Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
An Experimental Approach to Determine
End-parameters for a 2D-FE Induction
Motor Model
M.A. Arjona1, A. Castañeda, F.S. Sellschopp2 , C. Hernández, R. Vargas, and A. Zamarrón*
División de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Instituto Tecnológico de la Laguna. Torreón, Coah, México.
Depto. de Electromecánica, Instituto Tecnológico de León. Guanajuato, México.
E-mails: 1marjona@ieee.org, 2ssellsch@aim.com
Abstract- A method to determine the end parameters required
in finite element (FE) models in two dimensions (2D) is presented.
The end-winding leakage stator inductance was obtained by
measurement of a phase coil out of the stator core. The end ring
inductance of the rotor cage was determined analytically and end
resistances were obtained by measurements. The FE model is
voltage fed, and it was validated against experimental results.
Using a FE study, an analysis on the effects of the end-parameters
on the main electrical variables (active power, reactive power and
line current) of the induction motor is also presented. A three-
phase squirrel-induction motor of 0.5HP, 220V, 60 Hz was used in
this study.
I. INTRODUCTION
The induction motor is the most popular machine employed
in industry and home appliances; this is due its simplicity and
rugged construction that leads to an easy maintenance. Hence,
it represents a large percentage of electrical energy
consumption [1]. Mathematical models have always been of
great value to both designers and analysts; lumped models, like
electrical equivalent circuits and magnetic equivalent circuits,
have been useful because of its low computational cost;
whereas finite element (FE) models have the advantage of
being able to accurately predict the motor’s non-linear
performance. The latter has the price of a higher computational
cost [2]. Since the last decade 3D models have increasingly
being used in electromagnetic studies, but its higher
computation time has led to use it only to represent 3D effects.
Meanwhile, 2D FE models run faster than 3D ones, and
consequently they are still in use [3]. Transient and time
harmonic 2D studies are common practice in the study of
induction motors [4]. In small induction motors, the end effects
of stator windings, which are in nature three-dimensional
fields, have to be incorporated as a circuit element to the 2D
FE model. Similarly, the rotor-cage end ring inductance and
resistance must be considered as external elements. Analytical
and numerical approaches are normally used to determine the
end parameter values, in [5] 3D FE models are employed to
determine the end inductances. There are several publications
that deal with the calculation of end effects either in the rotor
and stator using finite elements, and it requires a lot of effort in
calculating them. The use of analytical or empirical
978-1-4244-1736-0/08/$25.00 ©2008 IEEE
Paper ID 978
expressions to calculate the end parameters, i.e. the resistance
and inductance of the end-ring arc that joins sequential rotor
bars and the resistance and inductance of the end-winding of
the stator winding, have been used by designers. With the
appearance of 2D finite element models, the use of these end
parameters is common. However, when a FE analyst comes out
with a 2D model, he may not be aware of the impact that end
parameters may have in the simulation results.
In this paper, a quantitative and simple analysis of the end-
parameters influence on the induction motor performance is
presented. The results shows that considerable error can be
obtained in predicting the induction motor if the end-
parameters values are not appropriate. The stator end-winding
inductance and resistance are determined experimentally and
the rotor end-ring inductance is obtained analytically. The 2D-
FE model of the induction motor is compared against the no-
load, locked-rotor and rated-load tests of a 0.5HP, 220V, star,
1800 rpm, and 60 Hz squirrel cage induction motor.
II. THE FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
To construct a FE model of an electrical device, it is
necessary to obtain all geometrical information such that it
must be enough to define the domain of interest. The governing
equations are stated in terms of the magnetic vector potential
throughout the diffusion equation, i.e. time harmonic
formulation, where the displacement current is neglected as it
is expressed by (1) [6].
∇ ⋅ (ν∇A) = − J 0 + jωσ A (1)
where ν, σ, and ω are the magnetic reluctivity, electric
conductivity and angular frequency, respectively. J0 denotes
the current density and A is the complex magnetic vector
potential. However, since most electrical motor are voltage
driven instead of current driven, hence, the diffusion equation
must be coupled with the electric network to which the
induction motor is connected. External circuit equations are
derived that allow having voltage fed electromechanical
devices, and these extra equations are solved simultaneously
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Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
with the field equations. The resulting set of equations is:
⎡ S + jωN − P ⎤⎡ A ⎤ ⎡ 0 ⎤
= (2)
⎢ jω Q
⎣ R + jωL ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣ I w ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣Ve ⎥⎦
where S is the FE stiffness matrix, P and Q are weighting
winding matrices, R is the external resistance, L external
inductance, Iw a vector of winding currents, Ve denotes the
external potential sources.
The FE model mesh, solution and post-processing was
carried out using a commercial software [7]. Fig. 1 illustrates
the resulting FE mesh where it can clearly be seen that periodic
boundary conditions were employed to reduce the number of
unknowns and consequently the computational burden. The
skew effect of the motor is not considered, but this can be
easily taken into account using a multisliced FE model [7].
Fig. 1. Finite element mesh of the induction motor.
Fig. 2 shows the electrical circuit connected to an external
voltage. The circuit can be straightforward built using a
friendly FE software [7]. In Fig. 2, V1, V2 and V3 are the
voltage sources, R1-3 denote the end-winding stator resistances,
L1-3 are the end-winding inductances for each phase. BPA,
BPB and BPC are used to indicate the filamentary stator
windings that are allocated inside the stator slots. Q1 indicates
the squirrel cage of the induction motor.
Fig. 2. Electric network and the FE model.
III. END LEAKAGE INDUCTANCE CALCULATION
The end-winding inductance and resistance represent the
end parts of a motor, i.e. the end ring and stator end windings,
2
are needed in a two dimensional FE model. Its proper
determination will contribute in having better performance
prediction. It is not the purpose of this paper to review the
different methods for calculating the end-parameters of
induction motors [1,7], instead, our goal is to illustrate how
much affect the end-impedance of rotor and stator on the
measurable quantities of the induction motor
In this work, the end-leakage inductance was obtained by
directly measuring the inductance of a group of coils in air. The
coils represent a single phase of a pole of the induction motor.
Since the coil is on air, the end winding inductance is only a
part of the total length, that is, the inductance is obtained by
multiplying a relationship of the side lengths and the total coil
length. In order to make the measurement more realistic, a
stator-core lamination was placed in front of the coils end sides
(Fig. 3), this allows capturing the proximity effect of the high
permeability material. The inductance was increased by a few
milli-Henries and its measured value was of 15.93mH.
Fig. 3. Self-inductance measurement of a phase coil.
Measurement of the rotor end ring inductance between cage
axial bars is very difficult due to its small dimensions and
hence low inductance value. In the motor under analysis, a
value of 5.4198E-10 H was obtained analytically using the
expression given in [8] and is briefly included here for paper
completeness.
Considering a general N-loop system and under the
assumption of uniform current distribution across the cross
sections of the conductors, the mutual inductance between
loops in form of straight segments k and m and the partial
inductance between every two segments is given by:
ck cm
1 μ
∫∫∫∫
dlˆk •dlˆm
L pkm = rkm dak dam (3)
ak am 4π ak am bk bm
where bk, ck and bm and cm denote the two ends of the kth and
mth segments, respectively.
For rectangular segments, i.e. end-ring segment, let the
length be l and the widths of two sides be W and T,
Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
respectively. Defining the normalized widths w = W/l, t = T/l, TABLE I
VALUES OF END MOTOR PARAMETERS
and the normalized distances
Parameter Value
End-winding inductance 3.98E-3 H
r = w2 + t 2 , α w = w2 + 1, α t = t 2 + 1, End-winding resistance 5.51 Ohms
End-ring inductance 5.4198E-10 H.
α r = w2 + t 2 + 1 End-ring resistance 3.5E-06 Ohms
Stator resistance (wire in core) 7.83 Ohms
the self inductance given in (3) can be expressed as [8],

