Recently was commissioning a drive and faced severe problems at site so decided to write a small post

clearing certain misconceptions generally held, also about torque & power relationships (5) and using
mathematical calculations to see how the motor (or Gearbox) torque available will change, as the base
speed changes from 500rpm to 1000rpm to 1500rpm (8).

So before I proceed lets clear few basic concepts:

1) Weight: When a person gives weight in Kg, Pounds, Ounce etc. what is really being referred to, is the
mass. A mass of a body remains same, wherever it travels in the universe (or a black-hole)

When a person gives his weight as 100Kgs we as engineers; of course should read it as
(100Kg)*(9.8m/sec2) = 980 Kgm/sec2 (Assumption being he is on planet Earth).

Since 1901 Weight has been redefined as = Force = {(Mass)*(acceleration)}.

So if yours mass is 70Kg, your weight on planet earth will be 686 Kgm/sec2. Or 686 Newton in short
(Gravitational pull of earth being 9.8m/sec2)
When engineering calculations are done to calculate the power (HP / Kw), torque etc. it’s exclusively
based on the Weight.

2) Mass: Is the quantity of matter in a body regardless of its shape, volume or any forces acting on it.
Say if a body is highly compressed or elongated, BUT its mass will remain the same. The mass of an
object will remain same throughout the universe, black holes, planets, Galaxies, etc.

General conference on Weights & Measures (CGPM) in 1901 defined the standard unit of Mass in SI as
Kilogram (Kg).

3) Newton: In 1946 CGPM defined a body Weight (or force) of: 1 Newton = 1Kgm/sec2 . (One Kg
meters per second squared). What squared effectively means is if a body (object) is dropped from a
tower, its speed will change EVERY second. So it will drop 4.9 meters in the first second, 14.7 meters in
the next one second , 24.5 meters in the next one second, 34.3 meters in the next one second and so
on.. i.e. its speed will increase exponentially (not linearly).

A body having mass of 100Kg if it falls one meter, will have an impact speed of 15.94Km/h & impact Energy =
980 Joules, and if it falls ten meters will have an impact speed of 50.40Km/h & an Impact Energy = 9800 Joules
(Linear Increase in Impact). So higher the fall, higher is the impact.

4) Power: Power is defined as something which can neither be created nor can be destroyed. It just
changes from one state to the other. This is the basis of all engineering theory. Say wind energy is
converted to mechanical rotational energy, which changes in to electrical energy which changes in to
energy to run a Computer and which flows back to nature as heat, light, etc. In what all ways is not
exactly known. But what can be stated with mathematical certainty is the net power in the universe
remains the same. The weight of the universe remains constant, since it was formed; the energy
remains the same, the energy just flows from one form to another…. Never being created.. never
being destroyed.
Mathematically electrical Power is given as a product of Voltage & Current. P=VI= I2R.
Power is popularly known as Horse Power (HP) or Kilowatt(Kw).
5) Horse Power: When motors were first introduced, people were using horses to get the work done. The
work done by a horse was deemed to be as lifting a mass of 550 Pounds by one foot in one second. Later it
was established this equates to a power drawn by an electrical motor of about 746 Watts. So 1HP = 0.746Kw.

1600
Voltage As motor speed
1400
increases, its
1200 Speed voltage increases so
does it’s HP (Kw). At
1000 Constant Torque Constant Power base speed full
Amps voltage (and full HP)
800 is reached. (The
amperage capacity
600 Torque
remains the same
for the entire speed
400 Kw range). Above base
speed the Torque
200 starts falling but
COMTECH
Power (Kw) remains
0
the same.
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100110120130140150160 SPEED

6) Torque: Is defined in Newtonmeters. A boy weighing 400N (40.81Kg) sitting on a seesaw at 1.5 meter will
generate a torque of 600Nm. A girl weighing 200N sitting at a distance of three meters from the fulcrum will
generate a torque of 600Nm. Thus the seesaw will be balanced and will be in the midway position.

Torque = Weight x Radius.

