Multifunction AC Voltage Regulator for Connecting an Induction Motor to Alternating Power Supply

Abstract

This paper studies the application of the thyristor-based AC voltage regulator for induction motors and reactive power compensation. The proposed AC voltage regulator is a multifunctional device that can regulate the AC voltage with zero harmonic content and, therefore, high power quality. The device can control the voltage of the three-phase loads for any phase individually. In this paper, the thyristor-based AC voltage regulator is used to control the stating process of 3-phase induction motor. Moreover, the regulator is used to balance the voltage on IM terminals supplied from unbalanced supply network which leads to enhance the performance and efficiency of such motors. Furthermore, the power electronics circuitry of such regulator is modified to enable it to work as reactive power compensator by adding capacitive element.