Electrical Engineering

Lecture 7 part I : Efficiency of DC Motor

Mr. Melat Khalil

Email: melat.abdullah@uod.ac
 Losses in a D.C. motor
• The losses occurring in a d.c. motor are the same as in a d.c. generator
i. copper losses;
ii. iron losses or magnetic losses;
iii.mechanical losses
• As in a generator, these losses cause
i. an increase of machine temperature;
ii. reduction in the efficiency of the d.c. motor.
 Losses in a D.C. Motor
1. Copper losses: The various windings of the DC machine, made of copper, have some
resistance. Hence, there will be power loss proportional to the square of their respective
currents. These power losses are called copper losses.

In general, the various copper losses in a DC machine are:

Armature copper loss = 𝐼𝑎 2 × 𝑅𝑎

Shunt field copper loss = 𝐼𝑠ℎ 2 × 𝑅𝑠ℎ

Series field copper loss = 𝐼𝑠𝑒 2 × 𝑅𝑠𝑒

 Losses in a D.C. Motor
2. Iron losses: The losses which occur in the iron parts of a DC machine These losses consist of
the following:
i. Hysteresis loss;
ii. Eddy current loss.
3. Mechanical losses: As the armature of a DC machine is a rotating part, some power is required
to overcome:
i. Air friction of rotating armature (windage loss).
ii. Friction at the bearing and friction between brushes and commutator (friction loss).
 Power flow diagram
• Although losses in a DC machine are the same whether it works as a generator
or as a motor but the flow of power is opposite. The power flow diagram for a
DC motor is shown below.
 Efficiency of a DC motor
• Like a d.c. generator, the efficiency of a d.c. motor is the ratio of output power to the input
power
output
Efficiency, 𝜂 = × 100
input
Power input = 𝑉𝐼𝐿
Power output = Power input – Variable losses – constant losses
• As for a generator, the efficiency of a d.c. motor will be maximum when:

Variable losses = Constant losses

 Example
A 200 V d.c. shunt motor takes 4 A at no-load when running at 700 rpm. The field resistance is 100 Ω. The
armature resistance at standstill gives a drop of 6 V across armature terminals when 10 A were passed through it.
Calculate (i) the speed full-load, (ii) the armature torque, (iii) efficiency. The normal input of motor is 8 kW
Solution:
200 6
𝐼𝑠ℎ = = 2 𝐴, 𝑅𝑎 = = 0.6 Ω
100 10

(i)
no – load
𝐼𝑎𝑜 = 4 − 2 = 2 𝐴,
𝐸𝑏𝑜 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎𝑜 × 𝑅𝑎 = 200 − 2 × 0.6 = 198.8 𝑉
at full – load
8×103
Full load line (supply) current 𝐼𝐿 = = 40 𝐴
200

𝐼𝑎 = 40 − 2 = 38 𝐴,
𝐸𝑏 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎 × 𝑅𝑎 = 200 − 38 × 0.6 = 177.2 𝑉 Nf/No = 𝐸𝑏 / 𝐸𝑏𝑜
Nf= (177.2/198.8)700=623.9 rpm
 𝐸𝑏 ×𝐼𝑎 177.2×38
(ii) 𝑇𝑎 = 9.55 × = 9.55 × = 103 N-m
𝑁 623.9

full−load output
(iii) Full – load efficiency 𝜂 = × 100
full−load input
Full-load input = 8 × 103 𝑊
Full-load output = full-load input – full-load losses
Full-load losses = full-load armature Cu losses + constant losses
full-load armature Cu losses = 𝐼𝑎 2 × 𝑅𝑎 = (38)2 × 0.6 = 866.4 𝑊
Constant losses = total no-load losses – no-load armature Cu losses
Total no-load losses = total motor input = 200 × 4 = 800 𝑊
no-load armature Cu losses = 𝐼𝑎𝑜 2 × 𝑅𝑎 = (2)2 × 0.6 = 2.4 𝑊
Constant losses = 800 − 2.4 = 797.6 𝑊
Full-load losses = 866.4 + 797.6 = 1664 𝑊
Full-load output = 8000 − 1664 = 6336 𝑊
6336
𝜂= × 100 % = 79.2 %
8000
 Homework

• A DC shunt machine while running as generator develops a voltage of 250 V at 1000 r.p.m.
on no-load. It has armature resistance of 0.5 ohm and field resistance of 250 ohm. When the
machine runs as motor, input to it at no-load is 4 A at 250 V. Calculate the speed and
efficiency of the machine when it runs as a motor taking 40 A at 250 V. Armature reaction
weakens the field by 4 %.
 Electrical Engineering

