1. What are drives?

What are Electrical Drives

Ans Systems employed for motion control are called drives. It may employ any of the prime mover such as,
diesel or petrol engines, gas or steam turbines, steam engines, hydraulic motors, electric motors, for
supplying mechanical energy for motion control.
Drives employing electric motors are known as Electrical Drives.
(Ref: http://www.electrical4u.com/electrical-drives/)
2 Give Some examples of drives.
Ans Electrical drives are used in many industrial and domestic applications like Rolling mill, paper machines,
textile mills, machine tools, fans, pumps, robots, washing machines, electric vehicles, hybrid electrical
vehicles etc.

Rolling mill
 Paper Mill

Hoist
Hybrid Electrical Vehicle

3 What are DC drives? Give history of DC drives

Drives employing DC motors as prime movers are called DC drives.
Oldest speed control method was Ward Leonard Drive system introduced in 1891. This was prior to
development in the field of Power Electronics. Clever electromechanical solutions involving combination of
dc and ac machines such as Ward Leonard system, Kramer drive, Scherbis drive were in use. Introduction of
mercury arc rectifiers made DC drives popular and they became preferred prime movers in industry (1920s
and 1930s). DC Rectifiers were introduced in 1901 and phase angle control in 1902. Most of old DC drives
used rectifier for speed control. Invention of thyristors in 1957 helped in developing static ward leonard
system and then phase controlled rectifiers to get variable speed.
4 Why DC drives were popular in past?
DC drive were popular because of ease of speed control. AC Machines are simple in construction but
complex in control. It was difficult to get effective variable speed applications using AC motors in absence
of development in power electronics and modern control techniques like V/f control or Vector control.
5 Give block diagram of modern electric drive and explain each block in brief.
 Power
Source Motor Load
Modulator

Control Sensing
Unit Unit

Input Command
Figure 1 Block Diagram of Electric Drive
Source: Electrical powersource AC/DC, it can be supplied from state elecricity board or local generator or through
batteries.

Load: It is machinary designed to accomplish a given task, e.g. fans, pumps, robots, washing machines, machine
tools, trains and drills. Usually load requirements can be specified in terms of speed and torque demands.

Motors: They impart motion to load. A motor having speed-torque characteristicsand capabilities to the load
requirements is chosen.

Power Modulators: They perform one or more of the following four functions
1. Modulates flow of power from the source to the motor in such a manner that motor is imparted speed-
torque characteristics required by the load.
2. During transient operations, such as starting, braking and speed reversal, it restricts source and motor
currents within permissible values; excessive currents drawn from source may overload it or may cause a
voltage dip.
3. Converts electrical energy of the source in the form suitable to the motor, e.g. if the source is dc and an
induction mtotor is employed, then the power modulator is required to convert dc into a variable frequency
ac. (It is known as converter when doing this function)
4. Selects the mode of operation, i.e. motoring or braking.

Control Unit: it develops control signals for power modulators, which are usually operated at much lower voltage
and power levels. It may also generate commands for the protection of power modulator and motor. Input to
control signal is in the form of command signal/reference signal.

Sensing Unit: It senses required drive parameters, such as motor current and speed, may be required either for
protection or for closed loop operation.

6. Give status of DC Drives in present time. (State of the art of DC Drives)

• Direct current (dc) motors have variable characteristics and are used extensively in variable-speed drives.
• DC motors can provide a high starting torque and it is also possible to obtain speed control over a wide
range.
• The methods of speed control are normally simpler and less expensive than those of AC drives.
• DC motors play a significant role in modern industrial drives.
• Both series and separately excited DC motors are normally used in variable-speed drives, but series motors
are traditionally employed for traction applications.
• Due to commutators, DC motors are not suitable for very high speed applications and require more
maintenance than do AC motors.
• With the recent advancements in power conversions, control techniques, and microcomputers, the ac
motor drives are becoming increasingly competitive with DC motor drives.
• Although the future trend is toward AC drives, DC drives are currently used in many industries. It might
be a few decades before the DC drives are completely replaced by AC drives.
• Controlled rectifiers provide a variable dc output voltage from a fixed ac voltage, whereas a dc-dc converter
can provide a variable dc voltage from a fixed dc voltage.
• Due to their ability to supply a continuously variable dc voltage, controlled rectifiers and dc-dc converters
made a revolution in modern industrial control equipment and variable-speed drives, with power levels
ranging from fractional horsepower to several megawatts.
• Controlled rectifiers are generally used for the speed control of dc motors.
• The alternative form would be a diode rectifier followed by dc-dc converter.
• DC drives can be classified, in general, into three types:
– 1. Single-phase drives
– 2. Three-phase drives
– 3. DC-DC converter drives