Brown Boveri

Review

May 1974, Volume 61 Baden/Switzerland

BROWN BOVERI
 Brown Boveri
Review

May 1974, Volume 61 Baden/Switzerland p. 189-252

The Brown Boveri Review appears monthly Contents page

No article or illustration may be reproduced
without the express permission of the publisher G. Neidhöfer:
The Significance of a Damper
Published by BBC Brown, Boveri & Company, Limited, in Turbogenerator Rotors 192
CH-5401 Baden/Switzerland
Printed by Offset+Buchdruck AG, Zürich M. Canay and H. Klein:
Obtainable direct from the publisher Asymmetrie Short-Circuit Currents
from Generators and the Effect of the Breaking Arc 199
Cover:
Damper winding being fitted to the end of a turbo- H. Glavitsch:
generator rotor On the Choice of Control Parameters
of Excitation Systems for Large Turbogenerators 207

M. Canay:
Overvoltages in the Field Circuit of Synchronous
Machines with Rectifier Excitation 217

P. Wutsdorff:
A Contribution to the Discussion Concerning
Methods of Balancing Flexible Rotors 228

E. Dörnenburg and W. Strittmatter:

Monitoring Oil-Cooled Transformers
by Gas Analysis 238

In Brief
G. Ferrari:
A Continuous Light-Section Steel Mill
for the USA 248

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

The Significance of a Damper in Turbogenerator Rotors

G. Neidhöfer

This contribution deals firstly with the role played by
dampers in a solid cylindrical rotor and discusses their
duties and operational requirements in turbogenerators.
The damper winding used by Brown Boveri in their turbo-
generators is then described with attention paid to its
design and features. Following this the results of some
special investigations and measurements are reported; these
dealing mainly with the losses and temperature rises in the
rotor under unbalanced load conditions. The contribution
concludes with certain information regarding the unbal-
anced load capacity and the corresponding protection of
Brown Boveri turbogenerators.
D a m p i n g C o m p o n e n t s and Systems
in T u r b o r o t o r s
The very nature of the solid cylindrical rotor ensures that
there are conducting ferromagnetic layers at its outer sur-
face which permit damping currents to flow. The electri-
ca! resistivity of iron is high in comparison with that of
the conductor materials. Relatively high losses are there-
fore incurred in damping non-synchronous fields. This is
to advantage for forming high asynchronous torques
under non-steady-state conditions. However, the high
damping losses are a drawback for other operating con-
ditions such as under three-phase unbalanced load. Also,
the excitation winding would be screened only slightly
by the solid iron of the rotor teeth.
It is therefore essential to provide the turborotor with an
additional damping system. There are two basic designs
for this purpose [5, 6];

1. using the metal wedges in the field winding slots as

damper bars and interconnecting them to form a
damper cage, or
2. Atting smooth damping conductors beneath the wedges
and connecting them to form an intrinsic damper wind-
ing (Fig. 1, 2 and 5).

Introduction
Fig. 1 - Turbogenerator rotor with single-layer damper winding (the
straps are required for assembly only and are removed later)
The damper cage or winding, originally designed as a
squirrel-cage armature for induction motors [1], found
application in synchronous machines at a relatively
early stage [2, 3]. It was used initially for damping rotor
hunting. However, these damping devices were soon
given the additional task of improving the Performance
of the synchronous machine, and also its properties in
general, under transient conditions as well as in certain
cases of steady-state operation. It are their stabilizing and
Screening properties that make the damper cage or wind-
ing particularly suitable for synchronous machines. In
addition to this the damper can be used in the synchro-
nous machine, in the same manner as an induction motor,
for a synchronous starting.
Although the phenomena occurring in a traditional
damper winding and their effects are clearly recognizable
in synchronous machines with laminated rotors, this is
not the case with solid rotors [4], Consequently, it is the
object of this contribution to deal more closely with the
significance and benefits of a damper in turbogenerator
rotors and, on the basis of experience gained in operation
and also in special investigations, to demonstrate the
advantages of an intrinsic damper winding.
BROWN BOVERI 162678.

