COMMUTATION IN DC MACHINE

Dr. Amitava Biswas

Assistant Professor
Department of Applied Physics
Electrical Engineering Section
University of Calcutta
92, APC Road, Kolkata - 9

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 COMMUTATION

Commutation Process:
The emf generated in the armature conductor of dc machine is alternating
and as such the current in a particular conductor is in one direction when
the conductor is moving under the north-pole and in the reverse direction,
when it is moving under the south-pole. This reversal of current in a coil
will take place when the two commutator segments to which the coil is
con-nected are being short circuited by the brushes. The process of
reversal of current in a coil is termed commutation process.

The duration of this short circuit is generally very small (1 to 3 ms). The
reversal of high current in an inductive circuit in such a short time may
pose certain difficulties causing considerable sparking at the brushes.

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 COMMUTATION PROCESS

An analysis of the commutation process has been presented

here based on the following simplifying assumptions:

1. Width of the brush is equal to the width of the

commutator bar,
2. Width of insulating strip is neglected, and
3. Inductance of the coil are negnected.

Fig. 1
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COMMUTATION PROCESS

Fig. 1(a)

Fig. 1(b)
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Fig. 1(c) Fig. 1(d)

Fig. 1(e)
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 COMMUTATION PROCESS

1(a) 1(b)

1(d) 1(e)
1(c) 6
Commutation time

The time required by the coil current to change from + Ic

to - Ic, is called the commutation period Tc. In other words, the
commutation period may be defined as the time measured from
the instant the brush is fully on bar 1, to the instant the brush is
fully on bar 2. It can be computed from the relation,

Brush width
Tc
Commutator peripheral speed

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RESISTANCE COMMUTATION
The effect of e.m.fs induced in the com-mutated coil is
ignored. The effect of armature coil resistance and brush
contact resistance is considered. For studying the effect of
these resistances on the commutation process, refer to
Fig.1(b).
Let, Rc = coil resistance
r1 = resistance between
bar 1 and brush
r2 = resistance between
bar 2 and brush
Fig.1(b).
Applying the KVL in the circuit as shown in Fig.1(b), is
R c 2r1
(2I c i 2 )r1 (I c i 2 )R c i 2 r2 0 i2 Ic
R c r1 r2
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 In coil-1 the current is given by

R c 2r1 r2 r1
i c I c i 2 I c 1 Ic
R c r1 r2 R c r1 r2
2r1
1
r1 r2 2r1 r1 r2
Ic Ic
r1 r2 R c 1 R c
r1 r2
If coil resistance Rc is small as compared with the copper-carbon
resistances r1 and r2., R c /( r1 r2 ) may be neglected, the coil
current is
2r1
i c I c 1
r1 r2
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If A1, and A2 are the areas, between bar 1 and brush, and between bar
2 and brush respectively, we get coil current ic as
1
2
A1 2A 2
i c I c 1 I c 1
1 1 A A 2
1
A1 A 2

Thus, at time t = 0, the brush is fully on bar 1,

t0 A2 0 ic Ic
t Tc / 4 A1 3A 2 ic 1 Ic
2
t Tc / 2 A1 A 2 ic 0
t 3Tc / 4 3A1 A 2 ic 1 Ic
2
t Tc A1 0 ic Ic
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It is also obvious from Fig.i(e) that at t = Tc, just after the commutation
of coil-1 is over, i c Ic

The plot of coil current variation with Rc = 0, is shown in Fig.2. Under

such a condition, there will be no spark-ing at the brush and the
commutation is referred to as the straight line or linear commutation,
because the current varies linearly with Tc.

Fig. 2 11
If coil resistance Rc is not nrglected, the coil current is given by

2r1 2A 2
1 r r 1 A A
ic Ic 1 2 Ic 1 2
1 R c 1 Rc
r r r1 r2
1 2

Thus, at time t = 0, the brush is fully on bar 1,

t0 A2 0 ic Ic
Ic / 2 Ic
t Tc / 4 A1 3A 2 ic i.e. i c
Rc 2
1
r1 r2
0
t Tc / 2 A1 A 2 ic i.e. i c 0
Rc
1
r1 r2
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 Ic / 2 Ic
t 3Tc / 4 3A1 A 2 ic i.e. i c
Rc 2
1
r1 r2
t Tc A1 0 i c Ic

The variation of coil current ic with Rc included, is shown in Fig.3.

This type of com-mutation is referred to as the resistance
commutation.

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 DELAYED COMMUTATION

In the commutated coil, the current changes from + Ic to - Ic in

commutation period Tc . During this current change in small interval
of time Tc (2 m-sec or less), an e.m.f. ec is induced in the coil due to
its self-inductance Lc and its magnitude is given by
di c
ec Lc
dt

This emf is called the reactance voltage.

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Effect of reactance voltage
According to Lenz's law, the effect opposes the cause. Here the effect
is the reactance voltage and cause is the reversal of current. Thus the
reactance voltage opposes the reversal of current in the commutated
coil. As a result of it, the reversal of current in the short circuited coil
is delayed and consequently it lags in time, the values of current it
would attain by the linear commutation. This type of commutation is
called under commutation or delayed commutation. The delayed
commutation is shown in Fig.4(a).

Fig.4(a)
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If the current in the short-circuited coil has not reached - Ic by the
time brush breaks contact with bar-1, then the coil current is (Ic - i)
and current i from bar-1 to brush is broken which appears in the
form of arc at the trailing brush tip as shown in Fig.4(b). Thus, the
effect of reactance voltage is to cause sparking, heating of the
trailing brush tip and temperature rise of the commutator.

Fig.4(b)

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