JMAG Application Note

Analysis of a Three Phase Induction Motor

CONTENTS

Overview........................................................................................................................................ 2
Appendix........................................................................................................................................ 2
1 Analysis Scope........................................................................................................................... 3
2 Motor Specification..................................................................................................................... 3
3 Analysis Results ......................................................................................................................... 6
3.1 Current Density Distribution................................................................................................. 6
3.2 Speed-Torque Curve............................................................................................................ 7
4 Analysis Steps ............................................................................................................................ 8
5 FEM Model Creation .................................................................................................................. 9
5.1 Mesh Model ......................................................................................................................... 9
5.1.1 2D Model ...................................................................................................................... 9
5.1.2 Partial Model ................................................................................................................. 9
5.1.3 Air Region ..................................................................................................................... 9
5.1.4 Mesh Generation ........................................................................................................ 10
5.2 Material Properties ............................................................................................................ 10
5.3 Analysis Conditions ........................................................................................................... 11
5.3.1 Analysis Control .......................................................................................................... 11
5.3.2 Full Model Conversion................................................................................................ 11
5.3.3 Circuit Conversion ...................................................................................................... 11
5.3.4 Step............................................................................................................................. 12
5.3.5 Symmetry Boundary 2D.............................................................................................. 12
5.3.6 Periodic Boundary ...................................................................................................... 12
5.3.7 Motion ......................................................................................................................... 12
5.3.8 Electromagnetic Force and Torque Calculation.......................................................... 12
5.3.9 Slide............................................................................................................................ 12
5.3.10 FEM Coil ................................................................................................................... 13
5.3.11 Circuit ........................................................................................................................ 14
6 Results Display......................................................................................................................... 15
6.1 Current Density Distribution............................................................................................... 15
6.2 Speed-Torque Curve.......................................................................................................... 15
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Overview
The purpose of this Application Note is to help JMAG users understand the steps and
settings used for a basic analysis of induction machines.
The model data from the JMAG Application Catalog can be downloaded to view the
analysis model, settings and results described in this Application Note.
The organization is as follows:

Section 1 Analysis Scope
Presents the scope of the analysis.
Section 2 Motor Specification
Specifies the motor used for the analysis, including the motor geometry, the coil
arrangement and the material properties.
Section 3 Analysis Results
Shows the speed-torque relationship and rotor-current distribution results obtained
from the analysis.
Section 4 Analysis Steps
Describes the analysis steps used to obtain the results presented in Section 3.
Section 5 FEM Model Creation
Describes the analysis settings, including the mesh model, the material properties
and the condition settings.
Section 6 Results Display
Describes how to display the analysis results, such as creating graphs and showing
contour plots.
Appendix
Shows the JMAG mesh model and lists the settings, including material properties and
analysis conditions. The analysis settings are identical to the settings used in the model files
available from our Website.
Magnetic Field Analysis Rotation speed 0 rpm

The JMAG module(s) and the version used for the analysis are:
Module DP
Version Studio 10.0, Designer 10.4

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1 Analysis Scope
This note presents how the current density distribution and the Speed-Torque curve of a
three-phase induction motor can be obtained. The motor analyzed has 4 poles, one coil per
pole winding arrangement, and balanced three-phase currents are used in the stator coils.
This analysis inherently includes core saturation, space harmonics due to stator slots and
leakage paths. The rotor end-rings are approximated by adding an appropriate resistance to
each bar.
In the induction motor, current is induced in the rotor cage by the rotating magnetic field of
stator coils. Analyzing the current induced in the rotor bars is important since the induced
current essentially determines the performance of the induction motor.

2 Motor Specification
The specification of the induction motor used for the analysis is shown below.


Figure 2.1 Induction Motor
Coil
Rotor core
Stator core
Bolt hole
Bar
Shaft
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Table 2.1 Specification
Number of poles 4
Number of stator slots 24
Number of rotor slots 34
Excitation Three-phase AC
Frequency 50 Hz Power supply
Current 4 A
Turns 66 turn/slot
Coil
Resistance 1.48 /phase
Coil winding 1 coil per pole, 1 coil-side per slot: see Figure 2.2
Stator core (outside dimension) L 108 W 108 thickness 42 mm
Rotor core (outside dimension) R 34.7 thickness 42 mm
End-ring cross-section 17.81 mm
2

Bar cross-section 13.34 mm
2


Table 2.2 Material Magnetic Properties
Part Property
Bar Non-magnetic material
Rotor core Isotropic magnetic material: see Figure 2.3 for BH curve
Bolt hole Air
Stator core Isotropic magnetic material: see Figure 2.3 for BH curve
Shaft Isotropic magnetic material: see Figure 2.3 for BH curve
Coil Non-magnetic material

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Figure 2.2 Winding Pattern
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
0 10000 20000 30000 40000
Magnetic field, A/m
F
l
u
x

d
e
n
s
i
t
y
,

T

Figure 2.3 BH Curve (rotor core, stator core and shaft)
U-phase
V-phase
W-phase
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3 Analysis Results
The current density distribution and the Speed-Torque curve can be obtained from analysis
of the induction motor described in Section 2.

