Will your motor insulation survive a new adjustable frequency drive?

Author

Bell, Sidney ; Sung, Jason

Author_Institution

Rockwell Automation, Reliance Electric, Athens, GA, USA

fYear

1996

fDate

23-25 Sep 1996

Firstpage

125

Lastpage

130

Abstract

The latest family of IGBT type adjustable frequency drives (AFD) produce voltage wave fronts that are extremely fast as a result of increasing carrier frequency. The frequency may be as high as 20 kHz. Motors which are designed for low voltage sinusoidal power run more efficiently and quieter under this condition. However, the insulation in small and medium size motors may experience undesirable aging. This aging usually leads to premature failure of motors sometimes days or months after startup. Even new motors make this an issue. Harsh environments may also add to the problem. This paper presents a practical approach to the motor insulation concerns of applying AFD power to less than 1000 V three phase older motors and give specification details on new motors for AFD service

Keywords

AC motor drives; ageing; insulated gate bipolar transistors; machine insulation; variable speed drives; 20 kHz; IGBT; adjustable frequency drive; aging; fast voltage wave fronts; harsh environments; increasing carrier frequency; insulation breakdown; low voltage sinusoidal power; medium size motors; motor insulation; motor insulation stress; premature failure; small size motors; three phase motors; Aging; Automation; Coils; Energy consumption; Frequency; Insulated gate bipolar transistors; Insulation; Low voltage; Pulse inverters; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference, 1996, Record of Conference Papers. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Incorporated Industry Applications Society 43rd Annual

Conference_Location

Philadelphia, PA

ISSN

0090-3507

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3587-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PCICON.1996.564875

Filename

564875