192 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

BROWN BOVERI
Fig. 2 - Double-layer damper winding being installed on a single-phase
turbogenerator rotor
In addition to these basic forms, which are virtually equiv-
alent from the point of view of their electrical properties,
there are many combinations of damper cages and wind-
ings. In addition to these arrangements there is the ex-
pansion to a complete damping system where the pole
regions also have elements of good conducting materials
in particular slots.
Tasks Performed by t h e D a m p i n g Systems
in T u r b o g e n e r a t o r Rotors
Fundamentally the damper must improve the damping
characteristics and operating reliability of the rotor by
providing low-resistance axial current paths in the surface
layer of the rotor, thus relieving the solid iron and protect-
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
164085.1
ing other rotor components. It permits the generator to
operate under abnormal operating conditions and to cope
with certain system faults without suffering damage.
In the case of the three-phase generator certain operating
conditions which deviate from normal duty result in con-
tinuous or short-time unbalanced load, i.e. under super-
imposed single-phase load conditions, or with asymme-
trical current due to system faults, and also with harmon-
ics from rectifiers in the network. It then becomes the task
of the damping system to ensure effective attenuation of
the corresponding air-gap fields and that the induced
currents find predesignated and highly conducting paths.
The extreme case of unbalanced load is encountered in
single-phase machines. Generators of this type with fairly
high ratings are required, for instance, for supplying rail-
way systems [7], In this case a particularly heavy and
complete damper winding (Fig. 2) ensures low-loss damp-
ing of the anti-rotating field, provides efficient Screening
for the excitation winding and prevents distortion of the
armature voltage and current.
Similar conditions apply to short-circuit turbogenerators
[8]. In this case the single-phase line-to-line sudden short
circuit, which is the extreme case of short-time unbalanced
load, is a normal operating condition. Low negative-
sequence losses also assist in keeping the torque and the
drop in speed within acceptable limits during the short
circuit. In addition to this the complete damper winding
provides subtransient symmetry for the rotor (.va" sa x q "),
i.e. balancing the machine properties in both axes for
rapid phenomena.
The B r o w n Boveri D a m p e r W i n d i n g
for T u r b o g e n e r a t o r s
Although the slot wedges with adequate end-to-end con-
nection can easily fulfil the damping requirements in the
small three-phase turbogenerators, all rotors of the larger
Brown Boveri turbogenerators and special machines are
automatically fitted with intrinsic damper windings. This
arrangement is based on experience and development
which stretches back to the infancy of the turbogenerator.
Even in those days our designers had reached, in several
stages, an advanced design which was patented 35 years
ago [9] on which present-day turborotors are based,
virtually without change.
The basic idea of this arrangement is that predetermined
and clearly defined paths are provided for the damping
currents in the turborotor, leaving the solid iron, and, in
particular, the slot wedges free to perform their main
mechanical duties.
BROWN BOVEF1I
194
Basic Design
The rotor damper winding comprises bare, flat copper
conductors bedded beneath the wedges into the field
winding slots and, additionally, into the pole slots and
are continued out at both ends into the overhang space.
In the case of a single-layer arrangement all flat conduc-
tors are bent in the same direction on leaving the rotor
body, as shown in Fig. 1, such that together they enclose
the outer insulating cover of the excitation winding over-
hang. Electrical contact is provided by the retaining rings
in that the silver-plated end straps of the damper conduc-
tors are pressed against the inner surface of the retaining
ring by centrifugal force. In the two-layer arrangement
[9] required for more stringent operating conditions, the
end straps of the two layers are bent in opposite direc-
tions (Fig. 2) such that they cross each other in the over-
hang space and, here again, are pressed firmly together
and to the retaining ring by centrifugal force.
Depending on the damping requirements the wedges in
the field winding slots are either of antimagnetic steel, i.e.
purely for absorbing the centrifugal forces in the slots,
or in special cases, they are made of special alloys which
have good conducting properties and are mechanically
strong for absorbing the centrifugal forces and in certain
cases they are fitted with contact pieces.
Properties
The damper bars form continuous axial current paths
with good conducting properties in the rotor surface and
as an entity, act as an intrinsic, füll damper winding. In
addition to this they promote contact between the wedges
in the rotor body; they also provide electrical bridging of
the flexibility slots in the pole regions (Fig. 3) and prevcnt
partial currents of the rotor iron from escaping and thus
Fig. 3 - Wedges being fitted to the d a m p e r slots
in the pole region of a turborotor and bridging
Over the flexibility slots
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Fig. 4 - Section through a rotor slot with water-cooled conductors of the
excitation and damper windings (damper bar to the left)
imposing excessive stress on the flexibility slot rims [10,
11].
The continuous damper conductors also ensure a direct
transfer of the damping currents from the rotor body to
the end winding regions. This means primarily a distinct