Greater the lever size; more torque it
will exert.
Here T= 600Nm (ccw) = 600Nm (cw)

7) Any Electric Motor: A motor is rated / defined by its ability to carry current (Amps). If the amps
required increases, the size of the motor increases. The ability of a motor to carry current remains the
same thru out its speed range. A motor rated for 20Amps will be able to deliver up to 20 Amps for its full
speed range. The Power or Kw or HP of a motor is defined by its voltage multiplied by its current. Any
electrical motor will have a Kw (HP) rating directly proportional to product of its voltage & current (V*I).

If the speed of a motor is decreased, its voltage also decreases proportionately. If Speed (N) is decreased
by 20% the motor voltage is reduced by 20%, If Speed (N) is decreased by 62% the motor voltage is
reduced by 62%. So as the speed decreases the power (Kw / HP) also decreases by the same ratio. If say
speed is reduced for a 50HP/ 100A motor by 50% the motor output power will fall to 25 HP/100 Amp.
The torque is defined by T= Kw/Speed. As seen before if speed is reduced by x%, its Kw will also reduce
by x%, thus torque will remain constant in the entire speed range; up to the base speed. As speed is
increased above the base speed (Speed given on its name plate) the Kw will remain constant (As motor
full rated voltage & full rated current are reached) and as Speed increases, the Kw won’t increase and
hence the torque will start reducing.
8) Machine Power: If for a given machine the design torque required is calculated as 1000nm and a 500
rpm motor is selected the motor power required will be 52Kw (at full / base speed). This motor will give
the same torque (1000nm} from its minimum speed to its full base speed. If for the same torque
(1000nm) a 1000 rpm motor is selected, the motor power required will be 104Kw. This motor will give
the same torque (1000nm} from its minimum speed to its full base speed. If a 1500 rpm motor is
selected (for load of 1000nm) the motor power required will be 156Kw.

If for a torque of 250nm a 1000 rpm/ 26 Kw motor was selected and for a later project a 1500 rpm
motor was readily (and cheaply!) available was used, the motor required should now be rated for 39Kw.
Reducing the speed using a VFD will not help, as the Power of both the motor & VFD (Kw / HP) will
decrease by 33%, as its speed is reduced by 33%. The new 26Kw / 1500 rpm motor will be able to deliver
167nm torque (from 1500 rpm to about 2 rpm). So if a 1500 rpm motor is to be used in the same
application (Instead of a 1000rpm motor) there are two options available: (a) Use a gear box / belt
pulley at the motor shaft to reduce the load screw rotation to 1000rpm and use a 26Kw motor. (b) Or
use a 39Kw motor & Invertor.

Mathematically if speed of motor is increased by 200% the torque available will fall by 50% (If the same
motor Kw is used). If the same torque is required the motor Kw required will rise to 200%

A transformer or a gear box will have the same power on its primary & secondary side. I.e. even if speed
of a gearbox is reduced by 50% the torque will increase by 200% on its output shaft. If the secondary
voltage of a transformer is reduced by 33% the secondary current will increase by 33% but if a motor or
VFD speed is reduced by say 60% its power will drop by 60%. As the speed of a motor / VFD decreases
from 100% to 0% speed, its power (Kw / HP) also decreases from 100% to 0% (Both at the mains
incomer side and Motor terminal side).

In a transformer if the secondary voltage is reduced (by reducing the secondary turns) the power
remains the same on its primary and secondary side. As the secondary voltage is reduced the secondary
current is increased by the same ratio (and vice-versa). Similarly if the speed of a gearbox is reduced by
changing its gearing ratio the power remains the same on its Input and output shaft. As the secondary
shaft speed is reduced the secondary shaft torque is increased by the same ratio (and vice-versa)

This is a major difference between a VFD (Motor), Gearbox and a Transformer. A motor does not
enjoy the benefits of a magnetic or mechanical coupling. If its speed reduces (by reducing voltage), so
does its Kw. Also if say a 50Kw motor delivers X torque at its base speed of 1000 Rpm, it will deliver X/2
torque if the base speed is changed to 2000 Rpm and Kw is maintained at 50Kw.