INDUCTION MOTOR

Induction Motor | Working Principle | Types of Induction Motor

One of the most common electrical motor used in most applications which is known as Induction Motor. This motor is also called as asynchronous motor because it runs at a speed less than synchronous speed. In this, we need to define what is synchronous speed. Synchronous speed is the speed of rotation of the magnetic field in a rotary machine and it depends upon the frequency and number poles of the machine. An induction motor always runs at a speed less than synchronous speed because the rotating magnetic field which is produced in the stator will generate flux in the rotor which will make the rotor to rotate, but due to the lagging of flux current in the rotor with flux current in the stator, the rotor will never reach to its rotating magnetic field speed i.e. the synchronous speed. There are basically two types of induction motor that depend upon the input supply - Single Phase Induction Motor and Three phase Induction motor. Single phase induction motor is not a self starting motor which we will discuss later and three phase Induction motor is a self-starting motor. Now in general we need to give two supply i.e. double excitation to make a machine to rotate. For example if we consider a DC motor, we will give one supply to the stator and another to the rotor through brush arrangement.

Working Principle of Induction Motor

An electrical motor is such an electromechanical device which converts electrical energy into a mechanical energy. In case of three phase AC operation, most widely used motor is Three phase induction motor as this type of motor does not require any starting device or we can say they are self starting induction motor.

For better understanding the principle of three phase induction motor, the basic constructional feature of this motor must be known to us. This Motor consists of two major parts:

Stator: Stator of three phase induction motor is made up of numbers of slots to construct a 3 phase winding circuit which is connected to 3 phase AC source. The three phase windings are arranged in such a manner in the slots that they produce a rotating magnetic field after AC is given to them.

Rotor: Rotor of three phase induction motor consists of cylindrical laminated core with parallel slots that can carry conductors. Conductors are heavy copper or aluminum bars which fits in each slots & they are short circuited by the end rings. The slots are not exactly made parallel to the axis of the shaft but are slotted a little skewed because this arrangement reduces magnetic humming noise & can avoid stalling of motor.

Working of Three Phase Induction Motor

Production of Rotating Magnetic field

The stator of the motor consists of overlapping windings offset by an electrical angle of 120°. When the primary winding or the stator is connected to a 3 phase AC source, it establishes a rotating magnetic field which rotates at the synchronous speed.

Secrets behind the rotation:

According to Faraday’s law an emf induced in any circuit is due to the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage through the circuit. As the rotor windings in an induction motor are either closed through an external resistance or directly shorted by end ring, and cut the stator rotating magnetic field, an emf is induced in the rotor copper bar and due to this emf a current flows through the rotor conductor.

Here the relative velocity between the rotating flux and static rotor conductor is the cause of electric current generation; hence as per Lenz's law the rotor will rotate in the same direction to reduce the cause i.e. the relative velocity.

Thus from the working principle of three phase induction motor it may observed that the rotor speed should not reach the synchronous speed produced by the stator. If the speeds equals, there would be no such relative velocity, so no emf induction in the rotor, & no current would be flowing, and therefore no torque would be generated. Consequently the rotor can not reach at the synchronous speed. The difference between the stator (synchronous speed) and rotor speeds is called the slip. The rotation of the magnetic field in an induction motor has the advantage that no electrical connections need to be made to the rotor.

Thus the Three Phase Induction Motor is:

• Self-starting.
• Less armature reaction and brush sparking because of the absence of commutators and brushes that may cause sparks.
• Robust in construction.
• Economical.
• Easier to maintain.

But in induction motor we give only one supply, so it is really interesting to know that how it works. It is very simple, from the name itself we can understand that there is induction process occurred. Actually when we are giving the supply to the stator winding, flux will generate in the coil due to flow of current in the coil. Now the rotor winding is arranged in such a way that it becomes short circuited in the rotor itself. The flux from the stator will cut the coil in the rotor and since the rotor coils are short circuited, according to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, electric current will start flowing in the coil of the rotor. When the current will flow, another flux will get generated in the rotor. Now there will be two flux, one is stator flux and another is rotor flux and the rotor flux will be lagging to the stator flux. Due to this, the rotor will feel a torque which will make the rotor to rotate in the direction of rotating magnetic flux. So the speed of the rotor will be depending upon the ac supply and the speed can be controlled by varying the input supply. This is the working principle of an induction motor of either type.