A variable-frequency drive (VFD, or adjustable-frequency drive, adjustable-speed drive, variable-speed drive, AC drive, micro drive, inverter drive, variable voltage variable frequency drive, VVVF drive, or drive) is a type of AC motor drive (system incorporating a motor) that controls speed and torque by varying the frequency of the input electricity. Depending on its topology, it controls the associated voltage or current variation. VFDs are used in applications ranging from small appliances to large compressors. Systems using VFDs can be more efficient than hydraulic systems, such as in systems with pumps and damper control for fans. Since the 1980s, power electronics technology has reduced VFD cost and size and has improved performance through advances in semiconductor switching devices, drive topologies, simulation and control techniques, and control hardware and software. VFDs include low- and medium-voltage AC–AC and DC–AC topologies.
History Pulse-width modulation (PWM) variable-frequency drive projects started in the 1960s at Strömberg in Finland. Martti Harmoinen is regarded as the inventor of this technology. Strömberg managed to sell the idea of PWM drive to Helsinki Metro in 1973 and in 1982 the first PWM drive SAMI10 were operational.
System description and operation
A variable-frequency drive is a device used in a drive system consisting of the following three main sub-systems: AC motor, main drive controller assembly, and drive/operator interface.
AC motor The AC electric motor used in a VFD system is usually a three-phase induction motor. Some types of single-phase motors or synchronous motors can be advantageous in some situations, but generally three-phase induction motors are preferred as the most economical. Motors that are designed for fixed-speed operation are often used. Elevated-voltage stresses imposed on induction motors that are supplied by VFDs require that such motors be designed for definite-purpose inverter-fed duty in accordance with such requirements as Part 31 of NEMA Standard MG-1.
Controller
The VFD controller is a solid-state power electronics conversion system consisting of three distinct sub-systems: a rectifier bridge converter, a direct current (DC) link, and an inverter. Voltage-source inverter (VSI) drives (see 'Generic topologies' sub-section below) are by far the most common type of drives. Most drives are AC–AC drives in that they convert AC line input to AC inverter output. However, in some applications such as common DC bus or solar applications, drives are configured as DC–AC drives. The most basic rectifier converter for the VSI drive is configured as a three-phase, six-pulse, full-wave diode bridge. In a VSI drive, the DC link consists of a capacitor which smooths out the converter's DC output ripple and provides a stiff input to the inverter. This filtered DC voltage is converted to quasi-sinusoidal AC voltage output using the inverter's active switching elements. VSI drives provide higher power factor and lower harmonic distortion than phase-controlled current-source inverter (CSI) and load-commutated inverter (LCI) drives (see 'Generic topologies' sub-section below). The drive controller can also be configured as a phase converter having single-phase converter input and three-phase inverter output. Controller advances have exploited dramatic increases in the voltage and current ratings and switching frequency of solid-state power devices over the past six decades. Introduced in 1983, the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) has in the past two decades come to dominate VFDs as an inverter switching device. In variable-torque applications suited for Volts-per-Hertz (V/Hz) drive control, AC motor characteristics require that the voltage magnitude of the inverter's output to the motor be adjusted to match the required load torque in a linear V/Hz relationship. For example, for 460 V, 60 Hz motors, this linear V/Hz relationship is 460/60 = 7.67 V/Hz. While suitable in wide-ranging applications, V/Hz control is sub-optimal in high-performance applications involving low speed or demanding, dynamic speed regulation, positioning, and reversing load requirements. Some V/Hz control drives can also operate in quadratic V/Hz mode or can even be programmed to suit special multi-point V/Hz paths. The two other drive control platforms, vector control and direct torque control (DTC), adjust the motor voltage magnitude, angle from reference, and frequency so as to precisely control the motor's magnetic flux and mechanical torque. Although space vector pulse-width modulation (SVPWM) is becoming increasingly popular, sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) is the most straightforward method used to vary drives' motor voltage (or current) and frequency. With SPWM control (see Fig. 1), quasi-sinusoidal, variable-pulse-width output is constructed from intersections of a saw-toothed carrier signal with a modulating sinusoidal signal which is variable in operating frequency as well as in voltage (or current). Operation of the motors above rated nameplate speed (base speed) is possible, but is limited to conditions that do not require more power than the nameplate rating of the motor. This is sometimes called "field weakening" and, for AC motors, means operating at less than rated V/Hz and above rated nameplate speed. Permanent magnet synchronous motors have quite limited field-weakening speed range due to the constant magnet flux linkage. Wound-rotor synchronous motors and induction motors have much wider speed range. For example, a 100 HP, 460 V, 60 Hz, 1775 RPM (4-pole) induction motor supplied with 460 V, 75 Hz (6.134 V/Hz), would be limited to 60/75 = 80% torque at 125% speed (2218.75 RPM) = 100% power. At higher speeds, the induction motor torque has to be limited further due to the lowering of the breakaway torque of the motor. Thus, rated power can be typically produced only up to 130–150% of the rated nameplate speed. Wound-rotor synchronous motors can be run at even higher speeds. In rolling mill drives, often 200–300% of the base speed is used. The mechanical strength of the rotor limits the maximum speed of the motor.
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