The Development of a New Type of
Repulsion-Induction Motor
Aurelian Crăciunescu
Electrical Engineering Faculty
University Politehnica of Bucharest
Bucharest, Romania
aurelian.craciunescu@upb.ro
Abstract— This paper deals with the development of a new
type of repulsion-start induction motor for application to single-
phase distribution networks. A description is given of the
derivation of this new type of motor from the plain repulsion
motor. The novel feature lies in the using of the D.C. brush
commutator principle to realize an A.C. brushless commutator
which allows to obtain a pseudo-stationary winding and has, in
the same time, the role of induction motor squirrel cage. The
changing over from the repulsion to the induction type is
accomplished without the use of any devices, this change tacking
place due to the inherent qualities of the new motor. According
to the developed new motor’s topology, an experimental model
has been built and the results of some experimental
investigations are given.
Keywords— rotating electrical machines, squirrel cage single-
phase induction motors, repulsion electric motors
I. INTRODUCTION
In many industrial activities, like rural manufacturing,
mining, oil and natural gas, electric utilities rely on single-
phase line to deliver power to customers. Often, the cost of
three-phase line extension in these areas is cost prohibitive.
For those activities, with limited access to three-phase
infrastructure, high-power single-phase motors cold be a
cost-effective solution to drive the large horsepower outputs,
to 100 kW, from 230 V or 460 V single-phase lines.
The first electric motor that could be considered for the
above-mentioned applications is the single-phase induction
motor due to its high reliability and low manufacturing cost.
But, unfortunately, this electric motor has a big drawback – no
inherent starting torque, because it develops a stationary and
not a revolving magnetic field. Different solutions are
currently being used to start the single-phase induction
motors: reluctance start, shaded pole start, split phase resistor
or capacitor start, and repulsion start. For technological
reasons, reluctance start is used for motors with powers of
several watts, split phase resistor start is used for motors with
powers of several tens of watts, shaded pole start is used for
motors with powers of several hundred watts, split phase
capacitor start and repulsion start are used for motors with
powers of several kilowatts. Repulsion start could be used in
developing high power single-phase induction motors, but it
has the drawback to use a brushes commutator and a
complicate mechanism to drive this commutator during
starting process. Therefore, although the single-phase
induction motor is cheap and reliable, because the
technological limitations of the starting procedures, it cannot
978-1-5386-9350-6/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 1447
be built yet for high power single-phase above-mentioned
applications.
In this paper, a new electromechanical energy converter is
proposed – the A.C. brushless commutator – which, like well-
known D.C. brush commutator, realize a pseudo stationary
coil, this means a coil whose axis is permanently in the same
direction, given by the direction of the brushes. Then, based
on the A.C. brushless commutator, a new repulsion-induction
motor is introduced. A physical model of the new type of
repulsion-induction motor was built and the results of some
experimental investigations are given. The physical model
was built with components from the current induction motor
production and was designed to demonstrate the operating
principle of the new electric motor topology and not to gain
some competitiveness results with other electric motors. With
PSIM software, a simulation circuit model of the brushless
repulsion-induction motor was realized and speed and current
staring characteristics, for various favourable circuit
parameter values of the model, were investigated.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section II
provide an overview of existing high-power single-phase
induction motors. Sections III introduces the A.C. brushless
commutator and the repulsion-induction motor with a
topology based on this commutator. Section IV describe the
physical model which was built for the brushless repulsion-
induction motor and give some experimental results obtained
with this model. Section V looks at circuit simulation models
realized in PSIM for the brushless repulsion-induction motor
for various set of motor parameters. Finally, conclusions are
given in Section VI.
II. THE STATE OF ART
A. Induction motor with single-phase supply
A low-cost large induction motor drive for about 75 kW,
with single-phase supply, was realized by Professor O. J. M.
Smith for rural pumps [1-3]. This electric drive system uses a
squirrel cage three-phase induction motor and circuits with
capacitors which connect the motor windings to single-phase
supply, as is shown in Fig. 1. Several investigations of the
Smith connections have been carried out. These investigations
have demonstrated that motors with single-phase connections
can have the same efficiency and a high-power factor when
the motors are fed by a three-phase power supply. It has also
been shown that Smith connections have approximately
symmetrical winding currents [4] – [14].

