Three-phase Inductor Motors

EXPERIMENT 4
THREE-PHASE INDUCTION MOTORS
OBJECTIVES:

To determine the parameters of the equivalent circuit and predict different characteristics of an
induction motor using the equivalent circuit,

To verify the accuracy of the predicted characteristics by load test of the induction motor.

PART A. PRE-LAB
1. Some relevant nameplate data of the induction motor to be tested, and also the DC machine
mechanically coupled to it are as follows:

Three-Phase Induction Machine

Direct Current Machine

HP

1500rpm

HP

1800 rpm

208 Volt

1.3A

120 Volts

2.8 Amp

60 Hz
Answer the following questions by using the above data:
a. What is the synchronous speed of the induction motor?
b. What is the full-load slip of the induction motor?
c. What is the frequency of the rotor current when the motor is running at the rated speed?
d. When the motor is at full load, what is the speed of the rotating field, produced by rotor current, with
respect to the rotor, and stator structures?
e. Repeat d when the motor is at standstill, or when it is running with a slip of 0.01.
2. Under what condition(s) an induction motor may run at synchronous speed? Is it possible in practice?
3. What are the components of rotational losses in an induction motor?
4. What are the main objectives of blocked rotor and no-load tests of an induction motor?
5. What is the approximate slip when an induction motor is at no-load condition?

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PART B. IN THE LAB

Equipment List

Three-phase wound rotor induction machine, hp, 208V, 1.3A, 1500rpm.

DC machine, hp, 120V, 2.8A, 1800rpm (to be used as mechanical load)

Digital (AVW) meter

Bank of 0.1ohm shunt resistors with multi-meters

Variable resistive load

Labvolt power panel

Tachometer

Summary of the Experiment

In this experiment, an indirect test method and a test method are applied on an induction motor and their
corresponding results are compared. The equivalent circuit of the motor is used for the indirect test where the
parameters of the equivalent circuit are extracted from a "no-load test" and a blocked-rotor test.
Summary of the experiments to be carried out are as follows:
a. No-load test: In this test the induction motor is started at no-load. To minimize the mechanical load on the
induction mote, the DC machine should be mechanically un-coupled from the induction motor during this
test.
b. Blocked rotor test: In this test, the rotor of the induction motor should be mechanically locked. The
motor is fed from a low voltage via a variac so that the stator current does not exceed the rated current (see
the name plate data for the rated current).
c. Load test: The induction motor is mechanically loaded and the input and the output powers are measured
at different loads. During this test, the DC machine is wired as a shunt generator and its electrical output is
fed to a resistive load, wherein the power is dissipated (lost). Electrically loading of the DC generator
results in mechanically loading of the induction motor. Note that the possible maximum loading of the
induction motor in this experiment corresponds to the full-load condition of the induction motor, or the
DC generator, which ever occurs first. Since the rated power of the DC machine in the Hampdent MG set
is much less than that of the induction motor, you will not be able to reach the full-load condition of the
induction motor.
d. Phase resistances measurement: The stator phase resistances are measured to be used in the construction
of the equivalent circuit.

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Procedure
1. No-Load (N.L.) Test
1.1 Uncouple the induction motor from the DC machine. Check that the induction motor shaft is running
freely from the DC machine shaft after uncoupling.
1.2 Before connecting the circuit, turn on the power and check the voltages between different terminals of all
the voltage sources by using the panel voltmeter and the selector switch. Make sure all the terminals can
be powered properly when the main switch is on.
1.3 Turn off the power and connect the induction motor as shown in Figure 1. Short circuit the rotor
terminals as indicated in the figure.
1.4 Turn on the power and measure the input power (PNL), stator phase voltage (Vph,NL), and line current on the
stator side (I1, NL) and also the rotor current (I2, NL). Enter your results in the appropriate row of Table 1.
The measured input power in this part includes the following components:
2
a. Stator copper losses: Pcu1,NL= 3I 1,
NL R1

b. Stator iron losses: this component remains almost constant at all speeds (with constant voltage and
frequency),
c. Friction and windage losses: the motor uses this power to cover the friction and windage losses.
This component of power varies with speed.
d. Rotor iron losses are almost absent at this speed since the rotor frequency is nearly zero. The rotor
copper losses are also negligible because the rotor current is very small at no-load.

208VAC voltage
source

AVW

Three-phase wound rotor induction motor

Stator
Rotor
windings
windings
1
4
7

8
9

N
Figure 1 Wiring diagram for no-load test

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Answer the following questions:
Q1 Check the speed. Is it equal to synchronous speed? If not, explain the possible reasons.

