DC MACHINERY FUNDAMENTALS

An Introduction to DC Machines
• DC machines are generator that convert mechanical
energy to DC electric energy and motors that convert dc
electrical energy to mechanical energy.
• Most DC machines are like ac machines in the sense that
they have ac voltages and currents within them.
• DC machines have a dc output only because a mechanism
exists that converts the internal ac voltages to dc voltages
at their terminals.
• Since this mechanism is called Commutator, dc machinery
is also know as Commutating Machinery.

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8.1: A Simple Rotating Loop Between Curved Pole
Faces
• The linear DC machines studied
in Chapter 1 was a good
introduction to the basic machine
behavior. However, the real
motors and generators don’t
move in a straight line, they
rather rotate.
• A simplest possible dc machine
consists of a single loop of wire
rotating about a fixed axis in a
magnetic field.
• The magnetic field for the machine is supplied by a
magnetic north and south pole.
• The loop of rotor wire lies in a slot carved in a
ferromagnetic core.
• The iron rotor, together with the curved shape of the pole
faces, provides a constant-width air gap between the 3
rotor and stator.

8.1: A Simple Rotating Loop Between Curved Pole

Faces
• Since the magnetic flux
must take the shortest
path through the air, it is
perpendicular to the
rotor surface everywhere
under the pole faces.
• Also, since the air-gap is
of uniform width, the
reluctance is the same
everywhere under the
pole faces.
• The uniform reluctance
means that the magnetic
flux density is constant
everywhere under the
pole faces.
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2
The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop
• The loop of the wire is
rectangular, with sides ab and
cd perpendicular to the plan of
the page and with sides bc and
da parallel to the plan of page.
• The magnetic field is constant
and perpendicular to the surface
of the rotor everywhere under
the pole faces and rapidly falls
to zero beyond the edges of the
poles.
• To determine the total voltage
etot on the loop, examine each
segment of the loop separately
and sum all the resulting
voltages.
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The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop

• Segment ab: The velocity of the
wire is tangential to the path of
rotation, while the magnetic flux B
points out perpendicular to the
rotor surface every where under
the pole face and is zero beyond
the edges of the pole face.
• Under the pole face, velocity v is
perpendicular to B, and vxB points
into the page, Therefore the
induced voltage on the segment is:

If the index finger points in the direction of

flux, and the thumb indicates the movement of
conductor, then the middle finger shows the
direction of emf induced in the conductor.
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3
The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop
• Segment bc: In the first half of
the segment, the quantity vxB
points into the page and in the
second half the quantity vxB
points out of the page.
• The length l is in the plan of the
page, vxB is perpendicular to
the l for both positions of the
segment. Therefore, the voltage
induced in the segment bc will
be zero.

The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop

• Segment cd: The velocity of
the wire is tangential to the
path of rotation. The magnetic
flux B points in perpendicular
to the rotor surface
everywhere under the pole
face and is zero beyond the
edges of the pole face.
• Under the pole face, velocity v
is perpendicular to B, and vxB
points out of the page.
Therefore, the induced
voltage on the segment is:
• Segment da: Just as in the
segment bc, the VxB is
perpendicular l . Therefore,
the voltage in the segment
will be zero.
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4
The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop
• The total induced voltage is
the sum of the voltages on
each of the side.
• When the loop rotates 180o,
segment ab is under the
north pole face instead of
south pole face.
• At that the direction of the
voltage on the segment
reverses, but its magnitude
remains constant.
• Thus the resulting voltage is
shown in the Figure.

The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop

• There is an alternative way to
express the equation derived
above, which clearly relates the
behavior of single loop to the
behavior of larger real dc
machines.
• Examine Fig 8-4, Notice that the
tangential velocity v of the edges of
the loop can be expressed as:
• Substituting this expression in the
equation above.
• The area of the loop is 2rl and the
flux is the product of the loop’s
surface area and flux density
through the loop. Thus eind is:
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5
The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop
• Notice that the rotor surface is
cylindrical, so the area of the rotor
surface A is just equal to 2rl.
• Since there are two poles, the area
of the rotor under each pole
(ignoring the small air gap) is Ap=
rl.
• Therefore, the voltage induced
under each pole face is:
• Since the flux density is constant
everywhere in the air gap under
the pole faces.
• The total flux under each pole is
just the area of the pole times its
flux density.
• Therefore, the final equation is:

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The Voltage Induced in a Rotating Loop

• Thus the voltage generated in the machine is equal to the
product of the flux inside the machine and the speed of
rotation of the machine, multiplied by a constant
representing the mechanical construction of the machine.
• In general the voltage induced in any real machine will
depend on three factors:
1) The flux in the machine
2) The speed of rotation
3) A constant representing the construction of the
machine.

