University of Wasit

Department of Electrical Engineering

Second Year / Semester I

DC Machine
Part-7
 DC motor principles
 DC motors consist of rotor-
mounted windings (armature) and
stationary windings (field poles).
In all DC motors, except
permanent magnet motors, current
must be conducted to the armature
windings by passing current
through carbon brushes that slide
over a set of copper surfaces
called a commutator, which is
mounted on the rotor.
 The commutator bars are soldered to armature coils. The brush/commutator
combination makes a sliding switch that energizes particular portions of the
armature, based on the position of the rotor. This process creates north and
south magnetic poles on the rotor that are attracted to or repelled by north
and south poles on the stator, which are formed by passing direct current
through the field windings. It's this magnetic attraction and repulsion that
causes the rotor to rotate.
 The Advantages
 The greatest advantage of DC motors may be
speed control. Since speed is directly
proportional to armature voltage and
inversely proportional to the magnetic flux
produced by the poles, adjusting the
armature voltage and/or the field current
will change the rotor speed.
 Today, adjustable frequency drives can
provide precise speed control for AC motors,
but they do so at the expense of power
quality, as the solid-state switching devices
in the drives produce a rich harmonic
spectrum. The DC motor has no adverse
 The drawbacks
 Power supply, initial cost, and
maintenance requirements are the
negatives associated with DC motors
 Rectification must be provided for any DC
motors supplied from the grid. It can also
cause power quality problems.
 The construction of a DC motor is
considerably more complicated and
expensive than that of an AC motor,
primarily due to the commutator,
brushes, and armature windings. An
induction motor requires no commutator
or brushes, and most use cast squirrel-
cage rotor bars instead of true windings
Fleming’s left hand rule
 Used to determine the
direction of force acting on
a current carrying
conductor placed in a
magnetic field.
 The middle finger , the fore
finger and thumb of the left
hand are kept at right
angles to one another.
 The middle finger represent the direction of
current
 The fore finger represent the direction of
magnetic field
 The thumb will indicate the direction of force
Working principles:
 An Electric motor is a machine which converts electric
energy into mechanical energy.
 When a current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic
field, it produces a mechanical force whose direction is
given by Fleming’s Left-hand Rule and whose magnitude is
given by F=BIl Newton.
 The produce force tending to rotate the armature. It will be
seen that each conductor experiences a force F which tends
to rotate the armature in anticlockwise direction.
 These forces collectively produce a driving torque which
sets the armature rotating.
 It should be noted that the function of a commutator in the
motor is the same as in a generator. By reversing current in
each conductor as it passes from one pole to another, it
helps to develop a continuous and unidirectional torque.
Back or Counter EMF
As soon as the armature starts rotating,
dynamically induced e.m.f. is produced in the
armature conductors.
The direction of this induced e.m.f. as found by
Fleming’s Right-hand Rule, is outwards i.e., in
direct opposition to the applied voltage . This is
why it is known as back e.m.f. Eb or counter e.m.f.
Its value is the same as for the induced e.m.f. in
the generator i.e. Eb = (ΦZN/60) × (P/A) volts.
The applied voltage V has to be force current
through the armature conductors against this
back e.m.f. Eb.
The electric work done in overcoming this
Significance of Back EMF
 The back emf makes the motor to draw as much armature
current as is just sufficient to develop the torque required
by the load, called “self-regulating”.
 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 loaded, the first effect is to cause the
armature to slow down and hence the back emf E falls. The
decreased back emf allows a larger current to flow through
the armature which means increased driving torque.
 If the load on the motor is decreased, the armature is
accelerated. As the armature speed increases, the back emf
E also increases and causes the armature current Ia to
decrease. Therefore, that 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.
 Torque equation
t F * r The torque for single conductor. Where: F force, r rotor radius
T F * r * Z The total torque. Where: Z no. of conductors
F BIl Where: B is the magnetic field density, I conductor current, l conductor length
 T BIl * r * Z
 2r p
B ; A l  B Where: p is no. of poles
A p 2rl
I Where: Ia is armature current, a no. of parallel paths
I a
a
p I a
T  * *l * r * Z
2rl a
ZI a p
T  ( )
2 a
or T kI a N .m
Zp
where k  Where: k is the machine constant
2a
Major types of dc motors
 Self excited dc motor
Series dc motor
Shunt dc motor
Compound dc motor
 Separately excited dc motor
 Permanent magnet dc motor
 Series motors Rf
ia Ra
 Series motors
connect the field
windings in series M Ea VT (dc
with the armature. supply)

 Series motors lack

good speed
regulation, but are
well-suited for high- VT Ea  ia ( Ra  R f )
torque loads like
power tools and note : ia iL
automobile starters
because of their Ea K1 K 2 I a
high torque
 Series Motor Power Flow Diagram
Pcf=ia2Rf Prot

