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 Electrical Machines-II
[Ref. Electrical Machines-Mukherjee & Chakravotri]
Effect of Space Harmonic Fields
Space harmonic fields are produced by the windings, slotting, magnetic sturation, inequalities in
the air-gap length etc. These harmonic fields induce e.m.fs and circulate harmonic currents in the rotor
windings. These harmonic currents in the rotor interact with harmonic fields to produce harmonic
torques, vibrations and noise.
The essential difference in behaviour of wound rotor and squirrel cage rotors in this connection
is that the cage rotor will circulate current due to any harmonic flux except those having wave length
equal to the pitch of the rotor bars. Wound rotors, on the other hand, tend to reduce the effect of
harmonics whose pole pitch or multiples thereof differ from the coil pitch i.e., the effect of the most of
the harmonics other than fundamental. Thus, with certain relationships between the number of poles and
of rotor and stator slots squirrel cage motors, peculiar behaviour may be observed when the motor is
started.
This article discusses the possible consequences of the presence of space harmonics fields such
as generation of harmonics fields such as generation of harmonic induction torques harmonic
synchronous torques and vibaration torques.
Harmonics Induction Torques
Three-phase winding carrying sinusoidal currents produces harmonics of the order
n  6k  1 (17.92)
where, k is any integer.
The direction of rotation of the harmonics is in or against the direction of rotation of the
fundamental for the positive or negative signs of Eq. (17.92) respectively. The synchronous speed of the
nth harmonic is 1/n th of the fundamental synchronous speed.
Thus, for k= 1, a 3-phase winding will produce predominant back-ward rotating 5th harmonic
rotating at a speed 1/5th of synchronous speed and forward rotating 7th harmonic rotating at a speed 1/7th
of syn. Speed. These harmonics fields may deemed to be produced by sets of additional rotating poles
superimposed on the fundamental poles. The interaction between the fictitious stator and 7 th harmonic
poles will produce a positive 7th harmonic torque having the general shape as that of fundamental but
with synchronous speed equal to the 1/7th of that of fundamental. The resultant torque speed curve will
be combination of the fundamental and seventh harmonics curves as shown in Fig. 1 and it can be seen
that a marked saddle effect is produced. If the 7th harmonic torques are sufficiently pronounced, the 7th
harmonic may make the motor to crawl at about 1/7th of normal speed, since the downward slope of the
resultant torque at this speed is stable zone of the operation as indicated in Fig. 1. This is known as
crawling of induction motors.

Fig. 1. Crawling due to harmonic induction torque.

Moreover, slotting produces major tooth harmonics of the order of
Page | 1
 Electrical Machines-II
[Ref. Electrical Machines-Mukherjee & Chakravotri]
n  2Q  1 (17.93)
where, 2Q= no. of stator slots per pair of poles.
Thus, the harmonics due to slotting may also produce dips in the torque –speed characteristics at
some sub-synchronous speeds.
The effect of production of dips may be augmented by the rotor slotting. If each half wave of a
harmonic field corresponds to one rotor bar, then the harmonic torque will be very large and the rotor
will vibrate considerably. To avoid such vibrations, it is necessary that the values of rotor slots not
exceed number of stator by 50-60 percent.
Harmonic Synchronous Torques
Rotor slotting produces its own major harmonics of orders

n '  2Qr  1 (17.94)

