Development of soft starter for single phase ac induction motor

Abstract

AC voltage controllers are used as soft starters in induction motors for starting and to adjust its speed. Due to the increased number of induction motors in industry applications and residential appliances especially air conditioners, many utilities and industry firms are affected by the high inrush current that may cause important failures. This project presents a topology for ac voltage controller to generate the firing pulses for appropriate thyristors and igbt for any given operating torque, speed of the motor and the load. Simulation and practical results presented in this project explain the advantages of proposed soft starting method over conventional method. The advantages of proposed method are its simplicity, accuracy and fast response.