Module 3
DC Motor Drives
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Parameter AC Motor DC Motor
Definition AC motor is the electric motor that is DC motor is the rotatory electric motor which converts
driven by an alternating current the DC energy into mechanical energy.
Types It is of two types which are DC motor is of two types which are namely DC motors
synchronous AC motors and with brushes and DC motors without brushes.
induction motors.
Current It uses AC current. It uses DC current.
Input
Input AC motors can run on both single- DC motors can run only on single-phase supply.
Phases phase and three-phase supplies.
Motor A three-phase AC motor is self- DC motors are always self-starting in nature.
Initiation starting and single-phase AC motor
requires a starting mechanism.
Armature In AC motors, the armature is In DC motors, the armature rotates but the magnetic
Position stationary while the magnetic field field remains stationary.
rotates.
Input This motor has three input terminals. This motor has two input terminals.
Terminals
Applications AC motors are applicable to the need DC motors are applicable to the need for variable speed
for high speed and variable torque. and high torque.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
DC DRIVES
• Among the electric motors, the dc motors are very versatile in that they
provide a smooth speed control over a wide range.
• They have been very widely used in the industry as variable speed drives.
• The main disadvantage of these motors is the presence of a mechanical
commutator which limits the maximum power rating and the speed.
• With the advent of thyristors the static Ward Leonard systems have been
developed for one quadrant, two quadrant and four quadrant operations.
• The following sections deal with the aspects of dc drives fed from thyristor
power converters.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Basic Machine Equations
• When dc voltage is applied to the armature of
a dc motor with its field excited by dc, a torque
is developed and the armature rotates.
• It accelerates to a speed at which the emf
induced in the armature conductors balances
the applied voltage and the following equation
is satisfied.
• Eb is the induced emf in the armature by virtue
of rotation in the uniform magnetic field at
constant speed N.
• The nature of this emf is to oppose the
terminal voltage and therefore it is also called
back emf.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
it is clear that the speed of a dc motor can be varied by changing the value of (Va – Ia ra ).
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
In the former, a variable voltage supply is required. The
operation is loss free and efficient. The torque versus speed
characteristic is shown in Fig. 4.50. In the latter, extra
resistance inserted involves extra losses and the motor
becomes less efficient. The speed-torque characteristic
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Thyristor
A thyristor is a four-layer semiconductor device, consisting of alternating P-type
and N-type materials (PNPN). A thyristor usually has three electrodes: an anode, a
cathode and a gate, also known as a control electrode.
3 states of thyristors
Thyristors operate in one of the following three states, depending on the
requirements:
1.Forward conducting This is a thyristor's primary operating mode. It is
switched to conducting mode and stays that way until the current falls below
a specific level, called the holding current.
2.Forward blocking The thyristor blocks the flow of current, despite voltage
being applied in the direction that would signal a diode to conduct it.
3.Reverse blocking mode. Current attempts to pass through the thyristor in
the opposite direction. However, a diode blocks it, and the thyristor is not
activated.
Applications
speed controls;
light dimmers;
camera flashes; and
various types of circuits, such as inverter, logic and timer circuits
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Electric starter
A motor starter is an electrical device that is used to start & stop a
motor safely. It also provides a low voltage & overcurrent protection.
The main function of a motor starter is;
• To safely start a motor
• To safely stop a motor
• To reverse the direction of a motor
• To protect the motor from low voltage & overcurrent.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Methods of starting electric motors
• Full voltage starting
• Reduced voltage starting
• Increased torque starting
• Starting by means of smooth variation of voltage or frequency
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• Full voltage starting: this involves the application of full line voltage
to the motor terminals, also called direct on-line voltage. This offers
upto 4 or 5kW are usually line started.
• Reduced voltage starting: to avoid heavy starting current and dip in
voltage majority of the motors are started by applying reduced
voltage to their terminals and subsequently increase to its normal
value.
• Increased torque starting: resistance can be added in the rotor circuit
so as to decrease the starting current while increasing the starting
torque upto the value of max. torque that can be developed by the
motor.
• Starting by variation of voltage or frequency: with ac motor dc
generator sets, both synchronous and induction motors can be
started by variation of frequency and voltage
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Types of Starters
There are various types of dc motor starters, such as
• 3 point starter,
• 4 point starter,
• no-load release coil starter,
• thyristor controller starter etc.
