DC Machines

By
Dr. Fathy M. M. Bassiouny
 Like any other electrical rotating machine, a dc machine has two main parts.Stator
and rotor
 Stator
• The stator is the stationary member and consists of the field system. The
stator of a dc machine provides the mechanical support for the
machine and consists of the yoke and the poles (or field poles).
• The pole cores are usually made of a number of steel sheets stacked and
riveted together.
• The pole cores are then bolted to a hollow cylindrical stator frame called
the yoke.
• The yoke serves the basic function of providing a highly permeable path
for the magnetic flux.
• The yoke may be made of cast steel or fabricated rolled steel.
• The field coils when excited by dc current produce the magnetic field.
• For a given machine the strength of the magnetic field depends upon the
field current
 Rotor.
The rotor of a dc machine is also called the armature. The
rotor is the rotating member which houses the armature
winding.
• The armature is a laminated cylinder and is mounted on a
shaft. The armature laminations insulated from one
another.
• The armature is laminated to reduce the eddy-current loss
in the core.
• Slots are stamped on the periphery of the armature
laminations.
• The armature slots house the armature windings.
• The stator core, the yoke and the poles may not be
laminated as they encounter dc fl ux.

Figure Fig. 1 shows the simplified cross-sectional view of

such a dc machine. The armature core is separated from
the field poles by a small air-gap which allows the
the construction and working of an actual dc machine is illustrated in the following Fig.
which consists of the following essential parts :

1. Magnetic Frame or Yoke

2. Pole-Cores and Pole-Shoes
3. Pole Coils or Field Coils
4. Armature Core
5. Armature Windings or Conductors
6. Commutator
7. Brushes and Bearings

Pole Cores and Pole Shoes

The field magnets consist of pole cores and pole shoes. The
pole shoes serve two purposes
(i) they spread out the flux in the air gap and also, being of larger cross-
section, reduce the reluctance of the magnetic path
(ii) they support the exciting coils (or field coils) as shown
 ARMATURE WINDING
The armature winding is a vital part of a dc machine. This is where emf is induced and force is developed that
results in the turning of the rotor i.e. the part in which the conversion of power takes place. The design of the
armature winding is more critical than the design of other parts of a dc machine. The armature winding is housed
in slots made on the armature surface. Formed coils are placed on slots. The ends of the coils are joined with
commutator segments.
Coils for the armature winding are made from insulated copper conductors. Hard-drawn annealed higher
conductivity copper is used.
Insulating materials used should have the following characteristics:
(i) high dielectric strength at increased temperature,
(ii) good thermal conductivity to transfer heat generated due to conductor I2 R loss to the surrounding structure
and coolant,
(iii) ease of working having sufficient mechanical strength, and
(iv) resistance to failure by moisture, vibration, abrasion and bending
Available insulating materials are classified according to their thermal limits as shown in the following table
 Lap Winding
In a lap winding, the finishing end of one coil is connected via the commutator segment to the starting end of
the adjacent coil situated under the same pole. In this way all the coils are connected. The winding is known as
lap winding because the sides of successive coils overlap each other

The number of parallel paths of

the armature winding across the
output terminals is four (equal-to
the number of poles)
 Wave Winding
In a wave winding a coil-side under one pole is connected to a second coil-side which occupies approximately
the same position under the next pole through back connection. The second coil-side is then connected forward
to another coil-side under the next pole (in the case of lap winding the second coil is connected back through
the commutator segment to a coil-side under the original pole).

The number of parallel paths of

the armature winding across the
output terminals is two
 Commutator
The function of the commutator is to facilitate collection of current from the armature
conductors i.e. it rectified or converts the alternating current induced in the armature
conductors into unidirectional current in the external load circuit.
The commutator is made up of a number of
commutator segments. Coil-ends are
connected to each commutator segment. The
segments of the commutator are made of
hard-drawn copper and are separated by thin
sheets of mica
Coils
The armature conductors are connected to form
coils. The basic component of all types of armature
windings is the armature coil. Fig. (i) shows a
single-turn coil. It has two conductors or coil sides
connected at the back of the armature. Fig. (ii)
shows a 4-turn coil which has 8 conductors or coil
sides.
 FACTORS DETERMINING INDUCED EMF
Whether a dc machine is working as a generator or a motor, its armature rotates in the
magnetic field which exists in the air-gap. The conductors of the armature winding cut the
magnetic flux and therefore the emf is induced in them. In the case of a generator this emf is
responsible for supplying power to the load. In the case of a motor this emf opposes the
applied voltage and thereby limits the current drawn by the armature conductors.
The expression for induced emf is the same for a particular dc machine irrespective of its mode of
operation.

