FUNDAMENTAL

ELECTRICAL
THEORY
 Definitions
l Current (I): flow of electric charges per unit time,
measured in “amperes” or “amps” (A)
l Electromotive Force (emf) (E): a potential difference
or “electric pressure” which drives the flow of
charges, measured in “volts” (V)
l Resistance (R): an electrical circuit’s opposition to
current flow, measured in “ohms” ()
l Conductor: a material which offers little resistance to
current flow, e.g. silver, copper, iron, etc…
l Insulator: a material which offers high resistance to
current flow, e.g. wood, paper, plastic, etc...
 Alternating Current (AC)
l Current is constantly changing in
magnitude and direction at regular
intervals
l Current is a function of time and usually
varies as a sine function
 Alternating Current (AC)
l Current is constantly changing in
magnitude and direction at regular
intervals
l Current is a function of time and usually
varies as a sine function
I
t
ELECTRICAL POWER
GENERATION
 Induced emf
l Faraday discovered that emf is induced in a
conductor if a magnet passes by the conductor since
relative motion between the magnet and conductor
cut through magnetic lines of flux
l The direction of the induced emf depends on the
direction of relative motion between the magnet and
the conductor
l The magnitude of the induced current depends on
the magnitude of magnetic flux, velocity at which the
magnet passes by the conductor, and the number of
magnetic lines of flux that are cut
 3 Things Required to
Generate Voltage
l Magnetic field
l Conductor
l Relative
motion
Electromagnetic Induction

COIL (CONDUCTOR)
INDUCED CURRENT

RELATIVE MOTION
VOLTMETER

MAGNET

INDUCED CURRENT
 Direction of Induced emf
MOTION OF
CONDUCTOR
B

N S

INDUCED “LEFT HAND

(electron flow) CURRENT GENERATOR RULE”
 Magnets
Permanent magnets are usually too weak
for any practical applications

IRON
CORE
+ -
DC
BATTERY
B
B  (N x I)
“ELECTROMAGNET”
 Generator Parts
l Prime mover: mechanical work which turns the rotor,
may be a steam turbine, gas turbine, diesel engine...
l Armature windings: the conductor in which the
output voltage is induced
l Field windings: the conductors used to produce the
electromagnetic field (needs a DC power supply)
l Stator: stationary housing of the generator
l Rotor: rotates inside the stator, moved by a prime
mover (steam turbine, gas turbine, internal
combustion engine, etc…)
l Sliding contacts (slip-rings and brushes): used to
conduct the field or armature current to and from the
rotor
A Simple AC Generator
 Two Types of AC Generators
l Revolving armature
– rotor is an armature which is rotating inside a
stationary electromagnetic field
– seldom used since output power must be
transmitted through slip-rings and brushes
l Revolving field
– dc current is supplied to the rotor which makes a
rotating electromagnetic field inside the stator
– more practical since the current required to supply
a field is much smaller than the output current of
the armature
Revolving Armature
Revolving Field
 Relationship Between
Generator Speed and
Frequency
l Most electrical equipment in the United
States operates on 60 Hz AC electrical
power (some foreign countries use 50
Hz)
l How fast must a 2-pole generator be
rotating to produce a 60 Hz output?
N x P = 120 x f
Three-Phase Electrical Power
l Uses three sets of armature windings to
produce three separate outputs
l Armature windings are physically separated
120o from each other, and therefore, each
phase is 120o apart from another
l More power may be generated by a
generator of a given size and weight
l Provides continuous power to electrical
equipment even if one phase is damaged
Single-Phase v. Three-Phase
 Classifying Generators
l Number of phases: most shipboard electrical
power is 3 phase
l Frequency: most shipboard electrical power
is 60 Hz, some electronic equipment operate
at 400 Hz or higher
l Voltage: usually 450 V, smaller appliances
use 120 V
l Power rating: measured in kW, most
shipboard generators are 2,000 - 3,000 kW
 TRANSFORMERS
l A device that transfers energy by electromagnetic
induction
l Primary and secondary windings (insulated from
each other electrically) are mounted on opposite
sides of a ferromagnetic core
l Used to raise voltage (“step-up transformer”) or lower
voltage (“step-down transformer”)
l Voltage is raised when the primary winding has fewer
turns than the secondary winding, and voltage is
lowered when the primary winding has more turns
than the secondary winding
 A Simple Transformer

PRIMARY SECONDARY
WINDING WINDING

CORE