DC Generator
A generator is a machine which converts mechanical energy (or power) into electrical energy
(or power). Hence a DC generator is a machine which converts mechanical power into DC
power.
1.1 Construction of a DC Generator
A practical DC generator consists of the following main parts:
1. The outer magnetic Frame or Yoke
2. Poles and Field Windings
3. Armature and Armature Conductors
4. Commutator or Split-rings
5. Brushes or Bearings
1.1.1 The outer magnetic frame or Yoke
The outer magnetic frame is known is yoke. It performs two functions:
1. It provides mechanical support to the poles and also acts as a protective covering for
the whole machine.
2. It carries the magnetic flux produced by the poles.
Figure 1: Cross-sectional view of a DC machine
1.1.2 Poles and Field Windings
Poles are actually the field magnets that produce magnetic flux and consist of two parts:
1. Pole core, and
2. Pole shoe (or pole face)
Pole shoe performs two functions:
i. They support the field windings, and
ii. They also spread out magnetic flux in the air gap
Poles may either be permanent magnet type (having no field windings) or electromagnetic
type having field windings wound on them. When DC is passed through these windings, they
electromagnetise the poles which in turn produce the necessary magnetic flux that is cut by
the revolving armature conductors.
Figure 2: Pole of a DC machine
1.1.3 Armature and Armature Conductors
Armature is the rotating part of a DC machine (both generator and motor). It is a cylindrical
or drum-shaped structure and is made up of circular steel sheets or laminations. All these
laminations are insulated from one another by thin varnish coating.
The purpose of laminating the armature core is to reduce the eddy current loss i.e. the loss
due to the current induced in the armature core. Because when armature rotates in the
magnetic flux of the poles, current is induced in it (in addition to the current induced in the
rotating armature conductors) called the induced current or eddy current. Now due to
armature core, being one continuous solid piece, the armature cross-sectional area is large but
have a small resistance (R=ρL/A). Hence a large emf and current induced in it causing a large
I2R-loss or eddy current loss. But when the same armature core is made up of laminations,
insulated from one another by thin varnish coating, each lamination has a very small cross-
sectional area but a very large resistance. Hence a small emf and (eddy) current is induced in
it causing a small I2R-loss or eddy current loss.
There are slots on the outer periphery of the armature which house the armature conductors.
Moreover, the armature of DC generator (and hence rotor of an AC generator) is rotated
mechanically by another machine called the Prime Mover.
The armature conductors consist of copper wires and are placed into the armature slots.
Various armature conductors are insulated from one another and also form the armature core
(same is the case with field windings i.e. various field windings are insulated from one
another and also from the pole core).
Note: Periphery means boundary (especially of a round surface).
Figure 3: Armature lamination of a DC machine
1.1.4 Commutator or Split Rings
Remember that actually AC is induced in the rotating armature conductors of a DC generator.
So the commutator acts as mechanical rectifier and converts this AC into DC in the external
load circuit.
The commutator is a cylindrical shaped structure and is made up of V-shaped or wedge-
shaped copper segments of very high electrical conductivity. Various segments are insulated
from one another by thin mica sheets. The number of commutator segments is equal to the
number of armature coils. Each commutator segment is connected to the armature conductor
by means of a copper lug or strip or riser.
Note: A coil may be a single-turn coil (consisting of two conductors only with a single
conductor per coil side) or a multi-turn coil (consisting of many conductors per coil side). In
case of a multi-turn coil, it is wrapped with a tape as a single unit and is then placed into the
armature slot.
1.1.5 Brushes and Bearings
The brushes are made up of carbon or graphite and are rectangular-shaped structures. They
slide on the commutator surface and their function is to collect DC from the commutator and
supply it to an external load (in case of a DC generator), or to supply external DC from a
source to armature conductors (in case of a DC motor).
In some DC generators, because of their reliability, ball-bearings and roller-bearings are used
for the above said purpose.
Note: A best example of a DC generator is a dynamo commonly used for powering bicycle
head light. In this particular case, the DC generator possesses permanent magnet poles
(having no field windings) and the armature is rotated mechanically by the wheel of the
bicycle (acting as a prime mover).
lug/strip/riser
Figure 4: Complete armature of a DC machine
1.2 Working Principle of a DC Generator
A DC generator works on the principle of Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction. That
is, an alternating emf is induced in the rotating armature conductors (called the dynamically
or motionally induced emf) when they cut the stationary magnetic flux of the poles.
