MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology

DepartmentofElectricalEngineeringandComputerScience
6.061IntroductiontoPowerSystems
ClassNotesChapter11
DC(Commutator)andPermanentMagnetMachines

J.L. Kirtley Jr.
1 Introduction
Virtuallyallelectricmachines,andallpracticalelectricmachinesemploysomeformofrotating
or alternating eld/current system to produce torque. While it is possible to produce a true
DC machine (e.g. the Faraday Disk), for practical reasons such machines have not reached
application andarenot likelyto.In the machines we have examinedso far themachine isoperated
fromanalternatingvoltagesource. Indeed,thisisoneoftheprincipalreasonsforemployingAC
inpowersystems.
Therst electric machines employeda mechanicalswitch, in the formofa carbon brush/commutator
system,toproducethisrotatingeld. Whilethewidespreaduseofpowerelectronicsismaking
brushlessmotors (whicharereally justsynchronousmachines)more popularandcommon,com-
mutatormachinesarestilleconomicallyveryimportant.Theyarerelativelycheap,particularlyin
smallsizes,theytendtoberuggedandsimple.
Youwillndcommutatormachinesinaverywiderangeofapplications. Thestartingmotor
onallautomobilesisaseries-connectedcommutatormachine.Manyoftheotherelectricmotorsin
automobiles, from the little motors that drive the outside rear-view mirrors to the motors that drive
thewindshieldwipersarepermanentmagnetcommutatormachines. Thelargetractionmotors
that drivesubwaytrainsand diesel/electric locomotivesare DCcommutatormachines (although
induction machines are makingsome inroads here).Andmanycommon appliances useuniversal
motors: seriesconnectedcommutatormotorsadaptedtoAC.
1.1 Geometry:
Aschematic picture (cartoon)ofacommutator typemachine isshown in 1. Thearmatureof
thismachine ison therotor (this is the part that handles theelectric power),andcurrent is fedto
thearmaturethroughthebrush/commutatorsystem. Theinteractionmagneticeldisprovided

c 2003 James L. Kirtley Jr.

1
Stator Yoke
Field Poles
Field Winding
Armature Winding
Rotor

Figure1: Wound-FieldDCMachineGeometry
(inthispicture) byaeldwinding. Apermanentmagneteldisapplicablehere,andwewillhave
quitealotmoretosayaboutsucharrangementsbelow.
Now,ifweassumethattheinteractionmagneticuxdensityaveragesB
r
,andifthereareC
a
conductorsunderneaththepolesatanyonetime,andiftherearem parallelpaths,thenwemay
estimatetorqueproducedbythemachineby:
C
a
RB
r
I
a
T
e
=
m
whereRandare rotor radius and length, respectivelyandI
a
is terminalcurrent.Note thatC
a
isnotnecessarilythetotalnumberofconductors,butratherthetotalnumberofactiveconductors
(that is, conductors underneath the pole andtherefore subject to the interactioneld).Now, ifwe
noteN
f
as the number ofeldturns per pole, the interactioneld is just:
N
f
I
f
B
r
=
g
leadingtoasimpleexpressionfortorqueintermsofthetwocurrents:
T
e
=GI
a
I
f
where G isnow themotorcoecient (unitsof N-m/amperesquared):
C
a
N
f
G=
0
R
m g
Now, lets go backand lookat this from the pointofview ofvoltage.Start with Faradays Law:
B

=
t
Integratingbothsidesandnotingthattheareaintegralofacurlistheedgeintegralofthe
quantity,wend:

