Adjustable Speed Constant Frequency Energy Generation

with Doubly-Fed Induction Machines

Christian R. Kelber Prof. Dr.-Ing. Walter Schumacher

Institute of Control Engineering Institute of Control Engineering

Technical University Braunschweig Technical University Braunschweig
Hans-Sommer-Str. 66 Hans-Sommer-Str. 66
38106 Braunschweig, Germany 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
http://www.ifr.ing.tu-bs.de

1. Introduction: the speed is adjusted so that the operating point moves from
the fixed speed operation line (A→B) to the path with better
Power systems are designed to operate under strong quality efficiency in the hill chart. Therefore in hydroelectric plants
requirements, so that hydroelectric plants have to produce the most correct term to be used should be adjustable speed
energy with constant voltage and frequency. According to constant frequency (ASCF) energy generation, instead of
classical generation schemes, frequency is controlled by the variable speed operation.
speed governors, which tend to maintain the turbine rotating
speed fixed at a synchronous speed.
During the plant life the basic variables, such as water head
and flow, are not the same as those assumed for the design,
the turbine’s operating point can go out of the region for
maximal efficiency for long periods of time, decreasing the
plant total efficiency. If speed is changed, the power plant can
operate again with maximum efficiency, bringing also many
advantages for the electrical power system control.
When the mechanical speed is confined to a relative small
band around synchronism (typically ± 10%) the use of
doubly-fed induction machines (DFIM) comes into
consideration and the static converter is sized only for a
portion of the rated power of the plant. In pumped storage
power plants the use of doubly-fed induction machines allows
the realization of power control in pump mode and efficiency
optimization in turbine mode. Due to reduced costs of the
converter this solution seems to be the most suitable one. In
this article the fundamentals of the DFIM and the evolution of Figure 1 – Hill chart of a Francis turbine showing the most
the machine/converter systems will be presented. Another efficient path for adjustable speed operation
important aspect in DFIM/converter systems is how to define
the dimension of the converter referring to the rated power of
the machine. At the end there will be presented a comparison 3. Historical retrospect:
between the most common ASCF energy generation
technologies and the advantages of the DFIM adjustable The first studies of machine cascade connections and speed
speed system. control with cascaded commutator machines were reported in
the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century 1. The
first register containing asynchronous machines with a three
2. Terminology: phase cascaded commutator machine is the english patent
13033 by Lydall and Siemens Brothers, 1901. They were the
In literature the name “variable speed energy generation” is firsts who presented such machine schemes, but these cascade
often used to indicate that the electrical generator is not connections didn’t receive their names. Do to practical
working at synchronous speed. However, the name “variable” applications and studies done by Kraemer and Scherbius
suggests that the speed is varying free, without control,
probably containing oscillations, in a defined speed range.
1
This definition may not be applied for hydroelectric plants Görges (ETZ, 1891);
such as for wind energy generation, where the wind speed can Siemens & Halske (DRP 109 208, 1898);
not be controlled. In case of hydroelectric plants the rotating Bragstadt – LaCour (DRP 148 305, 1902);
speed of the generator/turbine system is not varying without Osnos (ETZ, 1902);
rules, but is adjusted so that the turbine operates with Westinghouse – Leblanc (french patent 329 154, 1903);
maximum efficiency for a defined operating point. Figure 1 Milch (DRP 191 859, 1906);
shows a hill chart of a Francis turbine. For a demanded power BBC – Pungs (DRP 241 188, 1910)
between 1907 and 1913 this cascade connections became back to the line, such as the in the historical retrospect
more popular and are therefore known nowadays as Kraemer mentioned Sherbius System. This scheme is therefore known
and Scherbius systems. These systems are both slip power as Static Scherbius Drive (figure 3). The advantages of this
recovery schemes of wound-rotor induction machines. The scheme are the low converter power rating, because the
Kraemer System transforms the slip energy back into converter handles only the slip power, and the continuous
mechanical energy using a second machine in a tandem speed control. The problems are the limited two quadrant
arrangement with the wound-rotor induction motor. The operation and the low power factor due to the use of a
Scherbius System recovers the slip energy by sending it back thyristor inverter as line side converter. By using a diode
to the line using an induction generator connected bridge for the rotor side converter the slip power can just flow
mechanically to the commutator machine. in one direction and the machine can only operate as a motor
Before the 2nd world war Prof. A. Leonhard made one of the with undersynchronous speed or as a generator with
most complete analysis at this time of the doubly-fed oversynchronous speed.
induction machine as a variable speed generator [6]. He was
after the war professor by the Technical University of
Stuttgart and his assistant developed in 1966 the principles of
the control scheme for a DFIM using a special developed
cascaded machine [7].
Important evolutions in theory and technology occurred in the
last decades [8]. In the 60th the space vectors theory, in the
70th the field orientation theory and in the 80th and 90th the
evolution of power electronics and digital signal processing
with controlled AC-Drives. Due to work pioneered by Prof.
W. Leonhard in the 70th and 80th the technology of doubly-fed
induction machines as an adjustable speed constant frequency
energy generation system is now possible.

