University of New Brunswick Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

EE2683 Electric Circuits & Machines

Experiment #4: Alternating Current Motors

Purpose:
The purpose of this experiment is to examine the the loading characteristics of both induction
and synchronous motors.

Equipment:
This experiment requires an induction machine, a synchronous machine, a dc machine, a load
resistor bank, a tachometer, a sorobe light, and four Digital Voltmeters.

Motor Torque Measurement:

Since you will be testing the load characteristics of motors you will have to provide a variable
load for them. A seperately excited dc generator will be used for this purpose. A connection
diagram for the dc generator is shown in Figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1. The DC Generaqtor Load Connections.

The loading on the motors is determined by the power dissipated by the 3 Phase load resistor
module connected to the dc generator. The load power can be adjusted by varying the field
current of the generator, I fg , or by changing the load resistance using the switches on the front
pannel of the resistor module.

To calculate the loading on the motors under test, measure the motor speed, N, the armature
€
voltage, V a and armature current, I a , of the DC generator. The motor torque can then be
estimated using the relationship
Va I a 60 × V a I a 40 V a I a V I
€ Tm ≈ = =
€ = 12.73 a a . (4-1)
ηω m 0.75 × 2πN π N N
Note that the speed is in radians/second, not RPM, and the efficiency, η , is approximatly 75%.

€Experiment:
1. Connect the induction motor as shown in Figure 4-2. Connect€ meters to monitor both the line to
line ac voltage to the motor, and the current for one of the stator windings. You should test the
operation of the motor before you connect up the dc machine to load the motor.

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 University of New Brunswick Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Figure 4-2. Induction Motor Connection Diagram.

To start the induction motor:

a) Turn the voltage control knob on the power supply all the way counterclockwise before you
turn on the power supply.

b) Turn on the power supply and slowly turn voltage control knob clockwise. The motor should
start turning when the control is at about “30” on the dial.

c) Continue slowly turning the Voltage control clockwise until it is turned fully clockwise. At
no load, the induction motor should be running at about 1750 RPM.

To turn the Induction motor off:

a) Turn the stator voltage down by turning the voltage control knob counterclockwise until the
applied voltage is zero.

b) Wait for the motor to stop turning and then turn off the power supply.

2. The speed, N, of an induction motor will change as the loading on the motor changes. This
behavior is characterized using a “torque-speed” curve. To experimentally determine the
“torque-speed” curve for your induction motor, start up the induction motor with no load, and
increase the the loading until the motor current, I m , reaches the rated value. Record the no load
value of V m. Record the speed of the inducton motor, N, and both the armature voltage, V a , and
current, I a , of the dc generator in Table 4-1 for various values of I m .
€
Table 4-1. Induction Motor Loading Data.
€ €
€ €

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 University of New Brunswick Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

When you have finished your measurements, shut down the motor and disconnect it. You should
leave the dc generator connected if another group is waiting for your motor.

Calculate the the output torque of the inducton motor using the expression of Equation 4-1, and
plot the resulting torque-speed characteristic.

3. Connect up your synchronous machine as a motor using the diagram shown in Figure 4-3.

Figure 4-3. Synchronous Motor Connections.

` To start the synchronous motor:

a) Make sure the field winding is turned off and the voltage control knob on the power supply is
turned all the way counterclockwise before you turn on the power supply.

b) Turn on the power supply and slowly turn voltage control knob clockwise. The motor should
start turning when the control is at about “30” on the dial.

c) Continue slowly turning the voltage control clockwise until it is turned fully clockwise.

d) When the motor has had a chance to reach a constant speend, switch on the field current.
The motor will synchronize with the frequency of the stator voltage and the stator current
should drop. It the stator current increases, the motor did not synchronize correctly. In this
case, turn the field current off, temporarially reduce the stator voltage to roughly 50% and
then bring it back to the rated value and repeat the synchronization process. Repeat until
the motor properly synchronizes with the line voltage.

e) Adjust the field current, I fm , for minimum stator current.

To turn the synchronous motor off:

a) Turn off the field current.

€
b) Turn the stator voltage down by turning the voltage control knob counterclockwise until the
applied voltage is zero.

c) Wait until the motor stops turning and then turn off the power supply.

5. The speed of a synchronous motor does not change as the motor is loaded. Therefore it is not
possibleto measure a “torque-speed” characteristic for a synchronous motor. However, loading
the motor causes the spatial relationship between the rotating magnetic field generated by the
stator currents and the rotor, the “space angle” or “torque angle” of the motor, to change.

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 University of New Brunswick Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

When the load on a synchronous motor changes, the machine speed momentarily changes as it
goes to a new “torque angle”. However, it always quickly locks onto synchronous speed, unless
the new load is sufficient to cause the motor to fall out of synchronization.

Observe that there is a black mark on the shaft of your motor. A strobe light which is
synchronized with the AC line frequency will make this mark appear to be stationary when the
motor is running at synchronous speed. However, the position of the mark will chnge when the
loading on the motor changes. This enables a crude measurement of the “space angle” of the
motor.

Start up the synchronous motor with no load on it. Once you have it synchronized, adjust the
field current for the minimum motor current, I m , and record the measured values of the field
current, I fm , and mtor line-to-line voltage, V m, in Table 4-2.

Vary the load on the synchronous motor from no load to full load and record the motor current,
€
I m , the “space angle” of the synchronous motor, and both the armature voltage, V a , and current,
€ €
I a , of the dc generator the dc generator in Table 4-2 for various values of I m .
Table 4-2. Synchronous Motor Loading Data.
€ €
€ €

When you have finished your measurements, shut down the motor and disconnect it. You should
leave the dc generator connected if another group is waiting for your motor.

Calculate the load torque on the motor using the expression of Equation 4-1 and then plot the
load torque versus the space angle characteristic. (You should note that this is a fairly crude
curve in that measurement of the angle is obviously not precise, but rather an indication.)

Report:
Complete the writing of the report and hand it in within a week.

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