DC Generators (Part Two)

Construction Features of DC Generators

Generators used on aircraft may differ somewhat in design, since various manufacturers make them. All, however, are of the same general construction and operate similarly. The major parts, or assemblies, of a DC generator are a field frame (or yoke), a rotating armature, and a brush assembly. The parts of a typical aircraft generator are shown in Figure 12-277.

Field Frame

The field frame is also called the yoke, which is the foundation or frame for the generator. The frame has two functions: It completes the magnetic circuit between the poles and acts as a mechanical support for the other parts of the generator. In Figure 12-278A, the frame for a two-pole generator is shown in a cross-sectional view. A four-pole generator frame is shown in Figure 12-278B.

In small generators, the frame is made of one piece of iron, but in larger generators, it is usually made up of two parts bolted together. The frame has high magnetic properties and, together with the pole pieces, forms the major part of the magnetic circuit. The field poles are bolted to the inside of the frame and form a core on which the field coil windings are mounted. [Figure 12-278]

The poles are usually laminated to reduce eddy current losses and serve the same purpose as the iron core of an electromagnet; that is, they concentrate the lines of force produced by the field coils. The entire frame, including field poles, is made from high-quality magnetic iron or sheet steel.

A practical DC generator uses electromagnets instead of permanent magnets. To produce a magnetic field of the necessary strength with permanent magnets would greatly increase the physical size of the generator.

The field coils are made up of many turns of insulated wire and are usually wound on a form that fits over the iron core of the pole to which it is securely fastened. [Figure 12-279] The exciting current, which is used to produce the magnetic field and which flows through the field coils, is obtained from an external source or from the generated DC of the machine. No electrical connection exists between the windings of the field coils and the pole pieces.

Most field coils are connected so that the poles show alternate polarity. Since there is always one north pole for each south pole, there must always be an even number of poles in any generator.

Note that the pole pieces in Figure 12-278 project from the frame. Because air offers a great amount of reluctance to the magnetic field, this design reduces the length of the air gap between the poles and the rotating armature and increases the efficiency of the generator. When the pole pieces are made to project they are called salient poles. [Figure 12-278]

Armature

The armature assembly of a generator consists of many armature coils wound on an iron core, a commutator, and associated mechanical parts. These additional loops of wire are actually called windings and are evenly spaced around the armature so that the distance between each winding is the same. Mounted on a shaft, it rotates through the magnetic field produced by the field coils. The core of the armature acts as an iron conductor in the magnetic field and, for this reason, is laminated to prevent the circulation of eddy currents.

Gramme-Ring Armature

There are two general kinds of armatures: the ring and the drum. Figure 12-280 shows a ring-type armature made up of an iron core, an eight-section winding, and an eight-segment commutator.

The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the windings, located on the inner side of the iron ring, cut few lines of flux. As a result, they have very little voltage induced in them. For this reason, the Gramme ring armature is not widely used.

Drum-Type Armature

A drum-type armature is shown in Figure 12-281. The armature core is in the shape of a drum and has slots cut into it where the armature windings are placed. The advantage is that each winding completely surrounds the core so that the entire length of the conductor cuts through the magnetic flux. The total induced voltage in this arrangement is far greater than that of the Gramme ring-type armature.

Drum-type armatures are usually constructed in one of two methods: lap winding and the wave winding. Each method having its own advantage. Lap windings are used in generators that are designed for high current. The windings are connected in parallel paths and for this reason require several brushes. The wave winding is used in generators that are designed for high voltage outputs. The two ends of each coil are connected to commutator segments separated by the distance between poles. This results in a series arrangement of the coils and is additive of all the induced voltages.

Commutators

Figure 12-282 shows a cross-sectional view of a typical commutator.

The commutator is located at the end of an armature and consists of wedge shaped segments of hard drawn copper, insulated from each other by thin sheets of mica. The segments are held in place by steel V-rings or clamping flanges fitted with bolts. Rings of mica insulate the segments from the flanges. The raised portion of each segment is called a riser, and the leads from the armature coils are soldered to the risers. When the segments have no risers, the leads are soldered to short slits in the ends of the segments.