Lecture 7 part II : Speed Control of D.C. Motors

Mr. Melat Khalil

Email: melat.abdullah@uod.ac
 Introduction
• The one of the principal advantage of a DC motor, is that its speed can be
changed over a wide range by a variety of simple methods. Such a fine speed
control is generally not possible with AC motors.
• Fine speed control is one of the reasons for the strong competitive position of
DC motors in modem industrial applications.
 Speed control of DC motors
• The speed of a DC motor is given by 𝑁 ∝ 𝐸𝑏
𝜙
, and 𝐸𝑏 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎 𝑅;

• it is clear that there are three main methods of controlling the speed of a DC
motor, namely:
i. Flux control method: by varying the flux per pole (𝜙).
ii.Armature control method: by varying the resistance in the armature circuit.
iii.Voltage control method: by varying the applied voltage 𝑉.
 Speed control of DC shunt motors
1. Flux (field) control method:
• It is based on the fact that by varying the flux 𝜙, the motor speed (𝑁 ∝ 1/𝜙)
can be changed and hence the name flux control method. In this method, a
variable resistance (known as shunt field rheostat) is placed in series with
shunt field winding.
• The shunt field rheostat reduces the shunt field current 𝐼𝑠ℎ and hence the
flux 𝜙. Therefore, we can only raise the
speed of the motor above the normal speed.
 Speed control of DC shunt motors
• The advantages of this method are
1. This is an easy and convenient method.
2. It is an inexpensive method since very little power is wasted in the shunt field
rheostat due to relatively small value of 𝐼𝑠ℎ .
3. The speed control exercised by this method is independent of load on the
machine.
• While the disadvantages are
1. Only speeds higher than the normal speed can be
obtained since the total field circuit resistance can’t
be reduced below the shunt field winding resistance.
2. There is a limit to the maximum speed obtainable by
this method. It is because if the flux is too much
weakened, commutation becomes poorer.
 Speed control of DC shunt motors
2. Armature control method:
• This method is based on the fact that by varying the voltage available across
the armature, the back emf and hence the motor speed can be changed.
• The is done by inserting a variable resistance 𝑅𝑐 (known as controller
resistance) in series with the armature. Thus, now
𝑁 ∝ 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎 (𝑅𝑎 + 𝑅𝐶 );
• Due to voltage drop in the controller resistance, the
back emf (𝐸𝑏 ) is decreased. Since 𝑁 ∝ 𝐸𝑏 , the speed of
the motor is reduced. The highest speed obtainable is
that corresponding to 𝑅𝐶 = 0 i.e., normal speed. Hence,
this method can only provide speeds below the normal
speed
 Speed control of DC shunt motors
• The disadvantages of this method are
1. A large amount of power is wasted in the controller resistance since it carries full
armature current 𝐼𝑎 . Thus the output and efficiency of the motor are reduced.
2. The speed varies widely with load since the speed depends upon the voltage drop in the
controller resistance and hence on the armature current demanded by the load. So, this
method results in poor speed regulation.
• Due to above disadvantages, this method is seldom used to
control tie speed of shunt motors.
• A more stable operation can be obtained by using a divertor
across the armature in addition to armature control
resistance.
 Speed control of DC shunt motors
3. Voltage control method:
• In this method, the voltage source supplying the field current is different from
that which supplies the armature. This method avoids the disadvantages of poor
speed regulation and low efficiency as in armature control method.
• However, it is quite expensive. Therefore, this method of speed control is
employed for large size motors where efficiency is of great importance.
 Example
A 500 V shunt motor runs at its normal speed of 250 rpm when the armature current is 200A. The
resistance of the armature is 0.12 Ω. Calculate the speed when a resistance is inserted in the field
reducing the shunt field to 80% of normal value and armature current is 100 A.
Solution:
𝐸𝑏1 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎1 𝑅𝑎 = 500 − 200 × 0.12 = 476 volt

𝐸𝑏2 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎2 𝑅𝑎 = 500 − 100 × 0.12 = 488 volt

𝑁2 𝐸𝑏2 𝜙1
= ×
𝑁1 𝐸𝑏1 𝜙2
We have 𝜙2 = 0.8𝜙1
𝑁2 488 𝜙1
= × ⟹ 𝑁2 = 320.4 rpm
250 476 0.8𝜙1
 Example
A 230 V DC shunt motor takes an armature current of 20 A on a particular load. The armature circuit
resistance is 0.5 Ω. Find the resistance required in series with the armature to reduce the speed to
50% if (a) the load torque is constant (b) the load torque is proportional to the square of the speed.
Solution:
(a) The constant load torque means that here armature current remains the same
For the first case: 𝐸𝑏1 = 𝑉 − 𝐼a 𝑅𝑎 = 230 − 20 × 0.5 = 220 volt
𝑁1
For the second case: 𝑁2 =
2
𝐸2 𝑁2 0.5×𝑁1
So, = ⟹ 𝐸2 = 𝐸1 × = 110 V
𝐸1 𝑁1 𝑁1