IV. SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

L 2μ ⎧⎪ 1 ⎡ 1 ⎛ w ⎞ 1 ⎛ t ⎞ ⎛ 1 ⎞⎤
= ⎨ ⎢ S ⎜ ⎟ + S ⎜ ⎟ + S ⎜ ⎟⎥ Simulations of three scenarios were carried out; they are the
l π ⎪⎩ 4 ⎣ w ⎜⎝ α t ⎟⎠ t ⎜⎝ α w ⎟⎠ ⎝ r ⎠⎦ no-load, locked rotor and load tests. A dc generator was used
as a load of the induction motor, and measurements of speed,
1 ⎡t 2 ⎛ w ⎞ w2 ⎛ t ⎞ line current, voltages and power were made. Fig. 3 shows the
+ S ⎜ ⎟+ S ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
24 ⎢⎣ w ⎜⎝ tα t (r + α r ) ⎟⎠ t ⎝ wα w (r + α r ) ⎠ field distribution in the locked rotor test, where it can be seen
the fields are located on the rotor surface due to the induced
t2 ⎛ w2 ⎞ w2 ⎛ t2 ⎞ currents in the rotor bars. Fig. 5 shows that under rated load
+ 2 S ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ + 2 S ⎜⎜ ⎟
w ⎝ tr (α t + α r ) ⎠ t ⎝ wr (α w + α r ) ⎟⎠ condition the electromagnetic fields penetrate into the rotor
because of the slip, and therefore the frequency of the pulsating
1 ⎛ wt 2 ⎞ 1 ⎛ tw 2 ⎞⎤ electromagnetic field is smaller than that generated in the
+ 2 S ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ + 2 S ⎜⎜ ⎟⎥ locked rotor test.
wt ⎝ α t (α w + α r ) ⎠ tw ⎝ α w (α t + α r ) ⎟⎠⎦

1 ⎡ 1 ⎛ wt ⎞ t ⎛ w ⎞ w ⎛ t ⎞⎤
− ⎢ T ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ + T ⎜⎜ ⎟ + T⎜ ⎟⎥
6 ⎣ wt ⎝ α r ⎠ w ⎝ tα r ⎟⎠ t ⎜⎝ wα r ⎟⎠⎦
1 ⎡
− ⎢
(α r + r + t + α t )t 2
60 ⎣ (α r + r )(r + t )(t + α t )(α t + α r )

