Speed Regulation of DC Motor | Definition and Formula

The speed of the DC motor decrease with an increase of load on the motor. This is not desirable. Therefore, there must be a lesser speed difference between no-load to full-load operations. In fact, every moving machine has some drop in the speed with load increase.  It is desired that the motor speed should be constant throughout the speed range of the motor with an application of the variable load on it.  When the motor runs at no-load its speed is more, and speed drops as the load on the motor increases. The difference between no-load and full-load speed is called Speed Regulation of the DC motor. The difference in the speed with respect to the full load speed is called the % speed regulation of the DC motor.

Importance of Speed Regulation of DC Motor

The different types of DC motors have different speed regulations. The best speed regulation is the need of the process. If the motor maintains the nearly constant speed at a variable load, it has good speed regulation. For better process control to achieve better product quality, we use a motor with good speed regulation.  The speed regulation of the motor is also an important criterion for selecting the motor for a particular application.

The permanent magnet DC motor has speed regulation between 10 to 15 %. A speed regulation below 10 % is considered bad speed regulation. The compound dc motor has a speed regulation range of 25%, and the differential compound motor has a speed regulation range of 5%.

Before having a discussion on motor speed regulation, first, we shall discuss the speed of the DC motor.

Speed of DC Motor

Speed of DC motor is given by the equation shown below.

speed of dc motor-equation

From equation (3 ), it is clear that the speed of the DC motor depends on the following.

  • Back EMF of DC motor( Eb)
  • Flux  in the motor

If the ratio of E/Φ in DC motor is constant from no load to full load, the regulation of motor is good.

Definition of Speed Regulation of DC Motor

The term speed regulation refers to change in the motor speed with change in the applied load on the motor shaft, provided all other conditions remain unchanged. The change in the speed of the motor from no-load to full load condition is expressed in the percentage of full load speed.

Speed Regulation formula of DC Motor

As per definition per unit (p.u), 

dc motor speed regulation formula-per unit

% Speed regulation Formula of DC Motor

formula of % speed regulation of dc motor

Example of % Speed regulation 

A DC motor rated RPM is 1500 RPM. At no load its speed is 1500 RPM and, when it is on half load its speed reduces to 1480 RPM. What is the % speed regulation of the DC motor.

% speed Regulation = (Nno-load – Nfull load)/Nfull load  X 100
                                          = (1500 – 1480)/1490  X 100
                                          = 20/1490 X 100
                                         =  1.34 %

% speed Regulation = 1.34 %

A motor that runs at a nearly constant speed for all loads below full rated load has good speed regulation. The lower the percentage of regulation, the more constant the speed of the DC motor. Therefore, we prefer the lower % speed regulation of the DC motor.

Speed Regulation of Various DC Motor

DC Shunt Motor

The speed regulation of the DC shunt motor is better than all types of DC motor except DC differential compound motor. The speed regulation of the DC shunt motor is in the range of 10-15 %.

How does the DC shunt motor maintain good speed regulation when load increase?

  1. Load increase
  2. Speed decrease
  3. Back EMF decrease ( Eb ∝ N)
  4. Armature current increase  [ Ia = (V- Eb)/Ra)]
  5. Torque Increase ( T ∝ Ia)
  6. Speed Increase ( Here motor again establish its previous set point speed) 
DC Series Motor
  • The speed regulation of the DC shunt motor is the worst among all types of DC motors.
  • The % speed regulation of the motor is more than 40%. 
  • DC series motor is not suitable for maintaining precise speed control.
DC Cumulative Compound Motor
  • The speed regulation of DC cumulative compound motor is better than that of DC series motor and inferior to DC shunt motor. 
  • The percentage speed regulation of DC cumulative compound motor is in the range of 25 -30 %.
DC Differential Compound Motor
  • The speed regulation of the DC differential compound motor is the best among all types of DC motors. 
  • The percentage speed regulation of the DC differential compound motor is in the range of 2-5 %.

Related Posts on DC Motor

  1. Types of Braking in a DC Motor
  2. What is Plugging or Reverse Current Braking of DC Motor?
  3. What is Shaft Torque of DC Motor?- Definition, Formula and Solved Problem
  4. Direction of Rotation of DC Motor
  5. DC Motor or Direct Current Motor
  6. Back EMF and its Significance in DC Motor

 

Leave a Comment