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A1-106

CIGRE 2008

Improving Efficiency of Induction Motors Using Die-cast Copper Squirrel Cages J. L. Kirtley Jr. D. T. Peters, E. F. Brush, Jr. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Copper Development Association Inc. United States

SUMMARY
Efficiency is an important attribute in virtually all electrical apparatus. Now, with substantial emphasis on sustainability being raised in many public forums, there is even higher pressure for higher efficiency in industrial motors. Most motors in sizes ranging from several hundred watts to several hundred kilowatts are of the squirrel cage design, with cast aluminum conductor as the cage material. In large motors and some specialty applications the rotor cages are fabricated from copper bars and end rings. Replacement of the aluminum conductor with higher conductivity copper would improve efficiency. Replacement of fabricated copper with die-cast copper in squirrel cages would improve machine durability and allow for design freedom to tailor the performance of the machine to its application. This paper is a report on an effort to make die-cast copper rotor induction motors for industrial applications. The objective has been to make motors more efficient by taking advantage of the higher conductivity of copper, but that is not the end of the story. There are other substantive advantages of the use of die-cast copper in squirrel cages. Reduced losses in the rotor, in addition to making the motor more efficient, also lead to reduced rotor temperatures, making motors more durable. Reduced cooling effort adds still further to motor efficiency. A number of barriers to rapid adoption of the copper rotor motor for mass produced high efficiency industrial and general purpose integral horsepower motors had to be addressed. General concern for improved device efficiency was encouraged in some countries and less so in others. Use of a heavier more expensive material was not an intuitive way forward for many motor manufacturers especially when low first cost was the primary concern of an entrenched customer base. It remained to be shown and more generally appreciated that the copper rotor could in fact reduce both motor weight and cost. Change in rotor conductor material also had implications to overall motor design. Design costs and capital equipment requirements in new lamination stamping dies, die casting and melting equipment all conspired to slow adoption of the technology. Finally, real problems in manufacture of the copper rotor by high pressure die casting existed. The high melting temperature of copper compared to aluminum was known to result in rapid die failure and resulting high costs in die repair and replacement. The Copper Development Association Inc. initiated a study to solve the short die life problem. This study resulted in development of a nickel-base alloy die system operated at elevated temperature that was demonstrated to greatly enhance die life. This manufacturing system and its variants has now been adopted by several major motor manufacturers and copper rotor high efficiency

motors are now readily available in a number of markets. kirtley@mit.edu

SEW Eurodrive was the first major manufacturer to introduce a line of drive motors meeting Eff1 and EPAct efficiency standards where a good part of the product line employed die-cast copper rotors to avoid frame size increases. Siemens AG has recently announced a line of super-NEMA Premium motors now available in North America relying on the copper rotor for the major contribution to the efficiency gain in a cost effective design. Design of an induction motor is influenced by the intended application. There are standards in existence that specify how motors of certain standard classes should behave so that both motor manufacturers and appliers of motors know what to expect. For example standard MG-1 of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) specifies, in addition to motor footprints, shaft height and diameter, such important features of motor performance as locked rotor, pullup and pullout torque and starting current. Simply replacing aluminum material in the rotor of a machine with copper will generally cause that machine to become non-compliant with the pertinent standards. For example, while increasing rotor conductivity reduces running slip and therefore rotor dissipation, it also reduces torque under starting (low rotor speed) conditions and increases current drawn during starting. For this reason, a substantial amount of effort has been put into understanding how the shape of rotor bars affects motor performance. In turn, die-casting of copper rotors yields flexibility in shaping of rotor bars that permits tailoring of motor characteristics to meet standards and application requirements.

