Performance Comparison and Experimental Analysis of Three-Phase Induction Motor with Aluminium and Copper Winding

A comparative study was conducted to determine the differences in efficiency, torque, and flux densities between copper- and aluminium-wound three-phase induction motors. The machines that are already installed and in use have copper windings on their stator. The copper winding has many disadvantages; the major one is that induction motors have high magnetizing inrush current, which results in low voltage. The copper winding is housed in the stator of the induction motor and heats up due to the excessive current flowing in the winding at the high torque region. Copper is less flexible, and this makes winding a motor a difficult task. Thus, alternate winding materials are required to be investigated for efficient and lightweight induction machines. Aluminium offers better overloading capacity than copper and a higher current draw in aluminium winding than copper, which results in high torque in the induction motor; hence, the need for high torque in the induction motor is fulfilled with aluminium winding. Aluminium is cheaper than copper and lighter in weight. Aluminium is more flexible, making winding easier, and the most interesting advantage of aluminium in the environmental aspect is that it is recyclable with steel easier than copper.