Armature reaction

The current in the armature produces a flux.

So, the interaction between this flux and the main field
flux is called armature reaction.
The armature magnetic field has two effects:
(i) it demagnetizes or weakens the main flux
which leads to reduced generated voltage, and
(ii) it cross-magnetizes, which leads to the
sparking at the brushes, or distorts it.
When there is no load connected to the generator, the
current in the armature conductors is zero.
Under these conditions there is only one magnetic field
in the generator, and that field is produced by the main-
field poles of the generator.
The main field is
represented by an arrow,
which indicates the
direction of the magnetic
flux from the north pole to
south pole as shown in Fig.
6.1.

A load is now connected to the generator, and of course

current flow exists.
The current to the load is the current in the armature
conductors and is equal to the sum of the currents from
the parallel paths in the armature.
Consider Fig. 6.2, which allows the armature rotating in
the magnetic field and the resulting armature current
when a load is connected to the generator.
When the current flows through a conductor a magnetic
field is set up around the conductor as indicated in Fig.
6.2.

The flux from the conductors on

the left side of the armature and
the flux from the conductors on
the right side of the armature
cause a resultant flux in the
center of the armature that is
downward in direction.
 This resultant flux can be represented by an
arrow as indicated, noting that the arrow
passes through both top and bottom
brushes.
There are now two fluxes inside the generator, one
produced by the main field poles of the generator and
the other by the current in the armature conductors.
These two fluxes now combine to form a new resultant
flux as shown in Fig. 6.3.
This new resultant flux is
not in the same direction as
the original main field flux
but runs from the tip of one
of the poles, across the
armature, to the tip of the
other pole.
The armature conductors are now cutting this new
resultant flux that is not the same direction as the main
field flux which conductors were originally cutting.
The brushes are
supposed to be
located at the point
of minimum flux,
which of courses at
right angles to the
direction of the flux.

Since the brushes were at right angles to the main-field

flux, they certainly cannot be at right angles to the new
resultant flux.
With the brushes in their present location they
will be short-circuiting coils in which there is a
voltage induced, thereby producing sparking at
the brushes, undue brushes wear, and other
unfavorable conditions.
 Effect of Brush Shifting
If the brushes are no longer at the points of minimum
flux, or magnetic neutral, as the points of minimum flux
are known, it might appear to be a simple solution to
shift the brushes until they do fall on the magnetic
neutral, and then the brushes will once again be at the
points of minimum flux.
It has just been seen that the direction of resultant flux
depends upon both the flux from the main-field poles
and the flux produces by the current in the armature
conductors.
The flux from the main-field poles is fairly constant and
will remain constant even though the generator is
supplying current to a load.
 Effect of Brush Shifting
If the load current is small, the armature current will be
small and the flux produced by the armature conductors
will be small; hence the shift in the resultant flux will be
small as compared with the main-field flux.
The greater the current delivered by the generator, the
greater the current in the armature conductors, and
therefore the greater the flux produced by the armature
conductors, ending with greater shift in the direction of
the resultant flux.
Hence if the brushes are to be moved to a new neutral
position, the new position will depend upon the load.
With the load on a generator constantly varying, it
would be impossible to preset the position of the brushes
and expect satisfactory result.
 Fig. 6.4 shows a new position of brushes at the minimum
flux point.
Referring Fig. 6.4, it is seen by
Fleming’s right-hand rule that
the conductors under the
north pole carry current away
from the observer and the
conductors under the south
pole carry current toward the
observer.

