Unit – 2

Machines and Measuring Instruments

DC GENERATOR

Working Principle of DC Generator:

A DC generator operates on the principle of Faraday’s laws of electromagnetic induction. According

to Faraday’s law, whenever a conductor is placed in a fluctuating magnetic field (or when a conductor
is moved in a magnetic field) an EMF is induced in the conductor.

If the conductor is guided with a closed path, the current will get induced in the conductor. The
direction of the induced current (given by Fleming’s right-hand rule) changes as the direction of
movement of the conductor changes.

Fleming Right Hand rule:

Fleming's right-hand rule (for generators) shows the direction of induced current when a conductor
attached to a circuit moves in a magnetic field.

The right hand is held with the thumb, index finger and middle finger mutually perpendicular to each
other (at right angles),

The thumb is pointed in the direction of the motion of the conductor relative to the magnetic field.

The first finger is pointed in the direction of the magnetic field. By convention, it's the direction from
North to South magnetic pole.

Then the second finger represents the direction of the induced or generated current within the
conductor (from lower to h higher electric potential)

Construction of DC Generator

A DC generator is also used as a DC motor without changing its construction. Therefore, a DC motor
otherwise a DC generator can be generally called a DC machine. The construction of a 4-pole DC
generator is discussed here

This generator comprises of several parts like yoke, poles & pole shoes, field winding, an armature
core, armature winding, commutator & brushes. But the two essential parts of this device are the
stator as well as the rotor.

The DC machine consists of two parts: One part is rotating, called rotor and the other part is
stationary, called stator.

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The major components of a DC machine are:

 Magnetic frame or yoke

 Pole core and pole shoe

 Field coil or winding

 Armature core and winding

 Commutator

 Brushes

 Bearings and shaft

1. Magnetic Frame or yoke

It is the stationary part of the machine in the shape of hollow cylinder. Poles are fixed at the inner
periphery of the yoke.

It acts as the outer cover or frame for the entire machine and serves two main purposes: It is used to
carry the magnetic flux produced by the poles. It acts as mechanical support for the machine.

Yoke is usually made of cast iron for small machine, because of its cheapness. But for large machines,
it is made of cast steel or rolled steel, due to its high permeability.

The lifting eye, feet and the terminal box are welded to the frame afterwards.

2. Pole core and pole shoe

The field pole consists of pole cores, pole shoes and field winding. The poles are made of thin
laminated sheets, to avoid heating and eddy current loss.

Pole cores are the projecting rectangular parts, which produce magnetic flux needed for the generator,
when it is excited by the field winding. It is fitted to the yoke or frame by means of bolts and nuts or
rivets.

The pole shoes are located at the end of pole core. The purpose of providing pole shoe in the poles is
to make the magnetic field uniform on the surface of the armature.

Since the poles project inwards they are called as salient poles. Each pole as a pole shoe having a
curved surface.

Following are the main function of the poles

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it acts as a mechanical support to the field coil.

they reduce the reluctance of the magnetic path.

they guide and spread out the flux in the air gap

3. Field coil or winding

Field coil is made up of copper. They are mounted on the pole core and carry the dc current. The field
coils are connected in such a way that adjacent poles have opposite polarity.

When the coils carry dc current, the pole core become an electromagnet and produces the magnetic
flux. The magnetic flux passes through the pole core, the air gap, the armature and the yoke.

The number of poles in a DC Generator depends on the speed of the machine and the output for which
the machine is designed.

There are several field constructions are adopted according to the type of excitation. In shunt field,
more number of turns with small cross sectional are used, in series field only a few turns of large
cross sectional area are used and in compound field, both shunt and series field winding are used.

4. Armature core and winding

In the construction of DC generator, armature core is designed as the rotating part and is built in
cylindrical or drum shape with slots on its outer periphery. The purpose of armature is to house the
winding and to rotate the conductors in the uniform magnetic field. It is mounted on the shaft.

It is build up of steel lamination which are insulated by each other by thin paper or thin coating of
varnish as insulation. The thickness of each lamination is about 0.5 mm. These lamination will reduce
the eddy current loss. If silicon sheet is used for armature core, the hysteresis loss will also reduce.

Due to losses, heat will be developed in the armature. To dissipate this heat, a fan is provided at one
end of armature. Ventilating ducts (air holes) are also provided in the armature for the purpose of
cooling. The width of the ventilating ducts varies from 5 to 10 mm.

The armature winding or coil is placed on slots available on the armature’s outer periphery. The ends
of the coils are joined with commutator segments. Insulated higher conductivity copper wire is used
for making the coils. There are two types of winding.

lap winding – Lap winding is used for high current, low voltage generators.