B

d=
t
2
Now, that is a bit awkward t o use, particularly in the case we have here in which the edge of
the contour is moving (note we will be using this expression t o find voltage). We can make this a
bit more convenient t o use if we note:
where v' is the velocity of the contour. This gives us a convenient way of noting the apparent electric
field within a moving object (as in the conductors in a DC machine):
Figure 2: Motion of a contour through a magnetic field produces flux change and electric field in
the moving contour
Now, note that the armature conductors are moving through the magnetic field produced by
the stator (field) poles, and we can ascribe t o them an axially directed electric field:
If the armature conductors are arranged as described above, with Ca conductors in m parallel
paths underneath the poles and with a mean active radial magnetic field of B,, we can compute a
voltage induced in the stator conductors:
Note that this is only the voltage induced by motion of the armature conductors through the
field and does not include brush or conductor resistance. If we include the expression for effective
magnetic field, we find that the back voltage is:
which leads us t o the conclusion that newton-meters per ampere squared equals volt seconds per
ampere. This stands t o reason if we examine electric power into the interaction and mechanical
power out:
Pe, = EbIa=TeR
Now,amorecompletemodelofthismachinewouldincludetheeectsofarmature,brushand
leadresistance,sothatinsteadystateoperation:
V
a
=R
a
I
a
+GI
f
Now, consider this machine with its armatucre connected to a voltage source and its eld
operatingatsteadycurrent,sothat:
V
a
GI
f
I
a
=
R
a
G I
f

+
V
a
-
R
a
+
-
Figure3: DCMachineEquivalentCircuit
Thentorque,electricpowerinandmechanicalpoweroutare:
T
e
= GI
f
V
a
GI
f
R
a
P
e
= V
a
V
a
GI
f
R
a
P
m
= GI
f
V
a
GI
f
R
a
Now, notethattheseexpressionsdenethreeregimesdenedbyrotationalspeed. Thetwo
breakpointsareatzerospeedandatthezerotorquespeed:
V
a

0
=
GI
f
For 0<<
0
,themachineisamotor: electricpowerinandmechanicalpoweroutareboth
positive. Forhigherspeeds:
0
< , themachineisagenerator, withelectricalpowerinand
mechanical powerout beingbothnegative.Forspeeds less thanzero,electrical power in is positive
andmechanicalpoweroutisnegative. Therearefewneedstooperatemachinesinthisregime,
shortofsometypesofpluggingoremergencybrakingintractionssystems.
1.2 Hookups:
We have just describeda mode of operation ofa commutator machine usuallycalledseparately
excited,inwhicheldandarmaturecircuitsarecontrolledseparately. Thismodeofoperationis
used in some types oftraction applications in whichtheexibility it aords is useful.For example,
4
Mechanical
Electrical
Figure4: DCMachineOperatingRegimes
G I
f

