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BEKE 4753 Electrical Drives

AC MOTOR THEORY & PRINCIPLES
(Module 6)

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Videos
AC Motors:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjv4HamRIKw
AC Motor Drives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt9anNjlTc8
Squirrel Cage IM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQqyGNOP_3o
Slip Ring / Wound IM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPn5Ou-N0b0
Synchronous Motor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk2jDXxZIhs

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AC MOTORS
An AC motors converts AC electrical energy into mechanical energy,
producing a mechanical rotary action that performs some type of
work.
Because alternating current is the standard power generated and
distributed, AC motors are the most common type of motor used in
commercial and industrial applications.
Huge AC motor used the three-phase electricity to provide the
mechanical power for many types of production machinery, for
example pumps, cranes, and paper machines.
Single-phase AC motor typically produces less horsepower than
three-phase motors. There are used to drive air conditioners,
washing machines, ovens, clock and fans.

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FUNDAMENTAL OPERATION

AC motor has two pole pieces with a

permanent magnet placed between them.
The coil of wire that wraps around the
pole pieces forms electromagnets.
The electromagnets are stationary and
are called the field poles or the stator.
The permanent magnet is free to turn
and is called the rotor.

Simplified diagram of an AC motor.

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(cont) Fundamental operation

i. Alternating Field
One revolution of an AC motor with one cycle of AC power applied

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

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At time T0 , no field is developed

between the stator poles because there
is no current.

The positive alternation of AC voltage

occurs.
As the field builds up around each stator
piece, the polarity of the rotor ends
closest to them are alike.
The rotor begins to turn because the like
poles are repelled.
It is continues to rotate until the N and S
poles of the rotor are aligned with the
opposite poles of the stator.

At time T2 , the applied current is zero,

and there is no field between the poles.
Due to inertia, the rotor continues to turn
past 180º.

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During the time period T3 , the AC

current changes direction through the
field coils. The polarity of the stator
magnetic poles is reversed and the rotor
is again repelled.

The inertia caries the rotor past 360

degrees as it begins another rotation and
the next AC cycle is repeated.

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ii. Rotary Field

Two disadvantages when the AC motor

make the rotation with stationary field :

flux lines, the pole between rotor and stator

would attract each other and it probably make
the rotor not rotate. The rotor would start to
turn if it was slightly offset.
The direction of rotor rotation would be hard
to determine at the first time. The direction it
turned is determine by the direction it offset.

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(cont) Fundamental operation

ii. Rotary Field
A rotating magnetic field of a stator
As the field pole
revolve, they attract
the opposite poles
of the rotor.
The rotor turns by
following the
rotating field.

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Two-phase:

It is possible to rotate the fields electronically by applying

two sine waves to two stators that are 90º apart.

Phase 1 is supplied to the vertical stator windings and

phase 2 is supplied to the horizontal stator windings.

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At time T0 , Phase 1 produces a maximum vertical magnetic field, while

Phase 2 produces no horizontal field. The rotor aligns itself vertically with
the two energized field poles.
At time T1 , equal amounts of current flow through both vertical and
horizontal windings. A resultant flux develops between adjacent poles
which causes the rotor to turn 45 degrees CCW.
At time T2, no current flows through the vertical windings, while the
maximum current flows through the horizontal coils. The rotor turns
another 45 degrees CCW and aligns itself between the horizontal poles.
At time T3, current flow reduces through the horizontal windings.
Meanwhile, the current flow through the vertical coils reverses direction.
The resultant flux causes the rotor to turn another 45 degrees CCW.
Between time periods T4 and T8 , the process continues and the rotor
turns as it follows the rotating stator field. After the 360 degrees rotation is
completed, the next revolution will begin in the same direction.
The rate at which the magnetic field in the stator rotates is called the
synchronous speed.
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(cont.) Construction and Operation

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION
i. Stator Construction
ii. Rotor Construction
Three-phase:
Consists of three alternating currents of equal frequency and amplitude,
but each differing in phase from the others by one-third of a period.
The three-phase current reaches maximum values at different times.
Each phase supplies one of the three separate pairs of coils wound
around stator poles.