Wave winding – Wave winding is used for high voltage, low current generators.

5. Commutator

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The commutator provides the electrical connection between the rotating armature coil and the
stationary external circuit. It is essentially a cylindrical structure and is built up of wedge shaped
copper segments insulated from each other by mica sheets and mounted on the shaft of the machine.

The commutator is a mechanical rectifier which converts the alternating emf generator in the armature
winding into direct voltage across the brushes. The ends of the armature coil or winding are
connected to commutator segments.

Great care is to be taken while building the commutator because even slight eccentricity will cause the
brushes to bounce, which can cause high sparking.

6. Brushes

The function of brush is to collect the current from the commutator and supply it to the external load
circuit. The brushes are manufactured in a variety of compositions to suit the commutation
requirements. It is made of carbon, graphite metal graphite or copper and is rectangular in shape.

The brushes are placed in the brush holders which is mounted on rocker arm. The brushes are
arranged in rocker arm in such a way that, it touches the commutator.

Brush pressure is adjusted by means of adjustable springs. If the bush pressure is high, the friction
produces heating of the commutator and the brushes. If the pressure is too weak, the imperfect contact
with the commutator may produce spark.

7. Bearings and Shaft

For construction of smaller DC generator, ball bearings are used at both the ends of the shaft but for
larger machines, roller bearings are used at the driving end and ball bearings are used at the non
driving end of the machine.

The shaft is made up of mild steel having maximum breaking strength. It is used to transfer the
mechanical power from or to the machine. All the rotating parts including the armature core,
commutator, cooling parts and mounted and keyed to the shaft.

DC MOTOR

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

When a current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a torque and has a
tendency to move.
In other words, when a magnetic field and an electric field interact, a mechanical force is produced.
The DC motor or direct current motor works on that principle. This is known as motoring action

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The direction of rotation of this motor is given by Fleming’s left hand rule, which states that if the
index finger, middle finger, and thumb of your left hand are extended mutually perpendicular to each
other and if the index finger represents the direction of the magnetic field, middle finger indicates the
direction of the current, then the thumb represents the direction in which force is experienced by the
shaft of the DC motor.
Structurally and construction wise a direct current motor is exactly similar to a DC generator, but
electrically it is just the opposite.

SINGLE PHASE TRANSFORMER

CONSTRUCTION:

A single phase transformer consists of two windings viz. primary winding and secondary winding put
on a magnetic core. The magnetic core is made from thin sheets (called laminations) of high graded
silicon steel and provides a definite path to the magnetic flux. These laminations reduce the eddy-
current losses while the silicon steel reduces the hysteresis losses.

The laminations are insulated from each other by enamel insulation coating. The thin laminations are
stacked together to form the core of the transformer. The air-gap between the laminations should be
minimum so that the excitation current being minimum.

For a single phase transformer, there are two types of transformer constructions viz. the core type and
the shell type.

Core Type Transformer Construction

In core type construction of the transformer, the magnetic circuit consists of two vertical lags (called
limbs) and two horizontal sections called yokes. To minimise the effect of leakage flux, half of each
winding is placed on each limb (see the figure).

The low-voltage winding is placed next to the core while the high-voltage winding over the low-
voltage winding to reduce the insulation requirements. Therefore the two windings are arranged as
concentric coils and known as cylindrical winding.

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Shell Type Transformer Construction

In the shell type construction of transformer, the

magnetic circuit consists of three limbs, both the
primary and secondary windings are placed on the
central limb and the two outer limbs complete the
low reluctance flux path. The each winding is sub-
divided into sections viz. the low voltage (LV)
section and the high-voltage (HV) section, which
are alternatively put one over the other in the form of
sandwich (see the figure). Therefore, such windings
are called sandwich winding or disc winding.

WORKING PRINCIPLE:

The working of the transformer is based on the principle of mutual inductance between two coils
wound on the same magnetic core.

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When an alternating voltage (V 1) is applied to the primary winding, an alternating magnetic flux (Φ m)
sets up in the core and links with the secondary winding, i.e. the magnetic flux links both the
windings of the transformer magnetically. This magnetic flux induces EMF E1 in the primary winding
and E2 in the secondary winding according to Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction.

dΦ dΦ
E1 = -N1 and E2 = -N2
dt dt

So, E2/E1 = N2/N1

If 𝑁1 > 𝑁2, then 𝐸1 > 𝐸2 i.e. the primary EMF is greater than the secondary EMF, the transformer is
called as step-down transformer.

If 𝑁2 > 𝑁1, then 𝐸2 > 𝐸1 i.e. the primary EMF is less than the secondary EMF, the transformer is
called as step-up transformer.

