TECHNICAL NOTES

Design optimization of a round-rotor synchronous generator for enhancing short-circuit ratio (SCR)
Elissa Soares De Carvalho WEG Brazil elissac@weg.net P. Kuo-Peng GRUCAD/EEL/UFSC

Brazil patrick@grucad.ufsc.br

F. Wurtz G2ELab Laboratory, INPG/UJF/CNRS,ENSE3 LIA MAXWELL

France / Brazil
frederic.wurtz@g2elab.grenoble-inp.fr

INTRODUCTION stronger [5]. As a direct consequence, the generator cost will increase for the same installed capacity, once larger SCR often means larger airgaps, rotor volume [5] and consequently generator size. The goal of this work is to take an existing standard generator (Table 1) and, keeping its main external dimensions (diameter and iron stack length), to optimize its parameters to obtain a larger SCR. This way, both technical and commercial objectives could be attended and generator manufacturer will meet its objective. 2 PROBLEM DEFINITION

In the last decade, the Brazilian energy market has witnessed a rise of independent energy producers entering into the national electrical grid, coming mainly from sugarcane segment [1]. In these plants the bagasse, a sugarcane by-product, is used as fuel for steam turbines in a cogeneration system, providing economical and environmental benefits. The Figure 1 shows one of these turbogenerators installed in a sugarcane plant.

Figure 1: A Synchronous generator manufactured by WEG in a sugarcane plant

This work consists in optimizing the geometry (Figure 2) of an existing standardized turbogenerator to achieve the maximum short circuit ratio (SCR) with no alteration on external dimensions, taking into account the electromagnetic and thermal constraints which define a properly generator operation.

In past years this system was exclusively used to provide energy for self-consumption. Seasonality and lack of regulation discouraged, by the beginning, the small producers to sell exceeding energy due the below market prices [1]. With a new electricity sector regulation approved in 2004, turning energy sales into a profitable opportunity for small energy producers, some technical requirements for turbogenerators from this segment became more recurrent. The requirement of larger short circuit ratio (SCR) for generators from sugarcane generation plants is correlated to static stability limits. However, in general, it has not been considered the gain or the impact of this improvement. Nowadays, modern excitation systems for instance, using digital regulators would allow the turbogenerators to operate safely with SCR values between 0.4 and 0.5. Besides that, the enhancement of SCR tends to lose its advantage depending on the grid connection, where the plant is settled, becomes

Figure 2: Detail of Rotor and Stator Sheet

Design optimization of a round-rotor synchronous generator for enhancing short-circuit ratio (SCR) - January/2013

TECHNICAL NOTES
The purpose of preserving the external dimensions of the machine is to reduce the impact on the existing manufacturing process, enabling to the company maintaining its production cost with an improved generator. So that, the parameters are handled within their boundaries in order to achieve a satisfactory result taking into account such limits. Whereas the optimization of an electric machine deals with discrete parameters or due to constraints of the process, as the variation of the diameters and dimensions of wires and slots or due to the intrinsic nature of the parameter as the number of slots, for example, it is advisable to use genetic algorithms. Mathematically, a set of parameters [3],

The aspect of sheets from the stator and rotor is shown in Figure 2 where the stator's internal diameter and rotors outer diameter, the number of slots and the height of the yoke of the stator are among the parameters which are handled on optimizing the generator.
Table 1: Generator rate Characteristic Power Voltage Frequency Power Factor Number of Poles Phase Rotor Type Armature Current Symbol S U f cos 2p m I Value 17.5 13.8 60 0.8 4 3 Laminated Cylindrical 732.1 Unit MVA kV Hz

r r y = ( f ( x ))

(1)

will be evaluated by a simplified analytical calculation, starting by an existent generator. For the optimization, it is proposed to apply the method MOGAII, a variation of Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm MOGA with a directional crossover operator and multisearch elitism [4], on single objective-problem [6]. The use of this method will be explained in section 3. 2.1 GENERATORS CHARACTERISTICS AND TOPOLOGY

Besides these parameters, the variation of the dimensions of the conductors and number of turns plays a part in determining the dimensions of the coils. The Figure 4 shows the aspect of the strands as well of the turns.

The synchronous generator, driven by steam turbines and described in this article, has four poles, with the rotor and the stator cylinder made of thin sheet metal sub-grouped into packages separated by cooling channels. The main features of the generator are described in the Table 1 and its general aspect shown in Figure 3.
Figure 4: Detail of Coils, Strands and Turns

Figure 3: Round Rotor Synchronous Generator Aspect

Design optimization of a round-rotor synchronous generator for enhancing short-circuit ratio (SCR) - January/2013

TECHNICAL NOTES
The summary of input parameters is detailed in table below:
Table 2: Evaluated parameters - Input data Parameters Internal Stator Diameter External Rotor Diameter Parallel Strands of Stator in Height Number of Stator Slots Number of Turns in Stator Winding Stator Strand Width Stator Strand Height Symbol Di1 Maximum Value 1015 Minimum Value 1000 Step 1 Unit mm

met, the designer obtains a larger set of solutions allowing him greater control over the final project. 2.3 MODEL

De2

970

958

mm

Ncph1

mm

The generator's calculation is yielded through classical equations [2,8], according steady state model shown in Figure 5. Some approaches, such ignoring the low resistance and considering a fixed value for saturation factor, are assumed. To compensate that, the final results will be compared with an industrial calculation, validated through tests with round rotor synchronous machines manufactured over the last 10 years.

