Finite element method based design of a Liquid Rheostat motor starter

This paper deals with a finite-element method based design of a liquid-rheostat reduced-voltage starter for three phase squirrel-cage induction motors which typically drive irrigation pump loads. A commercial software package named COMSOL Multiphysics 3.4, based on the computational concept of the finite element method was used to design the liquid rheostat, and to study the effect of the tank material on the starting resistance of a case study. The objective was to use the software package to calculate the required resistance of the electrolyte solution, analyze the effect of electrolyte tank material on the value of the starting resistance, and finally study the effect of the different shapes of the electrolyte tank and the electrodes.