1. Introduction

There are several ways to generate electricity which are burning fossil fuels, converting water into steam, and using the steam to spin a turbine that is connected to an electric generator. In hydroelectric power plants, generators are turned by water and via wind in wind turbines. In all cases, the electricity generated at these facilities flows across the transmission and distribution system to where it is needed to meet customer demand in cities and rural areas. The electric system is an interconnected network for generating, transmitting, and delivering electricity to consumers [1].

The conventional view of studying electric machines concentrates on concepts. The graphical user interface provides direct contact with the content, provokes curiosity, and implements the science education through scientific knowledge based on facts, laws, theories, and models. The integration of this new structure improves science comprehension and helps students to learn better and more efficiently.

© The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and eproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The study of an efficient power system starts with understanding the behavior of each component that develops this system. Electric machines used in power systems (generators, motors, and transformers) will be examined through analytical expressions and computer simulation. The importance of simulation is that these components could be studied before it is manufactured; thus, the consequences of changing dimensions and parameters can be assessed.

This simulation will be implemented in an educational tool, going from the basic operation principles, through developing models and equations toward the solution. The graphical user interface of MATLAB allows the students to study and analyze the effect of each parameter in order to understand its electric behavior with respect to its electric model.

This chapter will discuss the implementation of ferromagnetic core using graphical user interface taking into consideration the effects of air gap and fringing of a ferromagnetic core. Then, a detailed study of output power and losses with voltage regulation and efficiency of a single- and three-phase transformer will be established. In addition, a special survey will be accomplished concerning the types of DC motors and generators. Finally, this chapter will be concluded by providing an adequate research on the induction machines including their parametric study, and it will be achieved by a general conclusion of this work.

This chapter presents learning situations going from the theoretical expansion to the graphical interpretation. It is a teaching methodology toward the science education.
