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cutting at right
angles through the lines of magnetic flux (see
Figure 5.115) results in a generated e.m.f. and
the magnitude of which will be given by:
E = Blv
If the field is cut at an angle, (rather than
at right angles), the generated e.m.f. will be
given by:
E = Blv sin
where is the angle between the direction of
motion of the conductor and the field lines.
AC GENERATOR
DC GENERATOR
A simpleDCgenerator uses an arrangement similar
to that used for an AC generator but with the
slip rings and brushes replaced by a commutator
that reverses the current produced by the
generator every 180
Hz
Making the subject of the equation gives:
= 2f (2)
By combining equations (1) and (2) we can
obtain a useful expression that will allow us to
determine the voltage (or current) at any instant
of time provided that we know the peak value
of the sine wave and its frequency:
v = Vpk sin(2ft)
THREE PHASE SUPPLY
The most simple method of distributing an AC
supply is a system that uses two wires. In fact,
this is how AC is distributed in your home (the
third wire present is simply an earth connection
for any appliances that may require it for
safety reasons). In many practical applications,
including aircraft, it can be advantageous to use
a multi-phase supply rather than a single-phase
supply (here the word phase simply refers to an
AC voltage source). The most common system
uses three separate voltage sources (and three
wires) and is known as three phase. The voltages
produced by the three sources are spaced equally
in time such that the phase angle between them
is 120 (or 360/3). The waveforms for a threephase
supply are shown in Figure 5.142 (note
that each is a sine wave and all three sine waves
have the same frequency and periodic time)
AC flowing through pure
resistance
Ohms law is obeyed in an AC circuit just as it
is in a DC circuit. Thus, when a sinusoidal voltage,
V, is applied to a resistor, R (as shown in
Figure 5.143), the current flowing in the resistor
will be given by:
I=V
R
This relationship must also hold true for the
instantaneous values of current, i, and voltage,
v, thus:
i=v
R
and since v=Vmax sin t
i = Vmax sin(t)
R
The current and voltage in Figure 5.143 both
have a sinusoidal shape and since they rise and
fall together, they are said to be in-phase with
one another. We can represent this relationship
by means of the phasor diagram shown in Figure
5.144. This diagram shows two rotating
phasors (of magnitude I and V) rotating at an
angular velocity, . The applied voltage (V) is
referred to as the reference phasor and this is
aligned with the horizontal axis
5.15.5 Impedance
Circuits that contain a mixture of both resistance
and reactance (either capacitive reactance
or inductive reactance or both) are said to
exhibit impedance. Impedance, like resistance
and reactance, is simply the ratio of applied
voltage to the current flowing. Thus:
Z=V
I
where Z is the impedance in ohms (_), V is the
alternating p.d. in volts (V) and I is the AC in
amperes (A
Because the voltage and current in a pure reactance
are at 90 to one another (we say that they
are in quadrature) we can not simply add up the
resistance and reactance present in a circuit in
order to find its impedance. Instead, we can use
the impedance triangle shown in Figure 5.153.
The impedance triangle takes into account the
90 phase angle and from it we can infer that the
impedance of a series circuit (R in series with X)
is given by:
Z=
R2 + X2
where Z is the impedance (in _), X is the reactance,
either capacitive or inductive (expressed
in _) and R is the resistance (also in _).
We shall be explaining the significance of the
phase angle, , later on. For now you simply
need to be aware that is the angle between the
impedance, Z, and the resistance, R. Later on
Figure 5.153 The impedance triangle.
Resistance and reactance combine together to
make impedance. In other words, impedance
is the resultant of combining resistance and
reactance in the impedance triangle. Because
of the quadrature relationship between voltage
and current in a pure capacitor or inductor, the
angle between resistance and reactance in the
impedance triangle is always 90
in series
When a sinusoidal voltage, V, is applied to
a series circuit comprising resistance, R, and
inductance, L (as shown in Figure 5.158) the
current flowing in the circuit will produce separate
voltage drops across the resistor and capacitor
(VR and VC, respectively). These two voltage
drops will be 90 apart with VC lagging VR.