AC GENERATORS

Cont’n……..
 What Is A 3-Phase Generator?
• There are two basic types of 3-phase generators
(alternating-current generators): (1) the revolving-
armature type (Figure 1) and (2) the revolving-field
type (Figure 2).  The 3-phase revolving-armature
generator rotates the three single-phase windings,
located 120 mechanical degrees apart on the rotor
assembly, around the inside of a fixed or stationary
electromagnetic field. 
What Is A 3-Phase Generator?

• Because multiple slip-ring/brush assemblies are

required to transfer the 3-phase AC power from
the three single-phase windings on the rotating
member, this type is used the least. 
Figure 1.  The 3-phase revolving-armature generator
The 3-phase revolving-field generator is constructed by placing the three sets of single-phase
windings 120 mechanical degrees apart on a metal core around the inside of a metal housing
that supports the core (the stator assembly).
Figure 2.  The 3-phase revolving-field generator
As shown in Figure 2, an electromagnet placed in the center of the windings is rotated
around the inside of the stator assembly of the three sets of single-phase windings.  As the
field of the electromagnet cuts across the windings, a voltage is induced into the windings.
• An electromagnet is a device consisting of a coil of
wire wrapped around a ferromagnetic core. When
current flows in the coil of wire, an electromagnetic
field is induced in the core.  It is a temporary magnet
whose magnetic properties are produced from the
application of an electrical current.
• An electromagnetic field is produced by passing
electrical current through the windings of a
generator, a motor, a reactor, a solenoid, or a
transformer.
• The electromagnet in an actual 3-phase AC generator
must be excited with a source of direct current to
produce the electromagnetic field needed — the
strength or intensity of the electromagnetic field is
controlled by the magnitude of the field-excitation
current. 
• In Figure 2, the DC excitation voltage is applied to the
rotor assembly electromagnet through the two slip-
ring — brush assemblies on the rotor shaft of the non-
drive end of the generator.
Rotational Synchronous Speed

• The illustration in Figure 3 shows the basic

concept of a rotating-field 3-phase AC generator
and why the three single-phase sine waveforms
are also electrically 120 degrees apart.
Figure 3.  Generation of three 2-wire, single-phase AC, sine
waveform electrical supplies
• When the North Pole of the rotor assembly’s
electromagnetic field is sweeping one pole
piece, the South Pole is sweeping the opposite
pole piece in the same direction. 
• The polarity of the rotating iron field poles of the
rotor-winding and the direction of wrap of the
windings about the stator-winding iron pole
pieces both determine the polarity of the
induced voltage (direction of current flow when
a utilization-equipment load is connected). 
• With opposite-polarity rotor iron field poles
turning in the same direction in the generator
and the winding of the two iron pole pieces of
each single-phase stator pole pair wrapped in
opposite directions, the induced voltages of the
pole-pair windings add for a greater value of
output voltage in a given single-phase source.
• After the windings have been placed on the pole
pieces and the pole pieces installed in the metal
core, the stationary assembly is referred to as
the stator, the stationary member, or the stator
assembly of the 3-phase AC generator.
•  In Figure 4, the stator frame and interconnected
iron pole pieces are shown to give a more accurate
illustration of how the windings are arranged: 
Each phase winding consists of a pole pair. 
• If the winding of one pole of a given phase is
wrapped counterclockwise around the iron pole
piece, the winding of the other pole (in the pole
pair of each single-phase source) would be
wrapped clockwise to give the voltage induced in
each single-phase winding the same polarity.
• The 3-phase AC generator depicted in Figure 4 is
described as a “2-pole generator.”  “Two-pole”
means there are two poles or one pole pair for
each single-phase AC source within the
generator.  Generators with four, six, or eight
poles are not uncommon. 
Figure 4.  A 2-pole, 3-wire, 3-phase AC generator connected in a wye configuration
The turning of the electromagnetic field of the rotor induces three single-phase AC
voltage waveforms of power. 
• In a two-pole machine, the rotor travels through 180
mechanical degrees and the sine waveform of a given
phase passes through 180 electrical degrees to form
or complete one positive alternation of AC voltage.  In
the next half revolution or 180 mechanical degrees,
with the passing of the opposite magnetic-pole
polarity of the rotor field across the same set of
single-phase windings, the sine waveform of the given
phase goes from zero voltage to a negative peak
and back to zero voltage in 180 electrical degrees to
form or complete one negative alternation of voltage. 
The electromagnetic iron field poles on the rotor
assembly made one mechanical revolution of 360
mechanical degrees:  One of the single-phase
waveforms completed one cycle in 360 electrical
degrees. 
The number of cycles the three single-phase AC
sinusoidal waveforms complete in one second is
referred to as the frequency of the AC power. 
Figure 5.  A 4-pole, 3-phase AC alternator
• In a 3-phase AC, 60 Hz, electrical power generation
system, the rotating electromagnetic field of the
stator assembly in the 2-pole, 3-phase AC generator
will complete 60 revolutions in one second. 
• Each single-phase AC source within the 3-phase AC
electrical-power generation, transmission, and
distribution will electrically cycle (through 3600) 60
times in this same second.  In one minute, the
rotating electromagnetic field will have completed
3600 revolutions:  The rotational synchronous speed
of the generator is 3600 rpms.
The output frequency of a 3-phase AC generator
is determined by two factors:

(1)  The speed of rotation of the rotor and

(2)  The number of stator poles.
• In a 60 Hz AC electrical-power generation,
transmission, or distribution system, 60 electrical
revolutions per second divided by 2 for one-half of a
mechanical revolution yields 30
mechanical revolutions per second.  Multiplied by 60,
this 4-pole (two pole pairs per phase), 3-phase AC
generator will operate at only 1800 rpms.
• As the number of pole pairs is increased, the running
speed of the rotating electromagnetic field within the
stator assembly is decreased.  
The rotating speed, Can be calculated in terms of this
which is determined by simple formula:
two principal factors: S = (120 × f) ÷ P
Where S is the rotating
(synchronous) speed of the
(1)  The desired rotating magnetic field in
frequency of the AC revolutions per minute
supply and f is the power supply frequency in
(2)  The number of Hertz (electrical cycles per
stator poles second)
P is the actual number of poles —
not pole pairs — per phase.
Example: 
If a three-phase AC generator is configured at the
point of manufacture as 6-pole will be driven by a
prime mover to generate an AC output voltage of
60 Hertz, determine the synchronous speed of
the rotor in the generator.
AC Generator Output Voltage
• The readout of an AC voltmeter is referred to as
the effective or rms value (root-mean-square
value) of the voltage: the effective voltage is
affected by both the peak values of the AC
voltage waveform and the frequency of
repetition.  
The output voltage of a 3-phase AC
generator is affected by three factors:

• The number of turns (or wraps) of wire in the

stator winding,
• The speed of the turning rotor, and
• The strength of the magnetic field in the rotor.
• The number of turns of wire in the stator (1)
cannot be changed in a particular generator
without restructuring and rewinding the stator,
and (2) the speed of rotation is generally
maintained at a certain level to provide a
constant output frequency.  Therefore, the
magnitude of the output voltage is controlled by
increasing or decreasing the strength of the
electromagnetic field of the turning rotor (3).
Three-phase Wye(Y) Connection
• Initially, we explored the idea of three-phase
power systems by connecting three voltage
sources together in what is commonly known as
the “Y” (or “star”) configuration. This
configuration of voltage sources is characterized
by a common connection point joining one side
of each source.
3-Phase Y-Connection
• If we draw a circuit showing each voltage source
to be a coil of wire (alternator or transformer
winding) and do some slight rearranging, the “Y”
configuration becomes more obvious in Figure
below.
Voltage and Current Values
in Three-Phase Systems
Line Voltage

• When we measure voltage and current in three-

phase systems, we need to be specific as
to where we’re measuring. Line voltage refers to
the amount of voltage measured between any
two line conductors in a balanced three-phase
system. With the above circuit, the line voltage is
roughly 208 volts.
Phase Voltage
• Phase voltage refers to the voltage measured
across any one component (source winding or
load impedance) in a balanced three-phase
source or load. For the circuit shown above, the
phase voltage is 120 volts.
Line Current Phase Current

• The terms line current and phase current follows

the same logic: the former referring to the
current through any one line conductor, and the
latter to the current through any one
component.
• Y-connected sources and
loads always have line
voltages greater than phase
voltages, and line currents
equal to phase currents. If
the Y-connected source or
load is balanced, the line
voltage will be equal to the
phase voltage times the
square root of 3:
Three-Phase Delta(Δ) Configuration

• Another configuration is known as the “Delta,”

for its geometric resemblance to the Greek letter
of the same name (Δ). Take close notice of the
polarity for each winding in the figure below.
Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law in Delta
Connections
Delta Connection Example Circuit
Analysis
Advantages of the Delta Three-Phase
System
• One distinct advantage of a Δ-connected system
is its lack of a neutral wire. With a Y-connected
system, a neutral wire was needed in case one of
the phase loads were to fail open (or be turned
off), in order to keep the phase voltages at the
load from changing.
• This is not necessary (or even possible!) in a Δ-
connected circuit. With each load phase element
directly connected across a respective source
phase winding, the phase voltage will be
constant regardless of open failures in the load
elements.
• Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Δ-
connected source is its fault tolerance. It is
possible for one of the windings in a Δ-
connected three-phase source to fail open
without affecting load voltage or current!