EE/CME 392 Laboratory

7-1

Induction Motors Part I (V3)

Safety
1. The voltages used in this experiment are lethal. Assemble or modify a circuit only with
the breakers off. Do not apply power to a circuit until an instructor has checked the
wiring. Do not touch any node or component of a live circuit. Be careful when moving
near a circuit so that a wire is not accidentally snagged.
2. The machines used in this experiment are physically dangerous. Guards must be in place
over any rotating components before applying power. Do not wear loose clothing or
neckties, and keep long hair away from the machines
3. If an emergency occurs, the power for the entire laboratory can be disabled using the red
button on the power distribution panel.
4. Before starting the induction motor, make sure that the autotransformer and the starter
box are cranked to position 0.
5. In the experiment, currents in various parts of the circuit may be very large; therefore, use
high current capacity leads.
6. Use ammeters and wattmeters with proper current ratings.
7. Ground all machines and the starter box by connecting them to the panel ground
Objective: To study a 3-phase induction motor, by using its experimentally developed
equivalent circuit diagram and by obtaining its basic characteristics: torque/slip, current/slip and
efficiency /slip characteristics.
Equipment: Induction machines on table numbers (1 and 6) have to be connected as a Y on the
stator side whereas the machines on table numbers (3 and 4) have to be connected as a ..
Introduction - Equivalent Circuit Diagram and Losses
The induction motor working in the steady state (
by a single-phase equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 1.
X1

R1

I1 a

and s

X2

I2

) can be represented

R2

I3

V1

Rc

Xm

R2 (1-s)/s

E2

Stator

Rotor

Fig. 1 Per-phase equivalent circuit of a 3-phase induction motor

Revised Mar. 13, 2012

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As can be seen the power balance of the motor shown in Fig. 2 can be derived directly from this
equivalent circuit. Hence, the efficiency of the motor can be written as:

where,
is the power on the shaft,
respectively,
is the core loss, and

and
are copper losses in the stator and rotor
is the mechanical (friction) loss.
Pm

Pgap

Po

Pin

!P cu1

Stator

!P c

!P cu2

! Pm

Rotor

Fig. 2 Power balance of induction motor

Since the only directly measurable electrical values of the induction motors are
,
evaluation of
must be done indirectly, basing on the fact that
is
proportional to
and that
is negligible when
. The latter fact occurs during
running light load (no-load) test. That test however, cannot be performed with a voltage less than
certain value
. Thus, to extract values of
at a required voltage (say,
) from
, a graphical construction, based on the function
, is needed as shown
in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 Connection for finding losses Pm and Pc

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7-3

Introduction - Characteristics of Induction Motor

Slip is an important parameter that characterizes a point of operation of the induction motor.
Hence, characteristics of the machine are usually given as functions of slip. The most interesting
of these characteristics are:
Torque/slip characteristics
;

Current/slip characteristics

Efficiency/slip characteristics

;
;

Only a limited part of the characteristics can be obtained experimentally because in load test the
slip varies within small interval for loads from no-load to reasonably high values (say 120% of
its rated capacity). Thus, the full characteristics can be obtained only from the equivalent circuit
shown in Fig. 1. The induced torque of an induction motor is given by:

For a constant

, knowing

one can determine the induced torque of the induction motor.

Referring to the equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 1, the per-phase air-gap power is the power
absorbed by the resistance
. Therefore the total (3-phase) air-gap power is given by:

Accordingly, if can be determined, then the air-gap power and the induced torque are known.
The easiest way to find is to determine the Thevenins equivalent of the portion of the circuit
to the left of terminals a-b. Using the Thevenins theorem, we get:

This leads to the following expressions for the rotor current and the induced torque:

where

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Based on the equivalent circuit, it can be shown that the torque for a constant (V/f) ratio with
is

Equation above shows the frequency dependence of torque-speed characteristics of an induction

motor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Procedure: For all the following tests, the induction motor is connected to the starter box as
shown in Fig. 4 (Leave the rotor side open-circuited for finding the turns ratio).
1. Effective Turns Ratio (Stator to Rotor) With the rotor side open-circuited, apply rated
voltage to the stator terminals. Measure the stator and rotor side voltages.
2. No-load Test

