ALTERNATING

CURRENT GENERATOR

ALTERNATOR
- an alternating current (output) generator.
E p 2.22 k p kb fZ
n
sin

kb

n sin
2

180

slots _ per _ pole

PN
f
120

k p sin90 pitch
coil _ span _ in _ number _ of _ slots
pitch
slots _ per _ pole

n = number of slots per pole per phase

where:
Ep = generated emf per phase (volt)
kp = pitch factor or coil span factor
kb = belt factor or distribution factor
f = frequency
= flux per pole (weber)
Z = number of conductors in series per phase
P = number of poles
N = speed of rotors rotation (rpm)

If flux is given in maxwells or lines,

E p 2.22k p kb fZx10

Example 1:

A six pole, three phase AC generator has 72

slots, the coil span is 12. What is the pitch
factor?
coil _ span _ in _ number _ of _ slots 12
pitch

1.0
72
slots _ per _ pole
6

k p sin90 pitch sin 90 x1 1.0

Example 2:

A 400 kVA, 6.9 kV, 60-cycle Y-connected

alternator has the following data: poles = 6;
conductors per slot = 12; total slots = 54;
winding = two-layer lap; pitch = 8/9; flux per
pole = 4 x 107 maxwells.Determine
a. belt factor
b. pitch factor
c. conductors in series per phase
d. terminal voltage

A.
180
180

20
slots / pole 54 / 6

54
n slots / pole / phase
3
6(3)
n
320
sin
sin
2
2

kb

0.96

20
n sin 3 sin

2
2

B.

k p sin90 pitch

k p sin908 / 9 0.985
C.
Z total

12conductors
54slots 648conductors

slot

648
Z
216conductors / phase
3

D.

E p 2.22k p kb fZx10

E p 2.220.9850.9660 4 x10 216x10

7

E p 10,882.42volts / phase
EL 3E p 3 10,882.42 18,849volts

Seatwork:

A 6-pole, 3-phase, 60-cycle alternator has 12 slots per

pole and four conductors per slot. The winding is 5/6
pitch. There are 2,500,000 maxwells entering the
armature form each north pole, and this flux is
sinusoidally distributed along the air gap. The
armature coils are all connected in series and the
winding is wye-connected. Determine the open circuit
emf of the alternator.