special features

of
traction motors
 General Features of Traction Motors

 Mechanical Features

 Electrical Characteristics
 Mechanical Features

• A traction motor must be robust and capable to withstand

continuous vibrations since service conditions are extremely severe

• The weight of the traction motor should be minimum.

• The traction motor is located underneath a motor coach (except in

few electric locomotives). The space underneath a motor coach is
depend up on the size of driving wheels so the traction motor,
therefore, must be small in overall dimensions especially in its
overall diameter.

• The traction motor must be totally enclosed type, particularly when

mounted beneath the locomotive or motor coach, to provide
protection against dirt, dust, water, mud etc.
 So ………. Mech constru..
 Magnetic circuit :
cast steel or fabricated steel
which gives more mechanical strength

 Parts that are not highly stressed :

Fabricated steel plates and light alloys.
 Electrical Characteristics
 High Starting Torque:
A traction motor must be capable of developing high starting
torque, especially when the train is to be accelerated at a
reasonably high rate such as in case of urban or suburban
services.
 Simple Speed Control:
The speed of traction motor should be controlled simply because
an electric train has to be started and stopped very often.

 Self-Relieving Property:
The speed-torque charac­teristics of the motor should be such that
the speed may fall with the increase in load. The motors having
such speed- torque characteristics are self-protective against
excessive overloading as power output of a motor is proportional
to the product of torque and speed.
 Electrical Characteristics

  Possibility of Dynamic or Regenerative Braking:

The traction motor should be amenable (Open) to easy and simple
methods of rheostatic and/or regenerative braking.

  Capability of Withstanding Voltage Fluctuations:

Traction motor should be capable of withstanding rapid fluctuations
in supply voltage without any effect on its performance since in
traction work rapid voltage fluctuation owing to heavy current
inrush at start, is common feature.

 Capability of Withstanding Temporary Interruption of Supply:

Traction motor should be capable of withstanding temporary
interruptions of supply without any rush of current, since it occurs
at the instant of crossing over the cross-overs.
 Electrical Characteristics

 Parallel Running:
 In traction work, usually more than one motor (two or four
motors per motor car) are required. Traction motors, therefore,
should be of such speed-torque and current-torque characteristics
that when they are operated in parallel and mechanically coupled,
they share the load almost equally.

• No motor meets all the requirements mentioned above.

DC systems - series and compound motors

Ac systems - The single phase motors and 3-phase induction motors
are employed.
 Rating and Ventilation of Traction Motor

• The motors are designed for intermittent loading as well

as continuous loading. The motors employed in traction
work are subject to intermittent loading particularly in
case of tramway and suburban services

• For cooling purpose either self-ventilation (by using a

fan mounted on the motor shaft which blows air through
suitable ducts in the motor) or forced ventilation (by
employing an external fan) is used. 
 TYPES OF SERVICES

AND THEIR SPEED TIME CURVES

(IN AN ELECTRICAL TRACTION )

9
 Need of speed time curves
• The movement of trains and their energy
consumption can be most conveniently studied by
means of speed-time and speed-distance curves
• Of the two, the speed-time curve is generally the
more useful
 What they gives ?
• The curve drawn between speed and time, taking speed (in
km/hour) on the Y-axis and time (in seconds or minutes) on X-
axis, is known as speed-time curve.
• The speed-time curve provides complete information of the
motion of the train.
• This curve gives the speed at various time instants after the
start of run directly.
 What they gives ?
• Slope of the curve at any point gives the acceleration
at the corresponding instant or speed.
• The area covered by the curve, the time axis and the
ordinates through the instants between which the time
is taken, represents the distance covered in the
corresponding time
 Type s of services

 Main line service

 Urban or city service

 Sub-urban service
 Main line service
• The distance between two stops in main line service is
considerably more (usually more than 10 km)
Acceleration
• Constant Acceleration or Acceleration during Notching Up
• Speed Curve Running or Acceleration on Speed Curve

Free Run or Constant Speed Run

Coasting

Retardation or Braking Period

 Acceleration
• It consists of two parts known as:
(a) Constant acceleration or acceleration while notching
up and
(b) Speed curve running or acceleration on the speed
curve
 (a) Constant Acceleration or Acceleration during
Notching Up

• During notching up period (0 to t1) the current is maintained

approximately constant and the voltage across the motor is
gradually increased by cutting out the starting resistance.
• Thus tractive effort is constant and, therefore, acceleration
remains constant during this period.
 (b) Speed Curve Running or Acceleration on Speed
Curve
• During speed curve running (t1 to t2) the voltage acting across the
motor remains constant and current starts decreasing with the
increase in speed and finally becomes constant.
• During this period, though the train accelerates but acceleration
decreases with the increase in speed and finally becomes zero
• The tractive effort developed by the motor becomes exactly equal
to the resistance to motion of the train.
 Free Run or Constant Speed Run

• At the end of speed curve running i.e., at t2 the

train attains the maximum speed.
• During this period the train runs with constant
speed attained at and constant power is drawn.
 Coasting
 At the end of free running period (i.e., at t3) power supply is
cut off and the train is allowed to run under its own
momentum.
 The speed of train starts decreasing on account of resistance
to the motion of train.
 The rate of decrease of speed during coasting period is
known as coasting retardation.
 Retardation or Braking Period
 At the end of coasting period (i.e., at t4) the
brakes are applied to bring the train to rest.
 During this period speed decreases rapidly and
finally reduces to zero.
 Urban or City Service

• In urban or city service the distance between the two

stops is comparatively very short (say 1 km or so).
• The time required for this run is very small (few
minutes).
• The acceleration as well as retardation is required to be high
so that high average speed and short time of run is obtained.
• The acceleration and retardation for urban service is
between 1.5 and 4 kmphps and between 3 and 4 kmphps
respectively.
• Free run is not present in this run.
• The coasting retardation is about 0.15 kmphps.
• The coasting period is also small.
HYD METRO
 Suburban Service
• In this service the distance between the stops is little
longer than urban service but smaller than main line
service (say between 2 and 5 km).
• Free run is still not possible.
• Coasting is for a comparatively longer period.
Acceleration and retardation required are as
high as for urban service.
 BASIC DEFINATIONS
Crest Speed:

The maximum speed attained by the vehicle during the run is known
as crest speed.

