An AC motor drive with power factor control for low cost applications

The front-end rectifier followed by a pulse-width modulated voltage source inverter (PWM-VSI) has been a well-established power converter configuration for many industrial drives. The increasing costs on the utility usage, due to power quality regulations, and the need to improve the VA capacity of systems, e.g. off-shore drilling rigs, have increased the interest in the development of power electronic equipment with power factor control capability. Electrical motors consume a large amount of the available electrical energy, and this energy tends to increase due to the massive emerging applications of electrical motor drives in appliances and in industrial processes. Therefore, the improvement of the power factor of these low power drive systems, usually in the range from fractional horse-power (hp) to 1 hp, is of particular interest. For these power ratings, the system configuration usually comprises a single-phase to three-phase type of converter with additional circuitry for power factor control (PFC). However, this approach has an impact on the system cost and packaging.; In this work, a new concept of integrating motor and power factor controls by using a single-phase to three-phase DSP based six-switch converter topology is presented. Unlike other configurations using extra switch(es) and/or extra boost inductor, in this circuit the boost action, for input current shaping, is done by the motor leakage inductances. The power factor control and inverter operation are performed by applying two modulating signals to the SPWM control logic of the converter. In this dissertation, the converter operation and a proposed control strategy will be explained. Simulation and experimental results for a DSP based induction motor drive will be provided as proof of concept. The feasibility and potential of this configuration for ac motor drive applications will be established. The impact of this scheme on the machine operation will also be discussed.