a) b)
Fig.1 Smith connection with three capacitors (a) and SEMIHEX Smith
connection with two capacitors.
B. Written pole motor
In the 1990’s, with support from the Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI), the Precise Power Corporation of
Bradenton, Florida, developed a new concept in electric
motors called the Written Pole electric motor. This new motor
type allows the design of single-phase motors up to 75 kW as
compared to conventional single-phase motors, which are
generally limited to units of 9 kW and smaller. The Written-
Pole motor, uses an innovative approach of controlling the
magnetic field of the motor. The Written-Po1e machine
technology consists of a rotor design that has a layer of
magnetic material that can be changed magnetically to any
desired pole pattern while the machine is operating. The
result is a motor that has starting current requirements of only
about twice the normal running current and, as an added
benefit, the motors have efficiencies of 90% or better
compared to conventional motors, which have efficiencies of
around 85%. Written-Pole single-phase electric motors are
the most energy efficient single-phase motors available in the
market, with operating efficiencies comparable to those of
energy-efficient three-phase induction motors. The interest of
these motors is growing rapidly in rural areas of North and
South America where large motors are needed for irrigation
and pumping operations, crop processing, grain drying and
other similar needs, and where only single-phase electricity
is available. [15] – [19].
C. Hybrid repulsion-induction motors
Repulsion type motors, which can be associate with
single-phase induction motors, can been built for more as 100
kW. These electric motors can be divided into several distinct
categories:
1) Plain repulsion motor: It consists of: (a) one stator
winding, (b) one rotor which is wound like a D.C. armature,
(c) a classical commutator, and (d) a set of brushes, which are
short-circuited and remain in contact with the commutator at
all times. It operates continuously on the ‘repulsion’
principle.
2) Repulsion-start-induction-run motor: This motor starts
as a plain repulsion motor, but normally runs as an induction
motor. It consists of: (a) one stator winding, (b) one rotor
which is similar to the wire-wound D.C. armature, (c) a
classical D.C. commutator, and (d) a centrifugal mechanism
which short-circuits the commutator bars all the way round
(with the help of a short-circuiting necklace) when the motor
has reached nearly 75 per cent of full speed.
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a) b)
Fig. 2 Repulsion-start-induction-run motor (a) and Repulsion-induction
motor (b).
3) Repulsion-induction motor: referred, also, as squirrel
cage repulsion motor, consists of: (a) stator winding, (b) two
rotor windings: one usual D.C. winding connected to the
commutator and the other squirrel cage, and (c) a short-
circuited set of two brushes. It works on the combined
principle of repulsion and induction and, hence, it combines
the desirable starting characteristics of repulsion motor and
constant speed characteristics of an induction motor. The
biggest advantage in such type of motors is that they don’t
need a separate centrifugal short-circuit system as in
Repulsion-start Induction-run motors. As soon as the motor
is started, the commutator winding supplies most of the
torque. But during normal running condition, the squirrel
cage winding supplies most of the torque.
III. THE A.C. BRUSHLESS COMMUTATOR AND THE NEW
REPULSION-INDUCTION MOTOR TYPE
Fig. 3 shown Professor Elihu Thomson’s well-known
repulsion motor. This motor uses D.C. brush commutator to
realize a pseudo-stationary coil, that is, a coil whose axis is
permanently in the same direction, given by the direction of
the brushes. When this pseudo-stationary rotor’s coil is
powered, it will produce a stationary magnetic flux which can
interact with a stator’s magnetic flux to develop an electro-
mechanical torque if the angle between the two magnetic
fluxes are nonzero.
Fig. 4 shown the proposed brushless replica to the plain
repulsion motor. The magnetic core’s topology of the new
repulsion motor is derived from the magnetic core’s topology
of the single-phase squirrel cage induction motor, in which
the stator’s magnetic core was splitted into two parts. On the
left stator’s magnetic core is disposed the energizing coil, and
on the right stator’s magnetic core is disposed a short-
circuited coil. The directions of the axes of the two stator’s
coils make an angle between them.
Fig. 3 The plain repulsion motor
 The main advantages of the self-starting single-phase
induction motor shown in Fig. 5, in comparison with others
single-phase induction motors could the following: a) the
possibility to be built for high powers, more as 100 kW; b) a
high reliability, in comparison with all types of brush
commutator repulsion starting induction motors and with
single-phase capacitor motors; c) simply changing the
direction of rotation by inverting the W3 winding terminals.
Also, the motors have low starting inrush, and rugged design.
The motors do not have the harmonic distortion issues
associated with VFDs and phase converters.
IV. THE PHYSICAL MODEL OF THE SELF-STARTING
BRUSHLESS REPULSION-INDUCTION MOTOR
Fig. 4 The proposed brushless replica to the plain repulsion motor In order to demonstrate the viability of the new topology
proposed in Fig. 5, an appropriate squirrel cage self starting
The energizing coil induces a magnetic flux in the squirrel sigle-phase induction motor was build using available
cage, magnetic flux whose direction is imposed by the common components of usual induction motors. An
inductor flux, and therefore it does not change when the explanatory longitudinal section of this motor is given in Fig.
squirrel cage rotates. In this way, the left side of the motor of 6 and the physical model of stator and rotor of new repulsion-
Fig. 4 accomplishes the role of a commutator, namely, to induction are shown in Fig. 7. The results of the first
create the conditions for producing a stationary magnetic experimental investigations are given in Fig. 8 and in Fig. 9.
flux. Electrical currents of the squirrel cage will carry the
induced magnetic flux under the right stator’s magnetic core.
Here, this carried flux will interact with the induced magnetic
flux of the short-circuited coil disposed on the stator. This
interaction is similarly with the magnetic fluxes’ interaction
of the plain repulsion motor. In this way, the motor of Fig. 4
accomplishes the role of an inverted construction of the plain
repulsion motor – a motor which has a pseudo-stationary
energizing coil and a stationary short-circuited coil.
It is very important to note that in the squirrel cage
brushless repulsion motor of Fig. 4, first half of the motor is
used to perform the commutator task and second half is used
to realize the electromechanical energy conversion. For a Fig. 6 A longitudinal section of the new repulsion-induction motor
higher motor power density, it would be good as the two
halves of the motor to participate in both commutator task
and in the energy conversion process.
In Fig. 5 is proposed a new topology of the squirrel cage
single-phase induction motor with assisted starting realized
by brushless repulsion motors, in which the two halves of the
motor participate in both commutator task and in the energy
conversion process. The development of the starting torque
for the motor with the topology shown in Fig. 5, can be
explained using the brushless repulsion motor topology
shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 7 The new repulsion-induction motor main components

