AC motors by Nikola Tesla in 1887, and the standardization of the AC
power as the power of choice for generation and distribution turned the industrys focus towards AC motors,
and in particular, the low cost and low maintenance induction motor.
The industrial and domestic application of the induction motor continued to grow, but with it, the need
for more customizability of these motors also grew. Induction motors have speeds that depend on the feeding
frequency and the load being powered. And so, motor drives were developed to help control the speed and
torque of these motors.
The first method of control was the open-loop variable-frequency control. This method consisted of
varying the frequency of the feeding voltage. However, a problem arose because the torque of such motors
grew very high at low frequencies. In an effort to keep the torque constant throughout operation, the openloop variable-voltage variable-frequency (VVVF) control was developed. This method kept a constant voltage
to frequency ratio, in an attempt to keep the torque constant. It was widely used for its simplicity and ease of
implementation. It was known as scalar control of speed, because it focus only on the magnitude and not the
phase of the supplied parameters.
Still, some industrial applications required even more precise control. And for that purpose more
advanced systems were developed. The space-vector control model focused on the magnitude and phase of
the feeding signal, thus improving the performance of the machine. Closed-loop control system were also
developed to provide a better control mechanism.

I will focus in this paper on introducing the AC induction motor and its open-loop VVVF drive. A
simulation is also provided for the functioning of this motor.

The paper will first recall what we need of the induction motor characteristics and equations
(Chapter1), then, I will cover Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) in Chapter 2. The remaining two chapters are
dedicated of the simulation of the system and discussing the results.

Chapter 1:
Asynchronous Motors
1. Introduction

Asynchronous motors, also known as induction motors are the most widely used type of motors in industry.
These motors operate on AC electricity, thus the current needed in the rotor to produce torque is supplied
from the stator by electromagnetic induction, and does not require mechanical commutation or separate
excitation like in DC and Universal motors. There are two types of rotor structures, wire-wound and squirrel
cage rotors.
Three-phase squirrel-cage induction motors are widely used in industry for their low cost, low maintenance
and reliability. Single-phase versions of these motors are widely used in household appliances and small-scale
compressors and pumps. Although the basic functioning mode of these motors was fixed-speed, these motors
are increasingly being used with VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) for variable speed applications.

2. Structure and Operation:

The induction motor consists of two main parts: the stator a magnetic circuit with a three-phase winding
that creates a rotating magnetic field and the rotor, which is connected to the mechanical part of the system
through the shaft.
2.1. Stator:

It consists of a steel frame containing slots, enclosing a hollow cylindrical core (made up of laminations of
silicon steel). The laminations are to reduce hysteresis and eddy current losses. Three similar coils having
mutual geometrical angles of 120 degrees create the rotating magnetic field. The ability of the three-phase
system to create the rotating field utilized in electric motors is one of the main reasons why three phase
systems dominate in the world electric power supply systems. The stator is used a source to induce current in
the rotor by supplying a magnetic field through the air gap.
The three-phase current in the stator winding creates a rotating magnetic field in the air gap. This magnetic
field rotates a speed called synchronous speed Ns. The synchronous speed of an induction motor is based on
the supply frequency and the number of poles in the motor winding and can be expressed as:

= 2 60

Where,
= ()
= ()
=

=
2
Fig. 1.1 Basic Structure of 3-phase induction motor
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The three-phase current passing through the stator windings creates this rotating magnetic field. These
current, while varying in magnitude and sign, produce an illusion of a rotating magnet.

Fig. 1.2 Creation of rotating magnetic field

We tend to create multiple distributed coils for every poles instead of one coil. This action reduces the
harmonics in the total magnetic induction present in the air gap.
2.2. Rotor:

The rotor of an induction machine can be either a wire wound rotor (3-phase shorted coils) or a squirrel cage
rotor with short-circuited aluminum bars. The speed of a wire-wound rotor can be controlled to a limited
extent by the introduction of a starting rheostat. The squirrel cage motor on the other hand cannot be
controlled by changing the rotor circuit.

