A blocked rotor test is conducted on an induction motor. It is also known as short circuit test, locked rotor test or stalled torque test. From this test, short circuit current at normal voltage, power factor on short circuit, total leakage reactance, and starting torque of the motor can be found. The test is conducted at low voltage because if the applied voltage was normal voltage then the current through the stator windings would be high enough to overheat the windings and damage them. The blocked rotor torque test is not performed on wound-rotor motors because the starting torque can be varied as desired. However, a blocked rotor current test is conducted on squirrel cage rotor motors.
Contents
Method
In the blocked rotor test, the rotor is locked. A low voltage is applied on the stator terminals so that there is full load current in the stator winding, and the current, voltage and power input are measured at that point. When the rotor is stationary, the slip,
Short circuit current at normal voltage
Short circuit power factor
Leakage reactance