Speed control of 3-Phase

induction Motor
• A 3-phase induction motor is practically a constant
speed motor like a DC shunt motor.

• DC shunt motor speed can be varied smoothly.

• 3-Phase induction motor it is very difficult to

achieve smooth speed control.

• So the performance of the induction motor

interms of its power factor, efficiency etc.,
• Speed N=Ns(1-S) and Torque

• If speed changes, the slip changes and torque

also changes

• The speed of the induction motor can be

controlled by two methods,

1. Stator Side Control

2. Rotor Side Control
1. Stator Side Control
a. Supply frequency control and V/f control
b. Supply voltage control
c. Controlling number of stator poles
d. Adding rheostat in stator circuit

2. Rotor Side Control

e. Adding external resistance in the rotor circuit
f. Cascade control.
g. Injecting slip frequency voltage into rotor circuit.
 Supply frequency control and V/f control

- Stator turns per phase

f- supply frequency
• If frequency (f) is changed the value of airgap flux
gets affected. This may result into saturation of stator
and rotor cores.

• Such a saturation leads to the sharp increases in the

(magnetization) no load current of the motor.

• So it is necessary to maintain airgap flux constant.

When supply frequency f is changed.

• To achieve, this increase frequency(f), along with

voltage(v) must be changed so as to keep V/f ratio
constant. So this method is called v/f control.
• Hence in this method require variable voltage and variable frequency.

• It can be achieved by an electronic scheme using converter and

inverter circuit.

• Converter converts AC to DC,

• Inverter- Fixed DC into Variable frequency and variable voltage(AC).

• To maintain v/f ratio is constant, smooth speed control of induction

motor is possible.
Torque slip characteristics with variable
frequency and constant(v/f)
 Supply Voltage Control
• The torque equation of 3-phase induction motor

• At standstill condition E2 depends on the supply

voltage. E2 V

• At operating region(low slip region), Slip S is very

small, So is very small so neglected the term .
( R2 is constant)
• If supply voltage is reduced below rated value, as
per the torque equation the torque produced also
decreases.

• The load is same it is necessary to develop same

torque hence the value of slip increases.

• The slip increases, the speed decreases.

• So the motor produces the required load torque at a
lower speed.

• Due to reduction in voltage, current drawn by the

motor increased large. So the motor get overheated.

• Hence this method is rarely used in practice.

• Fan type of loads use this method of speed control.

• Due to reduced voltage, E2 decreases, the decreases

the value of maximum torque.
 Controlling number of stator poles
• This method is also called pole changing method.

• In this method it is possible to have one, two (or) four

speeds in steps. By changing the number of stator poles.

• A continuous smooth speed control is not possible by

this method.

Stator poles can be changed following methods.

1. Consequent poles method
2. Multiple stator winding method
3. Pole amplitude modulation method.
1. Consequent poles method

8-pole winding
• In this method, connections of the stator winding
are changed with the help of simple switching.
• The number of stator poles gets changed in the
ratio 2:1
• The current in all the parts of stator coil is flowing
in one direction only. Due this 8-poles gets
formed. (current upward direction is forming say
S-pole, downward is forming N-pole)

• =

4-Pole winding
• The direction of current through two coils is
different so its 4 pole.
• Therefore =
• The series/parallel arrangements of coils can produce the poles
in the ratio 2:1.

• The speed changes is in step and smooth speed control is not

possible.

• This method of speed control is possible only squirrel cage

induction motor.
2. Multiple stator winding method

• In this method instead of one winding, two

separate stator windings are placed in the
stator core.

• The windings are placed in the stator slots only

but electrically isolated from each other.

• Each winding is divided into coils to which, pole

changing with consequent poles, facility is
provided.
• Thus giving supply to one of the two windings and using
switching arrangement, two speeds can be achieved.

• Same is true for other stator winding. So in all four

different speeds can be obtained.
Limitation of this method

• Can be applied to only squirrel cage motor.

• Smooth speed control is not possible. Only step

changes in speed are possible.

• Two different stator windings are required to be

wound which increases the cost of the motor.

• Complicated from design point of view.

3. Pole amplitude modulation method

• The basic disadvantage of other methods which

is nonavailability of smooth speed control is
eliminated.

• The ratio of two speeds in this method, need not

be necessarily 2:1.

• The basic principle of this method is the

modulation of two sinusoidally varying m.m.f
waves, with different number of poles.
• Consider sinusoidally distributed m.m.f wave
of one phase of the stator as,

Where,
P- Number of poles, =mechanical angle

• This wave is modulated by another sinusoidal

m.m.f wave having PM number of poles,
expressed as,
• The resultant m.m.f wave after modulation is,

• Thus the resultant wave is equivalent to m.m.f waves

having two separate number of poles as, and

• This is called suppressed carrier modulation.

