Equalizer Connections And Taking Winding Data

Understanding The Relationship Between Electrical, Mechanical Elements

relies on a marriage of electrical Stator

Bore
and mechanical elements. When
either of these electro-mechani-
cal elements changes, it may
create a magnetic unbalance.
By looking at the magnetic Rotor
Outside
forces within a new motor we Diameter

can see a relationship between

Dissymmetry
the electrical and mechanical In Air Gap
partnership built on symmetry:
The mechanical alignment of
the rotor within the stator bore
is concentric and has accept-
able symmetry in every aspect
By Kent Henry with the stator bore (see Air Gap

EASA Technical Support Specialist Figure 1).

When taking winding data, equal-
izer connections can be mistaken for
wye points. You may wonder what
purpose equalizer connections serve
and whether they can just be elimi-
nated to simplify the repair process.
Before discussing equalizers, we will
explore the factors that lead to a need
for equalizers.
A magnetic unbalance within a
motor or generator can be a very seri-
ous problem. The magnetic balance
Stator
Bore
Rotor
Outside
Diameter
Rotor
Concentric To
Stator Bore
Air Gap
Figure 1. Example of acceptable symmetry
between rotor and stator.
Figure 2. Example of lack of symmetry
The electrical alignment of between rotor and stator.
the stator windings and poles
within the stator is sym-
we put the low-speed winding of
metrical in every aspect with the a 2-speed motor on the top layer;
stator bore as well as the rotor.
to reduce current, and to increase
When we energize the stator wind- torque.
ings, the rotor experiences a sym-
Mechanical Degradation
metrical magnetic flux induced
The manufacturing tolerances
through the air gap and there is
result in small imperfections that,
acceptable magnetic balance.
in some cases, lead to an eccentric
While lap windings are symmetri-
air gap. These small imperfections
cal, some concentric designs are
of symmetry cause a difference in
not. We are therefore more
the magnetic flux of paralleled paths
likely to see equalized con-
within the winding.
nections used on concentric
The unequal air gap illustrated in
windings to counter circulat-
Figure 2 leads to magnetic and elec-
ing currents. The machine-
trical dissymmetry. The motor may
wound concentric windings
experience noise, vibration, heating,
can have different slot leakage
elevated current draw and an increase
reactance in each layer as they
in losses.
lay in by phases, so the top
layer (phase) could have quite Countering Circulating Currents
a different reactance from the To counteract circulating currents
bottom layer (phase). Leak- that result from air gap dissymmetry,
age reactance is the inductive equalizers may be utilized. The easiest
resistance to current flow way to visualize the equalized connec-
within the slot. The effect of tion is to consider one phase at a time.
leakage reactance is to in- The equalizers in a 3-phase motor
crease current as the winding need to connect the parallel paths at
becomes further from the top
of the slot. This is the reason Continued On Page 4

