An AC motor's synchronous speed,
, is the rotation rate of the stator's magnetic field,
- ,
where
is the motor supply's frequency, where
is the number of magnetic poles and where
and
have identical units. For
in unit Hertz and
in RPM, the formula becomes
- .
For example, for a four-pole three-phase motor,
= 4 and
= 1,500 and 1,800 , RPM synchronous speed, respectively, for 50 Hz and 60 Hz supply systems.
The two figures at right and left above each illustrate a 2-pole 3-phase machine consisting of three pole-pairs with each pole set 60 degrees apart.
Slip
Typical torque curve as a function of slip, represented as 'g' here.
Slip,
, is defined as the difference between synchronous speed and operating speed, at the same frequency, expressed in rpm or in percent or ratio of synchronous speed. Thus
where is stator electrical speed, is rotor mechanical speed. Slip, which varies from zero at synchronous speed and 1 when the rotor is at rest, determines the motor's torque. Since the short-circuited rotor wingdings have small resistance, a small slip induces a large current in the rotor and produces large torque.[31] At full rated load, slip varies from more than 5% for small or special purpose motors to less than 1% for large motors. These speed variations can cause load-sharing problems when differently sized motors are mechanically connected.Various methods are available to reduce slip, VFDs often offering the best solution.