ALTERNATOR

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.
ALTERNATOR
Definition:-

Alternator is a machine which converts mechanical energy into electrical

energy (AC)

Principle:-

Alternator working as a faradays law of electromagnetic induction that is

whenever a conductor placed in a magnetic field the relative motion created
between conductor and magnetic field then e.m.f induced in the conductor
(or)whenever a conductor is rotated in a magnetic flux, then it cuts the
magnetic
TYPES OF ALTERNATOR:-

a) On the bases of prime mover

i. Water turbine alternator
ii. Steam turbine alternator
iii. Oil engine alternator
b) On the bases of phases
i. Single phase alternator
ii. Three phase alternator
c) On the bases of Rotor
i. Rotating armature alternator
ii. Rotating field armature alternator
PARTS OF ALTERNATOR:-

I. Stator
II. Rotor -------------- a) Salient pole rotor (Low speed) b). Cylindrical
pole rotor (High speed)
III. Exciter
IV. Slip ring
Diagram of Alternator with Regulator connection
BRUSHLESS ALTERNATORS

MPI Control Systems are optimized with power supplies utilizing MPI high-quality
brushless alternators. Designed for long-lasting durability with no moving electrical
components. Ideal for all industrial applications, certified for hazardous duty
locations and field proven.
FEATURES:

• No brushes, no brush springs

• One moving part, no moving electrical part

• One-piece bearing housing, 4.5" or 9.5" brackets available

• Permanent bearing alignment

• Oversize lubrication reservoir

• Glass Filled TFE Fluorocarbon Seal (Teflon)

• Air-cooled 7.3" diameter advanced design

BENEFITS:

• Strong, compact reliable power

• Exceptional bearing life

• Simple inspection and maintenance procedures

• 24-VDC, rated to 80 amp, 5,000 rpm CSA approval rated to 60 amp,

3,600 rpm

• Bi-directional rotation
SPECIFICATIONS:

Rated Amperes 80

RPM @ Rated Amperes 5000

Preset Volt Range 25.5-30

Full Load Voltage @ 28.0 Preset 27.5

Field Amperes 4.5 Typical

Rotation Bi-Directional
Shaft Diameter (Pulley) 7/8 inch nominal

Voltage Regulator Integral - Adjustable - Self Exciting

Wiring Connections B+, B-, Ground

Rectifier Diode Construction Individually Replaceable

Rectifier, Rated Capacity 225 Amperes

*CSA International Certification 60 Amperes @ 3600 RPM 100 80 60 40 20 0

Output Amperes
ALTERNATOR
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to
alternating current electrical energy. Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but
linear alternators are occasionally used. In principle, any AC electrical generator can
be called an alternator, but usually the word refers to small rotating machines driven
by automotive and other internal combustion engines. Alternators in power stations
driven by steam turbines are called turbo-alternators
HISTORY:-

Alternating current generating systems were known in simple forms from the
discovery of the magnetic induction of electric current. The early machines
were developed by pioneers such as Michael Faraday and Hippolyte Pixii.

Faraday developed the "rotating rectangle", whose operation was heteropolar -

each active conductor passed successively through regions where the
magnetic field was in opposite directions.
[1]
The first public demonstration of a more robust "alternator system" took
[2]
place in 1886. Large two-phase alternating current generators were built by a
British electrician, J.E.H. Gordon, in 1882. Lord Kelvin and Sebastian Ferranti
also developed early alternators, producing frequencies between 100 and 300
Hz. In 1891, Nikola Tesla patented a practical "high-frequency" alternator
(which operated around 15 kHz).[3] After 1891, polyphase alternators were
[4]
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.[5]
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION:-

