This work is an examination of transient phenomena when a 3-phase asynchronous motor is connected to a 3-phase transformer. The analysis focused on the voltage and current conditions on the terminals of the asynchronous motor during direct start via transformers of different rated powers. The aim was to determine the influence of the rated power of the transformer on the current and voltage conditions during direct start-up of the asynchronous motor and to confirm the suitability of a greatly simplified symmetrical three-phase short-circuit loop for calculating the conditions in the network at the time of asynchronous motor direct start-up.
The analysis was carried out in SIMULINK in three steps, with voltages and currents being the main observed quantities. Different ratios of power between the transformers and the asynchronous motor were chosen, with the motor being the same throughout and the transformer powers being varied. In the first step, sets of transformers of various sizes were observed with an alternate, short-circuit impedance of the asynchronous motor. The obtained steady-state voltage was then used in the second step for the individual transformer- asynchronous motor power ratios. In the second step, direct starts of the asynchronous motor on ideally rigid voltage sources were calculated with the voltage amplitudes of the source being set as those in measured in the first step. In the third step, the direct starts of the selected asynchronous motor via transformers of different nominal powers were calculated. The influence of the asynchronous motor switch-on moment was also observed.
The findings show that with the direct start of the asynchronous motor, the voltage drop decreases with the increase of the nominal power of the transformer, while the maximum amplitude of the start-up current increases. Due to the continuity of electric current, the maximum value of the start-up current is also conditioned by the moment of motor start-up, which in a three-phase system means that one phase will always be in a less favorable time position, resulting in a current peak on that phase. A loop consisting of only direct branches of the transformer and asynchronous motor circuit model (comprised of the resistances and leakage inductances of the primary and secondary winding of the transformer and the resistances and leakage inductances of the asynchronous motor) turns out to be a good approximation for a quick and transparent assessment of voltage drops and starting currents.
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