UNIT I

Illumination Fundamentals

INTRODUCTION

Study of illumination engineering is necessary not only to understand the principles of light
control as applied to interior lighting design such as domestic and factory lighting but also
to understand outdoor applications such as highway lighting and flood lighting. Nowaday,
the electrically produced light is preferred to the other source of illumination because of an
account of its cleanliness, ease of control, steady light output, low cost, and reliability. The
best illumination is that it produces no strain on the eyes. Apart from its esthetic and
decorative aspects, good lighting has a strictly utilitarian value in reducing the fatigue of
the workers, protecting their health, increasing production, etc. The science of illumination
engineering is therefore becoming of major importance.

Nature of light

Light is a form of electromagnetic energy radiated from a body and human eye is
capable of receiving it. Light is a prime factor in the human life as all activities of
human being ultimately depend upon the light.

Various forms of incandescent bodies are the sources of light and the light emitted by
such bodies depends upon their temperature. A hot body about 500–800°C becomes a
red hot and about 2,500–3,000°C the body becomes white hot. While the body is red-
hot, the wavelength of the radiated energy will be sufficiently large and the energy
available in the form of heat. Further, the temperature increases, the body changes
from red-hot to white-hot state, the wavelength of the radiated energy becomes smaller
and enters into the range of the wavelength of light. The wavelength of the light waves
varying from 0.0004 to 0.00075 mm, i.e. 4,000-7,500 Å (1 Angstrom unit = 10–10 mm).

The eye discriminates between different wavelengths in this range by the sensation of
color. The whole of the energy radiated out is not useful for illumination purpose.
Radiations of very short wavelength varying from 0.0000156 × 10–6m to 0.001 × 10–6 m
are not in the visible range are called as rontgen or x-rays, which are having the
property of penetrating through opaque bodies.

TERMS USED IN ILLUMINATION

The following terms are generally used in illumination.

Color: The energy radiation of the heated body is monochromatic, i.e. the radiation of
only one wavelength emits specific color. The wavelength of visible light lies between
4,000 and 7,500 Å. The color of the radiation corresponding to the wavelength is shown
in Fig. 6.1.

Fig. Wavelength

Relative sensitivity: The reacting power of the human eye to the light waves of
different wavelengths varies from person to person, and also varies with age. The
average relative sensitivity is shown in Fig. 6.2.

Fig. 6.2 The average relative sensitivity

The eye is most sensitive for a wavelength of 5,500 Å. So that, the relative
sensitivity according to this wavelength is taken as unity.
Referred from Fig. 6.1, blue and violet corresponding to the short wavelengths and red
to the long wavelengths, orange, yellow, and green being in the middle of the visible
region of wavelength. The color corresponding to 5,500 Å is not suitable for most of
the applications since yellowish green. The relative sensitivity at any particular
wavelength (λ) is known as relative luminous factor (Kλ).

Light: It is defined as the radiant energy from a hot body that produces the visual
sensation upon the human eye. It is expressed in lumen-hours and it analogous to watt-
hours, which denoted by the symbol ‘Q’.

Luminous flux: It is defined as the energy in the form of light waves radiated per
second from a luminous body. It is represented by the symbol ‘φ’ and measured in
lumens.

Ex: Suppose the luminous body is an incandescent lamp.

The total electrical power input to the lamp is not converted to luminous flux, some
of the power lost through conduction, convection, and radiation, etc. Afraction of the
remaining radiant flux is in the form of light waves lies in between the visual range of
wavelength, i.e. between 4,000 and 7,000 Å, as shown in Fig. 6.3.

Fig. Flux diagram

Radiant efficiency

When an electric current is passed through a conductor, some heat is produced to

I2R loss, which increases its temperature of the conductor. At low temperature,
conductor radiates energy in the form of heat waves, but at very high temperatures,
radiated energy will be in the form of light as well as heat waves.

‘Radiant efficiency is defined as the ratio of energy radiated in the form of light,
produces sensation of vision to the total energy radiated out by the luminous body’.
 Plane angle

A plane angle is the angle subtended at a point in a plane by two converging lines (Fig.
6.4). It is denoted by the Greek letter ‘θ’ (theta) and is usually measured in degrees or
radians.

Fig. 6.4 Plane angle

One radian is defined as the angle subtended by an arc of a circle whose length by an
arc of a circle whose length is equals to the radius of the circle.

Solid angle

Solid angle is the angle subtended at a point in space by an area, i.e., the angle enclosed
in the volume formed by numerous lines lying on the surface and meeting at the point
(Fig. 6.5). It is usually denoted by symbol ‘ω’ and is measured in steradian.
Fig. Solid angle

The largest solid angle subtended at the center of a sphere:

Relationship between plane angle and solid angle

Let us consider a curved surface of a spherical segment ABC of height ‘h’ and radius of
the sphere ‘r’ as shown in Fig. 6.6. The surface area of the curved surface of the
spherical segment ABC = 2πrh. From the Fig. 6.6:

Fig. Sectional view for solid angle

BD = OB – OD

From the Equation (6.3), the curve shows the variation of solid angle with plane angle
is shown in Fig. 6.7.
Fig. 6.7 Relation between solid angle and plane angle

Luminous intensity

Luminous intensity in a given direction is defined as the luminous flux emitted by

the source per unit solid angle (Fig. 6.8).

Fig. 6.8 Luminous flux emitting from the source

It is denoted by the symbol ‘I’ and is usually measured in ‘candela’.

Let ‘F’ be the luminous flux crossing a spherical segment of solid angle ‘ω’. Then

luminous intensity lumen/steradian or candela.

Lumen: It is the unit of luminous flux.

It is defined as the luminous flux emitted by a source of one candle power per unit
solid angle in all directions.

Lumen = candle power of source × solid angle.

Lumen = CP × ω

Total flux emitted by a source of one candle power is 4π lumens.

Candle power (CP)

The CP of a source is defined as the total luminous flux lines emitted by that source in
a unit solid angle.

Illumination

Illumination is defined as the luminous flux received by the surface per unit area.

It is usually denoted by the symbol ‘E’ and is measured in lux or lumen/m2 or

meter candle or foot candle.

Lux or meter candle

It is defined as the illumination of the inside of a sphere of radius 1 m and a source of

1 CP is fitted at the center of sphere.

Foot candle

It is the unit of illumination and is defined as the illumination of the inside of a

sphere of radius 1 foot, and a source of 1 CP is fitted at the center of it.

We know that 1 lux = 1 foot candle = 1 lumen/(ft)2

 Brightness

Brightness of any surface is defined as the luminous intensity pen unit surface area of
the projected surface in the given direction. It is usually denoted by symbol ‘L’.

If the luminous intensity of source be ‘I’ candela on an area A, then the projected
area is Acos θ.

The unit of brightness is candela/m2 or candela/cm2 or candela/(ft)2.

Relation between I, E, and L

Let us consider a uniform diffuse sphere with radius r meters, at the center a source of 1
CP, and luminous intensity I candela.
 Mean horizontal candle power (MHCP)

MHCP is defined as the mean of the candle power of source in all directions
in horizontal plane.

Mean spherical candle power (MSCP)

MSCP is defined as the mean of the candle power of source in all directions in all
planes.

Mean hemispherical candle power (MHSCP)

MHSCP is defined as the mean of the candle power of source in all directions above
or below the horizontal plane.

Reduction factor

Reduction factor of the source of light is defined as the ratio of its mean spherical candle
power to its mean horizontal candle power.

Lamp efficiency

It is defined as the ratio of the total luminous flux emitting from the source to
its electrical power input in watts.

It is expressed in lumen/W.

Specific consumption

It is defined as the ratio of electric power input to its average candle power.

Space to height ratio

It is defined as ratio of horizontal distance between adjacent lamps to the height of

their mountings.
 Coefficient of utilization or utilization factor

It is defined as the ratio of total number of lumens reaching the working plane to the
total number of lumens emitting from source.

Maintenance factor

It is defined as the ratio of illumination under normal working conditions to

the illumination when everything is clean.

Its value is always less than 1, and it will be around 0.8. This is due to the accumulation of
dust, dirt, and smoke on the lamps that emit less light than that they emit when they are so
clean. Frequent cleaning of lamp will improve the maintenance factor.

Depreciation factor

It is defined as the ratio of initial illumination to the ultimate maintained

illumination on the working plane.

Its values is always more than 1.

 Waste light factor

When a surface is illuminated by several numbers of the sources of light, there is certain
amount of wastage due to overlapping of light waves; the wastage of light is taken into
account depending upon the type of area to be illuminated. Its value for rectangular
area is 1.2 and for irregular area is 1.5 and objects such as statues, monuments, etc.

Absorption factor

Normally, when the atmosphere is full of smoke and fumes, there is a possibility
of absorption of light. Hence, the total lumens available after absorption to the
total lumens emitted by the lamp are known as absorption factor.

Reflection factor or coefficient of reflection

When light rays impinge on a surface, it is reflected from the surface at an angle of
incidence shown in Fig. 6.9. A portion of incident light is absorbed by the surface.

Fig. Reflected ray

The ratio of luminous flux leaving the surface to the luminous flux incident on it is
known as reflection factor.
Its value will be always less than 1.

Beam factor

It is defined as the ratio of ‘lumens in the beam of a projector to the lumens given out
by lamps’. Its value is usually varies from 0.3 to 0.6. This factor is taken into account
for the absorption of light by reflector and front glass of the projector lamp.

Example 6.1: A 200-V lamp takes a current of 1.2 A, it produces a total flux of 2,860
lumens. Calculate:

the MSCPofthe lamp and

the efficiency of the lamp.

Solution:

Given V = 200 V

I = 1.2 A, flux = 2,860 lumens.

Example 6.2: A room with an area of 6 × 9 m is illustrated by ten 80-W lamps. The
luminous efficiency of the lamp is 80 lumens/W and the coefficient of utilization is 0.65.
Find the average illumination.

Solution:

Room area = 6 × 9 = 54 m2.

Total wattage = 80 × 10 = 800 W.

Total flux emitted by ten lamps = 80 × 800 = 64,000 lumens.

Flux reaching the working plane = 64,000 × 0.65 = 41,600 lumens.

Example 6.3: The luminous intensity of a lamp is 600 CP. Find the flux given out.
Also find the flux in the hemisphere containing the source of light and zero above the
horizontal.

Solution:

Flux emitted by source (lumen)

Intensity (I) × solid angle (ω)

600 × 2 π = 3,769.911 lumens

Flux emitted in the lower hemisphere = 3,769.911 lumens.

Example 6.4: The flux emitted by 100-W lamp is 1,400 lumens placed in a frosted
globe of 40 cm diameter and gives uniform brightness of 250 milli-lumens/m2 in all
directions. Calculate the candel power of the globe and the percentage of light
absorbed by the globe.

Solution:

Flux emitted by the globe

brightness × globe area

1,256.63 lumens

Flux absorbed by the globe

flux emitted by source – flux emitted by globe

1,400 – 1,256.63

143.36 lumens.
Example 6.5: A surface inclined at an angle 40° to the rays is kept 6 m away from 150
candle power lamp. Find the average intensity of illumination on the surface.

Solution:

From the Fig. P.6.1:

= (90° – 40°) = 50°.

Average illumination:

Fig. P.6.1

LAWS OF ILLUMINATION

Mainly there are two laws of illumination.

Inverse square law.

2. Lambert's cosine law.

Inverse square law

This law states that ‘the illumination of a surface is inversely proportional to the
square of distance between the surface and a point source’.

Proof:

Let, ‘S’ be a point source of luminous intensity ‘I’ candela, the luminous flux emitting
from source crossing the three parallel plates having areas A1 A2, and A3 square meters,
which are separated by a distances of d, 2d, and 3d from the point source respectively as
shown in Fig. 6.10.

Fig. 6.10 Inverse square law

Luminous flux reaching the area A1 = luminous intensity × solid angle

Illumination 'E1' on the surface area 'A1' is:

Similarly, illumination 'E2' on the surface area A2 is:

and illumination ‘E3’ on the surface area A3 is:

From Equations (6.5), (6.6), and (6.7)

Hence, from Equation (6.8), illumination on any surface is inversely proportional to the
square of distance between the surface and the source.

Lambert's cosine law

This law states that ‘illumination, E at any point on a surface is directly proportional to
the cosine of the angle between the normal at that point and the line of flux’.
Proof:

While discussing, the Lambert's cosine law, let us assume that the surface is inclined at
an angle ‘θ’ to the lines of flux as shown in Fig. 6.11.

Fig. 6.11 Lambert's cosine law

Let

PQ = The surface area normal to the source and inclined at ‘θ’ to the vertical axis.

RS = The surface area normal to the vertical axis and inclined at an angle θ to the source ‘O’.

Therefore, from Fig. 6.11:

From Fig. 6.11(b):

Substituting ‘d' from the above equation in Equation (6.10):

where d is the distance between the source and the surface in m, h is the height of source
from the surface in m, and I is the luminous intensity in candela.

Hence, Equation (6.11) is also known as ‘cosine cube’ law. This law states that the
‘illumination at any point on a surface is dependent on the cube of cosine of the angle
between line of flux and normal at that point’.

Note:
*From the above laws of illumination, it is to be noted that inverse square law is only
applicable for the surfaces if the surface is normal to the line of flux. And Lambert's
cosine law is applicable for the surfaces if the surface is inclined an angle ‘θ’ to the line of
flux.

Example 6.6: The illumination at a point on a working plane directly below the lamp
is to be 60 lumens/m2. The lamp gives 130 CP uniformly below the horizontal plane.
Determine:

The height at which lamp is suspended.

The illumination at a point on the working plane 2.8 m away from the vertical axis of the lamp.

Solution:

Given data:

Candle power of the lamp = 130 CP.

The illumination just below the lamp, E = 60 lumen/m2.

From the Fig. P.6.2, the illumination just below the lamp, i.e., at point A:

The illumination at point ‘B':

Fig. P.6.2

Example 6.7: A lamp having a candle power of 300 in all directions is provided with a
reflector that directs 70% of total light uniformly on a circular area 40-m diameter. The
lamp is hung at 15 m above the area.

Calculate the illumination.

Also calculate the illumination at the center.
The illumination at the edge of the surface without reflector.

Solution:

Given data:

Candle power of the lamp = 300 CP.

Circular area diameter (D) = 40 m.

Height of mounting = 15 m.

The illumination on the circular area (Fig. P.6.3):

Fig. P.6.3

The illumination at the center with reflector 70%:

The illumination at the edge without reflector:

Example 6.8: The luminous intensity of a source is 600 candela is placed in the
middle of a 10 × 6 × 2 m room. Calculate the illumination:

At each corner of the room.

At the middle of the 6-m wall.

Solution:

Given data:

Luminous intensity, (I) = 600 cd.

Room area = 10 × 6 × 2 m.

From the Fig. P.6.4:

∴ The illumination at the corner ‘B':

Fig. P.6.4

2. From Fig. P.6.5:

Fig. P.6.5

The illumintaion at the point ‘P’,

Example 6.9: The candle power of a source is 200 candela in all directions below the
lamp. The mounting height of the lamp is 6 m. Find the illumination:

Just below the lamp.

3 m horizontally away from the lamp on the ground.
The total luminous flux in an area of 1.5-m diameter around the lamp on the ground.

Solution:

The candle power of the source, I = 200 candela.

Mounting height (h) = 6 m.

The illumination just below the lamp, i.e., at point 'A':

2. From Fig. P.6.6:

Fig. P.6.6
The illumination 3 m away from the lamp on the ground, i.e., at point ‘B’ (Fig.
P.6.7):

Fig. P.6.7

3.

The total flux reaching the area around the lamp:

EA × surface area

5.55 × 1.767

9.80 lumens.

Example 6.10: Two sources of candle power or luminous intensity 200 candela and
250 candela are mounted at 8 and 10 m, respectively. The horizontal distance between
the lamp posts is 40 m, calculate the illumination in the middle of the posts.
Solution:

From Fig. P.6.8:

Fig. P.6.8
The illumination at the point ‘P’ due to the source ‘S2’:

The total illumination at ‘P’ due to both the sources S1 and S2 = E1+ E2

0.159 + 0.2235

0.3825 lux.

Example 6.11: Two sources of having luminous intensity 400 candela are hung at a
height of 10 m. The distance between the two lamp posts is 20 m. Find the
illumination (i) beneath the lamp and (ii) in the middle of the posts.

Solution:

Given data:

Luminous intensity = 400 CP.

Mounting height = 10 m.

Distance between the lamp posts = 20 m.

From Fig. P.6.9:

Fig. P.6.9

The illumination at ‘B’ due to ‘S1’:

The illumination at ‘B’ due to ‘S2':

The illumination at ‘P’ due to S1 is:

The illumination at ‘P’ due to S2, ‘E2’ will be same as E1
The illumination at ‘P’ due to both S1 and S2:

El+ E2 = El+ El
2E1 = 2 × 1.414
2.828 lux.

Example 6.12: In a street lighting, two lamps are having luminous intensity of 300
candela, which are mounted at a height of 6 and 10 m. The distance between lamp
posts is 12 m. Find the illumination, just below the two lamps.

Solution:

The illumination at ‘B’ = the illumination due to L1 + the illumination due to L2. FormFig.
P.6.10:

Fig. P.6.10
∴ The total illumination at ‘B’ due to the two lamps = 0.745 + 3 = 3.745 lux.
The illumination at ‘A’ = the illumination due to L1+ the illumination due to L2.

The total illumination at ‘A' due to both lamps = 0.786 + 8.33 = 9.116 lux.

Example 6.13: Four lamps 15 m apart are arranged to illuminate a corridor. Each lamp is
suspended at a height of 8 m above the floor level. Each lamp gives 450 CP in all directions
below the horizontal; find the illumination at the second and the third lamp.

Solution:

Given data:

Luminous intensity = 450 CP.

Mounting height = 8 m.

Distance between the adjacent lamps = 15 m (Fig. P.6.11).

Fig. P.6.11

The illumination at ‘P’ = the illumination due to L1 + the illumination due to L2

the illumination due to L3 + the illumination due to L4.

The illumination at ‘P’ due to lamp ‘L2’ is:

Similarly, the illumination at ‘P’ due to the lamp L3 ‘E3’ = the illumination at ‘P’ due to
the

lamp ‘L2’, ‘E2’,

and the illumination at ‘P’ due to the lamp L4, ‘E4’ = illumination at ‘P’ due to the lamp

‘L1’, ‘E1.'
The total illumination at ‘P = E1+ E2 + E3+ E4

2El + 2E2

2(E1+ E2)

2 (0.73 + 2.73)

6.92 lux.

Example 6.15: Two lamps of each 500 CP are suspended 10 m from the ground and
are separated by a distance of 20 m apart. Find the intensity of illumination at a point
on the ground in line with the lamps and 12 m from the base on both sides of the lamps.

Solution:

Given data:

Luminous intensity, I = 500 CP.

Mounting height, h= 10 m.

Case (i):
From Fig. P.6.14:

Fig. P.6.14

Fig. P.6.15
The illumination at ‘P’ due to lamp L1 is:

The illumination at ‘P’ due to lamp L2 is:

The total illumination at the point ‘P’ = E1 + E2

1.3115 + 2.378

3.689 lux.

Case (ii):

From Fig. P.6.15:

The illumination at ‘P’ due to lamp L1 is:

The illumination at ‘P’ due to the lamp ‘L2’ is:

The total illumination at ‘P’ due to both lamps = E1+ E2

1.3115 + 0.1326

1.44 lux.
Example 6.16: Two similar lamps having luminous intensity 500 CP in all directions
below horizontal are mounted at a height of 8 m. What must be the spacing between the
lamps so that the illumination on the ground midway between the lamps shall be at least
one-half of the illumination directly below the lamp.

Solution:

Given data:

The candle power of lamp, I = 600 CP.

The mounting height of lamps form the ground, H = 8 m.

Let, the maximum spacing between the lamps =x m.

From Fig. P.6.16:

Fig. P.6.16

The illumination at ‘C’ due to the lamp ‘L1’ is:

The illumination ‘E2’ at ‘C’ due to the lamp ‘L2’ is same as to ‘E1’.
The total illumination at ‘C' due to the lamps, L1 and L2 is:

The illumination just below the lamp, L2 is:

EB = the illumination due to lamp L1 + the illumination due to lamp L2:

Example 6.17: Find the height at which a light source having uniform spherical
distribution should be placed over a floor in order that the intensity of horizontal
illumination at a given distance from its vertical line may be greatest.

Solution:

Let the luminous intensity of the lamp = ‘I’ CP.

The illumination at the point 'A’ due to source is:

But, from Fig. P.6.17:

Fig. P.6.17

Given that, the illumination at a point away from the base of lamp may be the greatest:

∴ h = 0.707x.

Example 6.18: A lamp of 250 candela is placed 2 m below a plane mirror that reflects
60% of light falling on it. The lamp is hung at 6 m above ground. Find the illumination
at a point on the ground 8 m away from the point vertically below the lamp.
Solution:

Figure P.6.18 shows the lamp and the mirror arrangements. Here, the lamp ‘L’
produces an image ‘L’, then the height of the image from the ground = 8 + 2 = 10 m.

Fig. P.6.18

And L1 acts as the secondary sources of light whose candle power is equals to 0.85 ×

CP of the lamp ‘L’.

i.e., 0.85 × 250 = 212.5 CP.

The illumination at the point ‘B’, ‘8’ m away from the lamp = illumination at ‘B’

due to L + the illumination at ‘B’ due to L1:

Example 6.19: A light source with an intensity uniform in all direction is mounted at
a height of 20 ms above a horizontal surface. Two points 'A' and ‘B’ both lie on the
surface with point A directly beneath the source. How far is B from A if the
illumination at ‘B’ is only 1/15th as great as A?

Solution:

Let the luminous intensity of the lamp ‘L’ be ‘I’ candela and the distance of the point of
illumination from the base of the lamp is ‘x’ m (Fig. P.6.19).

Fig. P.6.19

The illumination at the point 'A' due to the lamp ‘L’ is:
The illumination at the point 'B' due to the lamp ‘L’ is:

Example 6.20: Two similar lamps having uniform intensity 500 CP in all directions
below the horizontal are mounted at a height of 4 m. What must be the maximum
spacing between the lamps so that the illumination on the ground midway between
the lamps shall be at least one-half the illuminations directly under the lamps?

Solution:

The candle power of the lamp = 500 CP (Fig. P.6.20).

Fig. P.6.20

The height of the lamps from the ground, h = 4 m.

Let the maximum spacing between the lamps be of ‘d’ meters.

The illumination at the point ‘C’ in between the lamp post

= 2 × Illumination due to either L1 or L2

The illumination just below the lamp L2 is:

EB = the illumination due to the lamp L1 + the illumination due to the lamp L2
Given:

d = 9.56 m.

Example 6.21: A lamp with a reflector is mounted 10 m above the center of a circular area
of 30-m diameter. If the combination of lamp and reflector gives a uniform CP of 1,200 over
circular area, determine the maximum and minimum illumination produced.

Solution:

The mounting height of the lamp h = 10 m (Fig. P.6.21, P.6.22).

Fig. P.6.21

Fig. P.6.22

The diameter of the circular area = 30 m.

The candle power of the lamp I = 1,200 CP.

The maximum illumination occur just directly below the lamp, i.e., at point ‘C’ is:

Minimum Illumination will occur at the periphery of the circular area, i.e., at A (or) B.
Example 6.22: Two lamps hung at a height of 12 m from the floor level. The distance
between the lamps is 8 m. Lamp one is of 250 CP. If the illumination on the floor
vertically below this lamp is 40 lux, find the CP of the second lamp.

Solution:

Given data:

The candle power of the lamp, I = 250 CP.

The intensity of L1 illumination just below the lamp L1 = 40 lux.

Let CP of L2 = ICP.
The illumination at the point A = the illumination due to the lamp L1 +the illumination due to the lamp L2:

POLAR CURVES

The luminous flux emitted by a source can be determined using the intensity
distribution curve. Till now we assumed that the luminous intensity or the candle power
from a source is distributed uniformly over the surrounding surface. But due to its s not
uniform in all directions. The luminous intensity or the distribution of the light can
be represented with the help of the polar curves.

The polar curves are drawn by taking luminous intensities in various directions at an
equal angular displacement in the sphere. A radial ordinate pointing in any particular
direction on a polar curve represents the luminous intensity of the source when it is
viewed from that direction. Accordingly, there are two different types of polar curves
and they are:

A curve is plotted between the candle power and the angular position, if the luminous
intensity, i.e., candle power is measured in the horizontal plane about the vertical axis, called
'horizontal polar curve’.

curve is plotted between the candle power, if it is measured in the vertical plane and the
angular position is known as 'verticalpolar curve’.

Figure 6.12 shows the typical polar curves for an ordinary lamp.

Fig Polar curves

Depression at 180° in the vertical polar curve is due to the lamp holder. Slight
depression at 0° in horizontal polar curve is because of coiled coil filament.

Polar curves are used to determine the actual illumination of a surface by employing the
candle power in that particular direction as read from the vertical polar curve. These are
also used to determine mean horizontal candle power (MHCP) and mean spherical
candle power (MSCP).
The mean horizontal candle power of a lamp can be determined from the
horizontal polar curve by considering the mean value of all the candle powers in a
horizontal direction.

The mean spherical candle power of a symmetrical source of a light can be found
out from the polar curve by means of a Rousseau's construction.

Rousseau's construction

Let us consider a vertical polar curve is in the form of two lobes symmetrical
about XOX1 axis. A simple Rousseau's curve is shown in Fig. 6.13.

Fig. 6.13 Rousseau's curve

Rules for constructing the Rousseau's curve are as follows:

Draw a circle with any convenient radius and with ‘O’ as center.
Draw a line 'AF’ parallel to the axis XOX1 and is equal to the diameter of the circle.
Draw any line ‘OPQ' in such a way that the line meeting the circle at point ‘Q’. Now let
the projection be ‘R’ onto the parallel line 'AF’.
Erect an ordinate at ‘R’ as, RB = OP.
Now from this line 'AF' ordinate equals to the corresponding radius on the polar curve
are setup such as SC = OM, TD = ON, and so on.
The curve ABC DEFA so obtained by joining these ordinates is known as Rousseau's curve.

The mean ordinate of this curve gives the mean spherical candle power (MSCP) of
the lamp having polar curve given in Fig. 6.13.
The mean ordinate of the curve:

The area under the Rousseau's curve can be determined by Simpson's rule.

PHOTOMETRY

Photometry involves the measurement of candle power or luminous intensity of a given

source. Now, we shall discuss the comparison and measurement of the candle powers.

The candle power of a given source in a particular direction can be measured by the
comparison with a standard or substandard source. In order to eliminate the errors
due to the reflected light, the experiment is conducted in a dark room with dead black
walls and ceiling. The comparison of the test lamp with the standard lamp can be done
by employing a photometer bench and some form of photometer.

Principle of simple photometer

The photometer bench essentially consists of two steel rods with 2- to 3-m long. This
bench carries stands or saddles for holding two sources (test and standard lamps), the
carriage for the photometer head and any other apparatus employed in making
measurements. Graduated scale in centimeters or millimeters in one of the bar strips.
The circular table is provided with a large graduated scale in degrees round its edge
so that the angle of the rotation of lamp from the axis of bench can be measured.

The photometer bench should be rigid so that the source being compared may be free
from vibration. The photometer head should be capable of moving smoothly and the
photometer head acts as screen for the comparison of the illumination of the
standard lamp and the test lamp.

The principle methods of measurement are based upon the inverse square law.

The photometer bench consists of two sources, the standard source ‘S’ whose candle
power is known and the other source ‘T’ whose candle power is to be determined.
The photometer head acts as screen is moved in between the two fixed sources until
the illumination on both the sides of screen is same. A simple arrangement for the
measurement of the candle power of the test source is shown in Fig. 6.14.
Fig. Measurement of candle power

If the distances of the standard source ‘S’ and the test source ‘T’ from the photometer head
are L1 and L2, respectively, then, according to the inverse square law, if the illumination on
both the sides of screen are equal then the candle power of the source is proportional to the
square of the distance between the source and the photometer head.
The CP of standard source ∝ L12.
The CP of test source ∝ L22.

In order to obtain the accurate candle power of test source, the distance of the sources
from the photometer head should be measured accurately.

Photometer heads

The photometer heads that are most common in use are:

Bunsen grease spot photometer.

Lumer–Brodhun photometer.
Flicker photometer.
The first two are best suited for use, if the two sources to be compared give the light
of same or approximately similar colors. Increase the light from the two sources to be
compared differ in color, a flicker photometer is best suited.

(i) Bunsen grease spot photometer

Bunsen photometer consists of a tissue paper, with a spot of grease or wax at its center.
It held vertically in a carrier between the two light sources to be compared. The central
spot will appear dark on the side, having illumination in excess when seen from the
other side. Then, the observer will adjust the position of photometer head in such a way
that until the semitransparent spot and the opaque parts of the paper are equally bright
then the grease spot is invisible, i.e., same contrast in brightness is got between the
spot and the disc when seen from each sides as shown in Fig. 6.15. The distance of the
photometer from the two sources is measured. Hence, the candle power of test source
is then determined by using relation:

Fig. Bunsen grease spot photometer

The use of two reflecting mirrors above the photometer head makes it perhaps the
accurate method, since the two sides of spot and position of the head can be
viewed simultaneously.

(ii) Lumer-Brodhun photometer

There are two types of Lumen–Brodhun photometer heads.

 Equality of brightness type.
Contrast type.

The Contrast type is more accurate and therefore, extensively used in the photometric
measurements.

(a) Equality of brightness type photometer head

The photometer head essentially consists of screen made of plaster of Paris,

two mirrorsM1and M2, glass cube or compound prism, and a telescope.

The compound prism made up of two right-angled glass prisms held together, one of
which has sand blasted pattern on its face, i.e., principal surface as spherical with
small flat portion at the center and the other is perfectly plain. A typical Lumer–
Brodhun photometer head is shown in Fig. 6.16.

Fig. 6.16 Lumer–Brodhun photometer (equality of brightness)

The two sides of the screen are illuminated by two sources such as the standard and
test lamps as shown in Fig. 6.16. The luminous flux lines emitting from the two sources
are falling on the screen directly and reflected by it onto the mirrors M1 and M2, which in
turn reflects the same onto the compound prism.