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6
Getting the DC Voltage out of the Rotating Loop
• Fig. 1 shows plot of the voltage
etot generated by the rotating
loop. This voltage output of the
loop is alternatively a constant
positive value and a constant
negative value.
• One way to change this ac
voltage to a constant dc voltage
is shown in the Figure.
• Two semicircular conducting
segments are added to the end
of the loop, and two fixed
contacts are set up at an angle
such that at the instant when the
voltage in the loop is zero, the
contacts short circuit the two
segments. 13

Getting the DC Voltage out of the Rotating Loop

• In this fashion, every time
the voltage of the loop
switches direction, the
contacts also switch the
connections, and the output
of the contacts is always
build up in same way.
• This connection-switching
process is known as
Commutation. The rotating
semicircular segments are
called commutator segments
and the fixed contacts are
called brushes.

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7
The Induced Torque in the Rotating Loop
• Suppose that a battery is
now connected to the
machine and current is
allowed to flow in the loop.
• This current will produce a
torque in the loop.
• To calculate the total torque
produced, we will calculate
the force and torque on
each segment of the loop
using the equations for the
force and torque: • Where  is the angle
between r and F.
• The torque is essentially
zero whenever the loop is
beyond the pole edges.
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The Induced Torque in the Rotating Loop

• Segment ab: In the
segment ab, the current
from the battery is directed
out of the page. The
magnetic field under the
pole is pointing radially out
of the rotor, so the force on
the wire is given by:
• Segment bc: In the
segment bc, the current
from the battery is flowing
from the upper left to the
lower right in the picture.
The force induced on the
wire is given by:

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8
The Induced Torque in the Rotating Loop
• Segment cd: In the
segment cd, the current
from the battery is directed
into the page. The
magnetic field under the
pole is pointing radially into
of the rotor, so the force on
the wire is given by:
• Segment da: In the
segment da, the current
from the battery is flowing
from the upper left to the
lower right in the picture.
The force induced on the
wire is given by:

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The Induced Torque in the Rotating Loop

• The resulting induced
torque on the loop is given
by:
• Thus the torque produced
in the machine is the
product of the flux in the
machine and the current in
the machine, times some
quantity representing the
mechanical construction of the machine (the percentage
of the rotor covered by the pole face). In general the
torque in any real machine will depend on the same three
factors.
1. The flux in the machine
2. The current in the machine.
3. A constant representing the construction of machine. 18

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Class Activity 1

• Example 8-1: Figure shows a simple rotating loop

between curved pole faces connected to a battery and a
resistor through a switch. The resistor shown models the
total resistance of the battery and the wire in the
machine. The physical dimensions and characteristics of
this machine are:
r=0.5 m, l=1.0 m, R=0.3 Ω
B=0.25 T, VB=120V

a) What happens when the switch is closed.

b) What is the machine maximum starting current? What is
the steady state angular velocity at no load.

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Class Activity 1

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Class Activity 1

c) Suppose that a load is attached to the loop, and the

resulting load torque is 10 N. m. What would be the new
steady state speed. How much power is supplied to the
shaft of the machine. How much power is being supplied by
the battery. Is this machine a motor or a generator.
d) Suppose the machine is again unloaded, and a torque of
7.5 N.m is applied to the shaft in the direction of rotation.
What is the new steady-state speed. Is this machine now a
motor or generator.
e) Suppose that the machine is running unloaded. What would
the final steady-state speed of the rotor be if the flux
density were reduced to 0.20 T.

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Class Activity 1
a) What happens when the switch is closed.
• When the switch is closed , a current will
flow in the loop. Since the loop is initially
stationary, eind=0. Therefore, the current
will be given by:
• This current flow through the loop,
producing a torque:
• This induced torque produces an angular
acceleration in the counterclockwise
direction, so the rotor of the machine
begins to turn. But as the rotor begins to
turn, an voltage is induced in the rotor
which is given by:
• As a result the current will fall, and thus
the Tind decreases, and the machine winds
up in steady state with Tind=0, and the
battery voltage VB=eind.
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Class Activity 1
b) What is the machine maximum
starting current? What is the
steady state angular velocity at
no load.
• AT starting conditions, the
machine current is:
• At no load steady state
conditions, the induced torque
Tind must be zero which is
possible only if current is zero
because flux is nonzero.
• The zero current means that the
battery voltage is equal to the
voltage induced.

