The first AC commutator-free polyphase induction motors were independently invented by Galileo Ferraris and Nikola Tesla, a working motor model having been demonstrated by the former in 1885 and by the latter in 1887. Tesla applied for US patents in October and November 1887 and was granted some of these patents in May 1888. In April 1888, the Royal Academy of Science of Turin published Ferraris's research on his AC polyphase motor detailing the foundations of motor operation. [5] [11] In May 1888 Tesla presented the technical paper A New System for Alternating Current Motors and Transformers to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] describing three four-stator-pole motor types: one having a four-pole rotor forming a non-self-starting reluctance motor, another with a wound rotor forming a self-starting induction motor, and the third a true synchronous motor with a separately excited DC supply to the rotor winding.

An induction motor can be used as an induction generator, or it can be unrolled to form a linear induction motor which can directly generate linear motion. The generating mode for induction motors is complicated by the need to excite the rotor, which begins with only residual magnetization. In some cases, that residual magnetization is enough to self-excite the motor under load. Therefore, it is necessary to either snap the motor and connect it momentarily to a live grid or to add capacitors charged initially by residual magnetism and providing the required reactive power during operation. Similar is the operation of the induction motor in parallel with a synchronous motor serving as a power factor compensator. A feature in the generator mode in parallel to the grid is that the rotor speed is higher than in the driving mode. Then active energy is being given to the grid. [2] Another disadvantage of the induction motor generator is that it consumes a significant magnetizing current I 0 = (20–35)%. In a single-phase split-phase motor, reversal is achieved by reversing the connections of the starting winding. Some motors bring out the start winding connections to allow selection of rotation direction at installation. If the start winding is permanently connected within the motor, it is impractical to reverse the sense of rotation. Single-phase shaded-pole motors have a fixed rotation unless a second set of shading windings is provided. For example, for a four-pole, three-phase motor, p {\displaystyle p} = 4 and n s = 120 f 4 {\displaystyle n_{s}={120f \over 4}} = 1,500RPM (for f {\displaystyle f} = 50Hz) and 1,800RPM (for f {\displaystyle f} = 60Hz) synchronous speed. The General Electric Company (GE) began developing three-phase induction motors in 1891. [12] By 1896, General Electric and Westinghouse signed a cross-licensing agreement for the bar-winding-rotor design, later called the squirrel-cage rotor. [12] Arthur E. Kennelly was the first to bring out the full significance of complex numbers (using j to represent the square root of minus one) to designate the 90º rotation operator in analysis of AC problems. [24] GE's Charles Proteus Steinmetz improved the application of AC complex quantities and developed an analytical model called the induction motor Steinmetz equivalent circuit. [12] [25] [26] [27]

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Induction motor improvements flowing from these inventions and innovations were such that a modern 100- horsepower induction motor has the same mounting dimensions as a 7.5-horsepower motor in 1897. [12] Principle [ edit ] 3-phase motor [ edit ] A three-phase power supply provides a rotating magnetic field in an induction motor. Inherent slip – unequal rotation frequency of stator field and the rotor For rotor currents to be induced, the speed of the physical rotor must be lower than that of the stator's rotating magnetic field ( n s {\displaystyle n_{s}} ); otherwise the magnetic field would not be moving relative to the rotor conductors and no currents would be induced. As the speed of the rotor drops below synchronous speed, the rotation rate of the magnetic field in the rotor increases, inducing more current in the windings and creating more torque. The ratio between the rotation rate of the magnetic field induced in the rotor and the rotation rate of the stator's rotating field is called "slip". Under load, the speed drops and the slip increases enough to create sufficient torque to turn the load. For this reason, induction motors are sometimes referred to as "asynchronous motors". [31] Polyphase motors have rotor bars shaped to give different speed-torque characteristics. The current distribution within the rotor bars varies depending on the frequency of the induced current. At standstill, the rotor current is the same frequency as the stator current, and tends to travel at the outermost parts of the cage rotor bars (by skin effect). The different bar shapes can give usefully different speed-torque characteristics as well as some control over the inrush current at startup. In many industrial variable-speed applications, DC and WRIM drives are being displaced by VFD-fed cage induction motors. The most common efficient way to control asynchronous motor speed of many loads is with VFDs. Barriers to adoption of VFDs due to cost and reliability considerations have been reduced considerably over the past three decades such that it is estimated that drive technology is adopted in as many as 30–40% of all newly installed motors. [42]