The light ray reflected by M1 is passing through the plain prism and the light ray reflected
byM2 is falling on the spherical surface of the other prism and is reflected again which pass
through the telescope. Thus, observer view the center portion of the circular
area illuminated by the test lamp and the outer ring is illuminated by the standard
lamp. The positioning of the photometer head is adjusted in such away that the dividing
line between the center portion and the surrounding disappears. The disappearance of
dividing line indicates the same type of color of the test lamp and the standard lamp.

Now, the distance of photometer head from the two sources are measured and the
candle power or luminous intensity of test lamp can be calculated by using inverse
square law.

(b) Contrast type photometer head

Similar to the equal brightness type photometer, it consists of a compound prism,

which is made up of two right-angled glass prism. The joining surfaces of the two right-
angled glass prisms are flat, but one of the prism has its hypotenuses surface etched
away at A,B, and C to get pattern of the type shown in Fig. 6.17.

Fig. 6.17 Lumen–Brodhun photometer head (Contrast type)

As in case of equal brightness type, the light falling on the both sides of the screen passes
through the unetched portion of the joining surface and gets reflected at the etched
surfaces (A, B, and C). P and Q are the sheets of glass that give little reflected light to
maintain the difference between the illuminations of both the etched and the unetched
portions. If the illumination of the surfaces of the prism is different, then the etched
portion will have difference in illumination as compared to unetched portion.
If the balance is got, the difference in illuminations of both etched and unetched
portions are same and equal to half of the circular area; then, the photometer head is
said to be in a balance position. When the balance position is altered, the difference
or the contrast in the illumination of area ‘ C’ and its surrounding area decreases. In
addition, the contrast illumination area AB and the inner trapezium will increase.
Generally, in balanced position, the contrast is about 8%. The position of photometer
head is adjusted in such a way that the equal contrast is obtained between the etched
and the unetched portions. This contrast type of the head gives accuracy within 1%.

(iii) Flicker photometer

The flicker photometers are employed when two sources giving light of different colors
to be compared. The color contrast between two lights do not affect their working is the
unit feature of the flicker photometer. This is because the color contrast between the
two alternating fields of the light disappears at a lower speed of alternation than does a
contrast of brightness.

A typically used flicker photometer is a Simmance–Abady flicker photometer, where

used rotating disc made up of plaster of Paris. The dick is in the form of a double-
truncated cone as shown in Fig. 6.18. The truncated portions of cone are fitted together
to form the disc. The disc is continuously rotated at the required minimum speed by
small motor in between the two sources to be compared. Each half of the disc is
illuminated from one source and the eye is presented with the two fields of the light to
be compared alternately. When the two halves are having unequal illuminations a
flicker appears. Now, the disc is rotated to that position where the flicker disappears.
When the two halves of the disc are illuminated equally and then the candle power of
the test source can be calculated by measuring the distances of the disc from the two
sources in the usual manner.

Fig. 6.18 Flicker photometer

 Discharge lamps

In this method, the application of suitable voltage, known as ignition voltage, across the
two electrodes results in a discharge through the gas, this is accompanied by
electromagnetic radiation.

Here, candle power, i.e., the color intensity of the light emitted depends upon the nature
of the gas. These sources do not depend on the temperature for higher efficiencies.

Ex: Neon lamp, sodium vapor lamp, mercury vapor lamp, and florescent lamp.

SHORT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is light?

It is defined as the radiant energy from a hot body that produces the visual sensation
upon the human eye. It is expressed in lumen-hours and it analogous to watt-hours,
which denoted by the symbol ‘Q’.
Write the expression that shows the relation between solid angle and plane angle.

States the inverse square law of illumination.

This law states that ‘the illumination of a surface is inversely proportional to the
square of distance between the surface and a point source’.
4. States the Lambert's cosine law of illumination.

This law states that ‘illumination, E at any pint on a surface is directly

proportional to the cosine of the angle between the normal at that point and the
line of flux’.
Define the MSCP.

It is defined as the mean of the candle power of the source in all directions in
horizontal plane.
6. Define the MHCP.

It is defined as the mean of the candle power of the source in all directions in all
planes.
Define the MHSCP.

It is defined as the mean of the candle power of the source in all directions above
or below the horizontal plane.
8. What is the need of polar curves?
The luminous flux emitted by a source can be determined from the intensity
distribution curve. But the luminous intensity or the candle power of any practical
lamp is not uniform in all directions due to its unsymmetrical shape. The luminous
intensity or the distribution of such sources can be determined by polar curves.
9. List out the types of photometers used for the photometric measurements.

The photometer heads that are most common in use are:

Bunsen grease spot photometer.

Lumer–Brodhun photometer.
Flicker photometer.

What is photometry?

Photometry means the measurement of the candle power or the luminous

intensity of a given source. The candle power of any test source is measured with
the comparison of a standard source.
List out the various photocells used for photometric measurements.
Generally used photocells for photometric measurements are:

photo voltaic cell and

photo emissive cell.

The photo voltaic cell is most widely used one because of its simplicity and
associated circuits.
Define plane angle.

A plane angle is the angle subtended at a point in a plane by two converging lines.
It is denoted by the Greek letter 'θ' (theta) and is usually measured in degrees or
radians.

Define solid angle.

Solid angle is the angle subtended at a point in space by an area, i.e., the angle
enclosed in the volume formed by numerous lines lying on the surface and meeting
at the point. It is usually denoted by symbol ‘ω’, and is measured in steradian.

Define luminous flux.

It is defined as the energy in the form of light waves radiated per second from a
luminous body. It is represented by the symbol ‘φ’ and measured in lumens.
Define luminous intensity.

Luminous intensity in a given dissection is defined as the luminous flux

emitted by the source per unit solid angle.

Define illumination.

Illumination is defined as the luminous flux received by the surface per unit
area.

Define lamp efficiency.

It is defined as the ratio of total luminous flux emitting from the source to its
electrical power input in watts.
 UNIT 2
Various Illumination Methods

INTRODUCTION

Light plays major role in human life. Natural light restricted for some duration in a day, it is very
difficult to do any work by human being without light. So, it is necessary to have substitute for
natural light. Light from incandescent bodies produced electrically, which playing important role
in everyday life due to its controlled output, reliability, and cleanliness nowadays; various
sources are producing artificial light. Each source has its own characteristics and specific
importance.

TYPES OF SOURCES OF ILLUMINATION

Usually in a broad sense, based upon the way of producing the light by electricity, the sources
of light are classified into following four types.

Electric arc lamps

The ionization of air present between the two electrodes produces an arc and provides
intense light.

Incandescent lamps

When the filaments of these lamps are heated to high temperature, they emit light that falls in the
visible region of wavelength. Tungsten-filament lamps are operating on this principle.

Gaseous discharge lamps

When an electric current is made to pass through a gas or metal vapor, it produces visible
radiation by discharge takes place in the gas vapor. Sodium and mercury vapor lamps operate on
this principle.

Fluorescent lamps

Certain materials like phosphor powders exposed to ultraviolet rays emits the absorbed
energy into visible radiations fall in the visible range of wavelength. This principle is
employed in fluorescent lamps.
 ARC LAMPS

In arc lamps, the electrodes are in contact with each other and are separated by some distance
apart; the electric current is made to flow through these two electrodes. The discharge is
allowed to take place in the atmosphere where there are the production of a very intense light
and a considerable amount of UV radiation, when an arc is struck between two electrodes.

The arcs maintain current and is very efficient source of light. They are used in search lights,
projection lamps, and other special purpose lamps such as those in flash cameras.

Generally, used arc lamps are:

carbon arc lamp,

flame arc lamp, and
magnetic arc lamp.

Carbon arc lamp

Carbon arc lamp consists of two hard rod-type electrodes made up of carbon. Two electrodes
are placed end to end and are connected to the DC supply. The positive electrode is of a large
size than that of the negative electrode. The carbon electrodes used with AC supply are of the
same size as that of the DC supply. The DC supply across the two electrodes must not be less
than 45 V. When electric current passes through the electrodes are in contact and then
withdrawn apart about 2–3 mm an arc is established between the two rods.

The two edges of the rods becomes incandescence due to the high resistance offered by rods as
shown in Fig. 7.1 by transfer of carbon particles from one rod to the other. It is observed that
carbon particles transfer from the positive rod to the negative one. So that the positive electrode
gets consumed earlier than the negative electrode. Hence, the positive electrode is of twice the
diameter than that of the negative electrode.

Fig Carbon arc lamp

 In case of AC supply, the rate of consumption of the two electrodes is same; therefore, the
cross-section of the two electrodes is same. A resistance ‘R’ is connected in series with the
electrode for stabilizing the arc. As current increases, the vaporizing rate of carbon increases,
which decreases the resistance so much, then voltage drop across the arc decreases. So, to
maintain the arc between the two electrodes, series resistance should be necessarily connected.

For maintaining the arc, the necessary voltage required is:

V = (39 + 2.8 l ) V,

where l is the length of the arc. The voltage drop across the arc is 60 V, the temperature of the
positive electrode is 3,500 – 4,200°C, and the temperature of the negative electrode is 2,500°C.
The luminous efficiency of such lamps is 9–12 lumens/W. This low luminous efficiency is due to
the service resistance provided in DC supply while in case of AC supply, an inductor is used in
place of a resistor. In carbon arc lamps, 85% of the light is given out by the positive electrode,
10% of the light is given out by the negative electrodes, and 5% of the light is given out by the
air.

Flame arc lamp

The electrodes used in flame arc lamp are made up of 85% of carbon and 15% of fluoride. This
fluoride is also known as flame material; it has the efficient property that radiates light energy
from high heated arc stream. Generally, the core type electrodes are used and the cavities are
filled with fluoride. The principle of operation of the flame arc lamp is similar to the carbon arc
lamp. When the arc is established between the electrodes, both fluoride and carbon get vaporized
and give out very high luminous intensities. The color output of the flame arc lamps depends
upon the flame materials. The luminous efficiency of such lamp is 8 lumens/W. A simple flame
arc lamp is shown in Fig. 7.2. Resistance is connected in service with the electrodes to stabilize
the arc.
Fig. 7.2 Flame arc lamp

Magnetic arc lamp

The principle of the operation of the magnetic arc lamp is similar to the carbon arc lamp. This
lamp consists of positive electrode that is made up of copper and negative electrode that is
made up of magnetic oxide of iron. Light energy radiated out when the arc is struck between the
two electrodes. These are rarely used lamps.

INCANDESCENT LAMP

These lamps are temperature-dependent sources. When electric current is made to flow through
a fine metallic wire, which is known as filament, its temperature increases. At low temperatures,
it emits only heat energy, but at very high temperature, the metallic wire emits both heat and
light energy. These incandescent lamps are also known as temperature radiators.

Choice of material for filament

The materials commonly used as filament for incandescent lamps are carbon, tantalum,
tungsten, and osmium.

The materials used for the filament of the incandescent lamp have the following properties.

 The melting point of the filament material should be high

 The temperature coefficient of the material should be low.
 It should be high resistive material.
 The material should possess good mechanical strength to withstand vibrations. The material
should be ductile.

7.4.2 Comparisons of carbon, osmium, tantalum, and tungsten used

for making the filament

Carbon

 Carbon has high melting point of 3,500°C; even though, its melting point is high, carbon starts
disintegration at very fast rate beyond its working temperature of 1,800°C.
 Its resistance decreases with increase in temperature, i.e., its temperature coefficient of
resistivity is negative, so that it draws more current from the supply. The temperature
coefficient (α) is –0.0002 to – 0.0008.
  The efficiency of carbon filament lamp is low; because of its low operating temperature, large
electrical input is required. The commercial efficiency of carbon lamp is 3 – 4.5 lumens/W
approximately.
 Carbon has high resistivity (ρ), which is about 1,000–7,000 μΩ-cm and its density is 1.7–3.5.

Osmium

 The melting point of osmium is 2,600°C.

 It is very rare and expensive metal.
 The average efficiency of osmium lamp is 5 lumens/W.

Tantalum

 The melting point of tantalum is 3,000°C.

 Resistivity (ρ) is 12.5 μΩ-cm.
 The main drawback of the negative temperature coefficient of carbon is overcome in tantalum.
 It has positive temperature coefficient (α) and its value is 0.0036.
 The density of tantalum is 16.6.
 The efficiency of tantalum lamp is 2 lumens/W.

Tungsten

 The working temperature of tungsten is 2,500–3,000°C.

 Its resistance at working temperature is about 12–15 times the cold resistance.
 It has positive temperature coefficient of resistance of 0.0045.
 Its resistivity is 5.6 12.5 μΩ-
cm. The density of tungsten
is 19.3.
 The efficiency of tantalum when working at 2,000°C is 18 lumens/W.
 Its vapour pressure is low when compared to carbon.

In fact, the carbon lamp is the first lamp introduced by Thomas Alva Edison in 1879, owing to
two drawbacks, tungsten radiates more energy in visible spectrum and somewhat less in
infrared spectrum so that there was a switch over in infrared spectrum so that there was a switch
over from carbon filament to tungsten filament. Nowadays, tungsten filament lamps are widely
used incandescent lamps.

The chemically pure tungsten is very strong and fragile. In order to make it into ductile,
tungsten oxide is first reduced in the form of gray power in the atmosphere of hydrogen and
this powder is pressed in steel mold for small bars; the mechanical strength of these bars can be
improved by heating them to their melting point and then hammered at red-hot position and re-
rolled into wires.
 Construction

Figure 7.3 shows the construction of the pure tungsten filament incandescent lamp. It consists
of an evacuated glass bulb and an aluminum or brass cap is provided with two pins to insert the
bulb into the socket. The inner side of the bulb consists of a tungsten filament and the support
wires are made of molybdenum to hold the filament in proper position. A glass button is
provided in which the support wires are inserted. A stem tube forms an air-tight seal around the
filament whenever the glass is melted.

Fig. 7.3 Incandescent lamp

Operation

When electric current is made to flow through the fine metallic tungsten filament, its temperature
increases. At very high temperature, the filament emits both heat and light radiations, which fall in
the visible region. The maximum temperature at which the filament can be worked without
oxidization is 2,000°C, i.e., beyond this temperature, the tungsten filament blackens the inside of the
bulb. The tungsten filament lamps can be operated efficiently beyond 2,000°C, it can be attained by
inserting a small quantity of inert gas nitrogen with small quantity of organ. But if gas is inserted
instead of vacuum in the inner side of the bulb, the heat of the lamp is conducted away and it reduces
the efficiency of the lamp. To reduce this loss of heat by conduction and convection, as far as
possible, the filament should be so wound that it takes very little space. This is achieved by using a
single-coil filament instead of a straight wire filament as shown in Fig.
7.4(a). This single-coil filament is used in vacuum bulbs up to 25 W and gas filled bulbs from
300 to 1,000 W.

Fig. 7.4 Various filaments used in incandescent lamps

On further development of the incandescent lamps, the shortening of the length of the filament
was achieved by adopting a coiled coil or a double coil filament as shown in Fig. 7.4(b). The use of
coiled coil filament not only improves the efficiency of the lamp but also reduces the number of
filament supports and thus simplified interior construction because the double coil reduces the
filament mounting length in the ratio of 1:25 as compared to the straight wire filaments.

Usually, the tungsten filament lamp suffers from ‘aging effect’, the output of the light an
incandescent lamp decreases as the lamp ages. The output of the light of the lamp decreases due
to two reasons.

At very high temperature, the vaporization of filament decreases the coil diameter so that
resistance of the filament increases and hence its draws less current from the supply, so the
temperature of the filament and the light output of the bulb decrease.
The current drawn from the mains and the power consumed by the filament decrease, which
decrease the efficiency of the lamp with the passage of time. In addition, the evaporation of
the filament at high temperature blackens the inside of the bulb.

The effects of voltage variations

The variations in normal supply voltages will affect the operating characteristics of incandescent
lamps. The performance characteristic of an incandescent lamp, when it is subjected to voltage
other than normal voltage, is shown in figure.
Fig Performance characteristics of incandescent lamp

With an increase in the voltage owing to the increase in the temperature, the luminous output of
the incandescent lamps, and the efficiency and power consumption, but its life span decreases.

The depreciation in the light output is around 15% over the useful life of the lamp. The
above-stated factors are related to the variations of voltage are given as:
Lumens output ∝ (voltage)3.55.

Power consumption ∝ (voltage)1.55.

Luminous efficiency ∝ (voltage)2.

Life ∝ (voltage)–13 (for vacuum lamps).

Life ∝ (voltage)–14 (for gas filled lamps).

The advantages of the incandescent lamps

 These lamps are available in various shapes and sizes.

 These are operating at unity power factor.
 These lamps are not affected by surrounding air temperature.
 Different coloured light output can be obtained by using different coloured glasses.

Filament dimensions

Let us consider a lamp, which is connected to the mains, is given the steady light output, i.e.,
whatever the heat produced, it is dissipated and the filament temperature is not going to be
increase further. It is found to be the existence of a definite relation between the diameter of a
given filament and the current through it.

The input wattage to the lamp is expressed as:

where I is the current taken by the lamp A, a is the filament cross-section, sq. m, ρ is the
resistivity of the filament at working temperature Ω-m, l is the length of the filament m, and d
is the diameter of the filament.

Let the emissivity of the material be ‘e’. Total heat dissipated will depend upon the
surface area and the emissivity of the material
Heat dissipated ∝ surface area × emissivity:

At the steady state condition, the power input should be equal to the heat dissipated.
From Equations (7.1) and (7.2), we can write that:
 If two filaments are made up of same material, working at same temperature and
efficiency but with different diameters, then from Equation (7.3):

If two filaments are working at the same temperature, then their luminous output must be same
even though their lengths are different.

Limitations
The incandescent lamp suffers from the following drawbacks:

Low efficiency.
Colored light can be obtained by using different colored glass enclosures only.

DISCHARGE LAMPS

Discharge lamps have been developed to overcome the drawbacks of the incandescent lamp. The
main principle of the operation of light in a gaseous discharge lamp is illustrated as below.

In all discharge lamps, an electric current is made to pass through a gas or vapor, which
produces its illuminance. Normally, at high pressures and atmospheric conditions, all the gases
are poor conductors of electricity. But on application of sufficient voltage across the two
electrodes, these ionized gases produce electromagnetic radiation. In the process of producing
light by gaseous conduction, the most commonly used elements are neon, sodium, and mercury.
The wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation depends upon the nature of gas and the gaseous
pressure used inside the lamp. A simple discharge lamp is shown in Fig. 7.6.
Fig. Discharge lamps

The production of light in the gaseous discharge lamps is based on the phenomenon of
excitation and ionization of gas or metal vapor present between the two electrodes of a discharge
tube.

When the potential between the two electrodes is equals to ionizing potential, gas or metal
vapor starts ionizing and an arc is established between the two electrodes. Volt–ampere
characteristics of the arc is negative, i.e., gaseous discharge lamp possess a negative
resistance characteristics. A choke or ballast is provided to limit high currents to a safe value.
Here, the choke serves two functions.

 It provides ignition voltage initially.

 Limits high currents.

The use of choke will reduce the power factor (0.3–0.4) of all the gaseous lamps so that all the
discharge lamps should be provided with a condenser to improve the power factor. The nature
of the gas and vapor used in the lamp will affect the color affected of light.

Types of discharge lamps

Generally used discharge lamps are of two types. They are:

The lamps that emit light of the color produced by discharge takes place through the gas or vapor
present in the discharge tube such as neon gas, sodium vapor, mercury vapor, etc.

Ex: Neon gas, sodium vapor lamp, and mercury vapor lamp.
The lamp that emits light of color depends upon the type of phosphor material coated inside the walls
of the discharge tube. Initially, the discharge takes place through the vapor produces UV
radiation, then the invisible UV rays absorbed by the phosphors and radiates light energy falls in
the visible region. This UV light causes fluorescence in certain phosphor materials, such lamps
are known as fluorescent lamps.
Ex: Fluorescent mercury vapor tube.

In general, the gaseous discharge lamps are superior to the tungsten filament lamps.

Drawbacks

The discharge lamps suffer from the following drawbacks.

The starting of the discharge lamps requires starters and transformers; therefore, the lamp circuitry
is complex.
High initial cost.
Poor power factor; therefore, the lamps make use of the capacitor.
Time required to give its full output brilliancy is more.
These lamps must be placed in particular position.
These lamps require stabilizing choke to limit current since the lamps have negative resistance
characteristics.

NEON DISCHARGE LAMP

This is a cold cathode lamp, in which no filament is used to heat the electrode for starting.

Neon lamp consists of two electrodes placed at the two ends of a long discharge tube is shown
in Fig. 7.7.
Fig. Neon lamps

The discharge tube is filled with neon gas. A low voltage of 150 V on DC or 110 V on AC is
impressed across the two electrodes; the discharge takes place through the neon gas that emits
light or electro magnetic radiation reddish in color. The sizes of electrodes used are equal for
both AC and DC supplies. On DC, neon glow appear nearer to the negative electrode; therefore,
the negative electrode is made larger in size. Neon lamp electric circuit consists of a
transformer with high leakage reactance in order to stabilize the arc. Capacitor is used to
improve the power factor. Neon lamp efficiency is approximately 15–40 lumens/W. The power
consumption of the neon lamp is 5 W.

If the helium gas is used instead of neon, pinkish white light is obtained. These lamps are
used as night lamps and as indicator lamps and used for the determination of the polarity of DC
mains and for advertising purpose.
SODIUM VAPOR LAMP

A sodium vapor lamp is a cold cathode and low-pressure lamp. A sodium vapor discharge lamp
consists of a U-shaped tube enclosed in a double-walled vacuum flask, to keep the temperature
of the tube within the working region. The inner U-tube consists of two oxide-coated electrodes,
which are sealed with the ends. These electrodes are connected to a pin type base construction of
sodium vapor lamp is shown in Fig.
Fig. Sodium vapor lamp

This sodium vapour lamp is low luminosity lamp, so that the length of the lamp should be
more. In order to get the desired length, it is made in the form of a U-shaped tube. This long
U-tube consists of a small amount of neon gas and metallic sodium. At the time of start, the
neon gas vaporizes and develops sufficient heat to vaporize metallic sodium in the U-shaped
tube.

Working

Initially, the sodium is in the form of a solid, deposited on the walls of inner tube. When
sufficient voltage is impressed across the electrodes, the discharge starts in the inert gas, i.e.,
neon; it operates as a low-pressure neon lamp with pink colour. The temperature of the lamp
increases gradually and the metallic sodium vaporizes and then ionizes thereby producing
the monochromatic yellow light. This lamp takes 10–15 min to give its full light output. The
yellowish output of the lamp makes the object appears grey.

In order to start the lamp, 380 – 450 V of striking voltage required for 40- and 100-W lamps.
These voltages can be obtained from a high reactance transformer or an auto transformer. The
operating power factor of the lamp is very poor, so that a capacitor is placed to improve the
power factor to above 0.8. More care should be taken while replacing the inner tube, if it is
broken, then sodium comes in contact with the moisture; therefore, fire will result. The lamp
must be operated horizontally or nearly so, to spread out the sodium well along the tube.

The efficiency of sodium vapor lamp is lies between 40 and 50 lumens/W. Normally, these
lamps are manufactured in 45-, 60-, 85- and 140-W ratings. The normal operating temperatures
of these lamps are 300°C. In general, the average life of the sodium vapor lamp is 3,000 hr and
such bulbs are not affected by voltage variations.

Following are the causes of failure to operate the lamp, when:

 The cathode fails to emit the
electrons. The filament breaks or
burns out.
 All the particles of sodium are concentrated on one side of the inner tube.
 The life of the lamp increases due to aging.

The average light output of the lamp is reduced by 15% due to aging. These lamps are mainly
used for highway and street lighting, parks, railway yards, general outdoor lighting, etc.

HIGH-PRESSURE MERCURY VAPOUR LAMP

The working of the mercury vapour discharge lamp mainly depends upon the pressure, voltage,
temperature, and other characteristics that influence the spectral quality and the efficiency of
the lamp.

High-pressure mercury vapour lamps are of three types. They are:

MA type: Preferred for 250- and 400-W rating bulbs on 200–250-V AC supply.
MAT type: Preferred for 300- and 500-W rating bulbs on 200–250-V AC supply.
MB type: Preferred for 80- and 125-W rating bulbs and they are working at very high pressures.

MA type lamp

It is a high-pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp that is similar to the construction of

sodium vapor lamp. The construction of MA type lamp is shown in Fig. 7.9
Fig. MA type lamp

MA type lamp consists of a long discharge tube in ‘U’ shape and is made up of hard glass or
quartz. This discharge tube is enclosed in an outer tube of ordinary glass. To prevent the heat
loss from the inner bulb, by convection, the gap between the two tubes is completely
evacuated. The inner tube contains two main electrodes and an auxiliary starting electrode,
which is connected through a high resistance of about 50 kΩ. It also contains a small quantity
of argon gas and mercury. The two main electrodes are tungsten coils coated with electron
emitting material (such as thorium metal).

Working

Initially, the tube is cold and hence the mercury is in condensed form. Initially, when supply
is given to the lamp, argon gas present between the main and the auxiliary electrodes gets
ionized, and an arc is established, and then discharge takes place through argon for few minutes
between the main and the auxiliary electrodes. As a result, discharge takes place through argon
for few minutes in between the main and the auxiliary electrodes. The discharge can be
controlled by using high resistance that is inserted in-series with the auxiliary electrode. After
few minutes, the argon gas, as a whole, gets ionized between the two main electrodes. Hence, the
discharge shifts from the auxiliary electrode to the two main electrodes. During the discharge
process, heat is produced and this heat is sufficient to vaporize the mercury. As a result, the
pressure inside the discharge tube becomes high and the voltage drop across the two main
electrodes will increases from 20 to 150 V. After 5–7 min, the lamp starts and gives its full
output.

Initially, the discharge through the argon is pale blue glow and the discharge through the
mercury vapors is greenish blue light; here, choke is provided to limit high currents and capacitor
is to improve the power factor of the lamp.

If the supply is interrupted, the lamp must cool down and the vapor pressure be reduced before
it will start. It takes approximately 3 – 4 min. The operating temperature of the inner discharge
tube is about 600°C. The efficiency of this type of lamp is 30–40 lumens/W. These lamps are
manufactured in 250 and 400 W ratings for use on 200–250 V on AC supply.

Generally, the MA type lamps are used for general industrial lighting, ports, shopping
centers, railway yards, etc.

MAT type lamp

This is another type of mercury vapor lamp that is manufactured in 300 and 500 W rating for
use on AC as well as DC supplies. The construction of the MAT type lamp is similar to the MA
type lamp except the outer tube being empty; it consists of tungsten filament so that at the time
of starting, it works as a tungsten filament lamp. Here, the filament itself acts as a choke or
ballast to limit the high currents to safer value.

When the supply is switched on, it works as a tungsten filament lamp, its full output is given by
the outer tube. At this time, the temperature of the inner discharge tube increases gradually, the
argon gas present in it starts ionizing in the discharge tube at any particular temperature is attained
then thermal switch gets opened, and the part of the filament is detached and voltage across the
discharge tube increases. Now, the discharge takes place through the mercury vapor. Useful color
effect can be obtained by this lamp. This is because of the combination of light emitted form the
filament and blue radiations from the discharge tube. In this type of lamp, capacitor is not required
since the overall power factor of the lamp is 0.95; this is because the filament itself acts as
resistance. Fig. 7.10 shows the construction of MAT type lamp.
Fig. MAT type lamp

MB type lamp

Schematic representation of MB type lamp is shown in Fig. .

Fig. MB type lamp

 The MB type lamp is also similar to the MA type lamp. The inner discharge tube for the MB
type lamp is about 5 -cm long and is made up of quartz material. It has three electrodes; two main
and one auxiliary electrodes. There are three electrodes present in the MB type lamp, namely two
main electrodes and one auxiliary electrode. Relatively, very high pressure is maintained inside the
discharge tube and it is about 5–10 times greater than atmospheric pressure. The outer tube is made
with pearl glass material so as to withstand high temperatures. We can use these tubes in any
position, because they are made up of special glass material.

The working principle of the MB type lamp is similar to the MA type lamp. These lamps are
manufactured in 300 and 500 W rating for use in AC as well as DC supplies. An MB type
lamp consists a bayonet cap with three pins, so it may not be used in an ordinary sense. A
choke coil and a capacitor are necessary for working with these types of lamps.

FLUORESCENT LAMP (LOW-PRESSURE MERCURY VAPOR LAMP)

Fluorescent lamp is a hot cathode low-pressure mercury vapor lamp; the construction and
working of the fluorescent lamp are explained as follows.

Construction

It consists of a long horizontal tube, due to low pressure maintained inside of the bulb; it is made
in the form of a long tube.

The tube consists of two spiral tungsten electrode coated with electron emissive material and
are placed at the two edges of long tube. The tube contains small quantity of argon gas and
certain amount of mercury, at a pressure of 2.5 mm of mercury. The construction of fluorescent
lamp is shown in Fig. 7.12. Normally, low-pressure mercury vapor lamps suffer from low
efficiency and they produce an objectionable colored light. Such drawback is overcome by
coating the inside of the tube with fluorescent powders. They are in the form of solids, which are
usually knows as phosphors.
Fig. Fluorescent lamp

A glow starter switch contains small quantity of argon gas, having a small cathode glow lamp
with bimetallic strip is connected in series with the electrodes, which puts the electrodes directly
across the supply at the time of starting. A choke is connected in series that acts as ballast when
the lamp is running, and it provides a voltage impulse for starting. A capacitor of 4μF is
connected across the starter in order to improve the power factor.

Working

At the time of starting, when both the lamp and the glow starters are cold, the mercury is in the
form of globules. When supply is switched on, the glow starter terminals are open circuited and
full supply voltage appeared across these terminals, due to low resistance of electrodes and
choke coil. The small quantity of argon gas gets ionized, which establishes an arc with a starting
glow. This glow warms up the bimetallic strip thus glow starts gets short circuited. Hence, the
two electrodes come in series and are connected across the supply voltage. Now, the two
electrodes get heated and start emitting electrons due to the flow of current through them. These
electrons collide with the argon atoms present in the long tube discharge that takes place through
the argon gas. So, in the beginning, the lamp starts conduction with argon gas as the temperature
increases, the mercury changes into vapor form and takes over the conduction of current.

In the mean time, the starter potential reaches to zero and the bimetallic strip gets cooling
down. As a result, the starter terminals will open. This results breaking of the series circuit. A
very high voltage around 1,000 V is induced, because of the sudden opening of starter
terminals in the series circuit. But in the long tube, electrons are already present; this
induced voltage is quite sufficient to break down the long gap. Thus, more number of
electrons collide with argon and mercury vapor atoms. The excited atom of mercury gives
UV radiation, which will not fall in the visible region.

