MA3007

ALTERNATOR
Introduction
Alternators, particularly the three-phase type is the primary source of all electrical
energy. These machines convert mechanical power to electrical power, in fact these
machines are the largest energy converters in the world. Here we shall consider the
construction details, manner and type of stator windings, EMF equation, effect of
winding distribution. Cosideration will also given to the effect of short-pitching the
windings in the stator.
Basic principle
Alternators ( or AC generators) operate on the principle of electromagnetic
induction. This requires the creation of a stationary or rotating DC magnetic field.
Fig. 1 illustrates the shematic arrangement of an elementary alternator.When the coil AB
(mounted on the shaft DD) is rotated in the stationary magnetic field of the fixed pole
pieces as shown, an alternating emf will be induced in it. The magnitude of this induced
emf can be determined to be given by, e = 2nBANn sino V. However the arrangement of
an actual commercial alternator is more involved and complicated.

Fig. 1 An elementary alternator.

A three-phase alternator may have either a rotating or a stationary DC magnetic field. A
stationary-field alternator has the same appearance as that of a DC generator. A
stationary field alternator is ideal where the output is less than 5 kVA. For greater
outputs, it is cheaper, safer and more practical to have the stationary armature (the
stator) and a rotating DC field. Fig.2 is a schematic diagram of such an arrangement.
The stationary 3-phase winding is directly connected to the load, without going through
the the cumbersome and unreliable arrangments of slip rings and brushes. Other
advantages of stationary armature are: easier to meet insulation
reqauirements for high voitages, easier bracing of windings against deformation due to
short circuit currents. The slip-rings are confined to low voltage low-powered DC field
circuit which can be easily insulated.

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Fig.2 Shematic arrangement of an alternator with stationary armature.

Details Of construction
Stator frame (refer to Fig.3) holds the armature stampings and armature windings in
position. Low-speed large-diameter alternators have frames which because of ease of
manufacture, are cast in sections. The provision of radial ventilating spaces in the
stampings assist in cooling the machines. Lately mild steel fabrications are becoming
more common over earlier practice of castings.

Fig3. Part view of salient pole rotor.

Rotor Types
Slient or projecting pole type is used in low or medium speed alternators. It has a large
number of projecting poles , having their cores bolted or dove-tailed onto a heavy
magnetic wheel of cast iron or good quality steel. In large machines the field windings
consists of rectangular copper strip wound on edge. Salient pole details are shown in
Fig.4. As seen in figures (a) and (b) [two views of a single arrangement], the poles are
made of laminations 'L' revetted together and bolted to a steel yoke wheel 'Y'. The mild
steel bar is inserted to improve mechanical strength. Copper rods 'D' short circuited at
each end by heavy copper rings form the so called darnper windings. They are to
prevent huntings (momentary speed fluctuations) and thus improve parallel operatios of
such generators. These windings are not usually provided on turbogenerators.

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Cylindrical type is suitably employed in turbo-alternators. These are generally very high
speed machines. Therefore, the rotor and all the fittings and windings on it would be
subjected to enormous centrifugal force.To withstand such a force, the rotor is usually
made of a solid steel forgings with longitudinal slots cut around the periphery. This is
shown in Figs.5 (a) and (b) .

(a) (b) (c)

Speed and frequency

The relation between rotor speed, the number of poles and the frequency of the generated
emf can easily be understood by considering the voltage induced in a stator conductor. If
it is assumed that a positive voltage is induced in this conductor when a north pole
sweeps across it, then a similiar but negative voltage would be induced in the same
conductor when a south pole sweeps past it. Thus, every time a pair of poles passes
across (in succession) a conductor, the voltage induced in it passes through a complete
cycle. The same is true for every other conductor in the armature i.e., in the stator. Hence,
we can deduce the frequency of emf generated as:

where
f = frquency of induced voltage [Hz]
p = number of poles on the rotor,
and n = speed of the rotor in rpm.

Armature (i.e., stator) Windings

Most commonly used armature windings are:

1. Single layer winding, and

2. Double layer winding.

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Single layer winding: This is also known as concentric winding or as chain winding. Fig
5(a) and (b) illustrate the basic and essential characters of such windings. In 5(a) a single
layer, single-turn, full-pitch winding arrangement is shown for a four- pole generator.
There are 12 slots in all, thus giving 3 slots/pole which allows 1 slot/phaselpole. In this
case the pole pitch is the span of three slots. It is obvious that a coil with full pitch would
generate maximum emf.