relief for the iron and retaining ring nose in the shrink-
fit region and consequently, these are protected from
burning and thermal stresses. The major proportion of
the damping currents is returned through closed current
paths outside the shrink-fit seat through silver-plated end
straps and the adequate inner surface of the retaining
rings.
In almost every case the damper ends require no special
bridging pieces or fixed connections. This design has the
advantage of unrestricted thermal expansion of the end
straps which improves the reliability of the damper wind-
ing.
The damper conductors are a given distance away from
the rotor surface. Nevertheless their function as main con-
ductors of a.c. damper currents is assured in all instances
where the slot wedges are made of a material with high
resistivity and poor skin effect properties, such as non-
magnetic steel. Where the wedges are also good conduc-
tors, leading to reduced current penetration, the damper
Fig. 5 - Hollow damper bars being fitted to a
water-cooled turborotor
BROWN BOVERI
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
winding acts initially as a support for the damping sys-
tem as such. In particular, however, it ensures as in the
first case above, that the damping currents are reliably
conducted at all the discontinuity points of the rotor such
as the joints between the wedges, flexibility slots in the pole
regions, retaining ring seating and end space, thus pre-
venting vagabond damping currents with their undesira-
ble consequences.
The advantages and reliability of the damper winding are
confirmed by positive experience gained over a long
period of practical application, often under exceptional
operating conditions. An extreme example of this was a
300 MVA/255 MW steam turboset when, because of a
fault in a h.v. circuit-breaker, the turbogenerator running
under no load and without excitation remained connected
to the network through the transformer; the machine
continued to run for 22 minutes under a single-phase
line-to-Iine infeed while being subjected to a negative-
sequence current of 32%. Nevertheless, the reliability of
the machine was not jeopardized and a later check of the
rotor showed very little trace of the exceptionally high
negative-sequence currents.
Damper Winding with Direct Cooling
Employing a design with an intrinsic damper winding
offers the advantage of direct cooling of the damper in
special cases. In this case the damper bars are in the form
of hollow conductors with a gaseous or liquid cooling
medium flowing through the inner Channel.
This arrangement is particularly suited for single-phase
traction generators where the high continuous negative-
sequence losses can be dissipated direct from the damper
[7].
This arrangement can also be used in three-phase ma-
195
chines for cooling the rotor surface from inside. This
applies to fully water-cooled turbogenerators which do
not require hydrogen as an additional cooling medium
and whose rotors are running in air at normal or sligbtly
lower pressure [12, 13]. In addition to the actual damper
losses the water circuit in the damper winding also con-
tinuously dissipates a large proportion of the heat from
the rotor surface created by the air friction and the ad-
ditional electrical losses. In addition to this it presents an
easy way of dissipating the rotor losses generated during
temporary asynchronous running [14],
Figure 4 shows a section through a rotor slot with water
cooling in the excitation and damper windings. A cor-
responding rotor is shown in Fig. 5 where the hollow
copper conductors of the damper winding are being fitted.
The ends of these conductors are then connected electri-
cally and also to the cooling water system.
S o m e Special Investigations
The continued rise in generator rating and the complex
configuration of damping systems in solid cylindrical
rotors has made it essential to make more detailed inves-
tigation of the effects of damping currents in the rotor and
also the damping properties. Certain special investigations
concerned with the behaviour of turborotors under un-
balanced load conditions are reported briefly in thefollow-
ing.
196
Rotor Stresses Under Unbalanced Load
A special test, similar to that described in [15], was car-
ried out on a turbogenerator rated approximately 300
MVA in the test facility at Le Bourget of our associate
Company CEM in France with the direct participation
of the client, Electricite de France.
We gratefully acknowledge here the generous Cooperation
of Messrs. Barret, Coustere and Colot of Electricite de
France and also their permission to publish the test
results.
Part of the investigations involved temperature rise in
the rotor particularly under continuous and short-time
applied negative-sequence currents. To this end the rotor
was fitted with a large number of thermocouples whose
Outputs were transmitted by means of a slipring pick-up.
By way of an example Figure 6 shows the curve of tem-
perature rise for the end of a field winding slot at a short-
time negative-sequence current load corresponding to
I 2 2 1 as* 10 s with I 2 ks 0-69 p.u. The active function of the
damper conductor under the wedges of a non-magnetic
steel is easily identified. The temperature rise of the damper
(points 1, 2 and 3) commences immediately and initially
follows a linear curve, i.e. the conductor directly takes
over a large proportion of the damper current. Thus it
absorbs electrical stresses from the rotor tooth, partic-
ularly in the region of the retaining ring seating, whose
temperature rise (point 4) is actually delayed. Figure 6
also shows that the temperature rises are clearly accep-
table. Also, at the end of the series of tests which included
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