Meanwhile, these UV rays are made to strike phosphor material; it causes the re-
emission of light of different wavelengths producing illumination. The phenomenon of the
emission is called as luminescence.

This luminescence is classified into two ways. They are:

Fluorescence: In this case, the excitation presents for the excited periods only.
Phosphorescence: In this case, even after the exciting source is removed, the excitation will
present.

In a lamp, the re-emission of light causes fluorescence, then such lamp is known
asfluorescent lamp.

Depending upon the type of phosphor material used, we get light of different colors as
given in Table. .

Table Colors of light

Phosphor material Color effect

1. Zinc silicate Green

2. Calcium tungstate Green

3. Magnesium tungstate Bluish while

4. Cadmium silicate Yellowish pink

5. Zinc beryllium silicate Yellowish while

6. Cadmium borate Pink

 Advantages of fluorescent lamp

The fluorescent lamp has the following advantages:

 High efficiency.
 The life of the lamp is three times of the ordinary filament lamp.
 The quality of the light obtained is much superior.
 Less chances of glare.
 These lamps can be mounted on low ceiling, where other light sources would be unsatisfactory.

Although the fluorescent lamp has the above advantages, it sufferers form the
following disadvantages:

 The initial cost is high because of choke and starter.

 The starting time as well as the light output of the lamp will increases because of low ambient
 temperature.
 Because of the presence of choke, these lamps suffer from magnetic humming and may cause
disturbance.
 The stroboscopic effect of this lamp is objectionable.

Stroboscopic effect

We all know that because of ‘the alternating nature of supply, it crosses zero two times in a
cycle’. For 50-Hz frequency supply of the alternating current, a discharge lamp will be
extinguished twice in a cycle and 100 times per second (for 50-Hz supply). A human eye
cannot identify this extinguish phenomenon, because of the persistence of vision. If this light
falls upon a moving object, the object appearing like slow moving or fast moving or moving in
reverse direction, sometimes stationary. This effect is due to the extinguishing nature of the
light of the lamp. This effect is called as ‘stroboscopic effect’.

This effect can be avoided by employing any of the two techniques listed below.
If we have three-phase supply, then the fluorescent lamps that are adjacent should be fed from
different phases. Then, no two lamps will not be in same phase at zero instant of AC supply, so light
is present at any instant.
If the available supply is single phase, then twin tube circuitry as shown in Fig. 7.13, we can
eliminate stroboscopic effect.
Fig. Lead–lag circuit

Twin tube circuit is also known as lead–lag circuit. Here two tubes are connected in parallel.
One of the two tubes provided with a capacitor in series with the choke coil. The current
through the lamps is almost 90° out of phase and under these conditions, the light output of one
of the lamps is at maximum. Moreover, the overall power factor of lamps is unity. In this lead–
lag arrangement, one of the lamps is operating at 0.5 lagging, the other, provided with capacitor,
is operating at 0.5 leading.

In general, the life of a fluorescent lamp is about 7,500 hr. Based on the operating conditions,
the lamp's actual life can be varied from 5,000 to 10,000 hr. It is recommended to replace a
lamp after 4,000–5,000 of its working hours.

COMPARISON BETWEEN TUNGSTEN FILAMENT LAMPS AND FLUORESCENT LAMPS

Incandescent lamp Fluorescent lamp

1. Initial cost is less. 1. Initial cost is more.

2. Fluctuation in supply voltage has less effect on light 2. Fluctuations in supply voltage has comparatively
output, as the variations in voltage are absorbed in choke. more effect on the light output.
 Incandescent lamp Fluorescent lamp

3. It radiates the light; the color of which resembles the 3. It does not give light close to the natural light.
natural light.

4. It works on AC as well as DC. 4. Change of supply needs additional equipment.

5. The luminous efficiency of the lamp is high that is about 5. The luminous efficiency is poor, which is about 8–
8 – 40 lumens/W. 10 lumen/W.

6. Different color lights can be obtained by using different 6. Different color lights can be obtained by using
colored glasses. different composition of fluorescent powder.

7. Brightness of the lamp is more. 7. Brightness of the lamp is less.

8. The reduction in light output of the lamp is comparatively 8. The reduction in light output of the lamp is
high, with the time. comparatively low, with the lamp.

9. The working temperature is about 2,000°C. 9. The working temperature is about 50°C.

10. The normal working life is 1,000 hr. 10. The normal working life is 5,000–7,500 hr.

11. No stroboscopic effect. 11. Stroboscopic effect is present.

12. These lamps are widely used for domestic, industrial, 12. They find wide application in domestic, industrial,
and street lighting. and floodlighting.

13. The luminous efficiency increases with the increase in 13. The luminous efficiency increase with the increase
the voltage of the lamp. in voltage and the increase in the length of tube.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF LIGHT CONTROL

When light strikes the surface of an object, based on the properties of that surface, some
portion of the light is reflected, some portion is transmitted through the medium of the surface,
and the remaining is absorbed.

The method of light control is used to change the direction of light through large angle. There
are four light control methods. They are:

reflection,
refraction,
diffusion, and
absorption.
 Reflection

The light falling on the surface, whole of the light will not absorbed or transmitted through the
surface, but some of the light is reflected back, at an angle equals to the angle of incidence. The
ratio of reflected light energy to the incident light energy is known as reflection factor. The two
basic types of reflection are:

mirror or specular reflection and

diffuse reflection.

Specular reflection

When whole of the light falling on a smooth surfaces will be reflected back at an angle equal to
the angle of incidence. Such a reflection is known as specular reflection. With such reflection,
observer will be able to see the light source but not the illuminated surface. Most of the
surfaces causing the specular reflection are silvered mirrors, highly polished metal surfaces.
Specular reflection is shown in Fig. 7.17.

Fig. 7.17 Specular reflection

A surface that is almost free from reflection is called a matt surface.

Diffuse reflection

When the light ray falling on any surface, it is scattered in all directions irrespective of the angle
of incidence. Such type of reflector is known as diffuse reflection and is shown in Fig. 7.18. Most
of the surfaces causing the diffuse reflection are rough or matt surfaces such as blotting paper,
frosted glass, plaster, etc.

Fig. 7.18 Diffuse reflection

In this reflection, observer will be able to see the illuminated surface but not the light source.

Refraction

When a beam of light passes through two different mediums having different densities, the light
ray will be reflected. This phenomenon is known as refraction.

Figure 7.19 shows the refraction of light ray from dense medium to rare medium
where μ1 andμ2 are the refractive indices of two medium, θ is the angle of incidence, and α is
the angle of reflection.
Fig. 7.19 Refraction

The angle of light ray with normal is comparatively less in dense medium than in
rare medium.

Diffusion

When a ray of light falling on a surface is reflected in all possible directions, so that such surface
appears luminous from all possible directions. This can be achieved with a diffusing glass screen
introduced between the observer and the light source. The normally employed diffusing glasses
are opal glass and frosted glass. Both are ordinary glasses, but frosted glass is an ordinary glass
coated with crystalline substance.

Although frosted glass is cheaper than opal glass, the disadvantage of frosted glass is,
it collects more dust particles and it is difficult to clean.

Absorption

In some of the cases, whole of the light emitted by tungsten filament lamp will be excessive, so
that it is necessary to avoid that the amount of unwanted wavelengths without interference. This
can be achieved by using a special bluish colored glass for the filament lamp to absorb the
unwanted radiation.
 TYPES OF LIGHTING SCHEMES

Usually, with the reflector and some special diffusing screens, it is possible to control the
distribution of light emitted from lamps up to some extent. A good lighting scheme results in
an attractive and commanding presence of objects and enhances the architectural style of the
interior of a building. Depending upon the requirements and the way of light reaching the
surface, lighting schemes are classified as follows:

direct lighting,
semidirect lighting,
indirect lighting,
semi-indirect lighting, and
general lighting.

Direct lighting schemes

Direct lighting scheme is most widely used for interior lighting scheme. In this scheme, by using
deep reflectors, it is possible to make 90% of light falls just below the lamp. This scheme is
more efficient but it suffers from hard shadows and glare. Hence, while designing such schemes,
all the possibilities that will cause glare on the eye have to be eliminated. It is mainly used for
industrial and general outdoor lighting.

Semidirect lighting schemes

In semidirect lighting scheme, about 60–90% of lamps luminous flux is made to fall downward
directly by using some reflectors and the rest of the light is used to illuminate the walls and
ceiling. This type of light scheme is employed in rooms with high ceiling. Glare can be
avoided by employing diffusing globes. This scheme will improve not only the brightness but
also the efficiency.

Indirect lighting schemes

In this lighting scheme, 90% of total light is thrown upwards to the ceiling. In such scheme, the
ceiling acts as the lighting source and glare is reduced to minimum.

This system provides shadowless illumination, which is very useful for drawing offices and in
workshops where large machines and other difficulties would cause trouble some shadows if
direct lighting schemes were used.

Semi-indirect lighting schemes

In semi-indirect lighting scheme, about 60–90% of light from the lamp is thrown upwards to the
ceiling and the remaining luminous flux reaches the working surface. Glare will be completely
eliminated with such type of lighting scheme. This scheme is widely preferred for indoor lighting
decoration purpose.

General lighting scheme

This scheme of lighting use diffusing glasses to produce the equal illumination in all directions.
Mounting height of the source should be much above eye level to avoid glare. Lamp fittings of
various lighting schemes are shown in Fig. 7.20.

Fig. 7.20 Lighting schemes

DESIGN OF LIGHTING SCHEMES

The lighting scheme should be such that:

 It should be able to provide sufficient illumination.

 It should be able to provide the uniform distribution of light throughout the
working plane.
 It should be able to produce the light of suitable color.
 It should be able to avoid glare and hard shadows as much as possible.

While designing a lighting scheme, the following factors should be taken into consideration.
Illumination level.
The size of the room.
The mounting height and the space of fitting.
 STREET LIGHTING

Street lighting not only requires for shopping centers, promenades, etc. but also necessary for
the following.
In order to make the street more attractive, so that obstructions on the road clearly visible to the
drivers of vehicles.
To increase the community value of the street.
To clear the traffic easily in order to promote safety and convenience.

The basic principles employed for the street lighting are given below.

Diffusion principle.
The specular reflection principle.

Diffusion principle

In this method, light is directed downwards from the lamp by the suitably designed reflectors.
The design of these reflectors are in such a way that they may reflect total light over the road
surface uniformly as much as possible. The reflectors are made to have a cutoff between 30°
and 45°, so that the filament of the lamp is not visible expect just below the source, which
results in eliminating glare. Illumination at any point on the road surface is calculated by
applying inverse square low or point-by-point method.

Specular reflection principle

The specular reflection principle enables a motorist to see an object about 30 m ahead. In this
case, the reflectors are curved upwards, so that the light is thrown on the road at a very large
angle of incidence. This can be explained with the help of Fig. 7.21. An object resides over the
road at ‘P’ in between the lamps S1, S2, and S3 and the observer at ‘Q’.
Fig. 7.21 Specular reflection for street lighting

Thus, the object will appear immediately against the bright road surface due to the lamps at a
longer distance. This method of lighting is only suitable for straight sections along the road. In
this method, it is observed that the objects on the roadway can be seen by a smaller expenditure
of power than by the diffusion method of lighting.

Illumination level, mounting height, and the types of lamps for street lighting

Normally, illumination required depends upon the class of street lighting installation.
The illumination required for different areas of street lighting are given in Table 7.3.

Table 7.3 Illumination required for different areas of street lighting

Area Illumination (lumen/m2)

1. Road junctions and important shopping centers. 30

2. Poorly lighted sub-urban streets. 4

3. Average well-lighted street. 8–15

Mercury vapor and sodium vapor discharge lamps are preferable for street lighting since
the overall cost of the installation of discharge lamps are less than the filament lamps and also
the less power consumption for a given amount of power output. Normal spacing for the
standard lamps is 50 m with a mounting height of 8 m. Lamp posts should be fixed at the
junctions of roads.

FLOODLIGHTING

Floodlighting means flooding of large surface areas with light from powerful projectors. A
special reflector and housing is employed in floodlighting in order to concentrate the light
emitted from the lamp into a relatively narrow beam, which is known as floodlight projector.
This projector consists of a reflecting surface that may be a silvered glass or chromium plate or
stainless steel. The efficiency of silvered glass and polished metal are 85–90% and 70%,
respectively. Usually metal reflectors are robust; therefore, they can be preferred. An
important application of illumination engineering is the floodlighting of large and open areas.
It is necessary to employ floodlighting to serve one or more of the following purposes.
.

METHODS OF LIGHTING CALCULATIONS

There are so many methods have been employed for lighting calculation, some of those methods
are as follows.

Watts-per-square-meter method.
Lumen or light flux method
Point-to-point method

Example 7.1: A room 20 × 10 m is illuminated by 60 W incandescent lamps of lumen output of

1,600 lumens. The average illumination required at the workplace is 300 lux. Calculate the
number of lamps required to be fitted in the room. Assume utilization and depreciation factors as
0.5 and 1, respectively.

Solution:

The area of the room (A) = 20 × 10 m

= 200 m2.

Total illumination required (E) = 300 lux.

The wattage of each lamp = 60 W

The luminous output of the lamp (φ) = 1,600 lumens

UF = 0.5, DF = 1.

Maintenance factor,
The number of lamps required:
Example 7.2: The front of a building 35 × 18 m is illuminated by 15 lamps; the wattage of each
lamp is 80 W. The lamps are arranged so that uniform illumination on the surface is obtained.
Assuming a luminous efficiency of 20 lumens/W, the coefficient of utilization is 0.8, the waste
light factor is 1.25, DF = 0.9. Determine the illumination on the surface.

Solution:

Area = (A) = 35 × 18 = 630 m2.

The number of lamps, N = 15.

Luminous efficiency, η = 20 lumens/W.

UF = 0.8, DF = 0.9.

Waste light factor = 1.25, E = ?

Example 7.3: A room of size 10 × 4 m is to be illuminated by ten 150-W lamps. The MSCP of
each lamp is 300. Assuming a depreciation factor of 0.8 and a utilization factor of 0.5. Find the
average illumination produced on the floor.

Solution:

The area of the room (A) = 10 × 4 = 40 m2.

The total luminous flux emitted by ten lamps (φ)

= 10 × 150 × 4π = 18, 849.5 lumens.

The total luminous flux reaching the working plane

 The illumination on the working plane

Example 7.4: The front of a building 25 × 12 m is illuminated by 20 1,200-W lamps arranged

so that uniform illumination on the surface is obtained. Assuming a luminous efficiency of 30
lumens/W and a coefficient of utilization of 0.75. Determine the illumination on the surface.
Assume DF = 1.3 and waste light factor 1.2.

Solution:

Area to be illuminated = 25 × 12 = 300 m2.

The total lumens given out by 20 lamps is:

= number of lamps × wattage of each lamp × efficiency of each lamp

20 × 30 × 1,200 = 720,000 lumens.

The total lumens reaching the surface to be illuminated

The illumination on the surface:

Example 7.5: An illumination of 40 lux is to be produced on the floor of a room 16 × 12 m. 15
lamps are required to produce this illumination in the room; 40% of the emitted light falls on the
floor. Determine the power of the lamp in candela. Assume maintenance factor as unity.

Solution:

Given data

E = 40 lux

A = 16 × 12 = 192 m2

Number of lamps, N = 15

UF = 0.4, MF = 1

Example 7.6: A drawing, with an area of 18 × 12 m, is to be illuminated with an average

illumination of about 150 lux. The lamps are to be fitted at 6 m height. Find out the number and
size of incandescent lamps required for an efficiency of 20 lumens/W. UF = 0.6, MF = 0.75.

Solution:

Given data:

= 120 lumens/W

= 150 lux

= 18 × 12 = 216 m2

UF = 0.6
 MF = 0.75

Let, if 24 lamps are arranged to illuminate the desired area. For space to height ratio unity, i.e., 6
lamps are taken along the length with a space of 18/6 = 3m, and 4 lamps are along the width
giving a space of 12/4 = 3 m.

The arrangement of 24 lamps in a hall of 18 × 12 m is shown in Fig. P.7.1

Fig. P.7.1 Lamp arrangement

Example 7.7: A hall of 30 × 20 m area with a ceiling height of 6 m is to be provided with a
general illumination of 200 lumens/m2, taking a coefficient of utilization of 0.6 and
depreciation factor of 1.6. Determine the number of fluorescent tubes required, their spacing,
mounting height, and total wattage. Take luminous efficiency of fluorescent tube as 25
lumens/W for 300-W tube.

Solution:

Given data:

Area of hall (A) = 30 × 20 m = 600 m2

= 200 lumens/m2

CU = 0.6

DF = 1.6

The wattage of fluorescent tube = 300 W

Efficiency η = 25 lumens/W
Let us arrange 44 lamps in a 30 × 30 m hall, by taking 11 lamps along the length with spacing
30/11 = 2.727 m and 4 lamps along the width with spacing 20/4 = 5m. Here the space to height
ratio with this arrangement is, 2.727/5 = 0.545. Disposition of lamps is shown in Fig. P.7.2.

Fig. P.7.2 Lamp arrangement

Example 7.8: A hall 40-m long and 16-m wide is to be illuminated and illumination required is
70-m candles. Five types of lamps having lumen outputs, as given below are available.

Taking a depreciation factor of 1.5 and a utilization coefficient of 0.7, calculate the number of
lamps required in each case to produce required illumination. Out of above five types of lamps,
select most suitable type and design, a suitable scheme, and make a sketch showing location of
lamps. Assume a suitable mounting height and calculate space to height ratio of lamps.

Solution:

Given data:

Area (A) = 30 × 12 = 360 m2

DF = 1.5

CU = 0.7

E = 50-m candle
 Total gross lumens required:

If 50-W lamps are used, the number of lamps required

If 100-W lamps are used, the number of lamps required

If 150-W lamps are used, the number of lamps required

If 200-W lamps are used, the number of lamps required

If 250-W lamps are used, the number of lamps required

Suitable type of lamp fitting will be 250-W lamps for a hall of 40 × 16 m.

Here, 10 lamps are arranged in two rows, each row having 5 lamps. By taking 5 lamps along
the length with spacing 4058=m and 2 lamps along width side with spacing 16/2 = 8m, i.e., space
to height ratio = 8/8 = 1.

The disposition of lamps is shown in Fig. P.7.3.

Fig. Lamp arrangement

Energy Efficient Lights

LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are solid light bulbs which are extremely energy-efficient. When
first developed, LEDs were limited to single-bulb use in applications such as instrument panels,
electronics, pen lights and, more recently, strings of indoor and outdoor Christmas lights.

CFL Compact Fluorescent Lamp

Fluorescent lamps and CFLs are very similar. In fact, a CFL is just a compact version of a
fluorescent lamp that is smaller and easier to install. The glass tube is bent and both its ends are
fixed onto a base that holds the ballast and can fit into standard incandescent bulb sockets.

LED Lighting

Manufacturers have expanded the application of LEDs by "clustering" the small bulbs.
The first clustered bulbs were used for battery powered items such as flashlights and headlamps.
Today, LED bulbs are made using as many as 180 bulbs per cluster, and encased in diffuser
lenses which spread the light in wider beams. Now available with standard bases which fit
common household light fixtures, LEDs are the next generation in home lighting.
A significant feature of LEDs is that the light is directional, as opposed to incandescent
bulbs which spread the light more spherically. This is an advantage with recessed lighting or
under-cabinet lighting, but it is a disadvantage for table lamps. New LED bulb designs address
the directional limitation by using diffuser lenses and reflectors to disperse the light more like an
incandescent bulb.
The high cost of producing LEDs has been a roadblock to widespread use. However,
researchers at Purdue University have developed a process for using inexpensive silicon wafers
to replace the expensive sapphire-based technology. This promises to bring LEDs into
competitive pricing with CFLs and incandescents. LEDs may soon become the standard for most
lighting needs.

LED Working Principle

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a two-lead semiconductor light source. It is a p–n

junction diode that emits light when activated. When a suitable voltage is applied to the leads,
electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the
form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence, and the colour of the light
(corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy band gap of the
semiconductor. LEDs are typically small (less than 1 mm2) and integrated optical components
may be used to shape the radiation pattern.
Appearing as practical electronic components in 1962, the earliest LEDs emitted low-
intensity infrared light. Infrared LEDs are still frequently used as transmitting elements in
remote-control circuits, such as those in remote controls for a wide variety of consumer
electronics. The first visible-light LEDs were also of low intensity and limited to red. Modern
LEDs are available across the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very high
brightness
LED Life Expectancy
LEDs have a general life expectancy of 50 000 hrs. If you use your lights for 10 hours a day, this
should be 13.7 yrs.

Early LEDs were often used as indicator lamps for electronic devices, replacing small
incandescent bulbs. They were soon packaged into numeric readouts in the form of seven-
segment displays and were commonly seen in digital clocks. Recent developments have
produced LEDs suitable for environmental and task lighting. LEDs have led to new displays and
sensors, while their high switching rates are useful in advanced communications technology.
LEDs have many advantages over incandescent light sources, including lower energy
consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching.
Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, automotive
headlamps, advertising, general lighting, traffic signals, camera flashes, and lighted wallpaper.
They are also significantly more energy efficient and, arguably, have fewer environmental
concerns linked to their disposal.
Compact Fluorescent Lamp
A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called compact fluorescent light, energy-saving light,
and compact fluorescent tube, is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent light
bulb; some types fit into light fixtures designed for incandescent bulbs. The lamps use a tube
which is curved or folded to fit into the space of an incandescent bulb, and a compact electronic
ballast in the base of the lamp.

CFLs have two main components: a magnetic or electronic ballast and a gas-filled tube
(also called bulb or burner).Replacement of magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts has
removed most of the flickering and slow starting traditionally associated with fluorescent
lighting, and has allowed the development of smaller lamps directly interchangeable with more
sizes of incandescent light bulb.
 Electronic ballasts contain a small circuit board with a bridge rectifier, a filter capacitor
and usually two switching transistors, which are often insulated-gate bipolar transistors. The
incoming AC current is first rectified to DC, then converted to high frequency AC by the
transistors, connected as a resonant series DC to AC inverter. The resulting high frequency is
applied to the lamp tube. Since the resonant converter tends to stabilize lamp current (and light
produced) over a range of input voltages.
 UNIT 3
Electric Heating

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Heat plays a major role in everyday life. All heating requirements in domestic purposes such as
cooking, room heater, immersion water heaters, and electric toasters and also in industrial
purposes such as welding, melting of metals, tempering, hardening, and drying can be met easily
by electric heating, over the other forms of conventional heating. Heat and electricity are
interchangeable. Heat also can be produced by passing the current through material to be heated.
This is called electric heating; there are various methods of heating a material but electric
heating is considered far superior compared to the heat produced by coal, oil, and natural gas.

ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRIC HEATING

The various advantages of electric heating over other the types of heating are:

(i) Economical

Electric heating equipment is cheaper; they do not require much skilled persons; therefore,
maintenance cost is less.

(ii) Cleanliness

Since dust and ash are completely eliminated in the electric heating, it keeps surroundings
cleanly.

(iii) Pollution free

As there are no flue gases in the electric heating, atmosphere around is pollution free; no need of
providing space for their exit.

(iv) Ease of control

In this heating, temperature can be controlled and regulated accurately either manually or
automatically.

(v) Uniform heating

With electric heating, the substance can be heated uniformly, throughout whether it may
be conducting or non-conducting material.
 (vi) High efficiency

In non-electric heating, only 40–60% of heat is utilized but in electric heating 75–100% of
heat can be successfully utilized. So, overall efficiency of electric heating is very high.

(vii) Automatic protection

Protection against over current and over heating can be provided by using fast control devices.

(viii) Heating of non-conducting materials

The heat developed in the non-conducting materials such as wood and porcelain is possible only
through the electric heating.

(ix) Better working conditions

No irritating noise is produced with electric heating and also radiating losses are low.

(x) Less floor area

Due to the compactness of electric furnace, floor area required is less.

(xi) High temperature

High temperature can be obtained by the electric heating except the ability of the material to
withstand the heat.

(xii) Safety
The electric heating is quite safe.

MODES OF TRANSFER OF HEAT

The transmission of the heat energy from one body to another because of the
temperature gradient takes place by any of the following methods:

conduction,
convection, or
radiation.
 Conduction

In this mode, the heat transfers from one part of substance to another part without the movement
in the molecules of substance. The rate of the conduction of heat along the substance depends
upon the temperature gradient.

The amount of heat passed through a cubic body with two parallel faces with thickness ‘t’
meters, having the cross-sectional area of ‘A’ square meters and the temperature of its two
faces T1°C and T2°C, during ‘T’ hours is given by:

where k is the coefficient of the thermal conductivity for the material and it is measured
in MJ/m3/°C/hr.

Ex: Refractory heating, the heating of insulating materials, etc.

Convection

In this mode, the heat transfer takes place from one part to another part of substance or fluid
due to the actual motion of the molecules. The rate of conduction of heat depends mainly on the
difference in the fluid density at different temperatures.

Ex: Immersion water heater.

The mount of heat absorbed by the water from heater through convection depends mainly
upon the temperature of heating element and also depends partly on the position of the heater.

Heat dissipation is given by the following expression.

= a (T1 – T2)b W/m2,

where ‘a’ and ‘b’ are the constants whose values are depend upon the heating surface
and T1and T2 are the temperatures of heating element and fluid in °C, respectively.

Radiation

In this mode, the heat transfers from source to the substance to be heated without heating the
medium in between. It is dependent on surface.
 Ex: Solar heaters.

The rate of heat dissipation through radiation is given by Stefan's Law.

where T1 is the temperature of the source in kelvin, T2 is the temperature of the substance to
be heated in kelvin, and k is the radiant efficiency:

1, for single element

0.5–0.8, for several elements

e = emissivity = 1, for black body

0.9, for resistance heating element.

From Equation (4.1), the radiant heat is proportional to the difference of fourth power of
the temperature, so it is very efficient heating at high temperature.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD HEATING ELEMENT

The materials used for heating element should have the following properties:

High-specific resistance
Material should have high-specific resistance so that small length of wire may
be required to provide given amount of heat.
High-melting point
It should have high-melting point so that it can withstand for high temperature, a
small increase in temperature will not destroy the element.
Low temperature coefficient of resistance
From Equation (4.1), the radiant heat is proportional to fourth powers of the
temperatures, it is very efficient heating at high temperature.
For accurate temperature control, the variation of resistance with the operating
temperature should be very low. This can be obtained only if the material has
low temperature coefficient of resistance
Free from oxidation
 The element material should not be oxidized when it is subjected to high temperatures;
otherwise the formation of oxidized layers will shorten its life.
High-mechanical strength
The material should have high-mechanical strength and should withstand
for mechanical vibrations.
Non-corrosive
The element should not corrode when exposed to atmosphere or any other chemical
fumes.
Economical

The cost of material should not be so high.

MATERIAL FOR HEATING ELEMENTS

The selection of a material for heating element is depending upon the service conditions such as
maximum operating temperature and the amount of charge to be heated, but no single element
will not satisfy all the requirements of the heating elements. The materials normally used as
heating elements are either alloys of nickel–chromium, nickel–chromium–iron, nickel–
chromium–aluminum, or nickel–copper.

Nickel–chromium–iron alloy is cheaper when compared to simple nickel–chromium alloy.

The use of iron in the alloy reduces the cost of final product but, reduces the life of the alloy, as
it gets oxidized soon. We have different types of alloys for heating elements. Table 4.1 gives the
relevant properties of some of the commercial heating elements.

Table : Properties of some heating elements

 The properties of some commercial heating element materials commonly employed for low
and medium temperatures up to 1,200°C are Ni–Cr and an alloy of Ni–Cr–Fe composition of
these alloys are given in Table 4.1. For operating temperatures above 1,200°C, the heating
elements are made up of silicon carbide, molebdenum, tungsten, and graphite. (Ni–Cu alloy is
frequently used for heating elements operating at low temperatures. Its most important property
is that it has virtually zero resistance and temperature coefficient.)

CAUSES OF FAILURE OF HEATING ELEMENTS

Heating element may fail due to any one of the following reasons.

Formation of hot spots.

Oxidation of the element and intermittency of operation.
Embrittlement caused by gain growth.
Contamination and corrosion.

Formation of hotspots

Hotspots are the points on the heating element generally at a higher temperature than the main
body. The main reasons of the formation of hotspot in the heating element are the high rate of
the local oxidation causing reduction in the area of cross-section of the element leading to the
increase in the resistance at that spot. It gives rise to the damage of heating element due to the
generation of more heat at spot. Another reason is the shielding of element by supports, etc.,
which reduces the local heat loss by radiation and hence the temperature of the shielded portion
of the element will increase. So that the minimum number of supports should be used without
producing the distortion of the element. The sagging and wrapping of the material arise due to
the insufficient support for the element (or) selection of wrong fuse material may lead to the
uneven spacing of sections thereby developing the hotspots on the element.

Oxidation and intermittency of operation

A continuous oxide layer is formed on the surface of the element at very high temperatures such
layer is so strong that it prevents further oxidation of the inner metal of the element. If the
element is used quite often, the oxide layer is subjected to thermal stresses; thus, the layer
cracks and flakes off, thereby exposing fresh metal to oxidation. Thus, the local oxidation of the
metal increases producing the hotspots.

Embrittlement causing grain growth

In general, most of the alloys containing iron tend to form large brittle grains at high
temperatures. When cold, the elements are very brittle and liable to rupture easily on the slightest
handling and jerks.
 contamination and corrosion

The heating elements may be subjected to dry corrosion produced by their contamination
with the gases of the controlled atmosphere prevailing in annealing furnaces.

DESIGN OF HEATING ELEMENTS

By knowing the voltage and electrical energy input, the design of the heating element for an
electric furnace is required to determine the size and length of the heating element. The wire
employed may be circular or rectangular like a ribbon. The ribbon-type heating element permits
the use of higher wattage per unit area compared to the circular-type element.

Circular-type heating element

Initially when the heating element is connected to the supply, the temperature goes on increasing
and finally reaches high temperature.

Let V be the supply voltage of the system and R be the resistance of the element, then electric

power input, .

