ELECTRICAL DRIVES 1

EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF THE INERTIA AXIAL MOMENT

1. Objectives

The moment of inertia is an important characteristic of the solid revolving bodies such as the electrical
machines’ rotors, the flywheels, the toothed wheels and so. The moment of inertia, also called the mass
moment of inertia, or the angular mass is a measure of the objects’ resistance to changes in the rotation
state. The body’s material and the mass distribution within the body determine the total amount of the
solid’s moment of inertia. The amount of the rotational kinetic energy of a given solid body is proportional
with its moment of inertia. The dynamic torque that appears during accelerations and decelerations of the
revolving body are also proportional with the body’s moment of inertia. The IS measurement unit for the
moment of inertia is kg ⋅ m 2 .

In this work we are going to examine the properties of the moment of inertia of the solid bodies with 2D
mass distribution axisymmetry; and to determine the value of the moment of inertia of the rotor of an
electric motor by measurements.

2. Theory

Consider a solid body, revolving with respect to a given fixed axis, Figure 1. The moment of inertia J is
given by the following general expression:

J = ∫∫∫ r 2 dm [(kg ⋅ m ); m, kg ]
2
(1)
(V )

Where: V – the domain of the solid body, dm – the mass element, and r – the distance between the
mass element and the revolving axis.

The kinetic energy of the revolving solid body is then given by the expression:

J ⋅ Ω2
Ek = ; [J ; (kg ⋅ m 2 ),1 s ] (2)
2
For the cylindrical body revolving with respect to its axis of symmetry, the expression of the moment of
inertia is given by the following expression.

Figure 1. The general revolving solid body. Figure 2. Revolving rigid bodies with respect to
the same axis.

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Figure 3. A mechanical gear box transmission - to the left and a crane - to the right.

m ⋅ R2
J= ; [(kg ⋅ m 2 ); kg , m ] (3)
2

It is convenient to refer the moments of inertia of the load to a unique axis. Usually, this is the shaft of the
driving electric machine. This operation is referred to as to reduce the moment of inertia of the load to the
electrical machine shaft.

The reduced moment of inertia for a system of solid bodies revolving with the same angular speed with
respect to the same axis is the sum of the moments of inertia of all revolving bodies, Figure 2.

J Echi = J 1 + J 2 + J 3 + J 4 ; [(kg ⋅ m 2 ); (kg ⋅ m 2 )] (4)

If the mechanical energy is transmitted through a gearbox or a system of belt-wheels, Figure 3, then the
reduced moment of inertia may be computed with the following expression:

J W ; [(kg ⋅ m 2 ); m, (kg ⋅ m 2 )]
RM2
J Echi = J M + 2 (5)
RW

The reduced moment of inertia for a crane mechanism as shown in Figure 3 - right, is given by:

m ⋅ vW2
J Echi = J M + J T + J W = J M + J T + m ⋅ RT2 ; [(kg ⋅ m 2 ); (kg ⋅ m 2 ), kg , m] (6)
Ω 2

The torque equation in the dynamic operation, i.e. during the acceleration or deceleration of the revolving
rigid body is given by the following equation:

dΩ
M El = M W + J ⋅ ; [N ; N , (kg ⋅ m 2 ),1 s ]
12dt 3 (7)
=M D

Where M El is the electromagnetic torque, M W is the load’s steady-state torque, and Ω is the angular
speed, and M D is the dynamic torque. All variables are referred to the axis of the machine.

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 ELECTRICAL DRIVES 3

The value of the moment of inertia for a given solid

body may be computed by analyzing the mass
distribution with respect to the rotational axis and
the general expression (1.). However, in practice
this approach isn’t always very attractive. Therefore,
experimental procedures have been developed to
measure the moment of inertia of given revolving
bodies.

The simplest method to determine the inertia axial

Figure 4. Experimental determination of the
inertia axial moment.
moment consists in driving the rotor to the angular
speed above the rated angular speed of the drive,
i.e. 1,1 ⋅ n N . After the transients, the electrical
machine is decoupled from the drive and the
dependency of the angular speed versus time is
recorded, Figure 4. The moment of inertia, J Echi of
the system is then computed with the formula:

900 ⋅ T ⋅ ∑ pmec
J Echi = ; [(kg ⋅ m 2 ); s,W , rpm] (8)
π 2 ⋅ nN2

Where, T is the abscissa of the tangent to the curve of the angular speed vs. time at the rated angular
speed - nN and, ∑ pmec are the mechanical losses of the system.