KEYWORDS: Induction Motors, Electrical Efficiency, Cast Copper, Squirrel Cages, Electric Machine Design, Casting Technology Introduction With substantial emphasis on sustainability being raised in many public forums, there is even higher pressure for higher efficiency in industrial motors. Most motors in sizes ranging from several hundred watts to several hundred kilowatts are of the squirrel cage design, with cast aluminum conductor as the cage material. In large motors and some specialty applications the rotor cages are fabricated from copper bars and end rings. Replacement of the aluminum conductor with higher conductivity copper would improve efficiency. Replacement of fabricated copper with die-cast copper in squirrel cages would improve machine durability and allow for design freedom to tailor the performance of the machine to its application[1]. Simply replacing aluminum material in the rotor of a machine with copper will generally cause that machine to become non-compliant with the pertinent standards. For example, while increasing rotor conductivity reduces running slip and therefore rotor dissipation, it also reduces torque under starting (low rotor speed) conditions and increases current drawn during starting. For this reason, a substantial amount of effort has been put into understanding how the shape of rotor bars affects motor performance. Much of that effort has been directed toward exploiting diffusion effects in the high conductivity rotor material to achieve desired motor performance. In turn, die-casting of copper rotors yields flexibility in shaping of rotor bars that permits tailoring of motor characteristics to meet standards and application requirements. Improvement in Efficiency Consider the loss budget for a high efficiency, 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) industrial grade motor. The motor has a 145 mm diameter stator bore, a 0.85 mm air gap and an active length of 152 mm. The armature winding has 144 turns in a 36-slot stator wound with the equivalent of an 8/9 pitch winding. A slot space factor of 41% is assumed. The motor envelope is approximately 241 mm in diameter with an overall active length of 267 mm. Assuming aluminum conductor in the squirrel cage and operation at 40 C rise (65 C operating temperature), elements of motor loss as calculated by our Matlab motor simulation program are shown in Table I.

Table 1: Baseline Performance of Motor with Cast Aluminum Rotor Core Loss Stator Winding Loss Rotor Cage Loss Stray Loss Friction and Windage Motor Efficiency 99 W 313 W 110 W 12 W 43 W 92.8 %

A cast copper rotor with conductivity of 100% of IACS is predicted to have a rotor cage loss of 60 watts, which by itself would increase motor efficiency to 93.5%. However, most industrial motors are designed to standards which specify elements of performance such as minimum starting (pull-up) torque and locked rotor current. The exemplar motor cited in Table 1 would, with simple substitution of copper, have satisfactory starting torque but its locked rotor current would be above 84 A, as shown in Figure 2, while the NEMA standard for a Design B motor operating at 460 V should have a locked rotor current no higher than 81 A. Figure 1 shows that the starting torque of the machine with a cast copper rotor would probably be satisfactory, and it does meet the torque requirements for the NEMA standard.

Figure 1: Torque Comparison: Simple Substitution of Copper

Figure 2: Current Comparison: Simple Substitution of Copper

Bar Shaping
Conventional wisdom holds that lower starting torque is expected with higher rotor conductivity. This would be true for frequency independent motor parameters. For dimensions typical of motors of integral horsepower and larger, eddy currents cause substantial frequency dependence of motor parameters. The higher conductivity of copper gives the motor designer flexibility to take more advantage of diffusion effects. The squirrel cage of an induction motor is made of a plurality of identical bars connected together at both ends of the machine by end rings. Generally it is appropriate for the bar shape to taper from a wide form at the top to a somewhat narrower form at the bottom. This permits the magnetic material between the rotor bars (the teeth) to be of nearly uniform width, making the magnetic circuit work well. Because of the skin effect, there is a natural tendency for current to crowd to the top of the bar when the machine is starting, because the electrical frequency seen by the rotor is relatively high. When the machine is running the slip is low and so is the electrical frequency seen by the rotor. Then the rotor current is relatively uniformly distributed. A machine designer can enhance this effect by dividing the rotor bars into two sections, called starting and running bars, separated by a relatively narrow leakage slot. The rotor bar shapes in the original aluminum rotor and a redesigned copper rotor are shown in Figure 3. The resulting torque/speed and current/speed curves are shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 3: Squirrel-Cage Bars for Aluminum and Copper Rotors

