Generator

Excitation System
&
AVR
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Presentation outline

Understanding basic principle

Types of excitation

Components of excitation system

Brief Description of most commonly used Excitation

systems in power generating plants:

Static Excitation system

Brushless Excitation System

AVR

Experience sharing

Conclusion

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What is Excitation system?

Creating and strengthening the magnetic field of
the generator by passing DC through the filed
winding.

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Why Excitation system?

With large alternators in the power system,
excitation plays a vital role in the management of
voltage profile and reactive power in the grid thus
ensuring Stability

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EXCITATION PRINCIPLE

ROTOR

STATOR
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ROTOR

EXCITATION PRINCIPLE

STATOR

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EXCITATION PRINCIPLE
Stator induced Voltage

E = K. L. d/ dt
K = constant
L = length exposed to flux
d/ dt = rate of change of flux
Frequency of induced Voltage
F = NP / 120
Magnitude of flux decides generated voltage and
speed of rotation decides frequency of
generated voltage
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270
0

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90

360

180

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Flux in the generator rotor

is produced by feeding
DC supply in the field
coils, thus forming a 2
pole magnet of rotor

The Equipment for supply, control and monitoring of this

DC supply is called the Excitation system

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EXCITATION SYSTEM
REQUIREMENT
Regulate terminal voltage of the machine

Meet excitation power requirements under all normal

operating conditions
Enable maximum utilisation of machine capability

Guards the machine against inadvertent tripping during

transients
Improve dynamic & transient stability thereby increasing
availability

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EXCITATION SYSTEM
REQUIREMENT
Reliability
Sensitivity and fast response
Stability
Ability to meet abnormal conditions
Monitoring and annunciation of parameters
User friendliness

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TYPES OF EXCITATION
EXCITATION
SYSTEM
ROTATING
SYSTEM

Conventional
Rotating
machines

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STATIC
SYSTEM

High
frequency
excitation

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Brushless
Excitation
System

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COMPONENTS OF TYPICAL
EXCITATION SYSTEM
Input and output interface , Aux. power supply, FB
AVR: At least two independent channels
Follow up control and changeover
Excitation build up and Field Discharging system
Cooling / heat dissipation components
Limiters
Protective relays
Testing , Monitoring and alarm / trip initiation
Specific requirements :
Field Flashing, Stroboscope, PSS,
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STATIC EXCITATION SYSTEM ( 200 MW)

575 v

AVR
AUTO

15.75 kV

MAN

FB
FF
FDR

415 v AC
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Static excitation system

Excitation power from generator via excitation transformer. Protective relays for
excitation transformer

Field forcing provided through 415 v aux supply

Converter divided in to no of parallel (typically4 ) paths. Each one having separate

pulse output stage and air flow monitoring.

Two channels : Auto & manual, provision for change over from Auto to Manual
Limiters : Stator current limiter, Rotor current limiter, Load angle limiter etc.
Alternate supply for testing

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Static excitation system

GT

EXC TRFR
18KV/700V
1500KVA

Field Breaker
THYRISOR
BRIDGE

FIELD

voltage regulator

GENERATOR

Crow Bar

From TGMCC- C

Non linear
resistor

Field discharge
Resistor

Pre Excitation

415/40V,10KVA
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Field flashing
For start up DC excitation is fed to the field from external source like
station battery or rectified AC from station Ac supply .
Filed flashing is used to build up voltage up to 30 %.
From 30 to 70 % both flashing and regulation remains in circuit.
70 % above flashing gets cut-off

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BRUSH
GEAR

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Brushless excitation
FIELD BREAKER

R
Y

ARMATURE

ROTATING
DIODES

FIELD
(PM)
PILOT
EXCITER

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MAIN
EXCITER

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GENERATOR

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Components of Brush less

Excitation System
Three Phase Main Exciter.
Three Phase Pilot Exciter.
Regulation cubicle
Rectifier Wheels
Exciter Coolers
Metering and supervisory equipment.