O u t p u t M e c h a n i c a l P o w e r ÷ I n p u t E l e c t r i c a l P o w e r {\displaystyle \eta =OutputMechanicalPower\div InputElectricalPower} Before the development of semiconductor power electronics, it was difficult to vary the frequency, and cage induction motors were mainly used in fixed speed applications. Applications such as electric overhead cranes used DC drives or wound rotor motors (WRIM) with slip rings for rotor circuit connection to variable external resistance allowing considerable range of speed control. However, resistor losses associated with low speed operation of WRIMs is a major cost disadvantage, especially for constant loads. [40] Large slip ring motor drives, termed slip energy recovery systems, some still in use, recover energy from the rotor circuit, rectify it, and return it to the power system using a VFD. Paraphrasing from Alger in Knowlton, an induction motor is simply an electrical transformer the magnetic circuit of which is separated by an air gap between the stator winding and the moving rotor winding. [28] The equivalent circuit can accordingly be shown either with equivalent circuit components of respective windings separated by an ideal transformer or with rotor components referred to the stator side as shown in the following circuit and associated equation and parameter definition tables. [39] [46] [51] [52] [53] [54] Steinmetz equivalent circuit

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In 1824, the French physicist François Arago formulated the existence of rotating magnetic fields, termed Arago's rotations. By manually turning switches on and off, Walter Baily demonstrated this in 1879, effectively the first primitive induction motor. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Larger single phase motors are split-phase motors and have a second stator winding fed with out-of-phase current; such currents may be created by feeding the winding through a capacitor or having it receive different values of inductance and resistance from the main winding. In capacitor-start designs, the second winding is disconnected once the motor is up to speed, usually either by a centrifugal switch acting on weights on the motor shaft or a thermistor which heats up and increases its resistance, reducing the current through the second winding to an insignificant level. The capacitor-run designs keep the second winding on when running, improving torque. A resistance start design uses a starter inserted in series with the startup winding, creating reactance. The first commutator-free single-phase AC induction motor was invented by Hungarian engineer Ottó Bláthy; he used the single-phase motor to propel his invention, the electricity meter. [9] [10] where f {\displaystyle f} is the frequency of the power supply, p {\displaystyle p} is the number of magnetic poles, and f s {\displaystyle f_{s}} is the synchronous speed of the machine. For f {\displaystyle f} in hertz and n s {\displaystyle n_{s}} synchronous speed in RPM, the formula becomes: History [ edit ] A model of Nikola Tesla's first induction motor at the Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia Squirrel-cage rotor construction, showing only the center three laminationsSee also: Fleming's left-hand rule for motors Standard torque [ edit ] Speed-torque curves for four induction motor types: A) Single-phase, B) Polyphase cage, C) Polyphase cage deep bar, D) Polyphase double cage Typical speed-torque curve for NEMA Design B Motor Transient solution for an AC induction motor from a complete stop to its operating point under a varying load Although polyphase motors are inherently self-starting, their starting and pull-up torque design limits must be high enough to overcome actual load conditions. An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor that produces torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. [1] An induction motor therefore needs no electrical connections to the rotor. [a] An induction motor's rotor can be either wound type or squirrel-cage type. In two-pole single-phase motors, the torque goes to zero at 100% slip (zero speed), so these require alterations to the stator such as shaded-poles to provide starting torque. A single phase induction motor requires separate starting circuitry to provide a rotating field to the motor. The normal running windings within such a single-phase motor can cause the rotor to turn in either direction, so the starting circuit determines the operating direction.

n s = 2 f p ⋅ ( 60 s e c o n d s m i n u t e ) = 120 f p ⋅ ( s e c o n d s m i n u t e ) {\displaystyle n_{s}={2f \over p}\cdot \left({\frac {60\ \mathrm {seconds} }{\mathrm {minute} }}\right)={120f \over {p}}\cdot \left({\frac {\mathrm {seconds} }{\mathrm {minute} }}\right)} . [32] [33]

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Self-starting polyphase induction motors produce torque even at standstill. Available squirrel-cage induction motor starting methods include direct-on-line starting, reduced-voltage reactor or auto-transformer starting, star-delta starting or, increasingly, new solid-state soft assemblies and, of course, variable frequency drives (VFDs). [39]