Synchronous generator and frequency converter

in wind turbine applications:

system design and efficiency
Anders Grauers
Technical Report No. 175 L
1994
ISBN 91-7032-968-0
Synchronous generator and frequency converter
in wind turbine applications:
system design and efficiency
by
Anders Grauers
Techni cal report No. 175 L
Submi tted to the School of El ectri cal and Computer Engi neeri ng
Chal mers Uni versi ty of Technol ogy
i n parti al ful l fi l l ment of the requi rements
for the degree of
Li centi ate of Engi neeri ng
Department of El ectri cal Machi nes and Power El ectroni cs
Chal mers Uni versi ty of Technol ogy
Gteborg, Sweden
May 1994
1
Abstract
Thi s r epor t deal s wi th an el ectr i cal system for var i abl e-speed wi nd power
pl ants. I t consi sts of a synchr onous gener ator , a di ode r ecti fi er and a
thyr i stor i nver ter . The ai m i s to di scuss the system desi gn and contr ol , to
model the l osses and to compare the average effi ci ency of thi s vari abl e-speed
system wi th the aver age effi ci ency of a constant-speed and a two-speed
system. Onl y the steady state operati on of the system i s di scussed. Losses i n
the system ar e model l ed, and the l oss model i s ver i fi ed for a 50kVA
generator. The proposed si mpl e l oss model i s found to be accurate enough to
be used for the torque control of a wi nd turbi ne generator system. The most
effi ci ent generator rati ng i s di scussed, and i t i s shown how the vol tage control
of the gener ator can be used to maxi mi ze the gener ator and conver ter
effi ci ency. The average effi ci ency of the system i s cal cul ated. I t depends on
the medi an wi nd speed of the turbi ne si te. I t i s found that a vari abl e-speed
system, consi sti ng of a gener ator and a conver ter , can have an aver age
effi ci ency al most as hi gh as a constant-speed or a two-speed system. Three
di ffer ent contr ol str ategi es and thei r effect on the system effi ci ency ar e
i nvesti gated.
Acknowledgement
I woul d l i ke to thank my supervi sor, Dr Ol a Carl son, for hi s support i n thi s
r esear ch pr oject. Al so my exami nator Dr Kar l -Er i k Hal l eni us, Pr ofessor
Jor ma Luomi and Pr ofessor Kjel d Thor bor g have gi ven me val uabl e
comments and suggesti ons duri ng the work on thi s report. Further, I woul d
l i ke to thank Margot Bol i nder for l i ngui sti c hel p.
The fi nanci al support for thi s project i s gi ven by the Swedi sh Nati onal Board
for I ndustr i al and Techni cal Devel opment (NUTEK) and i t i s gr ateful l y
acknowl eged.
2
List of contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................... 1
Acknowl edgement......................................................................................................... 1
List of contents.............................................................................................................. 2
Li st of symbol s .............................................................................................................. 4
1 I ntroducti on ................................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Descri pti on of vari abl e-speed generator systems ........................... 7
1.1.1 Synchronousgeneratoranddi ode-thyri stor
converter....................................................................................... 7
1.1.2 Generators and recti fi ers........................................................... 8
1.1.3 I nverters .....................................................................................11
1.2 Wi nd turbi ne characteri sti cs.............................................................13
1.3 Vari abl e-speed wi nd turbi nes ............................................................15
1.4 A desi gn exampl e system...................................................................15
2 The synchronous generator system ....................................................................16
2.1 The control system..............................................................................17
2.2 The generator .......................................................................................19
2.2.1 Speed rati ng ...............................................................................19
2.2.2 Current rating............................................................................20
2.2.3 Vol tage rati ng ............................................................................21
2.2.4 Other aspects of the rati ng.....................................................22
2.2.5 Generator rating........................................................................23
2.2.6 Generator effi ci ency .................................................................24
2.2.7 Design example..........................................................................25
2.3 Recti fi er ..................................................................................................27
2.3.1 Diode commutation...................................................................27
2.3.2 Equivalent circuit......................................................................28
2.3.3 Design example..........................................................................30
2.4 Dc fi l ter ..................................................................................................31
2.4.1 Fi l ter types .................................................................................32
2.4.2 Harmoni cs i n the dc l i nk ..........................................................34
2.4.3 Smoothi ng reactor of the di ode recti fi er................................35
2.4.4 Smoothi ng reactor of the i nverter .........................................38
2.4.5 Dc capaci tance..........................................................................42
2.4.6 Resonance damping..................................................................42
2.4.7 Dc fi l ter for the desi gn exampl e system ...............................43
2.5 I nverter..................................................................................................46
2.5.1 I nverter pul se number .............................................................47
2.5.2 Protection circuits.....................................................................49
2.5.3 Design example..........................................................................50
3 Model of generator and converter l osses .............................................................51
3.1 Model of machine losses......................................................................51
3.1.1 Fri cti on and wi ndage l oss torque............................................52
3.1.2 Core losses..................................................................................53
3.1.3 Winding losses............................................................................55
3
3.1.4 Exci ter l osses .............................................................................56
3.1.5 Addi ti onal l osses ........................................................................57
3.1.6 Compl ete generator l oss model .............................................58
3.1.7 Cal cul ati ng the generator fl ux ..............................................59
3.1.8 Esti mati ng the fi el d current..................................................60
3.1.9 Parameters for the generator l oss model ...........................61
3.1.10 Errors of the generator model ...............................................63
3.1.11 Error i n the wi ndage and fri cti on l osses ..............................63
3.2 Model of the converter l osses ............................................................69
3.3 Model of the gear l osses ......................................................................70
3.4 Veri fi cati on of the generator l oss model ..........................................70
3.4.1 The l aboratory system............................................................71
3.4.2 Parameters of the l aboratory system.................................72
3.4.3 Veri fi cati on of the exci ter l osses............................................81
3.4.4 Model error at resi sti ve l oad...................................................81
3.4.5 Model error at diode load..........................................................84
3.4.6 Error i n the torque control ......................................................85
3.5 Model for the 300 kW desi gn exampl e .............................................87
3.5.1 Generator parameters.............................................................87
3.5.2 Converter parameters.............................................................89
3.5.3 Gear parameters ......................................................................89
4 The use of the l oss model i n control and desi gn..................................................90
4.1 Opti mum generator vol tage control .................................................90
4.2 Effi ci ency as a functi on of generator si ze........................................92
4.3 Opti mum generator speed .................................................................94
5 Compari son of constant and vari abl e speed......................................................99
5.1 The per unit turbine model.................................................................99
5.2 Power and l osses as functi ons of the wi nd speed.........................101
5.2.1 Assumpti ons for the power functi ons ................................101
5.2.2 Power functi ons ......................................................................105
5.2.3 Turbi ne power .........................................................................107
5.2.4 Gear losses...............................................................................108
5.2.5 Generator and converter l osses...........................................108
5.2.6 Losses at di fferent vol tage control s....................................109
5.2.7 Produced electric power.........................................................110
5.3 Energy and average effi ci ency ........................................................111
5.3.1 Assumpti ons for the energy cal cul ati ons ..........................112
5.3.2 Wi nd energy captured by the turbi ne.................................114
5.3.3 Gearenergyoutputandaveragegear
effi ci ency ..................................................................................114
5.3.4 El ectri c energy and average el ectri c effi ci ency ................115
5.3.5 Total effi ci ency i ncl udi ng the gear.......................................118
5.3.6 Produced energy......................................................................119
5.4 Summary of average effi ci ency compari son................................121
6 Concl usi ons ............................................................................................................123
7 References..............................................................................................................124
4
List of symbols
Quantities
B Magneti c fl ux densi ty
C Capaci tance
d Turbi ne di ameter
E I nduced vol tage
e Per uni t i nduced vol tage
f Frequency
I Current
i Per uni t current
L I nductance
n Rotati onal speed
n' Per uni t rotati onal speed
P Power
p Per uni t power
R Resi stance
r Per uni t resi stance
S Apparent power
T Torque
t Per uni t torque
U Vol tage
u Per uni t vol tage
v Per unit wind speed
X Reactance
x Per uni t reactance
Z I mpedance
Fi ri ng angl e of the i nverter
Effi ci ency
Ti p speed rati o of the turbi ne
El ectri cal angul ar frequency
Flux linkage
Per unit flux linkage
Constants and components
C Constant, coeffi ci ent
Th Thyri stor
VDR Vol tage dependi ng resi stor (ZnO)
5
Indices for parts of the system:
a Armature
c Converter
d Dc link
E Exci ter
f Field
g Generator
gear Gear
i I nverter
net Network
r Recti fi er
rotor Rotor
t Turbi ne
to Turn-off ci rcui t
damp Damper ci rcui t
Other indices:
ad Addi ti onal l osses
b Base val ue
com Commutati on
Cu Copper l osses
d axis D-axi s of the synchronous generator
diode Diode loaded
est Esti mated val ue
Fe Core l osses
Ft Eddy current l osses
Hy Hysteresi s l osses
lim Li mi t val ue
l oss Losses
max Maxi mum val ue
mesh Gear mesh (l osses)
min Mi ni mum val ue
N Rated val ue
opt Opti mum
P Power (-Coeffi ci ent)
p-p Peak-to-peak val ue
q axis Q-axi s of the synchronous generator
ref Reference val ue
res Resi sti vel y l oaded
s Synchronous (reactance)
s s Standsti l l
tot Total
(k) kth harmoni c
(1) Fundamental component
0 No l oad
Fri cti on
Leakage
6
1 Introduction
I n the desi gn of a modern wi nd turbi ne generator system, vari abl e speed i s
often consi dered. I t can i ncrease the power producti on of the turbi ne by about
5 %, the noi se i s reduced and forces on the wi nd turbi ne generator system can
be r educed. I ts major dr awbacks ar e the hi gh pr i ce and compl exi ty of the
converter equi pment.
Thi s r epor t deal s wi th a var i abl e-speed system consi sti ng of synchr onous
gener ator , di ode r ecti fi er and thyr i stor i nver ter . The advantages of the
synchr onous gener ator and a di ode r ecti fi er ar e the hi gh effi ci ency of the
r ecti fi er and the l ow pr i ce. Ther e ar e two di sadvantages that can be
i mportant i n wi nd turbi ne generator systems. Motor start of the turbi ne i s
not possi bl e wi thout auxi l i ary equi pment and the torque control i s normal l y
not faster than about 8 Hz [1]. The ai m of thi s r epor t i s to descr i be an
effi ci ent var i abl e-speed system and to model the gener ator and conver ter
l osses. The l oss model i s i ntendend to be used for steady state torque control
and to maxi mi ze the system effi ci ency.
The synchronous generator system has been i nvesti gated earl i er. Ernst[1],
for exampl e, descri bes the system possi bi l i ti es by presenti ng vari ous system
confi gur ati ons, methods for model l i ng and contr ol str ategi es. Hoei jmaker s
deri ves an el ectri c model for the generator and converter [2] and a si mpl i fi ed
model i ntended for contr ol use [3], not i ncl udi ng the effects of r i ppl e and
har moni cs. Car l son pr esents a detai l ed model for the si mul ati on of the
generator and converter system by numeri cal sol uti on of the equati ons [4].
Thi s r epor t focuses on system desi gn, model l i ng of the system l osses,
maxi mi zi ng the effi ci ency and cal cul ati on of average effi ci ency. To be abl e to
fi nd reasonabl e parameters for the l oss model , the generator rati ng as wel l as
the converter desi gn are di scussed i n Chapter 2. I n Chapter 3, the l oss model
i s der i ved and compar ed wi th measur ments. I n Chapter 4, the gener ator
vol tage control i s opti mi zed and the i nfl uence of the generator rati ng on the
system effi ci ency i s di scussed. A compari son i s made between the l osses and
aver age effi ci ency of a var i abl e-speed, a constant-speed and a two-speed
system i n Chapter 5. The report deal s onl y wi th the steady-state behavi our
of the system.
7
1.1 Description of variable-speed generator systems
1.1.1 Synchronous generator and diode-thyristor converter.
The gener ator system di scussed i n thi s r epor t i s a system consi sti ng of a
synchronous generator, a di ode recti fi er, a dc fi l ter and a thyri stor i nverter.
The i nverter may have a harmoni c fi l ter on the network si de i f i t i s necessary
to compl y wi th uti l i ty demands. The harmoni c fi l ter i s, however, not i ncl uded
i n the effi ci ency cal cul ati ons i n thi s report. Fi gure 1.6 shows the total power-
generati ng system.
The advantage of a synchr onous gener ator i s that i t can be connected to a
di ode or thyri stor recti fi er. The l ow l osses and the l ow pri ce of the recti fi er
make the total cost much l ower than that of the i nducti on generator wi th a
sel f-commutated recti fi er [5]. When usi ng a di ode recti fi er the fundamental of
the armature current has al most uni ty power factor. The i nducti on generator
needs hi gher current rati ng because of the magneti zati on current.
The di sadvantage i s that i t i s not possi bl e to use the mai n fr equency
converter for motor start of the turbi ne. I f the turbi ne cannot start by i tsel f i t
i s necessary to use auxi l i ary start equi pment. I f a very fast torque control i s
i mpor tant, then a gener ator wi th a sel f-commutated r ecti fi er al l ows faster
torque response. A normal synchronous generator wi th a di ode recti fi er wi l l
possi bl y be abl e to control the shaft torque up to about 10Hz, whi ch shoul d
be fast enough for most wi nd turbi ne generator systems.
Gear
Synchronous
generator
Wi nd turbi ne
Di ode
recti fi er
Dc-fi l ter
Thyri stor
i nverter
Harmoni c
fi l ter
Network
transformer
Figure 1.6 The proposed generator and converter system for a wind turbine
generator system.
8
The armature current of a synchronous generator wi th a di ode recti fi er can
be i nstabl e. Thi s i nstabi l i ty can, accor di ng to Hoei jmaker s, be avoi ded by
usi ng a current-control l ed thyri stor recti fi er [3]. However, usi ng a thyri stor
recti fi er i s much more expensi ve than usi ng a di ode recti fi er and i t al so makes
i t neccesary to use a l arger generator. Therefore, a di ode recti fi er shoul d be
used i f the recti fi er current can be control l ed by other means. That i s possi bl e
by means of the i nver ter cur r ent contr ol . The contr ol may, however , be
sl i ghtl y sl ower than that of a thyri stor recti fi er.
Encl osed generators (I P54) are preferred i n wi nd turbi ne generator systems.
But standard synchronous generators are usual l y open (I P23) and cool ed by
ambi ent ai r venti l ated thr ough the gener ator . Encl osed synchr onous
gener ator s ar e manufactur ed, but they can be r ather expensi ve. Open
gener ator s can maybe be used i f the wi ndi ngs ar e vacuum-i mpr egnated.
Standard i nducti on generators, wi th a rated power up to at l east 400kW, are
encl osed.
A thyri stor i nverter i s used i n the system i nvesti gated i n thi s report, mai nl y
because i t i s avai l abl e as a standard product at a l ow pri ce and al so for hi gh
power. I n the future, when the si ze of the transi stor i nverters i s i ncreased and
the pr i ce r educed, they wi l l be an i nter esti ng al ter nati ve to the thyr i stor
i nverter.
1.1.2 Generators and rectifiers
I n thi s secti on di fferent generators for vari abl e-speed systems are compared.
A cage induction generator i s normal l y used together wi th a sel f-commutated
r ecti fi er because i t must be magneti zed by a r eacti ve stator cur r ent. The
sel f-commutated r ecti fi er al l ows a fast tor que contr ol but i t i s much mor e
expensi ve than the di ode recti fi er and i t i s l ess effi ci ent. An al ternati ve to the
expensi ve sel f-commutated r ecti fi er woul d be an i nducti on gener ator
magneti zed by capaci tors and feedi ng a di ode recti fi er. The di sadvantages of
that system are that the generator i ron core must be saturated to stabi l i ze
the vol tage, whi ch l eads to a poor effi ci ency, and the capaci tance val ue must
be changed wi th the gener ator speed. The two di ffer ent cage i nducti on
generator and recti fi er combi nati ons are shown i n Fi gure 1.1.
9
An induction generator and a rotor cascade has the stator connected di rectl y
to the networ k and the r otor wi ndi ngs ar e connected to the networ k vi a a
fr equency conver ter , see Fi gur e 1.2. Thi s system i s i nter esti ng mai nl y i f a
smal l speed r ange i s used because then the fr equency conver ter can be
smal l er than i n the other systems. A speed r ange of 20% fr om the
synchronous speed can be used wi th a frequency converter rated onl y about
20% of the total generator power. The mai n part of the power i s transferred
by the stator wi ndi ngs di rectl y to the network. The rest i s transferred by the
frequency converter from the rotor wi ndi ngs. The di sadvantage of thi s system
i s that the gener ator must have sl i p r i ngs and ther efor e needs mor e
mai ntenance than generators wi thout sl i p ri ngs.
IG I G
Sel f-commutated
recti fi er
Di ode
recti fi er
Magneti zati on
capaci tance
Cage i nducti on
generator
Cage i nducti on
generator
(a) (b)
Figure 1.1 Cage induction generator I G with (a) a self-commutated rectifier
or (b) self excited with a diode rectifier.
I G
Three-phase
network
50 Hz
Wound rotor
i nducti on generator
Rotor currents
-10 Hz < f < +10 Hz
Figure 1.2 Wound rotor induction generator I G and a rotor cascade frequency
converter.
The conventional synchronous generator can be used wi th a very cheap and
effi ci ent di ode recti fi er. The synchronous generator i s more compl i cated than
10
the i nducti on generator and shoul d therefore be somewhat more expensi ve.
However , standar d synchr onous gener ator s ar e gener al l y cheaper than
standard i nducti on generators. A fai r compari son can not be made si nce the
standard i nducti on generator i s encl osed whi l e the synchronous generator i s
open-ci rcui t venti l ated. The l ow cost of the recti fi er as wel l as the l ow recti fi er
l osses make the synchronous generator system probabl y the most economi c
one today. The drawback of thi s generator and recti fi er combi nati on i s that
motor star t of the tur bi ne i s not possi bl e by means of the mai n fr equency
converter.
Permanent magnet machines ar e today manufactur ed onl y up to a r ated
power of about 5kW. They ar e mor e effi ci ent than the conventi onal
synchronous machi ne and si mpl er because no exci ter i s needed. Li ke other
synchronous generators the permanent magnet generators can be used wi th
di ode recti fi ers. Hi gh energy permanent magnet materi al i s expensi ve today
and ther efor e thi s gener ator type wi l l not yet be competi ti ve i n r el ati on to
standar d synchr onous gener ator s. For l ow-speed gear l ess wi nd tur bi ne
generators the permanent magnet generator i s more competi ti ve because i t
can have hi gher pol e number than a conventi onal synchronous generator. I n
Fi gure 1.3 the two types of synchronous generators are shown.
SG PG
Di ode
recti fi er
I ntegrated
exci ter
Conventi onal
synchronous
generator
Permanent
magnet
synchronous
generator
Di ode
recti fi er
(a) (b)
Figure 1.3 (a) Conventional synchronous generator SG and (b) permanent
magnet synchronous generator PG connected to diode rectifiers.
1.1.3 Inverters
Many types of i nverters can be used i n vari abl e-speed wi nd turbi ne generator
systems today. They can be characteri zed as ei ther network-commutated or
11
sel f-commutated. Sel f-commutated i nver ter s ar e ei ther cur r ent sour ce or
vol tage sour ce i nver ter s. Bel ow the var i ous types ar e pr esented. The r ated
power consi dered i s i n the range of 200 kW to 1 MW.
Self-commutated inverters: These ar e i nter esti ng because thei r networ k
di sturbance can be reduced to l ow l evel s. By usi ng hi gh swi tchi ng frequenci es,
up to several kHz, the harmoni cs can be fi l tered easi er than for a network-
commutated thyri stor i nverter. Control of the reacti ve power fl ow i s possi bl e
for thi s type of i nverter maki ng i t easi er to connect them to weak networks.
Sel f-commutated i nverters use pul se wi dth modul ati on techni que to reduce
the harmoni cs. To make the harmoni cs l ow the swi tchi ng frequency i s often 3
kHz or hi gher.
Sel f commutated i nver ter s ar e usual l y made ei ther wi th Gate Tur n Off
thyri stors, GTOs, or transi stors. The GTO i nverters are not capabl e of hi gher
swi tchi ng frequenci es than about 1 kHz. That i s not enough for reduci ng the
har moni cs substanti al l y bel ow those of a thyr i stor i nver ter wi th fi l ter .
Therefore, the GTO i nverter i s not consi dered as a choi ce for the future. I t has
been made obsol ete by the tr ansi stor i nver ter s i n the r ange up to 100-200
kW. Today the most common tr ansi stor for thi s type of appl i cati on i s the
i nsul ated gate bi pol ar transi stor, I GBT. I t i s capabl e of handl i ng l arge phase
cur r ents, about 400 A, and i t i s today used i n conver ter s wi th an r ated ac
vol tage up to 400 V. I GBT converters for 690V networks are supposed to be
avai l abl e soon. The drawback of the I GBT i nverter today i s that the l argest
i nverters that can be made wi thout paral l el l i ng the I GBTs are onl y about 200
kW. A new technol ogy, l i ke the I GBT i nverter, i s expensi ve unti l l arge seri es
are manufactured. These reasons make the I GBT i nverters expensi ve to use
for l arge wi nd turbi ne generator systems. When the pri ce of sel f-commutated
i nver ter s decr eases they ar e l i kel y to be used for wi nd tur bi ne gener ator
systems because of thei r l ower harmoni cs.
A sel f commutated i nver ter can be ei ther a vol tage sour ce i nver ter or a
cur r ent sour ce i nver ter , see Fi gur es 1.4 and 1.5. Today the vol tage sour ce
i nverter i s the most usual type. I f i t i s used to feed power to the network i t
must have a constant vol tage of the dc capaci tor that i s hi gher than the peak
vol tage of the network. The generator i s not capabl e of generati ng a constant
hi gh vol tage at l ow speed and a dc-dc step-up conver ter must ther efor e be
used to r ai se the vol tage of the di ode r ecti fi er . I n a system wher e the
12
gener ator i s connected to a sel f-commutated r ecti fi er thi s i s not a pr obl em
si nce that recti fi er di rectl y can produce a hi gh vol tage.
SG
400 V network
Vol tage source
i nverter
570 V
Step-up
converter
0-570 V
Di ode
recti fi er
0-420 V
Figure 1.4 A variable speed generator system. The frequency converter
consists of a diode rectifier, a step up converter and a voltage
source inverter. The transitors are shown as idealized switches.
SG
Di ode
recti fi er
0-360 V 400 V network 0-490 V
Current source
i nverter
Figure 1.5 A variable speed generator system. The inverter is a current source
inverter with the transistors shown as idealized switches.
For a gener ator connected to a di ode r ecti fi er the sel f commutated cur r ent
sour ce i nver ter i s i nter esti ng. I t i s, l i ke the thyr i stor i nver ter , capabl e of
feedi ng power to the network from very l ow vol tages. Si nce the network i s a
vol tage-sti ff system i t i s fr om a contr ol poi nt of vi ew good to use a cur r ent
sour ce i nver ter . The dr awback of the cur r ent sour ce i nver ter i s a l ower
effi ci ency than that of the vol tage source i nverter wi th step-up converter.
13
Network-commutated inverters: The usual type of networ k-commutated
i nver ter i s the thyr i stor i nver ter . I t i s a ver y effi ci ent, cheap and r el i abl e
i nver ter . I t consumes r eacti ve power and pr oduces a l ot of cur r ent
harmoni cs.
Cycl oconver ter s wi th thyr i stor s ar e common for l ar ge l ow-speed machi nes.
They ar e onl y used wi th l ow fr equenci es, up to about 20 Hz and ther efor e
they do not fi t the standar d four -pol e gener ator s used i n wi nd tur bi ne
generator systems. For rotor-cascade connected i nducti on generators the l ow
frequency range i s no di sadvantage. The harmoni cs from the cycl oconverter
are l arge and di ffi cul t to fi l ter.
1.2 Wind turbine characteristics
A wi nd turbi ne as power source l eads to speci al condi ti ons. The shaft speed-
power functi on i s pr e-deter mi ned because aer odynami c effi ci ency of the
turbi ne depends on the rati o between the bl ade ti p speed and the wi nd speed,
cal l ed ti p speed rati o. Maxi mum aerodynami c effi ci ency i s obtai ned at a fi xed
ti p speed rati o. To keep the turbi ne effi ci ency at i ts maxi mum, the speed of
the turbi ne shoul d be changed l i nearl y wi th the wi nd speed.
The wi nd power i s pr opor ti onal to the cube of the wi nd speed. I f a tur bi ne
control program that i s desi gned to opti mi ze the energy producti on i s used the
wi nd speed turbi ne power functi on i s al so a cubi c functi on. The turbi ne power
curve i s shown i n Fi gure 1.7 together wi th the turbi ne speed curve. I n thi s
report the turbi ne speed i s assumed to be control l abl e above the rated wi nd
speed by bl ade pi tch contr ol . The gener ator speed can then be consi der ed
nearl y constant at wi nd speeds above the rated wi nd speed.
An ordi nary wi nd turbi ne has a rated wi nd speed of about 13 to 14 m/s but
the medi an wi nd speed i s much l ower, about 5 to 7 m/s. Therefore, the power
of the turbi ne i s most of the ti me consi derabl y l ess than the rated power. The
pr obabi l i ty densi ty of di ffer ent wi nd speeds at the har bour i n Fal kenber g,
Sweden, i s shown i n Fi gure 1.8.
14
Rated wi nd speed
Wi nd speed
Speed, Power
Turbi ne speed
Turbi ne power
Figure 1.7 The turbine power and turbine speed versus wind speed.
5 10 15 20
Wi nd speed
(m/s)
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12 Wei ghti ng functi on (s/m)
Figure 1.8 The weighting function of wind speeds at the harbour in
Falkenberg, Sweden.
I t can be seen that the wi nd speed usual l y i s about hal f of the r ated wi nd
speed. Onl y duri ng a smal l fracti on of the ti me, l ess than 10% of the year, the
tur bi ne pr oduces r ated power . Ther efor e, a gener ator system for a wi nd
turbi ne benefi ts more of l ow l osses at l ow power than i t does of l ow l osses at
rated power. At hi gh power a vari abl e-speed generator and converter have
hi gher l osses than what a si mi l ar generator connected di rectl y to the network
has. However, at l ow power the vari abl e-speed system can have l ower l osses
than the networ k-connected gener ator . Ther efor e, the annual aver age
effi ci ency can be al most the same for both the systems.
15
1.3 Variable-speed wind turbines
Today most wi nd turbi nes run at constant generator speed and thus constant
turbi ne speed. The reason for thi s i s mai nl y that gri d-connected ac generators
demand a fi xed or al most fi xed speed. Other reasons may be that resonance
probl ems are more easi l y avoi ded i f the speed i s constant and that a passi ve
stal l control can be used to l i mi t the power at wi nd speeds hi gher than the
rated wi nd speed.
Reasons for usi ng var i abl e speed i nstead of fi xed speed i s that the tur bi ne
effi ci ency can be i ncreased, whi ch rai ses the energy producti on a few percent.
The noi se emi ssi on at l ow wi nd speeds can be r educed. Var i abl e-speed
systems al so al l ow tor que contr ol of the gener ator and ther efor e the
mechani cal str esses i n the dr i ve tr ai n can be r educed. Resonances i n the
turbi ne and dri ve trai n can al so be damped and the power output can be kept
smoother . By l ower i ng the mechani cal str ess the var i abl e-speed system
al l ows a l i ghter desi gn of the wi nd turbi ne. The economi cal benefi ts of thi s are
very di ffi cul t to esti mate but they may be rather l arge.
1.4 A design example system
As an exampl e a system for a 26meter wi nd turbi ne generator system wi l l be
pr esented i n thi s r epor t. The chosen tur bi ne i s a two-bl ade tur bi ne wi th a
passi ve pi tch contr ol . I ts speed i s l i mi ted by the pi tch contr ol whi ch i s
acti vated by aerodynami cal forces. The turbi ne bl ade ti ps wi l l be unpi tched
unti l the turbi ne speed reaches a pre-set speed, at whi ch the bl ade ti ps start
to pi tch. The speed wi l l then be kept al most constant wi th vari ati ons of about
5%. Thi s pi tch system i s compl etel y passi ve and has no connecti on wi th
the power control i n the el ectri cal system. The power above rated wi nd speed
can be kept constant by the gener ator contr ol . Bel ow r ated wi nd speed the
generator torque wi l l be control l ed to keep the opti mum ti p speed rati o. The
passi ve pi tch system wi l l be i nacti ve and the bl ades unpi tched. At the
opti mum ti p speed r ati o, the tur bi ne can pr oduce 300 kW. The r ated wi nd
speed i s then 13 m/s and the turbi ne speed 72rpm. 72 rpm i s a hi gh speed for
thi s si ze of turbi ne. The speed can be reduced by desi gni ng the turbi ne bl ades
for a l ower opti mum ti p speed rati o.
16
I
a
n
t
n
g
I
E
I
dr
U
d
I
di
I
i
I
net
U
net
U
i
U
a
I
f
P
t
P
g
P
a
P
i
U
di
U
dr
+ + +

P
d
Figure 2.1 The total system and the quantities used.The generator can be
magnetized either by slip rings or by an integrated exciter.
2 The synchronous generator system
Thi s chapter descri bes the generator and converter system as wel l as some
aspects of i ts desi gn. The component val ues for the 300 kW desi gn exampl e
system are cal cul ated. Probl ems are di scussed more from an engi neers poi nt
of vi ew than from a theoreti cal poi nt of vi ew.
The compl ete gener ator system and i ts mai n components ar e shown i n
Fi gure 2.1. The turbi ne i s descri bed by i ts power P
t
and speed n
t
. The speed i s
r ai sed to the gener ator speed n
g
vi a a gear . P
g
i s the i nput power to the
generator shaft. The generator can be magneti zed ei ther di rectl y by the fi el d
cur r ent I
f
fed from sl i p ri ngs or by the exci ter current I
E
. The exci ter i s an
i ntegr ated br ushl ess exci ter wi th r otati ng r ecti fi er . The output el ectr i cal
power fr om the gener ator ar matur e i s denoted by P
a
. The gener ator
ar matur e cur r ent I
a
and vol tage U
a
ar e r ecti fi ed by a thr ee-phase di ode
recti fi er.
The recti fi er creates a dc vol tage U
dr
and a dc current I
dr
. On the other si de
of the dc fi l ter the i nverter control s the i nverter dc vol tage U
di
and dc current
I
di
. U
d
i s the mean dc vol tage and I
d
i s the mean dc current. The power of the
dc l i nk P
d
i s the mean val ue of the dc power, equal to I
d
U
d
. The i nverter ac
current i s denoted I
i
and the i nverter ac vol tage U
i
. The ac power from the
i nverter i s denoted P
i
.
17
control l abl e
recti fi er


C
U
a l i m
Effi ci ency
control
*
Vol tage
regul ator
U
a ref
*) Effi ci ency control
or reacti ve power control
I
di
I
E ref
I
E
U
a
U
net
Figure 2.2 The steady state voltage control of the generator.
The fi l ter i s used to take care of the current harmoni cs by short ci rcui ti ng the
major part. The output of the generator system i s the network current I
net
.
The network vol tage i s denoted U
net
.
2.1 The control system
The contr ol system of the gener ator and conver ter i s used to contr ol the
generator torque by current control . I n addi ti on to thi s i t can al so, by vol tage
contr ol wi th U
a r ef
, ei ther contr ol the r eacti ve power consumed by the
i nver ter or opti mi ze the gener ator -conver ter effi ci ency. The two contr ol
functi ons are descri bed bel ow.
A vol tage control di agram i s shown i n Fi gure 2.2. The control of the generator
vol tage i s achi eved by contr ol l i ng the exci ter cur r ent by I
E ref
. The contr ol
must be desi gned to keep the vol tage of the generator bel ow about 90% of
the i nver ter ac vol tage U
a l i m
. Other wi se the i nver ter wi l l not be abl e to
control the dc-current whi ch wi l l then i ncrease uncontrol l abl y. On the other
hand, the vol tage of the gener ator shoul d not be l ower than necessar y at
r ated power because that l eads to a poor power factor of the i nver ter ac
current. Si nce the network vol tage i s not constant these two objecti ves can
onl y be r eached i f the gener ator vol tage i s contr ol l ed by the measur ed
18
T
g ref
Torque
reference
curve
n
g
U
a
Torque
control
I
di ref
I
f
n
g
I
a
n
g

Fi el d
current
and
fl ux l i nk.
esti m.
Figure 2.3 The steady state current control and torque control of the
generator.
network vol tage. The vol tage control must al so l i mi t the generator fl ux. I f thi s
i s not done the generator wi l l be saturated whi ch wi l l l ead to unacceptabl e
core l osses.
The second i tem to be control l ed i s the generator current. I t i s control l ed by
the current reference val ue to the i nverter I
di ref
. At rated power and rated
speed i t i s kept constant. Bel ow r ated power the cur r ent i s contr ol l ed to
obtai n a generator shaft torque T
g ref
accordi ng to the opti mal speed-torque
cur ve of the tur bi ne. The cur r ent demand i s cal cul ated fr om the tor que
demand. I n Fi gur e 2.3 a di agr am for a tor que contr ol system i s shown.
Because the fi el d current i n the rotor and the fl ux l i nkage of the stator can
not be di r ectl y measur ed they ar e esti mated fr om the ar matur e vol tage,
armature current and shaft speed.
A fast vol tage contr ol i s i mpor tant to keep a hi gh power factor wi thout
commutati on probl ems duri ng vol tage di ps on the network. I f a fast torque
control i s requi red due to, for i nstance, resonance probl ems i n the dri ve trai n,
the two contr ol systems must be desi gned together . Other wi se they wi l l
di sturb each other. Because the current control i s obtai ned by vol tage control
of the i nverter i t i s easi l y di sturbed by the vol tage control of the generator.
The gener ator vol tage depends on the gener ator cur r ent due to ar matur e
19
r eacti on and thus the vol tage contr ol i s easi l y di stur bed by the cur r ent
control . One si mpl e sol uti on i s to desi gn a fast control l er for the generator
vol tage and a sl ower one for the generator current.
2.2 The generator
The generator i s assumed to be a standard synchronous generator. Usual l y i t
i s a four-pol e, 1500 rpm, generator equi pped wi th an i ntegrated exci ter and a
r otati ng r ecti fi er . Al l the measur ements i n thi s r epor t wer e made on a 50
kVA synchronous generator. I t i s a Van Kai ck generator that i s modi fi ed by
Myr n & Co AB. The gener ator , whi ch has an i ntegr ated exci ter , has al so
been equi pped wi th sl i p ri ngs. Thi s al l ows magneti zati on ei ther by the exci ter
or by the sl i p ri ngs. I n Fi gure 2.4 the rati ng pl ate of the generator i s shown.
2.2.1 Speed rating
I n a vari abl e speed system the speed of the generator i s not restri cted to the
synchr onous speed at the networ k fr equency, i .e. 1500r pm for a 50Hz
networ k. Most smal l gener ator s ar e desi gned to oper ate up to 1800r pm,
60Hz, and the onl y upper l i mi t i s thei r sur vi val speed, 2250r pm for
MeccAl te and Leroy Somer generators. Such hi gh speed can, however, not be
used as rated speed. The rated speed must be l ow enough to al l ow over-speed
under faul t condi ti ons, befor e the wi nd tur bi ne emer gency br akes ar e
acti vated.
FABR
TYP
EFFEKT
VOLT
~
NR
VARV
AMP
MYRN & CO AB - GTEBORG
GEN
A VAN KAICK
DIB 42/50-4
50 - 60 kVA
360-416 V
MAGN 50 V 27 A
ELLER 40 V 1,1A
SYNKRON
50 - 60
424 118
1500 - 1800
83,5
Figure 2.4 The rati ng pl ate of the 50 kVA generator used i n the
measurements.
20
-100
-50
0
50
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Ti me (ms)
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)
Figure 2.5 Armature current wave shape in a generator connected to a
diode rectifier.
The effi ci ency of a gener ator i s usual l y i ncr eased sl i ghtl y wi th i ncr easi ng
speed. Usi ng hi gh speed al so means that a smal l er generator can be used to
pr oduce the same power . A gener ator for 50Hz oper ati on i s 20% heavi er
than a generator for 60 Hz and the same rated power.
A second l i mi tati on of the rated speed i s the possi bl e gear rati o. Speed rati o
l arger than 1:25 between the generator speed and the turbi ne speed i s not
possi bl e for a normal two-stage gear. I f hi gher rati os must be used a three-
stage gear wi l l be necessary. Each extra stage i n the gear means 0.5to 1%
extra l osses. Si nce the effi ci ency of the generator onl y i ncreases some tenths
of a per cent ther e i s no r eason to use a thr ee-stage gear to r each hi gh
generator speeds. For a two-stage pl anetary gear the l i mi t of speed rati o i s
hi gher, about 1:50.
2.2.2 Current rating
Har moni cs i n the ar matur e cur r ent make i t necessar y to r educe the
fundamental cur r ent fr om the r ated cur r ent to avoi d over heati ng of the
armature wi ndi ngs. The di ode recti fi er l eads to generator currents that are
non-si nusoi dal , i nstead they are more l i ke square-shaped current pul ses, see
Fi gure 2.5. I n a standard generator onl y the fundamental component of the
cur r ents can pr oduce useful tor que on the gener ator shaft. The gener ator
wi ndi ngs must be r ated for the total r .m.s. val ue of the gener ator cur r ent
21
even i f the acti ve power i s produced onl y by the fundamental component. The
armature current of a generator l oaded by a di ode recti fi er has an r.m.s. val ue
that i s about 5 to 7% hi gher than the r .m.s. val ue of i ts fundamental
component. Thi s means that the gener ator must have a cur r ent r ati ng at
l east 5% hi gher than what woul d be necessary i f si nusoi dal currents were
used.
2.2.3 Voltage rating
An other cause for derati ng when a di ode recti fi er i s used i s the vol tage drop i n
the commutati on i nductance. The di ode commutati on i s a short-ci rcui t of two
ar matur e phase wi ndi ngs dur i ng the ti me of the commutati on. Thi s shor t-
ci rcui t l eads to a l ower recti fi ed vol tage compared to the possi bl e vol tage i f
the commutati on was i nstantaneous. The r el ati ve vol tage dr op due to
commutati on can at rated l oad be approxi matel y determi ned [6] by the per
uni t commutati on reactance of the armature wi ndi ngs x
rcom
as
U
N
U
N0

1
2
x
r com
(2.1)
wher e U
N
i s the commutati on vol tage dr op at r ated l oad and U
N 0
i s the
vol tage at no l oad and rated fl ux.
Due to the commutati ons the vol tage of the di ode-l oaded gener ator has
commutati on notches. They can be seen i n Fi gure 2.6 where the measured
l i ne-to-l i ne vol tage of the generator i s pl otted. An undi sturbed wave shape i s
al so shown for the fi rst hal f-peri od. Each hal f-peri od has three commutati on
notches.
The per uni t commutati on reactance can be approxi matel y cal cul ated from
the subtransi ent reactances of the generator [7] as
x
r com

x"
daxi s
+x"
qaxi s
2
(2.2)
22
-600
-400
-200
0
200
400
600
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Ti me (ms)
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

v
o
l
a
t
g
e

(
V
)
Figure 2.6 Line-to-line armature voltage with commutation notches at
almost rated current. The no load voltage is shown for the first
half-period.
The per uni t commutati on r eactance of standar d synchr onous gener ator s,
between 200kVA and 1000kVA and from two di fferent manufacturers, have
been i nvesti gated. The commutati on r eactance i s i n the r ange of 10% to
26% wi th a mean val ue of about 15%. The vol tage drop of the commutati on
i s then about 5 to 13%. I f the same generators are used wi th resi sti ve l oad
the reducti on of armature vol tage, when the generator i s l oaded, i s l ower. The
vol tage dr op i s then due to the l eakage r eactance and the ar matur e
resi stance. The resi sti ve vol tage drop i s al most equal for both these cases. I t
r emai ns to compar e the commutati on vol tage dr op of a di ode-l oaded
gener ator wi th the l eakage r eactance vol tage dr op of a r esi sti vel y l oaded
gener ator . The l eakage r eactance vol tage dr op i s onl y a few per cent, and
bei ng 90 degree phase-shi fted to the armature vol tage i t does not reduce the
armature vol tage si gni fi cantl y. Hence, the equi val ent armature vol tage for a
di ode-l oaded generator i s about 5 to 13% l ower than for the same generator
resi sti vel y l oaded.
2.2.4 Other aspects of the rating
Wi th a di ode recti fi er the harmoni cs of the armature current i nduce current
i n the damper wi ndi ngs under steady state oper ati on. How l ar ge these
cur r ents ar e and how much l osses the damper wi ndi ng ther mal l y can
wi thstand has not been i ncl uded i n thi s study. However, si mul ati ons i n [4]
23
i ndi cate that they are about 0.2% at rated current for the 50kVA generator.
They are not l i kel y to overheat the damper wi ndi ngs and thus these l osses
gi ve no reason to derate the generator.
Other addi ti onal l osses of di ode l oaded synchr onous gener ator s must be
i ncl uded when the r ati ng i s deci ded. These l osses can for exampl e be eddy
cur r ent l osses i n the end r egi on due to the har moni c fl ux fr om the end
wi ndi ngs. They make overrati ng necessary onl y i f they cause overheati ng of
some par t of the gener ator . The measur ements made on the 50 kVA
generator show onl y about 0.67% addi ti onal l osses due to the di ode recti fi er.
These are such smal l l osses that they probabl y can be negl ected.
2.2.5 Generator rating
The har moni cs of the ar matur e cur r ent at di ode l oad decr ease the
permi ssi bl e fundamental current about 5 to 7% compared wi th a resi sti vel y
l oaded gener ator . Due to r eacti ve vol tage dr op of the commutati on
i nductance the possi bl e recti fi ed generator vol tage i s reduced about 5 to 13%.
Addi ti onal l osses due to the di ode l oad are smal l , and they are general l y no
reason for derati ng, i f they do not occur i n a cri ti cal hot spot of the generator.
The generator shoul d have an apparent power rati ng, for si nusoi dal currents,
that i s about 10 to 20% l arger than the acti ve power that wi l l be used wi th
di ode l oad. I f the generator i s operated at a hi gher speed than the rated one
the permi ssi bl e vol tage wi l l be rai sed proporti onal l y to the speed. So, usi ng a
50 Hz machi ne at 60Hz i ncreases the vol tage rati ng by 20%. The l i mi t for
the vol tage i s set by the i sol ati on of the armature wi ndi ng. Standard i sol ati on
for 230/400V machi nes can be used for l i ne-to-l i ne vol tages up to 700V.
The concl usi on i s that a di ode-l oaded gener ator does not need to be bi gger
than a generator, for the same acti ve power, connected to a 50 Hz network.
The fundamental component of the armature current has to be l ower than
the rated armature current. Al so, the possi bl e output vol tage i s decreased by
the commutati ons. However , the gener ator can i nstead be used wi th 20%
hi gher speed whi ch compensates both for the current and vol tage derati ng at
50 Hz operati on.
2.2.6 Generator efficiency
24
When the gener ator i s connected to a di ode r ecti fi er the effi ci ency i s l ower
than when i t i s connected to a resi sti ve three-phase l oad. The reducti on does
not onl y depend on the i ncrease i n addi ti onal l osses, but i t i s to a l arge extent
dependi ng on reduced output power at rated current and rated fl ux. Except for
the addi ti onal l osses the l osses are the same at rated l oad for the resi sti ve
l oad as wel l as for the di ode l oad. The output power i s, however, reduced due to
the vol tage drop of the commutati on and l ower fundamental current when a
di ode recti fi er i s used.
At rated current the fundamental of the armature current i s about 5 to 7%
l ower wi th a di ode l oad than wi th a resi sti ve l oad. As menti oned earl i er the
vol tage at r ated gener ator fl ux i s about 5 to 13% l ower wi th a di ode l oad.
Total l y the output power of the generator i s 10 to 20% l ower wi th a di ode l oad
than wi th a r esi sti ve l oad. Constant l osses and l ower power r educe the
effi ci ency. The maxi mum power of the generator l oaded by a di ode recti fi er P
N
di ode
can be expr essed as a fr acti on C
di ode
of the maxi mum power for the
same generator l oaded by a three phase resi sti ve l oad P
N res
P
N di ode
= C
di ode
P
N res
(2.3)
C
di ode
i s about 80 to 90% for the consi der ed gener ator s. The decr ease i n
rated effi ci ency due to the derati ng at di ode l oad,
N
, i s cal cul ated. P
l ossN
i s
the total generator l osses at rated current and rated fl ux and P
N
i s the rated
l oad. The rated effi ci ency of generators from 200kVA to 1000kVA i s about
94 to 96% at cos() = 1.0, here the effi ci ency wi th resi sti ve l oad i s assumed
to be 95%. The reducti on of effi ci ency when the generator i s l oaded by a di ode
recti fi er i nstead of a resi sti ve three phase l oad i s

N
=
N res

N di ode
=

,
_
1
P
l ossN
P
Ndi ode

,
_
1
P
l ossN
P
Nres
=
=

'

5%
80%

5%
100%
=1.25%forC
di ode
=80%

5%
90%

5%
100%
=0.56%forC
di ode
=90%
(2.4)
The i ncr ease i n addi ti onal l osses for the 50 kVA gener ator when i t i s
connected to a di ode recti fi er i s
25
P
ad
P
N
0.67 % (from measurements i n Secti on 3.4.2) (2.5)
The r el ati ve i ncr ease i n addi ti onal l osses for gener ator s fr om 200 to
1000kVA has not been found. Therefore, the val ue for the 50kVA generator
i s used i nstead. The r el ati ve i ncr ease i s pr obabl y smal l er for the l ar ger
generators because thei r per uni t l osses are general l y smal l er than for the
50kVA generator.
The total effi ci ency reducti on when a synchronous generator i s l oaded by a
di ode r ecti fi er compar ed wi th r esi sti ve l oad i s appr oxi matel y 1.2 to 2.0%.
About hal f or mor e of the decr ease i n effi ci ency i s because of decr eased
output power and not because of i ncr eased l osses. I f the speed of the
generator i s hi gher for the di ode-l oaded generator compared to the resi sti vel y
l oaded generator, the di fference i n effi ci ency wi l l be a l i ttl e l ess.
2.2.7 Design example
The maxi mum conti nuous power of the generator system shoul d be 300kW
at a rated dc vol tage of U
d N
= 600V. Thi s vol tage i s used because i t i s the
maxi mum dc vol tage of a standard thyri stor i nverter and usi ng the maxi mum
vol tage maxi mi zes the effi ci ency. Thi s means that the rated dc current i s I
dr
N
= 500 A. The r .m.s. val ue of the gener ator cur r ent can be cal cul ated
approxi matel y
I
a

2
3
I
dr
= 0.82 I
dr
(2.6)
I
a N
0.82 I
dr N
= 0.82
.
500A = 410 A (2.7)
Thi s formul a i s exact i f the dc current i s compl etel y smooth. Thi s i s not the
case but the i ncr ease due to cur r ent r i ppl e i s onl y a few per cent. Thus the
rated current of the generator shoul d be a l i ttl e more than 410 A.
Accordi ng to Ekstrm [6] the dc vol tage can be expressed as a functi on of the
generator vol tage and the dc current
26
U
d
=
3

U
a

3L
rcom

I
dr
(2.8)
By sol vi ng U
a
fr om thi s equati on and usi ng the r ated val ues of the other
quanti ti es, the rated generator vol tage can be found as
U
a N
=

_
U
dN
+
3
N
L
rcom

I
drN
(2.9)
An LSA 47.5 gener ator fr om Ler oy Somer i s chosen. The per uni t
commutati on i nductance i s 12.6 % at 50 Hz and 410 A whi ch corresponds to
0.226 mH. The generator shoul d, accordi ng to Equati on (2.9), have a rated
vol tage of about 470 V i f i t i s used at 50 Hz and 475 V at 60 Hz.
The vol tage can be adjusted not onl y by choosi ng gener ator s of di ffer ent
vol tage rati ng. I t can al so be adjusted by changi ng the maxi mum speed of the
generator. The maxi mum vol tage of a generator i s a l i near functi on of speed
U
amax
(n
N
) =
n
n
N
U
aN
(2.10)
For the desi gn exampl e turbi ne the opti mum ti p speed rati o
opt
i s 7.5 and
the di ameter d
t
i s 26 m. The rated wi nd speed v
N
i s about 13 m/s. The ti p
speed rati o i s cal cul ated usi ng the fol l owi ng formul a
=
n
t
d
t
v
(2.11)
The rated speed of the turbi ne shoul d then be
n
tN
=
v
N

opt
d
t
= 72 rpm (2.12)
The maxi mum correspondi ng generator speed wi th a gear rati o of 1:25 i s
n
gN
= 25 n
tN
= 25
.
72 rpm = 1800 rpm (2.13)
The vol tage rati ng of the generator at 1500 rpm shoul d accordi ng to Equati on
(2.10) be
27
L
r com
U
a 0
3
L
dr
U
d
+

I
dr

a
C
d
Figure 2.7 The rectifier circuit including the rectifier reactor L
dr
and the
commutation inductance L
r com
.
U
a N
=
1500rpm
1800r pm
475 V = 395 V (2.14)
Summary: A gener ator wi th at l east 410 A cur r ent r ati ng and 395 V at
1500 rpm shoul d be used. I n other words, a 284 kVA generator (50Hz) al l ows
about 300 kW maxi mum power at 1800 r pm. Thi s i s the smal l est possi bl e
generator. Accordi ng to the data sheets of Leroy Somer generators an LSA
47.5 M4 wi l l be suffi ci ent. I t can conti nuousl y operate wi th a 290 kVA l oad at
1500 rpm, 400 V and a cl ass B temperature ri se.
2.3 Rectifier
I n the recti fi er ci rcui t the recti fi er reactor L
dr
i s al so i ncl uded. The di agram of
the generator and recti fi er ci rcui t can be seen i n Fi gure 2.7. The dc vol tage U
d
can be consi der ed as a sti ff vol tage under steady state condi ti ons i f the dc
capaci tance C
d
i s l arge. U
a0
i s the vol tage i nduced by the ai rgap fl ux of the
gener ator and L
r com
i s the commutati on i nductance of the gener ator
armature.
2.3.1 Diode commutation
The commutati on of the dc cur r ent between the ar matur e phases of the
synchr onous machi ne i s sl ow because the ar matur e wi ndi ngs have a l ar ge
i nductance. At r ated cur r ent the commutati on can take up to about 1 ms.
Thi s l eads to a l ower mean vol tage on the dc l i nk at rated l oad compared wi th
no l oad. I n Fi gure 2.8 the potenti al s of the dc l i nk are shown. A commutati on
28
0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02
Ti me [s]
-600
-400
-200
200
400
600
Potenti al [V]

t t
1 2
Figure 2.8 The positive and negative potentials of the dc side of the rectifier.
on the posi ti ve si de of the di ode recti fi er takes pl ace between t
1
and t
2
. The dc
potenti al i s duri ng thi s ti me equal to the mean val ue of two phase vol tages
i nstead of the hi ghest phase potenti al .
2.3.2 Equivalent circuit
The commutati on vol tage drop can be model l ed as a resi stance i n the dc l i nk
R
r com
. The resi stance val ue depends on the commutati on i nductance and the
frequency of the ac source. From Equati on (2.8) the resi stance val ue can be
identified
R
r com
=
3L
rcom

(2.15)
Thi s resi stance represents an i nducti ve vol tage drop on the ac si de and i s, of
course, not a source of l osses.
The commutati on i nductance al so hel ps smoothi ng the dc current. Between
two commutati ons the dc cur r ent passes a ser i es connecti on of two
commutati on i nductances, see Fi gur e 2.9. The effecti ve i nductance i s
between the commutati on 2 L
r com
.
29
U
W
V
Figure 2.9 The current path of the dc current between two commutations.
Dur i ng a commutati on the dc cur r ent passes thr ough one commutati on
i nductance and a par al l el connecti on of two commutati on i nductances, see
Fi gure 2.10. The effecti ve i nductance i s then 1.5 L
r com
.
The commutati on i nductances wi l l act as a smoothi ng i nductance that i s
about twi ce the per phase commutati on i nductance of the recti fi er.
The no l oad dc vol tage can be cal cul ated from the generator no l oad vol tage
U
dr 0
=
3

U
a 0
(2.16)
The real recti fi er ci rcui t can now be repl aced i n cal cul ati ons by an equi val ent
ci rcui t, Fi gure 2.11. I t i ncl udes the effect of the smoothi ng i nductance L
dr
as
U
W
V
Figure 2.10 The current path of the dc current during a commutation from
phase W to V.
30
U
d
+

