DC machines

BITS Pilani Dr. Hari Om Bansal

Pilani Campus
 BITS Pilani
Pilani Campus

DC Machines
Introduction
• A DC motor is highly versatile and flexible machine.
• It can satisfy the demand of load requiring high starting,
accelerating and retarding torques.
• It is also easily adaptable for variable speed drives.
• The magnetic circuit of dc machine consists of core, air-
gap, field poles and yoke.
• An electric field winding supplies energy to establish a
magnetic field in the magnetic circuit.
• Armature winding is connected to external power source
through commutator-brush system

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Construction

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Principle of operation

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• Working Principle: A current carrying conductor placed in
magnetic field experiences a force given by;
F= iL X B

Left part of coil moves down and right moves up.

This leads to “Rotation”
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EMF & Torque

EMF:

If Φ=flux/pole
N=speed in rpm; n=speed in rps
T=number of coil turns
P=number of poles
Z= number of conductors
A = number of parallel paths
Armature/Induced emf
Ea= ΦNZP/(60A)

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Armature Winding

• One side of a coil lies under North Pole and the other
under South, so induced emfs are always additive.
• Total winding is closed so the total emf induced is zero
all the times.
• No circulating current when the armature is not loaded.
• Two sides of a coil may fly off due to centrifugal force so
they are placed in slots and fastened by steel wires.
• Each slot can be partitioned into two:
(i)Top Layer
(ii)Bottom Layer

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Armature Winding

Pole Pitch
• Distance between two adjacent poles
• Periphery of armature divided by total no. of poles
• No of armature conductors per pole
• Eg. Armature conductors=400
No of pole= 4
Pole pitch=400/4=100
Coil Span
• Distance between two sides of a coil
• Measured in terms of armature slots or armature
conductors

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Armature Winding

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Armature Winding

Back Pitch
• Distance by which a coil advances on the back of the
armature
• It is equal to no. difference of the conductor connected to
the given segment of commutator.
• It is denoted by Yb = U Ycs +1; U = coil sides/slot
Front Pitch
• No. of armature conductors spanned by a coil on the front
• Distance between second conductor of one coil and first
conductor of next coil which are connected together at
same commutator end.

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Armature Winding

Back Pitch (YB): The distance, measured in terms of the armature

conductors, which a coil advances on the back of the armature is
called back pitch.
Front Pitch (YF): The number of armature conductors or elements
• Yf= front pitch spanned by a coil on the front (or commutator end of an
• Yb= back pitch armature) is called the front pitch.
Resultant Pitch (YR): It is the distance between the beginning of
• Yr= resultant Pitch one coil and the beginning of the next coil to which it is connected.

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Armature Winding

Commutator Pitch
• Distance between the commutator segments to which
two ends of a coil are connected.
• Denoted by Yc

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Armature Winding

• Junction of two coils is terminated on a commutator

segment.
• No of commutator segments= No of coils
• Brushes are placed such that maximum voltage appears
across them.
• If the coil span is equal to pole pitch:“fully pitched coils”
otherwise
• If the coil span is less than the pole pitch the coils are said
to be “chorded”
• Changing the ‘coil pitch’ also changes the induced emf in
the coil slightly.
• Commutator pitch: No of ‘micas’ between two end of a coil
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Armature Winding

Numbering Scheme of winding:

1. Single layer
(i)Number the top coil side of the coils
in sequence.
2. Double layer
(i)Number the top coil side of the coils
as 1 3 so on.
(ii)Bottom coil side is placed in a slot
displaced by one coil
span from the top slot. They are
numbered as 2’ 4’ 6’ etc

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Families Of Armature Winding
Two families of armature winding:
• Lap winding
• Wave winding

Lap winding:
• The commutator pitch for the lap windings is given by
yc = ±m, m = 1, 2, 3...
where yc =commutator pitch
m=order of the winding
• yc = m gives a multiplex lap winding of order m
• +ve sign =‘progressive’ winding
• -ve sign =‘retrogressive’ winding

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Lap Winding

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Ex:7.1: Lap Wdg

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Parallel Paths in Lap Wdg

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Lap Winding

• Lap winding has larger no of parallel paths, it means

lower current per conductor. Therefore it is adopted for
low voltage high current machines.
• But this also creates a problem of circulating current.
• Circulating currents waste power and unnecessary
produce heat.
• Problem of circulating current can be solved by using
Equalizer rings.

