1676 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 29, NO.

2, MARCH 1993

Effects of Rotor Eccentricity and Parallel Windings on Induction Machine

Behavior: A Study Using Finite Element Analysis
M. J. DeBortoli S. J. Salon, D. W. Burow C. J. Slavik
Magsoft Corp. Electric Power Eng. Dept. General Electric Co.
1223 Peoples Ave. Rensselaer Poly. Inst. Box 1072
Troy, NY 12180 USA Troy, NY 12180-3590 USA Schenectady, NY 12301 USA

Abstract-An eccentrically-positioned rotor in a
rotating electric machine experiences a strong un-
balanced pull toward the short side of the air gap.
The air gap flux density and magnetic force dis-
tributions exhibit new harmonics resulting from
the nonuniform air gap. Use of parallel windings
reduces the net unbalanced pull by allowing dif-
ferent amplitude currents to flow in the parallel
branches. In this paper, rotor eccentricity and
the effect of parallel windings in an induction mo-
tor are investigated by means of a transient finite
element model. Magnetic flux density and force
distribution harmonics generated by the model are
presented for the cases of static and dynamic rotor
eccentricity, with various combinations of series
and parallel stator winding connections. These
results are compared with those obtained from a
centered rotor case. Examples of the action of
parallel- connected windings to reduce the effects
of rotor eccentricity are given.
I. INTRODUCTION
The occurrence and the effect of an eccentric rotor in an
electric machine has been discussed for almost one hun-
dred years [l],and the beneficial effects of parallel wind-
ings in mitigating the resulting unbalanced magnetic pull
(UMP) have been discussed almost as long [2].
Induction motors, which have small air gaps, are es-
pecially vulnerable to slight variations in the dimensions
of the stator, rotor, end rings and bearings, which can
lead to significant variation of the air gap between the
stator and the rotor at different angular positions. Dur-
ing operation, this nonuniform air gap distorts the air gap
flux density distribution, giving rise to harmonic travel-
ling waves of flux density. In squirrel cage motors, these
flux density harmonics are partially damped by rotor cur-
rents. Nevertheless, they can produce appreciable UMP
and harmonic travelling waves of force directed both radi-
ally, and, with load, tangentially. In addition, the air gap
nonuniformity and the resulting radial force waves may
revolve in either direction, at various speeds (dynamic
eccentricity), or they may remain stationary (static ec-
centricity). The forces and vibrations produced by rotor
eccentricity resemble those due to a mechanically unbal-
anced rotor. This situation can be quite dangerous to the
motor as there are a number of documented cases of the
rotor contacting the stator due to an air gap asymmetry.
Parallel connection of the stator poles has been em-
ployed to reduce UMP in motors with nonuniform air
gaps [3J.The mechanism by which this is accomplished is
that the inductance is lower in those circuits located where
the air gap is larger than nominal, relative to the induc-
tance of circuits located where the air gap is smaller than
nominal. Since all circuits are connected to the same volt-
age source, the currents in the circuits facing the larger
air gap are slightly greater than those facing the smaller
air gap. The net effect is that the eccentricity-induced
distortion of the air gap flux density, and the associated
magnetic force waves, is greatly reduced or eliminated by
the difference in the parallel circuit currents, even though
the rotor remains eccentric.
In this paper, results are presented from a finite
element-based study of rotor eccentricity and parallel
windings. The finite element model is used to compute the
eccentricity-induced harmonic travelling waves of air gap
flux density and magnetic force, as well as the net UMP
acting on the rotor. Series, series/parallel, and parallel
connection of the stator poles were investigated. It was
found that a motor incorporating parallel circuits would
run more quietly than one built solely with series con-
nections, under the same nonuniform air gap conditions.
Motors incorporating a combination of series and paral-
lel circuits are expected to be more quiet with opposite
pole groups in parallel and adjacent pole groups in series
than with adjacent poles in parallel and opposite poles in
series.
The difference in the currents in the parallel circuits
is represented by a circulating current which tends to
smooth out the distortion in the air gap flux density dis-

