Introduction to Rotating Machines

This chapter presents a brief and elementary description of three basic types of rotating machines: synchronous, induction, and dc machines. In all of them the basic principles are essentially the same. Voltages are generated by the relative motion of a magnetic field with respect to a winding, and torques are produced by the interaction of the magnetic fields of the stator and rotor windings. The characteristics of the various machine types are determined by the methods of connection and excitation of the windings, but the basic principles are essentially similar.
The basic analytical tools for studying rotating machines are expressions for the generated voltages and for the electromechanical torque. Taken together, they express the coupling between the electric and mechanical systems. To develop a reasonably quantitative theory without the confusion arising from too much detail, we have made several simplifying approximations. In the study of ac machines we have assumed sinusoidal time variations of voltages and currents and sinusoidal space waves of air-gap flux density and mmf. On examination of the mmf produced by distributed ac windings we found that the space-fundamental component is the most important. On the other hand, in dc machines the armature-winding mmf is more nearly a sawtooth wave. For our preliminary study in this chapter, however, we have assumed sinusoidal mmf distributions for both ac and dc machines. We examine this assumption more thoroughly for dc machines in Chapter 7. Faraday's law results in Eq. 4.50 for the rms voltage generated in an ac machine winding or Eq. 4.53 for the average voltage generated between brushes in a dc machine.
On examination of the mmf wave of a three-phase winding, we found that balanced three-phase currents produce a constant-amplitude air-gap magnetic field rotating at synchronous speed, as shown in Fig. 4.31 and Eq. 4.39. The importance of this fact cannot be overstated, for it means that it is possible to operate such machines, either as motors or generators, under conditions of constant torque (and hence constant electrical power as is discussed in Appendix A), eliminating the double-frequency, time-varying torque inherently associated with single-phase machines. For example, imagine a multimegawatt single-phase 60-Hz generator subjected to multimegawatt instantaneous power pulsation at 120 Hz! The discovery of rotating fields led to the invention of the simple, rugged, reliable, self-starting polyphase induction motor, which is analyzed in Chapter 6. (A single-phase induction motor will not start; it needs an auxiliary starting winding, as shown in Chapter 9.)
In single-phase machines, or in polyphase machines operating under unbalanced conditions, the backward-rotating component of the armature mmf wave induces currents and losses in the rotor structure. Thus, the operation of polyphase machines under balanced conditions not only eliminates the second-harmonic component of generated torque, it also eliminates a significant source of rotor loss and rotor heating.
It was the invention of polyphase machines operating under balanced conditions that made possible the design and construction of large synchronous generators with ratings as large as 1000 MW.
Having assumed sinusoidally-distributed magnetic fields in the air gap, we then derived expressions for the magnetic torque. The simple physical picture for torque production is that of two magnets, one on the stator and one on the rotor, as shown schematically in Fig. 4.35a. The torque acts in the direction to align the magnets.
To get a reasonably close quantitative analysis without being hindered by details, we assumed a smooth air gap and neglected the reluctance of the magnetic paths in the iron parts, with a mental note that this assumption may not be valid in all situations and a more detailed model may be required.
In Section 4.7 we derived expressions for the magnetic torque from two viewpoints, both based on the fundamental principles of Chapter 3. The first viewpoint regards the machine as a set of magnetically-coupled circuits with inductances which depend on the angular position of the rotor, as in Section 4.7.1. The second regards the machine from the viewpoint of the magnetic fields in the air gap, as in Section 4.7.2.
It is shown that the torque can be expressed as the product of the stator field, the rotor field, and the sine of the angle between their magnetic axes, as in Eq. 4.73 or any of the forms derived from Eq. 4.73. The two viewpoints are complementary, and ability to reason in terms of both is helpful in reaching an understanding of how machines work.
This chapter has been concerned with basic principles underlying rotatingmachine theory. By itself it is obviously incomplete. Many questions remain unanswered.
How do we apply these principles to the determination of the characteristics of synchronous, induction, and dc machines? What are some of the practical problems that arise from the use of iron, copper, and insulation in physical machines? What are some of the economic and engineering considerations affecting rotating-machine applications? What are the physical factors limiting the conditions under which a machine can operate successfully? Appendix D discusses some of these problems.
Taken together, Chapter 4 along with Appendix D serve as an introduction to the more detailed treatments of rotating machines in the following chapters.





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