IEE International Conference on Advances in Power System Control, Operation and Management, November 1991, Hong Kong
The C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
E x c i t a t 4 on
K.Suzuki* , T.Sumida* , S.Uda*
Kobe , Japan
* Kobe Works , Mitsubishi E l e c t r i c Corporation
** Power and I n d u s t r i a l System Center , Mitsubishi E l e c t r i c Corporation
1. Introduction
The improvement o f the power s t a b i l i t y i s now
s t r o n g l y required because i t plays a key r o l e
f o r the enhancement o f power supply r e l i a b i l -
i t y . This requirement has become p a r t i c u l a r -
l y urgent one as power p l a n t s have expanded
i n t h e i r s i z e and as t h e i r locations are
g e t t i n g more and more remote f r o m populated
areas . increasing the e l e c t r i c a l output
I n t h i s s i t u a t i o n , the e x c i t a t i o n system i s
a l s o required to achieve various improvements
such a s s m a l l e r f l o o r occupancy , q u i c k
response , e t c . Among others, the quick-
response e x c i t a t i o n system i s especially o f
great importance, because i t improves the
s t a b i l i t y o f a power system and also because
i t i s more r e l i a b l e and more c o s t - e f f e c t i v e
than expensive reinforcement o f power trans-
mission systems . This paper discussecJ the
r e l a t i o n between a r e c e n t l y developed excita-
t i o n system and i t s improved s t a b i l i t y , and
the evaluation o f the system s t a b i l i t y . As a
r e s u l t , we g e t the conclusion t h a t i n case
the c e i l i n g voltage i s the same , the quick
response brush 1ess exc itat ion system im-
proves t r a n s i e n t s t a b i l i t y more e f f e c t i v e l y
than the t h y r i s t o r e x c i t a t i o n system . And
f i n a l l y , the improvement o f the power system
s t a b i l i t y by replacing the DC e x c i t e r t o
brushless e x c i t e r i s described as an example
o f the above a p p l i c a t i o n .
2.The e f f e c t o f e x c i t a t i o n system on power
system s t a b i 1 it y
Much has been studied on the e f f e c t o f the
e x c i t a t i o n system on power system s t a b i l i t y
Tpe comparative data between the study and
the measurement o f system s t a b i l i t y are a l s o
reported . ( l ) This paper t r i e s to introduce :
i ) a new concept t o express the characteris-
t i c s o f the e x c i t a t i o n system connected t o a
power system
ii)the r e l a t i o n between the system s t a b i 1it y
and the e x c i t a t i o n system
i i i ) t h e comparison between the study and the
measurement o f the actual system.
This paper w i l l a l s o describe the d i f f e r e n c e
o f system c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and o f the e f f e c t
on the system s t a b i l i t y caused by two d i f f e r -
e n t e x c i t a t i o n systems .
transient s t a b i l i t y .
One i s t o reduce the
a c c e l e r a t i o n energy and t h e o t h e r i s t o
o f -~
S y s t e m
, M.Shimomura** , S.Tanaka**
increase the deceleration energy I n the .
e x c i t a t i o n system , the deceleration energy
i s increased to improve t h e t r a n s i e n t s t a b i l -
ity . For t h i s purpose , quicker response i s
given t o t h e e x c i t a t i o n system , and i t s
c e i l i n g voltage i s increased .
These two
methods increase the i n t e r n a l induced voltage
a f t e r the removal o f the f a u l t , thereby
Conse- .
quently the deceleration energy i s
increased .
2.1.2 E x c i t a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and tran-
s i e n t s t a b i l i t y improvement e f f e c t
I n t h i s s u b s e c t i o n , t h e q u i c k response
brushless e x c i t a t i o n system and t h y r i s t o r
e x c i t a t i o n system which have high i n i t i a l
response c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are taken up to
e x p l a i n the e f f e c t o f s t a b i l i t y improvement .
Fig.1 shows the configurations o f the two
systems .
To compare the e f f e c t on the t r a n s i e n t sta-
b i 1it y , a three-phase s h o r t - c i r c u i t f a i l u r e
i n the proximity o f the generator p l a n t i s
considered . I t i s assumed t h a t the f a i l e d
l i n e w i l l be cleared a t f o u r cycles a f t e r the
failure (Fig.2) . The r e l a t i o n between the
c e i l i n g voltage and threshold reactance under
t h i s c o n d i t i o n i s shown i n F i g . 3 . The
threshold reactance means the l a r g e s t react-
ance o f t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n l i n e under t h e
c o n d i t i o n o f s t a t a b l e power transmission ,
and i t corresponds to the transmission l i n e
distance i f the output o f the power p l a n t i s
assumed constant . A s shown i n Fig.3 , a
considerable d i f f e r e n c e occurs i n the thresh-
. o l d r e a c t a n c e , even a t t h e same c e i l i n g
voltage, between the quick response type
brushless e x c i t a t i o n system and the t h y r i s t o r
e x c i t a t i o n system . A s shown i n Fig.1 , t h i s
d i f f e r e n c e i s due to the source o f the exci-
t a t i o n power , t h a t i s , the d i r e c t coupling
type e x c i t e r f o r t h e brushless e x c i t a t i o n
system , and the generator terminal voltage
f o r the t h y r i s t o r e x c i t a t i o n system . I n the
case o f t h y r i s t o r e x c i t a t i o n system , as
shown i n Fig.4 , there are large drop i n the
generator i n t e r n a l voltage due to the genera-
tor terminal voltage drop , and the drop of
the c e i l i n g voltage a f t e r recovery. For the
evaluation o f t h i s difference. the concept of
the e x c i t a t i o n system response r a t i o pre-
scribed i n the standards f o r d e f i n i t i o n s f o r
e x c i t a t i o n systems f o r synchronous machines
(IEEE 421 ) ublished i n 1972 (Fig.5) i s
introduced . ( g ) I n accordance w i t h t h i s
d e f i n i t i o n , as shown i n Fig.6 , the excita-
t i o n system response r a t i o i s determined from
the change o f the generator f i e l d voltage.
479
 L 2
- 0 0.5 l.0
(a) Brushless excitation system TI=. (sec.)