ALTERNATOR

CONSTRUCTION:

Synchronous generators are also referred to as alternators or AC generators. The term "alternator" is
used since it produces AC power. A synchronous generator is a synchronous machine which converts
mechanical power into AC electric power through the process of electromagnetic induction.

As alternator consists of two main parts viz.

Stator – The stator is the stationary part of the

alternator. It carries the armature winding in which
the voltage is generated. The output of the
alternator is taken form the stator.

Rotor – The rotor is the rotating part of the

alternator. The rotor produces the main field flux.

Stator Construction of Alternator

The stator of the alternator includes several parts, viz. the frame, stator core, stator or armature
windings, and cooling arrangement.

The stator frame may be made up of cast iron for small-size machines and of welded steel for large-
size machines.

The stator core is assembled with high-grade silicon content steel laminations. These silicon steel
laminations reduce the hysteresis and eddy-current losses in the stator core.

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The slots are cut on the inner periphery of the stator core. A 3-phase armature winding is put in these
slots.

The armature winding of the alternator is star connected. The winding of each phase is distributed
over several slots. When current flows through the distributed armature winding, it produces an
essential sinusoidal space distribution of EMF.

Rotor Construction of Alternator

The rotor of the alternator carries the field winding which is supplied with direct current through two
slip rings by a separate DC source (also called exciter). The exciter is generally a small DC shunt
generator mounted on the shaft of the alternator.

For the alternator, there are two types of rotor constructions are used viz. the salient-pole type and the
cylindrical rotor type.

Salient Pole Rotor

The term salient means projecting. Hence, a salient

pole rotor consists of poles projecting out from the
surface of the rotor core. This whole arrangement is
fixed to the shaft of the alternator as shown in the
figure. The individual field pole windings are
connected in series such that when the field winding is
energised by the DC exciter, the adjacent poles have
opposite polarities. The salient pole type rotor is used in
the low and medium speed (from 120 to 400 RPM)
alternators such as those driven by the diesel engines or water turbines

Cylindrical Rotor

The cylindrical rotors are made from solid forgings of high-grade nickel-chrome-molybdenum steel.

The construction of the cylindrical rotor is such

that there are no-physical poles to be seen as in
the salient pole rotor.

In about two-third of the outer periphery of the

cylindrical rotor, slots are cut at regular intervals
and parallel to the rotor shaft.

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The field windings are placed in these slots and is excited by DC supply. The field winding is of
distributed type.

The unslotted portion of the rotor forms the pole faces. It is clear from the figure of the cylindrical
rotor that the poles formed are non-salient, i.e., they do not project out from the rotor surface.

WORKING PRINCIPLE:

An alternator or synchronous generator works on the principle of electromagnetic induction, i.e.,

when the flux linking a conductor changes, an EMF is induced in the conductor. When the armature
winding of alternator subjected to the rotating magnetic field, the voltage will be generated in the
armature winding.

When the rotor field winding of the alternator is energised from the DC exciter, the alternate N and S
poles are developed on the rotor. When the rotor is rotated in the anticlockwise direction by a prime
mover, the armature conductors placed on the stator are cut by the magnetic field of the rotor poles.
As a result, the EMF is induced in the armature conductors due to electromagnetic induction. This
induced EMF is alternating one because the N and S poles of the rotor pass the armature conductors
alternatively.

THREE-PHASE INDUCTION MOTOR

three phase induction motor which has two major parts :

1. Stationary part,
known as Stator

2. Rotating part,
known as Rotor.

1. Stator

It is the stationary part of the

motor. It has three main
parts :

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Frame or Yoke

It is the outer part of the three phase induction motor. Its main function of the frame is to support the
stator core & stator winding. It acts as a covering, and it provides protection & mechanical strength to
all the inner parts of the three phase induction motor.

Stator core

The main function of stator core is to carry the alternating flux. In order to reduce the eddy current
loss, the stator core is laminated. The core is made up of thin silicon steel laminations. These are
insulated from each other by varnish, the slots are cut on inner periphery of core stampings. The stator
windings are placed in these slots.

Stator windings

Stator winding is made up of super enamelled copper wire. Three phase windings are placed in the
stator core slots & six terminals are brought out. They may be star connected or may be delta
connected. The windings are connected in star at starting.

2. Rotor

It is a rotating part of the motor. It is mounted on the shaft. It consists of hollow laminated core having
slots on its outer periphery. The windings placed in these slots (rotor winding) may be one of the
following two types :

Squirrel cage rotor

Slip ring rotor or wound rotor or phase wound rotor.

