Starting Methods of a Single Phase Induction

Motor

The Single Phase Motor is not self-starting and hence needs an auxiliary means or equipment to
start the single-phase induction motor. Mechanical methods are impractical and, therefore the
motor is started temporarily converting into a two-phase motor.
Single-phase Induction motors are usually classified according to the auxiliary means used to
start the motor. They are classified according to the starting methods.

The various starting methods of a Single Phase Induction motor are as follows:
Split Phase Induction Motor
The Split Phase Motor is also known as a Resistance Start Motor. It has a single cage rotor,
and its stator has two windings known as main winding and starting winding. Both the windings
are displaced 90 degrees in space. The main winding has very low resistance and a high
inductive reactance whereas the starting winding has high resistance and low inductive
reactance. The connection diagram of the motor is shown below:

A resistor is connected in
series with the auxiliary winding. The current in the two windings is not equal as a result, the
rotating field is not uniform. Hence, the starting torque is small, of the order of 1.5 to 2 times the
stated running torque. At the starting of the motor both the windings are connected in parallel.

As soon as the motor reaches the speed of about 70 to 80 % of the synchronous speed the
starting winding is disconnected automatically from the supply mains. If the motors are rated
about 100 Watt or more, a centrifugal switch is used to disconnect the starting winding and for
the smaller rating motors relay is used for the disconnecting of the winding.

A relay is connected in series with the main winding. In the starting, the heavy current flows in
the circuit, and the contact of the relay gets closed. Thus, the starting winding is in the circuit,
and as the motor attains the predetermined speed, the current in the relay starts decreasing.
Therefore, the relay opens and disconnects the auxiliary winding from the supply, making the
motor runs on the main winding only.

The starting current of the motor is high about 7 to 8 times the full load value.

The direction of the Resistance Start motor can be reversed by reversing the line connection of
either the main winding or the starting winding. The reversal of the motor is possible at the
standstill condition only.
Applications of Split Phase Induction Motor
This type of motor is cheap and is suitable for easily starting loads where the frequency of
starting is limited. This type of motor is not used for drives that require more than 1 KW because
of the low starting torque. The various applications are as follows:

 Used in the washing machine, and air conditioning fans.

 The motors are used in mixer grinders, floor polishers.
 Blowers, Centrifugal pumps.
 Drilling and lathe machine.

Capacitor Start Induction Motor

Capacitor Start Motors are single-phase Induction Motors that employ a capacitor in the
auxiliary winding circuit to produce a greater phase difference between the current in the main
and the auxiliary windings. The name capacitor starts itself shows that the motor uses a capacitor
for the purpose of starting. The figure below shows the connection diagram of a Capacitor Start
Motor.

Applications of the Capacitor Start Motor

The various applications of the motor are as follows:

 These motors are used for the loads of higher inertia where frequent starting is required.
 Used in pumps and compressors
 Used in the refrigerator and air conditioner compressors.
 They are also used for conveyors and machine tools.
 Capacitor Start Capacitor Run Motor
 The Capacitor Start Capacitor Run Motor has a cage rotor, and its stator has two
windings known as Main and Auxiliary Windings. The two windings are displaced 90
degrees in space. There are two capacitors in this method one is used at the time of the
starting and is known as starting capacitor. The other one is used for continuous running
of the motor and is known as RUN capacitor.
 So this motor is named Capacitor Start Capacitor Run Motor and is sometimes known as
Two Value Capacitor Motor. The connection diagram of the Two valve Capacitor
Motor is shown below:

 There are two capacitors in this motor represented by CS and CR. In the starting, the two
capacitors are connected in parallel. The capacitor Cs is the Starting capacitor is short
time rated. It is almost electrolytic. A large amount of current is required to obtain the
starting torque. Therefore, the value of the capacitive reactance X should be low in the
starting winding. Since, XA = 1/2πfCA, the value of the starting capacitor should be large.
 The rated line current is smaller than the starting current at the normal operating
condition of the motor. Hence, the value of the capacitive reactance should be large.
Since, XR = 1/2πfCR, the value of the run capacitor should be small.
 As the motor reaches the synchronous speed, the starting capacitor Cs is disconnected
from the circuit by a centrifugal switch Sc. The capacitor CR is connected permanently in
the circuit and thus it is known as RUN Capacitor. The run capacitor is long time rated
and is made of oil-filled paper.
 This type of motor is quiet and smooth running. They have higher efficiency than the
motors that run on the main windings only. They are used for loads of higher inertia
requiring frequent starts where the maximum pull-out torque and efficiency required are
higher. The two value capacitor motors are used in pumping equipment, refrigeration, air
compressors, etc.

 Permanent Split Capacitor (PSC) Motor

 The Permanent Split Capacitor motor also has a cage rotor and the two windings
named as main and auxiliary windings similar to that of a Capacitor Start and Capacitor
Start Capacitor Run Motor. It has only one capacitor connected in series with the starting
 winding. The capacitor C is permanently connected in the circuit both at the starting and
the running conditions.
 The connection diagram of a Permanent Split Capacitor Motor is shown below:


 It is also called a Single Value Capacitor Motor. As the capacitor is always in the
circuit and thus this type of motor does not contain any starting switch. The auxiliary
winding is always there in the circuit.

Advantages of Permanent Split Capacitor Motor

The single value capacitor motor has the following advantages:

 No centrifugal switch is required.

 Efficiency is high.
 As the capacitor is connected permanently in the circuit, the power factor is high.
 It has a higher pullout torque.

