Single-phase electric motors:

characteristics & applications

Single-phase ac mo&s are as ubiquiibus as t h q are us@I -
ssrving asprimepowersouwesfor a seminglg l i m i t h arm# elf
~ I G h m s ~ o wappltkatim
er in industty adhmm. K d q q how
to apply t b v a b tgpes is tS k q to s u e c ~ @ ldw'gn,

ere tbree-
W phase power
is unavail-
able or impractical,
it's single-phase mo-
tors to the rescue.
Though they lack the
)higher efficiencies of
their three-phase sib-
lings, single-phase
motors - correctly - - -
sized and rated -
can last a lifetime
with little mainte-
nance.
Occasiontdlya manufacturing defect s ~ l i t - ~ h a smotor
e (upper
can result in early motor failure. How- right) aPProPriatelYsemes
me*,most fail- mmeh m mpropri- small fan thaf needs no high
ate application. Pay careful attention to cycle rate or high torque
cagabiliN Calacltof
application requirements before chaos- mrVinduhon-run
ing a motor for replacement of a failed (dlrsctly ,,"
one or for a new design qplication. Not sausagelinking machine.
choosing the correct motor type and nis appllcaffon also
horgepower can cause repeated motor requireswashdown-duty
failare and equipment downtime. Obvi- dalgn, which hem has an encapsulated electronic darting switch. Capacitor-
ously, yon don't want to spec@ a motor shrVCapacltor-run motor (lower right) works well on grain-handling equipment, typically
too small for the appljation, d t - subject to hard-to-start, hard-to-move loads.

-
ing in electrid stresses that cause pre-
mature motor failure.But neither should you specify a motor too powerful -ei- stand the characteristjcs of the maor
ther because of its power or its inherent type6 of single-phasemotors -charac-
design characteristics. It can also have teristics that go right to the heart of
gerria-
H is w B ~ d eM d p a@ serious aflects. For example, a motor matching a motor to an application.
mitt AACMotw Group, Leeson Bbtric with high locked-rotor and breakdown In general, an ac polyphase squirrel-
Cmp., M. He hm been with k m torques can damage the equipment it cage motor connected ta &polyphaseline
!wars md hoi& tm ekctricaal ww&lag drives.Also,runntng a motor at 1- than will develop starting torque. A squirrel-
m h
jmMU& School c@%g#nw- full rated load is inefficient, costingyou cage motor connected to a single-phase
i~ag, uk% an ma&& in e b - money for power wasted. h e develops no starting torque, but hav-
Moraine
eroaecha~dcalt e c h n o l o ~ f m m The key: First,s b the motor to the ap- ingbeen startad by some W r
n aZ means,
Park lb&dcal CoUqw. plicrrtion but, just as importantly, under- it runs approximately like a polyphase

