Scribd
Upload
512 views5 pages

3-Point Starter Notes

The document discusses the starting of DC motors and the need for starters. It explains that DC motors have very high starting current that can damage the motor. Starters are used to limit this starting current. The document then focuses on the construction and working of a 3-point starter. It details how a 3-point starter gradually cuts resistance in the armature circuit as the motor gains speed, limiting starting current. It also describes the function of the no-voltage coil in automatically returning the starter handle to the off position if power is lost.

Uploaded by

Bobby
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
512 views5 pages

3-Point Starter Notes

The document discusses the starting of DC motors and the need for starters. It explains that DC motors have very high starting current that can damage the motor. Starters are used to limit this starting current. The document then focuses on the construction and working of a 3-point starter. It details how a 3-point starter gradually cuts resistance in the armature circuit as the motor gains speed, limiting starting current. It also describes the function of the no-voltage coil in automatically returning the starter handle to the off position if power is lost.

Uploaded by

Bobby
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

BASIC ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING (CSE – DATA SCIENCE)

Starting of DC Motor
The starting of DC motor is somewhat different from the starting of all other types
of electrical motors. This difference is credited to the fact that a dc motor unlike
other types of motor has a very high starting current that has the potential of
damaging the internal circuit of the armature winding of dc motor if not restricted
to some limited value. This limitation to the starting current of dc motor is
brought about by means of the starter. Thus the distinguishing fact about the
starting methods of dc motor is that it is facilitated by means of a starter. Or
rather a device containing a variable resistance connected in series to the armature
winding so as to limit the starting current of dc motor to a desired optimum value
taking into consideration the safety aspect of the motor.

 Now the immediate question in why the DC motor has such high starting
current?

To give an explanation to the above mentioned question let us take into


consideration the basic operational voltage equation of the dc motor given
by,

V = Eb + I a R a
Where V is the supply voltage, I a is the armature current, R a is the armature
resistance. And the back emf is given by Eb.
Now the back emf, in case of a dc motor, is very similar to the generated emf of a dc
generator as it’s produced by the rotational motion of the current carrying
armature conductor in presence of the field. This back emf of dc motor is given by

Eb =
φZ N P
60 A ( )
and has a major role to play in case of the starting of dc motor.

From this equation we can see that E b is directly proportional to the speed N of the
motor. Now since at starting N = 0, E b is also zero, and under this circumstance the
voltage equation is modified to
V = 0 + I a Ra

V
Ia =
Ra
For all practical practices to obtain optimum operation of the motor the armature
resistance is kept very small usually of the order of 0.5 Ω and the bare minimum
supply voltage being 220 volts. Even under these circumstance the starting
current, Ia is as high as 220/0.5 amp = 440 amp.

Such high starting current of dc motor creates two major problems.


1) Firstly, current of the order of 400 A has the potential of damaging the internal
circuit of the armature winding of dc motor at the very onset.
2) Secondly, since the torque equation of dc motor is given by
V
Ia =
Ra
Very high electromagnetic starting torque of DC motor is produced by virtue of
the high starting current, which has the potential of producing huge centrifugal
force capable of flying off the rotor winding from the slots.

Starting Methods of DC Motor


As a direct consequence of the two above mentioned facts i.e high starting current
and high starting torque of DC motor, the entire motoring system can undergo total
damage and lead towards into an engineering massacre and non-functionality. To
prevent such an incidence from occurring several starting methods of dc motor has
been adopted. The main principal of this being the addition of external electrical
resistance Rext to the armature winding, so as to increase the effective resistance to
Ra + Rext, thus limiting the armature current to the rated value. The new value of
starting armature current is desirably low and is given by.
V
Ia =
R a + R ext
Now as the motor continues to run and gather speed, the back emf successively
develops and increases, countering the supply voltage, resulting in the decrease of
the net working voltage. Thus now,
V − Eb
Ia =
R a + R ext
At this moment to maintain the armature current to its rated value, R ext is
progressively decreased unless it is made zero, when the back emf produced is at
its maximum. This regulation of the external electrical resistance in case of the
starting of dc motor is facilitated by means of the starter.

Starters can be of several types and requires a great deal of explanation and some
intricate level understanding. But on a brief over-view the main types of starters
used in the industry today can be illustrated as:-
1) 3 point starter.
Used for the starting of shunt wound DC motor and compound
2) 4 point starter. wound DC motor.

