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Blocked rotor test

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ4927255
Source-derived summary

A blocked rotor test is conducted on an induction motor. It is also known as short-circuit test (because it is the mechanical analogy of a transformer 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.

It is very important to know a motor's starting torque since if it is not enough to overcome the initial friction of its intended load then it will remain stationary while drawing an excessive current and rapidly overheat. The test may be conducted at lower voltage because at the normal voltage the current through the windings would be high enough to rapidly overheat and damage them. The test may still be conducted at full voltage if it is brief enough to avoid overheating the windings or overloading the starting circuits, but requires much more care to be taken while performing the test.

The blocked rotor torque test is less significant on wound-rotor motors because the starting torque of these wound-rotor motors depend upon the external resistance added. However, it may still be used to characterise the motor.

Method

In the blocked rotor test, the rotor is locked securely enough that it cannot break free. 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.

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The public source identifies “Blocked rotor test” as open-knowledge reference entry. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Blocked, rotor and test.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current 246-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Blocked, rotor and test providing the first useful test.
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This entry incorporates text from Blocked rotor test” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.