D.C.

POWR

LIST OF CONTENTS PAGE;

INTRODUCTION

VOLTAGE REGULATION
GENEMTOR SWITCHING

A DIFFERENTIAL CUT-OUT

A D.C. POWER SYSTEM

LOAD SHARING

VOLTAGE CHECKS

LOAD SIIARE ADJUSTMENT

I'HE VIBRATING CONTACT REGULATOR

A TRANSISTORISED REXULATOR
SELF-APPRAISAL QUESTTONS
//~/dy~//j-Z;c~18, c.4 2 ~3 -
OBJECTIVE D . C . POWER

On completion of this lesson the student will

l. L i s t t h e main components of a D.C . Power

System
2 Recall t h e function and principle of operation
of each i t e m of equipment listed
3 Recall the S ystern indications g i v e n by any
system fault
4 Recall t h e setting of t h e carbon p i l e regulator
' DIP' ' pos ition after overhaul
5 Recall t h e principle of t h e vibrating contract
voltage regulator
6 Recall the principle of the transistorised
voltage regulator
7 State the purpose and principle of an equal-
is ing circuit
8 Recall t h e voltage and e q u a l i s i n g checks
carried out on a D.C . Power System

RECOMMENDED FURTHER RMDING

3 ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY C H , 7 (HUGHES)

4 AI? 3275 A, SECTION 4. C H ' S 4 , 8 , 9 .

G ELECTRICITY AND ELECTRONICS for AERO-

SPACE VEHICLES (NORTHROP INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY)
-
2
INTRODUCTION
In a D.C. P O W E R SYSTEM t h e primary power source
consists of one generator per engine with a s s o c i a t e d
control and protection equipment. Batteries are
provided as an emergency power source and in some
circumstances can be utilized for engine starting,
The batteries are normally connected t o the main
busbar for charging purposes. Provision is made for
t h e connection of d.c. ground power for maintenance
and engine star.Ung.
.
Heavy loads e g. engine starters feathering pump
motors . landing lamps, cockpit heaters, etc. a r e
usually supplied directly from the main busbar
through separate feeders e a c h protected by approp-
riately rated fuses or circuit breakers. These services
are normally controlled by relays or contactors
operated by flight deck switches . ---;
Supplies t o subsidiary busbars are a l s o taken from
the main busbars. Groups of circuits are connected
t o each of t h e s e busbars , individual circuits are
protected by fuses or circuit breakers.
THE D.C. GENERATOR
6
An aircraft d. c. generator is usually a hunt field
S elf -excitedmachine and normally includes inter -
poles and compensating windingsJ Most modern
generators are blast cooled by ducting air, from a
forward facing S coop, through t h e generator. An
integral fan is fitted t o assist cooling on t h e ground.
Aircraft generators operate under very stringent cond-
itions, e .g. wide S p e . d range, high altitude,
. - . high
armature m and operating temp_eratt_re,and m u s t
be manufactured to exacting standard. A great deal
of research has gone into t h e development of brushes
which do not suffer adversely from high altitude
conditions. As a result many brushes used on aircraft
generator have cores of Myoebl- to
prevent rapid wear and breaking u p at altitude.
The generator output voltage must be controlled t o
ensure that the busbar voltage is maintained within
clearly defined limits e . g . 28v k 0.5 v . This is
achieved by a voltage regulator which automatically
senses t h e output voltage and adjusts the field
excitation t o maintain t h e busbar voltage within
specified limits.
 VOLTAGE REGULATION

THE CARBON PILE REGULATOR

The carbon pile regulator derives its name from the As a result the generator voltage will drop back t o 28v.
fact that the resistive element, in series with the The opposite effect w i l l take place when the voltage
generator field, consists of a pile (stack) of-carbon falls below 2 8 v.
discs controlled by an applied mechanical force. A
spring tends t o compress the pile (decrease pile COMPRESSIOt4
COVER SCREW LOCKrNG SCREW
'
resistance) and a magnetic force, produced by the I

regulator voltage sensing c o i l , tends to decompress METAL i

the pile (increase pile resistance).

Under steady conditions the forces acting on the

carbon pile will be balanced and the regulator'will
maintain the voltage at the required value e . g .
.
2 L) 0.Sv A rise in generator voltage above 2 8v
will cause an increase in current through thevoltage

- LOAD +
r A
W

B RHEOSTAT

EQUALISER
BUS
MAGNET
WlNDiNO

ut
" EQUALIZER CIRCUIT

MMiNEr LOC&G I
sensing c o i l . This will increase the magnetic 1 COr# SCREW ARMATURE SCREW PLATE !
I

strength of the solenoid. The solenoid armature will

move closer to the solenoid face allowing the carbon-. .- - SECTIONAL VIEW OF TYPICAL VOLTAGE REGULATOR
pile to decompress and increase the field resistance.
-,
4 .L
 VOLTAGE REGULATION

THE CARBON PILE REGULATOR

The voltage sensing coil senses a n y change in I a

T T
voltage and adjusts the pile resistance t o maintain
the voltage within limits.

