FRANCISCAN-REVIEW PROGRAM ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – DC GENERATOR SHORT QUESTIONS

arranged in two layers. Each coil has one of its sides at

1. What is the importance of d.c. machines ? provide a low reluctance path for the flux through the the top of the slot and the other at the bottom of some
armature other slot. The coil ends will then lie side by side.
D.C. generators are not as common as they used to be,
because direct current, when required, is mainly from the N – pole – shoe to the S ones. It is therefore, 9. What is the essential difference between lap and
produced by electronic rectifiers. However, d.c. motors made of a material having high permeability e.g. silicon wave windings?
are widely used in industry due to the following reasons: steel. An additional advantage of silicon steel is that it
has low hysteresis loss. The essential difference between a lap winding and a
(i) speed of s d.c. motor can be changed easily over a wave winding is in the commutator connections. In a lap
wide range. 5. Why do we use slotted armature in a d.c. winding, the commutator pitch is 1 whereas for a wave
(ii) speed regulation of d.c. motors is very good. machine? winding it is about twice the pole pitch.

(iii) The torque – speed characteristics of d.c. motors The slotted armature has the following advantages : 10. The armature winding of a d.c. machine is a single
can be varied over a wide range while retaining high (i) The air-gap can be reduced to a value required for closed loop. How do we get parallel paths?
efficiency. mechanical clearance. This reduces the reluctance
Due to above reasons, d.c. motors are used to drive of Whether the winding be lap or wave, when the brushes
such devices as hoists, fans, pumps, punch-presses etc. the magnetic circuit. are lifted, the armature circuit is a single closed loop.
(ii) The conductors can be properly placed so that there However, when brushes are lowered on to the
2. What purpose is served by the pole shoe in a d.c. is little fear of them being displaced. commutator, two or more parallel paths are formed
machine? (iii) The drag on the conductors is greatly reduced so depending upon the type of winding. Each parallel path
that their insulation is in no danger of damage by consists of same number of coils in series.
(i) They spread out the flux in the air gaps. pressure. (i) With a lap winding, the number of parallel paths
(ii) Since they are of lager cross-section, the reluctance formed is equal to the number of poles.
of the magnetic path is reduced 6. Why is armature winding placed on the rotor of a
(iii) they support the field coils d.c.machine? (ii) With a wave winding, the number of parallel paths
formed is 2 irrespective of the number of poles.
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of The armature winding of a d.c. machine is placed on the
carbon brushes ? rotor to facilitate commutation i.e. to convert the 11. Why is lap winding used in large multipolar d.c.
alternating voltage produced in the winding into direct generators?
Advantages: voltage at the brushes.
(i) They lubricate and polish the commutator For a given number of armature conductors, a lap
(ii) If sparking occurs, they damage the commutator 7. What factors determine the number of poles in a winding can carry a heavier current than a wave
less than with the copper brushes d.c. machine? winding
(iii) They provide good commutation because it has more parallel paths. Therefore, lap
The number of poles in a d.c. machine is governed by : winding is used in large multipolar d.c. generators to
Disadvantages: (i) frequency (ii) current per brush arm avoid having conductors of large cross-section.
(i) The contact resistance is high and causes a loss of The upper limit to the number of poles is imposed by
about 2V. Hence, they are unsuited for low voltage frequency which is of the order 20-3- Hz for large 12. Why are equalizers not used in wave winding?
machines in which this forms a larger percentage machines and not exceeding 50 Hz for small machines.
loss. The lower limit is due to current per brush arm which There is no need for “Equilizers” in a wave-wound
(ii) Due to high voltage drop, the commutator must be should not exceed 400 A otherwise an excessively long machine because conductors in each of the two parallel
made larger than for copper brushes. commutator will be necessary. paths pass under all the N and S poles successively.
(iii) Their low current density necessitates large brush
holders. 8. Why is armature winding of a d.c. machine always 13. What is the need of multiplex winding?
double layer winding?
4. Why is the armature of d.c. machine made of With simple wave winding, there are only 2 parallel
silicon? When the coil sides are placed in one layer, it is difficult paths whereas for a lap winding, the number of parallel
to arrange their ends so that they will pass each other. paths is equal to the number of poles. Thus in case of a
The most important function of an armature is to In order to avoid this difficulty, the coils are generally 10-pole machine, using simple winding, the designer is
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FRANCISCAN-REVIEW PROGRAM ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – DC GENERATOR SHORT QUESTIONS
restricted to either two parallel circuits (wave) or ten (ii) The resistance of the field circuit is too high.
parallel circuits (lap). However, sometimes, it is desired (i) More commutator segments are needed or (iii) the speed is too low.
to increase the number of parallel paths, enabling the alternatively there must be more volts per segment (iv) there is sufficient residual magnetism.
armature to carry large current and at the same time for a given commutator diameter and thickness of
reducing the conductor current. For this purpose, segment. 20. Why is series generator not generally used?
multiplex windings are used. Thus with duplex wave (ii) The brush arms are closer together, increasing the