4. Evolution of the doubly-fed induction machine drives:

The doubly-fed induction machine is a wound-rotor induction
machine and had long been used for inexpensive motor speed
control by mechanically varying the rotor circuit rheostats as
shown in figure 2a.
Figure 3 – Static Scherbius Drive
To improve the power factor a synchronous machine can be
added to the system in a tandem arrangement with the doubly-
fed induction machine (figure 4). In this case the thyristor
inverter is no more connected directly to the line and is
consequently not consuming reactive power from there. The
slip power is converted into mechanical energy and the
system received in consequence of this the name Static
Kraemer Drive. This scheme also operates reliably in case of
momentary line voltage dips.

Figure 2 - Speed control of an induction wound-rotor motor

by changing mechanically (a) and with chopper variation (b)
the rotor resistance

The first evolution of this system was the use of a static

converter with a chopper, which changed statically the value
of the resistance R shown in figure 2b. It is possible by
switching on and off the chopper in a high frequency to
control the rotor currents, and so the slip and the mechanical
speed of the machine. This method of speed control is very
inefficient because the slip energy is wasted in the rotor
circuit resistance.
To reduce this energy waste the chopper and the resistor were
changed by a thyristor inverter, which sends the slip energy
Figure 4 – Static Kraemer Drive
To operate in all the four quadrants the slip power in the rotor
should also flow in the reverse direction. A thyristor bridge
can replace the diode rectifier, but near synchronous speed the
line commutation of the machine side converter is difficult
due to the small ac voltage. To overcome this problem the
CSI converter (current source inverter) can be substituted by a
cycloconverter, shown in figure 5. It is so possible to operate
the machine as a motor or a generator in undersynchronous
and oversynchronous speed. This system was implemented in
some pumped storage systems, such as the Compuerto Project
[9] in Spain (10MW), and the Ohkawachi power station [10]
in Japan (400MW). The problem of such a scheme is the low
power factor due to the use of a cycloconverter.

Figure 7 – Power flow in the doubly-fed induction machine

In motor operation in undersynchronous speed the slip power

Figure 5 – ASCF Energy Generation Drive with
cycloconverter
The evolution of the power switches (IGBTs) permits
nowadays the use of VSI converters (voltage source inverters)
in the range of some megawatts using pulse width modulation
technique. The use of a regenerative converter (figure 6)
brings many advantages. The system operates in all four
quadrants with unity power factor. Due to the high switching
frequency of the converter the distortions are low and there is
as well the possibility of reactive power generation.
is recovered and sent back to the line. In oversynchronous
speed the slip power flows in reverse direction and is also
converted into mechanical speed. In generator operation the
behavior of the system is similar. It is to be noted that in
undersynchronous speed operation there is a power flow in a
closed loop through the rotor and the stator of the machine
that isn’t converted into mechanical or electrical power. In
oversynchronous operation, however, all the power through
the stator and the rotor is converted into mechanical power
(motor operation) or electrical power (generator operation) if
the losses are neglected. It can be concluded that if the
machine operates only in oversynchronous speed the power
converted by the machine is greater than its rated power.
6. The doubly-fed induction machine mathematical
model:

