Shunt DC Small Scale Motor

Actuators First Term Project Report

Juan Chan, Alfredo Gallegos, Maria Payns & José Gómez

Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores Monterrey
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Querétaro, México
A01700547@itesm.mx, A01272429@itesm.mx, A01066074@itesm.mx, A01651188@itesm.mx

Abstract—This paper allows readers to understand the basic Both of this phenomenons occur simultaneously whenever
concepts used when creating a shunt (self-excited) DC motor. It energy conversion takes place.
specifically deals with the currents, resistance and voltage
characteristics when handling a small scale motor as well as the If this force is produced in a conductor placed on a structure
design for which the torque and speed generated where acquired. free to rotate, an electromagnetic torque will be produced [2].
For this, we had to incorporate in the design ways to measure this This force is also called a Lorentz force and its direction
parameters without obstructing the functionality of the motor. follows the left hand rule. The thumb represents the force, the
index finger the flux and the middle finger the current through
Keywords—DC shunt motor, self-excited, field, current, voltage,
design, torque, speed. the coil, as seen in Fig. 1.

I.​ INTRODUCTION
An actuator transforms energy in the same way engineering
transform lives. As such, it is important to analyze and
understand how this devices work and what they are used for..
Technically speaking, an actuator is a device that converts
energy in a controlled movement. This element actuates over
the controlled variable of the process. They can be classified
according to their energy input into three different categories:
●​ Electric
Figure 1. Lorentz left hand rule [3].
●​ Pneumatic
●​ Hydraulic The magnitude of this force, however, is calculated using the
following equation:
In this report, a particular type of electric actuator will be
covered, that is, the Direct Current Self-Excited Shunt Motor, 𝑓 = 𝐵𝐼𝐿 ​ (1)
which is a type of DC machine.
Where B stand for the magnetic flux density, I the current on
Electrical and mechanical energy is a constant requirement in the conductor and L the length of the conductor.
our everyday life. One form of energy can be obtained from
The two main parts of electric motors are the stator and the
the other by using converters. Converters transform
rotor. The stator, field, doesn’t move, is normally the outer
mechanical input into electrical output and vice versa. If the
frame of the machine and can be produced using permanent
conversion is from mechanical to electrical, the machine is
magnets or coils. It is intended to create a uni-directional
said to act as a generator and, if the opposite happens, it is
magnetic field. The rotor, armature, can move freely, it is the
acting as a motor. This type of machines can be called either
inner frame of the machine and comprises a winding whose
AC or DC machines depending on the electrical system they
terminals are available for an external connection. It has the
use [2].
objective of generating torque, which means it generates the
The two main principles that govern the conversion of energy movement of the motor. [MELENDEZ NO SE QUE].
from electrical to mechanical are the following:
In DC motors the magnetic flux is transmitted from the stator
1.​ Voltage can be induced in a conductor when this to the rotor. This magnetic flux can be generated in two ways:
conductor moves in a magnetic field. permanent magnets or electromagnets. As the armature rotates
2.​ When there is current on the conductor it will interact​ a voltage will be induced in the coil following Faraday’s Law:
with the crossing magnetic field and a mechanical 𝑑φ
force will be induced. ε =− 𝑁 𝑑𝑡
For this equation ε stands for the induced voltage or Electro Both the armature current (𝐼𝑎) and the motor speed (ω𝑚)
Motive Force, N for the number of turns in the coil and φfor depend on the mechanical load connected to the shaft. Also,
the magnetic flux [MELENDEZ]. the speed is inversely proportional to the torque of the motor
As this induced voltage is alternating it is important to but by varying the armature resistance we can modify the
incorporate a mechanical commutator and a brush assembly to speed for a particular torque. Apart from this method there are
function as rectifiers or inverters making the voltage another 2 ways by which we can control a Shunt DC motor’s
unidirectional. The brushes are placed so that when the speed. The first one is by controlling the field and the second
armature turns the current through it will change direction [2]. one by changing the armature voltage. The speed in adc
machine increases as the armature voltage increases and
By following the Law seen before we obtain the induced decreases as the field or armature resistance increase.
armature voltage as follows:
DC shunt motors are ideal for applications where precise
𝐸𝑎 = 𝐾𝑎φω𝑚​ (2) speed control is required as it can be controlled fairly easily.
Even so, they cannot produce high starting torque, so the load
Being 𝐾𝑎the armature constant (proportional to the number of
at startup must be small. Applications include machines tools
turns of the winding and the number of magnetic poles), φ the such as lathes and grinders, and industrial equipment such as
magnetic flux and ω𝑚 the mechanical rotor speed. fans and compressors [1].

