ISSN 1068-3712, Russian Electrical Engineering, 2023, Vol. 94, No. 8, pp. 553–555. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2023.

Russian Text © The Author(s), 2023, published in Elektrotekhnika, 2023, No. 8, pp. 17–19.

A Control Device for a Polarized Electromagnet

N. Yu. Zaitseva, *, Yu. M. Zaitseva, S. P. Ivanovaa, A. V. Mikhailova, I. K. Nikiforova, and V. N. Petrova
a Chuvash State University, Cheboksary, 428015 Russia
*e-mail: innov_chuvsu@mail.ru
Received May 10, 2023; revised June 1, 2023; accepted June 1, 2023

Abstract—A device for controlling a two-winding polarized electromagnet is considered, and its disadvan-
tages are noted. A circuit for the control of a single-winding polarized electromagnet is proposed in which the
disadvantages of the existing control circuit are eliminated. Transient processes of charge/discharge of a
capacitor to ensure actuation and reset of a polarized electromagnet are considered. The operability of the
proposed circuit based on a composite transistor has been experimentally confirmed.

Keywords: polarized electromagnet, single-winding electromagnet, switching winding, disconnecting wind-

ing, vacuum contactor, composite transistor, Darlington circuit
DOI: 10.3103/S1068371223080151

In circuits in which it is unacceptable to turn off the
contactor in the event of a temporary or long-term
absence of voltage in the power circuit of a coil, polarized
electromagnetic systems can be used as contactor drives
with a large number of on–off operations per hour.
Closing and breaking windings are usually
employed to control polarized electromagnets. In this
case, an additional switching contact is introduced
into the design of the contactor, which is shunted by a
spark-extinguishing capacitor to increase wear resis-
tance [1]. With this control scheme, six wires are
required to control the contactor, which increases the
complexity of installation and complicates the design.
It should be noted that the presence of a spark-extin-
guishing capacitor does not exclude the possibility of
short-term sparking, which can lead to the ignition of
an explosive environment and the development of an
emergency situation.
We consider here a control device free from these
shortcomings of a single-winding polarized electro-
magnet, which is connected to a power source through
an external switching or closing contact. The device is
based on the concept of control by connecting a capaci-
tor in series to the electromagnet winding circuit.
Figure 1 shows the control circuits for a contactor
with external switching and external closing contacts.
In the circuit (Fig. 1a), when external switching con-
tact SA1 is turned on in position 1, predischarged
capacitor C1 is charged to the supply voltage. Under
the action of the charge current of the capacitor,
polarized electromagnet KM is actuated. Further cur-
rent flow stops as a result of the full charging of the
capacitor to the supply voltage. When the switching
contact SA1 returns to position 2, the storage capacitor
is discharged by a reverse current, which ensures that
the polarized electromagnet is turned off. Thus, when
the contactor is turned on, it only consumes power
during transient process.
The charge and discharge of the capacitor in the
circuit (Fig. 1b) are similar to those in the previous cir-
cuit. In the initial state, capacitor C1 is discharged.
When power is supplied using external closing contact
SA1, transistor VT1 is switched to the cutoff mode by a
reverse voltage between the emitter and base, equal to
the forward voltage drop across diode VD2, which is
provided by resistor circuit R2. This creates the condi-
tions for charging capacitor C1 along the circuit of
diode VD1 and Zwind (total resistance of the KM wind-
ing) to steady-state voltage UC1st; the latter is equal to
the difference of supply voltage Upow and the drop
across the winding Ur wind, due to the flow of electric
current through resistor R1 in the base circuit of tran-
sistor VT1 designed for its subsequent saturation when
the supply voltage is removed:
U C1.st = U pow – Urwind .
The polarized electromagnet is activated; in the
steady state, a current flows through the winding, the
value of which depends on the resistance of resistor
R1. The resistance of resistor R1 is selected according
to the condition
I dis. max U pow − U r .wind
= (1)
h21e R1
where Idis.max is the maximum value of the current in
the winding when the capacitor is discharged and h21e

553
554 ZAITSEV et al.