1.3 Definition of Various Terms Associated with Armature Winding
The various terms associated with armature winding of a DC machine are as follows:
1.3.1 Commutator Pitch — YC
The distance between the commutator segments (in terms of commutator segments) to which
the two ends of a coil are connected is called the commutator pitch and is representaed by YC.
If the finishing end of a coil (or a set number of coils, for wave construction) is connected
to a commutator segment ahead of the one its starting end is connected to, the winding is
called a progressive winding as shown in Fig 5(a). If the finishing end of a coil is connected
to a commutator segment behind the one its starting end is connected to, the winding is called
a retrogressive winding as shown in Fig 5(b). If everything else is identical, the direction of
rotation of a progressive-wound armature will be opposite to the direction of rotation of a
retrogressive-wound armature.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 898.
[2] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 423.
1.3.2 Pole Pitch
The angular distance between the centers of two adjacent (opposite) poles is called a pole
pitch. This angular distance (pole pitch) is either measured in terms of mechanical angle θm,
or then electrical angle θe.
In terms of mechanical angle θm, pole pitch is given as:
Regardless of the number of poles (P) of a machine, a pole pitch is always 1800 electrical (in
terms of electrical angle). That is:
The mechanical and electrical angles are interrelated as:
or
Pole pitch is sometimes also defined as, the number of armature conductors per pole.
Mathematically:
Example:
Consider a 4-pole DC generator having16 slots in its armature with 2 conductors per slot, as
shown in Fig. 5.
Figure 5: A 4-pole DC machine
Hence
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 895.
[2] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 640.
[3] T. Wildi, Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, 2002, Page: 285.
1.3.3 Coil Pitch or Coil Span — YS
The angular distance between the two sides of a coil (in terms of electrical angle) is called coil pitch
or coil span. It is represented by symbol YS.
Coil pitch is sometimes also defined as, the distance between the two sides of a coil in terms
of armature slots. Mathematically:
| |
Consider the armature of a DC machine, as shown in Fig. 6:
Fig. 6: Armature of a DC machine
Where one side (say starting end) of coil A is in slot 1 whereas its other end (finishing end) is
in slot 5. Then by definition:
| | | |
In practice, the coil pitch must be a whole number and it is approximately equal to the
number of armature slots per pole. That is:
In the above example, a very small number of slots have been chosen for simplicity. In actual
machines, the number of slots per pole usually lies between 10 and 15 and the coil span Ys is
slightly less than the value given by the previous expression.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 895-896.
[2] J. Hiley, K. Brown, and M. Smith, Hughes Electrical and Electronic Technology, 10th ed. Pearson
Education Limited, 2008, Page: 858.
[3] T. Wildi, Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, 2002, Page: 89, 285.
1.3.4 Full-Pitched Coil
If the coil pitch is equal to the pole pitch, then the coil is said to be a full-pitched coil. In case
of a full-pitched coil, the two sides of that coil are 1800 electrical apart i.e. one pole pitch
apart. In other words, one side of the coil lies under the center of a N-pole whereas the other
side lies under the center of adjacent S-pole. Under such a condition, the emfs in the two coil
sides are exactly the same in magnitude and are in phase all the times. Hence, they are
additive and a maximum emf is induced in the coil as a whole.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 896, 1410-1411.
[2] J. Hiley, K. Brown, and M. Smith, Hughes Electrical and Electronic Technology, 10th ed. Pearson
Education Limited, 2008, Page: 741-742.
[3] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 640.
[2] A. E. Fitzgerald, J. Charles Kingsley, and S. D. Umans, Electric Machinery, 6th ed. McGraw Hill,
2003, Page: 187-188.
1.3.5 Short-Pitched Coil or Fractional-Pitched Coil or Chorded Coil
If the coil pitch is less than the pole pitch, then the coil is said to be a short-pitched coil or a
fractional pitched coil or a chorded coil.
Under such a condition, the emfs in the two coil sides are slightly out of phase. Hence, a
slightly less emf is induced in the coil as a whole (because the resultant vectorial sum of the
two emfs is less than their arithmetic sum).