1. Squirrel cage rotor

The rotor consists of a cylindrical laminated core with parallel slots for carrying the rotor conductors.
The squirrel cage rotor consists of a aluminium, brass or copper bars. These aluminium, brass or
copper bars are called rotor conductors & are placed in the slots on the periphery of the rotor. The
rotor conductors are permanently shorted by the copper, or aluminum rings called the end rings. To
provide mechanical strength, these rotor conductors are braced to the end ring & hence form a
complete closed circuit resembling like a cage & hence got its name as squirrel cage induction motor.

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2. Slip ring rotor or wound rotor or phase wound rotor

The wound rotor consists a slotted armature. Insulated conductors are put in the slots & connected to
form a three phase double layer distributed winding similar to the stator winding. The rotor windings
are connected in star.

The open end of the start circuit are brought outside the rotor and connected to the insulated slip rings.
The slip rings are mounted on the shaft with brushes testing on them. The brushes are connected to
three phase variable resistors connected in star. The purpose of slip rings & brushes is to provide a
means for connecting external resistors in the circuit.

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION:

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The three phase induction motor works on the principle of electromagnetic induction. When a three-
phase supply is given to three-phase winding of the motor, a magnetic field is produced which rotates
at synchronous speed. The rotating flux passes through the air gap and cuts the rotor conductors which
are at rest. The rotor winding is short circuited, therefore, the current will flow in the rotor winding
due to induced emf & a magnetic field is setup.

Now these two magnetic field interact, a torque is produced. According to Lenz’s law under the
influence of this torque, the rotor starts rotating in the same direction as the rotating magnetic field.

The speed of the rotor will be always less than the speed of the field. The emf in the rotor is induced
by the law of electromagnetic induction, therefore, this motor is called induction motor.

Measuring Instruments

Construction & Working of PMMC:

The term PMMC is the short form of “permanent magnet moving coil”. These instruments are used
when an exact measurement is required as well as to aid while maintaining electrical equipment.
Apart from PMMC, it is also called as D’alvanometer. It is a kind of galvanometer that works on the
principle of D’Arsonval.

Working Principle:

Whenever a current caring conductor is located within a magnetic field, then it experiences a force
that is perpendicular to the current & the field. Based on the rule of “Fleming left hand”, if the
thumbnail of the left hand, middle and forefinger are at 90 degrees with each other.

After that the magnetic field will be in the

forefinger, flow of current will be across
the middle finger and finally, the force
will be through the thumb finger.

Once the current flow within the coil on

the aluminum former, the magnetic field
can be generated in the coil in proportion
to the current flow.

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The electromagnetic force throughout the fixed magnetic field from the permanent magnet generates
the deflection force within the coil. After that the spring generates the force to resist additional
deflection; therefore it helps to balance the pointer.

So damping force can be generated within the system through the aluminum core movement of the
magnetic field. It maintains the pointer stable to a point. Once it attains equilibrium by controlling &
deflection torque to provide accuracy in measurement.

Construction:

Moving Coil

It is an essential component of the PMMC instrument. The designing of this coil can be done by
wounding copper coils to a rectangular block among the magnetic poles. It is made with Aluminum
and the rectangular block can be called Aluminum former rotated into the jeweled bearing. So it
permits the coil to turn freely.

Once the current is supplied throughout these coils, then it gets a deflection within the field, then it is
used to find out the voltage or current magnitude. The aluminum is a non-metallic former, used to
measure the current whereas the metallic former including high electromagnetic damping is used to
calculate the voltage.

Magnet System

The PMMC instrument includes two high-intensity magnets otherwise a ‘U’ shaped magnet-based
design. The designing of these magnets can be done with Alnico & Alcomax for higher superior field
intensity & coercive force. In several designs, an extra soft iron cylinder can be arranged among the
magnetic poles to create the field identical; while decreasing air reluctance for increasing the strength
of the field.

Control

In the PMMC device, the torque can be controlled due to the springs which are fabricated with
phosphorous bronze. These springs are arranged among the two jewel bearings. The spring provides
the lane to the lead current to supply in & out of the moving coil. The torque can be controlled mainly
due to the delay of the ribbon.

Damping Torque

Damping torque can be generated within the PMMC instrument using the aluminum core’s movement
within the magnetic field.

So the pointer can be kept at rest after the early deflection. It assists in the right measurement devoid
of fluctuations. Because of the movement of the coil within the magnetic field, eddy current can be

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generated within the aluminum former. This generates the damping force otherwise torque to resist the
motion of the coil. Gradually the deflection of the pointer will be reduced and lastly, it will stop at a
permanent position.