3.1 Current Density Distribution
At each speed, the current density in the rotor bars is calculated for every motion step of
rotor position.
The current density distribution at 1050 rpm is shown in Figure 3.1 for two different instants
in time, i.e., two different positions.




Figure 3.1 Current Density Distribution of the Cage Conductor Bars (rotation speed: 1050 rpm)
(upper: 0.11 seconds, lower: 0.14 seconds)
(Unit: A/m
2
)
(Unit: A/m
2
)
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3.2 Speed-Torque Curve
Figure 3.2 shows the Speed-Torque curve obtained for this induction motor model. The
maximum torque is found to be near 1000rpm. In the range labeled b in Figure 3.2, the speed
change is only about 5%, with a 100% change in the torque, therefore the motor is considered
to be essentially a constant speed machine with a fixed frequency power supply.
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
0 150 300 450 600 750 900 1050 1200 1350 1500
Rotation speed, rpm
T
o
r
q
u
e
,

N
m

Figure 3.2 Speed versus Torque
a b
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4 Analysis Steps
A number of transient response magnetic field analyses are required to obtain the
Speed-Torque curve. The average torque is calculated at each speed, including the effects of
the slip, and then the data is exported to a spreadsheet to create the Speed-Torque graph.
The current density can be viewed and evaluated inside JMAG with PLOT files that contain
the analysis results.

The steps to calculate the current density distribution are:

STEP 1: Create the FEM model
STEP 2: Run the analysis for each load point

The steps to obtain the Speed-Torque curve of the induction motor are:

STEPS 1 & 2: Same as above
STEP 3: Calculate the average torque at the specified speed
STEP 4: Repeat STEPS through 1 to 3 at different speeds
STEP 5: Evaluate the results using a spreadsheet

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5 FEM Model Creation
The FEM model, required to run the magnetic field analysis, is composed of a mesh model,
the material properties, and the analysis conditions.

5.1 Mesh Model
Some notes on the creation of the mesh model are provided below.

5.1.1 2D Model
The 2D analysis of JMAG's DP solver module is a good starting point for induction machine
analysis because it is easier and faster than 3D, yet gives sufficiently accurate results. 2D
analysis can be used when the stack length of the rotor and the stator are the same and the
two cores are aligned axially.
In this analysis, the magnetic flux in the axial direction, such as fringing at the ends of the
stack, is ignored.

5.1.2 Partial Model
A half model can be used when the geometry and the magnetic field of the motor have a
periodicity of 180 degrees. The analysis runs faster with a partial model because it reduces
the time for data creation and calculation, as well as the CPU load of the computer.
A partial model requires periodic boundary condition settings, which are done during a later
step. For details, see 5.3.6 Periodic Boundary.

5.1.3 Air Region
The air region is required even if the magnetic circuit is closed within the motor, because of
some flux leakage, usually caused by saturation. An adequate size of the air region is 1.05 to
2.5 times the outer radius of the stator core, and the optimum value varies with the severity of
the saturation.
In this analysis, the mesh model of the air region is set to 1.25 times the radius of the motor.
A symmetry boundary condition specifies the outer circumference of the mesh model. See
5.3.5 Symmetry Boundary.

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5.1.4 Mesh Generation
Since the rotor has the rotational motion, the cylindrical slide mesh option can be used to
efficiently generate the mesh in the gap between the stator and the rotor for each increment of
rotation.
The number of divisions is set so there are at least 8 divisions in one period of the torque.
Generally, the divisions needed for accurate calculation vary with motor geometry. For this
analysis, one division has about 10 divisions in the circumferential direction. The number of
divisions in the radial direction is set to 5 because the flux in the gap of the induction motor
changes significantly as the stator current changes and as the rotor moves.
.
5.2 Material Properties
The material properties of the parts are specified with reference to the motor specification
list. See Figure 2.1 and Table 2.1.
In this analysis, the electric conductivity of the bar (3.010
7
S/m) is corrected to include the
effect of the current flowing in the end rings. Values used for the calculation are listed in Table
5.1. The resistance R
2
of the corrected bar is calculated using the equation (1.1) and (1.2).


