ENGI3371 Electrical Engineering 3

Michaelmas
DC machine drives
Prof. Christopher Crabtree [email protected]

An electrical machine is a device for electromechanical energy conversion. Depending on the machine’s operation, it
will either be a classified as a motor or a generator.
• Motor: Converts electrical energy to mechanical energy
• Generator: Converts mechanical energy to electrical energy

Importantly, any electrical machine can operate as either a motor or a generator; we only need to change the
conditions under which the machine is operating. For historical reasons, some machines are usually referred to as
being ‘motors’ while some are referred to as ‘generators’, the reality being that they could be either.

Electrical machines are broadly groups as follows:

• DC machines
o Wound field: Separately-excited, series-excited or shunt-excited (and sometimes ‘universal’)
o Permanent magnet: Brushed or brushless

• AC machines
o Synchronous generators: Primarily for power generation (hence calling them ‘generator’ when they
can be either)
▪ Wound field: Conventional (coal, gas, nuclear) generation (usually around 1,000-3,000 rpm);
low speed generation (wind turbines at < 20 rpm)
▪ Permanent magnet: Wind and other renewables; usually medium to high speed (200-
2000 rpm) but very flexible
o Synchronous motors: Limited applications for high power loads (but they could be generators too…)
o Induction generators: Limited applications and functionality; typically used in older fixed-speed wind
turbines at 1,000-1,500 rpm
o Induction motors: Still referred to as “the workhorse of industry” and with good reason; around 80-
90 % of all industrial loads are induction motors; highly robust.

• Special machines
o Stepper motors: Fine positioning and control
o Switched reluctance motors (e.g. Dyson Digital Motor)
o Synchronous reluctance motors: Harsh or extreme environments (interestingly never really
investigated as generators so there is your PhD topic…)
o Universal motors (e.g. power tools)

In this course we are mainly concerned with operating the electrical machine as a motor and various ways of
controlling its operation using semiconductor-based power electronic converters. Because they developed originally
for motor applications, we often refer to these power converters as ‘drives’ or ‘motor drives’.

We will mention generator operation as, in most cases, this depends simply on whether a variable (speed or torque,
for example) is defined as negative or positive within our reference system.

ENGI3371 Electrical Engineering 3 DC machine drives - 1

 1. Electric drives
An electric drive can be considered as a collection of electrical machines together with their power supplies and
control equipment. For a controllable drive, the power supplies will usually consist of power electronic devices
configured to create a power converter.

The power converter could perform various functions, the most common of which are given below with their
conventional names. However, there are constant developments in the world of power conversion so the language
changes and develops.

• Rectifier: Converts AC to DC
• Inverter: Converts DC to AC
• Power converter: A catch-all term but which usually refers to a system to convert fixed frequency AC (such
as from the power grid) to variable frequency AC (to control a machine) or vice versa. Such a converter will
usually convert AC to DC and then DC to AC, meaning it combines both a rectifier and inverter with a ‘DC
link’ between the two AC sides.

Drives can control the speed and torque of an electrical machine. Consider a motor driving a water pump. A
mechanical (left) and an electrical (right) solutions are shown in the figure.

ENGI1161 Electronic and Electrical Systems 1 Electromagnetics - 2

The mechanical solution is to restrict the flow using a valve. The overall efficiency of the system is low because there
is power loss across the valve. However, using a power electronic converter to drive the motor eliminates the need
for a mechanical valve. The system efficiency is increased because the motor no longer has to overcome the loss
across the valve.

This is a major advantage of using power converters to create electric drive systems: the increased controllability
generally allows for increased system efficiency.

2. Drive quadrants
Electromagnetic (machine/motor/generator) torque and rotational speed
can both change in direction and can be in opposite directions to each
other. They can either be positive or negative relative to a chosen reference
direction. Using drive control, a system can operate within four possible
‘quadrants’ or operating modes depending on the application, operation
and relationship between the machine’s torque and speed.

We can describe these quadrants in relation to motor operation. The

easiest to consider are Q1 and Q4:
• Q1: Forward motoring (speed and torque are both positive)
• Q2: Backward braking (positive torque and negative speed)
• Q3: Backward motoring (speed and torque are both negative)
• Q4: Forward braking (positive speed and negative torque)

The two braking conditions (Q2 and Q4) can also be considered as being generating conditions: the action of braking
removes energy from a system and feeds it back to the supply, hence the system is generating.

