Brushed DC Motor

Permanent magnet
In a DC motor, an armature rotates inside a magnetic field. Basic working principle
of DC motor is based on the fact that whenever a current carrying conductor is
placed inside a magnetic field, there will be mechanical force experienced by that
conductor. All kinds of DC motors work in this principle only. Hence for constructing
a DC motor it is essential to establish a magnetic field. The magnetic field is
obviously established by means of magnet. The magnet can by any types i.e. it may
be electromagnet or it can be permanent magnet. When permanent magnet is used
to create magnetic field in a DC motor, the motor is referred as permanent
magnet dc motor or PMDC motor. Have you ever uncovered any battery
operated toy, if you did, you had obviously found a battery operated motor inside it.
This battery operated motor is nothing but a permanent magnet dc motor or
PMDC motor. These types of motor are essentially simple in construction. These
motors are commonly used as starter motor in automobiles, windshield wipers,
washer, for blowers used in heaters and air conditioners, to raise and lower
windows, it also extensively used in toys. As the magnetic field strength of a
permanent magnet is fixed it cannot be controlled externally, field control of this
type of dc motor cannot be possible. Thus permanent magnet DC motor is used
where there is no need of speed control of motor by means of controlling its field.
Small fractional and sub fractional kW motors now constructed with permanent
magnet.
Construction of Permanent Magnet DC Motor or PMDC Motor

As it is indicated in name of
permanent magnet DC motor, the field poles of this motor are essentially made of
permanent magnet. A PMDC motor mainly consists of two parts. A stator and an
armature. Here the stator which is a steel cylinder. The magnets are mounted in the
inner periphery of this cylinder. The permanent magnets are mounted in such a way
that the N pole and S pole of each magnet are alternatively faced towards
armature as shown in the figure below. That means, if N pole of one magnet is
faced towards armature then S pole of very next magnet is faced towards
armature. In addition to holding the magnet on its inner periphery, the steel
cylindrical stator also serves as low reluctance return path for the magnetic flux.
Although field coil is not required in permanent magnet DC motor but still it is
sometimes found that they are used along with permanent magnet. This is because
if permanent magnets lose their strength, these lost magnetic strengths can be
compensated by field excitation through these field coils. Generally, rare earth hard
magnetic materials are used for these permanent magnet.
Rotor : The rotor of pmdc motor is similar to other DC motor. The rotor or armature
of permanent magnet DC motor also consists of core, windings and commutator.
Armature core is made of number of varnish insulated, slotted circular lamination of
steel sheets. By fixing these circular steel sheets one by one, a cylindrical shaped
slotted armature core is formed. The varnish insulated laminated steel sheets are
used to reduce eddy current loss in armature of permanent magnet dc motor. These
slots on the outer periphery of the armature core are used for housing armature
conductors in them. The armature conductors are connected in a suitable manner
which gives rise to armature winding. The end terminals of the winding are
connected to the commutator segments placed on the motor shaft. Like other DC

motor, carbon or graphite brushes are placed with spring pressure on the
commutator segments to supply current to the armature.
Working Principle of Permanent Magnet DC Motor or PMDC Motor
As we said earlier the working principle of PMDC motor is just similar to the general
working principle of DC motor. That is when a carrying conductor comes inside a
magnetic field, a mechanical force will be experienced by the conductor and the
direction of this force is governed by Flemings left hand rule. As in a permanent
magnet DC motor, the armature is placed inside the magnetic field of permanent
magnet; the armature rotates in the direction of the generated force. Here each
conductor of the armature experiences the mechanical force F = B.I.L Newton
where, B is the magnetic field strength in Tesla (weber / m2), I is the current in
Ampere flowing through that conductor and L is length of the conductor in metre
comes under the magnetic field. Each conductor of the armature experiences a
force and the compilation of those forces produces a torque, which tends to rotate
the armature.
Equivalent Circuit of Permanent Magnet DC Motor or PMDC Motor

