Compensation of Unbalanced Magnetic Forces by

Distributed Parallel Circuits

O.W. Andersen
Steinhaugen 43, NO-7049 Trondheim, Norway
phone/fax: +47 73937559 owand@c2i.net http://home.c2i.net/owand/
Abstract Magnetic attractive forces between rotor and
stator in synchronous and induction machines are very large,
in the order of 15-20 tons/m2, and can cause serious problems
if they are not sufficiently balanced. Small variations in the
air gap are unavoidable, causing unbalanced magnetic pull,
which in turn tends to increase the air gap variations.
Air gap variations can be caused by the rotor being offcenter with respect to the stator, and also by the stator or
rotor not being perfectly round.
Unbalanced magnetic pull can be reduced significantly by
having a multi-circuit stator winding, with the parallel
circuits arranged in a suitable way.

and zero at the horizontal centerline. For small displacements and a flux density which can be assumed to be
inversely proportional to air gap length, unbalanced
vertical force density varies as a cosine squared function
around the periphery.
As an example, say the diameter is 10 m, length 1 m
and unbalanced force density 2 tons/sq.m for a hydroelectric generator, corresponding to about 5% variations in
air gap or 1 mm for a 20 mm gap. Then the total
unbalanced force will be:
2 x 0.5 x 10 x = 31.4 tons

1. Magnetic Forces
The attractive force in the air gap between rotor and
stator is in SI units:
Newton/sq.m = B2/(8.0 10-7)

Whether or not such a large force will result in

complete collapse of the air gap or unacceptable off-center
deflection depends on the strength and rigidity of the
structure.
Force

With B = 1 tesla, which is a reasonable maximum air

gap flux density, this works out to:
Magnetic force

Newton/sq.m = 397887
which is equal to 40.56 metric tons.
The approximate sinusoidal distribution of flux density
around the circumference gives an average of about half of
this. Flux densities are often slightly less than one tesla,
and average attractive force is roughly for any size
synchronous or induction machine:

Ficticious applied force

(system stiffness response force)
Reduced magnetic force

Force/sq.m = 15-20 tons

Deflection

2. Off-Center Deflection

Fig. 1
Magnetic attractive force will be increased in the half of
the circumference where the air gap is decreased and vice
versa in the other half. That gives an unbalanced force in
the direction of the deflection. The vertical unbalanced
force density in Fig. 1 is maximum at the top and bottom

Fig. 2
A fictitious applied force with the same distribution as
the magnetic force will give an off-center deflection along
a linear curve. Another way to describe this fictitious force
is as the system stiffness response force. The unbalanced
magnetic force will level off after the deflection gets to a
certain point, mainly because of saturation in the teeth. If
the two curves cross before the air gap collapses, it will be
at the operating point for a permanent deflection. If the
initial slope of the curve for magnetic force is less than that
of the response force, there will be no tendency for the
deflection to develop from an initial centered position of
the rotor.
In a more realistic scenario, dashed lines show the
response force starting at a small initial offset and a
hopefully acceptable off-center deflection.

3. Elliptical Deformation of the Stator Core

5. Less than Perfect Compensation

Total fluxes will be equalized in each of the four
quadrants of Fig. 4. However, part of that flux is leakage
flux. As an example, compensation of the air gap flux can
be in per unit:
Xad/Xd = 0.85/1.0 = 0.85

Fig. 3
When there is a departure from the ideal circular shape
of the stator core, the stiffness offers the least resistance to
a change to an elliptical shape. As soon as there is a slight
tendency for it, changes in attractive forces in the air gap
will magnify this tendency. Fig. 2 is also applicable to
elliptical deformation.
Elliptical deformation can be a problem in low speed
machines with a large number of poles, which require only
a shallow yoke to carry the flux.

4. Compensation by Distributed Parallel

Circuits

Fig. 4
Fig. 4 depicts four parallel circuits in a stator winding,
distributed in four quadrants in a way that follows naturally
for a lap winding. A wave winding requires special connections.
The circuits are permanently in parallel, also in open
circuit conditions. Since the voltage across each of them is
the same, the total flux in each quadrant of the machine is
forced to be the same. If the rotor starts to move in one
direction or the stator starts to flex, circulating currents
begin to flow between the four parallel circuits to maintain
equal fluxes and thereby a more or less uniform force
density around the circumference.
The circulating currents are pure zero powerfactor
magnetizing currents, out of phase with the load currents.
The total absolute values of the currents in the different
circuits will therefore stay about the same.
Decreasing unbalanced magnetic forces this way to for
example 1/3 is as effective as increasing strength and
rigidity of structural components by a factor of three, and
the cost is negligible. How much unbalanced magnetic
forces can be decreased will now be discussed.

That leaves 15% uncompensated.

