Dictionary of Electrical Engineering

Commonly used terms in the Electrical industry.

written-pole motor
a single-phase motor that uses a coil to write poles on the magnetic rotor. The advantage of the written-pole motor is that it draws much lower starting current, allowing much larger single-phase motors. The development of this motor has been sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute.
wye connection

See Y connection
wye-connection
a three phase source or load connected in the form of Y.
wye-delta starter
a motor starter that starts a three-phase AC motor in wye or star configuration so that the motor starts on approximately 58% of normal voltage, with a two-thirds reduction in starting current. As the motor approaches operating speed, the windings are reconfigured in delta configuration so that full voltage is applied for normal operation. The transition from star to delta is performed with the help of timer settings and contactors.
wye-delta transformer
a connection of a three-phase transformer with one primary and one secondary which can be considered as three similar single-phase transformers. The primary is connected in wye, that is one terminal from each phase is connected to neutral and one to a line voltage. The secondary is connected in delta, with each phase connected between two line voltages.
wye-wye transformer
a three-phase transformer with both the primary and secondary coils connected in wye. This connection is considered undesirable, due to the triple harmonics in the exciting current. To maintain balance load voltages under varying loads, it is necessary to solidly connect the primary and secondary neutrals to ground. This may allow some secondary current to flow on the primary neutral and may also cause interference with parallel communication lines.
wye-wye-delta transformer
a three-phase transformer in which the primary and secondary coils are connected in wye. In order to overcome the problems with the wyewye connection, a set of tertiary coils are connected in delta to provide a path for the triple harmonic components of the exciting current to circulate.