1) Explain the constructional Details of a DC machine?

 A Direct current machine can be used as generator or as a motor

 When machine is driven by a prime mover, it converts mechanical
energy into electrical energy and it is called a generator
 If electrical energy is supplied to it, it works as a motor
 Constructional details of a DC generator and a DC motor are the same
The major parts of a DC machine are:
i) Stator and ii) Rotor
Stator Parts are:
i) Yoke
ii) Field system
a) Pole core
b) Pole shoe and
c) Field coils
Rotor parts are:
i) Armature
a) Armature core
b) Armature winding
ii) Commutator
iii) Brushes
Bearings, End covers, Shaft, Terminal Box etc.

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 1

Stator
 Stator is stationary member and consists of field system
Rotor
 Rotor is rotating member which houses armature windings
 Rotor of a DC machine is also called armature
Stator Parts
(i) Yoke or Magnetic frame
 Yoke is the outer cover of a DC machine
 All parts of the machine are enclosed within the frame
 It acts as mechanical support for the machine
 It is the stationary part in the shape of hollow cylinder and poles are
fixed at the inner periphery of the yoke
 Magnetic circuit is formed through the core
 Yoke is usually made of cast iron for small machines
 But large machines, it is made of cast steel (or) rolled steel
(ii) Field system
 The field system consists of
a) Pole core b) Pole shoe and c) Field coil (or) Field winding
a) Pole Core
 Pole core are the projecting rectangular steel parts to produce
magnetic flux needed for the generator
 It is fitted to the yoke by means of bolt and nuts
 The main function of this to establish magnetic flux, when the field
coils carry current
 The pole cores are laminated
b) Pole shoe
 The pole shoes are located at the end of pole core
 The purpose of providing pole shoe in the poles is to make the
magnetic field uniform on the surface of the armature
 Main function of the pole shoes are
a) It acts as a mechanical support to the field coils
b) They reduce the reluctance of the magnetic path
c) They guide and spread out the flux in the air gap
c) Field coil (or) Field winding
 It is made up of copper
 Field coils are mounted on the pole core and carry the DC exciting
current

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 2

  The field coils are connected in such a way that adjacent poles have
opposite polarity
 When the coils carry DC current, Pole core becomes an electromagnet
and produces the magnetic flux
 The magnetic flux passes through the pole pieces, air gap, armature
and Yoke
 Practical DC machines have air gaps ranging from 0.5mm to 1.5mm
 Air gap is measured by a device called “Feeler gauge”
Rotor Parts
Armature Core
 It is a rotating part of a DC machine and is build up in cylindrical or
drum shape with slots on its outer periphery
 The purpose of armature is to rotate the conductors in the uniform
magnetic field
 It is build-up of steel laminations. It is mounted on the shaft
 The armature laminations are insulated from each other by thin paper
or thin coating of varnish as insulation
 Thickness of each laminations is about 0.5mm. By using laminated
sheets, the eddy current loss is reduced
 If silicon steel is used for armature core, the hysteresis loss is also
reduced
 Due to losses, heat is developed in the armature
 To dissipate this heat, a fan is provided at one end of the armature
 Ventilating ducts (Air holes) are also provided in the armature for the
purpose of cooling
Armature Windings
 Armature winding is placed on slots available on armature surface
 The ends of the coils are joined with commutator segments
 Insulated higher conductivity copper wire is used for making the coils
 There are two types of winding
i) Lap winding and ii) Wave winding
 Lap winding is used for high current, low voltage generators
 Wave winding is used for high voltage, low current generators
Commutator
 A commutator is a mechanical rectifier which converts the alternating
emf generated in the armature winding into direct voltage across the
brushes
 The commutator is made of copper segments insulated from each
other by mica sheets and mounted on the shaft of the machine
 The coil ends of the armature windings are connected to commutator
segments.

