AC Generator

AC GENERATOR

1. Introduction

AC generator or alternator is an energy conversion device. It converts mechanical energy used to rotate the coil or field magnet into electrical energy. Alternator produces a large scale electrical power for use in homes and industries. AC generator and its components are shown in Figure 4.27.

2. Principle

Alternators work on the principle of electromagnetic induction. The relative motion between a conductor and a magnetic field changes the magnetic flux linked with the conductor which in turn, induces an emf. The magnitude of the induced emf is given by Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction and its direction by Fleming’s right hand rule.

3. Construction

Alternator consists of two major parts, namely stator and rotor. As their names suggest, stator is stationary while rotor rotates inside the stator. In any standard construction of commercial alternators, the armature winding is mounted on stator and the field magnet on rotor.

The construction details of stator, rotor and various other components involved in them are given below.

i) Stator

The stationary part which has armature windings mounted in it is called stator. It has three components, namely stator frame, stator core and armature winding.

Stator frame

This is the outer frame used for holding stator core and armature windings in proper position. Stator frame provides best ventilation with the help of holes provided in the frame itself (Figure 4.28).

Stator core

Stator core or armature core is made up of iron or steel alloy. It is a hollow cylinder and is laminated to minimize eddy current loss. The slots are cut on inner surface of the core to accommodate armature windings.

Armature winding

Armature winding is the coil, wound on slots provided in the armature core. One or more than one coil may be employed, depending on the type of alternator.

Two types of windings are commonly used. They are i) single-layer winding and ii) double-layer winding. In single-layer winding, a slot is occupied by a coil as a single layer. But in double-layer winding, the coils are split into two layers such as top and bottom layers (Figure 4.29).

ii) Rotor

Rotor contains magnetic field windings. The magnetic poles are magnetized by DC source. The ends of field windings are connected to a pair of slip rings, attached to a common shaft about which rotor rotates. Slip rings rotate along with rotor. To maintain connection between the DC source and field windings, two brushes are used which continuously slide over the slip rings.

There are 2 types of rotors used in alternators i) salient pole rotor and ii) cylindrical pole rotor.

Salient pole rotor

The word salient means projecting. This rotor has a number of projecting poles having their bases riveted to the rotor. It is mainly used in low-speed alternators. The salient 2-pole rotor is shown in the Figure 4.30.

Cylindrical pole rotor

This rotor consists of a smooth solid cylinder. The slots are cut on the outer surface of the cylinder along its length. It is suitable for very high speed alternators (Figure 4.31).

The frequency of alternating emf induced is directly proportional to the rotor speed. In order to maintain the frequency constant, the rotor must run at a constant speed.

These are standard construction details of alternators. Based on the type of alternator being constructed, the details like number of poles, pole type, number of coils and type of windings would change from one another.

We will discuss the construction and working of two examples, namely single phase and three phase AC generators in the following sections.

Construction of AC generator

Alternator consists of two major parts, namely stator and rotor. (This box is given for better understanding of constructional details)

i) Stator 

Stator has three components, namely stator frame, stator core and armature winding. 

ii) Rotor 

Rotor contains magnetic field windings, slip rings and brushes mounted on the same shaft.

4. Advantages of stationary armature-rotating field alternator

Alternators are generally high current and high voltage machines. The stationary armature-rotating field construction has many advantages. A few of them include:

1)  The current is drawn directly from fixed terminals on the stator without the use of brush contacts.

2)  The insulation of stationary armature winding is easier.

3)  The number of sliding contacts (slip rings) is reduced. Moreover, the sliding contacts are used for low-voltage DC Source.

4)  Armature windings can be constructed more rigidly to prevent deformation due to any mechanical stress.

5. Single phase AC generator

In a single phase AC generator, the armature conductors are connected in series so as to form a single circuit which generates a single-phase alternating emf and hence it is called single-phase alternator.

The simplified version of a AC generator is discussed here. Consider a stator core consisting of 2 slots in which 2 armature conductors PQ and RS are mounted to form single-turn rectangular loop PQRS as shown in Figure 4.33. Rotor has 2 salient poles with field windings which can be magnetized by means of DC source.

Working

The loop PQRS is stationary and is perpendicular to the plane of the paper. When field windings are excited, magnetic field is produced around it. The direction of magnetic field passing through the armature core is shown in Figure 4.33. Let the field magnet be rotated in clockwise direction by the prime mover. The axis of rotation is perpendicular to the plane of the paper.

Assume that initial position of the field magnet is horizontal. At that instant, the direction of magnetic field is perpendicular to the plane of the loop PQRS. The induced emf is zero (Refer case (iii) of section 4.4). This is represented by origin O in the graph between induced emf and time angle (Figure 4.34).

When field magnet rotates through 90°, magnetic field becomes parallel to PQRS. The induced emfs across PQ and RS would become maximum. Since they are connected in series, emfs are added up and the direction of total induced emf is given by Fleming’s right hand rule.

Care has to be taken while applying this rule; the thumb indicates the direction of the motion of the conductor with respect to field. For clockwise rotating poles, the conductor appears to be rotating anti-clockwise. Hence, thumb should point to the left. The direction of the induced emf is at right angles to the plane of the paper. For PQ, it is downwards and for RS upwards. Therefore, the current flows along PQRS. The point A in the graph represents this maximum emf.

For the rotation of 180° from the initial position, the field is again perpendicular to PQRS and the induced emf becomes zero. This is represented by point B.

The field magnet becomes again parallel to PQRS for 270° rotation of field magnet. The induced emf is maximum but the direction is reversed. Thus the current flows along SRQP. This is represented by point C.

On completion of 360°, the induced emf becomes zero and is represented by the point D. From the graph, it is clear that emf induced in PQRS is alternating in nature.

Therefore, when field magnet completes one rotation, induced emf in PQRS finishes one cycle. For this construction, the frequency of the induced emf depends on the speed at which the field magnet rotates.

6. Three-phase AC generator

Some AC generators may have more than one coil in the armature core and each coil produces an alternating emf. In these generators, more than one emf is produced. Thus they are called poly-phase generators.

If there are two alternating emfs produced in a generator, it is called two-phase generator. In some AC generators, there are three separate coils, which would give three separate emfs. Hence they are called three-phase AC generators.

In the simplified construction of three-phase AC generator, the armature core has 6 slots, cut on its inner rim. Each slot is 60° away from one another. Six armature conductors are mounted in these slots. The conductors 1 and 4 are joined in series to form coil 1. The conductors 3 and 6 form coil 2 while the conductors 5 and 2 form coil 3. So, these coils are retangular in shape and are 120° apart from one another (Figure 4.35).

The initial position of the field magnet is horizontal and field direction is perpendicular to the plane of the coil 1. As it is seen in single phase AC generator, when field magnet is rotated from that position in clockwise direction, alternating emf ε₁ in coil 1 begins a cycle from origin O. This is shown in Figure 4.36.

The corresponding cycle for alternating emf ε₂ in coil 2 starts at point A after field magnet has rotated through 120°. Therefore, the phase difference between ε₁ and ε₂ is 120°. Similarly, emf ε₃ in coil 3 would begin its cycle at point B after 240° rotation of field magnet from initial position. Thus these emfs produced in the three phase AC generator have 120° phase difference between one another.

7. Advantages of three-phase alternator

Three-phase system has many advantages over single-phase system. Let us see a few of them.

1)  For a given dimension of the generator, three-phase machine produces higher power output than a single-phase machine.

2)  For the same capacity, three-phase alternator is smaller in size when compared to single phase alternator.

3)  Three-phase transmission system is cheaper. A relatively thinner wire is sufficient for transmission of three-phase power.