Alternating current motors and rotating magnetic fields

Upon completion of this chapter you will be able to:

List three basic types of ac motors and describe the characteristics of each type.
Describe the characteristics of a series motor that enable it to be used as a universal motor.
Explain the relationships of the individual phases of multiphase voltages as they produce rotating magnetic fields in ac motors.
Describe the placement of stator windings in two-phase, ac motors using rotating fields.
List the similarities and differences between the stator windings of two-phase and three-phase ac motors.
State the primary application of synchronous motors, and explain the characteristics that make them suitable for that application.
Describe the features that make the ac induction motor the most widely used of electric motors.
Describe the difference between the rotating field of multiphase motors and the "apparent" rotating field of single-phase motors.
Explain the operation of split-phase windings in single-phase ac induction motors.
Describe the effects of shaded poles in single-phase, ac induction motors.
INTRODUCTION
Most of the power-generating systems, ashore and afloat, produce ac.
For this reason a majority of the motors used throughout the Navy are designed to operate on ac. There are other advantages in the use of ac motors besides the wide availability of ac power. In general, ac motors cost less than dc motors. Some types of ac motors do not use brushes and commutators. This eliminates many problems of maintenance and wear. It also eliminates the problem of dangerous sparking.
An ac motor is particularly well suited for constant-speed applications. This is because its speed is determined by the frequency of the ac voltage applied to the motor terminals.

The dc motor is better suited than an ac motor for some uses, such as those that require variable-speeds. An ac motor can also be made with variable speed characteristics but only within certain limits.
Industry builds ac motors in different sizes, shapes, and ratings for many different types of jobs. These motors are designed for use with either polyphase or single-phase power systems. It is not possible here to cover all aspects of the subject of ac motors. Only the principles of the most commonly used types are dealt with in this chapter.
In this chapter, ac motors will be divided into (1) series, (2) synchronous, and (3) induction motors. Single-phase and polyphase motors will be discussed.
Synchronous motors, for purposes of this chapter, may be considered as polyphase motors, of constant speed, whose rotors are energized with dc voltage. Induction motors, single-phase or polyphase, whose rotors are energized by induction, are the most commonly used ac motor. The series ac motor, in a sense, is a familiar type of motor. It is very similar to the dc motor that was covered in chapter 2 and will serve as a bridge between the old and the new.

Q.1 What are the three basic types of ac motors?

SERIES AC MOTOR

A series ac motor is the same electrically as a dc series motor. Refer to figure 4-1 and use the left-hand rule for the polarity of coils. You can see that the instantaneous magnetic polarities of the armature and field oppose each other, and motor action results. Now, reverse the current by reversing the polarity of the input. Note that the field magnetic polarity still opposes the armature magnetic polarity. This is because the reversal effects both the armature and the field. The ac input causes these reversals to take place continuously.
Figure 4-1. - Series ac motor.

The construction of the ac series motor differs slightly from the dc series motor. Special metals, laminations, and windings are used. They reduce losses caused by eddy currents, hysteresis, and high reactance. Dc power can be used to drive an ac series motor efficiently, but the opposite is not true.

The characteristics of a series ac motor are similar to those of a series dc motor. It is a varying-speed machine. It has low speeds for large loads and high speeds for light loads. The starting torque is very high. Series motors are used for driving fans, electric drills, and other small appliances.

Since the series ac motor has the same general characteristics as the series dc motor, a series motor has been designed that can operate both on ac and dc. This ac/dc motor is called a universal motor. It finds wide use in small electric appliances. Universal motors operate at lower efficiency than either the ac or dc series motor. They are built in small sizes only. Universal motors do not operate on polyphase ac power.

Q.2 Series motors are generally used to operate what type of equipment?

Q.3 Why are series motors sometimes called universal motors?

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ROTATING MAGNETIC FIELDS

The principle of rotating magnetic fields is the key to the operation of most ac motors. Both synchronous and induction types of motors rely on rotating magnetic fields in their stators to cause their rotors to turn.
The idea is simple. A magnetic field in a stator can be made to rotate electrically, around and around. Another magnetic field in the rotor can be made to chase it by being attracted and repelled by the stator field. Because the rotor is free to turn, it follows the rotating magnetic field in the stator.
Let's see how it is done.
Rotating magnetic fields may be set up in two-phase or three-phase machines.
To establish a rotating magnetic field in a motor stator, the number of pole pairs must be the same as (or a multiple of) the number of phases in the applied voltage. The poles must then be displaced from each other by an angle equal to the phase angle between the individual phases of the applied voltage.

Q.4 What determines the number of field poles required to establish a rotating magnetic field in a multiphase motor stator?

TWO-PHASE ROTATING MAGNETIC FIELD

A rotating magnetic field is probably most easily seen in a two-phase stator. The stator of a two-phase induction motor is made up of two windings
(or a multiple of two). They are placed at right angles to each other around the stator. The simplified drawing in figure 4-2 illustrates a two-phase stator.
Figure 4-2. - Two-phase motor stator.

If the voltages applied to phases 1-1A and 2-2A are 90° out of phase, the currents that flow in the phases are displaced from each other by 90°. Since the magnetic fields generated in the coils are in phase with their respective currents, the magnetic fields are also 90° out of phase with each other. These two out-of-phase magnetic fields, whose coil axes are at right angles to each other, add together at every instant during their cycle. They produce a resultant field that rotates one revolution for each cycle of ac.

To analyze the rotating magnetic field in a two-phase stator, refer to figure 4-3. The arrow represents the rotor. For each point set up on the voltage chart, consider that current flows in a direction that will cause the magnetic polarity indicated at each pole piece. Note that from one point to the next, the polarities are rotating from one pole to the next in a clockwise manner. One complete cycle of input voltage produces a 360-degree rotation of the pole polarities. Let's see how this result is obtained.
Figure 4-3. - Two-phase rotating field.

The waveforms in figure 4-3 are of the two input phases, displaced 90° because of the way they were generated in a two-phase alternator. The waveforms are numbered to match their associated phase. Although not shown in this figure, the windings for the poles 1-1A and 2-2A would be as shown in the previous figure. At position 1, the current flow and magnetic field in winding 1-1A is at maximum (because the phase voltage is maximum). The current flow and magnetic field in winding 2-2A is zero (because the phase voltage is zero). The resultant magnetic field is therefore in the direction of the 1-1A axis. At the 45-degree point (position 2), the resultant magnetic field lies midway between windings 1-1A and 2-2A. The coil currents and magnetic fields are equal in strength. At 90° (position 3), the magnetic field in winding 1-1A is zero. The magnetic field in winding 2-2A is at maximum.
Now the resultant magnetic field lies along the axis of the 2-2A winding as shown. The resultant magnetic field has rotated clockwise through 90° to get from position 1 to position 3. When the two-phase voltages have completed one full cycle (position 9), the resultant magnetic field has rotated through 360°. Thus, by placing two windings at right angles to each other and exciting these windings with voltages 90° out of phase, a rotating magnetic field results.
Two-phase motors are rarely used except in special-purpose equipment.
They are discussed here to aid in understanding rotating fields. You will, however, encounter many single-phase and three-phase motors.
Q.5 What is the angular displacement between field poles in a two-phase motor stator?

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