ELECTRICAL MACHINES-II
Unit 1: Three Phase Induction Machines
Contents
• Construction details of cage and wound rotor machines
• Principle of operation- production of rotating magnetic field
• Rotor emf and rotor frequency
• Rotor current and pf at standstill and during running conditions
• Rotor power input, rotor copper loss and mechanical power
developed and their interrelationship
• Equivalent circuit
• Phasor diagram and Problems
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1. Three Phase Induction Motor
The most common type of AC motor being used throughout the work today is the
"Induction Motor". Applications of three-phase induction motors of size varying
from half a kilowatt to thousands of kilowatts are numerous. They are found
everywhere from a small workshop to a large manufacturing industry.
The advantages of three-phase AC induction motor are listed below:
• Simple design
• Rugged construction
• Reliable operation
• Low initial cost
• Easy operation and simple maintenance
• Simple control gear for starting and speed control
• High efficiency.
Induction motor is originated in the year 1891 with crude construction (The
induction machine principle was invented by NIKOLA TESLA in 1888.). Then an
improved construction with distributed stator windings and a cage rotor was built.
The slip ring rotor was developed after a decade or so. Since then a lot of
improvement has taken place on the design of these two types of induction motors.
Lot of research work has been carried out to improve its power factor and to achieve
suitable methods of speed control.
1. Types and Construction of Three Phase Induction Motor
Three phase induction motors are constructed into two major types:
1. Squirrel cage Induction Motors
2. Slip ring Induction Motors
[1]1 Squirrel cage Induction Motors
(a) Stator Construction
The induction motor stator resembles the stator of a revolving field, three phase
alternator. The stator or the stationary part consists of three phase winding held in
place in the slots of a laminated steel core which is enclosed and supported by a cast
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iron or a steel frame as shown in Fig: 1(a). The Fig: 1(b) shows the cut view of
stator’s with its parts.
The phase windings are placed 120 electrical degrees apart and may be connected in
either star or delta externally, for which six leads are brought out to a terminal box
mounted on the frame of the motor. When the stator is energized from a three phase
voltage it will produce a rotating magnetic field in the stator core.
Fig: 1(a). Iron or a steel frame Fig: 1(b) Cut view of stator’s with its parts.
Fig: 1(c) Schematic diagram of stator (star connected windings).
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Fig: 1 (d) Squirrel cage rotor shows rotor bars and end rings without rotor stampings
end
Fig: 1 (e) Squirrel cage rotor
(a) Rotor Construction
The rotor of the squirrel cage motor shown in Fig: 1(e) contains no windings. Instead
it is a cylindrical core constructed of steel laminations with conductor bars mounted
parallel to the shaft and embedded near the surface of the rotor core.
These conductor bars are short circuited by an end rings at both end of the rotor core.
In large machines, these conductor bars and the end rings are made up of copper with
the bars brazed or welded to the end rings shown in Fig: 1(c).In small machines the
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conductor bars and end rings are sometimes made of aluminium with the bars and
rings cast in as part of the rotor core. Actually the entire construction (bars and end-
rings) resembles a squirrel cage, from which the name is derived.
The rotor or rotating part is not connected electrically to the power supply but has
voltage induced in it by transformer action from the stator. For this reason, the stator
is sometimes called the primary and the rotor is referred to as the secondary of the
motor since the motor operates on the principle of induction and as the construction
of the rotor with the bars and end rings resembles a squirrel cage, the squirrel cage
induction motor is used.
The rotor bars are not insulated from the rotor core because they are made of metals
having less resistance than the core. The induced current will flow mainly in them.
Also the rotor bars are usually not quite parallel to the rotor shaft but are mounted in
a slightly skewed position. This feature tends to produce a more uniform rotor field
and torque. Also it helps to reduce some of the internal magnetic noise when the
motor is running.
(b) End Shields
The function of the two end shields is to support the rotor shaft. They are fitted with
bearings and attached to the stator frame with the help of studs or bolts attention.
Advantages of squirrel cage rotor
• No slip rings, brushes, brush holders, & rotor terminals; thus less operating
troubles.
• Star-Delta starter is sufficient for its starting
• Its construction is robust and cheep
• It has higher efficiency
• Rotor to slots space factor is better, shorter overhang, thus smaller copper loss
• With bare end rings, it has better ventilation opportunity.
• With smaller overhang leakage, it has better power factor, greater pull-out
torque and overload capacity.
Disadvantages squirrel cage rotor
• It is not possible to insert external resistance
- to increase starting torque and
- to decrease starting current
• They have small starting torque but large starting current as compared to the
wound rotor.
• From the rotor side, speed control is impossible.
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[1]2 Slip ring Induction Motors (or) Wound Rotor Induction Motor
(a) Stator Construction
The construction of the slip ring induction motor is exactly similar to the
construction of squirrel cage induction motor. There is no difference between
squirrel cage and slip ring motors.
(b) Rotor Construction
The rotor of the slip ring induction motor is also cylindrical or constructed of lamination.