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Equalizer Rings
What is the need of Equalizer Ring?
The poles in a M/c can not be made identical to have same flux/pole.
Any dissimilarity in the pole of a dc machine leads to circulating current
in armature and cause unbalance loading and interfere with
commutation.
This circulating current can be there even when no source is feeding
the armature.

This current strengthens the weak poles and reduces the field
strength at strong poles. Thus it evens out the pole Dissymmetry.
Remedy: allow to circulate at the back end via low resistance path. For
this several equipotential points are connected. Equipotential are
360 deg. apart and found only when;
S/(P/2)= integer

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Wave Winding
• Coils carrying emf in the same direction
• Coils are connected in series
• In a simple wave winding there are only two paths between
the brushes, the number of conductors in each path being
50 percent of total conductors.
• For wave winding commutator pitch should be;
yc =[C ± 1]/(P/2)
where C=Total segments on the commutator
+ve sign=progressive winding
-ve sign=retrogressive winding

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1+2yc-yf=1+yb
yf+yb=2yc=yr

yc =[C ± 1]/(P/2)

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Families Of Armature Winding
• The finish end of one coil under one pole pair is
connected to the start of a coil under next pole-pair.
• The winding has appearance of a wave hence it is
named ‘Wave winding’

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Ex: 7.3, 6pole, 16 slots, 2coil sides/slot and single turn coil:
draw wave wdg diagram,

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Lap vs Wave winding

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Dummy coils
Dummy or Idle Coils: These are used with wave-winding and are resorted to
when the
requirements of the winding are not met by the standard armature punchings
available in armature-winding shops. These dummy coils do not influence the
electrical characteristics of the winding because they are not connected to the
commutator. They are exactly similar to the other coils except that their ends are cut
short and taped. They provide mechanical balance for the armature because an
armature having some slots without windings would be out of balance mechanically.
yc =[C ± 1]/(P/2) and C=(1/2)US (P and S are restricted by manufacturing
considerations)
For example, suppose number of armature slots is 15, each containing 4 sides and the
number of poles is 4. For a simplex wave-windings,
Yc= (602)/4, not integer
However, if we make one coil dummy so that
we have 58 active conductors, then Yc = (582)/4, 14 or 15. This makes the winding
possible.

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Circuit Model

The parallel paths of dc machine armature are symmetrical.

Each path has induced emf Ea & resistance Ra.
Thevenin Equivalent;
Voc=Ea
Rth=Rp/A=Ra

(For most of the time steady state

behavior of machine will be
considered so the inductance is
neglected)

Field Circuit Armature Circuit

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Circuit Model

Generating mode
• I is in the direction of induced emf.
a

• Induced emf is more than terminal voltage.

Vt=Ea-IaRa
• Torque is opposite to direction of rotation.
• Electromagnetic power converted from mechanical to
electrical; EaIa=Pmech in net=Pelect out (gross)
• Net electrical power output;
Po=VtIa
• Armature copper loss+brush loss= EaIa-VtIa
• Pmech in gross= Pmech(in) net + rotational loss

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Circuit Model
Motoring Mode
• Ia is opposite to induced emf.
• Induced emf in this mode is called back emf.
• Vt=Ea+IaRa
• Torque is in the direction of rotation.
• Terminal voltage is more than the induced voltage.
• Electromagnetic power converted from electrical to
mechanical; EaIa = Pelect in net =Pmech out gross
• Armature copper loss+brush loss= VtIa-EaIa
• Pmech net(output) = Pmech(out) gross - rotational loss

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Methods of Excitation

1. Shunt Field:
• The field winding is excited in parallel to the armature.
• Shunt field winding has large no. of turns so high resistance due to
which very low field current flows.
• Generally an external series resistance is used to regulate the field
current as Ea is substantially constant.
2. Series Field:
• The field winding is placed in series with armature.
Field Current= Armature Current
• Field winding has vey few turns of thick wire.
• Generally a low resistance(diverter) is placed in parallel to series
winding to regulate field current.
• More practical way of series field control is changing the number of
turns of winding by suitable tapping.
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DC Machine Excitation

1. Separate Excitation
The field is excited from a source independent of armature
circuit.
eg. Permanent magnet excitation.
2. Self Excitation
The field is excited from the same source which feeds the
armature.
It is of three types:
a. Shunt excitation
b. Series excitation
c. Compound excitation
It is of two types: (i) Cumulative (ii) Differential

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Compound Excitation

Cumulative Excitation: The series and shunts fields aid

each other. The shunt field is much stronger than series
Field. The air-gap flux increases with armature current.

