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Contents
A4 Building high availability
into industrial computers
As mission critical applications become more commonplace,
so will the need for high-availability computing.
A9 The truth about five
common VFD myths
Knowing the truth about VFD operation
can simplify the selection process.
E
A9
C OMMENT
Of key metrics and myth busting
T
he cover story in this issue of
AppliedAutomation focuses on industrial
computers and the characteristics that
differentiate them from their commercial-
grade counterparts. In addition to explaining
the various hardware failure modes, the author
emphasizes the fundamentals of measuring
reliability, serviceability, and availability—key
Jack Smith metrics that are applicable to nearly every
Editor industrial system, regardless of configuration.
The author wrote, “As mission critical appli-
cations become more commonplace, so will
the need for high-availability computing.” The
author also provides a timeline, which puts the
evolution of industrial—and commercial—com-
puting into context.
One would think that because variable fre-
quency drives (VFDs) are so ubiquitous, every-
one who works with them should understand
their operation—and many do. However, there
are still misconceptions about their abilities and
ON THE COVER Electrostatic discharge is among the factors that threaten computer systems. Courtesy: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
A4
Typical IGBT inversion circuit for dc bus
E
2
QU1 Q V1 Q W1
E
QU2 Q V2 Q W2
2
designs. The other article in this issue address-
es five common VFD myths and corrects mis-
conceptions about VFDs’ proper usage. The
author addresses assumptions associated with
VFD output waveforms, VFD similarities and
differences, how they affect power factor, limi-
tations to operating speed, and input- versus
output-current issues. As the author puts it,
“Knowing the truth about VFD operation can
simplify the selection process.”
This issue marks the beginning of the 10th
year of AppliedAutomation. I am honored to
have been involved with this supplement for
most of that time. We have been fortunate to
have had many automation industry leaders
appear in these pages. CFE Media appreci-
ates their contribution, as well as your support.
As we eagerly anticipate the coming year (the
August 2016 issue will mark the 10th anniver-
sary of AppliedAutomation), we also look for-
ward to many decades to come.
Applied Automation August 2015 • A3
 C O V E R S T O RY

Building high availability

into industrial computers
As mission critical applications become more commonplace,
so will the need for high-availability computing.

By Tim Munro, ferred platform for SCADA and HMI

I
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
ndustrial computer applica-
tions and specifications have
evolved significantly over the
last 30 years. The first indus-
trial computers provided human-
machine interface (HMI) support
and supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA) for automated
machinery within factories. Today,
machine-to-machine (M2M) applica-
Figure 1: Electrostatic discharge is among
tions and big data analytics have
the factors that threaten computer sys-
created a need for rugged computing
in outdoor and harsh environments. tems. All graphics courtesy: Schweitzer
Industrial computing applications Engineering Laboratories
now range from solar farm monitoring
to parking lot kiosks.
The first industrial computers were more robust than
their commercial-grade counterparts, but were not pur-
posely designed for mission critical applications. Today,
features such as ingress protection rating, vibration test- complexity, while redundant elements intended to increase
ing, and temperature ratings help qualify a computer as
industrial, but there’s little industry standardization on
how to measure and report reliability, availability, and
serviceability.
In 1984, IBM released the first personal computer mar-
keted for industrial applications. The IBM 5534 was a
beefed-up, dark-brown-colored version of the traditional
light-beige IBM XT computer. Features like the double-fan
cooling, hardened metal casing, high-output power supply,
thermal sensor, and lockable drive door cover made the
5534 more suitable for factory floor applications.
By the 1990s, industrial computers flourished, running
mostly SCADA and HMI software applications. There was
a growing movement to replace programmable logic con-
troller (PLC)-based control systems with PC control soft-
ware. By 2000, most industries abandoned the notion of
PC-based control due to operating system instability and
version changes. Today, we find that PLC and distributed
control system hardware have remained the control plat-
forms of choice, while the industrial computer is the pre-
applications. Use cases for industrial
computers include security applianc-
es and remote authentication serv-
ers. However, there is uncertainty
about whether the industrial PC is an
appropriate choice for mission critical
process applications.
Linux distributions, such as Red
Hat, CentOS, and Ubuntu, have
addressed operating system stabil-
ity and lifecycle concerns. However,
there are fewer commercial off-
the-shelf industrial applications for
Linux systems than for Microsoft
Windows-based operating systems.
Virtualization hypervisors, such as
VMWare vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V,
and Stratus Technologies everRun software, provide fault
tolerance between the application and the hardware.
Designing a fault-tolerant system exclusively with applica-
tions software, operating systems, or hypervisors adds
reliability can lead to more points of failure.
A simplified approach to designing a highly depend-
able industrial computing system starts with the hard-
ware. Power supplies, fans, memory, and disk storage
cause most computer failures, especially when exposed
to excessive heat, dust, and electrostatic discharge (see
Figure 1). To mitigate these failure modes, mission critical
system designers should consider three key measures:
reliability, serviceability, and availability.
Reliability
Reliability is the probability that a device will perform
its required function under stated conditions for a specific
period of time and is quantified as the mean time between
failures (MTBF). Manufacturers typically determine this
number from product testing, product modeling (e.g., MIL-
HDBK-217 or Telcordia), or measuring product failures.
While testing and modeling prior to product launch pro-
vide useful estimates, these approximations do not corre-
late well with field performance experienced by end users.