For a 1% decrease of air gap, without compensation the
flux density will increase by a factor 1.01 and force density
by a factor 1.02. With flux compensation to 15%, the
factors will be 1.0015 and 1.003. Since 0.003/0.02 is also
0.15, the compensation for unbalanced force density at
small displacements will be the same as for the flux
density.
There is also another reason for less than perfect
compensation, i.e. the limited number of circuits.
Say the rotor shift in Fig. 1 is in the same direction as
the vertical axis in Fig. 4, so that circulating currents will
be evenly distributed, but in opposite directions in the
upper and lower halves.
With zero degrees at the top of Fig. 4, an ideal
circulating current to compensate for the air gap shift
should be distributed as a cosine curve around the circumference. The compensated force would also vary as a
cosine curve, but since the force is radial, the average
vertical force compensated will have a factor equal to the
average value of cosine squared, which is 0.5.
Since circulating current in each quadrant of Fig. 4 is
evenly distributed and the average of a cosine curve is
(2/) of the peak value, a factor comparable to the previous
0.5 will now be (2/)2 = 0.405. The compensated vertical
force will therefore have a factor 0.405/0.5 = 0.81 and the
uncompensated force 0.19.
Combined with the factor due to leakage flux, the total
factor for compensated unbalanced magnetic force will be
0.85x0.81 = 0.689, and for the uncompensated force 0.311.
The curve for magnetic force in Fig. 2 will be lowered by a
factor about 1/3.

6. Improved Compensation
Since the objective is to keep the air gap uniform, there
is no reason why the four circuits in all three phases should
cover the same quadrants.
Break points between circuits can be at:
Phase 1: 0 - 90-180-270 mechanical degrees
Phase 2: 30-120-210-300
Phase 3: 60-150-240-330
In earlier calculations, the compensation of unbalanced
magnetic forces with a normal four quadrant lap or laptype winding was found to be 68.9%, reducing the forces
to about 1/3. The calculation was based on off-center
displacement in a direction at 45 degree angles with the
centers of the circuits.

A similar calculation with a displacement at the other

extreme position, with zero and 90 degree angles with
respect to the centers, gives exactly the same
compensation.
It can be shown by numerical calculation that the
improved compensation with circuit positions shifted
between phases gives a reduction of unbalanced forces to
about 1/6 rather than 1/3 for off-center displacement.
Two computer programs that are described on the
authors web site http://home.c2i.net/owand/ have been
used for the calculations, the magnetic field program
FLD11 and the ac circuit analysis program ACCAN.
Without compensation from a distributed parallel circuit
winding, off-center displacement sets up a two pole
sinusoidally distributed unbalanced flux density and
corresponding radial force density around the periphery.
The model used in the calculations has an artificial circuit
consisting of two sinusoidally distributed circuit layers
carrying currents in opposite directions (see Fig. 5 below).
That artificial circuit is mutually linked with the distributed
four or twelve parallel circuits, each covering a quadrant,
where opposing currents are induced. Mutual couplings
can be calculated either analytically or by FLD11, and
ACCAN calculates induced currents.
Two diametrically opposite parallel circuits carry equal
currents of opposite signs. The resulting MMF wave is
fourier analyzed into a two pole sine wave. All the sine
waves are combined vectorially, and the degree of
compensation is found.
With four parallel circuits in the same quadrants in all
three phases, the compensation is found to be 81%,
confirming the result that was found earlier, using a
different method. The result is practically the same for
different positions of the offset. Combined with the 85%
compensation due to leakage flux, the total compensation
is 68.9%.
With twelve distributed circuits, the compensation is
98%, which combined with the 85% due to leakage flux
gives a total of 83.3%. That leaves 16.7% uncompensated,
reducing unbalanced force to only about 1/6.
Flux plot from FLD11 with sinusoidally distributed
surface layers:

Fig. 5
By comparing figures 3 and 4 it is evident that only the
improved compensation with the four circuits shifted
between phases will be effective in compensating for
elliptical deformation. The calculations show that the compensation equalizes total fluxes within 30 degree segments,
instead of the 90 degree segments without shift of circuit
positions between phases.
Disregarding leakage flux, the improved compensation
with four circuits was found to be 98% effective. The
fewer the number of circuits, the less effective the
compensation will be, but it will be substantial also with
three and two circuits. With three circuits it will be 96%
effective, with two circuits 91%. However, two circuits can
often be equipped with equalizers, improving the compensation further.

7. Two Circuits with Equalizers

1

Even number of pole pairs

Fig. 6

Odd number of pole pairs

Fig. 7

Equalizers are connections between the midpoints of

the two circuits, as shown in figures 6 and 7.
For a vertical off-center displacement of the rotor, the
compensation will be effective in both cases. Upper and
lower circuits will carry different currents. However, for a
horizontal displacement, the compensation only works for
an even number of pole pairs. Only then can sections 1 and
4 carry equal currents, different from sections 2 and 3.
Equalizers make a two circuit winding behave essentially as a four circuit winding in the degree of compensation for an even number of pole pairs.