The inductance of the end rings is ignored in this method; however, there is no problem to
evaluate the Speed-Torque curve.

b
b
b
S
l
R

1
(1.1)
r
r
r
S
l
R

1
2 (1.2)

2
2
2
P
N
R R R
r b
(1.3)
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Table 5.1 Values Used for Calculating Correction Values of Electric Conductivity
Parameter Value
b
R : Resistance of the bar Calculated using the
equation 1.1
r
R : Resistance of the end ring Calculated using the
equation 1.2
2
R : Corrected resistance of the bar Calculated using the
equation 1.3
2
N : Number of rotor slots 34
P : Number of poles 4
b
l : Length of bar 42 mm
b
S : Cross-section of the bar 13.34 mm
2

r
l : Length of the end ring circumference 188.5 mm
r
S : Cross-section of the end ring 17.81mm
2

: Conductivity of the conductor 3.010
7
S/m

5.3 Analysis Conditions
Some note about the analysis conditions are provided below.

5.3.1 Analysis Control
Transient response analysis is selected since the induced magnetomotive force and the
rotation motion of the rotor are time-varying phenomena, and the effects of eddy current need
to be included.
When a half (180 degrees) model is used for the analysis, the conversion factor for both the
FEM model and the circuit is 2.
Since the torque is constant at each rpm in the calculation of the Speed-Torque curve, the
dummy stationary analysis option may be used to shorten the initial transient state.

5.3.2 Full Model Conversion
The conversion factor is set to 2 because a half model is used for this analysis.

5.3.3 Circuit Conversion
The conversion factor is set to 2 because a half model is used for this analysis.


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5.3.4 Step
The rotor is set to rotate 1 degree per step in this analysis. The time interval is used to
specify the speed for each point on the Speed-Torque curve. When the analysis needs to run
for a mechanical angle, such as 720 degrees, the number of steps would be set to 721 to
include the initial starting position.

5.3.5 Symmetry Boundary 2D
The symmetry boundary sets the outer boundary of the entire mesh model, assuming all
magnetic flux stays inside this boundary.

5.3.6 Periodic Boundary
The periodic boundary needs to be specified when a half model is used. In this example,
both the model geometry and the direction of the magnetic field have a periodicity of 180
degrees in the circumferential direction. The model is 2D and the center is the origin, so the
point on the rotation axis is set to (0,0,0) and the direction of the rotation axis is set to
(X,Y,Z)=(0,0,1).

5.3.7 Motion
The motion condition is set on the rotating parts including the shaft, rotor core and rotor
bars. The center of the rotation is the origin and the rotation axis is Z-axis, sothe point on the
rotation axis is set to (0,0,0) and the direction of the rotation axis is set to (X,Y,Z)=(0,0,1).
To obtain the Speed-Torque curve, a number of analyses at different speeds will need to be
specified.

5.3.8 Electromagnetic Force and Torque Calculation
For this analysis, this condition is set on the shaft, rotor core, and the bars to calculate the
torque generated in the rotating parts. The nodal force method is used when the condition is
set on magnetic materials.

5.3.9 Slide
The cylindrical slide mesh option is used in this case to efficiently generate the mesh in the
air gap. With this option, the slide condition will be set automatically during the mesh
generation.

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5.3.10 FEM Coil
An FEM coil condition needs to be assigned to each phase. The coil regions for each phase
are connected in series, so only a single condition needs to be set to each phase.
The directions of the current flow in the coil region are indicated in Figure 5.1.


Figure 5.1 Current Flow Directions Set by the FEM Coil Conditions (+ is upward, - is downward)

-V
-V
+U
+U
-W
-W
+W
+W
-U
-U
+V
+V
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5.3.11 Circuit
In this basic induction motor model, the currents in the stator coil are user-specified as input
values.
The settings for the three-phase current sources and the FEM coil components will specify
the typical balanced three-phase operation of the motor.
For this analysis, amplitude is set to 4 A, frequency to 50 Hz, number of turns to 66 turns,
and resistance to 1.48 ohm as shown in the specification, Table 2-1. The U-phase current is
set to 0 degrees, the V-phase is set to +120 degrees (theta+120) and the W-phase is set to
-120 degrees (theta-120).
In JMAG, one FEM coil condition in the FEM model corresponds to one FEM coil
component in the circuit. The conditions defined in the circuit are run simultaneously with
magnetic field analysis.


Figure 5.2 Circuit Diagram (left: whole circuit, right: internal circuit of star connection block)



U-phase
V-phase
W-phase
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6 Results Display
After the analysis is complete, a results file is created, which is opened in a new window
with one click. Many parameters can be displayed, each with choices such as line plots or
color contours. The display of the current density and the Speed-Torque curve is described
below.

6.1 Current Density Distribution
A contour plot of the current density distribution in the stator coils and the rotor bars of the
induction motor can be viewed.

6.2 Speed-Torque Curve
The Speed-Torque curve is displayed in a graph using the average torque at each rotation
speed in spreadsheet software. The electromagnetic force of the torque is exported from the
analysis results for each rotation speed to graph the Speed-Torque curve. The average torque
can be calculated by averaging one period of the torque in the steady state. The
Speed-Torque curve shown in Figure 3.2 was created by setting the average torque on the
vertical axis, and the speed on the horizontal axis.

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