A4 • August 2015 Applied Automation

Field failure data provide greater MTBF accuracy, assum-
ing the manufacturer accounts for all field failures.
The common method for calculating the MTBF from field
data is:

MTBF = Number of products in service during a

12-month period/Number of observed
failures during a 12-month period

For example, a 100-year MTBF implies that for every

100 products in service for one year, one hardware
failure will occur. The larger the sample size, the more
accurate the MTBF.
Eliminating the top causes of hardware failures signifi-
cantly increases MTBF. Top causes of hardware failures
include fans, physical media drives, error-correcting
code (ECC) memory, and conformal coating.
Fans: Microprocessors typically rely on fan cooling for
fast clock rates and wide bus architectures. Fans wear
out, frequently fail, and pull dust and debris into the com-
puter chassis. Internal dust creates a thermal blanket
over printed circuit boards, resulting in trapped heat that
causes premature component failures. Industrial comput-
ers are typically exposed to higher ambient temperatures
than their commercial counterparts, so a cooling method is
still required. Passive cooling techniques, such as finned
convection heat sinks and conduction heat pipes, eliminate
fans and their associated failures (see Figure 2).
Physical media drives: In general terms, solid-state
drives (SSDs) have three times the MTBF of magnetic,
spinning hard-disk drives (HDDs). Because SSDs contain
no moving parts, there is no chance of a mechanical fail-
ure. SSDs also outperform HDDs in locations with vibra-
tion and elevated temperatures. When selecting an SSD, it
is important to consider the difference between single-level
cell (SLC) and multilevel cell (MLC) technologies. SLC
SSDs offer 30 times more writes and increased data reten-
tion over lower-priced MLC SSDs.
Error-correcting code (ECC) memory: Electromagnetic
interference inside a computer can cause a single bit of
dynamic random access memory to flip to its opposite
state. This phenomenon may cause an unnoticeable pixel
change on a screen or a devastating system crash. ECC
memory employs a parity checksum algorithm to check
and correct for these errors.
Figure 2: Heat sinks and conduction heat pipes eliminate cooling
fans, which frequently fail.
Serviceability
Serviceability measures how quickly a computer can
return to operation after a system fault and is measured by
the mean time to repair (MTTR). This is a more challeng-
ing value to calculate than MTBF because MTTR depends
on the time to obtain a spare, how the site is manned, and
how the computer is configured. Depending on user condi-
tions, the MTTR can range from seconds to weeks.
Strategies designed to reduce MTTR include redundant
power supplies, redundant drives, and out-of-band man-
agement (OOBM).
Redundant power supplies: While some industrial
computers have extremely reliable power supplies,
many do not, necessitating a redundant supply. For
computers with high power supply reliability, the benefit
comes from the power input diversity. Powering each
supply from a different external source, such as an ac
wall outlet and a dc uninterruptible power supply (UPS),
ensures that the computer will never lose power if one
source fails. Further, maintenance personnel can elimi-
Table: Availability versus downtime
Availability Downtime
90% (1-nine) 36.5 days/year
99% (2-nines) 3.65 days/year
99.9% (3-nines) 8.76 hr/year

