EE 462

ELECTRIC DRIVES
Compiled by: Prof. Philip Yaw Okyere
Delivered by: Dr. Francis Boafo Effah
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +233209408218,+233241216264
 UNIT 3B
ELECTRIC BRAKING

2
Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
shunt motor or separately excited motor

• The braking also known as terminal voltage reversal (TVR)

braking is achieved by applying a motor terminal voltage
whose polarity is opposite to that applied to lower a light
load.

• The characteristics of the motor with normal and reversed

voltage applied are shown on the next slide.

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• With this braking method, the motor can be brought to a stop
(i.e. speed reduced to zero), its direction of rotation can be
reversed or motor can be operated under holding conditions.

• The figure on the next slide shows the characteristics of the

motor driving a bidirectional torque load.

• The motor operates at point 1 in the upward motion.

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• If the reversal of the voltage is sudden, the operating point
moves from point 1 to point 2, then to point 3 and finally to
point 4 where both the motor torque and speed have reversed;
reverse motoring.

• While travelling from 2 to 3, the motor operates in the

plugging mode.

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• The equations describing operating point 1 are
TL V1  E1
V1  E1  Ra and I a1 
k Ra
• The equations at point 2 are
T2  V1  E1
V2  V1  E1  Ra and I a 2 
k Ra

• The initial braking torque T2 and the initial braking current Ia2
are negative.
• The initial braking current is much larger than Ia1.
• It is about two times the starting current.
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• At point 3, the speed is zero and so is the motor emf. The
equations at this point are
T3  V1
 V1  Ra and I a3 
k Ra

• This is equal to the motor starting current without starters.

• The equations at steady state operating point 4 are

  TL    V1  E4 
 V1  E4     Ra and I a 4    and E 4  k
where E4 and ω are negative.
k   Ra 
• Ia4 = Ia1
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• One method for keeping the initial braking current Ia2
within safe limits is to simultaneously insert resistance
Rb in the armature circuit when the armature voltage is
being reversed.

• The figure on the next slide shows the effect of the

braking resistance

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• Another method for reducing the braking current is to
reduce the terminal voltage.

• The effect of voltage reduction is shown in the figure

on the next slide.

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 Example 6
A dc separately excited motor has an
armature resistance of 1 Ω and
k  3 V/rad/s . When the terminal voltage
of the motor is adjusted to 320 V, the motor
speed is 1000 rev/m. A TVR braking is
applied. Calculate the value of the braking
resistance that would reduce the maximum
braking current to twice the rated current.

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 Solution
1000
E1  k1  3  2  314.16 V
60
V1  E1 320  314.16
I a1    5.84 A
Ra 1
Maximum braking current occurs at point 3
I a3  2 I a1  2  5.84  11 .68 A
 V1  E1  320  314.16
I a3    11 .68
Ra  Rb 1  Rb
Rb  53.3 
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Regenerative braking of dc series motor
• This is not possible because we cannot obtain emf which is
greater than the terminal voltage.

• This is also shown by the speed-torque characteristic not

crossing into the second quadrant.

• In electric traction, where regenerative braking is used, the dc

series motors are reconnected as separately excited motors.

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• Switching from the dc series motor connection to separately
excited motor connection is best done using solid state
switches.
• During the change over, the field current is not supposed to be
interrupted.
• This is to reduce current transients and to prevent the machine
from over-speeding.
• A simple circuit for the change-over is shown on the next
slide
• The switches are solid-state switches.
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• For normal motor operation, S1 is closed, and S2 and S3 are
open.
• The change over from motoring to braking is done in two
steps.
- The first step consists of opening S1 and closing S3 to
separate the armature circuit from the field circuit.
- The second step consists of closing S2 to provide the field
current from a separate source.

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 • During the interval between opening S1 and closing S3,
the field current is kept continuous by the freewheeling
action of the diode.

• The voltage Vf required to circulate rated field current is

low because the field resistance of the dc series motor is
small.

