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MV inverter is `world’s most efficient`

11 November, 2010

The Brazilian manufacturer WEG has produced a medium-voltage inverter which, it claims, is the world’s most efficient and reliable, with a 99% efficiency and a 22-year MTBF (mean time between failures). The 8,000hp (5,996kW), 4.16kV system is also WEG’s largest-ever MV inverter.

The 12-pulse inverter (shown above) has been supplied to Weir Pumps, which is using it to drive a 7,500hp (5,593kW) WEG motor used to test mud drilling pumps at its laboratory in Dallas, Texas. These tests, which ensure that the pumps will support real loads during operation, have not been performed before, because of their complexity, risk and high costs.

“In a single stroke, we have doubled the output of our MV inverter range to 8,000hp,” says Marek Lukaszczyk, WEG’s European marketing manager. “It’s important to note that 99% efficiency is an average 1% more efficient than that delivered by any other MV inverter on the market – and this can mean an economy of up to $50,000 per year for this user.”

The MVW voltage-source inverter drive has two layers of control, rather than the three or five layers of conventional MV drives. It uses at multiprocessor control architecture, combining 32-bit processors with a floating-point capability. It is driving a four-pole 46Hz motor, rotating at 1,371 rpm.




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