CHAPTER 3

DIRECT-CURRENT DYNAMOS

1. Define the term dynamo.

Ans. Dynamo is a symbol of power. Electrically, it is a rotating machine that converts mechanical energy
into mechanical energy.

2. Name the various parts of the dynamo and indicate which parts are stationary and which rotate.
Ans. Two sections of dynamos are the stator which is stationary and rotor, the portion that rotates.

3. From what material is each part listed in Question 2 made?

Ans. Stator’s field is built up of customary laminated steel core and winding, while the rotor, is built up of
laminated core, and slotted to receive the insulated copper armature winding.

4. What is meant by pole core? pole shoe?

Ans. Pole cores is built of a stack of steel laminations about 0.025 in. thick per lamination, having good
magnetic qualities; rivets are driven through holes in the sheets to fasten together a stack of such laminations
equal to the axial length of the armature core. Pole shoe permits the flux to spread out over a wider area
where the flux enters the armature core.

5. Why are laminations used in constructing the field core?

Ans. Field core is built up of a stack of steel lamination because it has good magnetic qualities.

6. Why are laminations used in constructing the armature core?

Ans. Armature core is built up of a stack of steel lamination because it has good magnetic qualities. It has
circular section.

7. Why are pole cores constructed with a shoe?

Ans. Poles cores are constructed with a shoe in order to permit the flux to spread out a wider area where the
flux enters the armature core.

8. What two kinds of field winding are used for generators and motors? Describe the construction of
each?
Ans. 1.) The shunt field – a shunt in which there are turns of fine wires.
2.) Compound field – a compound field in which both a shunt and series winding are used.

9. What is the purpose of dipping and baking field coils?

Ans. The purposes of dipping and baking field coils are to add stiffness, mechanical strength, and good
insulating properties to the winding.

10. What is the yoke? What purpose does it serve? How it is usually constructed?
Ans. Yoke is the outside frame of a machine; it is usually a circular iron or steel ring of rectangular section,
sometimes rounded on the surface for added strength. It is where the field-pole assemblies are bolted.

11. Why is cast steel or rolled steel more desirable than cast iron for the yoke material of dynamos?
Ans. Cast steel is used because this material makes it possible to reduce the weight by as much as 60 percent
without any increase in the reluctance of the magnetic circuit.

12. Describe a commutator construction?

Ans. Commutator is built-up of hard drawn copper bars, wedge-shaped in section when viewed on end, and
having V-shaped grooves at each end.
13. What purpose does the commutator serve in a generator? In a motor?
Ans. Commutator performed the process of rectifying the alternating current, that is, changing the internal
alternating current to an external direct current.

14. What is the function of the armature winding in a generator? In a motor?

Ans. Armature winding is virtually the heart of the dynamo, it is where the voltage is generated in the
generator or where the torque is developed in the motor.

15. Under what conditions is it necessary to use a brush rigging in which each arm contains several brush
holders and brushes?
Ans. In large machines, a brush arm may have several brush holders, into each of which is placed a carbon or
copper-graphite brush rides freely, without chattering, on the commutator.

16. What keeps the brushes in good contact with the commutator?
Ans. Each brush is held down firmly on the commutator by a spring that exerts a pressure of about 1 to 2 lb per
sq. in.

17. How is the brush surface made to conform with the commutator surface?
Ans. The surface of the brushes in contact with the commutator must be ground or sandpapered smooth so that
perfect contact exists between them.

18. What purpose is served by the brush pigtails?

Ans. Each brush arms also contain flexible copper pigtails for good electrical connection between the insulated
brush arms and the respective brushes.

19. Which terminal is positive on a generator? On a motor?

Ans. In a generator the positive terminal “feeds” current to the load while in the motor it is the terminal that is
connected to the positive bus of the source.

20. Name the two general types of armature winding.

Ans. The two general types of armature winding are the lap and wave.

