Abstract: | The use of PWM inverters with high switching characteristics for the adjustable speed drive system causes an overvoltage with steep‐fronted waveform on the motor terminals. As this steep‐fronted transient voltage in inverter drive loads heavily on the terminal coils of motor winding, the insulation failure in the motor winding occurs mostly on the terminal coils. Therefore, it is reasonable to reduce the turns of terminal coils only and to increase the dielectric strength of interturn insulation. This paper presents a comparison of measured characteristics of normal induction motors and induction motors with reduced turns of terminal coils and also a comparison of the results measured and calculated by equivalent circuit. The appropriate rate of reduced turns of terminal coils is about 20%. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(3): 49–56, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10093 |