Reprintedfrom POWER TRANSMISSION DESIGN Novembr 1993

i r q torque, tsphdy 200 to 400% of rated
load,And s W h g cumen't,usually 460 to Flmre S -
Permanentspllt
676% of rated c m n t , is muchl6werthan
that of the split-plwe due to thk larger capacitor motor.
Permanen1run-typa
wire in the start circuit. This allows eapacitar In serier
higher cycle rates and reliable thermal with thrl wlndlng,
pr0~~0IL which b~comes
The cap-stdinduction-run motor is auxlllaq wlndlfig
more expewhe than a comparable split- when mator reaches
phase mdtor because of the additional funning spaled.
&st of the start capacitor. B Q the
~ appli-
cation range is much wider because of easily altered for use with speed con needs,and intermittent cycling u r n such
higher sEarting brque and lower shrting tmllers. They can also be.desjgn6dforop- asadjusting-nr gate operators,
current.Use the motas on-awide range timum efiiency and high poffter factor and garagedoor openers, many of which
of beltdrive applications like small con- at rated load. And they're considemd the also n e e d ~ ~ ~ x s h q .
veyors, large blowers and pumps, and most reliable of ~ingle-phasemotors,
L directd-heor geared applications.
These are the workhorsesdf general-pur-
mostly because no starting switch is
needad. C&tow&mtlcapadtor nm
pose industrial mom, Permanent split capacitor motors This b e , Figure 4, combinesthe be&
have a wide varietg of applications de- of the capacitor-shthdu~tion-run mo-
pending on the desi#n. These include tor and the permanent spfit capacitor
fans, blowers with low starting-torque motor. It ha a stackme capacihr -ln se-
A permanent split capacitor (PSC)
motor, Figure 3, hair neither a starting
witch nor a capacitor strictly for start-
ing, Znstead,it has a run-type capacitor
permanently connected in series with
the start winding. This makes the start
winding an auxiliary winding once the
motor reachesrunning speed. Because
the run capacitor must be de~ignedfor
continuous use, it cannot provide the
starting boost of a sharting capacitor.
mica1 htarting torques of PSC motors
are low, b m 30 to 150%of rated load, so
these m o h are not for M t p s t a r t ap
plications. However,unlike split-phase
motors, PSC motors have low starting Agure 4 -
~ 200%of rated
current, usually l e than Cagacitor-
load current, making them excellent for startleapadtor-nm
applications with high cyclerates, Break- motor. Combines
down torque varies depending on d @ n brsl of capacitor-
type and application,though it is typi- shrtnnductlon-run
and permanent spllt
l~allysomewhat lower thanwith a cap- wpacltor motors.
&artmotor. Two capacitors plus
PSC motors have several advantages, mschanieal start
They needno s h h g mechanism and so swMh Is the price d
can be reversed easily. Designs can be Lest performanee.
 Figure 5 -Shaded-
rigs with ther a a a r y winding like the pole motor. Can be
capadtor-start motor for high starking single-spmd, or
tapped multispeed
torque. And, like a PSC motor, it aIso has as shown here.
sanut-Q-pcapacitmtht ish seri-with EIectrlcally and
the auxiliary winding &er the start oa- machalcally
pacitor isswitahed out ofthe cb~uit,!his slmple, it is
allows high breakdown or overload inexpensive, hut has
torqw. pooresl efficiency
Amther advantage of the capacitor- and shdln~torque.
sWeapaeit6r-mmemotor.:It win be Best uses are usually
designedfor lower fall-load current and houseloid ralher
higher eeficiencp. Among other things, than industrial,
this m e w it operates at lower tempera-
ture than other singlbphaw motor types p h m motors dimmed, sbaded-polemo- tor construction allows high-volume prc-
ofcomparable~horsepawer. tors have only one main winding and no duction. In h t , these am mdly consid-
The only. disadvantage t o a cap- start winding, Figure 5. Starting is by w e d ''disposablenmotors -they are
swap-run mohr is ia higherprice - means of a design that rings a continuous much cheaper ta replace to rqW. 1
most@ the d t of more capacitors,plm copper koop around a small portion of The shaded-polomotor has rnw posi-
a st& swhb But it's s powerhouse, each motor pule This ''shadesn that por- tlvf:features,but it also has several &ad-
able ta handle applications too denrand- tion of the pole, causing the magnetic vantages, Its low stating torqye is typt
ing far any other khd af singlephasemo- field in the ring@area to lag the field in d y 26 to 76% of Pull-load to~que,It is a
br.These include wodworkq madin- the winged portion. The reaction of the high srip motor with running speed 7 to
w, air compremn,high-pwmewater two fields getshe shaft rotating, 10% below synchronous speed,h o ,it is
pumps, vacuumpumps, and other high- Bemuse the shaded-polemotorlacks a very inefficient,w d y below 20%.
torque appIicatiarui requiring 1ta 10 hp.start winding, starkhg startlngtah, or cap&- h initial'cost suits shaded-polemo-
tar, it is electrically simple ,and inexpen- tors tO low-horsbpowef or light-duQ ap-
Shaded-pole sive, Plus,speed-be conhUedmerely plications. Perhaps theit largest use is in
by wq@ voltage, OT mugh rr mul.fftap multispeed fans for household use. But
Unlike all the preview types of single- dm. M e t W W l y , Med-pole mo- low hrque, low diciency, and lesssturdy
mechdcal features make shaded-pole
motors imptact4calfor mask hdwhhl or
commercial uses where higher cycle
or continuous duty am the norm,
The preceding infomDooh &Wes
guidelinesto determinethe proper mob?
fmyour ~ l p p U d o nBowever, there
are special cases and spplications in
w&h it is amephbleto w y horn these
guideIines. Make it a point to check with
your motor manufacturer for technical
support in these areas,

CopyrigM@1993by Penton Publishing. Inc.. Cleveland,Ohio 44114