Armature Windings

Coils, Turns and Conductors of a Rotor

One loop of wire is referred to as a turn, A coil consists of one or more turns. A coil starts at a commutator segment and ends at another commutator segment. A conductor is the part of a turn running through an armature slot.

(a)

(b)

(c)

A coil with three turns (d)

A coil with a single turn

Armature

Figure 1

L.R.Perera

Page 1 of 4

2/9/2012

The number of conductors in a rotor is needed for most of DC motor calculations and is denoted by Z. Z = The total number of conductors in a rotor Z = The number of slots X (conductors per slot) Z = (The number of coils) X (Turns per coil) X (Conductors per turn) Conductors per turn = 2 Hence Z = (The number of coils) X (Turns per coil) X 2 e.g : Consider the cases shown in figure 1. In cases a,b and c only a single coil of a certain rotor is shown. Consider that each machine has 8 rotor coils. Z = (The number of coils) X (Turns per coil) X 2 Case a : Turns per coil = 2 Z = 8 X 2 X 2 = 32 Case b : Turns per coil = 1 x = 8 X 1 X 2 = 16 Case c : Turns per coil = 3 x = 8 X 3 X 2 = 48 Z = The number of slots X (conductors per slot) Case c : There are 12 slots and 2 conductors per slot. Hence Z = 12 X 2 = 24

Lap Winding

(Parallel winding)When the end connections of the coils are brought to adjacent bars, a lap or parallel winding is formed. In this type winding No of parallel paths through the armature = The no. of poles on the machine = No. of brushes Alternate brushes are positive and negative. The lap winding is best suited for low voltage, high current ratings because of the number of parallel paths.

L.R.Perera

Page 2 of 4

2/9/2012

Wave Winding
When the end connections of the coils are spread apart a wave or series winding is formed. In a wave winding there are only two parallel paths regardless of the number of poles. Therefore, this type winding requires only two brushes but can use as many brushes as poles. The coil voltages are cumulative but it is necessary to travel several times around the armature and to traverse half the total winding in order to trace the path between the positive and negative brush. The wave winding is best suited for high voltage low current ratings since it has only two paths.

Slots and Coils

The number and size of slots depend upon the generator or motor requirements. The slot has to be large enough to hold the correct number of conductors but at the same time, the tooth has to be large enough to pass the necessary magnetic flux. Normally, in a simple winding, there are as many coils as there are slots. This means that each slot contains two coil sides, one side of each coil being at the top of a slot and the other at the bottom of a slot. Each coil may consist of one or more turns depending on the applied or generated voltage of the unit. A typical arrangement of coil sides and slots is illustrated. Solid lines represent the front end connections to the commutator and dotted lines represent the back end connections.

Slot Pitch
Slot pitch refers to the number of slots spanned by each coil. For example, the top of coil in slot 1 has its bottom in slot 4, therefore, the slot pitch is 1-4 or 3. Since the top of the coil is directly under the north pole and the bottom is directly under the south pole, the winding is known as a full pitch winding. In many cases, for various reasons, the pitch is reduced to less than full pitch. Useful formula The generated e.m.f of a dc machine is given by; ( For a motor this is the back e.m.f)
ZP ZP N also; E = 60C 2C 2N where; = (rad / s ) 60 E=

L.R.Perera

Page 3 of 4

2/9/2012

T = KIa
Where

K=

ZP 2C

Ia = armature current
Pconverted = Pconverted 2NT 60 = T

Pconverted = EI a Pout = Pconverted (core loss ) (mechanical loss )

Z = The total number of conductors in the armature P = no. of poles C = no. of parallel paths N = armature rotation in revolutions per minute (r.p.m) = Rotational speed of motor (rad/s) = flux per pole (Wb) T = Developed torque Pconverted = Developed power ( before the core loss and mechanical loss occurred )

L.R.Perera

Page 4 of 4

2/9/2012