Course: EE2003E ELECTRICAL MACHINES I Semester: Monsoon/ 2024-’25

Topic 5
DC Generators

Power flow diagram

Power flow diagram of a dc generator is as shown in Fig.1. Shaft power shown therein is the mechanical
power input to the machine (Pi) provided by the prime mover. Here the rotational loss represents the iron
and mechanical losses, where the iron or core losses comprise of hysteresis and eddy current losses and
the mechanical losses comprise of friction and windage losses.

Further, Hysteresis loss, W h ⍺ Bmax1.6 f, eddy current loss, W e ⍺ Bmax2 f2, friction loss, W f ⍺ N and windage
loss, W w ⍺ N2. As the frequency of magnetic fluctuations, f ⍺ N, the speed, all the components of the
rotational loss depends on N, justifying its name.

Fig.1
Then, the electrical power developed, Pd = Eg Ia. Considering the general form of the voltage equation of a
dc generator as V = Eg - Ia Ra and multiplying both sides of it with I = (Ia ≈ Il), the electrical power output (Po)
is obtained as Po = V Il = Eg Ia - Ia2 Ra, where Ia2 Ra represents the copper losses. Here the copper losses
comprise of the I2 R losses due to the armature winding, series field winding, shunt field winding, interpole
winding, compensating winding and the brushes as the case may be.

As the losses are to be minimised, the armature winding, series field winding, interpole winding and
compensating winding will be of low resistances and the field windings of separately excited and shunt
generators will be of considerably high resistances. Consequently, the series field winding, interpole winding
and compensating winding will be of a few number of turns with thicker conductors where the field windings
of separately excited and shunt generators will be of more number of turns with thinner conductors.

P Ananthakrishnan, EED, NIT Calicut

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Course: EE2003E ELECTRICAL MACHINES I Semester: Monsoon/ 2024-’25

As the speed of the generator (N) is almost constant at all operating points irrespective of loading, the
rotational loss comprising of iron and mechanical losses will also be constant and hence it is known as
constant loss (W c), where the copper loss is known as variable loss. Then the system equation can be
written as Generator input (Pi) = Generator output (Po) + losses = V I + I2 Ra + W c.
Hence, the efficiency, ɳ = Po/ Pi = V I/ (V I + I2 Ra + W c).
Then, the condition for maximum efficiency is obtained as I2 Ra = W c or I = √(W c/ Ra).

Specifications
The main specifications of a dc generator are the rated power output, rated voltage, rated speed and rated
field current in respective units, along with its method of excitation and the number of poles.

Characteristics
The important characteristics of a dc generator are
(i) Magnetisation characteristic or Open circuit characteristic (OCC), which is the graph of Eg vs If.
(ii) External characteristic or Terminal characteristic, which is the graph of V vs Il and
(iii) Internal characteristic, which is the graph of Eg vs Ia.
These characteristics are to be deduced for the performance analysis of the generators.

Separately excited generator

In the case of a separately excited generator, the field current required to set up the main field is supplied by
an independent voltage source, as shown again in Fig.2 here. Driving the generator under no load with a
suitable prime mover at a constant speed, its excitation is varied in steps from zero to a maximum by means
of a field regulating resistance to obtain the OCC. The terminal voltage and field current are measured at
each step, without any change in speed. Once the maximum field current is reached, the excitation is then
varied from the maximum to zero and the terminal voltage and field current are measured again as before.

Fig.2
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.
Assuming that the magnetic poles are initially demagnetized, the increasing and decreasing magnetization
characteristics are then obtained as shown in Fig.3 with this open circuit test on the generator. Owing to
magnetic hysteresis, it is seen that the decreasing OCC lies a little above the other one with a non-zero emf
due to residual magnetism at If = 0.

Fig.3
On conducting a short circuit test also on the initially demagnetized separately excited generator, its short
circuit characteristic can be plotted along with the increasing OCC as shown in Fig.4. The excitation for an
open circuit emf AB and short circuit current AC is OA as seen therein. It shows that the equivalent internal
voltage drop in the armature circuit due to the combined effect of armature reaction and resistance for a
current AC is equal to the emf AB. Thus the graph of the voltage drop due to the effect of armature reaction
and resistance vs the load current stands deduced as shown in Fig.5 for all configurations of dc generators.