A mathematical model of the doubly-fed induction machine

can be obtained from the basic differential equations that
describes a general AC machine [1] (eq.1 – eq.4). The first is
the vectorial stator voltage equation and the second the
vectorial rotor voltage equation. The driven torque is
described by the third equation and the last one is the
equation of rotatory motion.

di S
u S = R S i S + LS
dt
+ L0
d
dt
(
i R e jε ) (eq.1)

di R
Figure 6 – ASCF Energy Generation Drive with PWM u R = R R iR + LR
dt
+ L0
d
dt
(
i Se - jε ) (eq.2)
converter

dω 2
5. The power flow in the doubly-fed induction machine:
Θ = m el − m w = L 0 Im{i S i R e jε } − m w (eq.3)
dt 3
Figure 7 shows the power flow in the doubly fed machine in
four operation modes, motor and generator in over and dε
=ω (eq.4)
undersynchronous speed. PN is the power to/from the line, PS dt
the power through the stator, PR the power through the rotor
(slip power), PW the power trough the converter (PR = PW by As shown in [1] the doubly-fed induction machine
considering an ideal converter), PMECH the mechanical power mathematical model can be expressed in a stator-flux oriented
and PLOSS contains the losses in the machine. reference frame by the equations eq.5 till eq.10.
For the stator circuit: The slip (ωms – ω) and the magnetizing current ims in the q –
axis component build the largest part of the rotor voltage.
di ms R S 1 R Discarding the other terms in equation eq.12 the rotor voltage
+ i ms = u Sd + S i Rd (eq.5) can be represented as a linear function of the slip and so we
dt LS L0 LS reach the simplification mentioned above. The results are
quite different if the other voltage components are not
1 RS neglected. To show this difference the total rotor voltage is
ω ms = u Sq + i Rq (eq.6) defined in equation eq.13.
L 0 i ms L 0 i ms
2 2
dμ U R = u Rd + u Rq (eq.13)
= ω ms (eq.7)
dt
Considering the machine operating as a motor consuming
rated active power PS0 and changing the consumed/generated
dω - 3L 0
Θ = m el − m w = i Rq i ms − m w (eq.8) reactive power QS0 the result is plotted in figure 8. Negative
dt (1 + σ S ) values for QS0 represent reactive power generation.

For the rotor circuit:

di Rd R R
+ i Rd =
dt LR σ
(eq.9)
1 (1 − σ) di ms
u Rd + (ω ms − ω) i Rq −
LR σ σ dt

di Rq RR
+ i Rq =
dt LR σ
(eq.10)
1 (1 − σ)
u Rq + (ω ms − ω) i Rd − (ω ms − ω) i ms
LR σ σ

7. Dimensioning the rotor side converter:
In the literature are found many different empirical methods
to calculate the rated power of the converter to be used in the
doubly-fed induction machine rotor circuit. The most
commons shows that for a speed variation of ±10% around
synchronous speed the converter is dimensioned for only 10%
of the machine rated power. This does not agree with the
values found in constructed power plants, where the converter
power varies between 17% and 18% [10], or can ever reach
30% [11] of the machine rated power. To keep the cost as low
as possible the converter power rating has to be determined
from the machine rotor values such as maximum rotor voltage
and maximum rotor apparent power considering a speed
variation range of ±10% over synchronous speed.
In steady state the rotor voltage equations (eq.11 – eq.12)
derived from eq.9 and eq.10 are shown bellow.
u Rd = R R i Rd − L R σ (ω ms − ω ) i Rq (eq.11)
Figure 8 – Total rotor voltage in many operation points.
Machine in motor operation.
Starting with the plot where Q = QS0 , the machine is
consuming its rated reactive power from the line. The curve
reaches its minimum in undersynchronous speed and is not
symmetrical with respect to the synchronous speed due to the
influence of the rotor resistance. Consequently the rotor
voltage reaches greater values in 110% than in 90%
synchronous speed. This shift tends to disappear in large
machines. Similar to these plots figure 9 shows the converter
rated power related to the machine apparent power.
It is possible generate reactive power with the doubly-fed
induction machine, but this requires an increase of the
converter power rating. If the machine is generating its rated
reactive power (Q = -QS0) at 110% synchronous speed there is
an increase of the rotor voltages and the converter power can
even reach 16% of the machine rated power. To operate the
system with unity power factor the converter should be
dimensioned for at least 12% machine rated power.