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 3

Brushes
 The brushes are made of carbon. It is in the shape of rectangular
block. The brushes are placed in brush holder. The brush holder are
mounted on rocker arm
 The brushes are arranged in rocker arm in such a way that, it
touches the commutator
 The function of a brush is to collect the current from commutator, in
case of generator
 In case of motor, current to the armature conductors are fed through
the brushes
 Brush pressure is adjusted by means of adjustable springs
 If the brush pressure is high, the friction produces heating of the
commutator and the brushes
 If the pressure is too weak, the imperfect contact with the
commutator may produce ‘spark’
Bearings, End covers
 Ball or roller bearings are used. For heavy duty conditions roller
bearing are used
 They are fitted in the middle of the end cover. They support the
armature and allow it to rotate freely in the air gap
 The armature shaft is mounted over these bearings. End covers are
made of cast iron or fabricated steel. They are fitted to both ends of
the yoke
2) Explain the principle of operation of DC generator?
Basic principle
 An electric generator is a machine that converts mechanical energy
into electric energy
 An electric generator is based on the principle that whenever flux is
cut by a conductor, an emf is induced which will cause a current to
flow if the conductor circuit is closed
Simple loop generator
 Consider a single turn loop ABCD rotating clockwise in a uniform
magnetic field with a constant speed
 As the loop rotates, the flux linking the coil sides ‘AB’ and ‘CD’
changes continuously
 Hence the emf induced in these coil sides also changes but the emf
induced in one coil side adds to that emf induced in the other coil

a) When the loop is in position no.1, the generated emf is zero.

Because the coil sides (AB & CD) are cutting no flux but are
moving parallel to it

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 4

 b) When the loop is in position no.2, the coils sides are moving at an
angle to the flux and, therefore a low emf is generated as indicated
by point 2 in waveform
c) When the loop is in position no.3, the coil sides (AB & CD) are at
right angle to the flux and are therefore cuts the flux at maximum
rate. Hence at this instant, the generated emf is maximum as
indicated by point 3 in waveform
d) At position no.4, the generated emf is less because the coil sides
are cutting the flux at an angle
e) At position no.5, no magnetic flux lines are cut and hence induced
emf is zero as indicated by point 5 in waveform
f) At position no.6, the coil sides move under a pole of opposite
polarity and hence the direction of generated emf is reversed
g) The maximum emf in this direction (i.e. reverse direction) will be
when the loop is at position 7 and zero when at position 1. This
cycle repeats with each revolution of the coil

 Note that emf generated in the loop is alternating one. It is because

any coil side, say ‘AB’ has emf in one direction when under the
influence of N-pole and in other direction when under the influence of
S-pole
 If a load is connected across the ends of the loop, then alternating
current will flow through the load

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 5

  The alternating voltage generated in the loop can be converted into
direct voltage by a device called commutator. A commutator is a
mechanical rectifier
3) Derive the EMF equation of DC generator?
Let φ = Flux/pole in Webers
Z = Total number of armature conductors
P = No. of Poles
A = No. of parallel paths
A = 2 for wave winding
A = P for lap winding
N = Speed of armature in RPM
Eg = EMF induced generator
Flux cut by one conductor in one revolution of the armature
d φ=P∗φ Webers
Time taken to complete one revolution
60
d t= seconds
N
EMF generated per conductor
dφ P∗φ P∗φ∗N
¿ = = volts
60 60 60
N N
EMF of generator, Eg = EMF per parallel path
EMF
E g= ( Conductor )∗{No . of Conductor ∈series per∥path }
P∗φ∗N
∗Z
60
E g= Volts
A

φ∗Z∗N
∗P
60
E g= Volts
A

 For a given DC machine, Z,P and A are constants so E g α φ∗N

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 6

  For a given DC machine, the induced voltage in the armature is
directly proportional to flux per pole (φ) and speed of rotation (N)

4) Explain the characteristics of separately excited DC generators?