Fig.4 Fig.5
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Consequently, the internal and external characteristics of a separately excited generator are as shown in
Fig.6. Ea and V0 shown therein are to be taken as Eg and E0 respectively, where E0 is the generated emf
under no load, just for the consistency of the symbols followed.

Fig.6

Shunt generator
In the case of a shunt generator, the field current required to set up the main field is to be supplied by the
armature of the generator itself, as shown again in Fig.7 here. With reference to the system equations for
the configuration, it is clear that the following conditions are to be met with for the building up voltage then.

Fig.7
1. Presence of some residual magnetism in the poles.
2. Proper connection of the shunt field circuit to the armature circuit such that the magnetic flux set up by
the field current aids the residual flux.
3. A shunt field circuit resistance sufficiently less than the critical shunt field circuit resistance of the
generator corresponding to the speed of operation, while it gets excited on no load.
The process of voltage build up is to be considered in detail for the clear understanding of these stipulations.

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Process of voltage build up

 V is to be non-zero for supplying Ish through the field winding as Ish = V/ Rsh.
 Eg is to be non-zero for V to be non-zero as V = Eg - Ia Ra.
 ∅ is to be non-zero for Eg to be non-zero as Eg = (N ∅ Z/60) (P/ A).
 Hence the condition 1 becomes essential.
 Once the presence of some residual flux is ensured, a small value of Eg gets developed due to that.
 This Eg causes an Ish through the field winding, corresponding to Rsh = Rf as indicated in Fig.8.
 Once the flux set by this Ish aids the residual flux, Eg builds up to E0 = V0 as seen therein.
 Once the flux set by this Ish opposes the residual flux on the other hand, no voltage build up takes place.
 Hence the condition 2 to be met with.
 No load value to which Eg builds up is V01 with Rf = Rf1 as shown in Fig.9.
 When Rf increases from Rf1 to Rf2, the no load value to which Eg builds up is decreased from V01 to V02.
 When Rf = Rf3 (> Rf2), represented by the tangent to the relevant OCC, Eg builds up only to a small value.
 When Rf > Rf3, no voltage build up takes place as illustrated therein.
 Value of the shunt field circuit resistance above which a shunt generator fails to build up voltage at a
particular speed is known as its critical shunt field circuit resistance or critical resistance at that speed.
 Then, the critical resistance of a shunt generator at a particular speed is the resistance represented by
the tangent to its OCC at that speed.
 Hence the condition 3 to be met with.
 Also the speed of a shunt generator below which it fails to build up voltage with a particular shunt field
circuit resistance is known as its critical speed corresponding to that shunt field circuit resistance.

Fig.8 Fig.9
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Terminal characteristics
A shunt generator is first excited on no load to generate an emf (E0) preferably equal to its rated value and
then loaded without altering its shunt field circuit resistance to obtain its internal and external characteristics
as shown in Fig.10. Here the terminal voltage goes on decreasing drastically while the current increases to
a maximum value and then decreases along with the voltage to have a small value decided by the emf due
to residual flux and the armature circuit resistance under short circuit as seen therein. The negative
resistance region between the maximum current point and the short circuit point is unstable then. This
severe voltage drop and a limit on the maximum current capacity are due to the following reasons.
1. Armature resistance drop.
2. Armature reaction drop.
3. Fall in flux as a consequence of fall in terminal voltage and in turn fall in field current.

Fig.10
Out of these three reasons, the cumulative effect of fall in flux and fall in terminal voltage is the predominant
one leading to a maximum limit on the developed power (Eg Ia) causing a limit to the maximum current
capacity and the fall of terminal voltage to zero finally as seen illustrated here.

Control of terminal voltage

Control of terminal voltage is to be obtained only by the variation of the shunt field circuit resistance when
the shunt generator is driven at constant speed.

P Ananthakrishnan, EED, NIT Calicut

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Series generator
Being a self excited generator, as shown again in Fig.11 here, certain conditions like the presence of
residual flux are to be met with for the building up voltage in the case of a series generator also.

