How Does a Single Phase Motor Work?

In order to understand how a single phase induction motor operates, it is helpful to understand
the basics of a three phase induction motor

In a three phase motor, the current in the stator (the

stationary coils in the motor) sets up a rotating magnetic field.
The magnetic field rotates due to the 120 phase offset in each
phase of the power supply. This rotating magnetic field induces
a current in the bars of the rotor. The current in the rotor sets
up its own magnetic field. The interaction between the stator
and rotor magnetic fields causes the rotor to rotate. One
important thing to note for 3 phase motors is that because
they run off of three phases that are offset from each other,
they are self-starting. (See figure on right.)

How it rotates
Single phase motors work on the same principle as 3 phase
motors except they are only run off one phase. A single phase
sets up an oscillating magnetic field that goes back and forth
rather than a rotating magnetic field (see figure on left).
Because of this a true single phase motor has zero starting
torque. However, once the rotor begins to rotate it will
continue to rotate as a result of the oscillating magnetic field in
the stator.
Through the years engineers have come up with clever ways to start single phase motors. Most of
these involve producing a second phase to help produce a rotating magnetic field in the stator. This
phase is often called the start phase or the auxiliary phase.
Single Phase Motor Types
Some of the different types of single phase motors are the shaded pole motor, the split phase
motor, the permanent split capacitor motor (also called the single value capacitor motor), and two
value capacitor motor. The main difference in the construction of these motors is in how the second
phase is produced. The shaded pole and the split phase motors don t use a capacitor while the
permanent split capacitor (PSC) and two value capacitor motors do. The split phase and the two
value capacitor motors may use a centrifugal switch to cut out the start phase once the motors get
up to speed while the shaded pole and PSC motors don t have a switch.
Each of these motors has different performance trade-offs, as well. Shaded pole motors are very
simple motors and usually inexpensive but they have poor efficiency and are generally for low

powered applications. Split phase motors are generally low cost motors but they have low starting
torque and high starting current. PSC motors offer higher starting torque and higher efficiency than
motors with no capacitor.
Induction Motors ??
One of the most common electrical motor used in most applications which is known
asinduction motor. This motor is also called as asynchronous motor because it runs at a
speed less than synchronous speed. In this, we need to define what is synchronous speed.
Synchronous speed is the speed of rotation of the magnetic field in a rotary machine and it
depends upon the frequency and number poles of the machine. An induction motoralways
runs at a speed less than synchronous speed because the rotating magnetic fieldwhich is
produced in the stator will generate flux in the rotor which will make the rotor to rotate, but
due to the lagging of flux current in the rotor with flux current in the stator, the rotor will never
reach to its rotating magnetic field speed i.e. the synchronous speed. There are basically
two types of induction motor that depend upon the input supply single phase induction
motor and three phase induction motor. Single phase induction motor is not a self starting
motor which we will discuss later and three phase induction motor is a self-starting motor.
Now in general we need to give two supply i.e. double excitation to make a machine to
rotate. For example if we consider a DC motor, we will give one supply to the stator and
another to the rotor through brush arrangement.

Working Principle of Induction Motor

But in induction motor we give only one supply, so it is really interesting to know that
how it works. It is very simple, from the name itself we can understand that there is
induction process occurred. Actually when we are giving the supply to the stator
winding, flux will generate in the coil due to flow of current in the coil. Now the rotor
winding is arranged in such a way that it becomes short circuited in the rotor itself.
The flux from the stator will cut the coil in the rotor and since the rotor coils are short
circuited, according to Faradays law of electromagnetic induction, current will start
flowing in the coil of the rotor. When the current will flow, another flux will get
generated in the rotor. Now there will be two flux, one is stator flux and another is
rotor flux and the rotor flux will be lagging to the stator flux. Due to this, the rotor will
feel a torque which will make the rotor to rotate in the direction of rotating magnetic
flux. So the speed of the rotor will be depending upon the ac supply and the speed
can be controlled by varying the input supply. This is the working principle of an
induction motor of either type.

Types Induction Motor

SINGLE PHASE INDUCTION MOTOR

1. Split phase induction motor

2. Capacitor start induction motor
3. Capacitor start capacitor run induction motor
4. Shaded pole induction motor
THREE PHASE INDUCTION MOTOR

1. Squirrel cage induction motor

2. Slip ring induction motor

We had mentioned above that single phase induction motor is not a self starting
and three phase induction motor is self starting. So what is self starting? When the
machine starts running automatically without any external force to the machine, then
it is called as self starting. For example we see that when we press the key the fan
starts to rotate automatically, so it is self starting. Point to be note that fan used in
home appliances is single phase induction motor but it is self starting. How? We will
discuss it how.

