Single-Phase Induction Motors

Mikhael Glen Lataza

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
University of San Carlos, Technological Center
Cebu City, Philippines
[email protected]

Abstract—An induction motor is the most commonly used On the other hand, single-phase source does not produce a
electric motor due to its simplicity of construction and revolving magnetic field but an oscillating one, making a
ruggedness with less moving parts. The single-phase induction single-phase induction motor not self-starting. Thus, different
motor is used in electric fans and electric pumps. Unlike starting methods were developed to address the issue. One
polyphase induction motors, single-phase induction motors don’t method is the shaded-pole induction motor.
have a revolving magnetic field making it not self-starting. One
method of self-starting the motor is through the use of shaded-
poles. Speed of the motor can be controlled by changing the
A. Shaded-Pole Induction Motor
number of poles through consequent pole. In this experiment, A shaded-pole induction motor consists of salient poles that
these methods are tested to verify their operation. Results show are shaded with copper rings. The copper ring act as a
that the shaded-pole motor is self-starting and rotates at a secondary winding for the motor. The alternating flux on the
specific direction while the consequent pole motor is not self- pole induces a voltage on the copper ring which produces a
starting and changes speed when one of its windings is reversed. circulating current [4]. This circulating current produces a flux
With the shaded-pole, a revolving magnetic field is produced to that is out-of-phase with the main flux (about 90 degrees). The
start the motor and the consequent pole increases the number of resultant is a rotating magnetic field that develops the starting
poles. torque of the motor. The field rotates from the unshaded
portion to the shaded portion. Thus, a shaded-pole induction
Keywords—shaded-pole induction motor; consequent pole; motor can only turn in one direction.
squirrel-cage rotor
This type of motor is applicable for driving small loads due
I. INTRODUCTION to its small starting torque and lower efficiency [4].
An induction motor produces mechanical torque through B. Consequent Pole
the interaction of magnetic fields produced by currents in the
stator and rotor conductors. Unlike other type of motors, rotor Consequent pole changes the speed of the motor by altering
currents are generated through electromagnetic induction, the number of stator poles through the reversal of the
hence the name. The simplicity in setup makes induction motor connections of a winding. For a two-pole stator, the two poles
the most commonly used electric motor in the world [1]. are of opposite magnetic poles (N-S or S-N). When the
connection of one of the pole is reversed, both poles now
When energized from a balanced polyphase source (usually produce similar magnetic poles (N-N or S-S) [5]. This in turn
three-phase), the stator produces a revolving magnetic field in produces additional magnetic poles in between. Increasing the
the air gap at synchronous speed (ns) determined by the number effective number of poles from two to four.
of poles (P) and applied stator frequency (f) [2], as shown
below. This method doubles the number of poles in the stator
which by virtue of (1), divides the speed by two. A
combination of relays, pushbuttons, and contactors can be used
to switch between the two speeds.
  
II. OBJECTIVES
The developed torque is in the same direction as the This experiment aims to observe the operation of shaded-
rotating magnetic field. The speed of the induction motor (nr) is pole motor and consequent pole motor. Specifically, it aims to
always less than the synchronous speed (ns) since relative
motion between the revolving field and the rotor is required to  Observe the direction of rotation of shaded-pole motor;
induce rotor currents. Based on (1), the speed of an induction and
motor can be controlled by varying the frequency and the  Observe the speed of consequent pole motor at different
number of poles. The former can be done through the use of states; and
Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) [3]. While the latter can be
done through consequent pole.  Observe the starting characteristics of both motors.
 III. MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT USED
The materials or equipment used in conducting this
experiment are the following:
 Two 4 kVA Two-Winding 220/220 Transformer;
 Four-pole Shaded-pole Induction Motor;
 Two-pole Consequent-pole Induction Motor;
 Two Contactors;
 Two Relays;
 Three NO & NC Pushbuttons; and
 Festo Wires

IV. METHODOLOGY
A transformer was used to step-down the 220 V supply to
110 V for the motors. To achieve the 2:1 turns ratio, the Fig. 2. Schematic diagram for the shaded-pole induction motor.
windings in the transformer are connected in accordance to the
figure below. B. Consequent Pole
The consequent pole windings were connected to a
contactor in accordance to the connections in fig. 3. To control
the contactor, a control circuit was constructed (based on fig. 4)
to switch between states S and state R by the use of
pushbuttons. Unlike the motor, the control circuit was supplied
from 220 V supply.
After verifying the connections for both power and control
circuits, the S push button was pressed to start the motor. After
taking observations, the R push button was then pressed.
Changes in the operation of the motor were noted.