21. Distinguish between a simplex-lap and a simplex-wave winding with regard to construction; with
regard to the number of parallel paths.
Ans. In simplex-lap windings, coil are connected to adjacent commutator segments, while in the simplex-
wave windings the coil ends are connected to a commutator segments very nearly, but never exactly, equal to
the distance between poles of the same polarity, that is alternate poles. In simplex-lap winding the current
divide into P parallel paths, where P is the no. of poles, while the no. of parallel in simplex-wave winding is to,
regardless the no. of poles.

22. In general, what is a frog-leg winding?

Ans. Frog leg winding is a combination of a multiplex-wave and a simplex-lap winding. It has a unique
features retaining the advantages of both types without their inherit disadvantages.

23. What is the important requirement with regard to the coil span of all types of armature winding?
Ans. The distance of two sides of a coil must be equal (or very nearly so) to the distance between two
adjacent poles. The coils span must be 180 electrical degrees, or approximately so.

24. Explain what would happen if the coil span were 360 electrical degrees in a generator; in a motor.
Ans. If the coil ends are connected to segments exactly 360 electrical degrees apart, every group of P/2 coils
would constitute a complete reentrancy because there are 360 electrical degrees in every pair of poles (P/2).
25. State the formula to determine the coil span Ys for an armature winding.
Ans. Ys = (s/p)-k

Where: Ys – coil pitch, in slots

s - total number of armature slots
p - number of poles
k - any part of s/p that subtracted to make Ys an integer

26. What is the commutator pitch in a simplex-lap winding? A duplex-lap winding? A multiplex-lap
winding?
Ans. The ends of the coils of simplex-lap winding are connected to adjacent commutator segments. They are
all connected together in succession at successive commutator segments. Duplex-lap is when the ends of the
first lap coil are joined to segments 1 and 3 instead of 1 and 2, the succeeding coils will be joined to segments 2
and 4, 3 and 5, 4 and

27. What is meant by the term reentrancy?

Ans. Reentrancy is used to designate this important fact where the winding is the said to close upon itself or
reenter.

28. Under what condition is the reentrancy of a duplex-lap winding single? Double?
Ans. If the commutator has an even number of segments, the odd-numbered segments will join together one
half of all the coils, while the even-numbered segments will join together the other half of all the coils. Such a
winding is double reentrant. On the other hand, a duplex-lap winding on armature having odd number segments
will be singly reentrant.

29. Under what condition is the reentrancy of a triple-lap winding single? Triple?
Ans. Triplex-lap winding would have the first coil ends connected to segments 1 and 5 and reentrancy would
depend only upon the relation between the number of 7 commutator segments and the plex.

30. What is the purpose of multiplex-lap winding?

Ans.

31. State the general rule for determining the reentrancy of a multiplex-lap winding.
Ans. The degree of reentrancy of lap windings is equal to the highest common factor between the number of
commutator segment and the “plex” of the winding.

32. What general rule can be used to determine the number of parallel paths in a multiplex-lap winding?
Ans. Commutator pitch (Yc) multiplied by the no. of poles (P) determines the no.of parallel paths.

33. To what values of machine ratings are multiplex-lap windings restricted?

Ans. Multiplex-lap windings are generally restricted to low-voltage high-current machines because,
practically speaking, it is desirable to limit the current pr path to values no greater than about 250 to 300 amp.

34. Why must the ends of wave coils are never be connected to the commutator exactly 360 electrical
degrees apart?
Ans. For if the ends of the coil is connected to the commutator exactly 360 degrees apart it will cause a
complete closure, which violates the first property of the commutator that the entire winding must be trace from
segment to segment, and from coil side to coil side. For tracing winding once around the commutator the last
coil end should arrive one segment behind or one segment ahead to the starting segment.
35. State the general rule for determining the commutator pitch in a simplex-lap winding.
Ans. In a simplex-lap winding the commutator pitch is always equal to one.

36. Explain why only two brush sets need be used in a machine in which the armature is a wave wound.
Ans. The use of two sets of brushes is often very convenient, particularly in installation in which brushes
cannot be replaced without difficulty. Furthermore, in wave-wound machine equipped with as many brush sets
as poles, if one or more of the brush sets develop poor contact with the commutator, satisfactory operations still
possible.

