that generated by one phase, and the current in a line wire is the resultant of that in two adjacent phases; or in a balanced system, if c be the current in each phase, the current in the line wire beyond a collecting ring is C＝c√3, hence the watts are W＝3cE＝3CE/√3＝1·732 EC, as before. Thus any three-phase winding may be changed over from the star to the delta connexion, and will then give 1·732 times as much current, but only 1/1·732 times the voltage, so that the output remains the same.
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| Fig. 42. |
The “armature reaction” of the alternator, when the term is used in its widest sense to cover all the effects of the alternating current in the armature as linked with a magnetic circuit or circuits, may be divided into three items which are different in their origin and consequences. In the first place the armature current produces Armature reaction in alternatorsa self-induced flux in local circuits independent of the main magnetic circuit, as e.g. linked with the ends of the coils as they project outwards from the armature core; such lines may be called “secondary leakage,” of which the characteristic feature is that its amount is independent of the position of the coils relatively to the poles. The alternations of this flux give rise to an inductive voltage lagging 90° behind the phase of the current, and this leakage or reactance voltage must be directly counterbalanced electrically by an equal component in the opposite sense in the voltage from the main field. The second and third elements are more immediately magnetic and are entirely dependent upon the position of the coils in relation to the poles and in relation to the phase of the current which they then carry. When the side of a drum coil is immediately under the centre of a pole, its ampere-turns are cross-magnetizing, i.e. produce a distortion of the main flux, displacing its maximum density to one or other edge of the pole. When the coil-side is midway between the poles and the axes of coil and pole coincide, the coil stands exactly opposite to the pole and embraces the same magnetic circuit as the field-magnet coils; its turns are therefore directly magnetizing, either weakening or strengthening the main flux according to the direction of the current. In intermediate positions the ampere-turns of the coil gradually pass from cross to direct and vice versa. When the instantaneous values of either the cross or direct magnetizing effect are integrated over a period and averaged, due account being taken of the number of slots per coil-side and of the different phases of the currents in the polyphase machine, expressions are obtained for the equivalent cross and direct ampere-turns of the armature as acting upon a pair of poles. For a given winding and current, the determining factor in either the one or the other is found to be the relative phase angle between the axis of a coil in its position when carrying the maximum current and the centre of a pole, the transverse reaction being proportional to the cosine of this angle, and the direct reaction to its sine. If the external circuit is inductive, the maximum value of the current lags behind the E.M.F. and so behind the centre of the pole; such a negative angle of lag causes the direct magnetizing turns to become back turns, directly weakening the main field and lowering the terminal voltage. Thus, just as in the continuous-current dynamo, for a given voltage under load the excitation between the pole-pieces Xp must not only supply the net excitation required over the air-gaps, armature core and teeth, but must also balance the back ampere-turns Xb of the armature.
Evidently therefore the characteristic curve connecting armature current and terminal volts will with a constant exciting current depend on the nature of the load, whether inductive or non-inductive, and upon the amount of inductance already possessed by the armature itself. With an inductive load it will fall more rapidly from its initial maximum value, or, conversely, if the initial voltage is to be maintained under an increasing load, the exciting current will have to be increased more than if the load were non-inductive. In practical working many disadvantages result from a rapid drop of the terminal E.M.F. under increasing load, so that between no load and full load the variation in terminal voltage with constant excitation should not exceed 15%. Thus the output of an alternator is limited either by its heating or by its armature reaction, just as is the output of a continuous-current dynamo; in the case of the alternator, however, the limit set by armature reaction is not due to any sparking at the brushes, but to the drop in terminal voltage as the current is increased, and the consequent difficulty in maintaining a constant potential on the external circuit.
