Motors, alternating current speed control

Inverters make it possible to control a variable-speed fan by changing the frequency modulation. Standard alternating-current fan motors may be speed-regulated between 0 and 60 Hz. In using inverters for this apphcation, it is important to avoid frequencies that would result in fan critical speeds. 

Direct Current (DC). This current is transmitted for industrial uses only in exceptional situations. The most common sources of direct current are storage batteries and industrial devices called rectifiers, in which alternating current is changed (rectified) to direct current, as is used in electrolytic cells for the manufacture of chlorine gas, magnesium, aluminum, and a few other chemicals. The direct current is flowing from the source through the user application and back to the source, in one direction. The motor is primarily used for speed control of selected equipment. 

The reduction of cost of electronic speed control for fan motors has led to a much wider use of this method. The general circuit is to invert the supply by first rectifying it to direct current and then pass this through a chopper to produce a new alternating current with the frequency for the new motor speed. 

But, we are working with an ordinary AC (alternating-current) motor—which is a fixed-speed device. There are then three methods available to control the temperature in the evaporator ... 

Most electronic equipment shares the television set s need for a number of differing voltages for the operation of individual components. This alone may be sufficient justification for the inclusion of a direct current to alternating current converter in fuel cell power systems. In addition, alternating current electric motors are more suitable in most applications. They tend to operate at a rotational speed controlled by the frequency of the current. If completely unloaded they speed up to this fixed velocity and accelerate no further. Many types of direct current motors, if operated unloaded, will continue to accelerate until they fail. A belt driven fan operated by an alternating current motor is undamaged by the failure of the belt. A direct current motor will require a special safety circuit to shut it down in case of belt failure. If the belt and the safety circuit both fail, the motor will speed up until it destroys itself. 

Extruder motors are usually electric, but some systems utilize hydraulic motors. For example, injection molding machines use hydraulics to develop clamp tonnage. Electric motors may be of the direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) types. Traditionally, DC motors, which regulate speed through voltage control, have been more popular because they could provide the necessary power at a lower cost. However, recent advances in frequency control - the technique used to regulate speed in AC motors - have caused this type of motor to become more widely used. 

SCR drive A variable-speed motor drive widely used today on new extruders in which a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) converts alternating current to run a direct-current motor. Unlike AC motors, DC motors have good torque characteristics over a wide speed range. 

The three basic types of drives are alternating current (ac), direct current (dc), and hydraulic. While a number of drives have been used in extruders, the most common are dc silicon control rectified (SCR) and ac adjustable frequency drives. A dc SCR drive is a sohd-state dc rectifier connected to a dc motor. The base speed is about 1 percent, but reduces to 0.1 percent when a tachometer is added to the drive. These drives are very reliable, can handle high starting torques, can maintain a constant torque through a speed range of 20 1, and are relatively easy to maintain (that is, replace brushes). However, since the drives have brushes, they are limited to noncorrosive polymers. 

Direct Current. Direct-current (DC) motors normally come with either an internal or external rectification system matched to the motor duty. The rectification of alternating current to direct current by solid-state electronics allows the control of motor speed by adjusting the applied voltage. Small DC motors, less than 5 hp (3700 W), are typically permanent magnet designs larger motors are shunt wound. 

Pumps are driven by either fixed-speed or variable-speed motors. Variable-speed motors are becoming increasingly common. Flow can be controlled by varying the pump speed with the motor and thus eliminating parasitic energy losses across a flow control valve. However, because of the extra electronic components needed for a variable-speed AC motor, 95 percent of the motors we work with are fixed-speed alternating-current motors. I will only discuss fixed-speed, alternating-current (AC) motors in this chapter. 

For variable-speed pumps, such as steam turbine-driven pumps, control valves should not be used. The facility shown in Fig. 38.2 is a control scheme that is used not infrequently at older plants. It s a fine piece of technology, which has been lost with time. No control valve is used. The turbine speed is altered to directly maintain the vessel level. With the increasing use of variable-speed alternating-current motors, elimination of parasitic control valves should become more common. 

In the SRM, the rotor is simply a piece of magnetically soft iron. Also, the current in the coil does not need to alternate. Essentially then, this is a very simple and potentially low-cost motor. The speed can be controlled by altering the length of time that the current is on in each power pulse . Also, since the rotor is not a permanent magnet, there is no back emf generated in the way it is with the BLDC motor, which means that higher... 

---