Fig.11
The external characteristic of a series generator can be readily deduced from its OCC and armature
characteristic, which is the graph of the voltage drop due to the effect of armature reaction and resistance vs
the load current, as shown in Fig.12. Here, the curve C is obtained by way of subtracting the ordinates of B
from the corresponding ordinates of A as illustrated therein, where the point of intersection of curves A and
B corresponds to the short circuit condition. Thus the external characteristic of a series generator is entirely
different from that of a shunt generator. The first part of this characteristic represents the unstable region of
operation of the machine as the increase in current results in voltage increase and its operation becomes
stable beyond the maximum voltage.

Fig.12
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The series generator does not build up voltage until the total resistance of the load circuit is reduced to the
critical value corresponding to the initial slope of the OCC at a particular speed. As a result of this terminal
characteristic, the series generators are mainly used as boosters.

Compound generators
Being self excited generators, the conditions like the presence of residual flux are to be met with for the
building up voltage in the case of compound generators also. When a shunt generator is provided with an
additional series winding, the current through the series winding increases along with the load current,
causing an increase in the main field in proportion to the load current. This increase in flux results in
corresponding increase of generated emf under load, compensating for the combined voltage drop due to
the effect of armature reaction and resistance. This compensation towards the first two reasons for severe
voltage drop in a shunt generator makes the third one irrelevant in the case of a compound generator and
consequently, the external characteristic of a compound generator stands improved as shown in Fig.13. The
level of such compounding is adjusted to be (i) flat or level compounded, (ii) over compounded or (ii) under
compounded by way of designing the series winding with suitable number of turns as seen therein.

Fig.13
Voltage regulation
Percentage voltage regulation given as (IVno loadI - IVloadI) x 100/ IVno loadI is seen to be very poor, poor and
satisfactory in the case of series, shunt and separately excited generators respectively, while it stands much
improved in the case of compound generators.

P Ananthakrishnan, EED, NIT Calicut

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Parallel operation
It is essential to operate a few generators in parallel rather than operating a single generator, when the total
load demand goes above certain limit. Reliability of supply, limit on generator capacity and need for
maintenance are some of the major considerations here. The machines to be operated in parallel must be of
same voltage rating. But they need not be of same rated speed or rated power output.

Sharing of a total load by a few generators operating in parallel will be determined entirely by their individual
external characteristics. Also, the sharing should be such that it is in proportion to their rated power outputs.
For example, the load sharing between two shunt generators operating in parallel is as illustrated in Fig.14,
when they are excited to give the same emf on no load. Here, the load sharing between the generators is
such that the one with more drooping characteristic takes the smaller share at all loading conditions.

Fig.14
But, their load sharing will be as shown in Fig.15, when excited to give unequal emf on no load. Here, the
generator with smaller value of no load voltage is forced to run as a motor so that the total load on the other
generator is greater than the power delivered to the external circuit, at very light loads. It continues to run as
a motor until the terminal voltage falls down and becomes equal to its no load voltage on increase in total
load and it just floats at that load condition. When the total load increases beyond this level, both the
machines run as generators and the load sharing takes place with reference to their drooping
characteristics. The uneven distribution of load may take place even on heavy loads when the difference in
no load voltages goes up, making one generator unduly overloaded.

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Fig.15
Now, two shunt generators operating in parallel are considered for deriving the load sharing expressions.
Let, E1, E2 = emfs of generators 1 and 2 respectively
r1, r2 = armature circuit resistances of generators 1 and 2 respectively
Ia1, Ia2 = armature currents of generators 1 and 2 respectively
Rsh1, Rsh2 = shunt field circuit resistances of generators 1 and 2 respectively
Ish1, Ish2 = shunt field currents of generators 1 and 2 respectively
I1, I2 = current supplied by generators 1 and 2 respectively
R = load resistance
V = terminal voltage
I = total load current
V0 = terminal voltage under no load
Ic = total short circuit current
Then, the system equations are given as
I1 + I2 = I
I1 = Ia1 - Ish1 = Ia1 - (V/ Rsh1)
I2 = Ia2 - Ish2 = Ia2 - (V/ Rsh2)
V = I R = (I1 + I2) R
V = E1 - Ia1 r1
V = E2 - Ia2 r2
I1, I2 and V are to be obtained by solving these equations.

