This study investigates the effects of the presences of harmonics in the exciting voltage
when using a dc/ac inverter on the performance of a single-phase induction motor, the
investigation includes theoretical and experimental parts and together with performance
comparison of the motor with the nominal sinusoidal input voltage. The computed
performance of the motor depend on the theoretical equivalent circuits which are modified
to take into account the existence of harmonics in the inverter output to compute the
performance at each harmonic order. It conclude from the analysis that the pulsating torque
is inherent in single-phase induction motor even when supplied from a sinusoidal voltage
source. Particular attention has been devoted to the pulsating torque when the motor is
supplied from an inverter and the most important pulsations have been identified. The
comparisons of simulation and measured results show good correlation between them in
addition that it highlight and identify the cumulative effects of harmonics on the motor
performance.