Electronic – Calculating resistance and reactance of an coil (motor winding)

impedanceinductorreactancewinding

I want to find out the resistance and the reactance of an motor coil. I can measure the magnitude of the current through the coil using a DMM.

For example, If the voltage across the coil is 230v ac and the current through the coil is 10A, Impedance, Z= 230/10 = 23 ohm. Now, how can I find the value of R and X where Z=R+jX?

Best Answer

Step:

1) Disconnect the power source from the motor. Use the DMM and set it in resistance mode to measure the DC resistance. Your resistance should be in the range of 0.1 ~ 50 ohm or so depending on the motor type.

2) Assuming that your power source is a sine wave at 230V, we know that

Vrms = Irms * |Z|

|Z| = sqrt(R^2 + X^2)

23 = sqrt(R^2 + X^2)

X^2 = 23^2 - R^2

X = sqrt(23^2 - R^2)

Since you know R, you can find X.

This, assuming that the motor is stalled when you have measured the current. If the motor is allowed to rotate, back emf comes in and this solution is no longer valid.