SIMPLE DC MOTOR

A project by Shrikanth Pillai XII B

12TH GRADE PHYSICS

Primarily I would like to thank God for being able to complete this
project with success. Then I would like to thank my physics
teacher Ms. Rajshree whose valuable guidance has been the
ones that helped me to patch this project and make it full proof
success. Her suggestions and instructions have served as the
major contributor towards the competition of this project.

Then I would like to thank my parents and classmates who have

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 INDEX

Basic Principles

Introduction

History

Parts of a DC Motor

Working of a DC Motor

Applications

Experiment

Bibliography

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Basic Principles
DC Motor :

A DC motor is any of a class of rotary electrical motors that converts direct

Electromagnet :

An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by

Torque:

A force that tends to cause rotation. It is also defined as rFsin(θ), where r is

Fleming’s Left Hand Rule:

Fleming's left-hand rule for electric motors is one of a pair of visual mnemonics.

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Introduction
A DC motor in simple words is a device that converts direct current (electrical
energy) into mechanical energy.

When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, the conductor

DC motors can vary in size and power, they can be present in small toys and
electrical appliances to big machines that power cars, pull elevators and hoists,
and drive rolling metal mills.

It works on the principle of Lorentz Law, which states that “the current-carrying
conductor placed in a magnetic and electric field experiences a force”. The
experienced force is called the Lorentz force. The Flemming left-hand rule gives
the direction of the force.

Principle of Electric Motor

The principle of the electric motor is based on the fact that a current carrying
conductor produces a magnetic field around it. A current carrying conductor
placed perpendicular to the magnetic field experiences a force.

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History
In the US, Thomas Davenport( on the right of the image below) is widely regarded
as the inventor of the first electric motor, and he was no doubt the first to own a
patented electric motor in 1837. Davenport, however, was not the first person to
build an electric motor, with a wide variety of features, designers in Europe
already made some very powerful and robust motors when Davenport
introduced his patent.

In 1834, Moritz Jacobi had presented a motor that was three times as powerful as
the one Davenport would later patent, while Sibrandus Stratingh and Christopher
Becker were the first to demonstrate a practical application for an electric motor,
by running a small model car in 1835.

The first practical DC motor was invented some years later in 1886 by Frank
Julian Sprague, whose invention led to the first motor powered trolley system in
1887, and the first electric elevator in 1892. Sprague’s DC motor was a hugely
significant development, leading to a variety of applications which would
reshape the face of industry and manufacturing.

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Parts of a DC Motor
(1) Armature coil

It consists of a single loop of an insulated copper wire in the form of a rectangle.

(2) Strong field magnet

Armature coil is placed between 2 pole pieces of a strong magnet which provide a
strong magnetic field.

(3) Split ring type commutator

It consists of 2 halves of a metallic ring. The two ends of the armature coil are
connected to these 2 halves of the ring. Commutators reverse the direction of
current in the armature coil.

(4) Brushes

Two carbon brushes press against the commutator. These brushes act as contact
between commutator and terminal battery.

(5) Battery

It is connected across the carbon brushes. It supplies current to the armature coil.

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Working of a DC Motor

(i) In the side AB of the rectangular coil ABCD, the direction of current is from A
to B and in the side CD of the coil, the direction of current is from C to D. The
direction of the magnetic field is from the N pole of the magnet to its S pole.

(ii) Applying Fleming’s Left hand rule to sides AB and CD of the coil, the force on
side AB of the coil is in downward direction whereas the force on side CD of the
coil is in upward direction. Due to this the side AB of the coil is pushed down and
side CD is pushed up. This makes the coil ABCD rotate in the anticlockwise
direction.

(iii) While rotating, when the coil reaches a vertical position, then the brushes
will touch the gap between the two commutator rings and current of the coil is
cut off. Though the current to the coil is cut off when it is in the exact vertical

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position, the coil does not stop rotating because it has already gained momentum
due to which it goes beyond the vertical position.

(iv) After half rotation, when the coil goes beyond vertical position, the side CD of
the coil comes on the left side whereas side AB of the coil comes to the right side,
and the two commutator half rings automatically change contact from one brush
to the other.

(v) After half rotation of the coil , the commutator half ring Y makes contact with
brush P whereas the commutator half ring X makes contact with brush Q.This
reverses the direction of current in the coil.

(vi) The reversal of direction of current reverses the direction of force acting on
the sides AB and CD of the coil. The side CD of the coil is now on the left side with
a downward force on it whereas the side AB is now on the right side with an
upward force on it. Due to this the side CD of the coil is pushed down and the side
AB of the coil is pushed up. This makes the coil rotate anticlockwise by another
half rotation.

(vii) The reversing of current in the coil is repeated after every half rotation due
to which the coil continues to rotate as long as current from the battery is passed
through it.

Please refer to the diagram on the previous page for better understanding.

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Applications
There are various uses of DC motors due to the end product of mechanical
energy.

Some of it are:

Rolling Mills:

Motors are used here to press different metals into sheets.

Hydraulic Pumps:

Motors are used to power these pumps to produce fluid pressure.

Fans:

Motors help in producing rotation in the flaps of the fan, although ac motors are
more preferred as they are cheaper but dc motors are more efficient than them.

Electric Vehicles:

DC motors for electric vehicles are widely used because of their energy efficiency
and durability.

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EXPERIMENT

Making a DC Motor

Apparatus:
● D battery

● Insulated 22G wire

● 2 large-eyed, long, metal sewing needles (the eyes must be large enough to
fit the wire through)

● Modeling clay

● Electrical tape

● Hobby knife

● Small circular magnet

● Thin marker

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Procedure:
1. Starting in the center of the wire, wrap the wire tightly and neatly around
the marker 30 times.

2. Slide the coil you made off of the marker.

3. Wrap each loose end of the wire around the coil a few times to hold it
together, then point the wires away from the loop,

4. Remove insulation from the same half side of each wire.

5. Thread each loose end of the wire coil through the large eye of a needle.

6. Lay the D battery sideways on a flat surface.

7. Stick some modeling clay on either side of the battery so it does not roll
away.

8. Take 2 small balls of modeling clay and cover the sharp ends of the needle.

9. Place the needles upright next to the terminals of each battery so that the
side of each needle touches one terminal of the battery.

10. Use electrical tape to secure the needles to the ends of the battery. Your coil
should be hanging above the battery.

11. Tape the small magnet to the side of the battery so that it is centered
underneath the coil.

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Observation
The metal, needles, and wire created a closed loop circuit that can carry current.
Current flows from the negative terminal of the battery, through the circuit, and
to the positive terminal of the battery. Current in a closed loop also creates its
own magnetic field.

Because the magnetic field created by the current in the wire is not perpendicular
to the magnet taped to the battery, at least some part of the wire’s magnetic field
will repel and cause the coil to continue to spin.

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 Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_motor

https://images.google.com/

https://byjus.com/

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