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In case Ish1 and Ish2 are negligible, these system equations get simplified as
I1 + I2 = I, V = I R = (I1 + I2) R, V = E1 - I1 r1, V = E2 - I2 r2 and
I1, I2 and V are given as
I1 = [E1 r2 + (E1 - E2) R]/ [r1 r2 + (r1 + r2) R], I2 = [E2 r1 - (E1 - E2) R]/ [r1 r2 + (r1 + r2) R]
I = (E1 r2 + E2 r1)/ [r1 r2 + (r1 + r2) R] → Ic = (E1 r2 + E2 r1)/ (r1 r2) = (E1/ r1) + (E2/ r2)
V = IR = (E1 r2 + E2 r1)/ [r1 r2/R + (r1 + r2)] → V0 = (E1 r2 + E2 r1)/ (r1 + r2), Then,
Current share of generator 1 = I1, Power share of generator 1 = V I1
Current share of generator 2 = I2, Power share of generator 2 = V I2.

Equalizer bars, the connection of which is as shown in Fig.16 are necessary for the stable and satisfactory
operation of series generators in parallel. Equalizer bars as shown in Fig.17 are necessary for over
compound and level compound generators also for making their parallel operation stable and satisfactory.
Here again the load sharing is to be determined by way of solving the relevant system equations.

Fig.16 Fig.17
Applications
Separately excited and shunt generators are used for lighting, power supply, charging batteries, etc.
Series generators are used as boosters in certain distribution systems.
Compound generators are used for lighting, heavy power service like electric railways, welding, etc.

Examples
1. The open circuit characteristic of a dc generator driven at 400rpm is given as Eg (V)/If (A): 110/2, 155/3,
186/4, 212/5, 230/6, 246/7, 260/8, 271/9. If the machine is run as a shunt generator at 400rpm, (i) what
will be the no-load terminal voltage with a shunt field circuit resistance of 32.5? (ii) what should be the
shunt field circuit resistance to get a no-load terminal voltage of 230V? and (iii) what will be its critical
shunt field circuit resistance?
OCC at 400rpm is plotted as shown in Fig.18.
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Fig.18
Case (i)
A straight line representing Rsh = R1 = 32.5 is drawn therein to intersect the OCC and the no-load
terminal voltage corresponding to that point of intersection is obtained as E0 = 260V.
Case (ii)
The point corresponding to the no-load terminal voltage, E0 = 230V is located on the OCC and a straight
line is drawn through that point and origin. Then the slope of that straight line is obtained as the
corresponding shunt field circuit resistance, Rsh = R2 = 230/6 = 38.3.
Case (iii)
The tangent to the OCC through origin is drawn and the slope of that straight line is obtained as its
critical shunt field circuit resistance at 400rpm, Rshc = R3 = 140/2.4 = 58.3.

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2. The open circuit characteristic of a dc generator driven at 600rpm is given as Eg (V)/If (A): 23/1, 45/2,
67/3, 85/4, 100/5, 112/6, 121/7, 126/8. If the machine has an armature resistance of 0.02 and it is run
as a shunt generator, determine the load current (i) when the terminal voltage is 120V at 600rpm, with a
shunt field circuit resistance of 15 and (ii) when the terminal voltage is 144V at 700rpm, with a shunt
field circuit resistance of 18.
Case (i)
V = 120V, N = 600rpm, Rsh = 15, ra = 0.02
OCC at 600rpm, Eg (V)/If (A): 23/1, 45/2, 67/3, 85/4, 100/5, 112/6, 121/7, 126/8.
Ish = V/ Rsh =120/ 15 = 8A
Eg corresponding to Ish = 8A is 126V
Ia = (Eg - V)/ ra = (126 - 120)/ 0.02 = 300A
Il = Ia - Ish = 300 - 8 = 292A.
Case (ii)
V = 144V, N = 700rpm, Rsh = 18.
Eg at 700rpm is obtained by multiplying Eg at 600rpm with (700/600).
Then, OCC at 700rpm, Eg (V)/If (A): 26.8/1, 52.5/2, 78.2/3, 99.2/4, 116.7/5, 130.7/6, 141.2/7, 147/8.
Ish = V/ Rsh =144/ 18 = 8A
Eg corresponding to Ish = 8A is 147V
Ia = (Eg - V)/ ra = (147 - 144)/ 0.02 = 150A
Il = Ia - Ish = 150 - 8 = 142A.