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Rheostatic or dynamic braking of dc series motor
• This is possible with dc series motors.
• For this motor, we need
- to interconnect the armature winding and the field winding
so that the direction of the current in the field remains the
same as in the normal running (or motoring).
- to ensure that the total resistance in the motor circuit (Ra +
Rs + Rex) is not greater than the critical value

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• Similar to the dc shunt motor,
E   I a ( Rex  Ra )
   I a ( Rex  Ra ) k   ( Rex  Ra )Te  (k ) 2

We note that k depends on the field current Ia unlike the

dc shunt motor.
We note also that Ia is negative so the direction of the
field current does not change.
• Rheostatic braking of dc series motors can also be achieved
by reconnecting them as separately excited motors.
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 Example 7
A dc series motor is subjected to rheostatic braking
against a load torque of 318.3 Nm. Determine the value
of the resistance to be reconnected in the motor circuit to
limit the speed to 480 rpm. The total resistance of the
armature and the field is 0.24 Ω and the open-circuit
characteristic corresponding to 900 rpm is as given
below:

If 20 40 60 80 100 A
E 261 540 738 882 945 V

24 Neglect rotational losses.

 Solution
Here too we require E and Ia under the given loading condition.
Since flux is dependent on the load or armature current, we use
the following procedure:
(i) Obtain k as a function of Ia (magnetization curve):
From E  k , we obtain for a given I a  I f the corresponding
k . For example, for I a  I f  20 A ,
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k   2.77 Nm/A where N  900 rpm (the speed at which
2 60
N

the open-circuit characteristic is obtained)

(ii) Obtain Te as a function of Ia:
For a given I a  I f , k is known from (i) so we can calculate its
corresponding torque. For example, for I a  I f  20 A ,
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Te  kI a  2.77  20  55.4 Nm
 (iii) From Te  I a curve, determine Ia that is required to
develop a torque of 318.3 Nm.
(iv) From k  I a curve, determine k that corresponds to
the armature current obtained in (iii). You may also use the
formula Te  kI a to calculate k corresponding to that
armature current.
(v) Using the braking speed (=480 rpm) and k in (iv),
obtain the corresponding emf E.
(vi) Using E in (v) and Ia in (iii), obtain the total resistance
in the motor circuit: RT  E I a and hence
Rex  R T ( Ra  R s ) .
Total resistance = 6.99 Ω and Rex required = 6.70 Ω.
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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor
• Two methods can be applied to the dc series motor.
• One method consists of inserting a resistance in the armature
circuit.
• The equation of the motor under this type of braking is
• Ib is the steady-state armature current after braking.
E  V  I b ( Ra  Rb )

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor cont’d
• Neglecting saturation, the braking current is given by

TL  kI b k c I b2
• If the terminal voltage and load torque are constant, the back
emf can become negative for large braking resistance Rb.

• The characteristics are shown on the next slide.

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor cont’d

• Point 1 is the steady-state operating point for normal running

• And point 2 is the steady-state operating point under reverse

current braking.

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor cont’d

• The other method is the TVR braking

• If TVR braking is applied we are to ensure that the direction

of the field current remains unchanged.

• To prevent the field current from reversing when the applied

voltage is reversed, the circuit on the next slide can be
implemented.
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32 TVR braking circuit for series motor
Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor cont’d
• In the normal operation, the switch S is at A, and transistors
Q1 and Q2 are switched on.
• Diode D1 does not conduct and diode D2 conducts to short
the braking resistance.
• To apply TVR, switch S is changed to B, Q1 and Q2 are
turned off, and transistors Q3 and Q4 are turned on.
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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor cont’d
• D1 ensures that the field current is not interrupted while the
transistors are switching.
• D2 in this mode of operation is reverse biased and allows
braking current to flow in the braking resistance.
• The characteristics are shown on the next slide.

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc series
Motor Cont’d

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Characteristics of TVR braking for series motor
• The operating point under normal conditions is point 1.
• After the braking it moves to point 2, then finally to point 3 if
load is bidirectional torque load.
• If load torque is unidirectional, the motor will continue to
move to point 4, where the speed is zero.
• The motor should be disconnected at this point. The motor
cannot produce a torque that meets the load demand.

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 Braking dc motors while stopping
Regenerative braking of dc shunt motor or
separately excited motor

• This is possible with adjustable speed motor.

• Examples are adjustable speed motor using
 flux control or
armature voltage control.

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Regenerative braking of dc shunt motor or
separately excited motor cont’d
• In the case of flux control, the motor operates at rated
conditions with a weak field current.

• Before bringing the motor to rest, the field current is

increased to the permissible maximum value.

• The speed of the motor then falls to the minimum value and
the kinetic energy released from the rotor fed back to the
supply.
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Regenerative braking of dc shunt motor or
separately excited motor cont’d

• A motor which operates with a weak field under rated

conditions has to be designed to carry a large current to
produce the rated torque.

• Such motors are large in size, poor in efficiency and

costly.

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Regenerative braking of dc shunt motor or
separately excited motor cont’d

• Adjusting the armature voltage causes the speed-torque

characteristic of the motor to shift along the speed axis.

• Characteristics for the two methods for the case where

the driven load is passive are shown on the next slide.

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
shunt motor or separately excited motor

• It is used to obtain a rapid stop.

