UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

UNIT- II
Working Principle of a DC Motor

 The DC motor is the device which converts the direct current into the mechanical
work.
 It works on the principle of Lorentz Law, which states that “the current carrying
conductor placed in a magnetic and electric field experience a force”. And that force
is called the Lorentz force.

 The direction of this force is given by Fleming's left-hand rule and its magnitude is
given by F = BIL.
 Where, B = magnetic flux density, I = current and L = length of the conductor within
the magnetic field.

Fleming's left hand rule:

 If we stretch the first finger, second finger and thumb of our left hand to be
perpendicular to each other, and the direction of magnetic field is represented by the
first finger, direction of the current is represented by the second finger, then the thumb
represents direction of the force experienced by the current carrying conductor.

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Back EMF

 When the armature of a DC motor rotates under the influence of the driving torque,
the armature conductors move through the magnetic field and hence emf is induced in
them as in a generator.

 The induced emf acts in opposite direction to the applied voltage V (Lenz’s law) and
is known as Back EMF or Counter EMF (Eb).

 The equation to find out back emf in a DC motor is given below,

 The back emf Eb(= PΦZN/60 A) is always less than the applied voltage V, although
this difference is small when the motor is running under normal conditions.

The significance of Back EMF

 Back emf is very significant in the working of a dc motor.
 The presence of back emf makes the d.c. motor a self-regulating machine i.e., it
makes the motor to draw as much armature current as is just sufficient to develop the
torque required by the load.
 Armature current (Ia),


 When the motor is running on no load, small torque is required to overcome the
friction and windage losses. Therefore, the armature current Ia is small and the back
emf is nearly equal to the applied voltage.
 If the motor is suddenly loaded, the first effect is to cause the armature to slow
down. Therefore, the speed at which the armature conductors move through the field
is reduced and hence the back emf Eb falls.
 The decreased back emf allows a larger current to flow through the armature and
larger current means increased driving torque.

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 Thus, the driving torque increases as the motor slows down. The motor will stop
slowing down when the armature current is just sufficient to produce the increased
torque required by the load.
 If the load on the motor is decreased, the driving torque is momentarily in excess of
the requirement so that armature is accelerated.
 As the armature speed increases, the back emf Eb also increases and causes the
armature current Ia to decrease. The motor will stop accelerating when the armature
current is just sufficient to produce the reduced torque required by the load.

Therefore, the back emf in a DC motor regulates the flow of armature current i.e.,
it automatically changes the armature current to meet the load requirement.

Types Of DC Motors

DC motors are usually classified on the basis of their excitation configuration, as follows -

 Separately excited (field winding is fed by external source)

 Self-excited -

 Series wound (field winding is connected in series with the armature)

 Shunt wound (field winding is connected in parallel with the armature)

 Compound wound -

 Long shunt

 Short shunt

Torque Equation Of A DC Motor

When armature conductors of a DC motor carry current in the presence of stator field flux, a
mechanical torque is developed between the armature and the stator. Torque is given by the
product of the force and the radius at which this force acts.

 Torque T = F × r (N-m) … where, F = force and r = radius of the armature

 Work done by this force in once revolution = Force × distance = F × 2πr (where, 2πr
= circumference of the armature)

 Net power developed in the armature = work done / time

= (force × circumference × no. of revolutions) / time
= (F × 2πr × N) / 60 (Joules per second) .......................................eqn(1)

But, F × r = T and 2πN/60 = angular velocity ω in radians per second.

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

 Putting these in the above equation(1)

Net power developed in the armature = P = T × ω (Joules per second)

Armature Torque (Ta)

 The power developed in the armature can be given as, Pa = Ta × ω = Ta × 2πN/60

 The mechanical power developed in the armature is converted from the electrical
power,
Therefore, mechanical power = electrical power
That means, Ta × 2πN/60 = Eb.Ia

 We know, Eb = PΦNZ / 60A

 Therefore, Ta × 2πN/60 = (PΦNZ / 60A) × Ia

 Rearranging the above equation,

Ta = (PZ / 2πA) × Φ.Ia (N-m)

The term (PZ / 2πA) is practically constant for a DC machine. Thus, armature torque is
directly proportional to the product of the flux and the armature current i.e. Ta ∝ Φ.Ia

Shaft Torque (Tsh)

Due to iron and friction losses in a dc machine, the total developed armature torque is not
available at the shaft of the machine. Some torque is lost, and therefore, shaft torque is
always less than the armature torque.