Alternators generate electricity by the same principle as DC generators,

namely, when the magnetic field around a conductor changes, a current is
induced in the conductor. Typically, a rotating magnet called the rotor turns
within a stationary set of conductors wound in coils on an iron core, called the
stator. The field cuts across the conductors, generating an electrical current, as
the mechanical input causes the rotor to turn.
The rotating magnetic field induces an AC voltage in the stator windings. Often
there are three sets of stator windings, physically offset so that the rotating
magnetic field produces three phase currents, displaced by one-third of a
period with respect to each other.
The rotor magnetic field may be produced by induction (in a "brushless" alternator), by
permanent magnets (in very small machines), or by a rotor winding energized with
direct current through slip rings and brushes. The rotor magnetic field may even be
provided by stationary field winding, with moving poles in the rotor. Automotive
alternators invariably use a rotor winding, which allows control of the alternator
generated voltage by varying the current in the rotor field winding.
Permanent magnet machines avoid the loss due to magnetizing current in the
rotor, but are restricted in size, owing to the cost of the magnet material. Since
the permanent magnet field is constant, the terminal voltage varies directly with
the speed of the generator. Brushless AC generators are usually larger
machines than those used in automotive applications.
SYNCHRONOUS SPEEDS:-

The output frequency of an alternator depends on the number of poles and the
rotational speed. The speed corresponding to a particular frequency is called
[6]
the synchronous speed for that frequency. This table gives some examples:
Poles RPM at 50 Hz RPM at 60 Hz

2 3,000 3,600

4 1,500 1,800

6 1,000 1,200

8 750 900

10 600 720

12 500 600

14 428.6 514.3

16 375 450

18 333.3 400

20 300 360
More generally, one cycle of alternating current is produced each time a pair of
field poles passes over a point on the stationary winding. The relation between
speed and frequency is N = 120f / P , where f is the frequency in Hz (cycles
per second). P is the number of poles (2,4,6...) and N is the rotational speed in
revolutions per minute (RPM). Very old descriptions of alternating current
systems sometimes give the frequency in terms of alternations per minute,
counting each half-cycle as one alternation; so 12,000 alternations per minute
corresponds to 100 Hz.
AUTOMOTIVE ALTERNATORS:-

Alternators are used in modern automobiles to charge the battery and to power
a car's electric system when its engine is running. Alternators have the great
advantage over direct-current generators of not using a commutator, which
makes them simpler, lighter, less costly, and more rugged than a DC
generator. The stronger construction of automotive alternators allows them to
use a smaller pulley so as to turn faster than the engine, improving output
when the engine is idling.
The availability of low-cost solid-state diodes from about 1960 onward allowed
car manufacturers to substitute alternators for DC generators. Automotive
alternators use a set of rectifiers (diode bridge) to convert AC to DC. To
provide direct current with low ripple, automotive alternators have a three-
phase winding.
Typical passenger vehicle and light truck alternators use Lundell or claw-pole
field construction, where the field north and south poles are all energized by a
single winding, with the poles looking rather like fingers of two hands
interlocked with each other. Larger vehicles may have salient-pole alternators
similar to larger machines.
The automotive alternator is usually belt driven at 2-3 times the engine
crankshaft speed. Automotive alternators are not restricted to a certain RPM
because the alternating current is rectified to direct current and need not be
any constant frequency.
Modern automotive alternators have a voltage regulator built into them. The
voltage regulator operates by modulating the small field current in order to
produce a constant voltage at the stator output. The field current is much
smaller than the output current of the alternator; for example, a 70-amp
alternator may need only 2 amps of field current.
The field current is supplied to the rotor windings by slip rings and brushes.
The low current and relatively smooth slip rings ensure greater reliability and
longer life than that obtained by a DC generator with its commutator and higher
current being passed through its brushes.
Efficiency of automotive alternators is limited by fan cooling loss, bearing loss,
iron loss, copper loss, and the voltage drop in the diode bridges; at part load,
efficiency is between 50-62% depending on the size of alternator, and varies
[7]
with alternator speed. In comparison, very small high-performance
permanent magnet alternators, such as those used for bicycle lighting
systems, achieve an efficiency around 60%. Larger permanent magnet
[citation needed]
alternators can achieve much higher efficiency.
A typical automotive alternator mounted in a spacious pickup truck engine bay.
The alternator is at the center of the picture, driven by a belt and pulley.
The field windings are initial y supplied via the ignition switch and charge
warning light, which is why the light glows when the ignition is on but the
engine is not running. Once the engine is running and the alternator is
generating, a diode feeds the field current from the alternator main output, thus
equalizing the voltage across the warning light which goes out.
The wire supplying the field current is often referred to as the "exciter" wire.
The drawback of this arrangement is that if the warning light fails or the
"exciter" wire is disconnected, no excitation current reaches the alternator field
windings and so the alternator, due to low residual magnetism in the rotor wil
not generate any power. However, some alternators wil self-excite when the
engine is revved to a certain speed.
The driver may check for a faulty exciter-circuit by ensuring that the warning
light is glowing with the engine stopped.

