Electrical drives 2.

1 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering

2. FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRICAL MACHINES................................................................ 1
2.1 Magnetic Circuit and Inductance ......................................................................................... 1
2.1.1 Magnetic Circuit, an Example ..................................................................................... 1
2.2 Rotor Winding of a Non-Salient Pole Machine ................................................................... 4
2.3 Induction Rotor .................................................................................................................... 5
2.4 Damper Winding .................................................................................................................. 7
2.5 Rotating-Field Slot Winding .............................................................................................. 10
2.6 Voltage Vector Graph ........................................................................................................ 14
2.7 Harmonics .......................................................................................................................... 16
2.8 Magnetizing Inductance of the Rotating-Field Winding ................................................... 20
2.9 Winding Systems ............................................................................................................... 22

2. FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRICAL MACHINES

First, a short brush up on the fundamentals of electromagnetism is provided with the focus on elec-
trical machines.
2.1 Magnetic Circuit and Inductance

The magnetic circuit is governed by Ampres law


}

= = O i l H d . (2.1)

While a machine is running, current linkage O is produced in the machine by all the currents and the
possible permanent magnet materials. The closed line integral of the magnetic field strength H along
the magnetizing route dl corresponds in practice to the sum of magnetic voltage differences in dif-
ferent parts of the machine and is called the magnetomotive force of the magnetic circuit.

If there are no permanent magnets in the machine, the current linkage is mainly consumed in the air
gap. This leads to a quite stable inductance value. However, if the machine saturates due to an over-
voltage, the field strength in different parts of the machine starts to increase, and more current than
previously is required to produce the same flux linkage. Thus, the magnetizing inductance of the
machine decreases. Also a high torque saturates the magnetizing inductance considerably.

The permeability of a permanent magnet material corresponds approximately to the permeability of
a vacuum, and hence a permanent magnet material has a very strong impact on the reluctance of a
magnetic circuit, and consequently, also on the inductances of the armature winding of a rotating-
field machine.

2.1.1 Magnetic Circuit, an Example

Let us next consider some examples of simple magnetic circuits with a small air gap, Fig. 2.1. One
of the circuits is magnetized by the winding N
2
. The device is a reactor with two coils, or a trans-
former; however, the same arrangement can also be used to simply illustrate a rotating machine
magnetized by a single magnetizing winding. The other coil corresponds to the armature winding.
The other circuit is magnetized by a modern permanent magnet material, the coercive force of which
is 800 kA/m and the relative permeability is one.

Electrical drives 2.2 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
We may simply assume that the iron parts of the magnetic circuits require 5 % of the current linkage
consumed in the magnetizing of the physical air gap. Further, it is initially assumed that no flux
leakage occurs, but the total magnetic flux flows along the contour l. The flux density of 1 T is de-
sired in the air gap. First, we consider the circuit magnetized by the coil N
2
.

We may construe that the total air gap including also the effect of the magnetic voltage of iron is o
e

= 1.05 mm. Aiming at a flux density of one Tesla in the air, a field strength of H
o
= B
o
/
0
= 796
kA/m is required. As the entire magnetic circuit is replaced by a single air gap o
e
= 1.05 mm, we
obtain the required current linkage O = H
o
o
e
= 835 A, of which the proportion of iron is assumed to
be 39 A. There are 100 turns in the coil, and thus the magnitude of the current flowing in the wind-
ing has to be 8.35 A.

o = 0.001 m
l
A
N
2
= 100
o = 0.001 m
l
A
N
1
= 50
N
1
= 50
l
PM
= 0.01 m
PM

Figure 2.1. Simple magnetic circuits. The length of the circuit is l = 0.35 m. In both the circuits, there is a one-millimetre
air gap o . The area of the circuit is A = 0.01 m
2
. The left-hand circuit is magnetized with the coil N
2
. The right-hand
circuit is magnetized by the NdFeB permanent magnet. Both the cores have a coil N
1
, the inductance of which has to be
determined.

The flux of the magnetic circuit is u = AB = 0.01 Vs. Correspondingly, the flux linkage of the coil
N
2
is +
2
= u N
2
= 1 Vs. Since there is a current I
2
= 8.35 A flowing in the coil and it produces a flux
linkage of 1 Vs, the self-inductance of the coil is approximately L
22
= +
2
/I
2
= 120 mH. The flux
linkage of the coil N
1
is correspondingly +
12
= u N
1
= 0.5 Vs. There is no current flowing in the
coil, since the flux u is produced entirely by the coil N
2
. We could solve the self-inductance of the
coil N
1
as above; however, we employ the reluctance of the magnetic circuit
kA/Vs 5 . 83 /
e m
= = A R o in the computation. The self-inductance becomes
now mH 30 /
m
2
1 11
= = R N L . Correspondingly, the mutual inductance between the coils can be writ-
ten in the case of an assumed ideal flux connection in the form mH 60 /
m 2 1 21 12
= = = R N N L L .

Next, the characteristics of a magnetic circuit with a permanent magnet are investigated. A perma-
nent magnet produces a strong current linkage. A 8000
c PM PM
= = H l O . This current linkage is ex-
tremely high when compared with the current linkage of the winding N
2
of the previous magnetic
circuit, however, most of the current linkage of the permanent magnet is used in the reluctance cre-
ated by the magnet itself. The reluctance of the permanent magnet is kA/Vs 8 . 795 /
PM PM
= = A l R .
The reluctances of the physical air gap and the iron are about the same as above, R
mFe+o
= 83.5
kA/Vs. The reluctance of the entire magnetic circuit is approximately R
m,tot
= 879.3 kA/Vs. For such
a reluctance, a flux of Vs 0091 . 0 /
tot m, PM PM
= = R O u is created by the permanent magnet. The flux
density of the permanent magnet is
2
PM PM
Vs/m 91 . 0 / = = A B u . Thus, in spite of the large perma-
nent magnet and its strong current linkage, the flux density remains lower than in the previous case.
We can see that with present permanent magnet materials, it is difficult to create flux densities of
Electrical drives 2.3 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
1 T in the air gap without a large amount of magnetic material. Increasing the thickness of magnet
alone does not suffice, but the magnets have to be connected in parallel in the magnetic circuit.