Differential Excitation: The series and shunt fields oppose

each other. The air-gap flux decreases with armature
current.
Two types of compound connections:
1. Long Shunt Compound 2. Short Shunt Compound

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Compound Excitation

Two types of compound connections: Schematic Diagrams

1. Long Shunt Compound 2. Short Shunt Compound

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Compound Excitation

Steady State Circuit Equations: In steady state all the

inductances in motor circuit are neglected.
1. Long Shunt Compound:
Motoring Mode
Vt=Ea+Ia(Ra+Rse) Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law
Va=Ea+IaRa
If=Vf/Rf
IL=Ia+If Kirchhoff’s Current Law
Generating Mode
Direction of Ia and IL reverses while If direction remains
same.

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Compound Excitation

2. Short Shunt Compound:

Motoring Mode
Vt= Ea+IaRa+ILRse
Va=Ea+IaRa
If=Va/Rf
IL=Ia+If
Generating Mode
Vt= Ea-IaRa-ILRse
Va=Ea-IaRa
If=Va/Rf
IL=Ia-If

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General connection diagram of a DC machine

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 DC machine: Armature reaction and
Commutation

BITS Pilani Dr. Hari Om Bansal

Pilani Campus
Armature Reaction
• The armature current also produces its own mmf. The effect of
this on main field distribution is called Armature Reaction.
• Armature reaction distorts the air-gap flux
• Weakens the main flux

•MNA and GNA coincides (q-axis)

•Main flux is distributed symmetrically
wrt polar axis (d-axis)
•MNA: no emf as IIel to line of flux
•MNA : also known as axis of commutation

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Flux is no longer distributed symmetrically
wrt polar axis, rather distorted

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The armature has a distributed winding,
as against the field coils which are
concentrated and concentric. The mmf of
each coil is shifted in space by the
number of slots. For a full pitched coil,
each coil produces a rectangular mmf
distribution. The sum of the mmf due to
all coils would result in a stepped
triangular wave form. If we neglect
slotting and have uniformly spaced coils
on the surface, then the mmf distribution
due to the armature working alone
would be a triangular distribution in
space since all the conductors carry
equal currents.

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Armature Reaction

• It causes distortion in flux density wave shape

• It shifts the Magnetic Neutral Axis slightly.MNA shift causes
induce emf in coils undergoing commutation thus opposing current reversal.
• It also causes demagnetization
• It increases the Iron losses as the flux density under
different poles is no more same.
• Under heavy load, sparking can occur in commutation
section.
• Remedy of Cross Magnetizing Effect:
Make the ampere turns of main field coils much greater
than ampere turns of armature.

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 Armature Reaction

Ampere-conductor/pole
= Zlc /P = ZIa /AP

Ampere-turns/pole
=ZIa/(2AP)= ATa (peak)

ATa (peak)= ATa (total)/P

ATresultant (θ)
=ATf(θ)+ATa(θ)

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Compensating Winding

Why Compensation is required?

• Armature reaction leads to non uniformity in flux density
distribution in air gap. Due to this, emf in armature coils
may exceed the break down voltage resulting in spark in
commutator.
• With sudden load variation emf proportional to dΦ/dt also
gets induced in armature. This statically induced emf
may add up with dynamically induced emf to exceed the
breakdown voltage.