Shaft torque of a DC motor is given as,

Tsh = output in watts / (2πN/60) ....(where, N is speed in RPM)

Speed Control Methods Of DC Motor

Back emf E b of a DC motor is nothing but the induced emf in armature conductors due to
rotation of the armature in magnetic field. Thus, the magnitude of E b can be given by EMF
equation of a DC generator.
Eb = PØNZ/60A
(where, P = no. of poles, Ø = flux/pole, N = speed in rpm, Z = no. of armature conductors, A
= parallel paths)

Eb can also be given as,

Eb = V- IaRa

thus, from the above equations

N = Eb 60A/PØZ

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

but, for a DC motor A, P and Z are constants

Therefore, N ∝ K Eb/Ø (where, K=constant)

This shows the speed of a dc motor is directly proportional to the back emf and inversely
proportional to the flux per pole.

Speed Control Of Shunt Motor

1.Flux Control Method

 It is already explained above that the speed of a dc motor is inversely proportional to

the flux per pole. Thus by decreasing the flux, speed can be increased and vice versa.
 To control the flux, a rheostat is added in series with the field winding, as shown in
the circuit diagram. Adding more resistance in series with the field winding will
increase the speed as it decreases the flux.
 In shunt motors, as field current is relatively very small, Ish2R loss is small. Therefore,
this method is quite efficient. Though speed can be increased above the rated value by
reducing flux with this method, it puts a limit to maximum speed as weakening of
field flux beyond a limit will adversely affect the commutation.

2. Armature Control Method

Armature controlled DC shunt motor can be performed in two ways:

1. Armature Resistance Control

2. Armature Voltage Control

 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.

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

 Speed of a dc motor is directly proportional to the back emf Eb and Eb = V - IaRa.

 That means, when supply voltage V and the armature resistance Ra are kept constant,
then the speed is directly proportional to armature current Ia.
 Thus, if we add resistance in series with the armature, I a decreases and, hence, the
speed also decreases. Greater the resistance in series with the armature, greater the
decrease in speed.

 Armature Voltage Control

a) Multiple voltage control:

In this method, the shunt field is connected to a fixed exciting voltage and armature is
supplied with different voltages. Voltage across armature is changed with the help of
suitable switchgear. The speed is approximately proportional to the voltage across the
armature.
b) Ward-Leonard System:
This system is used where very sensitive speed control of motor is required (e.g
electric excavators, elevators etc.). The arrangement of this system is as shown in the
figure at right.
M2 is the motor to which speed control is required.
M1 may be any AC motor or DC motor with constant speed.
G is a generator directly coupled to M1.
In this method, the output from generator G is fed to the armature of the motor
M2 whose speed is to be controlled. The output voltage of generator G can be varied
from zero to its maximum value by means of its field regulator and, hence, the
armature voltage of the motor M2 is varied very smoothly. Hence, very smooth speed
control of the dc motor can be obtained by this method.

Advantages of Armature Controlled DC Shunt Motor

1. Very fine speed control over whole range in both directions

2. Uniform acceleration is obtained
3. Good speed regulation
4. It has regenerative braking capacity

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Disadvantages of Armature Controlled DC Shunt Motor

1. Costly arrangement is needed, floor space required is more

2. Low efficiency at light loads
3. Drive produced more noise.

Speed Control Of Series Motor

 Flux Control Method

Field Diverter : A Rheostart is connected parallel to the series field as shown in

fig(a). This variable resistor is also called as a diverter, as desired value of the current
can be diverted through this resistor and hence current through field coil can be
decreased. Hence flux can be decreased to desired amount and speed(N) can be
increased.

Armature Diverter : Rheostat (Divider) is connected across the armature of the coil
as shown in fig (b). For a given constant load torque, if armature current is reduced,
then flux must increase. As armature torque Ta α ØIa. This will result in an increase
in current taken from the supply and hence flux Ø will increase and subsequently
speed of the motor will decrease.

Tapped Field Control

This tapped field control method is shown in fig (c). In this method, field coil is
tapped dividing the number of turns. Thus we can select different value of Ø by
selecting a different number of turns.

In this method flux is reduced and speed is increased by decreasing the number of the
turns of the series field winding. The switch S can be short circuit any part of the field
winding, thus decreasing the flux and raising the speed (N) with full turns of coil.

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

 Variable Resistance In Series With Armature Method

In this method, an introducing resistance (R) is series with the armature of motor.The
voltage across the armature can be reduced. So the speed reduces in proportion with
it. It is seen that for a 4 pole motor, the speed of the motor can be obtained easily.

Series-Parallel Control Method: This type of the method can be widely used in
electric traction, where two or more mechanisms coupled series motors are employed.
If required low speed motors are joined in series, and for higher speed motors are
joined in parallel.

When motors are connected in series, the motors have the same current passing
through them, although voltage across each motor is divided. When in parallel, the
voltage across each motor is same, although current gets divided.

