Module 3

FUNDAMENTALS OF
ELECTROTECHNICS

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 M3.18 – AC Motors
GOALS
Understanding the operation of AC motors:
- Construction, characteristics and operation of
asynchronous and synchronous motors.
- Single-phase and multi-phase motors.
- Methods of speed control and direction of rotation.

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 Introduction
AC motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, using
the principle of rotating magnetic field.
AC supply voltages are generally available in one of three forms:
Single-Phase, Two-Phase and Three-Phase.
Any of these three sources can be used to produce a rotational
magnetic field, but there are some differences in their use.
AC motors are more used than DC motors because:
- Greater availability of AC voltage sources.
- Lower acquisition cost and lower maintenance costs.
- Used for applications with constant speed.

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 Introduction
FIELD WID.
The AC motor is similar to the DC series motor

ARMATURE
Consisting basically of:
- Stator: static magnetic circuit (made of
laminated ferromagnetic material) + sets of
coils installed in the stator.
- Rotor: laminated ferromagnetic core, where
SERIE WID
set of conductors is set.
The stator coils are fed by the mains voltage and
the rotor supported on the shaft transmits to the
load the mechanical energy produced.

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 Operation principle
In each conductor a force is produced : F = B.I.l

Stator mag. field Rotor mag. field Resulting mag. field

stopped in mot. in mot.

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 Operation principle
The stator windings are fixed and are supplied with alternating
current.
With voltage and current varying in time, the magnetic field
generated also varies.
The variation of the magnetic field produces a field that changes
direction, as if in rotation.
Effect: rotating magnetic field.

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 Single-Phase System
To produce a rotating field from a AC single-phase system it is
necessary:
- A minimum of two pairs of field windings.
- Four stator poles.

A single-phase power connected to the

windings produces only one alternating
field.
To create a rotating field, the current in
one of the field winding pairs must be in
quadrature with the current in the other
pair.

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 Magnetic rotating field

Field resulting from two voltages in quadrature

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 Magnetic rotating field

Field resulting from two voltages in quadrature

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 Magnetic rotating field

Field resulting from two voltages in quadrature

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 Magnetic rotating field

Field resulting from two voltages in quadrature

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 Two-phase system
To produce a rotating field from a AC single-phase system it is
necessary:
- A minimum of two pairs of field windings.
- Four stator poles.
The Two-phase system fulfills these requirements, so it is not
necessary to use a capacitor to make the offset.

To change the motor

rotation, simply change
the phases.

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 Two-phase system

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Two-phase system

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 Three-phase system
To produce a rotating field using a three-phase power system
the motor must have a six-pole stator and three pairs of field
windings.
The stator construction of an AC three-phase motor is identical
to that of the stator of a fixed armature generator.
The direction of rotation of the motor can be obtained by the
change of 2 phases.

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 Three-phase system

+ +

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Three-phase system

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 AC Engine types
The two main types of AC motors used in aircraft systems are:
- Asynchronous motor.
- Synchronous motor.
Asynchronous motor: More used. Simple, safe engine with
affordable production cost.
- No excitation voltage is required to operate.
- The operation is based on the induction of an AC voltage in the
rotor winding.
- The rotor can be in Squirrel Cage or Wound rotor.

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 Asynchronous motor
Squirrel-cage rotor motor

Wound rotor motor

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 Asynchronous motor
Wound Rotor: the rotor windings form a closed circuit (short-
circuit rotor):
- The windings are placed evenly on slots of the rotor and by
fed by the AC network.
Squirrel-cage rotor: Nucleus of ferromagnetic plates, isolated
from each other, on which are placed aluminum or copper bars
(conductors), arranged parallel to each other and joined at the
ends by conductive rings.

Conductors
The motor stator consists of a laminated (bars)
ferromagnetic core.

rings

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 Asynchronous motor
The stator creates a rotating magnetic field, the rotor bars
intersect the lines of that field, being induced a emf.
The bars are short-circuited by the end rings, allowing current to
flow.