Figure 4: Torque Comparison: Aluminum and Copper Rotors

Figure 5: Current Comparison: Aluminum and Copper Rotor Machines

Some bar shaping was required for both motor designs. The aluminum rotor bar has the top corners cut back a bit to reduce locked rotor current. The copper rotor bar is more complex, resulting in modifications to motor performance that include both control of starting current and improvement of starting torque. The increased leakage of this bar does result in some reduction in pullout torque, although the motor still meets the requirements of the NEMA standard. The reduction of rotor loss means there is less heat to remove from the rotor. This permits a reduction in the size of the cooling fan in a self-cooled machine (this includes almost all industrial motors). In addition, the reduction in temperature of the rotor in itself has a positive impact on efficiency.
Table 2: Summary of Motor Performance Al Cu in Al Slots 93.4% 99 W 311 W 61 W 11 W 40 W 84 A 68 Nm 129 Nm Cu

Efficiency Core Loss Stator Loss Rotor Loss Stray Loss F+W LR Current LR Torque Pullout Torque Effect of Temperature :

92.8% 99 W 313 W 110 W 9.5W 44 W 81 A 69 Nm 130 Nm

93.5% 99 W 314 W 60 W 5W 40 W 79 A 96 Nm 106 Nm

The reduction of rotor loss means there is less heat to remove from the rotor. This permits a reduction in the size of the cooling fan in a self-cooled machine (this includes almost all industrial motors). In addition, the reduction in temperature of the rotor has a positive impact on efficiency as is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Impact of Temperature on Efficiency The effect of temperature on efficiency has not been taken into account in the calculations that led to Table 2, so it is likely that the advantage of cast copper is a bit understated in that table. In addition to the efficiency improvement, the reduced rotor temperatures anticipated for cast copper rotors will lead to improved life for rotor bearings and possibly for machine insulation. Frequency Response Note that the copper rotor motor with redesigned slots is predicted to have lower stray load loss and higher starting torque than both the aluminum rotor machine and the machine with copper cast into slots of the same shape. To try to understand this, consider the bar impedance as a function of frequency as plotted in Figure 7 [2].

Figure 7: Frequency Response of Rotor Bar Impedance Note that, at starting, the copper rotor bar actually shows a higher resistive impedance than does the aluminum rotor bar. This enhances starting torque and tends to reduce locked rotor current. At running frequency, however, the copper rotor bar has lower resistance, making for higher efficiency. At even higher frequencies the copper rotor bar has lower resistive impedance, and since the space harmonics of the stator appear at very high frequency and tend to be like current sources, the loss associated with these currents, a major part of stray load loss, is lower. Copper Rotor Production Challenges For NEMA motor ratings, at least for the smaller frame sizes, a fabricated copper rotor as described above is not practical due to the high labor content compared to the value of such a motor. Therefore,

