BHARATI VIDHYAPEETH SENIOR SECONDARY

HIGH SCHOOL

PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
AC GENERATOR

Made By:
 A.C. GENERATOR
Introduction

A.C. Generator is a device which is used to convert the mechanical

energy in to electrical energy is called electric generator.

Without the invention of the AC generator and its development over the
past century or so, the world would be a very dark place indeed.
Generators producing alternating current power our lights, our heating
and cooling systems, our appliances and our computers. Originally
invented by accident, AC generators were once deemed worthless and
unusable and were then vilified for many years before they finally
became the indispensable machines they are today.

An AC generator applies Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction to

create an alternating current by rotating wire coils inside a magnetic
field. Mechanical energy rotates the coils, usually from a motor powered
by wind, water, diesel or other energy sources.

Alternating Current Compared to Direct Current

Alternating current, or AC, is the kind of electricity that is available

from the outlets in your walls, while direct current, or DC, is made by
batteries. Static electricity is also DC electricity, produced by rubbing
silk and glass against each other or by running a plastic comb through
your hair.

Direct current maintains the same polarity over time and always goes in
the same direction, which is why the positive and negative terminals on
a battery never change. The polarity or direction of alternating current
changes several times each second, so the flow of electricity also
changes several times each second. In the United States, AC power in
your home alternates 60 times per second.

While many things in our homes and offices require AC current, many of
the devices we power using an AC outlet actually use a DC current. This
includes most electronics, including computers. A rectifier connected to
the power cord does the conversion

The History of AC Generators

The history of AC generators is intertwined with the history of dynamos
and DC electricity. The electric generator has its origins in the work of
Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry, who discovered electromagnetic
induction. The first AC generator was created accidentally by Hippolyte
Pixii while he was inventing the first dynamo in 1832, which delivered
pulses of DC electricity. After 1832, some important milestones in the
development of generators included:

 1860: Antonio Pacinotti invented a dynamo that provided

continuous DC power.

 1867: Werner Von Siemens and Charles Wheatstone invented a

more powerful dynamo using a self-powered electromagnet.

 1871: Zenobe Gramme created the first commercially feasible

dynamo by placing an iron core in the magnetic field, vastly
increasing the power output.

 1878: The Ganz company created the first AC generators to be

used in commercial operations in Budapest.

Until the late 1880s, early use of electricity was limited to direct current
in the U.S. Thomas Edison had invested heavily in DC technology.
However, DC power began to run into problems when more and more
people wanted electricity in their houses and businesses. DC current
could not easily be converted to different voltages, so power stations
needed to be within a few city blocks of each customer. This would soon
change thanks in large part to the work of Nikola Tesla.

Principle of AC Generators

It is based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. When a coil

rotated about on axis perpendicular to the direction of uniform magnetic
field, an induced e.m.f. is produced across it.

Construction of AC Generators

The A.C. Generator consists of four main parts:

(1) THE COIL (ARMATURE):
A rectangular coil ABCD consist of a large number of turns of copper
bound over a soft iron core is called armature. The soft iron core is used
to increase the magnetic flux.
(2) MAGNETIC FIELD:
It is usually a permanent sponge magnet having concave poles. The
armature is rotated of a magnet so that axis of the armature is
perpendicular to magnetic field lines.
(3)SLIP RINGS:
Slip rings are the magnetic rings which are connected in the terminal of
the armature. These rings are rotated with the coil and these are use to
draw the current from the generator.
(4)BRUSHES:
The brushes B1 & B2 are just touch the slip rings. They are not rotating
with the coil and these brushes leads to the output of load resistance.

The Working of AC Generators

The coil is rotated in anti-clock wide direction. In the first half rotation the
arm AB is moving outward and CD is moving inward. So the e.m.f. is
induced in the arm AB from A to B. And in the arm CD from C to D. After
half rotation (in the second half). The arm CD is moving outward and AB
is moving inward. In this time current is induced in arm CD from D to C.
And in arm AB from B to A. In the second half rotation the current
direction is changing so in this generator AC is produced.

Expression for Instantaneous e.m.f. Produced :

Let position of the coil at any time t. It makes angle  an angle with
vertical. If  is uniform angular speed of the coil.

Then  = t
B be the strength of magnetic field n be the number of turns in the coil
and A area of the coil then magnetic flux with the coil in this position is
given by :

 = nBA Cos  = nBA Cos t.

differentiate w.r.t. time.

= nBA(-Sin t) 

= -nBA  Sin t

= = -(-nBA  Sin t)

Maximum value of e.m.f. says 0

 = 0 Sin t.