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During time period T1 . Because Phase A has the greatest amplitude, the
greatest concentration of magnetic flux lines is between stator poles A1 and
A2.
During time period T2 , Phase C has the greatest magnitude, causing the
field to shift from poles A1 and A2 to poles C1 and C2.
During time period T3 , Phase B has the largest amplitude, and the field
shifts another 60 degrees between poles B1 and B2.
During time period T4, Phase A has the greatest amplitude, but current flow
is in the opposite direction. The field develops between poles A1 and A2, but
at the opposite polarity.
During time period T5 , the field develops between poles C1 and C2, but in
the opposite direction.
During time period T6 , Phase B has the greatest amplitude and causes the
stator field to rotate another 60 degrees between poles B1 and B2, but in the
opposite direction.
The changes in amplitude and direction of the current flow always occur in
the same order, and at the same time interval, to create the rotating field.
The direction of field rotation can be changed by reversing any two of the
three-phase lines connected to the coils. 14

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CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION

i. Stator Construction
ii. Rotor Construction

The stator includes the following basic component:

Stator core and windings

The motor housing
A terminal box. The houses for electrical connections.
The mounting bracket

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(cont.) Construction and Operation

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION
i. Stator Construction
ii. Rotor Construction

If a permanent magnet was used as the rotor, it would turn as the

magnetic field is rotated around the stator. But basically AC motor do not
use permanent magnet for their rotors. Instead, they use electromagnets.
There are 2 methods of energizing the rotor so that it creates its own
magnetic field.
Connect an electrical current to the rotor windings.
used for AC synchronous motors
The rotor is not connected to any electrical source. Instead, it
becomes an electromagnet through electromagnetic induction.
used for ( AC induction motors)

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(cont.) Construction and Operation

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION

i. Stator Construction
ii. Rotor Construction

Induction Motor Rotors

Electromagnetic induction results from the rotating magnetic flux of
a stator inducing a voltage into the rotor.
If the rotor has a complete electrical path, current will circulate
through the rotor and develop its own magnetic field around it.
The induction motor with a squirrel cage rotor is the most common
rotating electrical machine.

A squirrel cage
induction rotor

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(cont.) Construction and Operation

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION
i. Stator Construction
ii. Rotor Construction

Wound Rotors
A major difference between the wound rotor motor and the squirrel
cage rotor is the conductors of the wound rotor consist of wound coils
instead of bars.
The current that flows through the rotor is either induced by the rotating
stator field or is provided by an external DC power source.
Each winding terminates at slip rings that are mounted on the shaft of
the motor.
The current are carried by brushes that ride on the slip rings to an
external connection. The brushes connect either to a DC power source
or to an external resistor banks (if the current are induced).

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Wound rotor

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Increasing the resistance of the rotor windings causes less current flow in
the rotor windings, decreasing speed.
Decreasing the resistance allows more current flow, speeding the motor
up.

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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

SPEED
The instant power is applied to the motor, current flows through the
stator coils and the magnetic field begins to revolve around at
synchronous speed.
The formula for determining the synchronous sped of the stator
field is:

where N = RPM
P = numbers of poles
f = applied frequency
The higher the frequency, the faster the motor runs. The more
poles a motor has, the slower it runs. The minimum number of poles
possible in an AC motor is two.

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PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

SLIP

The rotor of an induction motor cannot run at synchronous speed. If

it were possible for the rotor to attain the same speed as the rotating
field, the flux lines of the stator could not be cut by the rotor. There
would be no EMF induced in the rotor and no rotor current.
To induce an EMF, the rotor speed must be less than synchronous
speed. This difference between rotor speed and synchronous speed is
called slip.
The slip of induction motor is expressed as the percentage of
synchronous speed.

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THREE-PHASE MOTOR
Most of the motors used in industry operate directly on three-phase
power.
Advantage of three-phase motor over single-phase motor
Simpler in construction
More powerful machine can be built into a smaller frame
(maximum torque occurs once every 60 degrees during a
revolution instead of once every 180 degrees.
Three-type of three phase motor
1. Squirrel cage Induction motor
2. Wound-rotor Induction motor
3. Synchronous motor
All three motor use the same basic design of stator winding, but
differ in the type of rotor used.

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The Induction Motor

The most common type of motor used in industrial, commercial or
residential settings.
Induction motors may consume up to 70% of all electrical energy
generated.
Two underlying reasons why induction motors are the general
purpose motor of choice:
Induction motors are cheap
Induction motors are robust

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Three Phase Motor

1) SQUIRREL CAGE INDUCTION MOTOR

Most industrial machines are powered by three-phase squirrel

cage induction motor.
These motors are simple in construction and require very little
maintenance.
Compared with other type of motor, their physical is small for a
given horsepower rating.
The wide usage of these motor result from their relatively low
cost, rugged construction, and good performance.

