A constant air flow rate control of blower for residential applications

Abstract

This paper presents a technique to control a blower for residential applications at a constant air flow rate using an induction motor drive. The control scheme combines a variable volt/hertz ratio inverter drive and an average motor current regulation loop to achieve the control of the motor torque-speed characteristics, and consequently control of the air flow rate of the blower which the motor is driving. The controller is simple for implementation and practical for commercialization; it is also reliable since no external pressure or air flow sensor is required. Both theoretical derivation and experimental verification of this control scheme are presented in the paper.