MOTORS

Principles of a motor:
Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction:
“Whenever the magnetic flux linked with a closed circuit changes, an emf is induced in the circuit. The
induced emf lasts as long as the change in magnetic flux continues.”
Fleming’s left hand rule:
“The forefinger, middle finger and the thumb of the right hand are held in the three mutually
perpendicular directions. If the fore finger points along the direction of the magnetic field and the middle
finger is along the direction of current, then the thumb points the direction of the motion of the
conductor”.

Types of motors used on board

 Induction motor
It is used where load changes eg. pumps
 Synchronous motor
It is used for cranes, turning gears where the speed should be constant.
Working of induction motor:
1. When a 3Φ supply is given to the stator winding of the motor, it produces rotating magnetic
field on it. At a speed called synchronous speed.
Ns = 120f/p
2. When the conductor (Rotor winding –Armature) is placed inside the rotating magnetic field with
its ends shorted, As per law of electromagnetic induction and Fleming’s left hand rule this
rotating magnetic field induces emf on the rotor. E= dΦ/dt
3. Since the ends are shorted, the induce emf sets up the rotor current.
4. This rotor current produces the magnetic field on rotor.
As per Lenz’s law “The induced current produced in the circuit always flows in such a direction that it
opposes the cause that produces it.”
Since the magnetic field in stator is rotating, the flux cut by the conductor in rotor is varying with time,
which is why emf is induced in the rotor.
5. Here the induced current is the rotor current and the cause for producing the current is the
varying flux over the conductor i.e., rotating magnetic field. So the magnetic field produced by the rotor
current exhibits torque and starts rotating in the direction of the rotating magnetic field and tries to stop
that varying flux. So the rotor rotates to stop the varying flux and tries to attain the synchronous speed
but which will never happen. This is termed as “Slip”
6. Slip is the difference between rotor and synchronous speed.
It is expressed as a percentage of synchronous speed.
Slip = (Ns-Nr)/Ns * 100 %

What happens when there is no slip?

An induction motor cannot run normally at synchronous speed. This is because the rotor conductors will
then be stationary with respect to rotating magnetic field. No emf would be induced in the rotor and
thus no rotor current and torque developed. Hence slip is the important factor of induction motor.
Even at no-load the rotor speed is slightly less than synchronous speed , so that current can be induced
in the rotor and torque is produced.

Why speed of the motor reduces when a load is connected?

At no-load the rotor speed is only slightly less than synchronous speed since the only torque required is
that needed to overcome the rotational losses of friction and windage.
When load is applied to the motor, shaft of the motor tends to slow down. This allows
the constant speed rotating field to cut the rotor conductors at a faster rate which induces larger rotor
current. The result is an increased torque output at a slightly reduced speed.
I α V , V α T2 and F α 1/T

Why starting current is high?

When rotor is at rest, Nr= 0 hence slip is 100%. More rate of change of flux results in more induced
resulting in more induced current on rotor. The induced current in rotor causes the stator to draw more
current form the bus bar during starting. (It is like when secondary of a transformer is short circuited it
will cause primary coil to draw more current from the mains. Here stator is the primary and rotor is the
secondary which short circuited.) When rotor picks up the speed the amount of induced current reduces
hence current drawn by the stator decreases. Starting current will be 4-8 times the rated current.

Why we need starters for induction motors?

 To prevent restart of motor after a power failure.
 When power to the motor is interrupted starter will stop the motor
 It includes
o Over current protection.
o Speed control arrangements.
o Remote controls.
o Limiting starting current.

Types of starting methods.

What is Direct on line starting (D.O.L):

In this system the mains supply is directly connected to the stator of the motor. It provides less torque
with high starting current. Used for motors up to 3.7KW.
Operation:

When the start button is pressed power is supplied to the main contactor, MC, all 4 contacts close and
the motor starts. Contact MC1 also closes and this ensures that when the start button is released power
 is still supplied to the contactor. To stop the motor the stop button is pressed, this cuts off the power to
the contactor, MC, which in turn cuts off the power to the motor

The motor is protected by fuses and by an overload device fitted into each phase of the motor, if the
overload operates it opens a switch in the contactor supply circuit and cuts off the power to the motor.

Auto transformer:
R Y B

Close to start, open to run

Open to start, close to run

 Auto transformers can supply more current to the motor while keeping the voltage low, the
transformer steps up the current to make it greater than the line current input during start up.
 It uses taps on a transformer winding to control the power input to the motor. The taps are
typically set up to provide 80%, 65% and 50% of the line voltage. Activating any one of the three
taps on the windings allows the adjustment of current and torque to required value.
 Used for smooth start up but not more than two consecutive starts. Requires cooling time after
consecutive starts.
Star delta starter.