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Class Activity 1
c) Suppose that a load is attached to the
loop, and the resulting load torque is
10 N. m. What would be the new
steady state speed. How much power
is supplied to the shaft of the
machine. How much power is being
supplied by the battery. Is this
machine working as a motor or a
generator.
• If a load of 10 Nm is applied to the
shaft of machine, it will begin to slow
down. But as speed decreases, the
induced voltage will decrease, and
thus the rotor current will increase. As
the rotor current increases, the Tind
increases too, until the new Tind is
equal to the load torque at the steady
state:
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Class Activity 1
d) Suppose the machine is again unloaded, and
a torque of 7.5 N.m is applied to the shaft in
the direction of rotation. What is the new
steady-state speed. Is this machine now a
motor or generator..
• If the torque is applied in the direction of
motion, the rotor accelerates. As the speed
increases, the internal voltage eind increases
and exceeds the VB. So the current flows out
of the top of the bar and into the battery. This
machine is now a generator. This current
causes an induced torque opposite to the
direction of motion. The induced torque
opposes the external applied torque, and
eventually induced torque is equal to the load
torque at a higher speed.

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Class Activity 1
e) Suppose that the machine is running
unloaded. What would the final steady-
state speed of the rotor be if the flux
density were reduced to 0.20 T.
• Since the machine is initially unloaded
at the original condition in part (b), the
speed of machine under nol oad was
480rad/sec. If the flux decreases, there
is transient . However, after transient is
over the machine ,must again have zero
torque, since there is still no load on the
shaft. If Tind is zero, and VB=eind. The
shaft speed is thus:
• Notice that when the flux in the
machine is decreased, it speed
increases.
• CAUTION: Don’t ever run your machine
with zero excitation. otherwise

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8.5: The Internal Generated Voltage and Induced Torque
Equations of Real DC Machines

• The voltage induced in any real

machine depends upon three factors:
1) The flux in the machine
2) The speed of rotation
3) A constant representing the
construction of the machine.
• The voltage out of the armature of a
real machine is equal to the number
of conductor per current path time
the voltage on each conductor.
• Where Z is the total number of
conductors, and a is the number of
current paths.

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8.5: The Internal Generated Voltage and Induced Torque

Equations of Real DC Machines

• The flux of a pole is is equal

to the flux density under the
pole times the pole’s area.
• The rotor of the machine is
shaped like a cylinder, thus
• If there are P poles on the
machine, then the portion of
the area associated with each
pole is the total area divided
by the number of poles P:
• The internal voltage
generated can be then
expressed as:

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8.5: The Internal Generated Voltage and Induced Torque
Equations of Real DC Machines

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8.5: The Internal Generated Voltage and Induced Torque

Equations of Real DC Mchines

• For a real machine the

total induced torque in
the machine can be
expressed as:
• Z: total number of
conductors.
• a: number of current
paths
• P is number of poles

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Class Activity 2

• Example 8-3: A duplex lap wound armature is used in a

six-pole dc machine with six brush sets, each spanning
two commutator segments. There are 72 coils on the
armature, each containing 12 turns. The flux per pole in
the machine is 0.039 Wb, and the machine spins at 400
r/min.
a) How many current paths are there in this machine
b) What is its induced voltage EA.

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Class Activity 3

• Example 8-4: A 12 pole dc generator has a simplex wave-

wound armature containing 144 coils of 10 turns each.
The resistance of each turn is 0.011 Ω. Its flux per pole is
0.05 Wb, and it is turning at a speed of 200 r/min.
a) How many current paths are there in this machine
b) What is its induced armature voltage of this machine.
c) What is the effective armature resistance of this machine.
d) If 1 KΩ resistor is connected to the terminals of this
generator, what is the resulting induced counter torque on
the shaft of the machine (ignore the internal armature
resistance of the machine).

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8.6: The Construction of DC Machines

• The physical structure of the machine consists of two

parts: that stator or stationary part and rotor or
rotating part of the machine.
• The stationary part of the machine consists of the
frame which provides the physical support, and the
pole pieces, which project inward and provide a path
for the magnetic flux of the machine.
• The ends of the pole pieces that are near the rotor
spread out over the rotor surface to distribute its flux
evenly over the rotor surface.
• These ends are called pole shoes. The exposed surface
of a pole is called pole face, and the distance between
the pole face and the rotor is called air gap.

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8.6: The Construction of DC Machines

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8.6: The Construction of DC Machines

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8.6: The Construction of DC Machines

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8.7: Power Flow and Losses in DC Machines

• The losses in DC machine can

divided into five parts:
1) Electrical or Copper Losses.
2) Brush Losses
3) Core Losses
4) Mechanical Losses
5) Stray Load Losses.

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8.7: Power Flow and Losses in DC Machines

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8.7: Power Flow and Losses in DC Machines

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