 In the separately excited DC generator, field winding is connected to a
separate source of DC power
 This source may be another DC generator (or) battery (or) a diode
rectifier
 The circuit for a separately excited DC generator is shown below

(i) Open circuit characteristics (Eg versus If)

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 7

  The generator is made to run at fixed speed
 The field current (If) is varied by varying the field rheostat
 While varying the field current (If), Eg emf generated in the armature
varies
 The readings of ammeter (connected in series with field winding) and
voltmeter are noted
 A curve is drawn for Eg and If values
 The curve does not start from zero ordinarily but at some value
slightly higher than zero due to residual magnetism

From the OCC curve

 The curve starts from point ‘A’ instead of ‘O’ when the field current is
zero, is due to residual magnetism
 The curve from point ‘B’ to point ‘C’ is practically a straight-line is
called straight-line portion of the magnetization curve. Because
reluctance of iron is negligible when compared with that of air gap
 Air gap reluctance is constant and hence linear relationship
 After point ‘C’ on the curve, the reluctance of iron is higher compared
with that of air gap. So the curve deviates from linear relationship

φ∗Z∗N
∗P
60
E g= Volts
A

Z∗N
∗P
60
Where K = Volts
A

E g α φ∗N

If ‘N’ is kept constant ↑ Eg α φ↑ since φ α I f

 Point ‘C’ at which saturation of the magnetic circuit begins is known
as the knee point of the curve
 After the point ‘d’, any increase in field current does not change the
induced emf.
Internal and external characteristics

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 8

Internal characteristics is Eg versus Ia
External characteristics is V versus IL
E g=V + I a∗R a

Generated emf , E g=Terminal voltage+ Armature drop

V =I L∗R L

Load current , I L=I a ( Armature Current)

As load current increases, the terminal voltage falls due to two reasons
a) The armature reaction weakens the main flux, so that actual emf
generated ‘E’ on load is lesser than that generated (EO) on no-load
b) There is voltage drop across armature resistance
E g=V + I a∗R a

The external characteristics is a drooping curve

The internal characteristics can be determined from external characteristic
by adding I a∗R a drop to the external characteristic
In the absence of armature reaction drop and armature resistive drop, the
generated emf would have been rated voltage
5) Explain the characteristics of DC shunt generator (self-excited
generator)?

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 9

Open circuit characteristics curve (OCC)
Procedure
 Keep the DPST switch open
 The field rheostat is kept at maximum
 The speed of the generator is held constant, throughout the
experiment
 The terminal voltage which appears across armature terminal is
measured and recorded
 This small voltage (Er) is known as residual magnetism voltage which
is induced due to the residual magnetism available in the field poles
 Now gradually the field current of the generator is increased in steps
 For each step, the field current and terminal voltage across armature
terminals are noted
 The graph is drawn between If (field current) and V (terminal voltage)
 The field current is taken on the x-axis and terminal voltage on the y-
axis
 The curve plotted is known as the magnetization characteristic curve
of a self-excited generator
Explanation of OCC curve

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 10

At a constant speed, the generated emf becomes directly proportional to the
field flux
φ∗Z∗N
∗P
60
E g= Volts
A

Z∗N
∗P
60
Where K = Volts
A

E g α φ∗N

If ‘N’ is kept constant ↑ Eg α I f ↑ since φ α I f

 The curve starts from point ‘a’ instead of ‘O’, when the field current is
zero which is due to residual magnetism
 The curve from point ‘b’ to point ‘c’ is practically a straight line and is
called straight line portion of the magnetization curve
 Because reluctance of iron core is negligible when compared with that
of air gap
 The air gap reluctance is constant and hence linear relationship
 After the point ‘c’ on the curve, the reluctance of iron is higher
compared with that of air gap, so the curve deviates from linear
relationship
 Point ‘c’ at which saturation of the magnetic circuit begins is known
as the knee of the curve
 After the point ‘d’, if any increase in field current does not change the
induced emf
Internal and external characteristics

