Stator current

Since the kW developed by a 3-0 winding is 50% more than by a 2-0 winding for the same value of stator current /, the economics of this principle is employed in an induction motor for general and industrial use. As standard practice, therefore, in a multi-phase system, only 3-0 induction motors are manufactured and employed, except for household appliances and applications, where mostly single-phase motors are ttsed. 

Since the resistive loss would vary in a square proportion of the current, the motor will overheat on lower voltages (drawing higher currents). At higher voltages, while the stator current may decrease, the core losses will be higher. 

The declared efficiency and power factor of a motor are affected by its loading. Irrespective of the load, no-load losses as well as the reactive component of the motor remain constant. The useful stator current, i.e. the phase current minus the no-load current of a normal induction motor, has a power factor as high as 0.9-0.95. But because of the magnetizing current, the p.f. of the motor does not generally exceed 0.8-0.85 at full load. Thus, at loads lower than rated, the magnetizing current remaining the same, the power factor of the motor decreases sharply. The efficiency, however, remains practically constant for up to nearly 70% of load in view of the fact that maximum efficiency occurs at a load when copper losses (f R) are equal to the no-load losses. Table 1.9 shows an approximate variation in the power factor and efficiency with the load. From the various tests conducted on different types and sizes of motors, it has been established that the... 

This is a very useful nomogram to determine the performance of a motor with the help of only no-load and short-circuit test results. In slip-ring motors, it also helps to determine the external resistance required in the rotor circuit to control the speed of the motor and achieve the desired operating performance. Slip-ring motors are discussed in Chapter 5. The concept behind this nomogram is that the locus of the rotor and the stator currents is a circle. Consider the equivalent circuit of an induction motor as shown in Figure 1.15, where... 

Since the stator current is a function of the rotor current, the motor torque is proportional to the square of the stator current. Generalizing,... 

Then, for a stator current of corresponding to a starting torque of the required rotor current will be... 

The magnetizing current, / , is a part of the motor stator current / (Figure 1.15). The rotor cun cnt is also a reflection of the active component of this stator current, as can be seen in the same figure, so that... 

With the availability of phasor control technology, by which one can separate out the active and magnetizing components of the motor s stator current and vary them individually, it is now possible to achieve higher dynamic performance and accuracy of speed control in an a.c. machine similar to and even better than a separately excited d.c. machine. 

The machine ofTer.s very low impedance to negative sequence voltages. As a result, the percentage increase in the stator current is tilmost the same as the starting current on DOL switching, i.e. six to ten times the rated current. 

This occurs when the positive and negative sequence components fall in phase in which case the equivalent stator current will become... 

Figure 12.5 Equivalent stator currents during unbalanced voltage...

The unbalanced voltage will produce an additional rotor current at nearly twice the supply frequency. For example, for a 2% slip, i.e. a slip of 1 Hz, the negative sequence stator current, due to an unbalanced supply voltage, will induce a rotor current at a frequency of (2/- 1) = 99 Hz for a 50 Hz system. These high-frequency currents will produce significant skin effects in the rotor bars and cause high eddy current and hysteresis losses (Section 1.6.2(A-iv)). Total rotor heat may be represented by... 

If a large induction motor is switched on such a system it is possible that its rotor may lock up at the sub-synchronous speed and keep running at higher slips. This situation is also undesirable, as it would cause higher slip losses in addition to higher stator current and overvoltage across the series capacitors. 

The device of Figure 2-70 can also operate as a motor if a DC current is applied to the rotor windings as in the alternator and an AC current is imposed on the stator windings. As the current to the stator flows in one direction, the torque developed on the rotor causes it to turn until the rotor and stator fields are aligned (5 = 0°). If, at that instant, the stator current switches direction, then mechanical momentum will carry the rotor past the point of field alignment, and the opposite direction of the stator field will cause a torque in the same direction and continue the rotation. 

With a frequency converter, stator voltage and frequency of the asynchronous motor can be varied infinitely. This transforms a standard motor into a variable speed drive system. An asynchronous motor equipped with a rotor position sensor, magnetization calculation, and the impression of the corresponding stator currents (vector regulation) has the properties of a servo drive. 

The working principle of the induction machines is based on the fact that rotor currents are induced by the stator currents, and this is the main cause of losses in the rotor windings, which makes these types of machines less efficient than other brushless machines [11]. However, asynchronous machines are widely used and their mass production makes them reliable and well developed, for that reason their cost is quite low. 

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