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Around the poles, exciting coils are placed to which an AC supply is connected. When AC supply is affected to
the exciting coil, the magnetic axis shifts from the unshaded part of the pole to the shaded part. This shifting of
axis is equivalent to the physical movement of the pole.

This magnetic axis, which is moving, cuts the rotor conductors and hence, a rotational torque is developed in
the rotor. By this torque the rotor starts rotating in the direction of the shifting of the magnetic axis that is from
the unshaded part to the shaded part.

DC MOTOR
A DC motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.The working of DC
motor is based on the principle that when a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it
experiences a mechanical force.

The direction of the mechanical force is given by Fleming‘s Left-hand Rule and its magnitude is given by F =
BIL Newton.

There is no basic difference in the construction of a DC generator and a DC motor. In fact, the same DC
machine can be used interchangeably as a generator or as a motor.

For special applications such as in steel mills, mines, and electric trains, it is advantageous to convert
alternating current into direct current in order to use dc motors. The reason is that the speed/torque
characteristics of DC motors are much more superior to that of AC motors.

Therefore, it is not surprising to note that for industrial drives, DC motors are as popular as three-phase
induction motors.

4.15 DC Motor Principle

A machine that converts DC electrical power into mechanical power is known as a Direct Current motor.

DC motor working is based on the principle that when a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic
field, the conductor experiences a mechanical force.

Figure 4.27 DC Motor Principle

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The direction of this force is given by Fleming‘s left-hand rule and magnitude is given by;

F = BIL Newtons

According to Fleming‘s left-hand rule when an electric current passes through a coil in a magnetic field, the
magnetic force produces a torque that turns the DC motor.

The direction of this force is perpendicular to both the wire and the magnetic field.

Basically, there is no constructional difference between a DC motor and a DC generator. The same DC machine
can be run as a generator or motor.

4.16 Construction of DC Motor

All dc machines have following principal components

1. Magnetic frame or Yoke

2. Pole Cores and Pole Shoes
3. Pole Coils or Field Coils
4. Armature core
5. Armature Winding
6. Commutator
7. Brushes and Bearings

The diagram given below represents the various parts of a DC machine.

Figure 4.27 DC Motor Constructions

The cross-section of a DC machine is shown in the figure below in Figure 4.28.

4.16.1 Yoke (Magnetic Frame)

The outer frame or yoke serves a double purpose:

1. It provides mechanical support for the poles and acts as a protecting cover for the whole machine.
2. It carries the magnetic flux produced by the poles.

In small generators where cheapness rather than weight is the main consideration, yokes are made of cast iron.
But for large machines usually cast steel or rolled steel is employed.

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Figure 4.27 Cross-section of a DC machine

• The modern process of forming the yoke consists of rolling a steel slab around a cylindrical mandrel and
then welding it at the bottom.
• The feet and the terminal box etc. are welded to the frame afterward. Such yokes possess sufficient
mechanical strength and have high permeability.

Figure 4.28 Yoke of DC motor

4.16.2 Pole Cores and Pole Shoes

The field magnets consist of pole cores and pole shoes. The pole shoes serve two purposes:

1. They spread out the flux in the air gap and also, being of larger cross-section, reduce the reluctance of
the magnetic path
2. They support the exciting coils (or field coils)

There are two main types of pole construction.

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Figure 4.29 Pole cores and pole shoes

• The pole core itself may be a solid piece made out of either cast iron or cast steel but the pole shoe is
laminated and is fastened to the pole face by means of countersunk screws.
• In modern design, the complete pole cores and pole shoes are built of thin laminations of annealed steel
which are riveted together under hydraulic pressure. The thickness of laminations varies from 1 mm to
0.25 mm.

4.16.3 Field system

The function of the field system is to produce a uniform magnetic field within which the armature rotates.

• Field coils are mounted on the poles and carry the dc exciting current. The field coils are connected in
such a way that adjacent poles have opposite polarity.
• The m.m.f. developed by the field coils produces a magnetic flux that passes through the pole pieces,
the air gap, the armature, and the frame.

Practical dc machines have air gaps ranging from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm.

Figure 4.30 Field system

• Since armature and field systems are composed of materials that have high permeability, most of the
m.m.f. of field coils is required to set up flux in the air gap.
• By reducing the length of the air gap, we can reduce the size of field coils (i.e. the number of turns).

4.16.4 Armature core and Laminations

The armature core is keyed to the machine shaft and rotates between the field poles.

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• It consists of slotted soft-iron laminations (about 0.4 to 0.6 mm thick) that are stacked to form a
cylindrical core as shown in the figure.
• The laminations are individually coated with a thin insulating film so that they do not come in electrical
contact with each other.

