DC MACHINES

Engr. Jonathan C. Pacaldo

REE

References:
1.Electrical Machines, By: Siskind
2.Electricity 4, By: Jeff Keljik
3.DC Current Machinery, By:
Kloeffer/Kerchner/Brenneman
4.Electric Machines and Transformer, By
Anderson/Macneill
Grading System:
Quizzes
20%
Laboratory/Coursework 20%
Class Participation
10%
Midterm Exam
25%

Introduction
Although a far greater percentage of the electrical
machines in service are a.c. machines, the d.c.
machines are of considerable industrial importance.
The principal advantage of the d.c. machine,
particularly the d.c. motor, is that it provides a
fine control of speed. Such an advantage is not
claimed by any a.c. motor. However, d.c. generators
are not as common as they used to be, because
direct current, when required, is mainly obtained
from an a.c. supply by the use of rectifiers.
Nevertheless, an understanding of d.c. generator is
important
because
it
represents
a
logical
introduction to the behaviour of d.c. motors. Indeed
many d.c. motors in industry actually operate as d.c.
generators for a brief period. In this chapter, we

Most of the electrical machine in service are

AC type.
DC machine are of considerable industrial
importance.
DC machine mainly used as DC motors and
the DC
generators are rarely used.
DC motors provides a fine control of the speed
which
can not be attained by AC motors.
DC motors can developed rated torque at all
speeds
from standstill to rated speed.
Developed torque at standstill is many times
greater

DC Machines Applications
The d.c. machine can operate as either a
motor or a
generator, at present its use as
a generator is limited because of the
widespread use of ac power.
Large d.c. motors are used in machine tools,
printing presses, fans, pumps, cranes, paper
mill, traction, textile mills and so forth.
Small d.c. machines (fractional horsepower
rating) are
used primarily as control
device-such as
tachogenerators for speed
sensing and servomotors
for position and
tracking.

Advantages and Disadvantages of

DC Motors

Magnetism
Magnetismis
a
class
of
physical
phenomenon that includes forces exerted
bymagnetson other magnets. It has its
origin
in
electric
currents
and
the
fundamentalmagnetic
momentsof
elementary particles. These give rise to
amagnetic fieldthat acts on other currents
and moments. All materials are influenced to
some extent by a magnetic field. The
strongest effect is on permanent magnets,
which have persistent magnetic moments
caused byferromagnetism.

Magnetic Field

Magnetic
Field

Ohm's lawstates that thecurrentthrough a conductor

between two points is directlyproportionalto thepotential
differenceacross the two points. Introducing the constant
of proportionality, theresistance,one arrives at the usual
mathematicalequationthatdescribesthisrelationship:

whereIis the current through the conductor in units

ofamperes,Vis
the
potential
difference
measuredacrossthe conductor in units of volts, andRis
theresistanceof the conductor in units ofohms. More
specifically, Ohm's law states that theRin this relation is
constant,independentofthecurrent.

Series and Parallel Circuits

With simple series circuits, all components are connected
end-to-end to form only one path for electrons to flow
through the circuit:

Series Circuits:
Voltage drops add to equal total voltage.
All components share the same (equal) current.
Resistances add to equal total resistance.

With simple parallel circuits, all components are

connected between the same two sets of electrically
common points, creating multiple paths for electrons
to flow from one end of the battery to the other:

Parallel Circuits:
All components share the same (equal) voltage.
Branch currents add to equal total current.
Resistances diminish to equal total resistance.

Generator Principle:
An electric generator is a machine that converts
mechanical energy into electrical energy. An
electric generator is based on the principle that
whenever flux is cut by a conductor, an e.m.f. is
induced which will cause a current to flow if the
conductor circuit is closed. The direction of
induced e.m.f. (and hence current) is given by
Flemings right hand rule. Therefore, the
essential components of a generator are:
(a) a magnetic field
(b) conductor or a group of conductors
(c) motion of conductor w.r.t. magnetic field.

Magnetic
Field

Rotation

Magnetic Poles

RIGHT HAND RULE

Generated
Voltage

Conduct
or

N
Magnetic
Flux

Construction of a DC Generator

FIELD SYSTEM
The function of the field system is to
produce uniform magnetic field within
which the armature rotates. It consists of a
number of salient poles (of course, even
number) bolted to the inside of circular
frame (generally called yoke). The yoke is
usually made of solid cast steel whereas
the pole pieces are composed of stacked
laminations. Field coils are mounted on
the poles and carry the d.c. exciting
current. The field coils are connected in
such a way that adjacent poles have

Frame

Armature Core (Rotor)

Armature Core
The armature core is keyed to the machine
shaft and rotates between the field poles. It
consists of slotted soft-iron laminations
(about 0.4 to 0.6 mm thick) that are stacked
to form a cylindrical core. The laminations are
individually coated with a thin insulating film
so that they do not come in electrical contact
with each other. The purpose of laminating
the core is to reduce the eddy current loss.
The laminations are slotted to accommodate
and provide mechanical security to the
armature winding and to give shorter air gap
for the flux to cross between the pole face

Armature Windings
The slots of the armature core hold insulated
conductors that are connected in a suitable
manner. This is known as armature winding.
This is the winding in which working e.m.f.
is induced. The armature conductors are
connected in series-parallel; the conductors
being connected in series so as to increase
the voltage and in parallel paths so as to
increase the current. The armature winding
of a d.c. machine is a closed-circuit winding;
the conductors being connected in a
symmetrical manner forming a closed loop or
series of closed loops.

Commutator

Commutator
A commutator is a mechanical rectifier
which converts the alternating voltage
generated in the armature winding into
direct voltage across the brushes. The
commutator is made of copper
segments insulated from each other by
mica sheets and mounted on the shaft
of
the
machine.
The
armature
conductors are soldered to the
commutator segments in a suitable
manner to give rise to the armature

Brushes
The purpose of brushes is to ensure
electrical connections between the rotating
commutator and stationary external load
circuit. The brushes are made of carbon and
rest on the commutator. The brush pressure
is adjusted by means of adjustable springs.
If the brush pressure is very large, the
friction produces heating of the commutator
and the brushes. On the other hand, if it is
too weak, the imperfect contact with the
commutator may produce sparking.

Commutation in a D.C Generator

Commutation is the positioning of the DC
generator brushes so that the commutator
segments change brushes at the same time
the armature current changes direction. More
simply stated, commutation is the mechanical
conversion fromAC to DC at the brushes of a
DCmachine.

Commutator Action
The commutator converts theAC voltage generated
in the rotating loop into a DC voltage. It also serves
asameansofconnectingthebrushestotherotating
loop. The purpose of the brushes is to connect the
generated voltage to an external circuit. In order to
do this, each brush must make contact with one of
the ends of the loop. Since the loop or armature
rotates, a direct connection is impractical. Instead,
the brushes are connected to the ends of the loop
throughthecommutator.