If ρ is the resistivity of the element, l is the length, ‘a’ is the area, and d is the diameter of the
element, then:

Therefore, power input,

By rearranging the above equation, we get:

where P is the electrical power input per phase (watt), V is the operating voltage per phase (volts),
R is the resistance of the element (Ω), l is the length of the element (m), a is the area of cross-
section (m2), d is the diameter of the element (m), and ρ is the specific resistance (Ω-m)

According to Stefan's law, heat dissipated per unit area is

where T1 is the absolute temperature of the element (K), T2 is the absolute temperature of
the charge (K), e is the emissivity, and k is the radiant efficiency.

The surface area of the circular heating element:

S = πdl.
Total heat dissipated = surface area × H

Hπdl.

Under thermal equilibrium,

Power input = heat dissipated

= H × πdl.

Substituting P from Equation (4.2) in above equation:

By solving Equations (4.3) and (4.4), the length and diameter of the wire can be determined.

Ribbon-type element

Let ‘w’ be the width and ‘t’ be the thickness of the ribbon-type heating element.

We know that, (for ribbon or rectangular element, a = w × t)

The surface area of the rectangular element (S) = 2 l × w.

Total heat dissipated = H × S

H × 2 lw.
Under the thermal equilibrium, Electrical power input =
heat dissipated

P = H × 2 lw
By solving Equations (4.7) and (4.8), the length and width of the heating element can be
determined.

Example 4.1: A 4.5-kW, 200-V, and 1-φ resistance oven is to have nichrome wire heating
elements. If the wire temperature is to be 1,000°C and that of the charge 500°C. Estimate the
diameter and length of the wire. The resistivy of the nichrome alloy is 42.5 μΩ-m. Assume the
radiating efficiency and the emissivity of the element as 1.0 and 0.9, respectively.

Solution:

Given data

Power input (P) = 4.5 kW

Supply voltage (V) = 200 V

Temperature of the source (T1) = 1,000 + 273

1,273 K.

Temperature of the charge T2 = 500 + 273

773 K.

According to the Stefan's law,

The heat dissipation is given by:

By solving Equations (1) and (2):

d3 = 0.7466

d = 0.907 mm.

Substitute the value of ‘d’ in Equation (2):

l = 135.14 m.
Example 4.2: A20-kW, 230-V, and single-phase resistance oven employs nickel—chrome strip
25-mm thick is used, for its heating elements. If the wire temperature is not to exceed 1,200°C
and the temperature of the charge is to be 700°C. Calculate the width and length of the wire.
Assume the radiating efficiency as 0.6 and emissivity as 0.9. Determine also the temperature of
the wire when the charge is cold.

Solution:

Power supplied, P = 20 × 103 W.

Let ‘w’ be the width in meters, t be the thickness in meters, and ‘l’ be the length also
in meters. Then:

According to the Stefan's law of heat radiation:

 The total amount of the heat dissipation × the surface area of strip = power

supplied P = H × S

H × 2 lw (S = surface area of strip = 2lw)

From Equations (1) and (2):

Substitute the value of ‘w’ in Equation (2) then:

l = 7.435 m.

When the charge is cold, it would be at normal temperature, say 25°C.

Example 4.3 Determine the diameter and length of the wire, if a 17-kW, 220-V, and 1-
φresistance oven employs nickel-chrome wire for its heating elements. The temperature is
not exceeding to 1,100°C and the temperature of the charge is to be 500°C. Assume the
radiating efficiency as 0.5 and the emissivity as 0.9, respectively.

Solution:

For a circular element:

According to Stefan's law of heat dissipation:

At steady temperature, crucial power input = heat output:

Solving Equations (1) and (2), we get:

Substitute the value of ‘d' in Equation (2) gives:

l = 21.198 m.
 METHODS OF ELECTRIC HEATING

Heat can be generated by passing the current through a resistance or induced currents. The
initiation of an arc between two electrodes also develops heat. The bombardment by some heat
energy particles such as α, γ, β, and x-rays or accelerating ion can produce heat on a surface.

Electric heating can be broadly classified as follows.

(i) Direct resistance heating

In this method, the electric current is made to pass through the charge (or) substance to
be heated. This principle of heating is employed in electrode boiler.

(ii) Indirect resistance heating

In this method, the electric current is made to pass through a wire or high-resistance heating
element, the heat so developed is transferred to charge from the heating element by convection or
radiation. This method of heating is employed in immersion water heaters.

Fig. Classification of electrical heating

Infrared (or) radiant heating

In this method of heating, the heat energy is transferred from source (incandescent lamp) and
focused upon the body to be heated up in the form of electromagnetic radiations. Normally, this
method is used for drying clothes in the textile industry and to dry the wet paints on an object.
 Direct arc heating

In this method, by striking the arc between the charge and the electrode or electrodes, the heat so
developed is directly conducted and taken by the charge. The furnace operating on this principle
is known as direct arc furnaces. The main application of this type of heating is production of
steel.

Indirect arc heating

In this method, arc is established between the two electrodes, the heat so developed is transferred to
the charge (or) substance by radiation. The furnaces operating on this principle are known as indirect
arc furnaces. This method is generally used in the melting of non-ferrous metals.

Direct induction heating

In this method of heating, the currents are induced by electromagnetic action in the charge to
be heated. These induced currents are used to melt the charge in induction furnace.

Indirect induction heating

In this method, eddy currents are induced in the heating element by electromagnetic action.
Thus, the developed heat in the heating element is transferred to the body (or) charge to be
heated by radiation (or) convection. This principle of heating is employed in induction furnaces
used for the heat treatment of metals.

Dielectric heating

In this method of electric heating, the heat developed in a non-metallic material due to
inter-atomic friction, known as dielectric loss. This principle of heating usually employed
for preheating of plastic performs, baking foundry cores, etc.

RESISTANCE HEATING

When the electric current is made to pass through a high-resistive body (or) substance, a power
loss takes place in it, which results in the form of heat energy, i.e., resistance heating is passed
upon the I2R effect. This method of heating has wide applications such as drying, baking of
potteries, commercial and domestic cooking, and the heat treatment of metals such as annealing
and hardening. In oven where wire resistances are employed for heating, temperature up to about
1,000°C can be obtained.

The resistance heating is further classified as:

direct resistance heating,

indirect resistance heating, and
 infrared (or) radiant heating.

Direct resistance heating

In this method, electrodes are immersed in a material or charge to be heated. The charge may be
in the form of powder, pieces, or liquid. The electrodes are connected to AC or DC supply as
shown in Fig. 4.1(a). In case of DC or 1-φ AC, two electrodes are immersed and three
electrodes are immersed in the charge and connected to supply in case of availability of 3-
φsupply. When metal pieces are to be heated, the powder of lightly resistive is sprinkled over
the surface of the charge (or) pieces to avoid direct short circuit. The current flows through the
charge and heat is produced in the charge itself. So, this method has high efficiency. As the
current in this case is not variable, so that automatic temperature control is not possible. This
method of heating is employed in salt bath furnace and electrode boiler for heating water.

Fig. (a) Direct resistance heating

(i) Salt bath furnace

This type of furnace consists of a bath and containing some salt such as molten sodium chloride
and two electrodes immersed in it.

Such salt have a fusing point of about 1,000–1,500°C depending upon the type of salt used.
When the current is passed between the electrodes immersed in the salt, heat is developed and
the temperature of the salt bath may be increased. Such an arrangement is known as a salt bath
furnace.

In this bath, the material or job to be heated is dipped. The electrodes should be carefully
immersed in the bath in such a way that the current flows through the salt and not through the job
being heated. As DC will cause electrolysis so, low-voltage AC up to 20 V and current up to
3,000 A is adopted depending upon the type of furnaces.
 The resistance of the salt decreases with increase in the temperature of the salt, therefore,
in order to maintain the constant power input, the voltage can be controlled by providing a tap
changing transformer. The control of power input is also affected by varying the depth of
immersion and the distance between the electrodes.

(ii) Electrode boiler

It is used to heat the water by immersing three electrodes in a tank as shown in Fig. 4.2. This is
based on the principle that when the electric current passed through the water produces heat due
to the resistance offered by it. For DC supply, it results in a lot of evolution of H2 at negative
electrode and O2 at positive electrode. Whereas AC supply hardly results in any evolution of
gas, but heats the water. Electrode boiler tank is earthed solidly and connected to the ground. A
circuit breaker is usually incorporated to make and break all poles simultaneously and an over
current protective device is provided in each conductor feeding an electrode.

Fig. 4.2 Electrode boiler

Indirect resistance heating

In the indirect resistance heating method, high current is passed through the heating element. In
case of industrial heating, some times the heating element is placed in a cylinder which is
surrounded by the charge placed in a jacket is known as heating chamber is shown inFig. 4.3.
The heat is proportional to power loss produced in the heating element is delivered to the charge
by one or more of the modes of the transfer of heat viz. conduction, convection, and radiation.
This arrangement provides uniform temperature and automatic temperature control. Generally,
this method of heating is used in immersion water heaters, room heaters, and the resistance ovens
used in domestic and commercial cooling and salt bath furnace.
Fig. 4.3 Indirect resistance heating

Resistance ovens

According to the operating temperatures, the resistance furnaces may be classified into various
types. Low-temperature heating chamber with the provision for ventilation is called as oven. For
drying varnish coating, the hardening of synthetic materials, and commercialand domestic
heating, etc., the resistance ovens are employed. The operating temperature of medium
temperature furnaces is between 300°C and 1,050°C. These are employed for the melting of non-
ferrous metals, stove (annealing), etc. Furnaces operating at temperature between 1,050°C and
1,350°C are known as high-temperature furnaces. These furnaces are employed for hardening
applications. A simple resistance oven is shown in Fig. 4.4.

Fig. 4.4 Resistance oven

Resistance oven consists of a heating chamber in which heating elements are placed as shown in
the Fig. 4.4. The inner surface of the heating chamber is made to suit the character of the
charge and the type of furnace or oven. The type of insulation used for heating chamber
is determined by the maximum temperature of the heating chamber.

Efficiency and losses of resistance ovens

The heat produced in the heating elements, not only raises the temperature of the charge
to desired value, but also used to overcome the losses occurring due to:

Heat used in raising the temperature of oven (or) furnace.

Heat used in raising the temperature of containers (or) carriers,
Heat conducted through the walls.
Heat loss due to the opening of oven door.

The heat required to raise the temperature of oven to desired value can be calculated by knowing the mass of
refractory material (M), its specific heat (S), and raise of temperature (∆T) and is given by:
Hoven = MS∆TJ.
In case the oven is continuously used, this loss becomes negligible.
Heat used in rising the temperature of containers (or) carriers can be calculated exactly the same way as for
oven (or) furnaces.

Heat loss conducted through the walls of the container can be calculated by knowing the area of the
container (A) in square meters, the thickness of the walls (t) in meters, the inside and out side
temperatures of the container T1 and T2 in °C, respectively, and the thermal conductivity of the

container walls ‘k’ in m3/°C/hr and is given by: Heat loss by conduction

Actually, there is no specific formula for the determination of loss occurring due to the opening
of door for the periodic inspection of the charge so that this loss may be approximately taken as
0.58–1.15 MJ/m2 of the door area, if the door is opened for a period of 20–30 sec.

The efficiency of the oven is defined as the ratio of the heat required to raise the temperature
of the charge to the desired value to the heat required to raise the charge and losses.

The efficiency of the oven:

The efficiency of the resistance oven lies in between 60% and 80%.
 Infrared or radiant heating

In this method of heating, the heat transfer takes place from the source to the body to be heated
through radiation, for low and medium temperature applications. Whereas in resistance ovens,
the heat transfers to the charge partly by convection and partly by radiation. In the radiant
heating, the heating element consists of tungsten filament lamps together with reflector and to
direct all the heat on the charge. Tungsten filament lamps are operating at 2,300°C instead of
3,000°C to give greater portion of infrared radiation and a longer life. The radiant heating is
mainly used for drying enamel or painted surfaces. The high concentration of the radiant energy
enables the heat to penetrate the coating of paint or enamel to a depth sufficient to dry it out
without wasting energy in the body of the workpiece.

The main advantage of the radiant heating is that the heat absorption remains
approximately constant whatever the charge temperature, whereas with the ordinary oven the
heat absorption falls off very considerably as the temperature of the charge raises. The lamp
ratings used are usually between 250 and 1,000 W and are operating at voltage of 115 V in
order to ensure a robust filament.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL OF RESISTANCE HEATING

To control the temperature of a resistance heating at certain selected points in a furnace or oven,
as per certain limits, such control may be required in order to hold the temperature constant or to
vary it in accordance with a pre-determined cycle and it can be carried out by hand or
automatically.

In resistance furnaces, the heat developed depends upon I2 R t (or) t. Therefore,

the temperature of the furnaces can be controlled either by:

Changing the resistance of elements.

Changing the applied voltage to the elements (or) current passing through the elements.
Changing the ratio of the on-and-off times of the supply.

Voltage across the furnace can be controlled by changing the transformer tapings. Auto
transformer or induction regulator can also be used for variable voltage supply. In addition to
the above, voltage can be controlled by using a series resistance so that some voltage dropped
across this series resistor. But this method is not economical as the power is continuously
wasted in controlling the resistance. Hence, this method is limited to small furnaces. An on-off
switch can be employed to control the temperature. The time for which the oven is connected to
the supply and the time for which it is disconnected from supply will determine the temperature.

Temperature can be controlled by providing various combinations of groups of

resistances used in the furnace and is given as follows:
 (i) Variable number of elements

If ‘R’ be the resistance of one element and ‘n’ be the number of elements are connected
in parallel, so that the equivalent resistance is R/n.

Heat developed in the furnace is:

i.e., if the number of elements connected in parallel increases, the heat developed in the furnace
also increased. This method does not provide uniform heating unless elements not in use are
well distributed.

(ii) Series parallel (or) star delta arrangement of elements

If the available supply is single phase, the heating elements can be connected in series for
the low temperatures and connected in parallel for the high temperature by means of a
series— parallel switch.

In case, if the available supply is three phase, the heating elements can be connected in star
for the low temperature and in delta for the high temperatures by using star—delta switch.

Example 4.5: Six resistances, each of 60 ohms, are used in a resistance; how much power is
drawn for the following connections.

Supply is 400 V, AC, and single phase and the connections are:

Three groups in parallel, each of two resistance units in series.

Six groups are in parallel, each of one resistance unit.

With the same three-phase supply, they are connected in delta fashion.

Two resistance units in parallel in each branch.

Two resistance units in series in each branch.

Supply is 400 V and three-phase while the connection is a star combination of:

Two resistance elements in series in each phase.

Two resistance elements in parallel in each phase.
 If the supply is a 25% tapping with an auto transformer, calculate the output of the oven.

Solution:

1.

The power consumption of the two resistances in series is:

The power consumed by the three units in parallel is P = 3 × 1,333.33

= 4,000 W.
The power consumed by each resistor is:

The power consumed by the six resistors in parallel is:

P = 6 × 2,666.67
16,000 W.
Since in delta fashion, line voltage = phase voltage = 400 V:

The power consumed by the each branch:

The power consumed by the three units is:

P = 3 × 5,333.34
16,000 W.
The power consumed by the each unit, when they are commuted in series is:
 The power consumed by the three units is:
P = 4,000 W.
For the star connection,

The power consumed by the two resistors in series is p=

444.44 W.
The power consumed by the three units is:
P = 1,333.33 W.
The power consumed by the two resistors in parallel is:

The power consumed by the three units in series is:

P = 3 × 1,777.77
5,333.32 W.
The power is proportional to the square of the voltage. Hence, the voltage is 25%. So that, the power

loss will be th of the values obtained as above.

ARC HEATING

If the high voltage is applied across an air gap, the air in the gap gets ionized under the influence
of electrostatic forces and becomes conducting medium, current flows in the form of a
continuous spark, known as arc. A very high voltage is required to establish an arc but very
small voltage is sufficient to maintain it, across the air gap. The high voltage required for
striking an arc can be obtained by using a step-up transformer fed from a variable AC supply.

Another method of striking the arc by using low voltage is by short circuiting the two electrodes
momentarily and with drawing them back. Electrodes made up of carbon or graphite and are used in
the arc furnaces when the temperature obtained is in the range of 3,000–3,500°C.

Electrodes used in the arc furnaces

Normally used electrodes in the arc furnaces are carbon electrodes, graphite electrodes, and self-
baking electrodes. Usually the carbon and graphite electrodes are used and they can be selected
based on their electrical conductivity insolubility, chemical inertness, mechanical strength,
resistance to thermal shock, etc. The size of these electrodes may be 18–27 cm in diameter. The
carbon electrodes are used with small furnaces for manufacturing of ferro-alloys, aluminum
phosphorous, etc. The self-baking electrodes are employed in the electrochemical furnaces and in
the electrolytic production of aluminum.

The salient features of carbon and graphite electrodes are:

Resistivity: The graphite electrodes have low-specific resistance than the carbon electrodes, so the
graphite required half in size for the same current resulting in easy replacement.
Oxidation: Graphite begins to oxides at 600°C where as carbon at 400°C.
Electrode consumption: For steel-melting furnaces, the consumption of the carbon electrodes is about
4.5 kg of electrodes per tonne of steel and 2.3–to 6.8 kg electrodes per tonne of steel for the graphite
electrodes.
Cost: The graphite electrodes cost about twice as much per kg as the carbon electrodes. The choice of
electrodes depends chiefly on the question of the total cost. In general, if the processes requiring large
quantities of electrode, carbon is used but for other processes, the choice depends on local conditions.

Types of arc furnaces

There are two types of arc furnaces and they are:

direct arc furnace and

indirect arc furnace.

(i) Direct arc furnace

When supply is given to the electrodes, two arcs are established and current passes through
the charge, as shown in Fig. 4.5. As the arc is in direct contact with the charge and heat is also
produced by current flowing through the charge itself, it is known as direct arc furnace.
Fig. Direct arc furnace

If the available supply is DC or 1-φ, AC, two electrodes are sufficient, if the supply is 3-φ,
AC, three electrodes are placed at three vertices of an equilateral triangle. The most important
feature of the direct arc furnace is that the current flows through the charge, the stirring action is
inherent due to the electromagnetic force setup by the current, such furnace is used for
manufacturing alloy steel and gives purer product.

It is very simple and easy to control the composition of the final product during refining
process operating the power factor of arc furnace is 0.8 lagging. For 1-ton furnace, the
power required is about 200 kW and the energy consumed is 1.0 MWh/ton.

(ii) Indirect arc furnace

In indirect arc furnace, the arc strikes between two electrodes by bringing momentarily in
contact and then with drawing them heat so developed, due to the striking of arc across air gap is
transferred to charge is purely by radiation. A simple indirect arc furnace is shown inFig. 4.6.

Fig. 4.6 Indirect arc furnace

These furnaces are usually l-φ and hence their size is limited by the amount of one-phase load
which can be taken from one point. There is no inherent stirring action provided in this furnace, as
current does not flow through the charge and the furnace must be rocked mechanically. The
electrodes are projected through this chamber at each end along the horizontal axis. This furnace
is also sometimes called as rocking arc furnace. The charge in this furnace is heated not only by
radiation from the arc between electrode tips but also by conduction from the heated refractory
during rocking action; so, the efficiency of such furnace is high. The arc is produced by bringing
electrodes into solid contact and then withdrawing them; power input to the furnace is regulated
by adjusting the arc length by moving the electrodes.

Even though it can be used in iron foundries where small quantities of iron are required
frequently, the main application of this furnace is the melting of non-ferrous metals.

Example 4.6: Calculate the time taken to melt 5 ton of steel in three-phase arc furnace having
the following data.

Current = 8,000 A Resistance = 0.003 Ω

Arc voltage = 50 V Reactance = 0.005 Ω

Latent heat = 8.89 kcal/kg Specific heat = 0.12

Initial temperature = 18°C Melting point = 1,370°C

The overall efficiency is 50%. Find also the power factor and the electrical efficiency of
the furnace.

Solution:

The equivalent circuit of the furnace is shown in Fig. P.4.1.

Arc resistance per phase

Fig. P.4.1 Equivalent circuit of arc furnace

RA = 0.00625 Ω.

Drop due to the resistance of transformer, I Rt = 8,000 × 0.003 = 24 V and drop due to
the reactance, I Xt = 8,000 × 0.005 = 40 V.

From the phasor diagram (Fig. P.4.2):

Fig. P.4.2 Phasor diagram

The amount of heat required per kg of steel:

Specific heat × (t2 - t1) + latent heat

0.12 × (1,370-18) + 8.89

171.13 kcal.
Example 4.7: A 100-kW Ajax Wyatt furnace works at a secondary voltage of 12 V at power
factor 0.6 when fully charged. If the reactance presented by the charge remains constant but
the resistance varies invert as the charge depth in the furnace; calculate the charge depth that
produces maximum heating effect when the furnace is fully charged.

Solution:

Secondary power, P = V2I2 cos φ

When the crucible is fully charged, then the secondary impedance is:

From the impedance triangle:

Let ‘H’ be the height of the crucible when the crucible is full of charge and ‘Hm’ be the height
of the charge at which maximum heating effect is possible.

Given that the height of the charge is inversely proportional to the resistance. Let ‘Rm’ be
the maximum resistance at which maximum heating effect will be possible.

At Rm = X2, the heat produced will be maximum.

 HIGH-FREQUENCY HEATING

The main difference between the power-frequency and the high-frequency heating is that in the
conventional methods, the heat is transferred either by conduction convection or by radiation,
but in the high-frequency heating methods, the electromagnetic energy converted into the heat
energy in side the material.

The high-frequency heating can be applied to two types of materials. The heating of the
conducting materials, such as ferro-magnetic and non-ferro-magnetic, is known as induction
heating. The process of heating of the insulating materials is known as dielectric heating. The
heat transfer by the conventional method is very low of the order of 0.5–20 W/sq. cm. And, the
heat transfer rate by the high-frequency heating either by induction or by dielectric heating is as
much as 10,000 W/sq. cm. Thus, the high-frequency heating is most importance for
tremendous speed of production.

INDUCTION HEATING

The induction heating process makes use of the currents induced by the electromagnetic action
in the material to be heated. To develop sufficient amount of heat, the resistance of the material

must be low , which is possible only with the metals, and the voltage must be higher, which can
be obtained by employing higher flux and higher frequency. Therefore, the magnetic materials
can be heated than non-magnetic materials due to their high permeability.

In order to analyze the factors affecting induction heating, let us consider a circular disc to
be heated carrying a current of ‘I’ amps at a frequency ‘f’ Hz. As shown in Fig. 4.9.

Fig. 4.9 Induction heating

Heat developed in the disc is depending upon the following factors.

 Primary coil current.
The number of the turns of the coil. o
Supply frequency.
o The magnetic coupling between the coil and the disc.
o The high electrical resistivity of the disc.

If the charge to be heated is non-magnetic, then the heat developed is due to eddy current loss,
whereas if it is magnetic material, there will be hysteresis loss in addition to eddy current loss.
Both hysteresis and eddy current loss are depended upon frequency, but at high-frequency
hysteresis, loss is very small as compared to eddy currents.

The depth of penetration of induced currents into the disc is given by:

where ρ is the specific resistance in Ω-cm, f is the frequency in Hz, and μ is the permeability
of the charge.

There are basically two types of induction furnaces and they are:

Core type or low-frequency induction furnace.

Coreless type or high-frequency induction furnace.

Core type furnace

The operating principle of the core type furnace is the electromagnetic induction. This furnace
is operating just like a transformer. It is further classified as:

Direct core type.

Vertical core type.
Indirect core type.
 (i) Direct core type induction furnace

The core type furnace is essentially a transformer in which the charge to be heated forms single-
turn secondary circuit and is magnetically coupled to the primary by an iron core as shown in
Fig. 4.10.

Fig. 4.10 Direct core type furnace

The furnace consists of a circular hearth in the form of a trough, which contains the charge to
be melted in the form of an annular ring. This type of furnace has the following characteristics:

This metal ring is quite large in diameter and is magnetically interlinked with primary winding, which is
energized from an AC source. The magnetic coupling between primary and secondary is very weak; it
results in high leakage reactance and low pf. To overcome the increase in leakage reactance, the furnace
should be operated at low frequency of the order of 10 Hz.
When there is no molten metal in the hearth, the secondary becomes open circuited thereby cutting of
secondary current. Hence, to start the furnace, the molten metal has to be taken in the hearth to keep the
secondary as short circuit.
Furnace is operating at normal frequency, which causes turbulence and severe stirring action in the
molten metal to avoid this difficulty, it is also necessary to operate the furnace at low frequency.
In order to obtain low-frequency supply, separate motor-generator set (or) frequency changer is to be
provided, which involves the extra cost.
The crucible used for the charge is of odd shape and inconvenient from the metallurgical viewpoint.
o If current density exceeds about 500 A/cm2, it will produce high-electromagnetic forces in the molten
metal and hence adjacent molecules repel each other, as they are in the same direction. The repulsion
may cause the interruption of secondary circuit (formation of bubbles and voids); this effect is
known as pinch effect.
The pinch effect is also dependent on frequency; at low frequency, this effect is negligible,
and so it is necessary to operate the furnace at low frequency.

(ii) Vertical core type induction furnace

It is an improvement over the direct core type furnace, to overcome some of the
disadvantages mentioned above. This type of furnace consists of a vertical core instead of
horizontal core as shown in Fig. 4.11. It is also known as Ajax–Wyatt induction furnace.

Fig. 4.11 Vertical core type furnace (Ajax–Wyatt induction furnace)

Vertical core avoids the pinch effect due to the weight of the charge in the main body of
the crucible. The leakage reactance is comparatively low and the power factor is high as the
magnetic coupling is high compared to direct core type.

There is a tendency of molten metal to accumulate at the bottom that keeps the secondary
completed for a vertical core type furnace as it consists of narrow V-shaped channel.

The inside layer of furnace is lined depending upon the type charge used. Clay lining is
used for yellow brass and an alloy of magnesia and alumina is used for red brass.

The top surface of the furnace is covered with insulating material, which can be removed for
admitting the charge. Necessary hydraulic arrangements are usually made for tilting the furnace
to take out the molten metal. Even though it is having complicated construction, it is operating
at power factor of the order of 0.8–0.83. This furnace is normally used for the melting and
refining of brass and non-ferrous metals.
Advantages

Accurate temperature control and reduced metal losses. o

Absence of crucibles.
o Consistent performance and simple control.
o It is operating at high power factor.
o Pinch effect can be avoided.

Indirect core type furnace

This type of furnace is used for providing heat treatment to metal. A simple induction furnace
with the absence of core is shown in Fig. 4.12.

Fig. 4.12 Indirect core type furnace

The secondary winding itself forms the walls of the container or furnace and an iron core links
both primary and secondary windings.

The heat produced in the secondary winding is transmitted to the charge by radiation. An oven
of this type is in direct competition with ordinary resistance oven.

It consists of a magnetic circuit AB is made up of a special alloy and is kept inside the
chamber of the furnace. This magnetic circuit loses its magnetic properties at certain temperature
and regains them again when it is cooled to the same temperature.

When the oven reaches to critical temperature, the reluctance of the magnetic circuit increases
many times and the inductive effect decreases thereby cutting off the supply heat. Thus, the
temperature of the furnace can be effectively controlled. The magnetic circuit ‘AB’ is
detachable type that can be replaced by the other magnetic circuits having critical temperatures
ranging between 400°C and 1,000°C. The furnace operates at a pf of around 0.8.

The main advantage of such furnace is wide variation of temperature control is possible.

Coreless type induction furnace

It is a simple furnace with the absence core is shown in Fig. 4.13. In this furnace, heat
developed in the charge due to eddy currents flowing through it.

Fig. 4.13 Coreless induction furnace

The furnace consists of a refractory or ceramic crucible cylindrical in shape enclosed within a
coil that forms primary of the transformer. The furnace also contains a conducting or non-
conducting container that acts as secondary.

If the container is made up of conducting material, charge can be conducting or non-

conducting; whereas, if the container is made up of non-conducting material, charge
taken should have conducting properties.

When primary coils are excited by an alternating source, the flux set up by these coils
induce the eddy currents in the charge. The direction of the resultant eddy current is in a
direction opposite to the current in the primary coil. These currents heat the charge to melting
point and they also set up electromagnetic forces that produce a stirring action to the charge.
 The eddy currents developed in any magnetic circuit are given as:
We ∝ Bm2f2,

where Bm is the maximum flux density (tesla), f is the frequency in (Hz), and We is the
eddy current loss (watts).

In coreless furnace, the flux density will be low as there is no core. Hence, the primary
supply should have high frequency for compensating the low flux density.

If it is operating at high frequency, due to the skin effect, it results copper loss, thereby
increasing the temperature of the primary winding. This necessitates in artificial cooling. The
coil, therefore, is made of hollow copper tube through which cold water is circulated.

Minimum stray magnetic field is maintained when designing coreless furnace, otherwise
there will be considerable eddy current loss.

The selection of a suitable frequency of the primary current can be given by

penetration formula. According to this:

where ‘t’ is the thickness up to which current in the metal has penetrated, ‘ρ’ is the resistivity
in Ω-cm,'μ’ is the permeability of the material, and ‘f’ is the frequency in Hz.

For the efficient operation, the ratio of the diameter of the charge (d) to the depth of the
penetration of currents (t) should be more than ‘6’, therefore let us take:

Substitute above in Equation (4.11).

Following are the advantages of coreless furnace over the other furnaces:

Ease of control.
Oxidation is reduced, as the time taken to reach the melting temperature is less. o
The eddy currents in the charge itself results in automatic stirring.
o The cost is less for the erection and operation.
o It can be used for heating and melting.
o Any shape of crucible can be used.
o It is suitable for intermittent operation.

Example 4.8: Determine the amount of energy required to melt 2 ton of zinc in 1 hr, if it
operates at an efficiency of 70% specific heat of zinc is equals to 0.1. The latent heat of zinc
= 26.67 kcal/kg, the melting point is 480°C, and the initial temperature is 25°C.

Solution:

Weight of zinc = 2 × 1,000 = 2,000 kg.

The heat required raising the temperature from 25°C to 480°C:

= w × S × (t2 - t1)

2,000 × 0.1 × (480-25)

91,000 kcal.

The heat required for melting:

w×l

2,000 × 26.67

53,340 kcal.
Example 4.9: A high-frequency induction furnace that takes 20 min to melt 1.9 kg of
aluminum, the input to the furnace being 3 kW, and the initial temperature is 25°C. Then,
determine the efficiency of the furnace.

The specific heat of aluminum = 0.212.

Melting point = 660°C.

The latent heat of the fusion of aluminum = 76.8 kcal/kg.

