Single phase induction motor drives - A literature survey

This paper deals with literature survey of various existing converter topologies, which have been proposed for adjustable speed single phase induction motor drives (SPIMD). Included in the paper are several newly proposed converter topologies. A study of the merit and demerit of different converter topologies have been carried out. Various converter topologies have been compared in this paper. Among these converter topologies, the adjustable frequency PWM inverter is the best choice for single-phase induction motor drives. However, adjustable-frequency drives have not been widely used with single-phase induction motors. The open-loop constant V/f control law cannot be used with the single-phase induction motor drives as it is used with three phase motors. The variation of the operating frequency at lower speed range with constant load torque causes variation in the motor's slip. A constant V/f control is suitable only over the upper speed range. However, improvements in the low frequency performance require the use of constant power dissipation in the motor. Simulation studies for some of the existing topologies as well as for the proposed ones have been carried out.