A Guide to Matching Medium Voltage Drive Topology to Petrochemical Applications

Medium voltage drives are regularly used in the petrochemical industry. These drives often vary in topology, semiconductor design and principles of operation. They each have their own merits, not only in terms of structure, design and reliability, but also with regard to suitability to specific applications. This paper presents a technology overview of commercially available medium voltage drive topologies with a view on how they match to petrochemical applications. The operating and performance characteristics of each drive topology are reviewed while manufacturer-specific implementation details are excluded. Common industry and application requirements such as harmonics, motor compatibility, regeneration capability, dynamic performance and robustness to system power disturbances are used as comparison criteria.