The shunt motor is different from the series motor in that the field winding is connected in parallel with

the armature instead of in

series. You should remember from basic electrical theory that a parallel circuit is often referred to as a shunt. Since the field winding
is placed in parallel with the armature, it is called a shunt winding and the motor is called a shunt motor. Figure 12-13 shows a
diagram of a shunt motor. Notice that the field terminals are marked Fl and F2, and the armature terminals are marked Al andA2.
You should notice in this diagram that the shunt field is represented with multiple turns using a thin line.

The shunt winding is made of small-gauge wire with many turns on the coil. Since the wire is so small, the coil can have thousands
of turns and still fit in the slots. The small-gauge wire cannot handle as much current as the heavy-gauge wire in the series field, but
since this coil has many more turns of wire, it can still produce a very strong magnetic field. Figure 12-14 shows a picture of a DC
shunt motor.
Shunt Motor Operation

A shunt motor has slightly different operating characteristics than a series motor. Since the shunt field coil is made of fine wire, it
cannot produce the large current for starting like the series field. This means that the shunt motor has very low starting torque, which
requires that the shaft load be rather small.

When voltage is applied to the motor, the high resistance of the shunt coil keeps the overall current flow low. The armature for the
shunt motor is similar to the series motor and it will draw current to produce a magnetic field strong enough to cause the armature
shaft and load to start turning. Like the series motor, when the armature begins to turn, it will produce back EMF. The back EMF will
cause the current in the armature to begin to diminish to a very small level. The amount of current the armature will draw is directly
related to the size of the load when the motor reaches full speed. Since the load is generally small, the armature current will be
small. When the motor reaches full rpm, its speed will remain fairly constant.
Controlling the Speed

When the shunt motor reaches full rpm, its speed will remain fairly constant. The reason the speed remains constant is due to the
load characteristics of the armature and shunt coil. You should remember that the speed of a series motor could not be controlled
since it was totally dependent on the size of the load in comparison to the size of the motor. If the load was very large for the motor
size, the speed of the armature would be very slow. If the load was light compared to the motor, the armature shaft speed would be
much faster, and if no load was present on the shaft, the motor could run away.

The shunt motor's speed can be controlled. The ability of the motor to maintain a set rpm at high speed when the load changes is
due to the characteristic of the shunt field and armature. Since the armature begins to produce back EMF as soon as it starts to
rotate, it will use the back EMF to maintain its rpm at high speed. If the load increases slightly and causes the armature shaft to slow
down, less back EMF will be produced. This will allow the difference between the back EMF and applied voltage to become larger,
which will cause more current to flow. The extra current provides the motor with the extra torque required to regain its rpm when this
load is increased slightly.

The shunt motor's speed can be varied in two different ways. These include varying the amount of current supplied to the shunt field
and controlling the amount of current supplied to the armature. Controlling the current to the shunt field allows the rpm to be
changed 10-20% when the motor is at full rpm.

This type of speed control regulation is accomplished by slightly increasing or decreasing the voltage applied to the field. The
armature continues to have full voltage applied to it while the current to the shunt field is regulated by a rheostat that is connected in
series with the shunt field. When the shunt field's current is decreased, the motor's rpm will increase slightly. When the shunt field's
current is reduced, the armature must rotate faster to produce the same amount of back EMF to keep the load turning. If the shunt
field current is increased slightly, the armature can rotate at a slower rpm and maintain the amount of back EMF to produce the
armature current to drive the load. The field current can be adjusted with a field rheostat or an SCR current control.

The shunt motor's rpm can also be controlled by regulating the voltage that is applied to the motor armature. This means that if the
motor is operated on less voltage than is shown on its data plate rating, it will run at less than full rpm. You must remember that the
shunt motor's efficiency will drop off drastically when it is operated below its rated voltage. The motor will tend to overheat when it is
operated below full voltage, so motor ventilation must be provided. You should also be aware that the motor's torque is reduced
when it is operated below the full voltage level.

Since the armature draws more current than the shunt field, the control resistors were much larger than those used for the field
rheostat. During the 1950s and 1960s SCRs were used for this type of current control. The SCR was able to control the armature
current since it was capable of controlling several hundred amperes. In Chapter 11 we provided an in-depth explanation of the DC
motor drive.
The series motor provides high starting torque and is able to move very large shaft loads when it is first
energized. Figure 12-10 shows the wiring diagram of a series motor. From the diagram you can see that
the field winding in this motor is wired in series with the armature winding. This is the attribute that gives
the series motor its name.

Since the series field winding is connected in series with the armature, it will carry the same amount of
current that passes through the armature. For this reason the field is made from heavy-gauge wire that is
large enough to carry the load. Since the wire gauge is so large, the winding will have only a few turns of
wire. In some larger DC motors, the field winding is made from copper bar stock rather than the
conventional round wire used for power distribution. The square or rectangular shape of the copper bar
stock makes it fit more easily around the field pole pieces. It can also radiate more easily the heat that
has built up in the winding due to the large amount of current being carried.