• Quadrant 1
Torque is developed in the direction of the machine’s rotation, hence electrical power is converted into mechanical
power and the machine operates as a motor trying to accelerate a load.

• Quadrant 4
The torque opposes the direction of rotation of the machine hence the machine absorbs mechanical power from
the load. The system is now a generator. In this quadrant, power is fed back to the electrical supply and the machine
is under regenerative braking.

• Quadrant 3
As in Q1, the torque and speed act in the same direction. The difference is that the direction of rotation is reversed.
This is the motor driving backwards, attempting to accelerate the load.

• Quadrant 2
As in Q4, torque acts in the opposite direction of rotation, extracting energy from the load (braking and generating).

A good example of four-quadrant operation is in a train traction system where an electric drive provides forward and
backwards motion plus braking in both directions.

ENGI1161 Electronic and Electrical Systems 1 Electromagnetics - 3

 3. DC machines and principle of operation (revision, I hope!)
A DC machine has two main electromagnetic elements:
• Armature winding (usually on the rotor)
• Field winding (usually on the stator) or permanent magnets

Armature and field windings are typically made of multiple turns of copper wire due to copper’s high electrical
conductivity.

The DC machine will also have a commutator and brushes to control armature current flow, maintaining the torque
in a particular direction and thus maintaining continuous rotation.
• Commutators are formed of insulated copper segments connected to the armature coil and rotating with it.
The commutators carry the armature current and, together with the stationary carbon brushes, form a
mechanical inverter (motor operation) or rectifier (generator operation).
• Brushes are mounted in the stationary frame and rub over the commutator segment as they rotate. They
allow us to have electrical contact with a moving circuit (the rotating armature).

It is worth noting that many modern applications use the ‘brushless DC machine’ which does not have a commutator
and ignores our conventions for armature and field placement (armature on the stator and permanent magnets on
the rotor). Commutation of the armature current is achieved through power electric conversion, significantly
boosting the system’s efficiency and reliability (reduced mechanical complexity and wear).

Let us consider a DC machine operating as a motor. A stationary magnetic field with respect to the stator is created
by exciting the field windings using a DC power source (or we can use permanent magnets to create the field). The
armature windings sit within the magnetic field. If a DC current flows through the armature windings, the armature
windings will be subject to a force perpendicular to the direction of the current flow, given by (1), the Lorentz Force:

𝐹⃗ = 𝐵
⃗⃗ × 𝐼⃗𝑙 (1)

in which 𝐵 (Tesla, T) is the flux density, 𝑙 (metres) is the axial length of conductor within the field, 𝐼 (amperes, A) is
the armature winding current and 𝑁 is the number of turns in the armature winding. Because the coil’s axis of
rotation is fixed, this force produces torque that will rotate the machine.

As the machine accelerates, the rotating armature coils cut the magnetic flux in the air-gap. According to Faraday’s
Law, this change in flux induces a voltage in the armature windings. This voltage acts against the supply current (as
per Lenz’s Law) reducing the net voltage applied to the armature and thus reducing the armature current and the
resulting force. The machine will eventually stop accelerating and reach a stable operating point at constant speed
until either the supply voltage is changed or the mechanical load torque is changed.

The induced voltage due to armature rotation is called the back electromotive force (back EMF) of the machine, 𝐸𝑎 .
Neglecting small non-linearities, the back EMF changes almost linearly with speed. It is therefore evident that at
startup (rotor stationary) the armature current is very high (typically 20 to 30 times the nominal full load current)
since there is no back EMF to oppose the supply. The armature current is subsequently reduced as the motor
accelerates. We will consider armature current as positive into a machine acting as a motor.

ENGI1161 Electronic and Electrical Systems 1 Electromagnetics - 4

 4. DC machine equations (mostly revision, I hope!)
Whilst there are multiple winding connection arrangements, we will consider the separately-excited DC machine
where the field and armature windings have their own independently-controllable power supplies. Look at your first-
year notes to see more about the different connection arrangements (such as series and shunt). Here is a reminder
of the governing equations that we need to consider.

We can sketch a block diagram of a controllable

DC machine system that shows the separate
power converters that would give independent
control of the armature and field windings.

The equations governing the DC machine’s

voltages, currents, torque and speed are
presented below. This should be revision from
first-year lectures.

ENGI1161 Electronic and Electrical Systems 1 Electromagnetics - 5