1. Decouple the induction motor and the DC machine.

2. Connect the rotor windings to the external rotor resistances.
3. Apply a variable three-phase voltage using an auto-transformer to the induction
motor stator terminals.
4. Record input power, line current, voltage and rotor speed (measure using a
tachometer) for a voltage range of about 30 % to 100% of the rated value. Take
about 3 to 4 readings in this range. As the voltage is reduced to about 30%, do not
allow the machine to stall.
Notes:
1. In the two wattmeter method, if one of the wattmeters shows a negative deflection,
switch-off and flip its current coil connection. That wattmeter reading is treated as
negative and subtracted from the positive wattmeter reading.
2. The induction motor starter box inserts additional resistance in the rotor circuit in
order to limit the rotor current at starting. The knob has to be at position 0 (i.e.
maximum resistance inserted in the rotor circuit) to start the machine. Once the
motor picks up speed the additional resistance in the rotor circuit can be brought
back to a zero value by moving the knob to position 10.
3. The voltage across rotor terminals is very close to zero at steady state during the noload test.

EE/CME 392 Laboratory

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W1

100 %

100 %

A1

Stator windings
A2

V
L1

3-phase
supply

L2

T1
L3

R3 R2 R1

T2

B2

B1

T3

100 %

Starter box

Auto -transformer

C2

C1

W2

R1
V
R2

R3

Rotor windings

Starter box

Fig. 4 Detailed connection of the induction motor

T1

T2

T3

100 %

W1
A

A1
V

100 %

0
B1

100 %

IM

Auto-transformer

W2

C1

Fig. 5 No load test connection diagram

3. Locked Rotor Test (Short-circuit Test) - Caution: Perform this test starting with zero
voltage at input, and increasing it gradually.
1. Retain the connection of the induction motor to the auto-transformer.
2. Mechanically immobilize the rotor of the machine.
3. Measure the input power, line current and voltage at the rated (nameplate) rotor
current.
Note: Bring back the additional resistance in the rotor circuit (starter box resistance) to
zero by moving the knob to position 10 before recording your readings. Otherwise, the
rotor resistance calculated will include the additional resistance from the starter box.
4. Load Test

1. Retain the no-load connection of the induction machine to a variable three-phase supply
and apply a load by connecting the DC machine as a separately excited generator shown
in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 (Refer to the diagram of the DC machine panel).
2. From the no-load test readings namely input power, line current, voltage and speed,
calculate the motors torque when it is running under no-load conditions overcoming core

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losses, friction, windage and stray losses. The slip measurement required in this test is
described at the bottom of the page. Note: You need a low rating for the ammeter and
wattmeter current coils (line current < 5A) to get the values for your measurements in this
part of the experiment.
3. After recording the no-load readings, couple the DC generator to the induction motor as
shown in Fig. 6. Starting at no load connected to the generator, record your readings and
then start loading the generator gradually up to the full load of either motor or generator,
whichever occurs first. Record motor input power, input line current, input voltage, rotor
speed and calculate its slip, and torque. Caution: Use the 30A scale for ammeter and
wattmeters when applying the resistances of the toaster box.
4. Rotor Resistance Speed Control: It is possible to control the speed of an induction motor
by changing its rotor resistance. Repeat the load test on the induction for two other values
of rotor resistances (starter box knob positions set at positions 5 and 0). Also remember to
record the values of external rotor resistance inserted in the circuit (use a FLUKE 75
meter to get the resistance values).

Starter box

Note: The output power of the induction motor is calculated from the equivalent circuit and
then output torque can be calculated from there knowing the value of speed.

