Module 4

Types of DC Generators

Engr. Gerard Ang

School of EECE
 Symbols Used
Eg = generated emf or voltage
VT = terminal voltage
Ra = armature winding resistance
Rf = shunt field winding resistance
Rs = series field winding resistance
Ia = armature current
If = shunt field current
IL = load or line current
PL = power drawn by the load
Pg = power generated by the
generator
 Types of Generators
 Separately-excited Generators – these are generators whose
field magnets are energized (or excited) from an external source
such as battery or a small generator called an exciter.
  𝑰 𝒂𝒂= 𝑰 𝑳
𝑳
IL
A1 Ra  𝑬𝒈=𝑽
  +𝑰𝒂𝒂 𝑹𝒂𝒂
Battery or
Ia
𝑻𝑻
Other Source Field Ia V Load
Of Direct Current
A2 Eg 𝑷
   𝑳=𝑽 𝑻 × 𝑰 𝑳
𝑳 𝑻 𝑳
Rheostat

 𝑷𝒈=𝑬𝒈
  × 𝑰 𝒂𝒂

 Self-excited Generators – these are generators whose field

magnets are energized (or excited) by the current produced by
the generators themselves due to residual magnetism.
 Types of Self-Excited
DC Generators

1. Shunt Wound Generator

2. Series Field Generator
3. Compound Generator
Two Types:
a. Short-Shunt Compound Generator
b. Long-Shunt Compound Generator
 Shunt Wound Generator
The field coils are in parallel with the armature coil and have
the full voltage of the generator applied across them.

𝑰 𝒂𝒂=𝑰 𝑳𝑳 +𝑰 𝒇𝒇
  

   𝑽 𝑻𝑻
IL
𝑰 𝒇𝒇 =
F1 𝑹𝒇𝒇
A2
Shunt R f If Ra
Ia
𝑬𝒈=𝑽
  
𝑻𝑻 +𝑰 𝒂𝒂 𝑹𝒂𝒂
Field V Load
Eg
F2 A1 𝑷 =𝑽 𝑻𝑻 × 𝑰 𝑳𝑳
   𝑳
𝑳

𝑷𝒈=𝑬𝒈 × 𝑰 𝒂𝒂
  
 Series Field Generator
The field coils are connected in series with the
armature.
Series Field
S1 S2
Rs 𝑰 =𝑰 𝒂𝒂=𝑰 𝒇𝒇
   𝑳
𝑳
A2 I L = If
 𝑬𝒈=𝑽
 
𝑻𝑻 +𝑰 𝒂𝒂 (𝑹𝒂𝒂+𝑹𝒔𝒔 )
Ra
Ia V Load
Eg
A1
𝑷𝑳𝑳=𝑽 𝑻𝑻 × 𝑰𝑳𝑳
  

  𝑷𝒈=𝑬𝒈 × 𝑰 𝒂𝒂
 Compound Generator
The field excitation is partly supplied by the series field
and shunt field coils. Compound generators can either be
short-shunt or long-shunt.

In a compound generator, the shunt field is always

stronger than the series field.
 When the series field aids the shunt field,
generator is said to be cumulatively compounded.
 When the series field opposes the shunt field, the
generator is differentially compounded.
 Short-Shunt Compound Generator
The shunt field coil is connected across the
armature circuit only.
𝑰 𝒂𝒂=𝑰 𝑳𝑳 +𝑰 𝒇𝒇
  

Series Field
S1 S2    𝑽 𝑻𝑻 + 𝑰 𝑳𝑳 𝑹𝒔𝒔
𝑰 𝒇𝒇 =
Rs 𝑹𝒇𝒇
F1 A2 IL

Shunt
Field Rf If
Ra
Eg
Ia V Load 𝑬𝒈=𝑽
  
𝑻 +𝑰 𝒂𝒂 𝑹𝒂𝒂+𝑰 𝑳𝑳 𝑹 𝒔𝒔
F2 A1
𝑷𝑳𝑳=𝑽 𝑻 × 𝑰 𝑳𝑳
  

  𝑷𝒈=𝑬𝒈 × 𝑰 𝒂𝒂
Long-Shunt Compound Generator
The series coil is connected in series with the
armature circuit.
Series Field
𝑰 =𝑰 𝑳𝑳+𝑰 𝒇𝒇
   𝒂
𝒂
S1 S2
Rs    𝑽 𝑻𝑻
𝑰 𝒇𝒇 =
A2 F1
IL 𝑹𝒇𝒇

V  𝑬𝒈=𝑽
 
𝑻𝑻 +𝑰 𝒂𝒂 (𝑹𝒂𝒂+𝑹𝒔𝒔 )
Ra Shunt If Load
Ia Rf
Eg Field

A1 F2  𝑷
  𝑳=𝑽 𝑻 × 𝑰 𝑳
𝑳 𝑻 𝑳

𝑷𝒈=𝑬𝒈 × 𝑰 𝒂𝒂
  
 Brush Contact Drop

Brush Contact Drop – it is the voltage drop over the

brush contact resistance when current passes from
commutator segments to brushes and finally to the
external load circuit.

It is:
 0.5 V  For metal-graphite brushes
 2.0 V  For carbon brushes
 Diverters
Diverter – It is low-resistance path which is connected in parallel
with the series field coil to vary the compounding of the generator.
The generator can be over-compounded, flat-compounded or under-
compounded.

