Lecture 11

EE3010: Electrical Devices and Machines

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Associate Professor Lee Peng Hin

Tel: +65 6790 4474 | Email: ephlee@ntu.edu.sg
 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:

 Describe the voltage build-up in a shunt DC generator.

 Interpret the meaning of critical resistance and how to obtain it.

 Describe the voltage-current characteristics of a DC shunt generator.

 Carry out graphical analysis of a DC shunt generator.

 Describe the losses and power flows, and calculate the generator efficiency at
given operating condition.

2
EE3010 Lecture 11
 The Shunt DC Generator

 The generator supplies its own field current, by having its field winding
connected directly across the terminals of the machine.
IA IL I A  IF  IL ,
VT  E A  I A RA ,
RA IF
VT
IF 
RF RF
EA VT

LF

Equivalent circuit of a shunt DC generator.

3
EE3010 Lecture 11
 The Shunt DC Generator

 The armature current of the machine supplies both the field circuit and the
load attached to the machine.
 This type of generator has an advantage over the separately excited generator,
in that no external power supply is required for the field circuit.
 If the generator supplies its own field current, how does it get the initial field
flux when it is first turned on?

4
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Voltage Build-up in a Shunt DC Generator
EA (and VT), V
VT versus IF EA versus IF

VTnl

Magnetisation
curve

E A  Km
𝑉𝑇
𝑅𝐹 =
𝐼𝐹

EA, res IF , A
IFnl
Voltage build-up on starting in a shunt DC generator.

5
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Voltage Build-up in a Shunt DC Generator

 The voltage build-up depends on the presence of a residual flux ϕres in the
machine. When the generator first starts to turn with no load connected to it,
an internal voltage given by EA = Kϕresωm will be generated. A small VT appears
across the field windings and IF flows which produces an mmf, and the flux
increases which in turn increases EA, etc.
 It is the effect of the magnetic saturation in the machine which eventually limits
the terminal voltage of the generator.
 The field resistance should be less than Rcritical for voltage build-up to occur.

6
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Voltage Build-up in a Shunt DC Generator

 Normally, the shunt DC generator's voltage will build up to the point where the
magnetisation curve intersects the field resistance line, giving the no-load
terminal voltage.
 The field resistance should be less than Rcritical for voltage build-up to occur.
 If RF exceeds Rcritical , the steady-state operating voltage is essentially at the
residual level, and it never builds up.
 The solution to this problem is to reduce RF.

7
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Voltage Build-up in a Shunt DC Generator
EA (and VT), V R0
R2 R1
R3
V0
V1
V2

V3 IF , A

The effect of the field resistance on the no‐load terminal voltage.

If RF > R2 = Rcritical, the generator’s voltage will never build up.

8
EE3010 Lecture 11
 V-I Characteristics of a Shunt DC Generator
VT

IARA

Field weakening
effect

IL
When load on the generator  I L (hence I A )  I A RA  VT  .
When VT  I F    E A  VT  further.

9
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Voltage Control of a Shunt DC Generator

 As with the separately excited DC generator, there are two ways to control the
voltage of a shunt DC generator:
• Change the shaft speed of the generator.
• Change the total field resistance of the generator, thus changing the field
current – this method is widely used.

10
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Analysis of Shunt DC Generators

 The analysis of a shunt DC generator is more complicated than the separately

excited generator, because the field current in the machine depends directly on
the machine’s own output voltage.
 Shunt DC generators with armature reaction will further complicate the
analysis, and will not be discussed in this course.

11
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Analysis of Shunt DC Generators
VT versus IF
VT
EA reduction EA versus IF
VTnl

VT load

IARA drop E A  VT  I A RA

IF
IFnl

Graphical analysis of a shunt DC generator with compensating windings.

12
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Analysis of Shunt DC Generators
𝑉𝑇
 The field resistance 𝑅𝐹 = is shown by the straight line laid over the
𝐼𝐹
magnetisation curve.
 At no load, VT ≃ EA and the generator operates at the voltage where RF line
intersects the magnetisation curve.
 As EA = VT + IARA, to find the terminal voltage for a given load, just determine
the IARA drop and locate the place on the graph, where that drop fits exactly
between the EA line and the VT line.
 If there are two possible places on the curve where the IARA drop will fit
exactly, the one nearer the no-load voltage will represent the normal operating
point.