The motor stator windings are connected in star to start the motor and then are connected in delta for
normal running of the motor, this will reduce the voltage applied to the motor.

Star connected winding. Delta connected winding.

IL
IL

Vph
VL Iph
Vph

STAR DELTA
V L=√ 3×V PH I L= √ 3×I PH
I PH =I L V PH =V L

The value of phase current drawn depends on the impedance of each winding of the field and this
does not vary as it is inbuilt into the motor.

DELTA
STAR I PH ∝V PH
I PH ∝V PH IL
∝V
I L √ 3 ∝V L √3 L
I LDELTA
I LSTAR √3 ∝
√3
I LSTAR 3 ∝I LDELTA

As the line voltage is the same in both star and delta it can be seen that line current in star is one
third of the value in delta.
Operation:
A star delta starter has three contactors to operate. When starting the main and the star contactor
are closed and the delta contactor is open, the motor will start up. After a set time interval the
star contactor is opened and the delta contactor is closed, this will then apply full line voltage
across each phase of the motor.

The start contactor and the delta contactor must never be made at the same time as this would
cause a complete short circuit across the three phase supply. The control circuitry for the starter
must include interlocks to prevent short circuiting of the mains.

R Y B

Star

Main Delta
Soft starter

A motor soft starter is a device used with AC electric motors to temporarily reduce the load
and torquein the powertrain and electrical current surge of the motor during startup. This reduces the mechanical
stress on the motor and shaft, as well as the electrodynamic stresses on the attached power cables andelectrical
distribution network, extending the lifespan of the system.[1]
Motor soft starters can consist of mechanical or electrical devices, or a combination of both.
Mechanical soft starters include clutches and several types of couplings using a fluid, magnetic forces, or
steel shot to transmit torque, similar to other forms of torque limiter. Electrical soft starters can be any control
system that reduces the torque by temporarily reducing the voltage or current input, or a device that temporarily
alters how the motor is connected in the electric circuit.
Electrical soft starters can use solid state devices to control the current flow and therefore the
voltage applied to the motor. They can be connected in series with the line voltage applied to the motor, or can be
connected inside the delta (Δ) loop of a delta-connected motor, controlling the voltage applied to each winding.
Solid state soft starters can control one or more phases of the voltage applied to the induction motor with the best
results achieved by three-phase control. Typically, the voltage is controlled by reverse-parallel-connected silicon-
controlled rectifiers (thyristors), but in some circumstances with three-phase control, the control elements can be
a reverse-parallel-connected SCR and diode.

SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR
Working of synchronous motor.
Like induction motor we are giving 3Φ supply to the stator which produces rotating magnetic field at
synchronous speed.
Rotor is made of electromagnets. We need external D.C supply for excitation.
Synchronous motors are not self-starting, we need an alternative method to rotate it from rest to
synchronous speed. Which is done by connecting a D.C motor with the rotor.
When the rotor attains the synchronous speed. The rotor’s north pole is attracted by the stator’s south
pole and rotor’s south pole by stator’s north pole. Once their poles are magnetically locked external
starting device can be removed.
When load is given , rotor tends to slow down but the strong magnetic attractive force will pull back the
rotor to synchronous speed. But stator runs ahead of rotor at same speed. This is called Load angle.

What is load angle in synchronous motor?

The angular difference between the position of stator and rotor is known as load angle. As the load on
the motor increases the load angle increases.

Comparison between synchronous motors and induction motors.

1. For a given frequency, Synchronous motors run at same speed irrespective of load while the
speed of the induction motor falls with increase in load.
2. Synchronous motors can be operated under wide range of power factors, both lagging and
leading, but induction motor always runs with lagging power factor.
3. Synchronous motors are not self-starting.
 4. Variation of torque with respect to voltage is more in induction motor than in synchronous
motor.
5. A d.c excitation is required for synchronous motors.
6. Synchronous motors are usually more costly and complicated than induction motors.

How to control speed of induction motor?

 Frequency is directly proportional to speed of the motor. Using frequency converter we can
alter the speed of the motor.
 Increase in voltage causes reduction in slip and thereby acceleration of the motor. Voltage is
directly proportional to the speed of the motor.

What is single phasing of motors?

