Servomotor-synchro- A.C.

Tachometers

Servomechanism
The servo system is one in which the output is some mechanical variable like position, velocity or
acceleration. Such systems are generally automatic control systems which work on the error signals. The
error signals are amplified to drive the motors used in such systems.
A servo system mainly consists of three basic components a controlled device, a output sensor, a
feedback system.
This is an automatic closed loop control system. Here instead of controlling a device by applying
variable input signal, the device is controlled by a feedback signal generated by comparing output signal and
reference input signal.
When reference input signal or command signal is applied to the system, it is compared with output
reference signal of the system produced by output sensor, and a third signal produced by feedback system.
This third signal acts as input signal of controlled device. This input signal to the device presents as long as
there is a logical difference between reference input signal and output signal of the system. After the device
achieves its desired output, there will be no longer logical difference between reference input signal and
reference output signal of the system. Then, third signal produced by comparing theses above said signals
will not remain enough to operate the device further and to produce further output of the system until the
next reference input signal or command signal is applied to the system. Hence the primary task of a
servomechanism is to maintain the output of a system at the desired value in the presence of disturbances.
Servo motors
The motors used in servo systems are called servomotors. These motors are usually coupled to the
output shaft i.e. load through gear train for power matching. These motors are used to convert electrical
signal applied, into the angular velocity or movement of shaft.
The servomotors which are designed for use in feed back control systems must have following
requirements :
i) Linear relationship between electrical control signal and the rotor speed over a wide range.
ii) Inertia of rotor should be as low as possible. A servomotor must stop running without any time
delay, if control signal to it is removed. For low inertia, it is designed with large length to diameter
ratio, for rotors. Compared to its frame size, the rotor of a servomotor has very small diameter.
iii) Its response should be as fast as possible. For quickly changing error signals, it must react with good
response. This is achieved by keeping torque to weight ratio high.
iv) It should be easily reversible.
v) It should have linear torque - speed characteristics.
vi) Its operation should be stable without any oscillations or overshoots.
Types of Servomotors
The servomotors are basically classified depending upon the nature of the electric supply to be used for
its operation.

D.C. Servomotor
Basically d.c. servomotor is more or less same as normal d.c. motor. There are some minor
differences between the two. All d.c. servomotors are essentially separately excited type to ensures linear
torque-speed characteristics.
The control of d.c. servomotor can be from field side or from armature side.
Depending upon this, these are classified as field controlled d.c. servomotor and armature
controlled d.c. servomotor.
Field Controlled D.C. Servomotor
In this motor, the controlled signal obtained from the servoamplifier is applied to the field winding. With
the help of constant current source, the armature current is maintained constant. The arrangement is shown
in the Fig.1.
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Servomotor-synchro- A.C. Tachometers

Fig.1 Field controlled d.c. servomotor

This type of motor has large Lf /Rf ratio, where Lf is reactance and Rf is resistance of field winding. Due
to this the time constant of the motor is high. This means it cannot give rapid response to the quick changing
control signals hence this is uncommon in practice.
It is preferred for small rated motors. It has large time constant and is open loop system. This means any
change in output has no effect on the input. Its control circuit is simple to design.
Transfer Function of Field Controlled D.C. Motor

Fig.2
Field controlled D.C. motor is shown in Fig.2. Assuming that constant armature current is fed into the
motor, flux produced is proportional to field current, torque is proportional to product of flux and armature
current:
Transfer function is given by
m (s)
T .F . =

E f (s)

Kf
R f (1 + s f

Km
1
.
Bm (1 + m ) s

where,
m = angular displacement of the motor shaft (rad ).
e f = field control voltage (volts ).

f =
m =

Lf
Rf

= field time constant

Jm
= motor time constant
Bm

L f = field winding inductance(henrys)

R f = field winding Resistance(ohm)
J m = equivalent moment of inertia of motor and load (kg m 2 )
newton m
Bm = equivalent viscous friction coefficient of motor and load

rad / sec
K f and K m are constant

The block diagram of the field controlled d.c. motor is as follows:

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Servomotor-synchro- A.C. Tachometers

Armature Controlled D.C. Servomotor

In this type of motor, the input voltage 'Va' is applied to the armature with a resistance of Ra and
inductance La. The field winding is supplied with constant current If. Thus armature input voltage
controls the motor shaft output. The arrangement is shown in the Fig. 3.