Solution:
 DIELECTRIC HEATING

When non-metallic materials i.e., insulators such as wood, plastics, and china glass are
subjected to high-voltage alternating electric field, the atoms get stresses, and due to interatomic
friction caused by the repeated deformation and the rotation of atomic structure (polarization),
heat is produced. This is known as dielectric loss. This dielectric loss in insulators corresponds
to hysteresis loss in ferro-magnetic materials. This loss is due to the reversal of magnetism or
magneto molecular friction. These losses developed in a material that has to be heated.

An atom of any material is neutral, since the central positive charge is equals to the negative
charge. So that, the centers of positive and negative charges coincide as long as there is no
external field is applied, as shown in Fig. (a). When this atom is subjected to the influence of
the electric field, the positive charge of the nucleus is acted upon by some force in the direction
of negative charges in the opposite direction. Therefore, the effective centers of both positive
and negative charges no longer coincident as shown in Fig. (b). The electric charge of an atom
equivalent to Fig.(b) is shown in Fig. (c).

Fig. Polarization

This gives raise to an electric dipole moment equal to P = q d, where d is the distance
between the two centers and q is the charge on the nucleus.

Now, the atom is said to be polarized atom. If we apply alternating voltage across
the capacitor plate, we will get alternating electric field.
 Electric dipoles will also try to change their orientation according to the direction of the
impressed electric field. In doing so, some energy will be wasted as inter-atomic friction, which
is called dielectric loss.

As there is no perfect conductor, so there is no perfect insulator. All the dielectric

materials can be represented by a parallel combination of a leakage resistor ‘R’ and a
capacitor ‘C’ as shown in Fig. 4.15 (a) and (b).

Fig. Dielectric heating

If an AC voltage is applied across a piece of insulator, an electric current flows; total current ‘I’
supposed to be made up of two components IC and IR, where IC is the capacitive current leading the
applied voltage by 90° and IR is in phase with applied voltage as shown in Fig.
4.15(c).
where ‘V' is the applied voltage in volts, ‘f’ is the supply frequency in Hz, ɛ0 is the absolute
permittivity of the medium = 8.854 × 10-12 F/m, ɛr is the relative permittivity of the medium =
1 for free space, A is the area of the plate or electrode (m2), d is the thickness of the dielectric
medium, and δ is the loss angle in radian.

From Equation (4.14):

Normally frequency used for dielectric heating is in the range of 1–40 MHz. The use of high
voltage is also limited due to the breakdown voltage of thin dielectric that is to be heated,
under normal conditions; the voltage gradient used is limited to 18 kV/cm.

The advantages of the dielectric heating

The heating of the non-conducting materials is very rapid. o

The uniform heating of material is possible.
o Heat is produced in the whole mass of the material.

The applications of the dielectric heating

The drying of paper, wood, etc. o

The gluing of wood.
o The heat-sealing of plastic sheets.
o The heating for the general processing such as coffee roasting and chocolate industry.
o The heating for the dehydration such as milk, cream, and vegetables.
o The preparation of thermoplastic resins.
o The heating of bones and tissues.
o Diathermy, i.e., the heat treatment for certain body pains and diseases, etc.
o The sterilization of absorbent cotton, bandages, etc.
o The processing of rubber, synthetic materials, chemicals, etc.

Example 4.12: A piece of insulating material is to be heated by dielectric heating. The size of
the piece is 10 × 10 × 3 cm3. A frequency of 30 mega cycles is used and the power absorbed is
400 W. Determine the voltage necessary for heating and the current that flows in the material.
The material has a permittivity of 5 and a power factor of 0.05.

Solution:

The capacitance offered by the material is given by:

In the phasor diagram, δ is called the dielectric loss angle and φ is called the power factor angle.

From the phasor diagram (Fig. P.4.3):

Fig. Phasor diagram

 SHORT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Give any two advantages of electric heating.

Electric heating equipment is cheaper; it does not require much

skilled persons so maintenance cost is less.
In this heating, the temperature can be controlled and regulated accurately
either manually or automatically.

What are the modes of the transfer of heat?

The modes of the transfer of heat are:

Conduction.
Convection.
Radiation.

What is an oven?
Oven is mean that a low-temperature heating chamber with provision for ventilation.
Define conduction.
The process of heat transfers from one part of a substance to another part without
movement in the molecules of substance. The rate of conduction of heat along
the substance depends upon temperature gradient.
Define convection.
The process of heat transfer takes place from one part to another part of a substance
or a fluid due to the actual motion of the molecules. The rate of conduction of the heat
depends mainly on the difference in the fluid density at different temperatures.
Define radiation.
The process of heat transfers from the source to the substance to be heated without
heating the medium in between the source and the substance.
What are the essentials requirements of heating elements?
The materials used for heating element should have:

High-specific resistance.
High-melting point.
High-mechanical strength.
Free from oxidation.

What is the Stefan's formula for heat dissipation?

Stefan's law for heat dissipation is:
What are the causes of the failure of the heating elements?
The failure of the heating element may cause due to:

The formation of hotspots.

The oxidation of the element and the intermittency of operation.
The embitterment caused by gain growth
Contamination and corrosion.

What is meant by resistance heating?

The process of heating the charge or substance by the heat produced due to the
resistance offered by the charge or heating element.
What is meant by induction heating?
The process of heating the material due to the heat developed by the currents induced
in the material by electromagnetic induction process.
What is meant by dielectric heating?
The process of heating non-metallic materials, i.e., the insulators such as wood,
plastics, and china clay due to the heat developed in the material when they are
subjected to high voltage alternating electric field, the atoms get stresses and due to
inter-atomic friction caused by the repeated deformation and rotation of atomic
structure.
What are the various losses occurring in resistance oven?
The heat produced in the heating elements, not only raises the temperature of charge
to desired value, but also used to overcome the losses occurring due to:

The heat used in raising the temperature of oven (or) furnace.

The heat used in raising the temperature of containers (or) carriers.
The heat conducted through the walls.
The heat loss due to the opening of oven door.

List out various methods of controlling the temperature of resistance heating.

The temperature of the furnaces can be controlled either by:

Varying the resistance of elements.

Varying the applied voltage to the elements or the current flowing
through the elements
Varying the ratio of the on-and-off times of supply.

What are the types of arc furnaces?

There are two types of arc furnaces and they are:
 Direct arc furnace.
Indirect arc furnace.

What is the condition for the maximum power output of electric arc furnace?
The condition for the maximum power output of electric arc furnace is:

[Link] is pinch effect?

The formation of bubbles and voids in the charge to be heated by the electromagnetic
induction due to high-electromagnetic forces, which causes the interruption of
secondary circuit. This effect is known as pinch effect.

[Link] is high-frequency eddy current heating?

The process of heating any material by the heat developed due to the conversion
of electromagnetic energy into heat energy.

[Link] amount of heat is controlled in high-frequency eddy current heating?

The amount of heat is controlled by controlling the supply frequency and the flux
density in high-frequency eddy current heating.
 UNIT 3
Electric Welding

INTRODUCTION

Welding is the process of joining two pieces of metal or non-metal together by heating them to
their melting point. Filler metal may or may not be used to join two pieces. The physical and
mechanical properties of a material to be welded such as melting temperature, density, thermal
conductivity, and tensile strength take an important role in welding. Depending upon how the
heat applied is created; we get different types of welding such as thermal welding, gas welding,
and electric welding. Here in this chapter, we will discuss only about the electric welding and
some introduction to other modern welding techniques. Welding is nowadays extensively used in
automobile industry, pipe-line fabrication in thermal power plants, machine repair work,
machine frames, etc.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WELDING

Some of the advantages of welding are:

Welding is the most economical method to permanently join two metal parts. o
It provides design flexibility.
o Welding equipment is not so costly.
o It joins all the commercial metals.
o Both similar and dissimilar metals can be joined by welding.
o Portable welding equipment are available.

Some of the disadvantages of welding are:

Welding gives out harmful radiations and fumes. o

Welding needs internal inspection.
o If welding is not done carefully, it may result in the distortion of workpiece.
o Skilled welding is necessary to produce good welding.

ELECTRIC WELDING

It is defined as the process of joining two metal pieces, in which the electrical energy is used to
generate heat at the point of welding in order to melt the joint.

The classification of electric welding process is shown in fig.

Fig. Classification of electric welding

The selection of proper welding process depends on the following factors.

The type of metal to be joined.

The techniques of welding adopted. o
The cost of equipment used.
o The nature of products to be fabricated.

RESISTANCE WELDING

Resistance welding is the process of joining two metals together by the heat produced due to the
resistance offered to the flow of electric current at the junctions of two metals. The heat
produced by the resistance to the flow of current is given by:

H = I2Rt,

where I is the current through the electrodes, R is the contact resistance of the interface, and tis
the time for which current flows.

Here, the total resistance offered to the flow of current is made up of:
 The resistance of current path in the work.
The resistance between the contact surfaces of the parts being welded.
The resistance between electrodes and the surface of parts being welded.

In this process of welding, the heat developed at the contact area between the pieces to be welded
reduces the metal to plastic state or liquid state, then the pieces are pressed under high
mechanical pressure to complete the weld. The electrical voltage input to the welding varies in
between 4 and 12 V depending upon area, thickness, composition, etc. and usually power ranges
from about 60 to 180 W for each sq. mm of area.

Any desired combination of voltage and current can be obtained by means of a suitable
transformer in AC; hence, AC is found to be most suitable for the resistance welding. The
magnitude of current is controlled by changing the primary voltage of the welding transformer,
which can be done by using an auto-transformer or a tap-changing transformer. Automatic
arrangements are provided to switch off the supply after a pre-determined time from applying
the pressure, why because the duration of the current flow through the work is very important in
the resistance welding.

The electrical circuit diagram for the resistance welding is shown in Fig. 5.2. This method of
welding consists of a tap-changing transformer, a clamping device for holding the metal pieces,
and some sort of mechanical arrangement for forcing the pieces to form a complete weld.

Fig. Electric circuit for resistance welding

Advantages
 Welding process is rapid and simple.
Localized heating is possible, if required. o
No need of using filler metal.
o Both similar and dissimilar metals can be welded.
o Comparatively lesser skill is required.
o Maintenance cost is less.
o It can be employed for mass production.

However, the resistance welding has got some drawbacks and they are:

Initial cost is very high. o

High maintenance cost.
o The workpiece with heavier thickness cannot be welded, since it requires high input current.

Applications

It is used by many industries manufacturing products made up of thinner gauge metals. o

It is used for the manufacturing of tubes and smaller structural sections.

Types of resistance welding

Depending upon the method of weld obtained and the type of electrodes used, the
resistance welding is classified as:

Spot welding.
Seam welding.
Projection welding.
Butt welding.

(i) Spot welding

Spot welding means the joining of two metal sheets and fusing them together between copper
electrode tips at suitably spaced intervals by means of heavy electric current passed through
the electrodes as shown in Fig. 5.3.
Fig. 5.3 Spot welding

This type of joint formed by the spot welding provides mechanical strength and not air or
water tight, for such welding it is necessary to localize the welding current and to apply
sufficient pressure on the sheet to be welded. The electrodes are made up of copper or copper
alloy and are water cooled. The welding current varies widely depending upon the thickness and
composition of the plates. It varies from 1,000 to 10,000 A, and voltage between the electrodes
is usually less than 2 V. The period of the flow of current varies widely depending upon the
thickness of sheets to be joined. A step-down transformer is used to reduce a high-voltage and
low-current supply to low-voltage and high-current supply required. Since the heat developed
being proportional to the product of welding time and square of the current. Good weld can be
obtained by low currents for longer duration and high currents for shorter duration; longer
welding time usually produces stronger weld but it involves high energy expenditure, electrode
maintenance, and lot of distortion of workpiece.

When voltage applied across the electrode, the flow of current will generate heat at the three
junctions, i.e., heat developed, between the two electrode tips and workpiece, between the two
workpieces to be joined as shown in Fig. 3.3. The generation of heat at junctions 1 and 3 will
effect electrode sticking and melt through holes, the prevention of electrode striking is achieved
by:

Using water-cooled electrodes shown in Fig. 5.4. By avoiding the heating of junctions 1 and 3 electrodes in
which cold water circulated continuously as shown in Fig. 5.3.
The material used for electrode should have high electrical and thermal conductivity. Spot welding is
widely used for automatic welding process, for joining automobile parts, joining and fabricating
sheet metal structure, etc.
 Fig. Water cooled electrode

(ii) Seam welding

Seam welding is nothing but the series of continuous spot welding. If number spots obtained
by spot welding are placed very closely that they can overlap, it gives rise to seam welding.

In this welding, continuous spot welds can be formed by using wheel type or roller
electrodes instead of tipped electrodes as shown in Fig. 5.5.

Fig. 5.5 Seam welding

Seam welding is obtained by keeping the job under electrodes. When these wheel type
electrodes travel over the metal pieces which are under pressure, the current passing between
them heats the two metal pieces to the plastic state and results into continuous spot welds.
 In this welding, the contact area of electrodes should be small, which will localize the
current pressure to the welding point. After forming weld at one point, the weld so obtained can
be cooled by splashing water over the job by using cooling jets.

In general, it is not satisfactory to make a continuous weld, for which the flow of continuous
current build up high heat that causes burning and wrapping of the metal piece. To avoid this
difficulty, an interrupter is provided on the circuit which turns on supply for a period sufficient
to heat the welding point. The series of weld spots depends upon the number of welding current
pulses.

The two forms of welding currents are shown in Fig. 5.6(a) and (b).

Fig. 5.6 Welding current

Welding cannot be made satisfactorily by using uninterrupted or un-modulated current,

which builds up high heat as the welding progress; this will over heat the workpiece and cause
distortion.

Seam welding is very important, as it provides leak proof joints. It is usually employed in
welding of pressure tanks, transformers, condensers, evaporators, air craft tanks,
refrigerators, varnish containers, etc.

(iii) Projection welding

It is a modified form of the spot welding. In the projection welding, both current and pressure are
localized to the welding points as in the spot welding. But the only difference in the projection
welding is the high mechanical pressure applied on the metal pieces to be welded, after the
formation of weld. The electrodes used for such welding are flat metal plates known as platens.
The two pieces of base metal to be weld are held together in between the two platens, one
is movable and the other is fixed, as shown in Fig. 5.7.

Fig. 5.7 Projection welding

One of the two pieces of metal is run through a machine that makes the bumps or
projections of required shape and size in the metal. As current flows through the two metal
parts to be welded, which heat up and melt. These weld points soon reach the plastic state, and
the projection touches the metal then force applied by the two flat electrodes forms the
complete weld.

The projection welding needs no protective atmosphere as in the spot welding to produce
successful results. This welding process reduces the amount of current and pressure in order to
join two metal surfaces, so that there is less chance of distortion of the surrounding areas of
the weld zone. Due to this reason, it has been incorporated into many manufacturing process.

The projection welding has the following advantages over the spot welding.

Simplicity in welding process.

It is easy to weld some of the parts where the spot welding is not possible. o
It is possible to join several welding points.
o Welds are located automatically by the position of projection.
o As the electrodes used in the projection welding are flat type, the contact area over the projection is
sufficient.

This type of welding is usually employed on punched, formed, or stamped parts where the
projection automatically exists. The projection welding is particularly employed for mass
production work, i.e., welding of refrigerators, condensers, crossed wire welding,
refrigerator racks, grills, etc.
 (iv) Butt welding

Butt welding is similar to the spot welding; however, the only difference is, in butt welding,
instead of electrodes the metal parts that are to be joined or butted together are connected to
the supply.

The three basic types of the butt welding process are:

Upset butt welding.

Flash butt welding.
Percussion butt welding.

(a) Upset butt welding

In upset welding, the two metal parts to be welded are joined end to end and are
connected across the secondary of a welding transformer as shown in Fig. 5.8.

Fig. 5.8 Upset butt welding

Due to the contact resistance of the metals to be welded, heating effect is generated in this
welding. When current is made to flow through the two electrodes, heat will develop due to the
contact resistance of the two pieces and then melts. By applying high mechanical pressure either
manually or by toggle mechanism, the two metal pieces are pressed. When jaw-type electrodes
are used that introduce the high currents without treating any hot spot on the job.
 This type of welding is usually employed for welding of rods, pipes, and wires and for joining
metal parts end to end.

(b) Flash butt welding

Flash butt welding is a combination of resistance, arc, and pressure welding. This method of
welding is mainly used in the production welding. A simple flash butt welding arrangement is
shown in Fig. 5.9.

Fig. 5.9 Flash butt welding

In this method of welding, the two pieces to be welded are brought very nearer to each other
under light mechanical pressure. These two pieces are placed in a conducting movable clamps.
When high current is passed through the two metal pieces and they are separated by some
distance, then arc established between them. This arc or flashing is allowed till the ends of the
workpieces reach melting temperature, the supply will be switched off and the pieces are rapidly
brought together under light pressure. As the pieces are moved together, the fused metal and slag
come out of the joint making a good solid joint.

Following are the advantages of the flash butt welding over the upset welding.

Less requirement of power.

When the surfaces being joined, it requires only less attention.
Weld obtained is so clean and pure; due to the foreign metals appearing on the surfaces will burn due to
flash or arc.
 (c) Percussion welding

It is a form of the flash butt welding, where high current of short duration is employed
using stored energy principle. This is a self-timing spot welding method.

Percussion welding arrangement consists of one fixed holder and the other one is movable.
The pieces to be welded are held apart, with the help of two holders, when the movable clamp is
released, it moves rapidly carrying the piece to be welded. There is a sudden discharge of
electrical energy, which establishes an arc between the two surfaces and heating them to their
melting temperature, when the two pieces are separated by a distance of 1.5 mm apart. As the
pieces come in contact with each other under heavy pressure, the arc is extinguished due to the
percussion blow of the two parts and the force between them affects the weld. The percussion
welding can be obtained in two methods; one is capacitor energy storage system and the other is
magnetic energy storage system. The capacitor discharge circuit for percussion welding is
shown in Fig. 5.10.

Fig. 5.10 Capacitor discharge circuit for percussion welding

The capacitor ‘C’ is charged to about 3,000 V from a controlled rectifier. The capacitor is
connected to the primary of welding transformer through the switch and will discharge. This
discharge will produce high transient current in the secondary to join the two metal pieces.

Percussion welding is difficult to obtain uniform flashing of the metal part areas of the cross-
section grater than 3 sq. cm. Advantage of this welding is so fast, extremely shallow of heating is
obtained with a span of about 0.1 sec. It can be used for welding a large number of
dissimilar metals.

Applications

It is useful for welding satellite tips to tools, sliver contact tips to copper, cast iron to steel, etc. o
Commonly used for electrical contacts.
o The metals such as copper alloys, aluminum alloys, and nickel alloys are percussion welded.

CHOICE OF WELDING TIME

The successful welding operation mainly depends upon three factors and they are:

Welding time.
Welding current.
Welding pressure.

Figure 5.11 shows how the energy input to the welding process, welding strength, and welding
current vary with welding time.

Fig. 5.11 Performance characteristics of electric welding

The heat developed during welding process is given by H = I2Rt. Here both welding
current and welding time are critical variables.
 Greater the welding current, the shorter the welding time required is; usually longer welding
time produces stronger weld but there is lot of distortion of workpiece and high energy
expenditure. From Fig. 5.11, it is to be noted that, from 0 to t1 sec, there is appreciable increase
in welding strength, but after t2 sec, the increase in the welding time does not appreciably result
in the increase in strength; therefore, ‘t2’ is the optimum welding time. This optimum time
varies with the thickness of the material. The optimum times of material (sheet steel) with
different thickness are given as:

Dimensions of material Optimum time

2 × 24 SWG 8 cycles

2 × 14 SWG 20 cycles

2¼″ 2 sec

Therefore, from the above discussion, it is observed that shorter welding times with strength
and economy are always preferable.

Electromagnetic storage welding circuit is shown in Fig. 5.12. In this type of welding,
the energy stored in the magnetic circuit is used in the welding operation.

Fig. 5.12 Magnetic energy storage welding circuit

In this system, rectifier is fed from AC supply, which is converted to DC, the DC voltage
of rectifier is controlled in such a way that, voltage induced in the primary without causing
large current in the secondary of transformer on opening the contactor switch, DC on longer
flows, there is rapid collapse of magnetic field, which induces very high current in the
secondary of a transformer. Induced currents in the secondary of the transformer flow through
the electrodes that develop heat at the surface of the metal and so forming the complete weld.
 ELECTRIC ARC WELDING

Electric arc welding is the process of joining two metallic pieces or melting of metal is
obtained due to the heat developed by an arc struck between an electrode and the metal to be
welded or between the two electrodes as shown in Fig. 5.13 (a).

Fig. Arrangement of electric welding equipment

In this process, an electric arc is produced by bringing two conductors (electrode and
metal piece) connected to a suitable source of electric current, momentarily in contact and
then separated by a small gap, arc blows due to the ionization and give intense heat.

The heat so developed is utilized to melt the part of workpiece and filler metal and thus
forms the weld.

In this method of welding, no mechanical pressure is employed; therefore, this type of

welding is also known as 'non-pressure welding’.

The length of the arc required for welding depends upon the following factors:

The surface coating and the type of electrodes used. o

The position of welding.
o The amount of current used.

When the supply is given across the conductors separated by some distance apart, the air gap present
between the two conductors gets ionized, as the arc welding is in progress, the ionization of the arc
path and its surrounding area increases. This increase in ionization decreases the resistance of the
path. Thus, current increases with the decrease in voltage of arc. This V-
I characteristic of an arc is shown in Fig. (b), it also known as negative resistance characteristics
of an arc. Thus, it will be seen that this decrease in resistance with increase in current does not
remain the arc steadily. This difficulty cab be avoided, with the supply, it should fall rapidly with
the increase in the current so that any further increase in the current is restricted.

For the arc welding, the temperature of the arc should be 3,500°C. At this temperature,
mechanical pressure for melting is not required. Both AC and DC can be used in the arc welding.
Usually 70–100 V on AC supply and 50–60 V on DC supply system is sufficient to struck the arc
in the air gap between the electrodes. Once the arc is struck, 20–30 V is only required to
maintain it.

However, in certain cases, there is any danger of electric shock to the operator, low voltage
should be used for the welding purpose. Thus, DC arc welding of low voltage is generally
preferred.

Electric arc welding is extensively used for the joining of metal parts, the repair of fractured
casting, and the fillings by the deposition of new metal on base metal, etc.

Various types of electric arc welding are:

Carbon arc welding.

Metal arc welding.
Atomic hydrogen arc welding.
Inert gas metal arc welding.
Submerged arc welding.

Carbon arc welding

It is one of the processes of arc welding in which arc is struck between two carbon electrodes
or the carbon electrode and the base metal. The simple arrangement of the carbon arc welding
is shown in Fig. 5.14.
Fig. Carbon arc welding

In this process of welding, the electrodes are placed in an electrode holder used as negative
electrode and the base metal being welded as positive. Unless, the electrode is negative relative
to the work, due to high temperature, there is a tendency of the particles of carbon will fuse
and mix up with the base metal, which causes brittleness; DC is preferred for carbon arc
welding since there is no fixed polarity maintained in case of AC.

In the carbon arc welding, carbon or graphite rods are used as electrode. Due to longer life
and low resistance, graphite electrodes are used, and thus capable of conducting more current.
The arc produced between electrode and base metal; heat the metal to the melting temperature,
on the negative electrode is 3,200°C and on the positive electrode is 3,900°C.

This process of welding is normally employed where addition of filler metal is not required.
The carbon arc is easy to maintain, and also the length of the arc can be easily varied. One
major problem with carbon arc is its instability which can be overcome by using an inductor in
the electrode of 2.5-cm diameter and with the current of about of 500–800 A employed to
deposit large amount of filler metal on the base metal.

Filler metal and flux may not be used depending upon the type of joint and material to
be welded.

Advantages

The heat developed during the welding can be easily controlled by adjusting the length of the arc. o
It is quite clean, simple, and less expensive when compared to other welding process.
o Easily adoptable for automation.
o Both the ferrous and the non-ferrous metals can be welded.

Disadvantages

Input current required in this welding, for the workpiece to rise its temperature to melting/welding
temperature, is approximately double the metal arc welding.
In case of the ferrous metal, there is a chance of disintegrating the carbon at high temperature and
transfer to the weld, which causes harder weld deposit and brittlement.
A separate filler rod has to be used if any filler metal is required.

Applications

It can be employed for the welding of stainless steel with thinner gauges.
Useful for the welding of thin high-grade nickel alloys and for galvanized sheets using copper silicon
manganese alloy filler metal.
 Metal arc welding

In metal arc welding, the electrodes used must be of the same metal as that of the work-piece to
be welded. The electrode itself forms the filler metal. An electric arc is stuck by bringing the
electrode connected to a suitable source of electric current, momentarily in contract with the
workpieces to be welded and withdrawn apart. The circuit diagram for the metal arc welding is
shown in Fig. 5.15.

Fig. 5.15 Metal arc welding

The arc produced between the workpiece and the electrode results high temperature of
the order of about 2,400°C at negative metal electrode and 2,600°C at positive base metal or
workpiece.

This high temperature of the arc melts the metal as well as the tip of the electrode, then
the electrode melts and deposited over the surface of the workpiece, forms complete weld.

Both AC and DC can be used for the metal arc welding. The voltage required for the DC
metal arc welding is about 50–60 V and for the AC metal arc welding is about 80–90 V

In order to maintain the voltage drop across the arc less than 13 V, the arc length should be
kept as small as possible, otherwise the weld will be brittle. The current required for the
welding varies from 10 to 500 A depending upon the type of work to be welded.

The main disadvantage in the DC metal arc welding is the presence of arc blow, i.e., distortion
of arc stream from the intended path due to the magnetic forces of the non-uniform magnetic
field with AC arc blow is considerably reduced. For obtaining good weld, the flux-coated
electrodes must be used, so the metal which is melted is covered with slag produces a non-
oxidizing gas or a molten slag to cover the weld, and also stabilizes the arc.

Atomic hydrogen arc welding

In atomic hydrogen arc welding, shown in Fig. 5.16, the heat for the welding process is produced
from an electric arc struck between two tungsten electrodes in an atmosphere of hydrogen. Here,
hydrogen serves mainly two functions; one acts as a protective screen for the arc and the other
acts as a cooling agent for the glowing tungsten electrode tips. As the hydrogen gas passes
through the arc, the hydrogen molecules are broken up into atoms, absorbs heat from the
glowing tungsten electrodes so that these are cooled.

Fig. 5.16 Atomic hydrogen arc welding

But, when the atoms of hydrogen recombine into molecules outside the arc, a large amount of
heat is liberated. This extraheat is added to the intense heat of arc, which produces a temperature
of about 4,000°C that is sufficient to melt the surfaces to be welded, together with the filler rod
if used. Moreover hydrogen includes oxygen and some other gases that might combine with the
molten metal and forms oxides and other impurities. Hydrogen also removes oxides from the
surface of workpiece. Thus, this process is capable of producing strong, uniform, smooth, and
ductile welds.

In the atomic hydrogen arc welding, the arc is maintained between the two non-consumable
tungsten electrodes under a pressure of about 0.5 kg/cm2. In order to obtain equal consumption
of electrodes, AC supply is used. Arc currents up to 150 A can be used. High voltage about 300
V is applied for this welding through a transformer. For striking the arc between the electrodes
the open circuit voltage required varies from 80 to 100 V.
 As the atomic hydrogen welding is too expensive, it is usually employed for welding
alloy steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, etc.

Inert gas metal arc welding

It is a gas-shielded metal arc welding, in which an electric arc is stuck between tungsten
electrode and workpiece to be welded. Filler metal may be introduced separately into the arc if
required. A welding gun, which carries a nozzle, through this nozzle, inert gas such as beryllium
or argon is blown around the arc and onto the weld, as shown in Fig. 5.17. As both beryllium and
argon are chemically inert, so the molten metal is protected from the action of the atmosphere by
an envelope of chemically reducing or inert gas.

Fig. 5.17 Inert gas metal are welding

As molten metal has an affinity for oxygen and nitrogen, if exposed to the atmosphere, thereby
forming their oxides and nitrides, which makes weld leaky and brittle.

Thus, several methods of shielding have been employed. With the use of flux coating
electrodes or by pumping, the inert gases around the arc produces a slag that floats on the top
of molten metal and produces an envelope of inert gas around the arc and the weld.

Advantages

Flux is not required since inert gas envelope protects the molten metal without forming oxides and
nitrates so the weld is smooth, uniform, and ductile.
Distortion of the work is minimum because the concentration of heat is possible.

Applications
 The welding is employed for light alloys, stainless steel, etc.
The welding of non-ferrous metal such as copper, aluminum, etc.

SUBMERGED ARC WELDING

It is an arc welding process, in which the arc column is established between above metal electrode
and the workpiece. Electric arc and molten pool are shielded by blanket of granular flux on the
workpiece. Initially to start an arc, short circuit path is provided by introducing steel wool between
the welding electrode and the workpiece. This is due to the coated flux material, when cold it is
non-conductor of the electricity but in molten state, it is highly conductive. Welding zone is
shielded by a blanket of flux, so that the arc is not visible. Hence, it is known as 'submerged arc
welding’. The arc so produced, melts the electrode, parent the metal and the coated flux, which
forms a protective envelope around both the arc and the molten metal.

As the arc in progress, the melted electrode metal forms globules and mix up with the molten
base metal, so that the weld is completed. In this welding, the electrode is completely covered by
flux. The flux may be made of silica, metal oxides, and other compounds fused together and
then crushed to proper size. Therefore, the welding takes place without spark, smoke, ash, etc.
Thus, there is no need of providing protective shields, smoke collectors, and ventilating
systems. Figure 5.18 shows the filling of parent metal by the submerged arc welding.

Fig. 5.18 Submerged arc welding

Voltage required for the submerged arc welding varies from 25 to 40 V. Current employed
for welding depends upon the dimensions of the workpiece. Normally, if DC supply is used
employing current ranging from 600 to 1,000 A, the current for AC is usually 2,000 A.

Advantages
 Deep penetration with high-quality weld is possible. o
Job with heavy thickness can be welded.
o The weld so obtained has good ductility, impact strength, high corrosion resistance, etc.
o The submerged arc welding can be done manually or automatically.

Applications

The submerged arc welding is widely used in the heavy steel plant fabrication work.
It can be employed for welding high strength steel, corrosion resistance steel, and low carbon steel. o It
is also used in the ship-building industry for splicing and fabricating subassemblies, manufacture of
vessels, tanks, etc.