The coil pitch (or coil span) YS of a fractional-pitched coil is often expressed as a fraction of
the pole pitch it spans. As explained in the following example:
Example:
Consider the situation as shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 7: A lap-wound armature of DC machine
Where the two coil sides are placed in slot 1 and 7, and in this arrangement the coil is full-
pitched (i.e. pole pitch= coil pitch= 1800 electrical). Now if the two coil sides are placed in
slot 1 and 6 then the coil is not full-pitched, rather it is short-pitched. This short-pitched coil
is called 5/6 pitched-coil, which means that it is 5/6 of a pole pitch, or it falls short from full-
pitched condition by 1/6 of the pole pitch.
Now the coil pitch (or coil span) YS of this 5/6 pitched-coil will be:
The angle by which a coil falls short from the pole pitch or from the full-pitched condition, is
called chording angle (α).
So the angle by which the 5/6 pitched-coil falls short from the pole pitch, or from the full-
pitched condition will be:
Generally coil pitch (or coil span) YS lies between 80% and 100% of the pole pitch. The coil
pitch is usually made less than the pole pitch (often one slot less than the pole pitch),
deliberately, for the following advantages:
1. In order to save copper and hence to reduce cost and weight of the machine.
2. To improve the flux distribution in the air gap
3. To improve the waveform of the generated emf so that it is sinusoidal.
4. To partially or wholly eliminate the high frequency distorting harmonics in the
generated emf wave of AC machines.
5. In case of 2-pole machines, the shorter pitch also makes the coils much easier to insert
in the slots.
6. Due to elimination of high frequency harmonics, eddy current losses and hysteresis
losses are reduced thereby increasing the efficiency.
7. Sometimes a small amount of chording (short-pitching) is helpful in armature
windings to improve commutation.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 896, 1410-1411.
[2] J. Hiley, K. Brown, and M. Smith, Hughes Electrical and Electronic Technology, 10th ed. Pearson
Education Limited, 2008, Page: 741-742.
[3] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 422, 640.
[4] A. E. Fitzgerald, J. Charles Kingsley, and S. D. Umans, Electric Machinery, 6th ed. McGraw Hill,
2003, Page: 187-188.
[5] T. Wildi, Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, 2002, Page: 285.
1.4 Types of Armature Winding
1.4.1 Types of Armature Winding Based On The Plex Or Multiplicity (m) Of The
Winding
The armature windings are sometimes classified according to their plex or multiplicity
(represented by m). Such as:
A simplex armature winding consists of a single, complete, closed set of winding wound on
armature. For simplex winding, m=1.
A duplex armature winding consists of two, complete, closed and independent sets of
windings wound on armature. For duplex winding, m=2. If a rotor has a duplex winding,
then each of the windings will be connected to every second commutator segment: One
winding will be connected to commutator segments 1, 3, 5 etc., and the other winding will be
connected to commutator segments 2, 4, 6 etc.
A triplex armature winding consists of three, complete, closed and independent sets of
windings wound on armature. For tiplex winding, m=3. If a rotor has a triplex winding, then
each of the windings will be connected to every third commutator segment.
Collectively, all armatures with more than one complete, closed and independent sets of
windings are said to have multiplex windings.
The plex or multiplicity, m, of the winding affects the number of parallel paths (represented
by A) for current flow between the brushes in the armature winding. For a given number of
armature slots and coils, as the multiplicity increases, the number of parallel paths increases
thereby increasing the current rating but decreasing the voltage rating.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 899.
[2] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 423-424.
1.4.2 Types of Armature Winding Based On Their End Connections To The
Commutator (Segments)
There are two types of armature winding based on their end connections to the commutator
(segments):
1. Lap Winding, and
2. Wave Winding
Both winding can be arranged progressively or retrogressively.
1.4.2.1 Lap Winding
In lap winding, the two ends of any one coil are connected to the adjacent commutator
segments.
OR
In lap winding, the finishing end of one coil is connected to the starting end of the adjacent
coil at the adjacent commutator segment.