Fig.3 Armature controlled D.C. Servomotor

Armature Controlled D.C. Servomotor is suitable for large rated motors. It has small time
constant hence its response is fast to the control signal. It is closed loop system. The back e.m.f.
provides internal damping which makes motor operation more stable. The efficiency and overall
performance is better than field controlled motor.
As the armature controlled d.c. servomotor is closed loop system, in comparison with
open loop field controlled system, generally armature controlled motors are used.
The characteristics of d.c. servomotors are mainly similar to the torque-speed characteristics
of a.c. servomotor. The characteristics are shown in the Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 Torque-speed characteristics for an armature controlled D.C. Servomotor

Transfer Function of Armature Controlled D.C. Motor

Fig. 5
Armature controlled D.C. motor is shown in Fig.5.
Assuming that:
i) Flux is directly proportional to current through field winding

m = K f I f = constant
ii) Torque produced is proportional to product of flux and armature current.
T = K m' I a

T = K m' K f I f I a
iii) Back e.m.f. is directly proportional to shaft velocity m , as flux is constant.

d (t )
dt
Eb = K bm ( s ) = K b s m ( s )

as

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Servomotor
Servomotor-synchroA.C. Tachometers

Transfer function is given by

Km
sRa Bm (1 + s m )(1 + s a )
m ( s)
G (s)
=
=
K m sK b
Ea ( s ) 1 +
1 + G (s) H ( s)
sRa Bm (1 + s m )(1 + s a )
where,
m = angular displacement of the motor shaft (rad ).
ea = armature control voltage (volts ).

a =

La
= armature time constant
Ra

m =

Jm
= motor time constant
Bm

K m = K m' K f
La = armature winding inductance(henrys)
Ra = armature winding Resistance(ohm)
J m = equivalent moment of inertia of motor and load (kg m 2 )
newton m
Bm = equivalent viscous friction coefficient of m
motor and load

rad / sec
K f , K b and K m are constant

Block Diagram representation of armature controlled d.c. motor

Field controlled d.c. motor is open loop while armature controlled is closed loop system. Hence
armature controlled d.c. motors are preferred over field controlled type.

Applications of D.C. Servomotor

These are
re widely used in air craft control systems, electromechanical actuators, process
controllers, robotics, machine tools etc.
Comparison between Armature Controlled and Field Controlled D.C. Servomotors
Sl. No.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Field Controlled

Due to low power requirement amplifiers

are simple to design.
Control voltage is applied to the field.
Time constant is large.
This is open loop system.
Armature current is kept constant.
Poor efficiency.
Suitable for small rated motors.
Costly as field coils are must.

Armature Controlled

High power amplifiers are required to design.

Control voltage is applied to the armature.
Time constant is small.
This is closed loop system.
Field current is kept constant.
Better efficiency.
Suitable for large rated motors.
Permanent magnet can be used instead of field
coils which makes the motor less expensive.

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Servomotor-synchro- A.C. Tachometers

A.C. Servomotor
Most of the servomotors used in low power servomechanisms are a.c. servomotors. The a.c.
servomotor is basically two phase induction motor. The output power of a.c. servomotor varies
from fraction of watt to few hundred watts. The operating frequency is 50 Hz to 400 Hz.
It is mainly divided into two parts namely stator and rotor. The stator carries two windings,
uniformly distributed and displaced by 90c, in space. One winding is called main winding or fixed
winding or reference winding, this is excited by a constant voltage a.c. supply. The other winding is
called control winding. It is excited by variable control voltage, which is obtained from a servoamplifier. This voltage is 90 out of phase with respect to the voltage applied to the reference
winding. This is necessary to obtain rotating magnetic field. The schematic stator is shown in the
Fig 6.

Fig. 6 Stator of A.C. servomotor

Rotor: The rotor is generally of two types.

The first one is usual squirrel cage rotor. This has small diameter and large length.
Aluminium conductors are used to keep weight small. Its resistance is very high to keep torque
speed characteristics as linear as possible. Air gap is kept very small which reduces magnetising
current. This cage type of rotor is shown with skewed bars in the Fig.7(a).
The other type of rotor is drag cup type. There are two air gaps in such construction. Such a
construction reduces inertia considerably and hence such type of rotor is used in very low power
applications. The aluminium is used for the cup construction. The construction is .shown in the Fig.
7(b).