ELECTRON BEAM WELDING

It is one of the processes of the electric welding, in which the heat required for carrying out
the welding operation is obtained by the electron bombardment heating.

In the electron bombardment heating, continuous stream of electron is produced between the
electron emitting material cathode and the material to be heated. The electrons released from
cathode possess KE traveling with high velocity in vacuum of 10-3-10-5 mmHg. When the fast
moving electrons hit, the material or workpiece releases their KE as heat in the material to be
heated. This heat is utilized to melt the metal.

If this process is carried out in high vacuum, without providing any electrodes, gasses, or filler
metal, pure weld can be obtained. Moreover, high vacuum is maintained around the (filament)
cathode. So that, it will not burn up and also produces continuous stable beam. If a vacuum was
not used, the electron would strike the small partials in the atmosphere, reducing their velocity
and also the heating ability. Thus, the operation should be performed in vacuum to present the
reduction of the velocity of electron. That's why this is also called as'vacuum electron beam
welding’. The power released by the electron beam is given by:

P = nqv watts,

where n is the number of charged particles, q is the charge in coulombs per meter, and v is the
voltage required to accelerate the electrum from rest.

The electron beam welding (Fig. 5.19) process requires electron-emitting heating filament
as cathode, focusing lens, etc.
Fig. 5.19 Electron beam welding

Advantages

Heat input to the electron beam welding can be easily controlled by varying beam current, voltage, the
position of filament, etc.
The electron beam welding can be used to join high temperature metals such as columbium. o
It can be employed for the welding of thick sections, due to high penetration to width ratio. o
It eliminates contamination of both weld zone and weld metal.
o Narrow electron beam reduces the distortion of workpiece.

Disadvantages

The pressure build up in the vacuum chamber due to the vapor of parent metal causes electrical break
down.
Most of the super alloys, refractory metals, and combinations of dissimilar metals can also be welded.

LASER BEAM WELDING

The word laser means 'light amplification stimulated emission of radiation’. It is the process
of joining the metal pieces by focusing a monochromatic light into the extremely concentrated
beams, onto the weld zone.

This process is used without shielding gas and without the application of pressure. The laser
beam is very intense and unidirectional but can be focused and refracted in the same way as an
ordinary light beam. The focus of the laser beam can be controlled by controlling the lenses,
mirrors, and the distance to the workpiece. Ablock diagram of the laser beam welding system is
shown in Fig. 5.20.
Fig. 5.20 Laser beam welding

In laser beam welding system, flash tube is designed to give thousands of flashes per
second. When capacitor bank is triggered, the electrical energy is injected into the flash tube
through trigger wire. Flash tube consists of thick xenon material, which produces high power
levels for very short period. If the bulb is operated in this manner, it becomes an efficient
device, which converts electrical energy to light energy. The laser is then activated.

The laser beam emitting from the flash tube, passing through the focusing lens, where it is
pinpointed on the workpiece. The heat so developed by the laser beam melts the work-piece and
the weld is completed. The welding characteristics of the laser are similar to the electron beam.

The laser beam has been used to weld carbon steel, low-alloy steel, aluminum, etc. The metals
with relatively high-electrical resistance and the parts of different sizes and mass can be welded.

TYPES OF WELDING ELECTRODES

An electrode is a piece of metal in the form of wire or rod that is either bare or coated uniformly
with flux. Electrode carries current for the welding operation. One contact end of the electrode
must be clean and is inserted into the electrode holder, an arc is set up at the other end.

The electrodes used for the arc welding are classified as follows (Fig. 5.21).
Fig Classification ofelectrods

Non-consumable electrodes

Electrodes, which do not consume or fuse during the welding process, are called non-
consumable electrodes.

Ex: Electrodes made up of carbon, graphite, or tungsten do not consume during welding.

Consumable electrodes

Electrodes, which are consumed during the welding operation, are consumable electrodes. These
are made up of various materials depending upon their purpose and the chemical composition of
metal to be welded.

The consumable electrodes are made in the form of rod having diameter of about 2–8 mm and
length of about 200–500 mm. They act as filler rod and are consumed during welding operation.

Bare electrodes

These are the consumable electrodes, which are not coated with any fluxing material. Bare
electrodes are in the form of wire. During welding operation, an arc is struck between the
workpiece and the electrode wire, then the electrode is melted down into the weld.

When the molten metal electrode and the workpiece are exposed to the atmosphere of oxygen and
nitrogen, they form their oxides and nitrides and cause the formation of some non-metallic
constituent, which reduces the strength and ductility of the deposited weld. The bare electrodes are
usually employed in automatic and semiautomatic welding. With bare electrode, the welding
can be done satisfactorily with DC supply only if the electrode should be connected to
the negative terminal of the supply.

Coated electrodes

Depending upon the thickness of flux coating, the coated electrode may classified into:

lightly coated electrodes and

heavily coated electrodes.

For obtaining good weld, the coated electrodes are always preferred.

(i) Lightly coated electrodes

These electrodes are coated with thin layer of coating material up to less than 1 mm. This
coating is usually consists of lime mixed with soluble glass which serves as a binder. These
electrodes are considered as improvement over bare electrodes.

The main purpose of using the light coating layer on the electrode is to increase the arc
stability, so they are also called as stabilizing electrodes. The mechanical strength of the weld
increased because slag layer will not formed on the molten weld. For this reason, lightly
coated electrodes may only be used for welding non-essential workpieces.

(ii)Heavily coated electrodes

These electrodes have coating layer with heavy thickness. The heavily coated electrodes
sometimes referred to as the shielded arc electrodes. The materials commonly used for coating
the electrodes are titanium oxide, ferromanganese, silica, flour, asbestos clay, calcium
carbonate, etc. This electrode coating helps in improving the quality of weld, as if the coating
layer of the electrodes burns in the heat of the arc provides gaseous shield around the arc, which
prevents the formation oxides and nitrites.

Advantages

Arc is stabilized due to the flux compounds of sodium and potassium.

The weld metal can be protected from the oxidizing action of oxygen and the nitrifying action of
nitrogen due to the gas shielded envelope.
The impurities present on the surface being welded are fluxed away.
The electrode coating increases deposition efficiency and weld metal deposition rate through iron
powder and ferro alloy addition.
In case of AC supply arc cools at zero current and there is a tendency of deionizing the arc path.
Covering gases keep the arc space ionized.
The welding operation becomes faster due to the increased melting rate. o
The coated electrodes help to deoxidize and refine the weld metal.
The type of electrode used for the welding process depends upon the following factors.

The nature of the electric supply, either AC or

DC. o The type of the metal to be welded.
o The welding position.
o The polarity of the welding machine.

COMPARISON BETWEEN RESISTANCE AND ARC WELDING

Resistance welding Arc welding

1 The source of supply is AC only. The source of supply is either AC (1-φ or 3-φ) or DC.

2 The head developed is mainly due to the The heat developed is mainly due to the striking of arc between
flow of contact resistance. electrodes or an electrode and the workpiece.

3 The temperature attained by the workpiece The temperature of the arc is so high, so proper care should be taken
is not so high. during the welding.

4 External pressure is required. No external pressure is required hence the welding equipment is more
simple and easy to control.

5 Filler metal is not required to join two Suitable filler electrodes are necessary to get proper welding strength.
metal pieces.

6 It cannot be used for repair work; it is It is not suitable for mass production. It is most suitable for repair
suitable for mass production. works and where more metal is to be deposited.

7 The power consumption is low. The power consumption is high.

8 The operating power factor is low. The operating power factor is high.

9 Bar, roller, or flat type electrodes are used Bare or coated electrodes are used (consumable or non-consumable).
(not consumable).

ELECTRIC WELDING EEQUIPMENT

Electric welding accessories required to carry out proper welding operation are:

Electric welding power sets.

Electrode holder to hold the electrodes.
Welding cable for connecting electrode and workpiece to the supply.
Face screen with colored glass.
Chipping hammers to remove slag from molten weld.
 Wire brush to clean the weld.
Earth clamp and protective clothing.

COMPARISON BETWEEN AC AND DC WELDING

AC welding DC welding

1 Motor generator set or rectifier is required in case of Only transformer is required.

the availability of AC supply.

2 The cost of the equipment is high. The cost of the equipment is cheap.

3 Arc stability is more. Arc stability is less.

4 The heat produced is uniform. The heat produced is not uniform.

5 Both bare and coated electrodes can be used. Only coated electrodes should be used.

6 The operating power factor is high. The power factor is low. So, the capacitors are necessary
to improve the power factor.

7 It is safer since no load voltage is low. It is dangerous since no load voltage is high.

8 The electric energy consumption is 5–10 kWh/kg of The electrical energy consumption is 3–4 kWh/kg of
deposited metal. deposited metal

9 Arc blow occurs due to the presence of non-uniform Arc blow will not occur due to the uniform magnetic
magnetic field. field.

10 The efficiency is low due to the rotating parts. The efficiency is high due to the absence of rotating parts.
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
Downloaded from [Link] by Gopi Krishna of Vidya Jyothi Institute of Technology with registered phone no 9866955211
and email krishsy143@[Link]. Contributed by JNTU Heroes
 UNIT 4

Electric Traction-I

INTRODUCTION

The system that causes the propulsion of a vehicle in which that driving force
or tractive force is obtained from various devices such as electric motors, steam
engine drives, diesel engine dives, etc. is known as traction system.

Traction system may be broadly classified into two types. They are electric-
traction systems, which use electrical energy, and non-electric traction
system, which does not use electrical energy for the propulsion of vehicle.

equirements of ideal traction system

Normally, no single traction system fulfills the requirements of ideal traction

system, why because each traction system has its merits and suffers from its
own demerits, in the fields of applications.

The requirements of ideal traction systems are:

Ideal traction system should have the capability of developing high tractive effort in
order to have rapid acceleration.
The speed control of the traction motors should be easy.
Vehicles should be able to run on any route, without interruption.
Equipment required for traction system should be minimum with high efficiency. o
It must be free from smoke, ash, durt, etc.
o Regenerative braking should be possible and braking should be in such a way to cause
minimum wear on the break shoe.
o Locomotive should be self-contained and it must be capable of withstanding overloads.
o Interference to the communication lines should be eliminated while the locomotive
running along the track.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Electric Traction

Electric traction system has many advantages compared to non-electric

traction systems. The following are the advantages of electric traction:

Electric traction system is more clean and easy to handle.

 No need of storage of coal and water that in turn reduces the maintenance cost as well
as the saving of high-grade coal.
Electric energy drawn from the supply distribution system is sufficient to maintain the
common necessities of locomotives such as fans and lights; therefore, there is no need
of providing additional generators.
The maintenance and running costs are comparatively low. o
The speed control of the electric motor is easy.
o Regenerative braking is possible so that the energy can be fed back to the supply
system during the braking period.
o In electric traction system, in addition to the mechanical braking, electrical braking can
also be used that reduces the wear on the brake shoes, wheels, etc.
o Electrically operated vehicles can withstand for overloads, as the system is capable of
drawing more energy from the system.

In addition to the above advantages, the electric traction system suffers from
the following drawbacks:

Electric traction system involves high erection cost of power system.

Interference causes to the communication lines due to the overhead distribution
networks.
The failure of power supply brings whole traction system to stand still.
In an electric traction system, the electrically operated vehicles have to move only on
the electrified routes.
Additional equipment should be needed for the provision of regenerative braking, it
will increase the overall cost of installation.

REVIEW OF EXISTING ELECTRIC TRACTION SYSTEM IN INDIA

In olden days, first traction system was introduced by Britain in 1890 (600-V DC
track). Electrification system was employed for the first traction vehicle. This
traction system was introduced in India in the year 1925 and the first traction
system employed in India was from Bombay VT to Igatpuri and Pune, with 1,500-
V DC supply. This DC supply can be obtained for traction from substations
equipped with rotary converters. Development in the rectifiers leads to the
replacement of rotary converters by mercury arc rectifiers. But nowadays further
development in the technology of semiconductors, these mercury arc valves are
replaced by solid-state semiconductors devices due to fast traction system was
introduced on 3,000-V DC. Further development in research on traction system by
French international railways was suggested that, based on relative merits and
demerits, it is advantageous to prefer to AC rather than DC both financially
and operationally.

Thus, Indian railways was introduced on 52-kV, 50-Hz single-phase AC system

in 1957; this system of track electrification leads to the reduction of the cost of
overhead, locomotive equipment, etc. Various systems employed for track
electrification are shown in Table .

Table Track electrification systems

SYSTEM OF TRACTION

Traction system is normally classified into two types based on the type of energy
given as input to drive the system and they are:

Non-electric traction system

Traction system develops the necessary propelling torque, which do
not involve the use of electrical energy at any stage to drive the traction
vehicle known as electric traction system.
Ex: Direct steam engine drive and direct internal combustion
engine drive.
Electric traction system

Traction system develops the necessary propelling torque, which

involves the use of electrical energy at any stage to drive the traction
vehicle, known as electric traction system.
Based upon the type of sources used to feed electric supply for
traction system, electric traction may be classified into two groups:
Self-contained locomotives.
Electric vehicle fed from the distribution networks.
 Self-contained locomotives

In this type, the locomotives or vehicles themselves having a capability of

generating electrical energy for traction purpose. Examples for such type
of locomotives are:

Steam electric drive

In steam electric locomotives, the steam turbine is employed for driving a
generator used to feed the electric motors. Such types of locomotives are
not generally used for traction because of some mechanical difficulties and
maintenance problems.
Diesel electric trains

A few locomotives employing diesel engine coupled to DC generator

used to feed the electric motors producing necessary propelling torque.
Diesel engine is a variable high-speed type that feeds the self- or
separately excited DC generator. The excitation for generator can be
supplied from any auxiliary devices and battery.
Generally, this type of traction system is suggested in the areas
where coal and steam tractions are not available. The advantages and
disadvantages of the diesel engine drive are given below:

Advantages

As these are no overhead distribution system, initial cost is low. o

Easy speed control is possible.
o Power loss in speed control is very low
o Time taken to bring the locomotive into service is less.
o In this system, high acceleration and braking retardation can be obtained compared to
steam locomotives.
o The overall efficiency is high compared to steam locomotives.

Disadvantages

The overloading capability of the diesel engine is less. o

The running and maintenance costs are high.
o The regenerative braking cannot be employed for the diesel engine drives.

Petrol electric traction

This system of traction is used in road vehicles such as heavy lorries and buses.
These vehicles are capable of handling overloads. At the same time, this system
provides fine and smooth control so that they can run along roads without any
jerking.

Battery drives

In this drive, the locomotive consists of batteries used to supply power to DC

motors employed for driving the vehicle. This type of drives can be preferred for
frequently operated services such as local delivery goods traction in industrial
works and mines, etc. This is due to the unreliability of supply source to feed the
electric motors.

Electric vehicles fed from distribution network

Vehicles in electrical traction system that receives power from over head
distribution network fed or substations with suitable spacing. Based on
the available supply, these groups of vehicles are further subdivided into:

System operating with DC supply. Ex: tramways, trolley buses, and railways.
System operating with AC supply. Ex: railways.

Systems operating with DC supply

In case if the available supply is DC, then the necessary propelling power can
be obtained for the vehicles from DC system such as tram ways, trolley buses,
and railways.

Tramways: Tramways are similar to the ordinary buses and cars but only the
difference is they are able to run only along the track. Operating power supply
for the tramways is 500-V DC tramways are fed from single overhead conductor
acts as positive polarity that is fed at suitable points from either power station or
substations and the track rail acts as return conductor.

The equipment used in tramways is similar to that used in railways but with
small output not more than 40–50 kW. Usually, the tramways are provided with
two driving axels to control the speed of the vehicles from either ends. The main
drawback of tramways is they have to run along the guided routes only.
Rehostatic and mechanical brakings can be applied to tramways. Mechanical
brakes can be applied at low speeds for providing better saturation where electric
braking is ineffective, during the normal service. The erection and maintenance
costs of tramways are high since the cost of overhead distribution structure is
costlier and sometimes, it may cause a source of danger to other road users.
Trolley buses: The main drawback of tramways is, running along the track is
avoided in case of trolley buses. These are electrically operated vehicles, and are fed
usually 600-V DC from two overhead conductors, by means of two collectors. Even
though overhead distribution structure is costlier, the trolley buses are advantageous
because, they eliminate the necessity of track in the roadways.

In case of trolley buses, rehostatic braking is employed, due to high

adhesion between roads and rubber types. A DC compound motor is employed
in trolley buses.

SYSTEM OF TRACK ELECTRIFICATION

Nowaday, based on the available supply, the track electrification system

are categorized into.

DC system.
Single-phase AC system.
Three-phase AC system.
Composite system.

1 DC system

In this system of traction, the electric motors employed for getting necessary
propelling torque should be selected in such a way that they should be able to
operate on DC supply. Examples for such vehicles operating based on DC system
are tramways and trolley buses. Usually, DC series motors are preferred for
tramways and trolley buses even though DC compound motors are available where
regenerative braking is desired. The operating voltages of vehicles for DC track
electrification system are 600, 750, 1,500, and 3,000 V. Direct current at 600–750
V is universally employed for tramways in the urban areas and for many suburban
and main line railways, 1,500–3,000 V is used. In some cases, DC supply for
traction motor can be obtained from substations equipped with rotary converters to
convert AC power to DC. These substations receive AC power from 3-φ high-
voltage line or single-phase overhead distribution network. The operating voltage
for traction purpose can be justified by the spacing between stations and the type
of traction motors available. Theses substations are usually automatic and remote
controlled and they are so costlier since they involve rotary converting equipment.
The DC system is preferred for suburban services and road transport where stops
are frequent and distance between the stops is small.
 2 Single-phase AC system

In this system of track electrification, usually AC series motors are used for getting
the necessary propelling power. The distribution network employed for such
traction systems is normally 15–25 kV at reduced frequency of 163⅔ Hz or 25 Hz.
The main reason of operating at reduced frequencies is AC series motors that are
more efficient and show better performance at low frequency. These high voltages
are stepped down to suitable low voltage of 300–400 V by means of step-down
transformer. Low frequency can be obtained from normal supply frequency with
the help of frequency converter. Low-frequency operation of overhead
transmission line reduces the line reactance and hence the voltage drops directly
and single-phase AC system is mainly preferred for main line services where the
cost of overhead structure is not much importance moreover rapid acceleration and
retardation is not required for suburban services.

3 Three-phase AC system

In this system of track electrification, 3-φ induction motors are employed for
getting the necessary propelling power. The operating voltage of induction motors
is normally 3,000–3,600-V AC at either normal supply frequency or 16⅔-Hz
frequency.

Usually 3-φ induction motors are preferable because they have simple and
robust construction, high operating efficiency, provision of regenerative braking
without placing any additional equipment, and better performance at both normal
and seduced frequencies. In addition to the above advantages, the induction motors
suffer from some drawbacks; they are low-starting torque, high-starting current,
and the absence of speed control. The main disadvantage of such track
electrification system is high cost of overhead distribution structure. This
distribution system consists of two overhead wires and track rail for the third
phase and receives power either directly from the generating station or through
transformer substation.

Three-phase AC system is mainly adopted for the services where the output
power required is high and regeneration of electrical energy is possible.

4 Composite system

As the above track electrification system have their own merits and demerits, 1-
AC system is preferable in the view of distribution cost and distribution voltage
can be stepped up to high voltage with the use of transformers, which reduces the
transmission losses. Whereas in DC system, DC series motors have most desirable
features and for 3-φ system, 3-φ induction motor has the advantage of automatic
regenerative braking. So, it is necessary to combine the advantages of the DC/AC
and 3-φ/1-φ systems. The above cause leads to the evolution of composite system.

Composite systems are of two types.

Single-phase to DC system.
Single-phase to three-phase system or kando system.

Single-phase to DC system

In this system, the advantages of both 1-φ and DC systems are combined to get high
voltage for distribution in order to reduce the losses that can be achieved with 1-φ
distribution networks, and DC series motor is employed for producing the necessary
propelling torque. Finally, 1-φ AC distribution network results minimum cost with
high transmission efficiency and DC series motor is ideally suited for traction
purpose. Normal operating voltage employed of distribution is 25 kV at normal
frequency of 50 Hz. This track electrification is employed in India.

Single-phase to 3-φ system or kando system

In this system, 1-φ AC system is preferred for distribution network. Since

single-phase overhead distribution system is cheap and 3-φ induction motors are
employed as traction motor because of their simple, robust construction, and the
provision of automatic regenerative braking.

The voltage used for the distribution network is about 15–25 kV at 50 Hz. This
1-φ supply is converted to 3-φ supply through the help of the phase converters and
high voltage is stepped down transformers to feed the 3-φ induction motors.
Frequency converters are also employed to get high-starting torque and to achieve
better speed control with the variable supply frequency.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF TRACTION MOTORS

The general features of the electric motors used for traction purpose are:

Mechanical features.
Electrical features.
 Mechanical features

A traction motor must be mechanically strong and robust and it should be capable of
withstanding severe mechanical vibrations.
The traction motor should be completely enclosed type when placed beneath the
locomotive to protect against dirt, dust, mud, etc.
In overall dimensions, the traction motor must have small diameter, to arrange easily
beneath the motor coach.
A traction motor must have minimum weight so the weight of locomotive will
decrease. Hence, the load carrying capability of the motor will increase.

Electrical features

High-starting torque

A traction motor must have high-starting torque, which is required to start the
motor on load during the starting conditions in urban and suburban services.

Speed control

The speed control of the traction motor must be simple and easy. This is
necessary for the frequent starting and stopping of the motor in traction purpose.

Dynamic and regenerative braking

Traction motors should be able to provide easy simple rehostatic and regenerative
braking subjected to higher voltages so that system must have the capability of
withstanding voltage fluctuations.

Temperature

The traction motor should have the capability of withstanding high

temperatures during transient conditions.

Overload capacity

The traction motor should have the capability of handling excessecive overloads.
 Parallel running

In traction work, more number of motors need to run in parallel to carry more
load. Therefore, the traction motor should have such speed–torque and current–
torque characteristics and those motors may share the total load almost equally.

Commutation

Traction motor should have the feature of better commutation, to avoid

the sparking at the brushes and commutator segments.

TRACTION MOTORS

No single motor can have all the electrical operating features required for traction.

In earlier days, DC motor is suited for traction because of the high-starting

torque and having the capability of handling overloads. In addition to the above
characteristics, the speed control of the DC motor is very complicated through
semiconductor switches. So that, the motor must be designed for high base speed
initially by reducing the number of turns in the field winding. But this will
decrease the torque developed per ampere at the time of staring. And
regenerative braking is also complicated in DC series motor; so that, the
separately excited motors can be preferred over the series motor because their
speed control is possible through semi-controlled converters. And also dynamic
and regenerative braking in separately excited DC motor is simple and efficient.

DC compound motors are also preferred for traction applications since it

is having advantageous features than series and separately excited motors.

But nowadays squirrel cage induction and synchronous motors are widely used
for traction because of the availability of reliable variable frequency
semiconductor inverters.

The squirrel cage induction motor has several advantages over the DC motors.
They are:

Robust construction.
Highly reliable.
Low maintenance and low cost.
High efficiency.
Synchronous motor features lie in between the squirrel cage induction motor and
the DC motor. The main advantages of the synchronous motor over the squirrel
cage induction motor are:

The synchronous motors can be operated at leading power by varying the field
excitation.
Load commutated thyristor inverter is used in synchronous motors as compared to
forced commutation thyristor inverter in squirrel cage induction motors.

Even though such forced commutation reduces the weight and volume of
induction motor, the synchronous motor is less expensive.

1. DC series motor

From the construction and operating characteristics of the DC series motor, it is

widely suitable for traction purpose. Following features of series motor make it
suitable for traction.

DC series motor is having high-starting torque and having the capability of handling
overloads that is essential for traction drives.
These motors are having simple and robust construction.
The speed control of the series motor is easy by series parallel control.
Sparkless commutation is possible, because the increase in armature current increases
the load torque and decreases the speed so that the emf induced in the coils undergoing
commutation.
Series motor flux is proportional to armature current and torque. But armature current
is independent of voltage fluctuations. Hence, the motor is unaffected by the
variations in supply voltage.
We know that:

But the power output of the motor is proportional to the product of torque
and speed.
Motor output
 That is motor input drawn from the source is proportional to the
square root of the torque. Hence, the series motor is having self-
retaining property.
If more than one motor are to be run in parallel, their speed–torque and current–torque
characteristics must not have wide variation, which may result in the unequal wear of driving
wheels.

2 DC shunt motor

From the characteristics of DC shunt motor, it is not suitable for traction purpose,
due to the following reasons:

DC shunt motor is a constant speed motor but for traction purpose, the speed of the
motor should vary with service conditions.
In case of DC shunt motor, the power output is independent of speed and is
proportional to torque. In case of DC series motor, the power output is proportional
to So that, for a given load torque, the shunt motor has to draw more power
from the supply than series motor.
For shunt motor, the torque developed is proportional to armature current (T ∝ Ia). So for a given load torque motor has to draw more current from the supply.

The flux developed by shunt motor is proportional to shunt field current and hence

supply voltage. . But the torque developed is proportional

to φsh and Ia. Hence, the torque developed by the shunt motor is affected by
small variations in supply voltage.
If two shunt motors are running in parallel, their speed–torque and speed–current
characteristics must be flat and same. Otherwise, the currents drawn by the motor from
the supply mains will be different and cause to unequal sharing of load.

Example 9.1: A DC series motor drives a load. The motor takes a current of 13 A
and the speed is 620 rpm. The torque of the motor varies as the square of speed.
The field winding is shunted by a diverter of the same resistance as that of the field
winding, then determine the motor speed and current. Neglect all motor losses and
assume that the magnetic circuit is unsaturated.

Solution:

Before connecting field diverter:

Speed, N1 = 620 rpm.

 Series field current, Ise1 = 13 A.

The same current flows through the armature; so

that, I1 = Isel = Ia1 = 13 A.

After connecting field diverter, the field winding is shunted by the diverter of
the same refinance; so that:

Series field current .

Since torque developed:

According to given data, the torque varies as the square of the speed.

From Equations (i) and (ii):

All the losses are neglected, and assume that the supply voltage is constant.

From Equations (iii) and (iv):

From Equation (iv):

Example: A series motor having a resistance of 0.8 Ω between its terminal drives.
The torque of a fan is proportional to the square of the speed. At 220 V, its speed is
350 rpm and takes 12 A. The speed of the fan is to be raised to 400 rpm by supply
voltage control. Estimate the supply voltage required.

Solution:

Ra + Rse = 0.8 Ω, V1 = 220 V, N1 = 350 rpm, I1 = Ia1 = 12 A

N2 = 400 rpm.

Use the torque equation,

Also T ∝ N2 (given)

Equating Equations (i) & (ii):

Use the speed equation

Now, Eb1 = V1- Ia1(Ra + Rse)

= 220 – 12(0.8) = 210.4 V.

In second case, the voltage is to be changed from V1 to V2.

Eb2 = V2 - Ia2(Ra + Rse)

V2 – 13.7(0.8) = V2 – 10.96.

Eb1 and Eb2 are substituted in Eq (iii):

This is the new supply voltage required to raise the speed from 350 rpm to 400 rpm.

Example: A 230-V DC shunt motor takes a current of 20 A on a certain load. The

armature resistance is 0.8 Ω and the field circuit resistance is 250 Ω. Find the
resistance to be inserted in series with the armature to have the speed is half if the
load torque is constant.

Solution:

IL1 = 20 A.
 Ia1 = IL1 – Ish = 20 – 0.92 = 19.08.

Eb1 = V – Ia1Ra = 230 – 19.08(0.08) = 214.736 V.

T ∝ φIa ∝ Ia (∵φ is constant).

as torque is constant
∴Ia1 = Ia2 = 19.08A.

Rx = external resistance in armature

Eb2 = V – Ia2(Ra + Rx = 230 – (19.08)(0.8 + Rx).

AC series motor

Practically, AC series motor is best suited for the traction purpose due to high-
starting torque (Fig. 9.1). When DC series motor is fed from AC supply, it
works but not satisfactorily due to some of the following reasons:

If DC series motor is fed from AC supply, both the field and the armature currents
reverse for every half cycle. Hence, unidirectional torque is developed at double frequency.
 Alternating flux developed by the field winding causes excessive eddy current loss, which
will cause the heating of the motor. Hence, the operating efficiency of the motor will
decrease.
Field winding inductance will result abnormal voltage drop and low power factor that
leads to the poor performance of the motor.
Induced emf and currents flowing through the armature coils undergoing commutation
will cause sparking at the brushes and commutator segments.

Fig. AC series motor

Hence, some modifications are necessary for the satisfactory operation of the DC
series motor on the AC supply and they are as follows:

In order to reduce the inductive reactance of the series field, the field winding of AC
series motor must be designed for few turns.
The decrease in the number of turns of the field winding reduces the load torque, i.e.,
if field turns decrease, its mmf decrease and then flux, which will increase the speed,
and hence the torque will decrease. But in order to maintain constant load torque, it is
necessary to increase the armature turns proportionately.
If the armature turns increase, the inductive reactance of the armature would increase,
which can be neutralized by providing the compensating winding.
Magnetic circuit of an AC series motor should be laminated to reduce eddy
current losses.
Series motor should be operating at low voltage because high voltage low
current supply would require large number of turns to produce given flux.
 Motor should be operating at low frequency, because inductive reactance is proportional
to the frequency. So, at low frequency, the inductive reactance of the field winding
decreases.

The operating characteristics of the AC series motor are similar to the DC series
motor. Weight of an AC series motor is one and a half to two times that of a DC
series motor. And operating voltage is limited to 300 V. They can be built up to the
size of several hundred kW for traction work.

At the time of starting operation, the power factor is low; so that, for a given
current, the torque developed by the AC motor is less compared to the DC motor.
Thus, the AC series motor is not suitable for suburban services with frequent stops
and preferred for main line service where high acceleration is not required.

Three-phase induction motor

The three-phase induction motors are generally preferred for traction purpose
due to the following advantages.

Simple and robust construction.

Trouble-free operation.
The absence of commutator.
Less maintenance.
Simple and automatic regeneration.
High efficiency.

Three-phase induction motor also suffer from the following drawbacks.

Low-starting torque.
High-starting current and complicated speed control system.
It is difficult to employ three-phase induction motor for a multiple-unit system used for
propelling a heavy train.

