Electric Motors and

Generators
 Introduction

• In this lecture we consider various forms of

rotating electrical machines
• These can be divided into:
– generators – which convert mechanical energy into
electrical energy
– motors – which convert electrical energy into
mechanical energy
• Both types operate through the interaction
between a magnetic field and a set of windings
 Introduction
• before we start with the principles of operation we shall
try to summarise and classify the everyday use of motors
• motors are used in:
• households
• industry & manufacture
• automobiles
• information technology
• medicine
• transport
• etc. etc.
 Motors in a household
How many motors are typically used in a household???
• virtually countless!!! They are found in:
• refrigerator
• coffee mill
• dishwasher, washing machine
• food processor
• vacuum cleaner
• ventilator
• gardening machines
• video recorder
• CD player
• computer etc. etc.
 Motors in automobiles

• starter motor
• fuel pump
• windscreen wiper
• air-conditioning actuator
• oil cooling fan
• sun roof
• variable shock absorber
• etc. etc.
 Motors in information equipment

• floppy and hard disc drives

• printer
• plotter
• fax machines
• ventilators in computers and other electronic devices
• etc. etc.
 Broad classification
• without going into details at this moment - we shall classify
motors very broadly into three main categories:

• Conventional DC motors
• AC motors
• Electronically controlled precision motors

• we shall talk about their applications & the principles of

operation
 DC Motors

• When current flows in a conductor it produces a

magnetic field about it - as shown in (a) below
– when the current-carrying conductor is within an
externally generated magnetic field, the fields interact
and a force is exerted on the conductor - as in (b)
 DC Motors

• Therefore if a conductor lies within a magnetic field:

– motion of the conductor produces an electric current
– an electric current in the conductor will generate motion
• The reciprocal nature of this relationship means that, for
example, the DC generator will function as a DC motor
– although machines designed as motors are more efficient in
this role
• Thus the four-pole DC generator could equally well be a
four-pole DC motor
 Parameter value limits
• although it is possible to design a DC motor for
any desired voltage supply usually rated voltages
range from:
• 6[V] to about 700[V]
• small DC motors (say, up to hundreds of watts)
can run at approx.
• 12000 rev/min
• majority of medium and large DC motors are
usually designed for speeds
• below 3000 rev/min
 What is an Electrical Motor?

• An electric motor is
an
electromechanical
• device that
converts
electrical energy
into
mechanical energy.
 DC Motor
• The direct current (dc) machine can be used as a
motor or as a generator.

• DC Machine is most often used for a motor.

• The major advantages of dc machines are the easy

speed and torque regulation.

• However, their application is limited to mills, mines and trains.

As examples, trolleys and underground subway cars may use
dc motors.
• In the past, automobiles were equipped with dc
dynamos to charge their batteries.
12
 DC Motor
• Even today the starter is a series dc motor

• However, the recent development of power

electronics has reduced the use of dc motors and
generators.

• The electronically controlled ac drives are

gradually replacing the dc motor drives in
factories.
• Nevertheless, a large number of dc motors are still
used by industry and several thousand are sold
annually.
13
 DC motors classification
• Traditionally, DC motors are classified as:
• shunt
• series
• separately excited
• the names reflect the way in which the
armature and the field circuitry are
interconnected
• first, we shall gain understanding of how the
basic machine operates
Electric Motors

terminals
rotor (armature)
brushes

N
N

S
S

stator (provides the field)

commutator
 DC Motor Operation
• In a dc motor, the stator
poles are supplied by dc Rotation
Ir_dc/2
Ir_dc/2
excitation current, which Brush
Ir_dc Pole

produces a dc magnetic Shaft

winding

field. |

• The rotor is supplied by

1
2
8

dc current through the N 7 3

S
brushes, commutator
6 4
5

and coils.
• The interaction of the Insulation
Rotor Ir_dc
Copper
segment
magnetic field and rotor Winding

current generates a force

that drives the motor

22
 DC Motor Operation
• Before reaching the neutral zone, v
a
B
the current enters in segment 1 and
exits from segment 2, S N Vdc