• The basic concept behind every DC motor starter is adding external
resistance to the armature winding during starting.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Effects of starting on power supply motor
and load
Mainly 3 parameters effects the starting of electric drive systems
• Effect of starting upon the power supply
• Effect of starting upon driving of motor
• Effect of starting upon connected mechanical load
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• When the motor attains the normal speed, this resistance is totally
cut out of the armature circuit. It is very important and desirable
to provide the starter with protective devices to enable the starter
arm to return to OFF position.
• (i) when the supply fails, thus preventing the armature being directly
across the mains when this voltage is restored. For this purpose, we
use no-volt release coil.
• (ii) when the motor becomes overloaded or develops a fault causing
the motor to take an excessive current. For this purpose, we use
overload release coil.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
4- point Starter
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Structural comparison
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Construction and working
• A 4 point starter as the name suggests has 4 main operational points,
namely
• ‘L’ Line terminal (Connected to positive of supply.)
• ‘A’ Armature terminal (Connected to the armature winding.)
• ‘F’ Field terminal. (Connected to the field winding.)
• Like in the case of the 3 point starter, and in addition to it there is,
A 4th point N (Connected to the No Voltage Coil NVC)
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• The remarkable difference in case of a 4 point starter is that the No
Voltage Coil is connected independently across the supply through
the fourth terminal called ‘N’ in addition to the ‘L’, ‘F’ and ‘A’.
• As a direct consequence of that, any change in the field supply
current does not bring about any difference in the performance of the
NVC.
• Thus it must be ensured that no voltage coil always produce a force
which is strong enough to hold the handle in its ‘RUN’ position,
against the force of the spring, under all the operational conditions.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Control circuits for DC motors
• Advances in thyristors and developments in power converters using
thyristors has made the speed control of electric motors easy.
• Phase controlled rectifiers provide a variable Dc voltage to armature
of DC motor.
• These converters can also acts as inverters, in which regenerative
braking is possible.
• With suitable connection the drive allows to rotate in both the
directions.
• Here certain drawbacks poor power factor, harmonics in the input
current.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
what is braking?
• The process of applying brakes can be termed as braking. brake is an
equipment to reduce the speed of any moving or rotating equipment,
like vehicles, locomotives.
• In other words, it is the process of reducing speed of any rotating
machine.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Mechanical Braking VS ELECTRIC BRAKING
• In mechanical braking the speed of the machine is reduced solely by
mechanical process but electrical braking is far more interesting than
that because the whole process is depended on the flux and torque
directions.
• Mechanical brakes use friction to slow or stop a motor. Electronic
motor brakes do not use friction.
• Instead, they use DC current to “reverse” the inertia of the motor.
• This leads to quicker stop times and significantly less maintenance
over time
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Comparison
Mechanical Braking Electrical braking
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Disadvantages of Mechanical Braking
The main disadvantages of the Mechanical Braking are as follows:-
• It requires frequent maintenance and replacement of brake shoes.
• Braking power is wasted in the form of heat.
• Advantage of mechanical braking it is also used along with the electric
braking to ensure reliable operation of the drive.
• It is also used to hold the drive at the standstill because many braking
methods do not produce torque at standstill condition.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Types of Electric Braking
• Plugging type braking or reverse current braking (counter current
braking)
• Dynamic braking or Rheostatic braking
• Regenerative Braking.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Plugging Type Braking
• In this method the terminals of supply are reversed, as a result the
generator torque also reverses which resists the normal rotation of
the motor and as a result the speed decreases.
• During plugging external resistance is also introduced into the circuit
to limit the flowing current.
• The main disadvantage of this method is that here power is wasted.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Applications of Plugging
The Plugging is commonly used for the following purposes listed below.
• In controlling elevators
• Rolling Mills
• Printing Presses
• Machine tools, etc.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Dynamic Braking
• Another method of reversing the direction of torque and braking the
motor is dynamic braking.
• In this method of braking the motor which is at a running condition is
disconnected from the source and connected across a resistance.
• When the motor is disconnected from the source, the rotor keeps
rotating due to inertia and it works as a self-excited generator.
