ARMATURE

WINDING
An armature winding is like a conductor, and it covers with a single
cotton cover, double cotton cover, otherwise cotton fiberglass and
enamel. Usually, the rolls of the armature winding will bound mutually
with the cotton tape. Thus the coils will be dipped in soaked varnish
then dried up. The armature winding is defined as the conductors
which are housed and protected within the armature slots are
connected properly. These windings are arranged in the armature slots.
The helpful e.m.f will be encouraged in this winding which is received
across the brushes.
Type of Winding
1. Lap Winding
2. Wave Winding

1. Lap Winding
A lap winding is a winding in which successive coils overlap each
other. It is named a “Lap” winding because it doubles or laps back
with its succeeding coils. The applications of lap winding mainly
include high-current, low voltage machines.
It forms a loop as it expands around the armature core.
Number of parallel paths = Number of poles = Number of brushes
High Current Low Voltage
Suitable for high current, low voltage machine like welding
machine and dynamo.
b).Wave Winding
An armature winding in which the coils are laid in two layers and follow
each other on the surface of the armature in the form of waves with the
coils being so connected in series that there are only two paths for the
flow of current whatever the number of poles in the machine. This kind of
winding is applicable for low-current, high-voltage machines.
• It forms wave as it expands around the armature core
• Number of parallel path = 2
• High Voltage Low Current
Dummy or Idle Coils

These are used with wave-winding and are resorted to when the
requirements of the winding are not met by the standard armature
punching available in armature-winding shops. These dummy coils do not
influence the electrical characteristics of the winding because they are not
connected to the commutator. They are exactly similar to the other coils
except that their ends are cut short and taped. They are there simply to
provide mechanical balance for the armature because an armature having
some slots without windings would be out of balance mechanically.
Comparison between lap winding and wave winding
Lap Winding Wave Winding
Coils are connected in Coils are connected in series.
parallel
Parallel Winding Series Winding
No. of parallel path (A) = No. of Parallel Paths (A) = 2
No. of Poles (P)
Requires equalizer rings. No necessity of equalizer rings.
Dummy Coil are not May require dummy coils.
required
Used in low voltage high Used in high voltage low
current machines. current machines.
Generate less EMF. Generate more EMF.
Necessarily required for Not suitable for large current
large current applications. applications.
Winding Direction
• Progressive winding – If after one round of the armature
the coil falls in a slot right to its starting slot the winging is
called Progressive wave winding. Winding expands from left
to right (+)
Retrogressive winding – If after one round of the armature
the coil falls in a slot left to its starting slot the winging. Winding
expands from right to left (-)
Uses of Lap and Wave Windings
The advantage of the wave winding is that, for a given number of poles and
armature conductors, it gives more e.m.f. than the lap winding. Conversely, for
the same e.m.f., lap winding would require large number of conductors which will
result in higher winding cost and less efficient utilization of space in the armature
slots. Hence, wave winding is suitable for small generators especially those
meant for 500-600 V circuits.
Another advantage is that in wave winding, equalizing connections are not
necessary whereas in a lap winding they definitely are. It is so because each of
the two paths contains conductors lying under all the poles whereas in lap-wound
armatures, each of the P parallel paths contains conductors which lie under one
pair of poles. Any inequality of pole fluxes affects two paths equally, hence their
induced e.m.fs. are equal. In lap-wound armatures, unequal voltages are
produced which set up a circulating current that produces sparking at brushes.
However, when large currents are required, it is necessary to use lap winding,
because it gives more parallel paths.
Hence, lap winding is suitable for comparatively low-voltage but high-current
generators whereas wave-winding is used for high-voltage, low-current machines.
Parts of Winding
Pole Pitch

It may be variously defined as:

(i) The periphery of the armature divided by the number of poles of
the generator i.e. the distance between two adjacent poles.
(ii) It is equal to the number of armature conductors (or armature
slots) per pole.
Total Number of Conductor or Element (Z)

The length of a wire lying in the magnetic field and in which an

e.m.f. is induced, is called a conductor (or inductor) as, for
example, length AB or CD in Fig. 4.2.1.
Coil and Winding Element

With reference to Fig. 4.2.1, the two conductors AB and CD along with their end
connections constitute one coil of the armature winding. The coil may be
single-turn coil (Fig. 4.2.1) or multi-turn coil (Fig. 4.2.2). A single-turn coil will
have two conductors. But a multi-turn coil may have many conductors per coil
side. In Fig. 4.2.2, for example, each coil side has 3 conductors. The group of
wires or conductors constituting a coil side of a multi-turn coil is wrapped with
a tape as a unit (Fig. 4.2.3) and is placed in the armature slot. It may be noted
that since the beginning and the end of each coil must be connected to a
commutator bar, there are as many commutator bars as coils for both the lap
and wave windings.
The side of a coil (1-turn or multi-turn) is called a winding element. Obviously,
Coil-span or Coil-pitch (Ys)

