Slip Ring or Wound Rotor Motors
The slip ring or wound rotor motor is an induction machine where the rotor comprises a set of coils that are terminated in sliprings to which external impedances can be connected. The stator is the same as is used with a standard squirrel cage motor.
By changing the impedance connected to the rotor circuit, the speed/current and speed/torque curves can be altered.
The slip ring motor is used primarily to start a high inertia load or a load that requires a very high starting torque across the full speed range. By correctly selecting the resistors used in the secondary resistance or slip ring starter, the motor is able to produce maximum torque at a relatively low current from zero speed to full speed. A secondary use of the slip ring motor, is to provide a means of speed control. Because the torque curve of the motor is effectivley modified by the resistance connected to the rotor circuit, the speed of the motor can be altered. Increasing the value of resistance on the rotor circuit will move the speed of maximum torque down. It the resistance connected to the rotor is increased beyond the point where the maximum torque occurs at zero speed, the torque will be further reduced. When used with a load that has a torque curve that increases with speed, the motor will operate at the speed where the torque developed by the motor is equal to the load torque. Reducing the lad will cause the motor to speed up, and increasing the load will cause the motor to slow down until the load and motor torque are equal. Operated in this manner, the slip losses are dissipated in the secondary resistors and can be very significant. The speed regulation is also very poor.
Motor Characteristics.
The Slip Ring motor has two distinctly separate parts, the stator and the rotor. The stator circuit is rated as with a standard squirrel cage motor and the rotor is rated in frame voltage and short circuit current. The frame voltage is the open circuit voltage when the rotor is not rotating and gives a measure of the turns ratio between the rotor and the stator. The short circuit current is the current flowing when the motor is operating at full speed with the slip rings (rotor) shorted and full load is applied to the motor shaft.
Secondary Resistance Starters.
The secondary resistance starter comprises a contactor to switch the stator and a series of resistors that are applied to the rotor circuit and gradually reduced in value as the motor accelerates to full speed. The rotor would normally be shorted out once the motor is at full speed. The resistor values are selected to provide the torque profile required and are sized to dissipate the slip power during start. The secondary resistors can be metalic resistors such as wound resistors, plate resistors or cast resistors, or they can be liquid resistors made up of saline solution or caustic soda or similar, provided there is sufficient thermal mass to absorb the total slip loss during start.
To select the values of the resistors, you need to know the frame voltage and the short circuit current. The maximum torque occurs approximately at the point where the rotor reactance equals the termination resistance. The final stage of the resistance should always be designed for a maximum torque close to full speed to prevent a very large step in current when shorting the final stage of resistance. If a single stage was used and the maximum torque occured at 50% speed, then motor may accelerate to 60% speed, depending on the load. If the rotor was shorted at this speed, the motor would draw a very high current (typically around 1400% FLC) and produce very little torque, and would most probably stall!
Can I Bridge out the slip rings and use a soft starter on a slip ring motor?
A slip ring motor uses resistors in the rotor circuit to modify the starting characteristics of the slip ring motor. Increasing the resistance in the rotor circuit has two effects:
1. It reduces the start current
2. It increases the slip at which maximum torque occurs.
If the slip ring motor has been employed to provide a very high starting torque across the entire speed range during start, then the slip ring or secondary resistance starter can not be replaced. In this case, the first stage of the resistors would be selected to provide a high torque at 100% slip (zero speed) and a number of stages are then employed, each with reducing resistance to move the Slip point in steps from 100% towards 0%. The effect of this is to provide maximum torque at all speeds and at a reduced start current. (typically 200 - 300%)
Shorting out the slip rings and attempting any form of reduced voltage start in the stator supply, will result in a much reduced start torque at a much higher start current. Effectively, the motor could exhibit a Locked Rotor Current in excess of 1000% and a Locked Rotor Current less than 100%. If we reduce the start current down to say 400%, then the start torque would be less than 100 x (400/1000) x (400/1000) or less than 16%!
If the driven load does not require a high start torque, then the slip ring motor can be set up to emulate a standard cage motor by applying rotor resistance that will cause a full voltage start current of about 550%. A reduced voltage starter can now be applied, and the rings should be shorted out once the machine reaches full speed. If you do not short the rings at full speed, the slip will be higher than ideal and the motro efficiency will be reduced. There will be a high power dissipation in the resistors.