IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 42, NO.

4, APRIL 2006 1299

FEM-Based Design of an Induction Motor’s Part

Winding to Reduce the Starting Current
Andrej Stermecki, Igor Tic̆ar, Ivan Zagradis̆nik, and Peter Kitak
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
The goal of this research is designing the part winding of an induction motor in order to reduce the surge currents when starting.
The analyzed motor is to be built for special compressor applications; therefore, the standard star–delta windings are inappropriate.
Until recently, winding schemes have been chosen using different analytical and experiential criteria. In this paper, a design process is
presented based on transient numerical analysis with the rotation of the rotor also taken into consideration. The developed numerical
model enables a study of the motor’s performance under arbitrary load conditions, and, thus, the entire torque characteristics of the
motor can be predicted. Furthermore, the effects of eddy currents in the motor shaft material and their influence on the magnetic field
and the motor’s performance have been analyzed. The numerical results have been verified by laboratory measurements.
Index Terms—Finite-element method (FEM), induction motors, machine windings, torque.

I. INTRODUCTION

S ELECTION of the most appropriate starting strategy for in-

duction motors depends on many factors, with the econom-
ical aspects of the decision playing an equal or, perhaps, even
more important role. The simplest way of starting a three-phase
motor is to connect it to the supply voltage, which is often
termed as direct on-line (DOL) starting. The consequences of
starting the motor this way are high initial currents (5–8 times
the full load currents). When the motor is repeatedly started, the
surge current can cause damage to the motor and, furthermore,
cause a disturbance of the voltage (voltage dip) on the supply
lines [1].
To avoid this problem, motors are often started at a low-
ered supply voltage. This can be achieved using resistors, trans-
formers, or electronic power-supply systems. Because the use of
these systems highly affects the overall price of the motor drive,
their implementation is inappropriate for the analyzed motor
and will, therefore, not be described in detail.
The usual alternative to the above starting procedures is the
well-known star–delta winding. This type of winding can be
found in various motors’ applications due to its simplicity and
economical benefits. When used in compressor applications,
like the one under research, star–delta winding is not always
advisable. A problem associated with this method is the need to
instantaneously disconnect the motor from the supply while the
changeover from star to delta is being made. This can cause a
significant reduction of rotor speed before the voltage is applied
again to the delta connections. The result of this operation is a
peak current during the transition, the value of which can ap-
proach that of the current peak value of the DOL-started motor
[1].
To overcome this problem, so-called multicircuit winding
was proposed, where only a part of the circuit is connected
to the line initially, and the remaining circuit is closed in
succession as the motor attains speed [2]. This method is often
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMAG.2006.871591
0018-9464/$20.00 © 2006 IEEE
Fig. 1. Induction motor winding divided into two separate star windings.
referred to as a part-winding starting procedure. The schematic
presentation of such induction motor part winding is shown in
Fig. 1. The winding is divided into two separate star windings,
where the second winding is switched on only after the starting
procedure.
The described starting procedure has two important advan-
tages—first, its implementation does not raise costs, which is a
very important factor in the production of induction motors for
compressor applications, and, second, it does not require dis-
connection of the winding after the motor is successfully started
and the operating winding is switched on. However, on the other
hand, the fact that only one part of the stator’s slots is being used
at the start-up procedure, gives rise to large harmonics in the
air-gap flux wave, which produce asynchronous crawling ten-
dencies and greatly reduce the acceleration torque [2].
Because the actual winding scheme for part winding can be
designed in many different variations, the goal of this research
was to find such a combination for the scheme that would satisfy
all the requirements for the acceleration torque and for the peak
starting current value at the studied motor drive.
The standard approach for analysis of the winding scheme
is usually based on the developed diagram of a cross-sectional
