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ROTOR
The
rotor is made up of several thin steel laminations with evenly spaced
bars, which are made up of aluminum or copper, along the periphery. In
the most popular type of rotor (squirrel cage rotor), these bars are
connected at ends mechanically and electrically by
the use of rings. Almost 90% of induction motors have squirrel cage
rotors. This is because the squirrel cage rotor has a simple and rugged
construction. The rotor consists of a cylindrical laminated core with
axially placed parallel slots for carrying the conductors. Each slot
carries a copper, aluminum, or alloy bar. These rotor bars are
permanently short-circuited at both ends by means of the end rings, as
shown in Figure 2. This total assembly resembles the look of a squirrel
cage, which gives the rotor its name. The rotor slots are not exactly
parallel to the shaft. Instead, they are given a skew for two main
reasons.
The first reason is to make the motor run quietly by reducing magnetic
hum and to decrease slot harmonics. The second reason is to help reduce
the locking tendency of the rotor. The rotor teeth tend to remain
locked under the stator teeth due to direct magnetic attraction between
the two. This happens when the number of stator teeth are equal to the
number of rotor teeth.
The rotor is mounted on the shaft using bearings on each end; one end
of the shaft is normally kept longer than the other for driving the
load. Some motors may have an accessory shaft on the non-driving end
for mounting speed or position sensing devices. Between
the stator and the rotor, there exists an air gap, through which due to
induction, the energy is transferred from the stator to the rotor. The
generated torque forces the rotor and then the load to rotate.
Regardless of the type of rotor used, the principle employed for
rotation remains the same.
FIGURE 2:
A TYPICAL SQUIRREL CAGE ROTOR
SPEED OF
AN INDUCTOR MOTOR
The magnetic field created in the stator
rotates at a synchronous speed (NS).
defined by the following formula:
The magnetic field produced in the rotor
because of the induced voltage is alternating in nature.
To reduce the relative speed, with respect to the stator, the rotor
starts running in the same direction as that of the stator flux and
tries to catch up with the rotating flux.
However, in practice, the rotor never succeeds in “catching up” to the
stator field. The rotor runs slower than the speed of the stator field.
This speed is called the Base Speed
(Nb).
The difference between NS and Nb is called the slip.
The slip varies with the load. An increase in load will cause the rotor
to slow down or increase slip. A decrease in load will cause the rotor
to speed up or decrease slip.
The slip is expressed as a percentage and can be determined with the
following formula:
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