b27 Excitor transformer

r+#
Slip ring

U 0 0.5 1.0
7 l r (sec.)
(b) Thyristor excitation system
(Full-bkidge type) Fig.4 Response upon-even: of failure
(Ceiling voltage: 5.3 p . u . 1
Fig.1 E x c i t a t i o n system configuration

run c r m s x o m :
i I

Excfcrcloo system

Cut off afrer 4 cycles.

-C7f
Fig.2 Hypotbetic system failure I
0 i l r (sec.)

0.s p Fig.5 Response rate of excitaric

syscem

o f t h e e x c i t a t i o n f o r m u l a , as shown i n
Fig.7 . This means t h a t the transient sta-
b i l i t y i s determined by the f o r c i n g value
( i . e . the area) o f the generator f i e l d v o l t -
age a t the event o f f a i l u r e .
Besides , the
r e l a t i o n between the c e i l i n g voltage and
e x c i t a t i o n system e f f e c t i v e response r a t i o i s
shown i n Fig.8 f o r each e x c i t a t i o n system .
Thus , i n order to maintain the same response
, i t i s required to take a higher c e i l i n g
voltage f o r the t h y r i s t o r e x c i t a t i o n system
1 p.u. -
ce11Lns w1c.st (P.U.)
FLeld w l c a 5 t LC Che generecor
ao-load raced WIcaqe.
than f o r the brushless e x c i t a t i o n system .
This i s , as mentioned before, due to the
Flg.3 Calling voltage and difference o f the e x c i t a t i o n power applied t o
transienc stability each system .
From these considerations , i t
i s reasonable to evaluate the system response
by means o f the e f f e c t i v e response r a t i o o f
the e x c i t a t i o n system rather than by means o f
during the aforementioned f a i l u r e .
This new the c e i l i n g v o l t a g e i r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e
concept i s c a l l e d as the e x c i t a t i o n system e x c i t a t i o n system .
I n t h i s study , the case
e f f e c t i v e response r a t i o .
The relation o f 3-phase s h o r t - c i r c u i t f a i l u r e i n the
between the e x c i t a t i o n system e f f e c t i v e proximity o f the generator p l a n t was d e a l t
response r a t i o and the threshold reactance
shown i n Fig.3 can be represented regardless
with . However , the case o f a f a i l u r e a t a
remote l o c a t i o n o r s l i g h t f a i l u r e can be