1
30

• Therefore, current enters the coil

2
end at slot a and exits from slot b b

during this stage. v

Ir_dc
• After passing the neutral zone, the
current enters segment 2 and exits (a) Rotor current flow from segment 1 to 2 (slot a to b)

from segment 1, B
• This reverses the current direction a

through the rotor coil, when the coil S 2 N

passes the neutral zone. v 30 v Vdc
1

• The result of this current reversal is b

the maintenance of the rotation. Ir_dc

(b) Rotor current flow from segment 2 to 1 (slot b to a)

23
 The simplest DC machine

The simplest DC rotating machine consists of a

single loop of wire rotating about a fixed axis. The
magnetic field is supplied by the North and South
poles of the magnet.
Rotor is the rotating part;
Stator is the stationary part.
 The simplest DC machine
We notice that the rotor lies in a slot
curved in a ferromagnetic stator core,
which, together with the rotor core,
provides a constant-width air gap
between the rotor and stator.
The reluctance of air is much larger than
the reluctance of core. Therefore, the
magnetic flux must take the shortest
path through the air gap.

As a consequence, the magnetic flux is perpendicular to the

rotor surface everywhere under the pole faces.
Since the air gap is uniform, the reluctance is constant
everywhere under the pole faces. Therefore, magnetic flux
density is also constant everywhere under the pole faces.
 The simplest DC machine
1. Voltage induced in a rotating loop
If a rotor of a DC machine is rotated, a voltage will be induced…
The loop shown has sides ab and cd perpendicular to the figure
plane, bc and da are parallel to it.
The total voltage will be a sum of voltages induced on each
segment of the loop.

Voltage on each
segment is: (5.5.1)
 DC Motor Equivalent circuit

Vbrush Electrical
Rf Ra power in
max
DC Power
Vf If Iam Vdc
Eam supply

Mechanical
power out

• Figure Equivalent circuit of a separately excited dc motor

• Equivalent circuit is similar to the generator only the current directions are different

27
 DC Motor Equivalent circuit
• The operation equations are: Armature voltage equation

Vdc  E am  I am Ra  Vbrush

The induced voltage and motor speed Vs angular frequency

E am  K m I f    2  nm

28
 DC Motor Equivalent circuit

• The operation equations are:

• The combination of the equations results in

K m I f   E am  Vdc  I am Rm
The current is calculated from this equation. The output
power and torque are:

Pout
Pout  E am I am T  K m I am I f


29
 DC motor characteristics

– many forms – each with slightly different

characteristics
– again can be permanent magnet, or series-wound,
shunt-wound or compound wound
– figure below shows a shunt-wound DC motor
 Type of AC Motors

• AC motors can be divided into two main forms:

– synchronous motors
– induction motors
• High-power versions of either type invariably
operate from a three-phase supply, but single-
phase versions of each are also widely used –
particularly in a domestic setting
 Synchronous motors

– DC motor, so AC generators (or alternators) can be

used as synchronous AC motors
– three phase motors use three sets of stator coils
• the rotating magnetic field drags the rotor around with it
– single phase motors require some starting
mechanism
– torque is only produced when the rotor is in sync
with the rotating magnetic field
• not self-starting – may be configured as an induction
motor until its gets up to speed, then becomes a
synchronous motor
 Induction motors

– these are perhaps the most important form of AC

motor
– rather than use slip rings to pass current to the field
coils in the rotor, current is induced in the rotor by
transformer action
– the stator is similar to that in a synchronous motor
– the rotor is simply a set of parallel conductors
shorted together at either end by two conducting
rings
A squirrel-cage induction motor
• In a three-phase induction motor the three
phases produce a rotating magnetic field (as in a
three-phase synchronous motor)
– a stationary conductor will see a varying magnetic field
and this will induce a current
– current is induced in the field coils in the same way
that current is induced in the secondary of a
transformer
– this current turns the rotor into an electromagnet
which is dragged around by the rotating magnetic field
– the rotor always goes slightly slower than the magnetic
field – this is the slip of the motor
• In single-phase induction motors other
techniques must be used to produce the
rotating magnetic field
– various techniques are used leading to various
forms of motor such as
• capacitor motors
• shaded-pole motors
– such motors are inexpensive and are widely used
in domestic applications
 Universal Motors
• While most motors operate from either AC or DC,
some can operate from either
• These are universal motors and resemble series-
wound DC motors, but are designed for both AC
and DC operation
– typically operate at high speed (usually > 10,000 rpm)
– offer high power-to-weight ratio
– ideal for portable equipment such as hand drills and
vacuum cleaners
 A Simple AC Generator
• We noted earlier that Faraday’s law dictates that if a coil
of N turns experiences a change in magnetic flux, then the
induced voltage V is given by