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Laminated iron cylinder with slots carrying copper or aluminum

bars.
Bars are shorted together at each end to form a closed cage.
Rotor is a close fit inside the stator with a small air-gap
between the two.
The iron in the rotor provides a good path for the magnetic field
set up by the stator windings.
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Three Phase Motor

Its rotor build from a mass of

laminated iron with embedded
conductor bars and end rings
called a squirrel cage.

The aluminum (or copper) bars function as the conductors. They

are supported by two aluminum (or copper) end rings. The rotor
poles are formed by steel laminations.

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Three Phase Motor

The revolving field produced by the stator currents is cut by the

squirrel cage conducting bars of the rotor.
The induced voltage that cause currents to flow develop magnetic
field around the bars.
The interaction between the rotor and stator fields produces a
torque that causes the rotor to turn in the same direction as the
stator field movement.

Interaction between the rotor and stator fields produces a torque

that causes the rotor to turn
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Three Phase Motor

The squirrel cage induction motor is considered to operate at

constant speed.
When there is no-load connected to the motor, the slip is very small.
When the load is increased, speed slightly decreases, which causes
the slip to increase. This action causes a greater EMF to be
induced into the rotor. The higher current increases the torque to
accommodate a new load requirement.
If the load is increased beyond the full-load rating, the motor
becomes overloaded. It may increase the temperature and damage
the motor.
The main disadvantage of squirrel cage induction motor is it require
a large starting current to develop a relatively low starting torque. It
draws 600 percent of full load current to develop a starting torque of
150 percent of full load torque.

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Three Phase Motor

2) WOUND-ROTOR INDUCTION MOTOR

-torque
characteristic are fixed at full load operation.
Some motor application require that the speed and torque of an
induction motor be varied. This possible with a wound-rotor
induction motor.
The main difference between this and a squirrel-cage motor is found
in the rotor.
Its rotor consists of a set of three coils in place of the conducting
bars of the squirrel cage rotor. The coils are preformed and are
placed in the slot of a laminated iron core.
It has many of the same characteristics as the squirrel cage motor.
As the stator field rotates, it induces an alternating voltage into the

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Three Phase Motor

Another major difference between this and a squirrel-cage motor

is that the rotor conductors are connected to external variable
resistors that are used to change the resistance of the rotor
windings.
Two rings connecting the rotor coils with the external resistance
are slip rings, not commutating rings of the type found in DC
motors.
These external resistors are mainly used for start-up and speed
control operation.

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Slip Ring Rotor,

Note Skewed Rotor as for Cage
Machine

Slip Rings from a 250kW

8 Pole Machine

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Three Phase Motor

START-UP
During the start up, the external resistance is set to maximum value
and it will limiting the amount of rotor current.
The resistance of the external resistor is gradually reduced as the
motor speeds up, either manually or automatically. Once the motor
reaches operating speed, the external resistance reduced to zero
and each rotor is short circuited.
Wound-rotor motor develops a starting torque of 150 percent of full
load torque with a starting current of 150 percent of full-load current.
Beside that, it also causes the rotor to produce a maximum torque
during acceleration range.
Since the maximum torque can be maintained throughout the
acceleration period, the wound rotor is desirable when starting high
inertia loads

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Three Phase Motor

SPEED CONTROL
Even though squirrel cage induction motor has excellent speed
regulation, it speed cannot be varied without complex electronic
devices called ac drives.
Wound-rotor motor also have excellent speed regulation, along with
superior speed control abilities.
The speed cannot be made faster than synchronous speed, but can
be slowed-down by as much as 50 to 70 percent. The greater the
resistance inserted into the rotor circuit, the slower it will run.
When the resistance of a wound- external resistance is
increased the current flow in the rotor coil decreased.
When the external resistance is decreased, rotor current flow is
increased.
As the current flow in the rotor decreases, the associated magnetic
field is weakened (or decreased), causing the speed of the motor to
decrease. Therefore, as rotor resistance is increased, motor speed
decreases.

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Three Phase Motor

If a squirrel-cage motor is classed as a constant-speed motor, a

wound-rotor motor would be classed as a variable-speed motor.
However, this speed range is limited. Therefore wound-rotor
motors are not used for most variable speed motor applications.
To change the direction of the wound-round rotor, interchange
any two of the stator terminal.
Application of wound-rotor motor is where a frequent and
smooth starting, stopping and reversing of high-inertia loads and
speed are required. example: pulp chippers in paper mills,
automobile crushers in junkyards, hammer mills and printing
presses.