Figure 4.31

• The purpose of laminating the core is to reduce the eddy current loss. Thinner the lamination, greater
is the resistance offered to the induced e.m.f., smaller the current and hence lesser the I²R loss in the
core.
• The laminations are slotted to accommodate and provide mechanical security to the armature winding
and to give a shorter air gap for the flux to cross between the pole face and the armature ―teeth‖.

4.16.5 Armature Winding

The slots of the armature core hold insulated conductors that are connected in a suitable manner. This is known
as armature winding.

Figure 4.32 Armature core & Armature winding

This is the winding in which ―working‖ e.m.f. is induced. The armature conductors are connected in series-
parallel; the conductors being connected in series so as to increase the voltage and in parallel paths so as to
increase the current.

The armature winding of a dc machine is a closed-circuit winding; the conductors being connected in a
symmetrical manner forming a closed-loop or series of closed loops.

Depending upon the manner in which the armature conductors are connected to the commutator segments, there
are two types of the armature winding in a DC machine viz.,
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a) Lap winding
b) Wave winding.

4.16.6 Commutator

A commutator is a mechanical rectifier which converts the alternating voltage generated in the armature
winding into a direct voltage across the brushes.

Figure 4.33 Commutator

The commutator is made of copper segments insulated from each other by mica sheets and mounted on the
shaft of the machine.

The armature conductors are soldered to the commutator segments in a suitable manner to give rise to the
armature winding.

Depending upon the manner in which the armature conductors are connected to the commutator segments, there
are two types of the armature winding in a DC machine viz.,

1. Lap winding
2. Wave winding
• Great care is taken in building the commutator because any eccentricity will cause the brushes to
bounce, producing unacceptable sparking.
• The sparks may bum the brushes and overheat and carbonize the commutator.

4.16.7 Brushes

DC motors are of two types: one is a brushed dc motor and the other one is brushless dc motor. Brushless dc
motors are mainly used in high-speed applications such as multicopters (eg:- quadcopters).

The purpose of brushes in a dc generator is to ensure electrical connections between the rotating commutator
and stationary external load circuit.

• The brushes are made of carbon and rest on the commutator. The brush pressure is adjusted by means
of adjustable springs.
• If the brush pressure is very large, the friction produces heating of the commutator and the brushes.
• On the other hand, if it is too weak, the imperfect contact with the commutator may produce sparks.
Multipole machines have as many brushes as they have poles. For eg, a 4-pole machine has 4 brushes.

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Figure 4.34 Brushes

• As we go round the commutator, the successive brushes have positive and negative polarities.
• Brushes having the same polarity are connected together so that we have two terminals viz., the +ve
terminal and the -ve terminal.

4.17 Working of DC Motor

Consider a part of a multipolar DC motor as shown in the figure 4.35. When the terminals of the motor are
connected to an external source of DC supply:

• The field magnets are excited developing alternate North and South poles.
• The armature conductors carry currents.

Figure 4.35 Working of DC Motor

All conductors under North-pole carry currents in one direction while all the conductors under South-pole carry
currents in the opposite direction.

The armature conductors under N-pole carry currents into the plane of the paper (denoted as ⊗ in the figure).
And the conductors under S-pole carry currents out of the plane of the paper (denoted as ⨀ in the figure).

Since each armature conductor is carrying current and is placed in the magnetic field, a mechanical force acts
on it.

On applying Fleming’s left-hand rule, it is clear that force on each conductor is tending to rotate the armature
in the anticlockwise direction. All these forces add together to produce a driving torque which sets the
armature rotates.
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Figure 4.36 Fleming‘s left-hand rule

When the conductor moves from one side of a brush to the other, the current in that conductor is reversed. At
the same time, it comes under the influence of the next pole which is of opposite polarity. Consequently, the
direction of the force on the conductor remains the same.

It should be noted that the function of a commutator in the motor is the same as in a generator. By reversing
current in each conductor as it passes from one pole to another, it helps to develop a continuous and
unidirectional torque.

4.18 EMF Equation of DC Motor

The derivation of EMF equation for DC generator has two parts:

1. Induced EMF of one conductor

2. Induced EMF of the motor

Derivation for Induced EMF of One Armature Conductor

For one revolution of the conductor, Let Φ = Flux produced by each pole in weber (Wb) and P = number of
poles in the DC motor therefore, Total flux produced by all the poles

=Φ×P

And, Time taken to complete one revolution

= 60/N

Where, N = speed of the armature conductor in rpm. Now, according to Faraday‘s law of induction, the
induced emf of the armature conductor is denoted by ―e‖ which is equal to rate of cutting the flux. Therefore,

e = d Φ/dt and e = Total flux/ Time take

Induced emf of one conductor is

Derivation for Induced EMF for DC Motor

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Let us suppose there are Z total numbers of conductor in a motor, and arranged in such a manner that all
parallel paths are always in series. Here, Z = total numbers of conductor A = number of parallel paths Then,
Z/A = number of conductors connected in series. We know that induced emf in each path is same across the
line. Therefore, Induced emf of DC motor E = emf of one conductor × number of conductor connected in
series.

