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VFDs Understanding Topologies

By Doug Marshall, P.Eng. and Greg Loziak, A.Sc.T.

Introduction AC, or induction motor drives, also referred to as ASDs (adjustable speed drives), can control motor speed and torque by either voltage, current, frequency or voltage/frequency control. The latter is commonly referred to as a VFD or variable frequency drive. Voltage, current and frequency controlled ASDs provide limited speed and torque control while VFDs can provide constant motor torque with low inrush current throughout its speed range and are almost exclusively in use today. VFDs consist of three basic stages, either an active or passive converter stage; a DC link which may be reactors (current source) or capacitors (voltage source) and an inverter stage which may be a bi-level, muti-level, pulse width modulated or a combination of them. All do the same thing, which is to convert a fixed voltage and frequency source into a variable voltage and frequency source to provide an induction motor with the comparable speed and torque characteristics of a DC motor from zero to base or rated speed. These various topologies have different characteristics regarding line power factor, line & load harmonics, neutral voltage shift, efficiency & torque pulsations to name a few, all of which have a bearing on motor performance and reliability as well as having an effect on power quality on the customers electrical system. The following paper describes the various topologies and compares nine different characteristics. A mathematical explanation for these different properties is quite involved and beyond the scope of this article. Stages There are three basic stages to a VFD; the converter, to rectify the fixed AC signal, the DC link to store energy and the inverter, to recreate a sine wave with variable amplitude and frequency Converter Stage There are many variants to the rectifier or converter stage but all convert the 60 Hz sine wave to a fixed or variable DC voltage or current. Earlier technology used an active rectification methodology of either half, full or dual converter stages using thyristors to provide 1, 2 or 4 quadrant power rectification. By varying the delay angle of the thyristors, the voltage or current RMS value could be adjusted as required by the motor load. However line harmonics were generated and a poor power factor resulted at lower DC voltages. This was corrected somewhat by the introduction of GTO (Gate Turn Off) thyristors and IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) which, through extinction or symmetrical angle control (forced commutation), can reduce the lower order harmonics and improve power factor. The introduction of PWM (or pulse width modulated) gating control of these devices, whereby multiple pulses of varying

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(modulated) width per half cycle effectively replaced the lower order with higher order, easily filtered harmonics and thus improved converter design considerably.

Variable Current Source Converter using PWM

Variable Voltage Source Converter using PWM

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DC Link Whichever converter stage is employed, the energy must be stored in a DC link which may be either a voltage link (shunt capacitors) or current link (series reactors). This energy source is then the supply for the last stage, the inverter section. Inverter Stage The inverter stage recreates an approximation to an output sine wave from the DC link. The DC link may be fixed or variable and be a voltage or current source. In order to generate a signal with low harmonic content and have variable frequency, multilevel DC voltages and switching frequencies are employed. The more levels and higher switching frequencies that can be designed into the inverter will result in a cleaner approximation to a pure fundamental 60 Hz waveform with minimal ripple or harmonics. The three basic inverter topologies are the diode clamped, flying capacitor and the cascade multilevel inverter. Another method which is in common use today is to use PWM to create a series of modulated voltage or current pulses which are controlled in width and frequency to create a close approximation to a current or voltage sine wave of varying amplitude and frequency.

PWM Inverter Voltage & Current Waveform Topologies There are five basic topologies: Variable Voltage, Variable Current, Voltage Source, Current Source and Multi-level Voltage Source Inverter. All maintain a constant V/f ratio which is determined by the motor design to maintain a constant torque over the speed range without saturating the motor laminations.

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Variable Voltage Inverter (VVI) A variable voltage inverter uses a variable voltage DC source whose magnitude is controlled by the converter stage and is dependent upon the converters thyristor, GTO or IGBT delay angles or if a PWM controlled converter, its modulation index. The inverter uses a two level switching sequence of positive and then negative voltage pulses of fixed duty cycle. Frequency is controlled by the frequency of positive and negative pulses over a cycle and whose magnitude is controlled by the DC link amplitude. Variable Current Inverter (VCI) A variable current inverter uses a variable current DC source whose magnitude is controlled by the converter stage and is dependent upon the converters thyristor, GTO or IGBT delay angles or if a PWM controlled converter, its modulation index. The inverter uses a two level switching sequence of positive and then negative current pulses of fixed duty cycle. Frequency is controlled by the frequency of positive and negative pulses over a cycle and whose magnitude is controlled by the DC link amplitude. Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) A voltage source inverter uses a fixed DC voltage (shunt capacitors) supplied by the converter stage via passive rectification and recreates an output sine wave. The voltage output is fixed and independent of load impedance and using pulse width modulation, consists of a modulated series of voltage pulses which alternate in polarity. The voltage pulse waveform is supplied to the motor stator windings and the inductance acts as a filter to re-create a close approximation of a current sine wave. By varying the voltage pulse width and frequency, the current sine wave amplitude & frequency can be varied to provide speed and torque control of the motor.