EASA CURRENTS September 2008 3

 Equalizer Connections And Taking Winding Data
Understanding The Relationship Between Electrical, Mechanical Elements
Continued From Page 3
points of equal potential (see Figure
3). Circulating currents are only pos-
sible when a winding has two or more
circuits. They are equally likely to
occur in adjacent pole (1-4 jumpers)
or skip pole (1-7 jumpers) connec-
tions. The equalizer jumper carries the
equalizing current required to balance
the paralleled paths and should be at
least 1/3 of the circular mils of the
wire area of the coils.
Maximum Correction
Technicians should duplicate
the equalized connection found in a
winding. That is, do not reduce the
number of equalizers or eliminate
equalizing.
Note: In most modern designs, the
exact midpoint is equalized; more than
one equalizer is used only when the
exact midpoint is inaccessible, in which
case you might see two equalizers at 1/3
and 2/3 through the paths; for example,
if there was an odd number of groups in
each path (see Figure 4).
The greater the number of poles,
the smaller the air gap becomes. It
Figure 3. One phase of a parallel connection
employing a modern solitary
equalizer design.
Figure 4. Use of equalizers in odd number groups per path. tion is known
4 EASA CURRENTS
requires more current to drive flux
through air than through iron, so
designers reduce the physical air gap
size to compensate. Practical consid-
erations limit how small they can go,
but a 0.040 (1 mm) air gap is a typi-
cal lower limit. The air gap should be
equal, within 10% of the average; for
this example, that tolerance is 0.004
(0.1 mm).
The greater number of poles
increases the potential for air gap
dissymmetry. Windings with a large
number of poles are more likely to
use equalizers. In form coil wind-
ings with a large number of poles,
we often find that the equalizers are
connected via a ring-connection.
The resulting connections can
confuse the technician during data
acquisition, as they resemble indi-
vidual wye points. When we examine
the 6-pole, 6-circuit wye connection
(see Figure 5 top), we find 3 wye
rings each connects 6 group ends to
form a ring wye. A 6-pole, 3-circuit
delta diagram (Figure 5 bottom) can
confuse the technician. In
this diagram we have 3
ring jumpers, each equal-
izing 6 poles. The points
at which coil groups
connect to the ring con-
nection for equalization
could be mistaken for
wye points.
It is important to in-
spect the number of coil
ends connected
to the input leads
to identify the
correct num-
ber of parallel
circuits. If there
appear to be too
many wyes, or
if the connec-
www.easa.com
One thing about cir-
culating currents is
that they may appear
to happen at random.
The customer may have
several identical motors
and just one motor that
experiences problems.
to be delta and what appears to be
wyes are found, check for equalizers.
A good practice methodology is to
make a connection diagram. Tip for
determining whether wye or delta:
If the group ends coming to a lead
are from the same phase, you have a
wye connection. Conversely, if the
group ends coming to a lead are from
different phases, you have a delta
connection.
Long Jumpers And Circulating
Currents
We often get calls from members
who are experiencing noise, vibra-
tion, and higher than expected current
draw. These problems are often found
to be due to an unbalanced magnetic
circuit; circulating currents are one
result of that unbalance.
The circulating currents are caused
by a disparity within the air gap
between the rotor and stator. Ideally,
the air gap would be corrected to
eliminate magnetic unbalance. Often
that is not practical, particularly in
motors without provisions to measure
the air gap. The alternative is to use
equalized connections or extra-long
jumpers.
One thing about circulating
currents is that they may appear to
happen at random. The customer may
have several identical motors and just
one motor that experiences problems.
Continued On Page 5
 Equalizer Connections And Taking Winding Data
Understanding The Relationship Between Electrical, Mechanical Elements
Continued From Page 4
2
3 1
6 Pole
6 Wye
3 2 1
6 Pole
3 Delta
Equalized
Figure 5. Comparison of the 6-
wye (top) and equalized
3-delta (bottom) connec-
tions in a 6-pole machine.
A no-load run test is noisy, the motor
vibrates, and may draw higher than
normal current.
The problems can intensify as you
increase the voltage to full nameplate
voltage. When a load is applied to a
motor, the circulating currents may
be reduced as the load increases and
it masks the effect of the circulating
currents.
The reason for this comes back
to the air gap variation, and varia-
tion in manufacturing tolerances. If
the air gap was perfectly uniform, no
Stator Bore
Rotor
Outside
Diameter
Dissymmetry
In Air Gap
Air Gap
Figure 6. A 3 wye-delta 6 pole
connection with 1-10
jumpers.
circulating currents would occur. If a
motor exhibits symptoms of circulat-
ing currents, look for these potential
causes:
A bearing housing machined off-
center
A bent shaft
An eccentric rotor
A warped stator or frame
Abnormally loose fit between mat-
ing parts, such as the end bracket
and stator frame.
Any of these conditions could
cause an eccentric air gap.
Be Proactive
The worst-case scenario for circu-
lating currents due to air gap dissym-
metry is when a winding has half as
many circuits as poles. To neutralize
these circulating currents we can use
the coil jumpers so that they con-
nect two pole groups 180 mechanical
degrees apart.
For example, a 3-circuit on a 6-pole
machine would use a 1 to 10 jumper
(see Figure 6).
EASA CURRENTS September 2008
Table 1
# Poles # Circuits Jumper
6 3 10
8 4 13
10 5 16
12 6 19
14 7 22
16 8 25
Similarly, a 4-circuit connection
on an 8-pole machine would use a 1 to
13 jumper for coil connections. These
jumpers will connect groups 180 me-
chanical degrees apart and neutralize
the circulating currents.
Key Considerations
To ensure the correct connection,
we must diligently examine the exist-
ing circuitry while taking data. Be sure
to compare the jumpers on the leads
to the suspected wye points in order
to determine the proper connection.
To avoid problems, the best practice
is to use equalizers in our connec-
tions if the winding originally utilized
them. If the number of circuits is half
the number of poles, we need to be
proactive and use extra-long jumpers.
If we encounter or suspect circulating
current symptoms, inspect the me-
chanical conditions that can influence
air gap symmetry. The special long
jumpers connect groups that are 180
mechanical degrees apart, as shown for
the Pole-Circuit combinations shown
in Table 1.
Editors Note: A PDF of this article is
available in the Members Only sec-
tion of www.easa.com. It can be found
in the Design/Theory/Application
section under Technical Articles.
5