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BRUSHLESS EXCITATION SYSTEM (500 MW)

AVR

21 KV
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Brushless Excitation System

Eliminates Slip Rings, Brushgear and all problems associated with
transfer of current via sliding contacts
Simple, Reliable and increasingly popular system the world over,
Ideally suited for large sets
Minimum operating and maintenance cost

Self generating excitation unaffected by system fault/disturbances

because of shaft mounted pilot exciter
Multi contact electrical connections between exciter and
generator field
Stroboscope for fuse failure detection
Rotor Earth fault monitoring system
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Brushless Excitation system

Rotor E/F monitoring system
alarm 80 K, Trip 5 K
Stroboscope for thyristor fuse monitoring
(one fuse for each pair of diodes, )

Auto channel thyristor current monitor

For monitoring of thyristor bridge current , and
initiating change over to manual.
Auto to Manual changeover in case of Auto channel
power supply, thyristor set problem, or generator volts
actual value problem
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Excitation Power Requirement

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Unit
capacity
MW

Excitation
Current at
Full Load

Excitation
Voltage at
full load

Ceiling
Volts

200/ 210

2600

310

610

500

6300

600

1000

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PMG

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRUSHLESS AND

STATIC EXCITATION SYSTEMS
S.NO

Description

Brushless Excitation

Type of system.

Brushless system gets activated

with pilot exciter, main
exciter and rotating diodes.

Static excitation system uses

thyristors & taking supply
from output of the
generator

Dependency on external
supply.

No external source requirement

since pilot exciter has
permanent magnet field.

Field flashing supply required

for excitation build up.

Response of the excitation

system.

Slower than static type since

control is indirect (on the
field of main exciter) and
magnetic components
involved.

Very fast response in the order

of 40 ms. due to the direct
control and solid state
devices employed.

Requirement of additional
bearing and increase of
turbo generator shaft
length.

One additional bearing and an

increase in the shaft length
are required.

No additional bearing and

increase in shaft length are
required.

Maintenance.

Less since slip rings and brushes

are avoided.

More since slip rings and

brushes are required. Also
over hang vibrations are
very high resulting in faster
wear and tear.

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Static Excitation

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MAIN EXCITER

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EXCITER ROTOR

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EXCITER COOLING
VAPOUR EXHAUST

COOLER

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GENERATOR
I

XG
EF =

EF

I . XG + VT

VT

Equivalent circuit of Generator

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GENERATOR
Phasor diagram of the Generator

Ef

IL.Xd

VT

IL

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GCB

GENERATOR

GT

Xd

XT

VT

Ef

Vbus

Generator + Generator Transformer Eq. Ckt.

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GENERATOR
Vector Diagram of Generator and GT
connected to an infinite bus

EF

IL.Xd

VT

IL.XT
Vbus

IL

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GENERATOR
In the equivalent Circuit and Phasor diagram, the notations used have
the following description:
Vbus

Infinite bus voltage

VT

Generator Terminal Voltage

EF

Induced Voltage (behind synchronous

Impedance) of Generator, proportional
to excitation.

Xd

Direct axis sync. Reactance assumed

same as quadrature axis sync.
Reactance

XT

Transformer reactance

IL

Load Current

Phase angle

Torque Angle (rotor/load angle)

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GENERATOR
POWER ANGLE EQUATION
Referring to the phasor diagram on slide no.14;
Sin / IL.{Xd+XT}

Sin (90+ ) / EF

Putting Xd+XT =X, and multiplying both sides by VIL,

V Sin /X

VIL Cos / EF

{Sin (90+ ) = Cos }

or,
(EF . V / X) Sin

VIL Cos

Pmax

EF . V / X

Note that the Electrical Power Output varies as the Sin of Load angle
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1.2
1

Torque angle diagram

0.81.2
1
0.6
0.8
0.40.6
0.20.4
0.2
0 0

180

18

Angle in degrees

150

15

120

90

12

60

90

30

60

30

Sin delta

Power in pu

Torque angle diagram

Angle in degrees
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Physical
significance
of load angle

Stator
mag.
axis

red
N
ROTOR

Rotor
mag.
axis
yellow

STATOR

blue
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P2

Excitation constant;
EF2

Steam flow increased

P1

Power output P1 to P2
EF1

2
I2

Vbus

Locus of
Constant
Excitation

I1
ACTIVE POWER CHANGE
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Locus of P = const.
Steam Flow constant;
Excitation increased

EF2

Power output Constant

EF1

2
I2

Vbus

Locus of
Constant
Excitation

I1
I Cos = Constant
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EXCITATION CHANGE

Power in per
unit

Excitation Control

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

Power Angle Diagrams for Different

Excitation Levels

P1
P2
P3
0
30 60 90 120 150 180
Power Angle (delta), in degrees

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AVR

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TYPES OF AVR SYSTEMS

Single channel AVR system
Dual channel AVR system
Twin channel AVR system

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Single channel AVR system

Here we have two controllers one is automatic and the other is
manual and both the controllers are fed from the same supply
The AVR senses the circuit parameters through current
transformers and voltage transformers and initiates the control
action by initiating control pulses , which are amplified and sent
to the circuit components
The gate controller is used to vary the firing angle in order
to control the field current for excitation
In case of any fault in the automatic voltage regulator the control
can be switched on to the manual controller.
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Dual channel AVR system

Here also we have two controllers in the same manner as the
previous case i.e. one automatic voltage controller and one manual
controller
But here in contrary to the previous case we have different power
supply, gate control and pulse amplifier units for each of the
controllers
Reliability is more in this case than previous one since a fault in
either gate control unit or pulse amplifier or power supply in single
channel AVR will cause failure of whole unit, but in dual channel
AVR this can be avoided by switching to another channel.
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Twin channel AVR system

This system almost resembles the dual channel AVR but the only
difference is that here we have two automatic voltage regulators
instead of one automatic voltage regulator and one manual Voltage
regulator
This system has an edge over the previous one in the fact that in case
of failure in the AVR of the Dual voltage regulator the manual system
is switched on and it should be adjusted manually for the required
change in the system and if the fault in AVR is not rectified in
reasonable time it will be tedious to adjust the manual voltage
regulator

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Twin channel AVR system

In Twin channel AVR both the AVRs sense the circuit parameters
separately and switching to other regulator incase of fault is much
easier and hence the system is more flexible than the other types.
Generally switching to manual regulator is only exceptional cases
like faulty operation of AVR or commissioning and maintenance
work and hence we can easily manage with one AVR and one
manual regulator than two AVRs. So Twin channel AVR is only
used in very few cases and generally Dual channel AVR is
preferred.

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AVR
There are two independent control systems
1. Auto control
2. Manual control

The control is effected on the 3 phase output of the pilot

exciter and provides a variable d.c. input to the main exciter

The feedback of voltage and current output of the generator

is fed to avr where it is compared with the set point
generator volts se from the control room
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AVR

The main components of the voltage Regulator are two closed

loop control systems each followed by separate gate control unit
and thyristor set and de excitation equipment
Control system 1 for automatic generator voltage control

(AUTO) comprises the following

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AVR
Generator voltage control
The output quantity of this control is the set point for a following.

Excitation current regulator, controlling the field current of

the main exciter

Circuits for automatic excitation build-up during start up

and field suppression during shut-down
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AVR
This equipment acts on to the output of the generator voltage,
control, limiting the set point for the above excitation current
regulator. The stationary value of this limitation determines the
maximum possible excitation current set-point (field forcing
limitation);

Limiter for the under-excited range (under excitation limiter),

Delayed limiter for the overexcited range (over excitation limiter)

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AVR
In the under excitation range, the under
excitation ensures that the minimum excitation
required for stable parallel operation of the
generator with the system is available and that
the under -excited reactive power is limited
accordingly

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AVR
The set-point adjuster of the excitation current
regulator for manual is tracked automatically (followup control) so that, in the event of faults, change over
to the manual control system is possible without delay
Automatic change over is initiated by some special
fault condition. Correct operation of the follow-up
control circuit is monitored and can be observed on a
matching instrument in the control room. This
instrument can also be used for manual matching.
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AVR
FAULT INDICATIONS
The following alarms are issued from the voltage
regulator to the control room.