The stabilising windings are wound over t h e solenoid

winding and stabilise the action of t h e regulator during
changing load conditions.

The s e r i e s stabilising winding h a s a short time response

and is wound t o oppose the voltage sensing coil. It is
sensitive t o a n y change in field current and slows t h e RATE
of change of pile resistance during transient conditions.

The shunt stsbilising winding has a long time response

and is insensitive t o any sudden changes in p o d . across
the field. The shunt coil is wound t o oppose t h e long term
effect of t h e series coil.

The ballast resistor sets the current in t h e voltage coil ~ M I C J :&jRRyz 5 I~T,JJ,, &c /dt&+, > Vr,'=c
during overhaul. It is wound with constantan. The ratio /&&/.yr ,, .
r
It rp I #

of volts coil resistance t o ballast resistance is l :l 0 t o -

minimise the effect of temperature change on generator
voltage .
SEPERATELY EXC
=tF EXITE~ SERIES.
c-
 GENERATOR W I T C H I N G

The generator must be automatically connected to the busbar as

soon as i t s output voltage r i s e s t o t h e required value. When an
engine and i t s associated generator sh& down?the generator
must be isolated from the busbar, otherwise current will flow
from the battery or other generators, to the stationary windings .
This switching action is carried out in many aircraft d . c . systems
by a discriminating type of differential voltage and reverse current-
unit,

-
/
c K
The undervolt relay7energises at 22v and The differential relay contacts
connects the differential coil to the main close when the generator voltage is
busbar and the generator 0 . 5 ~t o 0,75v above the busbar
voltage
 A DIFFERENTLAL CUT-OUT

This differential cut-out is a The contacts of the over-

(polarised armature rela$with load micro-switch when
.
two coils It also incorporates closed, by the bi-metal
a n overload sensing element element, 'energise' the
and overload micro-swit ch. latching coil of the over-
volt relay.

PIVOTED ARMATURE

The differential coil senses

the difference in voltage
between the busbar and the
generator. The contacts will
close when the generator
voltage is 0 . 5 ~- 0 . 7 5 ~
greater than the bus bar voltage.
EL.€ MENT

The bi-metal element

senses a n y overload. The
The series coil s e n s e s any rate at which t h e element
reverse current from the bus bar bends is determined by
to the generator. A reverse the magnitude of the over-
current of 1 5 - 2 0 A will force the load.
diff. 'contacts apart and open-
1 circuit the main contactor c o i l .
 A D,C. POWER SYSTEM

.
The voltmeter indicates the voltage of gens 1 , 2 3 or
4 , battery or ground power whichever is selected.

The overvolt sensing circuit senses any increase

in the p , d . across the field.

If the generator voltage rises above 29v the O/V

sensing circ it will s e n s e the increase in field
Y I
current. The i m u l s e coil will energise and connect
B 7
a supply t o the latching coil. The latching relay
will de-excite the generator and remain energised via
, its own contacts,

Lamps L1 and L2 provide a time delay t o ensure that

'transient overvoltageddo not de-excite the generator,
 -,Me- a ~ ~ b d d '
~ / P@a/Arreedrbn
u - =
he bi-metallic element senses any overload
and bends to operate the overload micro-
switch. The micro-switch contacts supply the
latching coil of the O/tl relay which energises
/P/p to de-excite the generator and hold it 'off-
line '
- c&z5F,/~
,,
,
-
L, ,
,,,
, ,
I - PV
*/