TESTING OF DC MACHINES

Testing of DC machines can be broadly classified as

i) Direct method of Testing

ii) Indirect method of testing

DIRECT METHOD OF TESTING:

In this method, the DC machine is loaded directly by means of a brake applied to a water
cooled pulley coupled to the shaft of the machine. The input and output are measured and
efficiency is determined by η=output/input . It is not practically possible to arrange loads for
machines of large capacity.

INDIRECT METHOD OF TESTING:

In this method, the losses are determined without actual loading the machine. If the losses are
known, then efficiency can be determined. Swinburne’s test and Hopkinson’s test are
commonly used on shunt motors. But, as series motor cannot be started on No-load, these
tests cannot be conducted on DC series motor.

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

BRAKE TEST: is a direct method of testing.

(I) BRAKETEST
In this method, a brake is applied to a water-cooled pulley
mounted on the motor shaft as shown inFig. (2.19).One end
of the rope is fixed to the floor via a spring balance S and a
known mass is suspended at the other end. If the spring
balance reading is (W-S)kg-Wt and the suspended mass has
a weight of Wkg-Wt, then,
Net pull on the rope=(W-S) kg-Wt= (W-S) x 9.81newtons
If r is the radius of the pulley in metres, then the shaft
torque Tsh developed by the motor is
T  W - S  9.81  r N-m
sh Fig 2.19

If the speed of the pulley is N r.p.m., then,

2NTsh 2N  W  S   9.81 r

Output power   watts
60 60
Let V=Supply voltage in volts
I=Current taken by the motor in amperes
Therefore, Input to motor = V I Watts

2N W  S   r  9.81
Efficiency =
60  VI

(ii)In an other method, the motor drives a calibrated generator i.e. one whose
efficiency is known at all loads. The output of the generator is measured with
the help of an ammeter and voltmeter.
Therefore, Output of motor = Generator output / Generator efficiency

Let V =Supply voltage is volts

I = Current taken by the motor in amperes

Input to motor=VI

Thus efficiency of the motor can be determined.

Because of several disadvantages, direct loading method is used only for

determining the efficiency of small machines.

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

Swinburne Test of DC Machine

This method is an indirect method of testing a DC machine. Swinburne’s test is the most
commonly used and simplest method of testing of shunt and compound wound DC machines
which have constant flux.

In this test the efficiency of the machine at any load is pre-determined. We can run the
machine as a motor or as a generator. In this method of testing no load losses are measured
separately and eventually we can determine the efficiency.
The circuit connection for Swinburne’s test is shown in figure below. The speed of the
machine is adjusted to the rated speed with the help of the shunt regulator R as shown in
figure.

Calculation of Efficiency

Let, I0 is the no load current (it can be measured by ammeter A1)

Ish is the shunt field current (it can be measured by ammeter A2)

Then, no load armature current =

Also let, V is the supply voltage. Therefore, No load power input = VI0 watts.

In Swinburne’s test no load power input is only required to supply the losses. The losses
occur in the machine mainly are:

 Iron losses in the core

 Friction and windings losses

 Armature copper loss.

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

Since the no load mechanical output of the machine is zero in Swinburne’s test, the no load
input power is only used to supply the losses.
The value of armature copper loss =

Here, Ra is the armature resistance.

Now, no to get the constant losses we have to subtract the armature copper loss from the no
load power input.

Then,
After calculating the no load constant losses now we can determine the efficiency at any load.

Let, I is the load current at which we have to calculate the efficiency of the machine.
Then, armature current (Ia)= (I – Ish), when the machine is motoring.
And, (Ia)= (I + Ish) when the machine is generating.

Calculation of Efficiency When the Machine is Motoring on Load

Power input = VI

Armature copper loss,

Constant losses,

Calculation of Efficiency When the Machine is Generating on Load

Power input = VI
Armature copper loss,
Constant losses,

∴ Efficiency of the generator:

Advantages of Swinburne’s Test

The main advantages of this test are:

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UNIT II (DC MOTORS)

1. This test is very convenient and economical as it is required very less power
from supply to perform the test.

2. Since constant losses are known, efficiency of Swinburne’s test can be pre-
determined at any load.

Disadvantages of Swinburne’s Test

The main disadvantages of this test are :

1. Iron loss is neglected though there is change in iron loss from no load to full
load due to armature reaction.

2. We cannot be sure about the satisfactory commutation on loaded condition

because the test is done on no-load.

3. We can’t measure the temperature rise when the machine is loaded. Power
losses can vary with the temperature.

4. In DC series motors, the Swinburne’s test cannot be done to find its efficiency
as it is a no load test.

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