Average Speed:
• The mean of the speeds from start to stop i.e., the distance covered
between two stops divided by the actual time of run is known as
average speed.
Mathematically average speed = Distance between stops /Actual
time of run, T
Schedule Speed:
• The ratio of distance covered between two stops and
total time of run including time of stop is known as
schedule speed.
• Mathematically schedule speed = Distance between
stops / (Actual time of run + stop time)
 Factors Affecting Schedule Speed of Train
Schedule speed = Distance between stops / (Actual
time of run + stop time)
Acceleration and braking retardation.
 Maximum or crest speed.
 Duration of stop.

Effect of Acceleration and Braking Retardation :

• For a given run and with fixed crest speed the increase in acceleration
will result in decrease in actual time of run and, therefore, increase in
schedule speed.
• Similarly increase in braking retardation will affect the schedule speed.
• Variation in acceleration and retardation will have more effect on
schedule speed in case of shorter distance run in comparison to longer
distance run.
Schedule speed = Distance between stops / (Actual
time of run + stop time)

Effect of Maximum Speed:

For a constant distance run and with fixed acceleration and
retardation schedule speed will increase with the increase
in crest speed.

Effect of Duration of Stop:

For a given average speed the schedule speed will increase
by reducing the duration of stop.
 The variation in duration of stop will affect the schedule
speed more in case of shorter distance run as compared to
longer distance run
 Simplified Speed-Time Curves of Train
• In order to study the performance of a service at different
schedule speeds the speed-time curves are replaced by simple
geometric shaped curves.
• From these simplified curves the relationships between
acceleration, retardation, average speed and distance can be
easily worked out.
• These can have either quadrilateral or trapezoidal shape.
• The speed-time curve of a main line service is
best and most easily replaced by a trapezoid.

• In case of simplified trapezoidal speed-time curve,

speed curve running and coasting periods are
replaced by constant speed period, as illustrated in
Fig
• The speed-time curve of an urban service can be
replaced by an equivalent speed-time curve of simple
quadrilateral shape.

• While in case of quadrilateral speed-time curve,

initial acceleration and coasting periods are extended,
as illustrated in Fig
Calculations by Trapezoidal Speed-Time Curve

Let α = Acceleration in kmphps

β = Retardation in kmphps
Vm = Crest speed in kmph
T = Total time of run in seconds.
• Time for acceleration in seconds, t1 = Vm/α
• Time for retardation in seconds, t3 = Vm/β
• Time for free running in seconds, t2 = T – (t1 + t3)
= T – (Vm/α + Vm/β)
Total distance of run in km= S
S = Distance travelled during acceleration + distance
travelled during free run + distance travelled during
braking

During acceleration =

During free run =

During braking =
• The +ve sign cannot be adopted, as value of Vm obtained by using +ve
sign will be much higher than that is possible in practice. Hence -ve
sign will be used and, therefore, we have
 Calculation by Quadrilateral Speed-Time Curve
Let α = Acceleration in kmphps
βc = Coasting retardation in kmphps
β = Braking retardation in kmphps
V1 = Maximum speed at the end of acceleration in kmph
V2 = Speed at the end of coasting in kmph
T = Total time of run in seconds
Time of acceleration in seconds, t1 = V1/α
Time of coasting in seconds, t2 = (V1 –V2) / βc
Time of braking in seconds, t3 = V2/β
Total distance travelled in km,
S = Distance travelled during acceleration + distance travelled
during coasting + distance travelled during retardation

During coasting :
• We know that
 Mechanics of Train Movement

• Essential driving mechanism of an electric locomotive

is shown below where the armature of the driving
motor has a pinion of diameter d’ attached to it.
• The tractive effort at the edge of the pinion is
transferred to the driving wheel by means of a
gearwheel.
• Let, T = Torque exerted by
the motor
• F ’ = Tractive effort at the
pinion
• F = Tractive effort at the
wheel
• γ = Gear ratio
• Here, d ’ =Diameter of the
pinion
• d = Diameters of gear wheel
• D = Diameter of the driving
wheel
• η = Efficiency of power
transmission from the motor
to driving axle
• Tractive effort at the edge of pinion is given by
the equation-
T = F’ (d’/2)
F’ = 2T/d’
• Tractive effort transferred to the driving wheel

γ is the gear ratio

γ = d/d’.
 Other aspects

• The maximum frictional force between the driving wheel

and the track = µW
• where
µ = coefficient of adhesion between the driving wheel and
the track
W = Weight of the train on the driving axles (called
adhesive weight).
• For motion of trains without slipping tractive force
F < µW.

• The magnitude of the tractive effort depends upon the

weight coming over the driving wheels and the coefficient
of adhesion between the driving wheel and the track