R
a
+
-
Figure5: Two-Chopper,separatelyexcitedmachinehookup
sometractionapplicationsapplyvoltagecontrolintheformofchopperstoseparatelyexcited
machines.
Note that the zero torque speed is dependend on armature voltage and on eld current.
Forhightorqueatlowspeedonewouldoperatethemachinewithhigheldcurrentandenough
armaturevoltagetoproducetherequisitecurrent. Asspeedincreasessodoesbackvoltage,and
eldcurrentmayneedtobereduced. Atanysteadyoperatingspeedtherewillbesomeoptimum
mix of eldandarmature currents to producedthe requiredtorque.For braking one could (andthis
isoftendone)re-connectthearmatureofthemachinetoabrakingresistorandturnthemachine
intoagenerator. Brakingtorqueiscontrolledbyeldcurrent.
Asubsetoftheseparatelyexcitedmachineistheshuntconnectioninwhicharmatureandeld
aresuppliedbythesamesource,inparallel. Thisconnectionisnotwidelyusedanymore: itdoes
notyieldanymeaningfulabilitytocontrolspeedandthesimpleapplicationstowhichisusedto
beusedaremostlybeinghandledbyinductionmachines.
5
+
V
-
Figure6: SeriesConnection
Another connection which is stillwidelyused in the series connection, in whichtheeldwinding
issizedsothatitsnormaloperatingcurrentlevelisthesameasnormalarmaturecurrentandthe
twowindingsareconnectedinseries. Then:
V
I
a
=I
f
=
R
a
+R
f
+G
And then torque is:
GV
2
T
e
=
(R
a
+R
f
+G)
2
Itisimportanttonotethatthismachinehasnozero-torquespeed,leadingtothepossibility
thatanunloadedmachinemightacceleratetodangerousspeeds. Thisisparticularlytruebecause
thecommutator,madeofpiecesofrelativelyheavymaterialtiedtogetherwithnon- conductors,is
notverystrong.
Speed control of series connected machines can be achieved with voltage control and many
appliances using this type of machine use choppers or phase control. An older form of control
usedintractionapplicationswastheseriesdroppingresistor: obviouslynotaveryecientwayof
controllingthemachineandnotwidelyused (except inoldequipment,ofcourse).
A variation on this class ofmachine is the verywidelyuseduniversalmotor, in which the stator
androtor(eldandarmature)ofthemachinearebothconstructedtooperatewithalternating
current. Thismeansthatboththeeldandarmaturearemadeoflaminatedsteel.Notethatsuch
amachinewilloperate justas itwould havewith directcurrent,with theonlyaddition beingthe
reactiveimpedanceofthetwowindings. WorkingwithRMSquantities:
V
I =
R
a
+R
f
+G +j(L
a
+L
f
)
|V|
2
T
e
=
(R
a
+R
f
+G)
2
+(L
a
+L
f
)
2
where istheelectricalsupplyfrequency. Notethat,unlikeotherACmachines,theuniversal
motor is not limited in speedto the supply frequency.Appliance motors typically turn substantially
fasterthanthe3,600RPMlimitofACmotors,andthisisonereasonwhytheyaresowidelyused:
withthe highrotationalspeeds it is possible to produce more power per unitmass (andmore power
per dollar).
6
1.3 Commutator:
Thecommutatoriswhatmakesthismachinework. Thebrushandcommutatorsystemofthis
class of motor involvesquite a lot of black art, and there are still aspects of how they work
which are poorly understood. However, we can make someattempt to show a bit of what the
brush/commutatorsystemdoes.
Tostart, takea lookat the pictureshown in Figure 7.Representedarea pairof poles (shaded)
andapairofbrushes. Conductorsmakeagroupofclosedpaths. Currentfromoneofthebrushes
takestwoparallelpaths. Youcanfollowoneofthosepathsaroundaclosedloop,undereachof
the two poles (remember that the poles are of opposite polarity) to the opposite brush. Open
commutatorsegments (mostofthem)donotcarrycurrent intooroutofthemachine.
Figure7: CommutatorandCurrentPaths
Acommutationintervaloccurswhenthecurrentinonecoilmustbereversed. (SeeFigure8
Inthesimplestformthisinvolvesabrushbridgingbetweentwocommutatorsegments,shorting
outthatcoil. Theresistanceofthebrushcausesthecurrenttodecay. Whenthebrushleavesthe
leadingsegmentthecurrentintheleadingcoilmustreverse.
Figure8: CommutatoratCommutation
Wewillnotattempttofullyunderstandthecommutationprocessinthistypeofmachine,but
wecannoteafewthings. Resistive commutationistheprocessrelieduponinsmallmachines.
7
When thecurrent inonecoilmust bereversed (because it has leftone poleand isapproachingthe
other),thatcoilisshortedbyoneofthebrushes. Thebrushresistancecausesthecurrentinthe
coiltodecay. ThentheleadingcommutatorsegmentleavesthebrushthecurrentMUSTreverse
(thetrailing coilhascurrentinit),andthereisoftensparking.
1.4 Commutation
Commutation
Stator Yoke
Field Poles
Field Winding
Armature Winding
Rotor

