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AC induction motor calculator

Synchronous speed, slip, rotor frequency, shaft torque, three-phase input power and efficiency.

Synchronous speedNs = 120·f / poles — the rotating field itself1,800 rpm
Slip(Ns − n)/Ns — an induction motor MUST slip to make torque2.78 %
Rotor frequencyf × slip — what the rotor bars actually see1.67 Hz
Torque, input power & efficiency (three-phase)
Shaft torqueτ = 9.549 × P / n — same constant as the Kv↔Kt identity8.19 Nm
Electrical power in√3 × V_LL × I_L × PF1.88 kW
EfficiencyPmech / Pin79.6 %

How it works

The stator's three phases build a field rotating at Ns = 120·f/poles. The rotor chases it, always a little behind — that lag is slip, s = (Ns−n)/Ns, and the rotor conductors see frequency f×s. Shaft torque is just power over angular speed, τ = 9.549·P/n — the same 9.549 that links Kv and Kt in the DC motor calculator, because it's nothing more than 60/2π.

Common questions

Why does an induction motor HAVE to run slower than synchronous?

Torque comes from the rotor cutting field lines — which only happens when the rotor lags the rotating field. Run at exactly synchronous speed and the rotor sees zero relative field, zero induced current, zero torque. Slip isn't a defect; it's the mechanism. Typical full-load slip is 2–5%.

What does 120 mean in Ns = 120f/p?

It's 60 seconds-per-minute × 2 poles-per-pole-pair. The field makes one electrical revolution per cycle, and p/2 pole pairs share the mechanical circle — so a 4-pole 60 Hz machine spins its field at 1800 rpm, a 2-pole at 3600.

Negative slip in the calculator — what did I just compute?

A rotor spinning FASTER than the field: that's an induction generator. Wind turbines do exactly this. The same machine, same math — power simply flows the other way. (If you weren't expecting it, check your poles/frequency inputs.)

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