Dictionary of Electrical Engineering

Commonly used terms in the Electrical industry.

armature
the magnetic circuit of a rotating electrical machine, including the main current carrying winding, in which an alternating voltage is induced by the magnetic field.
armature circuit
components of the machine that carry armature current. For example, in a DC machine the armature circuit could consist of the armature windings, brushes, series field winding, compensating windings, interpoles, starting resistor(s), main-line contacts, and overload sensor.
armature current limiting
a condition wherein the stator currents are clamped at the maximum allowable limit due to excessive heating of the stator.
armature reaction
(1) in DC machines, a distortion of the field flux caused by the flux created by the armature current. Armature reaction in a DC machine causes lower flux at one pole-tip and higher flux at the other, which may lead to magnetic saturation. It also shifts the neutral axis, causing sparking on the commutator.

(2) in AC synchronous machines, a voltage drop caused by the armature current. In the steady state model of the synchronous machine, the armature reaction is accounted for by a component of the synchronous reactance. armature voltage control a method of controlling the speed of a DC motor by varying the voltage applied to the armature while keeping the voltage applied to the field circuit constant.
armature winding
an arrangement of coils carrying the main current, typically wound on the stator of a synchronous machine or the rotor of a DC machine, in which an alternating voltage is induced by the magnetic field.
direct axis magnetizing (armature) reactance
a reactance that represents all the inductive effects of the d-axis stator current of a synchronous machine, except for that due to the stator winding leakage reactance. In Park's d-axis equivalent circuit of the synchronous machine, this reactance is the only element through which both the stator and rotor currents flow. Its value may be determined by subtracting the stator winding leakage reactance from the steady-state value of the d-axis operational impedance or from the geometric and material data of the machine.