Module I : DC Motors

Introduction : An Electric Motor is a machine which converts electrical energy into

mechanical energy. Electric motors that run on direct current are known as Direct-Current
(DC) Motors.
Principle of Operation: It is based on the principle that, when a current-carrying conductor is
placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a mechanical force whose direction is given by
Fleming's Left-hand rule and whose magnitude is given by
Force, 𝑭 = 𝑩 𝑰 𝒍 Newton
Where
B is the magnetic field in weber/m2
I is the current in amperes
l is the length of the coil in meter

Working Principle of a DC Motor : It is explained as follows :

a) Magnetic Field: The stator provides a stationary magnetic field.
b) Current in Armature: A DC current flows through the armature windings (AB and CD),
which are placed within this magnetic field as shown in fig.
c) Force on Conductor: A force is exerted
on the current-carrying conductors of the
armature.
d) Torque Generation: This force creates a
torque (a rotational force) on the
armature, causing it to rotate.
e) Commutation: As the armature rotates
the commutator segments (R1 and R2)
and brushes (B1 and B2) work together to reverse the direction of the current in the

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 1 of 13
 armature coils at the right moment. This ensures that the torque continues to push the
armature in the same direction, maintaining continuous rotation.
Construction of DC Motor : It consists of the Armature (rotating part), the yoke, field
windings, carbon brushes, and the commutator as shown below :
Stator: The stationary part that provides the permanent or electromagnetic magnetic field. .
Yoke: The yoke is the outer cover
which provides the structural
strength to the motor by acting as a
frame. It is usually made of any low-
reluctance magnetic material such as
rolled steel, silicon steel or cast iron.
Poles and Pole Shoe: The pole is
fixed to the yoke of the motor casing
with a pole shoe at the other end. Poles are made from laminated wrought iron or thin cast
steel to produce a magnetic field when excited by the field coil. The pole shoe is shaped in such
a way as to maximize the magnetic flux that passes to the armature.
Field Winding: The field winding is the copper wire wound around the pole for producing
magnetic field when a direct current is passed through it.
Armature Core: It is a drum-like material that is keyed to the motor shaft. It has a large
number of slots to hold the armature winding along its periphery. The core is usually made of
high permeability and low reluctance material such as silicon steel. It also has holes for air
circulation and cooling, and laminated construction to minimize eddy current losses.
Armature Windings: These are used for creating the magnetic flux of the rotor. Depending on
the operating voltages and current of the motor, the winding is classified as wave winding and
lap winding.
For Lap winding: Number of Parallel Paths (A) = Number of Poles
For Wave winding: Number of Parallel Paths (A) = 2
Commutator: The commutator is mounted on the motor shaft and connects to the armature
windings. It is made of segments of hard-drawn copper insulated from one another with mica.
Its function is to convert torque that alternates to unidirectional torque on the armature
(Similar to the process of Rectification).
Brushes: These are from Metallic Carbon or Graphite Carbon and are held in place by springs
and conduct electricity to the armature coils.
Back EMF : When a DC motor is supplied with current, the armature conductors begin to
rotate in the magnetic field produced by the field windings. As the armature coils cut through
the magnetic flux lines, an electromotive force (emf) is induced in them. According to Lenz's

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 2 of 13
Law, the polarity of this induced emf is such that it opposes the voltage that caused it. The emf
produced due to this opposition is called as back EMF or counter EMF and its expression is
derived as follows:
Let
P = Number of Poles
Φ = Magnetic flux per pole in webers
Z = Total number of armature conductors
N = Speed of rotation of armature in Rotations Per Minute (RPM)
1 60
Δt = Time to complete one revolution = N/60 = N

∆∅ = Total Flux linking with a conductor in one revolution = P∅

∆∅ NP∅
e = emf induced in one conductor = =
∆t 60
A = Number of Parallel paths (current carrying paths in armature windings)
Z
Number of conductors per parallel path = A

𝐙 𝐍𝐏∅ 𝐙 ∅𝐙𝐍𝐏
Emf generated in the armature 𝐄 = 𝐞 (𝐀 ) = ×𝐀=
𝟔𝟎 𝟔𝟎 𝐀
Note : For Lap winding : Number of Parallel Paths (A) = Number of Poles
For Wave winding : Number of Parallel Paths (A) = 2

Equivalent Circuit of DC Motor:

Ia = Current through the armature windings
Ra = Resistance of armature windings
V = Supply voltage = Eb + Ia Ra
For motors
Back EMF E = Eb = V - Ia Ra

Advantages of Back EMF in DC Motor:

1. Energy conversion in the DC motor is possible only because of the back emf.
2. The back emf makes the DC motor self-regulating machine, i.e., the back emf develops the
armature current according to the need of the motor.

Torque Developed by a DC Motor : The current carrying armature conductors experiences a

force whenever they lie in the magnetic field. These conductors lie near the surface of the rotor
and hence, a torque is produced around the circumference of the rotor, so the rotor starts
rotating.

