Cover Type B

TO BE RETURNED AT THE END OF THE EXAMINATION.

THIS PAPER MUST NOT BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAM CENTRE.

SURNAME:

_______________________

FIRST NAME:

_______________________

STUDENT NUMBER: _______________________

COURSE:

_______________________

________________________________________________________________________________

AUTUMN SEMESTER 1999

SUBJECT:

48531 ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS

DAY & DATE OF EXAMINATION:

TIME ALLOWED:

Monday 28 June 1999

3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time

EXAMINATION COMMENCES: 2.00 pm

FINISHES: 5.10 pm

ALL QUESTIONS MAY BE ATTEMPTED

ROUGH WORK CAN BE DONE ON THE LAST THREE BLANK PAGES AT
THE END OF EACH ANSWER BOOK
NON-PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATORS MAY BE USED
ONE HANDWRITTEN DOUBLE SIDED A4 SHEET WITH WHATEVER THE
STUDENT WISHES TO WRITE ON IT MAY BE TAKEN INTO THE EXAM
ROOM.

Examiner:
Assessor:

Prof. V.S. Ramsden

Dr. J.G. Zhu

Problem 1
A cylindrical capacitor of length L consists of coaxial conducting surfaces of radii ri and ro. Two
dielectric media of different dielectric constants r1 and r2 fill the space between the conducting
surfaces as shown below. Determine its capacitance.
(10 marks)

Fig.1 Cylindrical capacitor for Problem 1

Problem 2
A metal hemisphere of radius Re, buried with its flat face lying in the surface of the ground, is used
as an earthing electrode. It may be assumed that a current flowing to earth spreads out uniformly and
radially from the electrode for a great distance. Show that, as the distance for which this is true tends
to infinity, the resistance between the electrode and earth tends to the limiting value /2Re, where
is the resistivity of the earth.
(10 marks)
metallic hemisphere
ground

Fig.2 Metal hemisphere earthing electrode for Problem 2

Problem 3
Determine the force per unit length between two infinitely long parallel conducting wires carrying
currents I1 and I2 in the same direction. The wires are separated by a distance d.
(10 marks)
Z

I1
I2
O

Fig.3 Two infinitely long wires for Problem 3

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Problem 4
Fig.4 shows an EI-core inductor. The inductor winding has 100 turns. The cross sectional areas of
the central and each of the side legs are 500 mm2 and 300 mm2 respectively. Assume the
permeability of the core material . Ignore leakage and fringing effects. Calculate:
(a) the required air gap length if the inductance is 10 mH, and
(b) the total magnetic energy stored in the 10 mH inductor if the current in the winding is 10 A DC.
(10 marks)

I
N

N=100 turns
As=300 mm 2

As

Ac

As

Ac=500 mm 2

Fig.4 EI-core inductor for problem 4

Problem 5
A voice coil actuator is shown in Fig.5(a), with rare earth permanent magnet excitation. The
demagnetization curve of the magnet shown in Fig.5(b) has a slope o (relative permeability r=1).
The coil of N turns carries a current i. Fringing of flux around the air gap and leakage flux may be
ignored. Derive expressions for:
(a) the flux density Bgm in the air gap due to the magnet,
(b) the flux density Bgi in the air gap to the right of the coil in Fig.5(a) due to the coil current,
(c) the total force on the coil, and
(d) the emf induced in the coil if it moves with velocity v and the coil current is a function of time,
neglecting the effects of eddy currents in the magnetic core.
(20 marks)

Fig.5 Voice actuator for problem 5

Problem 6
A 100 kVA, 2400:240 V, 50 Hz, single-phase transformer gave the following test results:
Open-circuit test, high-potential winding excited: Voc = 2400 V, Ioc = 1.52 A, Poc = 189 W
Short-circuit test, high-potential winding excited: Vsc = 205 V, Isc = 41.67 A, Psc = 650 W
Direct-current winding resistances:
Rhp = 0.18 , Rlp = 0.0019
where subscripts hp and lp denote the high- and low-potential sides respectively. Determine:
(a) the parameters (referred to the high-potential side) of a T equivalent circuit assuming Xl1 = X'l2,
(b) the voltage regulation of this transformer when supplying rated load at 240 V and a lagging
power factor of 0.75,
(c) the efficiency at full load for a 0.7 power factor leading, and
(d) the percentage of rated load at which the transformer has maximum efficiency for a 0.7 power
factor leading.
(20 marks)
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Problem 7
(a) List three main types of stepping motor, and name the drive circuit suitable for each stepping
motor listed.
(b) A three stack variable reluctance stepping motor has twelve teeth on the rotor as well as on the
stator. Determine the step angle as the excitation is changed from one stack to the next, and the
frequency of phase currents required to achieve a rotor speed of 650 rev/min.
(10 marks)
Problem 8
A three phase, twelve pole brushless DC motor is to be used for a computer controlled washing
machine drive. The stator winding is Y connected of resistance 4 per phase and synchronous
inductance 2 mH per phase, and the line to neutral induced emf due to the permanent magnet rotor
is 90 V (rms) at 1000 rev/min. Friction, windage, and core losses produce a retarding torque given
by
Tloss = 0.2 + 0.002 r + 10 5 r2
(Nm)
where r is the rotor speed in mechanical rad/s. Calculate:
(a) the required line to neutral voltage, supply frequency, and phase current for a wash speed of
125 rev/min and load torque of 15 Nm, if optimum position feedback is achieved by the
controller (minimum copper loss for given torque), and
(b) the input power, output power, and efficiency for the wash condition of (a).
(10 marks)

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