Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

6.685 Electric Machinery
Class Notes 5: Winding Inductances
c 2005 James L. Kirtley Jr.
1 Introduction
The purpose of this document is to show how the inductances of windings in round- rotor machines
with narrow air gaps may be calculated. We deal only with the idealized air- gap magnetic elds,
and do not consider slot, end winding, peripheral or skew reactances. We do, however, consider
the space harmonics of winding magneto-motive force (MMF).
2 Description of Stators
Back Iron
Slots
Teeth
Slot
Depression
Figure 1: Stator Cross-Section
Figure 1 shows a cartoon view of an axial cross-section of a twelve-slot stator. Actually, what
is shown is the shape of a thin sheet of steel, or lamination that is used to make up the magnetic
circuit. The iron is made of thin sheets to control eddy current losses. Thickness varies according
to freuqency of operation, but in machines for 60 Hz (the vast bulk of machines made for industrial
1
use), lamination thickness is typically .014 (.355 mm). These are stacked to make the magnetic
circuit of the appropriate length. Windings are carried in the slots of this structure.
Figure 1 shows trapezoidal slots with teeth of approximately uniform cross-section over most of
their length but wider extent near the air-gap. The tooth ends, in combination with the relatively
narrow slot depression region, help control certain parasitic losses in the rotor of many machines
by improving uniformity of the air-gap elds, increase the air-gap permeance and help hold the
windings in the slots. It should be noted that large machines, with what are called form wound
coils, have straight-sided rectangular slots and consequently teeth of non-uniform cross-section.
The description that follows will hold for both types of machine.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
A A
A A
B B
B B
C C
C C
Figure 2: Full-Pitched Winding
To simplify the discussion, imagine the slot/tooth region to be straightened out as shown in
Figure 2. This shows a three-phase, two-pole winding in the twelve slots. Such a winding would
have two slots per pole per phase. One of the two coils of phase A would be wound in slots 1 and 7
(six slots apart).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
A
A C C B B A A C C B B
A C C B B A A C C B B A
Figure 3: Five-Sixths-Pitched Winding
Machines are seldom wound as shown in Figure 2 for a variety of reasons. It is usually advanta-
geous in reducing the length of the end turns and to reducing space harmonic eects in the machine
(usually bad eects!) to wind the machine with short-pitched windings as shown in Figure 3.
Each phase in this case consists of four coils (two per slot). The four coils of Phase A would span
between slots 1 and 6, slots 2 and 7, slots 7 and 12 and slots 8 and 1. Each of these coil spans is
ve slots, so this choice of winding pattern is referred to as Five-Sixths pitch.
So this cartoon-gure machine stator (which could represent either a synchronous or induction
motor or generator) has both breadth because there are more than one slots per pole per phase,
and it may have the need for accounting for winding pitch. What follows in this note is a simple
protocol for estimating the important air-gap elds and inductances.
2
3 Winding MMF
To start, consider the MMF of a full- pitch, concentrated winding as shown in schematic form in
Figure 4. Assuming that the winding has a total of N turns over p pole- pairs, and is carrying
current I the MMF is:

F =

4 NI
sin np (1)
n 2p
n = 1
nodd
This distribution is shown, as a function of angle in Figure 5.
This leads directly to magnetic ux density in the air- gap:

0
4 NI
B
r
=

sin np (2)
g n 2p
n = 1
nodd
Note that a real winding, which will most likely not be full- pitched and concentrated, will have a
winding factor which is the product of pitch and breadth factors, to be discussed later.

