Department of Electrical Engineering

Assignment on DC Motors

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH
BHUBANESWAR
ELECTRICAL MACHINE-I
ASSIGNMENT ON DC MOTORS
______________________________________________________________________________
Short analytical questions:1. Is it possible to reverse the speed of a dc shunt motor by just reversing the input
terminals? Answer with reason.
2. For controlling the speed of a shunt motor by flux control
method, a
rheostat is inserted in the field circuit to vary the
resistance. Which one should be preferred and why?
3. A loaded motor with an open field draws an abnormally
high
current as it races to higher speeds and in turn produces
higher
mechanical loads and centrifugal forces on its armature
conductors. Cross check the truth in the above statement.
4. Why a dc motor needs a starter for its starting?
5. In a dc motor armature, the emf induced is called as back emf as it opposes
current. By forcing a current against this opposition we do work and this
electrical work done is converted to mechanical energy. Point out similarly,
where does the work is done for a generator so as to convert mechanical energy
to electrical energy.
6. Efficiency as calculated by Swinburnes test gives a truer result as compared to
that of Hopkinsons test. Examine the validity of the statement.
7. If a 220 volt dc shunt motor is fed with 220 v ac at 50 Hz, will it run? If same
treatment is extended to a series
motor, what will happen? Answer
with a valid argument.
8. What is field flashing?
9. A problem has developed in this
motor circuit. When the switch is
turned on, the motor does not run.
It does, however, draw a lot of current (several times the normal operating
current) as indicated by the ammeter: Based on this information, what do you
think may be wrong with the circuit? Explain your answers.
10.During conduction of Hopkinsons test, both the machines are operating under
loaded condition. Try to justify whether the field current of the motor is more or
that of the generator is more or both are same. Again try the same for the
armature currents also.

Department of Electrical Engineering

Assignment on DC Motors
11.What type of dc motor can produce negative speed regulation? Give reasons for
your answer.
12.In a dc machine, the air gap along the pole face is not kept uniform. At the ends,
the gap is kept more as compared to the centre. Why?
13.There are two 2 pole dc machines. One has a horizontal main field axis and the
other has a vertical main field axis. Which one is preferable and why?
14.A differentially compounded dc motor runs at 1500 rpm. If its series field gets
shorted, then what happens to the speed? Justify your answer.
15.A long shunt compound motor is running at a speed of 1500 rpm at a certain
load. if it is switched off, reconnected as a short shunt motor, then what will be
the speed?
16.The series field of a dc series motor is divided into two equal halves. When both
halves are in series and motor is drawing a current of 16 amperes, the speed is
1000rpm. If now both the halves will be connected in parallel, what should be
the speed?
17.When wide range of speed control is required for a shunt machine, it is advisable
to use three point starters or four point starters or can be either of them?
18.A series motor should never be started without load. Justify.
19.For reversing the direction of rotation of a motor we can reverse the armature
connections keeping the field same or reverse the field connection keeping the
armature connections fixed. Which one is preferred and why?
20.We have a dc shunt motor with rheostats connected in the armature circuit and
field circuit as well. While starting, whether both the rheostats should be kept in
maximum position? Justify what should be the arrangement.
21.We know that the speed of a motor is the effect and torque is the cause of it.
Also we know that T=KIa. So in flux control method where the flux is reduced
means the torque is reduced so speed should reduce. But the speed actually
increases. Why? Give the cause and effect behavior to justify.
22.Compare shunt and series motor on the basis of starting torque and speed
regulation.
23.When a cumulatively compounded long shunt dc generator is operated as a
motor, should it be the same cumulatively compound motor?
Problems:Back EMF, Torque and Speed Equation, Efficiency :1. a 240 volt shunt motor having a field resistance of 120 , an armature
resistance of 0.2 , a brush contact drop of 3 volts and a rated armature current
of 36 A rotates at a speed of 60 rad/sec. if the armature current drawn from
the supply drops to 25 A, calculate the motor speed in rpm.
2. A 4 pole, 32 conductor, lap wound dc generator with R a =2 and Rsh = 200 ,
develops a terminal voltage of 200 V while running at 1000rpm and delivering a
load of 12 A. if the machine is run as a motor with the same terminal voltage and
drawing 5 A from the mains, find the speed of the machine.
[850 rpm]

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Department of Electrical Engineering