Q2 What happens if the DC machine remains coupled to the induction motor even if it is not loaded?

Table 1 Data from no-load and blocked rotor Tests

Test title

Input Power

I1

Vph,stator

[W]

[A]

[V]

No-load
Blocked-Rotor

2. Blocked-Rotor (B.R.) Test

2.1 Turn off the power and keep the motor still un-coupled. Modify the circuit as shown in Figure 2.
Mechanically lock the rotor using provided tools (the aluminum plate). Tighten the screws. If in doubt,
ask a supervisor for assistance.

0-208VAC variable
voltage source

AVW

Three-phase wound rotor induction motor

Stator
windings

Rotor
windings

4
N

7
8
9

N
Figure 2 Wiring diagram for blocked-rotor test

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2.2 Adjust the voltage control knob of the variable AC power supply to zero volts.
2.3 Turn on the power and gradually increase the applied voltage; measure the input power (PBR), stator phase
voltage (Vph,BR), stator line current (I1,BR), and also the rotor line current (I2,BR) when the stator current is
approximately equal to its nameplate current. Enter your results in appropriate row of Table 1. Note that
the stator current should not exceed its rated value in this test.

3. Load test
3.1 Turn off the power. Mechanically unlock the rotor of induction motor. Couple the DC machine to the
induction motor by connecting the synchronous belt. Modify the Induction Machine circuit as shown in
Figure 1 (similar to no-load test). Wire up the DC machine as a shunt generator as shown in Figure 3.
DC Generator
0.1

Load

shunt

Multimeter

Field
rheostat

300
0.4A

600
0.2A

1200
0.1A

300
0.4A

600
0.2A

6
Shunt Field
Winding
2
5

1200
0.1A

7
Armature

Figure 3 Wiring diagram for DC machine connected as shunt generator

Answer the following questions:

Q3 What conditions should be met for a self-excited shunt generator to build up voltage?

Q4 What would you do in case the shunt generator fails to excite?

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Q5 How can you adjust the no-load voltage of a shunt generator?

Q6 Why should the field rheostat, Rext, be at maximum during the start?

3.2 Set the field rheostat of the DC generator to its maximum value and start the induction motor making sure
that the field rheostat of the DC machine at maximum.
3.3 Adjust the field rheostat of the DC generator to get 120V at its terminals at no-load. If the terminal
voltage is far below 120V, shunt down the power, exchange the two terminals (terminals 5 and 6 on DC
motor side) of field winding to get the shunt dc generator self-excited.
3.4 When the generator is still at no-load, record all required data as indicated in Table2. As you see, the
input power to the induction motor is slightly larger than the measured power at no load test. You may
assume this difference to be approximately equal to the rotational losses of the DC machine, Prot,DC. This
power is a part of mechanical load on the induction motor shaft.
Answer the following question:
Q7 What Why this difference is not exactly equal to the rotational losses of the DC machine?

3.5 Load the induction motor mechanically by electrically loading of the DC generator in six to eight steps
(choose different switch-ON combinations of load box, which will vary the load current), from a
minimum to a possible maximum level; record your results in appropriate rows in Table 2. Remember to
readjust the output voltage of the DC generator to approximately 120V to ensure maximum possible
loading of the induction motor.

4. Measurement of Stator Resistance

4.1 Turn off the power and disconnect the circuit. Measure the stator phase resistances by using Volt-Ampere
method, or simply using an Ohmmeter. Enter the measured values in the appropriate rows of Table 3 and
calculate the average value of the stator phase resistance.

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Answer the following questions:
Q8 Are the values of each parameter the same for all phases? If not, comment on the possible reasons.

Q9 The measured resistance is called DC resistance of the stator. Why may the stator resistance differ
from this value when working at normal frequency?

Table 2 Data from Load Test

Induction Motor
Load
steps
1

n
[rpm]

DC Generator
VPh
[V]

IL

[A]

Pin,1~
[W]

Pshaft
[W]

VDC [V]

IDC
[A]

Pout,DC
[W]

Prot,DC

120

2
3
4
5
6

To be
filled
later

7
8
PFL=

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PART C. POST-LAB
Motor Performance Using the Equivalent Circuit
1. From the recorded data from the no-load and blocked-rotor tests, and having the stator
resistance/phase in hand, calculate the parameters of IEEE recommended equivalent circuit of the
induction motor. Refer to the appendix of this manual for details.
Table 3 Measurement of Stator Resistance

Phase A to neutral:
Phase B to neutral:

R1(averaged)=

/Phase

Phase C to neutral:

