Most military vehicles are now equipped with an AC charging system.

The reason for changing to the AC system is that an alternator is capable of producing a higher voltage at idle speed, whereas a DC generator produces very little voltage at idle speed. Many military vehicles are equipped with radios, firing devices, and other high-current-drawing equipment. When this equipment is in operation and the vehicle's engine is at a low RPM, a DC generator will not produce the required current and voltage to keep the batteries charged and supply the current required to operate the accessories properly 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. In UK, large alternators in power stations which are driven by steam turbines are called turbo-alternators
Topic Summary

Rotor

The rotor is an electro magnet. It consists of a coil of wire wound around an iron core and is pressed on to a steel shaft. It usually has 8 to 12 tapered pole projections. The stator consists of a cylindrical laminated iron core, which carries the three-phase winding in slots on the outside. The end frames of an alternator are made from aluminum. Slip rings are normally copper bands connected to the rotor winding. Brushes allow an electrical connection to the rotating rotor winding. Rectifier diodes are mounted on heat sinks. The positive heat sink is insulated from the frame, the negative heat sink is connected to the frame. The fan is a centrifugal type that is mounted on the rotor shaft or drive pulley.

Stator

Alternator end frames Slip ring & brush assembly

Rectifier assembly

Alternator cooling fan

Principle of operation
Diagram of a simple alternator with a rotating magnetic core (rotor) and stationary wire (stator) also showing the current induced in the stator by the rotating magnetic field of the rotor. Alternators generate electricity using 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 induced emf (electromotive force), 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 a three phase current, displaced by one-third of a period with respect to each other. The rotors magnetic field may be produced by induction (as in a "brush-less" alternator), by permanent magnets (as in very small machines), or by a rotor winding energized with direct current through slip rings and brushes. The rotors magnetic field may even be provided by stationary field winding, with moving poles in the rotor. Automotive alternators invariably use a rotor winding[citation needed], which allows control of the alternators 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. An automatic voltage control device controls the field current to keep output voltage constant. If the output voltage from the stationary armature coils drops due to an increase in demand, more current is fed into the rotating field coils through the Automatic Voltage Regulator or AVR. This increases the magnetic field around the field coils which induces a greater voltage in the armature coils. Thus, the output voltage is brought back up to its original value. Alternators in central power stations use may also control the field current to regulate reactive power and to help stabilize the power system against the effects of momentary faults.

Theory A symmetric rotating magnetic field can be produced with as few as three coils. Three coils will have to be driven by a symmetric 3-phase AC sine current system, thus each phase will be shifted 120 degrees in phase from the others. For the purpose of this example, magnetic field is taken to be the linear function of coil's current. The result of adding three 120-degrees phased sine waves on the axis of the motor is a single rotating vector. The rotor (having a constant magnetic field driven by DC current or a permanent magnet) will attempt to take such position that N pole of the rotor is adjusted to S pole of the stator's magnetic field, and vice versa. This magneto-mechanical force will drive rotor to follow rotating magnetic field in a synchronous manner. A permanent magnet in such a field will rotate so as to maintain its alignment with the external field. This effect was utilised in early alternating current electric motors. A rotating magnetic field can be constructed using two orthogonal coils with 90 degrees phase difference in their AC currents. However, in practice such a system would be supplied through a three-wire arrangement with unequal currents. This inequality would cause serious problems in standardization of the conductor size and in order to overcome it, three-phase systems are used where the three currents are equal in magnitude and have 120 degrees phase difference. Three similar coils having mutual geometrical angles of 120 degrees will create the rotating magnetic field in this case. The ability of the three phase system to create a rotating field utilized in electric motors is one of the main reasons why three phase systems dominated in the world electric power supply systems. Because magnets degrade with time, synchronous motors and induction motors use short-circuited rotors (instead of a magnet) following a rotating magnetic field of multicoiled stator. (Short circuited turns of rotor develop eddy currents in the rotating field of stator which (currents) in turn move the rotor by Lorentz force). Note that the rotating magnetic field can actually be produced by two coils, with phases shifted 90 degrees. In case two phases of sine current are only available, four poles are commonly used.