Problem Set in DC Machines

Part 1 – DC GENERATORS
1. An 8 – pole, wave connected armature has 600
conductors and is driven at 625 rpm. If the flux per pole
is 20 mWb, determine the generated e.m.f.
A. 300 V B. 500 V C. 800 V D. 1200 V

4. Determine the terminal voltage of a generator which

develops an e.m.f. of 200 V and has an armature
current of 30 A on load. Assume the armature
resistance is 0.30 ohm.
A. 126 V B. 188 V C. 191 V D. 220 V

2. A 4 – pole generator has a lap – wound armature with

50 slots with 16 conductors per slot. The useful flux per
pole is 30 mWb. Determine the speed at which the
machine must be driven to generate an e.m.f. of 240 V.
A. 300 rpm C. 500 rpm
B. 400 rpm D. 600 rpm

5. A separately excited generator develops a no – load

e.m.f. of 150 V at an armature speed of 20 rev/s and a
flux per pole of 0.1 Wb. Determine the generated e.m.f.
when the speed increases to 25 rev/s and the pole flux
remains unchanged.
A. 126 V B. 188 V C. 191 V D. 220 V

3. A DC generator running at 30 rev/s generates an e.m.f.

of 200 V. Determine the percentage increase in the flux
per pole required to generate 250 V at 20 rev/s.
A. 37.5% B. 57.5% C. 67.5% D. 87.5%

6. A shunt generator supplies 20 kW load at 200 V through

cables of resistance 100 mΩ. If the field winding
resistance 50 Ω and the armature resistance 40 mΩ,
determine the generated e.m.f. in the armature.
A. 214.17 V C. 224.17 V
B. 219.17 V D. 229.17 V
 assuming the iron, friction and windage losses amount
to 600 W.
A. 80.5% B. 81.6% C. 82.1% D. 83.4%

7. A short – shunt compound generator supplies 80 A at

200 V. If the field resistance 40 Ω, the series resistance 9. A 100 V DC generator supplies a current of 15 A when
0.02 Ω and the armature resistance 0.04 Ω, determine running at 1500 rpm. If the torque on the shaft driving
the generated e.m.f. the generator is 12 N – m, determine the efficiency of
A. 203 V B. 205 V C. 207 V D. 209 V the generator.
A. 76.8% B. 79.6% C. 82.5% D. 85.1%

For problems 10 and 11

Two DC generators running in parallel supply a total load current
of 200 A. The terminal voltage of one generator falls uniformly
from 240 V to 225 V when delivering 120 A. The terminal voltage
of the second generator falls uniformly from 230 V to 215 V when
delivering 100 A.
10. Find the bus bar voltage
A. 221.8 V C. 241.7 V
B. 236.2 V D. 262.4 V

8. A 10 kW shunt generator having an armature circuit

resistance of 0.75 Ω and a field resistance of 125 Ω,
generates a terminal voltage of 250 V at full load.
Determine the efficiency of the generator at full load,
11. Find the load current shared by each generator.
A. 100 A, 100 A C. 145.5 A, 54.5 A
B. 133.3 A, 66.7 A D. 166.7 A, 33.3 A

13. In a series wound generator running at constant speed,

as the load current increases, the terminal voltage
A. Increases C. Stays the same
B. Decreases D. Lack of given information

14. In DC generators, iron losses are made up for

12. Two shunt generators running in parallel supply a total
load current of 3000 A. The generators have armature
resistances, 0.05 and 0.03 Ω, field resistances 30 and
25 Ω and induced e.m.f’s 400 and 380 V respectively.
Determine the output of each generator in kW.
A. 252 kW, 520 kW C. 178 kW, 241 kW
B. 455 kW, 538 kW D. 421 kW, 624 kW
A. Hysteresis and friction losses
B. Hysteresis, eddy current, and brush contact losses
C. Hysteresis and eddy current losses
D. Hysteresis, eddy current, and copper losses
15. A commutator is a device fitted to a generator. Its
function is
A. To prevent sparking when the load changes
B. To convert the AC generated into a DC output
C. To convey the current to and from the windings
D. To generate a direct current

