INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

TOPIC- AC CURRENT
NAME – MOHIT NARULA
CLASS – 12 C
ROLLNO. –
ACADEMIC YEAR - 2023-2024
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special
thanks of gratitude to my teacher
MRS. SIVAGAMI as well as our
principal MRS. P.NIMITA who gave
me the golden opportunity to do
this wonderful project on the topic
AC GENERATOR, which also helped
me in doing a lot of Research and I
came to know about so many new
things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly I would also like to thank
my parents and friends who helped
me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.

MOHIT NARULA
 INDEX
⮚ INTRODUCTION

⮚ THEORY

⮚ CONSTRUCTION

⮚ WORKING

⮚ EFFICIENCY

⮚ TYPES

⮚ BIBLIOGRAPHY
Introduction
A changing magnetic flux produces a voltage or current
in a conductor, which is known as electromagnetic
induction. It can happen when a solenoid’s magnetic
flux is changed by moving a magnet. There will be no
generated voltage (electrostatic potential difference)
across an electrical wire if the magnet is immobile.
According to Michael Faraday, if the magnetic field is
changing and (maintaining) movement while
continually directing in the opposite direction (shifting
its direction regularly), it would produce a voltage (thus
the flow of alternating current).
AC generators work on the principle of Faraday’s
law of electromagnetic induction, which states
that electromotive force – EMF or voltage – is
generated in a current-carrying conductor that
cuts a uniform magnetic field. This can either be
achieved by rotating a conducting coil in a static
magnetic field or rotating the magnetic field
containing the stationary conductor. The
preferred arrangement is to keep the coil
stationary because it is easier to draw induced
alternating current from a stationary armature
coil than from a rotating coil.

THEORY

Simple AC Generator

A simple AC generator consists of: (a) a strong

magnetic field, (b) conductors that rotate through that
magnetic field, and (c) a means by which a continuous
connection is provided to the conductors as they are
rotating (Figure). The strong magnetic field is produced
by a current flow through the field coil of the rotor.
The field coil in the rotor receives excitation through
the use of slip rings and brushes. Two brushes are
spring-held in contact with the slip rings to provide the
continuous connection between the field coil and the
external excitation circuit. The armature is contained
within the windings of the stator and is connected to
the output. Each time the rotor makes one complete
revolution, one complete cycle of AC is developed. A
generator has many turns of wire wound into the slots
of the rotor. The magnitude of AC voltage generated by
an AC generator is dependent on the field strength and
speed of the rotor. Most generators are operated at a
constant speed; therefore, the generated voltage
depends on field excitation, or strength. The frequency
of the generated voltage is dependent on the number
of field poles and the speed at which the generator is
operated, as indicated in Equation (10-1).
f = NP/120 (10-1)
where f = frequency (Hz) Simple AC Generator
Electrical Science AC Generators AC Generator Theory
6 P = total number of poles
N = rotor speed (rpm)
120 = conversion from minutes to seconds and from
poles to pole pairs The 120 in Equation (10-1) is
derived by multiplying the following conversion
factors.
60 seconds/1 minute x 2 poles/pole pair. In this
manner, the units of frequency (hertz or cycles/sec.)
are derived.
 CONSTRUCTION

Construction of AC Generator

The roles of each of these AC generator components

are listed below.
1. Field- The field is made up of conductor coils

that receive electricity from the source and

generate magnetic flux. The armature is cut by

the magnetic flux in the field, which produces a

voltage. This voltage is the AC generator’s

output voltage.

2. Armature- The portion of an AC generator that

produces voltage is known as the armature. This

component largely comprises of wire coils large

enough to handle the generator’s full-load

current.

3. Prime Mover- The prime mover is the component

that drives the AC generator. A diesel engine, a

steam turbine, or a motor might all be used as

the prime mover.

4. Rotor- The rotor is the rotating component of the

generator. The rotor is driven by the generator’s

prime mover.
5. Stator- An AC generator’s stator is the stationary

component. To reduce eddy current losses, the

stator core is made up of a lamination of steel

alloys or magnetic iron.

6. Slip Rings- Slip rings are electrical connectors

that transport electricity from and to an AC

generator’s rotor. They are primarily used to

transfer electricity from a fixed device to a

revolving one.
 WORKING
The flux linkage of the armature varies
continually as it revolves between the poles
of the magnet on an axis perpendicular to the
magnetic field. An electric current travels
through the galvanometer, slip rings and
brushes as a consequence. The galvanometer
changes its value from positive to negative.
This implies that the galvanometer is
receiving an alternating current. Fleming’s
Right-Hand Rule can be used to determine
the direction of the induced current.
Direct Current Generator (DC Generator): The
current produced by this form of electric
generator does not alter direction or
amplitude. As a result, the frequency of DC is
always zero.
 EFFICIENCY
Efficiency of an AC generator is the ratio
of the useful power output to the total
power input. Because any mechanical
process experiences some losses, no AC
generators can be 100 percent efficient.
Efficiency of an AC generator can be
calculated using Equation (10-3).
Efficiency = Output Input x 100 (10-3)
Example: Given a 5 hp motor acting as
the prime mover of a generator that has
a load demand of 2 kW, what is the
efficiency of the generator? Solution: In
order to calculate efficiency, the input
and output power must be in the same
units. As described in Thermodynamics,
the horsepower and the watt are
equivalent units of power. Therefore,
the equivalence of these units is
expressed with a conversion factor as
follows.
 TYPES OF AC
GENERATOR
There are two types of AC generators: the stationary field,
rotating armature; and the rotating field, stationary
armature. Small AC generators usually have a stationary field
and a rotating armature (Figure 1). One important
disadvantage to this arrangement is that the slip ring and
brush assembly is in series with the load circuits and, because
of worn or dirty components, may interrupt the flow of
current.

Figure 1 Stationary Field,

Rotating Armature AC Generator
Figure 2 Simple AC Generator - Rotating Field, Stationary
Armature
If DC field excitation is connected to the rotor, the stationary
coils will have AC induced into them (Figure 2). This
arrangement is called a rotating field, stationary armature AC
generator. The rotating field, stationary armature type AC
generator is used when large power generation is involved. In
this type of generator, a DC source is supplied to the rotating
field coils, which produces a magnetic field around the
rotating element. As the rotor is turned by the prime mover,
the field will cut the conductors of the stationary armature,
and an EMF will be induced into the armature windings. This
type of AC generator has several advantages over the
stationary field, rotating armature AC generator: (1) a load
can be connected to the armature without moving contacts
in the circuit; (2) it is much easier to insulate stator fields
than rotating fields; and (3) much higher voltages and
currents can be generated.

Figure 3 Stationary Armature 3Φ Generator

Three-Phase AC Generators
The principles of a three-phase generator are basically the
same as that of a single-phase generator, except that there
are three equally spaced windings and three output voltages
that are all 120° out of phase with one another. Physically
adjacent loops (Figure 3) are separated by 60° of rotation;
however, the loops are connected to the slip rings in such a
manner that there are 120 electrical degrees between
phases. The individual coils of each winding are combined
and represented as a single coil. The significance of Figure 7
is that it shows that the three-phase generator has three
separate armature windings that are 120 electrical degrees
out of phase.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org

https://sites.ntc.doe.go

https://eduinput.com

https://en.wikipedia.org