Interpoles
Figure9: CommutationInterpoles
Inlargermachinesthecommutationprocesswouldinvolvetoomuchsparking, whichcauses
brushwear,noxious gases (ozone)that promotecorrosion,etc. In thesecases it iscommon touse
separatecommutationinterpoles. Theseareseparate,usuallynarroworseeminglyvestigalpole
pieces which carry armature current. They are arranged in such a way that the ux from the
interpoledrivescurrentinthecommutatedcoilintheproperdirection. Rememberthatthecoil
being commutated is located physically between the active poles andthe interpole is therefore in the
rightspot to inuencecommutation.The interpole iswoundwitharmaturecurrent (it is inseries
withthemainbrushes). Itiseasytoseethattheinterpolemusthaveauxdensityproportional
tothecurrenttobecommutated. Sincethespeedwithwhichthecoilmustbecommutatedis
proportional to rotational velocity and so is the voltage induced by the interpole, if the right
numberofturnsareputaroundtheinterpole,commutationcanbemadetobequiteaccurate.
1.5 Compensation:
Theanalysisofcommutatormachinesoftenignoresarmaturereactionux. Obviouslythesema-
chines DO producearmature reactionux, in quadraturewiththe maineld.Normally,commuta-
tor machines are highlysalient andthe quadrature inductance is lower than direct-axis inductance,
but there is stillux produced. This adds to theux densityon one side of the main poles (pos-
siblyleadingtosaturation). Tomaketheuxdistributionmoreuniformandthereforetoavoid
thissaturationeectofquadratureaxisux,itiscommoninveryhighlyratedmachinestowind
compensationcoils: essentiallymirror-imagesofthearmaturecoils,butthistimewoundinslots
in the surface of the eld poles. Such coilswill have the same number of ampere-turns as the
8
2
Rotor
Commutation
Interpoles
PoleFace
Compensation
Winding
Field Poles
Field Winding
Armature Winding

Figure10: PoleFaceCompensationWinding
armature. Normallytheyhavethesamenumberofturnsandareconnecteddirectlyinserieswith
the armature brushes.What they do is to almost exactlycanceltheux produced bythe armature
coils,leavingonlythemainuxproducedbytheeldwinding. Onemightthinkofthesecoilsas
providingareactiontorque,producedinexactlythesamewayasmaintorqueisproducedbythe
armature. AcartoonviewofthisisshowninFigure10.
Permanent Magnets in Electric Machines
Ofallchangesinmaterialstechnologyoverthelastseveralyears,advancesinpermanentmagnets
have hadthe largest impacton electric machines.Permanentmagnets are often suitable as replace-
mentsfortheeldwindingsinmachines: thatistheycanproducethefundamentalinteraction
eld.This does three things.First,since the permanentmagnet is lossless iteliminates theenergy
requiredforexcitation,usuallyimprovingtheeciencyofthemachine. Second,sinceeliminating
theexcitationlossreducestheheatloaditisoftenpossibletomakePMmachinesmorecompact.
Finally,andlessappreciated,isthefactthatmodernpermanentmagnetshaveverylargecoercive
force densities which permitvastly larger air gaps than conventionaleldwindings, andthis in turn
permitsdesignexibilitywhichcanresultinevenbetterelectricmachines.
Theseadvantagescomenotwithoutcost. Permanentmagnetmaterialshavespecialcharacter-
isticswhichmustbetakenintoaccountinmachinedesign. Thehighestperformancepermanent
magnets are brittle ceramics, some have chemicalsensitivities, allare sensitive to high temperatures,
mosthavesensitivitytodemagnetizingelds,andpropermachinedesignrequiresunderstanding
thematerialswell. Thesenoteswillnotmakeyouintoseasonedpermanentmagnetmachinede-
signers. Theyare,however,anattempttogetstarted,todevelopsomeofthemathematicalskills
9
requiredandtopointtosomeoftheimportantissuesinvolved.
2.1 Permanent Magnets:
Hysteresis Loop: Permanent Magnet
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
-400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400
Kilo Am peres/Meter
T
e
s
l
a

Figure11: HysteresisLoopOfCeramicPermanentMagnet
Permanentmagnetmaterialsare,atcore, justmaterialswithverywide hysteresis loops. Fig-
ure 11 isanexampleofsomethingclose tooneofthemore popularceramic magnetmaterials.Note
thatthishysteresisloopissowidethatyoucanseetheeectofthepermeabilityoffreespace.
Figure12: DemagnetizationCurve
Itisusualtodisplayonlypartofthemagneticcharacteristicofpermanentmagnetmaterials
(seeFigure12),thethirdquadrantofthispicture,becausethatiswherethematerialisnormally
10
Demagnetization Curve
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
-250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0
H, kA/m
B
,

T
e
s
l
a
Br
Energy Product Loci
Hc

operated.Note a few important characteristics ofwhat is calledthedemagnetization curve.The
remanentuxdensityB
r
,isthevalueofuxdensityinthematerialwithzeromagneticeldH.
ThecoerciveeldH
c
isthemagneticeldatwhichtheuxdensityfallstozero. Shownalsoon
thecurvearelociofconstantenergyproduct. Thisquantityisunfortunatelynamed,foralthough
ithasthesameunitsasenergyitrepresentsrealenergyinonlyafairlygeneralsense. Itisthe
productofuxdensityandeldintensity. Asyoualreadyknow,therearethreecommonlyused
systemsofunitsformagneticeldquantities,andthesesystemsareoftenmixeduptoformvery
confusingunits. WewilltrytostayawayfromtheEnglishsystemofunitsinwhicheldintensity
H is measured in amperes per inch and ux densityB in lines (actually, usually kilolines)per
square inch. In CGS unitsux densityismeasured inGauss (or kilogauss)and magneticeld
intensity inOersteds. And in SIthe unit ofux density is theTesla,which isoneWeberpersquare
meter,andtheunitofeldintensityistheAmpere per meter. Ofthese,onlythelastone,A/m is
obvious. AWeber isavolt-second. AGauss is 10
4
Tesla. And,nally,anOersted isthateld
intensityrequiredtoproduceoneGaussinthepermeabilityoffreespace. Sincethepermeability
offreespace
0
= 4 10
7
Hy/m,thismeansthatoneOeisabout79.58A/m. Commonly,the
energyproductiscitedinMgOe (Mega-Gauss-Oersted)s. OneMgOeisequalto7.958kJ/m
3
. A
commonlyused measure for the performance of a permanent magnet materialis the maximum
energyproduct,thelargestvalueofthisproductalongthedemagnetizationcurve.
Tostarttounderstandhowthesematerialsmightbeuseful,considerthesituationshownin
Figure 13:A pieceof permanentmagnetmaterial iswrapped inamagneticcircuitwitheectively
innite permeability.Assume the thing has some (nite) depth in the direction you cantsee.Now,
ifwetakeAmpereslawaroundthepathdescribedbythedottedline,
H

= 0
sincethereisnocurrentanywhereintheproblem. Ifmagnetizationisupwards,asindicatedby
thearrow,thiswouldindicatethattheuxdensityinthepermanentmagnetmaterialisequalto
the remanentux density (also upward).
Magnetic Circuit,
Permanent Magnet
Figure13: PermanentMagnetinMagneticCircuit
A second problem is illustrated in Figure 14, in which the same magnet is embedded in a
11


magneticcircuitwithanairgap. AssumethatthegaphaswidthgandareaAg. Themagnethas
height hmandarea Am.Forconvenience,wewilltake the positivereference direction to beup (as
weseeithere)inthemagnetanddownintheair-gap.
Magnetic Circuit,
Permanent Magnet
g
h
m
Figure14: PermanentMagnetDrivinganAir-Gap
ThuswearefollowingthesamereferencedirectionaswegoaroundtheAmperesLawloop.
That becomes:

H

=H
m
h
m
+H
g
g
Now, Gauss law could be written for either the upper or lower piece of the magnetic circuit.
Assumingthattheonlysubstantiveuxleavingorenteringthemagneticcircuitiseitherinthe
magnetorthegap:
B

d A

=B
m
A
m

0
H
g
A
g
Solvingthispairwehave:
A
g
h
m
B
m
=
0
H
m
=
0
P
u
H
m
A
m
g
Thisdenestheunitpermeance,essentiallytheratioofthepermeancefacingthepermanent
magnettotheinternalpermeanceofthemagnet. Theproblemcanbe,ifnecessary,solvedgraph-
ically,sincetherelationshipbetweenB
m
andH
m
isinherentlynonlinear,asshowninFigure15
loadlineanalysisofanonlinearelectroniccircuit.
Now,onemorecutatthisproblem. Notethat,atleastforfairlylargeunitpermeancesthe
slopeofthemagnetcharacteristicisfairlyconstant. Infact,formostofthepermanentmagnets
used inmachines (theone importantexception isthenowrarelyused ALNICOalloymagnet), it
isgenerallyacceptabletoapproximatethedemagnitizationcurvewith:
B

m
=
m
H

m
+M

0
Here,themagnetizationM
0
isxed. Further,foralmostallofthepracticalmagnetmaterials
themagnet permeability isnearlythesameasthatof freespace (
m

0
). Withthatinmind,
12


0 u
Figure15: LoadLine,UnitPermeanceAnalysis
consider the problem shown in Figure 16, in whichthe magnetlls only part ofa gap in a magnetic
circuit. Butherethemagnetandgapareasareessentiallythesame. Wecouldregardthemagnet
assimplyamagnetization.
Permanent Magnet
Magnetic Circuit,
Figure16: SurfaceMagnetPrimitiveProblem
Intheregionofthemagnetandtheair-gap,AmperesLawandGausslawcanbewritten:
H

= 0

0
H

m
+M

0
= 0

0
H

g
= 0
Now, if in themagnet themagnetization isconstant, the divergenceofH inthemagnetiszero.
Becausethereisnocurrenthere,H iscurlfree,sothateverywhere:
H

2
= 0
Thatis, magneticeldcanbeexpressedasthegradientofascalarpotentialwhichsatises
Laplacesequation.It isalso prettyclear that, ifwecanassign thescalar potentialto haveavalue
13
ofzeroanywhere onthesurfaceofthemagneticcircuititwillbezeroover allofthemagnetic
circuit (i.e. at boththe topofthe gapandthe bottom ofthe magnet).Finally, note that we cant
actuallyassumethatthescalarpotentialsatisesLaplacesequationeverywhereintheproblem.
InfactthedivergenceofM iszeroeverywhereexceptatthetopsurfaceofthemagnetwhereitis
singular! In fact, we can note that there is a (some wouldsayctitious)magnetic charge density:

m
= M

At the top of the magnet there is a discontinuous change in M and so the equivalent of a
magneticsurfacecharge. UsingH
g
tonotethemagneticeldabovethemagnetandH
m
tonote
themagneticeldinthemagnet,

0
H
g
=
0
(H
m
+M
0
)

m
= M
0
=H
g
H
m
andthentosatisfythepotentialcondition,ifhmistheheightofthemagnetandgisthegap:
gH
g
=h
m
H
m
Solving,
h
m
H
g
=M
0
h
m
+g
Now,onemoreobservationcouldbemade. Wewouldproducethesameair-gapuxdensity
ifweregardthepermanentmagnetashavingasurfacecurrentaroundtheperipheryequaltothe
magnetizationintensity.Thatis,ifthesurfacecurrentrunsaroundthemagnet:
K

=M
0
ThiswouldproduceanMMFinthegapof:
F =K

h
m
andthen since the magneticeld is just the MMF divided bythe total gap:
F h
m
H
g
= =M
0
h
m
+g h
m
+g
Therealutilityofpermanentmagnetscomesaboutfromtherelativelylargemagnetizations:
numbersofafewtoseveralthousandamperespermeterarecommon,andthesewouldtranslate
intoenormouscurrentdensitiesinmagnetsofordinarysize.
Simple Permanent Magnet Machine Structures: Commutator
Machines
Figure 17 isacartoon picture ofacrosssection ofthe geometryofa two-pole commutator machine
usingpermanentmagnets. Thisisactuallythemostcommongeometrythatisused. Therotor
(armature)ofthemachine isaconventional,windings-in-slots type, justaswe havealreadyseen
14
3
Field Magnets

