Universal motor
The universal motor is a type of electric motor that can operate on both AC and DC power. It is a commutated series-wound motor or shunt-wound motor where the stator's field coils are connected in series or parallel with the rotor windings through a commutator. This type of electric motor can operate well on AC because the current in both the field coils and the armature (and the resultant magnetic fields) will alternate (reverse polarity) synchronously with the supply. Hence the resulting mechanical force will occur in a consistent direction of rotation, independent of the direction of applied voltage, but determined by the commutator and polarity of the field coils.
Universal motors have high starting torque, run at high speed and are lightweight and are commonly used in portable and domestic equipment.[1] They're also relatively easy to control, electromechanically using tapped coils or electronically. However, the commutator has brushes that wear, so they are much less often used for equipment that is in continuous use. In addition, partly because of the commutator universal motors are typically very noisy.[1]
Properties
When used with AC power these types of motors are able to run at a rotation frequency well above that of the mains supply, and because most electric motor properties improve with speed, this means they can be lightweight and powerful.[2] However, universal motors are usually relatively inefficient- around 30% for smaller motors and up to 70-75% for larger ones.[2]
One useful property of having the field windings in series with the armature winding is that as the speed increases the back EMF naturally reduces the voltage across, and current through the field windings, giving field weakening at high speeds. This means that the motor does not inherently have a maximum speed for any particular applied voltage. Universal motors can be and are generally run at high speeds, 4000-16000 rpm, and can go over 20,000 rpm.[2] By way of contrast, induction motors cannot turn a shaft faster than allowed by the power line frequency.
Universal motors's armatures typically have far more coils and plates than a DC motor, and hence less windings per coil. This reduces the inductance.[2]
Motor damage may occur from over-speeding (running at a rotational speed in excess of design limits) if the unit is operated with no significant mechanical load. On larger motors, sudden loss of load is to be avoided, and the possibility of such an occurrence is incorporated into the motor's protection and control schemes. In some smaller applications, a fan blade attached to the shaft often acts as an artificial load to limit the motor speed to a safe level, as well as a means to circulate cooling airflow over the armature and field windings.
An advantage of the universal motor is that AC supplies may be used on motors which have some characteristics more common in DC motors, specifically high starting torque and very compact design if high running speeds are used.
A negative aspect is the maintenance and short life problems caused by the commutator, as well as EMI issues due to any sparking. Because of the relatively high maintenance commutator brushes, universal motors are used in devices such as food mixers and power tools which are used only intermittently, and often have high starting-torque demands. Continuous speed control of a universal motor running on AC is easily obtained by use of a thyristor circuit, while multiple taps on the field coil provide (imprecise) stepped speed control. Household blenders that advertise many speeds frequently combine a field coil with several taps and a diode that can be inserted in series with the motor (causing the motor to run on half-wave rectified AC).
Series wound electric motors respond to increased load by slowing down; the current increases and the torque rises in proportional to the square of the current since the same current flows in both the armature and the field windings. If the motor is stalled, the current is limited only by the total resistance of the windings and the torque can be very high, and there is a danger of the windings becoming overheated. The counter-EMF aids the armature resistance to limit the current through the armature. When power is first applied to a motor, the armature does not rotate. At that instant, the counter-EMF is zero and the only factor limiting the armature current is the armature resistance. Usually the armature resistance of a motor is low; therefore the current through the armature would be very large when the power is applied. Therefore the need can arise for an additional resistance in series with the armature to limit the current until the motor rotation can build up the counter-EMF. As the motor rotation builds up, the resistance is gradually cut out.
The output speed torque characteristic is the most notable characteristic of series wound motors. The speed being almost entirely dependent on the torque required to drive the load. This suits large inertial loads as the speed will drop until the motor slowly starts to rotate and these motors have a very high stalling torque.
Not all series wound motors can operate well on AC current. Motors intended for AC generally require laminated field cores.
As the speed increases, the inductance of the rotor means that the ideal commutating point changes. Small motors typically have fixed commutation. While some larger universal motors have rotatable commutation, this is rare. Instead larger universal motors often have compensation windings in series with the motor, or sometimes inductively coupled, and placed at ninety electrical degrees to the main field axis. These reduce the reactance of the armature, and improve the commutation.[2]
Applications
Operating at normal power line frequencies, universal motors are often found in a range less than 1000 watts. Universal motors also form the basis of the traditional railway traction motor in electric railways. In this application, the use of AC to power a motor originally designed to run on DC would lead to efficiency losses due to eddy current heating of their magnetic components, particularly the motor field pole-pieces that, for DC, would have used solid (un-laminated) iron. Although the heating effects are reduced by using laminated pole-pieces, as used for the cores of transformers and by the use of laminations of high permeability electrical steel, one solution available at the start of the 20th century was for the motors to be operated from very low frequency AC supplies, with 25 and 16 2⁄3 Hz (the latter subsequently redesignated 16.7 Hz) operation being common. Because they used universal motors, locomotives using this design could operate from a third rail or overhead wire powered by DC. As well, considering that steam engines directly powered many alternators, their relatively low speeds favored low frequencies because comparatively few stator poles were needed.
In the past, repulsion-start wound-rotor motors provided high starting torque, but with added complexity. Their rotors were similar to those of universal motors, but their brushes were connected only to each other. Transformer action induced current into the rotor. Brush position relative to field poles meant that starting torque was developed by rotor repulsion from the field poles. A centrifugal mechanism, when close to running speed, connected all commutator bars together to create the equivalent of a squirrel-cage rotor. As well, when close to operating speed, better motors lifted the brushes out of contact.
Their high speed makes them useful for appliances such as blenders, vacuum cleaners, and hair dryers where high speed and light weight are desirable. They are also commonly used in portable power tools, such as drills, sanders, circular and jig saws, where the motor's characteristics work well. Many vacuum cleaner and weed trimmer motors exceed 10,000 RPM, while many Dremel and similar miniature grinders exceed 30,000 RPM.
Universal motors also lend themselves to electronic speed control and, as such, are an ideal choice for domestic washing machines. The motor can be used to agitate the drum (both forwards and in reverse) by switching the field winding with respect to the armature. The motor can also be run up to the high speeds required for the spin cycle.
See also
- Railgun another type of series 'wound' electric motor
