Regenerative Drives

and
Common Bus

Application Guide

P/N: RDCBAG0400
Date: April 20, 2000
 Table of Contents
Page

Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1

AC Regenerative Drives - AC to AC.................................................................. 2

Introduction .................................................................................................. 2
Theory of Operation ..................................................................................... 2
System Components .................................................................................... 7
Line Fuses.................................................................................................... 7
Input Inductor ............................................................................................. 10
Pre-Charge Circuit ..................................................................................... 10
Unidrives .................................................................................................... 12
EMI Filter.................................................................................................... 12
Switching Frequency Line Filter ................................................................. 12
Varistor Protection...................................................................................... 13
Drive Sizing ................................................................................................ 14
AC-AC Regenerative Drive - Pros and Cons............................................ 25

AC Regenerative Drives - DC to AC ............................................................... 27

Introduction ................................................................................................ 27
Theory of Operation ................................................................................... 27
Bus Capacitors........................................................................................... 28
Bus Inductor ........................................................................................................... 31
Introduction

The intent of this guide is to provide the reader with a better understanding of
regenerative ac and dc drives along with their use in system applications. The
least complex would be a single drive/motor system such as a dynamometer or
centrifuge to the most complex being a multi drive / multi motor process line. The
commonality of all the above is the ability to absorb energy from the mechanical
system and either dissipate it in heat or regenerate the energy back to the line.
The question boils down to which method is the best and most cost effective
approach for the application.

This application note will attempt to provide assistance in selecting, sizing and
computing various system parameters and component ratings. It is not for the
purpose of eliminating the requirement of the System design engineer. Many of
the design details, such as meeting local electrical codes, are not discussed and
are beyond the scope of this paper.
 AC Regenerative Drives - AC to AC

Introduction

A full four quadrant AC Drive may be realized using two Unidrives, one operating
in the regen mode and the second in a motoring mode (i.e. vector, servo or open
loop). Since only the inverter/capacitor portion of the Unidrive is utilized (front-
end rectifier is not), an external precharge circuit must be added to the system in
order to charge the bus capacitors on power up. An input line reactor is also
required in order to provide guaranteed minimum line impedance for the system.
The percent impedance of this reactor and its purpose will be discussed in the
sections below. Additional components such as Line (switching) filters, EMI filters
and Transient Voltage Protection as well as paralleling of larger units will be
discussed.

Theory of Operation

In a standard AC drive, the dc bus is generated using a three-phase rectifier

bridge. This provides a dc voltage of approximately 1.414 times the input ac rms.
voltage. With a 480vac-line voltage, this equates to a bus voltage of
approximately 680vdc. A deficiency of this type front end is that it allows
power to flow from the line to the motor but if power flows from the motor to the
drive (such as an overhauling condition), the bus will continually charge until the
drive trips out on overvoltage. If the front-end diode bridge was replaced with the
transistor bridge, a transistor could be turned on to allow current to flow into the
power line and thus prevent the “absorbed” energy from tripping out the drive. If
the transistors are switched properly, the output current can be controlled in a
sinusoidal fashion. Basically, the drive generates a pwm sine wave output with a
leading power factor with respect to the line voltage. The only requirement is that
the dc bus voltage is greater than the peak of the ac input voltage (by an amount
determined by the line impedance) otherwise, the sinusoidal wave shape of the
output current cannot be maintained. This is essentially how the drive operates
in the regenerative mode.

In normal operation, motoring mode, the flyback diodes (within the transistor) are
fully capable of providing power to the dc bus. This would be no different than the
typical rectifier bridge supplied in any pwm inverter. It would have the same input
current harmonics and non-sinusoidal wave shape that the standard drive would
have. Since the transistors are already there for regeneration, they might as well
be used for the motoring mode. The transistors can be switched in such a
manner as to allow current flow into the drive (similar to an up-converter). If the
bus voltage is regulated at a level higher than the peak of the incoming line, the
diodes will not conduct (as a full wave rectifier) and the transistors can control the
current. This can provide a sinusoidal input current with a power factor
approaching unity. The switching frequency will generate some higher frequency

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 harmonics but they are more easily eliminated (with an input low pass filter) than
the lower 5th and 7th harmonics generated by an uncontrolled diode bridge input.

In addition to the obvious benefit of the Unidrive AC Regen, the ability to

regenerate power back to the line, there are other reasons to use this type
drive. The ability to output 480vac even with a input line voltage of much
less than 480 –10% (although at the expense of increased input current) and an
input current which is sinusoidal, meaning low input harmonics and high
power factor.

Figure 1 below shows a simple single phase equivalent to the Unidrive regen
front end. If the transistors, TR1 through TR4 were ignored, the diagram would
look exactly like a fixed diode rectifier front end (like a standard Unidrive). The
capacitor would charge up to the peak voltage of the input line voltage, VAC.

D1 D3

TR1 TR3

L1
C1

VAC

D2 D4

TR2 TR4

Vc1

VAC

Figure 1

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 The solid and dotted arrows show the charge paths for positive and negative half
cycles of the line voltage.

Figure 2 shows the current paths during regeneration from dc bus to the line. In
this case the current flow is from the bus capacitor through the transistors and
into the line. The capacitor voltage of course must be greater than the peak of
the line.

D1 D3

TR1 TR3

L1
C1

VAC

D2 D4

TR2 TR4

+
VC1
-

Voltage
Potential

VAC

Figure 2

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 Both figure 1 and figure 2 both depict classical mechanisms for current flow in an
inverter in the motoring and in the regenerative modes of operation. In the
regenerative mode (figure 2) the transistors can be modulated to provide a
sinusoidal current waveform back to the line. In the motoring mode shown in
figure 1 it would initially appear that the only path for current flow is through the
single-phase rectifier formed by D1 through D4. This would give rise to the typical
input current waveform of a classical capacitive power supply. In order to draw
current from the line that is sinusoidal in wave shape, the transistors must be
switched in a specific pattern. The bus capacitor must be charged to a voltage
level such that the line voltage cannot forward bias the diodes and allow the
normal rectifier current to flow. If this occurs, it does not cause a serious
operational problem but does interfere with the production of sinusoidal input
current. In order to understand the specific switching pattern, refer to the figure 3
below.

Figure 3

D1 D3

TR1 TR3

L1
C1

AC2
AC1

VAC

D2 D4

TR2 TR4

Initially when AC1 is positive with respect to AC2, TR2 would be turned on to
allow current to build up in the path shown by the solid lines. When the current
reaches a specific current level, TR2 is switched off. As we all know, the current
in inductor L1 cannot change instantaneously but the voltage can. At this point in
time, the voltage across the inductor reverses, diode D1 becomes forward biased
and the current which was flowing in TR2 is directed up through D1 and into the
bus capacitor C1 (as shown in figure 4). The Unidrive regulates the dc bus
voltage to a constant value (a level greater than the value of the peak of the
incoming line voltage) by regulating the magnitude and phase relation of the
input current with respect to the input line voltage. When the dc bus is loaded

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 (motoring mode) the input current will lag the line voltage and when the dc bus is
charged (regen mode) the input current will lead the line voltage.

