wikiHydroTimor -- on hydroelectric related terms -- by HydroTimorElectrical Generator
An electrical generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy, generally using electromagnetic induction. The source of mechanical energy may be water falling through a turbine or waterwheel, a reciprocating or turbine steam engine, an internal combustion engine, a wind turbine, a hand crank, or any other source of mechanical energy.
The generator moves an electric current, but does not create electric charge, which is already present in the conductive wire of its windings. It is somewhat analogous to a water pump, which creates a flow of water but does not create the water inside. Other types of electrical generator exist, based on other electrical phenomena such as piezoelectricity, and magnetohydrodynamics. The construction of a dynamo is similar to that of an electric motor, and all common types of dynamos could work as motors.
The way in which a turbine-driven generator uses reciprocating motion to produce kinetic energy is similar to the way in which a turbine uses reciprocating motion--driven by gas heat--to produce power in a jet engine. Turbochargers harness engine exhaust heat to propel a turbine-like fan in order to produce high volumes of air, called "boost," which are fed into the internal combustion engine.
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to alternating current electrical energy. Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used. In principle, any AC generator can be called an alternator, but usually the word refers to small rotating machines driven by automotive and other internal combustion engines.
The Dynamo was the first electrical generator capable of delivering power for industry. The dynamo uses electromagnetic principles to convert mechanical rotation into an alternating electric current. A dynamo machine consists of a stationary structure which generates a strong magnetic field, and a set of rotating windings which turn within that field. On small machines the magnetic field may be provided by a permanent magnet; larger machines have the magnetic field created by electromagnets.
Early designs induced "spikes" of current followed by none at all. Replacing the spinning coil with a toroidal one, created by wrapping an iron ring, meant that some part of the coil was continually passing by the magnets, smoothing out the current. Zénobe Gramme reinvented this design when designing the first commercial power plants, which operated in Paris in the 1870s. His design is now known as the Gramme dynamo. Various versions and improvements have been made since then, but the basic concept of a spinning endless loop of wire remains at the heart of all modern dynamos.
The parts of a dynamo or related equipment can be expressed in either mechanical terms or electrical terms. Although distinctly separate, these two sets of terminology are frequently used interchangeably or in combinations that include one mechanical term and one electrical term. This causes great confusion when working with compound machines such as a brushless alternator or when conversing with people who are used to working on a machine that is configured differently than the machines that the speaker is used to.
Mechanical
Electrical
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wikiHydroTimor -- on hydroelectric related terms -- by HydroTimor