Conformal coating: The protective coating or polymer 99.99% (4-nines) 52 min/year

film that conforms to the circuit board topology is called 99.999% (5-nines) 5 min/year
“conformal coating.” It protects electronic circuits from 99.9999% (6-nines) 31 sec/year
harsh environments that contain moisture or corrosion-
99.99999% (7-nines) 3.1 sec/year
causing chemical contaminants.

Applied Automation August 2015 • A5


nate the MTTR altogether by hot-
swapping power supplies without a
disruption to the system.
Redundant drives: A redundant
array of independent disks (RAID)
is a data storage virtualization
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OOBM: This strategy involves a
group of technologies that allows the
owner of remote computer assets
to perform many maintenance and
recovery tasks, such as restoring an
operating system or performing a sys-
tem reboot, over the network. Without
OOBM, system specialists have to trav-
el to the remote computer. By eliminat-
ing the need to travel to a remote site,
OOBM significantly reduces the MTTR.
Availability
Availability is a function of reliabil-
ity and serviceability and defines the
percentage of time when the system
is operational. It is expressed with the
equation:
Availability (A) =
MTBF/MTBF + MTTR
Maximizing availability requires
increasing the MTBF and decreasing
the MTTR. A common way to express
availability is in terms of “nines,” or
downtime. A five-nines availability of
99.999% may sound like a good design
goal; however, five minutes of down-
time may be catastrophic to a process
or enterprise (see Table).
A paradox appears when adding
redundant components, such as power
supplies and drives, to increase avail-
ability leads to a decreased MTBF
because of the potential for added com-
ponent failures. This is why it is critical
to keep redundant designs simple and
comprehensive.
Although classifying computers as
“industrial” is still highly subjective,
there are objective metrics to consider
when choosing the level of availability
required by an application. As mission
critical applications become more com-
monplace, so will the need for high-
availability computing. By optimizing
MTBF and MTTR, computing systems
can meet or exceed the availability
requirement.
Tim Munro is market manager,
Computing Systems at Schweitzer
Engineering Laboratories (SEL Inc.).
He has worked in the industrial auto-
mation industry for 25 years and has
expertise in motion control, PLCs,
SCADA systems, and networks.
A6 • August 2015 Applied Automation
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 VFD BASICS
The truth about five common
VFD myths
Knowing the truth about VFD operation can simplify the selection process.
By Paul Avery
Ya s k a w a A m e r i c a I n c .
N
o matter how commonplace
variable frequency drives
(VFDs) have become to
you, somewhere someone
is using one or consider-
ing using one for the first
time (see Figure 1). Think back to when
you first thought about applying one of
today’s pulse-width modulation (PWM)-
based VFDs to an ac motor. Chances are
you probably had a few misconceptions
about their abilities and designs. This arti-
cle addresses five common VFD myths
and corrects misconceptions about their
proper usage.
Myth No. 1: The output of a
VFD is sinusoidal
People tend to be more familiar with
running their ac induction motors using
motor starters. With a starter, starting the motor involves
connecting the 3-phase leads of the motor to 3-phase
power. Each phase is a sine wave with a frequency of
60 Hz and usually has a voltage amplitude of 230 V, 460
V, or 575 V in the U.S. This applied voltage creates a
sine wave current waveform with the same frequency if
checked at the motor leads. So far, running a motor is
quite simple.
What happens at the output of a VFD is an entirely
different story. A VFD typically rectifies the 3-phase
input to a fixed dc voltage, which is filtered and stored
using large dc bus capacitors. The dc bus voltage is
then inverted to yield a variable voltage, variable fre-
quency output. The inversion process is carried out
using three insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)
pairs—one pair per output phase (see Figure 2a).
Because the dc voltage is inverted into ac, the output
stage is also called “the inverter.” The duration for which
each IGBT switch in a given pair is turned ON or held
Figure 1: Users select variable frequency drives
(VFDs) to control motor speed and reduce
energy consumption. All graphics
courtesy: Yaskawa America Inc.
OFF can be controlled, which deter-
mines the RMS value of the output
voltage. The ratio of the output RMS
voltage to output frequency determines
the flux developed in the ac motor. In
general, there is a fixed relationship
between the two. When the output fre-
quency increases, the output voltage
should also increase at the same rate
to keep the ratio constant and thus the
motor flux constant. Normally, the rela-
tionship between voltage and frequency
is kept linear so that a constant torque
can be produced. The resulting voltage
waveform applied to the motor wind-
ing is not sinusoidal (see Figure 2b).
Note that sometimes the voltage by
frequency (V/f) ratio can be quite non-
linear, which is typical for fans, pumps,
or centrifugal loads that do not require constant torque
but instead favor energy savings.
What makes this work is that, as the name implies,
an induction motor is a big inductor of sorts. A charac-
teristic of induction is its resistance to current changes.
Whether a current is increasing or decreasing, an induc-
tor will oppose the change. What does this have to do
with the PWM voltage waveform in Figure 2b? Instead
of letting the current pulse rise on the same order as
the applied voltage pulse, the current will start to rise
slowly. When the voltage pulse has ended, the current
doesn’t disappear immediately, it slowly starts to ebb.
In general terms, before the current has fallen back to
zero, the next voltage pulse comes along, and the cur-
rent starts to slowly rise again—even higher than before
because the pulses are getting wider. Eventually, the
current waveform becomes sinusoidal, albeit with some
jagged up-and-down transitions as the voltage pulses
start and end (see Figure 3).
Applied Automation August 2015 • A9
 VFD BASICS