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Compensating Winding
• Neutralizes the armature reaction.
• Placed in slots in pole faces such that compensating winding axis
coincides with brush axis.
• Series excited with armature current, as to oppose ATa
• Customary to compensate part of armature mmf directly under the
poles.
• mmf distributions of compensating winding and armature winding
are different so complete neutralization of armature mmf is not
possible.
• Compensating winding must be provided in machines where heavy
loads are expected.
• compensating winding should provide sufficient m.m.f so as to
counter balance the armature m.m.f.
ATcw /pole =ATa (peak)*pole arc/pole pitch
=ZIa/(2AP) *pole arc/pole pitch
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Power and Torque
Torque:
Average conductor force f=BavLlc
Total force F = Zfc,av Power:
F = BIcLZ
EaIa=T
Torque T=BavIcLZr
where r = mean air-gap radius
L = active conductor length

Torque can also be written as;

T= ΦIaZ(P/2πA)
where Z= total armature conductors
P=number of poles
A=no. of parallel paths

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Commutation

• The direction of current in armature coil reverses as the

armature moves from one pole pair to the next pole pair.
This reversal of current is called Commutation.
• Commutation takes place when the coil passes through
the interpolar region. During this period coil is shorted by
the brushes.
• In Lap wound commutation takes place simultaneously
for P coils.
• In Wave wound machine commutation takes place
simultaneously for two sets of P/ 2coils.

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 Commutator

 A commutator is a
rotary electrical switch in electrical
motors and generators that
reverses the current direction
between the rotor and the external
circuit.
 It consists of a set of contact bars
fixed to the rotating shaft of a
machine, and connected to the
armature windings. As the shaft
rotates, the commutator reverses the
flow of current in a winding.

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Commutator

 A cylindrical assembly of wedge-shaped

copper segments insulated from each
other and shaft by mica sheets.
 Forms a bridge between two armature coils

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Commutator

Commutator segment

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Commutator-Brush Assembly

• In large machines flat copper strips called risers are

used to connect armature bar conductors
• Stationary brushes are placed in contact with
commutator under spring pressure.
• Brushes are placed in magnetically neutral regions
where armature induced emf is negligible.
• As the coil crosses the brush position the current in it
reverses.

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Commutator-Brush Assembly

Brush
• Presses against the rotating commutator segment to make contact.
• In earlier days it used to be of copper wire but now made up of
carbon generally.

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 Commutation
 The contact point where a
brush touches the
commutator is referred to as
the commutating plane.
 To conduct sufficient current
to or from the commutator,
the brush contact area is not
a thin line but instead a
rectangular patch across the
segments.
 Typically the brush is wide
enough to span 2.5
commutator segments. This
means that two adjacent
segments are electrically
connected by the brush when
it contacts both

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Ideal Commutation

• In ideal commutation the current reverses completely

from +I to –I and vice versa.
• If the coil current does not reverse fully at the end of
commutation period there will be sparking at the brush
contacts.

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 Commutation

Commutation Delay:
• Leakage inductance of coil
undergoing commutation has
induced voltage which opposes
current change.
• The effect of armature reaction
shifts MNA. So a small voltage
is induced in the commutating
coil to oppose commutation.

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To Improve Commutation

Resistance Commutation:
• High contact resistance between commutation segments and
brushes. Use carbon brushes
• Time constant of armature circuit L/R reduces, thus faster
change
Voltage Commutation:
• Dynamic voltage injected into the commutating coil to
neutralize reactance voltage.
• Narrow commutating poles in inter polar region apply local
correction to the air gap flux density.
• To neutralize reactance voltage , all commutating poles must
be excited by armature current by connected them in series
with the armature.

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Polarity of an
interpole in
the direction
of rotation is :
Gen: Main
pole ahead
Mot: Main
pole left
behind

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 DC machine Operating Characteristics

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Pilani Campus
Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
In operation of a dc generator the four basic variables of
concern are:
1. Terminal Voltage
2. Armature Current
3. Field Current
4. Speed

To study the relationship among them the generator is run

at rated speed. Out of remaining three, two variables are
varied to study the inter-relationship.

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Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
Experimental Set-up for determining characteristics

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Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
Four characteristic of importance are:
1. No-Load Characteristic
• With Ia=0 at constant speed(n), it is the presentation of
Vt vs If.
• It revels the nature of magnetization of the machine.
• It is also called open-circuit/magnetization characteristic
2. Load Characteristic
• With Ia=rated value and constant speed(n), it is the
presentation of Vt vs If.
• It is magnetization characteristic on load

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Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
3. External Characteristics
With constant If and speed (n), the variation of Vt vs Ia,
the characteristic when generator feeds a load
4. Armature Characteristics
• Vt and Speed are held constant. Variation of Ia vs If is
plotted.
• It reveals the armature reaction affect on the flux/pole.
• It is also called regulation characteristic.

