The direct current (dc) machine can be

used as a motor or as a generator.

The major advantages of dc machines are

the easy speed and torque regulation.
However, their application is limited to
mills, mines and trains. As examples,
trolleys and underground subway cars
may use dc motors.

In the past, automobiles were equipped

with dc dynamos to charge their batteries.

 Even today the starter is a series dc

motor

However, the recent development of

power electronics has reduced the use of
dc motors and generators.
The electronically controlled ac drives are
gradually replacing the dc motor drives in
factories.
Nevertheless, a large number of dc motors
are still used by industry and several
thousand are sold annually.

The parts of a dynamo or related equipment can be

expressed in either mechanical terms or electrical terms.
Mechanical
Rotor: The rotating part of an alternator, generator, dynamo
or motor.
Stator: The stationary part of an alternator, generator,
dynamo or motor.
Electrical
Armature: The power-producing component of an
alternator, generator, dynamo or motor. The
armature can be on either the rotor or the
stator.
Field: The magnetic field component of an alternator,
generator, dynamo or motor. The field can be on
either the rotor or the stator and can be either an
electromagnet or a permanent magnet.

A DC machine consists of the

following essential parts
1. Magnetic frame or Yoke
2. Pole-cores and Pole-Shoes
3.Field Poles
4. Field Coils
5. Armature Core
6. Armature Windings or
Conductors
7.Commutator
8. Brushes and Bearings

Yoke
Yoke is the outer frame. It serves two purposes.
(i) It provides mechanical support for the poles and acts as a
protective cover for the whole machine. and
(ii) It carries the magnetic flux produced by the poles.

Pole Cores and Pole Shoes

The field magnet consist of pole cores and pole shoes.
They have two purposes:
(i) they spread out the flux in the air gap and also, being
larger cross section, reduce the reluctance of the magnetic
path
(ii) they support the exciting coils (field coils)

The pole cores can be made from solid steel castings

or from thin laminations of highly magnetic steel alloy.

Field Coils
The field coils are those windings, which are located on the
poles and set up the magnetic fields in the machine.
They also usually consist of copper wire are insulated from
the poles.
The field coils may be either shunt windings (in parallel with
the armature winding) or series windings (in series with the
armature winding) or a combination of both.

Armature Core
The armature core is made up thin magnetic steel
laminations stamped from sheet steel with a blanking die.
Slots are punched in the lamination with a slot die.
The laminations are welded, riveted, bolted or bonded
together.
It houses the armature conductors or coils, and causes
them to rotate and hence cut the magnetic flux of the field
magnets.

Air Gap
The space between the armature and the pole shoes.
(from top of teeth to pole face)

Armature Winding
The armature winding fits in the armature slots and is
eventually connected to the commutator.
It either generates or receives the voltage depending on
whether the unit is a generator or motor.
The armature winding usually consists of copper wire, either
round or rectangular and is insulated from the armature stack.

ARMATURE and its WINDINGS

Gramme -Ring armature

The old Gramme-Ring armature, now obselete is
shown below.

Drum-type armature :

A drum-type armature is shown in figure.

The armature windings are placed in slots cut in a
drum-shaped iron core.

In drum-type armature: each winding

completely surrounds the core so that the
entire length of the conductor cuts the main
magnetic field.
Therefore, the total voltage induced in the
armature is greater than in the Gramme-ring.
The drum-type armature is much more
efficient than the Gramme-ring.
This accounts for the almost universal use of
the drum-type armature in modern dc
generators.

Commutator
The commutator is the mechanical rectifier, which changes
the AC voltage of the rotating conductors to DC voltage.
It consists of a number of segments normally equal to the
number of slots.
The segments or commutator bars are made of silver bearing
copper and are separated from each other by mica insulation

Brushes
The brushes, whose function is to collect current
from commutator, are usually made of carbon or
graphite and are in the shape of a rectangular
block.
These brushes are housed in brush-holders
usually of the box type variety.

Pole-pitch

The periphery of the armature divided by the

number of poles of the generator;
the distance between two adjacent poles
It is equal to the number of armature conductors
per pole

Pole arc

Radial length of the pole face measured in

inches, cm., number of slots, number of
conductors, or mechanical degrees.
Slot pitch or Slot span (Sp)

This is the distance from the center of one slot

to the center of an adjacent slot, measured on the
surface of the armature.

Conductor
The length of a wire
lying in the magnetic
field and in which an
e.m.f is induced is
called a conductor,
(as,for example
length AB or CD in
figure).

Coil and Winding Element

With reference to the
figure, the two conductors
AB and CD along with
their end connections
constitute one coil of the
armature winding.
The coil may be single
turn or multi-turn coil.
A single turn coil wil have
two conductors.But a
multi-turn coil may have
many conductors per coil
side.

Coil-span or Coil-pitch
It is the distance, measured in terms of armature slots,
between two sides of a coil.
It is, in fact, the periphery of the armature spanned by the two
sides of the coil.
If the coil-pitch is equal to the pole-pitch,then winding is
called full-pitched. It means that coil span is 180 electrical
degrees.
If the coil-pitch is less than the pole-pitch, then the winding is
fractional-pitched.
Back Pitch (YB)
The distance, measured in
terms of the armature
conductors, which a coil
advances on the back of the
armature is called back pitch.

Commutator Pitch (YC)

It is the distance between
the segments to which the
two ends of a coil are
connected.

Two types of windings:

1. Lap Winding - This type of winding is used in dc generators designed
for high-current applications
2. Wave Winding - This type of winding is used in dc generators employed
in high-voltage applications.
The difference between the two is merely due to the different
arrangement of the end connections at the front or commutator end of
armature .

Each winding
can be arranged progressively or retrogressively, and
connected in simplex, duplex and triplex.

In simplex lap winding, the ends of each coil are

connected to adjacent commutator segments.
In this way, all the coils are connected in series.

In a duplex lap winding, there are in effect two separate sets of coils,
each set connected in series.
Similarly, in a triplex lap winding, there are in effect three separate
sets of series-connected coils.

In a wave winding, the ends of each coil are connected

to commutator segments two pole spans apart.
If, after passing once round the armature, the winding falls
in a slot to the left of its starting point then winding is said to
be retrogressive. If, however, it falls one slot to the right,
then it is progressive.

GENERATED EMF, EG

EG NPZ
Where, EG generated emf

60a

N speed in rpm of the armature rotation

P number of generator poles

Z - total number of armature conductors

flux per pole in Weber

a number of parallel paths
a = mP . for lap winding

a = 2m . for wave winding

m multiplicity;

m=1 for simplex

= 2 for duplex

= 3 for triplex

PROBLEMS:
1. A conductor of active length 30 cm carries a current of 100A and lies at right
angles to a magnetic field of strength 0.4 Wb/m2 Calculate the force in
Newton exerted on it.
2. If the force causes the conductor on problem no. 1 to move at a velocity of
10 m/s, calculate the emf induced in it.
3. Find the induced emf of an 8-pole, wave-wound dynamo having 4mWb per
pole and rotating at 600 rpm. The armature has 123 slots, and there are 3
coils per slot, each having 2 turns.