Types of Electric Motors Used in Industrial Electric Drives

Electric motor drives are the basic assemblies used for the transformation of
electrical power into mechanical energy. In simple words, the term "electric motor
drive" is used to denote drives driven by electric motors.
While selecting a motor for a particular service the following points must be known
about it.
i. Speed-torque characteristics – whether they are series, shunt or constant.
ii. The power factor at which the motor normally operates.
iii. Speed control range.
iv. Starting torque and starting current.
v. Maintenance cost – whether low medium or high.
vi. Initial cost.
• Following are the different types of motors used for industrial electric drives −
• DC series motor
• DC shunt motor
• Cumulative compound DC motor
• Slip ring induction motor
• Squirrel cage induction motor
• Double squirrel cage induction motor
• Three phase synchronous motor
• Single-phase synchronous motor
• Single-phase AC series motor
• Capacitor-start induction-run motor
• Capacitor-start capacitor-run motor
• Now let's check in detail the applications of each of these motors.
• DC Shunt Motor
• DC shunt motor has medium starting torque and an approximately constant speed.
• Applications − DC shunt motors are used for nearly constant speed applications such as −
• For driving constant speed line shafts
• Lathe machines ,Vacuum cleaners
• Washing machines, Elevators and conveyors
• Grinders
• Small printing presses, etc.
• Cumulative Compound DC Motor
• A cumulative compound motor has high starting torque and variable speed.
• Applications − Cumulative compound DC motors are used for driving −
• Compressors
• Centrifugal pumps
• Shearing machines
• Elevators, Continuous conveyors
• Circular saws
• Rotary presses, etc.
• Slip Ring Induction Motor
• Slip ring induction motor has high starting torque and large overload
capacity. Also, the speed of a slip ring induction motor can be
changed up to 50% of its normal speed.
• Applications − Slip ring induction motors are widely used for the
electric drives which require high starting and wide range of speed
control such as −
• Elevators
• Compressors, Lifts
• Line shafts,Pumps
• Winding machines
• Printing presses, etc.
• Double Squirrel Cage Induction Motor
• Double squirrel cage induction motor has high starting torque, large
overload capacity and nearly constant speed.
• Applications − Double squirrel cage induction motors are used for electric
drives which require high starting torque such as−
• Compressor pumps, Crushers, Boring mills, Cranes, Punches and lathe
machines, etc.
• Three-phase Synchronous Motor
• Three-phase synchronous motor has constant speed under varying loads
• Applications − Three-phase synchronous motors are used for electric drives
where continuous constant speed is required such as −
• Air compressors, Motor-generator sets, In the electric drives used in paper
and cement industries,Continuous rolling mills
• Single-phase AC Series Motor
• Single-phase AC series motor has high starting torque and speed control over a
wide range.
• Applications − Single-phase AC series motor is used for driving small electric
appliances such as −
• Vacuum cleaners, Refrigerators, etc.
• Repulsion Motor
• Repulsion motor has high starting torque and wide range of speed control. Also, it
has high speed at high loads.
• Applications − Repulsion motors are used for electric drives which require large
starting torque and constant speed (adjustable) such as coil winding machines.−
• Capacitor-start Induction-run Motor
• Capacitor-start induction-run motor has moderately high starting torque and a
nearly constant speed. In this motor, speed control is not possible.
• Applications − Capacitor-start induction-run motor is used in −
• Refrigerators, Compressors, Small hoists, etc.
Drive Characteristics
Mechanical Or Speed / Torque Characteristics of Various Types of
Loads
The Mechanical characteristic is also known as Speed / Torque characteristics. It is
very important to study about Speed – Torque characteristics of various types of
loads. To select motor with the proper speed / torque characteristics, it is necessary
to know the motor and the load should be matched before the selection of the
motor. Generally speed / torque characteristic of the load falls under following four
categories. They are
1.Constant Load Torque with speed
2. Increasing Load Torque With Speed.
a) Linear Increase of Torque with Speed
b) Increase of Load Torque with square of speed
3. Decreasing Load Torque with speed
Constant load torque with speed
In certain loads, the load torque remains constant with speed i.e. at all speed the
value of the load torque remains the same. The best examples of this kind of load
are crane, hoist and in moving system where lubricant is not used (Dry Friction).
Increasing Load Torque with Speed
The load torque in some cases increases when the speed increases. The increase in
load torque may be liner or varies as the square of the speed. These two types of
load toque is explained as below.
a) Linearly increasing load torque with speed
In this type of load, the torque increases linearly with the speed. The load torque
is directly proportional to the speed (T ∝ N). the main example of this type of load
is in cases where fluid friction is used, i.e. the type of lubricant used is fluid in
nature.
(b) Load Torque increasing with square of the speed
In this type of load the torque increase with the square of the speed,
i.e. the load torque is directly proportional to the square of the speed.
The main example of this type load is in case where fluid friction is
used, i.e. the type of lubricant used is fluid in nature.
Decreasing load torque with speed
In this type of load the torque decreases with the speed. The load torque is
inversely proportional to the speed (T α 1 / N). If the speed increases the torque
decease. The main example of this type load is in cases where deformation of
materials takes place such as Grinding, Metal Drawing and Crushing.
Unit 4 completed