The current in the bars produces a

magnetic field around them.
This current reacts with the main
machine field (created by the stator Conductors
windings), causing the rotor to (bars)
rotate.

rings

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 Asynchronous motor
Starting (N = 0): rotor frequency is high (equal to that of the
supply voltage), cage reactance is high (XL = 2.π.f.L), current is
offset in relation to voltage ≈ 90°.
When the rotor field begins to be produced, the main field
moves 90° and the rotor field begins to react to the main field,
resulting in a low starting torque.
As the rotor speed increases, the frequency of emf of the rotor
decreases, reducing the inductive reactance.
The current is more in phase with emf induced, producing a good
torque.
It is not possible for the rotor to rotate at a synchronous speed
because there is no emf induced in the rotor bars without the
circulation of current and the magnetic field produced.
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 Asynchronous motor
Rotor rotates with a slightly lower speed (N ') at the
synchronizing speed (N).
Asynchronous motor slip is defined as the quotient between the
relative velocity (N-N') and the synchronous speed N:

In operation, the rotor field induces a cemf in the stator coils,

which are offset by about 180° in relation to the applied voltage.
This small voltage will counteract the field by reducing the
supply current.

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 Asynchronous motor
The torque produced by the engine depends on its slipping, so to
drive a greater mechanical load, the engine needs more torque.
If the engine's mechanical load increases, it slows down,
increasing slippage and engine torque.
The increased engine torque accelerates the engine back to its
initial speed.

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Asynchronous motor

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 Asynchronous motor - start
A single-phase motor starts, using one of the following constructive
methods:
- Capacitor Start.
- Resistance Start.
- Shaded pole motor.
Capacitor start motor is the most used because it is more efficient.
- The stator contains the main winding (normal operation) and
the auxiliary winding (motor start).
- The auxiliary winding is in series with a capacitor to produce a
current 45° in advance of the voltage.
- The current in the main winding is 45° lagging behind the
voltage.

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 Single-Phase System
Winding
Startup
Current

90º Phase
Voltage

Winding
Main Current

This phase difference creates a rotating field.

The direction of rotation of the motor can be reversed:
- By switching the connections of one of the field windings,
- Exchanging the capacitor from one field winding to the other
(normally used in aircraft engines).

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 Asynchronous motor - start
Resistance start motor:
- The stator contains the main winding (normal operation) and
the auxiliary winding (motor start) of high resistance.
- The current lag in relation to the voltage is lower in the
auxiliary winding than in the main winding.
- The current mismatch causes a rotating field, but with a lower
torque than that provided by the capacitor.

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 Shaded-pole motor
It is a small single-phase motor used to drive small devices or
mechanisms.
At the polar ends (shaded poles) there are two short circuits
turns that act as auxiliary windings:
- These turns cause the appearance of two flows out of phase
with each other.
Main Pole
Shaded Pole

The stator consists of a magnetic

circuit that is driven by an
alternating flux, caused by the
alternating current of the coil.

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 Shaded pole motor

1) Growing 2) Max. 3) Decreasing

field Field Field

These two fluxes give rise to a rotating magnetic field.

The rotor, made of ferromagnetic material, will accompany the
spinning field by induction, with a speed very close to the speed
of synchronism.

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 Shaded pole motor
Principle of operation of the engine

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 Shaded pole motor
Example of motor

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 Universal motor
Single-phase series motor, identical to DC series motor.
The inductor (stator) is connected in series with the armature
(rotor) and are powered by alternating current - alternating
current motor with collector.
In DC.: U = E’+r.I:
In AC : U = E’ + r.I + XLI;
Laminated magnetic circuit
and low frequency use;
Motors widely used for power
< 500 W;
They work in AC and DC.

