Problems

Chapter 2 - DC Motor Drives

2-1. A 600V, dc shunt motor has armature and field resistance of 1.5Ω and 600Ω,
respectively. When the motor runs unloaded, the line current is 3A, and the speed is
1000rpm. Calculate the developed torque at a full load armature current of 50A.

2-2. A dc, separately excited motor has the following parameters and ratings:
K = 3Vs, Ra = 2,
Terminal voltage = 600V, Full load torque = 21Nm
a. Calculate the armature current at full load torque.
b. Calculate the starting current. Show how you can reduce the starting current by 80%.

2-3. A dc, separately excited motor has a load torque of 140Nm and a frictional torque
of 10Nm. The motor is rated at 240V. The armature resistance of the motor is 1Ω. The
motor speed at the given load is 600rpm. Ignore the field losses and calculate the motor
efficiency.

2-4. A dc series motor has an armature current of 10A at full load. The motor terminal
voltage is 300V. The armature and field resistances are 2Ω and 3Ω, respectively. The
motor speed at full load is 250rpm. Calculate the starting torque of the motor.

2-5. A 1000V, 50hp compound motor runs at a speed of 750rpm at full load. The
armature, series, and shunt field resistances are 0.5Ω, 1Ω, and 200Ω, respectively. The
motor efficiency at this condition is 80%. Calculate the motor’s starting current.

2-6. A 220V, 1500rpm, 11.6A (armature current) separately excited motor is controlled
by a single-phase, full-wave SCR converter. The armature resistance of the motor is
2Ω. The ac source voltage is 230V(rms) 60Hz. Enough filtering inductance is added to
ensure continuous conduction for any torque greater than 25% of the rated value. You
may ignore the rotational losses. What should be the value of the firing angle
(triggering angle) to drive a mechanical load of rated torque at 1000rpm?

2-7. A 600V, dc shunt motor has armature and field resistances of 1.5Ω and 600Ω,
respectively. When the motor runs unloaded, the line current is 3A, and the speed is
l000rpm.
a. Calculate motor speed when the load draws an armature current of 30A.

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b. If the load is constant-torque type, what is the motor speed when 3Ω resistance is
added to the armature circuit?
c. Calculate the motor speed if the field is reduced by 10%.

2-8. A dc shunt motor drives a centrifugal pump at a speed of 1000rpm when the
terminal voltage and line currents are 200V and 50A, respectively. The armature and
field resistances are 0.1Ω and 100Ω, respectively.
a. Design a starting resistance for a maximum starting current of 120A in the armature
circuit.
b. What resistance should be added to the armature circuit to reduce the speed to
800rpm?
c. If the terminal voltage is reduced by 25%, what is the speed of the motor?

2-9. A dc, separately excited motor has an armature resistance of 1Ω. When a dc supply
of 100V is applied to the motor, the armature current is 4A and the motor speed is
300rpm. A half-wave SCR converter is designed to control the motor speed. The supply
voltage is 120V(rms), and the triggering angle of the converter is adjusted to 60°. When
the motor is loaded with a constant-load torque of 10Nm, the conduction period is 175°.
Assume that the field current is constant.
a. Calculate the average speed of the motor.
b. If the triggering angle is 35° and the average speed is 300rpm, what is the conduction
period of the motor?
c. A full-wave SCR converter is designed for the same motor. If the triggering angle is
50° and the conduction period is 120°, what is the speed of the motor?
d. A sufficiently large inductance is added in series with the armature circuit of the
motor described in (c). Calculate the minimum triggering angle of the SCR to run the
motor at a speed of 100rpm with continuous armature current.

2-10. A dc shunt motor is driving a constant-torque load at the rated speed and rated
terminal voltage. The motor has the following rated data:
Field constant ( K ) = 3Vs
Terminal voltage = 115V, Speed = 312rpm
If the terminal voltage of the motor is reduced by 10%, what is the motor speed?
Assume that the field voltage is also reduced by the same ratio.

2-11. A dc, separately excited motor is connected to a fan-type load. The armature
circuit of the motor is connected to a full-wave, ac/dc SCR converter. The input voltage
to the converter is 200V(rms). The triggering angle of the converter is adjusted for a

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motor speed of 500rpm. The armature current in this case is 16A. The armature
resistance of the motor is 0.5Ω, and the field constant ( K ) is 2.5 Vs. Assume that the
armature current is always continuous.
a. Calculate the triggering angle to run the motor at 500rpm.
b. If the motor speed is to be reduced to 100rpm, what is the triggering angle?