Pin= VTiL Pm= Ea ia Pout

Pca=ia2Ra
Prot is the rotational losses
normally given

Pin = Pout + total losses  60 Pout 

for output / load torque ( shaft torque ) , Tsh  
 2 N 
Where,  60 Pm 
Pca =armature copper loss for mechanical torque , Tm  
 2 N 
Pcf =field copper loss
Prot=stray, mech. etc P 
Efficiency ,   out 
Pm= Ea ia  Pin 
 Example 1:
Ra Rf
A dc machine in Figure 1 is ia
consumed a 6.5kW when the
12.5 A of armature current
is passing thru the armature
M Ea VT (dc
and field resistance of 3.3
and 2.0 respectively. supply)

Assume stray losses of

1.2kW. Calculate
a) terminal voltage, VT
Figure 1
b) back emf, Ea
c) gross and shaft torque if
the speed is at 3560rpm
d) efficiency of the machine
[520V, 453.75V, 15.2, 12N-m,
68.8%]
 Example 2:
A 600V 150-hp dc machine in
Figure 2 operates at its full
rated load at 600rpm. The
armature and field resistance
are 0.12 and 0.04
respectively. The machine draws Ra Rf
200A at full load. Assume stray ia
losses 1700W. Determine
a) the armature back emf at full
load, Ea
b) developed/mechanical power M Ea VT (dc
and developed/mechanical supply)
torque
c) assume that a change in load
results in the line current
dropping to 150A. Find the new Figure 2
speed in rpm and new
developed torque. {Hint:
Ea=K1K2ia}

[568V, 113.6kW, 1808Nm, 811.27rpm, 1017Nm]

Shunt motors
 Shunt motors use high- ia Ra iL
resistance field windings
connected in parallel with if
the armature.
 Varying the field resistance
changes the motor speed.
 Shunt motors are prone to M Ea Rf VT (dc
armature reaction, a supply)

distortion and weakening of

the flux generated by the
poles that results in
commutation problems
evidenced by sparking at

the brushes.
Installing additional poles,
VT Ea  ia ( Ra )
called interpoles, on the
stator between the main note : iL ia  i f
poles wired in series with VT i f R f
the armature reduces
Shunt Motor (power flow diagram)
Pcf=if2Rf Prot
Pin=VTiL Pm Pout

Pca=ia2Ra

Prot. is normally given  60 Pout 

for output / load torque , Tsh  
Pin = Pout + total losses  2 N 
 60 Pm 
Where,
for mechanical torque , Tm  
 2 N 
Pca =armature copper loss
Pcf =field copper loss  Pout 
Efficiency ,   
P =stray, mech. etc
Pmrot= Ea ia  Pin 
Shunt Motor
Example :
A voltage of 230V is applied to armature of a
machines results in a full load armature
currents of 205A. Assume that armature
resistance is 0.2. Find the back emf, net
power and torque by assuming the rotational
losses are 1445W at full load speed of
1750rpm.

[189V, 37.3kW, 203.5Nm]

Compound motors
 the concept of
the series and
shunt designs are ia Ra Rf2 iL

combined.
if

VT Ea  ia ( Ra  R f 2 ) M Ea Rf1 VT (dc

supply)

note : iL ia  i f
VT i f R f 1
Compound motor (power flow diagram)
Pca=ia2Ra Pcf2=ia2Rf2 Prot.

Pin=VTiL Pm Pout

Pcf1=if2Rf1

Prot. is normally given  60 Pout 

for output / load torque , Tsh  
 2  N 
Pin = Pout + total losses  60 Pm 
for mechanical torque , Tm  
 2  N 
Where,
P 
Pca =armature copper loss Efficiency ,   out 
Pcf =field copper loss  Pin 
P stray, mech etc
Pmrot.=
= Ea ia
Condition of maximum efficiency
 Pout  VI  I a2 Ra  Wc
Efficiency ,     where : Wc is the const . loss
 Pin  VI
d
for max . efficiency 0
dI a
let I I a
d VI a (V  2 I a Ra )  (VI  I a2 Ra  Wc )V
  2
0
dI a (VI a )
2
V 2 I a  2VI a2 Ra  V 2 I a  VI a Ra  VWc 0
 2 I a2 Ra  I a2 Ra  Wc 0
I a2 Ra Wc
the const . loss variable loss
Condition of Maximum Power
 The gross mechanical power developed by a motor is:
Pm = V Ia − Ia2 Ra.
 Differentiating both sides with respect to Ia and equating
the result to zero, we get:
d Pm/d Ia = V − 2 Ia Ra = 0
∴ Ia Ra = V/2
As V = Eb + Ia Ra and Ia Ra = V/2
∴ Eb = V/2
 Thus gross mechanical power developed by a motor is
maximum when back e.m.f. is equal to half the applied
voltage. This condition is, however, not realized in practice,
because in that case current would be much beyond the
normal current of the motor. Moreover, half the input
would be wasted in the form of heat and taking other losses
(mechanical and magnetic) into consideration, the motor
Separately Excited Motor
There is no direct connection between the
armature and field winding resistance

DC field current is supplied by an

independent source
(such as battery or another generator or prime
mover called an exciter)
Permanent Magnet motors
 PMDC is a dc motor whose poles are made of
permanent magnets.
 Do not require external field circuit, no
copper losses
 No field winding, size smaller than other
types dc motors.
 Disadvantage: cannot produce high flux
density, then a low torque is obtained.