Wound Rotor Motor

The stator windings of a wound-rotor motor are identical to those of a standard squirrel-cage
motor. A wound-rotor motor does fall into the category of induction motors, however, the conductor bars of

the squirrel-cage rotor are replaced with three phase windings wound with the same amount of poles as the
stator. The wound rotor windings terminate in slip rings mounted on the rotor shaft. Carbon brushes ride on
the slip rings, and during start-up they are externally connected in series to a three-phase resistor bank.
(One resistor for each phase, wye connected). Each set of external resistors are shorted out simultaneously
in one or more steps as the motor comes up to speed. Wound-rotor motors were one of the first types of
motors to allow variable-speed operation. By placing high wattage variable resistors in series with the rotor
windings, you could effectively control the speed of the motor. Wound-rotor motors are especially useful
because they are able to deliver high starting torque without overloading the electrical supply system.
Applications
The wound-rotor induction motor, although more expensive than the squirrel cage motor, has some distinct
application advantages. Historically it has been used for hard-to-start, high inertia loads, or where power
system requirements demand a soft start.
Wound rotor motors are used throughout industry to drive cranes, conveyors, hoists, grinders, mixers,
pumps, variable speed fans and blowers, chippers, saws, crushers, etc

Wound Rotor Motor

Stator Construction
The stator of a wound-rotor motor is the same as the stator of a squirrel-cage induction motor. The
windings are placed in the slots of the stator 120 electrical degrees apart. The windings can be wound in
either a wye or a delta configuration. This motor can also be wound to run on a single voltage, or dual
voltage. If it requires dual voltage capability, then nine leads are brought to the motor terminal box and are
labeled T1 through T9.
Rotor Construction
The rotor of a wound-rotor is made from laminations stacked together in the same manner as the
rotor of a squirrel-cage induction motor, with an oxide or varnish coating between each lamination.
However, the rotor of a wound-rotor motor is constructed by placing insulated coils of wire in the slots
instead of the solid conductor bars. A wound-rotor motor can be distinguished from a squirrel-cage
induction motor by the presence of the coils of wire in the windings instead of the solid conductor bars, by
the presence of the three slip rings on the shaft, and by the presence of an external resistance bank.
Rotor Windings
With a squirrel-cage induction motor, the rotor bars are short-circuited by the end rings. The rotor
windings of a wound-rotor motor consist of coils of insulated copper conductors placed into the slots in the
rotor. The windings are placed in slots 120 electrical degrees apart. The rotor is always wound so that it
has the same number of poles as the stator.
The winding leads of the rotor are then brought out and connected to the slip rings. This allows the
rotor windings to be connected through the brushes to the external wye-connected resistance. The rotor
windings are labeled M1, M2 and M3.
Slip Rings and Brushes
A slip ring is a metallic ring mounted on the motor shaft and electrically insulated from the shaft. A
brush is a sliding contact that rides against a rotating component to provide a connection to a stationary
circuit. A wound-rotor motor has three slip rings mounted on the shaft. Brushes are used with the slip rings
to connect the rotor to an external set of resistors. The brush rigging allows the brush to move and follow
any irregularities on the surface of the slip rings, and a spring provides constant pressure on the brush so
that it makes good contact with the slip rings. Brushes are made of graphite and metallic powder. The
graphite in the brushes provides lubrication. So do not try to lubricate the brushes, they self-lubricate.
Resistors
Brushes are used on the slip rings to connect the rotor to an external set of resistors. The resistors
are often referred to as secondary resistors, because the rotor is regarded as the secondary of the motor
circuit. The external resistor circuit carries the entire rotor current. This is very helpful in trouble-shooting
a wound-rotor motor. The current can easily be measured with an ammeter and differences between the
resistor circuits can be detected. Any differences in current in the different phases can indicate a problem
with the resistor bank.

