Acyclic Machine

• Voltage induced in armatures of machines studied so far are

alternating, whether machine is ac or dc

• Distinguishing feature of acyclic machine is that voltage

induced in its armature is unidirectional

• Terminal voltage of acyclic machine is dc without use of a

commutator or other rectifying arrangement
 Acyclic Generators
• This generator has two field coils carrying
direct current which produce magnetic
flux along paths indicated by dashed lines
• Armature is a conducting sleeve mounted
on rotor core and rotating with it
• Armature may be regarded either as a
single conductor or as a large number of
conductors of infinitesimal width
connected in parallel
• Generated voltage  e = l .(u x B)
• The tangential velocity, direction of flux, Cross-sectional view of an acyclic
and orientation of armature conductor generator
mutually perpendicular, hence  E = Blu

u  tangential velocity, I  effective axial length of armature

B  flux density (assumed to be uniform throughout air gap)
 Acyclic Generators contd.
• Acyclic generators generally have single-
conductor armatures
• High rpm required for generation of
even moderate values of voltage
• Application restricted to loads requiring
heavy current at low voltage
• To collect high values of current  use
large number of brushes
• Large number of brushes + high
peripheral speeds  high brush friction
loss  reduced efficiency, heat
dissipation
• Problem of brush friction ameliorated by
Cutaway view of a 10,000-kW 67-V 150,OOO
liquid metal conductor  eutectic alloy
A, 3600-rpm acyclic generator
of sodium and potassium between
rotating and stationary parts of current
collector
 Acyclic Generators contd.

• Solid iron rotor

– Makes rotor a single-conductor armature

– Withstands centrifugal forces due to high rotational speed

• Typical acyclic-generator arrangement  60 MW steam

turbine drives 6 generators directly connected to turbine shaft
 powers a 150,000 A, 400 V line

• Each generator rated at 67 V and 150,000

 Linear Acyclic Machines
• Linear acyclic machines depend for their
operation on linear instead of rotary
motion
• Example  hydromagnetic flowmeter
• Operating principle  a voltage is
generated in conducting liquid passing
through a magnetic field B
• Magnetic field produced by electromagnet
or permanent magnet
• Velocity u of liquid related to induced Schematic diagram of hydrodynamic
flowmeter
voltage  e = L(u x B)
• Advantage  simplicity  no moving parts
within liquid which might be corrosive
 Linear Acyclic Machines contd.
Conduction Pump
• Reverse principle (i.e., motor action)
utilized in pumping liquid metals 
sodium, sodium potassium, bismuth- used
in nuclear reactors
• Conduction pumps may be dc or ac
• Current Is passed through tube walls and
liquid metal contained therein
• Current is at right angles to magnetic field Schematic diagram of electro-
B magnetic pump  conduction pump
• Force on a small length of current path l
through which flows a small current i
expressed by
 Linear Acyclic Machines contd.
Equivalent circuit of a dc
• Difficult to relate to total conduction pump
force on liquid in terms of total
electrode current Is
– Part of Is flows through tube walls that
enclose liquid
– Part of current in liquid flows through
relatively field-free regions near inlet and
outlet of pump
• Armature reaction introduces a further
complication  can be minimized by a Is : total applied current
I : current in liquid
compensating winding R : resistance of liquid metal within pole
• Effects of wall and end currents can be region
Rt : resistance between electrodes of
represented in circuit tube wall
Ro : resistance of liquid metal outside
pole region
 Linear Acyclic Machines contd.
• Strong similarity between ac and dc pump
• Action of ac pump complicated by effects of eddy currents in liquid metal, tube
walls, and compensating windings
• AC conduction pump restricted to small power applications
– since eddy-current losses increase rapidly with size  equivalent of increasing
volume and thickness τ for eddy-current loss
Pe= Vol (V2τ2 )/(12ρN2A2)
• AC conduction pump has low power factor  larger than dc pump of similar
output
• Advantage of ac pump  dc supply difficult when thousands of amperes
required at a 1 V level
• Suitable source for dc pump  acyclic generator, because of its high-current
output capability at low voltage
• In ac pump  proper time-phase relationship between B and I must be
maintained for effective operation
 Linear Acyclic Machines contd.

Longitudinal section of linear

induction pump
Induction Pumps
• AC and dc conduction pumps require high current and large bus sections
– can be avoided by inducing current in metal as in the rotor of an induction motor
• With a linear flow of metal the pump operates as a linear induction
motor
• Magnetic field produced by polyphase winding  shown travelling from
left to right  inducing currents in liquid metal  produce forces in
liquid propels liquid from left to right
 Linear Acyclic Machines contd.

Transverse section of linear

induction pump

• Copper side bars perform same function as end rings in

squirrel-cage rotor