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 11

  Internal characteristic curve is drawn between I a (armature current)
and EO (no-load emf)
 External characteristic curve is drawn between IL (load current) and V
(terminal voltage)
 Generated EMF, E g=V + I a∗R a
 Generated emf , E g=Terminal voltage+ Armature resistive drop
 Armature current , I a =I Load + I shunt field
 I a=I L + I sh
External characteristics (or) load characteristics
The point ‘OC’ is the voltage generated across the armature terminal at no-
load condition
φ∗Z∗N
∗P
60
E g= Volts
A

Z∗N
∗P
60
Where K = Volts
A

E g α φ∗N

If ‘N’ is kept constant ↑ Eg α I f ↑ since φ α I f

 When the generator’s field rheostat is adjusted to produce the rated

voltage, then the DPST switch is closed
 The load is varied in steps and the corresponding load current and
terminal voltage are noted
 As the load current increases, the terminal voltage falls due to the
following reasons
a) Armature reaction weakens the main flux, so that actual emf
generated (E) on load is less than that of generated (E O) on no-
load
b) There is a voltage drop across armature resistance
c) Because of brush contact drop, there is a voltage drop in
generator
 So the load characteristics is drooping characteristic
Internal Characteristics
 Internal characteristics curve is drawn between (EO) emf generated at
no-load and armature current (Ia)

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 12

By adding drop I a∗R a with the terminal voltage, we can get E g
E g=V + I a∗R a

The internal characteristics curve lies above the external characteristics

curve
Both the self and separately excited shunt generators characteristics are
more or less same
6) Explain the characteristics of Series generator?
 The connection diagram of series excited generator is shown below
 For open circuit test, the DPST switch is kept open
 Now the load current is zero
 We already known that , I Load =I Series =I armature
 If the load current is zero, the field current is also zero
 As the field current cannot be changed without load, so series
generator do not have open circuit characteristics

Internal and External characteristics

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 13

Load test (or) External characteristics
 Now the DPST switch is closed
 The load current is zero, so the field current ‘If’ is also zero, but the
voltmeter will show some value. It is due to residual flux in the field
winding
 If load current increases, the series field current are also increases.
The flux increases, and hence the generated emf increases
 I L ↑ I se ↑ for series generator I a =I L =I se
I se ↑ φ↑

because φ α I field current

If φ ↑ Eg ↑

φ∗Z∗N
∗P
60
Eg α Volts
A
 This DC series generator load characteristics is rising in nature. So, it
is called rising characteristics curve
 The external characteristics curve is drawn for the values of terminal
voltage (V) and load current (IL). This curve lies below internal
characteristic curve
 The internal characteristics curve is drawn between induced emf at
no-load condition (EO) and armature current (Ia). This curve lies below
the open circuit characteristics curve.
Armature + Brush drop
E g=V + I a∗R a+ I se∗R se + {reactiondrop }
Where I a∗R a → Armature resistive drop∈volts
I se∗Rse → Series field winding drop∈ volts
E g → Generated EMF∈volts ; V-> Terminal voltage in volts
 The open circuit characteristics curve lies above internal
characteristics curve
7) Explain the characteristics of Compound generator?
 Compound generators are provided with both shunt field coils and
series field coils

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 14

  Therefore the shape of compound generator characteristics can be a
combination of shunt generator characteristics and series generator
characteristics
 Compound generator are classified into short shunt compound
generators and long shunt compound generators
 There will not be any appreciable change in the characteristics of
these two classifications
 Short shunt compound generator is always preferable because it
provides more voltage to the shunt filed circuit.
 On no-load conditions, the DPST switch is kept open I L =I se =zero
 Under this condition, the short shunt compound generator operates
purely as a shunt generator
 During load test, the DPST switch is closed
 The field rheostat is adjusted to give rated output voltage
 The external (or) load characteristic curve is drawn between terminal
voltage (V) and load current (IL)