3. Two dc shunt generators are connected in parallel with a load of (6/7). The generators have armature
resistances of 0.1 and 0.05 and they are excited to have generated voltages of 120V and 127V
respectively. Neglecting the field currents and the brush voltage drops, calculate the currents delivered
by the generators and the bus voltage.
As the field currents are negligible,
I1, I2 and V are given as
I1 = [E1 r2 + (E1 - E2) R]/ [r1 r2 + (r1 + r2) R]
I2 = [E2 r1 - (E1 - E2) R]/ [r1 r2 + (r1 + r2) R]
V = (E1 r2 + E2 r1)/ [r1 r2/R + (r1 + r2)]
E1 = 120V, r1 = 0.1, E2 = 127V, r2 = 0.05, R = 0.857
I1 = 0A
I2 = 140A
V = 120V.
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4. Two dc shunt generators A and B run in parallel to supply a total load of 2000A. Generator A having
armature and field resistances of 0.04 and 25 respectively is adjusted to generate a voltage of 440V
while generator B having armature and field resistances of 0.025 and 20 respectively is adjusted to
generate a voltage of 420V. Calculate the output of each machine in kW.
E1 = 440V, r1 = 0.04, Rsh1 = 25, E2 = 420V, r2 = 0.025, Rsh2 = 20, I = 2000A
I1 + I2 = I → Ia1 - (V/ Rsh1) + Ia2 - (V/ Rsh2) = I
V = E1 - Ia1 r1 → Ia1 = (E1 - V)/ r1
V = E2 - Ia2 r2 → Ia2 = (E2 - V)/ r2
→ (E1 - V)/ r1 - (V/ Rsh1) + (E2 - V)/ r2 - (V/ Rsh2) = I
→ (440 - V)/ 0.04 - (V/ 25) + (420 - V)/ 0.025 - (V/ 20) = 2000
V = 396.37V
I1 = (E1 - V)/ r1 - (V/ Rsh1) = 1075A
I2 = (E2 - V)/ r2 - (V/ Rsh2) = 925A
P1 = V I1 = 426kW
P2 = V I2 = 367kW

5. Two dc compound generators run in parallel with an equalizer bar to supply a total load of 500A. One
generator having armature and series field resistances of 0.01 and 0.004 respectively is adjusted to
generate a voltage of 240V while other having armature and series field resistances of 0.02 and
0.006 respectively is adjusted to generate a voltage of 244V. Calculate the armature currents, series
field currents, equalizer bar current and bus voltage.
E1 = 240V, r1 = 0.01, Rser1 = 0.004, E2 = 244V, r2 = 0.02, Rser2 = 0.006,
If the armature currents are Ia1 = i1 and Ia2 = i2 as shown in Fig.19,

Fig.19
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Ia1 + Ia2 = 500A. Then,

(240-v)/ r1 + (244-v)/ r2 = 500, where v is the voltage across the armature terminals as seen therein. So,
(240-v)/ 0.01 + (244-v)/ 0.02 = 500, v = 238V. Then,
Ia1 = (240-238)/ 0.01 = 200A
Ia2 = (244-238)/ 0.02 = 300A
Iser1 = 500 x Rser2/ (Rser1 + Rser2) = 500 x 0.006/ (0.004 + 0.006) = 300A
Iser2 = 500 x Rser1/ (Rser1 + Rser2) = 500 x 0.004/ (0.004 + 0.006) = 200A. Hence,
Ieqibar = Ia2 - Iser2 = 300-200 = 100A
V = v - Iser1 Rser1 = v - Iser2 Rser2 = 236.8V

Exercise
1. The shunt winding of a 500kW dc compound generator is designed to develop 500V at no load. Its
temperature at no load is 20˚C and it rises to 60˚C on full load. Estimate the number of series turns per
pole for the machine, required to develop 500V at no load and 550V at full load, the requisite ampere-
turns per pole being 7900 and 11200 respectively.

P Ananthakrishnan, EED, NIT Calicut

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