As shown in Fig 5. same
Figure 8: (a). Progressive Simplex Lap Winding, (b). Retrogressive Simplex Lap Winding
Generally, for an m-plex lap winding, the commutator pitch YC is given by:
Hence
For example, for the situation shown in Fig. 5(a) and (b):
YC= (C+1)-C= 1 … for Fig. 5(a)
YC= C-(C+1)= -1 … for Fig. 5(b)
And so on.
Generally, the number of parallel paths, A, for a lap-wound armature (winding) is given by:
Where
m= Plex of the winding (i.e. 1, 2, 3 etc. for simplex, duplex, triplex winding etc.,
respectively)
P= No of poles of the DC machine
Hence
That is, there are as many parallel current paths through the simplex lap winding as there are
poles on the machine.
And so on.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 899-910.
[2] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 424-432.
[3] T. Wildi, Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, 2002, Page: 285.
1.4.2.2 Wave Winding
In wave winding, the two ends of any one coil are bent in the opposite direction and are then
connected to the commutator segments some distance apart. As shown in Fig. 6.
Figure 9: Progressive Simplex Wave Winding
Generally, for a simplex wave winding, the commutator pitch YC is given by:
Where:
C= No. of armature coils
P= No. of poles
Generally, the number of parallel paths, A, for a wave-wound armature is given by:
Where
m= Plex of the winding (i.e. 1, 2, 3 etc. for simplex, duplex, triplex winding etc.,
respectively)
Hence
That is, there are two parallel current paths through the simplex wave winding.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 899-910.
[2] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 428-432.
[3] J. Hiley, K. Brown, and M. Smith, Hughes Electrical and Electronic Technology, 10th ed. Pearson
Education Limited, 2008, Page: 858.
1.4.3 Types of Armature Winding Based on Their Layers
There are two types of armature winding based on their layers:
1. Single Layer Armature Winding
2. Two Layer Armature Winding
1.4.3.1 Single Layer Armature Winding
In single layer armature winding, one coil side is placed in each armature slot. Such a
winding is not much used. As shown in Fig. 7.
Figure 10: Single Layer Armature Winding
1.4.3.2 Two Layer Armature Winding
In two layer armature winding, two coil sides (from two different coils) are placed in each
armature slot. Mostly this type of winding is used.
One side of each of the coils is placed in the bottom (lower half) of one slot, and then after all
the bottom sides are in place, the other side of each of the coils is placed in the top (upper
half) of some other slot, at a distance of approximately one pole pitch apart. As shown in Fig.
8. In this fashion, all the windings are woven together, increasing the mechanical strength
and uniformity of the final structure.
The transfer of coil from one slot to another is usually made in a radial plane by means of a
peculiar bend or twist at the back ends. As shown in Fig. 9.
Figure 11: A simple two-pole DC machine with a lap-wound, two-layer armature winding
Figure 12: Back connections of a two layer winding
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 897-898.
[2] S. J.Chapman, Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed. McGraw Hill, 2012, Page: 422-423.
Example 41.1 (Home Assignment)
(Hughes Electrical and Electronic Technology, 10th Edition, Page: 859).
An eight-pole armature is wound with 480 conductors. The magnetic flux and the speed are
such that the average emf generated in each conductor is 2.2 V, and each conductor is capable
of carrying a full-load current of 100 A. Calculate the terminal voltage on no load, the output
current on full load and the total power generated on full load when the armature is:
(a) Lap-connected
(b) Wave-connected.
1.4.4 Applications of Lap Winding and Wave Winding
Generally, the number of parallel paths, A, for an armature winding is given by:
Where
m= Plex of the winding (i.e. 1, 2, 3 etc. for simplex, duplex, triplex winding etc.,
respectively)
P= No of poles of the DC machine
Since there are more parallel paths between the (positive and negative) carbon brushes in the
armature winding for current flow, hence it can be concluded that lap winding is suitable for
high-current, low-voltage (small) DC machines. On the other hand, wave winding is suitable
for low-current, high-voltage (large) DC machines.
References:
[1] B. L. Theraja, and A. K. Theraja, A Text Book of Electrical Technology, Volume I. S. Chand &
Company Ltd., 2008, Page: 894.
[2] J. Hiley, K. Brown, and M. Smith, Hughes Electrical and Electronic Technology, 10th ed. Pearson
Education Limited, 2008, Page: 858.
