INDEX

1.
 INTRODUCTION

An electric generator is advice that converts

mechanical energy to electrical energy.
Generator forces electric current to flow
through an external circuit. The source
of mechanical energy may be reciprocating or
turbine steam engine, water falling through a
turbine or waterwheel, an internal combustion
engine, a wind turbine, a hand crank,
compressed air, or any other source of
mechanical energy. Generators provide nearly
all of the power for electric power grids.
THEORY
T

1. The strong magnetic field is produced by a

current flow through the field coil of the
rotor.
2. The field coil in the rotor receives excitation
through the use of slip rings and brushes.
3. 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.
4. The armature is contained within the
windings of the stator and is connected to
the output.
5. Each time the rotor makes one complete
revolution, one complete cycle of AC
is developed.
6. A generator has many turns of wire wound
into the slots of the rotor.
7. The magnitude of AC voltage generated by
an AC generator is dependent on the field
strength and speed of the rotor.
8. Most generators are operated at a constant
speed; therefore, the generated voltage
depends on field excitation, or strength.
CONSTRUCTION
First make the hollow-ended box.
Scorethe cardboard strip like so: Fold
itlike this and tape it securely. Usethe nail
to poke a hole perfectlystraight through
the center of thebox, going through both
sides and all(hole) three layers of
cardboard. Then pull the nail out and use
it to widenall the holes slightly, so when
you put the nail back through, it will bea
bit loose and able to spin. At this point
you should clamp four magnetsaround the
nail and give it a spin
This makes sure the box is large enough. The
nail and magnets should spin freely. The
corners of the magnets should NOT bump the
inside of the box as they spin. If the box is a
bit too small, start over and make it a little
bigger. Either that, or try a thinner nail. Pick
the spool ofnumber-30 magnet wire From the
kit of spools. This is the thinnest.
Tape one end of the number-30 magnet
wire to the side of the box, then wind all of
the wire onto the box as shown.
It's OK to cover up the nail hole. Pull the taped
end of the wire out, then tape down both of
the wires soothe coil doesn't unwind. You
should have about 10cm of wire left sticking
out. Use sandpaper or the edge of knife to
scrape the thin plastic coating off 2cm of the
wire ends. Remove every bit of red coating,
soothe wire ends are coppery. Spread the wire
away from the nail hole and tape It in place.
Stick the nail back through the holes and
make sure it can spin. Take your four
magnets, stick them face to face in two pairs,
Then stick the two pairs inside the box and on
either side of the nail so they grab the nail.
Push them around until they are somewhat
balanced and even, then spin the nail and see
if they turn freely. If you wish, you can stick
2cm squares of cardboard between the
magnets to straighten them, and tape the
magnets so they don't move around on the
nail Make sure that each end of the
generator's wires are
Totally cleared of red plastic coating. If there
is a bit of plastic left, it can act as an insulator
which turns off your light bulb circuit. Twist
the scraped end of each generator wire
securely around the silver tip of each wire
from the small light bulb. (If necessary, use a
knife to strip more plastic from the ends of the
light bulb wires.) One generator wire goes to
one light bulb wire, the other generator wire
goes to the other light bulb wire, and the two
twisted wire connections should not touch
together. In the twisted wires, metal must
touch metal with no plastic in-between.
WORKING
The working of the transformer is explained
All metals contain a movable substance called
"electric charge". Even uncharged wires are full of
charge! After all, the atoms of the metal are made half
of positive protons and half of negative electrons.
Metals are special because their electrons don't stay
connected to the metal atoms; instead they fly
around inside the metal and form a type of
electric “liquid" inside the wires. All wires are
full of electric fluid. Modern scientists call this
the "electron sea" or “electron gas." It is not
invisible, it actually gives metals their silvery
shine. The electron gas is like a silvery fluid.
When a circle of wire surrounds magnetic field,
and the magnetic field then changes circular
"pressure" called Voltage appears. This circular
voltage try s to force the movable charges in the
wire to rotate around the circle. In other words,
moving magnets create electric currents in closed
circles of wire. A moving magnet causes a
pumping action. If the circuit is not complete, if
there is a break, then the pumping force will
cause no charge.
flow. But if the circuit is "complete" or "closed",
then the magnet's pumping action can force the
electron s of the coil to begin flowing.

This is a basic law of physics, and it is used by all

coil/magnet electric generators. When the circuit
is closed and the magnet is moving, charges in the
metal are forced to flow. The charges of the light
bulb's filament are pushed along. When the
charges within the copper wire pass into the
thin light bulb filament, their speed greatly
increases.
USES OF AC GENERATOR
1. aircraft auxiliary power gene
ration, wind generators, high
speed gas turbine generators.
2. Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)
drive systems, automotive
starter generators
.3. n ac generator, or 'alternator
', is used to produce ac voltages
for transmission via the grid
system or ,locally, as portable
generators
.4. all of our household applianc
es runs on ac current. Ex:
Refrigerator, washing
machines, oven, lights, fan etc.
EFFICIENCY
Expression for Instantaneous e.m.f.
Produced: Let position of the coil at any
time t. It make angle q
with vertical If w is uniform angular
speed of the coil.
Then q = wt
B be the strength of magnetic field n be
the number of turns
in the coil and A area of the coil then
magnetic flux with the
coil in this position is given by
:f = nBA Cos q = nBA Cos wt.
Differentiate w.r.t. time
= nBA (-Sin wt) w
= -nBA w Sin wte
= - (-nBA w Sin wt)
maximum value of e.m.f. say E0e = E0 Sin
wt.
 1) Efficiency of an AC generator is the ratio of
the useful
power output to the total power input.
2) Because any mechanical process experiences
some
losses, no AC generators can be 100 percent
efficient.
3) Efficiency of an AC generator can
be calculated using
Equation
.4) Efficiency =(Output /Input )x 100