Why is Three Phase Induction Motor Self Starting?

In three phase system, there are three single phase line with 120 phase difference.
So the rotating magnetic field is having the same phase difference which will make
the rotor to move. If we consider three phases a, b and c, when phase a is
magnetized, the rotor will move towards the phase a winding, in the next moment
phase b will get magnetized and it will attract the rotor and than phase c. So the rotor
will continue to rotate.

Why Single Phase Induction Motor is not Self

Starting?
But what about single phase. It will be having only one phase still it makes the rotor
to rotate, so it is quite interesting. Before that we need to know whysingle phase
induction motor is not a self starting motor and how the problem is overcome. We

know that the ac supply is a sinusoidal wave and it produces pulsating magnetic
field in uniformly distributed stator winding. Since pulsating magnetic field can be
assumed as two oppositely rotating magnetic fields, there will be no resultant torque
produced at the starting and due to this the motor does not run. After giving the
supply, if the rotor is made to rotate in either direction by external force, then the
motor will start to run. This problem has been solved by making the stator winding
into two winding, one is main winding and another is auxiliary winding and
a capacitor is fixed in series with the auxiliary winding. This will make a phase
difference whencurrent will flow through the both coils. When there will be phase
difference, the rotor will generate a starting torque and it will start to rotate.
Practically we can see that the fan does not rotate when the capacitor is
disconnected from the motor but if we rotate with hand it will start to rotate. So this is
the reason of using capacitor in the single phase induction motor. There are several
advantages of induction motor which makes this motor to have wider application. It is
having good efficiency up to 97%. But the speed of the motor varies with the load
given to the motor which is an disadvantage of this motor. The direction of rotation
of induction motor can easily be changed by changing the sequence of three phase
supply, i.e. if RYB is in forward direction, the RBY will make the motor to rotate in
reverse direction. This is in the case of three phase motor but in single phase motor,
the direction can be reversed by reversing the capacitor terminals in the winding.

Construction of Single Phase Induction Motor

Like any other electrical motor asynchronous motor also have two main parts namely
rotor and stator.
Stator: As its name indicates stator is a stationary part of induction motor. A single
phase ac supply is given to the stator of single phase induction motor.
Rotor: The rotor is a rotating part of induction motor. The rotor is connected to the
mechanical load through the shaft. The rotor in single phase induction motor is of
squirrel cage rotor type.
The construction of single phase induction motor is almost similar to the squirrel
cage three phase motor except that in case of asynchronous motor the stator have
two windings instead of one as compare to the single stator winding in three phase
induction motor.

Stator of Single Phase Induction Motor

The stator of the single phase induction motor has laminated stamping to
reduce eddy current losses on its periphery. The slots are provided on its stamping
to carry stator or main winding. In order to reduce the hysteresis losses, stamping
are made up of silicon steel. When the stator winding is given a single phase ac
supply, the magnetic field is produced and the motor rotates at a speed slightly less
than the synchronous speed Nswhich is given by

The construction of the stator of asynchronous motor is similar to that of three phase
induction motor except there are two dissimilarity in the winding part of the single phase
induction motor.
1. Firstly the single phase induction motors are mostly provided with concentric coils. As the
number of turns per coil can be easily adjusted with the help of concentric coils, the mmf
distribution is almost sinusoidal.
2. Except for shaded pole motor, the asynchronous motor has two stator windings namely the
main winding and the auxiliary winding. These two windings are placed in space quadrature
with respect to each other.

Rotor of Single Phase Induction Motor

The construction of the rotor of the single phase induction motor is similar to the
squirrel cage three phase induction motor. The rotor is cylindrical in shape and has
slots all over its periphery. The slots are not made parallel to each other but are bit
skewed as the skewing prevents magnetic locking of stator and rotor teeth and
makes the working of induction motor more smooth and quieter. The squirrel cage
rotor consists of aluminium, brass or copper bars. These aluminium or copper bars
are called rotor conductors and are placed in the slots on the periphery of the rotor.
The rotor conductors are permanently shorted by the copper or aluminium rings
called the end rings. In order to provide mechanical strength these rotor conductor
are braced to the end ring and hence form a complete closed circuit resembling like
a cage and hence got its name as squirrel cage induction motor. As the bars are
permanently shorted by end rings, the rotor electrical resistance is very small and it
is not possible to add external resistance as the bars are permanently shorted. The

absence of slip ring and brushes make the construction of single phase induction
motor very simple and robust.