Three-phase induction motor draws less current when the motor is started at low
frequencies. When a three-phase induction motor is used, the cost of overhead
distribution system increases and it consists of two overhead conductors and
track rail for the third phase to feed power to locomotive, which is a complicated
overhead structure and if any person comes in contact with the third rail, it may
cause danger to him or her.
 This drawback can be overcome by employing kando system. In this system, 1-
supply from the overhead distribution structure is converted to 3-φ supply
by using phase converters and is fed to 3-φinduction motor.

The speed controller of induction motor becomes smooth and easy with the
use of thyristorized inverter circuits to get variable frequency supply that can be
used to control the speed of three-phase induction motor.

Nowadays, by overcoming the drawbacks of three-phase induction motor, it can

be used for traction purpose.

Linear induction motor

It is a special type of induction motor that gives linear motion instead of

rotational motion, as in the case of a conventional motor.

In case of linear induction motor, both the movement of field and the
movement of the conductors are linear.

A linear induction motor consists of 3-φ distributed field winding placed in slots,
and secondary is nothing but a conducting plate made up of either copper or
aluminum as shown in Fig. .
Fig Linear induction motor

The field system may be either single primary or double primary system. In
single primary system, a ferro magnetic plate is placed on the other side of the
copper plate; it is necessary to provide low reluctance path for the magnetic flux.
When primary is excited by 3-φ AC supply, according to mutual induction, the
induced currents are flowing through secondary and ferro magnetic plate. Now, the
ferro magnetic plate energized and attracted toward the primary causes to unequal
air gap between primary and secondary as shown in Fig. 9.2(a). This drawback can
be overcome by double primary system as shown in Fig. 9.2(b). In this system, two
primaries are placed on both the sides of secondary, which will be shorter in length
compared to the other depending upon the use of the motor.

When the operating distance is large, the length of the primary is made shorter
than the secondary because it is not economical to place very large 3-φ primary.
Generally, the short secondary form of system is preferred for limited
operating distance, as shown in

When 3-φ primary winding is excited by giving 3-φ AC supply, magnetic field
is developed rotating at linear synchronous speed, Vs.

The linear synchronous speed is given by:

Vs = 2τ f m/s,

where τ is the pole pitch in m and f is the supply frequency in hertzs.

Note: here, the synchronous speed does not depend upon the number of poles but
depends upon the pole pitch and the supply frequency.

Short single primary.

Short double primary.
Short secondary.

The flux developed by the field winding pulls the rotor same as to the direction of
the magnetic field linearly, which will reduce relative speed between field and
rotor plate. If the speed of the rotor plate is equal to the magnetic field, then the
field would be stationary when viewed from the rotor plate. If rotor plate is
rotating at a speed more than linear synchronous, the direction of a force would be
reversed, which causes regenerative braking.

The slip of the linear induction motor is given by:

where ‘V ’ is the actual speed of the rotor plate.

The speed–torque (tractive effort) characteristics is shown in Fig. 9.3.

Fig. 9.3 Torque–speed characteristics

Therefore, force or tractive effort is given by:

where ‘P2’ is the actual power supply to the rotor.

Advantages
Simple in construction.
Low initial cost.
Maintenance cost is low.
Maximum speed is not limited due centrifugal forces.
Better power to weight ratio.

Disadvantages
High cost of providing collector system.
Poor efficiency and low power factor, due to high currents drawn by the motor because of
large air gap.

Applications

Linear induction motor are generally used in:

High-speed rail traction.

Trolley cars and metallic belt conveyors.
 Electromagnetic pumps.

Synchronous motor

The synchronous motor is one type of AC motor working based upon the principle
of magnetic lacking. It is a constant speed motor running from no-load to full
load. The construction of the synchronous motor is similar to the AC generator;
armature winding is excited by giving three-phase AC supply and field winding is
excited by giving DC supply. The synchronous motor can be operated at leading
and lagging power factors by varying field excitation.

The synchronous motor can be widely used various applications because

of constant speed from no-load to full load.

High efficiency. o
Low-initial cost.
o Power factor improvement of three-phase AC industrial circuits.

BRAKING

If at any time, it is required to stop an electric motor, then the electric supply must be
disconnected from its terminals to bring the motor to rest. In this method, even
though supply is cut off, the motor continue to rotate for long time due to inertia.
In some cases, there is delay in bringing the other equipment. So that, it is
necessary to bring the motor to rest quickly. The process of bringing the motor
to rest within the pre-determined time is known as braking.

A good braking system must have the following features:

Braking should be fast and reliable.

The equipment to stop the motor should be in such a way that the kinetic energy of the
rotating parts of the motor should be dissipated as soon as the brakes are applied.

Braking applied to bring the motor to rest position is of two types and they are:

Electric braking.
Mechanical braking.
 Electric braking

In this process of braking, the kinetic energy of the rotating parts of the motor is
converted into electrical energy which in turn is dissipated as heat energy in a
resistance or in sometimes, electrical energy is returned to the supply. Here, no
energy is dissipated in brake shoes.

Mechanical braking

In this process of braking, the kinetic energy of the rotating parts is dissipated in
the form of heat by the brake shoes of the brake lining that rubs on a wheel of
vehicle or brake drum.

The advantages of the electric braking over the mechanical braking

The electric braking is smooth, fast, and reliable.
Higher speeds can be maintained; this is because the electric braking is quite fast. This
leads to the higher capacity of the system.
The electric braking is more economical; this is due to excessive wear on brake blocks or
brake lining that results frequent and costly replacement in mechanical braking.
Heat produced in the electric braking is less and not harmful but heat produced in the
mechanical braking will cause the failure of brakes.
In the electric braking, sometimes, it is possible to fed back electric energy during braking
period to the supply system. This results in saving in the operating cost. This is not
possible in case of mechanical braking.

Disadvantages

In addition to the above advantages, the electric braking suffers from the following
disadvantages.

During the braking period, the traction motor acts generator and electric brakes can almost
stop the motor but it cannot hold stationary. Hence, it is necessary to employ
mechanical braking in addition to electric braking.
Traction motor has to work as a generator during braking period. So that, motor has to
select in such a way that it should have suitable braking characteristics.
The initial cost of the electric braking equipment is costlier.
 TYPES OF ELECTRIC BRAKING

Electric braking can be applied to the traction vehicle, by any one of the
following methods, namely:

Plugging.
Rehostatic braking.
Regenerative braking.

Plugging

In this method of braking, the electric motor is reconnected to the supply in such a
way that it has to develop a torque in opposite direction to the movement of the
rotor. Now, the motor will decelerates until zero speed is zero and then accelerates
in opposite direction. Immediately, it is necessary to disconnect the motor from the
supply as soon as system comes to rest.

The main disadvantage of this method is that the kinetic energy of the rotating
parts of the motor is wasted and an additional amount of energy from the supply
is required to develop the torque in reverse direction, i.e., in this method, the
motor should be connected to the supply during braking. This method can be
applied to both DC and AC motors.

Plugging applied to DC motors

Pulling is nothing but reverse current braking. This method of braking can be
applied to both DC shunt and DC series motors by reversing either the current
through armature or the field winding in order to produce the torque in apposite
direction, but not both. The connection diagrams for both DC shunt and DC series
motors during normal and braking periods are given as follows.

The connection diagram for normal running conditions of both DC shunt and DC
series motors are shown in Figs. 9.4 (a) and 9.5 (a). The back emf developed by
the motor is equal in magnitude and same as to the direction of terminal or supply
voltage. During the braking, the armatures of both shunt and series motors are
reversed as shown in Fig. 9.4 (b) and Fig. 9.5 (b). Now, the back emf developed by
the motor direction of terminal voltage. A high resistance ‘R’ is connected in series
with the armature to limit high-starting current during the braking period.
Fig. 9.4 Plugging of DC shunt motor

Fig. 9.5 Plugging of DC series motor

Current flowing through the armature during normal run condition:

where V is the supply voltage, Eb is the back emf, and Ra is the armature resistance.

Current flowing through the armature during braking period:

Electric braking torque, TB ∝ φ I2.

But we know that:

Substitute Equation (9.3) in Equation (9.2):

where and .

We know that, in case of series motor flux (φ) developed by the winding is
depending the current flowing through it.

In case of shunt motor, the flux remains constant.

Plugging applied to induction motor

During the normal operating condition, the rotating magnetic field developed by
the stator and the rotation of rotor are in the same direction. But during the
braking period, plugging is applied to an induction motor by reversing any two
phases of the three phases of stator winding in order to change the direction of the
rotating magnetic field as shown in Fig. 9.6. So that, the rotating magnetic filed
and the rotor will be rotating in opposite direction. So that, the relative speed
between emf and rotor is nearly twice the synchronous speed Ns –(–Ns) = 2Ns.
Fig. 9.6 Plugging applied to induction motor
Slip during the braking period:

But the voltage induced in the rotor (E2) is proportional to the slip (S ) ×
stator voltage (V):
E2 ∝ SV.

So, the rotor voltage during the braking period is twice the normal voltage.
To avoid the damage of the rotor winding, it should be provided with
additional insulation, to withstand the high induced voltage.

The rotation of the magnetic field in the reverse direction produce torque in
reverse direction; thereby applying the brakes to the motor. The braking of
induction motor can be analyzed by the torque–slip characteristics shown in Fig.
9.7.
Fig. 9.7 Torque–slip characteristics

Rotor current during the braking period, .

The characteristic curve for the rotor current and the rotor voltage with
the variation of the slip is shown in Fig. 9.8.

Fig. Rotor current–slip characteristics

Plugging applied to synchronous motor

Normally, the stator winding of the synchronous motor is fed with 3-φ AC supply to
produce the rotating magnetic field that induces stator poles. And, the field winding
is excited by giving the DC supply thereby inducing the rotor poles. At
any instant, the stator poles gets locked with the rotor poles and the synchronous
motor rotating at the synchronous speed. In this method of plugging applied to
synchronous motor, simply it is not possible to produce the counter torque
during the braking period by interchanging any two of three phases. This is due
to the magnetic locking of stator and rotor poles (Fig. 9.9).

Fig. 9.9 Synchronous motor

In order to develop the counter torque, the rotor of synchronous motor should
be provided with damper winding. The EMF induced in the damper winding
whenever there is any change, i.e., the reversal of the direction of the stator field.
Now, according to Lenz's law, the emf induced in the damper winding opposes
the change which producing it. This emf induced in the damper winding produces
the circulating current to produce the torque in the reverse direction. This torque is
known as braking torque. This braking torque helps to bring the motor to rest.

Rheostatic or dynamic braking

In this method of braking, the electric motor is disconnected from the supply
during the braking period and is reconnected across same electrical resistance.
But field winding is continuously excited from the supply in the same direction.
Thus, during the starts working as generator during the braking period and all the
kinetic energy of the rotating parts is converted into electric energy and is
dissipated across the external resistance.

One of the main advantages of the rehostatic braking is electrical energy is not
drawn by the motor during braking period compared to plugging. The rehostatic
braking can be applied to various DC and AC motors.
 Rehostatic braking applied to DC motors

The rheostatic braking can be applied to both DC shunt and DC series motors, by
disconnecting the armature from the supply and reconnecting it across and
external resistance. This is required to dissipate the kinetic energy of all rotating
parts thereby brining the motor to rest.

DC shunts motor

Figure 9.10 shows the connection diagram of the DC shunt motor during both
normal and braking conditions. In case of DC shunt motor, both armature and field
windings are connected across the DC supply, as shown in Fig. 9.10 (a.)

Fig. Rheostatic braking of DC shunt motor

During the braking period, the armature is disconnected from the supply and
field winding is continuously excited by the supply in the same direction, as shown
in Fig. 9.10 (b). The kinetic energy of all rotating parts is dissipated in the resistor
‘R’ now the machine starts working as generator. Now, braking developed is
proportional to the product of the field and the armature currents. But the shunt
motor flux remains constant, so the braking torque is proportional to armature
current at low-speeds braking torque is less and in order to maintain constant
braking torque, the armature is gradually disconnected. Hence, the armature
current remains same thereby maintaining the uniform braking torque.
 DC series motor

In this braking, which is applied to DC series motor, the armature is disconnected

from the supply and is reconnected across an external resistance ‘R’ shown in Fig.
9.11 (a) and (b). But, simply, it is not possible to develop the retarding torque by
the DC series motor after connecting armature across the resistance as DC shunt
motor.

Fig. Rheostatic braking of DC series motor

In case of DC series motor, both the field and armature windings are connected
across the resistance after disconnecting the same from the supply; current
directions of both the field and armatures are reversed. This results in the
production of torque in same direction as before. So, in order to produce the
braking torque only the direction of current in the armature has to be reversed. The
connection diagram of DC series is shown in Fig. 9.11.

If more than one motor has to be used as in electric traction. All motors can
be connected in equalizer connection as shown in Fig. 9.12. In this connection,
one machine is excited by the armature current of another machine.
Fig. Equalizer connection
Braking torque

The current flowing through the armature during braking period:

where Eb is the back emf developed, R is the external resistance, and Ra is

the armature resistance.

Braking torque, TB ∝ φ Ia.

Now, substitute Equation (9.8) in Equation (9.9):

For shunt motor flux is practically constant:

DC series motor

In case of DC series motor, it is not easy to apply regenerative braking as of DC

shunt motor. The main reasons of the difficulty of applying regenerative braking
to DC series motor are:

During the braking period, the motor acts as generator by reversing the direction of
current flowing through the armature, but at the same time, the current flowing through the
field winding is also reversed; hence, there is no retarding torque. And, a short-circuit
condition will set up both back emf and supply voltage will be added together. So that, during
the braking period, it is necessary to reverse the terminals of field winding.
Some sort of compensating equipment must be incorporated to take care of
large change in supply voltage.

On doing some modifications during the braking period, the regenerative braking
can be applied to DC series motor. Any one of the following methods is used.

Method-I (French method)

If one or more series motors are running in parallel, during the braking period, the
field windings, of all series motors, are connected across the supply in series with
suitable resistance. Thereby converting all series machines in shunt machines
as shown in Fig. 9.15.

Fig. Regenerative braking of DC series motor

The main advantage of this method is, all armatures are connected in parallel and
current supplied to one machine is sufficient to excite the field windings of all the
machines, and the energy supplied by remaining all the machines is fed back to the
supply system, during the braking period.

Method-II

In this method, the exciter is provided to excite the field windings of the
series machine during the regenerative braking period. This is necessary to
avoid the dissipation of energy or the loss of power in the external resistance.

Whenever the excitation of field winding is adjusted to increase the rotational

emf more than the supply voltage, then the energy is supplied to the supply system.
At that time, the field winding of the series machine is connected across an excited
being driven by motor operated from an auxiliary supply. Now, during the braking
period, the series machine acts as separately excited DC generator which supplies
energy to the main lines. A stabilizing resistance is used to control the
braking torque (Figs. 9.16 and 9.17).

Fig. Regenerative braking

Fig. Regenerative braking

Method-III

In this method, the armature of exciter is connected in series. With the field
winding of series machine, this combination is connected across the
stabilizing resistance.

Here, the current flowing through stabilizing resistance is the sum of

exciter current and regenerated current by the series machines.

During the braking period, the regenerated current increases the voltage drop
across the stabilizing resistance, which will reduce the voltage across the
armature circuit and cause the reduction of the exciter current of the series
machine field winding. Hence, the traction motors operating as series generators.

Regenerative braking applied to 3-φ induction motor

Regenerative braking is applied to the induction motor by increasing its speed

above the synchronous speed. Now, the induction motor acting as an induction
generator that feeds power to the main line. The torque slip characteristics of the
induction motors are shown in Fig. 9.18.

Fig. Torque vs slip characteristics

 The main advantage of the induction motor is during the braking period; no need
of placing external resistance in the rotor circuit. The speed during the braking
remains almost constant and independent of the gradient and the weight of the
train.

This regenerative braking applied to an induction motor can save 20% of

the total energy leads the reduction of operating cost.

Regenerative braking applied to AC series motors

It is not simple way to apply regenerative braking to an AC series motor. In this

method, the armature of traction motor is connected to the top changing
transformer through iron cored reactors RE1 andRE2 and commutating pole
winding ‘C’.

An auxiliary transformer is provided to excite the field winding of the traction

motor. Let us assume ‘V ’ be the voltage of tap-changing transformer and If is the
field current of traction motor. Due to the presence of reactor, If lags V by an
angle 90° of traction motor is phase with exciting current as shown in Fig. 9.19.

Fig. Phasor diagram

From the phasor diagram, the vector difference of and gives voltage across

iron-cored reactor RE1. Now, the armature current Ia lags by 90°. And, the
braking torque developed the series machine will be proportional to Ia cosφ. And,
the power returned to the supply is also proportional Ia cosφ. So that, proper phase
angle must be obtained for efficient braking effect arise in the regenerative braking
applied to an AC series motor are:
 During the regenerative braking, the braking torque is proportional to the operating
power factor. In order to operate the series motor at high power factor field, winding
must be excited separately from other auxiliary devices.
Proper phase-shifting device must be incorporated to ensure correct phase angle.

To overcome the difficulty stated above, a special arrangement is adopted that is

known as Behn Eschenburg method of regenerative braking.

The circuit diagram for applying regenerative braking to an AC series motor is

shown in Fig. 9.20.

Fig. 9.20 Regenerative braking of AC series motor

TRACTION MOTOR CONTROL

Normally, at the time of starting, the excessive current drawn by the electric
motor from the main supply causes to the effects. So that, it is necessary to reduce
the current drawn by the traction motor for its smooth control such as:

To achieve smooth acceleration without any jerking and sudden shocks.

 To prevent damage to coupling.
To achieve various speed depending upon the type of services.

Control of DC motors

At the time of starting, excessive current is drawn by the traction motor when rated
voltage is applied across its terminals. During the starting period, the current
drawn by the motor is limited to its rated current. This can be achieved by placing
a resistance in series with the armature winding. This is known as starting
resistance; it will be cut off during the normal running period thereby applying
rated voltage across its armature terminals. By the resistance of stating resistor,
there is considerable loss of energy takes place in it.
At the time of switching on, the back emf developed by the motor Eb = 0.

where Vs is the voltage drop across starting resistance and IaRa is the voltage drop
in armature.

During the running condition:

At the end of accelerating period, the total starting resistance will be cut off from
the armature then:

Various drops during staring and running with armature resistance.

 2. Various drops during staring and running with negligible armature resistance.

When armature resistance is neglected Ra = 0 and ‘t’ is the time in seconds for
starting, then total energy supplied is, VaIat watts-sec and the energy wasted in the
starting resistance at the time of starting can be calculated from Fig. 9.21(b) as:

FigTraction control of DC motor

That is whatever the electrical energy supplied to the motor, half of the energy
is wasted during the starting resistor.
The efficiency of the traction motor at time of starting, ηstart = 50%.
 AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT

A traction system comprises of the following auxiliary equipment in addition to

the main traction motors required to be arranged in the locomotive are discussed
below.

Motor–generator set

Motor–generator set consists of a series motor and shunt generator. It is mainly

used for lighting, control system, and the other power circuits of low voltages
in the range 10–100 V. The voltage of generator is effectively controlled by
automatic voltage regulator.

Battery

It is very important to use the battery as a source of energy for pantograph, to

run auxiliary compressor, to operate air blast circuit breaker, etc. The capacity of
battery used in the locomotive is depending on the vehicle. Normally, the battery
may be charged by a separate rectifier.

Rectifier unit

If the track electrification system is AC motors and available traction motors are
DC motors, then rectifiers are to be equipped with the traction motors to convert
AC supply to DC to feed the DC traction motors.
 Transformer or autotransformer

Depending on the track electrification system employed, the locomotive should

be equipped with tap-changing transformers to step-down high voltages from the
distribution network to the feed low-voltage traction motors.

Driving axles and gear arrangements

All the driving motors are connected to the driving axle through a gear
arrangement, with ratios of 4:1 or 6:1.

TRANSMISSION OF DRIVE

Drive is a system used to create the movement of electric train. The electric
locomotives are specially designed to have springs between the driving axles
and the main body. This arrangement of springs reduces the damage not only to
the track wings but also to the hammer blows.

The power developed by the armature of the traction motors must be transferred to
the driving axels through pinion and gear drive. There are several methods by which
power developed by the armature can be transferred to the driving wheel.

Gearless drive

Gearless drives are of two types.

Direct drive

It is a simple drive. The armatures of the electric motors are mounted directly on
the driving axle with the field attached to the frame of locomotive. In this system,
the poles of electric motors should be flat so that the armature can be able to move
freely without affecting of the operation. Here, the size of the armatures of the
traction motor is limited by the diameter of the driving wheels. The arrangement of
direct drive is shown in fig,
Fig. Direct drive
Direct quill drive

Quill is nothing but a hallow shaft. Driving axle is surrounded by the hollow shaft
attached by springs. The armature of the motor is mounted on a quill. The speed and
the size of the armature are limited by the diameter of the driving wheels.

Geared drive

In this drive, the armature of the traction motor is attached to the driving wheel
through the gear wheel system. Now, the power developed by the armature is
transferred to the driving wheel through the gear system. Here, gear drive is
necessary to reduce the size of the motor for given output at high speeds (Fig.
9.33). The gear ratio of the system is usually 3–5:1.
Fig. Geared drive
Brown–Boveri individual drive

In this drive, a special link is provided between the gear wheel and driving wheel,
which provides more flexibility of the system.
 UNIT- 5
Electric Traction-II

INTRODUCTION

The movement of trains and their energy consumption can be most conveniently
studied by means of the speed–distance and the speed–time curves. The motion of
any vehicle may be at constant speed or it may consist of periodic acceleration
and retardation. The speed–time curves have significant importance in traction. If
the frictional resistance to the motion is known value, the energy required for
motion of the vehicle can be determined from it. Moreover, this curve gives the
speed at various time instants after the start of run directly.

TYPES OF SERVICES

There are mainly three types of passenger services, by which the type of traction
system has to be selected, namely:

Main line service.

Urban or city service.
Suburban service.

Main line services

In the main line service, the distance between two stops is usually more than 10
km. High balancing speeds should be required. Acceleration and retardation are not
so important.

Urban service

In the urban service, the distance between two stops is very less and it is less than
1 km. It requires high average speed for frequent starting and stopping.
 Suburban service

In the suburban service, the distance between two stations is between 1 and 8
km. This service requires rapid acceleration and retardation as frequent starting
and stopping is required.

SPEED–TIME AND SPEED–DISTANCE CURVES FOR DIFFERENT SERVICES

The curve that shows the instantaneous speed of train in kmph along the ordinate
and time in seconds along the abscissa is known as ‘speed–time’ curve.

The curve that shows the distance between two stations in km along the ordinate
and time in seconds along the abscissa is known as ‘speed–distance’ curve.

The area under the speed–time curve gives the distance travelled during,
given time internal and slope at any point on the curve toward abscissa gives the
acceleration and retardation at the instance, out of the two speed–time curve is
more important.

Speed–time curve for main line service

Typical speed–time curve of a train running on main line service is shown in Fig.
10.1. It mainly consists of the following time periods:

Constant accelerating period.

Acceleration on speed curve.
Free-running period.
Coasting period.
Braking period.
Fig. 10.1 Speed–time curve for mainline service
Constant acceleration

During this period, the traction motor accelerate from rest. The curve ‘OA’
represents the constant accelerating period. During the instant 0 to T1, the current is
maintained approximately constant and the voltage across the motor is gradually
increased by cutting out the starting resistance slowly moving from one notch to
the other. Thus, current taken by the motor and the tractive efforts are practically
constant and therefore acceleration remains constant during this period. Hence, this
period is also called as notch up accelerating period or rehostatic accelerating
period. Typical value of acceleration lies between 0.5 and 1 kmph. Acceleration is
denoted with the symbol ‘α’.

Acceleration on speed-curve

During the running period from T1 to T2, the voltage across the motor remains
constant and the current starts decreasing, this is because cut out at the instant ‘T1’.

According to the characteristics of motor, its speed increases with the decrease
in the current and finally the current taken by the motor remains constant. But, at
the same time, even though train accelerates, the acceleration decreases with the
increase in speed. Finally, the acceleration reaches to zero for certain speed, at
which the tractive effort excreted by the motor is exactly equals to the train
resistance. This is also known as decreasing accelerating period. This period
is shown by the curve ‘AB’.

Free-running or constant-speed period

The train runs freely during the period T2 to T3 at the speed attained by the train at
the instant ‘T2’. During this speed, the motor draws constant power from the
supply lines. This period is shown by the curve BC.

Coasting period

This period is from T3 to T4, i.e., from C to D. At the instant ‘T3’ power supply
to the traction, the motor will be cut off and the speed falls on account of
friction, windage resistance, etc. During this period, the train runs due to the
momentum attained at that particular instant. The rate of the decrease of the
speed during coasting period is known as coasting retardation. Usually, it is
denoted with the symbol ‘βc’.

Braking period

Braking period is from T4 to T5, i.e., from D to E. At the end of the coasting period,
i.e., at ‘T4’ brakes are applied to bring the train to rest. During this period, the
speed of the train decreases rapidly and finally reduces to zero.

In main line service, the free-running period will be more, the starting and
braking periods are very negligible, since the distance between the stops for
the main line service is more than 10 km.

Speed–time curve for suburban service

In suburban service, the distance between two adjacent stops for electric train is
lying between 1 and 8 km. In this service, the distance between stops is more
than the urban service and smaller than the main line service. The typical speed–
time curve for suburban service is shown in Fig. 10.2.
Fig. 10.2 Typical speed–time curve for suburban service

The speed–time curve for urban service consists of three distinct periods. They
are:

Acceleration.
Coasting.
Retardation.

For this service, there is no free-running period. The coasting period is

comparatively longer since the distance between two stops is more. Braking or
retardation period is comparatively small. It requires relatively high values of
acceleration and retardation. Typical acceleration and retardation values are
lying between 1.5 and 4 kmphp and 3 and 4 kmphp, respectively.

Speed–time curve for urban or city service

The speed–time curve urban or city service is almost similar to suburban

service and is shown in Fig. 10.3.
Fig. 10.3 Typical speed–time curve for urban service

In this service also, there is no free-running period. The distance between two
stop is less about 1 km. Hence, relatively short coasting and longer braking period
is required. The relative values of acceleration and retardation are high to achieve
moderately high average between the stops. Here, the small coasting period is
included to save the energy consumption. The acceleration for the urban service
lies between 1.6 and 4 kmphp. The coasting retardation is about 0.15 kmphp and
the braking retardation is lying between 3 and 5 kmphp. Some typical values of
various services are shown in Table. 10.1.

Table 10.1 Types of services

 SOME DEFINITIONS

Crest speed

The maximum speed attained by the train during run is known as crest speed. It
is denoted with ‘Vm’.

Average speed

It is the mean of the speeds attained by the train from start to stop, i.e., it is
defined as the ratio of the distance covered by the train between two stops to the
total time of rum. It is denoted with ‘Va’.

where Va is the average speed of train in kmph, D is the distance between stops
in km, and T is the actual time of run in hours.

Schedule speed

The ratio of the distance covered between two stops to the total time of the
run including the time for stop is known as schedule speed. It is denoted with
the symbol ‘Vs’.
where Ts is the schedule time in hours.

Schedule time

It is defined as the sum of time required for actual run and the time required for
stop.

i.e., Ts = Trun + Tstop.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SCHEDULE SPEED OF A TRAIN

The factors that affect the schedule speed of a train are:

Crest speed.
The duration of stops.
The distance between the stops.
Acceleration.
Braking retardation.

Crest speed

It is the maximum speed of train, which affects the schedule speed as for fixed
acceleration, retardation, and constant distance between the stops. If the crest
speed increases, the actual running time of train decreases. For the low crest speed
of train it running so, the high crest speed of train will increases its schedule speed.

Duration of stops

If the duration of stops is more, then the running time of train will be less; so
that, this leads to the low schedule speed.

Thus, for high schedule speed, its duration of stops must be low.

Distance between the stops

If the distance between the stops is more, then the running time of the train is
less; hence, the schedule speed of train will be more.
 Acceleration

If the acceleration of train increases, then the running time of the train
decreases provided the distance between stops and crest speed is maintained as
constant. Thus, the increase in acceleration will increase the schedule speed.

Breaking retardation

High breaking retardation leads to the reduction of running time of train. These
will cause high schedule speed provided the distance between the stops is small.

SIMPLIFIED TRAPEZOIDAL AND QUADRILATERAL SPEED TIME CURVES

Simplified speed–time curves gives the relationship between acceleration,

retardation average speed, and the distance between the stop, which are needed to
estimate the performance of a service at different schedule speeds. So that, the
actual speed–time curves for the main line, urban, and suburban services are
approximated to some from of the simplified curves. These curves may be of
either trapezoidal or quadrilateral shape.

Analysis of trapezoidal speed–time curve

Trapezoidal speed–time curve can be approximated from the actual speed–

time curves of different services by assuming that:

The acceleration and retardation periods of the simplified curve is kept same as to that of
the actual curve.
The running and coasting periods of the actual speed–time curve are replaced by the
constant periods.

This known as trapezoidal approximation, a simplified trapezoidal speed–time

curve is shown in fig,
Fig. Trapezoidal speed–time curve

Calculations from the trapezoidal speed–time curve

Let D be the distance between the stops in km, T be the actual running time of train
in second, α be the acceleration in km/h/sec, β be the retardation in km/h/sec, Vm
be the maximum or the crest speed of train in km/h, and Va be the average speed of
train in km/h. From the Fig. 10.4:
Area under the trapezoidal speed–time curve gives the total distance between the
two stops (D).
The distance between the stops (D) = area under triangle OAE + area of rectangle ABDE + area of triangle DBC

The distance travelled during acceleration + distance travelled during free-

running period + distance travelled during retardation.

Now:

The distance travelled during acceleration = average speed during accelerating

period × time for acceleration

The distance travelled during free-running period = average speed × time of

free running

The distance travelled during retardation period = average speed × time

for retardation
The distance between the two stops is:

Solving quadratic Equation (10.5), we get:

By considering positive sign, we will get high values of crest speed, which
is practically not possible, so negative sign should be considered:

Analysis of quadrilateral speed–time curve

Quadrilateral speed–time curve for urban and suburban services for which the
distance between two stops is less. The assumption for simplified quadrilateral
speed–time curve is the initial acceleration and coasting retardation periods are
extended, and there is no free-running period. Simplified quadrilateral speed–time
curve is shown in Fig. 10.5.
Fig. Quadrilateral speed–time curve

Let V1 be the speed at the end of accelerating period in km/h, V2 be the speed at
the end of coasting retardation period in km/h, and βc be the coasting retardation
in km/h/sec.

