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http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/emag/emagn.htm
Electromagnetism
The current magnetizes the iron core and creates a pair of magnetic poles, one North, and the other South. The two compass needles consequently point in opposite directions.
Induction
The light bulb flashes the moment you connect the switch to the battery. The explanation is, that the magnetic field coming from the upper electromagnet flows through the lower iron core. The change in that magnetic field, in turn induces an electric current in the lower coil. The current in the lower coil ceases once the magnetic field has stabilized. If you switch off the current , you get another flash, because the magnetic field disappears. The change in the field induces another current in the lower core, and makes the light bulb flash again.
Simple AC Generator
Source: http://www.tpub.com/content/doe/h1011v3/css/h1011v3_111.htm
Simple AC Generator
In this type of generator, a DC source is supplied to the rotating field coils. This produces a magnetic field around the rotating element. As the rotor is turned by the prime mover, the magnetic field will cut the conductors of the stationary armature, and an EMF will be induced into the armature windings.
Alternating Current
With an alternating current in the electrical grid, the current changes direction very rapidly, as illustrated on the graph above. Ordinary household current in most of the world is 230 Volts alternating current with 50 cycles per second = 50 Hz
"Hertz" named after the German Physicist H.R. Hertz (1857-1894).
The number of cycles per second is also called the frequency of the grid. In USA household current is 130 volts with 60 cycles per second (60 Hz).
Phase Angle
http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/unitsac.htm
Since the voltage in an alternating current system keeps oscillating up and down one cannot connect a generator safely to the grid, unless the current from the generator oscillates with exactly the same frequency, and is exactly "in step" with the grid,
i.e. that the timing of the voltage cycles from the generator coincides exactly with those of the grid. Being "in step" with the grid is normally called being in phase with the grid.
If the currents are not in phase, there will be a huge power surge which will result in huge sparks, and ultimately damage to the circuit breaker (the switch), and/or the generator. In other words, connecting two live AC lines is a bit like jumping onto a moving seesaw.
If you do not have exactly the same speed and direction as the seesaw, both you and the people on the seesaw are likely to get hurt.
Three-Phase AC Generators
The principles of a three-phase generator are basically the same as that of a single-phase generator. There are three equally-spaced windings and three output voltages. These are all 120 out of phase with one another.
Phase Angle
http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/unitsac.htm
Since the voltage in an alternating current system keeps oscillating up and down you cannot connect a generator safely to the grid, unless the current from the generator oscillates with exactly the same frequency, and is exactly "in step" with the grid,
i.e. that the timing of the voltage cycles from the generator coincides exactly with those of the grid. Being "in step" with the grid is normally called being in phase with the grid.
If the currents are not in phase, there will be a huge power surge which will result in huge sparks, and ultimately damage to the circuit breaker (the switch), and/or the generator. In other words, connecting two live AC lines is a bit like jumping onto a moving seesaw.
If you do not have exactly the same speed and direction as the seesaw, both you and the people on the seesaw are likely to get hurt.
Power Quality
The term "power quality" refers to the voltage stability, frequency stability, and the absence of various forms of electrical noise (e.g. flicker or harmonic distortion) on the electrical grid. More broadly speaking, power companies (and their customers) prefer an alternating current with a nice sinusoidal shape.
Once the wind becomes powerful enough to turn the rotor and generator at their rated speed, the turbine generator becomes connected to the electrical grid at the right moment.
This is done using electrical controllers.
This is followed by a power peak due to the generator current surging into the grid. Another unpleasant side effect of using a "hard" switch would be to put a lot of extra wear on the gearbox, since the cut-in of the generator would work as if you all of a sudden slammed on the mechanical brake of the turbine.
Thyristors waste about 1 to 2 per cent of the energy running through them. Modern wind turbines are therefore normally equipped with a so called bypass switch, i.e. a mechanical switch This is activated after the turbine has been soft started, and the thyristor is bypassed.