u Rq = R R i Rq − L R σ (ω ms − ω) i Rd + Thus the dimension of the converter depends on the operation

(eq.12) points such as speed range, quantity of reactive power
+ L R (1 − σ )(ω ms − ω ) i ms generation and the characteristics of the machine.

Figure 9 – Converter rated power in many operation points.
Machine in motor operation.
The approximations using the simplification mentioned above
are only valid if there is no need of reactive power
compensation and there is quite no influence from the rotor
circuit resistance.
8. Technologies for ASCF energy generation:
The research and developments of solutions that take
advantage of benefits acquired by ASCF energy generation
are not new. Between the many solutions for adjustable speed
constant frequency energy generation the principal schemes
apart from the doubly-fed induction machine system are the
back-to-back and pole-switching machines systems and its
variants.
In back-to-back systems the electrical machine is connected
to an AC-DC-AC converter as shown in figure 10. In these
schemes all the generated power with variable frequency is
rectified and after the DC-link converted back into AC in the
line side converter with constant system frequency.
Figure 10 – HVDC & back-to-back systems
With this scheme it is possible to operate the machine with
adjustable speed, but with the disadvantage that 100% of the
generated power must be converted increasing so the plant
costs. The same occurs in HVDC (high voltage direct current)
transmission systems. The difference between HVDC and
back-to-back is that in HVDC a transmission line is in the
place of the DC-link. In huge systems and in HVDC reactive
power compensation is also necessary after the line side
converter. In such a scheme there is no possibility of reactive
power changes between the line and the generator. Thus the
power system cannot utilize directly the stabilizing capability
of the generator because both are separated by the converter.
Two of the simplest solutions utilized in the past were a pole-
switching machine or two machines with different numbers of
poles constructed in a tandem arrangement as shown in figure
11. Changing the number of pole pairs of the machine two or
more operation speeds are reached. This scheme was often
used in pumped storage systems because the most efficient
operation speed of a turbine differs from the most efficient
one of a pump for the same water head.
Figure 11 – Pole-switching machines & tandem arrangements
The principal limitation is the stepwise speed change,
normally in only two defined fixed speeds.
The DFIM ASCF energy generation shown in figure 12 is the
most compact of all solutions bringing also many advantages
to the power system. Principally for pumped storage systems
this shows to be the most suitable solution.
Figure 12 – Doubly-fed induction machine system
Table 1 shows a comparison between these technologies.
Table 1 – Technologies for ASCF Energy Generation remaining power in the power system contributing to the
POLE- HVDC & DOUBLY-FED
AFC.
SWITCHING BACK-TO-BACK INDUCTION
MACHINES MACHINES • Possibility of reactive power generation – If the converter
MACHINE TYPE SYNCHRONOUS SYNCHRONOUS ASYNCHRONOUS is dimensioned for this feature the DFIM can also
generate reactive power, also in pumping mode.
STATOR 3 PHASES 3 PHASES 3 PHASES
• Decoupled control of active and reactive power –
ROTOR DC CURRENT DC CURRENT 3 PHASES Controlling the rotor currents in the d-q frame there is
possible to control active and reactive power separately.
SPEED CHANGE IN STEPS CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS
• Four quadrant operation – The DFIM with a regenerative
EFFICIENCY ACCEPTABLE VERY GOOD VERY GOOD converter in the rotor circuits can be operated as motor or
generator in over and undersynchronous speed.
ACTIVE POWER YES YES YES
CONTROL • Increased power system dynamic and stability – The
REACTIVE YES NO* YES
DFIM in ASCF energy generation hydroelectric plants
POWER permits the suppression of power system fluctuations by
CONTROL quickly changing energy blocks between the system and
POWER NO YES YES the machine inertia. Different from synchronous
CONTROL IN machines the DFIM do not fall out of synchronism by
PUMPING MODE increasing mechanical speed, it can also compensate
COSTS LOW HIGH MIDDLE reactive power rapidly and can therefore be used to
improve system dynamics.
* big systems using thyristor inverters