8. Equivalent Circuit Analysis

The compensation up to now has been calculated only
for off-center deflection, a round rotor moving eccentrically inside a round stator. Such a move creates a two pole
unbalanced flux. A two pole force wave results, pulling the
rotor further in the direction of the eccentricity.
The distributed four circuit winding depicted in Fig. 4
will also be used in the examples here. Leakage flux will
initially be ignored, so that total flux will be the same as air
gap flux. The factor Xad/Xd for reduced compensation due
to leakage flux will remain constant (here 0.85) and will be
applied later.
Four circuits displaced uniformly between the three
phases will divide the circumference into twelve 30 degree
segments, as described earlier. Each circuit covers three
segments. Since the circuits are in parallel and have the
same voltages, circulating currents will force the fluxes to
be the same and unbalanced fluxes to be zero. It can be
expressed as follows:
1+2+3 = 0
2+3+4 = 0
-----------------12+1+2 = 0
The twelve equations with twelve unknowns have all
fluxes equal to zero as the solution. In other words, fluxes
are equalized within 30 degree segments, confirming the
conclusion from earlier numerical calculations.
Circulating currents are constant within each segment.
To compensate for a two pole flux wave, diametrically
opposite segments have the same circulating currents with

opposite signs. Calculations can be made with the equivalent circuit in Fig. 8.

9. Possible Problems due to Unbalanced

Magnetic Pull

Fig. 8
Six current sources with pulsed currents as shown in
Fig. 9 represent circulating currents and corresponding
fluxes in the twelve segments.

Fig. 9
The pulses are displaced 30 degrees between the six
current sources. Currents in each of them are calculated so
that the areas covered by them equal areas under corresponding portions of the two pole sine wave. The sum of the
pulsed currents in the resistive branch to the right is fourier
analyzed, and the fundamental two pole sine wave is
found.
Compensation of a sine wave with one per unit
amplitude and segments starting at 0,30,60--- degrees gives
as a result 0.977 per unit. The same compensation is found
for segments starting at 15,45,75--- degrees. This is in
complete agreement with the 0.98 per unit calculated less
accurately earlier.
The equivalent circuit in Fig. 8 is set up and solved very
easily with computer program PECAN (Power Electronic
Circuit Analysis), also described on the authors web site.
Symmetrically pulsed current sources are built-in and
fourier analysis is performed automatically.
This method can also be employed for finding the
degree of compensation for four node (elliptical) deformation, which is of considerable interest. The same four
circuit winding gives a compensation 0.912 per unit, again
independent of where the circuits are located with respect
to the sine wave, which now has four poles. With 0.85 per
unit due to leakage flux, the total compensation is 0.775
per unit, leaving 22.5% uncompensated.
The four circuit winding with fluxes equalized within
30 degree segments is also effective in compensating for
shorter wavelength deformations. Disregarding leakage
flux, the compensation is 0.811 per unit for six nodes,
0.684 for 8 nodes.

Induction motors are especially vulnerable, due to the

very small air gaps. There is a real danger here of the rotor
actually rubbing the stator, and it is essential that especially
the designers of large induction motors take advantage of
the reduction of unbalanced magnetic pull inherent in
suitably arranged parallel circuit windings. It is the
authors experience that induction motor designers have
been more aware of this than synchronous machine designers, but it is hoped that the information in this paper will
also make it possible for them to improve their designs.
Complete collapse of the air gap is less likely to happen
in synchronous machines, but it has happened during commissioning of some hydroelectric generators, and it could
probably have been avoided by a better understanding of
how compensation can reduce unbalanced magnetic pull.
Air gap variations are not necessarily constant in time
and space, and may cause unacceptable vibration and
noise. However, that may also be caused by an unfortunate
layout of fractional slot windings with large wavelength
MMFs, but it is a different story and outside the scope of
this paper.
For each individual pole of a synchronous machine,
flux pulsations will have a frequency RPM/60 for offcenter deflection and RPM/30 for elliptical deformation.
The low frequency will give low induced voltages in the
damper winding, but also low reactance, and the induced
currents may still be unacceptably large. They will flow
continuously, may cause substantial losses, and there is
also a danger of overheating and destruction of the damper
winding.
Stator deformations will never be purely elliptical due
to non-uniform distribution of stiffness around the periphery and concentrated frame supports. That will cause
higher harmonics in air gap variations and tends to increase
the induced currents in the damper winding.
Unacceptable wear and eventual destruction of
mechanical parts is also a danger. Guide bearings and
guide bearing supports are especially vulnerable. Other
critical components are the connection spider-rim in hydroelectric generators and supports of the main bracket and
the stator frame against the foundation.