ADVANCED ELECTRIC

DRIVES & CONTROL

UNIT-II ‘DC Motor Drives’
CONTENT
1. Starting, Braking and Speed Control.
2. Transient analysis of separately excited motor
with armature and field control.
3. Energy losses during transient operation.
4. Phase controlled converter fed DC drives.
5. Dual-converter control of DC drive
6. Supply harmonics, Power factor and ripple in
motor current.
7. Chopper Control DC drives.
8. Source current harmonic in Choppers.
1. Starting, Braking and Speed Control
A. Starting of DC motor:
A starter is a device that initiates and accelerates the motor. A controller is a
device to start, control speed, reverse, stop and protect the motor. The motor's
armature current is given by
(1)

Thus, the armature current Ia depends upon E and Ra if V is kept constant.
When we switch on the motor, the armature is stationary so back e.m.f will be
zero. The starting armature current Ias is given by
(2)

In practical DC machine, armature resistance is basically very low, generally about

0.5 Ω. Therefore, a large current flows through the armature during starting. This
current is large enough to damage the armature circuit. To avoid this, a suitable DC
motor starter must be used.
There are various types of dc motor starters, the basic concept behind every DC
motor starter is adding external resistance to the armature winding during starting.
1. Three-point starter:
When we have to start the dc connected motor, the lever turns gradually to the
right. When the lever touches the point 1, the field winding gets directly
connected across the supply.
Working:
• When dc motor is to be started, the
lever is turned gradually to the right.
When lever touches point 1,the field winding
gets directly connected across the supply,
and the armature winding gets connected
with resistances R1 to R5 in series.
• During starting, full resistance is added
in series with the armature winding. Then,
as the lever is moved further, the resistance
is gradually is cut out from the armature
circuit. Fig1.1: Three-Point D.C. Shunt motor starter
• Now, as the lever reaches to position 4, all the resistance is cut out from the
armature circuit and armature gets directly connected across the supply. The
electromagnet 'E' holds the lever at this position. This electromagnet releases
the lever when there is no supply voltage.
• It can be seen that, when the arm is moved from the position 1 to the last position,
the starter resistance gets added in series with the field winding. However, to
overcome this drawback a brass or copper arc may be employed within a 3 point
starter which makes a connection between the moving arm and the field winding.
2. Four-point starter:
• The main difference between a 3 point starter and a 4 point starter is that
the no voltage coil is not connected in series with the field coil. The field
winding gets directly connected to the supply, as the lever moves touching the
brass arc .
• The no voltage coil is connected with a current limiting resistance Rh. This
arrangement ensures that any change of current in the shunt field does not
affect the current through hold-on coil at all.
• A 4 point starter is used where field current is to be adjusted by means of a
field rheostat for the purpose of operating the motor above rated speed by
reducing the field current.
Fig1.2: Four - Point D.C. Shunt motor starter
B. Braking of DC Motor:
Braking preferred to stop a DC Motor is Electrical braking the motor is
stopped by the voltage and current action in the circuit rather than the
mechanical friction brakes on the rotor.Basically, there are three types of
electrical braking done in a DC Motor:-
1. Regenerative Braking
• It is a form of braking in which the kinetic energy of the motor is returned to
the power supply system. This type of braking is possible when the driven load
forces the motor to run at a speed higher than its no-load speed with a
constant excitation.
• The motor back emf Eb is greater than the supply voltage V, which reverses the
direction of the motor armature current. The motor begins to operate as an
electric generator.
• It is very interesting to note that regenerative braking cannot be used to stop a
motor but to control its speed above the no-load speed of the motor driving the
descending loads.
2. Dynamic Braking
• It is also known as Rheostatic braking. In this type of braking, the DC motor is
disconnected from the supply and a braking resistor Rb is immediately connected
across the armature. The motor will now work as a generator and produces the
braking torque.
• During electric braking when the motor works as a generator, the kinetic energy
stored in the rotating parts of the motor and a connected load is converted into
electrical energy. It is dissipated as heat in the braking resistance R b and armature
circuit resistance Ra.
• Dynamic Braking is an inefficient method of braking as all the generated energy is
dissipated as heat in resistances.
3. Plugging
• It is also known as reverse current braking. The armature terminals or supply
polarity of a separately excited DC motor or shunt DC motor when running are
reversed. Therefore, the supply voltage V and the induced voltage E b i.e. back emf
will act in the same direction.
• The effective voltage across the armature will be V + E b which is almost twice the
supply voltage.
• Thus, the armature current is reversed and a high braking torque is produced.
Plugging is a highly inefficient method of braking because, in addition to the power
supplied by the load, the power supplied by the source is wasted in resistances.
B. Speed Control of DC Motor:
Speed control of a DC motor is either done manually by the operator or by
means of an automatic control device. The speed of a DC motor (N) is equal to:
N = V – I a Ra (1)

