Electric generator

In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts mechanical energy

to electrical energy for use in an external circuit. The source of mechanical
energy may vary widely from a hand crank to an internal combustion engine.
Generators provide nearly all of the power for electric power grids.
The reverse conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is done by an
electric motor, and motors and generators have many similarities. Many motors
can be mechanically driven to generate

electricity and frequently make

acceptable generators.

The operating principle of electromagnetic generators was discovered in the

years of 18311832 by Michael Faraday. The principle, later called Faraday's law,
is that an electromotive force is generated in an electrical conductor which
encircles a varying magnetic flux.
He also built the first electromagnetic generator, called the Faraday disk, a type
of homo polar generator, using a copper disc rotating between the poles of a
horseshoe magnet. It produced a small DC voltage.

The Faraday disk was the first electric generator. The horseshoe-shaped magnet
(A) created a magnetic field through the disk (D). When the disk was turned, this
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induced an electric current radially outward from the centre toward the rim. The
current flowed out through the sliding spring contact m, through the external
circuit, and back into the centre of the disk through the axle.

AC GENERATOR
Through a series of discoveries, the dynamo was succeeded by many later
inventions, especially the AC alternator which was capable of generating
alternating current.
Alternating current generating systems were known in simple forms from Michael
Faraday's original discovery of the magnetic induction of electric current. Faraday
himself built an early alternator. His machine was a "rotating rectangle", whose
operation was hetero polar - each active conductor passed successively through
regions where the magnetic field was in opposite directions.
Large two-phase alternating current generators were built by a British electrician,
J.E.H. Gordon, in 1882. The first public demonstration of an "alternator system"
was given by William Stanley, Jr., an employee of Westinghouse Electric in 1886.
Sebastian de Ferranti established Ferranti, Thompson in 1882, to market his
Ferranti-Thompson Alternator, invented with the help of renowned physicist Lord
Kelvin. His early alternators produced frequencies between 100 and 300 Hz.
Ferranti went on to design the Deptford Power Station for the London Electric
Supply Corporation in 1887 using an alternating current system. On its
completion in 1891, it was the first truly modern power station, supplying highvoltage AC power that was then "stepped down" for consumer use on each
street. This basic system remains in use today around the world.

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Principle
A.C. generators or alternators (as they are usually called) operate on the same
fundamental principles of electromagnetic induction as D.C. generators.
Alternating voltage may be generated by rotating a coil in the magnetic field or
by rotating a magnetic field within a stationary coil. The value of the voltage
generated depends on-

the number of turns in the coil.

strength of the field.
the speed at which the coil or magnetic field rotates.

As in the DC motor case, a current is passed through the coil, generating a

torque on the coil. Since the current is alternating, the motor will run smoothly
only at the frequency of the sine wave. It is called a synchronous motor. More

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common is the induction motor, where electric current is induced in the rotating
coils rather than supplied to them directly.

One of the drawbacks of this kind of AC motor is the high current which must
flow through the rotating contacts. Sparking and heating at those contacts can
waste energy and shorten the lifetime of the motor. In common AC motors the
magnetic field is produced by an electromagnet powered by the same AC voltage
as the motor coil. The coils which produce the magnetic field are sometimes
referred to as the "stator", while the coils and the solid core which rotates is
called the "armature". In an AC motor the magnetic field is sinusoidal varying,
just as the current in the coil varies.
The turning of a coil in a magnetic field produces motional emf in both sides of
the coil which add. Since the component of the velocity perpendicular to the
magnetic field changes sinusoidal with the rotation, the generated voltage is
sinusoidal or AC. This process can be described in terms of Faraday's law when
you see that the rotation of the coil continually changes the magnetic flux
through the coil and therefore generates a voltage.
In 1891, Nikola Tesla patented a practical "high-frequency" alternator (which
operated around 15 kHz). After 1891, poly phase alternators were introduced to
supply currents of multiple differing phases. Later alternators were designed for
varying alternating-current frequencies between sixteen and about one hundred
hertz, for use with arc lighting, incandescent lighting and electric motors.

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Operation
AC generators generate electricity by the rotation of an armature in an
electromagnetic field. The magnetic field is produced by permanent magnets or
a direct current circuit in the stator windings. The voltage, current flow and
frequency of the current are controlled by the strength of the magnetic field, the
windings in the rotor, the poles in the stator and the speed at which the shaft
rotates. For example, a small standby generator might produce 30 amps at 120
volts AC and 60 cycles per second (Hertz). Sixty Hertz is the standard frequency
in the United States. Traveler to Europe find other frequencies.

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Small Application
AC generators ranging in size from three to 2,000 kilowatts and powered by
engines operating on hydrocarbon fuels are used for portable generators for
construction projects, as standby units to protect buildings from power outages,
as the sole source of power at remote locations and to limit power usage in utility
systems that charge extra for use above a given quantity.

Large Application
Larger AC generators are used for the same purposes as the smaller ones but
also have other applications, including for use in oil and gas extraction, mining
machinery and rail and marine transportation. Often these generators are
packaged with an engine or turbine to be used as a motor-generator set. These
applications require from 200 kilowatts to 18 megawatts. They can supply a
significant proportion of a building's electrical power when used to replace much

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of the utility power in a computer or telecommunications facilities.

EXPRESSION FOR EMF IN A.C. GENERATOR

Let
N=number of turns
A=face area of turn
B=magnitude of magnetic field
=angle which normal makes with B
=angular velocity of coil
=NBA cos =NBA cos t

=-d/dt = -d/dt (NBA cos t) = NBAsint

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=0 sint
0=NBA
I=/R = 0 sint/R = I0 sint

Thank you

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