Application Report

Long Drive/Motor Leads

The benefits of using Reflected Wave. By viewing the lead length as a
Variable Frequency transmission line circuit, the following formulas may be
Drives (VFDs) include applied to determine the critical length or lead length
increased energy savings in where a voltage reflection should take place.
HVAC applications, improved
motor torque and speed control Critical length is determined by the formula;
capability and improved motor V = Co / e
protection. VFDs have evolved from t = L/v
output schemes that incorporated v = velocity of the progressive wave (ms),
Darlington pair transistors to today’s industry Co = 3x10E8 meters/sec (velocity of light)
standard of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors e = 3.5 (approx. specific inductivity of the cable)
(IGBTs). The unique characteristics of IGBTs, t = rise time of voltage pulse,
including reduced energy loses during switching, L = length of transmission line
have significantly increased VFD drive performance
and made possible the smaller packaging designs seen The next equation relates the rise time of the IGBT (t) to
today. the critical length (L) of the transmission line.
L = t/0.00624(ms)
However, the controls industry has seen motors that When this length is exceeded, a standing wave may be
have operated for years error free, suddenly fail a few generated. Since the rise time of the PWM Drive output
weeks after the installation of an VFD. The mode of is generally from .1 to .3 ms, the minimum distance
failure is usually a winding failure caused by voltage required for a surge voltage to appear is
overshoot. More specifically, the failure usually occurs in 16.0 to 48.0 m. or 52.0 to 156 ft.
the first turn, as either a phase-to-phase short, or a
phase-to-stator short. Research has indicated that the Voltage Overshoot. A more accurate description, of what
fast switching capability of the IGBT’s, along with an is happening in the motor is as follows. The overshoot
excessive lead length between motor and VFD will (ringing), is a function of the energy stored in the leads
contribute to reduced motor life. during the rise time of each output voltage pulse. The
amount of inductance is a function of the lead length
To understand why an VFD may cause a motor to used between the motor and the VFD. Inductance
deteriorate more quickly, two phenomenon need to be increases the amount of time it takes to charge the
understood. The first is the reflected wave or standing capacitance of the motor, which increases the amount of
wave condition, and second is voltage overshoot, energy in the leads. When the motor charges to the
otherwise known as a tank circuit or resonant circuit correct voltage potential, the remaining energy in the
condition. In theory these two phenomenon may be leads continues to charge the motor voltage, thus
analyzed differently, but in practice the solutions are the causing voltage overshoot.
same.

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 Long Drive/Motor Leads

In fact, if the lead lengths are long enough, the motor This explains why VVI 6-Step Drives using Darlington
terminals may see twice the DC Voltage of the VFD. Pair Transistor technology rarely had this problem at
It can be stated that the greater the distance between equivalent lead lengths. It’s also important to note that
motor and VFD, the more voltage overshoot. However, 230 volt 3 phase motors are adequately protected from
it would be inaccurate to say that the relationship of failure due to voltage overshoot by present insulation
overshoot is proportional to lead length. Maximum standards.
voltage overshoot is calculated as follows:
Corona Effect
Input Voltage (rms) x 110% = Maximum Input Voltage To understand why the motor deteriorates due to voltage
Due to High Line Condition overshoot, it is important to understand what corona is.
It is generally understood that between current carrying
Vmax x 1.414 = Maximum DC Bus Voltage conductors, a relative voltage potential exists; the result
is an established electric field. It is possible that the
Max. DC Bus Voltage x 2 = Max. Overshoot Voltage electric field strength around the conductors can be high
enough to cause the air to break down. The air breaks
On a typical 460 volt power system the maximum down because there is enough energy to ionize oxygen
overshoot voltages measured at the motor terminals (O2) to ozone (O3). Ozone is highly reactive and
could be 1500 Volts peak. Almost 80% of this voltage is attacks the organic compounds in the insulation system.
distributed across the first winding of the motor. The additional oxygen in the insulation causes it to
deteriorate. The corona will start when the voltage
The inherent rise time of IGBTs used in VFD design do potential in the conductors reaches a certain threshold
have an affect on voltage overshoot. If the turn on time called the corona inception voltage. Corona inception
of the output device is slow, the capacitance of the motor voltage (CIV) is a function of spacing, type of insulation,
has an opportunity to charge and discharge in line with temperature, surface features, and humidity.
the IGBT. However, if the output device’s turn on time is
faster, the voltage applied across the leads increases, If the motor does not have the proper insulation system,
therefore more energy is stored, resulting in more it may fail prematurely. It is suggested that a motor
overshoot voltage. controlled by an VFD be manufactured with class F
insulation or higher, as well as having properly installed
Drive Technology Turn-on Time phase paper. Properly installed phase paper requires
3RD Generation IGBT’s 0.1 ms phase sheets and insulation to stay in place, or remain
1ST Generation IGBT’s 0.25 ms between the coils, during the insertion process. It has
Bi-polar Transistors 0.5 - 1.0 ms been observed that motors with unrefined manufacturing
GTO’s 15.0 ms - 20.0 ms techniques, frequently have engineered the phase
SCR’s 40.0 ms - 100.0 ms sheets into the design only to have the sheets slip out to
the side of the stator slot during the insertion process.

