ENGINEERING LESSON GUIDE 15

Fundamental Electrical Theory

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Comprehend basic electrical theory including Ohms Law and its derivations Apply correct procedures and comprehension of generator theory to determine frequency and voltage in an AC generator Comprehend the fundamentals of generator construction and control mechanisms including prime movers and power ratings Comprehend the fundamentals of electric motor theory including construction, power rating, usage, and control mechanisms Compare the uses for AC and DC electric power and their transmission methods Comprehend electrical circuit schematic symbology including the symbols for wye and delta connections

Definitions

Current (I): flow of electric charges per unit time, measured in amperes or amps (A) Electromotive Force (emf) (V): a potential difference or electric pressure which drives the flow of charges, measured in volts (V) Resistance (R): an electrical circuits opposition to current flow, measured in ohms () Conductor: a material which offers little resistance to current flow, e.g. silver, copper, iron, etc Insulator: a material which offers high resistance to current flow, e.g. wood, paper, plastic, etc...

ELECTRICAL THEORY

Direct Current (DC)

Current flow is unidirectional and of constant magnitude Ohms Law: current in a circuit is directly proportional to the applied voltage and inversely proportional to the circuit resistance

V=IR P = I2 R = V I

Alternating Current (AC)

Current is constantly changing in magnitude and direction at regular intervals Current is a function of time and usually varies as a sine function

I t

ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION

Induced emf

Faraday discovered that emf is induced in a conductor if a magnet passes by the conductor since relative motion between the magnet and conductor cut through magnetic lines of flux The direction of the induced emf depends on the direction of relative motion between the magnet and the conductor The magnitude of the induced current depends on the magnitude of magnetic flux, velocity at which the magnet passes by the conductor, and the number of magnetic lines of flux that are cut

Electromagnetic Induction
COIL (CONDUCTOR) INDUCED CURRENT

RELATIVE MOTION VOLTMETER MAGNET

INDUCED CURRENT

Direction of Induced emf

MOTION OF CONDUCTOR B

INDUCED (electron flow) CURRENT

LEFT HAND GENERATOR RULE

Magnets
Permanent magnets are usually too weak for any practical applications

IRON CORE

B B (N x I)

DC BATTERY

ELECTROMAGNET

Generator Parts

Prime mover: mechanical work which turns the rotor, may be a steam turbine, gas turbine, diesel engine... Armature windings: the conductor in which the output voltage is induced Field windings: the conductors used to produce the electromagnetic field (needs a DC power supply) Stator: stationary housing of the generator Rotor: rotates inside the stator, moved by a prime mover (steam turbine, gas turbine, internal combustion engine, etc) Sliding contacts (slip-rings and brushes): used to conduct the field or armature current to and from the rotor

A Simple AC Generator

Two Types of AC Generators

Revolving armature
rotor is an armature which is rotating inside a stationary electromagnetic field seldom used since output power must be transmitted through slip-rings and brushes

Revolving field
dc current is supplied to the rotor which makes a rotating electromagnetic field inside the stator more practical since the current required to supply a field is much smaller than the output current of the armature

Revolving Armature

Revolving Field

Relationship Between Generator Speed and Frequency

Most electrical equipment in the United States operates on 60 Hz AC electrical power (some foreign countries use 50 Hz) How fast must a 2-pole generator be rotating to produce a 60 Hz output?

N x P = 120 x f

Three-Phase Electrical Power

Uses three sets of armature windings to produce three separate outputs Armature windings are physically separated 120o from each other, and therefore, each phase is 120o apart from another More power may be generated by a generator of a given size and weight Provides continuous power to electrical equipment even if one phase is damaged

Single-Phase v. Three-Phase

Delta and Wye Connections

Classifying Generators

Number of phases: most shipboard electrical power is 3 phase Frequency: most shipboard electrical power is 60 Hz, some electronic equipment operate at 400 Hz or higher Voltage: usually 450 V, smaller appliances use 120 V Power rating: measured in kW, most shipboard generators are 2,000 - 3,000 kW

MISCELLANEOUS ELECTRICAL DEVICES

DC MOTORS

Similar in construction to DC generators A DC generator may be made to act as a DC motor by applying a suitable voltage across its output terminals (a DC motor acts as a DC generator operating in reverse) Operates based on the principle that a current carrying conductor placed in, and at right angles to, a magnetic field tends to move in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic lines of force (right-hand rule)

AC MOTORS

Widely used for constant speed applications (speed depends only upon the frequency for a given number of poles) Most AC motors are synchronous, 3-phase, induction motors Rotor is a cage with conductors arranged in a cylinder with short circuited ends Rotor currents are supplied by electromagnetic induction, and a rotating magnetic field is established by 3-phase stator windings

BATTERIES
Dry-cell batteries: cylindrical zinc container, carbon electrode, and ammonium chloride/water electrolyte Wet-cell batteries: lead-acid battery is the most common, can be charged by forcibly changing the direction of electrical current

Lead-acid Battery
+
PbO2

Pb

H2SO4

Pb + PbO2 + 2H2SO4

2PbSO4 + 2H20

TRANSFORMERS

A device that transfers energy by electromagnetic induction Primary and secondary windings (insulated from each other electrically) are mounted on opposite sides of a ferromagnetic core Used to raise voltage (step-up transformer) or lower voltage (step-down transformer) Voltage is raised when the primary winding has fewer turns than the secondary winding, and voltage is lowered when the primary winding has more turns than the secondary winding

A Simple Transformer

PRIMARY WINDING CORE

SECONDARY WINDING

RECTIFIERS
Uses diodes to convert alternating current into direct current Diodes have a small resistance to current flow in one direction and a very large resistance to current flow in the opposite direction (act as a conductor for half of the cycle and as an insulator for the other half)

Rectifying Device Output

I t

I t

INPUT
DIODE

OUTPUT

QUESTIONS?

Example Problem #1
Determine V1, V2, V3, V4, and I.
10 10 5 20

V1

V2

V3

V4

90V +

Example Problem #2
Determine I1, I2, I3, I4 and total circuit resistance.
20

I4
30

I3
20

I2
75V +

I1