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Current Source Inverters (CSI) A current source inverter is the dual of a voltage source inverter. It uses a fixed DC current (series reactors) supplied by the converter stage via passive rectification. The current output is fixed, independent of load impedance and using pulse width modulation and consists of a modulated series of current pulses which alternate in polarity. The current pulse waveform is supplied to the motor stator windings and the inductance acts as a filter to re-create a close approximation of a voltage sine wave. By varying the current pulse width and frequency, the voltage sine wave amplitude & frequency can be varied to provide speed and torque control of the motor. Multilevel Voltage Source Inverter (MVSI) Multilevel voltage source inverters use a combination of diode clamping and pulse width modulation. By building up voltage levels sequentially in combination with varying pulse widths (PWM), the voltage sine wave will consist of gradually increasing and decreasing voltage levels. The more levels, the more distortion free the voltage sine wave is. Motor winding induction smooths out the current waveform by integrating the voltage pulses into a nearly distortion free current waveform.

Multilevel Voltage Waveform

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Comparison of Topologies (VVI, VCI, VSI, CSI, MVSI) Type VVI Converter Active PWM DC Link Shunt Capacitators DC Source Variable Voltage Inverter Bi-level AC Voltage Bi-level Pulses of varying amplitude & frequency Sine Wave of amplitude & frequency AC Current Sine Wave of varying amplitude & frequency

VCI

Active PWM

Series Reactors

Variable Current

Bi-level

VSI

Passive Diodes

Shunt Capacitators

Fixed Voltage

PWM

CSI

Passive Diodes

Series Reactors

Fixed Current

PWM

MVSI Passive Diodes

Shunt Capacitators

Fixed Voltage

PWM and Diode Clamping

Bi-level Pulses of varying amplitude & frequency Fixed Amplitude Sine Wave & Modulated Varying Pulses Amplitude & Frequency Sine Wave Fixed Amplitude Varying & Modulated Amplitude & Pulses Frequency Sine Wave Sine Wave Varying Varying Amplitude & Amplitude & Frequency Frequency

Characteristic Differences Input Power Factor The current source inverter uses a large capacitor (0.4 to 0.5 pu/hp) in its input circuit as a way of correcting power factor. During idle periods this capacitor may affect power factor upstream. These large capacitors can also have an undesirable effect at idle in resonating with other components online. Power factor is expected to be leading from 0 HZ to approximately 45 HZ, and from frequencies beyond 45 HZ it will be 0.85 to 0.97 lagging. The voltage source VFDs using a passive converter (VSI) with a phase shift transformer on the input maintain a high power factor throughout its frequency range. Line Harmonics VFDs employing a passive converter stage such as a 3 phase full wave rectifier will not reflect any harmonic distortion back into the plants distribution system. No power filters are required. Power factor to the utility is always high, rated at 95% or better throughout the speed range.

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Load Harmonics VFDs that employ a multi-level / PWM inverter section generate a very low THD voltage and current waveform to the motor. Thus, standard induction motors may be employed when used in conjunction with this topology. Cogging Effect One of the biggest problems inherent with Current Source VFDs is that they have always been known to offer very little stability and control at lower frequencies. When operating at frequencies below 5 - 6 HZ we can expect that this drive may operate the motor with a cogging effect or jerking torque. This can be very hard on motors and gearboxes and with especially heavy loads such as hoists, control may be lost at lower frequencies and the motor could actually spin backwards. This problem can be minimized or possibly eliminated by the addition of an encoder, which sends a shaft speed signal back to the VFD for feedback control. Loading Effects Current source VFDs historically do not run well with light loads. Voltage source VFDs will operate well through the entire speed range, from 0 to 60 HZ and above. Neutral Voltage Shift As a general rule, current source inverters operate with a greater level of Neutral Voltage Shift than voltage source inverters. This neutral shift can cause additional stress on the motor winding insulation, thus shortening the life expectancy of the motor unless it is specifically built to a higher design standard. A current source inverter operates with a ground fault loss of 0.2 to 0.6 amps at all times. This is caused as it tries to compensate the floating neutral inherent to any current source drive. This can cause nuisance ground fault trips on any of the protective relaying equipment. Efficiency Losses in a VFD are due to the passive elements; either the DC Link reactors, transformers or capacitors. There is resistance in both devices as they are not ideal however both resistances are comparable on a per unit basis. Therefore voltage source VFDs and current source VFDs are comparable at the higher frequencies. Motor Stresses (dv/dt) When current source switch current, voltage spikes are impressed on the motor windings causing stress. A muti-level inverter limits these spikes to a lower per unit voltage level thus mitigating this winding stress.

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Torque Pulsations A voltage source inverter will not produce torque pulsations which are inherent with current source inverters. You can expect unrestricted use of rated motor torque throughout the speed range. Short Circuit Protection Current source VFDs have built in short circuit protection because of the series reactors. Voltage source VFDs do not and therefore short circuits are higher if a bolted fault appears at the output of the inverter. The diodes in the converter and active devices in the inverter section must be able to withstand these higher short circuit currents and upstream protective devices must be rated to interrupt them.

Conclusion Todays VFDs are the result of 20 years of design evolution and have evolved from earlier current source designs with active rectification at the converter stage, large reactors and output inverters which generated sine wave signals with appreciable lower order harmonics. This design provided a great leap forward in induction motor control and made the use of expensive and high maintenance DC or slip ring motors virtually obsolete. However, they had relatively low power factor, relatively high line and load harmonics, caused a neutral point shift and generated voltage transients thus requiring motors with higher voltage insulation and windings that could handle the higher heating due to harmonic generation.
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The evolution is towards a muti-level voltage source topology and the use of passive rectification and a voltage DC link of capacitors. The inverters are multilevel and use pulse width modulation to provide voltage & current sine waves of low harmonic distortion, balanced voltages, are highly efficient at all power levels and frequencies and have a high power factor.

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