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Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
No Load Test-Open Circuit Test
(For fig. refer experimental setup)
Switch S is kept open; then open circuit voltage is given by;
Voc=Ea=Kφ (at constant speed n)
where K is constant of proportionality.
Thus Voc is measure of φ. Therefore plot of Voc vs If is
magnetization characteristics of machine also called
Open Circuit Characteristics(OCC)
In OCC If must be raised gradually only in forward direction
to avoid local hysteresis loss.

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Open Circuit Characteristics

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Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
Points to be noted from OCC:
1. The air-gap line represents mainly the magnetic
behaviour of machine’s air-gap. Iron is unsaturated in
this region so it consumes negligible ampere turns.
2. Open loop characteristics at speed other than the test
speed will be proportional translation of characteristics
as shown in plot.
3. In loaded conditions Ea cannot be determined from OCC
for If in saturation because of demagnetizing effect of
armature reaction.
Induced emf Ea can be found from ;
ATnet=ATf+ATse-ATd

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Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
Load Characteristic
(For fig refer experimental setup)

Switch S is closed. At every If, Ia is adjusted to rated value

and corresponding Vt is read.
To the load characteristic IaRa drop is added to get Ea
(induced emf) with load.

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 Operating Characteristics of
DC Generator

Load
Characteristics

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Operating Characteristics Of
DC Generator
Points to be noted from plot:
1. At If=OA, Ea=AD+DC, DC=IaRa
Therefore the voltage drop caused by armature reaction is BC.
2. In low If region magnetic circuit is saturated and armature
reaction drop is almost zero so OCC and
Ea vs If plots merge.
3. At If= OA the voltage induced with load is AC. With no load
same voltage is induced at If=OF.
AF=Ifd, the demagnetizing field current equivalent of armature
reaction.
ATd = IfdNf

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Armature Characteristic

S open, If is adjusted to give Voc =vrated

S closed
Ia increased, If also increased to keep terminal voltage
constant

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Self-Excitation

• No external excitation source, excitation from armature

terminal itself.
• During build up process(assume no load):
Ia=If
V=Ea-IfRa

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Self-Excitation

• No external excitation source, excitation from armature

terminal itself.
• During build up process(assume no load):
Ia=If
V=Ea-IfRa

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Self-Excitation
• No external excitation source, excitation from armature
terminal itself.
• Example: Self excited Shunt Generator.
1. First armature brought to rated speed.
2. Then field is introduced.
3. At this instant armature voltage corresponds to small residual value
causing flow of field current. If field current increases field mmf &
induced emf the machine will continue build up to a steady value. This
is +ve feedback.
4. Steady state is achieved due to saturation characteristics of
machine’s magnetic circuit.

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Self-Excitation

During build up process(assuming no load

condition):
I =I
a f

V=E -I R a f a

Field current is very small so voltage

drop IfRa can be neglected
V=Ea

For field circuit:

V=I R f f

V vs If is a straight line

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 Self-Excitation

At point P:

•No-Load Terminal
Voltage(Vo)

•Field Current at
Vo can be
determined

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Self-Excitation
• No-Load Voltage can
be adjusted by changing
Field Resistance

• No-Load Voltage
decreases with increase
in Field Resistance

• No-Load Voltage is
undefined for a field
resistance(Rf3=Rfc)

• At this value of field resistance

the machine fails to excite

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 Self-Excitation

• Assume Fixed Rf,

variable armature
speed

• As speed reduces the

OCC slides down to
reduce No-Load
Voltage.

• At Critical Speed,
OCC is tangential to
Rf-line. Generator will
fail to excite.