1) Single phasing occurs when one of the 3 phases is open, hence the remaining circuits carry
excess current.
2) One phase of the circuits becomes open, due to blown fuse, faulty contactor, or broken wire
3) It prevents a motor from starting, but a running motor may continue to run with this fault
4) For a running motor, it can be detected by overloaded device in supply line, or overheating
5) For an idle motor, it cannot be started.
What are all the Effects of single phasing?
1) Due to single phasing the current in the remaining two phase increases and it is approximately 2.4
times the normal current value.
2) Single Phasing reduces the speed of the motor.
3) The motor becomes noisy and starts vibrating due to uneven torque produced in the motor.
4) If the motor is arranged for standby and automatic starting then the motor will not start, and if the
overload relay provided fails to function then the motor may burn.
5) The windings will melt due to overheating and can give a fatal shock to the personnel.
6) It may cause overloading of the generator

What is the cause for single phasing?

Single Phasing is usually caused when:-

1) One of the three back up fuses blows (or fuse wire melts).
2) One of the contactor for motor is open circuited.
3) Single phasing might also be caused due to wrong setting of the protection devices provided on the
motor.
4) Contactors are coated due to oxidation hence not conducting.
5) Relay contacts damaged or broken.

Q. How to Protect Motor from Damage Due to Single Phasing?

All motors above 500 KW are to be provided with protection devices or equipments to prevent any
damage due to single phasing.
The rule stated above does not apply to motors of the steering gear system installed on the ship. Only
on the detection of the single phasing an alarm will be sounded. However the motor will not stop as it is
essential for safety or propulsion of the ship.
The most commonly used protection devices for single phasing are
 Electromagnetic Overload Device.
 Thermistors.
 Bi-metal strip.

Q. Overhauling of an Electric Motor

o Disconnect the electric circuit.
o Isolate the system and tag out.
o Remove the fuse & check the electric supply is not coming.
o Remove the coupling bolts after marking.
o Lift the motor with the help of lifting gear.
o Open the end cover & remove the fan and clean the fan.
o Remove the bearing and renew it.
o Check the condition of winding visually & check the insulation resistance by using
megger. If low, then apply varnish on it & dry it.
o Check the continuity.
o Check the air gap between stator and rotor.
o Assemble the motor.
o Before putting it into operation, check the load being taken & any noise coming
from it.

What is the importance of air gap?

If the air gap around a rotor is not uniform the motor may not start in certain positions.
Because the rotor is not centered, probably due to worn bearings, there is an out of balance magnetic
pull.
In the induction motor the air gap should be as small as possible if the motor is to act with
a high power factor. An increase in air gap increases the reactance of the motor and lowers its power
factor. Small motors are accurately machined and centring of the rotor is very important so ball or roller
bearings are fitted.
Air gap Motor size

0.25mm 1kW
 0.75mm 10kW

2.0mm 100kW

Q. How to make sure motor is in good condition.

While Running:
 No noise
 No vibrations
 Motor frame temperature normal.
 Current drawn by the motor is normal.
 No dirt or dust or no corrosion on fins.
 Drawing rated current.
              
During Stop condition.
 Isolate the system
 Dismantle the parts
 Check condition of internal parts like bearing, fan.
 No damage to rotor, stator.
 Insulation resistance to check.
 No signs of overheating should be there.

While starting:
 Developing correct torque & high starting current.
 Coming back to its normal rated current in designated time.

Q. Why motor insulation deteriorates?

            a. Moisture – results in decrease in the measured value of insulation resistance.
            b. Dust & dirt deposits – reduces insulation resistance & failure of insulation due to
oxidation.
            c. Oil & Grease – prevents heat dissipation & causes dirt  and dust to settle on the
insulation.
            d. Ageing – over the period of time the insulation deteriorates due to it getting affected
by temperature variation, mechanical stresses, vibrations, moisture and some varnish tend to
become hard with age & crack during the operation.
            e. Temperature – Excessive temperature dehydrates and oxidizes the insulation, making
it brittle & disintegrate under vibration & shock.
Q. what should we do when motor is flooded with water.
 Disconnect the electrical supply.
 Put MEN AT WORK tag.
 Remove the coupling bolts.
 Now, lift the motor using lifting gear & put it on a clean place.
 Remove the cover & fan.
 Take out bearing & the shaft.
 The salt contamination must be removed by thoroughly washing with clean  fresh water
(preferably warm) or if possible , distilled water.
 De-greasants must be used if it is found that there was ingress of oil.
 Spirits or alcohol may be used to clean contacts.
 Dry the motor with dry air & then switch on its heaters or use powerful lamps. During
this process, keep its inspection covers open to permits moisture to escape.
 Put the varnish on the winding & let it dry.
 Check the insulation resistance. If it is ok then assemble it back & put it for use.
 The motor must be started with less load and the current is monitored for few hours to
confirm its satisfactory operation.

Q. what checks to be made when motor is running hot.

        a. Single-phasing
            b. Fan is working or not.
            c. Overload is occurring.
            d. Check condition of bearing

How can we find the type of connection in the terminal box?

Star

Delta