constant, with various combinations of negative-sequencecurrent lz [p.u.]
and duration t [s]
Points 2 and 3 at the damper conductor as in Fig. 6.
short-time negative-sequence current loads of up to
/22 t = 11 s and continuous negative-sequence currents of
up to h =0-18 p.u., no evidence of burning was found
at any point on the rotor.
One interesting feature was a check on the criterion / 2 2 1 =
constant to see whether the same temperature peaks are
reached for widely differing combinations of negative-
sequence current and time. As Figure 7 shows, using a
damper conductor as an example, this criterion applies
approximately at measuring point 2. However, with in-
creasing time, heat dissipation is shown by the reduction
in temperature rise. This effect is particularly noticeable
at point 3 of the same damper conductor. The above
mentioned criterion can therefore be used only as an ap-
proximation and must be restricted to short transients.
The comprehensive tests mentioned in the foregoing con-
tributed towards greater insight into the many internal
phenomena and is a valuable aid for all concerned in
operating this ränge of generators as well as for machine
development in general.
Negative-Sequence Losses in Turborotors and Negative-
Sequence Resistance
The negative-sequence losses generated in the rotor alone
were derived from a broad-scale investigation of a large
number of turbogenerators in the test facility. Suitable
evaluation led to concise statements concerning the mag-
nitude and relationship of these losses. In addition to
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
this the work was continued in the held of theoretical
machine analysis [16] with respect to the phenomena in
the rotor under unbalanced load conditions.
These investigations, the results of which are soon to be
published in a series of articles, have made it possible to
predict the negative-sequence losses in the rotor and the
negative-sequence resistance of the machine taking all
design features of the rotor into account, including the
damper, in a simple but reliable manner.
U n b a l a n c e d Load C a p a b i l i t y of T h r e e -
Phase T u r b o g e n e r a t o r s and P r o t e c t i o n
The continuous or short-time unbalanced load capability
of three-phase synchronous generators can be expressed
by the per unit value of the negative-sequence current I 2
or by the criterion I 2 2 1 [s]. Specihed values must be agreed
on by taking the operational requirements and the damp-
ing capacity of the rotor design into account. Because / 2
is a relative value and also because the actual damping
capacity depends largely on the rated linear current den-
sity, i.e. on the specific rating, the relative unbalanced
load capacity of three-phase turbogenerators normally
reduces with increased unit rating. Greater demands in
respect of unbalanced load capability require special design
measures in the rotor.
There are not yet any standardized maximum values for
large generators in national or international Standards,
although these are being discussed by various committees
at present. One proposal is to amend ANSI Standard
C-50 [17] which, for instance, stipulates a continuous
negative-sequence current / 2 <0-10 p.u. for turbogen-
erators with indirect cooling; in the case of large turbogen-
erators with direct cooling this value does not exceed
J2 = 0-08 p.u. and drops with increasing unit rating to / 2 =
0 05 p.u. The amendment proposal for the short-time
unbalanced load capability includes values of between 5
and 10 s depending on unit rating. Similar values were