Fig 5(b) also, shows a single layer winding arrangement with some differences. Here the
number of slots are 24, giving 6 slots/pole and hence 2 slots/phaselpole.

(b)

The manner of windings in 5(a) can be understood with the help of its'developed diagram'
shown in Fig.6(a). As can be seen in 6(a), R phase starts at slot 1 passes through slots 4, 7
and finishes at 10. The yellow phase to be displaced by 120, begins in slot No.3 passes
through 6, 9 and ends at slot 12. Smiliarly, phase B starts at 5, going through 8 and 1 1,
ends at slot 2. The ends of the windings are joined to common or star point giving a wye
connection.

Fig.6(a)

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Fig.6(b) is the developed diagram of single layer windings of Fig.5(b). It shows the
connections between various coils. The poles are to be viewed beneath the windings and
should be assumed to be moving towards the right. Since there are six slots per pole and
since the rotation through one pole pitch (which is distance between the centres of two
adjacent poles) corresponds to 180 electrical degrees, it 180 follows the spacing between

two adjacent slots.

Fig.6(b)

Concentric or chain winding.. These types of windings are not very common. Fig.7
shows two arrangements of this type of winding. It can be easily realised that the number
of slots must be equal to twice the number of coils for such windings.

Fig.7(a) is for 1 coil per pair of poles per phase. So, polar group of each phase is
36011(electrical) apart. Note also the two different shapes needed to avoid fouling of end
connections. Fig.7(b) is an arrangement of concentric winding with two coils per group
per pole. It can be seen that in each group, one coil has a pitch of 516 and other has a
pitch of 716. Such windings are used in large high-voltage machines.

Fig.7(a) Concentric or Chain winding

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Fig.7(b) Concentric or Chain winding with two coils per group per pole

Double layer winding may be either: Wave wound, or Lap wound type, which is more
commonly employed in turbo-alternators.

Ordinaily the number of slots in the armature is a multiple of the product of number of
poles and the number of phases.
(ii) The total number of slots on the stator is equal to the number of coils

Fig.8 illustrates double layer windings for a 4-pole, 24 slots machine. Here pole pitch =
2414 = 6 slots. Since full pitch winding allows maximum voltage to be generated, then
for a coil with one side in slot no. 1 the other side must be located in slot no.7. For
convenience and ease of understanding coils have been given same numbers as that of the
slots in which the left sides of the coils are located (Fig.9).

Fig.8 Double layer winding for 4-pole,24 slots machine.

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For double layered, 3-phase windings in 24 slots, each phase has 2413 = 8 slots to it.
Therefore, each phase can have 8 coils. When coils are connected as shown in the
developed diagram of Fig. 1 0, voltage in 1, 7, 13 and 1 9 will be in phase and add-up
directly. The other four coils of this phase are 2, 8, 14 and 20.The coils 1 and 2, similiarly
coils 7 and 8 etc. are said to be in polar groups. After placing the coils in their respective
slots, polar groups are joined together with alternate poles reversed. In Fig.9 winding for
only one phase has been shown. If this phase is marked as Red phase, then Yellow phase
must begin in slot no. 5 and then should follow the same routine.

Fig.9 Developed giagram of double layer winding.

The winding of the armature [Fig.8 and Fig.91 would be complete by starting with slot
no.g for the begining of Blue phase and going around in the same manner as for'R' and 'Y'
phases.
A simple scheme for connection of coils belonging to a phase (say for double layer
windings of Fig.9) can be drawn up as shown in Fig. 10. The method of connection can
be understood by referring to the developed diagram of Fig. 9

R 1,2 7,8 13,14 19,20 R'

Y 5,6 11,12 17,18 23,24 Y'
B 9,10 15,16 21,22 3,4 B'
Fig. 10 Method of connection for double layer winding
Wye and Delta connections
For Wye (Y) connection, R', Y' and B' are connected together to form the star point [(see
Fig. 1 1 (a)] while for Delta connection the arrangement of the coils are as shown in Fig.
1 1 (b).
Fig. 11 Wye and Delta connections for armature windings.

(a)
(b)

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Short-pitch winding: pitch factorichording factor

When a coil spans over the pole-pitch (1 800 electrical) i.e,, from the axis of one pole to
the axis of the next pole it said to have full pitch. But if the coil spans less than that it is
called short-pitched. Fig. 12 shows a full-pitch and short-pitch coil.
Short-pitched coils are used by designs for two main advantages:
1 . Saving copper of end connections.
2 improved waveform of generated emf.
The disadvantage of short pitching is the reduction in the emf produced in the short-
pitched coil.