where, 2Qr =no. of rotor slots per pair of poles and +ve sign indicates that the direction of rotation of the
harmonic field is in the direction of the motor.
Thus, from eqns. (17.93) and (17.94) the former pertaining to stator slots, it can be seen that
when the number of rotor slots is equal to the number of stator slots, precisely the same order harmonics
are strongly produced, all rotating at corresponding speeds in both stator and rotor. Thus, harmonics of
every order would try to exert synchronous torques at their corresponding synchronous speeds and the
motor would refuse to start unless the fundamental torque is large enough to move the motor from rest
which is not likely. Similar thing happens when number of rotor slots is an integral multiple of number
of stator slots. This is known as cogging of induction motors.
Furthermore, from Eqns. (17.93) and (17.94) it is obvious that for certain number of rotor and
stator slot, the rotor and stator harmonics may fall into step at some subsynchronous speed. The
synchronous torque at that subsynchronous speed is strongly marked as a torque discontinuity on the
torque- speed characteristics as shown in Fig. 2 and the motor will crawl synchronously at that speed. It
is important to note that, with small changes of load, the speed of the motor changes slightly if the
crawling is due to harmonic induction torques, but the crawling speed remains constant if the crawling
is due to harmonic synchronous torques.

Fig. 2. Crawling due to harmonic synchronous torques.

Vibration torques

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 Electrical Machines-II
[Ref. Electrical Machines-Mukherjee & Chakravotri]
When the rotor runs, periodical variations of flux density occur in the stator and rotor teeth, as
the rotor teeth move past stator teeth and stator slots periodically. This causes various types of noise.
When the axes of the stator and rotor teeth coincide, at a given instant, a unidirectional pulling force is
produced between the stator and the rotor and this force moves around air-gap at a definite speed with
the rotation of the rotor and causes the rotor to vibrate. At some speed of the rotor these vibrations may
resonate with the natural oscillation of the rotor making the rotor operation impossible.
Effects of Skewed Rotor Slots
Many induction motors are designed to have skewed rotor bars. Skew reduces or even entirely
eliminates cogging and some other torque defects and tends to eliminates motor noise. The beneficial
effects of skew occur in reducing the influence of space harmonics in the air gap flux. Consider the rotor
is skewed (Fig. 3) in such a way that one end of the bar is under a north harmonic pole and the other end
is also under a similar north harmonic pole, so that no current of that harmonic will flow in the bar.
Skewing does not remove the space ripple in the air gap flux, but it may eliminate a rotor current due to
space harmonic field which otherwise might have produced noise or a dip in the torque-speed curve.

Fig. 3. Skewing of rotor bars

Skewing of rotor slots has an effect similar in some respects to that of decrease in induced e.m.f.
Skew also increases the rotor resistance by increase in bar length, so that starting torque is increased. As
a matter of the fact, the effect of skew on the performance of an induction motor is exactly the same as
that of redesigning the motor for a slightly higher rotor resistance. Skewing increases the leakage
reactance of the motor, and thereby lowers starting current, power factor and pull-out torque.

