Starting Performance of Saturated Induction Motors

The determination of the induction machine starting performance has traditionally been based on the constant parameter models. Magnetic saturation is unavoidable in most electrical machines and induction motors are no exception. So, an accurate study of their performance should necessarily consider the magnetic saturation effects. In this paper, a simple experimental procedures to determine the machine´s main flux saturation characteristic and both stator and rotor leakage flux saturation characteristics are adopted. Three models of saturated induction motors are developed to predict the starting performance of a laboratory wound-rotor induction motor. The results calculated by the proposed models considering and ignoring the main and the leakage flux saturation are compared with the experimental results. The model that considers saturation both in the main and the leakage flux paths produces the most accurate starting responses.