DC Machines

This chapter has discussed the significant operating characteristics of dc machines. In general, the outstanding advantage of dc machines lies in their flexibility and versatility. Before the widespread availability of ac motor drives, dc machines were essentially the only choice available for many applications which required a high degree of control. Their principal disadvantages stem from the complexity associated with the armature winding and the commutator/brush system. Not only does this additional complexity increase the cost over competing ac machines, it also increases the need for maintenance and reduces the potential reliability of these machines. Yet the advantages of dc motors remain, and they continue to retain a strong competitive position in both large sizes for industrial applications and in smaller sizes for a wide variety of applications.

Dc generators are a simple solution to the problem of converting mechanical energy to electric energy in dc form, although ac generators feeding rectifier systems are certainly an option which must be considered  Among dc generators themselves, separately-excited and cumulatively-compounded, self-excited machines are the most common. Separately-excited generators have the advantage of permitting a wide range of output voltages, whereas self-excited machines may produce unstable voltages at lower output voltages where the field-resistance line becomes essentially tangent to the magnetization curve. Cumulatively-compounded generators may produce a substantially flat voltage characteristic or one which rises with load, whereas shuntor separately-excited generators may produce a drooping voltage characteristic unless external regulating means (such as a series field winding) are added.
Among dc motors, the outstanding characteristics of each type are as follows. The series motor operates with a decidedly drooping speed as load is added, the no-load speed usually being prohibitively high; the torque is proportional to almost the square of the current at low flux levels and to some power between 1 and 2 as saturation increases. The shunt motor at constant field current operates at a slightly drooping but almost constant speed as load is added, the torque being almost proportional to armature current; equally important, however, is the fact that its speed can be controlled over wide ranges by shunt-field control, armature-voltage control, or a combination of both. Depending on the relative strengths of the shunt and series field, the cumulatively-compounded motor is intermediate between the other two and may be given essentially the advantages of one or the other.
In a wide variety of low-power applications in systems which are run from a dc source (automotive applications, portable electronics, etc.), dc machines are the most cost-effective choice. These dc machines are constructed in a wide-range of configurations, and many of them are based upon permanent-magnet excitation. In spite of the wide variety of dc machines which can be found in these various applications, their performance can readily be determined using the models and techniques presented in this chapter.




1 Magnetic Circuits and Magnetic Materials
2 Transformers
3 Electromechanical Energy Conversion Principles
4 Introduction to Rotating Machines
5 Synchronous Machines
6 Polyphase Induction Machines
7 DC Machines
8 Variable-Reluctance Machines and Stepping Motors
9 Single- and Two-Phase Motors
10 Introduction to Power Electronics
11 Speed and Torque Control
Appendix A Three phase circuits
Appendix B Voltages, Magnetic Fields, and Inductances of Distributed AC Windings
Appendix C The dq0 Transformation
Appendix D Engineering Aspects of Practical Electric Machine Performance and Operation
Appendix E Table of Constants and Conversion