DC Generator

Construction details of DC Machine

The DC generator requires essentially the following components. They are i) A magnetic field,
ii) conductor (or) group of conductor, and iii) motion of conductor with respect to magnetic field.
In DC generator the magnetic field is stationary while the conductors move.
A Direct Current machine can be used as a generator or motor. When the machine is driven by a
prime mover it converts mechanical energy into electrical energy and is called a generator. It the
electrical energy is supplied to it, it works as a motor and the conservation is electrical to mechanical.
Therefore the constructional details of a DC generator and a DC motor are the same.
The DC machine has the following parts. Stator and Rotor
Stator: It has the following parts - Yoke ii) Field systems pole cores, pole shoes, field winding
Yoke: The yoke is the outer cover of a dc machine. It is made up of cast iron or steel. It not only
provides mechanical strength to the whole assembly but also provides path for magnetic field.
Field Poles: Each pole is divided into two parts namely, Poles or pole core and pole shoes:
Poles are joined to the yoke with the help of bolts or welding. It is made up of silicon steel and
it is usually laminated. Adding of silicon with steel reduces the hysterias loss. They carry field winding
which is necessary to produce the flux. Pole shoes are attached to poles. Pole shoes serve two purposes;
(i) they support field coils and (ii) spread out the flux in air
gap uniformly.
Field winding: They are usually made of copper. The field
winding is placed over each poles and all these are
connected in series in such a way that magnetic field
produced by alternatively as shown in figure.
II Rotor: It has the following parts - armature core, armature windings, commutator and brushes
Armature core: Armature core is the rotating part of the machine (or rotor). It is cylindrical in shape
with slots on its outer periphery to carry
armature winding.
It is made up of silicon steel and it is usually
laminated to reduce eddy current loss. The
thickness of each lamination is about 0.5mm.
Adding of silicon with steel reduces the
hysterias loss. Armature is mounted on the
shaft.
Armature Winding: The armature winding
is placed on slots available in the armature
surface. Former wound copper coils are used
as armature winding. The ends of the coils
are joined with the commutator segments.
Two types of winding are mostly employed in armature lap winding or wave winding.
Lab winding: used in machines designed for low voltage and high current. No of parallel path, A=P ; P
= no. of poles
Wave Winding: Used in machines designed for high voltage and low current. No of parallel path, A=2,

Commutator: Physical connection to the armature winding is made through a commutator-brush

arrangement. It is mounted on the shaft.
It is made up of copper segments and which are insulated from each other.
It converts ac to pulsating DC mechanically.
The function of a commutator,
DC generator - to collect the current generated in armature conductors.
DC Motor - providing current to the armature conductors.
A commutator consists of a set of copper segments.
Brushes
Brushes are usually made from carbon or graphite. The carbon or graphite provides selflubricating property and therefore the wear and tear of the commutator is reduced.
They rest on
commutator segments and slide on the segments.
Working Principle
An electric generator is a machine which converts mechanical energy (power) into electrical
energy (or power). This principle is nothing but the Faradays law of electromagnetic induction. It
states that Whenever a conductor cuts the magnetic flux, an emf is
induced in that conductor, and it will causes a current to flow if the
conductor circuit is closed. The direction of induced emf (and hence current)
is given by Flemings right hand rule.
The Right Hand Rule shows how a current-carrying wire generates a
magnetic field. It is used to determine the direction of emf induced in a
conductor
The fore finger represent the direction of magnetic field
The thumb represent the direction of motion of the conductor
The middle finger will indicate the direction of the inducted emf

In the figure above, a single loop of conductor of rectangular shape is placed between two opposite
poles of magnet. The coil is rotated in clockwise direction in a uniform magnetic field in between the
poles.
At position 1, the plane of the coil is perpendicular to the direction of lines of flux. In this position, the
flux linked with the coil is maximum and the rate of change of flux linkage is minimum. Hence,
according to the Faradays law of electromagnetic induction, emf induced at this position is zero.
As the coil continues to rotate further, the rate of change of flux linkage is increases, till the
position 3 is reached. Here the coil plane is horizontal, i.e. parallel to the lines of flux. Hence, the
maximum emf induced in the coil when in this position.

On further rotation of the coil, from position 3 to 5 the flux linked with the coil gradually
increases but the rate of change of flux linkage decreases. Hence the emf induced also decreases
gradually up to position 5 and at this position it becomes zero.
From position 5 to 7, the rate of change of flux linkage is increased with opposite direction (compared
to position 1 to 3) till the position 7 is reached. Here the coil plane is horizontal, i.e. parallel to the lines
of flux. Hence, the maximum emf induced in the coil in reverse direction when in this position.
On further rotation of the coil, from position 7 to 9 the flux linked with the coil gradually
increases (opposite direction) but the rate of change of flux linkage decreases. Hence the emf induced
also decreases (opposite direction) gradually up to position 9 and at this position it becomes zero.
From
figure,
the
first half
of
the
revolution
current flows always along ABLMCD i.e. brush
number
1 in contact with segment a. In the next half
revolution, in the figure the direction of the induced
current in the coil is reversed. But at the same
time the position of the segments a and b are
also reversed which results that brush number 1
comes in touch with that segment b. Hence, the current in the load resistance again flows from L to
M. The wave from of the current through the load circuit is as shown in the figure. This current is
unidirectional.