16. A generator may lost residual magnetism because of

A. Vibration C. Heating
B. Over excitation D. Varying loads

17. If the series field is connected in series with the

armature and the shunt field is connected across the
combination, what type of DC generator is this?
 A. Shunt C. Long shunt compound
B. Series D. Short shunt compound

18. How would you determine, from visual observation of

the armature winding, whether the generator is a lap or
wave wound?
A. Direction of the end connection
B. Connection to the commutator
C. Connection to the field winding
D. Connection to brushes

19. This winding is connected in series with armature 25. A 240 V shunt motor takes a total current of 30 A. If the
winding of a DC generator to compensate the field flux field winding resistance 150 Ω and the armature
distortion due to armature reaction. resistance 0.4 Ω, determine the back e.m.f.
A. Series field windings A. 208.64 V C. 228.64 V
B. Interpole windings B. 218.64 V D. 238.64 V
C. Compensating windings
D. Shunt field windings

20. In parallel operation of DC generators, which of the

following parameters must be the same?
A. Current C. Voltage
B. Power D. All of these

21. Which of the following DC generators are preferable for

parallel operations due to their dropping voltage
characteristics?
A. Series generators C. Compound generators
B. Shunt generators D. All of these

Part 2 – DC MOTORS
22. A six pole lap wound motor is connected to a 250 V DC
supply. The armature has 500 conductors and a
resistance of 1 Ω. The flux per pole is 20 mWb. 26. A 200 V DC shunt wound motor has an armature
Calculate the speed and the torque developed when the resistance of 0.4 Ω and at a certain load has an
armature current is 40 A. armature current of 30 A and runs at 1350 rpm. If the
A. 900 rpm, 42.97 N – m load on the shaft of the motor is increased so that the
B. 900 rpm, 63.66 N – m armature current increases to 45 A, determine the
C. 1260 rpm, 42.97 N – m speed of the motor, assuming the flux remains constant.
D. 1260 rpm, 63.66 N – m A. 1218 rpm C. 1133 rpm
B. 1307 rpm D. 1072 rpm

23. The shaft torque of a diesel motor driving a 100 V DC

shunt wound generator is 25 N – m. The armature
current of the generator is 16 A at this value of torque. If
the shunt field regulator is adjusted so that the flux is
reduced by 15%, the torque increases to 35 N – m.
determine the armature current at this new value of
torque.
A. 20.37 A C. 25.28 A For problems 27 and 28
B. 21.23 A D. 26.35 A A series motor has an armature resistance of 0.2 Ω and a series
field resistance of 0.3 Ω. It is connected to a 240 V supply and at
24. A DC motor operates from a 240 V supply. The a particular load runs at 24 rev/s when drawing 15 A from the
armature resistance is 0.2 Ω. Determine the back e.m.f. supply.
when the armature current is 50 A. 27. Determine the back e.m.f. at this load.
A. 225 V B. 230 V C. 235 V D. 220 V A. 202.5 V B. 212.5 V C. 222.5 V D. 232.5 V
28. Calculate the speed of the motor when the load is
changed such that the current is increased to 30 A.
Assume that this causes a doubling of the flux.
A. 11.6 rev/s C. 17.6 rev/s
B. 14.6 rev/s D. 20.6 rev/s

For problems 30 and 31

A 500 V shunt motor runs at its normal speed of 10 rev/s when
the armature current is 120 A. The armature resistance is 0.2 Ω.
30. Determine the speed when the current is 60 A and a
resistance of 0.5 Ω is connected in series with the
armature, the shunt field remaining constant
A. 9.62 rev/s C. 11.35 rev/s
B. 10.78 rev/s D. 12.82 rev/s