Typical IGBT inversion circuit for dc bus Voltage waveform

E
2
QU1 Q V1 Q W1

E
E
QU2 Q V2 Q W2
2

Figure 2: In a basic VFD, the inversion process is carried out using three
IGBT pairs—one pair per output phase (a). The resulting voltage waveform
applied to the motor winding is not sinusoidal (b).

There are exceptions to this “all-the-same” thinking.

Current waveform
Figure 3: Because a motor’s induction characteristics resist changes
in current, the resulting current waveform approaches a sine wave
with jagged transitions that correspond with the rise and fall of
the voltage pulses.
However, don’t think that you can power your solenoid
from a single-phase output of a PWM VFD. It’s not that
kind of ac voltage.
Myth No. 2: All VFDs are the same
The common ac VFD of today is a fairly mature product.
Most commercially available drives contain the same basic
components: a bridge rectifier, a soft-charging circuit, a
dc bus capacitor bank, and an output inverter section.
Granted, there are differences in how the inverter section
does its switching, the reliability of the components, and
the efficiency of the thermal dissipation scheme. But the
basic components remain the same.
For example, some VFDs offer a three-level-output
section. This output section allows the output pulses
to vary from half-bus, voltage-level pulses and full-bus
level pulses (see Figure 4).
To achieve the three-level output, the output section
must have twice the number of output switches, plus
clamping diodes (see Figure 5). The benefit gained by
using a three-level output is reduction in voltage ampli-
fication at the motor due to reflected wave, lower com-
mon-mode voltage, shaft voltage, and bearing current.
The matrix-style inverter is an even more atypi-
cal type of VFD. VFDs with matrix-style inverters do
not have a dc bus or a bridge rectifier. Instead, they
use bidirectional switches that can connect any of the
incoming phase voltages to any of the three output
phases (see Figure 6). The benefit of this arrange-
ment is that power is allowed to flow freely from line-
to-motor or motor-to-line for fully regenerative four-
quadrant operation. The drawback is that filtering is
required on the input to the drive because extra induc-
tance is necessary to filter the PWM waveform so that
it does not affect the input ac lines.
In addition to VFDs with three-level outputs and
matrix-style inverters, there are more examples that
prove not all ac VFDs are the same.
Myth No. 3: VFDs cure power factor (PF) issues
It is not uncommon to see VFD manufacturers quote
PF statistics like “0.98 displacement PF” or “near-unity
PF.” And it is true that input displacement PF improves
after a VFD is installed ahead of an induction motor. The
VFD uses its internal capacitor bus to supply any reactive
current the motor requires, thereby protecting the ac line
from being the source of the reactive current and lower-
ing the displacement PF. However, displacement PF is
not the full story.