Stator Yoke
Armature Winding
Rotor
Figure17: PMCommutatorMachine
for commutator machines. Theeld magnets are fastened (often just bonded)to the inside of a
steeltubethatservesasthemagneticuxreturnpath.
Assume for the purpose ofrst-order analysis ofthis thingthat the magnet is describable by its
remanentuxdensityB
r
andhadpermeabilityof
0
. First,wewillestimatetheusefulmagnetic
uxdensityandthenwilldealwithvoltagegeneratedinthearmature. InteractionFluxDensity
Usingthe basics ofthe analysis presentedabove, we mayestimate the radialmagneticux density
attheair-gapasbeing:
B
r
B
d
=
1 +
1
P
c
wheretheeectiveunitpermeanceis:
f
l
h
m
A
g
P
c
=
f
f
g A
m
AbookonthistopicbyJamesIrelandsuggestsvaluesforthetwofudgefactors:
1. Theleakagefactorf
l
iscitedasbeingabout1.1.
2. Thereluctancefactorf
f
iscitesasbeingabout1.2.
Wemayfurtherestimatetheratioofareasofthegapandmagnetby:
A
g
R+
g
2
=
A
m R+g+
h
2
m
Now,thereareabunchofapproximationsandhandwavingsinthisexpression,butitseemsto
work,atleastforthekindofmachinescontemplated.
Asecondcorrectionisrequiredtocorrecttheeectivelengthforelectricalinteraction. The
reasonforthisisthatthemagnetsproducefringingelds,asiftheywerelongerthantheactual
15

stack lengthof therotor (sometimes theyactuallyare). This is purelyempirical,and Ireland
givesavalueforeectivelengthforvoltagegenerationof:

e
=
f

where

=+2NR ,andtheempiricalcoecient
A h
m
N log 1 +B
B R
where
h
m
B = 7.4 9.0
R
A = 0.9
3.0.1 Voltage:
Itis,inthiscase,simplesttoconsidervoltagegeneratedinasinglewirerst. Ifthemachineis
runningatangularvelocity,speedvoltageis,whilethewireisunderamagnet,
v
s
= RB
r
Now,ifthemagnetshaveangularextent
m
thevoltageinducedinawirewillhaveawaveform
as shown in Figure 18: It is pulse-like and has the same shape as themagneticeldofthe magnets.

v
s
t
Figure18: VoltageInducedinOneConductor
Thevoltageproducedbyacoilisactuallymadeupoftwowaveformsofexactlythisform,but
separatedintimebythecoilthrowangle. Thenthetotalvoltagewaveformproducedwillbe
thesumofthetwowaveforms. Ifthecoilthrownangleislargerthanthemagnetangle,thetwo
voltagewaveformsaddtolooklikethis: Thereareactuallytwocoil-sidewaveformsthataddwith
aslightphaseshift.
If,on theother hand, thecoilthrown is smaller than themagnet angle, the picture is thesame,
onlythewidthofthepulsesisthatofthecoilratherthanthemagnet. Ineithercasetheaverage
voltagegeneratedbyacoilis:

v= RN
s
B
d

16
v
c
0
m
0
m
Figure19: VoltageInducedinaCoil
where

isthelesserofthecoilthrowormagnetanglesandN
s
isthenumberofseriesturnsin
thecoil. Thisgivesustheopportunitytodevelopthenumberofactiveturns:
C
a
=N
s

C
tot

=
m m
Here,C
a
isthenumberofactive conductors,C
tot
isthetotalnumberofconductorsandm is the
numberofparallelpaths. Themotorcoecientisthen:
R
e
C
tot
B
d

K =
m
3.1 Armature Resistance
The last element we need for rst-order prediction of performance of the motor is the value of
armatureresistance. Thearmatureresistanceissimplydeterminedbythelengthandareaofthe
wireand bythenumberof parallel paths (generallyequalto 2 forsmallcommutatormotors). If
wenoteN
c
asthenumberofcoilsandN
a
asthenumberofturnspercoil,
N
c
N
a
N
s
=
m
Totalarmatureresistanceisgivenby:
N
s
R
a
= 2
w

t
m
where
w
is theresistivity (perunit length)ofthewire:
1

w
=

d
2

w
4
w
(d
w
is wire diameter,
w
is wire conductivityand
t
is lengthofone half-turn).This length depends
onhowthemachineiswound,butagoodrst-orderguessmightbesomethinglikethis:

t
+R
17
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6.061 / 6.690 Introduction to Electric Power Systems
Spring 2011
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