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Self-Excitation

Reasons For Failure Of Self Excitation

• Absence of Residual Magnetism

• Field connection is such that induced emf due to residual

magnetism tends to destroy the magnetism
Negative feedback

• Field circuit resistance is more than the critical value

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Characteristics Of DC Motors

In a motor the need is:

• To match the speed-torque characteristics of the load
• To run the load at a specified speed
(by adjustment of the armature voltage in case the speed
control over a wide range is required)
Fundamental emf and torque equations:
Armature emf Ea= ΦnZP/(60A)
Electromagnetic torque T= ΦIaZ(P/2πA)

In motoring operation the induced armature emf is called the back emf
because it opposes the applied terminal voltage Vt.

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 Characteristics Of DC Motors

Depending on the type of excitation there are three types of

DC motors:
1. Shunt Motor
2. Series Motor
3. Compound Motor

Self Excitation has no meaning for a DC motor !!

Three important operating characteristics of DC motor are:

1. Speed-armature current characteristics
2. Torque-armature current characteristics
3. Speed-torque torque characteristics
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Characteristics Of DC Motors
Shunt Motor
Operating condition:
(i)Constant terminal voltage
(ii)Constant field current
Armature circuit:
Ea=Vt-IaRa=Ka’Φn
n= (Vt-IaRa)/Ka’Φ
Speed Current Characteristic
Case: No load
At no load, Ia is small (2-5% of Ia rated)
n0=(Vt/Ka’Φ)
(Armature reaction effect ignored)
Φ remains constant
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Characteristics Of DC Motors

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Characteristics Of DC Motors
Point to be noted from plot:
• Speed drops linearly due to I R a a

• Effect of armature reaction causes demagnetization.

(i) Φ reduces with increasing Ia
(ii) speed at any Ia is higher than in the armature reaction
neglected case.

• Torque-speed characteristic (show in graph by dotted curve)

T=KaΦIa
(i)The characteristics is linear if the armature reaction effect is
ignored.
(ii)Armature reaction causes the characteristics to bend
downwards.
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Characteristics Of DC Motors

Speed-Torque Characteristics
n= (Vt/Ka’Φ)-(Ra/Ka’KaΦ2)T
• If the armature reaction is ignored then flux (Φ) constant,
So speed drops linearly.
No load speed (n0)= (Vt/Ka’Φ)

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Characteristics Of DC Motors

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Characteristics Of DC Motors

Points to be noted from plot:

• Armature reaction effect causes Φ to reduce with
increasing torque and increasing current.
• Speed drops more sharply with torque as Φ2 is in
denominator
• . Conclusion: speed drops from no load to full load by a
few percent

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Characteristics Of DC Motors
Series Motor
Armature circuit:
Ea=Vt-Ia(Ra+Rse)= K’aΦn

Speed-Current Characteristics
n=(Vt/Ka’ Φ)-Ia(Ra+Rse)/Ka’Φ
In linear region
Φ=KfIa
n= (Vt/Ia-(Ra+Rse))/Ka’Kf (shifted rectangular hyperbola)
As the armature current increases, rate of increase of Φ
Reduces.
Φ<KfIa

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Characteristics Of DC Motors

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Characteristics Of DC Motors

Points to be noted from the plot:

• As armature current increases with load the speed
comes down sharply.
• At no load I+ 0 , Φ 0, n infinity
This is very dangerous situation and the centrifugal force
can damage the armature and may harm the personnel.
Hence a series motor must not be allowed to run at
no load even accidently.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Characteristics Of DC Motors
Torque current characteristics
T=KaΦIa
For linear magnetization
T= KaKfIa2 (parabola)

Point to be noted from plot:

• Due to saturation and
demagnetization caused
by armature reaction, the
torque tends to level off in
the actual characteristic
(shown by dotted curve)

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Characteristics Of DC Motors

Speed torque characteristics

Ia=T/KaΦ
Substituting in eq 7.79
n=(Vt/Ka’ Φ)-T(Ra+Rse)/KaKa’Φ2

For linear magnetization

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Characteristics Of DC Motors

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Characteristics Of DC Motors

Points to be noted from plot:

• Due to saturation and magnetization the rate of increase
of Φ reduces with increasing torque.
• At large torque Φ would be less than that based on linear
assumption and so the speed would be higher.
• It is observed from the series motor speed torque
characteristic that as the load torque increases the
speed drops heavily relieving the few load (nxT) on the
load.
• This type of characteristics is suited for traction , cranes
etc where large acceleration is demanded by the load at
the start.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