480
d e a l t w i t h i n the same manner The same .
tendency i s obtained when evaluated by the
c e i l i n g voltage , b u t the difference between
the e x c i t a t i o n systems i s not as conspicuous
as shown i n various f i g u r e s i l l u s t r a t e d i n
t h i s study . loaded conditions
3.Evaluation o f e x c i t a t i o n system characteris
tics
T h e h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f an e x c i t a t i o n system
are u s u a l l y evaluated by the response r a t i o ,
c e i l i n g voltage , etc. , under generator
.
However , i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o t e s t these
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s under loaded conditions be-
cause i t could a f f e c t the actual system . I t
i s necessary to c l a r i f y the behavior o f the
e x c i t a t i o n system by a simulation i n which an
e x c i t a t i o n system i s connected to a power
system and a generator . The simulation
model u s u a l l y used f o r the system analysis
i s , however , s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r the purpose
o f the system analysis , b u t unsatisfactory
to grasp the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f the e x c i t a -
t i o n system i t s e l f f o r the purpose o f the
evaluation o f the e x c i t a t i o n system .(3) In
t h i s section , a simulation model which
c l a r i f i e s the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f the brush-
less e x c i t a t i o n system w i l l be introduced as
an example . ( 4 ) The r e s u l t o f comparison t o
the actual measured data w i l l also be report-
ed .
Fig.9 shows a simulation model f o r the brush-
less e x c i t a t i o n system .

%%% represents the load c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

o f AC e x c i t e r and the voltage regulation
characteristic o f r o t a t i n g r e c t i f i e r i n the
following method .
A ) A m t u r e reaction e f f e c t o f the AC e x c i t e r
i s represented by Kd *
I f d (The generator
f i e l d current) . This corresponds to (A)
section i n Fig.10 i n a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c .
i r
I B)The r e l a t i o n between the f i e l d voltage and
a i 2 3 4 5 5 no-load output voltage o f the AC e x c i t e r i s
Excitation s y s c u e f f e c t i v e represented by the time lag o f f i r s t order
ruponse r a u o ( l f s e c . )
which takes the saturation c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
FIg.7 Excicatioa syscem e f f e c t i v e responsa Kate i n t o consideration .
(The no-load saturation
v s . cransient s c a b i l i c y curve i n Fig.10)

C)The e x c i t e r f i e l d c u r r e n t under loaded

9k conditions i s a sum of the output voltage
I inducing component ( ( e ) section i n Fig.10)
and the annature reaction component .

D)The r e c t i f i e r c i r c u i t under loaded condi-

t i o n s has a voltage regulation c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
shown i n Fig.11 . This i s represented as the
function Fex .

2 )AVR
3 3t Brushless
m
. e n i c a c i o u syscen The AVR i s composed o f a detector , a d i f f e r -
I . .
e n t i a l amplifier , a t h y r i s t o r amplifier , a
0 ~ 2 3 4 5 6 damping loop and a c u r r e n t feedback loop .
L c i c a c l o u ryscm effective

1 p.u. -
respouse race W s e c . 1
F i e l d vulcage ac geocracor
no-load raced VOltag.
This model has the f o l l o w i n g features ;

A)The current feedback loop has a function t o

raise the response o f the e x c i t a t i o n system
Fig.0 Lxcieacion s y s c m e f f e c t i v e response r a t i o
vs. c e i l i n g volcaga
w i t h i n the l i n e a r region .
B)The l i m i t e r f o r the e r r o r a m p l i f i e r pro-
v i d e s t h e f u n c t i o n of t h e f i e l d c u r r e n t
l i m i t e r by using the current feedback loop .
Fig.12 i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s function .
T h i s can r e p r e s e n t a system h a v i n g h i g h
i n i t i a l respon- c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( i t s voltage
response t i m e i s l e s s than 0.1 second) .