It is the distance, measured in terms of armature slots (or armature conductors)

between two sides of a coil. It is, in fact, the periphery of the armature spanned by
the two sides of the coil.
If the pole span or coil pitch is equal to the pole pitch (as in the case of coil A in Fig.
4.2.4.1 where pole pitch of 4 has been assumed), then winding is called full-
pitched. It means that coil span is 180 electrical degrees. In this case, the coil sides
lie under opposite poles, hence the induced e.m.fs. in them are additive. Therefore,
maximum e.m.f. is induced in the coil as a whole, it being the sum of the e.m.f.s
induced in the two coil sides.
Pitch of a Winding (Y)
In general, it may be defined as the distance round the armature
between two successive conductors which are directly connected
together. Or, it is the distance between the beginnings of two
consecutive turns.
In practice, coil-pitches as low as eight-tenths of a pole pitch are
employed without much serious reduction in the e.m.f. Fractional-
pitched windings are purposely used to effect substantial saving in
the copper of the end connections and for improving commutation.
Back Pitch (YB)
The distance, measured in terms of the armature conductors,
which a coil advances on the back of the armature is called
back pitch and is denoted by YB.
As seen from Figure, element 1 is connected on the back of the
armature to element 8.

Front Pitch (YF)

The number of armature conductors or elements spanned by a coil
on the front (or commutator end of an armature) is called the front
pitch and is designated by YF. Again in Fig. 4.2.4.2, element 8 is
connected to element 3 on the front of the armature, the
connections being made at the commutator segment.
Alternatively, the front pitch may be defined as the distance (in
terms of armature conductors) between the second conductor of
one coil and the first conductor of the next coil which are connected
together at the front i.e. commutator end of the armature. Both
front and back pitches for lap and wave-winding are shown in Fig.
4.2.5 and 4.2.6.
Resultant Pitch (YR)
It is the distance between the beginning of one coil and the beginning of
the next coil to which it is connected (Fig. 4.2.5 and 4.2.6).
As a matter of precaution, it should be kept in mind that all these pitches,
though normally stated in terms of armature conductors, are also
sometimes given in terms of armature slots or commutator bars because
commutator is, after all, an image of the winding.
Commutator Pitch (Yc)
It is the distance (measured in commutator bars or segments) between
the segments to which the two ends of a coil are connected. From Fig.
4.2.5 and 4.2.6 it is clear that for lap winding, YC is the difference of YB and
YF whereas for wave winding it is the sum of YB and YF. Obviously,
commutator pitch is equal to the number of bars between
coil leads. In general, YC equals the ‘plex’ of the lap-wound armature.
Hence, it is equal to 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. for simplex-, duplex, triplex–and
quadruplex etc. lap-windings.

Single-layer Winding
It is that winding in which one conductor or one coil side is placed in each
armature slot as shown in Fig. 4.2.7. Such a winding is not much used.
Two-layer Winding
In this type of winding, there are two conductors or coil sides per slot arranged
in two layers. Usually, one side of every coil lies in the upper half of one slot
and other side lies in the lower half of some other slot at a distance of
approximately one pitch away (Fig. 4.2.8). The transfer of the coil from one slot
to another is usually made in a radial plane by means of a peculiar bend or
twist at the back end as shown in Fig. 4.2.9. Such windings in which two coil
sides occupy each slot are most commonly used for all medium-sized
machines. Sometimes 4 or 6 or 8 coil sides are used in each slot in several
layers because it is not practicable to have too many slots (Fig. 4.2.10). The coil
sides lying at the upper half of the slots are numbered odd zcc v C i.e. 1, 3, 5,
7 etc. while those at the lower half are numbered even i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8 etc.
Multiplex Winding

In such windings, there are several sets of completely closed and

independent windings. If there is only one set of closed winding, it is
called simplex wave winding. If there are two such windings on the
same armature, it is called duplex winding and so on. The multiplicity
affects a number of parallel paths in the armature. For a given number
of armature slots and coils, as the multiplicity increases, the number of
parallel paths in the armature increases thereby increasing the current
rating but decreasing the voltage rating.
Basically armature winding of a DC machine is wound by one of the two methods, lap
winding or wave winding. The difference between these two is merely due to the end
connections and commutator connections of the conductor. To know how armature
winding is done, it is essential to know the following terminologies -
1. Pole pitch: It is defined as number of armature slots per pole. For example, if there are
36 conductors and 4 poles, then the pole pitch is 36/4=9.
2. Coil span or coil pitch (Ys): It is the distance between the two sides of a coil measured
in terms of armature slots.
3. Front pitch (Yf): It is the distance, in terms of armature conductors, between the second
conductor of one coil and the first conductor of the next coil. OR it is the distance
between two coil sides that are connected to the same commutator segment.
4. Back pitch (Yb): The distance by which a coil advances on the back of the armature is
called as back pitch of the coil. It is measured in terms of armature conductors.
5. Resultant pitch (Yr): The distance, in terms of armature conductor, between the
beginning of one coil and the beginning of the next coil is called as resultant pitch of the
coil.
Armature winding can be done as single layer or double layer. It may be simplex, duplex or
multiplex, and this multiplicity increases the number of parallel paths.