Cleaner power for AC drives installations from 50 to 500 hp is now a reality thanks to the release of the Class 8839 CPD PowerGard 18-Pulse Enclosed AC Drive from Schneider Electric brand Square D. The PowerGard drive is designed to provide water/wastewater facilities with a packaged solution to comply with clean power guidelines such as IEEE 519-1992 via patented, second-generation 18-pulse converter technology. An industry-leading 24-in. depth and width ranging form 36 to 48 in. helps give it one of the smallest footprints in the industry.
Harmonics, created by higher horsepower drives can negatively affect plant equipment such as transformers, generators, capacitors, motor, and conductor overheating in municipal and industrial pumping applications prevalent in the water/wastewater industry. The PowerGard drive’s 18-pulse phase shifting transformer/reactor assembly and dedicated diode bridge rectifier are combined with a Telemencanique Altivar 58 TRX drive controller to provide a complete clean power solution, achieving in excess of 95% cancellation of characteristic harmonic currents.
“AC drives are the preferred means of pump control for moving fluid in the North American water/wastewater industry today,” said Leon Kythas, Schneider Electric product manager. “The vast majority of the industry’s clean power drives are 50 hp or greater; thus, minimizing harmful harmonics and the problems that result comes as a high demand. Just one of several industry alternatives, the technology found in the PowerGard drive, especially the 18-pulse technology, is a solid way for facility managers to address this issue at the product level, not the system level, ultimately providing a more cost-effective solution.”
Source: Water and Wastes Digest
