What would you need to do to a brushless DC motor to turn it into a generator?
I am new to learning about generators and dont know much about DC electricity. I am experimenting with building a windmill for household power. Would machining the shaft and placing magnets in it work? I am first building one with homemade coils and earth magnets, but somebody suggested using a dc motor housing and thought i would check into it. Thanks for any input.
Hi,
First of all,a brushless DC motor needs an alternative arrangement that could cause the reversal of input direct current for developing a constant torque in armature.This may be achieved with the help of any electronic inverter connected to the input terminals of motor as the brushes in a dc motor actually act as mechanical inverter.
Now,to run a dc motor as generator:
Rotate the shaft of the motor by coupling it through any prime mover(such as engine or any other generator) at rated speed
The field excitation to the motor circuit must be provided using any dc source.Now,the motor runs as a generator.
Importantly,an arrangement(either an electronic rectifier or brushes) that could reverse the direction of induced current in the armature,which is of alternating nature,must be provided at the output.This is required so as to obtain dc power at load.