view of the motor, in order to obtain the air-gap MMF wave-
form, as presented in Fig. 2. This graphical method enables de-
tection of the lack of symmetries in MMF waveform, but it is
harder to predict the influence of the latter and its interaction
with other parasitic effects emerging from the higher harmonics
1300
Fig. 2. Winding scheme for one star and corresponding MMF waveform.
caused by the stator and rotor slots, and the magnetic satura-
tion of the material. The interaction of these factors is finally
manifested as anomalies in the dynamic torque characteristics,
causing problems in motor start up and general performance [2],
[3]. As dynamic torque characteristics are difficult to measure,
these effects are quite often observed at static torque character-
istic (torque versus speed characteristic), where these irregular-
ities are detectable, as well. As mentioned, the above prediction
of these anomalies is seldom possible when standard designing
procedures are applied. On the other hand, all the above effects
can be treated by a new approach based on transient numerical
analysis with the motion of the rotor also taken into account.
The object of this analysis was a standard squirrel cage
three- phase induction motor with a rated power of 3.3 kW,
36 stator slots, and 28 rotor slots. Other rated parameters of the
motor are 7.74 A, 1440 RPM, 1500 RPM
(2 4), 50 Hz, and 400 V. The outer dimensions
of the motor are standard: 150-mm package length, 152-mm
outer diameter, and 90.6-mm inner diameter of the motor. The
stator’s and rotor’s laminated cores were manufactured using
M530–50A steel material.
II. NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
This study used a numerical formulation based on a mag-
netic vector potential . To solve the nonsteady problem, time
discretization was applied, using the Hughes generalized trape-
zoidal rule [4]
(1)
where stands for the nodal values of at time step and
for their time derivatives, denotes the time increment
between two steps and the transient integration parameter. It
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 42, NO. 4, APRIL 2006
Fig. 3. FE model of the analyzed induction motor.
is impossible to realize the rotor movement by a remeshing pro-
cedure, since formulation (1) requires that the node numbering
remains identical for every time step. In order to include the
rotor movement into the analysis, the linear constraint equations
were used to bind the stator and rotor finite elements at every
rotor position, without renumbering [5]. There are several dif-
ferent techniques available to include the rotor movement into
the finite-element (FE) analysis. A comparison of their advan-
tages and disadvantages can be found in [6].
Fig. 3 shows a two-dimensional (2-D) FE model coupled
with an electrical circuit. Additional resistors and inductances
were added to the electrical circuit to represent the end rings
of the squirrel cage since they were not considered in a 2-D FE
model. Periodic boundary conditions have been applied because
only a symmetrical portion of the whole motor cross section
has been modeled. In addition, the nonlinear material properties
have been taken into consideration. The position of the rotor has
been updated, depending on the simulated rotor’s velocity—at
slower rotation, the position was updated at shorter steps then
at faster rotation. Nevertheless, it was always noted that the
time increment between the two transient steps was less than
0.001 s, and that the rotation steps were always small enough to
bring the effects of the slot’s harmonics into consideration (steps
were always smaller than the stator’s slot division). At every
commencement of a new transient step, besides the updating
of the new rotor’s position, the supply stator currents were
also changed. The selected option of a voltage-fed electrical cir-
cuit caused a noticeable prolonging of the computation time.
Therefore, the torque versus speed characteristics were calcu-
lated under the presumption of a current-fed electrical motor.
As the influence of the eddy currents produced in the motor’s
shaft was additionally taken into consideration, the area of the
shaft was meshed as well.
When the whole static torque characteristic of the motor was
analyzed, the number of calculations was very large and so was
the computation time. Because the performed study was fo-
cused on the winding properties, simplification was made in
such a way that the materials’ nonlinearities were neglected.
This assumption is, indeed, an oversimplification of the induc-
tion motor’s behavior, but its use provided useful results, and
the tested approach proved to be a fast and, above all, accurate
STERMECKI et al.: FEM-BASED DESIGN OF AN INDUCTION MOTOR’S PART WINDING 1301