37. How are the conductors in each path of a lap winding distributed around the armature?
Ans. The conductors in each of the P paths of a lap winding are distributed under two poles, a north and a
south pole.

38. How are the conductors in each path of a wave winding distributed around the armature winding?
Ans. The conductors in each of the two paths of a wave winding are distributed under all the poles.

39. Under what conditions is it desirable to use two brush sets in machines having wave-wound
armatures?
Ans. In a multi-polar machine two sets of brushes where used with convenience particularly in installation in
which brushes cannot be replaced without difficulty.

40. Under what conditions is it desirable to use as many brush sets as poles in machines having wave-
wound armatures?
Ans. When a machine is equipped with many brush sets as poles it is still possible to have satisfactory
operation beside when more of the brush develops poor contact with the commutator.

41. What are multiplex-wave windings?

Ans. It is a type of armature winding with more than two even parallel paths.

42. Under what circumstances would it be desirable to use multiplex-wave windings?

Ans. In such situation where current rating is too high, specifically above 600 amps, it is necessary to use
armature winding having more than parallel path (Multiplex- wave winding).

43. Why is it possible to have circulating currents in lap-wound armatures?

Ans. The circulating currents can flow in lap-wound armature only because the conductors of each path are
not distributed completely around the circumference, as in wave-windings, but occupy position under one pair
of poles at a time.

44. Why is it impossible to have circulating currents flowing in wave-wound armatures?

Ans. The circulating currents cannot flow in the wave-wound armatures, it can only flow in lap-wound
armatures because the conductors of each path are not distributed completely around the circumference but
occupy positions under one pair of poles at a time.

45. State the rule for determining the commutator pitch in a multiplex-wave winding.
Ans. In general, a multiplex-wave winding requires Yc to be chosen that after the winding is traced once
around the commutator, the last coil end arrives m segments behind or ahead the starting point.

46. In tracing a simplex-wave winding once around the commutator, at what segment should one arrive
with respect to the starting point?
Ans. In a simplex-wave winding, the last coil end arrives one segment behind or one segment ahead the
starting point.
47. Answer Question 46 for a duplex-wave winding; a triplex-wave winding; a multiplex-wave winding?
Ans. In a duplex-wave winding, the last coil end arrives two segments behind or ahead of the starting point.
In a triplex-wave winding, the last coil end arrives three segments behind or ahead the staring point.
In a multiplex-wave winding, the last coil end arrives m segments behind or ahead the starting point.

48. Why it is usually more satisfactory to construct armature that have more commutator segments than
slots?
Ans. It is more satisfactory to design the armatures with more commutator segments than slots for the
following reason:
a.) As the number of commutator segments is increased, the voltage between those that are adjacent to
each other decreases and the number of turns of wire in the coil or coils connected to the adjacent segment also
decreases. The result is that there is less sparking at the commutator because of the improved commutation.
b.) As the number of slots is reduced, the armature core teeth become mechanically stronger, so that,
from the standpoint of handling in manufacture, there is less damage to laminations and coils.
c.) Assuming that a comparatively large number of segments has been selected so that good
commutation will result, the choice of an armature core with one-half, one-third, one-fourth, etc., as many slots
means that fewer coils will have to be constructed; this reduces the cost of manufacture.

49. Are pitch calculations Ys and Yc affected when an armature has more segments than slots?
Ans. The pitch calculations for Ys and Yc are made exactly the same way, regardless of whether the number
of slots and segments are the same or not.

50. What is meant by a double-element coil? A triple-element coil? When are they necessary?
Ans. DOUBLE-ELEMENT COIL - when an armature has twice as many commutator segments as slots,
each of the completely formed coils is a sort of double-element coil, in the sense that it serves double capacity.
This is necessary because each slot must hold as many wires as are ordinarily held by two slots when the
number of slots equals the number of segments.
TRIPLE-ELEMENT COIL - when the armature has three (3) times as many segments as the slots.

51. Under what condition is it desirable to wind an armature before the commutator is pressed on the
shaft?
Ans. The winding must be completed first before the commutator is pressed on the shaft. These practices
make sit possible to insert the coils in the slots more easily because there is ordinarily very little space between
the core and the commutator.