Fig. 1.3 Wound Rotor with Slip Rings

Fig. 1.4 Squirrel cage rotor with bars

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3. Torque and Speed Characteristics:

In what continues, I will only refer to the squirrel cage induction motor.
3.1 Slip:

Synchronous motors contain a magnet or an electromagnet in their rotors, so the speed of rotation of the
rotor is equal to the mechanical speed of rotation of the magnetic field. Whereas in induction motors, if the
speed of rotation of the rotor is equal to that of the RMF (Rotating Magnetic Field), then there would be no
induced current in the rotor and thus, no flux. This is why the speed of the rotor is always slightly less than the
synchronous speed. The term slip defines the amount of difference between these two speeds:
=

100

Where,
= ()
=
=
The slip varies between almost 0% at no load, and 3 6 % at nominal load conditions.
3.2 Equivalent Circuit of AC Induction Motor:

The equivalent circuit is a single-phase representation of a multiphase induction motor that is valid in steadystate balanced-load conditions. It is expressed simply in terms of the following components:

Stator resistance and leakage reactance ( , )

Rotor resistance, leakage reactance, and slip ( , , )
Magnetizing reactance ( )

Air gap power is equal to electromechanical power output plus rotor copper losses.

Fig. 1.5 Equivalent circuit of AC induction motor

3.3 Torque Equation:

The equation defining the torque, by using the equivalent circuit parameters and power equations can be
expressed as:

Where,
=
= = ()
= ()
= = ()
= ()
= ()
We can observe from the above formula that the torque is a function of slip. Drawing these characteristics we
obtain:

Fig. 1.6 Torque as function of slip characteristics

The maximum value of the breakdown torque (N.m) is attained at

4. Scalar Control of Speed and Torque:

Scalar control is based on the varying of the magnitude of the control variables (V and f ), without regard to
the phase values and effects. The voltage of the machine can be varied to control the flux, the slip or
frequency can be varied to control the torque. However, the voltage or frequency still have effects on the
other output variable (V has an effect on torque, and f has an effect on flux).
Scalar-controlled drives gives inferior performance compared to vector controlled drives. However, scalar
controls are easier to implement.
4.1. Open-Loop V/Hz Control:

This method is by far the most used method of control of induction motors because of its simplicity, and the
wide use of induction motors in industry.
We know that the flux in the air gap of the motor is directly related to the ratio V/f, so, to keep the flux
constant thus avoiding saturation we have to keep the ratio V/f constant.

Fig. 1.7 Torque curves at varying frequencies

In order to be able to control the frequency of the driver, we need an inverter to generate a pulse width
modulated signal of varying frequency.

Chapter 2:
PWM and Inverters
1. Introduction

In order to control the speed of an induction motor, we require a variable frequency drive, that is able to
provide enough power, and behave as a sinusoidal current in the stator windings. Pulse Width Modulation
(PWM) is a technique used to supply power to an inductive device, so that the current behaves in a sinusoidal
manner. PWM Inverters can be used to create controlled PWM signals from DC voltage sources. This type of
drives is widely used to control induction motors, either with scalar or vector control techniques.

2. Pulse Width Modulation:

Pulse-width modulation (PWM), or pulse-duration modulation (PDM), is a technique used to encode a

message into a pulsing signal. Although this modulation technique can be used to encode information for
transmission, its main use is to allow the control of the power supplied to electrical devices, especially to
inertial loads such as motors.
The average value of voltage (and current) fed to the load is controlled by turning the switch between supply
and load on and off at a fast rate. The longer the switch is on compared to the off periods, the higher the total
power supplied to the load.
The PWM switching frequency has to be much higher than what would affect the load (the device that uses
the power), which is to say that the resultant waveform perceived by the load must be as smooth as possible.
Typically switching has to be done several times a minute in an electric stove, 120 Hz in a lamp dimmer, from
few kilohertz (kHz) to tens of kHz for a motor drive and well into the tens or hundreds of kHz in audio
amplifiers and computer power supplies.
The term duty cycle describes the proportion of 'on' time to the regular interval or 'period' of time; a low duty
cycle corresponds to low power, because the power is off for most of the time. Duty cycle is expressed in
percent, 100% being fully on.
The main advantage of PWM is that power loss in the switching devices is very low. When a switch is off there
is practically no current, and when it is on and power is being transferred to the load, there is almost no
voltage drop across the switch. Power loss, being the product of voltage and current, is thus in both cases
close to zero. PWM also works well with digital controls, which, because of their on/off nature, can easily set
the needed duty cycle.