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 15

  Depending upon the connection of series field coil which will make the
current through the series field coil to flow either from S1 to S2 (or)
from S2 to S1, compound generators are classified into
a) Cumulative compound generator and
b) Differentially compound generator
 In case of cumulative compound DC generator, it is further classified
into flat compound, over compound and under compound
 This classification is based upon the ampere turns of series filed
winding
 If the series field ampere turns helps to produce (or) to maintain the
same voltage at rated load as at no-load, then it is flat compound
generator
 Is the series field winding is designed such that the voltage produced
or generated at rated load is greater that the no-load voltage, then it is
over compound generator
 If the voltage at rated load is less than the no-load voltage, then it is
under compound generator
 If the series field flux opposes the shunt field flux, the net available
flux decreases, so the differentially compound generator curve lies
below the shunt generator curve
8) Give the application of DC generators?
Separately Excited shunt generators
 These generators are used for electroplating and as boosters
 These can be used with field regulators for lighting and power supply
purposes
 On big turbo alternators, these generators are used as an exciter
Self-Excited shunt generators
The terminal voltage of DC shunt generators is almost constant
 They are used for battery charging purposes
 They are used with regulators for ordinary lighting and power supply
purposes
Series generators
 The series generator has a rising voltage characteristics
 They are used as boosters and lighting arc lamps
Compound generators

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 16

  Differential compound generators are used for DC welding sets
 Flat compound generators are used in plants, where rated terminal
voltage is to be maintained perfectly constant, even at full-load
conditions
 Over compound generators are used where DC power is to be
transmitted over a long distance
9) Explain about armature reaction of a DC generators?
 The term reaction is defined as the action between two or more
elements
 In Dc machine, the area between the armature surface and the main
pole face is called air gap
 When the machine is excited, flux set up by the main field winding ( ∅m )
will be present in the air gap
 Further, when the machine is loaded, the armature carry current and
they set up an addition flux ( ∅a ) , which is also present in the same air
gap
 As the two flux cannot exit independently in a common space, the
reaction between ( ∅m ) and ( ∅a ) takes place in the air gap
 The effect of armature flux ( ∅a ) on the main flux ( ∅m ) is called armature
reaction
 Before understanding the armature reaction, let us understand four
terms
Geometric neutral axis (GNA)
 It is the line which bisects the angle between the two centres of
adjacent poles
Magnetic neutral axis (MNA)
 MNA is the axis which is perpendicular to the magnetic flux lines. This
is the axis at which the brushes are placed
 It is the line where no emf is induced in the armature conductor. This
axis is the also called axis of commutation

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 17

Leading pole tip
 The pole tip which is met first during rotation by armature conductor
is known as LPT
Trailing pole tip
 It is end of the pole, which comes in contact with armature in the
direction of rotation when it rotates
The process of armature reaction is given below
 Consider a two pole DC generator rotating in clockwise direction
carrying field current and armature current
 When there is no-load on DC generator, the current flowing through
armature conductor is negligible. Hence armature flux also negligible

 Therefore the direction of field flux due to the field emf alone is shown
in below
 The MMF and flux act downwards
 Therefore it can be represented by phasor OA

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 18

  When the generator is loaded, the armature carriers current
 This current flowing through the armature and producing armature
mmf and thereby armature flux
 It is assumed that there is no excitation of the field and armature
conductors carry currents in the same directions in which they carry
currents when the generator is loaded
 It is observed that the magnetic flux and mmf produced by the
armature current acts along the MNA axis from right to left

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 19

  When both magnetic fields are simultaneously present, there is
interaction between them. This is termed as armature reaction
 If we consider both the field mmf and armature mmf acting
simultaneously in a loaded generator, they will be 90 degrees to each
other
 Therefore the resultant mmf will be shifted in the direction of rotation
of armature and the flux distribution gets affected. Hence under (LPT)
leading pole tips, the field flux and armature flux acts in opposite
direction. Therefore the net flux will be decreased
 Under (TPT) trailing pole tips, the armature flux and main flux act in
the same direction and thereby the net flux increases
 Due to this, the TPTs and armature teeth under the TPT may get
saturated
 Therefore the total flux acting in the generator is reduced which in
turn decreases the induced emf in a loaded generator
 The effect of armature reaction is to shift the axis of the resultant mmf
acting in the direction of rotation of the armature
 Due to this, MNA gets shifted in the same direction by some angle to
make 90 degrees with the resultant flux. Now the MNA is advanced
from the GNA