• When the motor works as a generator the flow of the current and
torque reverses.
• During braking to maintain the steady torque sectional resistances are
cut out one by one.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Regenerative braking
• It takes place whenever the speed of the motor exceeds the
synchronous speed.
• This braking method is called regenerative baking because here the
motor works as generator and supply itself is given power from the
load, i.e. motors.
• The main criteria for regenerative braking is that the rotor has to
rotate at a speed higher than synchronous speed, only then the motor
will act as a generator and the direction of current flow through the
circuit and direction of the torque reverses and braking takes place.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Contd…
• The only disadvantage of this type of braking is that the motor has to
run at super synchronous speed which may damage the motor
mechanically and electrically,
• but regenerative braking can be done at sub synchronous speed if the
variable frequency source is available.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• Regenerative Braking in DC Shunt Motors
Under normal operating conditions the armature current is given by
the equation shown below.
• When the load is lowered by a crane, hoist or lift causes the motor
speed to be greater than the no-load speed.
• The back EMF becomes greater than the supply voltage.
• Consequently, armature current Ia becomes negative.
• The machines now begin to operate as a generator.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• Under normal operating conditions the armature current is given by
the equation shown below:
• When the load is lowered by a crane, hoist or lift causes the motor
speed to be greater than the no-load speed, the back EMF becomes
greater than the supply voltage.
• Consequently, armature current Ia becomes negative. The machines
now begins to operate as a generator.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Regenerative Braking in DC Series Motors
•
In case of DC Series Motor an increase in speed is followed by a decrease in
the armature current and field flux.
• The back EMF Eb cannot be greater than the supply voltage. Regeneration
is possible in DC Series Motor since the field current cannot be made
greater than the armature current.
• Regeneration is required where DC Series Motor is used extensively such as
in traction, elevator hoists etc.
• For example – In an Electro-locomotive moving down the gradient, a
constant speed may be necessary.
• In hoist drives the speed is to be limited whenever it becomes dangerously
high.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• One commonly used method of regenerative braking of DC Series
Motor is to connect it as a shunt motor.
• Since the resistance of the field winding is low, a series resistance is
connected in the field circuit to limit the current within the safe value.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Circuits of regenerative braking
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
ADVANTAGES &DISADVANTAGES
• The main advantage of this kind of braking can be said that the
generated power is use fully employed.
• The main disadvantage of this type of braking is that for fixed
frequency sources, braking cannot happen below synchronous
speeds.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Applications of Regenerative Braking
• Regenerative braking is used especially where frequent braking and
slowing of drives is required.
• It is most useful in holding a descending load of high potential energy
at a constant speed.
• Regenerative braking is used to control the speed of motors driving
loads such as in electric locomotives, elevators, cranes and hoists.
• Regenerative braking cannot be used for stopping the motor.
• It is used for controlling the speed above the no-load speed of the
motor driving.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Controlled rectifier fed DC drives
• The advent of thyristors and the development of power converters using
thyristors has made the speed control of electric motors easier and more
straightforward.
• Phase controlled rectifiers provide a variable dc voltage to the armature of
a dc motor.
• These converters can also operate as inverters, in which case regenerative
braking of the dc motor is possible.
• By suitable connection of these converters, a reversible drive allowing
motoring and regeneration in both the directions of rotation is possible.
• These converters are more flexible, have a faster response and occupy less
space.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• The load voltage is superimposed by a ripple content.
• The load current also has a ripple making the ratios of peak to average
current and rms to average current greater than one.
• A large inductance is required on the load side to smoothen the current.
• Sometimes the load current is discontinuous, which reduces the
performance.
• The ripple content affects the motor heating and commutation.
• Therefore it is necessary to develop the rectifier which provides a supply
to the motor causing only very little variations in the performance as
compared to a normal dc supply.
• Sometimes the dc motor design is modified so that it can be used on any
converter.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• A dc motor on normal dc supply requires a
starting resistor to limit the starting current.
• When fed from a thyristor converter the
starting resistance can be dispensed with and
soft starting is possible.
• The motor can be accelerated at constant
torque.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Performance of DC Motors Operating on Phase
Controlled Converters
• i. The motor has a large speed drop as it is loaded. Speed falls very fast and
speed regulation is very poor. As the current flows in pulses there is a loss
of torque.