Limitations of Permanent Split Capacitor Motor

The limitations of the motor are as follows:

 The paper capacitor is used in the motor as an Electrolytic capacitor cannot be used for
continuous running. The cost of the paper capacitor is higher, and the size is also large as
compared to the electrolytic capacitor of the same ratings.
 It has low starting torque, less than full load torque.

Applications of Permanent Split Capacitor Motor

The various applications of the split motor are as follows:

 Used in fans and blowers in heaters and air conditioners.

  Used in refrigerator compressors.
 Used in office machinery.

Starting methods of three phase induction

motors
An induction motor is similar to a poly-phase transformer whose secondary is short circuited.
Thus, at normal supply voltage, like in transformers, the initial current taken by the primary is
very large for a short while. Unlike in DC motors, large current at starting is due to the absence
of back emf. If an induction motor is directly switched on from the supply, it takes 5 to 7 times
its full load current and develops a torque which is only 1.5 to 2.5 times the full load torque. This
large starting current produces a large voltage drop in the line, which may affect the operation of
other devices connected to the same line. Hence, it is not advisable to start induction motors of
higher ratings (generally above 25kW) directly from the mains supply.
Various starting methods of induction motors are described below.

Direct-on-line (DOL) starters

Small three phase induction motors can be started direct-on-line, which means that the rated
supply is directly applied to the motor. But, as mentioned above, here, the starting current would
be very large, usually 5 to 7 times the rated current. The starting torque is likely to be 1.5 to 2.5
times the full load torque. Induction motors can be started directly on-line using a DOL starter
which generally consists of a contactor and a motor protection equipment such as a circuit
breaker. A DOL starter consists of a coil operated contactor which can be controlled by start and
stop push buttons. When the start push button is pressed, the contactor gets energized and it
closes all the three phases of the motor to the supply phases at a time. The stop push button de-
energizes the contactor and disconnects all the three phases to stop the motor.
In order to avoid excessive voltage drop in the supply line due to large starting current, a DOL
starter is generally used for motors that are rated below 5kW.

Starting of squirrel cage motors

Starting in-rush current in squirrel cage motors is controlled by applying reduced voltage to the
stator. These methods are sometimes called as reduced voltage methods for starting of
squirrel cage induction motors. For this purpose, following methods are used:

1. By using primary resistors

2. Autotransformer
3. Star-delta switches

1. Using primary resistors:

Obviously, the purpose of primary resistors is to drop some voltage and apply a reduced voltage
to the stator. Consider, the starting voltage is reduced by 50%. Then according to the Ohm's law
(V=I/Z), the starting current will also be reduced by the same percentage. From the torque
equation of a three phase induction motor, the starting torque is approximately proportional to
the square of the applied voltage. That means, if the applied voltage is 50% of the rated value,
the starting torque will be only 25% of its normal voltage value. This method is generally used
for a smooth starting of small induction motors. It is not recommended to use primary
resistors type of starting method for motors with high starting torque requirements.
Resistors are generally selected so that 70% of the rated voltage can be applied to the motor. At
the time of starting, full resistance is connected in the series with the stator winding and it is
gradually decreased as the motor speeds up. When the motor reaches an appropriate speed, the
resistances are disconnected from the circuit and the stator phases are directly connected to the
supply lines.

2. Auto-transformers:

Auto-transformers are also known as auto-starters. They can be used for both star connected or
delta connected squirrel cage motors. It is basically a three phase step down transformer with
different taps provided that permit the user to start the motor at, say, 50%, 65% or 80% of line
voltage. With auto-transformer starting, the current drawn from supply line is always less than
the motor current by an amount equal to the transformation ratio. For example, when a motor is
started on a 65% tap, the applied voltage to the motor will be 65% of the line voltage and the
applied current will be 65% of the line voltage starting value, while the line current will be 65%
of 65% (i.e. 42%) of the line voltage starting value. This difference between the line current and
the motor current is due to transformer action. The internal connections of an auto-starter are as
shown in the figure. At starting, switch is at "start" position, and a reduced voltage (which is
selected using a tap) is applied across the stator. When the motor gathers an appropriate speed,
say upto 80% of its rated speed, the auto-transformer automatically gets disconnected from the
circuit as the switch goes to "run" position.
The switch changing the connection from start to run position may be air-break (small motors) or
oil-immersed (large motors) type. There are also provisions for no-voltage and overload, with
time delay circuits on an autostarter.

3. Star-delta starter:

This method is used in the motors, which are designed to run on delta connected stator. A two
way switch is used to connect the stator winding in star while starting and in delta while running
at normal speed. When the stator winding is star connected, voltage over each phase in motor
1
will be reduced by a factor of that would be for delta connected winding. The starting torque
√3
will 1/3 times that it will be for delta connected winding. Hence a star-delta starter is equivalent
1
to an auto-transformer of ratio or 58% reduced voltage.
√3

Starting of slip-ring motors

Slip-ring motors are started with full line voltage, as external resistance can be easily added in
the rotor circuit with the help of slip-rings. A star connected rheostat is connected in series with
the rotor via slip-rings as shown in the fig. Introducing resistance in rotor current will decrease
the starting current in rotor (and, hence, in stator). Also, it improves power factor and the torque
is increased. The connected rheostat may be hand-operated or automatic.
As, introduction of additional resistance in rotor improves the starting torque, slip-ring motors
can be started on load.
The external resistance introduced is only for starting purposes, and is gradually cut out as the
motor gathers the speed.

In your groups discuss DC motors starting methods