Motor Selection: Selecting a Motor on the basis of Speed, Power, and Torque

Selecting a motor:
Motor Selection- The motor selection process is not as simple as you might think. While
selecting a motor, you will need to concentrate on many things e.g. Motor Speed, Motor Power
Ratings, Motor load torques, Motor losses, Motor Efficiency etc. We will discuss all these
factors in very detail. A motor selection can be easy and at the same time can be very difficult.
Obviously, if you know about the different factors related with the motor selection then it’s easy
for you, otherwise you may end up selecting a wrong motor. So, the reason, I am writing this
article is to help you guys to understand how to efficiently select a motor.
The selection of a motor is surprisingly complex process. Perhaps we should explore the reason
for surprise. And to that we have to ask ourselves what do we expect from a motor? In most
cases, the answer is a fairly bland one we are looking for a motor to drive some device.

In this answer we have not indicated any particular requirement about speed nor have we said
anything about starting condition, nor have we said anything about speed control. In fact we are
simply content that the device is made to rotate.

If we consider many of the applications which we come across in everyday life, we find that we
do not require anything special from a motor. For instance, within reason does the speed of a
food mixer really matter or the speed of vacuum cleaner. For the food mixer, 300r/min us
probably just as effective as 270 r/min. for electric drill it is normally starting of load so there are
no problems getting it started. For the vacuum cleaner we not require to adjust the speed from
900r/min to 899 r/min.

Coming from a domestic introduction to the application of electric motors it therefore comes as
something of a surprise the engineers can concerned as to whether a factory lathe should operate
at 300 r/min or 400 r/min or whether a motor will be able to start a passenger lift when carrying
10 people. Or whether a roller in a strip mill will ensure that the strip expansion is taken up.

Given the demands imposed by the applications, what are our difficult in selecting a motor.
There are three problems to be addressed follows:

 In most instances there are two or more types of motor which are suitable of our needs, so we
have to make a choice rather than have it made for us.
 In some instances it is not simply a matter of matching the motor the load when running; there
is also the matter of starting the load. Thus the starting torque able to accelerate the load and is
the acceleration time sufficiently short.
 There is imposed on motor selection which apply irrespective of the type of motor. For
instance can the motor operate under water or in a hot surrounding or in a dusty atmosphere?
Therefore in selecting a motor, there is a large variety of factors to be considered. The following
sections consider some of the more important factors.
 Speed:
Most electric Motors operate at quite high speeds, say between 500 r/min and 3000 r/min.
Special motors usually in association with power electronic systems which can operate at lower
speeds or at higher speeds, but these are not especially common. Often it is easier to change
speed by means of mechanical gears.

Most motors operate within small speed range e.g. an induction motor might operate between
1430 r/min and 1470 r/min according to load. At the extreme condition, a comparable
synchronous motor would run at 1500 r/min regardless of the load. On the other hand
commutator motor with series winding are able to accept wide speed variation as instanced by
railway trains which seldom operate at constant speed such is the nature of railway operation.

In a number of specialist applications, precise speed control is essential. In the past, this
requirement gave rise to a wide range of specially designed motors which were extremely
complicated in their design they were a tribute to the ingenuity of engineer in time gone by.
However improvements in power electronics systems have consigned such motors to the scrap
yard and we will meet methods of controlling the speed of d.c shunt motors and cage rotor
induction motors.

Power rating and duty cycle:

Basically, a motor is expected to operate continuously with a rated power output. The rating is
dependent on the ability of the motors to dissipate waste heat. i.e the heat which comes from the
loss in the windings, the eddy current losses in the rotor and stator cores and windage and
friction. The losses cause the windings to become warmer and if the insulation gets too warm it
will break down. Thus the rating depends on limiting the load such that it will not overheat the
winding insulation.

The motors instanced are those which provide simple drives. Let us consider that would happen
if a motor were cold and it were loaded to its rated value. It would not immediately heat to the
maximum permitted temperature rather there would be a considerable period of time until that
temperature was reached. The time would be in excess of an hour.

Motor Load torques:

Load torques can be considered under two categories:

1. Constant torque
2. Fan or pump-type torque
The constant torque load can be instanced by the passenger lift. If we consider the arrangement.
Let us assume loads causing a force of 5000 N in the lifting cable. If the lift were to rise at a
speed of 1 m/s then the power required is 5000W. this requires that the motor produces 2πn1T ,
where n is the motor rotational speed and T the torque required. If the speed were to be doubled
to 2 m/s. then the power would be 10000W= 2πn2 T. However the rotational speed will be double
to provide twice the rising speed for the lift hence we find that the torque remains the same i.e it
is constant.