The inductance of the winding is now mH 84 . 2 /
m
2
1 11
= = R N L . A permanent magnet in the iron cir-
cuit increases the reluctance of the magnetic circuit considerably, and reduces the inductances of the
circuit. These phenomena are common also in the rotating machines with permanent magnets. The
current linkage required by the iron is yet to be checked. It is now assumed that the iron is of M400-
65A sheet, which requires about 1.1 A/cm for one Tesla. The length of the magnetic circuit is 35 cm,
and thus a current of 38.5 A is required, which is almost equal to the initial assumption.

Now, the magnetic circuits of Fig. 2.1 are investigated further. The left-hand magnetic circuit con-
stitutes a transformer with an air gap, the transformation ratio of which is 1:2. A magnetic circuit of
this kind has an equivalent circuit illustrated in Fig. 2.2. The leakage inductances are included in the
primary and secondary winding, although they have not yet been taken into account in the previous
discussion. It is now assumed that 98 % of the flux of both windings penetrates all the turns of the
other winding, the connecting factor being k = 0.98. Thus, a part of the self-inductance is leakage
inductance ( ) ( )
22 s 11 p
, L k i L L k i L = =
o o
. The mutual inductance is now reduced to some extent,
since it is determined with the flux linkage created by the magnetizing winding to the other wind-
ing. The mutual inductance L
12
is therefore determined by the flux linkage +
12
created to the wind-
ing N
1
by the current I
2
in the winding N
2
, . /
2 12 12
I L + = If now +
12
is only 98 % of its theoretical
maximum value, we can see that also the mutual inductance is reduced correspondingly. The cur-
rent I
2
= 8.35 A of the previous example creates a flux linkage 1.0 Vs in the winding N
2
, and a flux
linkage +
12
= 0.98u N
1
= 0.49 Vs in the winding N
1
. Next, the mutual inductance
mH 58.6 A Vs//8.35 49 . 0 /
2 12 21 12
= = = = I L L + can be calculated.

L
p
o
L'
s
o
L
m
=29.3 mH '
mg
= 16.7 A
0.012 Vs
0.488 Vs
0.5 Vs
I
L
p
o
L
m
=2.84 mH I'
PM
= 160 A
0.455 Vs


Figure 2.2. An equivalent circuit of a transformer with two windings, illustrated in Fig. 2.1, and an equivalent circuit
referred to the voltage level of the primary winding. L
po
are L
so
the leakage inductances of the primary and secondary
windings. In the referring, the square of the transformation ratio , L'
so
=
2
L
so
is required. The magnetizing inductance
L
m
is proportional to the mutual inductance of the primary and secondary windings, L
m
= L
12
.

If the connection between the windings is ideal, we obtain
22 11 12
L L L = . Since now only 98 % of
the flux of the winding 1 penetrates the winding 2, we obtain a connecting factor
22 11 12
/ L L L k = =
0.98, which in practice is always smaller than one. A magnetizing inductance for Fig. 3.2 becomes
L
m
= L
12
= 29.3 mH. The leakage inductance of the primary winding is thus 0.7 mH. Respectively,
the leakage inductance of the secondary winding referred to the primary winding is 2.8 mH
2
= 0.7
mH.

Now, the equivalent circuits are illustrated referred to the primary winding. They are magnetized by
a direct current, either the direct current of the winding N
2
or the virtual direct current of the perma-
nent magnet A 160 mH Vs/2.84 455 . 0 / '
m PM PM
= = = L I + .

This simplification is a good basis for the analysis of the magnetic circuits of rotating machines,
since the equivalent circuits of Fig. 2.3 are, in principle, equivalent to the equivalent circuits of elec-
Electrical drives 2.4 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
trical machines. The device and the frame of reference in question decide whether the equivalent
circuits function with a direct or an alternating current. Often also the equivalent circuits of rotating
electrical machines are constructed in such a coordinate system that a direct current is flowing in the
equivalent circuits in a stationary state. The magnetic circuits of electrical machines differ from the
presented examples only by their geometric complexity. Naturally, in rotating-field machines, at
least a two-phase winding is required to produce a rotating magnetic flux that was not present in the
simple connections of Figs. 2.1 2.3. The equivalent circuit of Fig. 2.2 works, with certain precon-
ditions, with an alternating current with transformers and induction machines. Due to the direct cur-
rents in the secondary winding of Fig. 2.3, the equivalent circuits are suitable with certain supple-
mentations for the analysis of synchronous machines.


