Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

1.0 AC Windings
Armature winding is a very important element of a machine as it directly takes part in the
conversion of energy from one form in to another.
Important requirements which a winding must meet:

Must be designed with the most advantageous utilisation of the material in respect to
weight and efficiency.
Should provide the necessary mechanical, electrical and thermal strength of the
machine to ensure the usual service life.
For D.C. machine proper current collection at the commutator must be ensured.

Winding Terminologies
Conductor: The part of the wire, which is under the influence of the magnetic field and
responsible for the induced e.m.f. is called active length of the conductor. The conductors are
placed in the armature slots.
Turn: A conductor in a one slot when connected to a conductor in another slot forms a turn.
So two conductors constitute a turn.
Coil: For simplicity the number of turns are grouped together to form a coil. A coil may
consist of a single turn coil or it may consist of many turns.

Figure 1.1: Single turn coil

Figure 1.2: Multi-turn coil

Figure 1.3: Conventional

representation of single turn coil

Figure 1.4: Conventional representation of

multi-turn coil
1

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Fields and armature windings are the essential features of electric machines. The field
windings are simple arrangements with concentrated coils (i.e. coils in which all the turns
have the same magnetic axis). Armature windings on the other hand comprise a set of coils
(single or multi-turn) embedded in the slots, uniformly spaced around the armature periphery.
The emfs are induced in the armature coils due to relative motion between them and B-wave
in the air gap established by the field windings.

Armature winding is made up of a group of conductors connected in different types of

series parallel combinations.
In DC winding, conductors are connected together to form a closed loop/ series of
loops.
But AC winding may be closed (delta) or open (star).

Definitions
a) Pole-pitch:
Distance between the centres of two adjacent poles. It is slots per pole or the
number of coil sides per pole.
Pole pitch =
=
In terms of electrical degrees a complete pole pitch is regarded as 1800.
b) Slots per pole per phase (spp)
To divide the slots around the armature periphery into different phase groups, slots
per pole per phase is used. If spp=3, then one phase group consists of three slots. If
spp is an integer, then the winding is referred to as integral slot winding and if spp is a
fractional number, then it is a fractional slot winding.
c) Coil Pitch/ coil span
Coil pitch is the distance between two active sides of a coil in terms of slots. The pitch
of a coil can also be expressed in terms of its angular span.

Figure 1.5: Coil pitch and pole pitch of a winding

2

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

If the coil pitch is equal the pole pitch, the winding is said to be full pitched, and if the coil
pitch is less than the pole pitch, then it is called short (chorded) pitched winding.

Figure 1.6: Full pitched and short (chorded) pitched windings

d) Slot Angle ()
The phase difference contributed by one slot in electrical degrees is called slot angle.

Example 1.1:
Consider a two pole 18 slot armature of an alternator. Calculate the pole pitch and slot angle.

AC Machine Windings
Basically the AC machine winding and the DC machine winding are identical. But in AC
winding commutator and its connections are not required. AC winding is designed to give a
sinusoidal emf as near as possible. AC windings can be single phase or poly phase. In a three
phase winding, there are three identical separate windings displaced 1200 from each other.

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Three phase windings are wound for a particular number of poles, depending upon the speed
requirement.
Classification of AC Windings
AC Windings
Single Phase
Windings

Three Phase
Windings

Single Layer
Mush
Type

Double Layer

Concentric
Type

Lap
Winding

Wave
Winding
Fractional
slot

Intrigal
slot
Full chorded

Short
chorded

Figure 1.7: Classification of AC windings

Single Layer and Double Layer Windings
I.

Single Layer

If a slot consists of only one coil side, winding is said to be single layer.

Figure 1.8: Single layer windings

II.

Double Layer

In a double layer winding, one coil side of a coil occupies the upper position in one
slot and the second coil side occupies the lower position in a slot displaced from the first coil
side by the coil span. In a double layer winding each slot is occupied by two coil sides, one
placed on top of each other, referred to as the top and bottom coil sides.
4

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Figure 1.9: Single layer windings

A lot of space is wasted in single layer; hence in practise double layer is preferred.
Full Pitched and Short Pitched Windings
If coil side in one slot is connected to a coil side in another slot which is one pole pitch
distance away from the first slot, then the winding is said to be full pitch winding and the coil
is called full pitched coil.
If coils are used in such a way that the coil span is slightly less than the pole pitch, then the
coils are called short pitched or fractional pitched coils.
Advantages of short pitched coils

Inactive length of the winding is less. So less copper is required. Hence

economical.
Short pitching eliminates high frequency harmonics which distort the
sinusoidal nature of e.m.f. So waveform of the induced e.m.f is more
sinusoidal due to short pitching.
As high frequency harmonics get eliminated eddy current and hysteresis losses
also get minimized.

Concentrated and Distributed Windings

In concentrated winding all conductors or coils belonging to a phase are placed in one slot
under every pole.
In distributed type of winding all the coils belonging to a phase are well distributed over all
the slots per phase under each pole. Distributed winding makes the waveform of the induced
e.m.f. more sinusoidal.
In concentrated windings heat dissipation is poor due to a large number of conductors per
slot.
Note: In practice double layer short pitched distributed type of armature winding is
preferred.