Pointer and Scale

In this instrument, the connection of the pointer can be done through the moving coil. It notices the
moving coil’s deflection. The magnitude of their derivation can be displayed on the scale. The pointer
within the instrument can be designed with lightweight material. Thus, it can be simply deflected
through the coil’s movement. Sometimes, the parallax error can occur within the device which is
simply decreased by properly arranging the pointer’s blade.

MOVING IRON INSTRUMENT:

The device where the moving iron is utilized for calculating either the current or voltage flow is
termed as the moving iron instrument. This device operates on the principle that iron is placed in close
to the magnet and it attracts this. This attractional force is based on the magnetic field strength. And
this magnetic field is stimulated by the electromagnet where its ability is based on the current’s
magnitude that flows across it.

Construction

Here, for the construction of the device either a plate or a sheet of soft iron is employed as the
movable component for the device. This sheet is placed in the way so that it has free movement in the
stationary coil’s magnetic field. The conductor element creates the stationary coil and this is
stimulated either by current or voltage for which magnitude has to be calculated.

The device makes use of the stationary coil to function as an electromagnet. This electromagnet is
only the transient magnitude where its magnetic field ability either enhances or lessens along with the
current’s magnitude that flows across it.

Working Principle of Moving Iron Instrument

These devices make use of either aluminum constructed wire or a static copper coil in order to
function as an electromagnet when there is a current passage all through the instrument. The capacity

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of the magnetic field is stimulated by the electromagnet and it has a direct relation to that passage of
current.

Either the plates of the iron sheets that pass across the coil enhance the static coil inductance (The
inductance is the conductor’s factor that enhances its EMF when there is variable movement through
the inductor). There will be an attractional force for the electromagnet to attract the iron sheet.

The sheet that is passed through the coil attempts to absorb the least reluctance path where reluctance
is the magnetic property that obstructs the current flow. The sheet which is passed via the coil will get
repulsion force where this is created by the electromagnet. This force enhances the ability of the coil’s
inductance. With this, the reluctance and inductance properties are inversely related. This is a moving
iron instrument operation.

Types

There are mainly two types of moving iron instruments where those are:

 Attraction type

 Repulsion Type

Attraction Type Moving Iron Instrument

In this type, the iron plate is attracted towards

the stronger field from the weaker field is
termed as the attraction type of instrument.
Here, the static coil in the device is in a flat
shape and it has a small opening. The movable
element is considered as the iron core’s flat
disc. The flow of current across the static coil
generates the magnetic field and this has the
attractional force to attract the coil.

The iron plate will get deflect from the low to

the high magnetic field and this deflection capacity has a direct relation to the current flow magnitude
which flows through the iron plate. In a brief, it is defined that an iron coil will be attracted.

This kind of device makes use of a spring where creates torque regulation. The coil’s deflection is
minimized by the piston made of aluminum metal and this is attached to the movable coil.

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Repulsion Type Moving Iron Instrument

This device is constructed with two iron sheets where one is static and the other sheet is movable.
These iron plates will be magnetized when
there is current flow across the static coil and
this created repulsion force in between the
plates. Due to this repulsion force, the
movable coil begins to start away from the
static plate.

The spring in the device will provide

regulation movement of the torque. The air
friction stimulates the damping torque where
obstructs coil movement. These kinds of
moving iron instruments come under the
category of the non-polarized device where
means that the device is to be set free from the current path that flows the device. So, it is employed
for both the direct and alternating current.

WHEAT STONE BRIDGE:

A very important device used in the measurement of medium resistances is the Wheatstone
bridge

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It has four resistive arms, together with a· source of emf (a battery) and a null detector

usually a galvanometer G or other sensitive current meter. The current through the

galvanometer depends on the potential difference between points c and d. The bridge is said

to be balanced when there is no current through the galvanometer or when the potential

difference across the galvanometer is zero.

This occurs when the voltage from point 'c' to point 'a' equals the voltage from point ‘d’ to

point 'a'; or, by referring to the other ·battery 'terminal, when the voltage from point 'c' to

point 'b' equals the voltage from point 'd' to point 'b'.

For bridge balance,

I1P = I2R

For Galvanometer current to be zero,

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Combining the above equations,

The above expression is balance of Wheatstone bridge.

If 3 of the resistances are known fourth resistance can be determined as

P
R=S
Q

Where S is called “Standard Arm” of the bridge and P and Q are called “Ratio Arms”.

The sensitivity to unbalance can be computed by solving the. bridge circuit for a small

unbalance. The solution is approached by converting the Wheatstone bridge to its "Thevenin

Equivalent” circuit.

The bridge is balanced under the condition

P/Q = R/S

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