QUESTION & ANSWERS

1. Distinguish between a generator and

a motor.
GENERATOR- mechanical energy is
converted to electrical energy
MOTOR- it converts electrical energy to
mechanical energy

2. What is an armature? A field?

Armature- the laminated steel core
containing current-carrying copper wires
- the part of an electric machine that inclu
des the main current-carrying winding a
nd in which the
electromotive force is induced.
The armature is the winding to which the load is connected. In small generators, the field windings are often on the
stator, and the armature windings are on the rotor. Most large machines, however, have a rotating field and a
stationary armature. A synchronous motor is virtually identical to a synchronous generator.
Field-the electrically conducting circuit,
usually a number of coils wound on
individual poles and connected in series that
produces the magnetic field in a motor or
generator.

3. What two important requirements are

necessary before generator action is
possible?
Presence of magnetic line of force
Motion of conductors cutting the flux
Current through conductors lying in the magnetic field

4. What two important requirements are

necessary before motor action is
possible?
Presence of magnetic lines of force
Current through conductors lying in the
magnetic field\
Motion of conductors cutting the flux
5. State faradays law.
The magnitude of generated voltage is
directly proportional to the rate at which
conductor cuts magnetic lines of force.

6. In what two ways, is it possible to

generate a higher voltage in a moving
conductor?

*Increase the speed of relative motion between the coils and the magnet.

*Increase the strength of magnetic field.

7. How many lines of force must be cut

per second if 1 volt is to be generated
in a moving conductor?
- 1 volt is generated for every 100,000,000
(108) lines cut per second. *The voltage produced by any winding in an armature is described by Faraday’s
Law. A single winding with many turns produce greater voltage, but also do more internal resistance due to
the total length of the wire. Parallel windings reduce the overall voltage but also reduce the internal
resistance. In essence, each becomes a parallel voltage source. The power is, in theory the same
exchanging voltage for current, but the resistance of the load is also a factor in how efficiently power is
transferred.

8. In actual generator, what effects has

the number of parallel paths in the
armature winding upon terminal
voltage?
The number of parallel paths determines
the current rating of a generator, where
as the number of series conductor per
path is a measure of the terminal
voltage of the machine.
9. What effect has the number of
armature paths upon the currentcarrying
ability of a generator?

10. Is the power output of generator

affected by the number of parallel
paths in the armature winding? Give
the reason for your answer.
No, because it says that, the power
rating is independent in the manner of
which the cells or conductors are
connected.

11. Derive the fundamental voltage

equation for the dc-generator.

12. Write the fundamental voltage

equation as a function of the total
number of armature conductors and
the number of armature winding
circuits.

Eg=
∅∗P∗rpm∗Z
a∗60 *10
-8
Where:
Eg= Total generated voltage
∅ = flux per pole Maxwell’s
Z = armature slot * armature conductor
P = no. of poles
Rpm = speed of armature, revolution per
minute
Z = total number of armature conductors
effectively used to add to resulting voltage
a = no. of armature paths connected in
parallel
13. What two factors determine the
direction of the generated voltage in
a conductor through a magnetic
field?
The direction of the flux,whichis,of
course determined by magnet polarity
The direction of motion of a conductor or coil

14. Considering a dc-generator, in what

two ways can the polarity (plus and
minus) of the brushes can be
changed?

15. Using the fictitious “rubber band”

comparison, explain how the
direction of the generated voltage
may be determined.

16. State Lenz law

- The direction of the generated voltage in the
coil is such that it tends to produce a current
flow opposing a change of flux through the
coil.
17. Using Lenz’s law, explain how the
direction of the generated voltage
may be determined.
- Lenz’s law tells the direction of a current in a conductor loop induced indirectly by the change in
magnetic flux through the loop. Scenarios a,b,c,d and e are possible.

18. What kind of current flows in the

armature conductors of a dcgenerator?
-* A dc generator does not deliver a pure direct current, as does a storage battery.

19. What is an alternating current? What

is meant by the frequency of an
alternating current?
Alternating current- a current whose
magnitude and direction change
periodically
Frequency- it is the cycles per second of
an alternating current

20. What is a commutator? Describe its

construction.
Commutator-a cylindrical ring or disk
assembly of conducting members,
individually insulated in a supporting
structure with an exposed surface for
contact with current-collecting brushes
and mounted on the armature shaft, for
changing the frequency or direction of
the current in the armature windings.
-a device for reversing the direction of a
current.

21. What factors determine the frequency

of a generated alternating voltage?
-

22. Carefully describe commutation

process, using appropriate sketches
to illustrate your answer.

23. Why is it desirable to have many

coils of wire and commutator
segments on the armature of a dc
generator?
When they are a great many armature
coils, the external voltages between
brushes approaches a smooth
unvarying line that approximates the
pure dc voltage supplied by a battery
When the number of coils increased the
voltage waves becomes smoother

24. What kind of current of current is

theoretically delivered to a load by a
dc generator?
A dc generator does not deliver a pure
direct current, as does a storage battery
25. What is meant by torque?
Torque- something that produces or
tends to produce torsion or rotation; the
moment of a force or system of forces
tending to cause rotation.

26. What factors determine the force

exerted by a conductor on the
armature of a d-c motor?
The strength of the main field
The value of the current through the
conductor

27. Will a force be exerted by a

conductor carrying a current when it
is placed parallel to a magnetic field?
Explain carefully.

28. What happens to the existing uniform

field if a conductor carrying a current
is placed in this field?

29. Using a sketch showing a two-pole

motor with a single coil placed with
its two sides under the pole centers,
describe how torque is developed by
the coil.

30. Why is no torque developed by those

conductors occupying positions in
the inter-polar spaces of a motor?
31. What is the essential difference
between commutation in a dc
generator and commutation in dc
motor?
In the dc generator the commutator and
brushes function to change the internally
generated alternating current to a load
applied direct current
In the dc motor the commutator and
brushes perform an inverse function by
changing the externally applied direct
current to alternating current flowing in
the armature conductors

32. Describe the commutation process in

a dc-motor.

33. What two types of field windings are

used in dc machines? How do they
differ from each other with regards to
the number of turns of wire? The size
of wire? The manner in which they
are connected?
Shunt- a main field winding with many
turns of fine wire, the winding is
connected directly across the brush
terminals where full voltage exists.
Series –a main field winding with few
turns of heavy wire, the winding is
connected in series in one of the line
wires where the full armature current
flows.
34. When is it desirable and permissible
to use permanent magnet in d-c
machines? What kind of material is
generally used for permanent
magnets?
In some small generators and motors it
has sometimes been found desirable to use extremely powerful alnico
permanent magnets for the field poles.
Where permanent magnets are
employed, the main field flux is constant
in magnitude; no flux control is possible.

35. Make sketches showing two ways in

which the two field windings, shunt
and series, may be connected for
compound generator or motor
operation.