Induction motor

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Three-phase induction motors

Animation of a squirrel-cage AC motor

An induction motor or asynchronous motor is a type of alternating current motor

where power is supplied to the rotor by means of electromagnetic induction.[1]

An electric motor turns because of magnetic force exerted between a stationary

electromagnet called the stator and a rotating electromagnet called the rotor. Different
types of electric motors are distinguished by how electric current is supplied to the
moving rotor. In a DC motor and a slip-ring AC motor, current is provided to the rotor
directly through sliding electrical contacts called commutators and slip rings. In an
induction motor, by contrast, the current is induced in the rotor without contacts by the
magnetic field of the stator, through electromagnetic induction. An induction motor is
sometimes called a rotating transformer because the stator (stationary part) is essentially
the primary side of the transformer and the rotor (rotating part) is the secondary side.
Unlike the normal transformer which changes the current by using time varying flux,
induction motors use rotating magnetic fields to transform the voltage. The current in the
primary side creates an electromagnetic field which interacts with the electromagnetic
field of the secondary side to produce a resultant torque, thereby transforming the
electrical energy into mechanical energy. Induction motors are widely used, especially
polyphase induction motors, which are frequently used in industrial drives.

Induction motors are now the preferred choice for industrial motors due to their rugged
construction, absence of brushes (which are required in most DC motors) and—thanks to
modern power electronics—the ability to control the speed of the motor.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
• 2 Principle of operation and comparison to synchronous motors
o 2.1 Synchronous speed
o 2.2 Slip
• 3 Construction
• 4 Speed control
• 5 Equivalent circuit
• 6 Starting of induction motors
o 6.1 Single phase
• 7 Induction generator
• 8 Linear induction motor
• 9 Sources
• 10 References

• 11 External links

[edit] History
The idea of the rotating magnetic field was developed by François Arago (1824)[2][3][4] and
implemented first by Walter Baily.[5][6][7] The practical induction motors were
independently realized by Galileo Ferraris, in Italy, and Nikola Tesla, in the United
States.[8][9][10] According to his 1915 autobiography Tesla had conceived the rotating
magnetic field principle in 1882 and used it to invent the first brushless AC motor or
induction motor in 1883.[11][12] Ferraris developed the idea in 1885.[13][14][15] In 1888,
Ferraris published his research in a paper to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Turin
where he detailed the theoretical foundations for understanding the way the motor
operates.[16] Separately, in the same year, Tesla gained U.S. Patent 381,968. The induction
motor with a cage was invented by Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky about a year later.
[edit] Principle of operation and comparison to
synchronous motors

A 3-phase power supply provides a rotating magnetic field in an induction motor.

The basic difference between an induction motor and a synchronous AC motor with a
permanent magnet rotor is that in the latter the rotating magnetic field of the stator will
impose an electromagnetic torque on the magnetic field of the rotor causing it to move
(about a shaft) and a steady rotation of the rotor is produced. It is called synchronous
because at steady state the speed of the rotor is the same as the speed of the rotating
magnetic field in the stator.

By way of contrast, the induction motor does not have any permanent magnets on the
rotor; instead, a current is induced in the rotor. To achieve this, stator windings are
arranged around the rotor so that when energised with a polyphase supply they create a
rotating magnetic field pattern which sweeps past the rotor. This changing magnetic field
pattern induces current in the rotor conductors. These currents interact with the rotating
magnetic field created by the stator and in effect causes a rotational motion on the rotor.

However, for these currents to be induced, the speed of the physical rotor must be less
than the speed of the rotating magnetic field in the stator (the synchronous frequency ns)
or else the magnetic field will not be moving relative to the rotor conductors and no
currents will be induced. If by some chance this happens, the rotor typically slows
slightly until a current is re-induced and then the rotor continues as before. This
difference between the speed of the rotor and speed of the rotating magnetic field in the
stator is called slip. It is unitless and is the ratio between the relative speed of the
magnetic field as seen by the rotor (the slip speed) to the speed of the rotating stator field.
Due to this, an induction motor is sometimes referred to as an asynchronous machine.