If 𝑅 is the required resistance in series with armature

𝐸𝑏2 = 𝑉 − 𝐼a (𝑅𝑎 +𝑅)
110 = 230 − 20(0.5 + 𝑅) ⟹ 𝑅 = 5.5 Ω
b) It is given that 𝑇 ∝ 𝑁 2
For shun motor 𝑇 ∝ 𝐼𝑎 with 𝜙 is constant
Therefor𝐼𝑎 ∝ 𝑁 2
When speed is halved, the armature current become one-fourth.
𝐼𝑎 20
So, the new armature current 𝐼𝑎 ′ = = =5𝐴
4 4
𝐸𝑏2 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎 ′ (𝑅𝑎 +𝑅′ )
110 = 230 − 5(0.5 + 𝑅′ ) ⟹ 𝑅′ = 23.5 Ω
 Speed control of DC series motors
• The speed control of DC series motors can be obtained by
1. flux control method;
2.armature-resistance control method;
3. series-parallel control method.
 Speed control of DC series motors
1. Flux control method:
• In this method, the flux produced by the series motor is varied and hence the speed.
The variation of flux can be achieved in the following ways:
i. Field diverters: In this method, a variable resistance (called field diverter) is
connected in parallel with series field winding. The series field diverter method
is often employed in traction work.
 Speed control of DC series motors
ii. Armature diverter: In order to obtain speeds below the normal speed, a
variable resistance (called armature diverter) is connected in parallel with
the armature. The diverter shunts some of the line current, thus reducing
the armature current. Now for a given load motor speed is decreased. By
adjusting the armature diverter, any speed lower than the normal speed
can be obtained.
 Speed control of DC series motors
iii.Tapped field control: In this method, the flux is reduced (and hence speed
is increased) by decreasing the number of turns of the series field winding.
The switch S can short circuit any part of the field winding, thus
decreasing the flux and raising the speed. With full turns of the field
winding, the motor runs at normal speed and as the field turns are cut out,
speeds higher than normal speed are achieved.
 Speed control of DC series motors
iv.Paralleling field coils: This method is usually employed in the case of fan
motors. By regrouping the field coils, several fixed speeds can be
obtained.
 Speed control of DC series motors
2. Armature-resistance control:
• In this method, a variable resistance is directly connected in series with the supply to the
complete motor.
• This reduces the voltage available across the armature and hence the speed falls.
• By changing the value of variable resistance, any speed below the normal speed can be
obtained.
• This is the most common method employed to control the speed of DC series motors.
Although this method has poor speed regulation, this has
no significance for series motors because they are used in
varying speed applications. The loss of power in the series
resistance for many applications of series motors is not too
serious since in these applications the control is utilized for
a large portion of the time for reducing the speed under
light-load conditions and is only used intermittently when
the motor is carrying full-load.
 Speed control of DC series motors
3. Voltage (Series-Parallel) control method:
• In this method which is widely used in traction system, two (or more) similar DC series
motors are mechanically coupled to the same load.
• When the motors are connected in series, each motor armature will receive one-half the
normal voltage. Therefore, the speed will be low.
• When the motors are connected in
parallel, each motor armature
receives the normal voltage and the
speed is high.
 Speed control of compound motors
• Speed control of compound motors may be obtained by any one of the methods
described for shunt motors. Speed control cannot be obtained through
adjustment of the series field since such adjustment would radically change the
performance characteristics of the motor.
 Example
A DC series motor connected to 440 V supply runs at 600 rpm when taking a current of 50 A.
Calculate the value of resistance which when inserted in series with the motor will reduce the
speed to 400 rpm, and the gross torque being half the previous value. The resistance of the motor
is 0.2 Ω. Assume the flux is proportional to the field current.
Solution:
Before insertion the extra resistance, we have,
𝐸𝑏1 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎1 𝑅m = 440 − 50 × 0.2 = 430 volt
Let 𝑅 be the resistance added to reduce the speed to 400 rpm at half the load torque

𝑇2 𝐼𝑎22 1
= we have 𝑇2 = 𝑇1
𝑇1 𝐼𝑎21 2

So, 𝐼𝑎2 = 0.5 × 502 = 35.35 𝐴

𝐸𝑏2 = 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑎2 (𝑅m + 𝑅) = 440 − 35.35 × (0.2 + R)
𝑁2 𝐸𝑏2 𝜙1
= ×
𝑁1 𝐸𝑏1 𝜙2
Or
𝑁2 𝐸𝑏2 𝐼𝑎1
= ×
𝑁1 𝐸𝑏1 𝐼𝑎2
400 440 − 35.35 × (0.2 + R) 50
= ×
600 430 35.35
∴ 𝑅 = 6.25 Ω