Ultracapacitors Prevent Electrical Motor Control Failures

Ultracapacitors Prevent Electrical Motor Control Failures and Ensure Uninterrupted Operations

Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) are used to operate electrical motors in different production processes. Power and voltage fluctuations (micro interruptions, sags, or dips) can disturb production systems utilizing VSDs, which affects the stability of all the production processes. Skeleton Technologies’ ultracapacitor energy storage solution, connected to the DC link, can solve this issue by providing a backup solution to supply power immediately to ensure continuous operation.

The ultracapacitors are connected to the DC link of the variable speed drive system and can provide backup power for several seconds. Ultracapacitors react practically instantly and are the only viable technology to provide short power pulses in this application.

In normal operation, a variable speed drive takes power from utility and supplies variable frequency and magnitude power to a motor for continuous operation. A power disturbance can cause the DC bus voltage of a VSD to fall below the fault level, causing a shutdown of the VSD and therefore stopping related processes. The ultracapacitors backup system detects changes in the VSD DC bus voltage and instantly reacts to supply power to ensure uninterrupted operations.

The advantages of ultracapacitors are:

• High reliability & no need for maintenance
• Over 1 million charge-discharge cycles
• High operating efficiency even in extreme temperatures (-40°C to +65°C)
• Easily fully discharged for safe maintenance operations
• Simple monitoring and system health checks
• Ultracapacitors do not leak or contain acid or lead, making them a much safer option compared to batteries

Source: Skeleton Technologies