Let f = flux/pole in Wb
Z = total number of armature conductors
P = number of poles
A = number of parallel paths A = 2 for wave winding and A = P for lap
winding
N = speed of armature in r.p.m.
E= e.m.f. of the generator = e.m.f./parallel path
Armature Resistance (Ra)
The resistance offered by the armature circuit is known as armature resistance (Ra) and includes:
(i) resistance of armature winding
(ii) resistance of brushes
The armature resistance depends upon the construction of machine.

Equivalent circuit of dc Machine

Under the steady state operation of the dc
machine
• the armature is represente by the winding
resistance and the induced emf
• The field is represented by its winding
resistance
Example
A 6-pole, wave connected armature has 250 conductors and runs at 1200
rpm. The emf generated on open-circuit is 600 V. Calculate the useful flux per
pole.
 Total Loss in a D.C. Machines
The various losses occurring in a dc machine can be sub-divided as follows :
(a) Copper Losses
(i) Armature copper loss = Ia2Ra where Ra = resistance of armature and interpoles and series field winding
etc. This loss is about 30 to 40% of full-load losses.

(ii) Field copper loss. In the case of shunt generators, it is practically constant and Ish 2 Rf (or VIsh). In the case
of series generator, it is = Ise2Rse where Rse is resistance of the series field winding. This loss is about 20 to
30% of F.L. losses.
(iii) The loss due to brush contact, It is usually included in the armature copper loss.
(b) Magnetic Losses (also known as iron or core losses),
(i) hysteresis loss, Ph ∝ Bmax1.6 f and (ii) eddy current loss, Pe ∝ Bmax2x f 2 These losses are practically constant
for shunt and compound-wound generators, because in their case, field current is approximately
constant.
Both these losses total up to about 20 to 30% of F.L. losses.
(c) Mechanical Losses. These consist of :
(i) friction loss at bearings and commutator.
(ii) air-friction or windage loss of rotating armature.
These are about 10 to 20% of F.L. Losses.
 DC MOTORS
Construction
Constructionally, there is no basic difference between a d.c. generator and a d.c. motor. In fact, the same d.c.
machine can be used interchangeably as a generator or as a motor.

Motor Principle
An Electric motor is a machine which converts electric
energy into mechanical energy. Its action is based on the
principle that when a current-carrying conductor is placed in
a magnetic field, it experiences a

mechanical force whose direction is given by Right-hand Rule and whose magnitude is given by
Newton.
It will be seen that each conductor experiences a force F which tends to rotate the armature in anticlockwise
direction. These forces collectively produce a driving torque which sets the armature rotation.
 The Back E.M.F & IT’s Significance
emf

As soon as the armature starts rotating, dynamically i

(or motionally) induced e.m.f. is produced in the
armature conductors. The direction of this induced
e.m.f. as found by Fleming’s Right-hand Rule, is
outwards i.e., in

direct opposition to the applied voltage (see Fig.). This is why it is known as back e.m.f. Eb or counter e.m.f.
Its value is the same as for the motionally induced e.m.f. in the generator
i.e. Eb = (ΦZN) × (P/60A) volts or 𝐸𝑏 = 𝑘𝜑𝜔
Developed power and torque
The developed power of a dc machine is given by

and its developed torque is found from

OR

Thus, the torque produced in the machine is the product of the flux in the machine and the current in the
machine, times some quantity representing the mechanical construction of the machine (the percentage
of the rotor covered by pole faces). In general, the torque in any real machine will depend on the same
three factors:
1. The flux in the machine
2. The current in the machine
3. A constant representing the construction of the machine
 Equivalent Circuit and Voltage Equation
The equivalent circuit of a dc motor is shown in Figure . In this figure, the armature circuit is represented
by an ideal voltage source Eb and a resistor Ra.
The field coils, which produce the magnetic flux in the generator, are represented by inductor Lf
and resistor Rf.

