DC Series Wound Motor Application and Operation

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Application of Direct Current DC Series Wound Electric Motor:

The advantage of a Series Wound Motor is that it develops a large torque and can be operated at low speed. It is a motor that is well-suited for starting heavy loads; it is often used for industrial cranes and winches where very heavy loads must be moved slowly and lighter loads moved more rapidly.

Since the armature and field in a series-wound motor are connected in series, the armature and field currents become identical, and the torque can be expressed as:

T = K I²_a

The torque-vs-speed characteristics of a series-wound motor with a constant voltage source are shown in the illustration to the left. As the speed decreases, the torque for a series wound motor increases sharply. As load is removed from a series motor, the speed will increase sharply. For these reasons, series-wound motors must have a load connected to prevent damage from high speed conditions.