Figure 2.3. The direct current of the winding mag-
netizes the magnetic circuits of Fig. 2.1. The cur-
rents are referred to the primary winding. The vir-
tual direct current of the permanent magnet is calcu-
lated by dividing the flux linkage of the magnetiz-
ing winding (0.455 Vs) with the magnetizing induc-
tance L
m
= 2.84 mH. The virtual magnetizing cur-
rent of the permanent magnet is high, since also the
reluctance of this magnetic circuit is relatively high
when compared with the magnetic circuit magnet-
ized by the winding N
2
. The direct current of the
winding N
2
creates a flux linkage of total 0.5 Vs,
which is divided into an air gap flux linkage and a
flux leakage. In the case of a permanent magnet, the
leakage flux of the permanent magnet is not dis-
cussed here. In reality, only a part of the current
linkage of the permanent magnet magnetizes the air
gap. A small amount of the current linkage directly
becomes a leakage flux of the permanent magnet.
Its flux leakage cannot be illustrated with a wind-
ing, since no permanent magnet winding exists.
I'
mg
= I
2
/.
L
po
L'
so
L
m
=29.3 mH I'
mg
= 16.7 A
L
po
I'
PM
= 160 A
0.012 Vs
0.488 Vs
0.5 Vs
L
m
=2.84 mH 0.455 Vs



2.2 Rotor Winding of a Non-Salient Pole Machine

Let us consider a single-phase winding of the rotor of a non-salient pole machine. Since the length
of the air gap is constant, a sinusoidally distributed flux density can be created in the air gap by pro-
ducing a sinusoidally distributed current linkage distribution, Fig. 2.4.

In the case of Fig. 2.4, the function of the magnetic flux density approximately follows the curve
function of the current linkage distribution ( ) o O . In machine design, a so-called equivalent air gap
o
e
is utilized, the target being to create a sinusoidally alternating flux density into the air gap

( ) ( ) B o

o
o =
0
e
O (2.2)

We can see that this can be achieved, when we consider the integral form of Ampres law
}

= I l H d . By slotting the periphery of the rotor appropriately and by placing current-carrying
bars in the slots, we obtain, by considering the different integration paths, the stepped curve of the
current linkage according to Fig. 2.4. By locating the slots appropriately and selecting a correct
Electrical drives 2.5 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
number of current-carrying conductors in the slots, the stepped curve approaches the sinusoidal
curve.

I
F
o
current linkage
d q q
d
N
u


Figure 2.4 The current linkage distribution created by 2-pole non-salient pole winding as well as the fundamental of the
mmf. The height of a single step of the mmf is
F u
I N
. In other words, there are N
u
conductors in the slot.

Slot pitch t
u
and slot angle o
u
are the core parameters of the slot winding. Slot pitch is measured in
metres, whereas the slot angle is measured in electrical degrees. The number of slots being Q and
the diameter of the air gap D, we may write


Q
p
Q
D t
=
t
=
2
;
u u
o t . (2.3)

The slot pitch being usually constant in non-salient pole windings, the slot sum current has to be of a
different magnitude in different slots. Usually there is a current of equal magnitude flowing in all
turns in the slot, and therefore, the number of turns in the slots has to be varied. In the slots of the
rotor in Fig. 2.4, the number of turns is equal in all slots, and a current of equal magnitude is flowing
in the slots. We may see that by selecting N
u
slightly differently in different slots, we could improve
the stepped waveform of the figure to better approach the sinusoidal form.

2.3 Induction Rotor

The simplest rotor of an induction machine is a solid iron body, turned and milled to a correct shape.
In general, a solid rotor is applicable to high-speed machines and in certain cases also to normal-
speed drive. Typical of a solid rotor is a high resistance and a high leakage reluctance of the rotor.
The phase angle of the apparent output created by a waveform penetrating a linear material is 45,
but the saturation of the steel rotor reduces the phase angle. A typical value for the phase angle of a
massive rotor varies between 30 and 45, depending on the saturation. The performance character-
istics of a solid rotor can be improved by slotting the surface of the rotor, Fig. 2.5. Axial slots are
used to guide the flow of eddy currents in a direction favourable to the torque production. Radial
slots increase the length of the paths of the eddy currents created by certain high-frequency phenom-
ena. This way, eddy currents are damped, and the efficiency of the machine is improved. The struc-
ture of the rotor is of great significance in torque production, Fig. 2.6. An advantage of a common
cage winding rotor is that it produces the highest torque with small values of slip, whereas solid ro-
tors yield a good starting torque.
Electrical drives 2.6 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
a) b) c)

Figure 2.5. Different solid rotors. a) a solid rotor with axial and radial slots (in this model, short-circuit rings are re-
quired. They can be constructed either by leaving the part of the rotor that extends from the stator without slots, or by
equipping it with aluminium or copper rings), b) a rotor equipped with short-circuit rings in addition to slots, c) slotted
and cage-wound rotor. Also a completely smooth rotor can be employed.



Figure 2.6. The torque curves of different
induction rotors as a function of mechanical
angular speed O. a) a normal double-cage
winding rotor, b) a smooth solid rotor with-
out short-circuiting rings, c) a smooth solid
rotor equipped with copper short-circuiting
rings, d) axially and radially slotted solid
rotor equipped with copper short-circuiting
rings.
O
T
a)
b)
c)
d)
0
0


In small machines, a so called Ferraris rotor can be employed. It is constructed of a laminated steel
core covered with a thin layer of copper. The copper covering provides a suitable path for eddy cur-
rents induced to it. The copper covering takes up a certain space in the air gap, the electric value of
which increases notably due to the covering, since the relative permeability of copper is
r
=
0.9999926. As a diamagnetic material, copper is thus even somewhat weaker path for the magnetic
flux than the air.

The rotor of an induction machine can be produced as a normal slot winding by following the prin-
ciples discussed in previous sections. A wound rotor has to be equipped with the same number of
pole pairs as the stator, and therefore it is not in practice suitable for machines permitting a varying
number of poles. The phase number of the rotor may differ from the phase number of the stator. For
instance, a two-phase rotor can be employed in small slip-ring machines with a three-phase stator.
The rotor winding is connected to an external circuit via slip rings.