Squirrel cage motors have a rotor with short circuited bars whereas slip ring motors
have wound rotors having "three windings" each connected in star.
The winding is made of copper wire. The terminals of the rotor windings of the slip
ring motors are brought out through slip rings which are in contact with stationary
brushes as shown in Fig: 2.
Fig: 2. Wound Rotor or Slip ring Rotor
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Fig: 3. Single line diagram of Slip ring Induction Motor
THE ADVANTAGES OF THE SLIPRING MOTOR
• High starting torque of 200 to 250% of full load value.
• Low starting current of the order of 250 to 350% of the full load current.
• The locked-rotor current can be reduced by inserting external resistances in series
with the rotor windings
• The speed can be varied by varying the external resistances.
• The wound rotor motor is ideally suited to accelerate high inertia loads
Disadvantages OF THE SLIPRING MOTOR
• Has slip rings, brushes, brush holders, & rotor terminals; thus greater operating troubles
and require frequent maintenance.
• It has large overhang leakage, more copper loss, thus, less power factor and inferior
efficiency compared to squirrel cage motor.
• Compared to squirrel cage rotors, wound rotor motors are expensive, so it is not so common
in industry applications
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Comparison of Squirrel Cage and Slip Ring Motor
Sl.No. Property Squirrel cage motor Slip ring motor
1. Rotor Bars are used in rotor. Squirrel Winding wire is to be used.
Construction cage motor is very simple,
rugged and long lasting. Wound rotor required
attention.
No slip rings and brushes
Slip ring and brushes are
needed also need frequent
maintenance.
2. Starting Can be started by D.O.L., Rotor resistance starter is
star-delta, auto required.
transformer starters
3. Starting torque Low Very high
4. Starting Current High Low
5. Speed variation Not easy, but could be Easy to vary speed.
varied in large steps by
pole changing or through Speed change is possible by
smaller incremental steps inserting rotor resistance
through thyristors or by using thyristors or by using
frequency variation. frequency variation
injecting emf in the rotor
circuit cascading.
6. Maintenance Almost ZERO maintenance Requires frequent
maintenance
7. Cost Low High
3. Principle of Operation
The operation of a 3-phase induction motor is based upon the application of Faraday
Law and the Lorentz force on a conductor.
When a 3 phase supply is given to the stator winding it sets up a rotating magnetic field in
space. This rotating magnetic field has a speed which is known as the synchronous speed.
This rotating magnetic field induces the voltage in rotor bars and hence short-circuit
currents start flowing in the rotor.
These rotor currents generate their self-magnetic field which will interact with the field of
the stator.
Because the current carrying conductor lies in the magnetic field of the permanent
magnet, it experiences a mechanical force (Lorentz force).
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Now the rotor field will try to oppose its cause (According to lenz law), and hence rotor
starts following the rotating magnetic field.
The moment rotor catches the rotating magnetic field the rotor current drops to
zero as there is no more relative motion between the rotating magnetic field and rotor.
Hence, at that moment the rotor experiences zero tangential force hence the rotor
decelerates for the moment.
After deceleration of the rotor, the relative motion between the rotor and the
rotating magnetic field reestablishes hence rotor current again being induced. So again,
the tangential force for rotation of the rotor is restored, and therefore again the rotor starts
following rotating magnetic field, and in this way, the rotor maintains a constant speed
which is just less than the speed of rotating magnetic field or synchronous speed.
Slip is a measure of the difference between the speed of the rotating magnetic field
and rotor speed.
The rotor speed is always less than the synchronous speed of the rotating magnetic field. WHY?
If rotor runs at synchronous speed, there would be no induced emf and no current in the
rotor conductors, no rotor field and hence no torque. Thus we see that an induction motor
cannot run at synchronous speed.
4. Rotating Magnetic Field
When a balanced three-phase voltage is applied to the stator windings, currents ia, ib and
ic, each of equal magnitude, but differing in phase by 120° flow in the stator winding.
• Each phase current produces a magnetic flux and there is physical 120 °shift between
each flux.
The three phases of the stator winding (balanced) carry balanced alternating (sinusoidal) currents
as shown in Fig.
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Three phase Voltage waveform
Three phase Current waveform
Three phase flux waveform
ΦB
120°
ΦA 120°
120°
ΦC
Positive direction of flux
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Let the maximum value of flux of each phase be φm
The resultant flux φr, at any instant, is given by the vector sum of the individual fluxes
φA, φB and φc
Let us consider values of φr at four instants 1/6 time- period apart, corresponding to points
marked 0,1,2 and 3 in flux waveform
i) when θ = 0o, i.e. corresponding to point 0,
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SUMMARY
• In all four cases, it is found that the resultant flux is1.5 φm ; but has rotated clockwise
through an angle of 600 in each of the case.
• The resultant flux is of constant value ; i.e. 1.5 times the maximum value of the flux of
each phase and it is rotating.
• The resultant flux rotates around the stator at synchronous speed given by:-
120 f
Ns =
P Where, f - is supply frequency , P – is number of poles,Ns- Synchronous Speed
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