A Novel Hybrid Sequential Start Control System for Large Inductive Loads

Abstract

The inrush current of a large inductive load can be reduced with a soft starter; however, the large inrush current caused by simultaneous bulk starts (SBSs) cannot be effectively reduced. In order to reduce the high inrush current and voltage sag owing to the SBSs of large capacity inductive loads within a power network, a novel hybrid sequential start control system is proposed, implemented on embedded systems, and evaluated with a testbed in this study. From the experimental and simulation results of the proposed control system, the inrush current could be effectively restricted below the maximum current capacity of a power distributing board. Moreover, with the proposed system, power cost typically dictated by the peak power consumption can be fairly reduced, and the quality of the power system connected to the inductive loads can be efficiently increased.