The most common short-circuit winding is the cage winding, Fig. 2.7. The rotor is produced of elec-
tric steel laminations and it is provided with slots containing non-insulated bars, the ends of which
are connected either by welding or brazing to the end rings, that is, to the short-circuit rings. The
short-circuit rings are often equipped with fins that together act as a cooling fan as the rotor rotates.
The cage winding of small machines is produced of pure aluminium by simultaneously pressure
casting the short-circuit rings, the cooling ribs and the bars of the rotor.

Electrical drives 2.7 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
short circuit rings
bars

Figure 2.7. A simple cage winding. Cooling fans are not illustrated. Q
r
= 24.

Fig. 2.8 illustrates a three-phase full-pitch winding of a two-pole machine observed from the rotor
end. Each coil of the rotor comprises also a complete phase coil, since the number of slots in the
rotor is Q
r
= 6. The star point 0 forms, on grounds of symmetry, a neutral point. If there is only one
turn in each coil, the coils can be connected at this point. The magnetic voltage created by the rotor
depends only on the current flowing in the slot, and therefore the connection of the windings at the
star point is of no influence. However, the connection of the star point at one end of the rotor turns
the winding into a six-phase star connection with one bar, i.e. half a turn, in each phase. The six-
phase winding is then short-circuited also at the other end. Since also the shaft of the machine takes
some room, the star point has to be created with a short-circuit ring as illustrated in Fig. 2.7. We can
now see that Fig. 2.8 depicts a star-connected, short-circuited poly-phase winding, for which the
number of phase coils is in a two-pole case equal to the number of bars in the rotor: m = Q
r
.




Figure 2. 8. A three-phase winding of a two-pole ro-
tor. The number of turns in the phase coil is N = 1. If
the winding is connected in star at point 0 and it is
short-circuited at the other end, a six-phase, short-
circuited winding is created, for which the number of
turns is N = .
1 2
3
4 5
6
0
= 1 N


In machine design, it is often assumed that the analysis of the fundamental v = 1 alone gives an
adequate description of the characteristics of the machine. However, this holds for cage windings
only if we consider also the conditions related to its number of bars. A cage winding acts differently
with respect to different harmonics v. Therefore, a cage winding has to be analyzed with respect to
the general harmonic v.

2.4 Damper Winding

The function of damper windings is to stabilize the running of the machine during the transients.
Without damping, when in direct on-line operation, the machine acts as a torsion spring, and once
excited, may oscillate basically infinitely. In practice, there occurs damping in all machine types,
and the oscillations are attenuated gradually even without a damper winding. In non-salient pole
Electrical drives 2.8 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
generators, the solid frame of the rotor can be used as a virtual damper winding, into which eddy
currents attenuating the operation are induced in the transients.

The damper windings of synchronous machines are short-circuit windings, which in non-salient
pole machines are contained in same slots with the magnetizing windings, and in salient-pole ma-
chines in particular slots on the surfaces of magnetizing pole shoes. Figure 2.9 illustrates the struc-
ture of the damper winding of a salient-pole synchronous machine.

The winding is usually manufactured of round bars, and the damper windings are either welded or
soldered to thick copper plates that are stamped into the form of the pole plates and fixed to the
ends of the pole frame (see Fig. 2.9). The end plates of the contiguous poles are connected by suit-
able connectors in order to produce a uniform cage winding that would resemble the symmetrical
cage winding of an asynchronous machine. Since there is no frame material on the quadrature (q)
axis, there cannot be bars in this area in the cage winding, but the bars have to be left out at that po-
sition at the d-axis. Nevertheless, the damper winding functions efficiently in damping the quadra-
ture phenomena, since the bars of the contiguous poles form a very effective short-circuit winding
particularly for the quadrature magnetic flux. Since the pole is wide, also the damping in d-direction
becomes fairly good. Because the structure of the magnetic circuit and the location of the damper
bars are unsymmetrical, it is difficult to present any exact equations for the design of the damper
winding, unlike in the case of the cage winding of an induction motor. Furthermore, when using
thick conductor material, which results in a strong skin effect in transients, the dimensioning of
damper bars has usually based on empirical knowledge. In non-salient pole machines, it is possible
to construct a symmetrical damper winding, and therefore, the equations familiar from the case of
an induction motor can be applied to as such. For a salient-pole machine, the equations hold indefi-
nitely. However, it has to be borne in mind that the damper winding of a non-salient pole machine is
seldom the actual winding of the machine. Often it suffices to produce the slot keys from a suitable
material so that the keys can act as damper bars. Sometimes for instance suitable copper stripes are
mounted under the keys.

copper plate
copper plate
damper bar
connector
d-axis
q-axis


Figure 2.9. The structure of the damper winding of a six-pole salient-pole synchronous machine.

Electrical drives 2.9 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering

Usually, however, in the machines, there is a damper winding constructed particularly for the pur-
pose. In direct-on-line machines in particular, damping is absolutely necessary. In power-
electronics-controlled position feedback drives, the damper winding can be omitted, however, also
in the control use, the damper winding has a remarkable effect on the operation of the machine. The
response of a damped machine is better than that of a non-damped machine. The rise speed of a ma-
chine fed by power electronics is typically ten-fold to that of a similar, but non-damped machine.

A damper winding enables the start-up of a direct-on-line motor as an asynchronous machine. In
generator operation, the function of the damper winding is to damp the counter-rotating fields cre-
ated by asymmetrical loads.

