ELE 576 Lecture VI
ELE 576 Lecture VI
Introduction
Induction motor is not only supremely elegant as an electromechanical energy
converter, but is also by far the most important, with something like half of all
the electricity generated being converted back to mechanical energy in induction
motors. Despite playing a key role in industrial society, it remains largely
unnoticed because of its everyday role driving machinery, pumps, fans,
compressors, conveyors, hoists, and a host of other routine but vital tasks. It will
doubtless continue to dominate fixed-speed applications, but, thanks to the
availability of reliable variable-frequency inverters, it is now also a leader in the
controlled-speed arena.
Like the DC motor, the induction motor develops torque by the interaction of
axial currents on the rotor and a radial magnetic field produced by the stator. But
whereas in the DC motor the ‘work’ current has to be fed into the rotor by means
of brushes and a commutator, the torque-producing currents in the rotor of the
induction motor are induced by electromagnetic action, hence the name
‘induction’ motor. The stator winding therefore not only produces the magnetic
field (the ‘excitation’), but al so supplies the energy which is converted to
mechanical output. The absence of any sliding mechanical contacts and the
consequent saving in terms of maintenance is a major advantage of the induction
motor over the DC machine.
Other differences between the induction motor and the DC motor are firstly that
the supply to the induction motor is AC (usually three-phase, but in smaller sizes
single phase); secondly that the magnetic field in the induction motor rotates
relative to the stator, while in the DC motor it is stationary; and thirdly that both
stator and rotor in the induction motor are non-salient (i .e. effectively smooth)
whereas the DC motor stator has projecting poles or saliencies which define the
position of the field windings.
Given these differences we might expect to find major contrasts between the
performance of the two types of motor, and it is true that their inherent
characteristics exhibit distinctive features. But there are also many aspects of
behaviour which are similar. Perhaps most important from the user’s point of
view is that there is no dramatic difference in size or weight between an induction
motor and a DC motor giving the same power at the same base speed, though the
induction motor will usually be cheaper. The similarity in size is a reflection of
the fact that both types employ similar amounts of copper and iron, while the
difference in price stems from the simpler construction and production volume of
the induction motor.
Equivalent Circuit
A single-phase equivalent circuit can be developed for the induction motor by first separating
the stator and rotor circuits. The equivalent circuit of the stator is shown in Figure 1. The stator
is a set of windings made of copper material mounted on the core. The windings have a
resistance R1 and inductive reactance X1. The core, which is made of steel alloy, can be
represented by a linear combination of a parallel resistance and a reactance (Rm and Xm). This
core representation approximately models the hysteresis and eddy current effects. The sum of
currents in Rm and Xm is called the magnetizing current Im. Rm and Xm are each of a high
ohmic value. The number of turns of the stator windings is N1, and its effective voltage drop
E1 is equal to the source voltage V minus the drop across the winding impedance.
(1)
The magnetizing current Im is a small fraction of I1 and can be ignored for heavily loaded
motors.
The rotor circuit needs a special analysis. First, let us assume that the rotor is at standstill. In
this case, the induction machine is behaving similarly to the transformer.
Now let us assume that the rotor is spinning at speed n. In this case, the induced
voltage across the rotor Eris proportional to the relative speed ∆𝑛 between the
rotor and the field. Keep in mind that the induced voltage at standstill E2 is
proportional to the synchronous speed (∆𝑛 = 𝑛𝑠 ).
(3)
(4)
The frequency of the rotor current is also dependent on Dn. At standstill (∆𝑛 =
𝑛𝑠 ), the frequency of 𝐸2 or 𝐼2 is the same as the stator’s supply frequency 𝑓. At
any other speed, the frequency of the rotor current depends on the rate by which
the rotor windings cut through the field. Hence, it depends on the relative speed
Dn. At standstill, the rotor frequency 𝑓𝑠𝑠 is
(5)
Hence,
(7)
Speed Control of Induction Motors
The speed control of an induction motor requires more elaborate techniques than
the speed control of dc machines.
Firstly, let us analyse the basic relationship for the speed-torque characteristics of
an induction motor given in Equation (1).
(1)
By examining this equation, we can conclude that the speed v (or slip s) can be
controlled if at least one of the following variables or parameters is altered:
i. Armature or rotor resistance
ii. Armature or rotor inductance
iii. Magnitude of terminal voltage
iv. Frequency of terminal voltage
Each of the above techniques by itself is not sufficient. However, when more than
one are combined, the control of the induction motor becomes more effective.
Although it is not evident by examining Equation (1), there are other useful and
effective techniques for speed control. Among them are:
v. Rotor voltage injection
vi. Slip energy recovery
vii. Voltage/frequency control
(2)
Keep in mind that V is a line-to-line quantity. If the voltage, frequency, and torque
are kept constant, the increase in 𝑅2′ results in an increase in the slip. Hence, the
motor speed is reduced.
Figure 1 shows the motor characteristics for the case when a resistance 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑑 is
added to the rotor circuit. The increase in rotor resistance does not change the
synchronous speed or the magnitude of the maximum torque; it
This equation has two solutions; one of them yields a large slip and should be
ignored since the motor speed at full load is always near synchronous.
To compute the winding losses, we first need to calculate the motor current. The
easiest way is to use the developed power equation.
Losses of motor winding = losses of rotor resistance + loss
Now we need to calculate the size of the added resistance. Let us use the small-
slip approximation given in Equation (2) to create a ratio between the
original and new torque.
The new current can be calculated by using the developed power equation
As seen in Equation (1), the torque of the motor is proportional to the square of
its stator voltage. For the same slip and frequency, a small change in motor
voltage results in a relatively large change in torque. A 10% reduction in voltage
causes a 19% reduction in developed torque as well as the starting and maximum
torques.
The characteristics of the motor under voltage control are shown in Fig. 3. The
figure is based on Equation (1) and shows two curves for two different values of
the stator voltage. Note that the slip at the maximum torque remains unchanged
since it is not a function of voltage. For normal operation in the linear region, the
figure shows that the motor speed can be modestly changed when the voltage is
altered. However, a wide range of speed control cannot be accomplished by this
technique. Nevertheless, it is an excellent method for reducing starting current
and increasing efficiency during light loading conditions. The starting current is
reduced since it is directly proportional to the stator voltage. The losses are
reduced, particularly core losses, which are proportional to the square of the
voltage.
Keep in mind that the terminal voltage cannot exceed the rated value to prevent
the damage of the windings’ insulation. Thus, this technique is only suitable for
speed reduction below the rated speed.
Example
For the motor given in Example 7.1, assume that the load torque is constant and
equal to 120 Nm. Ignore the rotational losses and calculate the motor speed at full
voltage. Repeat the computation if the voltage is reduced by 20%.
Solution
First calculate the motor speed at the given load torque. The small-slip
approximation can be used.
Speed Control using Supply Frequency
In steady state, the induction motor operates in the small-slip region, where the
speed of the motor is always close to the synchronous speed of the rotating flux.
(3)
where f is the frequency of the stator voltage and p is the number of poles. Since
the synchronous speed is directly proportional to the frequency of the stator
voltage, any change in frequency results in an equivalent change in motor speed.
If you plot the motor characteristics of Equation (1) for different values of supply
frequencies, you can obtain a family of characteristics similar to the ones shown
in Fig. 4. The effect of frequency on motor current is given by equation (4). The
current characteristics of the motor are shown in Fig. 5.
(4)
When the frequency increases, the equivalent reactance increases and the
starting current decreases. At high frequencies, the resistance of the motor
windings may also increase due to the skin effect.