As in PMDC motor the field is produced by permanent

magnet, there is no need of drawing field coils in the equivalent circuit of
permanent magnet DC motor.
The supply voltage to the armature will have armature resistance drop and rest of
the supply voltage is countered by back emf of the motor. Hence voltage equation
of the motor is given by,
Where, I is armature current and R is
armature resistance of the motor. Eb is the back emf and V is the supply voltage.
Advantages of Permanent Magnet DC Motor or PMDC Motor
PMDC motor have some advantages over other types of DC motors. They are :
1. No need of field excitation arrangement.
2. No input power in consumed for excitation which improve efficiency of
DC motor.
3. No field coil hence space for field coil is saved which reduces the
overall size of the motor.

4. Cheaper and economical for fractional kW rated applications.

Disadvantages of Permanent Magnet DC Motor or PMDC Motor
1. In this case, the armature reaction of DC motor cannot be
compensated hence the magnetic strength of the field may get
weak due to demagnetizing effect armature reaction.
2. There is also a chance of getting the poles permanently
demagnetized (partial) due to excessive armature current during
starting, reversal and overloading condition of the motor.
3. Another major disadvantage of PMDC motor is that, the field in
the air gap is fixed and limited and it cannot be controlled
externally. Therefore, very efficient speed control of DC motor in
this type of motor is difficult.
Applications of Permanent Magnet DC Motor or PMDC Motor
PMDC motor is extensively used where small DC motors are required and also very
effective control is not required, such as in automobiles starter, toys, wipers,
washers, hot blowers, air conditioners, computer disc drives and in many more.
Shunt wound

The shunt wound DC motor falls under the category of self excited DC motors,
where the field windings are shunted to, or are connected in parallel to the
armature winding of the motor, as its name is suggestive of. And for this reason
both the armature winding and the field winding are exposed to the same supply
voltage, though there are separate branches for the flow of armature current and

the field current as shown in the figure of dc shunt motor below.

Voltage and Current Equation of a Shunt Wound DC Motor

Let us now consider the voltage and current being supplied from the electrical
terminal to the motor be given by E and Itotal respectively.
This supply current in case of the shunt wound DC motor is split up into 2 parts.
Ia, flowing through the armature winding of resistance Ra and Ish flowing through the
field winding of resistance Rsh. The voltage across both windings remains the same.

From there we can write Itotal = Ia + Ish

Thus we put this
value of armature current Ia to get general voltage equation of a dc shunt motor.

Now in general practice, when the motor is in

its running condition, and supply voltage is constant the shunt field current given
by,
But we know Ish i.e. field flux is
proportional to filed current Ish Thus the field flux remains more or less constant and
for this reason a shunt wound DC motor is called a constant flux motor.
Construction of a Shunt Wound DC Motor
The construction of a dc shunt motor is pretty similar to other types of DC motor, as
shown in the figure below.

Just that
there is one distinguishable feature in its designing which can be explained by
taking into consideration, the torque generated by the motor. To produce a high
torque, i) The armature winding must be exposed to an amount of current thats
much higher than the field windings current, as the torque is proportional to the
armature current. ii) The field winding must be wound with many turns to increase
the flux linkage, as flux linkage between the field and armature winding is also
proportional to the torque. Keeping these two above mentioned criterion in mind a
dc shunt motor has been designed in a way, that the field winding possess much
higher number of turns to increase net flux linkage and are lesser in diameter of
conductor to increase resistance(reduce current flow) compared to the armature
winding of the DC motor. And this is how a shunt wound DC motor is visibly
distinguishable in static condition from the dc series motor (having thicker field
coils) of the self excited type motors category.
Self-Speed Regulation of a Shunt Wound DC Motor
A very important and interesting fact about the dc shunt motor, is in its ability to
self regulate its speed on application of load to the shaft of the rotor terminals. This
essentially means that on switching the motor running condition from no load to
loaded, surprisingly there is no considerable change in speed of running, as would
be expected in the absence of any speed regulating modifications from outside. Let
us see how?
Let us do a step-wise analysis to understand it better.
1. Initially considering the motor to be running under no load or lightly loaded
condition at a speed of N rpm.

