Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Course Content and Outcomes Guides (CCOG)

CCOG for MT 175 Spring 2024

View archive version »
Course Number:
MT 175
Course Title:
AC Motors - Control, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting
Credit Hours:
2
Lecture Hours:
10
Lecture/Lab Hours:
20
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Covers AC motors and their control. Examines differences between single and three phase AC motors as applied in operation, routine maintenance, recognition, and elimination of malfunctions. Focuses on the industrial, commercial, and residential applications of AC motors in mechatronic systems. Prerequisites: MT 113A, MT 106 or MTH 58 or MTH 60, or any math course for which MTH 58 or MTH 60 is a prerequisite or equivalent placement, and (WR 115 and RD 115) or IRW 115 or equivalent placement. Audit available.

Addendum to Course Description

Safety is emphasized throughout the course, highlighting operation and maintenance safety, lockout/ tagout and safety interlocks. Troubleshooting motor controls will also be included. Topics include voltage testing equipment as well as troubleshooting of motor control circuits and the motor starter.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

  • Safely operate electromechanical systems involving AC motors as used in industrial, commercial, and residential applications.
  • Test and measure AC motors’ performance indicators such as power, current, RPM, power factor, and temperature.
  • Recognize and take corrective measures on the occurrence of problems such as the motor fails to start or to come up to speed, stalls, overheats or vibrates, or produces unusual noise.

Aspirational Goals

To help the students develop the skills needed in operating, maintaining and troubleshooting the AC motor/control system as found in industrial, commercial or residential settings.

Course Activities and Design

The course consists in a combination of lectures, where the theoretical aspect of the AC motor system will be presented  and labs, where the students will perform activities focused on disassembling and reassembling of AC motors, the motor routine maintenance, the diagnosing and troubleshooting of AC motors and their control circuits.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

The students' progress will be assessed through homework assignments, exams on paper and also practical exams.

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

  1. Different Types of AC Motors
  2. Single-Phase AC Motor Configurations

Split-Phase

Capacitor Start

Permanent Capacitor

Two-Capacitor

     3. Three-Phase AC Motors and Their Control

     4. Testing the performance of AC Motors

measure RPM

current, voltage,

true power, apparent power, power factor 

    5. Routine maintenance and troubleshooting

use the proper hand tools and methods to disassemble and reassemble a motor

clean the rotor, check for tear and wear

use the multimeter to check for continuity

the lubrication of bearings

troubleshoot various scenarios of control failure