Figure 4

D1 D3

TR1 TR3

L1
C1

AC2
AC1

VAC

D2 D4

TR2 TR4

Figure 5

Transistor
Current

Diode
Current

Inductor
Current

Figure 5 above shows a simplified set of waveforms for the build up of current in
the transistor, the discharge of current into the capacitor bank through the diode
and the current in the inductor. The negative half of the current waveform would
be generated using other devices in the bridge, this is left as an exercise for the
reader.

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System Components

The drawings, figure 6 and figure 7, on the next two pages show the Unidrive
regen system for a 7.5 hp (and smaller) drive and a 10 hp (and larger) drive
utilizing the minimum number of components possible. There are five (5) basic
components required to build a Unidrive AC Regen Drive;

1. Line Fuses
2. Input Inductor
3. Pre-Charge Circuit
4. Unidrive (in Regen Mode)
5. Unidrive (in Motoring Mode)

In addition to the above, other components will also be required in most

applications.

1. EMI Filter
2. Switching Frequency Line Filter
3. Input Varistor Protection

Line Fuses

Line fuses are required to protect the supply cables and transformer in the event
of a drive failure. Fast acting, current limiting fuses are recommended in order to
limit the energy into drive and thus the severity and amount of damage in the
event of a drive failure. Recommended fuse types are:

Bussman type: KTS-R

Gould Shawmut: A6K-R

These fuses are class RK1. Typically they can carry 150% current for at least
300 seconds. This allows the fuse rating to be selected close (closest value
to the drive 100% rating but greater) to the full load level of the drive thus
providing maximum protection for the drive.

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Input Inductor

The purpose of the input inductor is to provide minimum impedance for the input
transistor bridge to work against while energy is transferred in and out of the dc
bus. It basically limits the peak switching currents to an acceptable value as well
as smoothing out the current. In the motoring mode, this inductor is used to
transfer energy from the line to the dc bus. When a transistor is turned on,
current builds up in the inductors to a value determined by the current controller
in the Unidrive. When the transistor turns off, the current in the inductor is
directed into the dc bus via the flyback diodes in the transistor bridge. The
switching pattern is such that the current in the inductor will be sinusoidal and
virtually in phase with the line to neutral voltage. The drive full load current level,
the transistor current rating and the available bus voltage vs. line voltage,
determines the value of this inductor. For a Unidrive operating on a 480vac, 60Hz
power line, the required minimum impedance of the line reactor is 8% with
respect to the full load current level of the drive. As can be seen on the
drawings of the basic Unidrive regen, the 8% impedance is derived from the 5%
line reactor and the 3% of the isolation transformer. In cases where there is no
isolation transformer, an additional 3% line reactor is required (a single 8% may
be used although they are less commonly available then the 3% and 5%). The
line reactors must not saturate at 200% of rated current and must be
capable of withstanding the extra losses (without overheating) due to the
carrier frequency.

Pre-Charge Circuit

The pre-charge circuit consists power resistors, fuses to protect the power
resistors in the event of a drive bus failure and a three-pole contactor to bypass
the power resistors once the bus is charged. The Unidrive Regen has a logic
output, which can be used to control the contactor. In the case of the 7.5Hp and
less, there is a 7.5Hp rated contactor available with a low power 24vdc control
coil which can be directly controlled by the logic output (see basic 7.5Hp Unidrive
Regen Dwg). On larger drives (greater than 7.5Hp) this contactor can be used to
pilot a 480vac coil on a larger contactor.

The rating of the pre-charge resistors should be based on the size of the bus
capacitance and the maximum allowable time to charge the bus. Typically an RC
time constant of .1 to .5 sec. is sufficient.

On smaller drives a typical wire wound vitreous enamel power resistor may be
used. In general this type resistor can handle an overload of 10 times rated
power for 5 to 10 sec. This being the case, given a specific wattage resistor and
the applied voltage, the minimum ohmic value for the resistor can be determined.
Using the minimum resistance and the bus capacitance, the time constant can be
determined. Knowing the applied voltage and resistance value, a fuse can be
selected. Since this is a pulse type application, a time-delayed fuse should be

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used. An example of this is a Gould Shawmut type ATQR. It has a 600Vac
voltage rating, a 200KA interrupt rating and is a time delayed type. The actual
ampere rating should be selected based on the melt time curves of the particular
fuse. In general it should be approximately 40 to 50% (not greater than 50%) of
the peak input rms. current through the resistor.

Larger drives (and common bus systems) which tend to have much larger bus
capacitors require lower ohmic value precharge resistors in order to keep the
precharge time in the .1 to .5 second area. The resistor sizing method described
above is still valid but in most cases will result in multiple high wattage resistors
and or longer capacitor charge time constants (on the order of 1 to 2 seconds).
This tends to make fuse selection more difficult since time delayed fuses have
higher allowable current “let-through” levels in the .1 to .5 second time duration.
In lieu of this, ribbon, round wire and corrib style resistors lend themselves very
well to these type applications. These resistors typically are used in circuits
requiring high pulsed current applications. Since the wire element used in these
resistors is much larger than that which is used in the typical wire wound vitreous
resistors described above, they can accommodate a much higher peak current
for short time duration. This is known as the joule rating of the resistor and in
a precharge application would be matched (or greater than) to the joule
rating of the bus capacitors charged to the nominal dc operating voltage.
The joule rating is basically related to the mass and type of the wire used in the
particular resistor selected and is rarely given in the general specification of the
resistor. It is though normally available from the resistor manufacturer.
The precharge contactor must be rated to carry the full load rating of the drive.
Since the contactor load is a motor controller and not a motor, the contactor
thermal current rating (IEC AC-1 rating) may be used in selecting the
contactor.

The following is a table of capacitance values used in the Unidrive.

Unidrive Size Capacitance Value
UNI 1401 235 uF
UNI 1402 235 uF
UNI 1403 235 uF
UNI 1404 235 uF
UNI 1405 340 uF
UNI 2401 470 uF
UNI 2402 470 uF
UNI 2403 680 uF
UNI 3401 1100 uF
UNI 3402 1100 uF
UNI 3403 2200 uF
UNI 3404 2200 uF
UNI 3405 2200 uF
UNI 4401 3300 uF
UNI 4402 3300 uF
UNI 4403 4400 uF
UNI 4404 6600 uF
UNI 5401 8800 uF

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 The stored energy in the capacitor is determined by the following formula:

Ec = CV2 where V is the RMS Line Voltage (ie 480) and C is the
capacitance in Farads.

The total value of capacitance is the sum of the bus capacitance of each drive.
The pre-charge resistor must have a joule rating equal to or greater than this
value.

The ohmic value of the pre-charge resistor is calculated using the following
formula:

R = 1/(10C) where C is the total capacitance if Farads. (for .1 sec time

constant)

Unidrives

This system requires two Unidrives, one operating in the “regen “ mode (must be
version 3 software or greater) and one operating in the “motoring” mode. The dc
bus of each drive is tied together. Unfortunately the precharge circuit is bypassed
and must, as described above, be duplicated.