NI
p
R
g
Magnetic
Circuit:
Stator
Rotor
Air-Gap
r
z

Figure 4: Primitive Geometry Problem

Now, suppose that there is a polyphase winding, consisting of more than one phase (we will use
three phases), driven with one of two types of current. The rst of these is balanced, current:
I
a
= I cos(t)
2
I
b
= I cos(t )
3
2
I
c
= I cos(t + ) (3)
3
Conversely, we might consider Zero Sequence currents:
I
a
= I
b
= I
c
= I cos t (4)
3

2 p

p
3
2 p

p
2
F( )

NI
p
Figure 5: Air-Gap MMF
Then it is possible to express magnetic ux density for the two distinct cases. For the balanced
case:

B
r
=

B
rn
sin(np t) (5)
n=1
where
The upper sign holds for n = 1, 7, ...
The lower sign holds for n = 5, 11, ...
all other terms are zero
and
3
0
4 NI
B
rn
= (6)
2 g n 2p
The zero- sequence case is simpler: it is nonzero only for the triplen harmonics:

B
r
=

0
4 NI 3
(sin(np t) + sin(np +t)) (7)
g n 2p 2
n=3,9,...
Next, consider the ux from a winding on the rotor: that will have the same form as the ux
produced by a single armature winding, but will be referred to the rotor position:

4
B =

0
NI
sin np

rf
(8)
g n 2p
n = 1
nodd
which is, substituting

=
t
p
,

B
rf
=

0
4 NI
sin n(p t) (9)
g n 2p
n = 1
nodd
The next step here is to nd the ux linked if we have some air- gap ux density of the form:

B
r
=
n

B
rn
sin(np t) (10)
=1
4
Now, it is possible to calculate ux linked by a single-turn, full-pitched winding by:

p
B
r
Rld (11)
0
and, using (10), this is:

= 2Rl

B
rn
cos(t) (12)
np
n=1
This allows us to compute self- and mutual- inductances, since winding ux is:
= N (13)
The end of this is a set of expressions for various inductances. It should be noted that, in the
real world, most windings are not full-pitched nor concentrated. Fortunately, these shortcomings
can be accommodated by the use of winding factors.
The simplest and perhaps best denition of a winding factor is the ratio of ux linked by an
actual winding to ux that would have been linked by a full- pitch, concentrated winding with the
same number of turns. That is:

actual
k
w
= (14)

fullpitch
It is relatively easy to show, using reciprocity arguments, that the winding factors are also
the ratio of eective MMF produced by an actual winding to the MMF that would have been
produced by the same winding were it to be full- pitched and concentrated. The argument goes
as follows: mutual inductance between any pair of windings is reciprocal. That is, if the windings
are designated one and two, the mutual inductance is ux induced in winding one by current in
winding two, and it is also ux induced in winding two by current in winding one. Since each
winding has a winding factor that inuences its linking ux, and since the mutual inductance must
be reciprocal, the same winding factor must inuence the MMF produced by the winding.
The winding factors are often expressed for each space harmonic, although sometimes when a
winding factor is referred to without reference to a harmonic number, what is meant is the space
factor for the space fundamental.
Two winding factors are commonly specied for ordinary, regular windings. These are usually
called pitch and breadth factors, reecting the fact that often windings are not full pitched, which
means that individual turns do not span a full electrical radians and that the windings occupy a
range or breadth of slots within a phase belt. The breadth factors are ratios of ux linked by a given
winding to the ux that would be linked by that winding were it full- pitched and concentrated.
These two winding factors are discussed in a little more detail below. What is interesting to note,
although we do not prove it here, is that the winding factor of any given winding is the product of
the pitch and breadth factors:
k
w
= k
p
k
b
(15)
With winding factors as dened by (14) and the sections below, it is possible to dene winding
inductances. For example, the synchronous inductance of a winding will be the apparent inductance
of one phase when the polyphase winding is driven by a balanced set of currents as in (3). This is,
approximately:

3 4 N
2
0
Rlk
2
L
d
=
w
2
n=1

n
(16)
p
2
gn
2
,5,7,...
5
This expression is approximate because it ignores the asynchronous interactions between higher
order harmonics and the rotor of the machine. These are beyond the scope of this note.
Zero- sequence inductance is the ratio of ux to current if a winding is excited by zero sequence
currents, as in (4):

L
0
=

4 N
2
Rlk
2
0
3
wn
(17)
p
2
gn
2
n=3,9,...
And then mutual inductance, as between a eld winding (f) and an armature winding (a), is:

4
0
N
f
N
a
k
fn
k
an
Rl
M() = cos(np) (18)
p
2
gn
2
n = 1
nodd
4 Winding Factors
Now we turn our attention to computing the winding factors for simple, regular winding patterns.
We do not prove but only state that the winding factor can, for regular winding patterns, be
expressed as the product of a pitch factor and a breadth factor, each of which can be estimated
separately.
4.1 Pitch Factor
r
z

Figure 6: Short-Pitched Coils

Pitch factor is found by considering the ux linked by a less- than- full pitched winding. Consider
he situation in which radial magnetic ux density is:
B
r
= B
n
sin(np t) (19)
A winding with pitch will link ux (see Figure 6:

+

2p 2p
= Nl

B
n
sin(np t)Rd (20)

2p 2p
6
t
Pitch refers to the angular displacement between sides of the coil, expressed in electrical
radians. For a full- pitch coil = .
The ux linked is:
2NlRB
n
n n
= sin( ) sin( ) (21)
np 2 2
Using the denition (14), the pitch factor is seen to be:
n
k
pn
= sin (22)
2
4.2 Breadth Factor
Now for breadth factor. This describes the fact that a winding may consist of a number of coils,
each linking ux slightly out of phase with the others. A regular winding will have a number (say
m) coil elements, separated by electrical angle . (See Figure 7
r
z

Figure 7: Distributed Coils

A full- pitch coil with one side at angle will, in the presence of magnetic ux density as
described by (19), link ux:
= Nl

p p
B
n
sin(np t)Rd (23)

p
This is readily evaluated to be:
2NlRB
n
= Re

e
j(tn)

(24)
np
where in (24), complex number notation has been used for convenience in carrying out the rest of
this derivation.
What happens here is that the coils link uxes that dier in phase, so the addition of ux is as
shown in vector form in Figure 8.
7
Individual
Flux Linkages
Total Flux
Linkage
Figure 8: Vector Flux Addition
Now: if the winding is distributed into m sets of slots and the slots are evenly spaced, the
angular position of each slot will be:
m1

i
= i (25)
2
and the number of turns in each slot will be
N
, so that actual ux linked will be:
mp
2NlRB
n
1
m1
=

( )
Re e
np m
i

j tn
i
=0

(26)
The breadth factor is then simply:
m1
1 1
k
b
=

e
jn(i
2
)
(27)
m
i=0
Note that (27) can be written as:
m
e
jn
1
m
2
k
b
=

e
jni
(28)
m
i=0
Now, focus on that sum. We know that any coverging geometric sum has a simple sum:

x
i
1
= (29)
1 x
i=0
and that a truncated sum is:
m1

=
=0

i i=0 i

(30)
=m
Then the sum in (28) can be written as:
m1

1 e
jn
e
jni

m
= 1 e
jnm
e
jni
=
1 e

(31)
jn
i=0

i=0
Now, inserting the results of (31) into (28), and using the denitions for sine, the breadth factor is
found:
sin
nm
k
bn
=
2
msin
n
(32)
2
8
4.3 Alternate Derivation of Breadth Factor
Most textbooks, if they bother to prove the Breadth Factor, use a geometric proof as shown in
Figure 9.
2

m
2
O
A
B
C
Figure 9: Alternate Proof of Breadth Factor
The short vectors (e.g. AC) represent the voltages induced in individual coils. In fact, what is
shown in this gure is the same as is shown in Figure 8, but spread out to show the actual addition.
Now, note that if each of the vectors is bisected by a line segment at right angles, all of those
line segments meet at point O. The line segment that includes OB is one of these. Line segments
that run from O to the ends of the vectors will have an angle

from the bisectors of the vectors.
2
Similarly, the line segment OA has an angle of
m
with respect to the bisector of the resultant
2
voltage vector.
Now, if we note F
1
as the length of each of the individual coil voltage vectors and F as the
length of the resultant sum, the length of half of the bisector is:
F m
AB = = OAsin (33)
2 2
but then
1 1
AC = F
1
= OAsin (34)
2 2 2
Then the resultant vector is:
sin

m
F = 2AB = mF
2
1
msin

(35)
2
9
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