MEE210 Electrical Machines

W01
AC Synchronous Motor
Motor Structure Rotor and Stator Windings
Definition
Synchronous Motors – Convert electrical power into mechanical power. They operate at a constant speed

Construction of Sychronous Motors

like any other motor, it consists of a stator and a rotor. Stator Configuration
The stator core is constructed with thin silicon lamination
and insulated by a surface coating, to minimize the losses.
The stator has axial slots inside, in which three phase stator
winding is placed.
The stator is wound with a three phase winding for a specific
number of poles equal to the rotor poles.
Rotors rotate to align themselves with opposite stator
poles

Cylindirical Rotor Salient Rotor

DC supply is given to the rotor winding via slip-rings. The
direct current excites the rotor winding and creates
electromagnetic poles. In some cases permanent magnets
For rotation magnetic poles in stator coils should rotate
can also be used.
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Working Of Synchronous Motor Rotating magnetic field
Stator Supply
The stator is wound for the similar number of poles as that of rotor, and fed with three
phase AC supply. The 3 phase AC supply produces rotating magnetic field in stator.
Generation of a rotating magnetic field
Generation of a rotating magnetic field causes the rotor to turn at a speed
that depends on the speed of rotation of the magnetic field.
The three phase stator windings are displaced from each other by 120°
Consider the stator shown in Figure 1, which supports windings a-a′, b-b′
and c-c′.
The coils are geometrically spaced 120◦ apart, and a three-phase voltage is
applied to the coils. The currents generated by a three-phase source are
also spaced by 120◦

where ωe is the frequency of the AC supply, or line

frequency. The coils in each winding are arranged in such a
way that the flux distribution generated by any one winding
is approximately sinusoidal.
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Working Of Synchronous Motor Rotating magnetic field
Generation of a rotating magnetic field

Since the coils are spaced 120◦ apart, the flux distribution
resulting from the sum of the contributions of the three
windings is the sum of the fluxes due to the separate
windings

Thus, the flux in a three-phase machine rotates in space

according to the vector diagram and the flux is constant in
amplitude. A stationary observer on the machine’s stator
would see a sinusoidally varying flux distribution

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Working Of Synchronous Motor Rotating magnetic field
Developing a Rotating Magnetic Field in Stator Coil
t=0
A has no current flow and its associated coils have no
magnetic field. Phase B has current flow in the
negative direction and phase C has current flow in the
positive direction.

Based on stator winding configuration, B1 and C2 are

south poles and B2 and C1 are north poles.

Magnetic lines of flux leave the B2 north pole and

enter the nearest south pole, C2.

Magnetic lines of flux also leave the C1 north pole and

enter the nearest south pole, B1.
The vector sum of the magnetic fields is indicated by
the arrow.

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Working Of Synchronous Motor Rotating magnetic field
Developing a Rotating Magnetic Field in Stator Coil
t=t1
The following chart shows the progress of the magnetic field
vector as each phase has advanced 60°.

Note that at time 1 phase C has no current flow and no

magnetic field is developed in C1 and C2. Phase A has
current flow in the positive direction and phase B has
current flow in the negative direction.

windings A1 and B2 are north poles and windings A2 and B1

are south poles. The resultant magnetic field vector has
rotated 60° in the clockwise direction

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Working Of Synchronous Motor Rotating magnetic field
Developing a Rotating Magnetic Field in Stator Coil
At the end of six such time intervals (it takes one period of applied AC voltage), the magnetic field will have rotated one full
revolution or 360°.

This process repeats 50 times a second for a 50 Hz power source.

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Working Of Synchronous Motor Motor Action
When DC supply is given to stationary rotor unlike poles will try to attract each other. Because of this action rotor will be
subjected to an instantaneous torque in anticlockwise direction.As we connected power supply to stator, stator poles will
rotate at speed of Ns r.p.m.
Due to inertia of rotor it is unable to rotate in the direction
of anticlockwise torque, to which is driving force or stator
rotating field. Just in that instant the stator poles change
their positions. Consider an instant half a period latter where
stator poles are exactly reversed but due to inertia rotor is
unable to rotate from its initial position.Shown in figure (b).

At this instant, due to the unlike poles trying to attract each

other, the rotor will be subjected to a torque in clockwise
direction. This will tend to rotate rotor in the direction of
rotating magnetic field.But before this happen, stator poles
again change their position reversing the direction of the
torque exerted on the rotor.
Key Point : Hence the average torque on the rotor is zero.So synchronous motor will not start it self
But, if the rotor is rotated upto the synchronous speed of the stator by means of an external force (in the direction
of revolving field of the stator), and the rotor field is excited near the synchronous speed, the poles of stator will keep
attracting the opposite poles of the rotor by this means the stator and rotor will get locked with each other, and the
rotor will rotate at the synchronous speed.
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Working Of Synchronous Motor Motor Action
Synchronous speed
The speed of the rotating stator field is called the synchronous speed. The
frequency of the power supply and the number of poles of the machine
determine the synchronous speed.

120fAC Synchronous speed is equal to 120 times the frequency

ns  (fAC), divided by the number of motor poles (p).
p
Synchronous motor will run either at synchronous speed or will not run at all.

Effect of poles per phase to rotation speed

Synchronous Speed (no Load)
No. Poles
60 hz 50 hz
2 Pole 3600 3000
4 Pole 1800 1500
6 Pole 1200 1000
8 Pole 900 750

A synchronous motor is one in which the rotor turns at the same speed as the rotating magnetic field in the
stator. Step motors, dc brushless, variable reluctance motors, switched reluctance and hysteresis motors, and
dc brush motors all typically operate as synchronous motors
IKCU\Mechatronics Engineering\MEE210 Electrical MAchines Dr.Levent ÇETİN