By joining the last equation with Lorentz’s force we obtain the The equations that govern this DC motor are the following:
equation to acquire the torque. 𝑉𝑡 = 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎 + 𝐸𝑎​ ​ (5)
𝑇 = 𝐾𝑎φ𝐼𝑎​ ​ (3)
𝐼𝑡 = 𝐼𝑎 + 𝐼𝑓​ ​ (6)
In which 𝐼𝑎 represents the armature current.
Eq. (3) is also included in the operation of the shunt DC motor
The electrical power input (𝐸𝑎𝐼𝑎) to the magnetic field by the and with Eq. (2) you can derive another equation as follows:
electrical system has to be the same as the mechanical power 𝐸𝑎 = 𝐾𝑎φω𝑚
(𝑇ω𝑚) .
=𝑉𝑡 − 𝐼𝑎𝑅𝑎​ ​ (7)
𝐸𝑎𝐼𝑎=𝐾𝑎φ𝐼𝑎ω𝑚 =𝑇ω𝑚​ ​ (4)
In all DC machines the efficiency is calculated in the same
There are several types of DC motors and its functionality and way, by measuring the amount of power we can extract out of
analysis depend on how the stator and the rotos are connected. the input power. Smaller machines have a larger percentage of
As said before, in this paper we will analyze solely the shun losses. Fig. shows the ways in which a shunt DC machine can
DC motor. lose power.
In electronics, parallel circuit connections are also known as II.​ DEVELOPMENT
shunt connections. This is where the DC shunt motor gets its
A.​ Helpful hints
name from, as the field winding is connected in parallel to the
armature winding. Because of this type of connection both ●​ For this experiment, first it is needed to choose the
windings are exposed to the same supply of voltage but have a motor that will be used. The motor is selected by
different flow of current. The circuit for this motor can be seen considering the rotor so that the students can build
in Fig. 2. their own wound stator that fits the rotor. It will
depend of the size of the motor, because if you select
a small motor (3.3v-5v) you need a small quantity of
current so that the motor can function and the stator
built stator does not need to be big. But if you want to
select a larger motor(12v-24v), it will need more
current to work and you will need a larger stator to
create the magnetic field required. This would result
in a more expensive shunt motor.

●​ To build the stator you should select the component

Figure 2. Electrical circuit for a shunt DC motor [MELENDEZ]. where you do the winding, this component will have
to support the limit current of the rotor that was
selected, furthermore that it can fixed in the designed
 base to the motor, so the components can fixed more
2 Multimeters
easily are screws, and they are galvanized and have a
relative permeability of 5000 that allows the field
can go through its structure without damaging it.
B.​ Electrical Design

●​ The winding may follow the right hand rule to create

field current in one way and the turns of the winding
may follow the direction of the little finger to the
index finger to create the two polos (North and south)
in both screws that you use, and the turns of the
winding will depend of the designer and tests
performed where the rotor can turn, it can see in the
figure 2.