A10 • August 2015 Applied Automation

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 VFD BASICS

Three-level output waveform

Figure 4: Compare the two-level output pulses on the left with the three-level output pulses on the right.

The full story of the PF calculation is that it must effects of harmonics must be included. The following equa-
include the reactive power demanded by harmonics that tion indicates how harmonics influence true PF:
are created when ac voltage is rectified to dc. The diode
bridge conducts the current from the ac line to the dc bus True PF  Displacment PF1 + THD2
in a discontinuous way. It is important to remember that a
diode conducts only when the voltage on the anode side Where THD = total harmonic distortion
is higher than the voltage on the cathode side (forward
biased). This means that the diodes are only ON at the For the discontinuous input current in the equation,
peak of each phase during both the positive and nega- THD would be in the neighborhood of 100% or more.
tive portions of the sine wave. This leads to a ripple-like Substituting that into the equation yields a true PF closer
voltage waveform. It also causes the input current to be to 0.71, compared to a displacement PF of 0.98, which
distorted and discontinuous (see Figure 7). disregards harmonics.
Much can be said about how to calculate harmonics and Not to panic though, there are currently many ways to
how to mitigate them. Regardless, to calculate true PF, the reduce THD. These techniques make use of passive and
active methods of making the input current waveform
much less distorted and the THD much lower. The afore-
Typical three-level output circuit mentioned matrix-style inverter VFD is an example of an
P active method of THD reduction.
QW1
QU1 QV1
Myth No. 4: You can run a motor at
E
2 any speed with a VFD
QU2 QV2 QW2
The beauty of using VFDs is that they can vary both
E their output voltage and output frequency. Their ability to
QU3 QV3 QW3 run the motor slower and faster than its nameplate-rated
speed is part of why they are specified so often. Take the
E
QU4 QV4 QW4 motor out of the equation, and this myth is actually true.
2
Without the limitations of the motor, the VFD can easily
run any frequency within it speed range without limitation.
But in reality, the motor is necessary to do real work, and
N iu iv iW its cooling and power needs start to limit the actual speed
U V W
range of the motor/drive combination.

Figure 5: A three-level output section must have twice the number Limit No. 1: From a motor cooling perspective, turning
of IGBT output switches, plus clamping diodes. some motors too slowly is not a good idea. In particu-

A12 • August 2015 Applied Automation

Figure 6: Instead of having a dc
bus and bridge rectifier, a VFD with
Typical matrix-style inverter
matrix-style inverters use bidirectional
switches that can connect any of the
IGBT + FWD
incoming phase voltages to any of the Diode snubber
three output phases.

lar, totally enclosed fan cooled

(TEFC) motors have limitations
Damping R Sur
because the fan that blows air
over the motor shell is attached
Sus
Sut
to the motor shaft. The slower
the motor is operated, the less er L1 Svr T1
cooling air that goes to the es L2 Svs T2
motor. Most motor manufactur- et L3 Svt T3 M
ers specify speed ranges for
their motor designs that reflect LC filter Swr
how slow the motor can be run— Sws
especially while loaded. TEFC Swt
motors typically are not recom- Bidirectional switches
mended for operation at full load
below 15 Hz (a 4:1 speed range).