I
dr
L
dr
2 L
r com
R
r com
U
dr 0
Figure 2.11 The rectifier and generator equivalent circuit at steady state
when the voltage ripple of the rectifier is neglected.
wel l as the commutati on i nductance 2L
r com
. The vol tage dr op due to the
commutati ons i s model l ed as a resi stance R
r com
. For a compl ete model al so
the dc r esi stance and gener ator ar matur e r esi stance shoul d be i ncl uded.
However, the i nfl uence of these i s smal l except for the l osses of the ci rcui t.
The vol tage harmoni cs are not i ncl uded i n thi s equi val ent ci rcui t.
2.3.3 Design example
I n the desi gn exampl e the rati ngs of the system have been chosen to 300kW
at a dc vol tage of 600V. Therefore, the di ode recti fi er shoul d have a rated dc-
cur r ent of at l east 500A and a r ated dc vol tage of 600V. A di ode br i dge
consi sti ng of three Semi kron SKKD260 di ode modul es and a i sol ated heat
si nk i s chosen. Wi th appr opr i ate cool i ng thi s r ecti fi er can conti nuousl y
operate at a dc current of 655A.
The i sol ated heat si nk i s advantageous because the power ci rcui t i n a wi nd
turbi ne generator system shoul d not be exposed to the ambi ent ai r. The heat
si nk must, however, be cool ed by ambi ent ai r si nce the di ssi pated power i s
hi gh, about 1.5kW at rated power. Thi s can be sol ved by usi ng an i sol ated
heat si nk whi ch i s ear th-connected and i s a par t of the encl osur e for the
power ci r cui t. The cool i ng fan i s pl aced outsi de the encl osur e whi l e al l the
wiring as well as the diode modules are inside.
The vol tage drop of each di ode i n a SKKD 260 modul e i s 1V, i ndependent of
the l oad, pl us the vol tage drop of 0.4m resi stance. The total l osses of the
di odes i n the recti fi er can be expressed as
P
l oss r
= 2 V I
d
+ 0.8 m (I
d
)
2
(2.17)
31
Expressed i n per uni t of the recti fi er rated current and rated power the l osses
are
p
l oss r
= 0.33 % i
d
+ 0.07 % (i
d
)
2
(2.18)
Al so some resi stance i n the connecti ons and the cabl es shoul d be i ncl uded i n
the l osses l eadi ng to a hi gher resi sti ve l oss. The total recti fi er l osses can then
be expressed as
p
l oss r
= 0.33 % i
d
+ 0.17 % (i
d
)
2
(2.19)
2.4 Dc filter
I n thi s secti on the dc harmoni cs wi l l be descri bed as wel l as some aspects of
the desi gn of the dc fi l ter.
The dc-fi l ter i s used for four purposes:
(1) I t i s supposed to pr event har moni cs fr om the r ecti fi er to r each the
networ k. I f ther e ar e har moni cs fr om the r ecti fi er i n the networ k cur r ent
they can not be easi l y fi l ter ed si nce thei r fr equency changes wi th the
generator speed. They can al so cause resonance i n the fi l ter for the i nverter
harmoni cs because i t has resonance frequenci es bel ow the frequenci es of the
characteri sti c harmoni cs.
(2) The dc fi l ter shoul d al so keep the harmoni cs from the i nverter l ow i n the
recti fi er dc current, si nce they woul d otherwi se cause power osci l l ati ons and
generator torque osci l l ati ons. For generator frequenci es cl ose to the network
fr equency these osci l l ati ons have l ow fr equency and then they can cause
mechani cal resonance.
(3) The harmoni c content of the generator current depends to some extent on
the dc fi l ter. The fi l ter shoul d be desi gned to keep the harmoni c content l ow
because the harmoni cs cause extra l osses i n the generator.
(4) The dc fi l ter desi gn al so affects the amount of harmoni cs produced by the
i nver ter . The four th pur pose of the dc fi l ter desi gn i s to assur e that the
i nverter ac current harmoni cs are l ow and easy to fi l ter.
32
L
d
C
d
L
di
L
dr
C
d
L
di
L
dr
L
d C
type A typeC typeB
Figure 2.12 The investigated dc filter types.
I f the dc fi l ter consi sts of both i nductances and capaci tances i t has
r esonance fr equenci es. They must not be exci ted by any of the l ar ger
har moni cs that may occur dur i ng nor mal oper ati on. Dc l i nk har moni cs
occurri ng onl y under faul t condi ti ons can be al l owed to be ampl i fi ed by the
resonances, i f the converter i s di sconnected before the resonance has caused
any damage. Si nce the generator fundamental frequency has a wi de range,
the fi l ter r esonance pr obabl y has to be damped because i t i s pr acti cal l y
i mpossi bl e to avoi d al l the harmoni c frequenci es.
2.4.1 Filter types
Three si mpl e types of dc-fi l ters have been i nvesti gated and they are shown i n
Fi gure 2.12. The si mpl est fi l ter possi bl e, type A, has onl y one i nductance. Al l
the cur r ent har moni cs gener ated by the r ecti fi er wi l l appear as i nter
harmoni cs i n the i nverter current. To reduce these i nter harmoni cs L
d
has to
be l arge. Thi s i s expensi ve and l eads to a sl ow current control and therefore
sl ow torque control .
A shor t ci r cui t l i nk can be used to make the dc fi l ter mor e effecti ve i n
reduci ng the i nter harmoni cs i n the i nverter current. The second fi l ter type B
i s a fi l ter wi th a capaci tance between two dc reactors. The capaci tance wi l l
shor t-ci r cui t most of the har moni cs and i t adds al most no extr a l osses. By
stabi l i zi ng the vol tage i t separates the probl em of current smoothi ng i nto two
parts. The network si de dc-current i s smoothened by L
di
and the generator
si de dc-current i s smoothened by L
dr
. The capaci tance must be l arge enough
to fi l ter the l ow recti fi er harmoni cs wel l .
The thi r d fi l ter type C i s a var i ant of the type B fi l ter . An i nductance i s
i ntroduced i n the short-ci rcui t l i nk and the l i nk i s tuned to more effecti vel y
33
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Freq. (Hz)
0.001
0.01
0.1
1
10.
Fi l ter gai n (A/V)
A type
B type
C type
I / U
di dr
(A/V)
Figure 2.13 The inverter harmonic current relative to the rectifier harmonic
voltage, I
di
/ U
dr
.
short-ci rcui t the l argest fi xed frequency harmoni c. Onl y the harmoni cs from
the i nver ter have constant fr equenci es. The l ar gest har moni c fr om the
i nverter i s the 300Hz harmoni c. But even wi thout L
dC
the 300Hz current i s
damped very wel l and the hi gher harmoni cs are reduced better wi thout L
dC
.
The har moni c cur r ent i n the i nver ter dc cur r ent r el ati ve to the r ecti fi er
harmoni c vol tage, I
di
/U
dr
, for the three types of dc fi l ter i s shown i n Fi gure
2.13. The choi ce of dc fi l ter wi l l probabl y be between typeA and typeB. The
fi l ter of type B has much better dampi ng of the har moni cs. The si ngl e
i nductance L
d
i n fi l terA i s hi gher than L
di
pl us L
dr
i n fi l terB. On the other
hand, fi l ter B i s mor e compl i cated, has mor e par ts and i t pr obabl y has to
have a ci r cui t to damp i ts r esonance. Non-char acter i sti c har moni cs i n the
i nverter current can cause resonance i n the ac fi l ter. These harmoni cs can be
reduced much better by fi l ter B than by fi l ter A. Therefore, a fi l ter of type B
i s chosen for thi s desi gn exampl e, but thi s choi ce i s not based on a compl ete
study of al l the i mportant aspects.
2.4.2 Harmonics in the dc link
The har moni cs i n the dc l i nk ar e or i gi nati ng fr om the fr equenci es of the
networ k and the gener ator . The thyr i stor i nver ter and the di ode r ecti fi er
generate a dc vol tage wi th a superi mposed ac vol tage. Under i deal condi ti ons
the harmoni c frequenci es of the dc vol tages are i nteger mul ti pl es of si x ti mes
34
the ac fr equenci es. Onl y the si xth and twel fth har moni cs cause r i ppl e
currents of consi derabl e magni tude. From the i nverter si de a 300Hz and a
600Hz current are generated. Dependi ng on the generator frequency, from
25 to 60Hz, the di ode r ecti fi er gener ates a cur r ent har moni c wi th a
frequency between 150Hz and 360Hz. The twel fth harmoni c generated by
the di ode r ecti fi er has a fr equency between 300Hz and 720Hz. The
magni tude of these vol tage harmoni cs are dependi ng on the generator vol tage
and on the fi ri ng angl e of the i nverter.
Under non-i deal condi ti ons al so other harmoni cs occur. I f, for i nstance, the
networ k vol tage or the gener ator vol tage i s unsymmetr i cal , a second
har moni c wi l l al so be gener ated. Thi s shoul d under nor mal condi ti ons be
smal l , but must not be ampl i fi ed by resonance i n the dc fi l ter. Non-i deal fi ri ng
of the i nver ter thyr i stor s al so causes other har moni cs. They can be of any
mul ti pl e of the fundamental fr equency, but shoul d for wel l -desi gned fi r i ng
control systems be smal l . I n Fi gure 2.14 the harmoni cs from the i nverter and
recti fi er are i l l ustrated.
A r eason for unusual har moni cs i n the dc l i nk i s faul t condi ti ons. These
har moni cs must of cour se not damage the conver ter and ther efor e thei r
effect must be cal cul ated. I f one ac phase i s di sconnected, because of for
i nstance a bl own fuse, a very l arge second harmoni c i s generated. The three-
phase recti fi er wi l l then start to act as a one phase recti fi er.
I f a di ode or a thyri stor val ve i s short-ci rcui ted due to a component fai l ure, a
current of the fundamental frequency i s generated i n the dc l i nk. The resul t
shoul d be that a fuse i s bl own.
Al l the above menti oned vol tage harmoni cs can cause hi gh currents i f thei r
frequenci es are cl ose to the dc l i nk resonance frequenci es. Therefore, the dc
l i nk r esonance fr equenci es have to be car eful l y chosen. I t i s cl ear that the
r esonance fr equenci es have to be bel ow 150Hz due to r ecti fi er har moni cs.
The second har moni c of both the networ k fr equency and the gener ator
frequency must al so be avoi ded, i f the resonance i s not wel l damped. Very l ow
resonance frequenci es shoul d al so be avoi ded because they l ead to a sl ow step
response of the current control . I n the desi gn exampl e a fi l ter wi th a recti fi er
si de resonance at 75Hz i s suggested.
35
H
a
r
m
o
n
i
c
s

f
r
o
m
t
h
e

r
e
c
t
i
f
i
e
r
2:nd
6:th
12:th
600 300
frequency
(Hz)
100
smal l
smal l
l arge
l arge
2:nd
18:th
6:th
12:th
H
a
r
m
o
n
i
c
s

f
r
o
m
t
h
e

i
n
v
e
r
t
e
r
24:th
Figure 2.14 The harmonic frequencies in the dc filter under normal
conditions and symmetrical firing.
2.4.3 Smoothing reactor of the diode rectifier
The current harmoni cs of the recti fi er dc current depend on the magni tude of
the harmoni c vol tages from the recti fi er and on the smoothi ng i nductance.
For economi cal reasons the i nductance shoul d be mi ni mi zed. The maxi mum
acceptabl e r i ppl e i n the dc cur r ent must, ther efor e, be deter mi ned. On the
gener ator si de, the r ecti fi er -i nduced har moni cs ar e i nter esti ng mai nl y
because they cause l osses i n the generator. Hi gher ri ppl e means hi gher r.m.s.
cur r ent and makes i t necessar y to use a hi gher cur r ent r ati ng of the
armature wi ndi ng.
The harmoni cs from the i nverter are smal l i f a fi l ter of type B or C i s used.
They do not have to be consi dered when the si ze of L
dr
i s cal cul ated.
The r.m.s. val ue of the generator current can be cal cul ated for di fferent ri ppl e
magni tudes. Thi s i s done assumi ng a r i ppl e-fr ee dc vol tage U
d
over the dc
fi l ter capaci tor and i nstantaneous commutati ons. The r.m.s. val ue as wel l as
the fundamental component of the gener ator cur r ent ar e cal cul ated. I n
Fi gure 2.15 the rel ati on between the r.m.s. val ue and the fundamental of the
armature current are pl otted. For a perfectl y smoothed dc current the r.m.s.
val ue of the generator armature current i s 4.7% hi gher than i ts fundamental
component. When the r i ppl e i ncr ease the r .m.s. val ue of the gener ator
cur r ent i ncr eases sl owl y. At a peak-to-peak r i ppl e of 20% of the r ated dc
36
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Ri ppl e
(p.u.)
1
1.02
1.04
1.06
1.08
1.1
I -a/I -a(1) I / I
a a(1)
Figure 2.15 The r.m.s. value of the generator current relative to the
fundamental component versus the relative peak-to-peak ripple.
cur r ent the ar matur e cur r ent r .m.s. val ue i s about 5% hi gher than the
fundamental component. At a 60% ri ppl e the r.m.s. val ue of the armature
current i s 7% hi gher than the fundamental .
The i ncrease i n the r.m.s. current wi l l be smal l , i f the ri ppl e i s l ess than 60%
of the dc cur r ent mean val ue. As the peak-to-peak r i ppl e i ncr eases fr om
20% to 60% the r.m.s. val ue of the current onl y i ncreases from 1.05 to 1.07
ti mes the fundamental component. The r.m.s. current onl y i ncreases about
2% whi l e the ri ppl e i ncreases three ti mes. Three ti mes hi gher ri ppl e al l ows a
three ti mes smal l er total smoothi ng i nductance. A 2% i ncrease i n armature
cur r ent i ncr eases the copper l osses of the gener ator by about 4%. At the
same ti me the dc l i nk l osses shoul d decr ease as l east as much si nce the
smoothi ng i nductance i s decreased to a thi rd.
A compl ete desi gn study may show that other r estr i cti ons than gener ator
l osses deter mi ne the val ue of the smoothi ng i nductance. The r esonance
frequenci es must be kept at certai n frequenci es and a hi gh ri ppl e l eads to a
hi gh peak val ue of the dc current. The peak val ue of the current determi nes
the si ze of the i r on cor e of the dc r eactor . Ther efor e, hi gher peak cur r ent
means a more expensi ve reactor.
The fi rst step i n determi ni ng the recti fi er smoothi ng i nductance i s to chose
the maxi mum al l owed peak-to-peak r i ppl e at r ated cur r ent. Then the
neccesary i nductance can be cal cul ated. The ac current through the recti fi er
37
t3 t4
I-dr
U-dr
U-d
I
U
U
dr
d
dr
3
4
t
t
Figure 2.16 The rectifier dc voltage U
dr
, dc capacitor voltage U
d
and the
rectifier dc current I
dr
. The integration interval to find the peak-
to-peak value is from t
3
to t
4
.
dc reactor L
dr
can under stati onar y condi ti ons be found by i ntegr ati ng the
vol tage over the total smoothi ng i nductance. The vol tage over the dc fi l ter
capaci tance i s assumed to be a per fectl y smooth dc vol tage. The ac
component of the recti fi er dc current i s cal cul ated as
I
dr
(t) =

1
L
tot

( )
U
dr
(t)U
d
dt (2.20)
To fi nd the peak-to-peak ri ppl e the i ntegral (2.20) i s eval uated from t
3
to t
4
.
The i ntegr ati on i nter val i s the par t of the vol tage r i ppl e per i od wher e the
vol tage over the smoothi ng i nductance i s posi ti ve. The vol tage on both si des
of the i nductance as wel l as the dc current can be seen i n Fi gure2.16.
The r el ati on between peak-to-peak r i ppl e, gener ator vol tage and total
smoothi ng i nductance can now be cal cul ated for the recti fi er as
I
dr p-p
=

(

t
3
t
4

2U
a
L
tot

,
_
si n(t+

3
)
3

dt (2.21)
where

'

L
tot
=L
dr
+2L
rcom
t
3
:whenthevol tageoverthei nductancebecomesposi ti ve
t
4
:thevol tageoverthei nductancebecomesnegati veagai n
U
a
i stheno-l oadarmaturevol tage
38
Both t
3
and t
4
are found as sol uti ons for t i n the equati on
si n( t +

3
) =
3

(2.22)
for whi ch 0 < t
3
<

6
and

6
< t
4
<

3
2.4.4 Smoothing reactor of the inverter
The total r.m.s. val ue of the network ac current i s al so dependi ng on the dc
reactor L
di
just as for the recti fi er. However, there are other aspects that are
more i mportant for the i nverter current than just mi ni mi zi ng the total r.m.s.
val ue. The ac har moni cs of the i nver ter cur r ent ar e ver y i mpor tant to
eval uate. They must be bel ow certai n l i mi ts to be accepted by the uti l i ty. I f
the dc current i s assumed perfectl y smooth i t can be shown that the current
harmoni cs are i nversel y proporti onal to thei r frequenci es as descri bed by the
formul a
I
i (k)
=
I
i (1)
k
(2.23)
where k i s the order of the harmoni c.
I f the r i ppl e on the dc cur r ent i ncr eases most of the ac har moni cs wi l l
decrease. Onl y the fi fth current harmoni c i ncreases wi th hi gher dc current
r i ppl e, see Fi gur e 2.17. The magni tude of the har moni cs i s cal cul ated
assumi ng a ri ppl e-free dc vol tage U
d
, no overl ap of the i nverter ac currents
and a second order approxi mati on of the ri ppl e current wave shape.
The i ncr ease of the fi fth har moni c i s, of cour se, i mpor tant si nce i t i s the
l ar gest cur r ent har moni c. However , bei ng that l ar ge al so makes i t the one
that i s al most al ways necessary to fi l ter. I f a good harmoni c fi l ter al ready i s
i nstal l ed for the fi fth harmoni c, the effect of i ncreasi ng i t can be rather smal l .
39
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Ri ppl e
(p.u.)
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
I -i (k)/I -i (1))
k=5
k=7
k=11
k=13
k=17
I / I
i(k)
i (1)
Figure 2.17 The ac current harmonics at rated power relative to the
fundamental current at different dc current peak-to-peak ripple.
No overlap and a second order approximation of the ripple
current wave shape is assumed.
The seventh, thi rteenth and ni neteenth current harmoni cs etc. are decreased
si gni fi cantl y by the r i ppl e. The most i nter esti ng of these har moni cs i s the
seventh one because i t i s often necessar y to fi l ter . I f i t can be r educed
si gni fi cantl y, the seventh harmoni c fi l ter l i nk may be unnecessary.
The el eventh, seventeenth and twentythi rd harmoni cs etc. are not reduced as
much as the others. Therefore, they have to be fi l tered. Thi s can be done by
means of a fi l ter l i nk for the el eventh har moni c wi th a hi gh pass
characteri sti c.
As can be seen i n Fi gure 2.18 the seventh harmoni c i s l ow at hi gh power but
wi l l i ncr ease when the power i s r educed bel ow 0.6p.u. I t i s, ther efor e, not
suffi ci ent onl y to make sure that the magni tude of the seventh harmoni c i s
l ow at r ated power ; i t i s not al l owed to i ncr ease too much at l ower power
ei ther. A seventh harmoni c that i s hi gher at l ow power than at rated power
can, however, be acceptabl e i f most of the other harmoni cs then are l ower.
40
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
P-d
(p.u.)
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
I -i (k) (p.u.)
k=5
k=11
k=7
k=17
k=13
i(k)
(p.u.)
d
(p.u.)
I
P
Figure 2.18 The magnitude of the current harmonics as a function of power.
At rated power the dc current ripple is 35% peak-to-peak. The
harmonics are calculated from a wave shape including the effect
of changing fire angle but not including overlap.
There i s, of course, a drawback of reduci ng ac harmoni cs by i ncreasi ng the dc
cur r ent r i ppl e. The peak val ue of the i nver ter dc cur r ent then i ncr eases,
demandi ng a hi gher current rati ng of the dc reactor.
No cl ear r ul es for choosi ng the i nver ter i nductance can be gi ven her e. An
i nter esti ng pr ospect, however , i s to have a l ar ge cur r ent r i ppl e of the dc
current at rated current, approxi matel y a peak-to-peak ri ppl e i n the order of
35 % of the mean current. By doi ng so, i t ought to be possi bl e to desi gn an
appropri ate ac fi l ter wi th onl y two LC-l i nks.
The fi rst step i n determi ni ng the i nverter smoothi ng i nductance i s to chose
the maxi mum al l owed peak-to-peak ri ppl e at rated current. When i t has been
deci ded the smoothi ng i nductance can be cal cul ated. Under stati onar y
condi ti ons the ac current through the i nverter dc reactor L
di
can be found by
i ntegr ati ng the vol tage over the total smoothi ng i nductance. The ac
component of the i nver ter cur r ent I
di
can be cal cul ated fr om the i nver ter
vol tage U
di
and the dc vol tage U
d
as
I
di
(t) =

1
L
tot

( )
U
di
(t)U
d
dt (2.24)
41
t1 t2
I-di
U-di
U-d
I
U
U
t t
di
d
di
5
6
Figure 2.19 The inverter dc voltage U
di
, dc capacitor voltage U
d
and the
inverter dc current I
di
. The integration interval to find the peak-
to-peak value is from t
5
to t
6
.
To fi nd the peak-to-peak val ue of the ri ppl e, the i ntegral i s eval uated wi th a
l ower l i mi t t
5
and an upper l i mi t t
6
. The i ntegrati on i nterval i s equal to the
par t of the vol tage r i ppl e per i od wher e the vol tage over the smoothi ng
i nductance i s posi ti ve. The vol tage on booth si des of the i nductance as wel l as
the dc current can be seen i n Fi gure 2.19. The fi ri ng angl e i s 150.
Now the r el ati on between peak-to-peak r i ppl e, ac vol tage, smoothi ng
i nductance and fi ri ng angl e can be expressed as
I
di p-p
=

(

t
5
t
6

2U
i
L
tot

,
_
si n(t+

3
)+
3

cos() dt (2.25)
where

'

L
tot
=L
di
+2L
i com
U
i
i sthei nverteracvol tage
t
5
:thefi ri ngti meofathyri stor
t
6
:theti methevol tageoverthei nductancebecomesnegati ve
The ti me i nstants t
5
and t
6
are determi ned by the fol l owi ng equati ons
t
5
=

(2.26)
si n( t
6
+

3
) =
3

cos(
N
) and < t
6
<
4
3
(2.27)
42
For a thyr i stor i nver ter the fi r i ng angl e i s about 150to 155at r ated
vol tage.
2.4.5 Dc capacitance
When L
dr
and L
di
have been chosen the capaci tance C
d
can be cal cul ated. I t
i s determi ned by the desi red resonance frequency
C
d
=
1
(L
dr
+2L
rcom
)(2f
r
)
2
(2.28)
where f
r
i s the chosen resonance frequency for the recti fi er si de harmoni cs.
I f C
d
i s ver y l ar ge the val ues of the i nductances al r eady cal cul ated can of
cour se be i ncr eased. An i mpor tant r eason to keep them smal l i s, however ,
thei r resi sti ve l osses. The l osses must be i ncl uded i n such a trade-off between
capaci tance and i nductance.
2.4.6 Resonance damping
The r esonance of the dc fi l ter can be damped by means of an RLC ci r cui t
tuned to the resonance frequency, see Fi gure 2.20. I f onl y one dampi ng ci rcui t
shoul d be used and both the r ecti fi er si de and the i nver ter si de r esonance
fr equenci es must be damped, the dc fi l ter i ncl udi ng the commutati on
i nductances, must be symmetr i cal . I n thi s way the two r esonance
fr equenci es become equal because the total smoothi ng i nductance on both
si des are equal
L
di
+ 2 L
i com
= L
dr
+ 2 L
r com
(2.29)
43
C
x
L
di
L
dr
L
x
R
x C
d
2 L
i com
2 L
r com
U
di
U
dr
Recti fi er model
I nverter model Dc fi l ter wi th dampi ng
Figure 2.20 The dc filter with damping circuit, rectifier and inverter model.
The the effect of the dampi ng ci rcui t on the transfer functi on of the dc fi l ter i s
shown i n Fi gure 2.21. For hi gh harmoni cs (>100Hz) the dampi ng ci rcui t can
be negl ected and consi dered as an open ci rcui t.
2.4.7 Dc filter calculations for the design example system
The desi gn exampl e generator and converter system has the fol l owi ng data:
Ac vol tage of the i nverter U
i N
= 500 V
Network angul ar frequency
i
= 2 50 rad/s
I nverter commutati on reactance x
i com
= 5%
Fi ri ng angl e at rated l oad
N
= 155
Rated dc current I
d N
= 500 A
Rated generator vol tage U
a N
= 475 V
Rated generator angul ar frequency
g N
= 2 60 rad/s
Rect. commutati on reactance x
r com
= 12.6%
Network per uni t base i mpedance Z
b net
= 0.69
Generator per uni t base i mpedance Z
b g
= 0.67
The dampi ng ci rcui t i s not i ncl uded i n thi s desi gn.
The peak-to-peak ri ppl e of the i nverter si de dc current I
di
at rated power i s
chosen to 35 % of the r ated dc cur r ent. Then the val ue of L
di
can be
cal cul ated from Equati ons (2.25), (2.26) and (2.27)
t
5
=

i
= 8.61 ms (2.30)
44
0 100 200 300 400 500
Freqency
(Hz)
0.01
0.1
1
10.
100.
1000.
Fi l ter gai n (A/V)
Wi thout dampi ng
Wi th dampi ng
I / U
di dr
(A/V)
Frequency
(Hz)
Figure 2.21 The transfer function of the dc filter with and without damping.
si n(
i
t
6
+

3
) =
3

cos(
N
) and <
i
t
6
<
4
3

t
6
= 10.0 ms
(2.31)
L
di
+ 2 L
i com
=

2U
i N
0.35I
dN

t
5
t
6

,
_
si n(
i
t+

3
)+
3

cos(
N
) dt =
=

2U
i N
0.35I
dN

]
1
1
1
cos(
i
t+

3
)

i
+t
3

cos(
N
)
t
6

t
5
= 0.75 mH (2.32)
The i nverter commutati on i nductance i s the transformer l eakage i nductance
pl us a smal l contri buti on from the network reactance that can be negl ected
L
i com
= x
i com
Z
bnet

i
= 0.05
0.69
100rad/s
= 0.1 mH (2.33)
Thi s makes the dc fi l ter i nductance
L
di
= 0.55 mH (2.34)
45
The r ated dc cur r ent i s 500 A. The r i ppl e cur r ent peak val ue i s 0.5
.
35%
ti mes the rated dc current. That makes the peak val ue of the dc current
I
di
^

,
_
1+
0.35
2
I
di
_
= 590 A (2.35)
The r.m.s. val ue of the rated current i s approxi matel y
I
di
I
di
_
= 500 A (2.36)
The i nverter si de smoothi ng reactor shoul d have a core l arge enough for 590
A peak current, but the i nductor wi ndi ng needs onl y be rated for about 500 A
r.m.s. val ue, and the i nductance shoul d be 0.55 mH.
The recti fi er si de smoothi ng i nductance i s cal cul ated usi ng Equati ons (2.21)
and (2.22)
si n(
g N
t
x
+

3
) =
3

g N
t
x
=

'

0.222tn2
0.825tn2
rad (2.37)
0 <
g N
t
3
<

6
t
3
= 0.59 ms
(2.38)

6
<
g N
t
4
<

3
t
4
= 2.19 ms
(2.39)
L
dr
+ 2 L
r com
=

2U
aN
I
dr p-p

t
3
t
4

,
_
si n(
gN
t+

3
)
3

dt =
=

2U
aN
0.35I
dN

]
1
1
1
cos(
gN
t+

3
)

gN
+t
3

t
4

t
3
= 0.18 mH (2.40)
The commutati on i nductance of the generator i s 12.6%
L
r com
= x
r com
Z
bg

gN
= 0.126
0.67
602rad/s
= 0.224 mH (2.41)
46
whi ch makes the recti fi er dc i nductance unnecessary.
L
dr
= 0 mH (2.42)
Even wi thout the recti fi er i nductance the ri ppl e of the recti fi er dc current wi l l
onl y be about 70 A.
The dc capaci tance i s determi ned by the chosen resonance frequency. I n thi s
exampl e the recti fi er si de resonance frequency i s chosen to be 75 Hz. From
Equati on (2.28) the dc capaci tance can be cal cul ated
C
d
=
1
(L
dr
+2L
rcom
)(2f
r
)
2
= 10 000 F (2.43)
The fi l ter has now two r esonance fr equenci es. The r ecti fi er si de r esonance
frequency i s 75 Hz and the i nverter si de resonance frequency i s
f
i
=
1
2

(L
di
+2L
i com
)C
d

= 58 Hz (2.44)
I f both r esonances must be damped wi th one dampi ng ci r cui t the r ecti fi er
shoul d be equi pped wi th a reactor to make the resonance frequency equal on
both si des. I n that case
L
dr
= L
di
+ 2 L
i com
2 L
r com
= 0.3 mH (2.45)
The l osses of the dc fi l ter have not been cal cul ated exactl y, but they ar e
esti mated to be 0.7% at rated l oad.
2.5 Inverter
Major reasons to choose the l i ne-commutated thyri stor i nverter are the hi gh
effi ci ency, about99%, and the l ow pri ce compared wi th other i nverter types.
Di sadvantages ar e that i t gener ates har moni c cur r ents and consumes
reacti ve power. The thyri stor i nverter i s al so di ffi cul t to protect at network
faul ts.
47
Y:Y
Y:
5%
5%
<2%
~
To
consumers
Fi l ter
5% <2%
~
Fi l ter
Transf.
l eakage
reactance
Transf.
l eakage
reactance
(a)
(b)
Figure 2.22 (a) Twelve-pulse and (b) six-pulse connected inverter. Equivalent
single line scheme including the transformer leakage reactance
and network short-circuit reactance.
2.5.1 Inverter pulse number
Large thyri stor i nverters are often made of two si x-pul se bri dges i n a twel ve-
pul se connecti on to r educe the cur r ent har moni cs. The twel ve-pul se
connecti on el i mi nates ever y second of the char acter i sti c har moni cs
generated from a si x-pul se i nverter. Thi s i s done by connecti ng the two si x-
pul se i nverters i n seri es on the dc si de, see Fi gure 2.22. On the ac si de they
are connected to two phase-shi fted three-phase systems created by a three-
wi ndi ng transformer.
The drawbacks of the twel ve-pul se connecti on for a medi um si ze wi nd turbi ne
generator system are both techni cal and economi cal .
The fi r st techni cal dr awback i s that i f the r eacti ve power must be
compensated, the network harmoni c fi l ters for the twel ve-pul se connecti on
wi l l not be smal l er than the ones used for a si x-pul se bri dge. The si ze of the
fi l ter i s determi ned by the reacti ve power consumed by the i nverter and the
twel ve-pul se i nver ter consumes as much r eacti ve power as the si x-pul se
i nverter.
I n the twel ve-pul se connecti on the fi l teri ng must be made on ei ther both l ow
vol tage three-phase systems or on the hi gh-vol tage si de of the transformer.
Both these al ter nati ves compl i cate the desi gn and the manufactur i ng. A
48
fi l ter connected to the 10 kV network can not easi l y be i ntegrated wi th the
wi ndmi l l el ectr i cal system. I f the fi l ter of the twel ve-pul se i nver ter i s
connected to the networ k si de of the tr ansfor mer i t does not benefi t of the
l eakage i nductance of the tr ansfor mer whi ch makes a fi l ter on the l ow
vol tage si de several ti mes more effecti ve. I n Fi gure 2.22 i t can be seen that
the harmoni c vol tages of the network, for the si x-pul se connecti on, are onl y a
fr acti on of the har moni c vol tages of the fi l ter . The har moni c vol tages ar e
reduced because the vol tage of the fi l ter i s di vi ded by the network i mpedance
and the transformer i mpedance. I n thi s exampl e the harmoni c vol tages of the
fi l ter ar e r educed at l east to 2/7. For the twel ve-pul se connecti on the
harmoni c vol tages of the fi l ter are i nstead the same as those of the network.
The fi l ter i mpedance must be l ower i n the twel ve-pul se connecti on than i n the
si x pul se connecti on to reduce the network harmoni c vol tages to an equal l y
low level.
I t i s al so easi er to cal cul ate the fi l teri ng effect and the resonance frequency i f
the fi l ter i s connected to the l ow vol tage si de of the tr ansfor mer . The
transformer reactance can for l ow harmoni cs be assumed to be substanti al l y
l ar ger than the networ k i mpedance. Ther efor e, the usual l y unknown
var i ati ons i n the networ k i mpedance do not change the effect of the fi l ter
much. A fi l ter connected di r ectl y to the networ k must al so be desi gned to
fi l ter har moni cs fr om other sour ces other wi se i t mi ght be over l oaded. The
fi l ter connected on the l ow-vol tage si de of the tr ansfor mer mi ght al so be
burdened wi th harmoni cs from the network but to a much smal l er extent.
The economi cal dr awbacks of the twel ve-pul se connecti on ar e a mor e
expensi ve transformer and converter. The transformer i s more expensi ve due
to the doubl ed secondary wi ndi ngs. For smal l converters, l ess than about 1
MW, the si x-pul se i nverter i s a standard equi pment. I t i s cheaper to buy a
l arge si x-pul se i nverter than to use two smal l er i nverters i n a twel ve-pul se
connecti on.
A twel ve-pul se connecti on i s, for sever al r easons, not l i kel y to be used i n
smal l systems, at l east not i n systems l ess than 1MW. The transformer and
the conver ter ar e mor e expensi ve. Even though ever y second of the
harmoni cs are el i mi nated by the twel ve-pul se i nverter i t i s di ffi cul t to fi l ter
the rest.
2.5.2 Protection circuits
49
L
di
C
d
Network
transformer
L
to
C
to
Th
to
VDR
+
Figure 2.23 Thyristor inverter, turn-off circuit (shaded) and network
transformer.
Short-ci rcui t of the ac network can cause probl ems for the i nverter, because
the fuses wi l l bl ow, i f there i s no turn-off ci rcui t. The turn-off ci rcui t must be
capabl e of breaki ng the dc current of the i nverter and the energy stored i n the
i nverter i nductance must be di ssi pated. A di rect short-ci rcui t at the i nverter
ac suppl y i s one cause for thi s probl em, but that i s an unusual event. More
i mportant i s that each ti me the hi gh-vol tage network i s di sconnected the dc
cur r ent fr om the i nver ter wi l l satur ate the tr ansfor mer cor e and the
transformer wi l l start to act as a short-ci rcui t. Thi s type of network faul t i s a
di ffi cul t pr obl em for the thyr i stor i nver ter . When the networ k vol tage
di sappear s the conver ter can not contr ol the dc-cur r ent, hence the cur r ent
i ncr eases uncontr ol l abl y unti l the fuses bl ow. The i nver ter does not suffer
any damage of the short-ci rcui t but i t i s expensi ve to have to change fuses i n
al l wi nd turbi ne generator systems as soon as the network has had a fai l ure.
The i nver ter must ther efor e have ways to di sconnect at over -cur r ent. Thi s
can be achi eved by a turn-off ci rcui t connected to the three thyri stors on one
si de of the i nverter.
An exampl e of a turn-off ci rcui t i s shown i n Fi gure 2.23. The capaci tor of the
turn-off ci rcui t shoul d al ways be charged to a posi ti ve vol tage that i s used to
turn off the conducti ng thyri stor i n the upper part of the si x-pul se i nverter.
The dc current i s i nstead forced to pass through the vari stor of the turn-off
ci r cui t. Ener gy stor ed i n L
di
i s di ssi pated i n the var i stor and the cur r ent
decreases to zero wi thi n a few mi l l i seconds. A turn-off ci rcui t can be tri ggered
by over -cur r ent. At the same ti me as the tur n-off ci r cui t i s tr i gger ed the
50
i nverter thyri stor fi ri ng wi l l be bl ocked.
Thyr i stor conver ter s for hi gh power , sever al MW, ar e often made wi thout
fuses and wi th fast ac breakers i nstead. Thi s techni que mi ght be useful al so
for smal l er conver ter s i nstead of a tur n-off ci r cui t. The di ffer ence between
conver ter s wi th fuses and conver ter s wi th fast br eaker s i s that the
thyri stors must wi thstand hi gher faul t currents and for a l onger ti me i f they
are onl y protected by fast breakers. An other drawback i s that fast breakers
are very expensi ve.
2.5.3 Design example
As the desi gn exampl e i nverter an ABB Tyrak Mi di I I i s chosen. I t i s a two-
quadrant si x pul se thyri stor modul e wi th a rated current of 530 A and a rated
ac vol tage of 500 V. The rated dc vol tage i s then 600V. The total l osses at
r ated cur r ent ar e 2200 W, at 50% of r ated cur r ent 1200 W and at no l oad
350W. The l osses of the i nver ter can be separ ated i nto a constant power
l oss, a cur r ent-i ndependent vol tage dr op and a r esi sti ve vol tage dr op.
Expressed i n per uni t of the 300 kW system the i nverter l osses are
p
l oss i
(i
d
) = 0.12% + 0.52% i
d
+ 0.10% i
d
2
(2.46)
The total l osses ar e 0.74% at the r ated cur r ent. The l osses wi th cabl es,
fuses, mai n swi tch and other auxi l i ary parts are of course hi gher. Si nce these
l osses ar e equal for both var i abl e-speed and constant-speed systems they
are not i ncl uded i n the l oss model .
51
3 Model of generator and converter losses
I n thi s chapter theoreti cal model s of the l osses of a synchronous generator, a
di ode-thyri stor converter and a gear are deri ved. The model of the generator
l osses i s ver i fi ed for a 50 kVA gener ator . Thi s l oss model can be used to
cal cul ate the gener ator shaft tor que fr om measur ements of the ar matur e
power and the shaft speed. I t al so al l ows effi ci ency opti mi zati on by
control l i ng the generator fl ux. Fi nal l y, the model parameters are deri ved for
the 300kW desi gn exampl e system.
The fri cti on and wi ndage l osses as wel l as the core l osses are cal cul ated and
expressed as thei r equi val ent braki ng torque on the generator shaft. That i s
conveni ent i n the tor que contr ol poi nt of vi ew. I t i s al so a natur al way to
cal cul ate fri cti on and wi ndage l osses and core l osses because they have the
char acter of a speed-dependent br aki ng tor que. The copper l osses i n the
armature and fi el d wi ndi ngs are not speed-dependent and they are therefore
expressed as power l osses.
The l oss model i s a per uni t model , but note that i t i s not the usual per uni t
system that i s used. Si nce the generator and converter have many separate
ci rcui ts, di fferent base val ues can be used, and are used, for the currents i n
the di ffer ent ci r cui ts. The pr i nci pl e of the used per uni t system i s that al l
powers i n al l ci rcui ts shoul d be comparabl e to each other whi l e al l currents,
vol tages, speed and torque shoul d have the val ue of 1 p.u. at rated l oad of the
gener ator conver ter system. To be abl e to see easi l y what effect each l oss
component has on the system effi ci ency, al l powers and l osses are rel ated to
the rated i nput power of the system. The per uni t quanti ti es are general l y
denoted by l ower case l etter s and the nor mal quanti ti es by upper case
l etters. The excepti on i s the speed n whi ch i n per uni t i s denoted n'.
3.1 Model of machine losses
The l osses i n the machi ne can be di vi ded i nto several i ndependent parts, see
Fi gure 3.1.
52
Additional losses
Friction losses
Core losses
Armature winding losses
Input
mechanical power
Field current input power
Electrical
power
Output
Field winding losses
Figure 3.1 A schematic picture of the power flow in the synchronous generator
when the field current is fed by slip rings.
3.1.1 Friction and windage loss torque
The fri cti on and wi ndage l osses i ncl ude the fri cti on l osses of the beari ngs, the
wi ndage l osses i n the machi ne and the l osses of the cool i ng fan. The beari ngs
are usual l y rol l er beari ngs whi ch can be assumed to have an al most constant
braki ng torque [8]. The wi ndage and fan l oss torque i s mai nl y quadrati cal l y
dependent on the shaft speed. There i s al so a smal l component of the fri cti on
and wi ndage l oss torque that i s l i nearl y dependent on the shaft speed.
For a standard four-pol e generator i t i s assumed that the fri cti on and wi ndage
l oss torque can be descri bed as a constant torque and a torque proporti onal to
the square of the generator speed. The manufacturer can gi ve val ues of the
fri cti on and wi ndage torque at rated speed i n per uni t, t
N
. The standsti l l
tor que t
ss
i s ei ther gi ven by the manufactur er or i t i s measur ed or
esti mated. The wi ndage and fri cti on torque can be expressed i n per uni t as
t

(n
g
') = t
ss
+ (t
N
t
ss
) n
g
'
2
(3.1)
where n
g
' i s the per uni t shaft speed of the generator.
53
3.1.2 Core losses
The cor e l osses P
Fe
can be separ ated i nto two par ts, hyster esi s l osses P
Hy
and eddy cur r ent l osses P
Ft
. Both ar e functi ons of the magni tude of the
al ternati ng fl ux B and the frequency f.
P
Fe
= P
Hy
(B,f)) + P
Ft
(B,f) (3.2)
Eddy current l osses i n an i ron core can be expressed as
P
Ft
(B,f) ~ B
2
f
y
(3.3)
where 1.9 y 2, accordi ng to [9]. I n the same way the hysteresi s l osses can
be expressed as
P
Hy
(B,f) ~ B
x
f (3.4)
where 1.5 x 2.3, accordi ng to [9].
For el ectr i cal machi nes these functi ons ar e gener al l y used wi th y=2 and
x=2. These val ues are wi thi n the l i mi ts found i n [9]. To use them si mpl i fi es
the cal cul ati on of the total core l osses because both the eddy current l osses
and the hysteresi s l osses then change i n the same way wi th changi ng fl ux.
That al l ows a separ ati on of the total cor e l osses i nto a pr oduct of the fl ux
dependent hysteresi s l osses and a frequency-dependent eddy current factor (
1 + f C ) that i ncl udes the effect of the eddy current l osses
P
Fe
(B,f) = P
Hy
(B,f) ( 1 + f C ) (3.5)
where C i s a constant and P
Hy
(B,f) i s
P
Hy
(B,f) ~ B
2
f (3.6)
The val ue of B i n the above equati ons i s usual l y the peak val ue of the
al ternati ng fl ux densi ty. I n an el ectri c machi ne the fl ux l i nkage can be used i n
the l oss formul as, i nstead of the peak val ue of the fl ux, i f the fl ux wave-shape
does not change too much when the l oad change.
54
The generator fl ux wave shape i s not constant due to armature reacti on and
saturati on. But the onl y practi cal way to esti mate the peak val ue of the fl ux
i s by usi ng the fl ux l i nkage of the stator wi ndi ng. That method i s used for thi s
l oss model . I nstead of the fl ux densi ty and frequency, B and f, the fl ux l i nkage
and the generator speed, and n
g
, can be used
P
Fe
(,n
g
) ~
2
n
g
( 1 + n
g
C ) (3.7)
Si nce the hysteresi s l oss functi on i ncl udes a fl ux-dependent factor ti mes the
shaft speed the power l osses can be cal cul ated as an equi val ent br aki ng
torque
T
Fe
=
P
Fe

g
~
P
Fe
n
g
(3.8)
T
Fe
(,n
g
) = C
Hy

2
( 1 + n
g
C
Ft
) (3.9)
where C
Hy
and C
Ft
are machi ne dependent core l oss constants.
The use of the speed as a vari abl e i nstead of the frequency i s chosen because
the speed i s al ready used as a vari abl e for the fri cti on and wi ndage l osses and
i t i s usual to measur e the gener ator speed i n a wi nd tur bi ne gener ator
system. For a synchronous generator i n steady state operati on the speed and
frequency are equal when they are expressed i n per uni t.
The pr esented theor y does not take the effects of satur ati on i nto account.
The saturati on makes the core l osses i ncrease more than the theory predi cts
when the fl ux i ncreases. To approxi mate the core l oss torque wi th a resonabl e
accur r acy i s, however , possi bl e even wi th thi s si mpl e model . Onl y the cor e
l oss torque at rated fl ux and speed as wel l as the eddy current factor at rated
speed have to be known. By usi ng val ues of the core l oss torque at rated fl ux
whi ch i ncl udes the effect of saturati on the absol ute error of the core l osses i s
kept l ow even though the theoreti cal fl ux dependency of the core l oss torque i s
not exact. The hyster esi s l oss functi on wi l l onl y have a quadr ati c ter m
accor di ng to the theor eti cal equati on. The per uni t model of the cor e l oss
torque i s
t
Fe
(n
g
',) =

t
FeN
1+C
Ft

2
(1 + C
Ft
n
g
') (3.10)
55
where t
feN
i s the total core l oss torque at rated l oad and rated speed and C
Ft
i s the rati o of the eddy current l osses P
Ft N
and the hysteresi s l osses P
Hy N
at
rated fl ux and speed
C
Ft
=

P
FtN
P
HyN
(3.11)
3.1.3 Winding losses
For si nusoi dal cur r ents the copper l osses of the ar matur e wi ndi ngs can be
expressed as
P
Cu a
= 3 R
a
I
2
a
(3.12)
where I
a
i s the r.m.s. armature current and R
a
i s the equi val ent per phase
armature rei stance. Expressed i n per uni t the armature copper l osses are
p
Cu a
= r
a
i
2
a
(3.13)
For nonsi nusoi dal cur r ents the cal cul ati on of the l osses can be much mor e
compl i cated. The fundamental current component and the current harmoni cs
do not meet the same effecti ve r esi stance. The ski n effect gi ves r i se to a
hi gher resi stance for the harmoni cs. However, when usi ng a di ode recti fi er the
l ow-order harmoni cs domi nate and the resi stance for the fi fth and seventh
harmoni cs can for a normal stator wi ndi ng be assumed to be about the same
as the resi stance for the fundamental component. Therefore, the model uses
the measur ed total r .m.s. val ue of the ar matur e cur r ent to cal cul ate the
armature wi ndi ng l osses.
The fi el d wi ndi ng l osses can be cal cul ated i n the same way as the armature
winding losses
P
Cu f
= R
f
I
2
f
(3.14)
where R
f
i s the fi el d wi ndi ng resi stance and I
f
i s the fi el d current. Expressed i n
per uni t the fi el d wi ndi ng l osses are
56
p
Cu f
= r
f
i
2
f
(3.15)
3.1.4 Exciter losses
Most four-pol e synchronous generators i n the range of 10kW to 1MW have
an i ntegrated exci ter wi th a rotati ng recti fi er. The exci ter i s a smal l generator
mounted on the shaft of the mai n generator. I t generates the fi el d current of
the mai n generator wi thout the use of sl i p ri ngs. Si nce i t i s onl y suppl yi ng the
power to the rotor wi ndi ngs, the rated power of the exci ter i s onl y 1-2 % of the
mai n gener ator r ated power . The exci ter and mai n gener ator ci r cui ts ar e
shown i n Fi gure 3.2.
Mai n generator
fi el d wi ndi ng
Mai n generator
armature wi ndi ngs
Di ode recti fi er
Exci ter
fi el d wi ndi ng
Exci ter three-phase
armature wi ndi ng
The exci ter The mai n generator
Rotati ng parts of exci ter and mai n generator
Figure 3.2 Circuit diagram of the exciter and the main generator.
The model of the gener ator l osses can be extended to i ncl ude the exci ter
l osses. The mai n di ffer ence i s that when the exci ter i s used the power
consumed i n the r otor wi ndi ngs i s fed by the exci ter fr om the mechani cal
shaft power. Therefore, there i s a contri buti on to the braki ng torque from the
l osses i n the rotor wi ndi ngs. The other l osses of the exci ter, i ts stator wi ndi ng
l osses, core l osses and addi ti onal l osses, can be negl ected. Even i f the exci ter
effi ci ency i s ver y l ow these l osses ar e smal l . The total copper l osses of the
rotor wi ndi ngs are
p
Cu rotor
(i
f
) = r
rotor
i
2
f
(3.16)
wher e r
r otor
i s the r esi stance of the mai n gener ator fi el d wi ndi ng and two
ti mes the per phase resi stance of the rotor wi ndi ng of the exci ter r
aE
57
r
rotor
= r
f
+ 2 r
aE
(3.17)
One probl em i n fi ndi ng the rotor l osses i n a generator wi th exci ter i s that the
mai n fi el d current i s not possi bl e to measure. I n some way the fi el d current
must be model l ed as a functi on of the exci ter cur r ent or , as used l ater , by
esti mati ng the fi el d current from the fl ux l i nkage and the armature current.
3.1.5 Additional losses
One par t of the addi ti onal l osses i s the l osses i n the damper wi ndi ngs. At
steady state operati on and si nusoi dal armature currents the damper wi ndi ng
currents are al most zero. They shoul d not cause l osses when the generator i s
l oaded resi sti vel y. However, when the generator i s l oaded by a di ode recti fi er
ther e ar e steady state l osses i n the damper wi ndi ngs. Because of the
harmoni cs i n the armature mmf wave, currents fl ow i n the damper wi ndi ngs.
The currents i n the damper wi ndi ngs are approxi matel y proporti onal to the
armature current. Other parts of the addi ti onal l osses are for i nstance the
core l osses associ ated wi th the di storti on of the fl ux wave and the stray fl ux
i n the end regi ons that cause extra core l osses.
Accor di ng to [10] the addi ti onal l osses can be appr oxi mated as bei ng
pr opor ti onal to the squar e of the ar matur e cur r ent. They can, ther efor e,
easi est be i ncl uded i n the l oss model l by addi ng a fi cti ti ous resi stance to the
armature resi stance i n the l oss cal cul ati ons. I f the addi ti onal l osses at rated
l oad, P
ad N
, are known, the fi cti ti ous armature resi stance of the addi ti onal
l osses can be cal cul ated as
R
ad
=
P
adN

3 I
2
aN
(3.18)
The addi ti onal l osses are, expressed i n per uni t
p
ad N
= r
ad
i
2
a
(3.19)
58
3.1.6 Complete generator loss model
The total per uni t gener ator l osses can be model l ed as the sum of fi ve
di fferent types of l osses, usi ng onl y four vari abl es. For a generator wi th sl i p
ri ngs the l osses are
p
l oss g
(n
g
',,i
a
,i
f
) =
=n
g
'
( )
t

(n
g
')+t
Fe
(n
g
',) + p
Cu a
(i
a
) + p
Cu f
(i
f
) + p
ad
(i
a
) (3.20)
I f sl i p ri ngs are used, the fi el d wi ndi ng l osses are not fed from mechani cal
power from the generator shaft and therefore they do not contri bute to the
braki ng torque
t
l oss g
(n
g
',,i
a
) = t

(n
g
') + t
Fe
(n
g
',) +
p
Cua
(i
a
)+p
ad
(i
a
)
n
g
'
(3.21)
where the di fferent l osses are defi ned as
t

(n
g
') = t
ss
+ (t
N
t
ss
) n
g
'
2
(3.1)
t
Fe
(n
g
',) =
t
FeN
1+C
Ft

2
(1 + C
Ft
n
g
') (3.10)
p
Cu a
(i
a
) = r
a
i
a
2
(3.13)
p
Cu f
(i
f
) = r
f
i
f
2
(3.15)
p
ad
(i
a
) = r
ad
i
a
2
(3.19)
The l oss torque formul a, Equati on (3.21), can be used to cal cul ate the shaft
torque i f the armature power p
a
i s known
t
g
(p
a
,n
g
',,i
a
) =
p
a
n
g
'
+ t
l oss g
(n
g
',,i
a
) (3.22)
I f the total generator l osses shoul d be mi ni mi zed al so the fi el d l osses must be
i ncl uded. Then the power l oss formul a, Equati on (3.20), i s used to mi ni mi ze
the total l osses by changi ng the generator fl ux.
59
For gener ator s havi ng an i ntegr ated exci ter the power l oss for mul a i s
changed. The total rotor l osses i ncrease because both the fi el d wi ndi ng l osses
and the exci ter wi ndi ng l osses are i ncl uded
p
l oss g
(n
g
',,i
a
,i
f
) =
n
g
'
( )
t

(n
g
')+t
Fe
(n
g
',) + p
Cu a
(i
a
) + p
ad
(i
a
) + p
Cu rotor
(i
f
) (3.23)
I n thi s case the rotor l osses al so contri bute to the braki ng torque:
t
l oss g
(n
g
',,i
a
,i
f
) =
t

(n
g
') + t
Fe
(n
g
',) +
p
Cua
(i
a
)+p
ad
(i
a
)+p
Curotor
(i
f
)
n
g
'
(3.24)
where the rotor l osses are defi ned as
p
Cu rotor
(i
f
) = r
rotor
i
f
2
(3.16)
3.1.7 Calculating the generator flux
I n order to use the model of the generator core l osses, the ai rgap fl ux l i nkage
of the generator must be known. At no l oad the generator armature vol tage
di vi ded by the speed of the gener ator i s used to cal cul ate the fl ux l i nkage.
When the generator i s l oaded, the same method can be used. The di fference i s
that the fl ux l i nkage i s then cal cul ated usi ng the i nduced vol tage of the
ar matur e di vi ded by the gener ator speed. The i nduced vol tage E
a
must be
cal cul ated from the armature vol tage U
a
. For si nusoi dal currents the i nduced
vol tage can be found si mpl y by addi ng the vol tage dr op i n the ar matur e
wi ndi ng. For resi sti ve l oad the i nduced vol tage i s
E
a
=

(U
a
+R
a
I
a
)
2
+(L
a
I
a
)
2
(3.25)
where L
a
i s the armature l eakage i nductance.
I f a di ode recti fi er i s used the generator currents are nonsi nusoi dal and the
equati on wi l l be di ffer ent. Due to the commutati on i nductance the vol tage
drop i s l arger than for si nusoi dal currents and i t can be found i f the model i n
Fi gure 2.11 i s used. There the i nduced armature vol tage can be cal cul ated by
60
addi ng the vol tage drop over R
r com
to the measured dc vol tage and di vi di ng
by (3

2)/. The i nduced vol tage i s cal cul ated, negl ecti ng the ar matur e
r esi stance
E
a
=

2
(U
d
+ R
r com
I
d
) (3.26)
From thi s i nduced vol tage of the armature wi ndi ng the generator fl ux l i nkage
can be cal cul ated
=
E
a

g
=
E
a
pn
g
(3.27)
where p i s the pol e pai r number of the generator
3.1.8 Estimating the field current
For a generator magneti zed by an i ntegral exci ter the fi el d current can not be
measur ed. Ther efor e, i t has to be esti mated. Fr om a si mpl e l i near theor y,
negl ecti ng satur ati on effects, the total magneti zati on cur r ent of the
generator can be cal cul ated. For a l i near generator the magneti zati on current
i s proporti onal to the fl ux l i nkage. The magneti zati on current phasor i s the
fi el d cur r ent phasor pl us the ar matur e cur r ent phasor . A r esonabl e
appr oxi mati on for a gener ator l oaded by a di ode r ecti fi er i s that the
fundamental of the armature current i s i n phase wi th the i nduced armature
vol tage. That i s equal to assumi ng that the r ecti fi er commutati ons ar e
i nstantaneous.
I n Fi gure 3.3 the current di stri buti ons of the machi ne can be seen. E
a
i s the
i nduced ai r gap vol tage phasor and I
m
i s the total magneti zati on cur r ent
phasor. From the fi gure i t can be seen that
|I
m
|
2
+ |I
a
|
2
= |I
f
|
2
(3.28)
where

'

|I
m
|=K
m
||=K
m

|I
a
|=K
a
I
a

|I
f
|=K
f
I
f

61
K
m
, K
a
and K
f
are machi ne dependent factors. They are used to reduce al l the
currents to equi val ent ai rgap current densi ti es. By usi ng these expressi ons
for the current phasor magni tudes i n Equati on (3.28) the fi el d current can be
cal cul ated
(K
f
I
f
)
2
= (K
m
)
2
+ (K
a
I
a
)
2
(3.29)
The same equati on can be used for the per uni t quanti ti es
(k
f
i
f
)
2
= (k
m
)
2
+ (k
a
i
a
)
2
(3.30)
where

'

k
f
=1+x
s
2
k
m
=1
k
a
=x
s
for the used per uni t system
Saturati on can al so be i ncl uded i n thi s model i f the fl ux l i nkage as a functi on
of the magneti zi ng current i s known. That functi on i s then used i nstead of the
l i near rel ati onshi p assumed here.
I
f
E
a
I
a
I
m

Figure 3.3 The generator currents, flux linkage and induced voltage phasors.
3.1.9 Parameters for the generator loss model
The parameters needed for the si mpl i fi ed model are found i n Tabl e 3.1. On the
or di nar y data sheet the stator r esi stance, fi el d wi ndi ng r esi stance,
synchronous reactance and subtransi ent reactances can be found. Al so the
core l osses at rated fl ux and speed, the fri cti on l osses at rated speed as wel l
62
as the exci ter ar matur e r esi stance shoul d be possi bl e to get fr om the
manufacturer but they are normal l y not expl i ci tl y found on the data sheet.
Table 3.1 Parameters for the proposed model of generator losses and
parameters needed for the flux linkage and field current
estimation.
Par ameter Descri pti on Sour ce
t
N
Fr i cti on and wi ndage tor que
at n
N
From the manufacturer*
t
ss
Standsti l l fri cti on torque Measurement or esti mati on
t
Fe N
Cor e l oss tor que at
N
and
n
N
From the manufacturer*
C
Ft
Eddy current constant Measurement or esti mati on
r
a
Armature resi stance From data sheet
r
f
Field winding resistance From data sheet
r
aE
Exci ter per phase armature
r esi stance
From the manufacturer*
r
ad
Equi val ent r esi stance of the
addi ti onal l osses
Measurement or esti mati on
Parameters to esti mate the fl ux l i nkage and the fi el d current:
x
s
Synchronous reactance From data sheet
x"
d
Subtransi ent d-reactance From data sheet
x"
q
Subtransi ent q-reactance From data sheet
*) Data that the manufacturer shoul d be abl e to gi ve but that usual l y not are
avai l abl e on the data sheet.
The standsti l l fri cti on torque, the eddy current constant and the addi ti onal
l osses at di ode l oad are not necessari l y known by the manufacturer and must
somehow be esti mated or measured. I f the standsti l l fri cti on torque and the
eddy cur r ent constant shoul d be esti mated, the manufactur er can pr ovi de
useful i nformati on. For i nstance, what beari ngs the generator has and what
type of i ron the stator i s made of as wel l as i ts materi al data.
The l oss model use sever al var i abl es but onl y some of them have to be
measured. The other vari abl es can be cal cul ated, see Tabl e 3.2. I n the wi nd
tur bi ne gener ator system onl y thr ee quanti ti es have to be measur ed to be
abl e to use the l oss model and the steady state torque control .
Table 3.2 Variables needed for the loss model.
63
Vari abl e
I
d
measured
U
d
measured
n
g
measured
P
a
= I
d
U
d
di ode l osses
I
a
= 0.78 I
d

=
(U
d
+R
rcom
I
d
)
3

2pn
g

(
*
I
f
=
1
K
f


(K
m
)
2
+(K
a
I
a
)
2

*) p i s the pol e pai r number of the generator

3.1.10 Errors of the generator model
The errors of the l oss model are of three di fferent types. Fi rst there i s an error
due to the si mpl i fi cati ons and assumpti ons made. Thi s error i s often di ffi cul t
to esti mate si nce the si mpl i fi cati ons usual l y ar e made because the r eal
functi ons ar e not known. Secondl y ther e i s al ways an er r or i n the
deter mi nati on of the model par ameter s. These er r or s can usual l y be
esti mated from i nstrument accuracy and measurement method. Fi nal l y, the
parameters may change wi th the l oad and the envi ronmental condi ti ons. For
exampl e, wi ndi ng resi stances depend on the temperature.
3.1.11 Error in the windage and friction losses
The model of fri cti on and wi ndage torque i s not exact due to the errors of the
used parameters and the errors of the approxi mate speed dependency. The
model has two par ameter s: the fr i cti on and wi ndage tor que at r ated speed
t
N
and the standsti l l torque t
ss
. Both these parameters are determi ned by
measurement or esti mati on. The error of the parameters can be esti mated
and thei r maxi mum and mi ni mum val ue can be found. The vari ati ons i n the
speed dependency of the torque i s much more di ffi cul t to fi nd. I t has onl y been
esti mated based on measurements on three di fferent el ectri cal machi nes. To
esti mate the total er r or of the fr i cti on and wi ndage tor que the wor st case
maxi mum and mi ni mum fri cti on and wi ndage torque functi ons are esti mated.
I t i s here assumed that the maxi mum worst case torque has a l i near term
that at rated speed i s as l arge as the quadrati c term. Maxi mum torques at
rated speed and standsti l l are used as parameters. The maxi mum torque i s
esti mated
64
t
max
(n
g
') = t
ssmax
+ (t
Nmax
t
ssmax
)
n
g
'+n
g
'
2
2
(3.31)
The wor st case mi ni mum tor que i s assumed to have no fi r st-or der ter m.
Mi ni mum torques at rated speed and standsti l l are used as parameters
t
mi n
(n
g
') = t
ssmi n
+ (t
Nmi n
t
ssmin
) n
g
'
2
(3.32)
I f the model tor que functi on and the esti mated maxi mum and mi ni mum
torque functi ons are pl otted i n the same di agram, an esti mati on of the model
error can be made, see Fi gure 3.4. I n thi s case the error i n the rated fri cti on
torque, t
N
, i s assumed to be t20%. The error i n the standsti l l fri cti on torque,
t
ss
, i s assumed to be t50%. The total error of the fri cti on and wi ndage model
i s found to be about 0.25 ti mes the fri cti on torque at rated speed
T

= 0.25 T
N
= 0.25 ( t
N
T
N
) (3.33)
Generator speed (p.u.)
0,00
0,25
0,50
0 0,25 0,5 0,75 1
max
model
mi n
t
t
t
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

a
n
d

w
i
n
d
a
g
e

t
o
r
q
u
e



i
n

p
e
r
c
e
n
t

o
f

r
a
t
e
d

t
o
r
q
u
e
Figure 3.4 The model friction and windage torque and the estimated
maximum and minimum limits for the torque.
Error in the core losses
The core l oss torque model has two parameters: the core l oss torque at rated
l oad t
FeN
and the eddy cur r ent constant C
Ft
. The model of the cor e l oss
torque i s
65
t
Fe
(n
g
',) =

t
FeN

2

1+C
Ft
n
g
'
1+C
Ft
(3.10)
I t i s a pr oduct of the hyster esi s l oss tor que and the eddy cur r ent factor .
These two parts have di fferent types of error. The parameters maxi mum and
mi ni mum val ue have to be esti mated: t
FeNmi n
, t
FeNmax
, C
Ftmi n
and
C
Ftmax
. Fi r st the er r or of the hyster esi s l oss tor que i s esti mated. Usi ng
x=1.5 i n Equati on (3.4) and t
FeN max
the maxi mum hysteresi s l oss torque i s
t
Hymax
() ~
1.5
t
FeNmax
(3.34)
I f x = 2.3 and t
FeNmi n
i s used the mi ni mum hysteresi s l oss torque wi l l be
t
Hymi n
() ~
2.3
t
FeNmi n
(3.35)
The hysteresi s l oss torque at rated fl ux i s assumed to have an error of t10%.
From Fi gure 3.5 the error of the hysteresi s l oss torque can then be esti mated
to be about 20% of the hysteresi s l oss torque at rated fl ux. The worst case
error of the hysteresi s l oss approxi mati on i s at about 0.5p.u. fl ux l i nkage.
Generator fl ux (p.u.)
H
y
s
t
e
r
e
s
i
s

t
o
r
q
u
e

(
%
)
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2,5
0 0,25 0,5 0,75 1
Hy max
Hy model
Hy min
t
t
t
Figure 3.5 Model of hysteresis losses and an estimation of its error.
I n Fi gur e 3.6 the er r or of the eddy cur r ent factor i s shown. The maxi mum
eddy cur r ent factor C
Femax
i s der i ved fr om Equati ons (3.3) and (3.5). I n
Equati on (3.3) y = 1.9 and C
Ftmi n
i s used
C
Femax
=
1+C
Ftmi n
(n
g
')
0.9
1+C
Ftmi n
(3.36)
66
From the same equati ons the mi ni mum eddy current factor can be deri ved i f
y = 2.0 and C
Ftmax
i s used
C
Fe mi n
=
1+C
Ftmax
n
g
'
1+C
Ftmax
(3.37)
The error i s l arger at l ower speed because the val ue of the core l oss torque i s
known at r ated speed. The er r or i n the total eddy cur r ent factor can be
esti mated to be about 10% when the er r or i n C
Ft
i s assumed to be about
20%.
Generator speed (p.u.)
E
d
d
y

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

f
a
c
t
o
r
0,0
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
1,0
0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1
Fe max
Fe mi n
Fe
C
C
C
Figure 3.6 The si mpl i fi ed model of the eddy current factor and an
estimations of its maximum and minimum values.
The total error of the core l oss model can be found as 20% of the core l osses
at rated l oad, due to the hysteresi s torque error, pl us 10% of the actual core
l osses, due to the eddy current factor error. These fi gures of the errors are
based on an error of the core l osses at rated l oad of 10% and an error of the
eddy cur r ent constant C
Ft
of 20%. The total error i s smal l est at rated fl ux
and speed and l arger at l ower speed and l ower fl ux. For si mpl i ci ty the total
core l oss error i s assumed to be constant. I n thi s exampl e the core l oss torque
error i s
T
Fe
= (0.20 + 0.10) T
Fe N
= 0.30 ( t
Fe N
T
N
) (3.38)
Error in the winding losses
The theor eti cal for mul a for r esi sti ve l osses can be assumed to be ver y
accur ate. The l ar ger st er r or of the r esi sti ve wi ndi ng l osses i s due to the
67
temperature dependence of the wi ndi ng resi stance. I n a normal wi nd turbi ne
gener ator the wi ndi ng temper atur e can i n the extr eme case var y between
about 20and +120C. Thi s gi ves a vari ati on of the wi ndi ng resi stance of
t25% i f a r esi stance val ue for 50C i s used. I n a gener ator r ated for a
temper atur e r i se accor di ng to cl ass B, max 80C, i t i s however not usual
wi th wi ndi ng temperature outsi de the range of +10to +90C. The change of
resi stance i s then t15% i f a resi stance val ue for 50C i s used.
The error of the wi ndi ng l osses i s esti mated to be about t20 % of the actual
l osses. About 15% i s due to normal temperature changes and about 5% due
to an er r or i n the measur ed wi ndi ng r esi stance. The temper atur e of the
wi ndi ngs may under extreme weather condi ti ons pass these l i mi ts gi vi ng a
l arger error of the wi ndi ng l osses. I n Sweden that wi l l probabl y onl y occur for
some per cent of the ti me. The er r or s of the r esi sti ve wi ndi ng l osses can be
expressed as
P
Cu a
= 0.20 P
Cu a
= 0.20 ( 3 R
a
I
2
a
) = 0.20 ( r
a
i
2
a
P
N
) (3.39)
P
Cu f
= 0.20 P
Cu f
= 0.20 ( R
f
I
2
f
) = 0.20 ( r
f
i
2
f
P
N
) (3.40)
I f the er r or of the model must be r educed, the r esi stance val ue can be
changed accordi ng to a measurement of the wi ndi ng temperature.
Error in the additional losses
Si nce the mechani sms of the addi ti onal l osses are not i nvesti gated, the error
of thei r approxi mati on can not be deri ved. I f they are measured at rated l oad
the error can be esti mated to be l ess than50%
P
ad
= 0.50 P
ad
= 0.50 ( 3 R
ad
I
2
a
) = 0.50 ( r
ad
i
2
a
P
N
)
(3.41)
Total model error
The error of the power l oss i s smal l er at parti al l oad than at rated l oad and
the total error can be esti mated as an error dependent on the speed, pl us one
part that changes wi th armature current and one that changes wi th the fi el d
current
68
P
l oss
P
N
=

_
n
g
T

n
gN
T
N
+
n
g
T
Fe
n
gN
T
N
+

_
P
Cua
P
N
+
P
ad
P
N
+
P
Cuf
P
N
=
= ( 0.25 t
N
+ 0.30 t
Fe N
) n
g
' + ( 0.20 r
a
+ 0.50 r
ad
) i
a
2
+ 0.20 r
f
i
f
2
(3.42)
The er r or of the cal cul ated power l oss decr eases to zer o i f the speed,
armature current and fi el d current al l are decreasi ng to zero. The error can
al so be expressed as a l oss torque error
T
l oss
T
N
=
T

T
N
+
T
Fe
T
N
+
P
Cua
/n
g
P
N
/n
gN
+
P
ad
/n
g
P
N
/n
gN
+
P
Cuf
/n
g
P
N
/n
gN
=
= (0.25 t
N
+ 0.30 t
Fe N
) +
(0.20r
a
+0.50r
ad
)i
a
2
+0.20r
f
i
f
2
n
g
'
(3.43)
From Equati on (3.43) i t can be seen that the torque error does not decrease
to zero even i f the currents decrease to zero.
The hi gher the generator effi ci ency the l ower the error i s i n the cal cul ated
shaft torque, because the error i s i n percent of the l osses and not i n percent
of the power of the generator. The error descri bed i n thi s chapter i s the model
error. The total error can be l arger because of errors i n the measurements of
the gener ator ar matur e power , ar matur e vol tage, ar matur e cur r ent, fi el d
current and shaft speed. I f an exci ter i s used there wi l l al so be an error i n the
esti mati on of the fi el d current.
3.2 Model of the converter losses
The converter l osses have to be model l ed to be abl e to compare the average
effi ci ency of a var i abl e speed gener ator and conver ter system wi th the
aver age effi ci ency of a constant speed gener ator . The conver ter l osses ar e
di vi ded i nto recti fi er l osses P
l oss r
, dc fi l ter l osses P
l oss d
and i nverter l osses
P
l oss i
. Losses due to the dc current ri ppl e are negl ected.
The l osses of the di ode bri dge are due to the vol tage drop i n the semi conductor
mater i al and to the swi tchi ng l osses. The vol tage dr op has two par ts:
69
resi sti ve vol tage drop from the recti fi er resi stance R
r
and the no l oad vol tage
dr op U
0r
. By i ncl udi ng these two types of l osses the total di ode l osses ar e
determi ned accuratel y enough si nce the swi tchi ng l osses are very smal l for
l ow frequency recti fi ers. The recti fi er l osses are
P
l ossr
(I
d
) = U
0r
I
d
+ R
r
I
d
2
(3.44)
The suggested dc fi l ter has two i nductors and a capaci tor bank. The l osses i n
the i nductor s ar e r esi sti ve l osses and cor e l osses. But the cor e l osses ar e
rel ati vel y smal l i n an i nductor for a dc-current wi th ri ppl e. The domi nati ng
l osses are the resi sti ve ones i n the wi ndi ng. The capaci tors have much l ower
l osses than the i nductor s have, onl y about some per cent of the i nductor
l osses, and can ther efor e be negl ected wi thout i ntr oduci ng any si gni fi cant
errors i n the cal cul ati ons. By addi ng the resi stance of the two dc i nductors
the dc fi l ter l osses can be expressed as
P
l oss d
(I
d
) = R
d
I
d
2
(3.45)
where R
d
i s the total resi stance of the dc fi l ter.
The thyri stor l osses are si mi l ar to the di ode l osses. The di fference i s that the
thyri stor has a somewhat l arger vol tage drop. Usi ng the same model as the
one for the di ode bri dge the thyri stor i nverter l osses can be cal cul ated. But
the i nverter al so has no-l oad l osses P
0 i
from the cool i ng fan and the auxi l i ary
power suppl y to the control computer and the fi ri ng ci rcui ts. Therefore the
i nverter l osses are
P
l ossi
(I
d
) = P
0 i
+ U
0i
I
d
+ R
i
I
d
2
(3.46)
The total conver ter l osses P
l oss c
can be descr i bed as a sum of the no-l oad
l osses of the i nver ter , the vol tage dr op l osses of the di ode r ecti fi er and the
thyr i stor i nver ter and the r esi sti ve l osses of the r ecti fi er , dc fi l ter and
i nverter.
P
l ossc
(I
d
) = P
0i
+ (U
0 i
+ U
0r
) I
d
+ (R
i
+ R
d
+ R
r
) I
d
2
(3.47)
The converter l oss model error has not been esti mated.
3.3 Model of the gear losses
70
The gear l osses have not been measured. A theoreti cal model of the l osses of
a normal gear i s presented i n [11]. The l osses of the gear are di vi ded i nto two
parts. The gear mesh l osses whi ch are a fi xed percentage of the i nput power
i ndependent of the gear shaft speed. The gear mesh l osses are determi ned by
the desi gn of the teeth of the cog-wheel s. Fri cti on l osses are the other part of
the l osses and they ar e mai nl y due to bear i ng fr i cti on, wi ndage and oi l
churni ng l osses. The beari ngs, normal l y bei ng rol l er beari ngs, gi ve ri se to an
al most constant br eaki ng tor que. Wi ndage power l osses ar e gener al l y
pr opor ti onal to the speed i n cube. Expr essed as a br aki ng tor que they ar e
proporti onal to the speed i n square. The oi l churni ng l osses are di ffi cul t to
determi ne but the breaki ng torque shoul d i ncrease at l east proporti onal l y to
the r otati onal speed of the gear . I f i t i s not known how the bear i ng, oi l
churni ng and wi ndage l osses depend on the speed, a si mpl i fi ed functi on can be
used. I t i s certai n that those l osses i ncrease at l east l i nearl y wi th the speed.
The fol l owi ng approxi mati on of gear l osses over-esti mates the l osses for al l
speeds up to the rated speed
p
l ossgear
(p
t
,n'
t
) = t
0gear
n'
t
+ ( 1
mesh
) p
t
(3.48)
where t
0gear
i s the per uni t fri cti on torque at rated speed and
mesh
the gear
mesh effi ci ency.
3.4 Verification of the generator loss model
The l osses are measured at vari ous l oads and under di fferent condi ti ons to
ver i fy the l oss model . A fi r st step i s to ver i fy the gener ator l oss model for
si nusoi dal currents at resi sti ve l oad. Then the model i s used to predi ct the
l osses for a di ode l oaded generator. The error when the l oss model i s used to
cal cul ate the shaft torque from the armature power i s al so presented.
The l osses are measured onl y i ndi rectl y by measuri ng the i nput mechani cal
power and the output armature power of the generator. Therefore, the model
er r or i s cal cul ated as the shaft tor que pr edi cted by the model mi nus the
measured generator shaft torque.
When compari ng the model and the measurements the error consi sts of two
parts. Besi des the error of the model al so the error due to the i naccuracy of
the measured vari abl es wi l l show i n thi s compari son. The error i n the torque
71
measurement i s total l y about 1.5 Nm. The predi cted torque of the model i s
al so sufferi ng from the error i n the output power. The output power of the
gener ator i s measur ed wi th a wattmeter that has an er r or of 0.5% of the
actual power r ange. That r ange changes dur i ng the measur ement but the
maxi mum error i s al ways l arger than 0.5% of the actual power. The errors of
the measur ed var i abl es for the l oss model , l i ke ar matur e cur r ent and
gener ator speed, do not much affect the er r or of the pr edi cted tor que. The
total effect of the i naccuracy of the measurements i s equal to about 3.0Nm
at rated l oad and about 1.5Nm at no l oad.
3.4.1 The laboratory system
Measur ements wer e made on a system wi th the 50kVA gener ator ear l i er
descri bed. For that purpose a system wi th generator and frequency converter
or resi sti ve three-phase l oad has been bui l t i n the l aboratory. The l aboratory
system and the measurement equi pment used are shown i n Fi gure 3.7. Al l
the measurements are made at steady state operati on.
The generator i s dri ven by a dc machi ne fed from a thyri stor recti fi er wi th
speed contr ol . No gear i s i ncl uded i n the l abor ator y system. On the shaft
between the dc motor and the synchronous generator the shaft torque and
speed are measured. The generator i s magneti zed mai nl y by sl i pri ngs but for
compari son i t has al so been magneti zed by i ts i ntegrated exci ter. When i t i s
magneti zed by the sl i pri ngs both the fi el d current and the fi el d vol tage are
measur ed. The fi el d cur r ent i s fed fr om a cur r ent-contr ol l ed thr ee-phase
thyri stor recti fi er vi a a fourth order LC-fi l ter. The ri ppl e on the fi el d current i s
onl y about one percent.
The exci ter current i s fed by a current regul ati ng dc power suppl y. To be abl e
to fi nd the rel ati on between the exci ter current and the fi el d current the fi el d
vol tage i s measured al so when the exci ter i s used. From the fi el d vol tage and
the fi el d resi stance the fi el d current can then be cal cul ated.
The ar matur e power i s measur ed by a thr ee-phase di gi tal power meter
i ncl udi ng harmoni cs up to 1kHz. To esti mate the generator fl ux at resi sti ve
l oad the ar matur e r .m.s. vol tage i s measur ed and to cal cul ate the stator
wi ndi ng copper l osses the r .m.s. val ue of the ar matur e cur r ent i s al so
measured.
72
The gener ator power i s ei ther fed to a thr ee-phase r esi sti ve l oad or to a
frequency converter. The frequency converter consi sts of a three-phase di ode
recti fi er, a dc fi l ter and a thyri stor i nverter. I n the dc fi l ter the dc power as
wel l as the dc current and vol tage are measured.
I
a
n
g
I
E
U
a
I
f
A
P
V
A
V
A
P
a
T
g
U
f
T
n
DC
Three-phase
resi sti ve l oad
I
dr
U
d
P
U
I
P
d
Figure 3.7 The laboratory set-up with measurement instrumentation.
3.4.2 Parameter determination of the laboratory system
The per uni t quanti ti es ar e pr esented i n Tabl e 3.3 together wi th the
cor r espondi ng base val ues for the l abor ator y system. Note that the r ated
val ues of the system ar e used as base val ues, and the r ated val ues of the
generator can di ffer from these. There are al so two current base val ues: one
for the fi el d current and one for the armature current. Al l of the base val ues
i n Tabl e 3.3 can not be chosen i ndependentl y. The power, speed and armature
current base val ues can be chosen. Then the torque, fi el d current, fl ux l i nkage
and resi stance base val ues can be cal cul ated.
73
Table 3.3 The per unit quantities and their base values for the 50 kVA
generator.
Quanti ty Notati on Peruni t
quanti ty
Base
quanti ty
Baseval ue
Mechani cal power P
g
p
g
P
g N
47 438 W
Shaft speed n
g
n
g
' n
g N
1500 rpm
Armature current I
a
i
a
I
a N
78 A
Deri vedquanti ti es:
Shaft torque T
g
t
g

,
_
P
gN
n
gN
302 Nm
Fi el d current I
f
i
f
I
f N
19 A
Flux linkage

N
1.12 Vs
Armatureresi stance R
a
r
a

_
P
gN

I
2
aN
2.60
Fi el dresi stance R
f
r
f

_
P
gN
I
2
fN
122
Friction and windage losses
The fr i cti on and wi ndage l osses of the gener ator can be measur ed on an
el ectr i cal l y di sconnected machi ne. They ar e si mpl y measur ed as the i nput
shaft power at di fferent speeds i f there i s no magneti c fl ux i n the generator.
For the fri cti on and wi ndage l oss model , onl y the fri cti on and wi ndage braki ng
torque at rated speed and at standsti l l have to be measured.
I f the rotor can not be demagneti zed the fri cti on and wi ndage torque can be
found fr om no l oad measur ements at l ow magneti zati ons. The fr i cti on and
wi ndage br aki ng tor que for a cer tai n speed i s found by extr apol ati ng the
torque-vol tage curve to zero vol tage. I n Fi gure 3.8 a torque-vol tage curve for
1000rpm can be seen, i n whi ch the fri cti on torque at 1000rpm i s found as
the no-l oad torque extrapol ated to zero vol tage.
74
Armature vol tage (V)
N
o
-
l
o
a
d

t
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
T

(1000 rpm)
I
f
= 0 A
I
f
= 15 A
I
f
= 12.5 A
I
f
= 10 A
I
f
= 7.5 A
I
f
= 5 A
I
f
= 2.5 A
Figure 3.8 A no-load torque-voltage curve used to find the friction loss torque
at 1000 rpm for the 50 kVA generator.
I n Fi gure 3.9 the zero vol tage torque from a number of such curves has been
pl otted i n the same di agram to form the torque-speed curve for the fri cti on
and wi ndage l osses.
The standsti l l fri cti on torque can be found by extrapol ati ng the fri cti on and
wi ndage l oss tor que for l ow speeds down to zer o speed. For the 50kVA
generator the fri cti on and wi ndage parameters are
T
ss
= 0.468 Nm and T
N
= 1.694 Nm
(3.49)
t
ss
= 0.155 % and t
N
= 0.407 % (3.50)
Generator speed (rpm)
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

t
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
0 500 1000 1500
T
T
N
ss
75
Figure 3.9 The torque-speed points from measurements of the friction and
windage losses of the 50 kVA generator, and the model function
drawn as a line.
Core losses
Measur ements made at di ffer ent speeds ar e necessar y for separ ati ng the
hysteresi s l osses and the eddy current l osses. From no-l oad measurements
the core l osses can be cal cul ated as the i nput mechani cal power mi nus the
fr i cti on l osses. Fi r st the eddy cur r ent constant i s deter mi ned and then the
hysteresi s l oss torque i s determi ned.
To separate the hysteresi s l osses from the eddy current l osses the measured
total core l oss torque i s pl otted as a functi on of the generator speed for some
fi xed val ues of the fi el d current. At no l oad a fi xed fi el d current i s equal to a
fi xed fl ux l i nkage. The measured core l oss torque for the 50kVA generator i s
shown i n Fi gure 3.10. The hysteresi s torque can be determi ned i f the curve i s
extr apol ated to zer o speed. The speed dependency of the data shoul d for m
strai ght l i nes, accordi ng to Equati on (3.10). Fi gure 3.10 shows that the speed
dependency for hi gh fl ux i s not l i near , especi al l y not for l ow speeds of the
generator. But i f the model i s to be used i n a wi nd turbi ne generator system,
speeds bel ow 500rpm wi l l be of no i nterest. The curve fi t shoul d be made onl y
for the data between the l owest and the hi ghest speeds used i n that
parti cul ar wi nd turbi ne generator system.
Based on the measur ed data, i t i s possi bl e to get one val ue of the eddy
current constant for each val ue of the fl ux l i nkage (fi el d current). The eddy
cur r ent constant can for each fl ux l i nkage be cal cul ated by the fol l owi ng
equati on
C
Ft
() =
T
Fe
(,1500rpm)T
Fe
(,0rpm)
T
Fe
(,0rpm)
(3.51)
The val ue of the eddy current constant used i n the model i s the mean val ue of
the constants for the di fferent fl ux l i nkages. The resul ts can be found i n Tabl e
3.4. The mean val ue of the eddy current constant i s cal cul ated
C
Ft
= 0.44 (3.52)
76
Generator speed (rpm)
C
o
r
e

l
o
s
s

t
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 500 1000 1500
I
f
=25.0 A
I
f
=20.0 A
I
f
=15.0 A
I
f
=12.5 A
I
f
=10.0 A
I
f
= 7.5 A
I
f
= 5.0 A
I
f
= 2.5 A
Operati ng speed range
T
Fe
(,0 rpm)
T
Fe
(,1500 rpm)
Figure 3.10 The core loss torque of the 50 kVA generator versus the generator
speed for some fixed field currents.
The vari ati on i n the eddy current constant C
Ft
wi th fl ux l i nkage i s as l arge as
t25% accordi ng to Tabl e 3.4, but the resul ti ng error i n the total eddy current
factor (1+C
Ft
n
g
') i s much smal l er. I t i s l ess than 3.5% as can be seen i n
Fi gure3.11. Thi s smal l error i s achi eved by determi ni ng the hysteresi s torque
from the data i n the mi ddl e of the used speed range. The eddy current factor
i s then correct for that speed, here 1000 rpm.
Table 3.4 The eddy current constant for different flux linkages and the mean
value used.
I
f
(A)

(Vs)
T
Fe
(,1500 rpm)
(Nm)
T
Fe
(,0 rpm)
(Nm)
C
Ft
()
2.5 0.45 1.00 0.72 0.389
5.0 0.81 2.55 1.78 0.431
7.5 0.99 3.64 2.54 0.433
10.0 1.07 4.39 2.86 0.536
15.0 1.13 5.24 3.36 0.536
20.0 1.23 7.78 5.58 0.394
25.0 1.27 9.47 7.12 0.330
mean val ue
0.44
77
Generator speed (rpm)
E
d
d
y

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

f
a
c
t
o
r
1
1,2
1,4
0 500 1000 1500
C
C
C
Ft mi n
Ft max
Ft
Figure 3.11 The error of the eddy current factor.
To fi nd the rel ati on between the hysteresi s l oss torque and the fl ux l i nkage,
the cor e l oss tor que fr om the measur ement above i s used. The cor e l oss
torque i s pl otted versus the fl ux for one speed. The speed that shoul d be used
i s the one i n the mi ddl e of the used speed range of the wi nd turbi ne generator
system. Thi s i s neccesary i n order to reduce the error of assumi ng that al l the
torque-speed l i nes have the same sl ope. For the 50kVA generator the speed
r ange i s 500 to 1500 r pm, and the hyster esi s l oss tor que i s ther efor e
approxi mated from the l oss torque at 1000 rpm. To reduce the absol ute error,
the val ues of the core l oss torque shoul d be taken from the strai ght l i nes that
al ready have been used to approxi mate the eddy current factor, not directly
from measurements at 1000 rpm. The chosen core l oss torque val ues do not
onl y contai n the hysteresi s torque but al so the eddy current torque, i n thi s
case the eddy cur r ent tor que of 1000r pm. The eddy cur r ent l oss tor que i s
excl uded befor e the cur ve fi t i s made by usi ng the for mul a for the r el ati on
between hysteresi s l osses and eddy current l osses at di fferent speeds
T
Hy
() =
T
Fe
(,1000r pm)

,
_
1+0.44
1000rpm
1500r pm
(3.53)
After the di vi si on by the eddy cur r ent factor the hyster esi s l osses at r ated
fl ux l i nkage can be found. The measured hysteresi s l oss torque as wel l as the
model of i t i s shown i n Fi gure 3.12. The hysteresi s l oss torque may have a
very steep i ncrease when the fl ux exceeds the rated fl ux l i nkage.
78
The model parameter for the hysteresi s l oss torque of the 50 kVA generator
is
T
Hy N
= 3.47 Nm (3.54)
and i n per uni t the hysteresi s l oss torque i s
t
Hy N
= 1.15 % (3.55)
The parameter t
Fe N
for the model can now be cal cul ated
t
Fe N
= t
Hy N
( 1 + C
Ft
) = 1.15 % ( 1 + 0.44 ) = 1.656 % (3.56)
Generator fl ux l i nkage (Vs)
H
y
s
t
e
r
e
s
i
s

t
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
m
)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0,00 0,25 0,50 0,75 1,00 1,25
Rated
flux
Fe N
t
Figure 3.12 The model of and the measured hysteresis loss torque.
Armature resistance
For the 50 kVA generator the armature resi stance i s 66 m per phase. The
r esi sti ve l osses can then be expr essed i n per uni t of the r ated gener ator
power as
r
a
=
P
cuaN
P
gN
=
3R
a
I
aN
2
P
gN
= 2.54 % (3.57)
79
Field winding resistance
For the 50 kVA generator the fi el d wi ndi ng resi stance i s 1.37 whi ch make
the per uni t fi el d wi ndi ng resi stance
r
f
=
P
cufN
P
gN
=
R
f
I
fN
2
P
gN
= 1.04 % (3.58)
Exciter rotor resistance
The per phase r esi stance of the exci ter ar matur e was measur ed by
di sconnecti ng the rotati ng di ode recti fi er
R
a E
= 0.135 (3.59)
r
a E
=
P
cuEN
P
gN
=
2R
aE
I
fN
2
P
gN
= 0.21 % (3.60)
Additional losses
The addi ti onal l osses i n the gener ator ar e smal l er than the measur ement
accur acy of the l abor ator y system, whi ch makes i t di ffi cul t to tr ace them
from si ngl e measurements. I nstead the error of the l oss model i s pl otted as a
functi on of armature current, when no addi ti onal l osses are i ncl uded i n the
model . At resi sti ve l oad no systemati c correl ati on i s found between the error
of the model and the armature current, see Fi gure 3.13. Thus the addi ti onal
l osses can be assumed to be cl ose to zero.
Armature current (A)
P
o
w
e
r

e
r
r
o
r

(
W
)
-500
-250
0
250
500
20 40 60 80
Figure 3.13 The model error at resistive load, when additional losses are not
modelled.
80
The addi ti onal l osses at di ode l oad ar e al so smal l compar ed wi th the
measurement accuracy and can not be exactl y determi ned, see Fi gure3.14.
Measurements at 1500 rpm show that the addi ti onal l osses can be esti mated
to about 320W at rated armature current. The addi ti onal l osses at di ode l oad
can be represented by an equi val ent armature resi stance
r
ad
=
P
adN
P
gN
= 0.67 % (3.61)
Dc current (A)
A
d
d
i
t
i
o
n
a
l

l
o
s
s
e
s

(
W
)
-1200,0
-900,0
-600,0
-300,0
0,0
300,0
25 50 75 100
P
ad N
Figure 3.14 The model error at diode load, when additional losses are not
modelled. The additional losses can be found as the current-
dependent part of the loss model error. An approximation of the
additional losses is also shown as a line.
Error in the model for the 50 kVA generator
The total error i n percent of the rated power i s, accordi ng to Equati on (3.42)

P
l oss
P
N
= (0.14% + 0.50%) n
g
'+ (0.51% + 0.34%) i
a
2
+ 0.21% i
f
2
(3.62)
The error expressed as a percentage of the rated shaft torque i s, accordi ng to
Equati on (3.43)

T
l oss
T
N
= 0.14 % + 0.50 % +
1
n
g
'

[ ]
( )
0.51%+0.34% i
a
2
+0.21%i
f
2
(3.63)
81
The maxi mum er r or i n the l oss model i s, for the 50kVA gener ator , about
1.7% of the rated generator power at rated l oad. The error of the cal cul ated
shaft torque i s al so 1.7% of the rated shaft torque.
3.4.3 Verification of the exciter losses
I n Fi gure 3.15 the exci ter l osses pl us fi el d wi ndi ng l osses have been cal cul ated
from the measurements. I t can be seen that onl y the resi sti ve l osses i n the
rotor must be i ncl uded i n the model .
Fi el d current (A)
R
o
t
o
r

a
n
d

e
x
c
i
t
e
r

l
o
s
s
e
s
(
W
)
0
500
1000
1500
0 10 20 30
Exci ter and
rotor l osses
Cal cul ated
resi sti ve
rotor l osses
Figure 3.15 The losses of the exciter and main field winding versus main field
current.
3.4.4 Model error at resistive load
To fi nd out how accurate the l oss model i s, fi rst the error between the model
and the measured l osses i s cal cul ated for the generator wi th resi sti ve l oad. I n
the next secti on the same compari son i s made for the generator l oaded by a
diode rectifier.
The l osses are measured at al l the combi nati ons of fi ve di fferent generator
speeds, fi ve di ffer ent ar matur e cur r ents and fi ve di ffer ent gener ator fl ux
l i nkages. That i s a total of 125 di ffer ent l oad combi nati ons that cover al l
possi bl e l oadi ngs of the gener ator . For each measur ement the gener ator
speed, shaft tor que, fi el d cur r ent, fi el d wi ndi ng vol tage, ar matur e vol tage,
armature current and el ectri cal output power are measured. The model error
i s defi ned as the shaft power or tor que pr edi cted by the model mi nus the
measured shaft power or torque.
82
For the resi sti vl y l oaded generator no addi ti onal l osses are i ncl uded i n the
model . The tor que er r or i s al ways l ess than the total measur ement er r or ,
t3Nm. So, just by l ooki ng at the magni tude of the error i t can not be judged
whether the er r or depends on the model or the i naccur acy of the
measur ement. But i f the er r or i s pl otted ver sus for i nstance the gener ator
current, the generator fl ux l i nkage or the speed i t wi l l be possi bl e to see i f
ther e ar e any cor r el ati on between the er r or s and di ffer ent quanti ti es. By
l ooki ng at how the error changes wi th a certai n quanti ty, i t shows i f there are
systemati c errors even i f those errors are smal l er than the stochasti c ones.
The model torque error i s pl otted versus the generator shaft speed. I t can be
seen that the magni tude of the error i s al most i ndependent of the speed, see
Fi gure 3.16. The mean val ue of the model error i s not perfectl y zero for al l
speeds but i t i s such a smal l cor r el ati on to the speed that i t i s wel l wi thi n
what shoul d be expected.
Generator speed (rpm)
T
o
r
q
u
e

e
r
r
o
r

(
N
m
)
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
500 1000 1500 2000
Figure 3.16 The torque error at resistive load and at different generator speeds.
The er r or pl otted ver sus the gener ator fl ux l i nkage, Fi gur e 3.17, shows a
defi ni te correl ati on between the error and the fl ux l i nkage. At l ow generator
fl ux l i nkage the model underesti mates the l osses and at hi gh fl ux l i nkage i t
over esti mates them. Thi s i s pr obabl y di ffi cul t to cor r ect wi thout a l ot of
cal cul ati ons for each new generator to be model l ed. However, the error i s al so
here smal l and wel l wi thi n the desi red accuracy of the model .
83
Fl ux l i nkage (Vs)
T
o
r
q
u
e

e
r
r
o
r

(
N
m
)
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
0 0,25 0,5 0,75 1 1,25
Figure 3.17 The torque error at resistive load and at different generator flux
linkages.
I t can be seen, i n Fi gure 3.18, that the si ze of the power error i s to a l arge
extent dependi ng on the armature current but the mean val ue of the error i s
cl ose to zero for al l currents, so the model can not be corrected by changi ng
for i nstance the resi stance val ue.
Armature current (A)
P
o
w
e
r

e
r
r
o
r

(
W
)
-500
-250
0
250
500
20 40 60 80
Figure 3.18 The power error at resistive load and at different armature
currents.
Al l the model and measurement errors wi th resi sti ve l oad are l ess than 3Nm
whi ch i s about 1% of the rated torque or or 500W whi ch i s about 1% of the
rated power. The measurement errors can amount to 1% so i t i s not possi bl e
to say how l arge the actual model error i s.
84
3.4.5 Model error at diode load
When the generator i s l oaded by a di ode recti fi er the l osses i ncrease a l i ttl e
compar ed wi th r esi sti ve l oad. The i ncr ease i s expected, si nce ther e wi l l be
l osses i n the damper wi ndi ngs that do not occur at resi sti ve l oad. There wi l l
al so be more harmoni cs i n the stator current l eadi ng to hi gher copper l osses.
Because of the l ar ger pr opor ti on of hi gh fr equency components i n the fl ux
di stri buti on the eddy current l osses i ncrease more than the hysteresi s l osses.
At resi sti ve l oad the addi ti onal l osses are l ow enough to be negl ected. To take
the addi ti onal l osses i nto account at di ode l oad the model now i ncl udes a
fi cti ti ous armature resi stance representi ng the addi ti onal l osses. The error of
the cal cul ated shaft tor que i s pl otted for di ffer ent speeds, dc cur r ent, and
generator fl ux l i nkage.
Fi gure 3.19 show the model torque error for some speeds, i t can be seen that
the error changes wi th the speed. The l oss model underesti mates the l osses
at hi gher speeds whi ch i ndi cates that the eddy current l osses have i ncreased
compared wi th no-l oad. The speed dependence of the error i s l arger than that
at resi sti ve l oad: compare Fi gures3.16 and 3.19.
Generator speed (rpm)
T
o
r
q
u
e

e
r
r
o
r

(
N
m
)
-6,0
-3,0
0,0
3,0
6,0
500 1000 1500 2000

Figure 3.19 The torque error at diode load and at different generator speeds.
Fi gure 3.20 shows no si mpl e correl ati on between the generator fl ux l i nkage
and the torque error. The correl ati on i s di fferent from that at resi sti ve l oad,
compare Fi gures 3.17 and 3.20. The di fference may depend onl y on the fact
that there are di fferent ways of cal cul ati ng the fl ux l i nkage wi th resi sti ve l oad
and with diode load.
85
Fl ux l i nkage (Vs)
T
o
r
q
u
e

e
r
r
o
r

(
N
m
)
-6,0
-3,0
0,0
3,0
6,0
0 0,25 0,5 0,75 1 1,25
Figure 3.20 The torque error at diode load and at different generator flux
linkages.
The armature current cl earl y effect the magni tude of the power error i n the
same way as i t does at r esi sti ve l oad, compar e Fi gur es 3.18 and 3.21.
Al though the addi ti onal l osses ar e taken i nto account, the model i s not as
accur ate at di ode l oad as i t i s at r esi sti ve l oad. The total er r or when
compari ng model and measurements i s, for a di ode-l oaded generator, up to
2% of the rated power or torque. The measurement error can contri bute wi th
no more than 1%.
Dc current (A)
P
o
w
e
r

e
r
r
o
r

(
W
)
-900,0
-600,0
-300,0
0,0
300,0
25 50 75 100
Figure 3.21 The error in estimated power at different dc currents.
3.4.6 Error in the torque control
The l oss model can be used for torque control of the generator. The error of
such a torque control i s easi est found i f the torque error of the model i s pl otted
wi th the measured shaft torque as a parameter. Si nce the model i s i ntended
86
for use i n a vari abl e speed wi nd turbi ne generator system onl y the error at
di ode l oad i s presented here. I n Fi gure 3.22 the torque error i s pl otted for al l
possi bl e combi nati ons of speed, armature current and fl ux l i nkages.
Shaft torque (Nm)
T
o
r
q
u
e

e
r
r
o
r

(
N
m
)
-6,0
-3,0
0,0
3,0
6,0
100 200 300

Figure 3.22 The error, at diode load, in the calculated torque compared with
the actual torque, for all possible combinations of speed, armature
current and flux linkages.
I n thi s compar i son of tor que er r or ver sus shaft tor que the er r or i s al most
zero at zero torque, but thi s i s because the parameters for the fri cti on l osses
and cor e l osses ar e measur ed. I f they wer e esti mated wi th an er r or , that
woul d show as an offset error at zero shaft torque. The error decreases for l ow
shaft torque, but not l i nearl y wi th the torque. Thi s means that the total error
wi l l never be mor e than about 2% of the r ated gener ator tor que but the
rel ati ve torque error can be l arger than 2% at part l oad.
I n a wi nd tur bi ne gener ator system not al l of the above measur ed l oad
combi nati ons are real i sti c. For i nstance, hi gh current at hi gh fl ux l i nkage and
l ow speed wi l l never occur. Si nce the most extrem l oad combi nati ons have the
l argest errors i t i s i nteresti ng to fi nd the error of onl y the l oad combi nati ons
that wi l l be used i n a wi nd tur bi ne gener ator system. These l oad
combi nati ons fol l ow the tor que-speed cur ve of the opti mum l oad of a wi nd
turbi ne. For wi nd turbi ne l oads i t can be seen that the model error i s general l y
smal l er than for other l oadi ngs, see Fi gure 3.23. Large errors onl y occur wi th
l ow fl ux l i nkage combi ned wi th hi gh cur r ent, pr obabl y due to ar matur e
reacti on effects. I f these l ow magneti zati ons are avoi ded the maxi mum error
wi l l be l ess than 1% percent for the 50 kVA generator.
87
Shaft torque (Nm)
T
o
r
q
u
e

e
r
r
o
r

(
N
m
)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
100 200 300
Normal fl ux l i nkage
Low flux linkage and high
armature reacti on
Figure 3.23 The torque error of the model with normal wind turbine loads.
Normal flux linkage(filled dots) and low flux linkage and high
armature reaction(unfilled dots).
3.5 Model for the 300 kW design example
I n the fol l owi ng chapters, the l oss model i s used i n the desi gn of the system
and to cal cul ate the aver age effi ci ency of the gener ator and conver ter
system. These cal cul ati ons are made for the 300kW desi gn exampl e system
and here the parameters for that system are deri ved.
3.5.1 Generator parameters
For the 300 kW gener ator wi th exci ter the l oss model can be deter mi ned
mai nl y by data from the manufacturer [12], but al so wi th esti mati ons based
on scal i ng of known data. I n Tabl e 3.5 the 50 and 60Hz data fr om the
generator manufacturer are presented. The data are al so recal cul ated for the
l ower r ated cur r ent and vol tage used i n the desi gn exampl e system. Some
parameters have onl y been esti mated.
The par ameter s of the si mpl i fi ed l oss model for the 300 kW gener ator can
now be deter mi ned. The fr i cti on and wi ndage tor que par ameter s ar e
esti mated to
t
N
= 0.66 % (esti mated) (3.64)
t
ss
= 0.22 % (esti mated) (3.65)
88
Table 3.5 Data for the design example generator. Data are available for
class H loading at 50 and 60 Hz and those are recalculated for the
ratings used in the design example.
Data for
synchronous gen.
LSA 47.5 M4
50 Hz
1500 rpm
60 Hz
1800 rpm
desi gn exampl e
1800 rpm
Temperature ri se cl ass H cl ass H cl ass B
S
a N
350 kVA 420 kVA 334 kVA
P
g N
320 kW
I
a N
505 A 505 A 410 A
U
a N
/ n
N
400 V/1500
rpm
480 V/1800
rpm
475 V/1800
rpm
P
l oss 0
(No l oad l osses) 5400 W 7600 W 7600 W
x
d
" 13.7 % 14.3 % 11.7 %
x
q
" 17.4 % 18.1 % 14.8 %
R
a
(at 50C)
0.0128 0.0128 0.0128
x
s
x
d
355 % 370 % 304 %
Esti mated l osses:
n
gN
T
N
1480 W / 0.4 % 2100 W / 0.48 % 2100 W / 0.66
%
P
ad N
1940 W / 0.52
%
1940 W / 0.44 % 1280 W / 0.4 %
P
Cu f N
4200 W / 1.2 % 4200 W / 0.95 % 2900 W / 0.9 %
The fi el d wi ndi ng l osses at no l oad are very smal l even at rated fl ux. The l arge
synchr onous r eactance makes the no l oad fi el d cur r ent onl y about 25% of
the rated fi el d current. Therefore, the fi el d wi ndi ng l osses at no l oad, p
Cu f 0
,
are onl y 6% of the fi el d wi ndi ng l osses at rated l oad and they are negl ected.
The core l oss torque at rated fl ux can be determi ned approxi matel y from the
no l oad l osses as
t
Fe N
=
p
l oss0
p
Cuf0
n'
gN

t
N
=
{ }
p
Cuf0
0 1.72 % (3.66)
No val ue of C
Ft
has been found and for thi s exampl e i t i s esti mated to be
C
Ft
= 0.5 (esti mated) (3.67)
89
r
a
=
3R
a
I
aN
2

P
gN
= 2.02 % (3.68)
r
ad
=
P
adN

P
gN
= 0.40 % (esti mated) (3.69)
r
f
=
P
CufN

P
gN
= 0.90 % (3.70)
R
r com
=
1
2
x
r com
=
1
2

x
d
"+x
q
"
2
= 6.58 % (3.71)
x
s
= 304 % (3.72)
3.5.2 Converter parameters
For the desi gn exampl e system the converter l osses are i n Chapter 2 found to
be
p
l oss c
(i
d
) = 0.12 % + (0.52+0.33) % i
d
+ (0.10+0.70+0.17) % i
d
2
(3.73)
The converter effi ci ency at rated l oad i s 98 %.
3.5.3 Gear parameters
A gear i n the 300 kW r ange woul d have gear mesh l osses of about 1% for
each stage and fri cti on l osses of about 0.5% at rated l oad and at rated speed.
I n thi s model the gear fri cti on torque i s assumed to be constant. The braki ng
torque of the gear l osses, for a gearbox of 97% rated effi ci ency, i s
t
l oss gear
(t
t
) = 0.5 % + 2.5 % t
t
(3.74)
where t
t
i s the turbi ne shaft torque i n per uni t.
90
4 The use of the loss model in control and design
I n thi s chapter, the system effi ci ency i s opti mi zed. The model of l osses i n the
generator and converter can be used to maxi mi ze the effi ci ency of the system
dur i ng oper ati on. The system desi gn can al so be opti mi zed by compar i ng
di fferent generators of vari ous rated power and rated speed.
4.1 Optimum generator voltage control
The fr equency conver ter does not onl y al l ow var i ati ons i n the gener ator
frequency. I t al so al l ows vari ati ons of the generator vol tage. I n a wi nd turbi ne
generator system the opti mum shaft torque i s pre-determi ned as a functi on
of speed. The opti mum tor que can, however , be obtai ned by di ffer ent
combi nati ons of generator current and vol tage. Thi s control possi bi l i ty can be
used to mi ni mi ze the generator and converter l osses by means of the vol tage
control .
The maxi mum al l owed generator vol tage i s l i mi ted by the i nverter ac vol tage
at ful l l oad and at l ow l oad and l ow speed by the maxi mum al l owed generator
fl ux. At ful l l oad the generator vol tage i s l i mi ted to 90% of the i nverter ac
vol tage to i nsure safe commutati on of the i nverter. At l ow l oad and l ow speed
the generator fl ux has to be l ower than 105% of the rated generator fl ux and
thi s l i mi ts the generator vol tage. Accordi ng to standards the generator must
be abl e to conti nuousl y operate at a fl ux 5% hi gher than the rated val ue [13].
On the other hand, the gener ator vol tage may not be so l ow that the
ar matur e cur r ent i ncr eases above i ts r ated val ue. Wi thi n these l i mi ts, the
vol tage can be control l ed freel y.
The gener ator cor e l osses decr ease wi th decr easi ng fl ux and the ar matur e
copper l osses decrease wi th decreasi ng current. Al so the fi el d wi ndi ng l osses
change wi th the fl ux. I f the ar matur e r eacti on i s smal l , the fi el d wi ndi ng
l osses wi l l decrease wi th decreasi ng vol tage, and i f i t i s hi gh the fi el d wi ndi ng
l osses wi l l i ncr ease wi th decr eased vol tage. The i ncr ease i n fi el d wi ndi ng
l osses at hi gh ar matur e r eacti on occur s because the fi el d cur r ent must
i ncr ease to bal ance the i ncr easi ng ar matur e cur r ents even though the
vol tage i s decr eased. Al so the effi ci ency of the conver ter changes wi th the
vol tage. Si nce most of the l osses ar e due to vol tage dr ops of the
semi conductors and resi sti ve vol tage drops of the dc fi l ter, the l osses i ncrease
wi th i ncreasi ng current. For a fi xed power the converter l osses thus i ncrease
wi th decr easi ng vol tage. The gener ator vol tage shoul d be contr ol l ed to
91
mi ni mi ze the sum of cor e l osses, fi el d wi ndi ng l osses, copper l osses and
converter l osses, see Fi gure 4.1.
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Dc vol tage (p.u.)
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

a
n
d

c
o
n
v
e
r
t
e
r

l
o
s
s
e
s

(
p
.
u
.
)
Total l osses
Armature l osses
Converter l osses
Fi el d wi ndi ng
l osses
Core l osses
Opti mum
vol tage
Figure 4.1 The core losses, field winding losses, armature copper losses,
converter losses and the total losses versus dc voltage at a fixed
speed and power.
I n Fi gur e 4.2 the total gener ator and conver ter effi ci ency ver sus the i nput
power of the generator can be seen both when an opti mi zed vol tage control i s
used and when the fl ux i s kept constant at the rated fl ux.
Fr om the l oss model the opti mum vol tage-speed cur ve can be cal cul ated
theor eti cal l y. Thi s cur ve i s together wi th the vol tage l i mi ts shown i n
Fi gure4.3. I f l ow vol tages are used, there may be probl ems wi th the vol tage
contr ol even i f the cur r ent i s not hi gher than the r ated cur r ent. These
pr obl ems ar i se because the ar matur e r eacti on eventual l y becomes
domi nati ng i n the generator vol tage control . Normal l y, the vol tage i s reduced
by r educi ng the fi el d cur r ent. At the same ti me, the ar matur e cur r ent i s
i ncreased to keep the shaft torque constant. But, i f the armature reacti on i s
l ar ge, i t may be necessar y to r ai se the fi el d cur r ent when the ar matur e
current i s i ncreased even though the vol tage i s reduced. The coupl i ng between
the vol tage control and the current control may i n that case cause probl ems.
92
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Generator i nput power (p.u.)
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

a
n
d

c
o
n
v
e
r
t
e
r













e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
Opti mi zed vol tage control
Constant rated fl ux
Figure 4.2 The generator and converter efficiency versus generator input
power using an optimized voltage control and using constant
rated flux.
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Wi nd speed (p.u.)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

v
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
p
.
u
.
)
Maxi mum vol tage
Mi ni mum vol tage
Vol tage at maxi mum effi ci ency
Figure 4.3 The maximum, optimum and minimum voltage of the generator
in a variable speed wind turbine generator system.
4.2 Efficiency as a function of generator size
The generator rati ng shoul d be chosen to mi ni mi ze the total cost of both the
generator and i ts l osses. A l arge generator may be the most economi c choi ce,
even though i t i s more expensi ve, i f i t i s more effi ci ent.
93
When compari ng data for di fferent si zes of the same generator type, e.g. for
Leroy Somer generators [12], i t can be seen that the di fferent per uni t l osses
do not al ways decrease when the si ze of the generator i ncreases, because the
generators are made i n di fferent standard frame si zes. I ncreasi ng the rated
effi ci ency i s not al ways done by i ncreasi ng the generator frame si ze. When
compar i ng the l osses between two cl ose gener ator si zes the smal l er
gener ator may, ther efor e, someti mes have l ower ar matur e r esi stance
al though i ts rated current i s smal l er. But onl y on very rare occasi ons i t can
be found that a gener ator has a l ower r ated effi ci ency than one that i s
smal l er.
The effi ci ency of thr ee gener ator s of di ffer ent si zes i s compar ed. I t i s
assumed that they have the same effi ci ency at thei r r especti ve r ated
power s. The gener ator si zes ar e chosen so that one gener ator wi l l have a
r ated power of onl y 80% of the wi nd tur bi ne gener ator system maxi mum
power . The r ated power of the next gener ator i s 100% and of the l ast
generator 120% of the maxi mum turbi ne power. I n Fi gure 4.4 the effi ci ency
i s pl otted and i t i s cl ear that an over si zed gener ator does not have hi gher
effi ci ency i f the per uni t l osses are equal . An undersi zed generator has the
hi ghest effi ci ency but i t can of cour se not be used because i t wi l l be
overl oaded. A l arger generator wi l l gi ve a hi gher effi ci ency onl y i f the i ncrease
of r ated effi ci ency i s l ar ger than the decr ease i n effi ci ency by r educi ng the
gener ator per uni t l oad. At a cer tai n power the di ffer ence i n effi ci ency
between generators of di fferent si zes can general l y be expected to be smal l .
An other reason to use a l arger generator than necessary woul d be, besi des a
hi gher generator effi ci ency, that the i nsul ati on l i mi t the generator l i fe. Si nce
the gener ator i n a wi nd tur bi ne gener ator system shoul d have a ver y l ong
operati onal l i fe compared wi th many motor appl i cati ons, the rati ng for the
temperature cl ass H or F may be too hi gh l eadi ng to i sol ati on fai l ure after
l ess than 20 to 30 year . A gener ator , made wi th cl assH i nsul ati on, can
i nstead be used wi th a r ated power that onl y l eads to temper atur e r i ses
accordi ng to cl ass B to i ncrease the l i fe of the i nsul ati on. Thi s i s the same as
usi ng a l arger generator for a speci fi c power.
94
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Generator i nput power (p.u.)
0.88
0.89
0.9
0.91
0.92
0.93
0.94
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
20% l arger generator
Normal generator si ze
20% smal l er generator
Figure 4.4 The efficiency of generators of different rated power.
4.3 Optimum generator speed
For network-connected ac generators onl y some few fi xed speeds can be used.
These speeds are determi ned by the network frequency and the number of
pol e pai r s of the gener ator . For a 50Hz networ k the avai l abl e speeds ar e
3000, 1500, 1000, 750rpm and l ower.
For a var i abl e-speed wi nd tur bi ne gener ator system the choi ce of the
gener ator speed i s not r estr i cted to a choi ce of pol e pai r number . The
fr equency of the gener ator can al so be chosen fr eel y whi ch al l ows any
gener ator speed. For i nstance, a four -pol e gener ator can ei ther be used at
1200r pm and a fr equency of 40Hz or at 1800r pm and 60Hz. A si x-pol e
generator can al so be used at 1800 rpm and the frequency i s then 90Hz.
Even though the turbi ne speed i s determi ned by i ts opti mum ti p-speed rati o,
the speed of the gener ator can be changed by usi ng di ffer ent gear r ati os.
Fr om the l oss model i t can be found how the effi ci ency change wi th the
generator speed. The change i n effi ci ency when the speed i s changed depend
on how the power and gener ator fl ux ar e changed wi th the speed. Two
compari sons are made. Fi rst the generator effi ci ency i s cal cul ated at vari ous
speeds but at constant power and secondl y the gener ator effi ci ency i s
cal cul ated when i t i s l oaded as much as possi bl e at each speed.
95
When the power of the gener ator i s the same at al l di ffer ent speeds the
armature vol tage can be kept constant. I f the vol tage i s constant, the fl ux of
the generator wi l l be approxi matel y i nversel y proporti onal to the speed of the
gener ator . The power bei ng constant as wel l as the vol tage l eads to a
constant armature current. The fri cti on and wi ndage l osses i ncrease al most
by the speed r ai sed to a power of thr ee. Ar matur e wi ndi ng copper l osses
r emai n constant i n thi s exampl e si nce the cur r ent i s constant. The fl ux i s,
however, reduced whi ch reduces the hysteresi s l osses. Al so the eddy current
l osses ar e r educed but not as much as the hyster esi s l osses. Fi el d wi ndi ng
l osses are reduced too, because of the reduced fl ux.
The effi ci ency can, however, be better opti mi zed by control l i ng the vol tage to
maxi mi ze the effi ci ency for each gener ator speed. Cal cul ati ons on the
effi ci ency wi th thi s type of contr ol ar e al so made. The ar matur e cur r ent i s
now decreased a l i ttl e as the speed i ncrease si nce the vol tage may i ncrease.
Not onl y the cor e l osses and fi el d wi ndi ng l osses decr ease but al so the
armature copper l osses.
The l oss model of the generator i s used to cal cul ate the effi ci ency versus the
speed of the generator at a fi xed i nput power. The resul ti ng effi ci ency for the
50 kVA gener ator used at a constant vol tage or at a vol tage contr ol l ed to
maxi mi ze the effi ci ency can be seen i n Fi gure 4.5.
1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Generator speed (p.u.)
0.91
0.92
0.93
0.94
0.95
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
Maxi mum effi ci ency
Constant vol tage
Figure 4.5 The theoretical efficiency of the 50 kVA generator at a constant
power.
96
I n the di agram i t can be seen that the effi ci ency of the 50 kVA generator at
di ode l oad has i ts peak val ue for a speed of 1.1 p.u., i f the vol tage and power
ar e both kept constant. The effi ci ency i s then 93.7%. I f the effi ci ency i s
opti mi zed by r ai si ng the vol tage, the effi ci ency can be even hi gher , 94.1%,
and have i ts peak val ue at 1.25 p.u. speed. I t i s cl ear that the gener ator
speed shoul d be kept hi gh to i ncrease effi ci ency. A real i sti c l i mi t i s probabl y
1800 rpm, that i s equal to 1.2 p.u.
The speed dependency of the generator effi ci ency wi l l not be the same i f the
power of the generator i s al l owed to i ncrease wi th the speed, see Fi gure4.6.
Thi s cal cul ati on i s i nteresti ng because i t shows how the generator effi ci ency
changes i f the generator i s al ways maxi mal l y uti l i zed. To avoi d overcurrent i n
the wi ndi ngs the vol tage must at l east be r ai sed pr opor ti onal l y to the
generator speed, correspondi ng to a constant fl ux.
1 1.5 2 2.5
Generator speed (p.u.)
0.91
0.92
0.93
0.94
0.95
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
Maxi mum effi ci ency
Constant fl ux
Figure 4.6 The theoretical maximum efficiency of the 50 kVA generator at its
maximum power.
I f the generator i s ful l y uti l i zed, the effi ci ency wi l l be even hi gher than i f the
power i s kept at i ts r ated val ue for 1500 r pm. The maxi mum effi ci ency i s
94.6% but i t i s at a speed far too hi gh for ordi nary generators, 2.2 p.u. Usi ng
rated generator fl ux the maxi mum generator effi ci ency i s onl y sl i ghtl y l ower
and at a speed of 2.05 p.u. These theoreti cal maxi mum effi ci enci es cannot be
reached because the generator wi l l be overl oaded. I t i s, however, cl ear that a
hi gh speed and a hi gh uti l i zati on i ncrease generator effi ci ency.
The r esul ts above show how the gener ator effi ci ency changes wi th the
generator speed. The converter effi ci ency does not depend on the speed of the
97
generator, onl y on the rated vol tage. The rated vol tage i s determi ned by the
networ k vol tage and ther efor e the conver ter effi ci ency i s not dependi ng
di rectl y on the rated speed of the generator. The change i n rated generator
speed must i nstead be compensated by changi ng the vol tage r ati ng of the
generator wi ndi ngs to fi t the converter vol tage. The theoreti cal generator and
converter effi ci ency i s pl otted for di fferent generator speeds i n Fi gure4.7.
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Generator i nput power (p.u.)
0.82
0.84
0.86
0.88
0.9
0.92
0.94
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

a
n
d

c
o
n
v
e
r
t
e
r













e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
= 0 - 1.2 p.u.
= 0 - 1.0 p.u.
= 0 - 0.8 p.u.
n'
n'
n'
Figure 4.7 The maximum theoretical efficiency of the 50 kVA generator and
converter system for various rated speeds.
To ver i fy what di ffer ence the gener ator speed makes, the effi ci ency of the
generator and converter system was measured usi ng speed-power functi ons
r epr esenti ng thr ee di ffer ent gear r ati os. The maxi mum speeds wer e 1393
rpm, 1500 rpm and 1700 rpm and the maxi mum power were 42.1 kW for al l
three gear rati os. The maxi mum effi ci ency of the el ectri cal system for these
three gear rati os i s compared i n Fi gure 4.8.
I t i s al so cl ear fr om these measur ements that the effi ci ency of a gener ator
conver ter system i ncr eases i f hi gher gener ator speed can be used. The
di fference i n effi ci ency i s about 1% for the 50 kVA system when compari ng
1500 r pm wi th 1700 r pm. Thi s di ffer ence between di ffer ent speeds i s ver y
l ar ge, mai nl y because of the l ow effi ci ency of the l abor ator y conver ter . A
more effi ci ent generator converter system wi l l al so have hi gher effi ci ency at
hi gher speed, but the di fference shoul d not be expected to be l arger than some
tenths of a percent.
98
Power to the gri d (W)
T
o
t
a
l

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
0,8
0,85
0,9
0 10000 20000 30000 40000
500-1393 r pm
500-1500 r pm
567-1700 r pm
Figure 4.8 The measured maximum efficiency of the 50 kVA generator and
converter system for three different gear ratios.
99
5 Comparison of constant and variable speed
I n thi s chapter the per uni t model i s used to fi nd the power from di fferent
par ts of the wi nd conver ter system as functi ons of wi nd speed. These
functi ons are used to see how the l osses change wi th the control strategi es.
Constant-speed and two-speed oper ati on of the tur bi ne ar e compar ed to
vari abl e speed. For the vari abl e-speed operati on two di fferent rated speeds
and two di fferent vol tage control s are consi dered.
By usi ng a wi nd di str i buti on model the annual ener gy passi ng thr ough
di fferent parts of the system can be found. From these annual energy val ues,
the average effi ci ency of the gear, the generator and the total mechani cal to
el ectr i cal power conver ti on i s cal cul ated. Al so appr oxi mate val ues of the
di fference i n energy producti on between a constant-speed, a two-speed and a
vari abl e-speed turbi ne are cal cul ated. Al l these effi ci enci es and the energy
producti on are cal cul ated for turbi ne si tes wi th vari ous medi an wi nd speeds,
from 0.35 p.u. to 0.70 p.u.
Thi s compar i son i s based on equal l y effi ci ent gener ator s for the var i abl e-
speed and the constant-speed systems. The di ffer ences between the
gener ator s i n the two systems ar e that the var i abl e-speed gener ator has
addi ti onal l osses and a commutati on vol tage drop due to the di ode recti fi er.
5.1 The per unit turbine model
The cal cul ati ons are made for the 300kW desi gn exampl e system. For these
cal cul ati ons onl y a few of the quanti ti es used i n Chapter 3 are needed. The
quanti ti es used are shown i n Fi gure5.1. The power val ues are i n thi s chapter
al ways r el ated to the tur bi ne shaft power at r ated oper ati on. Thi s i s
i mpor tant when the par ameter s for the model ar e deter mi ned, si nce the
l osses of the gener ator and conver ter ar e not i n per uni t of the r ated
gener ator and conver ter power . The r eason for thi s i s that the total l osses
shoul d be the sum of the per uni t l osses i n the di fferent components. Val ues
of the l oss parameters i n Chapter 3 are al l rel ated to the rated power of the
descri bed component. Now, they wi l l be a l i ttl e smal l er si nce the l osses are
r el ated to a l ar ger power . I n Tabl e 5.1 the per uni t quanti ti es used i n the
cal cul ati ons ar e shown. To separ ate the di ffer ent contr ol str ategi es the
i ndi ces i n Tabl e 5.2 are added to the quanti ty names.
100
n'
t
= n' = n'
g
p
t
p
g
p
a
p
i
v
u
a
Figure 5.1 The quantities used in the per unit calculations in Chapter5.
Table 5.1 Per unit quantities and constants used in this chapter and the
base values.
Quanti ty Notati on Base val ue
Per unit wind speed v v
N
Per uni t start wi nd speed v
0
v
N
Per uni t wi nd speed of rated power v
N
v
N
Max operati onal per uni t wi nd speed v
max
v
N
Per unit median wind speed v
m
v
N
Per uni t turbi ne power p
t
P
t N
Per uni t generator speed (= turbi ne speed) n' n
g N
(n
t N
)
Per uni t generatormechani cal power p
g
P
t N
Per uni t armature vol tage u
a
P
aN

3I
aN
Per uni t generatorel ectri cal power p
a
P
t N
Per uni t power from the i nverter p
i
P
t N
Per uni t power l osses p
l oss
P
t N
Power coeffi ci ent C
P
C
P max
Per uni t annual energycaptureofthe turbi ne e
t
P
t N
8760 h
*
Per uni t annual i nputenergyofthe generator e
g
P
t N
8760 h
*
Per uni t annual outputenergyfrom the gen. e
a
P
t N
8760 h
*
Per uni t annual outputenergyfromthe i nverter e
i
P
t N
8760 h
*
Per uni t Wei bul l probabi l i ty densi ty w
*) one year i s 8760 hours.
101
Table 5.2 The indices used for the constants and functions in this chapter.
I ndi ces Notati on
Constant speed CS
Two speeds TS
Low speed (of two) TS1
Hi gh speed (of two) TS2
Vari abl e speed VS
Vari abl e speed, 1.2 p.u. rated speed VS12
Opti mumvol tage control VSopt
Opti mumvol tage control wi th1.2p.u.as rated speed VSopt12
5.2 Power and losses as functions of the wind speed
5.2.1 Assumptions for the power functions
I t i s assumed that the wi nd tur bi ne gener ator system i s desi gned for a
cer tai n mechani cal power fr om the wi nd tur bi ne. When compar i ng the
constant-speed system wi th the vari abl e-speed system, the maxi mum i nput
power from the turbi ne i s the same but not the output power to the gri d. The
vari abl e-speed system thus has a l i ttl e l ower rated el ectri c power than the
constant-speed system due to i ncreased generator l osses and the converter
l osses. The r ated gener ator i nput power i s, however , the same i n both the
constant-speed system and the var i abl e-speed system because the gear
l osses at rated power are equal for both systems.
To be abl e to fi nd the di ffer ence between a var i abl e-speed and a constant-
speed system, wi thout i ncl udi ng the di fferent effi ci ency of di fferent generator
types, i t i s assumed that the generator used i n the constant-speed system i s
the same as the one used i n the vari abl e-speed system. However, si nce the
vari abl e-speed generator i s connected to a frequency converter, i t has hi gher
l osses compared wi th the network-connected generator. The vol tage drop of
the vari abl e-speed generator i s al so hi gher due to the di ode commutati ons.
The effi ci ency of the two-speed generator i s based on effi ci ency data for a 250
kW/75kW 4/6-pol e ABB i nducti on generator and not on the l oss model . That
l oss data have been modi fi ed to be compar abl e to the l osses of the 300kW
desi gn exampl e generator. When compared wi th generators of the same si ze
but wi th onl y one speed the effi ci ency i s roughl y 1% l ower for a two-speed
102
generator. Such a di fference i s i ncl uded i n thi s compari son as a 0.7% l ower
effi ci ency at rated power for the two-speed generator than for the constant-
speed generator.
Si nce al l functi ons wi l l be expressed wi th the wi nd speed as a parameter, the
turbi ne speed as a functi on of the wi nd speed must be defi ned. That i s si mpl e
for the cases consi der ed i n thi s r epor t. Ei ther the wi nd tur bi ne r uns at
constant speed wi th a rated speed of 1p.u. and a l ow speed for the two-speed
generator equal to 2/3p.u. or vari abl e speed wi th opti mal C
P
control i s used
and the ti p-speed r ati o i s kept constant. Hence the tur bi ne speed i s
proporti onal to the wi nd speed up to the rated wi nd speed. Above the rated
wi nd speed the turbi ne speed i s assumed to be kept constant.
n'
CS
= 1 (Speed of the constant-speed generator) (5.1)
n'
TS1
=
2
3
(Low speed of the two-speed generator) (5.2)
n'
TS2
= 1 (Hi gh speed of the two-speed generator) (5.3)
n'
VS
(v) = v (Speed of the vari abl e-speed generator) (5.4)
n'
VSopt12
(v) = 1.2 v (Hi gher vari abl e speed) (5.5)
The gener ator i s star ted as soon as the wi nd speed i s hi gh enough for the
turbi ne to produce more than the total system l osses. These i ncl ude l osses i n
the gear pl us generator and for the vari abl e-speed system al so the converter
no-l oad l osses. The star t-up wi nd speed i s not the same for the di ffer ent
control strategi es because the l osses are di fferent. The start-up wi nd speed
can for the constant- and two-speed systems be found as the l owest wi nd
speed for whi ch the generator output power i s zero. At a l ower wi nd speed the
no l oad l osses wi l l make the gener ator power negati ve. The star t-up wi nd
speed v
0
i s found by sol vi ng the fol l owi ng equati on
p
a
(v
0
) = 0 (5.6)
The two-speed system changes speed at the wi nd speed for whi ch the hi gher
speed produces as much power as the l ower speed. Thi s wi nd speed v
0TS2
i s
found by sol vi ng the fol l owi ng equati on
103
p
aTS1
( v
0 TS2
) = p
a TS2
( v
0 TS2
) (5.7)
For the vari abl e-speed system the start-up wi nd speed i s found as the l owest
wi nd speed for whi ch the output power of the i nverter i s zero
p
i
( v
0 VS
) = 0 (5.8)
The rated wi nd speed of the turbi ne i s here defi ned as the l owest wi nd speed
at whi ch the tur bi ne can pr oduce r ated power . Thi s wi nd speed i s used as
base quanti ty for the per uni t wi nd speeds. The r ated wi nd speed of the
compl ete wi nd turbi ne generator system depend on how the turbi ne speed i s
contr ol l ed. Wi th the used defi ni ti on of the r ated wi nd speed the constant-
speed turbi ne reaches rated power at a wi nd speed above 1 p.u. The reason
for thi s i s that the gear rati o i s chosen to maxi mi ze the turbi ne effi ci ency at a
wi nd speed of about 0.7 p.u. to maxi mi ze the energy producti on. The vari abl e-
speed turbi ne al so reaches the rated power at a wi nd speed sl i ghtl y hi gher
than 1 p.u., because i t i s not assumed possi bl e to keep the turbi ne perfectl y
at i ts opti mum ti p-speed rati o.
The rated wi nd speeds for the di fferent systems, v
N
, are found by sol vi ng the
following equation:
p
t
( v
N
) = 1 (5.9)
The turbi ne i s shut down when the wi nd speed exceeds 1.7 p.u.
v
max
= 1.7 p.u. (5.10)
The start-up wi nd speed, rated wi nd speed and shutdown wi nd speed for the
di fferent systems are found i n Tabl e 5.3.
To be abl e to use the model the turbi ne power coeffi ci ent as a functi on of ti p-
speed rati o must fi rst be model l ed. Data are used for a three-bl aded pi tch-
control l ed 12 m turbi ne. The approxi mate turbi ne C
P
curve i s a si xth-order
curve fi t and can be seen i n Fi gure 5.2.
104
Table 5.3 The start-up wind speed, speed-change wind speed, rated wind
speed and shutdown wind speed for different systems.
CS TS VS VSopt VSopt12
v
0
0.38 0.29 0.20 0.18 0.18
v
0TS2
0.62
v
N
1.05 1.05 1.01 1.01 1.01
v
max
1.70
2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15
Ti p-speed rati o
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
T
u
r
b
i
n
e

p
o
w
e
r

c
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t
Figure 5.2 Approximation of the power coefficient curve of the turbine.
I n the var i abl e-speed system the gener ator speed i s contr ol l ed to keep the
tur bi ne power coeffi ci ent C
P
at i ts maxi mum val ue for al l wi nd speeds.
However , the tur bi ne speed can not change as fast as the wi nd speed and,
therefore, the turbi ne can not keep a constant maxi mum C
P
. To i ncl ude thi s
effect i n the cal cul ati ons wi thout maki ng dynami c si mul ati ons the vari abl e-
speed turbi ne i s supposed to mai ntai n an average C
P
a l i ttl e l ower than the
maxi mum C
P
. A l ower average C
P
means a l oss of ener gy pr oducti on. The
magni tude of thi s energy l oss depends on the control of the turbi ne. A study of
the opti mum control of a wi nd turbi ne has been made and i t shows that wi th
a shaft tor que var i ati on of about 20% the mean power l oss i s onl y about
2.5%, [14]. Thi s i s onl y an esti mati on of the average C
P
but the error of the
esti mati on does not affect the cal cul ated aver age effi ci enci es much. The
accur acy of the cal cul ated ener gy pr oducti on i s on the other hand di r ectl y
affected by the error i n average C
P
.
105
5.2.2 Power functions
Fi rst the parameters of the gear l oss model , the generator l oss model and the
converter l oss model must be determi ned. Thi s i s done by usi ng the resul ts i n
Chapter 3.
Now the tur bi ne ener gy-captur e functi on, p
t
(v), can be cal cul ated. I t i s
di ffer ent for the var i abl e-speed tur bi ne, the two-speed tur bi ne and the
constant-speed turbi ne. Therefore, di fferent power functi ons are defi ned for
the di fferent systems. For the two-speed system two di fferent functi ons are
used. I n the C
P
functi on the ti p-speed rati o, , i s repl aced by
=
Cn'
v
(5.11)
wher e C i s a constant deter mi ned by the r ated wi nd speed v
N
the tur bi ne
di ameter d
t
and the rated turbi ne speed n
t N
. The constant i s
C =
n
tN
d
t
v
N
(5.12)
The turbi ne power functi ons p
t
(v) can now be expressed, bel ow rated power,
as
p
t
(v) = v
3
Cp

Cn'(v)
v
(5.13)
wher e Cp() i s the appr oxi mati on of the tur bi ne power coeffi ci ent cur ve.
Then the output power of the gear p
g
(v) i s cal cul ated
p
g
(v) = p
t
(v) p
l oss gear
( p
t
(v) , n'(v) ) (5.14)
where p
l oss gear
( p
t
, n' ) i s the l osses of the gear.
The l osses of the gener ator ar e defi ned by the l oss model wi th ar matur e
vol tage, ar matur e cur r ent and shaft speed as var i abl es. The ar matur e
current i s, however, not known yet. Therefore, the generator l osses can not
be cal cul ated expl i ci tl y. I nstead, the output power of the gener ator i s
106
cal cul ated as a functi on of i nput power , speed and ar matur e vol tage. The
output power p
a
i s defi ned by
p
a
= p
g
p
l oss g
( p
a
/u
a
, u
a
, n' ) (5.15)
wher e the unknown ar matur e cur r ent si mpl y has been r epl aced by p
a
/u
a
.
p
l oss g
i s the l oss functi on fr om the l oss model and p
g
i s the gear output
power. The resul t i s armature output power as a functi on of p
g
, u
a
and n'
g
.
Note that the l oss par ameter s for the gener ator l oss functi on ar e not the
same for constant-speed operati on and vari abl e-speed operati on.
Onl y for the two-speed gener ator the l osses ar e expr essed as expl i ci t
functi ons because the l osses for thi s generator type are not based on the l oss
model but on empi r i cal data for an ABB gener ator . The l oss data ar e fi r st
adjusted to be compar abl e to the desi gn exampl e gener ator , then the l oss
functi ons ar e obtai ned as cur ve fi ts to the data. The appr oxi mate l oss
functi ons of the two speed generator are
p
l oss gTS1
(p
g
) = 0.013 + 0.100
p
g
+2p
g
2
3
(5.16)
p
l oss gTS2
(p
g
) = 0.026 + 0.033
p
g
+2p
g
2
3
(5.17)
Now the output power of the generator p
a
(v) can be cal cul ated for the three
types of turbi ne control as wel l as for two di fferent gear rati os i n the vari abl e-
speed system.
The i nver ter output power p
i
(v) i s expr essed for thr ee di ffer ent contr ol
strategi es. Thi s functi on i s onl y used for the vari abl e-speed system, si nce the
constant-speed and two-speed systems do not have any conver ter . The
vari abl e-speed generator vol tage i s ei ther control l ed to have a constant fl ux
or to maxi mi ze the generator and converter effi ci ency. Two gear rati os are
used whi ch gi ves 1.0 and 1.2 p.u. gener ator speed at r ated power . The
opti mum effi ci ency functi ons can not be expl i ci tl y defi ned. They are i nstead
defi ned as the maxi mum val ue of p
i
when u
a
i s changed.
Now the harmoni cs fi l ter l osses and the transformer l osses can be added to
the l oss model . Thi s i s, however, not i ncl uded i n thi s report.
107
5.2.3 Turbine power
The tur bi ne power for the var i abl e-speed tur bi ne, the two-speed and the
constant-speed tur bi ne i s cal cul ated for di ffer ent wi nd speeds. The power
versus wi nd speed curves for the desi gn exampl e turbi ne wi th constant- or
vari abl e-speed operati on i s shown i n Fi gure 5.3.
0.5 1 1.5
Wi nd speed (p.u.)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
T
u
r
b
i
n
e

p
o
w
e
r

(
p
.
u
.
)
Vari abl e speed
Low speed
Hi gh speed
0.1 0.5 0.6
Wi nd speed (p.u.)
0
0.1
0.2
T
u
r
b
i
n
e

p
o
w
e
r

(
p
.
u
.
)
v
0VS
v
0TS1
v
0CS
Figure 5.3 The power produced by a constant-speed, a two-speed and a
variable-speed turbine. The low wind speed range is enlarged to
show the difference between variable-speed and two-speed
operations.
The power producti on of the turbi ne i s not much hi gher for a vari abl e-speed
turbi ne than for a constant-speed turbi ne. The di fference i s that the vari abl e-
speed turbi ne produces more at l ow wi nd speeds. For medi um wi nd speeds the
constant-speed turbi ne produces just as much as the vari abl e-speed turbi ne.
Cl ose to rated wi nd speed the vari abl e-speed turbi ne produces more and i t
r eaches r ated power at a l i ttl e l ower wi nd speed than the constant-speed
tur bi ne. By usi ng a two-speed tur bi ne, the power pr oducti on at l ow wi nd
speed i s al most equal to that of the vari abl e-speed turbi ne.
108
5.2.4 Gear losses
The gear l osses onl y depend on the speed of the turbi ne and the power from
the turbi ne. They have two parts, the no-l oad l osses whi ch decrease wi th the
speed of the turbi ne and the gear mesh l osses whi ch are a fi xed percentage of
the turbi ne power. I n the constant-speed system the no-l oad gear l osses are
constant, whi l e they are reduced at l ow speed i n the vari abl e speed system.
The gear mesh l osses ar e, for a cer tai n tur bi ne power , the same for al l
systems. I n the two-speed system the no-l oad l osses ar e r educed when the
speed i s reduced. Fi gure 5.4 shows the l osses of the gear versus wi nd speed i n
the di fferent systems.
0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Wi nd speed (p.u.)
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
G
e
a
r

l
o
s
s
e
s

(
p
.
u
.
)
Constant speed
Two speeds
Vari abl e speed
Figure 5.4 The losses of the gear in a constant-speed, two-speed and a
variable-speed wind turbine generator system.
5.2.5 Generator and converter losses
The l osses of the constant-speed and two-speed gener ator s ar e compar ed
wi th the l osses of the vari abl e-speed generator and converter. The vari abl e-
speed system has a rated speed of 1 p.u. and opti mi zed vol tage control .
I n Fi gure 5.5 i t can be seen that the vari abl e-speed system has l ower l osses
than the network-connected constant- and two-speed generators up to about
0.7 p.u. wi nd speed. The l ower total l osses are achi eved by reduci ng the no-
109
l oad l osses of the generator by the vol tage control . At hi gh wi nd speed, the
var i abl e-speed system has hi gher l osses than the networ k-connected
gener ator s due to the l osses i n the fr equency conver ter and addi ti onal
generator l osses.
0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Wi nd speed (p.u.)
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

a
n
d

c
o
n
v
e
r
t
e
r

l
o
s
s
e
s

(
p
.
u
.
)
Vari abl e speed
Two speeds
Constant speed
Figure 5.5 The losses of the constant-speed and two-speed generators
compared to the generator and converter losses of the variable-
speed system.
A two-speed generator can not be uti l i zed ful l y for both speeds and therefore
i t has hi gher l osses than the constant-speed generator when i t runs on the
hi gh speed. At the l ow speed the two-speed gener ator has l ower l osses
because the fri cti on, wi ndage and core l osses are reduced.
5.2.6 Losses at different voltage controls
The vari abl e-speed system can be control l ed i n di fferent ways. The vol tage
contr ol can be used to mi ni mi ze the l osses of the gener ator and conver ter .
The effect of such an opti mi zati on i s shown i n Fi gure 5.6 where the l osses of
the generator and converter at constant rated fl ux and wi th mi ni mi zed l osses
are compared.
110
0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Wi nd speed (p.u.)
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
G
e
n
e
r
a
t
o
r

a
n
d

c
o
n
v
e
r
t
e
r

l
o
s
s
e
s

(
p
.
u
.
)
Constant fl ux
Opti mum fl ux
Figure 5.6 The losses of the variable-speed generator and converter at
constant rated flux and with minimized losses.
I n Fi gur e 5.6 the di ffer ence i n l osses i n the var i abl e-speed gener ator and
converter system can be seen. I f the fl ux i s kept constant at i ts rated val ue
the l osses are unnecessari l y hi gh. By opti mi zi ng the fl ux, the l osses at l ow
l oads ar e r educed because of r educed cor e l osses. At r ated power the
opti mi zed fl ux i s a l i ttl e hi gher than rated fl ux l eadi ng to a hi gher vol tage, and
thus the copper l osses ar e r educed. The l osses ar e r educed by r ai si ng the
speed, but the di fference between normal rated speed and 20% hi gher speed
i s smal l and can not be cl earl y seen i n thi s type of di agram.
5.2.7 Produced electric power
The el ectr i c power ver sus wi nd speed i s shown i n Fi gur e 5.7. The power
producti on of the vari abl e-speed and two-speed systems i s hi gher than the
producti on of the constant-speed system at l ow wi nd speeds. At medi um wi nd
speed the constant-speed system produces a l i ttl e more because of the l ower
l osses and because the var i abl e-speed tur bi ne can not keep the ti p-speed
r ati o per fectl y. Cl ose to the r ated wi nd speed, the var i abl e-speed tur bi ne
pr oduces mor e, and i t al so r eaches the r ated power at a l ower wi nd speed
than the constant-speed tur bi ne does. Above the r ated wi nd speed, the
constant-speed system pr oduces mor e because i t has l ower l osses. The
111
di ffer ence between the constant-speed and two-speed systems can onl y be
seen at l ow wi nd speed. The two-speed system has a l ower star t-up wi nd
speed than the constant-speed system and the produced power i s hi gher up
to the speed-change wi nd speed.
0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75
Wi nd speed (p.u.)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
E
l
e
c
t
r
i
c

o
u
t
p
u
t

p
o
w
e
r

(
p
.
u
.
)
Vari abl e speed
Two speeds
Constant speed
Figure 5.7 The electric power produced by a constant-speed turbine, two-
speed turbine and a variable-speed turbine.
5.3 Energy and average efficiency
From the above presented power outputs at di fferent wi nd speeds an annual
ener gy can be cal cul ated. Thi s i s done by i ntegr ati ng the power , fr om the
star t-up wi nd speed to the shutdown wi nd speed, wi th the wi nd speed
probabi l i ty functi on as a wei ghti ng functi on. A Wei bul l di stri buti on of wi nd
speeds i s assumed when the wei ghti ng functi on i s deri ved, see Fi gure 5.8. The
i ntegral of the wei gthi ng functi on over al l wi nd speeds from zero to i nfi ni ty i s
by defi ni ti on equal to 1. The Wei bul l di stri buti on i s the usual way to speci fy
the wi nd r esour ces for di ffer ent tur bi ne si tes. The di str i buti on has two
parameters, here the medi an wi nd speed v
m
and a shape factor c. For normal
wi nd di stri buti on c i s about 2, whi ch i s assumed here. The Wei bul l probabi l i ty
di stri buti on i s defi ned as
w(v,c,v
m
) = v
m
-c
Log(2) c v
(c-1)
e

-Log(2)

v
v
m
c
(5.18)
112
0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75

(p.u.)
Wei ghti ng functi on
(Wei bul l di stri buti on, c=2)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
= 0.35 p.u.
= 0.50 p.u.
= 0.70 p.u.
v
v
v
v
m
m
m
Figure 5.8 The weighting functions for three different median wind speeds.
I n Fi gur e 5.9 the ener gy densi ty functi on shown. I t i s the pr oduct of the
power and the wei ghti ng functi on. The i ntegral of energy densi ty functi on,
from zero wi nd speed to the shutdown wi nd speed, i s the annual energy i n per
unit.
I n the energy densi ty di agram i t can be seen that the energy producti on at
wi nd speeds just bel ow r ated wi nd speed gi ves the most i mpor tant
contr i buti on to the total ener gy pr oducti on. The ener gy pr oducti on above
rated wi nd speed i s not as i mportant because the probabi l i ty of so hi gh wi nd
speeds i s l ow. Contrary to what can be guessed from the power versus wi nd
speed functi on the energy producti on at l ow wi nd speed i s not negl i gi bl e. The
power i s l ow at l ow wi nd speeds but the probabi l i ty of these wi nd speeds i s
hi gh maki ng the contri buti on to the energy producti on si gni fi cant.
5.3.1 Assumptions for the energy calculations
The mai n objecti ve of the compari son between vari abl e-speed and constant-
speed systems i s to fi nd the average energy conversi on effi ci ency. As a step
i n the cal cul ati on of the aver age effi ci ency the ener gy pr oducti on i s al so
cal cul ated. Average effi ci ency i s here defi ned as the output energy di vi ded by
the i nput ener gy. Si nce the cal cul ati on i s made i n per uni t the cal cul ated
energy producti on i s by defi ni ti on the same as the average power producti on
because the energy i s cal cul ated for a ti me equal to 1p.u.
113
Si nce the Wei bul l di str i buti on par ameter s ar e der i ved fr om 10 mi nutes
aver age wi nd speeds, the r esul t of the ener gy cal cul ati ons has er r or s,
especi al l y for the var i abl e-speed system. However , the er r or of the output
ener gy i s al most the same as the er r or of the i nput ener gy. Si nce the
effi ci ency i s the quoti ent of output and i nput energy, thi s error i s smal l i n the
effi ci ency val ues.
Power(wi nd speed)
Wei ghti ng functi on(wi nd speed)
Area = 1
Energy densi ty(wi nd speed)
Area
=
Energy
Figure 5.9 The energy density function, equal to the power times the
weighting function.
The energy i ntegrati ons are made for si tes wi th di fferent medi an wi nd speeds,
between 4.55 m/s and 9.1m/s. The r ated wi nd speed of the tur bi ne i s her e
assumed to be 13 m/s and the medi an wi nd speeds consi dered are then from
114
0.35 to 0.7 p.u. At l ow wi nd speed si tes the medi an wi nd speed i s i n the range
0.35 to 0.45p.u. (4.55 to 5.85m/s). Wi nd tur bi ne gener ator systems ar e
usual l y not l ocated at these si tes. I f the medi an wi nd speed i s i n the range
0.45 to 0.55p.u. (5.85 to 7.15 m/s) the si te i s a normal wi nd speed si te and
most wi nd tur bi ne gener ator systems ar e l ocated at these si tes. Si tes of a
medi an wi nd speed between 0.55 and 0.70p.u. (7.15 to 9.1m/s) i s hi gh wi nd
speed si tes and they are rarel y found i n Sweden.
5.3.2 Wind energy captured by the turbine
The tur bi ne ener gy captur e i s cal cul ated fi r st by i ntegr ati ng the tur bi ne
power functi ons P
t
(v) mul ti pl i ed by the wei ghti ng functi on from the system
start-up wi nd speed to the rated wi nd speed. Then the rated power mul ti pl i ed
by the total pr obabi l i ty of wi nd speed between r ated wi nd speed and the
shutdown wi nd speed i s added. The resul t from thi s cal cul ati on i s the per uni t
ener gy captur ed by the tur bi ne dur i ng a year wi th the chosen wi nd speed
probabi l i ty curve. The wi nd speeds for start-up, rated power and shutdown of
the turbi ne are v
0
, v
N
and v
max
. The energy captured by the turbi ne i s defi ned
as
e
t
(c,v
m
) =

v
0
v
N
w(v,c,v
m
)p
t
(v)dv + p
t
(v
N
)

v
N
v
max
w(v,c,v
m
)dv (5.19)
5.3.3 Gear energy output and average gear efficiency
The per uni t energy output from the gear i s defi ned i n the same way as the
turbi ne energy
e
g
(c,v
m
) =

v
0
v
N
w(v,c,v
m
)p
g
(v)dv + p
g
(v
N
)

v
N
v
max
w(v,c,v
m
)dv (5.20)
The energy from the gear can, together wi th the turbi ne energy, be used to
cal cul ate the average effi ci ency of the gear. The average gear effi ci ency for a
si te wi th the medi an wi nd speed v
m
can be found as

gear
=
e
g
(c,v
m
)
e
t
(c,v
m
)
(5.21)
115
The aver age gear effi ci ency i s cal cul ated for di ffer ent medi an wi nd speeds
from 0.35 to 0.7 p.u. and pl otted i n Fi gure 5.10.
0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

(p.u.)
Average effi ci ency of the gear
0.95
0.955
0.96
0.965
0.97

Vari abl e speed
Two speeds
Constant speed
m
v
Figure 5.10 The average efficiency of the gear in a variable-speed, a two-speed
and a constant-speed turbine.
The average gear effi ci ency i s al ways hi gher i n a vari abl e-speed system than
i n a constant-speed system. Thi s i s obvi ous si nce the gear l osses i n a
vari abl e speed system are never hi gher than i n a constant speed system at
equal power. The di fference i n average effi ci ency i s not l arge, onl y 0.2% for
hi gh wi nd speed si tes, 0.4% for medi um wi nd speed si tes and about 0.7% for
l ow wi nd speed si tes. I t i s a smal l , but cl ear, advantage of the vari abl e-speed
wi nd turbi ne generator system.
5.3.4 Electric energy and average electric efficiency
I n thi s secti on the average effi ci ency of the generator of the constant-speed
system i s compar ed wi th the aver age effi ci ency of the gener ator and
conver ter of the var i abl e-speed system. Later i n Secti on 5.3.5 the total
effi ci ency, i ncl udi ng the gear , i s pr esented. The per uni t output el ectr i cal
energy of the constant-speed generator can be cal cul ated as
e
aCS
(c,v
m
) =

v
0CS
v
NCS

w(v,c,v
m
)p
aCS
(v)dv + p
aCS
(v
N
)

v
NCS
v
max
w(v,c,v
m
)dv
(5.22)
116
For the two-speed system the i ntegrati on i s di vi ded i nto three parts
e
aTS
(c,v
m
) =

v
0TS1
v
0TS2

w(v,c,v
m
)p
aTS1
(v)dv +

v
0TS2
v
NTS

w(v,c,v
m
)p
aTS2
(v)dv +
+ p
aTS2
(v
NTS
)

v
NTS
v
max
w(v,c,v
m
)dv (5.23)
For the constant-fl ux vari abl e-speed system the output energy i s the energy
from the i nverter
e
iVS
(c,v
m
) =

v
0VS
v
NVS

w(v,c,v
m
)p
i VS
(v)dv + p
i VS
(v
NVS
)

v
NVS
v
max
w(v,c,v
m
)dv
(5.24)
The ener gy pr oduced when opti mi zed fl ux and a hi gher speed i s used i s
cal cul ated i n a si mi l ar way.
The average effi ci ency of the generator system can be cal cul ated by di vi di ng
the output el ectri cal energy by the i nput mechani cal energy from the gear. A
compari son of the average effi ci ency of the generator system i s made to fi nd
how effi ci ent a vari abl e-speed generator system i s compared to a constant-
speed system. Fi r st the var i abl e-speed system wi th opti mi zed effi ci ency i s
compared wi th a two-speed system and a constant-speed system.
I t i s found, from Fi gure 5.11, that the opti mi zed vari abl e-speed system often
i s about as effi ci ent as the constant-speed system i n conver ti ng the
mechani cal energy of the generator shaft i nto el ectri c energy to the gri d. On
si tes wi th l ow medi an wi nd speed the vari abl e-speed system i s more effi ci ent
because of i ts l ow l osses at l ow power . The effi ci ency i s a l i ttl e l ower or as
hi gh as the effi ci ency of a constant-speed system for normal wi nd speed si tes.
For hi gh wi nd speed si tes the vari abl e-speed generator system i s al ways l ess
effi ci ent. The average effi ci ency of the two-speed system i s rather si mi l ar to
the one of the constant-speed system. I t i s a l i ttl e l ower at hi gh wi nd speed
si tes and a l i ttl e hi gher at l ow wi nd speed si tes.
117
0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

(p.u.)
Average effi ci ency of generator (and converter)
0.86
0.88
0.9
0.92

Vari abl e speed
Two speeds
Constant speed
m
v
Figure 5.11 Average electric efficiency of a two-speed, a constant-speed system
and a variable-speed system using optimized flux and 1.0p.u.
rated speed.
The di fference i n average effi ci ency between an opti mi zed vol tage control and
the often used constant fl ux vol tage contr ol can be seen i n Fi gur e 5.12.
0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

(p.u.)
Average effi ci ency of generator and converter
0.86
0.87
0.88
0.89
0.9
0.91
0.92

Opti mum vol tage n = 0 - 1 p.u.
Constant fl ux n = 0 - 1 p.u.
Opti mum vol tage n = 0 - 1.2 p.u.
m
v
Figure 5.12 The average efficiency of a variable-speed system with constant
flux or optimized efficiency and either a rated speed of 1 p.u. or
1.2 p.u.
I f opti mi zed vol tage contr ol i s used i nstead of constant r ated fl ux the
effi ci ency wi l l be about 0.5 to 0.8 % hi gher on si tes wi th normal medi an wi nd
speed. On si tes wi th l ow wi nd speed the di ffer ence i n effi ci ency, between
opti mi zed vol tage control and constant fl ux, can be up to more than 1 %. I f a
hi gher gener ator speed i s used than the speed at 50Hz, the aver age
118
effi ci ency wi l l al so i mprove. The i ncrease i n effi ci ency by usi ng a hi gher speed
i s smal l , l ess than 0.2 % for al l medi an wi nd speeds.
5.3.5 Total efficiency including the gear
To fi nd the aver age effi ci ency i n conver ti ng the tur bi ne shaft ener gy i nto
el ectri cal energy, the output el ectri cal energy i s di vi ded by the turbi ne energy.
I n Fi gur e 5.13 the r esul ti ng aver age effi ci ency can be seen. The tur bi ne
effi ci ency i s not i ncl uded i n these fi gures.
0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

(p.u.)
Average effi ci ency of gear, generator (and converter)
0.82
0.84
0.86
0.88
0.9

Vari abl e speed
Two speeds
Constant speed
v
m
Figure 5.13 The total efficiency in converting the turbine energy into electric
energy fed to the network.
The r esul t i s si mi l ar to the aver age effi ci ency of onl y the gener ator and
conver ter . The onl y di ffer ence i s that the gear l osses make the constant-
speed system l ess effi ci ent compared wi th the vari abl e-speed system.
The l aboratory system has a l ow converter effi ci ency (95.6%) compared wi th
the desi gn exampl e system (98 %). Thi s di ffer ence i s found to be ver y
i mpor tant when a constant-speed and the cor r espondi ng var i abl e-speed
system are compared, see Fi gure 5.14. The l ower converter effi ci ency makes
the average effi ci ency of the vari abl e-speed system l ower than the average
effi ci ency of the constant-speed system for al l medi an wi nd speeds. Thi s
shows that an effi ci ent conver ter i s ver y i mpor tant i f the var i abl e-speed
system shal l be as effi ci ent as the constant-speed system.
119
0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

(p.u.)
Average effi ci ency of gearbox, generator (and converter)
0.82
0.84
0.86
0.88
0.9
Vari abl e speed
Constant speed
v
m
Figure 5.14 Calculated average electric efficiency of the 50 kVA generator
system at constant speed and at variable speed, using optimized
flux and 1.0 p.u. rated speed.
5.3.6 Produced energy
When the aver age effi ci enci es ar e cal cul ated, ther e ar e al so automati cal l y
r esul ts showi ng the di ffer ence i n pr oduced el ectr i c ener gy. The cal cul ati on
method have been der i ved for constant-speed tur bi nes and, ther efor e, the
accuracy of thi s compari son depends on how accurate the energy cal cul ati on
method i s for var i abl e-speed tur bi nes. Because of thi s uncer tai nty, the
predi cted di fference must be seen onl y as a hi nt of what the real di fference
may be.
The capaci ty factor i s defi ned as the average power producti on di vi ded by the
r ated el ectr i c power . I n per uni t the aver age el ectr i c power i s equal to the
pr oduced el ectr i c ener gy. Ther efor e, the capaci ty factor C
cap
for the
constant-speed and two-speed systems can be defi ned as
C
cap
=
e
a
(c,v
m
)
p
a
(v
N
)
(5.25)
For the vari abl e-speed system the capaci ty factor i s defi ned as
C
cap
=
e
i
(c,v
m
)
p
i
(v
N
)
(5.26)
120
The capaci ty factor of the tur bi ne can be cal cul ated for di ffer ent contr ol
strategi es. The compari son i s made for a constant-speed , a two-speed and a
var i abl e-speed wi nd tur bi ne gener ator system usi ng opti mi zed fl ux and a
rated generator speed of 1p.u. The resul ts are shown i n fi gure 5.15.
0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

(p.u.)
Capaci ty factor
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4

Vari abl e speed
Two speeds
Constant speed
m
v
Figure 5.15 The capacity factor of a wind turbine generator system at
constant-speed, two-speed and variable-speed operation.
I t can be seen that the capaci ty factor of the vari abl e-speed system i s hi gher
than that of the constant-speed system. The two-speed system al so has a
hi gh capaci ty factor compar ed wi th the constant-speed system. The fi gur e
shows the absol ute ener gy captur e, expr essed as the capaci ty factor for
di fferent systems. I t i s, however, di ffi cul t to fi nd the rel ati ve i ncrease i n the
energy producti on when a constant-speed system i s changed to an equal two-
speed or var i abl e-speed system fr om Fi gur e5.15. The r el ati ve i ncr ease i n
producti on i s shown i n Fi gure 5.16. The i ncrease i n energy producti on has
been cal cul ated for the vari abl e-speed system as
e
i VSopt
(c,v
m
)
e
aCS
(c,v
m
)
(5.27)
and for the two-speed system

e
aTS
(c,v
m
)
e
aCS
(c,v
m
)
(5.28)
121
0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

(p.u.)
Power producti on compared wi th a constant-speed system
1
1.05
1.1
1.15
1.2
1.25

Vari abl e-speed system
Two-speed system
m
v
Figure 5.16 The relative increase in produced electric energy if a two-speed or
variable-speed system is used instead of a constant-speed system.
I t can be seen that the two-speed system produces more than the constant-
speed system. The di fference between two-speed and vari abl e-speed system
i s not so l ar ge as the di ffer ence between constant-speed and two-speed
systems. For a normal medi an wi nd speed the i ncrease i n energy producti on
i s about 5.2% i f a vari abl e-speed system i s used i nstead of a constant-speed
system. I f a two-speed system i s used the i ncrease i s 3.8%. Thi s compari son
i s made for systems wi th equal rated turbi ne power and unequal rated output
power.
5.4 Summary of average efficiency comparison
Al though a var i abl e-speed system has extr a l osses i n the gener ator and
converter i t can usual l y be about as effi ci ent as a constant-speed generator.
At l ow wi nd speed si tes i t i s more effi ci ent, at hi gh wi nd speed si tes i t i s l ess
effi ci ent. The extra l osses i n the frequency converter have often been sai d to
be a di sadvantage of the vari abl e-speed system. However, the cal cul ati ons i n
thi s chapter show that the decr ease i n gener ator and gear l osses can
compensate for the i ncrease i n l osses due to the frequency converter.
The cal cul ati ons ar e based on the use of an effi ci ent fr equency conver ter ,
wi th a rated effi ci ency of 98%. I f a transi stori zed i nverter i s used, i n order to
r educe the networ k di stur bance, the total effi ci ency wi l l decr ease a few
122
per cents. Sti l l , the di ffer ence i n aver age effi ci ency between var i abl e-speed
and constant-speed systems wi l l be smal l at medi um wi nd speed si tes.
123
6. Conclusions
A model of the l osses i n the generator and converter has been deri ved and
veri fi ed for a 50kVA generator. The model can be used to predi ct the shaft
torque of the generator wi th an error of l ess than 2 % of the rated torque. Thi s
shoul d be suffi ci ent for the steady-state torque control of a wi nd turbi ne. The
model onl y needs measurements of the generator speed, the dc vol tage and
the dc current of the converter. Most of the model parameters are, for normal
generators, avai l abl e from the manufacturer. The rest of the parameters can
be esti mated i f the demand on the accur acy i s not hi gher than about 2%,
otherwi se they have to be measured.
The l oss model can be used to maxi mi ze the gener ator and conver ter
effi ci ency. By changi ng the gener ator vol tage, the effi ci ency of the system
can be maxi mi zed. I f the vol tage i s control l ed to maxi mi ze the effi ci ency, the
gener ator and conver ter system i s about 0.5 to 0.8% mor e effi ci ent, i n
average, than i f the common constant fl ux control i s used. I t has al so been
found that a vari abl e-speed generator shoul d use a hi gh speed to i ncrease the
effi ci ency and decrease the generator si ze. To use a l arger standard generator
than necessary does not normal l y i mprove the effi ci ency.
Earl i er, i t has often been sai d that the l osses i n the frequency converter of a
vari abl e-speed system are a drawback. I n thi s report i t i s, however, shown
that the total energy l osses do not have to i ncrease because of the frequency
converter. The generator and gear l osses can be reduced when the converter
i s used, and thi s reducti on may be l arge enough to compensate for the l osses
i n an effi ci ent converter. Thi s means that the annual average effi ci ency of a
vari abl e-speed generator system can be as hi gh as that of a constant-speed
system, at l east for turbi ne si tes of normal wi nd speed. At hi gh wi nd speed
si tes the average effi ci ency i s l ower and at l ow wi nd speed si tes i t i s hi gher i n
the vari abl e-speed system than i n the constant-speed system.
The l oss model has er r or s i n model l i ng the addi ti onal l osses and the cor e
l osses. I f the accur acy i s cr i ti cal , the addi ti onal l osses and the cor e l osses
shoul d be i nvesti gated more thoroughl y.
124
7. References
1 Er nst, J., Drezahl vari abl e Wi ndenergi eanl age mi t Gl ei chstrom-
zwischenkreis-Umrichter und optimum-suchendem Regler, Germany,
Techni sche Uni ver si tt Car ol o-Wi l hel mi na zu Br aunschwei g,
Di ssertati on, 1986, 169 p.
2 Hoei jmakers, M.J., On the steady-state performance of a synchronous
machine with converter, The Nether l ands, Techni cal Uni ver si ty of
Ei ndhoven. Di ssertati on, 1984, 204 p.
3 Hoei jmaker s, M. J., Synchronous machine with rectifier for wind
turbines, I EA 21th meeti ng of exper ts El ectr i cal systems for wi nd
turbi nes wi th constant and vari abl e speed, Gteborg, Sweden, October
7-8, Project Management for Bi ol ogy, Energy, Ecol ogy (BEO) Research
Centre Jl i ch (KFA), 1991, p. 51-61.
4 Car l son, O., Analys av synkrongenerator med frekvensomriktare fr
elgeneraring vid variabelt varvtal, Gtebor g, Sweden, Chal mer s
Uni ver si ty of Technol ogy, Dept. of El ectr i cal Machi nes and Power
El ectroni cs, Di ssertati on, Techni cal Report No. 185, 1988.
5 Svensson, J., Gr auer s, A., Car l son, O., Frstudie av elsystem till
vindkraftverk med variabelt varvtal, Gtebor g, Sweden, Chal mer s
Uni ver si ty of Technol ogy, Dept. of El ectr i cal Machi nes and Power
El ectroni cs, Techni cal Report No. R-93-07, 1993, 58 p.
6 Ekstr m, ., High power electronics, HVDC and SVC, Stockhol m,
Sweden, EKC El ectri c Power Research Center, The Royal i nsti tute of
Technol ogy, 1990.
7 Hoei jmaker s, M.J., The (I n)stability of a synchronous machine with
di ode recti fi er, I nter nati nal Confer ence on El ectr i cal Machi nes
(I CEM'92), Manchester , Gr eat Br i tai n, 15 - 17 September 1992,
Proceedi ngs, p. 8387.
8 Jai n, G.C., Design, Operation and Testing of Synchronous Machines,
New York, USA, Asi a, 1966, 676 p.
125
9 El -Bakry, M., Wahsh, S., Upper and lower limits in eddy current and
hysteri s l osses, I nter nati nal Confer ence on El ectr i cal Machi nes
(I CEM'92), Manchester , Gr eat Br i tai n, 15 - 17 September 1992,
Proceedi ngs, p. 12111215.
10 Adki ns, B., Har l ey, R.G., The general theory of alternating current
machines, London, Great Bri tai n, Chapman and Hal l , 1975, 279 p.
11 Shi pl ey, E.E., Loaded gears in action, I n: Dudl ey, D.W. ed., Dudley's
Gear Handbook, 2nd edi ti on, New Yor k, Townsend, 1991, p. 12.1 to
12.39 .
12 Generator data for the LSA 47 seri es synchronous generators, France,
Leroy Somer , 1992, 6 p.
13 I EC Standard 34-1, Rotating electrical machines, Part 1: Rating and
performance, 8th edi ti on, 1983.
14 Ekel und, T., Schmi dtbauer , B., Linear quadratic control of variable
speed wind turbines below rated power, Gteborg, Sweden, Chal mers
Uni versi ty of Technol ogy, Control Engi neeri ng Laboratory, Report No.
R92-04, 1992, 36 p.