N1

108

72

12

Z1

bn11

0.20

mm

hn1

3.55

0.15

mm Figure 5: Steady-state model of a round rotor synchronous generator

2.2

OBJECTIVE FUNCTION

The short circuit ratio is defined [2] as the ratio between the necessary field current to obtain the rated voltage on no-load ( ie0 ) and the field current necessary to achieve the rated current on shortcircuited ( iesc ):

The direct axis reactance is calculated according to equation [8]:

xdspu = xa + x
Where: xa = Magnetization Reactance

(5)

SCR =

ie0 iesc

(2)

x = Leakage Reactance
This parameter can also be defined as the inverse of the saturated synchronous reactance at the direct axis ( xds ) in pu: 2.4 PARAMETERS AND CONSTRAINTS

SCR =

1 xdspu

(3)

Here the SCR will be the objective function, which will be maximized:

ObjectiveFunction = Max( SCR)

(4)

In this paper, it is selected a single objective function with a sensible choice of restrictions. For specific problems with a reduced number of parameters, as in this case, with the maximum and minimum limits of the chosen parameters being

The evaluated parameters dealt in this paper are summarized in table 2. The generator geometry, winding and strands, are modified in order to reach an optimal value for SCR. The choice of range of the input parameters is critical to the success of the optimization process as well as for its speed, this way, it was established a procedure that reduces the probability of divergence of the model and provides fast and effective information of the previous values of input data and their impacts on optimization. In this paper, it is used the concept of imaginary machines, described in detail in [9], in establishing these input values. In summary, this is performed allowing all parameters to vary continuously and

Design optimization of a round-rotor synchronous generator for enhancing short-circuit ratio (SCR) - January/2013

TECHNICAL NOTES
using optimization algorithms by gradient methods. This way both the quality of the model and the initial parameters are evaluated beforehand, without much computational effort. Table 2 shows the values which will be used as input data on generator's optimization. The parameters are detailed on Figure 2 and Figure 4. In addition to the input variables shown in Table 2, other parameters, some fixed and some dependent on the input data are used, the main are listed in Table 3. According it is stated on the proposition of this paper, both the outer stators diameter and the stack of sheets are fixed. The same procedure is applied to the parallel strands of stator, which are kept fixed in width. With respect to the rotor, except for the outer diameter, all other features are preserved.
Table 3: Evaluated parameters - Main data Parameters External Stator Diameter Stack Length Parallel Strands of Stator in Width Stator Slot Width Stator Slot Height Symbol De1 Ltp1 Ncpl1 br1 hr1 Type Fixed Fixed Fixed Variable Variable Values 1015 970 6 Unit mm mm mm mm mm

GENETIC ALGORITHM - MOGA-II USED FOR SOLVING A SINGLE-OBJECTIVE PROBLEM

It is desirable that an optimization tool is flexible to properly settle any type of problem, this way is desirable that the algorithm is able to attend problems both single and multi-objective problems, depending on the proposition and models. In this paper, a multi-objective genetic algorithm is used to optimize a single objective problem, starting from the statement of Poles in [6], that questions the robustness and efficiency of the MOGA-II algorithm in a single objective problem from real world. MOGA-II is a version of MOGA Poloni [4] with elitism. As with any genetic algorithm, this one aims to meet conflicting objectives, guiding the resolution of the problem towards a set of individuals arranged in a Pareto frontier. The efficiency of the MOGA-II is ruled by its operators and the use of elitism [6]. The operators for reproduction are: One Point Crossover; Directional Crossover; Mutation; Selection. At each stage of the reproduction process of the operators is selected from the probability of occurrence placed as shown in table below: The elitism used in a multi-objective GA preserves the individuals close to the Pareto ranking. In this evaluation, when it is used in single objective problems, it restricts to copy to the next generation the best fitness solution.
Table 5: Moga-II - Operators probabilities

The constraints and limits are defined according Table 4. They go towards attending of thermal and electromagnetic boundaries defined by theoretical induction limits and iron losses. Such boundaries are stated based on industrial tests from several existent generators.
Table 4: Constraints and limits Variables Tooth Induction Yoke Induction Stator Joule Losses Rotor Joule Losses Stator Tooth Width Symbol Bd1 Bc1 Pj1 Maximum Limit 2.1 1.5 75 Minimum Limit 1.4 1.2 Tolerances 0.0 0.0 3 Unit T T kW

Parameters Probability of Direction Crossover Probability of Selection Probability of Mutation Elitism

Probabilities 0.5 0.05 0.1 Enabled

Pj2

92

kW

bd1

9.0

mm

Design optimization of a round-rotor synchronous generator for enhancing short-circuit ratio (SCR) - January/2013