2-12. A 220V, 1500rpm, 11.6A (armature current), separately excited motor is

controlled by a single-phase, full-wave SCR converter. The armature resistance of the
motor is 2Ω. The ac source voltage is 230V(rms) 60Hz. Enough inductance is added
to ensure continuous conduction for any torque greater than 25% of rated value. (Ignore
the rotational losses.)
a. Calculate the triggering angle for a speed of 1000rpm at rated torque.
b. Assuming that the torque is a fan-type, calculate the triggering angle for a motor
speed of 900rpm.
c. Sketch the speed-torque characteristics showing the operating points of cases (a) and
(b)

2-13. A dc, separately excited motor is used to drive a constant-torque load. The field
circuit is excited by a full-wave, ac/dc SCR converter. The armature circuit of the motor
is connected to a constant dc voltage source of 160V. The inductance of the field circuit
is large, and the field current is continuous. The ac voltage (input to the converter) is
120V(rms), and the field resistance is 100Ω. The armature resistance is 2Ω. When the
triggering angle of the SCRs is adjusted to zero, the motor speed is 1200rpm, and the
armature current is 10A.
a. Calculate the average current and dc power of the field circuit when the triggering
angle is equal to 20°.
b. Calculate the rms voltage across the field windings for the condition given in (a).
Explain how the rms voltage is dependent on the triggering angle.
c. Calculate the no-load speed of the motor. Ignore the friction and windage losses.
d. Calculate the triggering angle to operate the motor at a speed of 1400rpm.
e. Can you use the field converter to reduce the motor speed to 1000rpm? How?

2-14. A dc, separately excited motor is driving a hoist. The motor has an armature
resistance of 1.5Ω, and a field constant ( K ) equal to 3.5Vs. The terminals of the
armature circuit are connected directly across a 240V, dc source. The field circuit is
connected to an ac/dc, full-wave, solid-state converter. The control circuit of the
converter is designed to maintain the speed of the motor constant. At full load, when
the field current is at its rated value, the motor speed is 600rpm.

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 One day while the motor was operating at full-load conditions, a failure in the dc
source caused the armature voltage to change suddenly. The control circuit of the field
converter acted rapidly to maintain the motor speed at 600rpm. Due to the action of the
control circuit, the field flux was reduced by 25%. What was the percentage change in
the armature voltage? Indicate whether the change was a voltage increase or decrease.

2-15. A separately excited, dc motor has the following name plate ratings: Terminal
voltage = 400V, Speed = 1250rpm, Developed torque at full load = 90Nm, Full-load
armature current = 30A.
A single-phase, full-wave, ac/dc converter is connected between a 480V (rms) ac
source and the armature terminals. A fan-type load is connected to the motor. When
the triggering angle is adjusted to 40°, the motor speed is 1050rpm. Calculate the
triggering angle required to operate the motor at 1200rpm. Assume that the armature
current is always continuous.

2-16. A dc, separately excited motor has the following ratings: Armature voltage =
200V, Field constant ( K ) = 3Vs, Armature resistance = 1Ω. The motor is used in a
drilling operation. When the armature voltage of the loaded motor is 200V, the motor
speed is 500rpm. Calculate the following:
a. Armature current when the motor speed is 500rpm.
b. Load torque when the motor speed is 500rpm.
c. Motor speed when the armature voltage is reduced by 10%.
d. Armature current at the condition described in (c).

2-17. A 1000V, 50hp, dc series motor is used as a hoist. The motor runs at a speed of
750rpm at full load. The armature and field resistances are 0.5Ω and 2.0Ω, respectively.
a. Calculate the motor speed and line current when the load torque is reduced by 50%.
b. For the load condition in part (a), assume that a resistance of 5Ω is added in series
with the field windings. Calculate the motor speed and line current.

2-18. A dc series motor drives a fan-type load. At rated current, the motor speed is
600rpm. If a resistance equal to 0.25 of the field resistances shunts the field winding,
what is the approximate motor speed?

2-19. A dc series motor runs a constant-torque load. The terminal voltage of the motor
is 200V, the speed is 500rpm, the armature current is 25A, the armature resistance is
0.2Ω, and the field resistance is 0.6Ω. If the armature is shunted by a 10Ω resistance,
what is the speed of the motor?

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2-20. A dc, separately excited motor is used to hoist a constant-weight load. The motor
is driven by a full-wave, ac/dc converter. The voltage on the ac side is 110V (rms). The
field constant of the motor K is 3Vs, and the armature resistance is 1Ω. The armature
current is continuous under loaded conditions. When the triggering angle is 30°, the
motor speed is 60rpm. Calculate the following:
a. Load torque.
b. Load power.
c. Armature current when the triggering angle is adjusted to 45°.
d. Motor speed when the triggering angle is reduced to 30° and the field current is
reduced by 10%.