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 20

  It is readily seen that, consequent of the shifting of the brushes to the
new position of MNA
 The pattern of distribution of current in the armature conductors
changes
 Some conductors which were under the N-pole earlier, now comes
under the S-pole, and some conductors which were under the S-pole
earlier comes under N-pole
 This has the effect on changing the position of the armature mmf
vector as shown below

Effect of armature reaction

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 21

 a) The flux due to current carrying conductor strengthen the main pole
flux on the right hand side at TPT
b) The flux due to current carrying conductor demagnetise the main pole
flux on the left hand side at leading pole tips

 The armature MMF can be resolved into two components as

1) Demagnetising component and
2) Cross-magnetising component
 The demagnetising component is in phase opposition to the left mmf.
This reduces the main field flux
 The cross magnetising component is at right angles to the field mmf.
This destroys the main field flux
 Due to effect of these two components of the armature mmf, the
resultant mmf has decreased
 If the armature mmf is appreciable in value to the main pole mmf, the
machine will become unstable state
 Due to the field distortion, an appreciable amount of flux is present in
the inter pole region. This causes commutation difficulty and there
may be sparking at the brushes
10) Explain in detail about demagnetising and cross magnetising of
armature conductor?

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 22

  The armature conductors lying within angle 2θ on either side of the
polar axis contribute to the demagnetising effect of armature reaction
 The mmf produced by these currents in these conductors acts in
direction opposition to the main field mmf
 All other conductors outside of these (2θ and 2θ) angles contribute to
the cross magnetising effect of armature reaction
 Since the mmf produced by the currents in them acts at right angles
to the main field mmf
 So armature conductors lying within angle 4 θ (2θ+2θ) are
demagnetising conductors and all other armature conductors are
cross-magnetising conductors
Demagnetising Ampere Turns/ Pole (ATd)
Let Total number of armature conductors = Z
Number of parallel paths = A
Angle of lead of brush from GNA =θ in mechanical degrees
Number of poles = P
Armature current = Ia
Ia
Current per conductor, I C =
A

Total armature ampere conductor Z∗I C

Total armature ampere-turns = =
2 2
Z∗I c
Total armature ampere turns per pole= −−− (1 )
2P

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 23

Total demagnetising conductors= condcutors lying withinangles
{
AOC∧BOD }
Z
¿ ∗[ ∠ AOC +∠ BOD ]
360
Z
¿ ∗4 θ
360
1
∗Z
2 2θ [Since 1 turn = 2 conductors]
Total demagnetising turns= ∗4 θ= ∗Z
360 360
1
∗2 θ Zθ
2 *I = ∗I −−−( 2 )
Demagnetising ampere turns per pole AT d = ∗Z C 360 C
360

Total

Turns { }{
Cross magnetising ampere turns per pole AT C = ampere − Demagnetising
ampere turns }
¿ AT −AT d

Z∗I c Z θ 1 θ
¿ equations ( 1 )∧ ( 2 ) ,= −
2 P 360 [
∗I C =Z∗I C −
2 P 360 ]
−−−( 3 )

11) Explain the methods of minimising armature reaction?

1. Minimising the demagnetising effects of armature reaction
 Due to the demagnetising effect, the main flux reduces and as a result
of it, the induced emf decreases E g α φ
 This effect is overcome by adding a few extra turns/ pole to the main
field winding
 This would increase the total field flux
For a DC shunt generator
 The number of additional field turns/pole required to overcome the
A∗T d
demagnetising effect of armature reaction is obtained as
I sh
 Since A∗T d must be equal to the product of the field current ‘ I sh’ and
the extra field turns
For DC series generator
A∗T d
Extra field turns per pole=
Ia

Where I a= Armature current ; I a=I se=( series field current )

In above expressions are multiplied by λ

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 24
Now, we have
A∗T d
Extra field turns per pole= ( I sh)∗λ → for DC shunt generator