Insulation deterioration due

to Corona Effect

Insulation

Wire

Diagram of “Corona Effect”

Yaskawa Electric America, Inc.

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 Long Drive/Motor Leads

Related Issues Inverter Duty Motor. The simplest and most cost
Generated EMI/RFI. The amount of electrical noise effective solution is to use an Inverter Duty Motor.
produced by the output leads of the VFD is also a NEMA Standard MG-1 (section 31.4) indicates that
function of how much lead length is used. The solution Inverter Duty Motors shall be designed to withstand
is to properly shield cable in a new installation. If this is 1600 volts peak and rise times of greater than or equal
not an option, than filtering techniques can be used to .1 µs. on motors rated less than 600 VRMS. If a
mitigate the effects of the generated EMI. motor is properly constructed and meets this standard,
the user can expect years of error free operation at any
Protective tripping of the drive. In some situations, it is lead length.
possible to create a condition where the VFD will protect
itself on a “GF” (Ground Fault) or on a “OC” (Over Three Phase Output Reactor. A reactor located at the
Current) Fault. This occurs in situations where multiple output of the VFD will lower the voltage stress applied to
cable runs are in close proximity to one another and are the motor windings. The rise time of the output pulse
not properly shielded. will be reduced to about 1.1 µs, therefore reducing the
dV/dT to about 540 V/µs. This is equivalent to the rise
Using basic electronic physics, one can show that times of the Darlington Pair Transistors used in the past,
passing current down one wire lead induces a voltage as and is very effective at lengthening motor life. The
well as a current flow in the wire leads in close proximity output reactor solves approximately 75% of all
to that wire. Having multiple leads in relatively close premature motor failure problems associated with long
proximity to one another can set up a condition where lead lengths. Typically, 3% and 5% impedance reactors
unequal voltages and currents can be induced in are used. At full load, approximately 3 to 5 % of the
separate phases per drive; the result could be a Ground output voltage will be dropped across the reactor
Fault. terminals. However, if motor torque is an issue, the
application should be examined closely to insure
It is also known that the phase to ground and phase to adequate motor torque at full speed.
phase capacitance increases with the amount of lead
length used. Therefore, it is possible for an Over
Current Fault to occur during the time that the inrush Method Recommendations1
current is charging the line-to-line and line-to-ground
capacitance.
Base Line VFD If possible, keep distance
While these types of trips are rare, they can be below 150 feet
prevented by proper installation techniques. If these
conditions already exist, it is possible to improve the Inverter Duty Motor Operate at any distance, if
situation by using the filtering techniques discussed. manufacturers
recommendations are
Solutions followed
Minimize Conductor Length. To reduce the likelihood of
possible excessive voltage overshoot at the motor Reactor at VFD output Operate motor to 300 feet
terminals, the lead length distance between the motor
and VFD should be less than 150 feet. It is also a good
Reactor at Motor input Operate motor to 650 feet
idea to lower the carrier frequency of the VFD to what is
audibly acceptable. This will reduce the number of
output voltage pulses to the motor per second, which Output dV/dT Filter Operate motor to approx.
translates into lower transition losses in the IGBTs and 2000 feet
longer motor life.

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 Long Drive/Motor Leads

Reactor at Input of Motor. It is possible to place the

output reactor at the input terminals of the motor. This
allows lead lengths in excess of 650 feet without
affecting the application. In this configuration, the
reactor may deteriorate, but at a significantly longer time
period than that of a motor. However, this may be the
most reasonable and economical solution, particularly in
applications where the existing motor may not have
proper insulation, such as deep well pumps.
Output PWM waveform at 30 ft

Motor Protecting Output Filter. To ensure error free

operation at distances up to 2000 feet, a specifically
designed output filter should be used if the motor has
insufficient motor insulation. These filters are designed
to strip the high frequency component from the PWM
output, as well as slow down the rise time to
approximately 1.2 µs. This ensures that the motor
windings will see a clean PWM signal.

Why IGBTs ?
• The extremely fast turn on time correlates to lower
energy losses in the device, allowing for smaller Output Waveform at 1000 ft
packaging, which translates into lower costs to the user.
• IGBTs allow the VFD to utilize a higher carrier
frequency to transmit output voltage pulses to the motor.
Carrier frequencies greater than 8 kHz significantly
reduce audible motor noise and provide the motor with a
current wave form with significantly reduced current
harmonic, and lower peak currents.
• Minimizing current harmonic, reduces wasteful higher
frequency magnetization of stator laminations, which
generate audible noise, hysteresis (iron) loss and
copper (I2R) loss.
• The lower peak currents of the IGBT design means a
Output Waveform at 1000 ft with dV/dT Filter
cooler running motor, which translates into more torque-
producing current throughout the speed range.

All of these benefits can be routinely realized with proper

consideration of the lead lengths to be employed at time
of installation.

Yaskawa Electric America, Inc.

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