 DC machine: Starting, Speed control
and Efficiency

BITS Pilani Dr. Hari Om Bansal

Pilani Campus
Starting Of DC Motor

Ea= ΦnZP/(60A) Induced emf

• At starting speed is very small (almost zero) so the
induced emf=0.Then current drawn is
Ia=V/Ra shunt motor
Ia=V/(Ra+Rse) series motor
• Starting Ia can be several times the Iarated.
• Such large current cannot be allowed to flow even for
small interval because:
1. It can cause heavy sparking at the brushes.
2. It can develop large torque and may damage the shaft.
3. It can overdraw current from the supply

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Starting Of DC Motor

Starting Of DC Motor:
• To avoid any undesirable condition the motor should be
started with external resistance in the armature circuit.
• External resistance limits the high starting current to safe
value.
• Variable dc supply can also be used for motor starting,
eg. Ward Leonard Control Scheme

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Starting Of DC Motor

Shunt and Compound Motor Starters:

Shunt motor starters are applicable for compound motors also.
• Shunt field should be switched on with full starting
resistance in armature.
• A short time delay allows field current to build up to the
steady value of inductive field transient.
• All the regulating resistance in the field circuit must be cut
out before starting for the field current to be maximum as
Tstart proportional to If.
• Two types of shunt motor starters:
(i)Three point starter
(ii)Four point starter

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Starting Of DC Motor

Three Point Starter

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Starting Of DC Motor

• As the starting handle is rotated about its fulcrum it

moves from one stud to next,one resistance step is cut
out and it gets added to the field circuit.
• There is a short time wait at each stud for the motor to
build up speed.
• This arrangement ensures a high average starting
torque.
• At the start the handle is brought to stud one
The line voltage gets applied to armature with full starting resistance
in series with the armature and to field with NVC in series.
Thus motor starts with maximum torque

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Starting Of DC Motor
• The handle is moved from stud to stud to the ON position.
• The starting resistance has been fully cut out and is now
included in the field circuit.
• The resistance of NVC is small and forms part of the field
resistance.
• The voltage across the armature is the line voltage.
• The handle is held in this position by electromagnet.

• Two protections incorporated in the starter:

(i) NVC(no voltage coil): In case of field current failure ,it
releases the handle which goes back to OFF.
(ii)OL(over load release): Contact of this relay at armature
current above the rated value closes the NVC ends bringing
the handle to OFF.
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Starting Of DC Motor

Four Point Starter

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Starting Of DC Motor

• To overcome the problem caused when the field current

is low, NVC is connected across two lines, one line
connected to F terminal through the starter and other
directly to second line from terminal L.
• The four terminals are: A F L L
• Rest of the operation is similar to 3-point starter.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Starting Of DC Motor
Automatic Starter
• Push button type starter.
• Used in most of the
industries.
• Functioning is same as of
the manual starters
• Electromagnetic relays
short out sections of robust
metallic starting resistors in
a predetermined time
sequence.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

• DC motors are in general more adaptable speed drives

than ac motors.
• DC motors have wide range of speeds
• N= (Vt-IaRa)/Φka’
On neglecting armature drop
N= Vt/(Ka’ Φ)
• Above equation gives two methods of speed control:
(i) Field control (changing Φ)
(ii) Armature control (changing Vt)

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

• Basic definitions:
Base Speed: Speed at which motor runs at rated
voltage and rated field current. It is specified on the
name plate of the motor.

Speed Regulation
% Speed Regulation= (n0-nfL)/nfL X 100
where n0= no load speed
nfL= full load speed(rated speed)

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Field Control:
For fixed Vt;
n2/n1= Φ1/ Φ2 = If1/If2 (considering linear magnetization)
Limitations of field control:
• Speeds lower than rated speed cannot be obtained
because Φ greater than Φrated can saturate the machine.
• Since speed is inversely proportional to flux /pole while
torque is directly proportional to it for a given armature
current, the load torque falls with speed
• This control is not suitable for applications requiring
speed reversal.
• At load, leads to poor commutation

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Field Control for Shunt Motor

• Control achieved by using a rheostat in field circuit.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Points to be noted from plot:

• n= (Vt/Ka’Φ)-(Ra/Ka’KaΦ2)T
Speed Torque characteristics has a small linear drop due
to second term and translates upwards with field
weakening.
• Demagnetizing effect of armature reaction causes the
characteristics to somewhat bend upwards with
increasing torque.
• Working range of speed torque characteristics reduces
with increasing speed.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Field Control In Series Motor:

• Here field control is achieved by adjusting field ampere
turns.
• There are three ways of changing them:
(1) Diverted field control
(2) Tapped field control
(3) Series parallel control

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control
Diverter field control:

• Diverter resistor is connected across the field winding.