Since the structure and working mechanisms of a damper winding are quite complicated, the design
of damper winding has traditionally concentrated on experimental methods. In order to avoid the
occurrence of undesired oscillations and noise, the difference of 1015 % in the slot pitch when
compared with the armature winding is recommended. The damper winding can also be designed
by applying skewing, in which case the slot pitch may be even the same as in the stator. The skew-
ing is usually of the scale of one stator slot pitch.

Since the function of a damper winding in synchronous generators is to damp counter-rotating
fields, this task should be accomplished with minimum losses. Therefore, the aim is to keep the re-
sistance of the damper winding of the synchronous generator as low as possible. The area of the
damper winding is selected to be 2030 % of the total area of the armature bar, when the bars are
made of copper. In single-phase generators, due to the strong counter-rotating field, values above 30
% are selected. The frequency of the damper currents caused by the counter-rotating field is double
of the armature frequency, and thus, it is possible that the skin effect of the damper bars should be
restricted by dividing the bars into sections. The cross-sectional area of the short-circuit ring is usu-
ally selected to be 3050 % of the sum area of the damper bars of the pole.

As both the damping of fluctuations and asynchronous start-up are required in the motors, in order
to improve the starting torque in particular, a higher resistance of the damper winding has to be se-
lected than in the case of generators. Because the motors are fed by a symmetrical system, the
counter-rotating fields of the air gap do not have to be damped as in the generators. The area of the
bars of the damper winding is selected for instance to be only 10 % of the area of the armature bar,
when using copper. If the area becomes inconveniently small, bars with poor resistance (e.g. bronze
bars) and slots of the same size as in generators can be used. The damper bars can also be made of
brass.

The design and modelling of damper windings are still rather complicated tasks. By applying a
time-stepping method, it is possible to compute real damper characteristics by numerical methods,
yet in practice, the traditional time constants are still required in the description of the operation of
damper windings. In strong transients, the skin effect does not make the design and modelling any
easier. The modelling of damping is still a challenge for the future machine design and electrical
drives applications. In the case of direct-on-line motors, the damping properties of the motors may
decide the dimensioning of the machine, and in practice, the strong torque transients require the
over-dimensioning of the machine. Sometimes it may be a better solution to construct a power-
electronics-controlled drive instead of a direct-on-line drive, since the motor size would thus be re-
duced considerably. The controlled drives do not have to be over-dimensioned to ensure synchro-
nous operation.


Electrical drives 2.10 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
2.5 Rotating-Field Slot Winding

The electro-mechanical energy conversion is usually based on the rotating magnetic field. A wave of
the magnetic flux has to be generated in the air gap of the electrical machine. The generation of the
wave is based on a poly-phase winding, which produces a rotating magnetic field in the air gap of
the electrical machine.

In order to generate a propagating wave, a poly-phase winding and the corresponding poly-phase
alternating current are required to feed the winding. The magnetic axes of the windings are posi-
tioned in a local phase shift, which is 120 for a three-phase winding, and 90 for a reduced two-
phase winding. The currents have a corresponding temporal phase shift.

Figure 2.10 illustrates how a single coil on the rotor of the machine forms a step of the current
linkage. By performing Fourier analysis for the unit-amplitude step function, we see that its funda-
mental, indicated by a dashed line, has an amplitude of 4/t.
2
t
p
1
4/t
towards
away



Figure 2.10. The distribution of the current linkage created by a single full-pitch coil in the air gap of a rotating electrical
machine. If there are only two poles in the machine, the periphery of the machine will be encircled at the distance of two
pole pitches 2t
p
. Since the circle is continuous, we may assume that a single coil creates a continuous square wave, the
Fourier analysis of which is an easy task.

If the winding of Fig. 2.10 is fed with sinusoidally alternating current, we obtain a pulsating magne-
tomotive force alternating according to Fig. 2.11.

Electrical drives 2.11 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering



















Figure 2.11. A pulsating magne-
tomotive force created by a single
loop at different times t at different
values of current.

i(t
1
) = 1
i(t
2
) = 0.5
i(t
3
) = - 0.5
i(t
4
) = - 1
t
1
t
2
t
3
t
4
i(t)
towards
away


The curve form of the current linkage can be improved with additional slots, yet the mmf of a single
coil is still pulsating.

When the target is to create a rotating flux, at least a two-phase winding is required in order to
produce a rotating field. Two is the minimum number of phases required for implementing the local
phase difference and the temporal phase difference of currents. Two-phase windings are commonly
used in various single-phase-fed machine systems. From the theoretical point of view, the two-phase
winding is of importance, since the processor-based control systems of electrical drives usually
apply two-phase constructions.

Since the electricity distribution system is usually a three-phase system, the most important rotating-
field windings of electrical machines are usually three-phase configurations.

Next, the poly-phase slot windings of AC machines are considered. In principle, the phase number m
can be selected freely, yet in practice, due to the three-phase distribution network, most of the
electrical machines are also three-phase constructions. A symmetrical poly-phase winding can be
considered to be constructed in the following way: The air gap periphery is divided evenly between
all the poles so that the pole arc, or a pole pitch of 180 in electrical degrees is achieved. The pole
pitch t
p
is given in metres


p
D
2
p
t
= t . (2.4)

Figure 2.12 depicts the division of the periphery of the machine into phase zones. In the figure, the
number of pole pairs is p = 2, and the phase number is m = 3.
Electrical drives 2.12 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
A
-B
C
-A B
-C
A
-B
C
-A B
-C
t
p
p = 2
m = 3
t
v


Figure 2.12. The division of the periphery of a 3-phase 4-pole machine into phase zones of positive and negative values.
The pole pitch is t
p
and the phase zone distribution t
v
.

The phase zone distribution is written as


m
p
v
t
t = . (2.5)

The number of zones will thus be 2pm. For a stator with Q slots, the number of slots per each such
zone is expressed by the term q, slots per pole and per phase

q
Q
pm
=
2
. (2.6)

The armature winding of a three-phase electrical machine is usually constructed in the stator, and it
is spatially distributed in the stator slots so that the current linkage created by the stator currents is
distributed as sinusoidally as possible.

The simplest stator winding comprises three coils, the sides of which are divided into six slots, Figs.
2.13 and 2.14.

Electrical drives 2.13 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
p = 1
m = 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
U1
U2
V1
V2
W1
W2
1 2 3 4 5 6
U1 U2
o
U1
U2
V1
V2
W1
W2


Figure 2.13. The simplest form of a three-phase winding at the instant, when i
W
= i
V
= i
U
, (i
U
+i
V
+i
W
= 0). The
lower part of the figure illustrates how the winding penetrates the machine. The coil end at the rear end of the machine is
not illustrated as in reality, but the coil comes directly from a slot to another without travelling along the rear end face of
the stator. The ends of the phases U, V and W at the terminals are denoted U1-U2, V1-V2, W1-W2.


0 180 360
O O O
0 180 360
O O O
t
1
t
2


Figure 2.14. The current linkage of a simple three-phase winding at the instants, when i
W
= i
V
= i
U
and when i
W
=
i
U
, i
V
= 0. i
U
+i
V
+i
W
= 0 holds always for a three-phase system without a zero conductor. The figures illustrate also
the fundamental harmonics of a staircase current linkage curve. The stepped curve is obtained by applying Ampres law
in the current-carrying teeth zone of the electrical machine.

Figure 2.14 shows that the current linkage produced with such a simple winding deviates considera-
bly from the sinusoidal waveform. Therefore, in electrical machines, several more coil sides are
usually employed per pole and per phase.
Electrical drives 2.14 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering

Next, we consider an integral slot winding where p = 1 and q = 2, m = 3, Figures 2.15 and 2.16.

p = 1
m = 3
U1
U2
V1
V2
W1
W2
1 2 3 4 5 6
U2
o
7 12
V1 W2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
8 9 10 11 12 1
U1 V2 W1


Figure 2.15. A three-phase winding with two coil sides per pole and phase. Slots per pole and per phase q = 2.

O/A
200
100

O
s

Figure 2.16. The current linkage created by the winding on the surface of the stator bore of Fig.2.8 at a time i
W
= i
V
=
1/2 i
U
.

Figure 2.16 shows that the higher the term q (slots per pole and per phase), the more sinusoidal the
current linkage of the stator winding. For the amplitude

O
s1
of the fundamental of the current link-
age of a poly-phase (m > 1) rotating-field stator winding (or a rotor winding), when the effective
value of the stator current is I
s
, we may write


s
s
I
p
N m
2
2
4
2

1
s1

O
t
= . (2.7)

For example in the case of Fig. 2.15, if N
s
= 200,
1
= 0.96 , m = 3, p = 1 and ( ) i t i
sU
A = =

1 (and
thus the effective value of the sinusoidal current is 2 / 1
s
= I A = 0.707 A), we obtain

O
s
= 183 A.

2.6 Voltage Vector Graph

Since the winding is spatially distributed in the slots on the stator surface, the flux penetrating the
winding does not intersect all windings simultaneously, but with a certain phase shift. Therefore the
electromotive force (emf) of the winding is not calculated directly with the number of turns N
s
, but
the winding factors
v
corresponding to harmonics are required. The emf of a fundamental harmonic
induced in the turn is calculated with the flux linkage + by applying Faradays induction law

.
d
d
d
d
t

N e = = (2.8)
Electrical drives 2.15 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering

Figure 2.17 illustrates the voltage vector graph of the two-pole winding of Fig. 2.15.


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
U
1
8
-U


Figure 2.17. The voltage vector graph for the winding of Fig. 2.15 Q
s
= 12, p = 1, q
s
= 2. The figure illustrates also the
calculation of the voltage in a single coil with the radii of the voltage vector graph.

When the flux rotates inside the stator bore, the maximum voltage is simultaneously induced to the
coil sides 1 and 7. If the flux rotates clockwise, a maximum voltage is induced to the coil sides 2 and
8 in a moment, etc.

The coils of the phase U travel from slot 1 to slot 8 and from slot 2 to slot 7. Thus a voltage, which
is the difference of the phasors
1
U and
8
U , is induced to the coil 1. The total voltage of the phase is
thus

U U U U U U = +
1 8 2 7
, (2.9)

and the winding factor
1
for the fundamental harmonic is calculated here as a ratio of the geometric
sum and the sum of absolute values:

1 966 . 0
7 2 8 1
7 2 8 1
1
s =
+ + +
+
=
U U U U
U U U U
. (2.10)

The winding factor is always 1. The value
1
= 1 can be reached when q = 1. In general, the wind-
ing factor for a harmonic v is calculated as


|
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
s
s
p
sin
2

sin
2

sin 2
Q
p
mp
Q
m
W
v
v
t
v

v . (2.11)

W is the coil width, v is the order of the harmonic, Q
s
is the number of stator slots, p is the number
of pole pairs, and m is the phase number.
Electrical drives 2.16 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
2.7 Harmonics

Depending on the number of phases m, the slot winding develops the harmonics (k is a positive inte-
ger)

v = 1 2km. (2.12)

A symmetrical three-phase winding may develop the following harmonics listed in Table 1.