the process of choice would be a die casting process, similar to the well established process of casting aluminum rotors. For the copper casting process, there are some very specific differences to be considered. The melting temperature for aluminum is 660C and for copper the temperature is 1083C. This significantly higher temperature level imposes extremely high stresses on the tool materials and the whole process set-up requiring a die material capable of much high temperatures than conventionally used die steels. CDA had begun to address this problem in the late 90s [3, 4]. The principle failure mechanism in die casting dies referred to as heat checking by die casters results in a pattern of surface cracks. Decarburization and austenization result in softening of common die steels at the high surface temperature contributing to die failure. Heat checking is a thermal fatigue phenomenon resulting from the rapid cyclic expansion of the die surface layer on contact with molten metal and the constraint of the surface by the much cooler inner portions of the die. In the cooling portion of each cycle, the outer layer falls to a temperature below that of the bulk of the die putting the surface under a large tensile stress that can exceed the yield point of the die material. This surface-to-interior differential expansion and contraction is greatly exacerbated in die casting high-melting metals such as pure copper. Consideration of the thermal fatigue failure mechanism suggests that the surface-to-interior transient temperature difference and resulting large strains can be minimized by raising the temperature of the bulk of the die insert. Modeling studies had shown that a die temperature of 550C would minimize the thermal stain to below the plastic range for tungsten or molybdenum-based die materials. For nickel-base alloy die materials, the die operating temperature would have to be about 625 C. This is an unconventional method of operation for the die caster, but a practical system for heating and insulating the die inserts to maintain the high temperature critical to improving die life had been lacking and has been developed in this work. A schematic drawing of the die-insert and electrical resistance heater configuration used in the test program is shown in Figure 9. Molybdenum, tungsten and nickel-base alloys were evaluated after confirming that ordinary H-13 die steel showed substantial heat check thermal cracking in only about 20 shots. The tungsten alloy, Anviloy, performed well showing no heat checking over about 1000 cycles when operated at the high temperature required to minimize formation of heat check surface cracking. However, high base material and machining costs are deterrents to its use. TZM (0.05 wt.% Titanium + 0.08 wt.% Zirconium Modified) molybdenum alloy also was resistant to surface cracking but is not sufficiently resistant to oxidation at the 550C operating temperature. Of the several types of nickel-base alloys tested, the simple solid solution- strengthened type including INCONEL alloy 617 operated at elevated temperature demonstrated much extended die life. Haynes alloy 230 is of the same type and has been the alloy used in motor manufacturer copper die casting plants.

Figure 8: Schematic Illustration of Placement of Electric Resistance Heaters and Insulation Used in Die Casting Copper Rotors. Additionally, the high melting temperature of copper causes the copper to solidify much faster than aluminum because of the lower heat of fusion of copper compared to aluminum and the much higher temperature difference between the material and the die. This means that the time for the actual die

casting process is very much limited. For this reason a somewhat more powerful die casting machine is required. Injection pressures about twice that required for aluminum die casting are essential for copper to complete die filling due both to coppers higher density and its tendency to cool and solidify rapidly. The use of electrically heated dies to temperatures well above that obtained with oil heating has proved to help alleviate these problems. Use of heated shot sleeves also serves to minimize the initial chilling of the molten copper after transfer from the melting or holding furnace. Installation of the necessary die casting equipment including the appropriately sized machine, heated nickel-base alloy dies and copper melting equipment represents a considerable capital investment, but the pay back for these efforts are copper rotors of excellent quality for high efficiency motors above NEMA Premium. The Copper Development Association Inc. supports the transfer and application of the new die casting technology to all motor manufacturers worldwide. Comparative Economics in Construction Costs of materials for motor construction depends on commodity material prices that fluctuate with time. At present, copper is more expensive than aluminum and this is not expected to change markedly in the near future. Further, more energy is required to melt copper compared to aluminum and die life may be shorter; these two factors are expected to add less than one dollar to the cost of the copper rotors in the sizes compared here. But higher rotor conductor material costs comprise less than five percent of the total motor cost in a copper-rotor motor and only a bit more than one percent for a motor with an aluminum rotor. What is important is the effect the choice of rotor material has upon other cost elements. Designing two rotors to the same efficiency target, using copper reduces the cost of lamination steel because the stack is now shorter. Also reduced are the combined costs of shaft, housing and assembly, which are lower because the rotor itself is smaller. So at the same efficiency, the copper rotor machine is likely to be less expensive to manufacture than an aluminum rotor machine. However, our purpose here is to improve efficiency. For motors of comparable physical size, a copper rotor machine will be more efficient but will cost more. Our estimate of the difference in manufacturing cost between a 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) NEMA Premium motor (Full Load efficiency of 91.7%) using a copper rotor and an equivalent EPAct standard motor (Full Load efficiency of 89.5%) is about US $60. Comparataive Economics in Operation Comparing efficiencies in a 7.5 KW EPAct with a NEMA Premium motor, at an assumed 75% load (Efficiencies at that power point are 90.8% vs. 92.6%), results in 0.12 KW per hour, or 719kWh per year at 6,000 hours of operation. At $0.075 per kWh electricity cost, this produces $54 savings per year, indicating a 13 month payback for the average increased purchase cost for the NEMA Premium motor of $60. These numbers should be used with care, as manufacturing costs will vary with commodity material prices and the value of savings will vary with electricity costs and operating hours. Continuing Development Stray load loss while still low, appears to be higher than predicted in cast copper rotors. This appears to be related to electrical contact between the rotor conductors and the steel laminations of the rotor. This contact, which is quite good because of the tendency of copper to wet the steel surface during casting, provides a current path that tends to short out the impact of skew that is typically used to reduce harmonic currents in squirrel cages. Efforts are underway to understand this effect so that it can be quantified and design measures taken [5]. Reduced rotor skew will tend to reduce the impact of rotor contact, and it is possible that a rotor coating (after punching) can spoil the electrical contact.