- -- - L /'
The polarity corrector switch, when operated,
I will connect a supply of the correct polarity
t o the field and will energise the latching coil
l
. I of the overvolt relay. The polarity corrector
l switch is open-circuited when the main
contactor is energised.
 EQUALISING OR LOAD SHARING
W h e n several generators are operated in parallel it
is necessary to ensure that t h e load of t h e system is
equally shared between them. T o ensure that t h e load
is .shared each volta e regulator h a s an additional
coil, known as the B equalising or 'load sharing1* coic
<wound over the voltage sensing coil on the solenoid
1)
In t h e system shown t h e resistance of the compensating
winding senses the load current i . e . the p. d . across
t h e compensating winding is proportional t o t h e current
flowing through t h e winding.
Assume a common busbar load of 150 A. Assume a l s o
that generator A is supplying l OOA and that the p. d .
developed across t h e compensating winding of
generator A is 2v. The negative brush of generator
A (point X) is therefore 2v negative with respect to t h e
earth point. Generator B is supplying 50A and the p. d .
across it's compensating winding will be l v making
t h e negative brush (point y) Iv negative with respect
t o the earth point. A difference of l v will e x i s t
between t h e negative brush of generator A and the
negative brush of generator B i . e . between point X and
point y .
Current (conventional) will flow from y t o X through
t h e equalising circuit t o modify t h e action of the
voltage regulators. The current in the equalising coil
of regulator B will oppose t h e voltage s e n s i n g coil and
enable t h e spring to compress t h e carbon p i l e . The
field current of B will increase and B will s u p p l y a n
increased share of the busbar load. The opposite
effect will take place in A ,
 VOLTAGE REGULATION CHECKS AND ADJUSTMENT

REGULATION AND LOAD-SHARING

- .- LCHECKS
- . 2

CAUTION:- Observe all engine@peed limitations

and ground ratings)of generators during
checks. GENE RATOR POL ARlT Y
CORRECTOR SWITCtiES
VOLTMETER
I
Run a l l engines 1 2 , 0 0 0 r. p . m . for 3 minutes t o dry /
out t h e carbon piles of t h e regulators.
VOLTMETER
Connect t h e test voltmeter t o t h e voltmeter terminals. ELECTOH OH SWITCH

Select a load of 1OOA,

!.
No L, GENERArOH
Bring on No. l generator on-line and note i t ' s voltage. EilUlPMENT
Bring on No.2 generator and switch offNo.1. Note [ I J ~ S1.2 & 5 gen. equip
, the voltage of No. 2 generator. Switch off N o . 2
Llrrtll
. (or) l e f t l
similar)

+-c17
.- OVERVOLT HESE l'
Repeat t h i s procedure for t h e other t w o generators.
MASTEH S W I T C H

NOTE:- The voltage in each c a s e should be 58_5:0. Sv.

A. WAfiNINti LAMP

Increase the load t o 200 A

r--
1Check t h e load-sharing of N o . l generator with each
of t h e other generators in t u r n . Load-sharing between
any two generators m u s t not e x c e e d m

REGULATION ADJUSTMENT
.

Run t h e engines at 1 2 , 0 0 0 r . p.m.

Switch t h e generators off -line
Adjust each'iemote trimmer fo ensure that the
r - ~ t p t lvt o l t a g e of each generator is 2 8v.
,-.-X----- 11
Run the engines at 1 2 , 0 0 0 r . p . m .

Bring No. l generator on-line and select a load of 100A.

\
C k 9
Adjust the equalising potentiometer of the related
voltage regulator t o obtain a voltmeter reading of 0 . 6 ~ .

Transfer the voltmeter to terminal 5 of No. 2 regulator.

Bring N o . 2 generator on-line and switch off No. l .

Continue this procedure for N o s . 3 and 4 generators .
During load -S haring adjustments only the
generator related to the particular circuit
under adjustment must be on-line. The load,
once s e l e c t e d , must not be altered.
The testmeter must be connected
When the adjustments are completed check that the between terminal 5 of the regulator
voltage and load-sharing are within the specified and earth.
limits throughout the speed range of the generators.
12
THE VIBRATING CONTACT (TIRILL) REGULATOR

A TRANSISTORISED VOLTAGE REGUW1'OK

 THE VIBRATING CONTACT (TRILL) REGULATOR

REGULATOR

W h e n the output rises t o t h e desired value t h e voltage

coil (A) opens the contacts and t h e field current flows
through R1. The generator field strength reduces and
t h e output voltage falls. The spring will close the
contacts and t h e generator voltage will r i s e . This cycle
is repeated many times each second.
VOLTAGE REGULATOR CUHRENT LIMITER REVERSE CUHRENT LIMITER
r---------- -r--------*
Coil B is wound to oppose t h e voltage coil. It ensures
that t h e contacts vibrate more rapidly and produce a
steadier voltage from the generator.

CURRENT LIMITER

The current limiter s e n s e s e x c e s s i v e load and inserts a

kl CURRENT

resistance R2 into the field circuit, When t h e current

falls t o a s a f e value the spring closes t h e contacts t o
short R2.

REVERSE C URRENT RELAY

When t h e voltage rises t o a n acceptable level t h e

pilot contacts will close and connect the generator
to t h e distribution.
A reverse current through the current coil will oppose
t h e voltage coil and the pilot contacts will open.

