Induction Motor Control Theory (2)

4. Starting Characteristics.

In order to perform useful work, the induction motor must be started from rest and both the motor and load accelerated up to full speed. Typically, this is done by relying on the high slip characteristics of the motor and enabling it to provide the acceleration torque.

Induction motors at rest, appear just like a short circuited transformer, and if connected to the full supply voltage, draw a very high current known as the "Locked Rotor Current". They also produce torque which is known as the "Locked Rotor Torque". The Locked Rotor Torque (LRT) and the Locked Rotor Current (LRC) are a function of the terminal voltage to the motor, and the motor design. As the motor accelerates, both the torque and the current will tend to alter with rotor speed if the voltage is maintained constant. The starting current of a motor, with a fixed voltage, will drop very slowly as the motor accelerates and will only begin to fall significantly when the motor has reached at least 80% full speed. The actual curves for induction motors can vary considerably between designs, but the general trend is for a high current until the motor has almost reached full speed. The LRC of a motor can range from 500% Full Load Current (FLC) to as high as 1400% FLC. Typically, good motors fall in the range of 550% to 750% FLC.

The starting torque of an induction motor starting with a fixed voltage, will drop a little to the minimum torque known as the pull up torque as the motor accelerates, and then rise to a maximum torque known as the breakdown or pull out torque at almost full speed and then drop to zero at synchronous speed. The curve of start torque against rotor speed is dependant on the terminal voltage and the motor/rotor design.The LRT of an induction motor can vary from as low as 60% Full Load Torque (FLT) to as high as 350% FLT. The pull-up torque can be as low as 40% FLT and the breakdown torque can be as high as 350% FLT. Typical LRTs for medium to large motors are in the order of 120% FLT to 280% FLT. The power factor of the motor at start is typically 0.1 - 0.25, rising to a maximum as the motor accelerates, and then falling again as the motor approaches full speed. A motor which exhibits a high starting current, i.e. 850% will generally produce a low starting torque, whereas a motor which exhibits a low starting current, will usually produce a high starting torque. This is the reverse of what is generally expected.The induction motor operates due to the torque developed by the interaction of the stator field and the rotor field. Both of these fields are due to currents which have resistive or in phase components and reactive or out of phase components. The torque developed is dependant on the interaction of the in phase components and consequently is related to the I2R of the rotor. A low rotor resistance will result in the current being controlled by the inductive component of the circuit, yielding a high out of phase current and a low torque. Figures for the locked rotor current and locked rotor torque are almost always quoted in motor data, and certainly are readily available for induction motors. Some manufactures have been known to include this information on the motor name plate. One additional parameter which would be of tremendous use in data sheets for those who are engineering motor starting applications, is the starting efficiency of the motor. By the starting efficiency of the motor, I refer to the ability of the motor to convert amps into newton meters. This is a concept not generally recognised within the trade, but one which is extremely useful when comparing induction motors. The easiest means of developing a meaningful figure of merit, is to take the locked rotor torque of the motor (as a percentage of the full load torque) and divide it by the locked rotor current of the motor (as a percentage of the full load current).

i.e
Starting efficiency = Locked Rotor Torque / Locked Rotor Current

If the terminal voltage to the motor is reduced while it is starting, the current drawn by the motor will be reduced proportionally. The torque developed by the motor is proportional to the current squared, and so a reduction in starting voltage will result in a reduction in starting current and a greater reduction in starting torque. If the start voltage applied to a motor is halved, the start torque will be a quarter, likewise a start voltage of one third will result in a start torque of one ninth.

5. Running Characteristics

Once the motor is up to speed, it operates at low slip, at a speed determined by the number of stator poles.The frequency of the current flowing in the rotor is very low. Typically, the full load slip for a standard cage induction motor is less than 5%. The actual full load slip of a particular motor is dependant on the motor design with typical full load speeds of four pole induction motor varying between 1420 and 1480 RPM at 50 Hz. The synchronous speed of a four pole machine at 50 Hz is 1500 RPM and at 60 Hz a four pole machine has a synchronous speed of 1800 RPM. The induction motor draws a magnetising current while it is operating. The magnetising current is independent of the load on the machine, but is dependant on the design of the stator and the stator voltage. The actual magnetising current of an induction motor can vary from as low as 20% FLC for large two pole machines to as high as 60% for small eight pole machines. The tendency is for large machines and high speed machines to exhibit a low magnetising current, while low speed machines and small machines exhibit a high magnetising current. A typical medium sized four pole machine has a magnetising current of about 33% FLC. A low magnetising current indicates a low iron loss, while a high magnetising current indicates an increase in iron loss and a resultant reduction in operating efficiency.The resistive component of the current drawn by the motor while operating, changes with load, being primarily load current with a small current for losses. If the motor is operated at minimum load, i.e. open shaft, the current drawn by the motor is primarily magnetising current and is almost purely inductive. Being an inductive current, the power factor is very low, typically as low as 0.1. As the shaft load on the motor is increased, the resistive component of the current begins to rise. The average current will noticeably begin to rise when the load current approaches the magnetising current in magnitude. As the load current increases, the magnetising current remains the same and so the power factor of the motor will improve. The full load power factor of an induction motor can vary from 0.5 for a small low speed motor up to 0.9 for a large high speed machine. The losses of an induction motor comprise: iron loss, copper loss, windage loss and frictional loss. The iron loss, windage loss and frictional losses are all essentially load independent, but the copper loss is proportional to the square of the stator current. Typically the efficiency of an induction motor is highest at 3/4 load and varies from less than 60% for small low speed motors to greater than 92% for large high speed motors. Operating power factor and efficiencies are generally quoted on the motor data sheets.

6. Design Classification

There are a number of design/performance classifications which are somewhat uniformly accepted by different standards organisations. These design classifications apply particularly to the rotor design and hence affect the starting characteristics of the motors. The two major classifications of relevance here are design A, and design B. Design A motors have a shallow bar rotor, and are characterised by a very high starting current and a low starting torque. Typical values are 850% current and 120% torque. Shallow bar motors usually have a low slip, i.e. 1480 RPM. Design B motors have a deeper bar rotor and are characterised by medium start current and medium starting torque. Typical design B values are 650% current and 180% torque. The slip exhibited by design B motors is usually greater than the equivalent design A motors. i.e. 1440 RPM. Design F motors are often known as Fan motors having a high rotor resistance and high slip characteristics. The high rotor resistance enables the fan motor to be used in a variable speed application where the speed is reduced by reducing the voltage. Design F motors are used primarily in fan control applications with the motor mounted in the air flow. These are often rated as AOM or Air Over Motor machines.