10. Future trends:

9. Advantages of ASCF energy generation with doubly-fed
induction machine systems:
Besides the gains obtained in the pump-turbine such as
efficiency increase, reduced cavitation and expansion of the
head variation range some of the most important advantages
of hydroelectric power plants using doubly-fed induction
machines are described below.
• Low cost converter – The converter handles only the slip
power, different from back-to-back systems, where 100%
of the machine power flows through the converter. The
converter rated power depends of the desired operation
points but can be approximated in most cases to 20%
machine rated power for a ±10% speed variation.
The future is reserved for the use of clean energy generation
with increased energy quality, system efficiency and stability.
This can be reached with the actual technology by a combined
wind/hydro system. The conventional big hydroelectric plants
operating with maximum efficiency will guarantee the base
energy supply. The remained power demand variations will
be ensured by the use of wind farms and hydroelectric plants
(many of them pumped storage systems) with ASCF energy
generation. Wind generation must be used with a combined
ASCF hydroelectric power plant with a cascaded power
control scheme. The energy generated by the wind alone
cannot be controlled and only this combined scheme
guarantees a high efficiency power system control.

• Continuous speed control – Different from pole-

switching machines the speed can be controlled
continuously in the specified speed range, normally
±10% over synchronous speed.

• Smooth pump startup – The converter starts the machine

with the stator windings being short-circuited and then
synchronizes it with the grid. Additional startup
apparatus such as back-to-back converter or pneumatic
equipment is no more needed. Due to rapidly
synchronizing the system can be changed quickly from
pump to turbine mode to suppress peak power demands.
Figure 13 – Combined wind/hydro power system.
• Adjustable power for automatic frequency control
operation in the pumping mode – The rotatory speed is
The best example of these trends can be found in Brazil.
rapidly adjusted and the machine consumes only the
Brazil’s hydroelectric potential is about 260.276 MW and
only 22% are in operation and 5% being under construction.
The DFIM ASCF energy generation technology could be
utilized in many of the hydroelectric plants to be constructed
or refurbished there and would permit the high efficient use of
the potential with reduced operation and maintenance costs.
9. Merino, J. M.; López, A.: Effizienter und flexibler
Betrieb von Wasserkraftwerken mit Varspeed-
Generatoren; ABB Technik, 1996
10. Kuwabara, T.: Design and dynamic response
characteristics of 400MW adjustable speed pumped
storage unit for Ohkawachi power station; IEEE Trans.
Energy Conversion; June 1996.
11. Tanaka, H.: An 82 MW variable speed pumped-storage
system; Water Power & Dam Construction; Nov. 1991
12. Eletrobrás – Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras; Mapa do
Potencial Hidrelétrico Brasileiro – usinas acima de
10MW; 1999

Figure 14 – Brazil’s hydroelectric potential [MW]

11. Conclusions:

The doubly-fed machine drive system is nowadays

economically and technically viable for machines up to
400MW. The static converter is sized only for a portion of the
rated power of the hydroelectric plant. The DFIM-system
permits also decoupled speed and power control in all four
quadrants beside separated active and reactive power control.
This technology not only increases the plant efficiency, but
brings also many benefits to the power system.

References:

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1996
2. Bose, B.K.: Power Electronics and AC Drives; 1986
3. Heller, M.: Die doppelt-gespeiste Drehtrommaschine für
drehzahlvariable Pumpspeicherkraftwerke; Diss.; TU
Braunschweig 1998
4. Kelber, C. : Geração Hidrelétrica em Regime de
Velocidade Ajustável Empregando Máquinas de Dupla
Alimentação com Conversor Estático no Circuito
Rotórico; Diss. de Mestrado; PUC-Rio 1997
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System Brown Boveri-Scherbius; ETZ 1926
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Controlled AC-Drives, a Review; EPE Journal 1991