Table 1 Orders of the harmonics developed by a three-phase winding (m = 3)

K 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7...
v +1 +7 +13 +19 +25 +31 +37 +43...
5 11 17 23 29 35 41...

We see that v = 1 and all harmonics divisible by three are missing. In other words, a symmetrical
poly-phase winding does not produce a harmonic propagating to an opposite direction at the fre-
quency of the fundamental harmonic. Instead, a single-phase winding m = 1 creates also a harmonic,
the ordinal of which is v = 1. This is a particularly harmful harmonic, and impedes the operation of
single-phase machines. For instance a single-phase induction motor, due to the field rotating to the
negative direction, does not start without assistance.

The winding factor may be also used to derive the relative magnitude of the magnetomotive force.
Fig. 2.18 depicts the current linkage distribution of a phase A of a short-pitch winding (Q = 24, m =
3, q = 2, W/t
p
= 5/6), as well as its fundamental harmonic and third harmonic at time t = 0, when
i i

A
= . The winding factors for the lowest harmonics and the amplitudes of the magnetomotive
forces are:

v = 1
1
= 0.965 0.965 = 0.933

O
1
= 1.188

O
max

v = 3
3
= 0.707 0.707 = 0.5

O
3
= 0.212

O
max

v = 5
5
= 0.258 0.258 = 0.067

O
5
= 0.017

O
max


Only the harmonics 1 and 3 are illustrated in Fig. 2.18.


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 24
+A -C +B -A +C -B +A
...
o
O(o)
0
t
O
max
max
F


Figure 2.18. A short-pitch winding and the analysis of its current linkage distribution of the phase A. The distribution
includes a notable amount of the third harmonic. In the figure, the first and third harmonics are illustrated with broken
lines.

Electrical drives 2.17 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
The strength of harmonics is often expressed in per cents of the fundamental harmonic. In this case,
the amplitude of the third harmonic is about 22 % of the amplitude of the fundamental harmonic;
this, however, is not harmful, since the current linkage wave created together by the windings can-
cels the third harmonic. This is illustrated in Fig. 2.19, in which there are currents i
A
= 2i
B
= 2i
C
,
and i i
A
=

flowing in the winding of Fig. 2.18.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 24
+A -C +B -A +C -B +A
...
A
B
C


Figure 2.19. The cancellation of the third harmonic in a three-phase winding. There are currents i
A
= -2i
B
= -2i
C
flowing
in the winding. We see that when we sum the third harmonics of the phases B and C with the harmonic of the phase A,
the harmonics cancel each other.

In single- and poly-phase machines, the number of slots is preferably selected higher than in three-
phase machines. Further, it is sometimes necessary to fit a different number of conductors in the
slots to make the fraction line O(o) approach sinusoidal form.

A poly-phase winding thus produces superharmonics, the orders of which are calculated by Eq.
(2.12). When the stator is fed at an angular frequency e
s
, the angular speed of the harmonicv with
respect to stator is

e
e
v
vs
s
= . (2.13)

When we take the sign of the harmonic into account, we see that the waves of the different harmon-
ics propagate in different directions in the air gap. This is illustrated already in Fig. 2.14, which
shows how the shape of the mmf wave changes as the wave propagates in the air gap. The deforma-
tion of the wave in particular is an indication of the fact that the harmonic amplitudes proceed at dif-
ferent speeds and to different directions. The harmonic induces a voltage of fundamental frequency
to the stator winding. The order of the harmonic indicates how many wavelengths of the harmonic
fit to the distance 2t
p
of a single pole pair of one fundamental harmonic. This yields the number of
pole pairs and the pole pitch of the harmonic

p p
v
v = , (2.14)
Electrical drives 2.18 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering

v
t
t
v
p
= . (2.15)

The amplitude of the v th harmonic is determined from the amplitude of the current linkage of the
fundamental harmonic by



O O
v
v

v
=
1
1
. (2.16)

Figure 2.20 shows clearly how an increase in the number of slots per pole and per phase improves
the form of the curve, now q
s
= 3. Figure shows that the magnetic axis of the phase A is in the direc-
tion of the arrow drawn in the middle of the figure. Since we have a three-phase machine, the direc-
tions of the currents of the phases B and C have to be such that the magnetic axes are at a distance of
120
o
of the magnetic axis of the phase A.

a)
+A
-A
-C
+B +C
-B
A
C
B
t
t
p
v





b)
2t
p
O
A
u
-A


Figure 2.20 a) A three-phase diamond winding p = 1, q
s
= 3, Q
s
= 18. Only the coil end of the phase A on the observer
side is visible. There are similar coils also in the other end of the machine, the only difference being that the transition
from one slot to another takes place at the other end only. Also the magnetic axes of the phase windings are indicated in
the illustration. The depicted current directions correspond to a situation in which the current of the windings B and C is
a negative half of the current of the phase A. The direction of the created flux distribution u and the flux linkage + is
thus at that moment the direction of the magnetic axis of the phase A. b) The current linkage of the winding.

A poly-phase stator winding in the stator of a rotating-field machine creates a flux wave, when a
symmetrical poly-phase current flows in the winding. The flux wave is created for instance when the
mmf of Fig. 2.20 propagates in side direction and the currents of the poly-phase winding are alter-
nating sinusoidally as a function of time. For instance in a three-phase winding, time-varying sinu-
soidal currents with a 120 phase shift create a temporally and positionally alternating flux in the
windings that are set at the distances of 120 electrical degrees. This flux propagates as a wave on the
inner stator surface.