KM Contactor Contactor
1 SA1 VD1 KM
+ +
SA1
2

p
C1 C1
R1 VT1
R2

VD2
– –

Fig. 1. Control circuits for a single-winding polarized electromagnet: (a) with an external switching contact; (b) with an external
circuit closing contact.

is the current-transfer coefficient in a common emitter
circuit.
Thus, when the contactor is turned on, the power
consumption is primarily determined by the power
dissipated by resistor R1, since its resistance should be
chosen much larger than winding resistance rwind,
when condition (1) is met.
It should be taken into account that the power con-
sumed by resistor R1 will be smaller with a greater
transfer factor h21e. Therefore, it is recommended to
use composite transistors VT1 connected according to
the Darlington circuit as a transistor.
The scheme of the developed device was tested on
a vacuum contactor of the KV2-250 series with mag-
netic memory. In the tests, only the switching wind-
A
B tance of 0.097 Ω was used, which was included in the
C displayed.
Fig. 2. Oscillogram of the current in the winding of a
polarized electromagnet during activation (switching on).
ings of a two-coil contactor connected in series were
used.
Inductance L and active resistance of the windings
rwind, which were previously measured, are Lin = 2.02 H,
Lfin =3.18 H, and rwind = 102 Ω, where Lin is the wind-
ing inductance with an open magnetic system and Lfin
is the inductance with a closed magnetic system.
The capacitance of storage capacitor C1, which was
selected experimentally to ensure a clear-cut actuation
of the electromagnet under the condition of an aperi-
odic charge process [2], was 417 μF (two 220-μF, 450-V
capacitors of Jamicon LS type). A composite transis-
tor connected according to the Darlington circuit (two
n–p–n 2SC3039 transistors) was used as a transistor
switch.
Figures 2 and 3 show oscillograms of currents in the
windings of a polarized electromagnet during its actu-
ation (Fig. 2, oscillogram 1) and reset (Fig. 3, oscillo-
gram 1). The direct-supply voltage was assumed to be
220 V. For current oscillography, a shunt with a resis-
winding circuit. Oscillograms of the armature-posi-
tion sensors during actuation (Fig. 2, oscillograms 2
and 3) and reset (Fig. 3, oscillograms 3 and 4) are also
In the initial state, capacitor C1 is discharged; the
armature is in its initial position, and the current in the
windings is zero. When power is applied, the current in
the electromagnet winding increases from zero to a
certain maximum value. At point A, which corre-
sponds to the beginning of the movement of the arma-
ture (Fig. 2, oscillogram 2), its value reaches that of
the actuation current, which is equal to 1.26 A. The
character of the transient process after point A
depends on the value of active resistance of the wind-

RUSSIAN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Vol. 94 No. 8 2023

 A CONTROL DEVICE FOR A POLARIZED ELECTROMAGNET
(a)
D transistor VT1, triggering it. The transistor saturates,
E
(b)
D E
Fig. 3. Oscillogram of the current in the winding of a
polarized electromagnet during reset (disconnection):
(a) waveform of the current in the winding of the electro-
magnet; (b) a fragment of the oscillogram in the area of
starting the armature and opening the main contacts of
the contactor.
ing rwind, the capacitance of capacitor С1, and so-
called “electromotive force of motion” i [3], which
changes when the armature moves from the initial
position to the final position and is directed towards
decreasing current in the windings. This explains the
decrease in current to a minimum, which occurs when
the armature stops completely (point C).
Oscillogram 3 (Fig. 2) shows the closing of the
main contacts of the contactor (point B); after point
C, a slight increase in current and its subsequent
RUSSIAN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Vol. 94
555
decrease to zero are observed. When the supply voltage
is removed, the p–n transitions of diodes VD1 and
VD2 are shifted in the opposite direction, and the cur-
rent flow through resistor R2 stops; the current starts
flowing through resistor circuit R1 into the base of
allowing current to flow from the charged capacitor
through the winding in the opposite direction from
zero to some maximum value.
When the current reaches the value of the reset cur-
rent of the electromagnet, the armature starts moving
(point D). The moment of starting the armature
during the reset is detected by the corresponding posi-
tion sensor (Fig. 3, oscillogram 4). The moment of
breaking of the main contacts is detected at point E
(Fig. 3, oscillogram 3). A further change in the current
depends on the parameters of the circuit elements and
the time of the discharge of the capacitor to zero values
of current and voltage.
In summary, the considered control circuit for a
single-winding polarized electromagnet with a storage
capacitor is characterized by efficiency and a number
of advantages over existing control circuits for two-
winding polarized electromagnets.
FUNDING
This work was supported by ongoing institutional fund-
ing. No additional grants to carry out or direct this particu-
lar research were obtained.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors of this work declare that they have no con-
flicts of interest.
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Translated by M. Shmatikov
No. 8 2023