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 Problem Set-1: Induction Machine
Q.1 A 3-phase, 50 Hz induction motor has a full-load speed of 1440 r.p.m. For this
motor, calculate the following:
(a) number of poles
(b) full-load slip and rotor frequency
(c) speed of stator field with respect to (i) stator structure and (ii) rotor structure and
(d) speed of rotor field with respect to (i) rotor structure (ii) stator structure and (iii) stator field.
For parts (c) and (d), answer should be given in rpm and rad / sec.
Q. 2 A 3-phase, 4-pole, 1440 rpm, 50 Hz induction motor has star-connected rotor winding, having a
resistance of 0.2 Ω per phase and a standstill leakage reactance of 1 Ω per phase. When the stator is energised
at rated voltage and frequency, the rotor induced e.m.f. at standstill is 120 V per phase.
(a) Calculate the rotor current, rotor power factor and torque both at starting and at full load and compare
these results.
(b) If an external resistance of 1 Ω per phase is inserted in rotor circuit, calculate rotor current rotor power
factor and torque at the time of starting.
Q. 3 A 10 kW, 400 V, 3-phase 4-pole 50 Hz delta connected induction motor is running at no load with a
line current of 8 A and input power of 660 watts. At full load, the line current is 18 A and the input power
is 11.2 kW. Stator effective resistance per phase is 1.2 Ω and friction, windage loss is 420 watts. For
negligible rotor ohmic losses at no load, calculate,
(a) stator core loss;
(b) total rotor losses at full load;
(c) total rotor ohmic losses at full load;
(d) full load speed;
(e) internal torque, shaft torque and motor efficiency.
Q. 4 A 3-phase, star-connected, 400 volts, 50 Hz, 4-pole induction motor has the
following per phase constants in ohms referred to stator:
r1 = 0.15, x1 = 0.45, r2 = 0.12, x2 = 0.45, Xm = 28.5.
Fixed losses (core, friction and windage losses) = 400 watts.
Compute the stator current, rotor speed, output torque and efficiency when the motor is operated at rated
voltage and frequency at a slip of 4 percent.
Q. 5 For the motor of above question, determine (a) the slip at which maximum torque occurs, the maximum
torque and the corresponding power output, (b) the rotor current and the torque at starting; (c) the external
resistance to be inserted in the rotor circuit to produce maximum torque at starting; (d) the internal power
developed for a slip of 0.04 and (e) the maximum internal power developed and the corresponding slip.
Stator to rotor effective turns ratio is 1.2.
Q. 6 A 10 kW, 400 V, 3-phase, 4-pole, 50 Hz slip-ring induction motor develops rated output (i.e. 10 kW)
at rated voltage and frequency and with its slip rings short-circuited. The maximum torque equal to twice the
full-load torque, occurs at a slip of 10% with zero external resistance in the rotor circuit. Stator resistance
and rotational loss are neglected. Determine
(i) slip and rotor speed at full-load torque,
(ii) rotor ohmic loss at full-load torque,
(iii) starting torque at rated voltage and frequency,
(iv) starting current in terms of full-load current,
(v) stator current at maximum torque, in terms of full-load current and
(vi) full-load efficiency.
The rotor resistance is now trebled by inserting external resistance in the rotor-circuit. For the same full-load
torque, find
(vii) the slip at maximum torque,
(viii) full-load slip and rotor speed,
(is) starting torque,
(x) starting current in terms of full-load current,
(xi) rotor I2R loss at full-load torque and
(xii) developed power at full-load torque and efficiency.
Q. 7 A 3 phase induction motor has a starting torque of 150% and a maximum torque of 250% of the full-
load torque. Neglect stator resistance and assume constant rotor resistance. Compute (a) the slip at maximum
torque (b) full-load slip and (c) the rotor current at starting in terms of full-load rotor current.
Q. 8 A 100 kW, 3-phase, 420 V, 6-Pole, 50 Hz wound- rotor induction motor, with its rotor winding short
circuited, has a full load slip of 0. 04 and the slip at maximum torque of 0.2 when operating at rated voltage
and frequency. Neglect stator resistance and rotational losses.
Find (a) maximum torque, (b) starting torque and (c) full-load rotor ohmic loss.
The rotor resistance is now doubled by adding external series resistance. Determine (d) slip at full load output
(e) full-load torque (f) slip at maximum torque.
Q. 9 A 3-phase, 400 V, 50 Hz star-connected induction motor gave the following
test results:
No load : 400 V, 7-5A, 0.135 power factor
Blocked rotor : 150 V, 35 A, 0.44 power factor
The ratio of standstill leakage reactance of stator and rotor is estimated as 2. If the motor is running at a speed
of 960 rpm, determine.
(a) net mechanical power output (b) the net torque and
(c) efficiency of the motor.
Assume stator and rotor copper losses to be equal.
Q. 10 A three phase 440 V distribution circuit is designed to supply not more than 1200 amperes. Assuming
that a three phase squirrel cage induction motor has a full load efficiency of 0.85 and a full- load power factor
of 0.8 and the starting current at rated voltage is 5 times the rated full-load current, what is the maximum
permissible kW rating of the motor,
(a) if it is to be started at full voltage ?
(b) if it is to be started using an auto-transformer stepping down the voltage to 80% ?
(c) if it is designed for use with a star-delta starter ?
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