Terminate the myths: Facts a figures about component and (especially) system reliability and availability in drive applications.
Different types of drive redundancy and their use cases Redundancy in medium voltage (MV) drives is a critical design consideration aimed at enhancing the reliability and availability of motor-driven systems. Drives with some types of redundancy are used in applications where high availability is requested. The reasons for this lay Read more…
Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) Keep it simple stupid, in short KISS, is a popular expression used in various areas. The approach aims to keep every step in a process as simple as possible. KISS is sometimes even used as a framework for life. Certainly, KISS approach can be applied Read more…
Cell bypass – What you should know Today we will discuss the cell bypass in cell-based medium voltage variable frequency drives (MV VFD). What is the purpose of such bypass? How is it technically implemented? What happens when the bypass is activated? And finally, how does cell bypass impact the Read more…
How to maximize the availability of your drive system Availability is one of the key criteria for the end users according to numerous surveys and direct feedback. Unplanned downtime is simply too expensive and shall be avoided. At the same time multiple redundancies may not be economically viable (high investment Read more…
Experience with IGCT based VFD Introduction This is a continuation of our Reliability and availability series. To access all posts in this series please click here. In today’s post we will share an industrial experience with medium voltage IGCT based VFD. IGCT as heart of high-power frequency converter is used Read more…
Reliability and availabilityPart 5: Factors impacting availability High availability is a key measure for many companies in today’s world in order to be competitive and to survive. If a supplier cannot deliver in contractually agreed date (delay) or cannot deliver the agreed quantity, he might face hard financial consequences (penalties, Read more…
Reliability and availability (Part 4: IGCT based converters) IGCT is a power semiconductor used in medium voltage converter applications. The abbreviation stands for Integrated gate-commutated thyristor. Unlike classical thyristor that can only be switched on, IGCT can be switched on and off through its adjacent gate unit. Therefore, it is Read more…
Reliability and availability (Part 3: Semiconductor redundancy) Today we gonna talk about N+1 semiconductor redundancy. When is it needed? What are the benefits and drawbacks? The main purpose of redundancy is to increase reliability and availaibility of a system. Therefore, to answer if N+1 semiconductor redundancy is needed, we shall Read more…
Reliability and availability (Part 2: MTBF) Let’s start with the mystery around MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures). You may disagree with me, but please give me a chance and read to the end before you make your mind. Many people believe that the higher MTBF figure the more reliable system Read more…
Reliability and availability (Part 1: Introduction) Reliability and availability are crucial characteristics of drive systems and every downtime negatively impacts the productivity and profitability of a plant. In this series we would like to walk through the topic, provide some (theoretical) background and also a more practical approach. We have Read more…