2. Assuming that the stator is fed by its rated voltage, calculate the following parameters at least for 10
different values of slip, from 0.01 to 0.1. Fill in your results in appropriate cells in Table 4. A
summary of formulation for these calculations is given in the appendix.
a. Shaft power [W]
b. Shaft torque [Nm]
c. Efficiency [%]
d. Power factor
3. Plot the variation of speed, shaft torque, efficiency, and power factor with the shaft power. A typical
group of plots are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 A typical group of plots for Induction Motor

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Table 4 Induction Motor performance using the equivalent circuit

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

0.08

0.09

10

0.10

Pag

Pm

Pshaft

Tshaft

Pcu1

Pin

[rpm]

[W]

[W]

[W]

[Nm]

[W]

[W]

Power
factor

[%]

Motor Performance Using the Load Test

1. Use the recorded data from the load test Table 2; calculate the values of the following parameters for
each load step and fill in your results in appropriate cells of Table 5. A summary of the calculation is
given in the appendix.
a. Shaft power [W]
b. Shaft torque [Nm]
c. Efficiency [%]
d. Power factor
2. Plot the variation of speed, shaft torque, efficiency, and power factor with the shaft power.

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Table 5 Comparison of the load test results and theoretical results

Load
steps

n
[rpm]

Pin,3~
[W]

Pout,DC
[W]

Pshaft
[W]

Tshaft
[Nm]

Power
factor

[%]
0

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

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APPENDIX
Calculation of equivalent circuit parameters
Figure A-l shows the IEEE recommended equivalent circuit of an induction motor. Parameters of this
equivalent circuit are extracted from the no-load and blocked-rotor tests on the motor. The procedure of this
calculation is given below. Refer to related textbooks for detailed explanations.
Step l. Calculate X1+Xm and the rotational power, Prot by using the recorded data from no-load test

Figure A-1 IEEE recommended equivalent circuit of an induction motor

P rot = P NL

2
3R 1 I 1,
NL

Z NL =

V p h , NL
I 1, NL

R NL=

P NL

(A-1)
(A-2)

(A-3)

3I 12 , NL

= X 1
X m = Z 2NL R2NL
Step 2. Calculate X 1
X '2 , and R'2
X

(A-4)

NL

by using the blocked-rotor test results. Assuming X 1 = X '2 , find X 1 ,

X '2 , and consequently, X m :

V p h , BR =

V L , BR

Z BR =

V p h , BR
I 1, BR

R BR =

P BR

BR

(A-5)

(A-6)

(A-7)

2
3I 1,
BR

= X 1
X '2 =

Z 2BR

R 2BR

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Three-phase Inductor Motors

X1

X '2 =

X BR
2

(A-9)

X m = X NL
X 1

(A-10)

Induction Motor Performance Using the Equivalent Circuit

The performance of an induction motor can be predicted under different conditions using the equivalent
circuit of the motor. For example, if the motor slip is assumed as the independent variable, other motor
variables can be calculated as follows:
a. Stator current:
Z 1 = R1  jX 1 , and Z 2 =

R'2
s

 jX '2

(A-11)

Z in= Z 1  jX m // Z 2

(A-12)

I1 = I 1

(A-13)

V
=Z1

in

where V1 is the stator phase and s is the pre-assumed slip.

b. Power factor and input power:

Power factor = cos

(A-14)

P in = 3V 1 I 1 cos

(A-15)

c. Air-gap power, developed mechanical power, and shaft power:

P a g = P in
3I 12 R1

(A-16)

P m = 1
s P a g

(A-17)

P shaft = P m
P rot

(A-18)

where P rot is the rotational losses of the induction motor.

d. Shaft torque and efficiency:
T shaft =

= PP

P shaft

m

shaft

in , 3 ~

(A-19)

100

(A-20)

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Induction Motor Performance Using the Load Test Results

a. Assuming that Prot,DC remains constant when the DC generator is loaded, the shaft out power from the
induction motor can be calculated from:
P shaft = P in , DC = P out , DC P rot , DC

(A-21)

The electrical output of the DC generator can be easily obtained from:

P out , DC = V DC I DC

(A-22)

b. Total three-phase input power, P in , 3 ~ and the power factor are calculated from the test results as
follows:
P in , 3 ~ = 3P in , 1 ~

= 3VP

cos

(A-23)

in , 3 ~
ph

(A-24)

I ph

where Iph =IL in a Y-connected three-phase system.

c. Having the input power, shaft power, and speed in hand, the efficiency and shaft torque can be obtained
from:
T shaft =

= PP

P shaft

m

shaft

in , 3 ~

(A-25)

100

(A-26)

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