Very large automotive alternators used on buses, heavy equipment or

emergency vehicles may produce 300 amperes. Very old automobiles with
minimal lighting and electronic devices may have only a 30 ampere alternator.
Typical passenger car and light truck alternators are rated around 50-70
amperes, though higher ratings are becoming more common.
Very large automotive alternators may be water-cooled or oil-cooled.

Many alternator voltage regulators are today linked to the vehicle's on board
computer system, and in recent years other factors including air temperature
(gained from the mass air flow sensor in many cases) and engine load are
considered in adjusting the battery charging voltage supplied by the alternator.
MARINE ALTERNATORS:-

Marine alternators used in yachts are similar to automotive alternators, with

appropriate adaptations to the salt-water environment. Marine alternators are
designed to be explosion proof so that brush sparking wil not ignite explosive
gas mixtures in an engine room environment. They may be 12 or 24 volt
depending on the type of system installed.
Larger marine diesels may have two or more alternators to cope with the
heavy electrical demand of a modern yacht.On single alternator circuits the
power is split between the engine starting battery and the domestic or house
battery (or batteries) by use of a split-charge diode or a mechanical switch.
Because the alternator only produces power when running, engine control
panels are typically fed directly from the alternator by means of an auxiliary
terminal. Other typical connections are for charge control circuits.
BRUSHLESS ALTERNATORS:-

CONSTRUCTION:-

A brushless alternator is composed of two alternators built end-to-end on one

shaft. Smaller brushless alternators may look like one unit but the two parts are
readily identifiable on the large versions. The larger of the two sections is the
main alternator and the smaller one is the exciter.
The exciter has stationary field coils and a rotating armature (power coils). The
main alternator uses the opposite configuration with a rotating field and
stationary armature. A bridge rectifier, called the rotating rectifier assembly, is
mounted on a plate attached to the rotor. Neither brushes nor slip rings are
used, which reduces the number of wearing parts.
MAIN ALTERNATOR:-

The main alternator has a rotating field as described above and a stationary
armature (power generation windings).
CONTROL SYSTEM:-

Varying the amount of current through the stationary exciter field coils varies
the 3-phase output from the exciter. This output is rectified by a rotating
rectifier assembly, mounted on the rotor, and the resultant DC supplies the
rotating field of the main alternator and hence alternator output. The result of
all this is that a small DC exciter current indirectly controls the output of the
main alternator.
AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE REGULATOR (AVR):-

An automatic voltage control device detects changes in output voltage and

causes a change in field curent to keep output voltage constant.
HYBRID AUTOMOBILES:-

Hybrid automobiles replace the separate alternator and starter motor with a
combined motor/generator that performs both functions, cranking the internal
combustion engine when starting, providing additional mechanical power for
accelerating, and charging a large storage battery when the vehicle is running
at constant speed. These rotating machines have considerably more powerful
electronic devices for their control than the automotive alternator described
above.
RADIO ALTERNATORS:-

Main article: Alexanderson alternatorHigh frequency alternators of the variable-

reluctance type were applied commercial y to radio transmission in the low-
frequency radio bands. These were used for transmission of Morse code and,
experimentally, for transmission of voice and music.