13
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Example 1

A DC shunt generator is driven at 1200 rpm. The magnetisation curve at 1200 rpm
is shown, and the armature and field resistances are 0.2 ohm and 30 ohms,
respectively. Neglect armature reaction.

a) An external rheostat is inserted in series with the field winding, and adjusted to
give a no‐load voltage of 170 V. What is the value of the rheostat setting?

b) If the generator supplies an armature current of 103.5 A, determine the

armature terminal voltage with the rheostat setting obtained in (a).

(Solutions )
14
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Example 1

ELECTRIC MACHINERY AND TRANSFORMERS 3E by Guru et al (2000): Fig 5.36 (p. 327). By permission of Oxford University Press, USA.

15
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Example 1 – Solutions

a) From the magnetisation curve, the field current corresponding to a no-load

terminal voltage of 170 V is 3.5 A. The total field-circuit resistance is:

170
RF   48.57
3.5
Thus, the external rheostat setting in the field-winding circuit is:

Rext  48.57  30  18.57

16
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Example 1 – Solutions

b) For I A  103.5 A,
VT  I F (48.57)  E A  (103.5)(0.2)
 E A  48.57 I F  20.7

Superimposing the above equation onto the magnetisation curve yields the
intersection point.
I F  3 A, E A  166 V
 VT  48.57 I F  145.71 V

17
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Example 1 – Solutions

ELECTRIC MACHINERY AND TRANSFORMERS 3E by Guru et al (2000): Fig 5.36 (p. 327). By permission of Oxford University Press, USA.

18
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Losses and Efficiency of a DC Generator

 Consider a shunt DC generator as an example:

Power output, Pout  VT I L

Power input Pin (mech)  Tinm where Tin is the prime mover’s torque.

Pdev  E A I A
Pin (mech)  Pdev  Prot

Pout
Generator efficiency,   100%
Pin
Note: For separately excited DC generator, Pin  Tinm  VF I F

19
EE3010 Lecture 11
 Summary of DC Generators

You have learnt:

 DC generators are DC machines used as generators. The different types differ in

the manner in which their field fluxes are derived.

 Voltage build-up in self-excited DC generators.

 The voltage-current characteristics of a shunt DC generator.

 The graphical approach to the analysis of shunt DC generator, using the

magnetisation curve and the equivalent circuit.

20
EE3010 Lecture 11
 References

No. Slide No. Image Reference

1 3 Reprinted from Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed.,
(p. 535), by S. J. Chapman, 2012, New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill. Copyright 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

2 5 Reprinted from Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed.,

(p. 536), by S. J. Chapman, 2012, New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill. Copyright 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

3 8 Reprinted from Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed.,

(p. 537), by S. J. Chapman, 2012, New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill. Copyright 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

21
EE3010 Lecture 11
 References

No. Slide No. Image Reference

4 9 Reprinted from Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed.,
(p. 538), by S. J. Chapman, 2012, New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill. Copyright 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

5 12 Reprinted from Electric Machinery Fundamentals, 5th ed.,

(p. 539), by S. J. Chapman, 2012, New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill. Copyright 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

6 15 Reprinted from Electric Machinery and Transformers, 3rd

ed., (p. 327), by B. S. Guru, & H. R. Hiziroglu, 2001, New
York, NY: Oxford University Press. Copyright 2001 by Oxford
University Press. Reprinted with permission.

22
EE3010 Lecture 11
 References

No. Slide No. Image Reference

7 18 Reprinted from Electric Machinery and Transformers, 3rd
ed., (p. 327), by B. S. Guru, & H. R. Hiziroglu, 2001, New
York, NY: Oxford University Press. Copyright 2001 by Oxford
University Press. Reprinted with permission.

23
EE3010 Lecture 11