JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONICS, AND INFORMATION ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

YEAR 2 SEMESTER 2

ELECTRICAL MACHINES

TITLE- DC SHUNT MACHINES

NAME REG NO. SIGNATURE

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Objectives……………………………………………………………………………. 3

2. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………3

3. Theory………………………………………………………………………………….3

a) Construction and working principles……………………………….3

b) Characteristics of Shunt DC motors…………………………………5

c) Operational features of DC machines……………………………..6

4. Experimental setup………………………………………………………………11

a) Apparatus…………………………………………………………………………….11

b) Procedure…………………………………………………………………………….11

5. Data presentation and analysis…………………………………………….12

a) Results………………………………………………………………………………….12

b) Discussion of results………………………………………………………………14

6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….16

7. References…………………………………………………………………………….17
OBJECTIVES
1. To study the methods of starting dc motors.
2. To analyze methods of speed control of dc shunt motors.
3. To carry out load test of DC shunt machines.

INTRODUCTION
A motor is a machine that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy. The interchange of
energy between an electrical and mechanical system takes place through a magnetic system.

The operation of a dc motor is on the principle that when a current-carrying conductor is in a

magnetic field, the conductor experiences a mechanical force. The direction of this force is
given by Fleming’s right-hand rule.
For the shunt motors, the field and armature circuits are in parallel. This thus means that the
Voltage supply is equal to the field and armature voltage.
The construction of the DC shunt motor is similar to any other motor i.e. constructed with basic
parts like field windings (stator), a commutator, and an armature (rotor).
THEORY
The supply current, in a motor, splits such that:
𝐼𝐿 = 𝐼𝐴 + 𝐼𝐹 … … … … 1
The diagram for the motor is shown below;

Figure 1

Equations for the Shunt motor:

VA = VS = VL 2.1
𝐾𝑉𝐿 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝 1 ;
𝑉𝐿 − 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎 − 𝐸𝑏 = 0 … … . 2.2
𝑉𝐿 = 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎 + 𝐸𝑏 … … … 2.3
Eb = VL − IaRa … … 2.4
𝐾𝑐ø𝑛 = 𝐸𝑏 … … 2.5
Thus,
𝑛 = (𝑉𝐿 − 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎) ÷ 𝑘𝑐ø … .2.6
𝐴𝑙𝑠𝑜,
𝐼𝑓 = 𝑉𝑙/𝑅𝑓 (𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑉𝐿 = 𝑉𝐴 = 𝑉𝐹) … . . 2.7

The equations above are used to show the relationship between current, speed, and generated
voltage where;
 𝑛 − 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝐸𝑏 − 𝑒𝑚𝑓 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑
𝐾𝑐 − 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑉𝐿 − 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒
Ø – 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑥 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝐼𝐹 − 𝐹𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡

Now in general practice, when the motor is in its running condition, the supply voltage is
constant and the shunt field current is given by,
𝐼𝑓 = 𝑉𝑙/𝑅𝑓 … … … 3

But we know
𝐼𝑓 ∝ 𝛷… 4
i.e. field flux 𝛷 is proportional to filed current 𝐼𝑓
Thus the field flux remains more or less constant, and for this reason, a shunt wound DC motor
is called a constant flux motor.

Characteristics of Shunt DC motors

The DC shunt motor gives characteristics such as speed regulation and low starting torque.

1. Torque and armature current characteristics

It is also known as the electrical characteristics of the DC motor.
For Shunt motors, torque is proportional to armature current. This can be seen from the
equation given below;
𝑇𝑑 = 𝐾𝑐ø𝐼𝑎…….5.1
Since a heavy starting load needs a heavy starting current, the shunt motor should never be
started on a heavy load.
 Figure 3

2. Speed and armature current characteristics

As flux ɸ is assumed to be constant, we can say 𝑁 ∝ 𝐸𝑏 as a derivation of equation 2.5 But, as
back emf is also almost constant, the speed should remain constant. But practically, ɸ, as well
as 𝐸𝑏, decreases with it thus the speed also decreases slightly.
Therefore, a shunt motor can be assumed as a constant speed motor.

