Topic 1

OBJECTIVES
1. Construction & operation of single and polyphase

synchronous motors.
2. Construction & operation of single and polyphase
induction motors.
4. Meaning of & perform calculations to find following AC
motor parameters:
a. synchronous speed,
b. slip and
c.rotor current frequency.
6. Describe the methods of reversing the direction of
rotation of the various types of AC motors.
7. Describe the construction & operation of universal (AC
series) motors.
8. Describe the application of the various types of AC
motors.
INTRODUCTION
As most modern large aircraft mainly use AC power, it follows

that the majority of electrical motors are AC so it is important
that we understand how they operate.
1.Induction Motors
2.Synchronous Motors
3.Universal Motors
Induction motors are by far the most common AC motors.

Induction motors

All induction motors rely on two principle factors for their
operation
1. The production of a rotating magnetic field in the stator

2. The induction of currents into the rotor from the stator field

The principle advantage of is that induction motors do NOT
need any form of slip rings or brush gear,
This ensures:
high efficiency
low maintenance
Constant speed

Three Phase Induction Motor
Construction.
The rotor is of a squirrel cage construction.
The stator consists of a field frame containing the poles on

which the stator windings are wound.
There will be a minimum of 2 poles for each phase, one pole

pair.
For a three phase induction motor the stator windings may be

connected in either star or delta to produce the required
rotating field.
There are several types of induction motors designed to operate
from either three phase or single phase supply, and in most
cases the rotor is of squirrel cage construction.

The squirrel cage rotor
consists of a laminated cylindrical iron core mounted on a shaft
and carrying a number of copper or aluminium bars embedded
into the laminated core as shown in fig. The bars are shorted
together at each end of the rotor by end plates.
The edges of the bars that run
along the axis of the rotor are at
an angle of maybe 30 degrees
to the shaft. It's been designed
that way to reduce cogging
torque.
If the bars ran parallel to the
axis, the torque would rise and
fall as each bar passed under
the windings.
By slanting the bars, the torque
is kept more uniform as the rotor
turns.
Production of a rotating field.
A three phase induction motor requires an input of three phase
AC to be applied to the motor’s stator field coils as shown in fig.
The changing amplitude and direction of
the three phase input current continually varies the
strength and direction of the magnetic field
produced by the stator coils.

This change in the stator field creates a rotating
magnetic field that travels around the stator assembly
at a speed equal to the supply frequency.
Fig. shows the production of the rotating field during

one complete cycle.
For each input cycle, the resultant flux will rotate 360
degrees.
At time interval zero = T0 ;
The resultant pole polarities for the stator field
are shown in fig. .

At time interval one = T1 ;
The resultant pole polarities, for the stator field are shown in fig.
.
This change in direction of the AC current within the field coils

will change the resultant magnetic field as shown in fig. .
A comparison of the remaining portions of the AC cycle shows,

that a rotating magnetic field is created inside the stator
assembly.

When power is first applied to a stationary motor, the stator
windings act as the primary windings of a transformer with the
resultant magnetic field rotating at a speed equal to the supply
frequency.
This is called the synchronous speed of the stator.

The rotating stator field through transformer induction
principles will induce an EMF into the rotor,
Therefore called an INDUCTION motor.
The induced EMF will produce current flow through the rotor’s
shorted conductors.
We can compare the rotor’s conductors to the shorted secondary

windings of a transformer with a high circulating current
through them causing a high starting current in the stator’s
The current flowing within the conductors will create a
magnetic field around them that is repelled by and attracted to
the rotating magnetic poles of the stator field, thus creating
torque.
The torque will cause the rotor to turn. Fig. shows how the
interaction between the stator and rotor fields resulting in the
rotor moving in the same direction as the rotating stator field
the rotor’s movement.
The speed of the rotor will start slow and increase until just
below synchronous speed.