Fig. 2.1 Induction as function of PWM voltage

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3. Generation of PWM Signals:

A simple method to generate the PWM

pulse train corresponding to a given
signal is the intersective PWM: the
signal (here the red sinewave) is
compared with a sawtooth waveform
(blue). When the latter is less than the
former, the PWM signal (magenta) is in
high state (1). Otherwise it is in the low
state (0).

Fig. 2.2 Intersection method for generating a

single-phase PWM signal

To drive a 3-arm IGBT bridge which will be explained next we need a 6 pulse PWM signal, in which pulses 1
and 2 are complementary, so are 3 and 4, and 5 and 6. These pulses will open the gates of the bridge to allow
DC voltage to be transferred to the output, thus producing a 3-phase PWM waveform of high power.
Fig. 2.3 Generating a 3-phase 6-pulse PWM
signal

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4. Using Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Bridges:

An IGBT Bridge is a device that converts

DC voltage to a PWM waveform following
the impulses it is given. This kind of
bridges can be used to drive high power
inductive loads by generating a high
power 3-phase PWM signal from a DC
voltage source (usually a rectified AC
source).
The greatest use of the IGBT bridge is that
it can provide varying frequency PWM
output by varying the frequency of the 6
Fig. 2.4 3-Arm IGBT Bridge
complementary PWM pulses that are supplied
each to one of the transistors. Every two
transistors found in the same column are fed by complementary pulses to produce the forward and reverse
half of the output signal. The presence of 3 pairs of transistors fed by 120 pulses are sufficient to produce a
3-phase output.

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Chapter 3:
Simulation
1. Introduction

To study the time response of the motor current and torque, we setup a Simulink simulation of the drive and
the motor.

2. Control Part:

The first part of the block diagram is the control circuit that generates the PWM driving signal for the bridge to
operate. This part shows a linear relation between f and V. We also generate three sine signals to be
compared inside the Double Signal Generator to generate the pulses necessary to drive the IGBT Bridge.

Fig. 3.1 Simulation (part 1)

Staring from the right, we have the frequency control signal, which in turn provides the value for the sin
functions and the voltage control through the gain block, which has a gain of 7.66. This is the value at which
the V/Hz ratio stays.
Next, the three sin waves with 120 phase shift are MUXed and multiplied by a modulation index of 0.9.
These three signals are fed to the Double Pulse Generator, which compares them to a sawtooth signal of
carrier frequency of 1080 Hz, thus generating six complementary pulses to operate the six IGBTs of the bridge.
The IGBT Bridge is the power electronics device that allows us to generate the high power high voltage
signal to drive the asynchronous motor.
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2. High Power Part:

The second part of the simulation is the asynchronous motor; this part allows us to simulate the response of
the induction motor to the PWM voltage feeding it.

Fig. 3.2 Simulation (part 2)

The induction motor used is a squirrel-cage induction motor with a nominal line-line voltage of 380 volts. This
motor is a 4-pole motor.
The scopes connected allow us to view the stator current, electromagnetic torque, rotor speed and Fourier
analysis of the supply voltage. The multimeters below allows us to the output of the bridge, along with the
internal functioning of two complementary diodes inside the bridge.
The sampling time for the simulation is = 1 5 .
The simulation parameters are:
Type: Variable-step
Solver: ode23tb(stiff/TR-BDF2)

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Chapter 4:
Results and Discussion
1. Introduction

The simulation is run for 0.8 seconds to determine the rotor speed, torque and current steady state values.
We then run in for two periods to view the PWM output and the functioning of the bridge in detail.

2. Speed:
Fig. 4.1

The speed characteristics show the relation between the frequency and the rotor speed. The ratio of speed
over frequency takes the values of 28.5, 28.75, and 28.7 for the values of frequency 70, 60 and 50 Hz,
respectively.
Therefore, we can see that the output speed of the motor is directly proportional to the frequency of the
feeding voltage.
The transient phase lasts 0.18, 0.25 and 0.275 for the values of frequency 50, 60 and 70 Hz.
The synchronous speeds of the three runs are 1500, 1800 and 2100 rpm for increasing values of frequency.
The values of the slip are 3.33, 4.16 and 4.76 % for increasing values of frequency. Thus, we deduce that slip
increases as we increase the frequency.