For separately excited motors

V = 𝐸𝑏 + 𝐼𝑎 𝑅𝑎 + Voltage drop on brushes & armature reaction

Types of DC Motors
Like dc generators, there are five major types of
dc motors in general use
1. The separately excited dc motor
2. The shunt dc motor
3. The permanent-magnet dc motor
The shunt dc motor
4. The series dc motor
5. The compounded dc motor

. The series dc motor

The compounded dc motor
 POWER FLOW AND EFFICIENCY
Consider the equivalent-circuit diagram of the self-excited compound machine shown in Figure

The motor efficiency is given by

Thus, the percent is given as

 Characteristics of Shunt Motors
Assuming Φ to be practically constant (though at heavy loads, φ
decreases somewhat due to increased armature reaction)

𝐼𝐼 = 𝐼𝑓 +𝐼𝑎
And 𝑉𝑡 = 𝐸 + 𝐼𝑎 𝑅𝑎

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝜑 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 then

𝑉𝑡 − 𝐼𝑎 𝑅𝑎 𝑉𝑡 𝑅𝑎
𝜔= 𝜔= − T
𝑇 = 𝑘𝜑𝐼𝑎 𝑘𝜑 𝑘𝜑 𝑘𝜑2
𝑇 = 𝑘 ′ 𝐼𝑎 𝜔 = C − b𝐼𝑎 𝜔 = C − b𝑇
 Characteristics of Series Motors
For series motor φ 𝛼 𝐼𝑎 because 𝐼𝑎 is equal to the field
current
𝐼𝑎 = 𝐼𝑠𝑒 = 𝐼𝐿
And 𝑉𝑡 = 𝐸 + 𝐼𝑎 (𝑅𝑎 + 𝑅𝑠𝑒 )
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝜑 𝛼 𝐼𝑎 then

For small Ia ( no saturation)

𝑇 = 𝑘𝜑𝐼𝑎 = 𝑘 ′ 𝐼𝑎2 𝑉𝑡 − 𝐼𝑎 𝑅𝑎 𝑉𝑡 𝑅𝑎
𝜔= 𝜔= − 2 T
𝑘𝜑 𝑘𝜑 𝑘𝜑
For large Ia ( saturation
𝐸 𝜑 𝛼 𝐼𝑎 and T 𝛼 𝐼𝑎2
𝑇= 𝑘 ′ 𝐼𝑎 𝜔α
𝑘𝜑
Example
A d.c. shunt machine generates 250-V on open circuit at
1000 r.p.m. Effective armature resistance is 0.5 Ω, field
resistance is 250 Ω, input to machine running as a
motor on no load is 4 A at 250 V. Calculate speed of
machine as a motor taking 40 A at 250 V. Armature
reaction weakens field by 4%.

Solution.
Consider the case when the machine runs as a motor on no-load.
If = 250/250 = 1 A; Hence, Ia0 = 4 − 1 = 3A; Eb0 = 250 − 0.5 × 3 = 248.5 V
It is given that when armature runs at 1000 r.p.m., it generates 250 V. When it generates 248.5
V,
it must be running at a speed = 1000 × 248.5/250 = 994 r.p.m.
Hence, N0 = 994 r.p.m.
When Loaded
Ia = 40 − 1 = 39 A; Eb = 250 − 39 × 0.5 = 230.5 V Also, Φ0/Φ = 1/0.96
Example
A 230-V d.c. shunt motor has an armature resistance of 0.5
Ω and field resistance of 115 Ω. At no load, the speed is
1,200 r.p.m. and the armature current 2.5 A. On
application of rated load, the speed drops to 1,120 r.p.m.
Determine the line current and power input when the
motor delivers rated load
 Example
A 4-pole, 240 V, wave connected shunt motor gives 11.19 kW when running at 1000 r.p.m. and drawing
armature and field currents of 50 A and 1.0 A respectively. It has 540 conductors. Its resistance is 0.1 Ω.
Assuming a drop of 1 volt per brush, find
(a) total torque (b) useful torque (c) useful flux / pole (d) rotational losses and (e) efficiency.

Solution. Eb = V − Ia Ra − brush drop = 240 − (50 × 0.1) − 2 = 233 V

Also Ia = 50 A