The brushes ride on the surface of the commutator, forming the electrical contact between the armature coils and the external circuit. A flexible, braided copper conductor, commonly called a pigtail, connects each brush to the external circuit. The brushes, usually made of high-grade carbon and held in place by brush holders insulated from the frame, are free to slide up and down in their holders in order to follow any irregularities in the surface of the commutator. The brushes are usually adjustable so that the pressure of the brushes on the commutator can be varied and the position of the brushes with respect to the segments can be adjusted.

The constant making and breaking of connections to the coils in which a voltage is being induced necessitates the use of material for brushes, which has a definite contact resistance. Also, this material must be such that the friction between the commutator and the brush is low, to prevent excessive wear. For these reasons, the material commonly used for brushes is high-grade carbon. The carbon must be soft enough to prevent undue wear of the commutator and yet hard enough to provide reasonable brush life. Since the contact resistance of carbon is fairly high, the brush must be quite large to provide a large area of contact. The commutator surface is highly polished to reduce friction as much as possible. Oil or grease must never be used on a commutator, and extreme care must be used when cleaning it to avoid marring or scratching the surface.

Armature Reaction

Current flowing through the armature sets up electromagnetic fields in the windings. These new fields tend to distort or bend the magnetic flux between the poles of the generator from a straight-line path. Since armature current increases with load, the distortion becomes greater with an increase in load. This distortion of the magnetic field is called armature reaction. [Figure 12-283]

Armature windings of a generator are spaced so that, during rotation of the armature, there are certain positions when the brushes contact two adjacent segments, thereby shorting the armature windings to these segments. When the magnetic field is not distorted, there is usually no voltage being induced in the shorted windings, and therefore no harmful results occur from the shorting of the windings. However, when the field is distorted, a voltage is induced in these shorted windings, and sparking takes place between the brushes and the commutator segments. Consequently, the commutator becomes pitted, the wear on the brushes becomes excessive, and the output of the generator is reduced. To correct this condition, the brushes are set so that the plane of the coils, which are shorted by the brushes, is perpendicular to the distorted magnetic field, which is accomplished by moving the brushes forward in the direction of rotation. This operation is called shifting the brushes to the neutral plane or plane of commutation. The neutral plane is the position where the plane of the two opposite coils is perpendicular to the magnetic field in the generator. On a few generators, the brushes can be shifted manually ahead of the normal neutral plane to the neutral plane caused by field distortion. On nonadjustable brush generators, the manufacturer sets the brushes for minimum sparking.

Compensating windings or interpoles may be used to counteract some of the effects of field distortion, since shifting the brushes is inconvenient and unsatisfactory, especially when the speed and load of the generator are changing constantly.

Compensating Windings

The compensating windings consist of a series of coils embedded in slots in the pole faces. These coils are also connected in series with the armature. Consequently, this series connection with the armature produces a magnetic field in the compensating windings that varies directly with the armature current. The compensating windings are wound in such a manner that the magnetic field produced by them counteracts the magnetic field produced by the armature. As a result, the neutral plane remains stationary any magnitude of armature current. With this design, once the brushes are set correctly, they do not need to be moved again. Figure 12-284A illustrates how the windings are set into the pole faces.

Interpoles

An interpole is a pole placed between the main poles of a generator. An example of interpole placement is shown in Figure 12-284B. This is a simple two-pole generator with two interpoles.

An interpole has the same polarity as the next main pole in the direction of rotation. The magnetic flux produced by an interpole causes the current in the armature to change direction as an armature winding passes under it. This cancels the electromagnetic fields about the armature windings. The magnetic strength of the interpoles varies with the load on the generator; and since field distortion varies with the load, the magnetic field of the interpoles counteracts the effects of the field set up around the armature windings and minimizes field distortion. Thus, the interpole tends to keep the neutral plane in the same position for all loads on the generator; therefore, field distortion is reduced by the interpoles, and the efficiency, output, and service life of the brushes are improved.

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