ADJUSTMENT

Adjustment of the regulator is made by increasing or

decreasing the tension of t h e springs.
 OLTAGE REGULATOR

When the switch is 'ON' T2 will conduct and switch

on T3, Current will flow through the field and T3. The
generator voltage will r i s e .

Zener diode 21 will conduct when the output voltage

rises above a specific value. T1 will conduct and
short circuit T 2 . T2 will switch off and switch off T 3 .
The generator voltage will fall and 21 will switch off>,
T l will swltch off and T2 and T 3 will then conduct.
This action takes place many times each second.

C
6
The field suppression diode provides a path for
the high back e .m. f . indu-d in the field each time
T 3 is switched off and ensures that the system and
regulator is protected from pos S ible damage.

,p
The neon lamp L1 acts as aesurge suppressor t o
provide trans iexvoltage protection.

Y
L"
-
P1 provides a limited range of voltage adjustment.
 SELF APPRAISAL QUESTIONS

The expected rpm of a d c generator would be 5 W h e n making in-S itu adjustments t o a carbon
pile voltage regulator t h e
a 1,500 rpm
6,000 rpm a adjustments must be completed before t h e
/C 18,000 rpm pile gets hot
b pile must be kept cool
/ pile must be allowed t o warm up before
2 With the voltage regulator in situ starting t o make a n y adjustments

wa
b
C
voltage trimming may be carried out
a damaged carbon pile can be changed
t h e 'flush' or 'zero gap' position can be
6 v&"&
A p lot rel and differential relay are incorporated
in a d . c. generator control circuit. The
set
a pilot and differential operate independently
b differential operates before the pilot relay
The equalising coil in the carbon pile gegulator pilot operates before the differential relay

a is connected in s e r i e s with the carbon

pile 7 The differential cut-out contains a
modifies t h e effect of the voltage
sensing coil a differential coil only
c becomes inoperative when t h e U/V relay &----lJ differential and s e r i e s coil
energises C differential s e r i e s and main contactor coils

The ballast resistor in t h e carbon pile regulator 8 The R.C.C.O. will operate
is used t o
/
-
' before t h e differential relay
set the correct ampere turns in t h e b before the overvolt relay
y voltage coil C after the differential relay
b oppose any setting action of the trimmer
resistor
C s t a b i l i s e t h e action of the regulator during
transident conditions .
 fl
9 When a d. c . generator fails the pilot will 13 If compound do generators are operated in
receive the following indications parallel they must

zero current on the ammeter and a red PFWL a all rotate at the same speed
/b rising voltage and current discharge with have an equalising or load sharing loop
a red PFWL
L/tj
C all use the same voltage regulator
C and audio bell and red P W L

14 During regulation and load sharing checks the

10 The PFWL will come on when the contacts of generators output voltage is determined using
the
#
a the aircrafts voltmeter (where fitted)
( ~ ~
4r' c
over volt relay open
under volt relay close
differential cut out closes
C
a sub-standard voltmeter
standard voltmeter
4
'./
/
r ~ '
~

15 DC load share adjustment is carriad out with

11 The voltage regulator on a single engined
air craft can one generator on line at a t i m e and on
/a load
L
'
a/ be trimmed for voltage only b all generators on line and on load
b be trimmed for current and voltage C a l l generators on line and off load
C have the ballast resistor adjusted with
voltage trimming
16 The purpose of 'field flashing' is to

12 Load sharing on a dc generation system is change the polarity of residual

achieved by magnetism in a field winding
11 t e s t the insulation resistance of a field
a/ circulating currents affecting the carbon winding with a 1,00W supply
pile for voltage trimming C measure the residual magnetism in a field
b the load differences causing torque winding 24 hours after the field supply is
signals to vary the engine speed removed
C tacho generators varying the generators
outputs as the engine speed varies
17 An overvoltage is sensed by

a sensing circuit connected in

parallel with the generator field
b the voltage sensing coil connected
across the generator output
C equalising and voltage sensing coil
ampere-turns assisting, egch other

18 The output stage of the voltage regulator for

a d . c . generator is a power transistor. The
transistor acts as

a an amplifier
k-b a switch
C a circuit breaker

19 The,Tirill regulator is adjusted by

a a trimmer resistor in series with the coil

&V-- varying the spring tension
C the diverter resistor in parallel with
the coil

20 Stabilis h g windings

a increase the effective ampere-turns of

the field,
oppose the voltage coil during changing
conditions
C adjust the level of circulating current
in the load share circuit