Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Chittagong University of Engineering &Technology

Course No. EEE-234
Course Title: Electrical Machines -I (Sessional)

Experiment no. 04: Study of open circuit characteristics (O.C.C) of D.C

generator.
Objective: The purposes of the experiment are:
1. To observe the open circuit characteristics (O.C.C) of separately excited DC
generator.
2. To observe the open circuit characteristics (O.C.C) of DC shunt generator.
3. To determine the critical resistance of shunt DC generator from the O.C.C curve.
Theory:
In open circuit characteristics (O.C.C) of DC generator, no load is applied across the output
terminals of the generator. It is also known as magnetic characteristics or no load
characteristics of DC generators. It shows the relation between the generated EMF at no load
(E0) and the field current at constant speed. It is just the magnetization curve of the material
of the electromagnets. Its shape is practically the same for all generators whether separately
excited or self excited.

Apparatus:
1) D.C generator
2) D.C voltmeter
3) Ammeter
4) Rheostat
5) Tachometer
6) Motor as prime mover
Connection diagram:

Prepared By:
Md. Shamsul Arifin, Asst. Prof, EEE, CUET
&
Md. Manjurul Gani, Asst. Prof, EEE, CUET
 Separately Excited DC Generator Shunt DC Generator
Figure 1: DC generator setup for O.C.C
Working procedure:
Separately Excited DC Generator:
1) At first connect the generator as a separately excited DC generator and run the motor
generator set as per instructions. If there is no voltage generated in the generator
armature, just interchanged the terminals of the field coil. Then voltage will build up
and increase the field current If and note down the corresponding Eo.
2) While increasing If never decrease until maximum If and while decreasing If never
increase until minimum of If.
3) To find the voltage (ER) for residual magnetism, disconnect the field from the
armature so that If =0 and measure the armature terminal voltage while running the
motor. This is the voltage (ER) due to residual magnetism.
4) Finally stop the machine and measure the field resistance.
Shunt Generator: Same as separately excited DC generator

Condition for buildup of voltage in shunt DC generator:

The necessary conditions for building up of a shunt DC generator are as follows:
1) There must be some residual magnetism in the generator poles.
2) For the given direction of rotation, the shunt field coils should be so connected that
the induced current reinforce the EMF produced initially due to residual magnetism.
3) The shunt resistance should be below the critical resistance.

(a) (b)

Figure 2: (a) OCC curve, (b) Measurement of critical resistance for shunt DC generator
Critical resistance for shunt DC generator:
The value of the resistance line that just touches the O.C.C curve at the straight-line portion
of the curve is known as critical resistance.

Prepared By:
Md. Shamsul Arifin, Asst. Prof, EEE, CUET
&
Md. Manjurul Gani, Asst. Prof, EEE, CUET
Experimental Data:
Table1: Data for OCC curve of a shunt DC generator

If
(A)
E0
(V)

Graph and Questions:

1) Plot the O.C.C curve for different speeds for both separately and self-excited dc shunt
generators.
2) Calculate the critical resistance from OCC curve and show the line of critical resistance on
it.
3) What is critical resistance of a DC shunt generator?
4) What are the necessary conditions for voltage build-up of a DC shunt motor?

Prepared By:
Md. Shamsul Arifin, Asst. Prof, EEE, CUET
&
Md. Manjurul Gani, Asst. Prof, EEE, CUET
12