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 3 of 13
 𝟐𝝅𝑵𝑻
Mechanical power developed 𝑷𝒎 = 𝝎𝑻 = 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 ……………….(1)
𝟔𝟎
𝟐𝝅𝑵
where, ω = Angular velocity =
𝟔𝟎
𝑻 = 𝑻𝒐𝒓𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒕𝒐𝒏 − 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 (𝑵𝒎)
Power developed by the Motor Armature Pa = EbIa ……………….(2)
Equating the equations (1) and (2),
𝟐𝝅𝑵𝑻 ∅𝐙𝐍𝐏
= 𝐄𝐛 𝐈𝒂 = 𝟔𝟎 𝐀 × 𝑰𝒂
𝟔𝟎
∅𝐙𝐏
𝑻 = 𝟐𝛑 𝐀 × 𝑰𝒂

For a given DC Motor, Z, P and A are fixed. Hence 𝑻 𝜶 ∅ 𝑰𝒂

∴ 𝑻𝒐𝒓𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝑫𝑪 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒙
𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕
Classifications of DC Motors : DC Motors are classified mainly into separately and self-
excited motors as follows :

Self-excited DC Motors: In these type of motors armature windings and field windings are
connected to separate DC Sources. Several types of self-excited DC Motors are as follows:

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 4 of 13
25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 5 of 13
25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 6 of 13
25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 7 of 13
25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 8 of 13
25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 9 of 13
Factors Affecting the Speed of a D.C. Motor: According to the speed equation of a d.c. motor
we can write,

N α Eb / ϕ α (V-IaRa) / ϕ

The factors Z, P, A are constants for a DC. motor.

But as the value of armature resistance Ra and series field resistance Rse is very small, the drop
IaRa and Ia (Ra+ Rse) is very small compared to applied voltage V. Hence neglecting these voltage
drops the speed equation can be modified as,

Ν α V / Φ, as Eb = V

Thus the factors affecting the speed of a d.c. motor are,

a) The flux ϕ
b) The voltage across the armature
c) The applied voltage V

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 10 of 13
Starting of DC Motors :

A starter is a device used to start and accelerate a motor.

A controller is a device to start the motor, control and reverse the speed of the DC motor and
stop the motor.

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 11 of 13
Necessity of Starter in DC Motor:
At the time of starting, the speed of the DC Motor and hence its back e.m.f ‘E’ is also zero. The
flow current at the time of starting is limited or controlled by the armature resistance of the DC
Motor.
Back e.m.f E or Eb = V – Ia Ra

The resistance of the armature is low, and when the full voltage is applied at the standstill
condition of the motor, the armature current becomes very high which damage the parts of the
motor. Hence, starters are used to start the DC Motors. These starters insert high resistance in
series with the armature, at the time of starting and then gradually it is reduced till the speed
of motor reaches rated value. The various types of starts used to start DC motors are as
follows:
a) Two-Point Starter
b) Three-Point Starter
c) Four-Point Starter
In this analysis only three point starter is presented.
Three Point Starter to Start the DC Motor

L → Line terminal, which is connected to the positive supply.

A → Armature terminal and is connected to the armature windings.

F → Field terminal and is connected to the field terminal windings.

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 12 of 13
 E → Electromagnet used to hold the handle in ‘RUN’ position

H →Handle used to vary the resistance in series with armature circuit

NVC → No Voltage Trip Coil used to held the handle under normal conditions and release the handle
if any over load or under voltage condition arises to disconnect power supply to the motor.

D → Over load Release Electromagnet

To start the DC motor, the lever is gradually turned to the right. When the lever reaches
point 1, the field winding is directly connected across the supply, and the armature winding is
connected in series with resistances R1 to R5. At startup, full resistance is added in series with
the armature winding. As the lever is moved further to the right, the resistance is gradually cut
out of the armature circuit. So, the speed of DC increases gradually and motor attains rated
speed when lever reaches ‘RUN’ position.
If the motor is overloaded beyond a predefined value, the 'overcurrent release
electromagnet' D activates, short-circuiting electromagnet E and releasing the lever, thereby
turning off the motor.
To stop the motor, the starter handle should never be pulled back as this would result
in burning the starter contacts. Thus, to stop the motor, the main switch of the motor should be
opened.
Drawbacks of a 3 Point Starter : The following drawbacks of a 3 point starter are as follows:-
a) Difficulty for large variation of speed by adjustment of the field rheostat.
b) To raise the speed of the motor, the field resistance should be increased. Therefore, the
current through the shunt field is reduced.
c) The field current may become very low because of the addition of high resistance to
obtain a high speed.
d) The holding magnet may release the arm of the starter during the normal operation of
the motor and thus, disconnect the motor from the line. This is not a desirable action.
Hence, to overcome this difficulty, the 4 Point Starter is used.

25BEEEE402 : Electric Motors Class Notes: Module -1, EEE Dept, Page 13 of 13