kø
Therefore speed of the 3 types of DC motors – shunt, series and compound
can be controlled by changing the quantities on the right-hand side of the
equation above.
Hence the speed can be varied by changing:
1) The terminal voltage of the armature, V.
2) The external resistance in armature circuit, Ra.
3) The flux per pole, φ.

Terminal voltage and external resistance involve a change that affects the
armature circuit, while flux involves a change in the magnetic field. Therefore
speed control of DC motor can be classified into:
• Armature Control Methods
• Field Control Methods
• Speed Control of DC Series Motor
Armature Controlled DC Series Motor
Speed adjustment of a DC series motor by armature control may be done by:
1. Armature Resistance Control Method
This is the most common method employed. Here the controlling resistance is
connected directly in series with the supply of the motor as shown in the fig.

Fig:1.3(a) DC series motor armature resistance control.

The power loss in the control resistance of DC series motor can be neglected
because this control method is utilized for a large portion of time for reducing the
speed under light load condition. This method of speed control is most
economical for constant torque. This method of speed control is employed for DC
series Motor driving cranes, hoists, trains etc.
2. Shunted Armature Control
The combination of a rheostat shunting the armature and a rheostat in series
with the armature is involved in this method of speed control. The voltage applied
to the armature is varies by varying series rheostat R1. The exciting current can be
varied by varying the armature shunting resistance R 2. This method of speed
control is not economical due to considerable power losses in speed controlling
resistances. Here speed control is obtained over wide range but below normal
speed.

Fig:1.3(b) DC series motor armature shunt control.

3. Armature Terminal Voltage Control
The speed control of DC series motor can be accomplished by supplying the
power to the motor from a separate variable voltage supply. This method involves
high cost so it rarely used.
 Field Controlled DC Series Motor
Speed adjustment of a DC series motor by field control may be done by:
1. Field Diverter Method
This method uses a diverter. Here the field flux can be reduced by shunting a
portion of motor current around the series field. Lesser the diverter resistance
less is the field current, less flux therefore more speed. This method gives speed
above normal and the method is used in electric drives in which speed should rise
sharply as soon as load is decreased.

Fig:1.3(c) DC series motor field diveter control.

2. Tapped Field Control
This is another method of increasing the speed by reducing the flux and it is done
by lowering number of turns of field winding through which current flows. In this
method a number of tapping from field winding are brought outside. This method
is employed in electric traction.
 Fig:1.3(d) DC series motor tapped field control.
• Speed Control of DC Shunt Motor
The classification of speed control methods for a DC shunt motor are similar to
those of a DC series motor. These two methods are:
Armature Control Methods
Field Control Methods
Armature Controlled DC Shunt Motor
Armature controlled DC shunt motor can be performed in two ways:
1. Armature Resistance Control
In armature resistance control a variable resistance is added to the armature
circuit. Field is directly connected across the supply so flux is not changed due to
variation of series resistance. This is applied for DC shunt motor. This method is
used in printing press, cranes, hoists where speeds lower than rated is used for a
short period only.
2. Armature Voltage Control
• This method of speed control needs a variable source of voltage separated from the
source supplying the field current. Avoids disadvantages of poor speed regulation
and low efficiency of armature-resistance control methods.
• The basic adjustable armature voltage control method of speed d control is
accomplished by means of an adjustable voltage generator is called Ward Leonard
System.
• This method involves using a motor-generator (M-G) set. This method is best
suited for steel rolling mills, paper machines, elevators, mine hoists, etc. This
method is known as Ward Leonard System.
Field Controlled DC Shunt Motor
By this method a DC Shunt motor’s speed is controlled through a field rheostat.
Field Rheostat Controlled DC Shunt Motor
• In this method, speed variation is accomplished by means of a variable resistance
inserted in series with the shunt field. An increase in controlling resistances
reduces the field current with a reduction in flux and an increase in speed.
• This method of speed control is independent of load on the motor. Power wasted in
controlling resistance is very less as field current is a small value. This method of
speed control is also used in DC Compound motor.
2. Transient analysis of separately excited motor with armature
and field control.
• Starting, braking, reversing speed changing and load changing are the
Transient Analysis of DC Motor which commonly occur in an industrial drive.
One is interested in knowing how current, torque and speed of the driving motor
change with time when under these transient operations. One is also interested
in knowing energy losses, particularly those responsible for heating of the
motor, and time taken for the completion of the Transient Analysis of DC Motor.
• This information is needed by the designer for selecting suitable rating of
the motor, nature and type of its control equipment and its operation schedule,
and types of protective devices and their settings.
• Dynamic equivalent circuits of dc motors are shown in Fig. Source voltage v
motor armature current ia and back emf e are denoted by lower case letters to
emphasize that these are instantaneous values of time varying quantities. B and J
are respectively the coefficient of viscous friction in Nm/rad/sec and polar
moment of inertia in kg-m2 of the motor load system referred to the motor shaft.
 Fig:2(a) Dynamic equivalent circuit of DG motor.
Voltage equation of the armature circuit under transient is given by
(1)

From the dynamics of motor load system

(2)
Further
(3)
In case of a separately excited motor when field current is maintained constant,
flux remains constant and In case of a series motor, due to saturation of the
magnetic circuit, flux is a nonlinear function of the armature current, and
therefore the above equations are  are nonlinear differential equations. Thus,
for a series motor these equations can only be solved numerically using 4th
order Rungekutta method or predictor corrector method.
• Transient Analysis of Separately Excited Motor with Armature Control:
When field current is kept constant, flux remains constant. Replacing K eΦ by a
constant K in Eqs. (1) to (3), yields
(4)

(5)
Differentiating
(6)
Substituting in Eq. (4) for dia/dt from (6) and rearranging terms gives
(7)

Differentiating Eq. (4) gives

(8)
Substituting in Eq.(5) for dωm/dt from Eq. (6) and rearranging the terms yields

(9)
Where

Equations (7) and (9) are second order linear differential equations and can be
solved if the appropriate initial conditions are known. Once i a vs t relation is
obtained from Eq. (9), T vs t relation can be calculated.

• Transient Analysis of Separately Excited Motor with Field Control:

Let the armature voltage be maintained constant. Now
(10)

(11)

(12)
 Here Φ is a nonlinear function of if. If saturation is neglected and Φ is assumed
to be proportional to if then (11) and (12) can be written as
(13)
(14)

where K′ = KeKΦ.
Because of the terms K′ifωm and K′ifia, which involve product of two variables,
(13) and (14) are nonlinear equations, even though the saturation has been
neglected. Thus, this analysis can be carried out using numerical methods of
solving non-linear differential equations such as 4th order Runge-Kutta and
Predictor-Corrector Methods.
A special case with the field control arises when the armature current is
maintained constant. Then the dynamics of motor load system is described by
Eq. (10) along with the following equation:
(15)

where Ka = KeKΦIa and Ia is the armature current.

From Eq. (15) expression of if and dif/dt can be obtained. Substituting these in
Eq. (10) and rearranging the’ terms gives
(16)

where

The motor can be analysed for its transient response using Eq. (16) provided
the initial conditions are known. The initial value of ω m will be known from the
steady state operating point immediately before the transients and the initial
value of dωm/dt is calculated from Eq. (15).
3. Energy losses during transient operation .
Energy losses in motor in resistors in motor armature circuit , during transient
period operation are required for selecting suitable rating of motor and
resistors. Also needed to calculate the efficiency and effectiveness of the
transient process. From voltage equation of the armature circuit under transient
(1)
Multiplying above equation by ia gives:
(2)
Consider the viscous friction torque to be a part of the load torque TL
(3)

Substituting torque equation and above equation into 2 and integrating both
sides of the resulting equation against time yield

(4)
This equation states that out of the total energy supplied by the source during
a transient process one portion is wasted in armature circuit resistance, second
portion is stored in armature circuit inductance , third portion is stored in
inertia of mechanical parts and the rest is consumed by the load. Energy stored
in the armature circuit inductance is usually small compared to other energy
terms , and therefore , will be neglected in subsequent analysis.
Starting of the motor with a constant applied voltage V and a load torque TL is
considered now,
Since (
• (5)

When ωm0 is the ideal no load speed.

From equation 4 and 5
(6)

Equation 6 gives an expression for energy loss in the armature circuit

resistance of the machine. When started on no load the final (steady state)
speed will be ωm0 . Hence energy loss under no load condition is

(7)
4. Phase controlled converter fed DC drive.
Controlled Rectifier Fed DC Drives are used to get variable dc voltage from an
ac source of fixed voltage. Controlled Rectifier Fed DC Drives are also known as
Static Ward-Leonard drives.

Fig4: (Single – phase and three phase conrolled rectifier circuits.

• Figure 4 shows commonly used Controlled Rectifier Fed DC Drives and
quadrants in which they can operate on Va-Ia plane. As thyristors are capable of
conducting current only in one direction, all these rectifiers are capable of
providing current only in one direction.
• Rectifiers of Figs. 1(a) and (c) provide control of dc voltage in either direction
and therefore, allow motor control in quadrants I and IV. They are known
as Fully Controlled Rectifiers.
• Rectifiers of Figs. 1(b) and (d) are called Half Controlled Rectifiers as they
allow dc voltage control only in one direction and motor control in quadrant I
only.
• For low power applications (up to around 10 kW) single-phase rectifier drives
are employed. For high power applications, three-phase rectifier drives are
used. Exception is made in traction where single phase drives are employed for
large power ratings
5. Dual-converter control of DC drive

A Dual Converter Control of DC Separately Excited Motor (Fig. 5.35) consists of

two fully-controlled rectifiers connected in anti-parallel across the armature.
For power ratings upto around 10 kW, sigle-phase fully-controlled rectifiers
can be used. For higher ratings, three-phase fully controlled rectifiers are
employed. Rectifier A, which provides positive motor current and voltage in
either direction, allows motor control in quadrants I and IV, Rectifier B
provides motor control in quadrants III and II, because it gives negative motor
current and voltage in either direction.

Fig.5: Dual converter control of dc separately excited motor. A and B are fully
controlled rectifiers. Inductors L1 and L2 are used only with simultaneous
control.
 There are two methods of control for the Dual Converter Control of DC
Separately Excited Motor:(a) In simultaneous control both the rectifiers are
controlled together. In order to avoid dc circulating current between rectifiers,
they are operated to produce same de voltage across the motor terminals. Thus
(1)
Substituting from Eq. (5.97), yields
(2)
(3)

Although, control of firing angle according to relation (3) prevents dc

circulating current, ac current does circulate due to difference between
instantaneous output voltages of the two rectifiers. Inductors L 1 and L2 are
added to reduce ac circulating current. Because of the flow of ac circulating
current, simultaneous control is also known as circulating current control. In a
three-phase dual converter, inductors are chosen to allow a circulating current
of 30% of full load current. This completely eliminates discontinuous
conduction, and therefore, gives good speed regulation in the complete range
of the drive.
6. Supply harmonics, Power factor and ripple in
motor current.
Supply harmonics:
Source current of a rectifier has harmonics. In a weak ac source, with high
internal impedance, current harmonics distort source voltage. Furthermore,
temporary short circuit of lines during commutation of thyristors, causes sharp
current pulses, which further distort source voltage. Source voltage and
current distortions have several undesirable effects including interference with
other loads connected to the source and radio frequency interference in
communication equipment.
Power factor:
Assuming sinusoidal supply voltage, power factor (PF) of a rectifier can be
defined as
(1)
where
V = rms source voltage, V
Irms = rms source current, A
I1 = fundamental component of source current, A
Φ1 = phase difference between V and I1, rad
Therefore (2)

where μ is called the distortion factor and cos Φ1 is the displacement factor.
The distortion in source current makes μ lower than 1. When motor current is
assumed to be perfect dc, Φ1 has a value of α for fully controlled single phase
and three phase rectifiers and α/2 for single phase half controlled rectifiers,
thus giving displacement factors of cos α and cos α/2 respectively.
Therefore, supply power factor is low when the drive operates at low speeds .
Pulse width modulated rectifiers are being built using insulated gate bipolar
transistors (IGBT) and gate turn-off thyristors (GTO) as they have high power
factor and low harmonic content in source current but then their efficiency is
low because of high switching losses.
Ripple in Motor Current:
• The rectifier output voltage is not perfect dc but consists of harmonics in
addition to dc component. Therefore, motor current also has harmonics in
addition to dc component.
• The presence of harmonics, makes rms and peak values of motor currents
higher than average value (dc component). Since flux is constant, torque is
contributed only by the average value of current.
• The harmonics produce fluctuating torques, the average value of which is zero.
The presence of harmonics increases both copper loss and core loss. Hence for
a allowable temperature rise, the torque and power outputs have lesser values
than rated values.
• Due to the presence of harmonics, peak value of current increases and
commutation condition deteriorates. Hence, the current that the motor can
commutate without sparking at the brushes has a lower dc component than
the rated motor current. Thus the de-rating of motor occurs due to this also.
• On the whole the motor output (power and torque) has to be restricted
considerably below rated value in order to avoid thermal overloading and
sparking at brushes.
7. Chopper Control DC drives.
• Choppers, also commonly know as dc-to-dc converters, are used to get variable
dc voltage from a dc source of fixed voltage. Self commutated devices, such as
MOSFETS, power transistors, IGBT(insulated gate bipolar transistor),GTO(gate
turn-of thyristor) and IGCT(insulate gate commutated thyristor) are preferred
over thyristors for building choppers because they can be commutated by a
low power control signal and do not need commutation circuit.
• Further , they can be operated at a higher frequency for the same rating. The
operation at a high frequency improves motor performance by reducing
current ripple and eliminating discontinuous conduction.
• While MOSFETS are used for low power and low voltage application, IGBT and
power transistor are employed in medium power ratings, and GTOvand IGCT
are employed for high power rating.
• One important feature of chopper control is that regenerative braking can be
carried out up to very low speed even when the drive is fed from a fixed voltage
dc source.
8. Source current harmonic in Choppers.
.

Source current of a chopper fed DC drive consists of pulses which are rich in
harmonics and can also cause fluctuation in supply voltage. Usually the L-C
input filter is provided to reduce harmonics and eliminate voltage fluctuation.
END