[edit] Synchronous speed

To understand the behaviour of induction motors, it is useful to understand their

distinction from a synchronous motor. A synchronous motor always runs at a
synchronous speed- a shaft rotation frequency that is an integer fraction of the supply
frequency. The synchronous speed of an induction motor is the same fraction of the
supply.
It can be shown that the synchronous speed of a motor is determined by the following
formula:

where ns is the (synchronous) speed of the rotor (in rpm), f is the frequency of the AC
supply (in Hz) and p is the number of magnetic poles per phase.[17]

For example, a 6 pole motor operating on 50 Hz power would have a speed of:

Note on the use of p - some texts refer to number of pole pairs per phase instead of
number of poles per phase. For example a 6 pole motor, operating on 60 Hz power,
would have 3 pole pairs. The equation of synchronous speed then becomes:

with P being the number of pole pairs per phase.

[edit] Slip

typical torque curve as a function of slip

The slip is a ratio relative to the synchronous speed and is calculated using:

Where

s is the slip, usually between 0 and 1

nr = rotor rotation speed (rpm)
ns = synchronous rotation speed (rpm)
[edit] Construction

typical winding pattern for a 3 phase, 4 pole motor- (here phases are labelled W, U, V).
Note the interleaving of the pole windings and the resultant quadrupole field.

The stator consists of wound 'poles' that carry the supply current to induce a magnetic
field that penetrates the rotor. In a very simple motor, there would be a single projecting
piece of the stator (a salient pole) for each pole, with windings around it; in fact, to
optimize the distribution of the magnetic field, the windings are distributed in many slots
located around the stator, but the magnetic field still has the same number of north-south
alternations. The number of 'poles' can vary between motor types but the poles are always
in pairs (i.e. 2, 4, 6, etc.).

Induction motors are most commonly built to run on single-phase or three-phase power,
but two-phase motors also exist. In theory, two-phase and more than three phase
induction motors are possible; many single-phase motors having two windings and
requiring a capacitor can actually be viewed as two-phase motors, since the capacitor
generates a second power phase 90 degrees from the single-phase supply and feeds it to a
separate motor winding. Single-phase power is more widely available in residential
buildings, but cannot produce a rotating field in the motor (the field merely oscillates
back and forth), so single-phase induction motors must incorporate some kind of starting
mechanism to produce a rotating field. They would, using the simplified analogy of
salient poles, have one salient pole per pole number; a four-pole motor would have four
salient poles. Three-phase motors have three salient poles per pole number, so a four-pole
motor would have twelve salient poles. This allows the motor to produce a rotating field,
allowing the motor to start with no extra equipment and run more efficiently than a
similar single-phase motor.

There are three types of rotor:

• Squirrel-cage rotor
The most common rotor is a squirrel-cage rotor. It is made up of bars of either solid
copper (most common) or aluminum that span the length of the rotor, and those solid
copper or aluminium strips can be shorted or connected by a ring or some times not, i.e.
the rotor can be closed or semiclosed type. The rotor bars in squirrel-cage induction
motors are not straight, but have some skew to reduce noise and harmonics.

• Slip ring rotor

A slip ring rotor replaces the bars of the squirrel-cage rotor with windings that are
connected to slip rings. When these slip rings are shorted, the rotor behaves similarly to a
squirrel-cage rotor; they can also be connected to resistors to produce a high-resistance
rotor circuit, which can be beneficial in starting

• Solid core rotor

A rotor can be made from a solid mild steel. The induced current causes the rotation.

[edit] Speed control

typical torque curves for different line frequencies

The synchronous rotational speed of the rotor (i.e. the theoretical unloaded speed with no
slip) is controlled by the number of pole pairs (number of windings in the stator) and by
the frequency of the supply voltage.

However, for a loaded rotor, for any given drive frequency and current and mechanical
load, synchronous motors should be run in the 'operating zone' for that particular
induction motor. This is the shaft rotation speed range above the peak torque. In this zone
slightly increasing the slip speed increases the torque, and decreasing the slip decreases
the torque. Hence in this zone the motor will tend to run at constant speed. Below the
operating zone, the run speed tends to be unstable and may stall out or run at reduced
shaft speed, depending on the nature of the mechanical load.

Before the development of economical semiconductor power electronics, it was difficult

to vary the frequency to the motor and induction motors were mainly used in fixed speed
applications. As an induction motor has no brushes and is easy to control, many older DC
motors are now being replaced with THR induction motors and accompanying inverters
in industrial applications.

