Abstract:

During the electrical engineering studies, students are introduced to the so-called static and dynamic (transient) behaviour of different objects. Transient phenomena are essential for a deeper understanding of the course material, and this especially applies to electrical machines and electric drives. The education process in the mentioned topics is carried out in familiar ways: theoretical description, mathematical presentation, laboratory exercises, and what is sometimes also included is student work with simulation tools. When it comes to such tools, tools with the ability to graphically define a mathematical model and connect ready-made elements for the purpose of describing concrete transitional phenomena have proven to be particularly good.

The example discussed in the paper refers to electrical machines. What is presented is the students’ processing of basic transient phenomena in induction machines using the Matlab-Simulink as a tool. Three types of start-up are processed: direct start-up, start-up using a star-delta switch and start-up with the help of a frequency converter. In these cases, students notice the importance of the equivalent circuit parameters of particular machine, because without knowing them, a high-quality simulation cannot be performed. This is later followed by familiarization with methods of display and analysis of key results.

Mathematical processing of transient phenomena is certainly necessary, but not sufficient in education process. Laboratory exercises are also necessary, but many years of experience have shown that students are much better able to accept essential knowledge about transient phenomena if they have the opportunity to work on the topic using some quality simulation tools by themselves.

Keywords:

Electrical machines, simulation, transient phenomena.