Electrical Machines

B.Sc. Electrical Engineering

Lecture #
DC Generator Fundamentals

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Learning Objectives
• Construction of DC Generator

• Simple Loop Generator

• Action of Commutator

• Separately Excited DC Generator

• Review Questions
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DC Machine (G/M)

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Yoke
• External part of the machine used to support
the entire assembly of the machine.
• Made up of cast iron or cast steel.

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Field

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• Field produces uniform magnetic field.
• Field consists of magnetic poles, yoke and
field windings.
• Poles are the stationary part and consist of pole
body, pole shoes and field windings.
• Main poles are made up of steel laminations of 1
to 2 mm thickness.
• Field windings are placed in the magnetic poles.
• When field windings are excited by dc supply,
magnetic flux is produced. This flux cuts the
moving armature conductors to produce voltage
in them.
• Air gap b/w stator and armature 0.5 mm to 1.5
mm.
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Pole shoes
• Support the field coils placed on the pole body.
• Get uniform flux distribution in the air gap
by spreading out the flux.
Inter-poles
• Small poles spaced between the main poles and
are connected in series with the armature.
• They ensure sparkles operation of the brushes at
the commutator under the loaded conditions of
the machine.
• Inter poles have number of turns with greater
cross-sectional area because they carry armature
current.
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Armature

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• Armature is rotating part between magnetic
poles of field.
• Consists of several slots, teeth, and armature
windings. Armature windings are placed in
slots.
• Thickness of sheet steel laminations is 0.4 mm
to 0.6 mm.
• Slots of rectangular shape are used in dc
machines.
• Each armature winding is connected to each
segment of commutator.
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Commutator & Brushes

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• Commutator converts AC voltage to DC across the
brushes.
• Made of hard copper segments insulated from
each other by mica sheets and mounted on the
shaft of the machine.
• Armature conductors are soldered to the
Commutator segments.
• Carbon brushes are used to collect or to deliver
dc voltage to dc machine.
• Commutator slides over fixed carbon brushes.
• Brushes are made up of carbon and graphite.
• Bush is accommodated in brush holder where a
spring presses it against the commutator.
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Bearings
• Support the rotating part and allow its smooth
motion with minimum friction.
• Ball bearings are used for small, Roller
bearings for medium & Pedestal bearings are
used for large dc machines.

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Simple Loop Generator
“Whenever a conductor is moved within a
magnetic field in such a way that the
conductor cuts the magnetic lines of flux,
voltage is generated in the conductor”.

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• When conductor is in parallel with flux
lines,
no cutting of flux lines and hence no EMF
induced. induced when conductors are in
parallel with flux lines.

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• Maximum EMF induced when
conductor is perpendicular to flux lines.

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Fleming’s Right Hand Rule

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How commutator produces dc voltage?

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• The coil sides AB and CD are under N-pole and S-
pole respectively. Note that segment C1 connects
the coil side AB to point P of the load resistance R
and the segment C2 connects the coil side CD to
point Q of the load. Also note the direction of
current through load. It is from Q to P.
• After half a revolution of the loop (i.e., 180°
rotation), the coil side AB is under S-pole and the
coil side CD under N-pole. The currents in the coil
sides now flow in the reverse direction but the
segments C1 and C2 have also moved through
180° i.e., segment C1 is now in contact with + ve
brush and segment C2 in contact with - ve brush.

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• Note that commutator has reversed the coil
connections to the load i.e., coil side AB is
now connected to point Q of the load and coil
side CD to the point P of the load. Also note
the direction of current through the load. It is
again from Q to P.
• Voltage appearing across brushes varies from
zero to maximum value and back to zero twice
for each revolution of the loop.
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Separately Excited DC Generator
• A d.c. generator whose field magnet winding
is supplied from an independent external d.c.
source (e.g., a battery etc.).

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Armature current, I a = I L

Load (output, terminal) , V = E g – Ia

Ra Electrical power developed = E g Ia
Power delivered to load = E. power
developed
–

Cu. losses
= E g Ia – Ia2 Ra
= Ia (Eg – Ia 27
Review Questions
Q. 1 Discuss parts of dc machines?
Q. 2 How d generator generates voltage?
Q. 3 How commutator produces dc voltage?
Q. 4 Discuss separately excited dc generator?
Q. 5 What is working principle of dc generator?
Q. 6 How dcgenerator differs fromanac
generator?
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