Questions and Problems:

1. What is the speed regulation of a motor?

The speed regulation is defined as the change in speed from no load to
full load, expressed as a fraction or percentage of full load speed.
Therefore, as per definition per unit (p.u) speed regulation of DC
N no load N full load
motor is
given as, Speed Regulationpu=
N full load
2. How can the speed of a shunt motor be controlled? Explain in detail.
A shunt DC motor speed can be controlled by one of three methods:
a. Adjusting the field resistance: Increasing the field resistance
decreases the field current. Field weakening increases the steady state
speed.
b. Adjusting the terminal voltage adjusts the field current and the
armature current. This adjusts torque which leads to a corresponding
adjustment in steady state speed.
c. Inserting a resistance in series with the armature makes the
machine more sensitive to load, decreasing its steady state speed if it
is under load. This method is not popular because a resistance in
series with the main energy-carrying current wastes a lot of energy.
3. What is the practical difference between a separately excited shunt
and a shunt DC motor?
The main difference is the way that the field is connected to its source
of energy. In the shunt machine, the same source serves both
armature and field; in the separately excited machine, a separate
source serves each machine winding. The practical effect is less
complicated control of speed with greater flexibility in the separately
excited machine.
4. What effect does armature reaction have on the torque-speed
characteristics of a shunt DC motor? Can the effect of armature
reaction be serious? What can be done to remedy this problem?
Armature reaction shifts the neutral plane of the machine and reduces
the magnetic flux withinthe field; in other words, it weakens the field.
Shifting of the neutral plane causes commutationunder load to occur
when voltage remains on the commutator. This leads to sparking and
arcingat the brushes; in severe cases, it can lead to flashover between
commutator segments.The field weakening aspect of armature

reaction gives greater than expected speed for a giventerminal

condition of voltage and current.