481
 "Re? : V o l t a p e r e p u l a c o r r e f a r o n c a vo1tep.a vA,c(IN : H i n i m u outpat voltaae

KA : Error amplifier gain V w y : AVR m a r l m u Ourput v o l t a p e

KB : m y r l s r o r amplifier paln vRnIN : AVR m l n l u o u r p u r v o l r a p a

T ~ T~
, I AVR t l u conmranl KB : Excltar gain

KII I C u r r e n t feudback l o o p g a i n yt! : L x c i t u r mnturetion functlon

Tll : C u r r e n t feedback l o o p clue c o n a t a l l t TB : B x c l t e r tlme c o n m t i n t

KF : Damplnp l o o p g a l n EC : R e c r l f l e r l o a d i n 8 f n c r o r r e l a t e d to C O
co.rutatlng reoctanca
TF : D u p i n g l o o p time c o n s t a n t KD : D e m a g n e c i r i n g f a c t o r . f u n c t i o n of e x c i t e r
' a l t e r n a t o r reactance
vmAX : n a x i m u o ~ t p v~o i tc a g a
(Current l i m l r e r r a f e r e n c a value) ve : E x c i t e r volra(le back o f c o r u c a c l o n
reactance
Fig.9 Block diagram of simulation model for brushless excitation system

Coastaad oucput curraac

Load s a c u a c i o o cams

"--I /

hac:anca
O 0IILLLl 0.5 1.0

race r q u i v a i a n c v a r z a ~ e~n (in :<c:m)w

15

A'= 0) I (A)
ExcicIr f i a l d curzaac -
Fig. 11 Voltage drop c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
of the r e c t i f i e r loop

.
F i g 10 Brush1ess exc it e r characteri s t i c

3) Comparison w i t h measured data

A t r a n s i e n t response t e s t was performed i n
which the e x c i t a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were
expressly revealed .
Then the measured data
and the calculated data were canpared .
The f i e l d t e s t data performed a t a power
p l a n t are shown as f o l l o w s :
Fig. 13 shows the measured data o f the tran-
s i e n t response t e s t and t h e c a l c u l a t e d
data .(5) I n t h i s case , the s l i p r i n g s f o r Fig.12 An example whereby the f i e l d current
measurement were i n s t a l l e d s p e c i a l l y As . 1 i m i t e r i s operated
the generator operated a t f u l l load , the
t e s t i n g period was l i m i t e d i n 0.1 second to
decrease the a f f e c t to the power system .
This f i g u r e shows t h a t the e x c i t e r system
voltage response time i s below 0.07 second .
Therefore , a high i n i t i a l response o f 0.1 The calculated data coincide w i t h the t e s t
sec. o r less i s obtained . data
A t the t r a n s i e n t response t e s t , the genera- Next , Fig.14 and Fig.15 respectively show
t o r f i e l d voltage moves on the rated output the r e s u l t s o f open loop transient response
c u r r e n t curve i n Fig.10 and f i n a l l y reaches t e s t and c l o s e d l o o p t r a n s i e n t response
the c e i l i n g voltage . test . Both measured data and calculated

482
 data are shown i n the f i g u r e respectively .
The calculated data coincide w i t h the t e s t ---I Measured data
data i n the case o f the f a l l o f the generator ----: Calculated data
terminal voltage as well as i n the caso o f
the r i s e o f the generator terminal voltage .
From these coincidences , i t i s said t h a t the
modeling o f the AC e x c i t e r armature reaction
e f f e c t and r e c t i f i e r c i r c u i t voltage regula-
t i o n i s reasonable .

