Hi rockman7892
You are on the right line.
If we assume that the equivilent circuit of the magnetizing component of the induction motor was purely inductive, then we could use V/Hz to maintain constant flux in the iron and this would give us maximum torque at all speeds. NB the reason for the constant flux in the iron is that if we increase this, the iron will saturate and all sorts of problems occur.
So constant flux in the iron is the requirement.
In reality, the magnetizing circuit of the IM comprises an inductor with series resistance.
At rated frequency, the reactance of the magnetizing inductance is much higher than the resistance and it can be reasonably considered as pure inductance.
As the frequency is reduced, the inductance stays the same, but the reactance (jwL) reduces and at low frequencies, the resistance becomes significant and eventually dominates.
If the ratio to the inductance to resistance was the same for all motors, it would be possible to modify the V/Hz curve to still provide for constant flux, but every motor is different so we need to do this dynamically. V/Hz drives usually have a low frequency voltage boost to modify the V/Hz curve and tweaking this will give more torque at low speeds. Essentially, you need to provide the voltage for the V/Hz which changes with frequency plus the voltage across the resistance which is fixed except for temperature changes.
Once we have dynamic control of the flux, we can do more than just operate with a constant flux, we can make the flux density follow the load torque.
This will reduce the flux at light load and reduce the iron losses, and will also enable a temporary flux boost to increase the torque on peak demands.
This is done by adjusting the flux for a constant slip. So now we target the slip and control the voltage to keep the slip constant. If the load torque reduces, the slip will reduce. We reduce the voltage and the slip will increase. If we increase the load torque, the slip increases so we increase the voltage to reduce the slip.
Provided that you have an accurate measurement of the slip, you will always have full torque available. Using a shaft encoder gives you this information. Using a mathematical model is OK once the model is tuned to match the motor, but at very low speeds, the information comes in so slow that it is difficult to predict what the actual slip is. Rather you get an indication of what the slip was, hence the sensor less vector are less effective at speeds close to zero.
The DTC drives (Direct Torque Control) use a totally different approach which is predictive and looks at each point on the waveform and makes adjustments to bring it into line with where it should be. These drives provide much higher torque down to much lower frequencies.
Best regards,
Mark Empson
L M Photonics Ltd