29. A series motor runs at 800 rpm when the voltage is 400
V and the current is 25 A. The armature resistance is
0.4 Ω and the series field resistance is 0.2 Ω. Determine
the resistance to be connected in series to reduce the
speed to 600 rpm with the same current.
A. 3.35 Ω C. 4.35 Ω
B. 3.85 Ω D. 4.85 Ω

31. Determine the speed when the current is 60 A and the

shunt field is reduced to 80% of its normal value by
increasing a resistance in the field circuit.
A. 9.62 rev/s C. 11.35 rev/s
B. 10.78 rev/s D. 12.82 rev/s
32. A 320 V shunt motor takes a total current of 80 A and
runs at 1000 rpm. If the iron, friction and windage losses
amount to 1,500 W, the shunt field resistance is 40 Ω
and the armature resistance is 0.2 Ω, determine the
overall efficiency of the motor.
A. 79.1% B. 80.1% C. 81.1% D. 82.1%

33. A DC series motor drives a load at 30 rev/s and takes a

current of 10 A when the supply voltage is 400 V. If the
total resistance of the motor is 2 Ω and the iron, friction,
and windage losses amount to 300 W, determine the
efficiency of the motor.
A. 84.5% B. 85.5% C. 86.5% D. 87.5%

35. Which of the following statements is false for a series

34. On full load a 300 V series motor takes 90 A and runs at
15 rev/s. The armature resistance is 0.1 Ω and the
series winding resistance is 50 mΩ. Determine the
speed when developing full load torque but with a 0.2 Ω
diverter in parallel with the field winding. (Assume that
the flux is proportional to the field current)
A. 16.74 rev/s C. 18.45 rev/s
B. 17.53 rev/s D. 19.47 rev/s
wound DC motor?
A. The speed decreases with increase of resistance in
the armature circuit
B. The speed increases as the flux decreases
C. The speed can be controlled by a diverter
D. The speed can be controlled by a shunt field
regulator
36. Which of the following statements is false?
A. A series wound motor has a large starting torque
B. A shunt wound motor must be permanently
connected to its load
C. The speed of a series wound motor drops
considerably when load is applied
D. A shunt wound motor is essentially a constant
speed machine
37. The speed of a DC motor may be increased by
A. Increasing the armature current
B. Decreasing the field current
C. Decreasing the applied voltage
D. Increasing the field current

38. The effect of inserting a resistance in series with the

field winding of a shunt motor is to
A. Increase the magnetic field
B. Increase the speed of the motor
C. Decrease the armature current
D. Reduce the speed of the motor

39. With a DC motor, the starter resistor

A. Limits the armature current to a safe starting
value
B. Controls the speed of the machine
C. Prevents the field current flowing through and
damaging the armature
D. Limits the field current to a safe starting value

40. If the two leads of a DC series motor are reversed,

which of the following events will happen?
A. It becomes a generator
B. It runs in the same direction as before
C. It will not run
D. It will run in the reverse direction

41. The rotating part of a DC motor is known as

A. Pole C. Carbon brush
B. Stator D. Armature

42. The counter e.m.f. of a DC motor is zero when the

A. Armature is not turning
B. Armature just begins to turn
C. Motor is at rated speed
D. Motor is almost up to rated speed

43. The speed of the DC motor is directly proportional to its

A. Armature current C. Back e.m.f.
B. Flux per pole D. Torque

44. Which of the following statements is false?

A. A DC motor converts electrical energy to
mechanical energy
B. The efficiency of the DC motor is the ratio input
power to output power
C. A DC generator converts mechanical power to
electrical power
D. The efficiency of the DC generator is the ratio
output power to input power

45. Which of the following statements is false?

A. A commutator is necessary as part of a DC motor
to keep the armature rotating in the same direction
B. A commutator is necessary as part of a DC
generator to produce unidirectional voltage at the
terminals of the generator
C. The field winding of a DC machine is housed in
slots on the armature
D. The brushes of DC machine are usually made of
carbon and do not rotate with the armature