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4 Motor Desi gns Identi fi ed In NEMA MG1 (on photo: ABB' s three-phase asynchronous el ectri c motors vi a
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Edvard
4 Motor Designs Identified In NEMA MG1
Its
all
about perf ormance
Perf ormance requirements f or various types of induction motors f or use on standard sinewave power
supplies are identif ied in NEMA MG1. Some of these types of motors are suitable f or use in variable
speed applications, dependent on the type of application.
Perf ormance requirements are also identif ied f or motors for specific use invariable speed applications.
The purpose of this section is to provide guidance on the selection of one or more of the types of motors
identif ied in NEMA MG1 that may be appropriate f or the particular variable speed application under
consideration. See Figure 1.
Fi gure 1 - Typi cal motor speed torque curves
The turning force which a motor develops is known
as torque. The amount of torque necessary to start a
load (starting torque) is usually dif f erent f rom the
torque required to keep the load moving (full load
torque).
Loads which have a high breakaway f riction or that
require extra torque f or acceleration, should have a
motor specif ied to have high starting torque.
NEMA mot or design A
NEMA MG1 does not impose any limits on the
magnitude of the locked-rotor current on Design A
motors, other than that the locked-rotor current is
greater than the upper limit f or Design B motors.
They are usually used in situations where higher
locked-rotor current is used f or the purpose of
obtaining higher running ef f iciency and higher
breakdown torque.
Such motors typically require the use of reduced
voltage starting techniques f or starting across the standard utility power source. However, normal
adjustable f requency control f unction limits motor operation to the portion of its torque speed
characteristic that lies between no-load and breakdown, even during starting.
Because of this, the higher locked rotor current of Design A motors is generally of little concern and
the motors are well suited for variable speed operation, exhibiting low slip and high efficiency.
The potentially higher breakdown torque of a Design A motor will extend its constant horsepower speed
range beyond that achievable by a Design B motor. However, caution should be used when applying Design
A motors in by-pass operation, as their high locked-rotor current can increase starter, thermal overload,
and short circuit protection device sizing.
Design A motors may also suf f er greater thermal and mechanical stress thanother designs when started
across-the-line. Design A motors with very low slip may also exhibit instability under lightly loaded
conditions.
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NEMA mot or design B
Design B motors are applied in variable torque, constant torque and constant horsepower applications.
Adjustable f requency control algorithms are generally optimized to the speed-torque-current characteristics
of Design B motors. They exhibit good ef f iciency and low slip,and are suitable f or across-the-line starting
in bypass mode.
Design B motors with very low slip may also exhibit instability under lightly loaded conditions.
NEMA mot or design C
Design C motor speed-torque-current characteristics were def ined to address across-the-line
applications requiring high starting(locked-rotor) torque while generally maintaining Design Blocked-
rotor current, but slightly higher slip.
Since a Design B motor operated f rom an adjustable f requency control can provide the same breakaway
torque as a Design C motor operated f rom a control, it is usually pref erred because of its industry-
standard availability and higher running ef f iciency. Also, since an adjustable f requency control driven motor
normally operates at speeds above the breakdown speed, the high locked-rotor and pull-up torque of a
Design C motor serves no benef it in most adjustable speed drive applications.
Because Design C motors usually achieve high starting torque with a double or pseudo-double cage
rotor slot, they may exhibit higher rotor losses if the control output current wavef orm has signif icant low
order harmonic content.
This can result in additional heating in Design C motors over that in Design B and a corresponding
greater decrease in system ef f iciency. Design B motors may not be suitable f or bypass operation in an
application that normally requires use of a Design C motor f or f ixed f requency application.
NEMA mot or design D
Design D motors were developed specifically for high impact, high starting torque, or high inertia
loads.
They exhibit very high locked-rotor torque but suf f er in running ef f iciency due to their high slip
characteristic. By employing negative slip compensation with an adjustable f requency control, a Design A, B
or C motor can be made to emulate the speed-torque characteristic of a Design D motor while providing
higher running efficiency.
As a result, Design D motors are seldom used in general ASD applications.
Design A, B, or C motors cannot be used f or bypass operation on an application that normally requires a
Design D motor f or f ixed f requency application.
Ref erences
1. NEMA Standards Publication Application Guide f or AC Adjustable Speed Drive Systems
2. BALDOR (A member of the ABB Group) Specif ier Guide