Fall
2021 ME 360 Lab 8‐1
Lab 8: DC Motors
The purpose of Lab 8 is to introduce ME 360 students to the testing of DC motors in order to determine
motor parameters. A fixed voltage is applied to a DC motor mounted in a dynamometer. The generator half
of the dynamometer is then used to provide various constant loads to the DC motor. The motor speed and
armature current are measured at each of those load conditions. The resulting data is used to determine the
motor back‐emf constant, kb, the motor torque constant, ka, and the motor resistance, Ra. Those parameters
will be compared to data provided by the motor manufacturer.
Report: An individual informal report is due on Monday, November 15.
Procedure: Students must watch the Lab 8 video and record the various parameters in Table 1 below. In that
table, “Load Condition” refers to the different resistive loads applied to the generator. It should be
understood: the specific resistances used to shunt the generator are not important , only the fact that each
one represents a different load applied to the DC motor.
Table 1. Motor test data.
Load
Condition Va (V) Speed (rpm) Vshunt (mV)
1 12v 908.7 83.068
2 12v 8230 93.031
3 12v 778.4 97.259
4 12v 762.9 99.428
5 16v 1763 44.183
1 16v 1272 103.5
2 16v 1148 118.96
3 16v 1093 124.56
4 16v 1065 126.94
5 20v 2310 46.002
1 20v 1651 125.12
2 20v 1472 142.69
3 20v 1391 150mv
4 20v 1344 151 mv
5
Analysis:
1. The shunt used to measure the armature current is a 50mΩ shunt. Using that knowledge, students
should add a column to Table 1: the armature current.
2. For each armature voltage, create a plot of armature current vs. motor speed: armature current
should be on the vertical axis and motor speed on the horizontal axis. All three plots should be in the
same figure, Figure 1.
3. Apply a linear “fit” to each of the three sets of data plotted in Figure 1. For each set of data (for each
armature voltage, 𝑉 ), the x‐axis intercept will be the no‐load speed, 𝜔 . The y‐axis intercept will be
the stall current, 𝑖 . With three plots, three no‐load speeds and three stall currents should be
determined.
4. Use the no‐load speed and the applied voltage to determine the back‐emf constant for each
armature voltage. Understand that the back‐emf constant should not very from one voltage to
Fall 2021 ME 360 Lab 8‐2
another, as it is a fixed parameter of the motor. However, some variation will be seen between the
different back‐emf constants measured for each of the different armature voltages.
5. If using metric units, the value of the back‐emf constant is the same as the value of the torque
constant. Use that relationship to estimate the torque constant of the motor for each of the different
armature voltages.
6. For each applied voltage plot, use the associated stall‐current and the armature voltage to estimate
the armature resistance of the motor. (Hint: 𝑉 𝑅 𝑖 .)
7. Look up the data for the particular motor model (the manufacturer is Groschopp). The motor back‐
emf and torque constants can be found by examining the “Performance Curve PDF.” In addition the
stall current for the motor rated voltage (found at the top left of the document) is provided. Use
those two values (stall current and rated voltage) to estimate the motor armature resistance.
8. Compare the motor parameters determined in Steps 4 and 5 against the manufacturer‐provided data
determine din Step 7. Do the parameters match?
The report should demonstrate execution of each step listed above. In addition, some commentary on the
outcome of the experiment is necessary. The text should demonstrate and understanding of the motor test
process.
