DC motor - an armature rotates inside a magnetic field - The basic working principle -> whenever

a current carrying conductor is placed inside a magnetic field, there will be mechanical force
experienced by that conductor.

For constructing a DC motor - essential to establish a magnetic field by using a magnet - an

electromagnet or it can be a permanent magnet. PMDC motor is a type of DC motor that uses a
permanent magnet to create the magnetic field required for the operation of a DC motor.

There should be commutator and brush assembly for injecting current to the armature windings .

As the magnetic field strength of a permanent magnet is fixed it cannot be controlled externally,
field control of PMDC motor cannot be possible. Thus PMDC motor is used where there is no
need to control the speed of the motor.
DC Motor – separately excited dc motor - whose
poles are made of Permanent Magnets is known as
PMDC Motor.

The magnets are radially magnetized - mounted on the

inner periphery of the cylindrical steel stator.

The stator of the motor serves as  a return path for the
magnetic flux.

The rotor has a DC armature, with commutator

segments and brushes.

CONSTRUCTION
the field poles of this motor are essentially made of permanent magnet - A PMDC motor
consists of - a stator – rotor/armature - commutator & brush assembly

Stator => a steel cylinder - The magnets are mounted in the inner periphery of this cylinder -
The permanent magnets are mounted in such a way that the N-pole and S-pole of each magnet
are alternatively faced towards armature - That means, if N-pole of one magnet is faced towards
armature then S-pole of very next magnet is faced towards armature – The stator frame made of
soft iron serves as low reluctance return path for the magnetic flux & acts as support for
magnets.

Although field coil is not required in permanent magnet DC motor but still it is sometimes found
that they are used along with permanent magnet. This is because if permanent magnets lose their
strength, these lost magnetic strengths can be compensated by field excitation through these
field coils. Generally, rare earth hard magnetic materials are used in these permanent magnet.

The ROTOR or armature - consists of core, windings and commutator

Armature houses the armature winding to which external DC source is connected through
commutator & brushes.

Armature core is made of no. of varnish insulated, slotted circular lamination of steel sheets.
(used to reduce eddy current loss in armature)

By fixing these circular steel sheets one by one, a cylindrical shaped slotted armature core is
formed. These slots on the outer periphery of the armature core are used for housing
armature conductors in them. The armature conductors are connected in a suitable manner
which gives rise to armature winding. The end terminals of the winding are connected to the
commutator segments placed on the motor shaft.
Carbon or graphite brushes are placed with spring pressure on the commutator segments to
supply current to the armature.
 a) Slotted armature:

 Made up of silicon sheet steel or carbon steel sheet which are punched together and mounted
on the shaft

 Slots on its periphery - Armature conductor is placed in the slots

 Large number of slots for reducing the torque ripples and electrical noise

 Skewing for reducing the cogging- skewing eliminates interaction btwn rotor teeth & pole
shoes

 Armature teeth & slot dimensions depend on the type of magnet used. ( machines using ferrite
magnets use armature with thin teeth & wide slots – AlNiCo => narrow slots & thick teeth)

b) Slot less armature:

 Conductors are fixed on the outer periphery of the core

 There is no slots  Effective air gap length is larger

 Alnico or rare earth permanent magnets are used

 Advantage is reduction in torque ripple

c) Moving Coil Armature:

 The iron core is replaced by non-magnetic core usually made of glass fibre

 Advantage: low inertia and no iron loss in armature

 helps to start, stop, change direction and speed very quickly- permits very high acceleration –

hence suitable for instrumentation applications

 Commutator and brushes are very small and made up of precious metals like gold, silver,

platinum and others

 Small size commutator and brushes helps in stable commutation.

WORKING PRINCIPLE:
That is when a carrying conductor comes inside a magnetic field, a mechanical force will be
experienced by the conductor and the direction of this force is governed by Fleming’s left hand
rule – in PMDC motor, the armature is placed inside the magnetic field of permanent magnet;
the armature rotates in the direction of the generated force - Here each conductor of the armature
experiences the mechanical force F = B.I.L
where, B is the magnetic field strength in Tesla (weber / m2),
I is the current in Ampere flowing through that conductor
L is length of the conductor in metre comes under the magnetic field.
Each conductor of the armature experiences a force and the compilation of those forces produces
a torque, which tends to rotate the armature.

ADVANTAGES:
 No need of field excitation arrangement – No field winding – No field Copper loss
 High efficiency => No input power is consumed for excitation which improves efficiency
 High Power density
 Small size - No field coil hence space is saved – reduces the overall size of motor
 Has larger effective air gap as of PM is nearly equal to that of air
 Avoids distortion of magnetic field & results in improved commutation
 Armature reaction effects are reduced
 Cheaper and economical for fractional kW rated applications.

DISADVANTAGES:
 the armature reaction of DC motor cannot be compensated hence the magnetic strength of the
field may get weak due to demagnetizing effect of the armature reaction
 There is a chance of getting the poles permanently demagnetized (partial) due to excessive
armature current during the starting, reversal, and overloading conditions of the motor
 The field in the air gap is fixed and limited – it cannot be controlled externally. This makes it
difficult for this type of motor to achieve efficient speed control of DC motor in this type of
motor is difficult.
 air gap flux cannot be controlled
 Large size permanent magnets
 Motor power rating is limited
APPLICATIONS:
used where small DC motors are required – also where very effective control is not required.

$ Industrial drives – pumps, fans, blowers, compressors, etc

$ Air conditioning systems, ticketing machines, bar code readers at super markets etc

$ Washing machines and cloth dryers, vacuum cleaners, toys etc

PERMANENT MAGNET MATERIALS

 Hard magnetic materials- not easily magnetized or demagnetized – permanent magnet

– operates in 2nd quadrant of hysteresis curve –

 (BH)max – The max energy product of a magnet is the max pdt of flux density and

field intensity along the magnet demagnetization curve.

 The strength of permanent magnent is denoted by (BH)max pdt or energy pdt – so this

needs to considered for selection of type of material acc to the application needed,

 ALNICO : Al + Ni + Co

Ad- can be cast to produce complex shapes

DisAd- very low energy density

Excellent thermal properties- Max operating temp 5000C

Very sensitive to demagnetisation

Chances for permanent demagnetization is high

Unsuitable for PM machines

 FERRITE(CERAMIC) : popular & inexpensive

Cheapest possible permamnent magnet in PMDC motors

Ad- High Resistivity and low core losses

Linear demagnetization chara in 2nd quadrant of BH

DisAd- easily demagnetised

Suitable for operation upto 1000C

  RARE EARTH MATERIALS:

 Samarium- cobalt

-Ad -highly resistant to corrosion ; insensitive to demagnetization

-ideal for medical applications – advanced electronic pdts, automotive industry

-Best choice esp for applications where durability is of great importance

- Suitable for operation upto 3000C

 Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB)

- more popular in high performance applications

- cheaper than samarium cobalt

- Manufacturing process complex

- More sensitive to oxidation

- Used in applicatns requiring a strong magnetic field in small space

- Highest (BH)max product

- In motors, MRI scanners, megaphones, electronics and vehicles, usually in combination

with sensors

0
Material Cost C max Corrosion resistance Magnetic properties
AlNiCo @@ 550  
Ferrite @ 350  
SmCo @@@@ 375  
NdFeB @@@ 200  