Q. Three-phase source voltages and phase sequence?

The elementary three-phase, two-pole generator shown in Figure has three identical stator coils (aa, bb, and cc) of one or more turns, displaced by 120° in space from each other. The rotor carries a ?eld winding excited by the dc supply through brushes and slip rings. When the rotor is driven at a constant speed, voltages of equal amplitude but different phase angle will be generated in the three phases in accordance with Faraday's law. Each of the three stator coils constitutes one phase of this single generator. If the ?eld structure is so designed that the ?ux is distributed sinusoidally over the poles, the ?ux linking any phase will vary sinusoidally with time, and sinusoidal voltages will be induced in the three phases. These three induced voltage waves will be displaced by 120 electrical degrees in time because the stator phases are displaced by 120° in space. When the rotor is driven counterclockwise, Figure (a) shows the wave forms and Figure (b) depicts the corresponding phasors of the three voltages. The time origin and the reference axis are chosen on the basis of analytical convenience. In a balanced system, all three phase voltages are equal in magnitude but differ from each other in phase by 120°. The sequence of voltages in Figure 4.1.2(b), corresponding to that of Figure (a), is known as the positive sequence (a-b-c). On the other hand, if the rotor is driven clockwise, then Figure (c) shows the corresponding phasor of the three voltages; the sequence of voltages in Figure (c) is known as negative sequence (a-c-b). Notice that in positive sequence ¯E_bb lags ¯E_aa by 120°, and ¯E_cc lags ¯E_bb by 120°; in negative sequence, however, ¯ Ecc lags ¯ Eaa by 120°, and ¯ Ebb lags ¯ Ecc by 120°.