Assignment on DC Motors
A 500 V dc shunt motor draws a line current of 5 A on no load. if the armature
resistance is 0.15 and field resistance is 200 , determine the efficiency of the
machine while
(a) running as a generator delivering a load of 40 A
(b) running as a motor drawing a line current of 40 A.
A cutting tool exerts a tangential force of 400 N on a steel bar of diameter 10 cm
which is being turned in a simple lathe. The lathe is driven by a chain at 840 rpm
from a 220 V dc motor which is run at 1800 rpm. Calculate the current taken by
the motor if its efficiency is 80 %. What is the size of the motor pulley if the lathe
pulley has a diameter of 24 cm?
[Ans:- 10 A, 11.2 cm]
A 460 V dc series motor runs at a speed of 500 rpm taking a current of 40 A.
Calculate the speed and percentage change in torque if the load is reduced so
that the motor is taking 30 A. Total resistance of the armature and field circuit is
0.8 . Assume flux is proportional to the field current.
[Ans: 43.75 %, 679 rpm]
A 250 V shunt motor delivering 14.92 kW at 1000 rpm takes an armature current
of 75 A. the armature resistance is 0.25 . if the flux is reduced by 20 % of its
normal value, find out the instantaneous value of armature current and torque as
a result of the change, final steady value of the armature current and final
speed. Assume the load torque to remain constant.
[Ans:- 260 A, 459 Nm, 93.7 A,
1225 rpm]
A 7.46 kW, 250 V shunt motor takes a line current of 5 A when running at no
load. Calculate the efficiency as a motor when delivering full load output, if the
armature and field resistances are 0.5 and 250 respectively. At what output
power will the efficiency be maximum? Is it possible to achieve this?
[Ans:- 79.6 %, 10.226 kW]
A 250 V, 14.92 kW shunt motor has a maximum efficiency of 88 % and a speed
of 700 rpm when delivering 80 % of its rated output. The shunt field resistance is
100 . Determine the efficiency and speed when the motor draws a current of
78 A from the mains.
[Ans:- 86.9 %, 680 rpm]
A 230 V, 10-pole, lap-connected dc shunt motor runs at 120 rpm while taking an
armature current of 1200 A. Each conductor has active length of 30 cm and
armature diameter is 120 cm. The flux density in the slot is 0.06 T for a total flux
per pole of 80 mWb. Calculate the average force on each conductor (i) if the
conductor is housed in the slot and (ii) if the conductor is placed on a smooth
cylindrical iron surface.
[2.16 N, 25.47 N]

10.
A belt driven 60 kW dc shunt generator running at 500 rpm is supplying full
load to a bus bar at 200 V. At what speed will it run if the belt breaks and the
machine continue to run taking 5 kW from the bus bar? The armature and field
resistances are

0.1

and

100

respectively. Brush contact drop may be

taken as 2 V.

[421.404 rpm]
3

Department of Electrical Engineering

Assignment on DC Motors
11.
The field current of a 10 kW, 230 V, 1500 rpm dc shunt motor is so adjusted
that it runs at a no-load speed of 1600 rpm with an armature current of 2 A.
When the load on the motor is increased, it is observed that armature current is
40 A and speed is 1400 rpm. Find the percentage reduction in field flux per pole
due to armature reaction. The armature circuit resistance is

and supply

voltage is 230 V.
[4.76 %]
12.
One of the two similar 500 V dc shunt machines X and Y running light takes 3
A. When X is mechanically coupled to Y, the input to X is 3.5 A with Y unexcited
and 4.5 A when Y is separately excited to generate 500 V. Calculate the friction
and windage loss and core loss of each machine.
[250 W, 500 W]
Starting Speed Control
13.
A 240 volt dc series motor takes 40 A when giving its rated output at 1500
rpm. Its resistance is 0.3 . Find the resistance that must be added to obtain the
rated torque at (i) starting and (ii) 1000rpm.
[Ans:- (i) 5.7 , (ii) 1.9 ]
14.
A 250 V, 7.355 kW, dc shunt motor with R a =0.4 and Rsh = 100 , runs at
1000 rpm on full load. Efficiency on full load is 85 %. Determine the extra
resistance to be added to the field circuit to raise the speed to 1400 rpm keeping
the load constant.
[Ans:- 43.36 ]
15.
A 500 V, 37.3 kW, 1000 rpm dc shunt motor has a full load efficiency of 90 %.
the armature resistance is 0.24 and brush drop of 2 V. the field current is 1.8
A. determine:(a) full load line current
(b)full load shaft torque in Nm
[Ans:- (a)82.9 A, (b)
356 Nm, (c) 3.825 ]
(c) total resistance in motor starter to limit the starting current to 1.5 times the
full load current.
16.

A dc shunt motor runs at 750 rpm from a 250 V supply and is taking a full-

load current of 60 A. Its armature and field circuit resistances are

125

0.4

and

respectively. Assuming 2 V brush drop and neglecting armature reaction

calculate (i) the no-load speed for a no-load line current of 6 A, (ii) the resistance
to be added in series with the armature circuit to reduce the full-load speed to
600 rpm, and (iii) percentage reduction in flux per pole needed to raise the
speed to 900 rpm when the armature current is 30 A, with no-added resistance
in armature circuit. [822 rpm, 0.7752 , 12.5 %]
17.
A 4 kW dc series motor has four field coils. The motor runs at 900 rpm and
takes 20 A from a 230 V dc source when the field coils are in series. Estimate the
speed and current drawn by the motor if the field coils are connected in two
4

