How a car generator works-Zhejiang Noontimes Autoparts Co., Ltd.

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How a car generator works

2021-12-29

A generator is a mechanical device that converts other forms of energy into electricity. It is driven by turbines—such as hydro, steam, or diesel turbines—or other power sources, harnessing the energy from flowing water, wind, fuel combustion, or nuclear fission to produce mechanical energy, which is then transformed into electrical energy by the generator itself. Generators play a vital role in industrial and agricultural production, national defense, scientific research, and everyday life, serving a wide range of applications.
How a Diesel Generator Works
A diesel engine drives a generator, converting the energy from diesel fuel into electricity. Inside the diesel engine’s cylinder, clean air—filtered through an air cleaner—is thoroughly mixed with high-pressure, atomized diesel fuel injected by the fuel injector. As the piston moves upward and compresses the mixture, its volume decreases dramatically, causing the temperature to rise rapidly until it reaches diesel’s ignition point. At this moment, the diesel fuel ignites, triggering a powerful combustion of the air-fuel mixture. The rapid expansion of gases pushes the piston downward, performing what’s known as the "power stroke."
How a Gasoline Generator Works
A gasoline engine drives the generator, converting the energy from gasoline into electrical energy. Inside the engine’s cylinders, a highly compressed air-fuel mixture ignites violently, causing rapid expansion that pushes the pistons downward to perform mechanical work. Whether it’s a diesel or gasoline generator, the pistons in each cylinder fire sequentially in a specific order. The force generated by the pistons is transmitted via connecting rods, ultimately rotating the crankshaft and setting the entire system in motion. When a brushless synchronous AC generator is mounted coaxially with the prime mover’s crankshaft, the rotational motion of the prime mover directly drives the generator’s rotor. Utilizing the principle of electromagnetic induction, the generator produces an induced electromotive force, which, when connected to a closed-load circuit, results in the flow of electric current.
The principle behind how an alternator generates three-phase AC electricity
How a generator works
Diagram of the generator's stator and rotor
(1) The rotor coil must be energized to generate a magnetic field: Power is supplied to the rotor coil via the F and E terminals, causing the coil to produce a magnetic field when energized.
(2) The engine’s operation drives the rotor to rotate—this creates a rotating magnetic field, causing the stator coils to cut through the magnetic lines of force and generate alternating current within them. Because the three stator coils are arranged in such a way that the AC currents they produce are phase-shifted by 120 degrees relative to each other, this type of current is known as three-phase AC.
(3) The amplitude of the AC voltage output by the stator coil increases proportionally with the generator's rotational speed. The regulator controls the magnitude of the current flowing through the rotor coil, thereby managing the generator's output voltage.

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