AIternator Theory

1. PrincipIe of the aIternator (Toyota information)

a. Magnet revolves in a coil
Fig.1
Electricity is generated in a coil when the coil is revolved within a magnetic field. This type of
electricity is an alternating current whose direction of flow is constantly changing; to change it to direct
current, it is necessary to use a commutator and brushes. That is, to extract direct current from the
electricity generated in each stator coil, an armature with a commutator could be rotated in the coil.
However, the construction of the armature would be complicated, and it could not be rotated at high
speeds. Another disadvantage would be that because current passes through the commutator
and brushes, they would wear out rather easily due to sparking. f, however, the alternating
current generated in the stator coil is changed to direct current by a rectifier just before output and, if
instead of revolving the stator coil, the magnet is rotated inside the coil, electricity can be
generated in the coil in the same manner but more efficiently. The larger the volume of
electricity generated in the coil, the more the coil will heat up due to current flow. For this reason,
cooling is better if the stator coil is put on the outside, with the rotor coil made to rotate inside it.
Therefore, all alternators for automobiles utilize generating coils (stator coils) with an internally
rotating magnet (rotor coil).
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AIternator Theory
b. Coil produces electromagnetism
Electricity is generated when a magnet is rotated within a coil, and the amount of this electricity
varies with the speed of magnet rotation. Thus, through the process of electromagnetic induction,
the faster the coil cuts the magnetic lines of force from the magnet, the more electromotive force
the coil will generate. We can see, then, that voltage changes depending on the speed with which
the magnet rotates.
Accordingly, to obtain a constant voltage, it is necessary to rotate the magnet at a constant speed.
However, because the engine operates at various speeds, depending on the driving conditions, the
speed of the alternator cannot be kept constant.
To solve this difficulty, an electromagnet can be used instead of a permanent magnet to maintain a
fixed voltage. The electromagnet changes the amount of magnetic flux (number of magnetic lines
of force) in accordance with the speed of the alternator. The electromagnet has an iron core with
coils wrapped around it. When current flows through the coils, the core is magnetized. The extent
of the generated magnetism varies with the amount of current flowing through the coil. Thus, when
the alternator is rotating at a low speed, current is increased and, conversely, current is decreased
when the alternator is turning at high rpm. The current flowing through the electromagnet is
supplied by the battery, and the amount is controlled by the voltage regulator. For this reason, the
alternator supplies a constant voltage regardless of the engine speed.
c. Three-phase alternating current
To generate electricity more efficiently, the automobile alternator uses three coils arranged as
shown in the illustration. The coils, A, B and C, are spaced 120 apart. When a magnet is rotated
among them, alternating current is generated in each. The illustration shows the relationship
between the three alternating currents and the magnet. Electricity having three alternating currents
like this is referred to as "three-phase alternating current". Automobile alternators generate three-
phase alternating current.
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AIternator Theory
d. Rectification
The electrical components of an automobile require direct current for operation, and the battery
needs direct current for charging. The alternator produces three-phase alternating current, but the
charging system of the automobile cannot use this electricity unless it is converted to direct current.
Converting alternating current to direct current is called "rectification". Rectification can be
accomplished in several ways, but the automobile alternator uses a simple yet effective diode. A
diode allows current to flow in one direction only. As shown in the illustration, when six diodes are
used, the three-phase alternating current is converted to direct current by full-wave rectification. As
the automobile alternator has built-in diodes, the electricity output is direct current.

NOTES:
1. Some high-performance alternators employ more than six diodes.
2. f the battery connections are reversed, the diodes will be damaged due to a large current flow.
Thus we can see that, although the current from each coil to the diodes is constantly changing
direction in the three lead wires, the direction of the current from the diodes does not change but
forms a circuit with unvarying polarity.




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AIternator Theory
e. Voltage regulation
The voltage of the current produced by the alternator varies with the speed at which the armature
coil of the alternator is rotating and the extent of the load (output current) on the alternator.
However, because the engine rpm is continuously changing, the rpm of the alternator does not
remain constant. Further, the loads (lamps, wipers, heater, etc.) on the alternator are always
changing, as is the charging condition of the battery. Therefore, in order for the alternator to supply
electricity at a constant "standard" voltage, it is necessary to control the amount of voltage with a
regulator. Consequently, the charging system of the automobile uses a voltage regulator (generator
regulator) along with the alternator. The electromagnet consists of an iron core with coils wrapped
around it, and the iron core is magnetized and generates magnetic lines of force (magnetic flux)
when it is supplied with current.
The amount of the magnetic flux is in proportion to the amount of current supplied to the coil
around the iron core. n other words, the generator ensures that the alternator (stator coil) is
producing a constant voltage by supplying a larger amount of current to the rotor coil (field coil)
when the alternator is operating at a low rpm or when it is under a heavy load, as well as by
reducing the amount of current when the alternator is operating at a high rpm or when it is under a
light load.
The regulator supplies current to the electromagnet (rotor coil), which produces the necessary
magnetic flux for the three coils (stator coils) of the alternator to generate three-phase alternating
current. The regulator controls the supply of current to the rotor coil by pulling and releasing the
moving point in accordance with the voltage applied to the regulator coil. When the alternator is
operating at a low rpm and the voltage of the stator coil is lower than battery voltage, the moving
point will make contact with P1 so that battery current then flows to the rotor coil through P1.
On the other hand, when the alternator is operating at a high rpm and the voltage of the stator coil
rises above that of the battery, this voltage is applied to the regulator coil so that it is affected by a
stronger attractive force which separates from P1. When the alternator operates at an even higher
speed, the voltage generated by the stator coil will rise, applying more attractive force to the
regulator coil so that it makes contact with P2. Therefore, the current through resistor R then flows
to P2 and not to the rotor coil.
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AIternator Theory
When the moving point moves away from P1, the current flowing to the rotor coil passes through
resistor R and therefore is reduced in intensity. Less current to the rotor coil will cause the stator
coil to generate less voltage and, consequently, there will be reduced attractive force on the coil, so
the moving point will return and make contact with P1. This, in turn, causes a rise in the current to
the rotor coil, and the moving point again moves away from P1. When there is no longer any
current to the rotor coil, the stator cannot generate electromotive force, so the voltage of the
alternator drops and the moving point moves away from P2. Thus, once again the alternator
voltage will rise, and the moving point will be attracted. n other words, when the alternator is
operating at a low speed, the moving point will increase or decrease current to the rotor coil by
making contact with or moving away from P1. When the alternator is operating at a high rpm,
current will be supplied intermittently to the rotor coil, depending on whether the moving point is
making contact with or has moved away from P2.

More modern alternators have built-in electronic regulators such as an C semiconductor type.
Questions
1. How is electricity generated in a alternator?
2. Does an alternator generate direct or alternating current?
3. Why can a car not use an alternating current?
4. What does the rectifier do?
5. n the past a commutator was used to rectify the alternating current. What is used now?
6. Which part of the alternator generates a magnetic field?
7. Which part of the alternator generates the current?
8. How can we control the strength of the magnetic rotor field?
9. What happens to the voltage when the alternator speeds up?
10. Why do we need a constant voltage?
11. When the alternator speeds up, what do we have to decrease when the voltage increases?
12.The automobile alternator uses three stator coils. What kind of alternating current is then
produced?
13. How many diodes do we need to rectify a current generated by three coils?
14. Which part of the mechanical voltage regulator senses the voltage?
15. What happens in the voltage regulator when the voltage becomes too high?
16. We do not use mechanical voltage regulators anymore, which electronic component takes over
the function of the breaker points?

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