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Depending upon the method of connecting coils together, the windings are classified in to
i.
ii.

Lap Winding
Wave Winding

Single Layer Windings

Example 1.2
Consider a 2 pole, 3-phase single layer winding having 6 slots. Design and draw a winding
diagram for this machine.

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Example 1.3:
Design and draw a developed winding diagram of a single layer lap winding for a 3 phase, 4
poles, and 24 slots machine. Assume that the winding is full pitched.

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Double layer Fully Pitched Winding

Example 1.4:
Design and draw a developed winding diagram of a double layer lap winding for a 3 phase, 4
poles, and 24 slots machine. Assume that the winding is full pitched.

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Double layer Short Pitched Winding

Example 1.5:
Design and draw a developed winding diagram of a double layer lap winding for a 3 phase, 4
poles, and 24 slots machine. Assume that the winding is short pitched by one slot.

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Winding Factors
Pitch Factor/ Coil Span Factor (Kc)
The angle by which coils are short pitched is called angle of short pitch denoted as .
angle by which the coils are short pitched

Figure 1.10: Single layer

windings

Due to short pitching, the two e.m.f.s in two coil sides no longer remains in-phase. The
resultant e.m.f. is the vector sum of two e.m.f. s in two coil sides which are separated by
angle . Hence net e.m.f. reduces as compared to full pitch coil.
Factor by which the induced e.m.f. gets reduced due to short pitching is called pitch factor or
coil span factor denoted by Kc.
It is defined as ratio of resultant e.m.f. when coli is short pitched to the resultant e.m.f. when
coil is full pitched.

Distribution Factor (

The factor by which there is a reduction in the e.m.f. due to distribution of coils is called
distribution factor and is denoted by .

10

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Where,
n - Slots per pole per phase
Slot angle
Proof:
Hint: When n is larger, which is usually so, then the curve ABCD will become part of a
circle of radius OA.

11

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Example 1.6:
Calculate the value of the distribution factor for a three phase winding of a four pole
alternator having 36 slots.

12

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Generated Voltages in AC Machines

Derivation of the induced e.m.f. for ac machines
Flux per pole, in Wb
P

Number of poles
Synchronous speed in r.p.m.

Frequency of induced e.m.f. in Hz

Total number of conductors

_ Conductors per phase connected in series

As the number of phases are 3 for three phase machine,

Consider a single conductor placed in a slot.

The average value of induced e.m.f. in a coil

For one revolution of a conductor,

per conductor

Total flux in one revolution

Time taken for one revolution

per conductor

But

per conductor

Volts

For simplicity a full pitch winding will be considered.

Resultant e.m.f. per turn will be twice the e.m.f. induced in a conductor.
e.m.f. per turn

13

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Let
be the total number of turns per phase connected in series. Assume a concentrated
winding. Then the induced e.m.f.s in all the turns will be in phase.

Induced e.m.f. is a sinusoidal waveform.

Form factor for a sinusoidal waveform,

Volts
But due to short pitched, distributed windings used in practise, this
factors
and .

will be reduced by

Generalized equation for e.m.f. in an alternator

Volts

M.M.F. Patterns of AC Windings

M.M.F. Space Wave of a Single Coil
Consider a single multi-turn coil carrying N turns which is full pitched and carries a current i.
Total ampere turns produced by the coil = Ni
Direction of the current is shown in Figure 1.11 and hence the direction of the flux lines can
be obtained by right hand thumb rule.
Due to the flux lines produced by the coil North and South poles are induced in the stator
periphery. The magnetic axis of the stator coil is North pole to South pole as shown in the
Figure.

14

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Figure 1.11: Single multi-turn coil producing Ni ampere-turns

Assumptions:

It is a cylindrical rotor machine.

Armature and rotor are made up of high permeability magnetic material. So the
reluctance of the rotor and the armature are low compared to the air gap. So if total
m.m.f. is Ni, then half the m.m.f. is required to create the flux from rotor to stator in
the air gap and half is required to create flux from stator to rotor in the air gap.

Figure 1.12: M.M.F. space wave of a single coil

15

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

It can be seen that the m.m.f. distribution is a rectangular waveform.

This waveform can be resolved into Fourier series which includes its fundamental
component and a series of odd harmonics.
The fundamental component of m.m.f. wave can be expressed as,

Where,
- Electrical angle measured from stator magnetic axis
M.M.F. Space Wave of one phase of distributed winding
Consider a 2 pole cylindrical rotor with,
m = slots/pole/phase = 5
n = slots/ pole= m*3
Distributed winding for phase a, occupying 5 slots per pole per phase is shown in the Figure.

Figure 1.13: One phase of a distributed double layer winding

= Turns in a coil =conductors/layer
= conductor current
Total slot m.m.f. = 2*(m.m.f./layer)
=2

16

Department of Electrical and Information

Faculty of Engineering
University of Ruhuna

EE6303 Electrical Machines and Drives

AC Windings

Figure 1.14: M.M.F. space wave of a one phase of distributed winding

17