Limit No. 2: It is not always stated on the motor name- quency is raised beyond the base frequency of the motor,
plate, but mechanically, motors have a speed range limi- most commonly 60 Hz in the U.S. Beyond the base
tation. Commonly referred to as the maximum safe oper- frequency, the output voltage cannot increase, which
ating speed, this speed is tied to mechanical limitations, causes the V/f ratio to reduce. The V/f ratio is a measure
such as bearings and balance. Some motor data sheets of the magnetic field strength in the motor and reducing
specify the maximum speed. it reduces the torque capability of the motor. Hence, the
ability to have the motor produce rated torque at higher-
Limit No. 3: Before the motor reaches its maximum
operating speed, it could run out of torque. This speed
limitation is not due to cooling or mechanics, but is due to Voltage waveform
power limitation, which is a product of speed and torque.
To be exact, the VFD runs out of voltage. Note that the VRS VST VTR
rotation of the motor also generates a voltage of its own,
referred to as back-electromotive force (EMF), which Vac-line
increases with speed. The back-EMF is produced by
the motor to oppose the supplied voltage from the VFD.
At higher speeds, the VFD must supply more voltage to
overcome the back-EMF so that current can still flow into
the motor as current is instrumental in producing torque.
After a certain point, the VFD cannot push any more
current into the motor because the output voltage has Vdc-bus
reached maximum, and thus the motor torque reduces,
which, in turn, reduces speed. This reduction in speed
results in lower back-EMF, which, in turn, allows more IRT
current to flow into the motor again. There is an equilib- IRS
rium point where the motor reaches the maximum speed
for a given torque condition so that the product of torque Input current (R phase)
and speed equals its power capability.
Let’s take a step back. VFDs can produce constant
torque from a motor by keeping the V/f constant (see
Figure 8). Figure 7: The diode bridge of a typical VFD produces a ripple-like
When the output frequency is increased, the voltage voltage waveform on the dc bus. It also causes the input current to
increases linearly. The problem arises when the fre- be distorted and discontinuous.

Applied Automation August 2015 • A13

 VFD BASICS
V/f ratio
Voltage
Max.
Mid.
Min.
Frequency
Min. Mid. Base Max.
Figure 8: This graph shows the relationship between voltage and
frequency and how the V/f ratio can produce constant torque
within a motor.a
than-base speed must decline at a rate of 1/frequency,
so that the product of torque and speed, which equals
power, is constant. The region of operation above base
speed is called the constant power range, while operation
at speeds below the base speed is called the constant
torque range (see Figure 9).
Myth No. 5: A VFD’s input current should
be higher than its output current
Perhaps this is not a myth but a misunderstanding.
Some VFD users check their output and input currents
with a current clamp meter or by using VFD display moni-
tors and find that the input current is much lower than the
output current. It doesn’t seem to align with the idea that
the VFD should have some losses due to its own thermal
component losses, so input should always be slightly
higher that output. The concept is correct, but it is power,
not current that should be considered:
Pin Pout
Vin x Iin Vout x Iout
The voltage portion of the preceding power equation
is straightforward. The input voltage is always at the ac
line voltage. The output voltage varies with the speed per
the V/f pattern. The current components of the equation
are a bit more complex. The key to understanding current
components is knowing that a typical induction motor has
two current components: One is responsible for produc-
ing the magnetic field in the motor, which is necessary
to rotate the motor; while the second component is the
torque-producing current, which, as the name suggests,
is responsible for producing torque.
A14 • August 2015 Applied Automation
Torque/power graph
Torque
100%
Torque/power (%)
er
Pow
50%
Fbase Fmax
Frequency
Figure 9: The ability of a motor to produce rated torque at higher
than base speed declines at a rate of 1/frequency. The region of
operation above base speed is called the constant power range,
while operation at speeds below the base speed is called the con-
stant torque range.
The drive consumes input current proportional to the
motor’s active torque demand, or load. The current
needed for producing the magnetic field typically does
not vary with speed and is provided by the drive’s main
dc bus capacitors, which are charged during power up
of the VFD. Under low torque conditions, the output cur-
rent may seem to be much higher than the input current
because the input current mirrors only the torque-produc-
ing current plus some harmonics but does not include the
magnetizing current. The magnetizing current circulates
between the dc bus capacitors and the motor. Even at full
load conditions, the input current will typically be lower
than the motor current because the input still does not
have any magnetizing current component in it.
Remember, we are balancing input and output power.
For example, consider a fully loaded motor at low speed.
The input voltage is at the rated line while the output volt-
age will be low due to the low speed. Because of the full
load on the motor, output current will be high. To balance
the power equation, the input current must be lower than
the output current.
Paul Avery is a senior product training engineer at
Yaskawa America Inc. He has been a VFD technical
trainer with the company since 2000 and has a degree in
electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.
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