LMVSeriesTechnicalInstructions
DocumentNo.LV5‐1000
SCCInc. Page7 Section5
TypesofVFDs:VectorandVolt/Hz
AlthoughthereareoverahundreddifferentmanufacturersofVFDs,twomaintypesofVFDsare
producedbythesemanufacturersforuseonblowermotors.ThesetwotypesareVectorandVolt/Hz.
VectorVFDscanusuallyberunineitherVectormodeorVolt/Hzmode.VectorVFDsarealsotypically
slightlymoreexpensivethanVolt/HzVFDsforagivensize.
TheadvantageofVectorVFDsisthattheyprovidemoreaccuratetorquecontro
lofthemotor.This
accuratetorquecontrolenablesmuchmoreaccuratespeedcontrolofthemotor,especiallyatlower
motorspeeds.Moreaccuratespeedcontrolofthemotorenablesmoreaccurate,repeatablecontrolof
theairflow.
Asmentioned
earlier,theLMV52employsasafety‐relatedspeedfeedbackontheblowershaft,thus
continuouslycheckingandadjusting(ifnecessary)thesignaltotheVFDtoachievethedesiredblower
speedwithinacertainband.TheLMV52canlockoutandshutdowntheburnerifblowerspeed
deviationsarelargeandpersistfortoolong.Duetotheirinc
reasedaccuracy,VectorVFDsprovide
trouble‐freeoperationonalmostallLMV52VFDblowerapplications.Volt/HzVFDscanwork
satisfactorilyinsomeapplications,butarenotpreferredduetotheirdecreasedaccuracy.
VectorVFDsaretypicallyruninOpenLoopVector(OLV)mode.Inth
ismode,theVFDusesa
mathematicalmodelofthemotorcombinedwithextremelyaccurate,fastscanningofthecurrentand
otherdatatakenfromtherotatingmotor.Inreality,OpenLoopVectormodedoeshavefeedback,but
theVectorVFDitselfdoesnotrequireaseparateencodertoachievethis.
SinceVectorVFDsuseamathem
aticmodelofthemotor,andthedesignofmotorsdifferssomewhat
betweenmotorOEMs,astaticordynamicauto‐tuneissometimesrequiredsothattheVectorVFD
"learns"keyaspectsofthemotoritisconnectedto.Astaticauto‐tune(motorisnotspun)doesnot
requirethattheload(blowerwheel)be
de‐coupledfromthemotor.Adynamicauto‐tune(motoris
spun)typicallyrequiresthattheload(blowerwheel)bede‐coupledfromthemotor,whichisnot
possibleorpracticalinmanysituations.Adynamicaut
o‐tunetypicallygeneratesthebest"learning"of
themotorproperties.Astaticauto‐tuneistypicallyallthatisnecessaryifspeedcontrolissuesare
encounteredonaVectorVFD.
CentrifugalBlowerFundamentals
SinceacentrifugalbloweristhepieceofmachinerybeingcontrolledbytheLMV52andtheVFD,abrief
mentionofitsbasiccharacteristicsiswarranted.Spe cifically,therearethreefundamental"fanlaws"
thatapersonworkingonsuchequipmentshouldbeawareof.Theseare:
1. Airflowvarieslinearlywiththespeedoftheblower.Inotherwords,theCFMofthebloweris
directlyproportionaltotheRPMoftheblower.