EMI Filter

The “rule of thumb” for this filter is that if this filter was required on a non-
regenerative drive, the regen drive will require it. In the European Community it
probably is required in all cases where as in the United States at this point in time
is not. In many cases it will probably be unknown if it is required until the
equipment is commissioned at the site. The standard CT EMI filter must be
used with the Switching Frequency Filter.

Switching Frequency Line Filter

These filters are used in applications where regulations require low levels of
current or voltage distortion, IEEE 519 for example or installations where current
or voltage distortion levels cause interference and or damage to other equipment.
In general, if the supply kva to a Unidrive Regen is greater than 6 times the kva
of the drive, the filter would probably not be required in order to keep the voltage
distortion at or below 5% at the PCC. In this case though, the switching currents
(due to the carrier frequency) may cause problems and or violation of IEEE 519.
With 8% impedance, the magnitude of the switching currents at 3 Khz will be on
the order of 10 % without the additional filter.
This filter is also used in applications where the Unidrive Regen is operated on
the same service with large DC Drives. The filter helps reduce the effects of line
notching on the regen. Line notching can cause increased harmonic currents as
well as preventing the Unidrive regen from synchronizing to the AC line.

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 Although not shown, the filter capacitors should be fused and connected to
the system with a contactor interlocked to the drive run enable.

Varistor Protection

Varistors help protect the drive from ac line transients. Sizing should be 100 joule
devices for 15kw drives or less and 200 joules for drives larger than 15kw. The
voltage rating should be 300 vac nominal +/- 10% and configured as four- (4)
devices star connected with one connection to each line and one to earth. This is
just a general “rule of thumb” for selecting the varistors. In some applications,
these values may be insufficient. Wiring for these devices should be kept as
short as possible since the voltage transients they intend to clip are in the micro-
sec range. Their location should be near the secondary side of the input fusing.

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Drive Sizing

Since the Unidrive regen operates at a power factor of approximately .99, the
real power (continuous) the drive can supply is simply:

P Tot = (√3 * V L-L * IL) * eff V L-L = Rated Line Voltage

1000 IL = Rated Output Current
Eff = Drive efficiency

The motoring drive on the other hand must not only supply the real current; it
must also provide the reactive current. Therefore the amount of real power the
Unidrive regen must supply to the motoring drive is:

P Tot = (√3 * Vm* Im * PF) Vm = Rated Motor Voltage

1000* eff Im = Rated motor Current
PF = Motor FL power factor
Eff = Drive efficiency

Since in most cases, the motor voltage is equal to the line voltage and the motor
power factor (PF) is less than 1, it can be seen that a Unidrive operating in the
regen mode can supply more real power than a Unidrive operating in the
motoring mode. Therefore, in most cases for a single motor application both the
Unidrives would have the same rating.

The following are examples of the above calculations:

Example #1

Motor Data:
5 Hp, 460Vac, 4 Pole, 1755 Rpm Usem motor
FLA = 6.27amps, Full load power factor = .828

Kw (motor) = √3 * 460 * 6.27 *.828 = 4.136

1000
Required Drive Kw:

Kw (motor) / drive eff = 4.136 / .98 = 4.22

Use Unidrive UNI 1405
Unidrive Regen Requirement:

Kw (regen) = (√3 * 480 * IL) * eff = Kw (motor) = 4.22

1.1 *1000

IL = 5.69 amps

Therefore, in this example a 3Hp Unidrive UNI 1404 would probably be OK

to use.

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Example #2

The following example is somewhat hypothetical but is here to show the flexibility
of the Unidrive regen system.

System requirement: The drive must operate on a line voltage of anywhere

from 380Vac to 480Vac and be capable of providing 460Vac, 60Hz to the motor
independent of the line voltage. Select the proper size of Unidrive. Use same
motor as above.

Motor Data:
5 Hp, 460Vac, 4 Pole, 1755 Rpm Usem motor
FLA = 6.27amps, Full load power factor = .828

Kw (motor) = √3 * 460 * 6.27 *.828 = 4.136

1000

Required Drive Kw:

Kw (motor) / drive eff = 4.136 / .98 = 4.22

Use Unidrive UNI 1405

Unidrive Regen Requirement:

Kw (regen) = (√3 * 380 * IL) * eff = Kw (motor) = 4.22

1000

IL = 6.54 amps

In this case, a UNI 1405 (5HP) Unidrive must be used as opposed to the 3 HP in
the previous example above, but with the added advantage of operating on a
wide input voltage range.

The precharge resistor selection in the two examples should be selected from the
component table based on the largest Unidrive used in the system. This will be
true in all cases where a Unidrive regen is supplying a single motoring Unidrive.
Cases of a Unidrive regen supplying multiple motoring Unidrives will be covered
in the next example.

The precharge contactor selection and the switching filter components should be
based on the rating of the Unidrive regen used.

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#3 Example

The following is a hypothetical example of a system utilizing three Unidrives

connected in a common bus configuration, which is fed by a Unidrive regen
module. The purpose of this exercise is to select the proper size for the regen
module based on the system requirements.

15HP 7.5HP 15HP

1750 1750 1150
Plastic B
A Rewind
Film 36”
wide
1000FPM
Tension = All Gear Boxes 5:1
10pli 85% Eff

Rewind
Some 6” Core
Process 30” Full Roll

Tension
= 5 pli

System Information:

Pinch rolls A & B – 12” OD, 11” ID, Length 36” material Aluminum J = 9.427 lb-in-sec2
Mandrel - 6” OD, 4”ID, Length 36” material Aluminum J = .913 lb-in-sec2
Full Roll - 30” Roll including mandrel J = 296 lb-in-sec 2

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The first step is to determine the required horsepower.

Pinch Roll A: (Motoring)

Required Torque = 36” * 10pli = 360 pounds
Pinch roll radius = .5ft
Required torque = .5 * 360 = 180 ft-lbs (at output gear box)
Speed at 1750 motor rpm = 1750 / 5 = 350
HP @ gearbox output (at motor base speed) = (180*350) / 5250 = 12HP
Input HP = 12 / eff = 12 / .85 = 14.12 HP
Use 15 HP motor
Actual Roll RPM at 1000 FPM = 1000 / (1’ * 3.142) = 318.3
Actual Roll HP = (318.3 * 180) / 5250 = 10.91
Actual Motor HP = 10.91 / .85 = 12.84 HP
12.84 HP Motoring used (constant torque load)

Pinch Roll B: (Regenerating)