The flux from these conductors is indicated on the

diagram, and of course the combined flux from all the
conductors is still in a direction from the top brush to the
bottom brush.
But the flux from the armature is not at right angles to
the flux from thee main-field poles.
The effects of the armature flux in the new position of
brushes is illustrated in Fig. 6.5.
It is seen from Fig. 6.5 that there have two components
of armature flux that are at right angles to each other.
One component is at right angles to the main field, and
because this component crosses the main-field flux, it is
known as cross-magnetizing component of the armature
flux.
The second component is
in the same plane as the
main-field flux.
The direction of this component is opposite to the
direction of the main-field flux, with the result that it
tends to reduce the effect of the main-field flux.
This component of the armature flux is known as the
demagnetizing component of the armature flux.
It now appears that the shifting of the brushes has not
improved the situation. In fact, it seems to have become
worse.
Before the brushes were
shifted, the armature flux
was at right angles to the
main-field flux and
therefore produced only a
cross-magnetizing field.
With the brushes shifted to the new position, there is
still a cross-magnetizing field, some what reduced in
magnitude, but in addition there is now a
demagnetizing field which tends to reduce the main-
field flux, resulting in a lower generated voltage.
This demagnetizing component was obtained only after
the brushes were shifted, and the brushes were shifted
because of the change in direction of the resultant flux,
which was due to the armature conductors carrying
current.
The application of some means to prevent the shift of
the resultant flux would eliminate the necessity of
shifting the brushes, and hence no demagnetizing field
would be produced.
 Demagnetizing and Cross-magnetizing Conductors
The exact conductors which produce these distorting and
demagnetizing effects are shown in Fig. 27.6 where the
brush axis has been given a forward lead of  so as to lie
along the new position of magnetic neutral axis (M. N. A).
All conductors lying with in the angles AOC=BOD=2 at
the top and bottom of the armature, are carrying current
in such a direction as to send the flux through the
armature from right to left.
It is these conductors
which act in direct
opposition to the main-field
and are hence called the
demagnetizing armature
conductors.
Now consider the remaining armature conductors lying
between angles AOD and COB as shown in Fig. 27.7.
These conductors carry current in such a direction as to
produce a combined flux pointing at right angles to the
main-field flux.
This results in distortion of the main field.
Hence, these conductors are known as cross-magnetizing
conductors and constitute distorting ampere conductors.
 Without shifting the brush the armature effect can be
minimized by using the following methods:
(a) High-Reluctance Pole Tips
(b) Horizontal Slots in Main-Field Pole
(c) Compensating Windings

High-Reluctance Pole Tips

It can be seen that the flux from the current in the
armature conductors causes the main-field flux to shift
from the center of the main-field poles to the tips of the
poles.
 Applying the knowledge that most of the flux flows the
path of least reluctance, poles are designed where the
reluctance at the ends of the poles is greater than the
reluctance at the center.
The variation of reluctance is obtained by constructing the
poles that the greater the distance from the center of the
pole, the greater the air gap between the pole and the
armature. The greater the air gap, the greater the
reluctance.
With no current in the
armature conductors, the flux
will be concentrated at the
center of the pole, and when
current flows in the armature
conductors, the flux will tend
to shift the end of the pole.
 The air gap will offer an
increase in reluctance to the
flux as it moves from the
center of the pole, thereby
tending to keep the flux in
the same original position.

The shape of this pole is shown in Fig. 6.6.

The reluctance of the center of pole can be reduced by

using lamination.
 Horizontal Slots in Main-Field Pole
The high reluctance pole-tip construction reduced the
effects of armature reaction by not allowing the flux to
shift.
The shift in the resultant flux was caused by the
armature flux.
If the armature flux could be reduced to a negligible
value, then its cross-magnetizing effect upon the main-
field flux would be small and the brushes would not have
to be shifted.
Fig. 6.8 shows that part of
the path of the magnetic
flux is through the field
poles.
By cutting horizontal slots in the poles, several air
gaps are introduced in the path of the flux.
These slots increase the reluctance to the
armature flux while having very little effect on
the main-field flux.
The armature is materially reduced, and the
brushes need not be shifted.
 Compensating Windings
The compensating windings are placed in the pole faces of
the filed pole can run parallel to the armature conductors.
A connection is made from one of the brushes to one end
of this winding, so that current from armature must first
pass through the winding before going to the load.
The direction of current through the winding is opposite
to that of the current in the armature conductors under
that pole.

The location of the compensating winding

and of the connection to the winding is
shown in Fig. 27.8.
Figure 27.8 indicates that the current in
the armature conductors located under
the north pole carry current away from
the observer; therefore the direction of
current flowing in that part of the
compensating winding situated in the
north pole is toward the observer.
Since the current in the compensating winding is opposite
in direction to the current in the armature conductors,
the flux produced by the current in the compensating
winding will be opposite in direction to the armature flux.
The compensating flux, being opposite in direction to the
armature flux, tends to cancel the armature flux.
If the armature current increase, the compensating
current increases, so that the armature flux is canceled
for al load conditions.