Fig. 7

Torque-Speed Characteristics
The torque-speed characteristics of a two phase induction motor, mainly depends on
the ratio of reactance to resistance. For small X to R ratio i.e. high resistance low reactance
motor, the characteristics is much more linear while it is nonlinear for large X to R ratio as
shown in the Fig. 8.

Fig. 8

Fig. 9
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Servomotor
Servomotor-synchroA.C. Tachometers

In practice, design of the motor is so as to get almost linear torque-speed

torque speed characteristics. Fig.9
shows the torque-speed
speed characteristics for various control voltages. The torque varies almost
linearly with speed. All the characteristics are equally spaced for equal increments of control
voltage. It is generally operated with low speeds.
The a.c. servomotor
omotor has following features :
i) Light in weight ii) Robust construction iii) Reliable and stable operation, iv) Smooth and
noise free operation, v) Large torque to weight ratio vi) Large R to X ratio i.e. small X to R ratio,
vii) No brushes or slip ringss hence maintenance free viii) Simple driving circuits.

Applications
Due to the above features it is widely used in instrument servomechanisms, remote positioning
devices, process control systems, self balancing recorders, computers, tracking and guidance
systems, robotics, machine tools etc.
Transfer Function of A.C. Servomotor
The various approximations to derive transfer function are,
i) A servomotor rarely operates at high speeds. Hence for a given value of control voltage, T N
characteristics are perfectly
erfectly linear.
ii) In order that T N characteristics are directly proportional to voltage applied to its control phase, we
assume T N characteristics are straight lines and equally spaced.
Transfer function is given by
m (s)
K tm
=

sJ m
s ( Bm m ) 1 +

( Bm m )
Km
m (s)
=
E2 ( s ) s (1 + m s )
E2 ( s )

or

where
Km =

m =

K tm
= motor gain constant
Bm m

Jm
= motor time constant
B
( m m)

m = angular displacement of the motor shaft (rad ).

e2 = sinusoidal control voltage (volts ).
J m = equivalent moment of inertia of load (kg m 2 )
newton m
Bm = viscous friction coefficient of load

rad / sec
newton m
m = viscous friction coefficient of motor

rad / sec
K tm is a constant

As slope is negative, in the above equation [ Bm - m ] shows that total friction increases due to m. As
it adds more friction, the damping improves, improving stability of the motor. This is called Internal Electric
Damping of 2 ph a.c. servo motor.

Fig.10 Signal flow graph of a.c.

servomotor

Fig. 11Block
Block diagram of a.c. servomotor
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Servomotor-synchro- A.C. Tachometers

Comparison between A.C. and D.C. Servomotor

Sl. No.
A.C. Servomotor
1. Low power output of about 100 W
2. Efficiency is less about 5 to 20%
3. Due to absence of commutator maintenance
is less.
4. Stability problems are less.
5. No radio frequency noise.
6. Relatively stable and smooth operation.
7. A.C. amplifiers used have no drift.

D.C. Servomotor
Deliver high power output.
High efficiency
Frequent maintenance required due to
commutator.
More problems of stability.
Brushes produce radio frequency noise.
Noisy operation.
Amplifiers used have a drift.

Synchros
Synchros are used widely in control systems as detectors and encoders because of their
rigidness in construction and high reliability. Synchro is basically a rotary device, an
electromagnetic transducer which operates on same principle as that of transformer. It converts
angular position of shaft into an electric signal.
Synchro Transmitter
This is a basic synchro unit. Its construction is similar to that of 3 phase alternator.
The stator which is stationary part is made up of laminated steel. This part is slotted to
accommodate a balanced three phase winding. The stator windings are star connected which are
usually of concentric coil type structure.
The rotor which is rotating part is a salient pole, dumb-bell shaped magnet with a single
winding. Schematic diagram is as shown in Fig.12.