dΦ
V N
dt

• If a coil of area A rotates with respect to a field B, and if at

a particular time it is at an angle  to the field, then the
flux linking the coil is BAcos, and the rate of change of
flux is given by
dΦ dsin  d
 BA  cos  cos
dt dt dt
Thus for the arrangement shown below

dΦ dsin 
V N  NBA  NBA cos
dt dt
dΦ
V N
dt
• Therefore this arrangement produces a
sinusoidal output as shown below
• Wires connected to
the rotating coil
would get twisted
• Therefore we use
circular slip rings
with sliding
contacts called
brushes
 A Simple DC Generator
• The alternating signal from the earlier AC generator
could be converted to DC using a rectifier
• A more efficient approach is to replace the two slip
rings with a single split slip ring called a
commutator
– this is arranged so that connections to the coil are
reversed as the voltage from the coil changes polarity
– hence the voltage across the brushes is of a single
polarity
– adding additional coils produces a more constant output
• Use of a commutator
• A simple generator with two coils
DC Generator
Operation

47
 DC Generator Operation
v B
• The N-S poles produce a a

dc magnetic field and the S N

rotor coil turns in this 30 Vdc
field. b

• A turbine or other v
Ir_dc
machine drives the rotor.
(a) Rotor current flow from segment 1 to 2 (slot a to b)
• The conductors in the
slots cut the magnetic flux B
lines, which induce a

voltage in the rotor coils. S N Vdc

2
v 30
v
• The coil has two sides:

1
one is placed in slot a, the
b

other in slot b. Ir_dc

(b) Rotor current flow from segment 2 to 1 (slot b to a)

48
 DC Generator Operation
• In the conductors in slot a v
a
B

are cutting the field lines

entering into the rotor S 30
N Vdc
from the north pole,
• The conductors in slot b b

v
are cutting the field lines Ir_dc
exiting from the rotor to (a) Rotor current flow from segment 1 to 2 (slot a to b)
the south pole.
• The cutting of the field B
lines generates voltage in a

the conductors. S N Vdc

2
v 30
v
• The voltages generated in

1
the two sides of the coil b

are added.
Ir_dc
(b) Rotor current flow from segment 2 to 1 (slot b to a)

49
 DC Generator Operation
• The induced voltage is v
a
B

connected to the generator

terminals through the S 30
N Vdc
commutator and brushes.
• The induced voltage in b is b

v
positive, and in a is negative. Ir_dc
• The positive terminal is (a) Rotor current flow from segment 1 to 2 (slot a to b)
connected to commutator
segment 2 and to the B
conductors in slot b. a

• The negative terminal is S N Vdc

2
v 30
v
connected to segment 1 and

1
to the conductors in slot a. b

Ir_dc
(b) Rotor current flow from segment 2 to 1 (slot b to a)

50
 DC Generator Operation
• When the coil passes the v
a
B

neutral zone:
– Conductors in slot a are S 30
N Vdc
then moving toward the
south pole and cut flux lines b

exiting from the rotor v

– Conductors in slot b cut the Ir_dc
flux lines entering the in (a) Rotor current flow from segment 1 to 2 (slot a to b)
slot b.
• This changes the polarity B
of the induced voltage in a

the coil. S N Vdc

2
v 30
v
• The voltage induced in a

1
is now positive, and in b is b

negative.
Ir_dc
(b) Rotor current flow from segment 2 to 1 (slot b to a)

51
 DC Generator Operation
v B
• The simultaneously the a

commutator reverses its S N

terminals, which assures 30 Vdc
that the output voltage b

(Vdc) polarity is v
Ir_dc
unchanged.
(a) Rotor current flow from segment 1 to 2 (slot a to b)
•
– the positive terminal is B
connected to commutator a

segment 1 and to the S N Vdc

2
conductors in slot a. v 30
v

1
– The negative terminal is b
connected to segment 2 and
to the conductors in slot b. Ir_dc
(b) Rotor current flow from segment 2 to 1 (slot b to a)

52
 DC Generator Equivalent circuit
• The magnetic field produced by the stator poles induces a
voltage in the rotor (or armature) coils when the
generator is rotated.
• This induced voltage is represented by a voltage source.
• The stator coil has resistance, which is connected in
series.
• The pole flux is produced by the DC excitation/field
current, which is magnetically coupled to the rotor
• The field circuit has resistance and a source
• The voltage drop on the brushes represented by a battery
53
 DC Generator Equivalent circuit
Vbrush
Rf Ra Load
max
Iag
V f If Eag Vdc

Mechanical Electrical
power in power out

• Equivalent circuit of a separately excited dc generator.

