Electric Motors: "AC Motors and Generators" 1961 - US Army

"DESIGN, OPERATION, AND USE OF SINGLE AND MULTIPHASE AC GENERATORS AND MOTORS - OPERATION OF GENERATOR WITH STATIONARY ARMATURE - 0PERATION OF SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR."

US Army Training Film TF9-3107

Public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

Split with MKVmerge GUI (part of MKVToolNix), the same software can recombine the downloaded parts (in mp4 format): http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/doc/mkvmerge-gui.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_motor

An AC motor is an electric motor driven by an alternating current.

It commonly consists of two basic parts, an outside stationary stator having coils supplied with alternating current to produce a rotating magnetic field, and an inside rotor attached to the output shaft that is given a torque by the rotating field.

There are two main types of AC motors, depending on the type of rotor used. The first type is the induction motor, which runs slightly slower than the supply frequency. The magnetic field on the rotor of this motor is created by an induced current. The second type is the synchronous motor, which does not rely on induction and as a result, can rotate exactly at the supply frequency or a sub-multiple of the supply frequency. The magnetic field on the rotor is either generated by current delivered through slip rings or by a permanent magnet. Other types of motors include eddy current motors, and also AC/DC mechanically commutated machines in which speed is dependent on voltage and winding connection.

Squirrel-cage rotors

Most common AC motors use the squirrel cage rotor, which will be found in virtually all domestic and light industrial alternating current motors... It is typically cast aluminum or copper poured between the iron laminates of the rotor, and usually only the end rings will be visible. The vast majority of the rotor currents will flow through the bars rather than the higher-resistance and usually varnished laminates. Very low voltages at very high currents are typical in the bars and end rings; high efficiency motors will often use cast copper to reduce the resistance in the rotor.

In operation, the squirrel cage motor may be viewed as a transformer with a rotating secondary. When the rotor is not rotating in sync with the magnetic field, large rotor currents are induced; the large rotor currents magnetize the rotor and interact with the stator's magnetic fields to bring the rotor almost into synchronization with the stator's field. An unloaded squirrel cage motor at rated no-load speed will consume electrical power only to maintain rotor speed against friction and resistance losses. As the mechanical load increases, so will the electrical load...

This is why a squirrel cage blower motor may cause household lights to dim upon starting, but does not dim the lights on startup when its fan belt (and therefore mechanical load) is removed...

To prevent the currents induced in the squirrel cage from superimposing itself back onto the supply, the squirrel cage is generally constructed with a prime number of bars, or at least a small multiple of a prime number (rarely more than 2)...

Virtually every washing machine, dishwasher, standalone fan, record player, etc. uses some variant of a squirrel cage motor.

Calecon Effect

If the rotor of a squirrel cage motor runs at the true synchronous speed, the flux in the rotor at any given place on the rotor would not change, and no current would be created in the squirrel cage. For this reason, ordinary squirrel-cage motors run at some tens of rpm slower than synchronous speed...

Two-phase AC servo motors

A typical two-phase AC servo-motor has a squirrel cage rotor and a field consisting of two windings:

- a constant-voltage (AC) main winding.
- a control-voltage (AC) winding in quadrature (i.e., 90 degrees phase shifted) with the main winding so as to produce a rotating magnetic field. Reversing phase makes the motor reverse.

An AC servo amplifier, a linear power amplifier, feeds the control winding. The electrical resistance of the rotor is made high intentionally so that the speed/torque curve is fairly linear. Two-phase servo motors are inherently high-speed, low-torque devices, heavily geared down to drive the load.

Single-phase AC induction motors

Three-phase motors produce a rotating magnetic field. However, when only single-phase power is available, the rotating magnetic field must be produced using other means. Several methods are commonly used:..