Required Torque = 36” * 5pli = 180 pounds
Pinch roll radius = .5ft
Required torque = .5 * 180 = 90 ft-lbs (at output gear box)
Speed at 1750 motor rpm = 1750 / 5 = 350
HP @ gearbox output (at motor base speed) = (90*350) / 5250 = 6HP
Since this gearbox is being over-driven the required input torque
is equal to the output torque times the gearbox efficiency divided by the
gear ratio
Input Torque = (90 * .85) / 5 = 15.3
Actual Roll RPM at 1000 FPM = 1000 / (1’ * 3.142) = 318.3
Actual Roll HP required = (1750 * 15.3) / 5250 = 5.10
Since 5.1 HP is required, the closest available size would be 7.5HP
Use 7.5 HP motor
Actual motor HP used = 5.10 * (318.3 / 350) = 4.64 HP

4.64 HP Regenerating torque against Winder

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Winder Torque / HP (worst case at full roll): (Motoring)
Required torque at full load = 180lbs (tension) * 1.25ft (radius) = 225ft-lbs
Reflected through the Gear box = 225 / 5 = 45 ft-lb
Include Gearbox eff. = 45 / .85 = 52.9ft-lbs
HP at 1150 RPM = (52.9 * 1150) / 5250 = 11.59 HP
Motor HP is based on worst case torque and motor base speed
In this case a 15 HP motor would be used
Actual motor speed at full roll = (1000 * 5) / ((30 * 3.142)/12) = 636 RPM
Actual HP at Full roll = (636*52.9) / 5250 = 6.41 HP
Actual motor HP used = 6.41 HP

6.41 HP Motoring used (constant horsepower load)

Motor Selection / Data:

Pinch Roll A: 5 HP, 460VAC, 1775RPM, 18.4 AFL, .827PF, .927EFF

1.5 Lb-Ft2
Pinch Roll B: 7.5 HP, 460VAC, 1765RPM, 9.2 AFL, .839PF, .914EFF
.69Lb-Ft2
Winder Motor: 15 HP, 460VAC, 1180RPM, 19AFL, .806PF, .919EFF
5.1 Lb-Ft2

Drive Selection:

Pinch Roll A: UNI 2403, 25 Amps Rated

Pinch Roll B: UNI 1405, 9.5 Amps Rated

Winder Motor: UNI 2403, 25 Amps Rated

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Unidrive Regen Selection:

The initial criteria in selecting the Unidrive regen size is to compute the total HP
required for the entire system under rated conditions.

Unidrive Regen = Pinch Roll A + Pinch Roll B + Winder Motor

= 12.84 + (- 4.64) + 6.41
= 14.61

14.61 HP * 746 (watts/HP) = 10.9KW = 480(-10%) * IL * √3

IL = 14.57 Amps

The closest drive size with an output current of at least 14.57 amps would be a
UNI 2402 @ 16 amps. This drive is capable of supplying 11.4KW of power
(15.3HP) on a continuous basis and 150% (17.1KW/23HP) of this level for 30
seconds. The remaining items to be examined are of course, starting and
stopping the line.

Starting the line:

When the line is started, there will be approximately 8.3HP available to
accelerate the inertia in the system. In this hypothetical example, the total load
inertia would be:

JL = (4 * 9.427) + .913 (four pinch rolls plus the mandrel)

= 38.6 lb-in-sec2
= 38.6 lb-in-sec2 * .113 = 4.36Kgm2

Reflected through the gear box:

JL = 4.36Kgm2 / 52 = .00736Kgm2

The total inertia would then be the total load inertia plus the sum of the motor
inertias of the motors. For simplicity sake, we’ll assume all motors are 1750rpm
by adjusting the inertia of the 1150 base speed by the ratio 11502/17502.

JL = .00736 + ( 1.8 + .69 + (5.1 * (11502/17502)) * .0421

= .205 Kgm2
The equation for the acceleration time is:

ta = (J * W)/T where J is the inertia in Kgm2

W is the speed in Rad/sec
T accel torque in NM

1591 rpm = (1591/60) * 2PI = 166.6rad/sec ( For line speed = 1000fpm)

T= ((HP * 5250) / 1750) * 1.335

((8.3 * 5250)/ 1750) * 1.335 = 33.24NM

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 There the fastest achievable acceleration time would be:

ta (min) = (.205 * 166.6) / 33.24 = 1second

Clearly, for any system this would be a much faster accel time than would ever
be required especially if there was any hope of maintaining line tensions during
acceleration.

Stopping the line:

The main concern in stopping the line would typically be how fast could the line
be stopped. In this line, bringing a full roll to a stop would require the largest
percentage of torque. Since both pinch rolls are pretty much under heavy
frictional loading, they should stop rather quickly with out any regeneration.
Under these assumptions, all of the available regenerative torque (23HP) will be
used to calculate the quickest stop time for a full roll.

td = (J * W) / Td

The reflected roll inertia J = (296 * .113) / 52 = 1.334 Kgm2

The available regenerative torque Td = ((HP * 5250) / 1150) * 1.335

((23 * 5250)/ 1150) * 1.335 =140 NM
The motor speed at full roll = 636 rpm
W = (636/60)*2PI = 66.6 rad/sec

td(min) = (J * W) / Td = (1.334*66.6) / 140 = .634 sec

Once again, this is much faster that would ever be done in actual practice.

In summary, based on the above calculations, a Unidrive Model 2402 can

be used to provide power (both motoring and regenerative) to the three
drives (two UNI 2403’s and one UNI 1405) for the hypothetical system
shown above. Although in this system all frictional and inertial components
were not evaluated, the ones excluded do not account for enough load to
effect the overall performance nor success of the system.

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 20 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

Now that the Unidrive Regen front end has been selected and verified, the
balance of the system must be selected (i.e. precharge circuit, fusing and filtering
etc). These components are shown in Figure 8 on the following page.

Starting with the easiest part, select the input reactors, fuses and line filter
capacitors. Looking at the input to the system, it’s no different than the standard
Unidrive UNI 2402 Regen package. The input Line fuses, Line filter and Reactors
given in the table on page 25 are strictly set by the drive input current. The pre-
charge resistor and fuse will be different since the total bus capacitance is not
the same value as two UNI 2402’s but once again, the pre-charge contactor
would have the same rating as the one used in the standard Unidrive UNI 2402
Regen package.

The pre-charge resistor and fuse values can also be selected from the table on
page 22. The method of selection is as follows:

1. Total up the bus capacitance, use table on page 12.

2. Divide this value by two.
3. Find the drive size from table on page 12 closest to the value
computed in #2.
4. Select the precharge resistor and fuse from the table on page #25,
which correspond to the drive selected in #3 above.