Pitch factor or Coil factor:

or = [vector sum of emf induced per coil]/[arithmatic sum of emf induced per coil]

Referring to Fig. 12(a), where full-pitch has been shown to be 6 slots, then a coil with -
pitch means that the coil is short pitched by 1 slot i.e., by 30 eletrical degrees

So, E = cos /2

and or = =[ cos ]/2E = cos 15 = 0.966

Thus, in general if a coil falls short by (eletrical) then =, The angle is knon as
the chording angle.

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Example 1. Calculate the pitch factor for the windings given below: (a) 36 stator slots, 4-
poles, coil span 1 to 8 (b) 72 stator slots, coil span 1 to 10 and (c) 96 stator slots, 6 poles,
coil span 1 to 12. Sketch the coil span for each case.

Solution: (a) Coil span is shorted by

2
9
( )
x 180 O = 40 O

3 cos 45 O
(b) α =   x180 O = 45 so, k C = = 0.924
 12  2

5
(c) α= = 180 O = 56 O16' and k C = cos 28 O 8' = 0.882
16

Distribution of winding
Coils belonging to a single phase are not concentrated or bunched in a single slot.
Generally they are distributed in a number (2 or more) of slots to form a polar group
under each pole. The reasons for such distribution are: (a) to prevent overheating of the
conductors lying in the central region when concentrated in a single slot, 9b) to shift the
wave form induced in a phase, more towards sinusoidal.
To understand how the resultant emf is affected by the distribution of the coils of
windings in 2 slots/pole/phase, assume that the generated emf in each conductor is
sinusoidal in character. Assume also that the adjacent slots are separated by 30 degrees.
Fig 14 represents the phasor diagram of emfs Em and En generated in the coils of adjacent
slots.

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The resultant emf E r = 2 E m cos15 O = 1.932 E m

However, if the coils were concentrated in a single slot the resultant emf would be 2Em.

Distributed or breath or winding factor is represented by Kd and gives the indication of

the effect of distribution.

For the case of 2 slots/pole/phase the value of this factor would be:

General expression for Kd

Consider Fig. 15 for 2 slots/pole/phase. Perpendicular bisectors of Em and En meet at O,
which is the centre of the circumscribing circle shown in dotted. Therefore, the resultant

so, ....Eq. 3

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From Eq.3 ( whose value is 0.966 as before), following general expression can be arrived
at,

If

then,
arithmatic sum of emf per coil = m x emf per coil = m x 2R x
= angle at the centre, subtended by

thus, the distributing factor, = [Phasor sum of emfs]/[Arithmtic sum of emfs]

.....Eq.4

Equation of induced EMF

Let Z = no. of conductors in series per phase

P = No. of poles
f = freqeuncy of induced emf [Hz]
Φ = flux per pole in webers
N = speed or rotor in r.p.m.

In one revolution of the rotor, each statot conductor is cut by a flux = Φ P webers, and
the time for 1 rev.

60
= sec.
N

so, average value of induced emf/conductor

ΦP ΦPN
= = volts
60 60
N

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Hence average value of emf per phase

Z ΦPN
= volts .....Eq.5
60

since, [R.M.S. value]/[average value] = 1.11

so, from Eq 5. R.M.S. value of induced amf per phase

Z ΦPN
= 1.11 x volts ......Eq5.
60

If p is pairs of poles and n is the rps of the rotor, we have P = 2p and N = n x60 and f
= pn. So Eq. 6 will take the form

2.22Z Φf volts

This [Eq.6] would be the actual value of voltage induced if the coils are full pitched and
concentrated in a single slot per pole/per phase.

Voltage actually available would be affected by the pitch factor and the distribution
factor. Therefore, the general expression for induced emf per phase:

E = K d K p 2.22 Zf Φ .....Eq.7

Summary of important formulae:

1. Frequency of induced emf

PN
f = .....where ' P ' is the number of poles on the rotor and N is the r. p.m
120

3. Coil span or pitch (short pitch) factor

emf with short − pitch coil

K c or K p =
emf with full − pitch coil
β
= cos .... where ' β ' is the short pitch angle
2

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3. Distribution factor

emf with a distributed coil

Kd =
emf with concentrated coil
ma
sin
= 2 where ' α ' istheanglebetweenadjacentcoilsidesofcoil / pole / phase.
α
m sin
2

4. R.M.S. value of induced emf per phase

E = 2.22 Z Φf volts

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