+
(α r + r + w + α w )w2
(α r + r )(r + w)(w + α w )(α w + α r )
+
(α r + α w + 1 + α t ) ⎤
(α r + α w )(α w + 1)(1 + α t )(α t + α r )⎥⎦
1 ⎡ 1 1 1 ⎤⎫
− + + ⎬
20 ⎣ r + α r α w + α r α t + α r ⎥⎦ ⎭
⎢
(4)
where

(
S ( x ) = sinh −1 ( x ) = ln x + 1 + x 2 ) Fig. 4. Field distribution in the locked-rotor test.

Table II shows the comparison of simulation results against

and T(x)≡tan-1(x) denote the arc hyperbolic sine and arc
tangent functions, respectively.
The resistance of the stator end winding was measured with
an ohmmeter and the end-ring segment between bars was
measured indirectly with a resistivity meter. Values obtained
are shown in Table I.
experiments of the no-load test, where the phase current is
over-predicted by 0.03A, active and reactive power show
discrepancies. In the locked-rotor test, the FE model under-
predicts the phase current by 0.13A, there are also
discrepancies in the powers. These discrepancies may be due to
uncertainty in the iron losses and BH data. In table IV, in rated
load conditions, the FE model under predicts the phase current
by 0.19A. It can be said that the FE model predict with good
accuracy the test results.

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Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
(Zendw) were taken into account in the FE model.
b) A scenario where only the end-winding parameters of
the stator were considered in the model (Zendw).
c) Finally, a model with both end-parameters, i.e. rotor
end-ring (Zring) and stator (Zendw) were taken as
elements in the electrical network of the coupled FE
model.

Error predictions of line current, active power and reactive

power were computed for each operating point and then were
compared against experimental results. The prediction error is
computed with the following expression:

I FE − I test
% Error = × 100 (5)
I test
where IFE and Itest are the motor line currents obtained from
finite element simulations and from laboratory experiments,
respectively.
It is interesting to see how the FE model behaves when both
end-parameters (Zring and Zendw) were considered; the
prediction error of the line current is within the range of 6%,
active power is within 30% and reactive power is in the range
Fig. 5. Field distribution at rated load. of 8% as is illustrated in Figs. 6-8. On the other hand, if the
motor analyst does not use any correction for the end-winding
TABLE II
and end-ring effects, the error in predicting the line current can
VALIDATION OF THE NO-LOAD TEST be as high as 225%. Now, if it is only considered the Zendw
Test FE model
(stator end-winding), the prediction error decreases. Similar
Voltage (V) 127 127
results are obtained for the active and reactive powers (Figs. 7-
Phase current (A) 0.90 0.93
8), where it is seen that when no corrections are made to the FE
Total Active Power (W) 80 50 model, the maximum error is obtained. Therefore, it can be
Total Reactive Power (VAr) -330 -343 concluded that is necessary to used appropriate values of end-
Slip 3.33E-03 3.33E-03 parameters for both rotor end-ring and stator winding to have
more accuracy in predicting terminal electrical quantities of
TABLE III small induction motors.
VALIDATION OF THE LOCKED-ROTOR TEST
Test FE model
Voltage (V) 33 33
Phase current (A) 1.9 2.03
Active Power (W) 131 146
Reactive Power (VAr) -131.7 -139.33
Slip 1 1

TABLE VI
VALIDATION OF THE RATED LOAD CONDITION.
Test FE model
Voltage (V) 127 127
Phase current (A) 1.85 1.64
Active Power (W) 560 483
Reactive Power (VAr) -359.18 373
Slip 0.0527 0.0527

In order to analyze the effect of end-parameters on motor Fig. 6 Stator current prediction at different loads.
performance, three scenarios were generated where the
presence of the end-parameters were considered when the
motor load was varied from 0 to 100%.
a) No end-parameters for both rotor (Zring) and stator

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Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference on Electrical Machines
Fig. 7. Active power prediction at different load points.
Fig. 8. Reactive power prediction at different load points.
CONCLUSIONS
An approach to take into account the end parameters of
rotor and stator’s motor has been presented. The end-winding
leakage inductance and resistance were determined
experimentally from measurement of phase coil out of the
stator core. The end-ring self-inductance of the segment
between consecutive cage bars was determined analytically.
The time-harmonic FE model was validated against test results
and good accuracy was achieved. By using the validated
model, a simulation study was made to see quantitatively the
prediction error in the line current and electrical powers, and it
was concluded that appropriate values of inductances and
resistances must be used to have more accurate 2D-FE
induction-motor models.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank to DGEST, Instituto
Tecnológico de la Laguna, Instituto Tecnológico de León,
Conacyt, Promep and Coecyt for the financial support.
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1287-1290.
[4] T. H. Pham, et. al. “Transient Finite Element Analysis of an Induction
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