2. On adding a load to the shaft, the motor does slow down initially, but this is
where the concept of self regulation comes into the picture.
3. At the very onset of load introduction to a shunt wound DC motor, the speed
definitely reduces, and along with speed also reduces the back emf, Eb.
Since Eb N, given by,
below.

This can be graphically explained

4. This reduction in the counter emf or the back emf E b results in the increase of
the net voltage. As net voltage Enet = E Eb. Since supply voltage E remains
constant.
5. As a result of this increased amount of net voltage, the armature current
increases and consequently the torque increases. Since, I a given by
The change in armature current and torque on supplying load
is graphically shown below.

6. This increase in the amount of torque increases the speed and thus
compensating for the speed loss on loading. Thus the final speed
characteristic of a dc shunt motor, looks like.

From there we can well understand this special ability of the shunt wound DC motor
to regulate its speed by itself on loading and thus its rightly called the constant flux
or constant speed motor. Because of which it finds wide spread industrial
application where ever constant speed operation is required.

Brushless DC motor
Brushless DC motor may be described as electronically commuted motor which do not
have brushes. These types of motors are highly efficient in producing large amount of
torque over a vast speed range. In brushless motors, permanent magnets rotate
around a fixed armature and overcome the problem of connecting current to the
armature. Commutation with electronics has large scope of capabilities and flexibility.
They known for smooth operation, and holding torque when stationary.

Working Principle of Motor

Before explaining working of brushless dc motor, it is better to understand function of
brushed motor. In brushes motors, there are permanent magnets on the outside and a
spinning armature which contains electromagnet is inside. These electromagnets create
a magnetic field in the armature when power is switched on and help to rotates
armature. The brushes change the polarity of the pole to keep the rotation on of the
armature. The basic principles for the brushed DC motor and for brushless DC motor
are same i.e., internal shaft position feedback. Brushless DC motor has only two basic
parts: rotor and the stator. The rotor is the rotating part and has rotor magnets

whereas stator is the stationary part and contains stator windings. In BLDC permanent
magnets are attached in the rotor and move the electromagnets to the stator. The high
power transistors are used to activate electromagnets for the shaft turns. The controller
performs power distribution by using a solid-state circuit.

Types of Brushless DC Motors

Basically, BLDC are of two types, one is outer rotor motor and other is inner rotor
motor. The basic difference between the two are only in designing, their working
principles are same.

Inner Rotor Design

In an inner rotor design, the rotor is located in the center of the motor and the stator
winding surround the rotor. As rotor is located in the core, rotor magnets does not
insulate heat inside and heat get dissipated easily. Due to this reason, inner rotor
designed motor produces a large amount of torque and validly used.

Outer Rotor Design

In outer rotor design, the rotor surrounds the winding which is located in the core of
the motor. The magnets in the rotor traps the heat of the motor inside and does not
allow to dissipate from the motor. Such type of designed motor operates at lower rated

current and has low clogging torque.

Advantages of Brushless DC Motor

1.

Brushless motors are more efficient as its velocity is determined by the

frequency at which current is supplied, not the voltage.
2.
As brushes are absent, the mechanical energy loss due to friction is less which
enhanced efficiency.
3.
BLDC motor can operate at high-speed under any condition.
4.
There is no sparking and much less noise during operation.
5.
More electromagnets could be used on the stator for more precise control.
6.
BLDC motors accelerate and decelerate easily as they are having low rotor
inertia.
7.
It is high performance motor that provides large torque per cubic inch over a
vast sped rang.
8.
BLDC motors do not have brushes which make it more reliable, high life
expectancies, and maintenance free operation.
9.
There is no ionizing sparks from the commutator, and electromagnetic
interference is also get reduced.
10.
Such motors cooled by conduction and no air flow are required for inside cooling.

Disadvantages of Brushless DC Motors

1.
2.

BLDC motor cost more than brushless DC motor.

The limited high power could be supplied to BLDC motor, otherwise too much
heat weakens the magnets and insulation of winding may get damaged.