This description has not addressed the torque requirements during the acceleration and
deceleration of the lift. To start the lift rising extra torque will be required the greater the desired
acceleration, the greater the torque needed. Also we have the problem that the torque has to be
produced even at standstill. Thus when we consider a so called constant torque load we are not
taking into account the acceleration and deceleration period. The torque requirements for lift are
shown:

We could have considered similar arrangements which involve horizontal motion, but most of
these involve higher speed which introduce windage effects. For example a train quickly reaches
a speeds at which the torque required is a mixture of the friction and the drive against the air
through which it is moving.
Fans and pumps take the example of the train to the extreme and total load is only due to the
drive against air (in the case of a fan) or against a fluid in the case of a pump. Usually the drive
against air is proportional to the speed. Pumps have a similar characteristics, but the
proportionality of the drive requires a higher power for the speed usually something approaching.

Both characteristics have the advantage that the motor hardly requires any torque at starting. In
practice there is a static friction to overcome, so a practical load characteristics for a fan and that
for an induction motor driving it take the forms. The difference between the motor and load
torque shows there is a good advantage causing rapid acceleration to the operating condition.
 The motor and its environment:
When choosing a motor there is one factor which is independent of the circuitry of the motor the
factor is the environment in which it is designed to operate. Towards this end there are four
ranges of environmental activity which are considered:

1. Ingress of materials
2. Ingress of water
3. Cooling arrangement
4. Cooling power
Not all motors operate in a clean atmosphere although most operate in an atmosphere which
contains nothing more than a little dust. There are international electro technical commission
standards which provide for a range of levels of protection, starting with the need to keep out
solid concerned about the size of a tennis ball. In such a motor clearly we are not concerned
about the dust entering the motor but we are concerned with keeping my hands out.
Progressively the range allow for smaller and smaller bodies until we wish to keep out even dust.
Apart from the build-up of dust on moving parts there is the hazard of igniting the dust.

Water could, affect insulation but if we expect the motor normally to operate in a dry place e.g
driving a cassette player there is no need to protect it from water. However some motors might
experience dripping water or the occasional jet of water and in extreme situation be immersed in
water. These situations therefore give rise to different casing designs for the motors.

Motors are generally cooled by a fan mounted on the end of the rotor causing air to pass between
the rotor and stator. However if we have sealed out dust then we probably coul not pass air
(unless it were filtered) through the motor and the heat would simply have to be released through
the surface of the casing. Motors immersed in water may very well be in colder situations and
surface cooling thereby made easier.

Finally the fan need not be mounted on the rotor shaft but could be a separate unit with its own
motor. Therefore we need to consider the manner in which the cooling circuit is powered.

There are therefore a number of ranges to be considered and any of the motors which we have
described are capable of experiencing any of the environmental factors listed above.

Machine efficiency:
We observed the losses which can arise in an electrical machine. Ideally, we would hope that the
power into a machine would equal the power out. When considering a machine in a dynamic
state e.g. accelerating the power need not be equal because the magnetic and mechanical systems
will be changing their stored energies and therefore absorbing some of the power. It is necessary
to be to predict these changes if we wish to predict the response to a control system demand such
as a step change.

Factors governing selection of motors

The characteristics of motors vary widely with the nature of their application and the type of duty
they are expected to perform. For example, the applications like constant speed, constant torque,
variable speed, continuous/intermittent duty, steep/sudden starts, frequent start/stops, etc. should
be taken into consideration carefully when deciding for the type of a motor for that specific
application.

electric drive motors

Following factors should be considered while selecting a drive for particular application:
Nature of electric supply

o Whether supply available is A.C. (single phase or three phase) or D.C. (pure D.C. or
rectified A.C.)to be utilized for motor.
 Nature of electric supply
Nature of the drive
o Whether motor is to drive individual machine or a group of machines.

Individual drive
Nature of load

o Whether the load requires light or heavy starting torque.

o Whether load torque increases with speed or remains constant.
o Whether load has heavy inertia, which may required long starting time.

Motor speed
Electrical characteristics of motor
o Starting characteristics.
o Running characteristics.
o Speed control.
o Braking characteristics.
 Electrical characteristics of motor
Size and rating of the motor

o whether motor is to run continuously intermittently or on load cycle.

o Whether over load capacity and pull torque are sufficient.

Motor
Mechanical considerations

o Type of enclosures.
o Type of bearings.
o Transmission of drive
o Noise level
 Mechanical considerations (motor-maintenance)
Cost

o Capital cost.
o Running cost.