Concluding remarks It is unlikely that the cost of electric power will resume a downward trend in the future. All signs point to continuing scarcity and therefore cost of primary energy sources for making electricity and therefore to the importance of efficiency in use of electricity. The value of motor efficiency is likely to continue to rise in the future. The focus of this paper is on industrial, line-start motors, through which a remarkable fraction of all electricity is used. The use of copper can result in an improvement of efficiency of one or two percent, a number that sounds small until one reflects on how much electric power is used by induction motors. Electric motors driven by adjustable speed drives will benefit as much as do line-start motors. Efforts to improve the efficiency of induction motors usually involve an increase in the size of the motor; either an increase in diameter, length or both. Concomitant with this is the fact that one can, with higher conductivity rotor materials, make a machine smaller while holding efficiency constant. This means that cast copper rotors may permit the reduction of size of motors for which size and weight are important, such as traction motors. Because induction motors can be de-energized when they are not producing torque, they appear to have substantial advantages over permanent magnet machines for some kinds of traction applications (e.g. hybrid automobiles). The use of cast copper rotors makes induction motors more attractive for such applications [6]. Siemens AG introduced a line of Ultra motors in February, 2006, into the North American market targeted at just above the NEMA Premium nameplate efficiency point. These motors use die cast copper rotors to provide the primary boost to efficiency. A 10-Hp, 3-phase, 460-V, 60-Hz, 1800-RPM general purpose TEFC motor of this line was tested by an independent lab. The nameplate efficiency of this motor is 92.4% with a guaranteed minimum efficiency of 91.7%, (the same as NEMA Premium efficiency for this size and type ). The efficiency determined by a test of this motor was 92.7% and was also observed to be essentially flat between 50% and 75% of rated power. It is reasonable to expect that this line of motors will attract competition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] J.L. Kirtley Jr., J.G. Cowie, E.F. Brush, Jr., D.T. Peters and R. Kimmich, Improving Induction Motor Efficiency with Die-Cast Copper Rotor Cages, IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, Tampa, FL, June 24-28, 2007 J. L. Kirtley Jr., Designing Squirrel Cage Rotor Slots with High Conductivity International Conference on Electric Machines, Krakow, Poland, 5-8 September, 2004
Peters, D.T. et al, Use of High Temperature Die Materials and Hot Dies for High Pressure Die Casting Pure Copper and Copper Alloys, Trans. of the North American Die Casting Association, Die Casting Congress, Rosemont, IL, 2002. Peters, D.T. et al, Advances in Pressure Die Casting of Electrical Grade Copper, American Foundry Society Paper No. 02-002, Kansas City, MO, 2002.

[2]

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Steven C. Englebretson, James L. Kirtley, Jr., Keith M. Molina, Induction Motor Interbar Resistance Measurements International Conference on Electric Machines, Chania, Greece, September 2, 2006 James L. Kirtley Jr., Dale T. Peters, J.G. Cowie, Edwin F. Brush, Jr. Improved Hybrid
Vehicle Traction Motors Using Cast Copper Rotor Induction Machines, International Exhibition and Conferfence , Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies, March 29 to April 1, 2007, Monaco