T1

100 %

100 %

W1

A1

V
T2

B1
100 %

T3

DC load
bank

IM

Auto -transformer

C1

W2

DC separately
excited generator
(mechanical load )

Fig. 6 Load test connection diagram

F1

A1

C12

C11

Field rheostat
DC
supply

Toaster
box

F2

A2

C21

C22

Fig. 7 Separately excited DC generator

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Notes on Measuring Slip - When a light load is applied to the induction motor, the speed
variation is very small; hence the tachometer used during previous measurements is
inadequate to accurately measure the slip. A stroboscope is required to get a more accurate
slip during light loading conditions
1. Adjust the light flashing frequency of the stroboscope such that a stationary image is
observed when the induction motor is operating under no-load (DC generator is
decoupled). Use a tachometer to measure the value of the no-load speed (say, 1796
rpm) and leave the knob position of the stroboscope at this position.
2. Couple the DC generator back to the induction motor and measure the slip. If, for
example, the shaft speed is 1794 rpm, the tab has slipped one revolution in 0.5
minutes. Thus in one minute two tab revolutions are observed. Use a stop watch to
measure the time elapsed.
5. Speed Control of Induction Motors Using Armature-Frequency Control - In part 4 of
the Load Test, speed control of induction motors was studied by changing its rotor-circuit
resistance. The principal disadvantage of this method is low efficiency and poor speed
regulation with respect to changes in load. Solid-state inverters with variable voltage and
frequency are the preferred methods of choice today. This part of the experiment will use a
Hitachi SJ 300 inverter for speed control.
1. Rewire the induction machine with a SJ 300 Hitachi inverter connected to its input
terminals.
2. Set the SJ 300 in the auto-tuning mode (parameter determination procedure) using the
keypad of the inverter. Read the parameters using the Pro Drive software.
3. Repeat the load test on the induction motor for three different values of input electrical
frequencies
with a zero value for rotor external resistance.
Two other values of rotor resistances (starter box knob positions set at positions 5 and 0).
Also remember to record the values of external rotor resistance inserted in the circuit (use
a FLUKE 75 meter to get the resistance values).
Note: In order to read the input power supplied to the induction motor (i.e. output of the
inverter), remember to connect an external wattmeter to the inverter. The SJ 300 gives power
measurements only at its input side.
5. Resistance - Determine the resistances of the stator windings per phase of the induction
motor using a FLUKE 75 multimeter or by the dc ammeter-voltmeter method.
Notes:
1. Perform the stator resistance measurements at the last so that the resistance
measurements obtained are those corresponding to the operating temperature of the
induction motor.
2. If you are using a FLUKE meter, remember to subtract the contact resistance of the
leads from the readings obtained.

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Reporting Your Results

1. Per phase stator resistance obtained at normal operating temperature of the induction
motor.
2. Determine the per phase equivalent circuit diagram of the induction motor. For wound
rotor induction machines (slip-ring type), the stator and rotor reactances are distributed
equally.
3. Plot torque-slip characteristic for the induction machine at the full rated voltage, the
stable part obtained experimentally and the full characteristic obtained from the
equivalent circuit diagram. Compare the two characteristics. Calculate the value of
starting current and torque as well as maximum torque and the corresponding slip.
4. Plot the torque-slip characteristics for the induction machine with extra resistances
inserted in the rotor circuit at the full rated voltage. Calculate the value of starting current
and torque as well as maximum torque and the corresponding slip and compare the
results with those obtained in (3).
5. Plot torque-slip characteristic for the induction machine for the three different
frequencies with constant (V/f) ratio. The stable part obtained experimentally and the full
characteristic obtained from the equivalent circuit diagram. Calculate the value of starting
current and torque as well as maximum torque and the corresponding slip. Compare the
torque-slip characteristics with the results obtained in (3).
6. Plot the curves of motor line current and efficiency versus slip.
7. Sketch the power balance of the induction motor as shown in Fig. 2.
8. From the equivalent circuit, determine the input current for blocked rotor at the same
voltage used in the locked rotor test. Compare with the measured value.
9. Sketch a phasor diagram corresponding to rated slip and rated applied voltage.

REFERENCES
1. IEEE Standard 112: Test Procedures for Polyphase Induction Motors and Generators.
New York, IEEE Press 1991.
2. Fitzerald, A. E, Kingsley, C., Umans, S., Electric Machinery 6th Ed, New York: McGrawHill, 2003.
3. Malik, O.P., Walsh, P., Electric Machine Lab Manual, Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, 2003.
4. Hitachi SJ 300 Series Inverter Instruction Manual, Manual No.: NB613XJ. September
2006. SJ 300 ebook is also available online.