Time for acceleration,

Time for coasting period,

Time period for braking retardation period,

Total distance travelled during the running period D:

the area of triangle PQU + the area of rectangle UQRS + the area of
triangle TRS.

the distance travelled during acceleration + the distance travelled during

coastingretardation + the distance travelled during breaking retardation.

But, the distance travelled during acceleration = average speed × time for
acceleration

The distance travelled during coasting retardation =

The distance travelled during breaking retardation = average speed × time for
breaking retardation

Total distance travelled:

Example 10.1: The distance between two stops is 1.2 km. A schedule speed of 40
kmph is required to cover that distance. The stop is of 18-s duration. The values of
the acceleration and retardation are 2 kmphp and 3 kmphp, respectively. Then,
determine the maximum speed over the run. Assume a simplified trapezoidal
speed–time curve.

Solution:

Acceleration α = 2.0 kmphp.

Retardation β = 3 kmphp.

Schedule speed Vs = 40 kmph.

Distance of run, D = 1.2 km.

Actual run time, T = Ts – stop duration

108 – 18

90 s.

where
Example 10.2: The speed–time curve of train carries of the following parameters:

Free running for 12 min.

Uniform acceleration of 6.5 kmphp for 20 s.
Uniform deceleration of 6.5 kmphp to stop the train.
A stop of 7 min.

Then, determine the distance between two stations, the average, and the
schedule speeds.

Solution:

Acceleration (α) = 6.5 kmphps.

Acceleration period t1 = 20 s.

Maximum speed Vm = αt1

6.5 × 20 = 130 kmph.

Free-running time (t2) = 12 × 60

720 s.
 The distance travelled during the acceleration period:

The distance travelled during the free-running period:

The distance travelled during the braking period

The distance between the two stations:

D = D1 + D2 + D3

0.36 + 26 + 0.362

26.724 km.
Example 10.3: An electric train is to have the acceleration and braking
retardation of 0.6 km/hr/sec and 3 km/hr/sec, respectively. If the ratio of the
maximum speed to the average speed is 1.3 and time for stop is 25 s. Then
determine the schedule speed for a run of 1.6 km. Assume the simplified
trapezoidal speed–time curve.

Solution:

Acceleration α = 0.6 km/hr/s.

Retardation β = 3 km/hr/s.

Distance of run D = 1.6 km.

Let the cultural time of run be ‘T ’ s.

Example 10.4: The distance between two stops is 5 km. A train has schedule
speed of 50 kmph. The train accelerates at 2.5 kmphps and retards 3.5 kmphps
and the duration of stop is 55 s. Determine the crest speed over the run assuming
trapezoidal speed–time curve.
Solution:

Acceleration (α) = 2.5 kmphps.

Retardation (β) = 3.5 kmphps.

By using the equation:

Example 10.5: A train is required to run between two stations 1.5 km apart at an
average speed of 42 kmph. The run is to be made to a simplified quadrilateral
speed–time curve. If the maximum speed is limited to 65 kmph, the acceleration to
2.5, kmphps, and the casting and braking retardation to 0.15 kmphs and 3 kmphs,
respectively. Determine the duration of acceleration, costing, and braking periods.

Solution:

Distance between two stations D = 1.5 km.

Average speed Va = 42 kmph.

Maximum speed Vm = 65 kmph.

Acceleration (α) = 2.5 kmphps.

Coasting retardation βc = 0.15 kmphps.

Barking retardation β = 3 kmphps.

Before applying brakes; let the speed be V2.

 The actual time of run, T = t1 + t2 + t3

Example 10.6: A train has schedule speed of 32 kmph over a level track distance
between two stations being 2 km. The duration of stop is 25 s. Assuming the
braking retardation of 3.2 kmphps and the maximum speed is 20% grater than the
average speed. Determine the acceleration required to run the service.

Solution:

Schedule speed Vs = 32 kmph.

Distance D = 2 km.

Duration of stop = 25 s.

Braking retardation = 3.2 kmphps.

Example 10.7: A suburban electric train has a maximum speed of 75 kmph. The
schedule speed including a station stop of 25 s is 48 kmph. If the acceleration is 2
kmphps, the average distance between two stops is 4 km. Determine the value of
retardation.

Solution:

Maximum speed Vm = 75 kmph.

The distance of run (D) = 4 km.

 Schedule speed (Vs) = 48 kmph.

Acceleration (α) = 2 kmphps.

The duration of stop = 25 s.

Example 10.8: An electric train is accelerated at 2 kmphps and is braked at 3

kmphps. The train has an average speed of 50 kmph on a level track of 2,000
min between the two stations. Determine the following:

Actual time of run.

Maximum speed.
The distance travelled before applying brakes
Schedule speed.

Assume time for stop as 12 s. And, run according to trapezoidal.

Solution:

Acceleration (α) = 2 kmphps.

Retardation (β) = 3 kmphps.

Average speed (Va) = 50 kmph.

Distance D = 2,000 min = 2 km.

The duration of stop = 12 s.

The distance travelled before applying

brakes D1 + D2 = D - D3
 = 2 – 0.17 = 1.83 km.

Example 10.9: An electric train has an average speed of 40 kmph on a level track
between stops 1,500 m apart. It is accelerated at 2 kmphps and is braked at 3
kmphps. Draw the speed–time curve for the run.

Solution:

Average speed Va = 40 kmph.

The distance of run (D) = 1,500 m = 1.5 km.

Acceleration (α) = 2 kmphps.

Retroaction (β) = 3 kmphps.

Using the equation (Fig. P.10.1):

where
Fig. P.10.1
Example 10.10: An electric train has quadrilateral speed–time curve as follows:

Uniform acceleration from rest at 1.5 kmphps for 25 s.

Coasting for 45 s.
The duration of braking 20 s.

If the train is moving a uniform up gradient of 1.5%, the reactive resistance is 45

N/ton, the rotational inertia effect is 10% of dead weight, the duration of stop is
15 s, and the overall efficiency of transmission gear and motor is 80%. Find
schedule speed.

Solution:

Time for acceleration t1 = 25 s.

Time for coasting t2 = 45 s.

Time for braking t3 = 20 s.

Acceleration (α) = 1.5 kmphps.

Maximum speed Vm = α t1

1.5 × 25 = 37.5 kmph.

According to the equation:

 TRACTIVE EEFFORT (FT)

It is the effective force acting on the wheel of locomotive, necessary to propel the
train is known as ‘tractive effort’. It is denoted with the symbol Ft. The tractive
effort is a vector quantity always acting tangential to the wheel of a locomotive.
It is measured in newton.

The net effective force or the total tractive effort (Ft) on the wheel of a
locomotive or a train to run on the track is equals to the sum of tractive effort:
 Required for linear and angular acceleration (Fa).
To overcome the effect of gravity (Fg).
To overcome the frictional resistance to the motion of the train (Fr).

Mechanics of train movement

The essential driving mechanism of an electric locomotive is shown in Fig. 10.6.

The electric locomotive consists of pinion and gear wheel meshed with the traction
motor and the wheel of the locomotive. Here, the gear wheel transfers the tractive
effort at the edge of the pinion to the driving wheel.

Fig. Driving mechanism of electric locomotives

Let T is the torque exerted by the motor in N-m, Fp is tractive effort at the edge of
the pinion in Newton,Ft is the tractive effort at the wheel, D is the diameter of
the driving wheel, d1 and d2 are the diameter of pinion and gear wheel, respectively,
and η is the efficiency of the power transmission for the motor to the driving axle.

The tractive effort at the edge of the pinion transferred to the wheel of
locomotive is:

10.7.2 Tractive effort required for propulsion of train

From Equation (10.8), the tractive effort required for train propulsion is:

Ft = Fa + Fg + Fr,
where Fa is the force required for linear and angular acceleration, Fg is the
force required to overcome the gravity, and Fr is the force required to
overcome the resistance to the motion.

Force required for linear and angular acceleration (Fa)

According to the fundamental law of acceleration, the force required to accelerate

the motion of the body is given by:

Force = Mass × acceleration

F = ma.

Let the weight of train be ‘W ’ tons being accelerated at ‘α’ kmphps:

Equation (10.12) holds good only if the accelerating body has no rotating parts.
Owing to the fact that the train has rotating parts such as motor armature, wheels,
axels, and gear system. The weight of the body being accelerated including the
rotating parts is known as effective weight or accelerating weight. It is denoted with
‘We’. The accelerating weight ‘(We)’ is much higher (about 8–15%) than the dead
weight (W) of the train. Hence, these parts need to be given angular acceleration at
the same time as the whole train is accelerated in linear direction.
The tractive effort required-for linear and angular acceleration is:
 Tractive effort required to overcome the train resistance (Fr)

When the train is running at uniform speed on a level track, it has to overcome the
opposing force due to the surface friction, i.e., the friction at various parts of the
rolling stock, the fraction at the track, and also due to the wind resistance. The
magnitude of the frictional resistance depends upon the shape, size, and condition
of the track and the velocity of the train, etc.

Let ‘r’ is the specific train resistance in N/ton of the dead weight and ‘W’ is the
dead weight in ton.

Tractive effort required to overcome the effect of gravity (Fg)

When the train is moving on up gradient as shown in Fig. 10.7, the gravity
component of the dead weight opposes the motion of the train in upward direction.
In order to prevent this opposition, the tractive effort should be acting in upward
direction.
The tractive effort required to overcome the effect of gravity:

Now, from the Fig. 10.7:

Fig. 10.7 Train moving on up gradient

From Equations (10.15) and (10.16):

+ve sign for the train is moving on up gradient.

–ve sign for the train is moving on down gradient.

This is due to when the train is moving on up a gradient, the tractive effort
showing Equation (10.17)will be required to oppose the force due to gravitational
force, but while going down the gradient, the same force will be added to the
total tractive effort.
The total tractive effort required for the propulsion of train Ft = Fa + Fr ± Fg:
 Power output from the driving axle

Let Ft is the tractive effort in N and ν is the speed of train in kmph.

The power output (P) = rate of work done

If ‘ν’ is in m/s, then P = Ft × ν W.

If ‘η’ is the efficiency of the gear transmission, then the power output of

motors, :

SPECIFIC ENERGY CONSUMPTION

The energy input to the motors is called the energy consumption. This is the energy
consumed by various parts of the train for its propulsion. The energy drawn from
the distribution system should be equals to the energy consumed by the various
parts of the train and the quantity of the energy required for lighting, heating,
control, and braking. This quantity of energy consumed by the various parts of
train per ton per kilometer is known as specific energy consumption. It is
expressed in watt hours per ton per km.
 10.8.1 Determination of specific energy output from simplified speed–time curve

Energy output is the energy required for the propulsion of a train or vehicle is
mainly for accelerating the rest to velocity ‘Vm’, which is the energy required
to overcome the gradient and track resistance to motion.

Energy required for accelerating the train from rest to its crest speed ‘Vm'

Energy required for overcoming the gradient and tracking resistance to motion

Energy required for overcoming the gradient and tracking resistance:

where Ft′ is the tractive effort required to overcome the gradient and track
resistance, W is the dead weight of train, r is the track resistance, and G is the
percentage gradient.
 10.8.2 Factors affecting the specific energy consumption

Factors that affect the specific energy consumption are given as follows.

Distance between stations

From equation specific energy consumption is inversely proportional to the

distance between stations. Greater the distance between stops is, the lesser will be
the specific energy consumption. The typical values of the specific energy
consumption is less for the main line service of 20–30 W-hr/ton-km and high for
the urban and suburban services of 50–60 W-hr/ton-km.

Acceleration and retardation

For a given schedule speed, the specific energy consumption will accordingly be
less for more acceleration and retardation.

Maximum speed

For a given distance between the stops, the specific energy consumption
increases with the increase in the speed of train.

Gradient and train resistance

From the specific energy consumption, it is clear that both gradient and train
resistance are proportional to the specific energy consumption. Normally, the
coefficient of adhesion will be affected by the running of train, parentage gradient,
condition of track, etc. for the wet and greasy track conditions. The value of the
coefficient of adhesion is much higher compared to dry and sandy conditions.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

1 Dead weight

It is the total weight of train to be propelled by the locomotive. It is denoted

by ‘W’.

2 Accelerating weight

It is the effective weight of train that has angular acceleration due to the
rotational inertia including the dead weight of the train. It is denoted by ‘We’.

This effective train is also known as accelerating weight. The effective weight of
the train will be more than the dead weight. Normally, it is taken as 5–10% of
more than the dead weight.

3 Adhesive weight

The total weight to be carried out on the drive in wheels of a locomotive is

known as adhesive weight.

4 Coefficient of adhesion

It is defined as the ratio of the tractive effort required to propel the wheel of a
locomotive to its adhesive weight.
Ft ∝ W

μW,

where Ft is the tractive effort and W is the adhesive weight.

Example 10.11: A 250-ton motor coach having four motors each developing 6,000
N-m torque during acceleration, starts from rest. If the gradient is 40 in 1,000, gear
ration is 4, gear transmission efficiency is 87%, wheel radius is 40 cm, train
resistance is 50 N/ton, the addition of rotational inertia is 12%. Calculate the time
taken to attain a speed of 50 kmph. If the line voltage is 3,000-V DC and the
efficiency of motors is 85%. Find the current during notching period.

Solution:

The weight of train W = 250 ton.

Gear ratio r = 4.

Wheel diameter D = 2 × 40 = 80 cm.

Or, D = 0.8 m.

Train resistance r = 50 N/ton.

Rotational inertia = 12%.

Accelerating weight of the train We = 1.10 × 250 = 275 ton.

Total torque developed T = 4 × 6,000 = 24,000 Nm.

But,

Ft = 277.8 We α + 98.1 WG + Wr

208,800 = 277.8 × 275 α + 98.1 × 250 × 4 + 250 × 50

α = 1.285 kmphps.
The time taken for the train to attain the speed of 50 kmph:

Power output from the driving axles:

Example 10.12: An electric train of weight 250 ton has eight motors geared to
driving wheels, each is 85 cm diameter. The tractive resistance is of 50/ton. The
effect of rotational inertia is 8% of the train weight, the gear ratio is 4–1, and the
gearing efficiency is 85% determine. The torque developed by each motor to
accelerate the train to a speed of 50 kmph in 30 s up a gradient of 1 in 200.

Solution:

The weight of train W = 250 ton.

The diameter of driving wheel D =0.85 m.

Tractive resistance, r = 50N/ton.

Gear ratio r = 4.
 Gearing efficiency η = 0.85.

Accelerating weight of the train:

We = 1.10 × W

1.10 × 250 =275 ton.

Maximum speed Vm = 50 kmph.

Tractive effort Ft = 277.8 We α + 98.1 WG + Wr

126,815.7+12,262.5+12,500

151,578.2 N.

Example 10.13: A tram car is equipped with two motors that are operating in
parallel, the resistance in parallel. The resistance of each motor is 0.5 Ω. Calculate
the current drawn from the supply mains at 450 V when the car is running at a
steady-state speed of 45 kmph and each motor is developing a tractive effort of
1,600 N. The friction, windage, and other losses may be assumed as 3,000 W per
motor.

Solution:

The resistance of each motor = 0.5 Ω.

Voltage across each motor V = 450 V.

 Tractive effort Ft = 1,600 N.

Maximum speed Vm = 45 kmph.

Losses per motor = 3,000 W.

Copper losses = I2Rm = I2× 0.5

Motor input = motor output + constant loss + copper losses

450 × I = 20,000 + 3,000 + 0.5I2

0.5 I2– 450I + 23,000 = 0.

After solving, we get I = 54.39 A.

Total current drawn from supply mains = 2 × 54.39

= 108.78 A.

Example 10.14: A locomotive exerts a tractive effort of 35,000 N in halting a

train at 50 kmph on the level track. If the motor is to haul the same train on a
gradient of 1 in 50 and the tractive effort required is 55,000 N, determine the
power delivered by the locomotive if it is driven by (i) DC series motors and (ii)
induction motors.

Solution:

Tractive effort Ft= 35,000 N.

Maximum speed Vm = 50 kmph.

The power delivered by the locomotive on up gradient track with the DC
series motors:

Since the power output the power delivered by the locomotive on

up gradient with the induction motors is:

Example 10.15: A train weighting 450 ton has speed reduced by the regenerative
braking from 50 to 30 kmph over a distance of 2 km on down gradient of 1.5%.
Calculate the electrical energy and the overage power returned to the line tractive
resistance is 50 N/ton. And, allow the rotational inertia of 10% and the efficiency
conversion 80%.

Solution:

The accelerating weight of the train We = 1.1 W

= 1.1 × 450 = 495 ton.

 The distance travelled D = 2 km.

Gradient G = 1.5%

Track resistance r = 50 N/ton.

Efficiency η = 0.8.

The energy available due to the reduction in the speed is:

The tractive effort required while going down the gradient:

Ft = Wr – 98.1 WG

450 × 50 – 98.1 × 450 × 1.5

-43,717.5 N.

The energy available while moving down the gradient a distance of 2 km is:

The total energy available = 8.49 + 24.2875

= 32.7775 kW-hr.
Example 10.16: A train weighing 450 ton is going down a gradient of 20 in
1,000, it is desired to maintain train speed at 50 kmph by regenerative braking.
Calculate the power fed into the line and allow rotational inertia of 12% and
the efficiency of conversion is 80%. Traction resistance is 50 N/ton.

Solution:

The dead weight of train W = 450 ton.

The maximum speed Vm = 50 kmph.

Tractive resistance r = 50 N/ton.

Rotational inertia = 12%.

The efficiency of conversion = 0.8

The tractive effort required while going down the gradient:

Tractive resistance r = 50 N/ton.

Rotational inertia = 12%.

The efficiency of conversion = 0.8

The tractive effort required while going down the gradient:

Wr – 98.1 WG
 450 × 50 – 98.1 × 450 × 2

–65,790 N.

The power fed into the line = power available × efficiency of conversion

913.75 × 0.8

731 kW.

Example 10.17: The speed–time curve of an electric train on a uniform raising

gradient of 10 in 1,000 comprise of:

Uniform acceleration from rest at 2.2 kmphps for 30 s.

Wasting with power off for 30 s.
Braking at 3.2 kmphps to standstill the weight of the train is 200 ton. The tractive
resistance of level track being 4 kg/ton and the allowance for rotary inertia 10%.
Calculate the maximum power developed by traction motors and the total
distance travelled by the train. Assume the transmission efficiency as 85%.

Solution:

Acceleration (α) = 2.2 kmphps.

Braking (β) = 3.2 kmph.

The dead weight of train W = 200 ton.

Track resistance r = 4 kg/ton = 4 × 9.81 = 39.24 N/ton.

Maximum velocity Vm = αt1 = 2.2 × 30 = 66 kmph.

Tractive effort required:

 Ft = 277.8 Weα + 98.1 WG + Wr

277.8 × 8 × 1.1 × 200 × 2.2 + 98.1 × 200 × 1 + 200 × 39.24

161,923.2 N.

The maximum power developed by the traction motor = = 3492.46kW.

Let, the coasting retardation be βc:

Ft = 277.8 We(-βc) + 98.1 WG + Wr

0 = -277.8 × (1.1 × 200) × βc + 98.1 × 200 × 1 + 200 ×

39.24 βc = 0.449 kmphps

V2 = Vm – βcV2

66 – 0.449 × 65

36.815 kmph.

The total distance travelled by the train:

Example 10.18: A 2,300-ton train proceeds down a gradient of 1 in 100 for 5
min, during which period, its speed gets reduced from 40 to 20 kmph by the
application of the regenerative braking. Find the energy returned to the lines if the
tractive resistance is 5 kg/ton, the rotational inertia 10%, and the overall efficiency
of the motors during regeneration is 80%.

Solution:

The dead weight of the train W = 2,300 ton.

The accelerating weight of the train We = 1.1 × 2,300 s

= 2,530 ton.

Tractive resistance r = 5×9.81= 49.05 N/ton.

Regenerative period t = 5 × 60

300 s.

Overall efficiency η = 0.8.

The energy available due to the reduction in speed:

0.01072 We

0.01072 × 2,530 × (402-202)

 32,545.92

32.54 kW-hr.

The tractive effort required while going down the gradient:

Wr – 98.1 WG

2,300 × 49.05–98.1 × 2,300 × 1

–112,815.

The distance moved during regeneration:

The energy available on the account of moving down the gradient over a distance
of 2,500 m:

The total energy available = 32.54 + 78.34

88.707 kW-hr.

The energy returned to the line = 0.8×11.08

88.707 kW-hr.

Example 10.19: An electric train has an average speed of 50 kmph on a level

track betweenstops 1,500 m a part. It is accelerated at 2 kmphs and is braked at 3
kmphs. Estimate the energy consumption at the axle of the train per ton-km. Take
the reactive resistance constant at 50 N/ton and allow 10% for rotational inertia.

Solution:
 Acceleration (α) = 2 kmphs.

Retardation (β) = 3 kmphs.

The distance of run (D) = 1.5 km.

Average speed Va = 50 kmph.

Using the equation:

The distance travelled during braking:
The energy consumption at the axle of the train per ton-km:

Example 10.20: An electric train has quadrilateral speed–time curve as follows.

The uniform acceleration for rest at 2.2 kmphs for 30 s.

Coasting for 45 s.
The braking period of 20 s.

The train is moving in a uniform up gradient of 1%, the tractive resistance is 50

N/ton, the rotational inertia effect 10% of the dead weight the duration of the station
stop 20 s and overall efficiency of transmission gear and motor as 80%. Determine
the value of is schedule speed and specific energy consumption of run.

Solution:

Time of acceleration t1 = 30 s.

Time of coasting t2 = 45 s.

Time of braking t3 = 20 s.

Acceleration (α) = 2.2 kmphps.

Maximum speed Vm = α t1 = 2.2 × 30 = 66 kmph.

Gradient G = 1%.

Let the coasting retardation be βc:

Ft = 277.8 We(–βc) + 98.1 WG + Wr.

 0 = 277.8 × 1.1 W βc + 98.1 × W × 1 + 50

W =–305.58 W βc + 98.1 W + 50 W.

βc = 0.4846 kmphps.

V2 = Vm – βct2

66 – 0.4846 × 45

44.193 kmph.

When power is on, the distance travelled is:

D1 = distance travelled during acceleration period

The specific energy output:

Example 10.21: A train weighing 200-ton accelerates uniformly from rest to a

speed of 40 kmph up a gradient of 1 in 100, the time taken being 30 s. The power
is then cut off and train coasts down a uniform gradient of 1 in 1,000 for period
of 40 s. When brakes are applied for period of 20 s so as to bring the train
uniformly to rest on this gradient determine:

The maximum power output from the driving axles.

The energy taken from the conductor rails in kW-hr assuming an efficiency of
70% assume tractive resistance to be 45 N/ton at all speeds and allow 10% for
rotational inertia.

Solution:
 Maximum speed Vm = 40 kmph.

Accelerating period t1 = 30 s.

Tractive effort required:

Ft = 27.88 We α + 98.1 WG + Wr

277.8 × 220 × 1.33 + 98.1 × 200 × 1 + 200 × 45

109,904.28 N.

The maximum power output from driving axle:

Total energy required for the run:

2.
Example 10.22: Calculate the energy consumption if a maximum speed of 12 m/sec
and for a given run of 1,500 m, an acceleration of 0.36 m/s2 desired. The tractive
resistance during acceleration is 0.052 N/kg and during the coasting is 6.12
N/1,000 kg. Allow a 10% of rotational inertia, the efficiency of the equipment
during the acceleration period is 60%. Assume quadrilateral speed–time curve.

Solution:

Accelerating weight of the train We = 1.1 W.

Maximum speed Vm = 12 m/s.

The distance of run D = 1,500 m.

Acceleration α = 0.36 m/s2.

The tractive resistance during acceleration r = 0.52 N/kg.

The tractive effort required during acceleration Ft = Weα + Wr

1.1 W × 0.36 + W × 0.052

0.448 W N.
Example 10.23: A 100-ton weight train has a rotational inertia of 10%. This train
has to be run between two stations that are 3 km a part and has an average speed of
50 km/hr. The acceleration and the retardation during braking are 2 kmphps and 3
kmphps, respectively. The percentage gradient between these two stations is 1%
and the train is to move up the incline the track resistance is 50 N/ton, then
determine:

Maximum power at the driving axle.

Total energy consumption.
Specific energy consumption.

The combined efficiency of the alembic train is 70%. Assume

simplified trapezoidal speed–time curve.

Solution:

The dead weight of the train, W = 100 ton.

The accelerating weight of the train, We = 1.1 × W = 1.1 × 100 = 110 ton.
 The distance of run (D) = 3 km.

Average speed Va = 50 kmph.

Acceleration (α) = 2 kmphps.

Retardation (β) = 3 kmphps.

Gradient (G) = 1%.

Tractive resistance r = 50 N/ton.

Using the equation, the maximum speed:

Tractive effort required during free running is :
Example 10.24: An electric train has quadrilateral speed–time curve as follows:

Uniform acceleration from rest 2 kmphps for 30 s.

Coasting for 40 s.
Braking period of 25 s.

The train is moving a uniform down gradient of 1% and the tractive resistance of
50 N/ton. The rotational resistance is 10% of the dead weight, the duration of the
stop is 20 s and the overall efficiency of the transmission the gear and the motor
as 80%. Calculate its schedule speed and specific energy consumption.

Solution:

Acceleration (α) = 2 kmphps.

Acceleration period (t1) = 30 s.

Gradient (G) = 1%.

The tractive of resistance (r) = 50 N/ton.

The duration of stop = 20 s.

 Overall efficiency (η) = 80%.

Maximum speed Vm = αt1

2 × 30 = 60 kmph.

Let the coasting retardation be

βc: Tractive effort:

Ft = 277.8 Wc (–βc) – 98.1 × WG + Wr

0 = –277.8 × 1.1 W βc – 98.1 × W × 1 + 50 W

βc = – 0.157 kmphps

V2 = Vm – βct2

60 – (–0.517 × 40)

66.28 kmph.
The specific energy output:

Example 10.25: The schedule speed of a electric train is 40 kmph. The distance
between two stations is 3 km with each stop is of 30 s duration. Assuming the
acceleration and the retardation to be 2 and 3 kmphps, respectively. The dead
weight of the train is 20 ton. Assume the rotational inertia is 10% to the dead
weight and the track resistance is 40 N/ton. Calculate:

The maximum speed.

The maximum power output from driving axles.
The specific energy consumption is watt-hours per ton-km. The overall efficiency is
80%, assume simplified speed–time curve.

Solution:

Schedule speed Vs = 40 kmph.

The distance between the two stations (D) = 3 km.

The duration of stop = 30 s.

Acceleration (α) = 2 kmphps.

Retardation (β) = 3 kmphps.

The dead weight of the train (w) = 20 ton.

The track resistance (r) = 40 N/ton.

 The overall efficiency (η) = 80%.

where:

The tractive effort during acceleration:

Ft = 277.8We × α + Wr
 277.8 × 1.1 × 20 × 2 + 20 × 40

13,023.2 N.

The maximum power output = 177.958 kW.

(iii) The distance travelled during braking:

The distance travelled with power is on:

D1 = 3 – 0.112

= 2.88 km.

The specific energy output:

 CALCULATION OF ENERGY RETURNED TO THE SUPPLY DURING
REGENERATIVE BRAKING

When the train is accelerating, it acquires kinetic energy corresponding to that

speed. During the coasting period, some of the kinetic energy is wasted, to
propel the train against the friction and windage resistance.

While the train is moving on the down gradients or level track, the KE acquired
by the rotating parts is converted into the electrical energy, which is fed back to
the supply system. The amount of energy fed back to the system is depending on
the following factors.

The initial and final speeds during the regenerative braking.

The train resistance and the gradient of the track.
The efficiency of the system.

Consider the initial and final speeds of the train during regenerative braking
are V1 and V2 in KMPH, and the effective weight of the train is We tons.
The kinetic energy stored by the train at a speed of V1 kmph:

Thus, the kinetic energy at speed V2 kmph:

Therefore, the energy available during the regeneration:

 If D is the distance in km covered during the regenerative braking, then the
energy fed back to the supply during the braking while the train is moving on
down gradient:

If r is the train resistance in N/ton, then the energy lost to overcome the resistance
to the motion and friction, windage losses:

Hence, the total energy available during regeneration:

The energy returned to the supply system:

where η is the efficiency of the system.

Advantages of regenerative breaking

In regenerative breaking, a part of the energy stored by the rotating parts is converted
into the electrical energy and is fed back to the supply. This will lead to the minimum
consumption of energy, thereby saving the operating cost.
High breaking retardation can be obtained during regenerative breaking.
Time taken to bring the vehicle to rest is less compared to the other breakings; so that,
the running time of the vehicle is considerably reduced.
The wear on the brake shoes and tyre is reduced, which increases the life of brake shoe
and tyre.

Disadvantages

In addition to the above advantages, this method suffers from the

following disadvantages.

In addition to the regenerative breaking, to bring the vehicle to standstill, mechanical

breaking is to be employed.
In case of DC traction, additional equipment is to be employed for regenerative
breaking, which increases the cost and sometimes, substation are equipped
with mercury arc rectifiers to convert AC to DC supply.
The electrical energy returned to the supply will cause the operation of substations
complicated.

Example 10.26: A 450-ton train travels down gradient of 1 in 75 for 110 s during
which its speed is reduced from 70 to 55 kmph. By the regenerative braking,
determine the energy returned to the lines if the reactive resistance is 4.5 kg/ton
and the allowance for the rotational inertia is 7% and the overall efficiency of the
motor is 80%.
Solution:

Accelerating weight Wa = 1.075 × 450

483.75 ton.

Track resistance r = 9.81 × 4.5

44.145 N-m/ton

9,904.782 W-hr

9.904 kW-hr.

Factiva effort required during retardation:

Wr – 98.1 WG

450 × 44.45 – 98.1 × 450 × 4/3

19,865.25 – 58,860

–38,994.75 N.

The distance travelled during the retardation period:

As the train is moving in downward gradient, so that the tractive effort will provide
additional energy to the system. The energy available when the train moves over a
gradient is given as:
 The period of regeneration = 110 s.

Overall efficiency (η) = 80%.

The kinetic energy of the train at a speed of 70 kmph is:

The kinetic energy of the train at the speed of 55 kmph is:

The energy available due to the retardation by the regenerative braking:

2,588.495 – 15,979.713

20.68 kW-hr.

0.8 × total energy available

0.8 × (20.68+9.904)

24.467 kW-hr.