Fig. 5 A new topology of the squirrel cage repulsion-induction motor Fig. 8 Speed-torque characteristic

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 Efficiency characteristic
42

40

38

36

34

32

30

28

26
60 80 100 120 140 160 180
P2 (W)
Fig. 9 Efficiency characteristic

V. CIRCUIT SIMULATION MODELS FOR THE SELF-STARTING

BRUSHLESS REPULSION-INDUCTION MOTOR
The circuit model of the proposed self-starting repulsion-
induction motor from Fig. 5 is shown in Fig. 10. The
simulation for this circuit model was made with PSIM
software using two poles wound rotor induction machine as it
is shown in Fig. 11. Simulations have been made, for several
parameters’ combinations, to illustrate the potential of the new
electric motor topology given in Fig. 5. The results of some
simulations are given in Figs. 12, 13 and 14.
Fig. 12 Speed and current starting characteristics for U = 400 V, T = 0
Nm, Rs = Rr = 0.18 , Ls = Lr = 0.60mH, Lm = 40mH, J = 0.03 kgm2.
Fig. 13 Speed and current starting characteristics for U = 6 kV,
T = 22 Nm, Rs = 0.2 , Ls = 1mH, Rr = 0.3,
Lr = 0.4mH, Lm = 40 mH, J = 0.04 kgm2.
Fig. 14 Speed and current starting characteristics for U = 6 kV,
T = 175 Nm, Rs = 0.2, Ls = 1mH, Rr = 0.3, Lr = 0.4mH, Lm = 40 mH,
J = 0.04 kgm2.
As it is shown from simulation results, the inrush current
of the proposed motor is very close to permanent current.
Also, speed has ripples dependent of the load torque values,
which have to be analysed in a future work.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
The brushless single-phase repulsion-induction motor,
proposed in this paper, with topology shown in Fig. 5, could
be used in areas where only single-phase power is available to
provide a large horsepower as Smith drive systems or Written
pole motors. It can be built for high power and its structure is
similar to that of induction motors and can be manufactured
with the usual technologies. It does not require VFDs or phase
converters and produce no harmonic distortion. This
eliminates the need for three-phase line extension, replaces
costly diesel, propane and natural gas generators.
The physical model (Fig. 7) was built with components
from the current induction motor production and was designed
to demonstrate the operating principle of the new electric
motor topology and not to gain some competitiveness results
with other electric motors. Also, the PSIM circuit simulations
have been made for several favourable circuit parameter
values as a first investigations of the potential performances
of the proposed new topology for repulsion-induction hybrid
electric motor. More simulations and experimental
investigations are in progress.
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