Here are two types of generators, one is ac generator and other is dc generator.

Whatever may be
the types of generators, it always converts mechanical power to electrical power. An ac generator
produces alternating power. A DC generator produces direct power. Both of these generators
produce electrical power, based on same fundamental principle of Faraday's law of
electromagnetic induction. According to these law, when an conductor moves in a magnetic field
it cuts magnetic lines force, due to which an emf is induced in the conductor. The magnitude of
this induced emf depends upon the rate of change of flux (magnetic line force) linkage with the
conductor. This emf will cause an electric current to flow if the conductor circuit is closed.
Hence the most basic tow essential parts of a generator are
a) a magnetic field and
b) conductors which move inside that magnetic field.
Components of a generator:
Yoke: Yoke is a outer frame. It serves two purposes.
(i) It provides mechanical support for the poles and acts as a protecting cover for the whole
machine and
(ii) It carries the magnetic flux produced by the poles.
In small generators where cheapness rather than weight is the main consideration, yokes are
made of cast iron. But for large machines usually cast steel or rolled steel is employed.The
modern process of forming the yoke consists of rolling a steel slab round a cylndrical mandrel
and then welding it at the bottom. The feet and the terminal box etc, are welded to the frame
afterwards.Such yokes possess sufficient mechanical strength and have high permeability.
Rotor: In its simplest form, the rotor consists of a single loop of wire made to rotate within a
magnetic field. In practice, the rotor usually consists of several coils of wire wound on an
armature.
Armature: The armature is a cylinder of laminated iron mounted on an axle. The axle is carried
in bearings mounted in the external structure of the generator. Torque is applied to the axle to
make the rotor spin.
Coil: Each coil usually consists of many turns of copper wire wound on the armature. The two
ends of each coil are connected either to two slip rings (AC) or two opposite bars of a split-ring
commutator (DC).
Stator: The stator is the fixed part of the generator that supplies the magnetic field in which the
coils rotate. It may consist of two permanent magnets with opposite poles facing and shaped to
fit around the rotor. Alternatively, the magnetic field may be provided by two electromagnets.
Field electromagnets: Each electromagnet consists of a coil of many turns of copper wire
wound on a soft iron core. The electromagnets are wound, mounted and shaped in such a way
that opposite poles face each other and wrap around the rotor.
Brushes:The brushes are carbon blocks that maintain contact with the ends of the coils via the
slip rings (AC) or the split-ring commutator (DC), and conduct electric current from the coils to
the external circui
Yoke of DC Generator
Pole Cores and Pole Shoes
Armature Core
Armature Winding
Commutator
Brushes
Bearing

Types of DC Generators
Energy can be converted from one form to other form A generator does the same it
converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. Mechanical energy can be created by using
water turbines, steam turbines, internal combustion engines etc. And a generator converts this
mechanical energy to electrical energy. Generators can be broadly classified as AC generators
and DC generators. Here lets take a look the the types of DC generators.
DC generators are classified based on their method of excitation. So on this basis there are two
types of DC generators:-
1. Separately excited DC generator
2. Self excited DC generator
Self excited DC generator can again be classified as 1) DC Series generator 2) DC Shunt
generator and 3) DC Compound generator.
Lets take a brief look at how all these differ.
1. Separately excited DC generator
As you can guess from the name itself , this dc generator has a field magnet winding which is
excited using a separate voltage source (like battery). You can see the representation in the below
image. The output voltage depends on the speed of rotation of armature and field current. The
higher the speed of rotation and current the higher the output e.m.f


2. Self Excited DC Generator
These are generators in which the field winding is excited by the output of the generator itself.
As described before there are three types of self excited dc generators they are 1) Series 2)
Shunt and 3) Compound.
A series DC generator is shown below in fig (a) in which the armature winding is connected
in series with the field winding so that the field current flows through the load as well as the
field winding.Field winding is a low resistance,thick wire of few turns. Series generators are also
rarely used!

A shunt DC generator is shown in figure (b), in which the field winding is wired parallel to
armature winding so that the voltage across both are same. The field winding has high resistance
and more number of turns so that only a part of armature current passes through field winding
and the rest passes through load.


A compound generator is shown in figure below. It has two field findings namely Rsh and Rse.
They are basically shunt winding (Rsh) and series winding (Rse). Compound generator is of two
types 1) Short shunt and 2) Long shunt

Short shunt:- Here the shunt field winding is wired parallel to armature and series field winding
is connected in series to the load. It is shown in fig (1)

Long shunt:- Here the shunt field winding is parallel to both armature and series field winding
(Rse is wired in series to the armature). It is shown in figure (2)

So you have got a basic idea about the types of DC generators! Now you may know that these
generators are used only for special industrial purposes where there is huge demand for DC
production. Otherwise electrical energy is produced by AC generators and is transmitted from
one place to other as AC itself. When a DC power is required, we usually convert AC to DC
using rectifiers.