Acyclic Machines

Dr. A Hasib Chowdhury

Dept. of EEE, BUET

September 2014

Acyclic Machine
Voltage induced in armatures of machines studied

so far are alternating, whether machine is ac or dc

Distinguishing feature of acyclic machine is that

voltage induced in its armature is unidirectional

Terminal voltage of acyclic machine is dc without

use of a commutator or other rectifying

arrangement

Acyclic Generators

This generator has two field coils

carrying direct current which
produce magnetic flux along
paths indicated by dashed lines
Armature is a conducting sleeve
mounted on rotor core and
rotating with it
Armature may be regarded either
as a single conductor or as a large
number of conductors of
infinitesimal width connected in
parallel
Generated voltage
e = l .(u
x B)

Cross-sectional view of an
acyclic generator

tangential
velocity,
I direction
effective axial length of armature
uThe
tangential
velocity,
Bofflux,
flux and
density
(assumedof
to be uniform throughout air gap)
orientation
armature conductor mutually

Acyclic Generators

contd.

Acyclic generators generally

have single-conductor armatures
High rpm required for generation
of even moderate values of
voltage
Application restricted to loads
requiring heavy current at low
voltage
To collect high values of current
use large number of brushes
Large number of brushes + high
peripheral speeds high brush
friction loss reduced
Cutaway view of a 10,000-kW 67efficiency, heat dissipation
V 150,OOO A, 3600-rpm acyclic
Problem of brush friction
generator
ameliorated by liquid metal
conductor eutectic alloy of

Acyclic Generators

contd.

Solid iron rotor

Makes rotor a single-conductor armature
Withstands centrifugal forces due to high rotational speed

Typical acyclic-generator arrangement 60 MW

steam turbine drives 6 generators directly connected
to turbine shaft powers a 150,000 A, 400 V line
Each generator rated at 67 V and 150,000

Linear Acyclic Machines

Linear acyclic machines depend for their
operation on linear instead of rotary
motion
Example hydromagnetic
flowmeter
Operating principle a voltage is
generated in conducting liquid passing
through a magnetic field B
Magnetic field produced by
electromagnet or permanent magnet
Velocity u of liquid related to induced
voltage e = L(u x B)
Advantage simplicity no moving
parts within liquid which might be
corrosive

Schematic diagram of
hydrodynamic flowmeter

Linear Acyclic Machines

Conduction Pump
Reverse principle (i.e., motor action)
utilized in pumping liquid metals
sodium, sodium potassium,
bismuth- used in nuclear reactors
Conduction pumps may be dc or ac
Current Is passed through tube walls
and liquid metal contained therein
Current is at right angles to
magnetic field B
Force on a small length of current
path l through which flows a small
current i expressed by

contd.

Schematic diagram of
electro-magnetic pump
conduction pump

Linear Acyclic Machines

Difficult to relate
to total force
on liquid in terms of total electrode
current Is

contd.

Equivalent circuit of a dc
conduction pump

Part of Is flows through tube walls that

enclose liquid
Part of current in liquid flows through
relatively field-free regions near inlet
and outlet of pump

Armature reaction introduces a

further complication can be
minimized by a compensating
winding
Effects of wall and end currents can
be represented in circuit

Is : total applied current

I : current in liquid
R : resistance of liquid metal
within pole region
Rt : resistance between
electrodes of tube wall
Ro : resistance of liquid metal
outside pole region

Linear Acyclic Machines

contd.

Strong similarity between ac and dc pump

Action of ac pump complicated by effects of eddy currents in liquid
metal, tube walls, and compensating windings
AC conduction pump restricted to small power applications
since eddy-current losses increase rapidly with size equivalent of
increasing volume and thickness for eddy-current
loss
2 2
P = Vol (V
)/(12N2A2)
e

AC conduction pump has low power factor larger than dc pump of

similar output
Advantage of ac pump dc supply difficult when thousands of
amperes required at a 1 V level
Suitable source for dc pump acyclic generator, because of its highcurrent output capability at low voltage
In ac pump proper time-phase relationship between B and I must
be maintained for effective operation