Speed Of Magnetic Field Rotation
The speed of the rotating field is known as its SYNCHRONOUS
SPEED.
As shown previously, in a motor with two poles per phase the
field rotates at one revolution per cycle.
If the current were supplied at 50 (Hz) the field would rotate at
3000 RPM ( 50 cls X 60 sec = 3000).
However if the number of poles were increased from two to four,
the speed of rotation would halve.
Thus it can be seen that:
synchronous speed is directly proportional to the frequency of
the supply, and inversely proportional to the number of poles.
Thus: Synch speed (RPM) = 60 f /P

where
f = supply frequency in Hz and
P = number of pole pairs per phase
(The factor of 60 converts the frequency into cycles per minute)
Operation
The rotating magnetic field will cut the bars of the squirrel cage
rotor and induce an emf into them.
The induced emf will cause a current to flow in the rotor bars
producing a magnetic field in the rotor.
The magnetic field of the squirrel cage rotor will try to align
itself with the rotating magnetic field
so a torque is produced at the rotor causing it to rotate at a

speed near that of the rotating magnetic field.
LENZ’s law: An induced current opposes the changing field

which induces it.
Slip
The speed of the rotor will never reach the synchronous speed.
If it did there would be no relative movement between the
rotating field and the squirrel cage and hence no emf would be
induced into the rotor bars.
The rotor will therefore rotate at a slightly lower speed and is
said to SLIP.
Slip speed is the difference between synchronous speed and
rotor speed and is usually expressed as a percentage of
synchronous speed:
slip % = synchronous speed - rotor speed X 100 %

synchronous speed
NOTE Percentage slip is normally just referred to as slip.
The value of slip at full rated load is typically between 2% to 6%.

For this reason induction motors are considered to be constant
speed machines.
Rotor Current Frequency
When the rotor of an induction motor is at rest the frequency of
the current induced into the rotor is the same as that of the
current applied to the stator.
If the rotor were to be running at synchronous speed the rotor
current frequency would be zero.
It can be seen from this that the rotor current frequency
depends on the differences in the speeds of the stator flux and
the rotor (i.e. slip) and can be calculated using the following
formula:
fr = s x f / 100
where;
fr = rotor current frequency in Hz
s = percentage slip and
f = supply frequency.
Characteristics Of Three Phase Induction Motors.

Three phase induction motors provide good torque to maintain
speed once they are running and provide reasonable starting
torque.

The torque developed at the rotor is proportional to the slip, the
greater the slip the higher the torque, but only up to a point.
E.g., if a load is applied to the motor it will slow down and the
slip will increase.
The greater the slip, greater the induced voltage, higher the
frequency and greater the currents in the rotor bars and hence a
greater torque is produced to combat the increased load.

The increased flux in the rotor opposes flux in the stator winding
(Lenz's law) and reduces the inductance of the stator windings
and they draw more current so an increase in load can be seen to
produce an increase in current.
As the resistance of the motor windings is very small, a small
reduction in speed may be accompanied by large increases in
motor torque, current, and power output.
Thus squirrel cage motor has essentially constant speed -
variable torque characteristics.

Induction motors will start satisfactorily under no load but will
NOT start under full or appreciable load for the following
reason:
At rest the frequency of the currents in the bars of the squirrel
cage rotor will be maximum (400 Hz) and so the inductive
reactance of the rotor will be high (XL = 2πfL) resulting in low
current flow and less torque.
Also, the high inductive reactance means that the phase angle
between voltage and current will be high resulting in a low
power factor, and hence the motor develops less power (torque).

The power factor can be improved by adding resistance to the
rotor circuit (to decrease phase angle between voltage and
current).
This can be achieved by employing a squirrel cage rotor made
from an alloy with a higher resistance than copper.
Such a motor will have good starting torque at the expense of a
slightly reduced running torque.
On no load the power factor of induction motors is very poor

(almost 0), however as load is increased the power factor also
increases.
At a about 30% load the power factor reaches about 0.9 where it
remains for the remainder of the load curve.

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OBJECTIVES

1. Construction & operation of single and polyphase

As most modern large aircraft mainly use AC power, it follows

Induction motors are by far the most common AC motors.

1. The production of a rotating magnetic field in the stator

The stator consists of a field frame containing the poles on

There will be a minimum of 2 poles for each phase, one pole

For a three phase induction motor the stator windings may be

Fig. shows the production of the rotating field during

This change in direction of the AC current within the field coils

A comparison of the remaining portions of the AC cycle shows,

This is called the synchronous speed of the stator.

Therefore called an INDUCTION motor.

We can compare the rotor’s conductors to the shorted secondary

Thus: Synch speed (RPM) = 60 f /P

so a torque is produced at the rotor causing it to rotate at a

LENZ’s law: An induced current opposes the changing field

slip % = synchronous speed - rotor speed X 100 %

The value of slip at full rated load is typically between 2% to 6%.

On no load the power factor of induction motors is very poor

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