Implementation of a laboratory-based low cost AC Chopper Soft-Starter

This paper presents a laboratory scale implementation of an AC Chopper Soft-Starter topology for Three Phase Induction Motors, which was designed to be used in power quality and in power electronics didactical laboratories, as a project proposal for students from electrical engineering and from control engineering. The issue of costs was considered as a constraint, most of the components were chosen based on feasibility of the project and the availability of the local stores. To reduce the required programming skills, the control algorithm was developed using Arduino platform. The paper also presents the simulation results and the real results of the prototype.