The components in the system would then be: (from table page 21)

LR1 – RL - 01803 LR1A – RL - 01802 LR2 – RL - 01802

PCR – B9C-4 (or –1 depending on coil voltage)
Line Fuses FS1-FS3 – 20A KTS-R
Filter Capacitors C – GE P/N 27L6010 (X3) 2.5uF

The total bus capacitance is:

C = 2X UNI2403 + 1X UNI1405 + 1X UNI2402
= (2*680) + 340 +470
= 2170 uF
C/2 = 1085 uF
From the table on page 12, a Unidrive UNI3401 has a bus capacitance of
1100uF, therefore the pre-charge resistor and fuse from the standard Unidrive
UNI 3401 Regen package table on page 25 should be used.
R1 = 50 Ohms 225W FS4 = 3A KTK-R

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 21 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 22 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA
04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 23 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA
 Standard Unidrive R egen P ackages
M odel HP O utput A m ps M TE R eactors Filter C ap C (X3) Filter Fo Pre-C harge Pre-C harge Precharge Line Fuses
3KH z (R ated) LR 1 LR 1A LR 2 (Fc = 1Khz)uF Hz R es R 1 Fuse (FS4) C ontactor** FS1 - FS3
U N I 1401 1 2.1 R L-00202(32) --- R L-00201(12) 5.7 416 250, 50W .8A KTK-R B7S C -1.7 3A KTS-R
L50J250(6.21) ($46)
U N I 1402 1.5 2.8 R L-00404(12) R L-00404(12) R L-00404(12) 5.7 430 250, 50W .8A KTK-R B7S C -1.7 4A KTS-R

U N I 1403 2 3.8 R L-00804(7.5) R L-00804(7.5) R L-00804(7.5) 5.7 544 250, 50W .8A KTK-R B7S C -1.7 5A KTS-R

U N I 1404 3 5.6 R L-00804(7.5) R L-00803(5) R L-00803(5) 5.7 644 250, 50W .8A KTK-R B7S C -1.7 8A KTS-R

U N I 1405 5 9.5 R L-01203(4.2) R L-01202(2.5) R L-01202(2.5) 5.7 902 250, 50W .8A KTK-R B7S C -1.7 12A KTS-R

U N I 2401 7.5 12 R L-01803(2.5) R L-01803(2.5) R L-01803(2.5) 5.7 942 100, 100W 1.5A KTK-R B7S C -1.7 15A KTS-R
L100J100(11.09)
U N I 2402 10 16 R L-02503(2.0) R L-02503(2.0) R L-02503(2.0) 5.7 1054 100, 100W 1.5A KTK-R B9C -4 20A KTS-R
($52)
U N I 2403 15 25 R L-03503(1.2) R L-03503(1.2) R L-03503(1.2) 5.7 1360 100, 100W 1.5A KTK-R B25C -4 30A KTS-R
($122)

U N I 3401 20 34 R L-04503(1.2) R L-04502(.7) R L-04502(.7) 24 829 50, 225W 3A KTK-R B30C -4 40A KTS-R
L225J50(14.85) ($168)
U N I 3402 25 40 R L-05503(.85) R L-05503(.85) R L-05503(.85) 24 788 50, 225W 3A KTK-R B30C -4 45A KTS-R

U N I 3403 30 46 R L-05503(.85) R L-05503(.85) R L-05503(.85) 24 788 50, 225W 3A KTK-R B50C -4 50A KTS-R
($220)
U N I 3404 40 60 R L-08003(.7) R L-08002(.4) R L-08002(.4) 24 1095 50, 225W 3A KTK-R B50C -4 70A KTS-R

U N I 3405 50 70 R L-08003(.7) R L-08002(.4) R L-08002(.4) 24 1095 50, 225W 3A KTK-R B63C -4 75A KTS-R
($248)

U N I 4401* 60 96 R L-13003(.3) R L-13003(.3) R L-13003(.3) 48 938 16, 300W 10A KTK-R B75C -4 100 KTS-R
C 300K16R (27.27) ($275)
U N I 4402* 75 124 R L-16003(.23) R L-16003(.23) R L-16003(.23) 48 1071 16, 300W 10A KTK-R EH 80C -4 150A KTS -R
($300)
U N I 4403* 100 156 R L-20003(.185) R L-20003(.185) R L-20003(.185) 48 1194 16, 300W 10A KTK-R EH 145C -4 160A KTS -R
($600)
U N I 4404* 125 180 R L-20003(.185) R L-20003(.185) R L-20003(.185) 48 1194 16, 300W 10A KTK-R EH 160C -4 200A KTS -R
($920)
U N I 4405* 125 202 R L-25003(.15) R L-25003(.15) R L-25003(.15) 48 1326 16, 300W 10A KTK-R EH 170C -4 225A KTS -R
($1,150)

U N I5401 C T 150 240 R L-32003(.125) R L-32003(.125) R L-32003(.125) 80 1125 10, 300W 10A KTK-R EH 250C -4 450A FW H
($1,300)
U N I5401 V T 200 300 R L-40003(.105) R L-40003(.105) R L-40003(.105) 80 1228 10, 300W 10A KTK-R EH 250C -4 450A FW H
($1,300)

** C ontactors are ABB C ontrol Inc. P/N B 7SC-1.7 is a 24 Vdc control coil w ith suppression (plc) P/N BXXX -4/EHX XX-4 have a 480Vac coil (use -1 for 120Vac)
Prices show n for contactors are list. Line Fuses are Bussm an C lass R K1 Precharge R esistors are O hm ite M fg. C apacitors are U K Three P hase netw orks
C om ponents selected for H P show n, O utput Am ps show n for reference only ( saturation current selection) R evision A 991122
N ote: Inductors LR 1 & LR 1A are pow er com ponents and therefore should not be in areas of restricted air flow .

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 24 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

AC-AC Regenerative Drive - Pros and Cons

Pros:

1. Input Current is Sinusoidal (Low Input Harmonics)

2. Near Unity Power Factor
3. Not Subject to Inversion Faults (like DC SCR Regenerative Drives)
4. Full Four Quadrant Operation
5. Higher Speed loop and Current loop dynamics than a DC Regen
6. Can Output 480VAC when input is as low as 380VAC

Cons:

1. No Ride Through Capabilities

2. No Auto Restart Capabilities

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 25 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

 5HP Regenerative AC Drive

3% Line 5% Line
Reactor Reactor

Line
Fuses

EMI
Filte

Pre-charge
Resistors

Pre-charge
Contactor

Pre-charge
Resistor
Fuses

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 26 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

 AC Regenerative Drives - DC to AC
Introduction

As noted in the previous section, AC Regenerative Drives - AC to AC, the

Inverter section of a Standard AC drive has the ability to provide energy to and
remove energy (regeneration) from an ac motor simply by controlling the output
frequency to be slightly greater then the equivalent rotor frequency (motoring) or
slightly less then the equivalent rotor frequency (regenerating). The difficulty is
removing the energy from the dc bus since the input diode rectifier can only pass
current in a single direction. This regeneration therefore causes the voltage level
of the dc bus to rise until the overvoltage trip level is triggered, causing a fault. In
the AC regen front end, the additional Inverter section acts as a “chopper circuit”
to manipulate the dc bus voltage into a sine weighted pwm voltage with a slight
phase advance with respect to the input line voltage. This allows current to flow
into the line from the dc bus, in phase with the line to neutral voltage thus
operating at approximately unity power factor. Taking a look at the inverter from
the perspective of the dc bus, it would appear to look just like the armature of a
dc motor. Why not use a regenerative dc drive to control it? It’s from this analogy
in which the design criteria for the AC Regenerative Drives - DC to AC will be
developed.