[edit] Equivalent circuit

This section was recently translated by machine from the German Wikipedia site,
and partially human translated. If you can continue the translation, please do so

To understand the behavior of an induction motor when the rotational speed and supply
frequency varies, it is helpful to look at the equivalent circuit. The equivalent circuit
shows an electrically equivalent circuit to the motor's construction, where the two
leftmost terminals would be connected to a power supply.

Equivalent circuit

On the left side of the circuit, the equivalent resistance of the stator, which consists of the
copper resistance and core resistance in series, is shown as Rs. During asynchronous
operation, the stator also induces some reactance, which is represented by the inductor Xs.
The next inductor Xr represents the effect of the rotor (commonly a squirrel-cage) passing
through the stator's magnetic field. The effective resistance of the rotor (again with
rotating in a magnetic field), Rr, is composed of:

• the equivalent value of the machine's real power (which changes with the torque
and the load on the machine)
• the ohmic resistance of the stator windings and the squirrel cage of shorted rotor
windings.

At idle, the induction motor equivalent circuit is essentially just Rs and Xs, which is why
this machine only takes up mostly reactive power. The idle current draw is often near the
rated current, due to the copper and core losses which exist even at no load. In these
conditions, this is usually more than half the power loss at rated load. If the torque against
the motor spindle is increased, the active current increases by Rr, and thus in the rotor.

Due to the construction of the induction motor, the two resistances both induce a
magnetic field, in contrast to the three-phase synchronous machine, where the magnetic
flux is induced only by the reactive current in the stator windings.

The current produces a voltage drop in the cage portion of the Rr, but only a slightly
higher voltage drop in the stator windings. Consequently, the losses increase with
increasing load in the rotor faster than they do in the stator. The copper resistance Rs and
the "copper" resistance from the cage portion of Rr both cause I2R losses, and therefore
the efficiency of the machine improves with increasing load. The efficiency of the
machine reduces with temperature.

In contrast with a smaller frequency of the reactance Xs also getting smaller. In

compliance with the rated current must shrink by the drive voltage delivered. Thus, the
ratio of the voltage divider Rs to Xs and Rs and this increases engine power losses. In
continuous operation this can only be an approximation because a nominal torque is
generated because the cooling of rotor and stator is not included in the calculation. At
higher than the rated speed or rated frequency induction motor can, however - in the
context of isolation - are working on higher voltages and is more effective.

Frequently today, Rs / Rr are measure automatically and are thus in a position for any
motor connected to automatically configure itself and thus to be protected from overload.
A holding torque or speed close to zero can be achieved with a vector control. Here,too
though, there can be problems with cooling since the fan is usually mounted on the rotor.

[edit] Starting of induction motors

Torque curve 4 different asynchronous electric motors:

A) Single-phase motor
B) a single multi-phase motors squirrel cage
C) a single multi-phase motors squirrel cage bar deep
D) multi-phase motors with double squirrel cage

[edit] Single phase

In a single phase induction motor, it is necessary to provide a starting circuit to start

rotation of the rotor. If this is not done, rotation may be commenced by manually giving a
slight turn to the rotor. The single phase induction motor may rotate in either direction
and it is only the starting circuit which determines rotational direction.

For small motors of a few watts, the start rotation is done by means of one or two single
turn(s) of heavy copper wire around one corner of the pole. The current induced in the
single turn is out of phase with the supply current and so causes an out-of-phase
component in the magnetic field, which imparts to the field sufficient rotational character
to start the motor. Starting torque is very low and efficiency is also reduced. Such
shaded-pole motors are typically used in low-power applications with low or zero starting
torque requirements, such as desk fans and record players.

Larger motors are provided with a second stator winding which is fed with an out-of-
phase current to create a rotating magnetic field. The out-of-phase current may be derived
by feeding the winding through a capacitor or it may derive from the winding having
different values of inductance and resistance from the main winding.

In some designs, the second winding is disconnected once the motor is up to speed,
usually either by means of a switch operated by centrifugal force acting on weights on the
motor shaft or by a positive temperature coefficient thermistor which, after a few seconds
of operation, heats up and increases its resistance to a high value thereby reducing the
current through the second winding to an insignificant level. Other designs keep the
second winding continuously energised when running, which improves torque.

[edit] Induction generator

Main article: induction generator

Induction motors can also generally be run as generators if run above a critical speed
(which is usually marked on the motor). Some source of electricity is needed to run the
coils, but this can be provided by the motor once it is running via capacitors, or provided
by external power supplies such as from a grid connection.