Figure 4. Circuit schematic

Fig N shows the connections and elements that were employed

at the physical circuit. The circuit consists of the field and
armature circuits connected in parallel to the 5V DC source. In
the armature circuit, the DC Motor is included whereas the
shunt winding is included in the field circuit. The shunt
winding consists of 2 coils that represent magnetic poles South
and North. Three Two-way switches were necessary because
of the on/off and current measuring specifications cited for
Figure 3. Right hand rule [8] this project. Since amps are measured in series, there was a
need to add a switch for the field and armature currents
respectively. This way, the motor would not be stopped if the
●​ The base for mounting the motor depends of the size current needs to be measured since the ammeter acts as a wire.
and the quantity of electrical components that will
use to feed the motor and the tests that you need to do
in the process (measurement of voltage, current, III.​ RESULTS
resistor of the rotor and stator), and the most
recommendable is that in the same base can mounting
the motor and the electrical components, because you
do not move the feed of the motor and avoid a
disconnection in the motor.
TABLE I
MATERIALS AND TOOLS

Quantity Description

1 Ferromagnetic core

10 meters Copper Wire

3 Two-Way switch
​
1 1k Ohms Potentiometer Figure 5. Front view of the case

2 Steel Screws 2in

1 5V Voltage source
 IV.​ ANALYSIS

The analysis was made by taking into account the circuit in

fig. 2. to do the calculations. First we calculate the constant of
the motor. To do it, we have to take into account some
considerations and the experimental values:

𝑉𝑖𝑛 = 5 V
𝑅𝑓 = 1.745 ohms
𝑤 = 3979. 35 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠

Therefore, the field current is given by ohm's law

𝐼𝑓 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛/𝑅𝑓 = (5𝑣/1. 745𝑜ℎ𝑚𝑠) = 2. 865𝐴

​ Then we can calculate the electromotive force

Figure 6. Top view of the case
𝐹 = 𝑛 * 𝑖 = 250 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 * 2. 865 𝐴 = 716. 33 𝐴 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠

Also we have to calculate the reluctance, including the values

of the relative magnetic permeability and the wire gauge size.

−6
𝑢𝑟 = 1. 2566𝑥10 [10]
−9 2
𝐴 = 80𝑥10 𝑚 [11]
𝑙 = 10 𝑚

Given the equation 𝑅 = 𝑙/(𝑢 * 𝐴)

−12 −9 19
𝑅 = 10/(1. 58𝑥10 * 80𝑥10 ) = 7. 91𝑥10

Now we can calculate the magnetic flux with 𝑃 = 𝐹/𝑅

​ 19 −18
Figure 7. Back view of the case
𝑃 = 716. 33/7. 91𝑥10 = 9𝑥10 𝑊𝑏

Finally we can work it the constant Ka out

TABLE 2
𝐸𝑎 = 𝑘𝑎 * 𝑃 * 𝑤
PRACTICAL RESULTS
−18
Practical Results 5 = 𝑘𝑎 * 9𝑥10 * 3979. 35
14
𝑘𝑎 = 1. 39𝑥10
Motor resistance [Ω] 0.06
Now replacing in the real values to get the theoretical speed
Field resistance [Ω] 1.745
−3
Input Voltage [V] 5 𝐹 = 𝑛 * 𝑖 = 250 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 * 450𝑥10 𝐴 = 112. 5 𝐴 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠
19 −18
𝑃 = 𝐹/𝑅 = 112. 5/7. 91𝑥10 = 1. 42𝑥10 𝑊𝑏
Induced field voltage [V] 4.47 14 −18
4. 74 = 1. 39𝑥10 * 1. 41𝑥10 *𝑤
Electromagnetic power [W] 13,83 𝑤 = 22, 646. 67 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠

Number of poles 2 With those values we can determine the efficiency

𝑒𝑓𝑓 = 100 * (3, 979. 35/22646. 67) = 17. 57%

 Small motors are especially sensitive to noise and non fully
controlled environments.
V. DISCUSSION

DC motors depend greatly on the number of turns in the REFERENCES

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