• To reverse the torque developed, either the field current or the

armature current is reversed.

• Armature current is reversed in practice because the time

constant of the armature circuit is less.

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
shunt motor or separately excited motor

• When the armature current is reversed, the back emf of

the armature aids the supply voltage.

• The initial current can therefore be very high (about 50

times the rated current).

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
shunt motor or separately excited motor
• As discussed in respect of braking while lowering a load,
 Additional resistance Rb is inserted in the armature circuit
to limit the initial braking current to about twice full-load
value or
 the terminal voltage is reduced for reducing the braking
current.

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Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
shunt motor or separately excited motor

• The characteristics under reverse current braking when the

armature voltage is reversed are shown on the next slide.

• Circuit interruption is usually effected by automatic null-

speed device mounted on the motor shaft.

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 Example 9
A 220 V, 20 kW dc shunt motor running at its
rated speed of 1200 rev/min is to be braked by
reverse current braking. The armature resistance
is 0.1 ohm and the rated efficiency of the motor is
88 %. Calculate
(a)the resistance to be connected in series with
the armature to limit the initial braking
current to twice the rated current.
(b) the initial braking torque and
(c)the torque when the speed of the motor falls to
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400 rpm
 Solution
ouput power
Input power of motor 
efficiency
20 103

0.88
input power
Input current (rated value) 
input voltage
20 103
  103.3 A
0.88  220
rated output power
Rated torque of motor (shaft torque) 
rated speed
20 103
  159.15 Nm
2  60
1200

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 (a) The back emf of the motor at rated current, field current
neglected ( input current I  I a  I f ) is given by
E  220  103.3  0.1  209.67 V
At operating point 3,
 V  E  I a ( Ra  Rb ) or  I a ( Ra  Rb )  E  V
E  V  209.67  220  429.67 V
Initial braking current is supposed to be
 2  103.3  206.6 A and it is negative.
Hence resistance in armature circuit should be
E V 429.67
Rb  Ra    2.08 
 Ia  (206.6)

Braking resistance required Rb  2.08  0.1  1.98 

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 (b) For a dc shunt motor Te  I a , field current being kept constant.
Hence initial braking torque will be twice the full load torque
 2  159.15  318.30 Nm
(c) At the speed of 400 rpm, the back emf
N
Enew  new  Eold
N old
400
  209.67  69.89 V
1200
Hence braking current at 400 rpm
220  E new 220  69.89
   139.37 A
Rex  Ra 2.08
I a ( new)
Braking torque Te ( new)   Te ( old )
I a ( old )
139.37
 159.15  214.72 Nm
103.3
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 Braking dc motors while stopping
Rheostatic or dynamic braking of dc shunt
motor or separately excited motor

• As discussed earlier.

• In practice Rex is chosen so that the initial braking current is

about twice the full-load value.

• This method is less rapid than plugging but simple and not so
wasteful of energy.
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Rheostatic or dynamic braking of dc shunt
motor or separately excited motor

• Characteristics for three different values of braking

resistances are shown on the next slide.

• The smaller the braking resistance is, the larger the braking
current, the higher the rate of dissipation of the kinetic energy,
and the faster the braking.

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 •

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 Braking dc motors while stopping
Regenerative braking of dc series motor
• The dc series motor is reconnected as separately excited
motor.
• How the connection for motoring as dc series motor is
changed to the connection for regenerative braking as
separately excited motor is already discussed
• Regenerative braking of dc separately excited motor is
already discussed.
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 Braking dc motors while stopping
Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor

• The terminal voltage is reversed and additional resistance Rb

is inserted in the armature circuit to limit the initial braking
current as in the case of the dc shunt motor.

• When the terminal voltage is reversed, the direction of the

field current should not change.
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 Braking dc motors while stopping
Plugging or reverse current braking of dc
series motor cont’d

• The change-over from the normal circuit to the braking circuit

is already discussed.

• In the case of dc series motor, the initial braking torque varies

significantly with changes in the torque as shown on the next
slide.
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Plugging or reverse current braking of
dc series motor cont’d
• Curve 1 is the speed-torque curve while motor is
operating in the forward direction and
• Curve 2 is the speed-torque curve with high external
resistance in the armature circuit while motor is
operating in the reverse direction.

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 Braking dc motors while stopping
Rheostatic or dynamic braking of dc series
motor
• The direction of the field current should not change.
• We need also to ensure that the total resistance in the motor
circuit (Ra + Rs + Rex) is not greater than the critical value.
• In practice Rex is chosen so that the initial braking current is
about twice the rated motor current.

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 Thank You

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