The amount of current that passes through the winding determines the amount of torque the motor shaft
can produce. Since the series field is made of large conductors, it can carry large amounts of current and
produce large torques. For example, the starter motor that is used to start an automobile's engine is a
series motor and it may draw up to 500 A when it is turning the engine's crankshaft on a cold morning.
Series motors used to power hoists or cranes may draw currents of thousands of amperes during
operation.

The series motor can safely handle large currents since the motor does not operate for an extended
period. In most applications the motor will operate for only a few seconds while this large current is
present. Think about how long the starter motor on the automobile must operate to get the engine to start.
This period is similar to that of industrial series motors.
Series Motor Operation

Operation of the series motor is easy to understand. In Fig. 12-10 you can see that the field winding is
connected in series with the armature winding. This means that power will be applied to one end of the
series field winding and to one end of the armature winding (connected at the brush).

When voltage is applied, current begins to flow from negative power supply terminals through the series
winding and armature winding. The armature is not rotating when voltage is first applied, and the only
resistance in this circuit will be provided by the large conductors used in the armature and field windings.
Since these conductors are so large, they will have a small amount of resistance. This causes the motor
to draw a large amount of current from the power supply. When the large current begins to flow through
the field and armature windings, it causes a strong magnetic field to be built. Since the current is so large,
it will cause the coils to reach saturation, which will produce the strongest magnetic field possible.

The series motor is used in a wide variety of power tools such as electric hand drills, saws, and power
screwdrivers. In most of these cases, the power source for the motor is AC voltage. The DC series motor
will operate on AC voltage. If the motor is used in a hand drill that needs variable-speed control, a field
rheostat or other type of current control is used to control the speed of the motor. In some newer tools,
the current control uses solid-state components to control the speed of the motor. You will notice that the
motors used for these types of power tools have brushes and a commutator, and these are the main parts
of the motor to wear out. You can use the same theory of operation provided for the DC motor to
troubleshoot these types of motors.
The DC compound motor is a combination of the series motor and the shunt motor. It has a series field winding that is
connected in series with the armature and a shunt field that is in parallel with the armature. The combination of series
and shunt winding allows the motor to have the torque characteristics of the series motor and the regulated speed
characteristics of the shunt motor. Figure 12-17 shows a diagram of the compound motor. Several versions of the
compound motor are also shown in this diagram.

Cumulative Compound Motors

Figure 12-17a shows a diagram of the cumulative compound motor. It is so called because the shunt field is
connected so that its coils are aiding the magnetic fields of the series field and armature. The shunt winding can be
wired as a long shunt or as a short shunt. Figure 12-17a and Fig. 12-17b show the motor connected as a short shunt
where the shunt field is connected in parallel with only the armature. Figure 12-17c shows the motor connected as a
long shunt where the shunt field is connected in parallel with both the series field, interpoles, and the armature.

Figure 12-17a also shows the short shunt motor as a cumulative compound motor, which means the polarity of the
shunt field matches the polarity of the armature. You can see in this figure that the top of the shunt field is positive
polarity and that it is connected to the positive terminal of the armature. In Fig. 12-17b you can see that the shunt field
has been reversed so that the negative terminal of the shunt field is now connected to the positive terminal of the
armature. This type of motor is called a differential compound because the polarities of the shunt field and the
armature are opposite.

The cumulative compound motor is one of the most common DC motors because it provides high starting torque and
good speed regulation at high speeds. Since the shunt field is wired with similar polarity in parallel with the magnetic
field aiding the series field and armature field, it is called cumulative. When the motor is connected this way, it can
start even with a large load and then operate smoothly when the load varies slightly.

You should recall that the shunt motor can provide smooth operation at full speed, but it cannot start with a large load
attached, and the series motor can start with a heavy load, but its speed cannot be controlled. The cumulative
compound motor takes the best characteristics of both the series motor and shunt motor, which makes it acceptable
for most applications.

Controlling the Speed

The speed of a compound motor can be changed very easily by adjusting the amount of voltage applied to it. In fact,
it can be generalized that prior to the late 1970s, any industrial application that required a motor to have a constant
speed would be handled by an AC motor, and any application that required the load to be driven at variable speeds
would automatically be handled by a DC motor. This statement was true because the speed of a DC motor was
easier to change than an AC motor. Since the advent of solid-state components and microprocessor controls, this
condition is no longer true. In fact, today a solid-state AC variable-frequency motor drive can vary the speed of an AC
motor as easily as that of DC motors. This brings about a condition where you must understand methods of
controlling the speed of both AC and DC motors. Information about AC motor speed control is provided in Chapter 11
(see the related links).

Figure 12-18 shows the characteristic curves of the speed versus armature current for the compound motors. From
this diagram you can see that the speed of a differential compound motor increases slightly when the motor is
drawing the armature highest current. The increase in speed occurs because the extra current in the differential
winding causes the magnetic field in the motor to weaken slightly because the magnetic field in the differential
winding opposes the magnetic in series field. As you learned earlier in the speed control of shunt motors, the speed
of the motor will increase if the magnetic field is weakened.

Figure 12-18 also shows the characteristic curve for the cumulative compound motor. This curve shows that the
speed of the cumulative compound motor decreases slightly because the field is increased, which slows the motor
because the magnetic field in the shunt winding aids the magnetic field of the series field.