• If we succeed in suppressing one of the two poles

then there exists rotating magnetic field with number
of poles as or
• If the three stator windings are placed such
that angle between their phase axes is
( radians where r is an integer which is not
divisible by 3 then the phase axes angle for
modulated poles is given by,

• Now to suppress one of the two poles, the

angle between its phase axes must be
multiple of .
• x

• x

• -- (1)

• So if r and n are selected so as to satisfy one of the above

relations, then either P1 or P2 get suppressed and field
corresponding to other pole exists.
• So speeds corresponding to P-poles without modulation and
corresponding to either P1 or P2 with modulation can be
achieved.
• In the equation(1), negative sign is suppression of P 1 and
existence of P2=P + Pm, Positive sign is suppression of P2 and
existence of P =P - P poles.
• For example, stator has 8 poles while values of n and r are
selected as 1 and 4 respectively. r is not divisible by 3.

• Let poles are modulating function PM are 2.

• From equation (1) -

• Satisfied

• Not satisfied

• Thus P1 gets suppressed and we get poles P1=P-PM=6.

• This method is advantageous as it reduces the size to a great

extent and hence cost of the machine.
 Adding rheostat in stator circuit
• The external resistance is added with stator circuit.

• The part of the voltage gets dropped across the resistance

and reduced voltage gets applied across the stator.

• The reduction in stator voltage causes reduction in the

speed.

• The rheostats can be varied as per the required change in

speed.

• But the entire line current flows through the rheostats and
hence there are large power losses.

• The method is not efficient from speed control point of

view hence used as a starter rather than as a speed control
method.
 Rotor Side Control
Adding external resistance in rotor circuit.

• The torque equation of 3-phase induction motor

• For low slip region

• Thus if the rotor resistance is increased, the
torque produced decreases.

• But when the load on the motor is same, motor

has to supply same torque as load demands.

• So motor reacts by increasing its slip to

compensate decreases in T due to R2 and
maintains the load torque constant.

• So due to additional rotor resistance R2 motor slip

increases i.e. speed of the motor decreases.
• Thus by increasing the rotor resistance R2,
speeds below normal value can be achieved.

Advantage- starting torque of the motor

increases proportional to rotor resistance.
Disadvantages
• The large speed changes are not possible. Because it require
large resistance, it causes rotor copper losses increases, reduce
the efficiency.

• The method can not be used for the squirrel cage induction
motor.

• The speed above the normal values can not be obtained.

• Large power losses occur due to large I2R loss.

• Sufficient cooling arrangements are required which make the

external rheostats bulky and expensive.

• Due to large power losses, efficiency is low.

 Cascade Control
• This method also called concatenation or tandom
operation of the induction motors.

• In this method, two induction motors are

mounted on the same shaft.

• One of the two motors must be of slip ring type

which is called main motor.

• The second motor is called auxiliary motor.

 Cascade control of two induction motor

• The stator of the main motor is connected to the three

phase supply.
• While the supply of the auxiliary motor is drive at a
slip frequency from the slip rings of the main motor.
• This is called cascading of the motors.
• If the torques produced by both act in the same direction,
cascading is called cumulative cascading.

• If torque produced are in opposite direction, cascading is

called differential cascading.
• Let
PA –Number of poles of main motor.
PB- Number of poles of auxiliary motor.
f- Supply Frequency

• N-is the speed of the set.

• The speed N is same for both the motors as motors are

mounted on the same shaft.
• Frequency of rotor induced emf of motor A=

• The supply to motor B is at frequency , i.e =

• =

• Now on no load, the speed of the rotor B i.e. N is

almost equal to its synchronous speed
•

•
•

• x

• Thus the speed N of the set is decided by the total

number of poles equal to . This is possible for
cumulatively cascaded motors.
• If by interchanging any two terminals of motor B.
• The reversal of direction of rotating magnetic
field of B is achieved then the set as differentially
cascaded set.

• The number of poles are .

• Thus cascade control, four different speeds are

possible as,

1. With respect to synchronous speed of A

independently
2. With respect to synchronous speed of B
independently

3. Running with cumulatively cascaded with,

4. Running with differentially cascaded with,

This method is also rarely used due to following
disadvantages:

1. It requires two motors which makes the set

expensive.

2. Smooth speed control is not possible.

3. Operation is complicated.

4. The starting torque is not sufficient to start the set.

5. Set cannot be operated if