• By varying Rd the field current and field ampere turns can
be reduced.
• In order to avoid oscillations in speed owing to load
changes, inductively wound diverter resistor is used.
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Speed Control

Tapped Field Control

• The field ampere turns are adjusted in steps by varying the

number of turns included in the circuit.
• Ise(effective) = (N’se/ Nse) Ia = Kse Ia
where N’se =tapped field turn with resistance R’se= KseRse

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Series Parallel Control

• Field winding divided into two halves and then connected
in series or parallel to control field ampere turns.
• For all armature current parallel connection of half
winding gives;

Parallel field connection give higher speed.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Armature Control:
• A variable voltage supply is required for armature.
• Its better than Field Control in three respects:
(i) It provides a constant torque drive.
(ii) Main field ampere turns are maintained at large value
so flux density distortion caused by armature reaction
is limited.
• Field reversal can be implemented.
• Three types of armature control schemes are:
(i) Series armature-resistance control
(ii)Shunt armature control
(iii)Series-parallel control
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Speed Control

Series Armature Control:

• Applied armature voltage is varied by placing an

adjustable resistance Re.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Some of the limitations of rheostatic control:

• Only speeds below rated can be obtained.
(n1-n2)/n1= IaRe/Vt
• Range of available speeds is limited because efficiency
is reduced drastically for large speed reductions.
ῃ= n2/n1
• The speed regulation is poor as for a fixed value of
series armature resistance, speed varies directly with
load.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control
Shunted Armature Control:

For shunt motor

• Here voltage division is used to reduce the voltage across

armature.
• No load armature speed is governed by Vth which can be
independently adjusted by the ratio R2/R1.
• Series resistance Re=R1||R2 = ßR1 is very small so
control gives better speed regulation.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

Series Parallel Control:

• Here two identical motors are coupled together
mechanically to a common load.
• Two speeds at constant torque are possible by this
method.
• In series connection terminal voltage across each motor
is Vt/2
• In parallel connection terminal voltage across each
motor is Vt

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Speed Control

• This method is better than rheostatic control in term of efficiency.

• This method is limited to two speed steps.
• This method is employed for speed control of series traction
motors.

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Efficiency

Efficiency of DC machine:
Power Flow Diagram
1. Generating mode

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Efficiency

2. Motoring Mode

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Efficiency

Various Losses Indicated In Fig.

Pwf= winding and friction loss
Pi= total core loss
= Pio+(stray load iron loss) (this break up is only for shunt machine)
Pio= no load core loss
Prot= Pio+Pwf = rotational loss
Psh= shunt field loss in shunt and compound machine
Pc= armature copper losses including loss in series winding
and stray load copper
Pb= brush contact losses

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Efficiency

Constant Loss
Pk=(Pio+Pwf)+Psh

Variable Loss
Pv= (Ra+Rse)Ia2+Pstl

Pstl= total stray load loss (iron + copper)= proportional to

square of armature current
Pv= KvIa2
The brush contact loss Pb will be treated separately as it
proportional to Ia.
Machine Efficiency ῃ=Output/Input

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Efficiency

For generating machine

ῃG =output/(output+losses)= 1-losses/(output+losses)
ῃG= 1- (Pk+KvIa2+VbIa)/(VIL+Pk+KvIa 2+VbIa)

For motoring machine

ῃM= ( Input-Losses)/ Input = 1- Losses/Input
ῃM= 1- (Pk+KvIa2+VbIa)/VIL

Maximum efficiency occurs when;

Variable Loss= Constant Loss
KvIa2=Pk
Ratio Ia/Ia(fl) can be adjusted by apportioning iron & copper
content of the machine

BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus