INTRODUCTION

An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy

into mechanical energy. The reverse of this would be the conversion
of mechanical energy into electrical energy and is done by an electric
generator.
In normal motoring mode, most electric motors operate through the
interaction

between

an

electric

motor's magnetic

field and winding

currents to generate force within the motor. In certain applications, such as

in the transportation industry with traction motors, electric motors can
operate in both motoring and generating or braking modes to also produce
electrical energy from mechanical energy.

Found in applications as
diverse

as

industrial

fans,

blowers and pumps, machine

tools, household appliances,
power tools, and disk drives,
electric
powered

motors
by direct

can

be

current

(DC) sources, such as from

batteries, motor vehicles or
rectifiers, or by alternating current (AC) sources, such as from the power
grid, inverters or generators. Small motors may be found in electric
watches. General-purpose motors with highly standardized dimensions and
characteristics provide convenient mechanical power for industrial use. The
largest of electric motors are used for ship propulsion, pipeline
compression and pumped-storage applications with ratings reaching 100
megawatts. Electric motors may be classified by electric power source
type, internal construction, application, type of motion output, and so on.
Electric motors are used to produce linear or rotary force (torque), and
should be distinguished from devices such as magnetic solenoids and
loudspeakers that convert electricity into motion but do not generate usable
mechanical powers, which are respectively referred to as actuators and
transducers.

CLASSIFICATION OR TYPES OF MOTOR

The primary classification of motor or types of motor can be tabulated
as shown below,

AC MOTOR
An AC motor is an electric motor driven by an alternating current (AC). The
AC

motor

commonly

consists

of

two

basic

parts,

an

outside

stationary stator having coils supplied

with alternating current to produce a
rotating

magnetic

field,

and

an

insiderotor attached to the output shaft

producing a second rotating magnetic
field. The rotor magnetic field may be
produced

by

permanent

magnets,

reluctance saliency, or DC or AC electrical windings.

Less commonly, linear AC motors operate on similar principles as rotating
motors but have their stationary and moving parts arranged in a straight
line configuration, producing linear motion instead of rotation.

DC MOTOR
A DC motor is any of a class of electrical machines that converts direct
current electrical power into mechanical
power. The most common types rely on
the forces produced by magnetic fields.
Nearly all types of DC motors have some
internal

mechanism,

electromechanical

or

either

electronic,

to

periodically change the direction of current

flow in part of the motor. Most types produce rotary motion; a linear motor
directly produces force and motion in a straight line.

DC motors were the first type widely used, since they could be powered
from existing direct-current lighting power distribution systems. A DC
motor's speed can be controlled over a wide range, using either a variable
supply voltage or by changing the strength of current in its field windings.
Small DC motors are used in tools, toys, and appliances. The universal
motor can operate on direct current but is a lightweight motor used for
portable power tools and appliances. Larger DC motors are used in
propulsion of electric vehicles, elevator and hoists, or in drives for steel
rolling mills. The advent of power electronics has made replacement of DC
motors with AC motors possible in many applications.

SYNCHRONOUS ELECTRIC MOTOR

A synchronous electric motor is an AC motor in which, at steady

state, the rotation of the
shaft is synchronized with
the frequency of the supply
current; the rotation period
is

exactly equal

integral
of AC cycles.

Synchronous

motors

contain

to

an

number
multiphase

AC electromagnets on the stator of the motor that create a magnetic

field which rotates in time with the oscillations of the line current.
Therotor with permanent magnets or electromagnets turns in step with the
stator field at the same rate and as a result, provides the second
synchronized rotating magnet field of any AC motor. A synchronous motor
is only considered doubly-fed if is supplied with independently excited
multiphase AC electromagnets on both the rotor and stator.
The synchronous motor and induction motor are the most widely used
types of AC motor. The difference between the two types is that the
synchronous motor rotates in exact synchronism with the line frequency.
The synchronous motor does not rely on current induction to produce the
rotor's magnetic field. By contrast, the induction motor requires "slip", the
rotor must rotate slightly slower than the AC current alternations, to induce
current in the rotor winding. Small synchronous motors are used in timing
applications such as in synchronous clocks, timers in appliances, tape
recorders and precision servomechanisms in which the motor must operate
at a precise speed; speed accuracy is that of the power line frequency,
which is carefully controlled in large interconnected grid systems.

INDUCTION OR ASYNCHRONOUS MOTOR

An induction or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which
theelectric

current in

the rotor needed

to

produce

is

torque

obtained
byelectromagnetic
induction from
the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction motor therefore does
not require mechanical commutation, separate-excitation or self-excitation
for all or part of the energy transferred from stator to rotor, as
in universal, DC and large synchronous motors. An induction motor's rotor
can be either wound type or squirrel-cage type.
Three-phase squirrel-cage induction motors are widely used in industrial
drives because they are rugged, reliable and economical. Single-phase
induction motors are used extensively for smaller loads, such as household
appliances like fans. Although traditionally used in fixed-speed service,
induction motors are increasingly being used with variable-frequency
drives (VFDs) in variable-speed service. VFDs offer especially important
energy savings opportunities for existing and prospective induction motors
in variable-torque centrifugal fan, pump and compressor load applications.
Squirrel cage induction motors are very widely used in both fixed-speed
andvariable-frequency drive (VFD) applications. Variable voltage and
variable frequency drives are also used in variable-speed service.

CONSTRUCTION
Rotor
In an electric motor the moving part is the rotor
which turns the shaft to deliver the mechanical
power. The rotor usually has conductors laid
into it which carry currents that interact with the
magnetic field of the stator to generate the
forces that turn the shaft. However, some rotors
carry permanent magnets, and the stator holds
the conductors.
Stator
The stator is the stationary part of the motors electromagnetic circuit and
usually consists of either windings or permanent magnets. The stator core
is made up of many thin metal sheets, called laminations. Laminations are
used to reduce energy losses that would result if a solid core were used.

Air gap
The distance between
the rotor and stator is
the air gap. The air gap
has important effects,
and is generally as small

as possible, as a large

gap has a strong negative

effect

on

the

performance of an electric motor.It is the main source of the low power

factor at which motors operate. Air gap increases magnetizing current. For
this purpose air gap should be small. Very small gaps may pose
mechanical problems in addition to noise and losses.

Windings
Windings are wires that are laid in coils,
usually wrapped around a laminated soft
iron magnetic core so as to form magnetic
poles when energized with current.
Electric machines come in two basic magnet
field pole configurations: salient-pole machine
and nonsalient-pole machine. In the salient-pole machine the pole's
magnetic field is produced by a winding wound around the pole below the
pole face. In the nonsalient-pole, or distributed field, or round-rotor,

machine, the winding is distributed in pole face slots. A shaded-pole

motor has a winding around part of the pole that delays the phase of the
magnetic field for that pole.
Some motors have conductors which consist of thicker metal, such as bars
or sheets of metal, usually copper, although sometimes aluminum is used.
These are usually powered by electromagnetic induction.

Commutator

A commutator is a mechanism used

to switch the

input

of

most

DC

machines and certain AC machines

consisting

of

slip

ring

segments

insulated from each other and from

the electric motor's shaft. The motor's
armature current is supplied through
the stationary brushes in contact with
the

revolving

commutator,

which

causes required current reversal and applies power to the machine in an

optimal manner as the rotorrotates from pole to pole.In absence of such
current reversal, the motor would brake to a stop. In light of significant
advances in the past few decades due to improved technologies in
electronic controller, sensorless control, induction motor, and permanent
magnet

motor

increasingly

fields,

being

electromechanically

displaced

and permanent-magnet motors.

by

commutated

externally

motors

commutated

are

induction