Study of energy behavior of an induction motor at low load regimes

Abstract

In this article, the behavior of a three-phase induction motor subjected to low load levels and different supply voltage values was studied. When a motor is oversized, it operates at load values of a fraction of its rated capacity. It is known that in the most industrialized countries, engines operate at efficiencies even lower than 40% due to oversizing. For this research work, energy consumed by a low capacity three-phase squirrel cage induction motor was measured at low load regimes, varying the supply voltage to simulate the typical behavior of a distribution network. The results show that for a lower supply voltage, the energy consumption is reduced. However, under these operating conditions, there is an alteration in reactive power consumption affecting the motor power factor.