• ii. The range of speed control is limited and speed oscillations are present.
• iii. The ratios of peak to average and rms to average currents become
more. For rated armature current to develop rated torque, the motor gets
overheated; for normal heating there is loss of torque.
• iv. It affects the commutation by increasing bar to bar voltage of the
commutator.
• v. The dynamic response of the motor is very poor.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Half wave drives and Full wave drives
• Single Phase Drives: In these drives phase controlled converters operating
from a single phase are used to drive the motor.
• These are used for low and medium power applications.
• These have inherently poor speed regulation with open loop control.
• This can be improved with closed loop operation.
• These drives can be half wave or full wave drives.
• A full wave drive can be supplied from a fully controlled or half controlled
converter.
• The former is capable of two quadrant operation whereas only one
quadrant operation is possible with the latter, as it contains diodes in
several positions
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• Half Wave Drives: The dc motor is supplied from a single
phase half wave circuit (Fig. 4.56(a)).
• Low cost and simplicity are the advantages of this drive.
• This can provide only one quadrant operation.
Regeneration is not possible. The conduction angle of
the thyristor is very small, resulting in a very low
average current.
• The torque developed is very small resulting in a loss of
torque at the rated rms current.
• The rms to average current ratio is also more.
• The motor current is always discontinuous. The ripple
frequency is equal to supply frequency. The current and
voltage wave forms are shown in Fig. 4.57.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• The freewheeling diode across the load
improves the performance.
• The speed regulation is very poor. At low
speeds the motor receives power in pulses
and the motor may chug when the load is
high.
• The speed oscillation is quite high. The
supply transformer has pre-magnetisation
due to dc component of the load current.
• The application of this drive is limited to
low powers.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• Full Wave Drives: The dc motor is supplied by a full wave converter.
• A full wave drive using a fully controlled converter is shown in Fig. 4.56(b).
• The wave forms of voltage and current in the load are shown in Fig. 4.58.
• Having thyristors in all positions, the firing of the thyristors allows negative
average voltages, making the power flow from load to the supply.
• The motor can be braked effectively using regenerative braking.
• This can be made possible at constant current.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• The speed oscillation is less. The speed
regulation improves because of increased
conduction of current in the load.
• The number of pulses are two and pulse
frequency in the load is 2f.
• The ripple amplitude is smaller in this
case. The speed oscillations are
decreased.
• The discontinuous conduction is present
and the wave forms for this case are
shown in Fig. 4.59.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Multi quadrant operation of DC separately excited
motor fed from fully controlled rectifier
Motor is shown by its equivalent circuit and field supply
is not shown.
• When field control is required, the field is fed from a
controlled rectifier or an uncontrolled rectifier. The ac
input voltage is defined by vs = Vm sin𝜔 t. (1)
• In a cycle of source voltage, thyristors T1 and T3 are
given gate signals from 𝛼 to 𝜋, and thyristors T2 and T4
are given gate signals from (𝜋 + 𝛼) to 2 𝜋.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• When Ia does not flow continuously → motor is said to operate in discontinuous
conduction.
• When Ia flows continuously → conduction is said to be continuous.
• The drive under consideration, predominantly operates in discontinuous conduction.
• Discontinuous conduction has several modes of operation. The approximate method of
analysis is obtained when only the dominant mode of discontinuous conduction is taken
into account.
• Motor terminal voltage and current waveforms for the dominant discontinuous
conduction and continuous conduction modes are shown in Fig. 3 (b) and (c).
• In discontinuous conduction mode, current starts flowing with the turn-on of thyristors
T1 and T3 at 𝜔 t = 𝛼.
• Motor gets connected to the source and its terminal voltage equals vs.
• The current, which flows against both, E and the source voltage after 𝜔 t = 𝜋, falls to zero
at 𝛽.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• A three-phase full wave drive may be obtained by feeding a dc motor from a six pulse bridge converter or a six pulse
converter with interphase transformer.
• The latter is used for large load currents. These are depicted in Fig. 4.64(c).
• The increase of the pulses in the load is advantageous, as it effectively decreases the ratios of peak/average and
rms/average currents.