Working Principle of Single Phase Induction Motor

NOTE: We know that for the working of any electrical motor whether its ac or
dc motor, we require two fluxes as, the interact of these two fluxes produced
the required torque, which is desired parameter for any motor to rotate.
When single phase ac supply is given to the stator winding of single phase induction
motor, the alternating current starts flowing through the stator or main winding. This
alternating current produces an alternating flux called main flux. This main flux also
links with the rotor conductors and hence cut the rotor conductors. According to
the Faradays law of electromagnetic induction, emf gets induced in the rotor. As the
rotor circuit is closed one so, the current starts flowing in the rotor. This currentis
called the rotor current. This rotor current produces its own flux called rotor flux.
Since this flux is produced due to induction principle so, the motor working on this
principle got its name as induction motor. Now there are two fluxes one is main flux
and another is called rotor flux. These two fluxes produce the desired torque which is
required by the motor to rotate.

Why Single Phase Induction Motor is not Self

Starting?
According to double field revolving theory, any alternating quantity can be resolved
into two components, each component have magnitude equal to the half of the
maximum magnitude of the alternating quantity and both these component rotates in
opposite direction to each other. For example a flux, can be resolved into two
components

Each of these components rotates in opposite direction i. e if one m / 2 is rotating in

clockwise direction then the other m / 2 rotates in anticlockwise direction.

When a single phase ac supply is given to the stator winding of single phase
induction motor, it produces its flux of magnitude, m. According to the double field
revolving theory, this alternating flux, m is divided into two components of magnitude
m /2. Each of these components will rotate in opposite direction, with the
synchronous speed, Ns. Let us call these two components of flux as forward
component of flux, f and backward component of flux, b. The resultant of these two
component of flux at any instant of time, gives the value of instantaneous stator flux
at that particular instant.

Now at starting, both the forward and backward components of flux are exactly opposite to
each other. Also both of these components of flux are equal in magnitude. So, they cancel
each other and hence the net torque experienced by the rotor at starting is zero. So, the
single phase induction motors are not self starting motors.

Methods for Making Single Phase Induction as Self

Starting Motor
From the above topic we can easily conclude that the single phase induction motors
are not self starting because the produced stator flux is alternating in nature and at
the starting the two components of this flux cancel each other and hence there is no
net torque. The solution to this problem is that if the stator flux is made rotating type,
rather than alternating type, which rotates in one particular direction only. Then
the induction motor will become self starting. Now for producing this rotatingmagnetic
field we require two alternating flux, having some phase difference angle between
them. When these two fluxes interact with each other they will produce a resultant
flux. This resultant flux is rotating in nature and rotates in space in one particular
direction only. Once the motor starts running, the additional flux can be removed.
The motor will continue to run under the influence of the main flux only. Depending
upon the methods for making asynchronous motor as Self Starting Motor, there are
mainly four types of single phase induction motor namely,
1. Split phase induction motor,
2. Capacitor start inductor motor,
3. Capacitor start capacitor run induction motor,

4. Shaded pole induction motor.

Comparison between Single Phase and Three Phase

Induction Motors
5. Single phase induction motors are simple in construction, reliable and economical for small
power rating as compared to three phase induction motors.
6. The electrical power factor of single phase induction motors is low as compared to three
phase induction motors.
7. For same size, the single phase induction motors develop about 50% of the output as that
of three phase induction motors.
8. The starting torque is also low for asynchronous motors.
9. The efficiency of single phase induction motors is less as compare it to thethree phase
induction motors.

Working Principle of Three Phase Induction Motor

An electrical motor is such an electromechanical device which converts electrical energy into
a mechanical energy. In case of three phase AC operation, most widely used motor isThree
phase induction motor as this type of motor does not require any starting device or we can
say they are self starting induction motor.

For better understanding the principle of three phase induction motor, the basic
constructional feature of this motor must be known to us. This Motor consists of two
major parts:
Stator: Stator of three phase induction motor is made up of numbers of slots to
construct a 3 phase winding circuit which is connected to 3 phase AC source. The
three phase winding are arranged in such a manner in the slots that they produce a
rotatingmagnetic field after AC is given to them.
Rotor: Rotor of three phase induction motor consists of cylindrical laminated core
with parallel slots that can carry conductors. Conductors are heavy copper or
aluminum bars which fits in each slots & they are short circuited by the end rings.
The slots are not exactly made parallel to the axis of the shaft but are slotted a little
skewed because this arrangement reduces magnetic humming noise & can avoid
stalling of motor.

Working of Three Phase Induction Motor

Production of Rotating Magnetic Field

The stator of the motor consists of overlapping winding offset by an electrical angle
of 120. When the primary winding or the stator is connected to a 3 phase AC
source, it establishes a rotating magnetic field which rotates at the synchronous
speed.

