The brushless doubly fed machine (BDFM) is a robust alternative to the doubly fed induction generator, currently widely used in wind turbines but prone to brush-gear and slip-ring failure. The rotor winding plays an important part in a BDFM, coupling the two stator windings. To date, nested-loop (NL) rotor windings have been exclusively used in practical BDFM. This approach may not be ideal for larger machines, in which form-wound series-loop rotor winding may be preferable to large section bars and end-rings. This study gives a comparative analytical and experimental study of two different brushless doubly fed 160 frame-size rotors, with NL or series-wound windings, mounted in identical rotor core laminations operating in the same stator tested at a limited voltage (200 V line). The rotors gave a performance which accords with theoretical predictions from two independent methods, giving insight into the design issues of the different rotor windings from both an electrical and manufacturing viewpoint. Nomenclature List of symbols X 1 , X 2 , X r indicating, respectively, stator1, stator 2 and rotor winding quantities p 1 , p 2 stator winding pole-pair numbers q phase number f 1 , f 2 supply frequencies s 1 , s 2 slips of different winding systems N shaft speed N eff1,2&r effective number of turns for the stator, 1&2 , and rotor, r , windings n 1,2&r turns ratios of stator, 1&2 , and rotor, r , windings k w winding factor k p pitch factor γ winding pitch angle R, L winding resistance and inductance Z impedance of a rotor loop www.ietdl.org