Figure 4

3. Speed and Torque Characteristics

This is the curve plotted between the speed and the torque for various armature currents. It can
be seen that the speed of the shunt motor decreases as the load torque increases.
This can be seen from the equation below;
𝑉𝑠 𝑇𝑑𝑅𝑎
𝑛= ( ) − (𝐾𝑐ø)2.....5.2
𝐾𝑐ø

The speed reduction is mainly due to electrical losses.

The graphs for each of the 3 characteristics are shown below;

Figure 5

Operational features of DC machines

Operational features consist of Starting, speed control, and braking.

Starting
The starting current is usually about 7-10 times more than the rated current.
For this particular reason, the current ought to be controlled to avoid issues such as;
1. Overheating of the motor
2. Reduction of the lifespan of the motor
3. Destruction of circuit elements such as fuses.
The current can be reduced by adding resistors in series with the amateur resistance.
There are thus 2 types of starters: 3-point and 4- point starters.
The 3-point starter is a device that assists in the starting and running of a DC motor or a
compound wound DC motor while the 4-point starter is a device that protects the armature
of a DC shunt motor against the initially high starting current.
Speed control
It can be varied by varying;
1. The input voltage- Voltage controlled method
2. The amateur resistance- Armature controlled method
3. The flux- Flux controlled method
Voltage-controlled method
For this method, the shunt field is connected to a fixed exciting voltage, and the armature is
supplied with different voltages.
Armature voltage is then changed with the help of suitable switchgear.
Thus VT= mVS and VT is less than VS󠄿
m is used in place of alpha as a constant of proportionality
The equation is then given by;
𝑚𝑉𝑠 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎
𝑛= – …..6.1
𝐾𝑐ø 𝐾𝑐ø

Figure 6

Armature controlled method

It involves the addition of variable resistors in series with the amateur circuit.
Now, in this setup, speed is directly proportional to armature current Ia. Thus the addition
of resistance, with voltage and armature resistance being kept constant, the armature
current reduces so does the speed of the motor.
In this case, speed is given by;
𝑉𝑠 𝐼𝑎( 𝑅𝑎+ 𝑅𝑣𝑎𝑟)
𝑛 = 𝐾𝑐ø – ……6.2
𝐾𝑐ø
 Figure 7

Figure 8

Flux controlled method

Now, the speed of a dc motor is inversely proportional to the flux thus inversely proportional to
the field current. Field current can be varied by varying voltage or field resistance. The latter is
preferred.
Thus a variable resistor is added in series with the field circuit. This decreases Field current and
flux consequently while speed is increasing. To increase Field current and thus reduce
resistance, connect a resistor in parallel with Rf.
𝑉𝑓
Thus; 𝐼𝑓 = 𝑅𝑓+ 𝑅𝑣𝑎𝑟 ….7.1

This method is effective because one can achieve a speed above and below the rated speed.
In this case, the equation is given by;
𝑉 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎
𝑛= – … .7.2
𝐾𝑐ø 𝐾𝑐ø
 Figure 9

Figure 10

Braking

There are 2 methods: electrical and mechanical.

The mechanical systems use friction to stop the moving parts.
The electrical system on the other hand can only slow down the machine but not stop it. The 3
types of braking under the electrical systems include:
1. Plugging.
2. 2. Dynamic braking
3. Regenerating.
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
APPARATUS
1. Connecting wires
2. Ammeters
3. Voltmeters
4. Stater
5. Rheostat
6. DC supply
7. A working tachometer
8. A motor
9. Two switches

PROCEDURE
1. Connect the circuit as shown in the figure below.
2. Have the connection checked by the lecturer-in-charge.
3. Set the field regulator to a minimum position.
4. Close the switches S1 and S2 and move the starter slowly up to the run position.
5. Open switch S2 and vary the rheostat gently to set the voltage to 100V.
6. Maintaining the voltage constant, varying the field current from maximum to minimum
in steps of 0.2A, and in each step record all the instruments.
7. Set the field current to 1.2A and reduce the armature voltage to a minimum.
Maintaining the field current constant varies the armature voltage in steps of 10V to
100V.
 Figure 11