The joint operation of several alternators so that their outputs may be delivered into the same external circuit is sharply distinguished from the corresponding problem in continuous-current dynamos by the necessary condition that they must be in synchronism, i.e. not only must they be so driven that their frequency is the same, but their The coupling of alternators.E.M.F.’s must be in phase or, as it is also expressed, the machines must be in step. Although in practice it is impossible to run two alternators in series unless they are rigidly coupled together—which virtually reduces them to one machine—two or more machines can be run in parallel, as was first described by H. Wilde in 1868 and subsequently redemonstrated by J. Hopkinson and W. G. Adams in 1884. Their E.M.F.’s should be as nearly as possible in synchronism, but, as contrasted with series connexion, parallel coupling gives them a certain power of recovery if they fall out of step, or are not in exact synchronism when thrown into parallel. In such circumstances a synchronizing current passes between the two machines, due to the difference in their instantaneous pressures; and as this current agrees in phase more nearly with the leading than with the lagging machine, the former machine does work as a generator on the latter as a motor. Hence the lagging machine is accelerated and the leading machine is retarded, until their frequencies and phase are again the same.
The chief use of the alternator has already been alluded to. Since it can be employed to produce very high pressures either directly or through the medium of transformers, it is specially adapted to the electrical transmission of energy over long distances.[1] In the early days of electric lighting, the alternate-current Uses of alternators.system was adopted for a great number of central stations; the machines, designed to give a pressure of 2000 volts, supplied transformers which were situated at considerable distances and spread over large areas, without an undue amount of copper in the transmitting lines. While there was later a tendency to return to the continuous current for central stations, owing to the introduction of better means for economizing the weight of copper in the mains, the alternating current again came into favour, as rendering it possible to place the central station in some convenient site far away from the district which it was to serve. The pioneer central station in this direction was the Deptford station of the London Electric Supply Corporation, which furnished current to the heart of London from a distance of 7 m. In this case, however, the alternators were single-phase and gave the high pressure of 10,000 volts immediately, while more recently the tendency has been to employ step-up transformers and a polyphase system. The advantage of the latter is that the current, after reaching the distant sub-stations, can be dealt with by rotary converters, through which it is transformed into a continuous current. The alternator is also used for welding, smelting in electric furnaces, and other metallurgical processes where heating effects are alone required; the large currents needed therein can be produced without the disadvantage of the commutator, and, if necessary, transformers can be interposed to lower the voltage and still further increase the current. The alternating system can thus meet very various needs, and its great recommendation may be said to lie in the flexibility with which it can supply electrical energy through transformers at any potential, or through rotary converters in continuous-current form.
Authorities.—For the further study of the dynamo, the following may be consulted, in addition to the references already given:—
General: S. P. Thompson, Dynamo-Electric Machinery—Continuous-Current Machines (1904), Alternating-Current Machinery (1905, London); G. Kapp, Dynamos, Alternators and Transformers (London, 1893); Id., Electric Transmission of Energy (London, 1894); Id., Dynamo Construction; Electrical and Mechanical (London, 1899); H. F. Parshall and H. M. Hobart, Electric Generators (London, 1900); C. C. Hawkins and F. Wallis, The Dynamo (London, 1903); E. Arnold, Konstruktionstafeln für den Dynamobau (Stuttgart, 1902); C. P. Steinmetz, Elements of Electrical Engineering (New York, 1901).
Continuous-Current Dynamos: J. Fischer-Hinnen, Continuous-Current Dynamos (London, 1899); E. Arnold, Die Gleichstrommaschine (Berlin, 1902); F. Niethammer, Berechnung und Konstruktion der Gleichstrommaschinen und Gleichstrommotoren (Stuttgart, 1904).
Alternators: D. C. Jackson and J. P. Jackson, Alternating Currents and Alternating Current Machinery (New York, 1903); J. A. Fleming, The Alternate Current Transformer (London, 1899); C. P. Steinmetz, Alternating Current Phenomena (New York, 1900); E. Arnold, Die Wechselstromtechnik (Berlin, 1904); S. P. Thompson, Polyphase Electric Currents (London, 1900); A. Stewart, Modern Polyphase Machinery (London, 1906); M. Oudin, Standard Polyphase Apparatus and Systems (New York, 1904). (C. C. H.)
- ↑ In the pioneer three-phase transmission between Laufen and Frankfort (Electrician, vol. xxvi. p. 637, and xxvii. p. 548), the three-phase current was transformed up from about 55 to 8500 volts, the distance being 110 m. A large number of installations driven by water power are now at work, in which energy is transmitted on the alternating-current system over distances of about 100 m. at pressures ranging from 20,000 to 67,000 volts.