Department of Electrical Engineering

Assignment on DC Motors
parallel groups of two in series. Assume flux is proportional to current and losses
are neglected. Take the load torque as proportional to (i) square of speed, (ii)
speed and (iii) speed raised to power zero.
[(a) 1070.4 rpm, 33.63 A, (b)
1134 rpm, 31.75 A, (c) 1273 rpm, 28.28 A]
18.
A dc shunt motor, when fed from 200 v dc source, delivers full-load torque to
a load at 1000 rpm. Its supply voltage is reduced to 100 V. The motor speed
becomes 800 rpm with the load torque remaining constant. Calculate the
armature voltage drop at rated torque. Assume no magnetic saturation.
[12.5 V]
19.
A 250 V, 1500 rpm dc machine has an armature resistance (including
brushes) of 0.2 and a brush drop under load of 2 V. The rotational losses for a
speed of 1500 rpm and for an armature generated voltage of 250 V are 650 W.
Neglect the field circuit losses. (i) for an armature current of 30 A and an
armature generated voltage 250 V, find the electromagnetic torque of the motor
at rated speed, (ii) if the machine in part (i) is working as a generator, determine
the shaft power input and the electric power output, (iii) if the machine in part (i)
is working as a motor, determine electric power input and the shaft power
output., (iv) the motor of part (iii) drives a load requiring constant torque at all
the motor speeds. Calculate the motor speed if the armature terminal voltage is
halved and the field flux is kept constant, (v) the motor of part (iii) drives a load
requiring a constant power. Calculate the motor speed if the field flux is reduced
to 0.6 of its previous value and the armature terminal voltage is kept constant.
[(i) 47.75 Nm (ii) 8100 W, 7260 W, (iii) 7740 W, 6900 W, (iv) 726 rpm, (v)
2500 rpm]
20.
The armature winding of a 200 V, 4-pole series motor is lap connected. There
are 280 slots and each slot has 4 conductors. The current is 45 A and the flux
per pole is 18 mWb. The field resistance is 0.3 , armature resistance 0.5 and
the iron and frictional losses total 800 W. The pulley diameter is 0.41 m. find the
pull in Newton at the rim of the pulley.
[634 N]
21.
A 250 V shunt motor giving 20 HP at 1000 rpm taken an armature current of
75 A. The armature resistance is 0.25 and the load torque remains constant. If
the flux reduced by 20 % of its normal value before the speed changes, find the
instantaneous value of armature current and the torque. Determine the final
value of armature current and speed.
[260 A, 459 Nm, 93.7 A, 1225
rpm]
22.
A 220 V dc series motor takes 40 A when running at 700 rpm. Calculate the
speed at which the motor will run and the current taken from supply if the field is
shunted by a resistance equal to the field resistance and the torque is increased
by 50 %. Armature resistance = 0.15 and field resistance = 0.1 . Assume flux
is proportional to field current.
[794 rpm, 69.3 A]
DC Motor Testing

Department of Electrical Engineering

Assignment on DC Motors
23.
Two shunt machines loaded for Hopkinsons test take 15 A at 200 V from the
supply. The motor current is 100 A and the shunt currents are 3 A and 2.5 A. If
the armature resistance of each machine is 0.05 , calculate the efficiency of
each machine for this particular load condition.
[Ans:- 89.8%]
24.
A 230 V dc shunt motor is taking 5 A when running light. The armature
resistance is 0.2 and field circuit resistance is 115 . For an input current of 72
A, calculate the shaft output and efficiency. Also calculate the armature current
at which efficiency is maximum. [14.432 kW, 87.15 %, 75.77 A]
25.
Hopkinsons test on two similar dc shunt machines gave the following data
Line voltage -230 V, line current (excluding both the field currents) 40 A, motor
armature current 350 A, field currents 5 A and 4.2 A. calculate the efficiency
of each machine. Armature resistance of each machine is 0.02 .

g 92.855% m 92.844%
[
]
26.
A 50 HP, 460 V dc shunt motor running light takes a current of 4 A and runs
at a speed of 660 rpm. The resistance of the armature circuit is 0.3 and that of
the shunt field circuit is 270 . When the motor is running at full-load, determine
(i) input current, (ii) speed, (iii) armature current at which efficiency is maximum.
Ignore effect of armature reaction.
[(i) 90.2 A, (ii) 624 rpm, (iii) 78.33 A]
27.
The brake test on a dc series motor gave the following results: tensions 3.2
kg and 0.3 kg, radius of the pulley 10 cm, speed 1500 rpm, supply voltage 230
V, line current 2.8 A. Find (i) output torque, (ii) output power, and (iii) efficiency.
[2.845 Nm, 446.9 W, 69.4 %]
28.
The Hopkinsons test on two shunt machines gave the following results on
full-load:
Line voltage = 230 V, armature currents = 37 A, 30 A, field currents = 0.85 A,
0.8 A. Calculate the efficiencies of the machines. The armature resistance of
each machine is 0.33 .

g 87.9%, m 87.7%
[