Shunt-Wound DC Generators

While the field winding of a generator is linked in parallel along with the generator armature, the generator is known as a shunt-wound generator (Figure).

The excitation current in a shunt-wound generator is dependent upon the outcome voltage and the field resistance.Generally, field excitation is maintained among 0.5 and 5 % of the total current outcome of the generator.

                                                 Figure: Shunt-Wound DC Generator

The shunt-wound generator, running at a constant speed under varying load conditions, has a much more stable voltage outcome than does a series-wound generator.  A few modifications in output voltage do take place. This modification is caused through the actual fact that, as the load current raise, the voltage drop (IaRa) across the armature coil increases, causing output voltage to decrease. As conclude, the current by the field decreases, decreasing the magnetic field and causing voltage to decrease even more. The drop in output voltage is severe if load current is much higher than the design of the generator. For load current inside the design range of the generator, the drop in outcome voltage is minimal (Figure).

                           Figure: Output Voltage-vs-Load Current for Shunt-Wound DC Generator