winding, the above 10-pole machine will have 4 parallel danger of flash-over. The external characteristic of a series generator shows
paths. Likewise, with duplex lap winding, the machine (iii) Frequency is proportional to number of poles and that during the initial portion of the curve, the terminal
will have 20 parallel paths. voltage increase with the increase in load. This is an
core loss depends upon frequency.
14. Discuss the nomenclature of multiplex winding. (iv) The armature diameter is increased. unstable condition. For this reason, a series generator
has very limited applications.
The nomenclature of multiplex winding is according to 17. What decides the upper and lower limit to the
the number of parallel paths formed. number of poles in a d.c. machine? 21. Upon what factors the armature resistance (Ra) of
(i) The number of parallel paths in a multiplex lap a d.c. machine depends?
winding is given by : The upper limit to the number of poles is imposed by
frequency which is of the order 20-30 Hz for large The armature resistance of a d.c. machine depends
No. of parallel paths = No. of poles(P) x Degree of plex machines and not exceeding 50 Hz for small ones. The upon:
Thus, a duplex wave winding is one in which the number lower limit is decided by the current per brush arm
of parallel paths = 2 x 2 = 4. A triplex wave winding which should not exceed 400 A otherwise an excessively (i) number, size and connection of armature coils.
will have 2 x 3 = 6 parallel paths. long commutator will be necessary. These limits usually
restrict the choice to about two alternatives. (ii) contact resistance between the carbon brush and
15. What are the advantages of using a large number the copper commutator.
of poles in a d.c. machine? 18. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a
separately excited generator over a self-excited 22. Why is the resistance of the field winding of a d.c.
The advantages of using a large number of poles in a generator? shunt generator kept low?
d.c. machine are :
(i) The flux per pole is reduced. This reduces the The advantages of a separately excited generator over a For satisfactory working (shunt generator) , the
thickness of armature core and yoke and hence the self-excited generator are: machine
weight of the machine. (i) The field ampere-turns can be independently should operate with field resistance appreciably below
(ii) The length of the magnetic circuit is reduced, controlled. the critical value. If the field circuit resistance is more
resulting in the reduction of field ampere turns. (ii) It will operate in a stable condition with any field than the critical field resistance, the generator will fail to
excitation. build up any voltage.
(iii) The length of the armature end connections is (iii) We can have a wide range of output voltages.
reduced. 23. Why does the field winding of a series d.c.
The disadvantages of a separately excited generator as machine have less number of turns than that of
(iv) The current per brush arm is reduced. This reduces compared to a self-excited generator are: d.c. shunt machine?
the length of the commutator. (i) A separate d.c. source is required.
(ii) It is an inconvenient arrangement. The resistance of the shunt field winding is large so that
(v) Too small a number of poles means a large number current in the winding is small compared to the rated
of armature ampere-turns per pole and a high Note: D.C generators are rarely separately excited. But armature current of the machine. To produce the
value of armature reaction, which requires a longer practically all a.c. generators are separately excited. necessary e.m.f. the winding consist of many turns. The
air-gap. resistance of the series field winding is made as low as
19. what are the factors that affect the voltage build- possible so that voltage drop across the winding is
16. What are the disadvantages of using a large up of a d.c. shunt generator? minimum. To produce the same flux at rated conditions,
number of poles in a d.c. machine? the turns of a series winding are fewer than those of a
The voltage of a shunt generator may fail to build up for shunt winding since the series winding carries the rated
The disadvantages of a large number of poles in a d.c. one or more of the following reasons: current of the machine.
machine are : (i) The field connections are incorrect.
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FRANCISCAN-REVIEW PROGRAM ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – DC GENERATOR SHORT QUESTIONS
24. What is the necessity of a compound generator? resistance than copper. Of the pure metals, only
The name plate of a d.c generator generally indicates: silver
In practice, power circuits require a constant voltage, (i) output in kW (ii) output voltage has a lower resistivity.
especially lighting circuits. Shunt and series generators (iii) speed (iv) permissible temperature rise (ii) By using a low-cost magnetic material with a higher
cannot be used in such situations. As the load current of permeability than present magnetic material.
a generator increases, its terminal voltages falls. In the 28. Can a d.c. machine be operated under conditions
series generator, on the other hand , an increase in the different from those on the name plate? 32. How will you show that the same power output, a
load current is accompanied by rise in the terminal low-speed machine is always bigger than a high-
voltage. The nameplate values of a generator imply that the speed machine?
machine will perform satisfactorily during a long
In a compound generator, both series and shunt machine life if operated under the limits and conditions Suppose we have a 100 kW, 250 V, 2000 rpm
windings are placed on each field pole. The series specified on the nameplate. It must not be inferred that generator.