Induced emf of DC motot is

Simple wave wound motor Numbers of parallel paths are only 2 = A Therefore, Induced emf for wave type of
winding motor is

Simple lap-wound generator Here, number of parallel paths is equal to number of conductors in one path i.e.
P=A. Therefore, Induced emf for lap-wound motor is

4.19 Types of DC Motor

The DC motor has a lot of application in today‘s field of engineering and technology. Starting from an electric
shaver to parts of automobiles, in all small or medium sized motoring applications, DC motors come handy.
And because of its wide range of application different functional types of dc motor are available in the market
for specific requirements. The types of DC motor can be listed as follows

Figure 4.37 Types of DC Motor

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4.19.1 Seperately Excited DC Motor

What is a Separately Excited DC Motor?

As the name presents, in the case of a separately excited DC motor, the main supply is given separately to the
armature and field windings. The major distinguishing fact in these forms of DC motor is that the armature
current does not move across the field windings as the field winding is powered from a separate external supply
of DC. From the torque equation of motors, we know that:

So, the torque, in this case, can be changed by modifying the field flux (φ), independent of the current of the
armature (Ia). The figure 4.38 presents the separately excited DC motor.

Figure 4.38 Separately Excited DC Motor

Here, the field coil is powered from a separate DC voltage supply, and the armature coil is also powered from
another source. Armature voltage supply may be variable but, an independent fixed DC voltage is applied to
induce the field coil. Therefore, those coils are electrically separated from each other, and this junction is the
main feature of this type of motors.

4.19.1.1 Equations of Voltage, Current, and Power for a Separately Excited DC Motor

In a separately excited DC motor, field and armature windings are excited to form two various DC supply
voltages. In this motor, we have

Figure 4.39 Equivalent circuit of Separately Excited DC Motor

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• Armature current Ia = Line current = IL = I
• Back emf developed:

where Va is the main voltage and Ra is the armature resistance.

• Power is drawn from the main source: P=VI

• Mechanical power developed (Pm) = Power input to the armature – power wasted in the armature

4.19.1.2 Speed-Torque Characteristic of a Separately Excited DC Motor

The main formulation of a speed-torque Characteristic of a separately excited DC motor whose armature,
including a total of Z con•ductors, is wound for 2P poles (the brushes separate the winding into 2 parallel
paths), is

Where Eb is the back emf of the armature obtained by

where ω is the angular speed introduced as below and Ke and Kt are constants.

From the above equation, we get

The torque produced by the motor is given by

Substituting for Ia in the last formula, we have

Once Td is zero, the corresponding speed No is the no-load condition. The motor speed reduces as the torque
increases causing a drooping characteristic. The speed-torque diagrams are presented in Figure 4.40 . These
diagrams clearly demonstrate a speed reduction of 2 to 3% as the torque changes from no-load to full load.

In DC motors, the armature MMF reacts to the field MMF. This behavior is introduced as the armature
reaction. Once the effects of the armature reaction are removed, the flux per pole of the device is constant and is
independent of power.

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Figure 4.40 Speed-Torque Characteristic of a Separately Excited DC Motor

The effect of external resistance in the armature circuit is presented in the figure below. Speeds in the level of
zero to main speed may be achieved. With an appropriate amount of R, very slow speeds are feasible at the cost
of efficiency.

Figure 4.41 Speed-Torque Characteristic of a Separately Excited DC Motor with variable resistance

4.19.1.3 Speed Control of a Separately Excited DC Motor

The speed of this type of DC motor is determined by the following methods:

• Field control: Reduction of the field increases the speed of the device while improving the field causes
reduction in the speed. Speed regulation of this type of motor can be obtained by controlling the field.
Field voltage control is applied by changing the voltage at the field circuit while keeping armature
terminal voltage fixed.
• Field rheostat control: Here a variable resistance is arranged in series form with the field coil.
Therefore, the speed is determined by means of flux variation. Reluctance control is also used by
variation of the reluctance of the magnetic circuit of the device.
• Armature control methods: Speed regulation of a separately excited DC motor by armature control
may be achieved by any one of the following methods: a) Armature resistance control (Here, the
speed is determined by changing the source voltage to an armature. Typically, a variable resistance is
used in the armature to change the armature resistance), b) Armature terminal voltage control that is
used to change the voltage in the armature circuit.

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