Compensation winding

A compensation winding in a DC shunt motor is a winding in the field pole face plate that carries armature current to reduce stator field distortion. Its purpose is to reduce brush arcing and erosion in DC motors that are operated with weak fields, variable heavy loads or reversing operation such as steel-mill motors. When flux from the armature current is about equal to the flux from the field current, the flux at the field pole plate is shifted. Under a fixed load, there is an optimal commutation point for the brushes that minimizes arcing and erosion of the brushes. When the ratio of armature flux to field flux varies greatly or reverses, the optimum commutation point shifts as result of the varying flux at the pole face plate. The result is arcing of the brushes. By adding a compensating winding in the pole face plate that carries armature current in the opposite direction of current in the adjacent armature windings, the position of the flux at the pole face plate can be restored to the position it would have with zero armature current. The main drawback of a compensation winding is the expense.:393 :65-66 A compensation winding in a DC shunt motor is a winding in the field pole face plate that carries armature current to reduce stator field distortion. Its purpose is to reduce brush arcing and erosion in DC motors that are operated with weak fields, variable heavy loads or reversing operation such as steel-mill motors. When flux from the armature current is about equal to the flux from the field current, the flux at the field pole plate is shifted. Under a fixed load, there is an optimal commutation point for the brushes that minimizes arcing and erosion of the brushes. When the ratio of armature flux to field flux varies greatly or reverses, the optimum commutation point shifts as result of the varying flux at the pole face plate. The result is arcing of the brushes. By adding a compensating winding in the pole face plate that carries armature current in the opposite direction of current in the adjacent armature windings, the position of the flux at the pole face plate can be restored to the position it would have with zero armature current. The main drawback of a compensation winding is the expense.:393 :65-66