Construction Of A 3 Phase Induction Motor

Just like any other motor, a 3 phase induction motor also consists of a stator and a
rotor. Basically there are two types of 3 phase IM - 1. Squirrel cage induction
motor and 2. Phase Wound induction motor (slip-ring induction motor). Both types
have similar constructed rotor, but they differ in construction of rotor. This is explained
further

Stator
The stator of a 3 phase IM (Induction Motor) is made up with
number of stampings, and these stampings are slotted to
receive the stator winding. The stator is wound with a 3 phase
winding which is fed from a 3 phase supply. It is wound for a
defined number of poles, and the number of poles is determined
from the required speed. For greater speed, lesser number of
poles is used and vice versa. When stator windings are supplied
with 3 phase ac supply, they produce alternating flux which revolves with synchronous
speed. The synchronous speed is inversely proportional to number of poles (Ns = 120f /
P). This revolving or rotating magnetic flux induces current in rotor windings according
to Faraday's law of mutual induction.

Rotor
As described earlier, rotor of a 3 phase induction motor can be of either two
types, squirrel cage rotorand phase wound rotor (or simply - wound rotor).

Squirrel Cage Rotor

Most of the induction motors (upto 90%) are of
squirrel cage type. Squirrel cage type rotor has
very simple and almost indestructible construction.
This type of rotor consist of a cylindrical laminated
core, having parallel slots on it. These parallel slots
carry rotor conductors. In this type of rotor, heavy
bars of copper, aluminum or alloys are used as rotor conductors instead of wires.
Rotor slots are slightly skewed to achieve following advantages 1. it reduces locking tendency of the rotor, i.e. the tendency of rotor teeth to remain
under stator teeth due to magnetic attraction.
2. increases the effective transformation ratio between stator and rotor
3. increases rotor resistance due to increased length of the rotor conductor
The rotor bars are brazed or electrically welded to short circuiting end rings at both ends.
Thus this rotor construction looks like a squirrel cage and hence we call it. The rotor bars
are permanently short circuited, hence it is not possible to add any external resistance to
armature circuit.

Phase Wound Rotor

Phase wound rotor is wound with 3 phase, double layer,
distributed winding. The number of poles of rotor are kept
same to the number of poles of the stator. The rotor is
always wound 3 phase even if the stator is wound two
phase.
The three phase rotor winding is internally star
connected. The other three terminals of the winding are taken out via three insulated
sleep rings mounted on the shaft and the brushes resting on them. These three brushes
are connected to an external star connected rheostat. This arrangement is done to
introduce an external resistance in rotor circuit for starting purposes and for changing

the speed / torque characteristics.

When motor is running at its rated speed, slip rings are automatically short circuited by
means of a metal collar and brushes are lifted above the slip rings to minimize the
frictional losses.
WYE-DELTA CONTROLLER
ill 9A shows a simple method by which a three-phase, delta-connected motor can be started on reduced
voltage by connecting the stator windings of the motor in wye during the starting period. ill 9B shows the
actual starter. After the motor accelerates, the windings are reconnected in delta and placed directly across
the rated three-phase voltage. - See more at: http://www.industrialelectronics.com/elecy4_16.html#sthash.1qY
UySaQ.dpuf

ill. 9 A) Elementary diagram of wye-delta

motor starting B) Photo of wye delta, 200 hp,
closed transition.
When the start button is pressed, the main
M contacts close, and relay coil Y and timedelay relay TR are energized. Coil Y causes
contacts Y to close and the windings of the
motor are connected in wye. If the line
voltage is 230 volts, the voltage across each
winding is:
230/1.73 = 133 volts
The voltage across each winding is only 58
percent of the line voltage when the
windings are connected in wye at the start
position. (See 3-phase Voltage)
After a definite period of time, the time-delay
relay TR opens the circuit of relay coil Y and
the Y. contacts open.
Then, the time-delay relay TR closes the
circuit of relay coil D. All D contacts are
closed and the motor winding connections
are changed from wye to delta. Full line volt
age is applied to the motor windings and the
motor operates at its rated speed.
Motors started by a wye-delta controller must have the leads of each phase winding brought out to the
terminal connection box of the motor. In addition, the phase windings must be connected in delta for the
normal running position. NOTE: The electrician should never attempt to operate a three-phase, wyeconnected motor with this type of controller. This is due to the fact that there will be an excessive voltage
applied to the motor windings in the run position when the windings are connected in delta by the controller.
- See more at: http://www.industrial-electronics.com/elecy4_16.html#sthash.1qYUySaQ.dpuf