3) Series wound DC motor's starter (2-point starter) using no load release coil.

All of these play a very significant role in limiting starting current of DC motor for
proper starting and running of the DC motor, and are described vividly under their
respective sub-headings.
2.9.1 3 POINT STARTER

A 3 point starter in simple words is a device that helps in the starting and
running of a shunt wound DC motor. Now the question is why these types of DC
motors require the assistance of the starter in the first case. The only explanation
to that is given by the presence of back emf E b, which plays a critical role in
governing the operation of the motor. The back emf, develops as the motor
armature starts to rotate in presence of the magnetic field, by generating action
and counters the supply voltage. This also essentially means, that the back emf at
the starting is zero, and develops gradually as the motor gathers speed.
The general motor emf equation
V = Eb + I a R a
at starting is modified to V = Ia.Ra as at starting Eb = 0.
V
Ia =
Ra
Thus we can well understand from the above equation that the current will be
dangerously high at starting (as armature resistance R a is small) and hence its
important that we make use of a device like the 3 point starter to limit the starting
current to an allowable lower value.

Let us now look into the construction and working of three point starter to
understand how the starting current is restricted to the desired value. For that let’s
consider the diagram given below showing all essential parts of the three point
starter.

 Construction of 3 Point Starter


Construction wise a starter is a variable resistance, integrated into number of
sections as shown in the figure beside. The contact points of these sections are
called studs and are shown separately as OFF, 1, 2,3,4,5, RUN. Other than that
there are 3 main points, referred to as
1. 'L' Line terminal. (Connected to positive of supply.)
2. 'A' Armature terminal. (Connected to the armature winding.)
3. 'F' Field terminal. (Connected to the field winding.)

And from there it gets the name 3 point starter.


Now studying the
construction of 3
point starter in
further details
reveals that, the
point 'L' is
connected to an
electromagnet
called overload
release (OLR) as
shown in the
figure. The other
end of 'OLR' is
connected to the
lower end of
conducting lever of
starter handle
where a spring is
also attached with
it and the starter
handle contains
also a soft iron
piece housed on it.
This handle is free
to move to the
other side RUN
against the force of
the spring. This
spring brings back
the handle to its
original OFF position under the influence of its own force. Another parallel path is
derived from the stud '1', given to the another electromagnet called No Volt Coil
(NVC) which is further connected to terminal 'F'. The starting resistance at starting
is entirely in series with the armature. The OLR and NVC acts as the two protecting
devices of the starter.
Working of Three Point Starter

Working of the 3 point starter:


To start with the handle it is in the OFF position when the supply to the DC
motor is switched on. Then handle is slowly moved against the spring force to make
a contact with stud No. 1. At this point, field winding of the shunt or the compound
motor gets supply through the parallel path provided to starting resistance,
through No Voltage Coil. While entire starting resistance comes in series with the
armature. The high starting armature current thus gets limited as the current
equation at this stage becomes Ia = E/(Ra+Rst). As the handle is moved further, it
goes on making contact with studs 2, 3, 4 etc., thus gradually cutting off the series
resistance from the armature circuit as the motor gathers speed. Finally when the
starter handle is in 'RUN' position, the entire starting resistance is eliminated and
the motor runs with normal speed.

This is because back emf is developed consequently with speed to counter the
supply voltage and reduce the armature current. So the external electrical
resistance is not required anymore, and is removed for optimum operation. The
handle is moved manually from OFF to the RUN position with development of
speed.

Working of No Voltage Coil of 3 Point Starter


The supply to the field winding is derived through no voltage coil. So when
field current flows, the NVC is magnetized. Now when the handle is in the 'RUN'
position, soft iron piece connected to the handle and gets attracted by the magnetic
force produced by NVC, because of flow of current through it. The NVC is designed
in such a way that it holds the handle in 'RUN' position against the force of the
spring as long as supply is given to the motor. Thus NVC holds the handle in the
'RUN' position and hence also called hold on coil.

Now when there is any kind of supply failure, the current flow through NVC is
affected and it immediately looses its magnetic property and is unable to keep the
soft iron piece on the handle, attracted. At this point under the action of the spring
force, the handle comes back to OFF position, opening the circuit and thus
switching off the motor. So due to the combination of NVC and the spring, the
starter handle always comes back to OFF position whenever there is any supply
problems. Thus it also acts as a protective device safeguarding the motor from any
kind of abnormality.

You might also like