A∗T d
¿ ( Ia )∗λ → for DC series generator

2. Minimising cross magnetising effect of armature reaction

 Due to the cross magnetising effect of armature reaction, distortion of
the main field flux results
 This can be minimised by the following method
a) Increasing air gap length
b) By providing interpoles (commutating poles)
c) By providing compensating winding
Increasing air gap length
 In small machines, the air gap length is increased. This increases the
ratio of the pole mmf to armature mmf
 Thus the effect of armature reaction is reduced
By providing interpoles (Commutating pole)
 The distortion effect of the interpolar region, armature conductors can
be neutralised by providing the machine with interpoles also called as
commutating poles
 The interpoles are small, auxiliary poles fitted to the yoke, midway
between the main poles
 The interpole winding is connected in series with the armature
winding as. So that it carries the full armature current
 These poles produces flux in the interpolar region. This flux is
opposite to that of the flux produced due to the armature reaction
 Thus the effect of armature reaction is neutralized
 The polarity of the interpoles in a DC generator is the same as that of
the next main pole ahead.

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 25

By Providing Compensating Winding
 In case of heavy current machine, the armature reaction is neutralised
by providing additional winding known as compensating winding
 The compensating winding is placed in slots made on the main pole
faces as shown below

 Compensating windings are connected in series with the armature

winding
 They produces mmf in the opposite direction to that produced by the
armature current
 The magnitude of mmf produced by this compensating winding per
pole face is equal to the mmf produced by the number of armature
conductors lying under the pole
12) Explain the methods of improving commutation?
 Improvement of commutation means, the current from the rotating
armature winding to the external stationary circuit or vice versa
should be made to pass through the commutator and brushes directly
and not as a spark
 There are two methods of obtaining sparkless commutation
1. Resistance commutation
2. EMF commutation

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 26

Resistance Commutation
 This method of improving commutation consist of using high
resistance carbon brushes.
 This makes the contact resistance between commutator segments and
brushes high
 The contact resistance has the tendency to force the current in the
short circuited coil to change according to the commutation
requirements
 By this arrangement, sparking can only be minimised, it cannot be
eliminated totally

 When the current from coil ‘C’ reaches near the commutator segment
‘b’ at the time of commutation, there exists two parallel paths for the
flow of current towards the brush
 The first path is straight from coil ‘C’ through the commutator
segment ‘b’ to the brush
 The second path is from coil ‘C’ to coil ‘b’, then through segment ‘a’ to
the brush
 If low resistance copper brushes are used, the current will take the
first paths as mentioned above
 With carbon brushes which are having high contact resistance, the
current from coil ‘C’ tends to take second parallel path
 The current ‘I’ from coil ‘C’ will pass through the second path because
the resistance of the first path will increase
 While at the time of low area of contact of commutator segment ‘b’
with brush,
ρ∗l
↑ R 2=
a2 ↓

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 27

  At the same time, the resistance of second path will decrease due to
the increasing contact area of bar ‘a’ with the brush

ρ∗l
↓ R 1=
a1 ↑

 Hence the high contact resistance brush helps the current in the coil
undergoing commutation to attain its value in the reverse direction at
the end of commutation

EMF commutation (or) Voltage commutation

 We have already seen that the reactance emf induced in a coil
undergoing commutation prevents the current in attaining the full
vale in the reversed direction
 If emf commutation, arrangement is made to induce a voltage in the
coil undergoing commutation which will neutralize the reactance
voltage
 This injected voltage is in opposition to the reactance voltage. If the
value of the injected voltage is made equal to the reactance voltage
 Quick reversal of current in the short-circuited coil will take place and
there will be sparkless commutation
 The magnetic field required to induce this additional emf is called
commutating field
 Two methods may be used to produce additional emf in opposition to
the reactance voltage
1. Brush shift
2. Commutating poles (or) interpoles
Brush shift
 The effect of armature reaction is to shift the MNA in the direction of
rotation for the generator and against the direction of rotation for the
motor
 Armature reaction establishes a flux (commutator field) on the neutral
zone
 The coil undergoing commutation is thus subjected to commutating
field and this field will induce an emf in the coil cancelling the
reactance emf
 Thus sparkless commutation can be obtained
Commutating poles (or) interpoles
 Interpoles are narrow poles attached to the stator yoke and placed
exactly midway between the main poles
 These poles provide commutating field