• This improves the performance of the motor, and the filtering requirements are less. The current is continuous in
almost all the operating points because of the faster rate of switching of the thyristors.
• The line side performance also improves because of less harmonic content in the line current. A slight improvement in
the total power factor may be there. These drives have better speed regulation than single phase drives.
• A full converter allows negative average voltage at the load terminals thereby making regeneration possible.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Chopper Fed dc Drives
• The variable voltage to the armature of a dc motor for speed control
can be obtained from a dc chopper which is a single stage dc to dc
conversion device.
• The voltage variation at the load terminals can be obtained by using
either current limit control or time ratio control.
• In the former, it has already been discussed, the chopper is controlled
such that the load current has a variation between two limits.
• When the chopper is controlled by TRC the ratio of TON/TOFF of the
chopper is changed.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• In case the operation is at fixed frequency if (TON + TOFF) is kept constant.
• TON only is varied to obtain voltage control. The operation will be at variable frequency
with TON kept constant and (TON + TOFF) varied.
• Chopper circuits have several advantages over phase controlled converters:
• i. Ripple content in the output is small. Peak/average and rms/average current ratios are
small. This improves the commutation and decreases the harmonic heating of the motor.
The pulsating torques are also less.
• ii. The chopper is supplied from a constant dc voltage using batteries.
• The problem of power factor does not occur at all. The conventional phase control
method suffers from a poorer power factor as the angle is delayed. This means that the
current drawn by the chopper is smaller than in a ac/dc phase controlled converter.
• iii. The circuit is simple and can be modified to provide regeneration.
• iv. The control circuit is simple.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• Separately Excited DC Motor A separately excited
dc motor fed from a dc chopper employing TRC
strategy is shown in Fig. 4.71.
• The variation of time ratio at constant chopper
frequency provides a variable voltage.
• The load current can be determined using the
relevant equations.
• During ON period the current in the load grows
and in the OFF period the current decays.
• Due to back emf present in the circuit the
variation of currents is almost linear.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• At very low frequencies of operation and smaller time ratios the load current may
become discontinuous. The output ripple depends on TR.
• At low currents the ripple becomes responsible for discontinuous operation.
• At very light loads if the average current is smaller than 1/2 (peak to peak) of the ripple
amplitude, the load current becomes discontinuous.
• Discontinuous conduction occurs if the freewheeling period is larger.
• In other words, ON time is less than a critical value.
• As far as the discontinuous conduction is concerned, choppers are similar to ac/dc
converters. The peak current cannot be controlled.
• The limits between which the current varies depends upon TR.
• The peak current and discontinuous conduction affect the commutation capability of the
motor and its speed control range.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Series motor fed from a dc chopper
• Series motors produce high starting torque. They are capable of
constant power operation at all speeds.
• They are therefore suitable for traction purposes. Choppers are used
to control these motors.
• Both the control strategies of Time Ratio Control (TRC) and Current
Limit Control (CLC) are used.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
• The ratios of peak/average and rms/average are functions of the time ratio.
• As compared to phase controlled converters, these are considerably smaller in
chopper control.
• Chopper control improves the performance, the improvement being more at
high chopping frequencies.
• Typical torque-speed characteristics of a series motor for different time ratios
are shown in Fig. 4.76.
• The speed control range is affected only at small time ratios. As the time ratio
increases the characteristic moves towards the left and the range of speed
control also increases.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
A Comparison of Three-Phase and One-Phase
Drives
• i. Three phase drives are used for large power ratings.
• ii. The increased pulse frequency of the output ripple reduces the filter
requirements as the peak to peak ripple content decreases. The amount of
inductance required for smoothing is also less.
• iii. Peak/average and rms/average current ratios in the load are smaller in three-
phase drives. This tends to improve the performance of the drive motor. The
outlay of smoothing inductance is also less. The heating of the motor for a given
torque decreases compared to single phase drives.
• iv. The commutating capability of three-phase drives is better than that of one
phase drives. This is because three-phase drives are less prone to discontinuous
conduction.
• v. The line power factor is poorer in a full converter as the firing angle is delayed.
This is because of a deterioration in the fundamental displacement factor as well
as harmonic factor of the line current.
Dr. MANJUNATHA K N