winding is so connected that flux produced by it aids the the machine cannot be operated under conditions Now, it is desired to build another generator having the
flux by shunt winding. The generator so connected is different from those on the nameplate. However, same power and voltage, but running at half the speed.
said to be commutatively-compounded. As the load operation that exceeds any of the nameplate ratings
current increases, the flux produced by the series may result in premature failure of the machine. To generate the same voltage at half the speed, we
winding compensates for the loss of flux due to either have to double the number of conductors on the
armature reaction. Consequently, the terminal voltage armature, or double the flux from the poles.
of the generator remains constant. 29. What happens if a d.c. machine is operated at a Consequently, we must either increase the size of the
speed below the rated speed. armature or increase the size of the poles. In practice,
25. Why do we use over-compounded generators in we increase both. It follows, therefore, that for a given
power stations? If a d.c. machine is operated at a speed below the rated power output, a low-speed machine is always bigger
value, the machine may be overheated due to : than a high-speed machine. This is true for the both d.c.
In power stations, there is a considerable distance (i) increased field current necessary to produce rated and a.c. machines.
between the generator and the load. We have to voltage.
compensate not only for armature reaction and the (ii) decrease in fanning action because of decrease in
armature voltage drop, but also for IR drop in the line speed. 33. What are two main requirements to be met while
between the generator and the load. In such situations, connecting shunt generators in parallel?
we place a few additional turns on the series winding of 30. How does higher permeability of magnetic
the commulatively compounded generator so that the material The following two main requirements are to be met
terminal voltage increases as the load current rises. of a d.c. machine affect its performance? while connecting shut generators in parallel :
Such a generator is called over-compounded generator
and compensates for the voltage drop in the line to If the permeability of the magnetic material is large, a (i) The positive terminals of all the machines must be
maintain constant voltage at the load terminals. high value of flux density can be established. A higher connected to the positive bus-bar and the negative
flux terminals must be connected to the negative bus-
26. How does sudden changes of load in a d.c. density will allow less armature coil turns for the same bar.
machine cause “flash over” ? performance. This would result in lower winding
resistance (ii) The terminal voltages of the machines being
As the load on a generator changes suddenly, the and at the same time less coil inductance. Both results paralleled must be the same.
armature reaction causes severe distortion of flux in the are
air-gap. This causes irregular voltage distribution highly beneficial in reducing losses and improving 34. How will you disconnect one of the two shunt
around commutation. generators operating in parallel?
the commutator. The high value of voltage between
segments over a portion of the commutator may cause 31. How can you improve the design of a d.c. In order to disconnect one of the two shunt generators
flash-over, particularly in high voltages machines where machine? operating in parallel, the following procedure is adopted
the average voltage per segment is necessarily high.
The design of a d.c. machine can be improved by one of (i) The load of the generator to be disconnected is
27. What does the name plate of a d.c. generator the following two ways : shifted over to the other by gradually reducing its
generally indicate? (i) By using a low-cost winding material with less field current and increasing the field current of the
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FRANCISCAN-REVIEW PROGRAM ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – DC GENERATOR SHORT QUESTIONS
other generator.
It is wasteful and difficult to measure the input and
(ii) When the current output of the machine to be output of a d.c. generator by direct loading, especially in
disconnected is reduced almost to zero, the main larger sizes. In practice, losses of the generator are
switch is opened. measured and efficiency found from the following
relation
35. In a power station, we have several shunt
generators in parallel instead of a single large output output
Efficiency = 
shunt generator. Why? input output  losses

It is generally more desirable in a generating station to

have several small generators that may be paralleled
than to have one large generator to supply all the load.
This is due to the following reasons :
(i) The load supplied by a generating station is usually
variable. As machines operate at greatest efficiency
at or near full-load it is possible with several
machines to keep each machine either fully loaded
or shut down entirely.
(ii) A generator that breaks down may be removed
from the circuit for repairs without interrupting the
power supply.

(iii) Generators may be added to the system as the

power demand increases.

36. Which losses occur in a d.c. generator?

The losses of a d.c. generator consist of (i) copper

losses
in the electric circuit (ii) mechanical losses due to the
rotation of the machine.

Copper Losses :
A. Armature copper loss ( Ia2 Ra )
B. Field losses
(i) shunt field loss (ii) series field loss
(iii) interpole loss

Mechanical losses :

A. Iron losses
(i) eddy current loss (ii) hysteresis loss

B. Friction losses

37. Why is the efficiency of a d.c. machine not

determined by direct loading?
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FRANCISCAN-REVIEW PROGRAM ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING – DC GENERATOR SHORT QUESTIONS

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