There are actually two approaches when using a DC SCR Drive to power the
front end of an AC Drive. When an uncontrolled diode bridge is used, the dc bus
voltage is equal to approximately the square root of two times the line voltage. A
480vac line would produce a 680vdc bus voltage at no load and approximately
650vdc at full load. When a DC SCR Regenerative Drive is used in place of a
diode rectifier, the maximum voltage it can safely supply is 1.05 times the line
voltage. This only equates to 504vdc when operated on a 480vac line. What this
means is that the maximum constant torque frequency would be limited to 60Hz
times the ratio of the two bus voltage levels (504/650 = .77) which equates to
46Hz (the balance of the frequency range 47 to 60Hz or higher would be
constant horsepower). If this is not acceptable, the line voltage could be
increased to a level such that the DC SCR Drive can produce a dc bus level of
650vdc. A line voltage of 650/1.05 or 620vac minimum would be required. Both
approaches are viable and neither should be ruled out before analyzing the
overall costs, performance and reliability of each method.

Theory of Operation

The DC SCR Regenerative drive is typically used to control the speed of a dc

motor by controlling the armature voltage. The current into the armature is
directly related to the motor torque. In the application of this drive to the dc bus of
an ac drive, the output armature voltage is held constant (like a fixed speed
motor) and the armature current is directly related to the output power of the
inverter. The only time the armature voltage is varied is on power up of the unit
for precharge purposes. The analogy might be that the bus capacitance is
equivalent to the dc motor inertia, the bus inductance to the armature inductance
and the total capacitor esr and resistance (plus maybe some extra) of the bus
choke would be equivalent to the armature resistance. If the characteristics of the

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 27 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

 dc bus could be made to look exactly the same as the dc motor, we could be
pretty confident that the system would work.

Bus Capacitors

The following calculations show what the equivalent capacitance (based on the
typical inertia of dc machine) would be for a standard USEM 75 Hp DC motor.
The specifications are:

75 HP 500vdc, 130Amps, 1750rpm [= 1750*(2PI) / 60 = 183.3 Rad / sec]

Ra = .19, La = .0049H, J = 11 lb_ft2 [ = (11*.0421) Kgm2 ]

The equation for the energy stored in a capacitor is E = ½ CV2

Where C = capacitance in farads
V = Capacitor Voltage

The equation for the energy stored in a rotating mass is E = ½ JW 2

Where J = Motor Inertia in Kgm2
W = Motor Speed in Rad/sec

Since both equations are for stored energy, to find the equivalent capacitance,
set the two equations equal to each other and solve for C

½ CV2 = ½ JW 2 C = JW 2 / V2

For the 75 Hp Motor, C = (11*.0421)(183.3)2 / 5002 = .062 Farads = 62000 uF

This means that you would need a 62000 uF capacitor charged to 500 volts to
duplicate the energy stored in the spinning armature of the motor.

From the table on page 12, we can see that a UNI4402 (75 HP) has a bus
capacitance of 3300 uF almost 1/20 of the motor armature.

Obviously it would be costly to add enough external capacitance to make the dc

bus look like the dc motor armature although it would make for a stable bus with
plenty of ride through power.

Since it would be difficult to add enough external caps (76-3600uF to be exact),

we need to determine what would be acceptable. The main concern is, if the
inverter instantly begins to regenerate full power (150% current at 60Hz), how
fast does the dc drive respond and what voltage will the bus voltage attain before
the regen can take control of the bus and regulate the set point level? From
previous testing on a Mentor II drive, the response time from 0 to 150% current
could be as much as 5 to 6 current pulses (2.77ms/pulse for 60hz) or
approximately one line cycle (16.6 ms). Also, since the drive is a regen, care
must be taken to not allow the dc bus to get too high and cause an inversion
fault. Based on these constraints, if a 50vdc rise in the bus voltage is allowed, the
required capacitance can be computed. If the inverter section instantly goes to
150% regeneration and the dc drive ramps up to 200%* current over one line
04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 28 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA
cycle of time (30% of which is “dead band” in the drive) the charge current can be
graphically shown as follows:

150%
Inverter Regen
Current

200% DC Drive Regen

Current

150% Capacitor charge

Current
-50%

Capacitor voltage

DC Drive DC Drive Response DC Drive current

Dead Band time to 150% Discharging
T1 Current T2 Capacitors

* Note that the maximum current of the dc drive must be greater than the
inverter, otherwise the dc drive will not be able to control the bus voltage level.
The 200% rating is only for transient conditions and is not a thermal
requirement. Therefore the 100% rating of the Mentor II needs to be selected
solely based on the 100% required bus current. The Mentor though must be
“shunted” for the 200%.

The equation of interest is : V*C = I*t C = (I*t) / V

Where V is the allowed change in capacitor voltage
I is the charge current into the capacitors
T is the time period current is charging the caps

Therefore: C = ((I*T1) + (I*T2)) / V

I in this example is equal to the inverter regen current of a 75 HP motor and

initially we will assume the bus to be 500vdc. I is therefore: I = ((75 * 746)/500)
*1.5 = 167.85 Amps

T1 = 1/3 of a line cycle and T2 = 1/2 of a line cycle T1 = 5.5ms T2 = 8.33ms

The current during period T2 is simply equal to I/2 (triangular wave shape)
04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 29 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA
Therefore C = ((167.85 * .0055) + (83.92 * .00833)) / 50vdc = .0324 farads (32440 uf)

Clearly it can be seen that the required external capacitance is directly

proportional to the Inverter regen current and inversely proportional to the
allowed bus voltage overshoot. To make things a little more complicated, the
inverter regen current is indirectly related to the dc bus nominal operating voltage
(ie 500vdc in the example above). Therefore, the case for the smallest value of
external capacitance would be a 650 vdc bus voltage level and an allowable bus
over shoot level of 75vdc. Using the equations from above, the capacitance
would be:

C = ((129*.0055) + (64.5 * .00833)) / 75 = .0166 Farads (16600uF)

Once again, ½ of the calculated value above. Unfortunately, this requires the use
of a 660VAC Mentor, which is non-standard and only available in size M350 and
above and a 480/660 transformer. Obviously, if the only cost issues were the
transformer, the dc drive and the capacitors, the answer would be simple, use as
many capacitors needed for the 500vdc bus.

To summarize at this time, based on the above analysis the following “rules of
thumb” can be used:

For 480 Vac Systems, 475-500Vdc bus level Use 580uF per 1KW
i.e. for 75HP, 56KW
C = 580 * 56 = 32,480uF (this includes drive)

For 660 Vac Systems, 600-650Vdc bus level Use 300uF per 1KW
i.e. for 75HP, 56KW
C = 300 * 56 = 16,800uF (this includes drive)
Note: The above capacitor values apply only to Regenerative drives.

To compute the total number of external capacitors, subtract out the drive bus
capacitance (see table on page 8), then divide the remaining capacitance by the
value of the capacitor being used (3600uF 450Vdc for example) then multiply by
four.