-: Measured data
--: Calculated data

c
AVR inpuc s i g n a l a
a.
* U
0-
a m
U c Ea
*-a
c *
h -u
suo
U " >

Seep signal 1
0 5 10
Tize (1eC.J

Fig.15 Closed loop t r a n s i e n t response t e s t

w i t h normal response e x c i t e r at
gene r a t o r no- 1oad
Fig.13 High i n i t i a l response e x c i t a t i o n
(420MVA turbine generator)
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a t generator f u l l load
(670MVA turbine generator)
4.Reolacement o f e x c i t a t i o n system
The r e n o v a t i o n on e x c i t a t i o n system f o r
turbine generator on thermal power p l a n t i s
not l i m i t e d to the replacement o f the system
Measured data components f o r re1 i a b i 1 i t y improvement .
___
-I
1 Recently , i t has advanced to the stage o f
a
- 3. : Calculat ed data
-3 .
I
the replacing o f the e x c i t a t i o n system t o
improve the power system s t a b i l i t y and compo-
nent m a i n t a i n a b i l i t y
I n t h i s s e c t i o n , t h e l i s t ( T a b l e 1 ) of
e x c i t a t i o n system which have been replaced
and a sample are shown .
Fig.16 shows an example o f replacement from a
s e p a r a t e - t y p e DC e x c i t a t i o n system t o a
brushless e x c i t a t i o n system .
5.Conclusion
I t has become more and more important t h a t
the r o l e o f the e x c i t a t i o n system f o r im-
provement on power system s t a b i l i t y . Howev-
e r , i t s e v a l u a t i o n method and expected
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s has n o t been c l a r i f i e d ,
although much i s required to the selection
and performance o f the e x c i t a t i o n system .
This f a c t g r e a t l y a f f e c t the planning o f the
e x c i t a t i o n system i n i t s economic aspect .
I t i s o f t e n the case t h a t the e x c i t a t i o n
system w i t h e x c e s s i ve performance is
Fig.14 Open loop t r a n s i e n t response t e s t planned . I t w u l d be a great pleasure f o r
w i t h normal response e x c i t e r a t us i f t h i s paper , which introducing a method
generator no-load o f evaluation and a replacement o f e x c i t a t i o n
(420MVA turbine generator) system , could be a help f o r the p l a n t users
t o plan an adequate e x c i t a t i o n system .

483
 Table 1. Renovated items and results
( E x c i t a t i o n systems f o r turbine garterator)
~~

Existing Pumo~ contents The No. o f

excitation of of machines
system renovation renovation supplied

Imprcvement o f Rep1aced by 9
s y s t m rtnbi1it y brushless Shown i n
Impmvarnsnt o f excitation ( 5 o f which Fig.16
systm r o l i a b i l i t y SYStarn were quick
Imprcvement o f responw example
maintaimbi 1it y tm)
DC e x c i t e r
Replaced by
Inpmvalamlt o f thyristor
syrt.a rtabi 1it y excitation
Impmvament o f sys-
reliability
Replaced by
separate1y-
i n s t a lled
AC e x c i t e r

(3)IEEE Comnittee Report : ' I E E E Trans. on

Air cooler PAS' , V0l.PAS-87 , N0.6 , 1968

(4)IEEE Comnittee Report : ' I E E E Trans. on

' PAS' , Vol.PAS-100 , No.2 ,1981

(5)S.Nakaya e t a l . : ' A High I n i t i a l Response

Brushless E x c i t a t i o n System For Akoh Power
Station U n i t No.1 o f The Kansai E l e c t r i c
Power Company , Incorporated ' , Mitsubishi
Denki Giho , Vo162 , No.7 , 1988

(6)K.Suzuki e t a l . : 'Modernization o f Exci-

t a t i o n Systems o f Turbine Generators f o r
Thermal Power Plants ' , Mitsubishi Ocnki
Giho , Vo164 , No.2 , 1990

(b) AS.bly dr.rx:~ a f SLiLi. brn-:L

bmShlaSS *XCl:*r

Fig.16 A n example of renovation on e x c i t a t i o n

system f o r turbine generator

484