0018-9464/93$03.00 63 1993 El%


tribution. The determination of the magnitude of this
circulating current is quite difficult. The effect of parallel
circuits on the UMP is also not easily determined because
of computational difficulties. The radial forces on the ro-
tor in a machine with a slightly nonuniform air gap almost
totally cancel and only a small fraction of the total forces
are involved in the UMP.
11. DESCRIPTION
OF THE MODEL
An accurate determination of the circulating current path
impedance and emf and the residual magnetic forces caus-
ing the UMP requires a complete field solution of the ma-
chine. A finite element model which includes the effects
of induced currents, magnetic saturation, circuit coupling,
an external power system, rotor motion and slotting ef-
fects has been used to study these problems [4]. The
model is based on a time domain solution of the coupled
nonlinear magnetic diffusion problem (eddy currents and
fields), the rotor and stator winding currents and/or volt-
ages, the mechanical forces and torque and the speed and
position of the rotor.
111. RESULTS
OF STUDIES
The purpose of this investigation is to use the finite ele-
ment model described above to evaluate the effects of ro-
tor eccentricity on the air gap magnetic flux density and
force harmonics. In addition, the effect of various connec-
tions of the stator poles on eccentricity-induced harmonics
of flux density and force will be studied.
The finite element-based model determines the current
in each of the parallel circuits and the resultant radial
magnetic force. In the model we are able to move the
rotor off center and constrain it to rotate around its own
axis (static rotor eccentricity case). In a second case, the
off-set rotor is allowed to whirl about the center of the
stator bore (dynamic eccentricity case) 3t a speed equal
to the rotor velocity. The parameters of the motor used in
this study are listed in Table 1. Using the finite element
model we have analyzed the effects of rotor eccentricity
for the following cases :
1. All pole groups of each phase of the stator windings
connected in series (both static and dynamic eccen-
tricity).
2. Two parallel stator winding branches with adjacent
pole groups connected in parallel and opposite pole
groups connected in series (static eccentricity only).
3. Two parallel stator winding branches with opposite
pole groups connected in parallel and adjacent pole
groups connected in series (static eccentricity only).
1677
4. Four pole groups connected in parallel (both static
and dynamic eccentricity).
For each case, the space- and time-dependent air gap
flux density distribution computed using the finite ele-
ment model was analyzed using a two-dimensional (space
and time) Fast Fourier " f o r m technique (2D-FFT).
The output of the 2D-FFT is a set of travelling wave har-
monic components of air gap flux density. The compcT
nents due to rotor eccentricity were identified by compar-
ing the output data from the centered rotor cases with
those from eccentric rotor cases.
The harmonic components of air gap flux density found
to be caused by rotor eccentricity were then compared
with analytical predictions. Fkom the classical permeance
wave theory, the air gap flux density with rotor eccentric-
ity is found to contain the following components, among
others:
For static rotor eccentricity, wmt = 0; for dynamic eccen-
tricity, wrOt is taken as the mechanical angular speed of
the rotor. P is the number of pole pairs of the motor, w
is the angular frequency of the supply, 6 is the angular
displacement along the air gap, t is time in seconds, and
the coefficients B are the amplitudes of the harmonics.
The eccentricity-harmonics of flux density are responsible
for producing additional force waves acting on the strt-
tor [3,5],which can generate unwanted motor vibrations.
A similar procedure was used for determining the com-
ponents of air gap force distribution caused by rotor ec-
centricity. The force distribution was obtained from the
air gap flux density by the Maxwell stress method
the force data were then analyzed using the 2D
resulting travelling wave harmonic components
with rotor eccentricity were compared with an
dictions, obtained by assuming that the square of Bgapin
(1) is a close approximation to the air gap force density.
A . Static Eccentricity
The four cases of stator winding connections (cases 1
through 4), for the condition of a static rotor eccentricity,
have been analyzed with a centered rotor and with 30%
static rotor eccentricity. Static rotor eccentricity occurs
when the rotor rotates about its own center lime (€r), but
this center line does not coincide with that of the stator
bore (€#). The situation is illustrated in Figure 1. For
1678

Table 1: Electrical and Mechanical Parameters of AC Induction Motor

Parameter I Value I Units

Voltage source Phase voltage (L-L) I 620 I V(rms)
I Poles-
frequency
number (2P)
connection
,~

series
Stator slots number (S) 48
opening at.air gap 0.0114 meters
skew none
Rotor slots number ( R ) 36
opening at air gap 0.0133 meters
skew none
Rotor speed rated rpm 1734 rpm
rated angular vel. (wrot) 181.58 rad/sec
Length stack length 0.978 meters
Air gap
- - mean radius (&) 0.128 meters
nominal length ' 0.004 meters
Nominal output horsepower (approx.) 500 HP