For the above:

For 480 (32480 – 3300) * 4 = 32.4 use 32
3600

For 660 (16800 – 3300) * 4 = 15 use 16

3600

Note the number of caps must be a multiple of two since they are configured in a
series/parallel combination. Also keep in mind that each capacitor in the system
should have its own bleeder/voltage sharing resistor. A value of 30Kohms at 10W
works well for the 3600uF capacitors.

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 30 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

Bus Inductor

Up to this point the bus choke has been ignored and for good reason. It’s not
very straightforward. Classically there is one main requirement, and that is that
the resonant frequency of the LC network (bus choke and bus caps) is less than
the pulse frequency of the front-end converter. In 60 hz systems using a three
phase full wave converter, this frequency is 360 hz. Therefore as a minimum
inductance, the following equation can be used. Fo = 1/ ((2*PI*√(L*C)) where C
is the total bus capacitance and Fo < 360 Hz for 60 Hz systems Fo < 300 for 50Hz
systems. Once again, this would be the minimum acceptable inductance.
Unfortunately, this “rule of thumb” was used with inverters with uncontrolled
rectifier front ends where the ripple voltage across the bus choke is at its
minimum (as compared to a phase control). The form factor (ratio of rms. to
average current) of the bus current would typically be on the order of 1.3 to 1.5.
Obviously the higher the inductance, the lower the ripple current in the bus
capacitors and in the incoming line. When the front-end diode rectifier is replaced
with a dc drive, the ripple voltage across the choke increases by a large factor.
Based on computer simulations, the form factor increases to a factor of 2 while
the crest factor (ratio of peak to average current) increases from 2 to about 4.
This produces high input rms. line current, very low power factor and worse of all,
high ripple current in the capacitor bank.

The tables on page 34 show the various currents and bus voltage ripple for a
Unidrive size 5 operating at 200 hp, full speed, full load when operated on a
diode front end (480vac line) verses an scr front end (660vac line). The first
column is the standard Unidrive 5 operating at 480vac and full load (200hp) for
reference purposes. Column #2 and #3 compare a Unidrive 5 with bus choke
inductance based on a 300 hz resonance frequency while operating on both a
fixed 480vac diode front end and a 660vac scr front end regulating the same bus
voltage. Both drives have the same load as designated by the Ib(ave) .
Examination of the two columns makes it very clear that the inductance value is
acceptable for the diode front end but not acceptable for the phase control front
end.

The balance of table #1 shows the effect (on the various currents) based on an
increasing value of bus inductance with the bus capacitance being that of the
standard Unidrive Size5. Table #2 also shows the effect of increasing inductance
but with twice the value of bus capacitance found in the Unidrive Size5.

In studying these tables, it is readily apparent that increasing the bus inductance
decreases the rms bus current while increasing the bus capacitance decreases
the bus ripple voltage. This revelation is not astounding and would be intuitively
obvious to most electrical engineers. The point of interest is the fact that the bus
capacitance has little effect on the bus ripple current. This is of course because
the ripple voltage across the bus choke is much greater than the ripple voltage
across the bus inductor. The actual point in all of this is to determine a
reasonably good “rule of thumb” for selecting the bus inductor. The objectives
would idealistically be the best performance at the best price. If we go back to
04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 31 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA
the dc motor analogy, the armature inductance for a typical USEM motor would
be on the order of 1.2 milli henries. If the simulation is run using 1.2 mH and a
bus capacitance of 8800uF, the rms bus current is virtually equal to the average
bus current. The capacitor current is down to 62 amps.

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 32 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

 200 HP CT
Table #1 ** This column only, 216 HP for
comparison
Uni Size 5 **Uni Size 5 Uni Size 5
480 /diode 480 /diode 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR
L = .2mh L = .032mh L = .032mh L = .1mh L = .2mh L = .4mh L = .6mh L = .8mh
C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0088F

Ib(ave) 248 227 227 248 248 248 248 248

Ib(rms) 286 305 425 381 337 299 278 265
Ib(peak) 420 528 1003 733 575 451 391 355
Ic(cap rms) 143 204 360 288 228 166 126 94

Vb 605 658 658 603 603 604 604 605

Vb(p-p ripple) 30 44.6 85 67 52.6 36.77 26.77 20

Fo 120 301 301 170 120 85 69.5 60

FF 1.15 1.34 1.87 1.53 1.35 1.2 1.12 1.068

CF 1.69 2.32 4.42 2.95 2.31 1.81 1.57 1.43

alpha 0 0 59.25 60.5 57 52 48.25 47

Idc 0 0 0 0 0 50

Table #2
Uni Size 5 **Uni Size 5 Uni Size 5
480 /diode 480 /diode 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR 660 / SCR
L = .2mh L = .032mh L = .032mh L = .1mh L = .2mh L = .4mh L = .6mh L = .8mh
C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0088F C = .0176F C = .0176F C = .0176F C = .0176F C = .0176F

Ib(ave) 248 227 227 248 248 248 248 248

Ib(rms) 286 305 425 378 335 297 277 265
Ib(peak) 420 528 1003 721 568 447 389 353
Ic(cap rms) 143 204 360 285 225 164 123 93

Vb 605 658 658 604 603 603 603 605

Vb(p-p ripple) 30 44.6 85 32 25.17 17.46 12.6 0

Fo 120 301 301 120 85.14 60.2 49.15 42.57

FF 1.15 1.34 1.87 1.52 1.35 1.19 1.12 1.068

CF 1.69 2.32 4.42 2.9 2.29 1.8 1.56 1.42

alpha 0 0 59.25 61.75 57.75 52.25 48.25 47

Idc ?? 0 0 0 0 0 0 50

Ib = bus current Ic = capacitor current Vb = ave bus voltage Vb(p-p ripple) = bus
voltage ripple
Fo = resonant freq of bus FF = rms/ave ratio CF = peak/ave ratio alpha = convertor delay angle
Idc = continuous current level

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 33 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

This value would be great for every aspect except the pocket book. To get an
idea of the cost, compute the equivalent line impedance:
1.2mH / 2 = equivalent per phase inductance.

%Z = (.82)Ib(rms) * (2PI60)Lb * 100 = 24%

(Vll / √3 )

Think of this as 6-3% 200amp line reactors series connected (about 400lbs
worth) obviously impractical and costly.

Let’s pick something practical, like a 5% line reactor and see what the simulation
results are. The equivalent bus inductance using a 250amp 5% line reactor
would be .3mH. Running the simulation, the rms bus current would be 314amps,
and the peak bus current would be 498amps and the capacitor ripple current
would be 192amps. Comparing this to the typical currents of the standard
Unidrive size 5, they don’t look too bad. The capacitor current is about 50 amps
higher but keep in mind that in this system, there will need to be about six times
as many caps as there are in the standard unit. This leads to a much lower ripple
current per capacitor and thus a longer expected life.