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Universal motor

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 Synchronous motor
Electric motor whose speed of rotation is proportional to the
frequency of its power supply.
The rotor of the electric machine rotates at the synchronous
speed → n = (60 x f) / p (p - pole pair).
It can be single-phase or three-phase.
The rotor can be constituted by an electromagnet, with windings
fed by DC or consisting of permanent magnets (in case of being
three-phase).
The magnetic field of the stator is independent of the magnetic
field of the rotor, which tries to align with the rotating magnetic
field of the stator:
- The rotor acquires speed proportional to the frequency of
the stator supply (synchronous rotation).
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 Synchronous motor
Used in situations where a constant speed is required. The
increase or decrease of the load does not affect its speed.
If the load exceeds the nominal limits, the motor stops its rotation
definitely.
The stator produces a rotating magnetic field.
The permanent magnets of the rotor rotate with a synchronous
stator speed.

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 Synchronous motor
There are 3 types of synchronous motors:
Machine with internal excitation:
- Field windings fed by direct current from an internal generator
(exciter) coupled directly to the machine axis (no brushes).
Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine:
- There are no field windings, but permanent magnets. It has
no direct voltage source or brushes. It has good torque ratio
and good performance.
Synchronous reluctance machine:
- There are no field windings. The rotor consists of protruding
poles which due to minimal reluctance, rotate in synchronism
with the rotating field of the stator.

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 Synchronous motor

Motor with salient poles: low speed, coils around the polar
masses.
Motor with cylindrical rotor: high speed, coils mounted in the
longitudinal grooves of the rotor.
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 Synchronous motor
The DC-powered rotor, generating a constant magnetic field is
placed in a rotating magnetic field produced by a three-phase AC
system.
The interaction between the magnetic fields generates a pulling
force and the rotor follows the rotating magnetic field.
The motor only provides torque when it is spinning at
synchronous speed.
In the start-up phase of the motor the rotor is not powered. It
receives only energy when it begins to approach the
synchronous speed.
The motor is driven near its rated speed through another motor.

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 Synchronous motor
When it reaches the speed close to the working speed, its rotor is
then fed and it quickly reaches the speed of synchronism.
The DC voltage required for the excitation can be generated
internally or supplied from the outside.
This motor can be used to control the reactive power of the
network. The motor supplies or consumes reactive power by
controlling the circuit feeding the rotor.
Sub-excited motor: its regulation makes the synchronous motor
to absorb reactive power.
Over-excited motor: Operating as a reactive load, it can act as a
source of reactive power supplying to the grid, within its reactive
limits - power factor compensation.

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 Synchronous motor - permanent magnet
The permanent magnet produces a constant
magnetic field.
The magnet in the center rotates with a
constant speed synchronous with the rotation
of the magnetic field created by the stator.

The speed of the motor that is connected to a

three-phase network is constant and imposed
by the frequency of the network.
When doubling the number of
electromagnets, the magnetic field will spin at
half speed.

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 Synchronous motor - variable reluctance
Variable reluctance motor does not use permanent magnets,
brushes or switch.
Stator is formed by steel laminated poles, where the coils are
housed (similar to the induction motor).
Rotor in cage, forming salient poles.
The current is switched between the coils of each phase in a
sequential pattern that creates a rotating field.
When a pair of stator windings is energized and creates a field,
the rotor moves to align with the stator poles.

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 Synchronous motor - variable reluctance
When a pair of stator windings is energized and creates a field,
the rotor moves to align with the stator poles.

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 Engine Starting
Direct Start

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 Engine Starting
Star-Delta Starter

Limits starter current

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 Bibliography
• BRANDÃO, Diogo (1987). Electrotecnia Geral. Lisboa: Fundação
Calouste Gulbekian
• MARTIGNONI, Alfonso (1976). Electrotécnia. Porto Alegre:
Editora Globo
• TOOLEY, Mike and WYATT, David (2009). Aircraft Electrical and
Electronic Systems. Oxford: Elsevier
• SILVA, Luís e VALADARES, Jorge (1978). Física. Campo
Electromagnético. Lisboa: Livraria Popular Francisco Franco
• U.S Departement of Transportation, FAA (2008). Aviation
Maintenance Technician Handbook FAA-H-8083-30. Oklahoma
City
• MATIAS, José Vagos (2000). Máquinas Eléctricas de Corrente
Contínua. Lisboa: Plátano Editora

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Questions ?
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