Locked-Rotor In-Rush Current

• At locked-rotor, each phase of an

induction motor stator looks like a series
R-L circuit.
• Closing the switch causes a current that
consists of a transient and a steady-state
component.
• The steady-state component is called the
locked rotor in-rush current.
ECE 441 1
Locked-Rotor In-Rush Current

ECE 441 2
 V phase 
I lr , ss   
Z
 in  s 1.0
V phase
ilr , ss  2 sin(2 ft   z )
Z in s 1.0
ECE 441 3
 R
 t
ilr ,tr  Ae L

R  Z in cos  Z
L  ( Z in sin  Z ) /(2 f )
A  coefficient @ initialconditions
Z in  Z  Z in cos  Z  jZ in sin  Z  R  jX L
ECE 441 4
Combining the transient and steady-state components
ilr  ilr , ss  ilr ,tr
V phase R
 t
ilr  2 sin(2 ft   Z )  Ae L
Z in s 1.0

ilr  ilr , ss  ilr ,tr

V phase R
 t
ilr  2 sin(2 ft   Z )  Ae L
Z in s 1.0

ECE 441 5
 Example 5.13

• For the motor whose nameplate is shown,

determine the expected in-rush current.

ECE 441 6
 Solution

• The motor is a NEMA design B machine

rated at 150hp at 460-V, 60-Hz. It has a
rated current of 163A, a nominal efficiency
of 96.2%, and a Code G designation for
locked-rotor kVA/hp. Referring to Table
5.9, the expected range of starting kVA/hp
for a Code G machine is
5.6 < kVA/hp < 6.3

ECE 441 7
ECE 441 8
Expected Range of Locked-Rotor Current is
Determined from

kVA / hp  hp  1000  3  Vline  I line

Lower Limit

5.6 150 1000  3  460  I line

I lr , ss  1054 A
Upper Limit
6.3 150 1000  3  460  I line
I lr , ss  1186 A
ECE 441 9
The expected range of locked-rotor current is

1054 A  I lr , ss  1186 A

The full-load current rating of the motor is

163A

ECE 441 10