Prediction of starting performance of synchronous motor by DC decay testing method with the rotor in any arbitrary position

This paper presents a novel method to predict the starting performance of synchronous motors. This proposed strategy is based on a simple standstill response testing method using a small-capacity DC power supply unit, tentatively named the DC decay testing method in this paper, and can be applied to standstill synchronous motors with the rotor in any arbitrary position. The proposed testing method is carried out on a 10 kW, 200 V, 31.9 A, 50 Hz four-pole laminated salient-pole synchronous motor with damper windings. The results measured by on-load test and those predicted by the proposed method on starting performance clearly show the validity of the proposed method.