 If the rated load voltage is the same as the no-load voltage,

the generator is flat-compounded.
 If the rated-load voltage is greater than the no-load voltage,
the generator is over-compounded.
 If the rated-load voltage is less than the no-load voltage, the
generator is under-compounded.
 Sample Problems
1. A shunt generator delivers 450 A at 230 V and the resistance of
the shunt field and armature are 50 Ω and 0.03 Ω respectively.
Calculate the generated emf.

2. A long-shunt compound generator delivers a load current of 50

A at 500 V and has armature, series field and shunt field
resistances of 0.05 Ω, 0.03 Ω and 250 Ω respectively. Calculate
the generated voltage and the armature current. Allow 1 V per
brush contact drop.

3. A short-shunt compound generator delivers a load current of 30

A at 220 V and has armature, series-field and shunt-field
resistances of 0.05 Ω, 0.30 Ω and 200 Ω respectively. Calculate
the generated emf and the armature current. Allow 1.0 V per
brush contact drop
 Sample Problems
4. In a long-shunt compound generator, the terminal voltage is 230
V when generator delivers 150 A. Determine (a) induced emf
(b) total power generated. Given that shunt field, series field,
diverter and armature resistances are 92 Ω, 0.015 Ω, 0.03 Ω
and 0.032 Ω respectively.

5. The following information is given for a 300 kW, 600 V, long-

shunt compound generator. Shunt field resistance = 75 Ω,
armature resistance including brush resistance = 0.03 Ω,
commutating field winding resistance = 0.011 Ω, series field
resistance = 0.012 Ω, diverter resistance = 0.036 Ω. When the
machine is delivering full-load, calculate the voltage and power
generated by the armature.
 Generated EMF of a DC Generator
Where:
The generated emf of a dc Eg = generated emf in volts
P = number of poles
generator is N = speed of prime mover in rpm
Z = number of armature conductors
ϕ = flux per pole in Weber
   𝒁𝑷 𝝓 𝒏 a = number of armature current paths
𝑬𝒈=  
𝟔𝟎 𝒂 a = mP  for lap winding
a = 2m  for wave winding

m = “plex” of winding (m = 1 for simplex, 2

11 Weber
Weber == 11 xx 10
10 Maxwells
88 Maxwells for duplex, 3 for triplex, and so on)
 

For a given dc machine, Z, P and a are constants

𝑬𝒈=𝒌 𝝓 𝒏
  
 Sample Problems
1. A four-pole generator having wave wound armature winding has
51 slots, each slot containing 20 conductors. What will be the
voltage generated in the machine when driven at 1500 rpm
assuming the flux per pole to be 7.0 mWb?
2. An 8 pole dc shunt generator with 778 wave connected
armature conductors and running at 1500 rpm supplies a load of
12.5 Ω resistance at terminal voltage of 250 V. The armature
resistance is 0.24 Ω and the field winding resistance is 250 Ω.
Find the armature current, the induced emf and the flux per
pole.
3. A separately-excited generator when running at 1000 rpm
supplies 200 A at 125 V. What will be the load current when the
speed drops to 800 rpm if If is unchanged? Given that the
armature resistance = 0.04 ohm and brush drop = 2 V.
 Sample Problems
4. A separately-excited generator, when running at 1200 rpm
supplies 200 A at 125 V to a circuit of constant resistance. What
will be the current when the speed is dropped to 1000 rpm and
the field current is reduced to 80%? Armature resistance, 0.04 Ω
and total drop at brushes, 2 V. Ignore saturation and armature
reaction.
5. A 4-pole, long-shunt lap-wound generator supplies 25 kW at a
terminal voltage of 500 V. The armature resistance is 0.03 ohm,
series field resistance is 0.04 ohm and shunt field resistance is
200 ohm. The brush drop may be taken as 1.0 V. Determine the
emf generated. Calculate also the number of conductors if the
speed is 1200 rpm and flux per pole is 0.02 Weber.
 Sample Problems
6. A 4-pole, 900 rpm dc shunt machine has a terminal
voltage of 220 V and an induced voltage of 240 V at rated
speed. The armature circuit resistance is 0.2 Ω. Is the
machine operating as a generator or as a motor?
Compute the armature current and the number of
armature coils if the air-gap flux is 10 mWb and the
armature turns per coil are 8. The armature is wave
wound.
7. A 4-pole dc generator runs at 750 rpm and generates an
emf of 240 V. The armature is wave-wound and has 792
conductors. If the total flux from each pole is 0.0145 Wb,
what is the leakage coefficient?
 Sample Problems

8. A 4-pole, dc shunt generator with a shunt field resistance

of 100 Ω and an armature resistance of 1 Ω has 378
wave-connected conductors in its armature. The flux per
pole is 0.02 Wb. If a load resistance of 10 Ω is connected
across the armature terminals and the generator driven at
1000 rpm, calculate the power absorbed by the load.
 Applications of DC Generators
• Shunt generators with field regulators are used for ordinary
lighting and power supply purposes. They are also used for
charging batteries because their terminal voltages are almost
constant or can be kept constant.
• Series generators are not used for power supply because of
their rising characteristics. However, their rising characteristic
makes them suitable for being used as boosters in certain types
of distribution systems particularly in railway service.
 Applications of DC Generators
• Compound generators
a. The cumulatively-compound generator is the most widely
used d.c. generator because its external characteristic can be
adjusted for compensating the voltage drop in the line
resistance. Hence, such generators are used for motor driving
which require d.c. supply at constant voltage, for lamp loads
and for heavy power service such as electric railways.
b. The differential-compound generator has an external
characteristic similar to that of a shunt generator but with large
demagnetization armature reaction. Hence, it is widely used in
arc welding where larger voltage drop is desirable with
increase in current.