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION

RESULTS
With VA = 100V
If(A) N( rpm) IA( A)

1.6 1350 1.5

1.4 1400 1.5

 1.2 1450 1.25

1.0 1500 1.25

0.8 1700 1.25

With If = 1.2A
VA (V) N(rpm) IA (A)

100 1450 1.25

90 1350 1.2

80 1200 1.2

70 950 1.1

60 850 1.05

50 650 1.0

40 500 1.0

30 400 1.0

20 300 0.9

10 100 0.8
QUESTIONS
Plot graphs for speed control from your results.

Graph 1

Graph of armature controlled speed

regulation
1800
1600
1400
Speed, N( rpm)

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Field Current, If ( Amperes)

Graph 2

Field controlled speed regulation

1600
1400
1200
Speed, N( rpm)

1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Armature current( V)
Discussion of results

1. Comment on the shapes of the graphs?

From Graph 1, it can be seen that the speed of the motor decreases with an increase in
field current, If.
From the formula of speed derived above i.e. 𝑛 = (𝑉𝐿 − 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎) ÷ 𝐾𝑐ø, it can be seen
that flux is indirectly proportional to the speed and since If is directly proportional to ø,
then it means that speed is also indirectly proportional to the field current.
When the field current is increased, more counter EMF is developed (due to increased
field flux), which opposes the armature current. The armature current then decreases,
and the motor slows down.
From Graph 2, it can be seen that the speed of the motor increases with an increase in
Armature voltage, VA.
2. How is the change of direction of rotation of the dc shunt motor achieved?
This is achieved by either reversing the field terminals or the armature terminals. The
torque generated will be negative thus the motor will rotate in the opposite direction. A
point to note is that one can only interchange either the field or armature terminals and
not both.
3. Would saturation of the field system in a dc shunt motor affect the speed?
Yes, it would. This is because most DC motors operate in the Knee region to prevent
fluctuation in speed when there are voltage swells or sags. This is because speed is
inversely proportional to the flux. Thus it can be seen that if the field system would be
saturated, then the speed of the motor would be affected, more precisely, it would also
remain constant even if the field current is varied.
4. Outline merits and demerits of armature resistance and field speed control from
results of the practical

Armature controlled shunt motors

a) Advantages
1. They have fast and simple speed variations. The exceptional speed control allows the
operators to vary speed in both directions to the expected point.
2. They have constant torque and field current. This is the case despite the speed of
the motor.
 b) Disadvantages
1. The armature-controlled DC motors are more expensive than the field-controlled
ones.
2. They have low energy efficiency. This would explain why it is usually used for shorter
lengths of time.

Field controlled shunt motors

a) Advantages
1. It is a highly economical form of speed control. It is also easy to use and manage.
2. There’s also minimal power loss. The speed of a field-controlled DC motor is varied
through the magnetic field rather than the armature. The method thus wastes less
power.
b) Disadvantages
1. It reduces the stability of the machine. This is because this method allows operators to
achieve a higher speed than the norm.
2. There is also a speed limit. Field-controlled motors can only operate above the rated
value of speed not below.

5. Suggest any practical application of the dc shunt motors.

The shunt motors are used where constant speed is needed. They are thus used in;
1. Lathe Machines
2. Spinning machines.
3. Centrifugal Pumps
4. Fans and blowers
5. Conveyors, Lifts
6. Weaving Machine

Conclusion
In conclusion, 2 methods of speed control were analyzed, armature control and field control,
and in each, the advantages and disadvantages were noted. Thus, from the lab experiment, we
were able to practically see how speed control is done and analyze to identify the better
method to use in the different scenarios.
References

1. Teacher’s notes.
2. 2022. [Online]. Available at: <https://www.carotron.com/articles/armature-field-
control/
3. 2022. [Online]. Available at: <https://pnpntransistor.com/application-of-dc-motor-in-
daily-life/
4. V.K, Mehta., & Rohit, Mehta (2008). Principles of Electrical Machines: Speed Control of
Dc machines (1st Ed.). S.Chand.