Fig. 12

A single phase AC voltage is applied to the rotor through slip rings. Synchro transmitter is
also known as synchro generator.
Let a.c. voltage applied to rotor is
er (t ) = Er sin 0 t

When = 0 with reference to schematic diagram, voltage induced in S2 winding will be maximum
and position is called electric zero.
The applied voltage causes a flow of magnetising current in rotor coil which produces
sinusoidally varying flux. This flux gets distributed sinusoidally in air gap. Because of transformer
action voltages get induced in all windings which is proportional to cosine of angle between rotor
and stator coil axes.
Consider now that the rotor of synchro transmitter is at an angle '' with reference to
electric zero then voltages in each stator coil w.r.t. neutral are,
Es1n = KEr cos( 240) sin 0 t
Es2 n = KEr cos( ) sin 0 t
Es3 n = KEr cos( 120) sin 0 t

Magnitudes of terminal stator voltages are,

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Servomotor-synchro- A.C. Tachometers

Es1 s2 = Es1n Es2 n = 3KEr sin( + 240) sin 0 t

Es2 s3 = Es2 n Es3 n = 3KEr sin( + 120) sin 0 t
Es3 s1 = Es3 n Es1n = 3KEr sin sin 0 t
At = 0, Es3 s1 = 0, position called Electric zero position.

Thus it is seen that the input to the synchro transmitter is the angular position of its rotor shaft and
output is a set of three single phase voltages the magnitudes of these voltages are functions of the shaft
position.
Synchro Control Transformer
The function of error detector is to convert the difference of two shaft positions into an electrical
signal so to use synchros as error detector along with synchro transmitter one more component is required
called as synchro control transformer. An error detector involves both synchros, synchro transmitter as well
as synchro control transformer.
Synchro control transformer is an electro mechanical device which produces a single phase voltage
whose magnitude is proportional to the sine of the angle of rotation of its rotor with respect to stator
magnetic field.
Principle of operation of synchro control transformer is same as that of synchro transmitter. Rotor of
synchro control transformer is cylindrical type so that the airgap flux is uniformly distributed around the
rotor.

Synchros as an Error Detector

The Fig.13 shows schematic diagram of synchro error detector in which second component is synchro
control transformer. The output of synchro transmitter is given to synchro control transformer.
When the rotor positions of the two synchros are in perfect alignment, the voltage generated across the
terminals of the rotor of control transformer is zero. This position is called Electrical zero position of control
transformer.
Let the transmitter rotate through an angle '' in the direction indicated and let control transformer rotor
rotates in the same direction through an angle
So net angular separation of the two rotors = (90- +a)
Now in general voltage across rotor terminals of control transformer is
e(t ) = K ' vr cos sin 0 t

Fig. 13
Substituting
e(t ) = K ' vr sin( ) sin 0 t

So when two rotor shafts are not in alignment, the rotor voltage of synchro control
transformer is approximately a sine function of the difference between the two shaft angles.
For very small angular displacement.
e(t ) = K ' vr ( ) sin 0 t

The equation above can be represented graphically as in Fig.14.

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Servomotor-synchro- A.C. Tachometers

The T. F. of synchro error detector is given as

Ks =

r L

where, Ks = sensitivity of the error detector.

Fig.14

Features of Synchro Error detector :

1) As rotor is cylindrical in shape, air gap is uniform so change in rotor output impedance with
rotation of shaft gets minimised and hence rotor terminals can be connected to
amplifiers without any difficulty.
2) Stator winding has higher impedance per phase which permits several control transformers
to be fed from a single transmitter.
A.C. Tachometers :
The a.c. tachometer is a device which is very much similar to a two phase induction motor.In this
type two stator windings are placed in quadrature with each other and rotor is short circuited.
The schematic diagram is as shown in Fig.15.

Fig.15
For an a.c. tachometer, a sinusoidal voltage of rated value is applied to the primary winding which is
also known as reference winding.
The secondary winding is placed at a 90 mechanically apart in space from the primary winding.
When rotor shaft is rotated, the magnitude of the sinusoidal output voltage eT will be proportional to
rotor speed. Thus, when the rotor shaft is stationary, the output voltage is zero. The polarity of the output
voltage is determined by the direction of rotation.
The transfer function of an a.c. tachometer is,
d
e (t ) = K

i.e.

dt
E ( s)
= Ks
(s)

where,
E ( s ) = Laplace transform of the output

( s ) = Laplace transform of the rotor position

K = constant

Although the output of an a.c. tachometer is an a.c. voltage, this tachometer can be used in a d.c.
servomechanism if the output a.c. voltage is converted into a dc voltage by use of a demodulator.
In servomechanisms a.c. tachometer generators are used to provide the output rate damping.
Advantages :
1) Can be used as speed measuring devices.
2) Can be used as electro-mechanical integrator in analog computers.
3) Reduction of radio noise.
4) Reduction in commutator ripples.
5) No brushes hence no problem of brush friction or brush bounce.

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