Wound Rotor Motor

Operating Principles
As with a squirrel-cage induction motor, three phase power is applied to the stator through the three
motor leads, T1, T2 and T3. This establishes the rotating magnetic field in the stator. The coils in the rotor
have current induced in them in a similar manner to a squirrel-cage induction motor.
A wound-rotor motor is normally started with full resistance in the circuit. As the motor accelerates,
resistance is gradually switched out of the rotor circuit. When the motor reaches full speed, all the
resistance is switched out and the rotor windings are shorted. The rotor windings themselves have only
slightly more resistance than the bars in a squirrel-cage rotor. This low resistance results in the same basic
characteristics as a 3-phase squirrel-cage induction motor, but with slightly more slip and slightly lower
efficiency.
Wound rotor motors are usually not started with the slip rings shunted, as the rotor resistance is too
low, and starting currents would be much too high. By inserting resistance in the ring circuit, starting
currents are decreased and starting torque is increased.
Starting and Torque
The maximum torque is produced when the maximum resistance is connected to the rotor and the
induced frequency is at its highest. A high-resistance rotor develops a high starting torque at low starting
line current.
When no resistance is applied to the rotor circuit, the motor as the same basic starting torque
characteristics as an induction motor. The starting torque is about 125% of the full-load torque. When
maximum resistance is applied to the rotor, the motors starting torque is almost equal to the motors
breakdown torque, or about 200%.
Once the motor starts, the speed of the rotor increases and the induced frequency decreases,
decreasing the induction and induced current in the rotor. The torque also decreases as the induced current
decreases. As the torque decreases toward the minimum torque needed, the resistance can be removed
from the rotor circuit.
When resistance is switched out of the circuit, the current increases. This increases the torque, and
allows the motor to continue to accelerate. At this point, there is no resistance, except for the small
amount in the coil conductors, and the motor operates in a manner similar to a standard squirrel-cage
induction motor.
Speed Control
Adding resistance improves the starting torque of a wound-rotor motor at low speeds. However,
there is an opposite effect at normal running speeds. The resistors that were connected to the rotor can be
used to reduce the speed of the motor. Increasing the resistance of the rotor while it is running reduces the
current in the rotor windings and reduces the speed of the motor.
When the speed of the motor is reduced, the slip increases and more current is induced into the
windings of the rotor. This increases the torque and allows the motor to operate at a lower speed and still
drive the connected load.
When resistors are used for speed control, they are continuously in the rotor circuit. However,
resistors must not be used continuously unless specifically designed for that purpose. Resistors designed for
starting are able to dissipate the heat generated during the short time required for starting the motor, but
cannot survive the heat generated during continuous operation. Power resistors that are able to dissipate
large quantities of heat are required.

Wound Rotor Motor

Secondary Resistance Reduced Voltage Starting
Secondary resistance using a wound rotor motor is not usually included in the reduced-voltage
starting methods, because full line voltage is being applied to the motor. It does provide a good way to start
a three phase motor without having enormous amounts of line current being drawn to start the motor.
These starters usually have one or more timers used to automatically remove resistance from the rotor
circuit.
In the diagram below, when the start button is pressed, the P coil is energized and one P contact
latches in the start circuit. Three other P contacts are closed and full line voltage is applied to the stator
windings. The rotor current flows through all the resistors in the rotor circuit. The timing contact on the P
contactor reaches its preset and closes, energizing contactor S1. The other two contacts are in the rotor
circuit and shunt a portion of the resistor grid. Because some of the resistors in the rotor circuit are
shunted, the resistance in the rotor circuit is decreased and the rotor current is increased. This increases
the pole strength and reduces the slip, accelerating the rotor.
Contactor S1 also contains a timing contact. When the timing contact reaches its preset and closes,
it energizes contactor S2, closing three contacts and opening one contact. One contact latches in contactor
S2. One contact opens to remove contactor S1 from the circuit. These contacts ensure that contactor S2 is
latched in before contactor S1 is removed from the circuit. The other two contacts shunt the remaining
resistors.

Wound Rotor Motor

Supplemental Topic: Reactance and Phase Angle
With a squirrel-cage induction motor, the rotor conductor bars are shorted together and have very
low resistance. This makes the reactance large relative to the resistance at startup and creates a highly
reactive circuit. For a reactive circuit, there is a 90 phase angle between the voltage and the current in the
rotor. Since the voltage in the rotor is already 90 out of phase with the stator, the rotor current is 180 out
of phase with the stator current. Since the rotor and stator currents are 180 out of phase, the stator and
rotor poles are also 180 out of phase.
A wound-rotor motor has resistance added to the rotor circuit during startup. This makes the rotor
circuit resistive instead of reactive. For a resistive circuit, the voltage and current are in phase. This means
that the rotor current is only 90 out of phase with the stator current.
This means that the rotor magnetic field sets up faster, and is therefore closer to the stator
magnetic field that created it, increasing the force between them. When a wound-rotor motor is operating
at full speed and the resistance is removed from the rotor circuit, the rotor circuit becomes reactive instead
of resistive.
The rotor winding of a wound-rotor motor has multiple conductors, so it has more inductance than a
similar squirrel-cage rotor. Because of the higher inductance, the reactance is higher and the current is
lower than in a squirrel-cage motor. This lower current means that it would be very difficult to start a
wound-rotor motor without the resistance in the circuit.
With a wound-rotor motor, the resistors in the rotor circuit make the circuit resistive instead of
reactive and the power factor improves. This reduces the starting current.

Wound Rotor Motor