SYNCHRONOUS MOTORS

S ynchronous motors are synchronous machines used to convert electrical power to

mechanical power. This chapter explores the basic operation of synchronous motors and relates
their behavior to that of synchronous generators.

There are two magnetic fields present in the machine, and the rotor field will tend to line up
with the stator field, just as two bar magnets will tend to line up if placed near each other.
Since the stator magnetic field is rotating, the rotor magnetic field (and the rotor itself) will
constantly try to catch up. The larger the angle between the two magnetic fields (up to a certain
maximum), the greater the torque on the rotor of the machine. The basic principle of
synchronous motor operation is that the rotor "chases" the rotating stator magnetic field around
in a circle, never quite catching up with it.

Since a synchronous motor is the same physical machine as a synchronous generator, all of the
basic speed, power, and torque equations of apply to synchronous motors also.

The Equivalent Circuit of a Synchronous Motor

The equivalent circuit of a synchronous motor is exactly the same as the equivalent circuit of
a synchronous generator, except that the reference direction of IA is reversed.

This is exactly the same as the equation for a generator, except that the sign on the current term
has been reversed.
Figure: (a) The full equivalent circuit of a three-phase synchronous motor. (b) The
per-phase equivalent circuit
 Figure: (a) Phasor diagram of a synchronous generator operating at a lagging power
factor. (b) The corresponding magnetic field diagram

Figure: (a) Phasor diagram of a synchronous motor. (b) The corresponding magnetic
field diagram

The Synchronous Motor Torque-Speed

Characteristic Curve

Synchronous motors supply power to loads that are basically constant-speed devices. They are
usually connected to power systems very much larger than the individual motors, so the power
systems appear as infinite buses to the motors. This means that the terminal voltage and the
system frequency will be constant regardless of the amount of power drawn by the motor. 1lle
speed of rotation of the motor is locked to the applied electrical frequency, so the speed of the
motor will be constant regardless of the load.
The steady-state speed of the motor is constant from no load all the way up to the maximum
torque that the motor can supply (called the pullout torque).

Figure: The torque speed characteristics of a synchronous motor. Since the speed of
the motor is constant, its speed regulation is zero

The maximum or pullout torque of the motor is given by

These equations indicate that the larger the field current (and hence Ea), the greater the
maximum torque of the motor. There is therefore a stability advantage in operating the motor
with a large field current or a large Ea.
The Effect of Load Changes on a
Synchronous Motor

If a load is attached to the shaft of a synchronous motor, the motor will develop enough torque
to keep the motor and its load turning at a synchronous speed.

If the load on the shaft of the motor is increased, the rotor will initially slow down. As it does,
the torque angle δ becomes larger, and the induced torque increases. The increase in induced
torque eventually speeds the rotor back up, and the motor again turns at synchronous speed
but with a larger torque angle δ.

The constraints on the machine during a load change are constant field current and constant
speed determined by power supply. Therefore |Ea| must be constant as the load changes.

The distances proportional to power (Ea sinδ and Ia cos (θ)) will increase, but the magnitude
of Ea must remain constant. As the load increases, Ea swings down in the manner shown in
Figure below. As Ea swings down further and further, the quantity jXSIa has to increase to reach
from the tip of Ea to Vp , and therefore the armature current Ia also increases. Notice that the
power-factor angle θ changes too, becoming less and less leading and then more and more
lagging.

Figure: Effect of load change on Synchronous motors

The Effect of Field Current Changes on a
Synchronous Motor

We have seen how a change in shaft load on a synchronous motor affects the motor. There is
one other quantity on a synchronous motor that can be readily adjusted- its field current.

Note that an increase in field current increases the magnitude of Ea but does not affect the real
power supplied by the motor. The power supplied by the motor changes only when the shaft
load torque changes.

Since a change in IF does not affect the shaft speed nm, and since the load attached to the shaft
is unchanged, the real power supplied is unchanged. Of course, VT is also constant, since it is
kept constant by the power source supplying the motor. The distances proportional to power
on the phasor diagram (Ea sinδ and Iacos (θ)) must therefore be constant. When the field current
is increased, Ea must increase, but it can only do so by sliding out along the line of constant
power.

Notice that as the value of Ea increases, the magnitude of the armature current
Ia first decreases and then increases again.
At low Ea, the armature current is lagging, and the motor is an inductive load. It is acting like
an inductor-resistor combination, consuming reactive power Q.

As the field current is increased, the armature current eventually lines up with VT, and the
motor looks purely resistive.

As the field current is increased further, the armature current becomes leading, and the motor
becomes a capacitive load. It is now acting like a capacitor-resistor combination, consuming
negative reactive power -Q or, alternatively, supplying reactive power Q to the system.

Figure: (a) The phasor diagram of an under-excited synchronous motor. (b) The phasor
diagram of an over-excited synchronous motor
A plot of Ia versus IF for a synchronous motor is called a synchronous motor V curve. There
are several V curves drawn, corresponding to different real power levels. For each curve, the
minimum armature current occurs at unity power factor, when only real power is being
supplied to the motor. Therefore, by controlling the field current of a synchronous motor, the
reactive power supplied to or consumed by the power system can be controlled.

Figure: Synchronous motor V-

curves

When the projection of the phasor Ea onto V T (Ea cos δ) is shorter than VT itself, a synchronous
motor has a lagging current and consumes Q. Since the field
current is small in this situation, the motor is said to be underexcited.
On the other hand, when the projection of Ea onto V T (Ea cos δ) is longer than VT itself, a
synchronous motor has a leading current and supplies Q to the power system. Since the field
current is large in this situation, the motor is said to be overexcited.

The Synchronous Motor and

Power-Factor Correction
A synchronous motor purchased to drive a load can be operated overexcited to supply reactive
power Q for a power system. In fact, at some times in the past a synchronous motor was
purchased and run without a load, simply for power factor correction

Some synchronous motors used to be sold specifically for power-factor correction. These
machines had shafts that did not even come through the frame of the motor- no load could be
connected to them even if one wanted to do so. Such special-purpose synchronous motors were
often called synchronous condensers or synchronous capacitors.
STARTING SYNCHRONOUS MOTORS

In previous section, the motor was always assumed to be initially turning at synchronous speed.
How did the motor get to synchronous speed in the first place?

Three basic approaches can be used to safely start a synchronous motor:

1. Reduce the speed of the stator mngneticfield to a low enough value that the rotor can
accelerate and lock in with it during one half-cycle of the magnetic field's rotation. This
can be done by reducing the frequency of the applied electric power.
2. Use an external prime mover to accelerate the synchronous motor up to synchronous
speed, go through the paralleling procedure, and bring the machine on the line as a
generator. Then, turning off or disconnecting the prime mover will make the
synchronous machine a motor.
1. Use damper windings or amortisseur windings. By far the most popular way to start a
synchronous motor is to employ amortisseur or damper windings. Amortisseur
windings are special bars laid into notches carved in the face of a synchronous motor's
rotor and then shorted out on each end by a large shorting ring.