the radial flux density for a centered rotor. In Figure 2,

Figure 1: Simplified illustration of static eccentricity
30% static eccentricity, a is 30% of the nominal air gap
length.
All cases were analyzed for the condition of the rotor
centered in the stator bore (no eccentricity) and for the
rotor offset by 30% of the air gap length. Results from
the finite element studies are presented below.
The effects of rotor eccentricity are evident from a com-
parison of Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a plot of the radial
component of flux density as a function of the angular
position in the air gap for 30% rotor eccentricity and se-
ries winding connections. Figure 3 shows a similar plot of
the pole located at the short air gap side (0 radians, 3
o'clock position in the air gap) is identified as that with
the highest flux density values. In addition, this pole has
the largest amplitude of slot ripple because the ratio of
slot opening to air gap length, which controls the slot rip-
ple amplitude, is greatest at the position of shortest air
gap length.
Table 2 lists the significant, eccentricity-induced terms
from a 2D-FFT analysis of the air gap flux density for
all four cases of series and parallel winding connections.
Adding parallel connections of the poles is seen to provide
a slight reduction in Bsel,one of the primary eccentricity-
induced components of flux density; however, the effects
of the various winding connections is more evident when
comparing force harmonics.
Results of a 2D-FFT of the air gap force distribution
are shown in Table 3, which lists the eccentricity-induced
force harmonics for all four winding connection cases. The
harmonic frequencies agree with those derived from the
classical permeance wave theory [3, 61.
The effect of parallel connections in reducing
eccentricity-induced force waves is clearly indicated in Ta-
ble 3. In particular, force component Fsea, the primary
contributor to unbalanced pull, is reduced by the three
cases involving parallel connections, with case 4 (four-
pole groups in parallel) achieving the greatest reduction.
These results agree with the experimental findings of El-
lison and Yang [3].
The net force acting on the rotor in the x direction was
also computed for all cases. With static eccentricity and
 1679

Table 2: 2D-FFT Analysis of Air Gap Flux Density With Static Eccentricity

Table 3: 2D-FFT Analysis of Air Gap Force Distribution With Static Eccentricity
sntal
Origin
parallel
0.0
1.6
0.0
0.0
2.2
1.9 1 (2P-2)O-2wt I

-1 .d I 1 I I I I

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
theta (radii)

Figure 2: Radial component of air gap flux density with Figure 3: Radial component of air gap flux density with
30% static eccentricity and series winding connection no eccentricity and series winding connection
1680

series connection of the poles, this force was found to be

3294 Newtons. With all pole groups connected in parallel
(case 4) the force was reduced to 2535 Newtons. (With
no eccentricity, the x-directed body force was 0 Newtons,
for all connections.)
Figures 4 - 6 show the currents in the parallels for cases
2, 3, and 4, respectively. When opposite pole groups are
connected in series (Figure 4, case 2), there is little no-
ticeable redistribution of the current. Next to the full
series connection, this is the least effective connection for
reducing the effects of rotor eccentricity. When opposite
pole groups are connected in parallel, with adjacent poles
in series, (Figure 5, case 3), the eccentricity-induced re-
distribution of the current becomes more clear. This re-
distribution can account for the slightly greater reduction
in eccentricity-induced force waves than seen with case 2.
Finally, in Figure 6, the redistribution of currents with
four parallels is shown (case 4). This connection is the
most effective for mitigating the effects of rotor eccen-
tricity. When the rotor is centered, the currents in the
parallels are identical, regardless of the connection type.
Figure 4: Currents in parallels; two adjacent pole groups
in parallel, two opposite pole groups in series (case 2) with
B. Dynamic Eccentricity 30% static eccentricity
A similar set of studies was performed for 30% dynamic
eccentricity, for the full series (case 1) and full parallel
(case 4) connections only. Pure dynamic rotor eccentricity
occurs when the rotor rotates about the center line of the
stator bore (€s in Figure l),but this center line does not
coincide with that of the rotor itself.' The result is that
the rotor motion contains a precession.
Table 4 shows the eccentricity-induced harmonic com-
ponents of air gap flux density, obtained using 2D-FFT
analysis of the finite element model output. The two pri-
mary dynamic eccentricity-inducedflux density waves are
sharply attenuated by parallel connection of the stator
poles. Flux density wave Bde4 is not applicable with a
four-pole machine, because it would represent a wave with
no poles in space, thereby violating the divergence crite-
rion for flux. (Flux density waves Bdes and B d e ~were not
seen in the dynamic eccentricity cases.) -200-
The air gap force distribution harmonics are listed in
Table 5 . Force component F d e 2 , which is the primary com-
ponent of unbalanced magnetic pull for a dynamically-
eccentric rotor, is seen to be significantly reduced by par-
allel connection of the poles. Again, the harmonic fre-
366 368 370 372 374 376 378 380 382 2 14
quencies of force distribution agree with those derived
time (msec)
from classical theory [3, 61. Figures 7 and 8 show the net
x- and y-directed forces on the rotor for the case of dy- Figure 5: Currents in parallels; two adjacent pole groups
namic eccentricity, series connection, for one revolution. in series, two opposite pole groups in parallel (case 3) with
It can be observed that the peak of the 2- and y-directed 30% static eccentricity
lIf the axis of rotation of the rotor coincides with neither the
center line of the stator bore nor the center line of the rotor, both
static and dynamic eccentricity are present.
 1681

z^
b
HC
0

I I I I , , , , ,
348 350 352 354 356 358 360 362 364 366 368
time (msec)
300 305 310 315 320 325 330 335
I
h(mSec)
Figure 6: Currents in parallels; four-pole groups in paral-
lel (case 4) with 30% static eccentricity