AVR fault

AVR automatic change over to MANUAL

AVR loss of voltage alarm

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AVR
The current feedback is utilized for active and
reactive power compensation and for limiters

There are 3 limiters

1.Under excitation limiter
2.Over excitation limiter

3. V/F limiter
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Excitation Interlocks
Preconditions for Excitation ON
Excitation ON command
N>90%
Protection Off
FCB Off feedback

5s delay

Excitation
ON

External trip
GCB is OFF

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Excitation OFF Interlocks

Exc. OFF from Field flashing

Exc OFF command

GCB OFF
N>90%

Exc OFF

Delay 1sec

GCB OFF
External trip

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Capability Curve
Capability Curve relates to the limits in which a generator can
Operate safely.
Boundaries of the Curve within with the machine will operate
safely
Lagging Power Factor/Overexcited region
Top Section Relates to Field Heating in Rotor Winding
Right Section Relates to Stator current Limit
Straight line relates to Prime Mover Output
Leading Power Factor/ Underexicted region

Lower Side relates to Stator end ring Limit

Further down relates to Pole slipping
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LIMITERS

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Over excitation limiter

Under excitation limiter
Rotor angle limiter
Stator current limiter
V/F limiter

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Over excitation limiter

Line voltage drops due to more reactive power requirement ,
switching operations or faults
AVR increases
generator excitation to hold the voltage
constant
Line voltage drops , thermal over loading of generator can
result
OEL is automatic limitation of generator excitation by lowering
the generator voltage (otherwise the set point of generator
voltage is reduced in time or the transformation ratio of the GT
is to be adjusted )
OEL permits excitation values above the normal excitation and
extended to max excitation (for field forcing) for a limited time,
so as to permit the generator to perform the grid stabilization in
response to short drops in line voltage
When IF >110% of Ifn , the OEL and Field forcing limiter are
active
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Under Excitation limiter

Function is to correct the reactive power when the excitation
current falls below minimum excitation current value required
for stable operation of generator
Activation of UEL takes over the control from the closed loop
voltage control, acting via a max selection
The limit characteristic is adjustable (shifted parallel)
I reactive ref is compared with the measured I reactive , the
error is fed to P- amplifier. When the value drops below the
characteristic the amplified diff signal causes the field current to
increase
For commissioning purpose provision is made to mirror the
characteristic in the inductive range, this allowing both the
direction in which the control signal acts and the blocking of the
set point generators is to be changed
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Rotor Angle Limiter

Stable operation rotor angle <900, for higher degree of stability
a further margin of 10-12% is normally provided
RAL gives the o/p as
permissible I reactive =F ( I active)
Characteristic is shifted linearly as a function of generator
voltage
Permissible I reactive is compared with the measured value and
is fed to the limit controller when the I reactive achieved value
drops below the permissible value then the limiter comes in
action and I reactive

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Stator current limiter

During operation at high active power P and / low voltage the
stator current of the generator tends to rise beyond its rated
value and can cause the thermal overloading of stator, in spite
of the action of the UEL
An additional stator current limiting controller acting on the
generator excitation is provided as a safe guard against such
states of operation
SCL always monitors the stator current measured value for
crossing the rated stator current
SCL permits small time over load but comes in action thereafter
and influences the effective generator voltage set point- to
reduce the Q till the stator current is brought down below the
rated value
Change in generator voltage set point is not blocked when SCL
active
SCL does not operate near the unity PF because near this
value any limiter would cause oscillations
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V/F limiter
Also known as over fluxing limiter
It is the protection function for the GT
V/F ratio , eddy current , the local eddy current causes
thermal over loading of GT
In DVR mode V/F ratio is continuously monitors the limit
violation
In case V/F ratio crosses the limit characteristic, the upper limit
as the effective AVR set point is reduced as a function of V/F
ratio
This limiter is used when it is required to keep the unit operating
even in case of substantial frequency drops , for instance in
order to prevent complete breakdown of the system, a V/F
limiter is used to lower the voltage proportional with frequency
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PRIORITY STRUCTURE OF AVR

1st priority

Rotor current limiter

UN1024

Stator current li miter

inductive
UN0027

2 nd priority

Load angle limiter

UN1043

Stator current limiter

Capacitive
UN0027

3 rd priority

Voltage regulator
UN-2010

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Field failure protection

Loss of generator field excitation under normal
running conditions may arise due to any of the
following condition.
1. Failure of brush gear.
2.unintentional opening of the field circuit breaker.
3. Failure of AVR.
When generator on load loses its excitation , it starts to
operate as an induction generator, running above
synchronous speed.cylindrical rotor generators are
not suited to such operation , because they don't have
damper windings able to carry the induced currents,
consequently this type of rotor will overheat rather
quickly.
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THANK YOU

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