ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

California Polytechnic State University

EE 365 DC Motor Characteristics Experiment #8

OBJECTIVES

a) To determine experimentally the speed-torque curve of a DC shunt motor.

b) To determine experimentally the range of the field current required for constant speed
operation from no load to full load.

c) To measure the rotational losses of the motor at rated speed.

d) To measure the efficiency of the motor at rated load.

EQUIPMENT (To be checked out from the Senior Project Lab)

1) Banana-Spade Leads (About 8) and Banana-Banana (8)

2) Fluke Multimeter (2)

CAUTION: Connect the motor and auto starter chassises to ground (green terminal on
the side of the bench).

BACKGROUND

The speed-torque characteristic of a shunt motor operating at constant terminal voltage is almost
a straight line given by:
V Ra
ω= t − T
Kφ ( Kφ ) 2
where,

ω = angular velocity, rad/sec

Vt = terminal voltage (V)

φ = flux per magnet pole (Wb)

Ra = armature winding resistance (ohm)

T = Torque (Nm),
and,

K is a constant.

Increasing the load decreases the speed linearly. If the field current is varied within an
appropriate range, constant speed can be maintained from no load to rated load.

The Rotational Losses of a DC machine includes all speed-dependent losses, such as bearings
and brushes friction losses, windage losses, and eddy-current and hysteresis losses in the
armature core. These losses are independent of the load (ignoring the armature reaction effect).
The other losses are due to the resistance of the windings. Some depend on the load (copper
losses in the armature and series field windings), others on the applied voltage (copper losses in
the shunt field winding).

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EE 365 DC Motors Characteristics Experiment #8

The efficiency can be calculated from

η = Pout/Pin
noting that

Pout = Pin - total losses or,

Pin = Pout + total losses.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST EQUIPMENT

A dynamometer is a device to load and indicate the torque on the motor. The dynamometer used
in your workstation works on the hysteresis brake principle. The dynamometer system consists
of three parts:

1) Dynamometer (Magtrol 705-6)

2) Torque-Speed readout (Magtrol 4618)
3) Power Supply (Magtrol 4636)

The rotor of the dynamometer is a permanent magnet cup inside the coil assembly of the "stator"
which is free to move. The current in the coil is controlled by the power supply. Because of the
phase lag between the rotor field (Permanent Magnet) and the stator assembly, a drag torque is
produced which is proportional to the applied current. This torque is measured by the swing of
the stator assembly. In the digital models, the torque and speed are read directly on the readout
unit.

NOTE: The "no load" position on the dynamometer is when the power supply knob is
completely CCW. To load the motor (increase stiffness or drag between the rotor and stator
assembly) the current in the coil is increased by turning the potentiometer knob on the power
supply in the CW direction.

The torque readings are in lb-in. The power in Watts can be calculated from the expression:

P(W) = 1.184 x 10-2 x n(rev/min) x T(lb-in)

The terminal board on the motor provides the following connections (Figure 8-1):

1) Armature (A1, A2)

2) Shunt Field (F1, F2)
3) Series Field (F'1, F'2)
4) Shunt Field Rheostat.

The last two rows are the terminals of a DPDT switch.

The electrical resistances of the major components of the 0.3 KW motor, at room temperature,
are: ARMATURE: 3.4 Ω , SHUNT FIELD: 200 Ω, SERIES FIELD: 3.12 Ω.

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EE 365 DC Motors Characteristics Experiment #8

The electrical resistance of the major components of the 1/3 hp motor, at room temperature, are:
ARMATURE: 4.86 Ω, SHUNT FIELD: 300 Ω, SERIES FIELD: 9.8 Ω.

Two types of motor starters are available; manual and automatic. They are functionally
equivalent. They limit the starting current and provide over-speed protection in case of
insufficient field excitation. (Figures 8-2 and 8-3).

Note that for proper operation of the manual starter, the polarity of Figure 8-3 must be followed.

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EE 365 DC Motors Characteristics Experiment #8

PROCEDURE

Figure 8-1
DC Motor Connections

Figure 8-2
Automatic Starter Connections Diagram

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EE 365 DC Motors Characteristics Experiment #8

Figure 8-3
Manual Starter Connections

a) Torque-Speed Data

Couple the dynamometer to the motor. Make sure that the power supply of the
dynamometer is in zero position (fully CCW). Start the motor and adjust its speed to the
no-load value. Turn on the readout unit and the power supply. With constant field
excitation, load the motor in six steps until the motor current reaches rated value. For
each step measure and record: Speed, torque, armature voltage and current, field voltage
and current. Reduce the load to zero.

b) Constant Speed Operation

Start with the no-load speed (1800 rpm) at no load and gradually increase the load on the
motor. Adjust the field current to maintain rated speed until the motor draws rated
current. Record as in (a). For each step calculate Pin , Prot . , Pcu a , Pcu f , PLoss , Pout1 , Pout 2 , η1
and η 2 .

REPORT

1. Calculate the rotational losses from the data of Part a.

2. Plot the speed vs. torque curve from the data in Part a. Plot field current versus torque
from the data in Part b. Plot η1 and η 2 vs. Pout from data in part b.

n NL − n FL
3. Calculate the speed regulation SR = × 100 from data in Part a. Calculate the
n FL
percentage reduction in the field current required to maintain constant speed from no
load to full load from data in Part b.

4. Calculate the efficiency of the motor at rated load using the following methods
.
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EE 365 DC Motors Characteristics Experiment #8

Pout 1 Dynamometer output

a. Efficiency1 = =
Pin Pin

Pout 2 Pin − losses

b. Efficiency 2 = =
Pin Pin
where

Pout 1 = 1.184 ×10 −2 n ( rpm ) T( lb - in )

Pout 2 = Pin − Losses
Losses = I a2 R a + Vt I f + rotational losses
Pin = Vt ( I a + I f )
Vt = Terminal DC voltage (nominally 125 VDC )

Comment on the starting procedure, the results of your tests and calculation and the possible
practical application of this series of tests.

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