Figure 7: Net z-force on rotor (30% dynamic eccentricity,

rotor forces occur approximately 90" apart because of dif- series connection)
ference between the synchronousfield and the speed of the
rotor. The abrupt changes in the force plots are numerical
in origin. They result from stopping and restarting the
transient finite element simulation program.

IV. CONCLUSIONS
The effect of circulating current between various combina-
tions of parallel windings in an eccentric rotor induction
machine has been shown to reduce the unbalanced mag-
netic pull and to significantly reduce or eliminate other vi-
bration producing magnetic force harmonics generated by
the eccentricity. The finite element analysis of the air gap
flux density has been checked against classical theoreti-
cal solutions which give the expected harmonic numbers
(but do not allow a precise comparison of harmonic magni-
tudes). The expected harmonics are all found in the finite
element solution. The trends obtained are also in good
agreement with the experimental results of reference [3],
namely that the most effective parallel stator winding con-
nections are four-pole groups in parallel (case 4) followed
by two adjacent pole groups in series/two opposite pole
300 305 310 315 320 325 330 335
I
groups in parallel (case 3). An important point revealed
in this study is that the beneficial effects of parallel cir- time (msec)
cuits are present even though the rotor remains eccentric;
it is not necessary that the rotor be returned to its cen- Figure 8: Net y-force on rotor (30% dynamic eccentricity,
tered position for the reduction of the eccentricity induced series connection)
force waves. It should be noted, however, that not all of
the effects of parallel stator winding connections may be
beneficial. The reader is referred to Heller and Jokl [7] for
1682

Table 4: 2D-FFT Analysis of Air Gap Flux Density With Dynamic Eccentricity

space time Amplitude in % of Fund.

No. pole freq. 30% Dynamic Eccentricity Origin
series I Darallel

Table 5: 2D-FFT Analysis of Air Gap Force Distribution With Dynamic Eccentricity

a discussion of the deleterious effects of synchronous par-
asitic torques developed by circulating currents induced
in parallel connected stator winding circuits by low-order
harmonics.
REFERENCES
J. Fisher-Hinnen. Dynamo Design. Van Nostrand,
1899.
R. E. Hellmund. Series versus parallel windings for a.
c. motors. Electrical World, 49:388-389, 1907.
A. J. Ellison and S. J. Yang. Effects of rotor eccentric-
ity on acoustic noise from induction machines. Proc.
IEE, 118(1):174-183, January 1977.
S. J . Salon, M. J. DeBortoli, and R. Palma. Coupling
of transient fields, circuits, and motion using finite
element analysis. Journal of Electromagnetic Waves
and Applications, 4(11), 1990.
Mark J. DeBortoli. Extensions to the Finite Element
Method for the Electromechanical Analysis of Electric
Machines. PhD thesis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti-
tute, Troy, New York, 1992.
V. A. Tereshnokov. Magnetic forces in electric ma-
chines with air gap eccentricities and core ovalities.
Elektrotechnika, 60(9):50-53, 1989.
[7] B. Heller and A. L. Jokl. Tangential forces in squirrel-
cage induction motors. IEEE Transactions on Power
Apparatus and Systems, PAS-88(4):484-492, 1969.
Mark J. DeBortoli received the B.S. degree in electrical
engineering from the University of Virginia in 1987, and
the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electric power engineer-
ing from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His graduate
work was supported by a Graduate Fellowship from the
National Science Foundation. He is currently employed
by Magsoft Corporation.
Sheppard J. Salon is Professor of Electric Power Engi-
neering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institure. From 1970 to
1978 he was with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation
in the Large Rotating Apparatus Division. His current
research interests are Electrical Machinery, Electromag-
netics and Computer Aided Engineering.
David Burow received his B.S. degree in electrical en-
gineering from the University of Colorado, and the M.E.
degree in electric power engineering from Rensselaer Poly-
technic Institute. He is currently working toward a Ph.D.
in electric power engineering at Rensselaer.
C. J. Slavik works for General Electric in Schenectady,
New York. He received his PhD in Physics from the State
University of New York, Albany. His current research
interests are in electric machines and systems for General
Electric. He has been a member of IEEE since 1989.