AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors

Course Summary
Here is a recap of the key points of this course. In this course you have learnt that:
• An induction motor is also called an asynchronous motor because it runs at speed less than its
synchronous speed.
• An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in
the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic
field of the stator winding.
• There are two types of induction motors depending upon the input supply - the single phase
induction motor and the three phase induction motor.
• Single phase induction motor is not a self-starting motor while the three phase induction motor is a
self-starting motor.

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 AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors
Course Summary
• A 3-phase induction motor has two main parts (i) stator and (ii) rotor
• The stator is the stationary part of the AC motor.
• The rotor is the rotating electrical component. It also consists of a group of electro-magnets arranged
around a cylinder, with the poles facing toward the stator poles. The rotor is separated from the stator
by a small air-gap which ranges from 0.4 mm to 4mm, depending on the power of the motor.
• The third part is called End bells. End Bells are apparatuses within rotating motors that are part of the
housing that supports the bearing and guards other rotating parts. End Bells are sometimes referred to
as end brackets and shields.
• Stator consists of three main components - Stator core, conducting wire and frame
• Stator core is made up of high grade alloy steel. Slots are provided on the inner periphery. The core is
properly insulated. Lamination is provided to prevent eddy current loss.

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 AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors
Course Summary
• Conducting Wires are made up of copper wire. They are used to form stator coil.
• Frames are made up of cast or fabricated iron. They consist of cooling fans. A frame is responsible to
provide support and protects other parts of the motor.
• Rotor consists of three main components - Rotor core, conducting rod and frame.
• Rotor core is built from a high grade alloy steel lamination. It has slots on the outer periphery.
• Conducting Rods are made of copper, Aluminum or alloys. They are used as a rotor winding
• Rotor is classified into two types: Squirrel cage rotor and Phase wound or slip ring rotor.
• A squirrel cage rotor consists of a laminated cylindrical core having parallel slots on its outer
periphery. One copper or aluminum bar is placed in each slot. All these bars are joined at each end by
metal rings called end rings .This forms a permanently short-circuited winding which is indestructible.
The entire construction resembles a squirrel cage and hence the name.

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 AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors
Course Summary
• A slip ring rotor consists of a laminated cylindrical core and carries a 3- phase winding. The rotor winding
is uniformly distributed in the slots and is usually star-connected. These rotors are comparatively
expensive and require maintenance of the slip rings and brushes, so they are not common.
• Balanced three phase windings, i.e. mechanically displaced 120 degrees from each other, fed by balanced
three phase source i.e. displaced 120 degrees in time domain, produce a rotating magnetic field of
constant magnitude. The speed at which the magnetic field revolves is called synchronous speed.
• Sine wave current in each of the three stationary coils produces three sine varying magnetic fields
perpendicular to the rotation axis. The three magnetic fields add as vectors to produce a single rotating
magnetic field.
• A three-phase induction motor works on the principle of electromagnetic induction where the relative
motion between the flux and the rotor caused by the rotating magnetic field induces a current in the
rotor forcing it to rotate in the same direction .
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 AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors
Course Summary
• The difference between the synchronous speed Ns and the actual speed N of the rotor is known as slip.
Slip speed is defined as the difference between synchronous speed and rotor speed.
• The torque produced by three phase induction motor depends upon the following three factors:
• The magnitude of rotor current
• The flux which interact with the rotor of three phase induction motor and is responsible for producing
emf in the rotor part of induction motor
• The power factor of rotor of the three phase induction motor.
• The torque developed by the motor at the instant of starting is called starting torque.

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 AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors
Course Summary
• As the rotor resistance is increased from a relatively low value, the starting torque increases until it
becomes maximum when R2 = X2. If the rotor resistance is increased beyond this optimum value, the
starting torque will decrease.
• Running torque is:
• directly proportional to slip i.e., if slip increases, the torque will increase and vice-versa.
• directly proportional to square of supply voltage.
• If a curve is drawn between the torque and slip for a particular value of rotor resistance R2, the graph
thus obtained is called torque-slip characteristic. The torque-slip characteristic curve can be divided
roughly into:
• Braking Mode
• Motoring Mode
• Generating Mode
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 AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors
Course Summary
• Constant V/F Control Of Induction Motor
• Changing the number of stator poles
• There are three different ways of controlling Rotor Speed.
• Adding Rheostat in Stator Circuit
• By Injecting EMF In Rotor Circuit
• Cascade Control Method
• There are four different ways of controlling Stator Speed.
• Changing the Applied Frequency
• Controlling applied Voltage
• V/F Control Of Induction Motor
• Changing the number of stator poles

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 AC Machines - Three Phase Induction Motors
Course Summary
• There are three different ways of controlling Rotor Speed.
• Adding Rheostat in Stator Circuit
• By Injecting EMF In Rotor Circuit
• Cascade Control Method
• Starters are necessary for induction motors as when direct-switched they take 5 to 7 times their full-
load current and develop only 1.5 to 2.5 times their full-load torque. This initial excessive current
produces large line-voltage drop that affects the operation of other electrical equipment connected
to the same lines.
• There are different types of starters for 3 phase induction motors like:
• Stator Resistance Starter, Star delta Starter, Auto transformer Starter, and Rotor Resistance Starter

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