Fig. 1. Configuration of the step-down transformer.

A. Shaded-Pole Induction Motor

The shaded-pole induction motor was connected to the 110
V secondary of the transformer through a circuit breaker. The
winding poles are connected in accordance to the figure below
where all pairs of poles are connected in parallel to the supply.
For each pair, the poles are connected in series with opposing
polarity.
After verification of terminals, the circuit was energized
and observations were taken. Fig. 3. Power circuit for consequent pole induction motor.
 From the consequent pole motor, results show that the
speed of the motor is affected by the number of poles.

REFERENCES

[1] "Induction Motors," 2014. [Online]. Available:

http://www.edisontechcenter.org/inductionMotors.html.
[2] A. E. Fitzgerald, C. J. Kingsley and S. D. Umans, Electric Machinery,
McGraw-Hill, 2006.
[3] T. Agarwal, "Variable Frequency Drive for Induction Motor," [Online].
Available: https://www.elprocus.com/variable-frequency-drive-for-
induction-motor/.
[4] "Shaded Pole Induction Motor," [Online]. Available:
https://circuitglobe.com/shaded-pole-induction-motor.html.
Fig. 4. Control circuit for consequent pole induction motor.
[5] "Pole Changing Method," [Online]. Available:
https://circuitglobe.com/pole-changing-method.html.
V. DATA AND RESULTS
VII. REFLECTION
The results for each setup are discussed in the following
sections separately. The analysis of single-phase induction motor can be done
with the use of revolving fields. The oscillating field can be
A. Shaded-Pole Induction Motor expressed as a summation of two revolving field rotating at
opposite directions. At standstill, the slip of the rotor with
Results show that the shaded-pole induction motor is self- respect to each field is equal and opposite. Thus, there is no net
starting. The direction of rotation is from the unshaded portion torque. This explains why single-phase induction motor is not
to the shaded portion. This confirms the prediction in [4]. self-starting.

B. Consequent Pole Giving it an initial torque, the slip with respect to both
revolving fields is not equal causing a net torque. The slip of
Results for the second setup show that the consequent pole the forward revolving field (in the same direction as initial
induction motor is not self-starting. It requires an initial torque torque) is less than the backward revolving field (in the
to start the rotation of the motor. The direction of rotation of opposite direction as initial torque). Since, the torque is
the motor is similar to the direction of the initial torque. inversely proportional to the slip, the forward revolving field
It has also been observed that the R state produce a faster causes a larger torque than the backward revolving field. This
rotation than the S state which is in contradiction with the causes the rotor to continue rotating in the forward direction.
prediction in [5]. R state is the consequent pole state with twice The dual revolving field theory allows a mathematical
as more poles as S state, so the motor should have been slower treatment of the single-phase induction motors.
in R state. Misalignment of horizontal poles might be the cause
of the contradicting result since the misalignment can cause
portion of the pole to be closer to the rotor than the other VIII. CERTIFICATION
portion. This makes the motor a reluctance-start type. This can I hereby certify that all the content written in this paper are
also explain why the motor turns faster at a specific direction. my original work and all borrowed content from other sources
Thus, further investigation is required to understand the are duly cited and listed in the references section.
discrepancy. The key result here is that the consequent poles
increased the number of poles of the motor from two to four
and caused the change in speed of the motor.

VI. CONCLUSION Mikhael Glen Lataza

Author
A revolving magnetic field is required for a self-starting
induction motor. From a single-phase source, a rotating
magnetic field can be produced by adding an out-of-phase flux
that is shifted by an angle. Essentially producing a polyphase
flux.