TECHNICAL NOTES
5 RESULTS
Table 6: Comparative results Symbol Description Stator External Diameter Stator Internal Diameter Rotor External Diameter Package Lenght Number of Slots Stator Strand Width Stator Strand Height Number of Turns per Slot Airgap Stator Slot Width Stator Slot Height Field Current Tooth Induction Yoke Induction Stator Joule Losses Rotor Joule Losses Short Circuit Ratio Optimized Generator Generator Topology 1610 1000 958 1130 72 7.1 3.35 6 21 21.7 115 Performance Data If Bd Bc Pj1 Pj2 SCR 302 2.07 1.49 75 95 Objective 0.47 0.59 25.5% 314 2.07 1.48 71 92 A T T kW kW 0.40% -5.3% -3.2% 1610 1012 960 1130 84 5.6 2.8 5 26 18.7 121 mm mm mm Original Generator Unit Diff.

The table 6 presents the results of the optimized generator, comparing it to the original one. It can be noticed that some of the parameters from the existing turbogenerator, which were not being used on their whole capacity, were extended to their limits in order to enhance its short-circuit ratio (SCR). Once the problem involves electrical machines which utilize discrete parameters, it was used a genetic algorithm with the purpose to achieving the best solution, preventing to finding local solutions instead of global ones. Genetic algorithms on the other hand, can take a long time due to amount of interactions and initial population, mainly if it is considered some wrong input data or if some constraints are set mistakenly. In this way, in order to reduce unnecessary processing time, it was employed a procedure of setting parameters utilizing an imaginary machine concept, which is broadly explored in [9] for this specific case.

De1 Di1 De2 Ltv N1 bn11 hn1 Z1 br1 hr1

mm mm mm mm mm mm

1.2% 0.2% 16.7% 16.7% 24% -

The particular problem dealt in this paper is a real world problem, however with few variables. Considering that all constraints were well set and the model was well settled in a previous step in which it was considered the generator as an imaginary machine [9], it is not necessary to consider it as a multi-objective problem. However, since in a daily task of design and optimization, each case can be presented from different perspectives, it is interesting to make use of a flexible genetic algorithm which attends to most part of situations. In order to comply with this purpose, this paper uses a multi-objective genetic algorithm: MOGA-II in a single-objective problem. This application was raised and developed in [6], in which there was a proposal to apply it in a real world problem. It is possible to observe on table 6, that the improvement of 25.5% on the SCR is achieved by
Design optimization of a round-rotor synchronous generator for enhancing short-circuit ratio (SCR) - January/2013

TECHNICAL NOTES
handling some parameters such as some diameters, dimensions of the strands, geometry and number of slots. It must be emphasized that these results are reached using a simple steady-state model of a round rotor synchronous generator, using some assumptions, which can hide the true behavior of a machine. In order to confirm the result, the same model was run into an industrial calculation used by WEG, validated by tests on its manufactured generators. The Table 7 shows this comparison in which it is verified the maintaining of SCR.
Table 7: Comparative results Symbol Description Field Current Tooth Induction Yoke Induction Stator Joule Losses Rotor Joule Losses Optimized Generator Generator Industrial Calculation Software* Performance Data 314 2.07 1.48 71 92 Objective SCR Short Circuit Ratio *WEG Courtesy 0.59 0.61 3.3% 329.4 2.09 1.48 72.2 102 Unit Diff. 4.7% 1.7% 9.8%

REFERERENCES

If Bd Bc Pj1 Pj2

A T T kW kW

[1] Srgio Granville, Priscila Lino, Recent Advances of Sugarcane Biomass Cogeneration in Brazil, IEEE PES '09 Power & Energy Society General Meeting, 2009 [2] M. Kostenko and L. Piotrovsky, Electrical Machines, vol. II; Foreign Languages Publishing House, pp.233-234. [3] Jacek F. Gieras, Michell Wing, Design and Applications Permanent Magnet Motor Technology, Crc Press, 2002, pp354-355 [4] Silvia Poles MOGAII An Improved MultiObjective Genetic Algorithm,STECO Technical Report 2003-006 , December 4,2003 [5] C.-E. Estephan, Z. Baba, Specifying a Turbogenerator's Electrical Parameters Guided by Standards and Guide Codes ,2001 [6] Silvia Poles, Enrico Rigoni, Tea Robic MOGAII Performance on Noisy Optimization Problems in Proc. Int. Conf. Bioinspired Optimization MethodsApplicat. (BIOMA 04), Ljubljana, Slovenia, Oct. 2004, pp. 51-62. [7]Tadahiko Murata, Hisao IshiBuchi, MOGA: Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms, IEEE International Conference on Evolutionary Computation,pp289 [8] Boldea, I. The Electric Generators Handbook Synchronous Generators Timisoara: CRC Taylor& Francis Group, LLC, 2006 [9] Wurtz, F., Kuo-Peng, P, S. De Carvalho,E. The Imaginary Pareto Front: a helpful Tool for setting Optimisation Problem for Design of Electromagnetic Devices. Accepted for Publication on COMPUMAG2011.

Design optimization of a round-rotor synchronous generator for enhancing short-circuit ratio (SCR) - January/2013