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 28

  Interpoles are also called commutating poles (or) compoles
 Number of interpoles is equal to the number of main poles
For generator
 The polarity of the interpoles must be the same as that of the next
main pole further ahead in the direction of rotation
For motor
 The polarity of an interpole is opposite to that of the next main pole in
the direction of rotation
 The interpole windings are connected in series the armature because
interpoles must produce fluxes that are directly proportional to the
armature current
 The coil undergoing commutation cuts the flux produced by the
interpole winding and has the emf induced
 This induced emf acts in the direction opposite to the self-induced emf
in the coil undergoing commutation, since the self-induced emf is also
proportional to armature current. Thus sparkless commutation is
obtained
 All the modern machines are fitted with these interpoles enabling the
machine to operate between no-load to 30% of overload with fixed
brush position and without sparking

Two marks
1) What is a commutator? (Dec 09, Jun 09)
 Commutator is a mechanical rectifier which converts the alternating
emf generated in the armature winding into direct voltage across the
brushes
2) What is meant by armature reaction? (May 05, Dec 09, 11)

 In loaded generator, the flux established in armature ( ∅a ) create an

effect on main filed flux ( ∅m ) is called armature reaction

3) Name the various methods of decreasing the effects of armature

reaction? (Dec 05, 03)
 By increasing the air-gap length for small machines
 By providing interpoles (or) commutating poles
 By providing compensating windings
4) What is the function of compensating winding in DC machine? (Jun
06)

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 29

  In case of heavy current DC machine, armature reaction is neutralised
by providing compensating winding
 It is also used to improve the commutation
 Sparkless commutation is achieved by providing compensating
winding
5) State the conditions under which a DC shunt generator fails to
excite? (May 11, Dec 07, 06)
 There may not be any residual magnetism in the field system
 The field winding connection may be such that it may not assist the
voltage to get build up
 The total field circuit resistance is more than the critical field
resistance
 The break (or) opening in the field (or) armature circuit
6) Define critical resistance of DC shunt generator? (Dec 10)
 Critical field resistance is the highest value of resistance of the shunt
field circuit that can build up its voltage beyond that value the
generator fails to build up voltage
7) The series field winding has low resistance while the shunt field
winding has high resistance, why? (Jun 07)
 Series field winding is excited by the load current. To reduce the series
field copper loss, resistance Rse should be low
 Shunt field winding is excited by the load voltage. To reduce the shunt
field copper loss, resistance Rsh should be high
8) What is the purpose of yoke in a DC machine? (May 03, Dec 05)
 It acts as a protecting cover for the whole machine and provides
mechanical support for the poles
 It carries the magnetic flux produced by the poles. The flux per pole
divides at the yoke so that, the yoke carries only half the flux
produced by each pole
9) State the conditions to be fulfilled for parallel operation of DC shunt
generators? (May 09)
 The polarities of the generators to be paralleled must be the same
 The magnitudes of the terminal voltage of the generators to be
operated in parallel must be nearly the same
 Change of voltage to change in load must be of the same nature
 The prime movers connected should have the stable and similar
operating characteristics
10) What is the procedure for parallel operation of DC generators?

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 30

  The incoming generator is started and made to run at rated speed by
adjusting its prime mover
 The field excitation of the incoming generator is increased so that its
terminal voltage has to be the same as that of the bus bar or that of
the already existing generator
 Verifying the above two conditions the parallel operation switch is
closed when the voltage and polarities match exactly
 To share the load applied between parallel operated units, the field
excitation is adjusted

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – I UNIT -IV 31