DC machine construction

A
+

Ef B

-
C

A: Field winding
B: Pole
C: Brush
D: Shaft
E: Commutator
F: Armature
G: Armature conductor
H: Axle

Main frame
It is often referred to as the yoke. It is the body of the machine which supports other components
and also serves to complete the magnetic field between the pole pieces.
Pole pieces
Are made of number of thin laminations of iron and steel joined together and bolted to the inside
of the frame. They house the field coils.
Field windings
These are coils of insulated wire electromagnetically wound to fit around the pole pieces. The
windings can either be in series or parallel or a combination in both and the machine can have one
or more pair of poles.
End housing
These are attached to the end of the main frame and contain the bearings.
Brush gear
Consists of brush holders insulated from each other and from the machine. The brushes should
ride easily on the commutator and carry the generated or supply voltage to the load or motor.
Armature assembly
It consists of:
 Shaft
 Commutator
 Laminated armature cores
 Armature winds
Principle of operation of a dc generator
The connection of the internal rotating armature winding to the external stationery load circuit is
made via a two part commutator.

A
NORTH
B2
M

RL

L B1
SOUTH
B

If the coil is rotated anticlockwise and according to the Fleming’s Right hand rule for the generator,
the current flow will be in the direction shown by the arrows in the figure. Loop A is positive and
is connected to the brush B2 where the current enters, whereas loop B is negative and is connected
to the brush B1where the current leaves the armature.
 A D D A
EMF

B C C B

B2 B1 B2 B1
0 180 360 t
M L M L

Fig.c
Fig. a Fig.b

In the first half fig.a revolution current flows along ABMLCD i.e. brush B in contact with the
segment ‘a’ acts as the positive end of the supply and ‘b’ as the negative end. In the next half fig.b
revolution the direction of the induced current in the coil has reversed. The positions of the
segments ‘a’ and ‘b’ have also reversed with the result that brush B2 comes in touch with that
segment which is positive i.e. segment ‘b’ in this case. Hence the current in the load resistance
again flows from the M to L. The waveform of the current through the external circuit is as shown
in fig.c. The current is unidirectional but not continuous like the pure direct current.
Generated EMF
The generated voltage will be the sum of the terminal voltage
𝐸 = 𝑉 + 𝐼𝑎 𝑅𝑎

𝐼𝑓 𝐼𝐴 𝐼𝐿

Load
ARM 𝑉
Shunt
field

Let:
 = flux per pole in Weber.
Z = total number of armature conductors
= number of slots x number of conductors per slot
P = number of poles
A = Number of parallel paths in armature
N = armature rotation in revolutions per minute
E = EMF induced in any parallel path in the armature.

EMF generated in any one of the conductors:

 d
Average EMF generated per conductor = volts.
dt
Flux cut per conductor in one revolution = d
Therefore d  P Weber
N
Number of revolutions per second = rev/seconds.
60
60
Time for one revolution = seconds.
N
According to the Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction;
d PN
EMF generated per conductor =  volts.
dt 60
Armature winding
There are two types of armature windigs:

Lap winding
The coils start at a commutator segment A and ends at the adjacent segment B. the winding
continuous this way round the armature and ends when it reaches the starting point regardless of
the number of poles. In this case the number of the parallel path = the number of poles.
Hence the generated EMF:
Number of parallel paths = P which implies A  P
Z
Number of conductors in one path =
P
PN Z
EMF generated per path = 
60 P
ZN
= volts
60
In general:
ZN P
E.g. =  ( ) volts.
60 A

𝑦𝑏 𝑦𝑓 y

 Coil pitch is distance measured in terms of armature slots (or armature conductors) between
two sides of a coil.
 Pole pitch 𝜏𝑝 is the distance between poles.
 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠
𝜏𝑝 =
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠
 Commutator pitch is distance expressed in terms of commutator segments between
commutator segments to which ends of a coil are connected.

𝑦𝑏 = 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ
𝑦𝑓 = 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ
𝑦 = 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ
𝑦 = 𝑦𝑏 − 𝑦𝑓
𝑦𝑏 = 𝜏𝑝 + 1
𝑦𝑓 = 𝜏𝑝 − 1
Above definitions are for a progressive winding, where 𝑦𝑏 > 𝑦𝑓
For a retrogressive winding, 𝑦𝑏 < 𝑦𝑓

Wave winding
The coil ends are brought to the commutators pole pitch apart. The number of parallel paths is two.
Z Z
Hence the number of conductors in one path = 
A 2
PN Z
EMF generated per path = 
60 2
ZNP
= volts
120
In general:
ZN P
E.g. = ( ) volts.
60 A

𝑦𝑓
𝑦𝑏 y

𝑦 = 𝑦𝑏 + 𝑦𝑓
𝑦×𝑝=𝑧±2
𝑧±2
𝑦=
𝑝
𝑦 𝑧±2
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ = =
2 2𝑝

Note:
 i. 𝑝 is the pole pairs
ii. Mean pitch must be odd i.e. select the odd value.

Differences between wave and lap wound windings

 Arrangements of end connections at the end of armature are different.
 Commutator pitch is unity for lap but varies for wave.
 Parallel paths for wave is always 2 but for lap number of parallel paths is equal to the
number of poles.
 Wave winding is used for high voltage low current.
 Lap winding is used for low voltage high current.