54
 DC Generator Equivalent circuit
• The magnetic field produced by the stator poles
induces a voltage in the rotor (or armature) coils
when the generator is rotated.
• The dc field current of the poles generates a
magnetic flux
• The flux is proportional with the field current if
the iron core is not saturated:
 ag  K 1 I f

55
 DC Generator Equivalent circuit
• The rotor conductors cut the field lines
that generate voltage in the coils.
E ag  2 N r B  g v
• The motor speed and flux equations are :
Dg
v   ag  B  g D g
2

56
 DC Generator Equivalent circuit
• The combination of the three equation
results the induced voltage equation:

 Dg 
E ag  2 N r B  g v  2 N r B  g     N r B  g D g   N r  ag 
 2 

• The equation is simplified.

E ag  N r  ag   N r K 1 I f   K m I f 

57
 DC Generator Equivalent circuit
• When the generator is loaded, the load current produces
a voltage drop on the rotor winding resistance.
• In addition, there is a more or less constant 1–3 V voltage
drop on the brushes.
• These two voltage drops reduce the terminal voltage of
the generator. The terminal voltage is;

E ag  Vdc  I ag Ra  Vbrush

58
• The ripple can be further reduced by the use of a
cylindrical iron core and by shaping the pole
pieces
– this produces an
approximately
uniform field in the
narrow air gap
– the arrangement
of coils and core
is known as the
armature
 DC Generators or Dynamos
• Practical DC generators or dynamos can take a
number of forms depending on how the magnetic
field is produced
– can use a permanent magnet
– more often it is generated electrically using field coils
• current in the field coils can come from an external supply
– this is known as a separately excited generator
• but usually the field coils are driven from the generator
output
– this is called a self-excited generator
– often use multiple poles held in place by a steel tube
called the stator
 DC generator characteristics

– vary slightly between forms

– examples shown here are for a shunt-wound
generator
 AC Generators or Alternators
• Alternators do not require commutation
– this allows a simpler construction
– the field coils are made to rotate while the armature
windings are stationary
• Note: the armature windings are those that produce the
output
– thus the large heavy armature windings are in the
stator
– the lighter field coils are mounted on the rotor and
direct current is fed to these by a set of slip rings
• A four-pole alternator
• As with DC generators multiple poles and sets of
windings are used to improve efficiency
– sometimes three sets of armature windings
are spaced 120 apart around the stator to form
a three-phase generator
• The e.m.f. produced is in sync with rotation of the
rotor so this is a synchronous generator
– if the generator has a single set of poles the output
frequency is equal to the rotation frequency
– if additional pole-pairs are used the frequency is
increased accordingly
Example – see Example 23.2 from course text
A four-pole alternator is required to operate at
60 Hz. What is the required rotation speed?

A four-pole alternator has two pole pairs.

Therefore the output frequency is twice the
rotation speed. Therefore to operate at 60Hz,
the required speed must be 60/2 = 30Hz. This
is equivalent to 30  60 = 1800 rpm.
 Electrical Machines – A Summary
• Power generation is dominated by AC machines
– range from automotive alternators to the synchronous
generators used in power stations
– efficiency increases with size (up to 98%)
• Both DC and AC motors are used
– high-power motors are usually AC, three-phase
– domestic applications often use single-phase induction
motors
– DC motors are useful in control applications
 Key Points
• Electrical machines include both generators and motors
• Motors can usually function as generators, and vice versa
• Electrical machines can be divided into AC and DC forms
• The rotation of a coil in a uniform magnetic field produces a
sinusoidal e.m.f. This is the basis of an AC generator
• A commutator can be used to produce a DC generator
• The magnetic field in an electrical machine is normally produced
electrically using field coils
• DC motors are often similar in form to DC generators
• Some forms of AC generator can also be used as motors
• The most widely used form of AC motor is the induction motor