So what are we losing or gaining by using the smaller inductor? Obviously the
rms line current will be greater (256 vs. 209 for the 1.2mH example) thus leading
to a lower power factor (.62 vs. .51) but this is the way it is for dc drives (welcome
to one of the cons for this type system). The only way to improve it is to either
lower the line voltage or raise the operating level of the dc bus. Either of these
two cases will give rise to more fear of an inversion fault, therefore this aspect
needs to be examined in more detail due to the possibility of improved system
performance.

First of all, what is an inversion fault and how and when does it occur? Since the
DC SCR drive is a line commutated converter there must be enough volt-sec of
area to commutate the current from the off going line to the oncoming line. If ever
a situation arises where the current does not commutate to the next line either
due to a mis-gate of the firing circuit, a dip or loss of a line phase voltage or as
described above, a lack of enough volt-sec area (due to an overvoltage), an
inversion will occur. The current level flowing through the SCR will build up to a
high level (based on the system impedance) as the difference between the line
voltage and the bus voltage becomes greater. When the next commutation
sequence occurs, the DC bus will be shorted causing what is known as a bus
fault, thus the importance of the bus fuse. The figures on page 37 show the steps
leading to an inversion fault and ultimately a bus short. There are other variations
to this type of fault, which will not be discussed, but they all have one thing in
common, they are all severe faults, which should be protected, and the risk of
their occurrence be minimized. Some of the factors listed above (which can lead
to an inversion fault) we have no control over (such as a line dip) and the best
that can be done is to provide good fuse protection. Things that we can do to
minimize the risk is to limit the maximum nominal bus voltage to 1.05 times the
line voltage (this allows enough volt-sec area to commutate the load current)
and limit the inductance to a point where at max load current (150%) we stay out
of continuous conduction (the point where the load current has a true dc off-set
value). Through simulation results, a 3% line impedance (this includes the
04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 34 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA
REGEN COMMUTATION SEQUENCE L1 TO L2
SCR1 SCR2 SCR3
Line Reactor

L1

500VDC L2

L3

SCR4 SCR5 SCR6

Figure #1

REGEN COMMUTATION SEQENCE L2 TO L3SCR1 SCR2 SCR3

(DOTTED LINE) Line Reactor

L1
L1 CONDUCTING FOR 2nd 60 DEGREE
PERIOD. 500VDC L2

L3

SCR4 SCR5 SCR6

Figure #2

SINCE COMMUTATION L2 TO L3 WAS MISSED

SCR1 SCR2 SCR3
CURRENT CONTINUES TO BUILD UP IN LINE Line Reactor

L1
L1-L2.
500VDC L2

L3

SCR4 SCR5 SCR6

Figure #3

NEXT COMMUTATION OCCURS

TO COMMUTATE SCR1 SCR2 SCR3
CURRENT WHICH WAS SUPPOSE TO BE FLOWING Line Reactor

L1
IN L3 TO L1. THIS IS WHERE THE BUS
SHORT OCCURS.
500VDC L2

L3

SCR4 SCR5 SCR6

Figure #4

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 35 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

impedance of the power line) will have enough inductance to allow continuous
conduction to occur at 200% current and a 650vdc bus level. This will provide a
more robust system with respect to inversion faults since these type faults occur
during commutation of current from one line to the next. If the current is
discontinuous, there is no current to commutate. The detriment to this approach
is that the power factor will be on the order of .53 instead of an absolute best of
.69 if a 24% impedance reactor is used but the risk of inversion faults would be
much higher especially, during rapid load transients. Based on the above, a good
rule of thumb for the bus inductance would be:

L = 60mH / Irated (Bus Inductance)

OR
3% Line Impedance

This as mentioned above is for applications where there are rapid step load
changes. If the application is such that any changes in loading on the bus are
relatively slow, the inductance value could easily be doubled (to improve the
power factor) from what is calculated in the equation above. In fact, the amount
of bus capacitance could also be reduced although the maximum rate of change
of load would need to be known.

The following example is for a 200Hp regenerative AC Drive operating on

660 VAC.

200HP = 149.2KW

With a 650VDC bus voltage the average dc current would be:

149.2KW / 650VDC = 230amps

This current level would require a Mentor M350R 660VAC shunted for a max
current of 460 amps (200% as stated on page 31). Rshunt = 1600/460 = 3.48
ohms.

The bus choke would be:

Lb = 60mH / 230 = .26mH

The % impedance of an equivalent line reactor would be determined in the

following manner:

Initially estimate the Mentor’s input rms. line current. The input rms. line current is
typically equal to 82% of the rms. bus current but since at this time we only know
the average bus current (the selected bus inductance plays a big role in the
resultant rms. bus current) we can safely estimate it to be equal to the average
bus current. This accounts for a form factor of 1 / 82% = 1.22 which, based on
the tables on page 36 it isn’t a bad estimate. The equation for the % impedance
would be:

%Z = √3(Irms) (Lb/2) (2πF) X 100 = √3 (230) (.13 xE-3) (377) x 100 = 2.96%
V L-L 660

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The number of external capacitors can determined next. From page 32, the
required capacitance for a 660vac application can be found by multiplying the
required kilowatts times 300uF per KW.
149.2 X 300uF = 44760uF

Since the size 5 Unidrive already has 8800uF, the additional capacitance is
35960uF. The number of external 3600uF 450VDC capacitors (note that any
standard value power electrolytic capacitor can be used) would then be
(35960/3600) x 4 = 40 capacitors.

The next two pages, 39 & 40, show the simulation results of running the 200HP
example above. Figures 1,2 and 3 show the drive regulating a dc bus voltage of
650vdc at 100%, 150% and 200% load with a nominal line voltage of 660vac. As
seen by the graphs, the current is always discontinuous but the form factor and
crest factor are reasonably low and acceptable. The capacitor ripple current (at
100% load) is only about 73 amps higher than the standard Unidrive size 5
running 200HP at 480vac but this system has 40 more capacitors than the
Unidrive size 5. This means that the ripple current in the Unidrive’s bus caps
drops from 29 amps/cap to 9.2 amps/cap. This will extend the life of the
capacitors.

The important graph is figure 4. It shows what happens at 200% load and a
75vdc overshoot on the dc bus at a 10% low line condition. As can be seen, even
with only 3% line impedance the current does go into continuous conduction (
note at nominal line it is still discontinuous at 200%). The reason for this is that
due to the low line

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 37 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

 Figure 1 660vac, 100% Load, Nominal Bus Voltage

Figure 2 660vac, 150% Load, Nominal Bus Voltage

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Figure 3 660vac, 200% Load, Nominal Bus Voltage

Figure 4 10% Low Line (594vac), 200% Load, 75vdc Overshoot on DC Bus

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 39 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA

 System Block Diagram

Mentor Lb Unidrive
U
A+ (+)
L1
L2 V
C
L3
A- (-) W

Figure 1

L Mentor Unidrive
r U
A+ (+)
L1
L2 V
C
L3
A- (-) W

Figure 2

To Be Continued

04/20/00 SJZ RevA Page 40 of 40 Central Engineering CT-USA