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Three Phase Motor

The disadvantages of wound-rotor motor compared to squirrel

cage motor
1. Decreased efficiency due to losses in the external
resistance
2. Poorer speed regulation at low RPMs
3. Increased maintenance due to brushes and slip rings
4. Higher manufacturing cost because of insulated rotor
windings, slip rings, and brushes.

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Squirrel Cage vs Wound Rotor IM

Basis for
Slip Ring Motor Squirrel Cage motor
Comparison
The rotor is constructed as a slip ring
Definition The rotor is a squirrel cage type.
type
Cylindrical laminated core with parallel The slots of the rotor are not parallel, but
Rotor
slots and each slot consist one bar. are skewed.
Construction Complicated Simple
The rotor bar is permanently shorted at
Resistance Added external to the rotor the end of the ring, thus it is not possible
to add any external resistance.
Starter The rotor resistance starter can be used. Rotor resistance starter can not be used.
Starting Torque High Low
Brushes Present Absent
Maintenance Frequent maintenance required Less maintenance required
Copper Loss High Low
Efficiency Low High
Speed Control Possible Not Possible
Power Factor Low High
Cost Costly Cheap
Starting Current Low High
Hoist, cranes, elevator where high Lathe machines, fan, blower, profiting
Application
38 The Induction Motor
torque is required. machines, etc.

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Three Phase Motor

Synchronous Motor
It gets its name from the term synchronous speed.
What is synchronous speed?? As mention in the
previous part in AC motor basic principle.
Unlike induction motors which have to run at less
than their synchronous speed, synchronous motor

field.
The stator windings are excited with a three-phase
voltage to establish a rotating magnetic field.
There are two different rotor circuits:
A set of squirrel cage as used by induction motor. Called as
damper or amortisseur windings. The windings are locked at
the outer of the pole core on the pole face.
The circuit that wound on laminated core bodies called as
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salient pole.

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Three Phase Motor

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Three Phase Motor

Starting synchronous motor

A rotating magnetic field of stator revolves around the
stator and cuts across the rotor coils, while no DC
power is applied to the salient-pole windings.
The rotor does not turn because of magnetic field
exerts opposing forces on each of the salient poles.
The starting torque is provided by damper windings.
Therefore, during the start-up period, the
synchronous motor operates as a squirrel cage
induction motor. the resultant rotor field lags behind
the stator field by almost 180 degrees.
As the motor speed up, the field shift until it is little
more than 90 degrees behind the stator field.

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Three Phase Motor

Reaching synchronous speed

When the synchronous motor has accelerated to a
speed close to the synchronous speed of the stator
field, it is ready for synchronizing.
DC power is applied to the rotor during this period
and makes each salient-pole an electromagnet.
Since each coil is wound in the opposite direction
from the adjacent coils, the resultant electromagnet
have different polarities.
Then, each rotor pole of fixed polarity is attracted to
the rotating magnetic poles of the stator.

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Three Phase Motor

At a certain point, there is enough force to lock the

rotor poles to the magnetic stator pole as they shift
from one stator pole to the next.
The amount of force needed to pull the rotor into
synchronization is called as pull-in torque.
Because the rotor turns as fast as the field rotates,
there is no cutting action between stator field and
damper coils. Therefore the damper winding no
longer operates as a squirrel cage motor.

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Three Phase Motor

The DC power to the rotor must be applied at

the precise moment that the rotor and stator
fields are synchronized.
If it is done too soon, the pull-in torque is too
low. The rotor will slip back and be attracted
to the previous stator field. If it continues slip
back, the motor jerks and make shake
enough to cause damage.
Therefore, programmable industrial
controllers are used to apply excitation
current to the rotor at the proper moment.

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Three Phase Motor

Characteristic Of Three-phase
Induction Motor
Torque speed characteristic of typical three-phase squirrel
cage induction motor (with constant voltage supply).

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Three Phase Motor

The starting torque of an induction motor starting

with a fixed voltage will drop a little to the minimum
torque, known as the pull-up torque, as the motor
accelerates and then rises to a maximum torque,
known as the breakdown or pull-out torque, at
almost full speed and then drop to zero at the
synchronous speed.
The curve of the start torque against the rotor speed
is dependent on the terminal voltage and the rotor
design.

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Three Phase Motor

Synchronous speed

Slip

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Three Phase Motor

Rotor frequency
fr s x fs f r = rotor frequency
f s= stator frequency
Mechanical Power

T = torque
= rotational speed

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Efficiency

Where Pe = electrical power rating of motor

= 3VI cos

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