Fig. 4. (a) Calculated torque waveform. (b) Calculated current waveform.

Fig. 6. Calculated and measured torque-speed characteristics.

Fig. 5. Current density J [A/m ] in the rotor bar. Fig. 7. Winding scheme for one star.

method for winding properties estimation. When the motor’s

performance was analyzed only at specific operating point (at
only one specified velocity), for example, when torque ripples
were studied, this simplification was, of course, avoided. The
programming has been performed using the Ansys 7.1 computer
program [4].

III. RESULTS
The calculated motor torque and rotor current waveforms
at the presumed rotor velocity of 1411 RPM are presented
in Fig. 4. By performing the same analysis at different rotor
velocities, the total static torque characteristic was calculated
and, in this way, the efficiency of the proposed winding scheme
estimated.
As already pointed out in the introduction, at the described
transient analysis, the skin effect in the rotor’s bars and the eddy
currents in the motor’s shaft were also taken into consideration.
From Fig. 5, it can be clearly seen how the current density is
distributed over the rotor’s slot under starting conditions. This
skin-effect noticeably determines the starting qualities of the
motor. Thus, when the motor is analyzed at the slip values
near , this effect must not be neglected.
The calculated torque-speed characteristic compared with
the measured one is presented in Fig. 6. The results show that
the starting properties of the motor with the analyzed winding
scheme (Fig. 2) are inappropriate for the compressor motor
drive. The dip in the torque-speed curve at 500 RPM is too
prominent, and it is clear that the motor’s starting performance
is not sufficient. This has been additionally proved by measure-
ments.
Fig. 8. Calculated and measured torque-speed characteristics.
To improve the motor’s starting performance, additional
part-winding schemes were analyzed. By only altering the
third phase of the proposed winding scheme (Fig. 2), the part
winding that is presented in Fig. 7 can be accomplished.
Fig. 8 presents the calculated and measured results of the
newly proposed winding scheme (Fig. 7). The simulated re-
sults indicate that the motor’s starting performance is highly im-
proved compared to previously obtained results. The use of the
new winding reduced the dip in the torque-speed curve. On the
basis of these results, we came to a conclusion that the proposed
part winding was going to be adequate for use in the studied
compressor motor drive. These simulated results were also ver-
ified by measurements, and a conclusion was drawn that the cal-
culated and measured results are in agreement (Fig. 8).
1302
Fig. 9. (a) Calculated torque waveform with no skewing considered.
(b) Calculated torque waveform with skewing considered—multislice model.
A. Consideration of Skewing (Multislice Model)
Rotor conductors in the actual machine are usually skewed,
which helps to reduce a magnitude of harmonic torques due
to the harmonic content of MMF waves. Due to skewing of
the rotor’s bars, certain stator-field harmonics cannot induce
the rotor currents. In a classical approach to induction motor
studies, this effect is often introduced into calculations by the
skewing factor
(2)
where stands for the higher harmonic order number and is
the parameter defined by the motor’s geometry and skewing
angle. The higher the harmonic order number , the greater
the damping of the rotor current harmonic. For example, in the
presented case, the 17th-order current harmonic is damped by
0.06 compared to an unskewed motor. This leads to an
effective reduction in slot harmonics.
These anomalies cannot be eliminated by skewing, as the
source of distinctive anomaly in the torque waveform (Fig. 6)
lies mainly in the specificity of the used part winding and in the
consecutive phase-belt harmonics. Nevertheless, the presented
analysis can also be upgraded in order to study the effects of
skewing on the motor’s performance [7], [8]. Such a procedure
is based on an approach, where a machine is virtually cut into
several 2-D disks (three disks were used in the presented case).
All 2-D disks are then mutually coupled by electrical circuit
equations and solved simultaneously by the presented transient
procedure. The use of a so-called multislice model enables more
accurate analysis of the induction motor, but due to long com-
putation time, it is not as practical when a study of the whole
torque-speed characteristic is to be performed. Therefore, this
approach was used only when the operating properties of the
motor were studied at a certain specified operating point (i.e.,
study of torque ripples).
Fig. 9 presents the torque waveforms calculated at 1470
RPM. Due to higher rotation speed, this analysis was carried
out under operating conditions with the operating winding
activated. In Fig. 9(a), the results of the performed basic ap-
proach are presented and the results obtained by the described
multislice procedure are shown in Fig. 9(b). Consideration of
the rotor bar’s skewing by one stator slot division (10 ) was
achieved by this procedure. Comparing Fig. 9(a) with Fig.
9(b), the positive effects of skewing on the torque ripple and
on the average torque are clearly evident. When skewing was
not applied to the rotor, the maximum difference between max-
imum and minimum torque values was 2.256 Nm
[Fig. 9(a)]. In addition, when skewing was applied, the torque
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 42, NO. 4, APRIL 2006
ripple was essentially reduced to 0.985 Nm [Fig.
9(b)]. The stated differences in torque values were obtained
under stationary conditions (from 0.75 to 0.99 s).
IV. CONCLUSION
The use of part winding for the improvement of an induction
motor’s starting properties is a well-known alternative to other
starting methods. Relations between electric and magnetic pa-
rameters at the starting of an induction motor are rather com-
plicated and difficult to analyze by traditional methods. There-
fore, the design process of induction motors and the estimation
of their starting qualities were always accompanied by a high
number of manufactured motor prototypes.
This paper presents the use of numerical methods at the de-
sign process of part winding. The proposed approach based on
numerical analysis, with the movement of the rotor also consid-
ered, proved to be a highly efficient tool in the induction motor’s
design process. The calculated motor torque values were in sat-
isfactory agreement with the results obtained by measurements
in the laboratory. For all the analyzed winding schemes, the re-
sults obtained by the described procedure, on every occasion,
correctly pointed out the anomalies in the torque-speed charac-
teristics, which were also later confirmed by measurements. In
this way, the initially proposed part-winding scheme was des-
ignated as inadequate. As additional changes to the existing
winding scheme were introduced, the starting properties of the
motor were consequently improved to a level required for the
studied compressor application.
The presented approach was, furthermore, upgraded to im-
prove the precision of the results when the motor properties were
studied at the defined operating point. The use of a multislice
model enabled an analysis of the effects caused by skewing of
the rotor bars. The obtained results proved that skewing is one of
the most useful methods for torque ripple reduction and, conse-
quently, for the motor’s vibrations and noise diminution. Based
on these results, the conclusion was drawn that at the proposed
motor and the improved winding design, all the requirements
for the studied compressor application were fulfilled.
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Manuscript received June 17, 2005 (e-mail: andrej.stermecki@uni-mb.si).