[edit] Linear induction motor

Main article: linear induction motor

In some applications the induction motor is 'unrolled' to make a motor that directly
creates linear motion.

[edit] Sources
• Henri Boy de la Tour (1906). The induction motor: its theory and design, set forth
by a practical method of calculation. Translated Cyprien Odilon Mailloux.
McGraw Pub. Co..
• Benjamin Franklin Bailey (1911). The induction motor. McGraw-Hill.
• Bernhard Arthur Behrend (1901). The induction motor: A short treatise on its
theory and design, with numerous experimental data and diagrams. Electrical
world and engineer.

[edit] References
1. ^ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-induction-motor.htm
2. ^ Annales de chimie et de physique (1824), vol. 27, page 363: "M. Arago
communique verbalement les résultats de quelques expériences qu'il a faites sur
l'influence que les métaux et beaucoup d'autres substances exercent sur l'aiguille
aimantée, et qui a pour effet de diminuer rapidement l'amplitude des oscillations
sans altérer sensiblement leur durée. Il promet, à ce sujet, un Mémoire détaillé."
(Mr. Arago orally communicates the results of some experiments that he has
conducted on the influence that metals and many other substances exert on a
magnetic needle, which has the effect of rapidly reducing the amplitude of the
oscillations without altering significantly their duration. He promises, on this
subject, a detailed memoir.)
3. ^ Arago (1826) "Note concernant les Phénomènes magnétiques auxquels
le mouvement donne naissance" (Note concerning magnetic phenomena that
motion creates), Annales de chimie et de physique, vol. 32, pages 213-223.
4. ^ Babbage, C. and Herschel, J.W.F. (1825) "Account of the repetition of
M. Arago's experiments on the magnetism manifested by various substances
during the act of rotation," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of
London, vol. 115, pages 467-496.
5. ^ Silvanus Phillips Thompson, Polyphase electric currents and alternate-
current motors (London, England: E. & F.N. Span, 1895), Page 84.
6. ^ Walter Baily (October 1879) "A mode of producing Arago's rotations,"
Philosophical Magazine, 5th series, vol. 8, pages 286-290.
7. ^ AC Power History (cf. "1879 - London: Walter Baily makes a copper
disc rotate using alternating current (this is a weak early AC motor) which was
not effective for baring any load [...]")
8. ^ Alternating currents of electricity: their generation, measurement,
distribution, and application by Gisbert Kapp, William Stanley, Jr.. Johnston,
1893. Page 140. [cf., This direction has been first indicated by Professor Galileo
Ferraris, of Turin, some six years ago. Quite independent of Ferraris, the same
discovery was also made by Nikola Tesla, of New York; and since the practical
importance of the discovery has been recognized, quite a host of original
discoverers have come forward, each claiming to be the first.]
9. ^ Larned, J. N., & Reiley, A. C. (1901). History for ready reference: From
the best historians, biographers, and specialists; their own words in a complete
system of history. Springfield, Mass: The C.A. Nichols Co.. Page 440. [cf., At
about the same time [1888], Galileo Ferraris, in Italy, and Nikola Tesla, in the
United States, brought out motors operating by systems of alternating currents
displaced from one another in phase by definite amounts and producing what is
known as the rotating magnetic field.]
10. ^ The Electrical engineer. (1888). London: Biggs & Co. Pg., 239. [cf.,
"[...] new application of the alternating current in the production of rotary motion
was made known almost simultaneously by two experimenters, Nikola Tesla and
Galileo Ferraris, and the subject has attracted general attention from the fact that
no commutator or connection of any kind with the armature was required."]
11. ^ Seifer, M. J. (1998). Wizard: The life and times of Nikola Tesla :
biography of a genius. New York: Citadel Press. Page 24
12. ^ Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla. Pg 115
 13. ^ Galileo Ferraris, "Electromagnetic rotation with an alternating current,"
Electrican, Vol 36 [1885]. pg 360-75.
14. ^ "The History of Alternating Current".
15. ^ "Early three-phase power" by Gerhard Neidhöfer
16. ^ http://www.fi.edu/learn/case-files/tesla/motor.html
17. ^
http://www.electricmotors.machinedesign.com/guiEdits/Content/bdeee11/bdeee1
1_7.aspx

This article needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (October 2010)

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Induction motors

• A drawing of an induction motor

• (Italian) Rotating magnetic fields: interactive
• Construct your squirrelcage electromotor using povray

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