SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR STARTING BY USING DAMPER (AMORTISSEUR) WINDING

Most of the large synchronous motors are provided with damper windings, in order to nullify the oscillations of the rotor whenever the synchronous machine is subjected to a periodically varying load. Damper windings are special bars laid into slots cut in the pole face of a synchronous machine and then shorted out on each end by a large shorting ring, similar to the squirrel cage rotor bars.
When the stator of such a synchronous machine is connected to the 3-Phase AC supply, the machine starts as a 3-Phase induction machine due to the presence of the damper bars, just like a squirrel cage induction motor. Just as in the case of a 3-Phase squirrel cage induction motor, the applied voltage must be suitably reduced so as to limit the starting current to the safe rated value. Once the motor picks up to a speed near about its synchronous speed, the DC supply to its field winding is connected and the synchronous motor pulls into step i.e. it continues to operate as a Synchronous motor running at its synchronous speed.