3. The Experiment
3.1. Preparatory exercises

Exercise 1: Prove the expression (3) for the inertia axial moment of the cylinder.

Exercise 2: Consider a truncated cone rigid revolving with respect to its symmetry axis, as shown in
Figure 5. Prove that the moment of inertia is given by the following expression:

R 5 − R15
; [(kg ⋅ m 2 ); kg , m ]
3
J TC = ⋅ m ⋅ 23 (9)
10 R2 − R13

Exercise 3: A servomotor is a special designed electric motor

used in servomechanisms such as the positioning systems for
radar antennas. These mechanisms must track exactly the
command. Explain why the rotor of servomotors feature lower
diameter and larger width in comparison with a general purpose
electric motor providing the same mechanical power.
Figure 5. Truncated cone.

3.2. The measurements

The test-bench used to determine the inertia axial moment is the 'Three-phased Inverter Drive with
Induction Machine Test-bench'.

1. Fill in Table 1 the electrical and the mechanical characteristics of the drive.

2. Priror to use the test-bench please refer to the Safety Regulations and the User Manual of the
Magtrol DSP6001 module and the Uder manual of the MM440 Three-Phased Inverter.

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3. Start the Magtrol DSP6001module through the On/Off command and then the M-test software
environment to enable the data acquisition of the speed.

WARNING: do not enable the command breaking torque of the brake!

4. Prior to start the drive it is recommended to verify the settings of the M-test software and the status of
the communication between the PC and the DSP module. If there is a fault correct the problem,
otherwise pass to the next step.

WARNING: avoid the rotating parts of the test-bench during operation!

WARNING: do not touch the induction machine, the brake and the uninsulated parts of the test-
bench during operation; possible electric chocks! Refer to the safety regulations!

5. Start the MM440 inverter by pressing the START button on the command panel. The inverter will
execute the initialization cycle and will prepare the drive for operation.

6. Verify the zero position of the SPEED potentiometer and start the data acquition on the M-test
software. The application will initialize and will advertize to run the drive.

7. Run the drive by pressing the RUN button.

8. Rotate the SPEED potentiometer to accelerate the drive up to the maximum limit. The M-test must
acquire the speed of the drive versus time.

9. After the transients, stop the drive by pressing the STOP button.

10. When the drive has completely stopped, stop the speed acquisition on the graphical interface of the
M-test.

11. Stop the drive by pressing the AVARIE button.

12. Save the acquired data with the appropiate command on the graphical interface of the M-test.

13. Stop the DSP6001 module through the On/Off command.

14. Close the M-test software.

15. Fill Table 2 with the acquired data and the requested computations.

4. Requirements
1. Give the answers to the preparatory exercises.

2. Fill-in the measurements sheet and find an estimate of the value of inertia axial moment of the rotors.

3. The measured value is the sum of the inertia axial moments of the induction machine and brake
rotors. Compare the measured value with the catalog values . Give an estimate of the measurement
errors.

4. Is this method exact? What are the advantages and the main weak points of this method?

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EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF THE INERTIA AXIAL MOMENT

Measurements Sheet

Student's Name:

Group: Date:

Verified by: Date:

Table 1. Technical Characteristics of the 'Three-phased Inverter Drive with Induction Machine Test-bench'

Denomination Symbol Units Values

Induction machine type - -

Rated voltage U1 N V

Rated current I1N A

Rated power PN W

Power factor cos ϕ -

Rated angular speed nN rot min

Axial moment of inertia J Echi = J M + J Brake kg ⋅ m 2

Table 2. The measured values on the decceleration curve.

Index Time Ang. Index Time Ang.

Speed Speed

- s rpm - s rpm

1 11

2 12

3 13

4 14

5 15

6 16

7 17

8 18

9 19

10 20

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The rated total active power of induction machine is:

Ptot = 3 ⋅ U1N ⋅ I1N ⋅ cos ϕ ; [W ;V , A]

The rated efficiency of the induction machine is:

PN
ηN = ; [−;W ,W ]
Ptot

The estimate of the total mechanical losses is given by the expression:

∑p mec = 0,5 ⋅ (1 − ηN ) ⋅ Ptot ; [−;−,W ]

The measured points on the plot of the decceleration curve are depicted in the Figure below. Based on
the interpolated curve, follows the parameter T = ____________ [s ]

The estimate of the inertia axial moment of the rotors is obtained with the formula (9):

J = ____________

Figure. The estimated decceleration curve and the estimated parameter T.

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