Repulsion Motors

The Repulsion motor has a stator and a rotor but there is no electrical connection between the two and the rotor current is generated by induction. The rotor winding is connected to a commutator which is in contact with a pair of short-circuited brushes which can be moved to change their angular position relative to an imaginary line drawn through the axis of the stator.

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The motor can be started, stopped and reversed, and the speed can be varied, simply by changing the angular position of the brushes.

A Repulsion motor is a type of electric motor for use on alternating current. It was formerly used as a traction motor for electric trains but has been superseded by other types of motor and is now only of historical interest.

Most commutator motors are limited to about 1,500 volts because higher voltages give rise to a risk of arcing across the commutator. Repulsion motors can be used at higher voltages because the rotor circuit is not electrically connected to the supply.

Types of repulsion motor are listed below under the names ot their inventors. It is likely that the different types were developed to match the torque/speed characteristics of the motor as closely as possible to the service it was required to provide.

Electric Motors