Figure 2.21 illustrates some current linkage curves of the winding of Fig. 2.20 at different instants of
the three-phase current.

Electrical drives 2.19 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
i
1
i
2
i
3
t
1
t
2
t
3
t
4
2t
p
O
A
u
-A
2t
p
O
u
2t
p
O
u
2t
p
O
u
2t
p
O
u
t
5
A
A
A
A


Figure 2.21. The current linkage created by the three-phase winding at different values of the three-phase current. We
see that the wave propagates to the right, when the currents vary as functions of time. The peak of the flux shifts to the
right as the time progresses.

In this kind of a winding, the current linkage wave propagating in the stator bore creates a field that
propagates along the periphery, that is, a rotating field. The winding of a rotating-field machine has
thus been created.

The main flux penetrating the winding varies almost sinusoidally as a function of time

( ) t t e u u sin

h h
= . (2.17)

According to Faradays induction law, the induced voltage is obtained by the flux linkage +

t N
t
N
t
e e u e
u

+
cos

d
d
d
d
h 1
h
1
1
smv1
= = = . (2.18)

Electrical drives 2.20 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
If the induced voltage is assumed sinusoidal, the effective value becomes


h 1

2
1

2
1
u e N e E = = . (2.19)

To be able to calculate this value, the peak value of the flux related to the fundamental harmonic
has to be known. This peak value has to be calculated by integrating the flux density over the pole
pitch and the assumed machine length, Fig. 2.22.


} }
=
'
0 0
h
d )d (

p L
L B t u
o
t
. (2.20)

Assuming the flux density distribution to be sinusoidal with respect to x and constant with respect
to y, we obtain the peak value of flux by the integration (2.20)



' u
h i p
= o t
o
B L , (2.21)

where
i
o is a coefficient indicating the arithmetical average of the flux density in the x-direction,
which at a sinusoidal flux density distribution obtains the value t = / 2
i
o .














Figure 2.22. The flux density dis-
tribution extending over a pole
pitch, integrated over the surface,
yields the maximum flux of the
machine.
L'
B
o
t
p
x
y


2.8 Magnetizing Inductance of the Rotating-Field Winding

Poly-phase rotating-field machines have a central role in electrical drives. Next, we calculate the
magnetizing inductance for an unsaturated machine. As stated previously, the peak value of the
flux of the machine depends on the pole pitch t
p
, the machine length L, and the air gap flux den-
sity B
o
. The flux linkage of a single phase is obtained correspondingly by multiplying by the effec-
tive turns (of winding) N

p s h

'

B L N = t + (2.22)

Electrical drives 2.21 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
On the other hand, the magnetic flux density of the air gap in the equivalent air gap o
de
can be de-
termined by using the current linkage O of the phase

de
s 0

o
O
=
o
B . (2.23)

Hence, we obtain for the flux linkage of the single phase

'

p
de
s 0
s h
L N

t
= t
o
O
+ (2.24)
The current linkage of the phase winding is

s
s
s
2
2
4

I
p
N

t
=

O . (2.25)

The substitution yields for the flux linkage

s p
1
de
0
s 1 h
2 '
2
4 2

I L
p
N
N
s

t

t
= t

+ , (2.26)

( )
s
2
s 1
de
p
0 h
2 '
4
2
1 2

I N L
p

t t
=
o
t
+ . (2.27)

By dividing by the peak value of the current, we obtain the main inductance of the single phase

( )
2
s 1
de
p
0 p
'
4
2
1 2
N L
p
L
o
t

t t
= . (2.28)

The magnetizing inductance of the machine can be determined by multiplying the main inductance
by m/2

( )
2
s 1
de
p
0 m
'
4
2
1 2
2
N L
p
m
L
o
t

t t
= (2.29)

If the machine runs at a constant frequency (for instance a network connected machine), reac-
tances can be employed in the calculation. The magnetizing inductance of Eq. (2.29) corresponds
with the magnetizing reactance X
m



m m
L X e = . (2.30)

If the machine is magnetized only by the rotating-field winding of the stator, the magnetizing cur-
rent of the stator is obtained by the air gap voltage U
so



ms s ms
/ X U I
o
= . (2.31)

Electrical drives 2.22 Juha Pyrhnen, LUT, Department of Electrical Engineering
2.9 Winding Systems

Next, different winding systems are discussed in brief. Table 2.4 introduces the winding systems
used in practice. In industrial motors, the most common winding type is the three-phase winding. In
large synchronous machines, a six-phase winding is used to some degree in the context of power
electronic drives. Single and double-phase windings occur chiefly in small induction motors that are
fed directly from a single-phase network.

In certain special cases, it is also possible to use several three-phase windings having different phase
shifts in the same machine. This is a potential solution for instance in quite large 690 V high-speed
machines, in which the selection of the winding solution is constrained by the lacking winding alter-
natives.

Table 2.4. The phase systems of the windings of electrical machines. The fourth column introduces the so-called radially
symmetric winding alternatives (Vogt 1996)

number of phases m normal system reduced system corresponding non-
reduced system
1


m' = 2
2

m' = 4
3


m' = 6
4
m' = 8
5
m' = 10
6

m' = 12

On a single magnetic axis of an electrical machine, there may be located only an axis of a single
phase winding. If another phase winding is located on the same axis, no genuine poly-phase system
is created, because both windings produce a collinear flux. Therefore, each phase system that in-
volves an even number of phases is reduced to involve only a half of the original number of phases
m' as illustrated in Table 2. If the reduction produces a system with an odd number of phases, we
obtain a so called radially symmetric poly-phase system, also called a normal system.