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3. Torque:
Fig. 4.2

We notice that the values of torque vary between 10 and 15 N.m, but they stay around the same values. The
transient time for the frequencies varies in accordance with the transient time of the speed graph.

5. Current:
Fig. 4.3

The current that flows in the motor is pseudo-sinusoidal due to the effect of the PWM voltage inside inductive
loads. We notice that the staring current is almost 10 times the value of the steady-state current.
The amplitude of the current also increases with the increase of frequency.

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6. Fourier Analysis:

Fig. 4.4

Fig. 4.5

The Fourier analysis of the voltage between lines A and B, shows that the phase shift varies between 7 and 11
degrees of phase shift after the transient phase ends.
The magnitude of the Fourier analysis takes the values of 275, 355 and 400 as the frequency increases.
We notice that the harmonics at 50 Hz and 70 Hz are much higher than the harmonics at 60 Hz. This happens
because the nominal frequency of the motor is 60 Hz. This is why the green curves (60 Hz) have much less
oscillation.

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7. IGBT Currents:

Fig. 4.6

The currents shown are the currents of two complementary transistors of one of the three phases supplied by
the IGBT Bridge. The two signals are connected in opposition across the output, thus if we invert one of them
and sum it to the other, we can observe a sinusoidal structure.
8. PWM Output at Different Frequencies (Vab):
Fig. 4.7

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Conclusion

The squirrel-cage induction motor is, and will be in the foreseeable future, the motor of choice of most
industrial and domestic applications. The high reliability and low maintenance of this motor, along with its
ability to run in chemically and industrially dirty environments. These applications however have different
operation conditions for the motor being used. One of the most important parameters to be controlled is
speed.
Rotor speed can be easily controlled by using the open-loop constant V/Hz technique, which varies the
DC feeding voltage of the inverter (and ultimately the motor) as a function of the chosen frequency. This
techniques requires the generation of a reference signal to control the bridge which provides power to the
motor.
This technique, while being extremely simple to implement, still has disadvantages when compared to
closed loop control. We observe a slight difference of the output torque, which, in theory, should stay
constant. We also notice harmonics in the current and voltage fed to the motor.
Therefore, depending on the application at hand, open-loop scalar speed control can be the right
choice for a simple to implement control system, or it might not be enough, in which case we convert to the
more advances space vector control method.

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References

[1] R. Echavarria, S. Hota, M. Oliver, A Three Phase Motor Drive IGBTs and Constant V/F Speed Control with
Slip Regulation. IV IEEE International Power Electronics Congress Technical Proceedings, pp 87-91, 1995.
[2] O. Ruksaboon, C. Thongchaisuratkrul, Speed Control of Variable-voltage variable-frequency Induction
Motor Drive Using Two-layered PI Controller, Kings Mongkut University of Technology North Bangkok
[3] B.K. Bose, Modern Power Electronics and AC Drives, Prentice-Hall, NJ, USA, pp 30-47, 2001
[4] W. Emar, H. Sarhan, R. Al-Issa, I. TTrad, M, Awad, V/F Control of Squirrel Cage Induction Motor Drives
Without Flux or Torque Measurement Dependency,2011
[5] K. Aditya, A.Newwel, Implementation of Close Loop Speed Control with VVVF Control and Slip Regulation
on LIM, Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research Vol. 4, No. 2, pp 596-599, 2014
[6] P.K. Behera, M.K. Behera, A.K. Sahoo, Speed Control of Induction Motor using Scalar Control Technique,
International Journal of Computer Applications, 2014

Figures

http://www.mpoweruk.com/motorsac.htm
http://electriciantraining.tpub.com/14177/css/14177_91.htm
http://openticle.com/2012/09/26/ac-motor-types/
http://avstop.com/ac/apgeneral/typesofacmotors.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_motor#mediaviewer/File:IMEQCCT.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_motor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation#mediaviewer/File:Pwm.svg
http://200.126.14.82/web/help/toolbox/powersys/pwmgenerator.html
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/mes-dea-tim600-explosion-help-52606p3.html

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