Braking of dc Motor

An electric drive has two modes of operation:

1. Steady State
2. Transient

Transient operation of an electric drive includes:

a. Acceleration
b. Deceleration
c. Speed Change
d. Speed Reversal

Starting and braking involve acceleration and deceleration, respectively.

The mathematical equation that defines the mechanical operation of an electric motor is given as
ௗఠ
ܶ௘ − ܶ௅ = ‫ܬ‬ (1)
ௗ௧

Where, Te is the developed torque in N.m

TL is the load torque in N.m

ω is the rotor speed in rad/s

J is the moment of inertia of motor load system in Kg.m2

It is to be noted that J is always higher than zero

ௗఠ
if Te<TL then is negative (i.e. deceleration),
ௗ௧

ௗఠ
if Te=TL then ௗ௧
is equal to zero (i.e. steady state)

Based on speed and torque, the operation of electric drive is divided into four quadrants

1. Quadrant I (Forward Motoring) – Te>0 and ߱>0

In figures, the armature terminal with dot indicates terminal A of the armature and the field
terminal with dot indicates terminal F of the field winding Page 1
Assume that the dc motor is operating at a steady state speed of 100 rad/s. If the electric supply to
this motor is disconnected, then the rotor speed will gradually reduce to zero. If the reduction in
motor speed is required to be controlled then braking mechanism needs to be employed. For
braking a dc motor mechanical brake can be employed. Mechanical brakes waste the energy in form
of friction and heat. Moreover, the mechanical brakes suffer from the following disadvantages:

a. Frequent maintenance
b. Replacement of brake shoes

Electrical braking is an alternative to the mechanical braking. In electrical braking, the electric
motor is made to work as a generator and develop a torque that opposes the motion. In other
words, the developed torque results in deceleration. In spite of the presence of electric braking,
mechanical braking may be still employed to ensure reliable braking and to hold the drive at
standstill.

In case of dc motors, the following three types of braking are employed.

1. Regenerative braking
2. Dynamic braking
3. Plugging or reverse voltage braking

These three electric braking schemes are explained in the following sub-sections.

1. Regenerative Braking
Regenerative braking is widely employed in electric vehicles. The conditions of regenerative
braking of dc motors are:
- back emf should (‫ܧ‬௕ ) be greater than the applied voltage (ܸ௔ )
- direction of armature current (‫ܫ‬௔ ) should be reversed

In dc motor, ‫ܧ‬௕ = ܸ௔ − ‫ܫ‬௔ ܴ௔ , where ܴ௔ is the armature resistance

And ‫ܧ‬௕ ∝ ∅߱, where ∅ is the field flux

In order to increase Eb, such that Eb > Va then either ∅ or ߱ needs to be increased. As electric
motors are designed to operate at the knee point of magnetization curve, any increase in
flux would result in saturation. Hence, in order to increase Eb, ߱ needs to be increased. For a
fixed dc supply, regenerative braking is only possible if the motor is operated at the speeds
above the rated speed. In case variable supply voltage is available, the regenerative braking
can be implemented at speeds below the rated speed.

During regenerative braking the motor acts as a generator and the power flows from the
motor to the source. It is to be noted that the supply should be in a position to receive the

In figures, the armature terminal with dot indicates terminal A of the armature and the field
terminal with dot indicates terminal F of the field winding Page 2
 power fed from the motor. Otherwise, this will result in the energy being stored in the
capacitor, leading to increased voltages.

2. Dynamic Braking
Fig. 1 (a) and (b) show the connection diagram of a dc machine operating as a separately
excited dc motor and series motor. Now if the dc supplies Va and Vx are replaced by a
resistors Rh, then the motor will operate as a self excited generator and the generator
energy will be dissipated in the form of heat in the external resistor, Rh, and Ra. In is to be
noted that in series motor, in addition to Rh and Ra the energy is also dissipated in the field
resistor. The connection diagram for dynamic braking are provided in the Fig. 2. In case of
dc series motor, the field winding connections are altered so as to facilitate field flux in
assisting the residual flux.

(a) (b)
Fig. 1 (a) dc machine connected to operate as a separately excited dc motor
(b) dc machine connected to operate as a series motor

(a) (b)
Fig. 2 (a) dynamic braking employed for a separately excited dc motor
(b) dynamic braking employed for a dc series motor

In figures, the armature terminal with dot indicates terminal A of the armature and the field
terminal with dot indicates terminal F of the field winding Page 3
 One of the key aspects of this type of braking is that energy is being wasted in the form of
heat in Rh. When fast braking is desired, Rh consist of a few sections. As the speed falls, the
sections are cut out to maintain high average torque.

3. Plugging or reverse voltage braking

Plugging or reverse voltage braking can provide fast braking due to the high average torque.
In this type of braking, the supply to the armature is reversed. This results in the supply
voltage assisting the back emf in driving the armature current in reverse direction. A
resistance Rd is connected between the armature and the supply to limit the armature
current. However, in this type of braking the speed tends to fall to zero and then the motor
starts to rotate in the reverse direction as the developed torque is not zero at the zero
speed. Hence, whenever the motor speed nears zero, the supply is to be disconnected. A
centrifugal switch can be employed to disconnect the supply. The connection diagram for
plugging for separately excited dc motor and dc series motor are provided in the Fig. 3. It is
to be noted that in case of series dc motor only armature connections are reversed.

(a) (b)
Fig. 3 (a) Plugging employed for a separately excited dc motor
(b) Plugging employed for a series motor

In figures, the armature terminal with dot indicates terminal A of the armature and the field
terminal with dot indicates terminal F of the field winding Page 4