arrived at on an international level from the results of
questionnaires issued by CIGRE Technical Committee
No. 11.
On the basis of the proved effectiveness and advantages
of a damper winding in solid cylindrical rotors it can be
stated that Brown Boveri turbogenerators are in every
respect capable of coping with unbalanced loads of this
magnitude. This is conhrmed by the fact that these damp-
er windings, installed consistently in all large turbogener-
ators, are the basis for the damper systems in special
turbogenerators which have to withstand considerably
higher negative-sequence current loadings.
An appropriate protection system [18] is employed to
prevent excessive unbalanced load in three-phase turbo-
generators in service. This can take the form of a tradi-
tional two-stage relay which either gives warning or in-
stigates delayed shutdowns. However, a new relay based
on analogue/digital techniques, and which operates as a
continuous protection system, has been developed for
large generators [18]. Its characteristic corresponds to a
combination of continuous and short-time unbalanced
load where the integral J / 2 2 d? applies up to a predeter-
mined maximum trip time. The parameters of the de-
pendent characteristic can be varied over a wide ränge
depending on the permissible / 2 and / 2 2 1 values.
Bibliography [17] E.l. King, R.M. McCoy, P.I. Nippes, J.A. Oliver,
R. L. Winchester, J. W. Batchelor: A Standard for genera-
[1] M. v. Dolivo-Dobrowolsky: Anker für Wechselstrom- tor continuous unbalanced current capability. IEEE
motoren. German Patent No. 51083, 8th March 1889. Trans. Pwr Appar. & Syst. 92 1973 (5) 1547-1548.
[2] M. Hutin, M. Leblanc: Verfahren zur Aufrechterhal- [18] R. Wanner: Protection of large generators. Brown
tung des synchronen Ganges von Wechselstrommotoren. Boveri Rev. 58 1971 (7) 257-264.
German Patent No. 76814, 1 Ith August 1892.
[3] H. Rothert: Die Bedeutung der Käfigwicklung im
Elektro-Maschinenbau. Elektrotech. Z . - A 91 1970 (1)
6-9.
[4] A. Einsele: Über die Verteilung der Ströme in den
Dämpferwicklungen von Turbogeneratoren mit Massiv-
läufern. Elektrotech. Z. 73 1952 (6) 173-176.
[5] E. Wiedemann, W. Kellenberger: Konstruktion elektri-
scher Maschinen. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York
1967.
[6] H. Sequenz: Herstellung der Wicklungen elektrischer
Maschinen. Springer, Vienna/New York 1973, 195-165.
[7] E. Alwers, L. Arndt: Grosse Einphasengeneratoren
für die Bahnstromversorgung. Energie u. Technik 24 1972
(5) 161-165.
[8] M. Canay: Optimizing the design of short-circuit
generators. Brown Boveri Rev. 56 1969 (8) 386-393.
[9] J. Prevost: Dämpferwicklung für Läufer von Turbo-
generatoren. German Patent No. 701 330, 27th April
1939.
[10] E. I. King, J. W. ßatchelor: Effects of unbalanced
current on turbine-generators. IEEE Trans. Pwr Appar.
& Syst. 84 1965 (2) 121-125.
[11] H. Kugler: Schäden an Turbogeneratoren. Ma-
schinenschaden. 45 1972 (5) 179-188.
[12] R. Noser, H. Pohl: Cooling large turbogenerators
without hydrogen. IEEE Trans. Pwr Appar. & Syst. 90
1971 (5) 2101-2107.
[13] H. Pohl: Development of the two-pole turbo-alter-
nator with füll liquid cooling. Brown Boveri Rev. 60
1973 (2/3) 85-94.
[14] M. Canay: Beitrag über den Asynchronbetrieb von
Turbogeneratoren. Bull. Schweiz, elektrotech. Ver. 61
1970 (25) 1191-1199.
[15] P. Barr et, A. Coustere, J. F. Heuillard: Stresses on
turbo-alternators under unbalanced conditions. CIGRE
1970, Report 11-11.
[16] M. Canay: Equivalent circuits of synchronous ma-
chines for calculating quantities of the rotor during tran-
sient and asynchronous starting. Part 1: Turbogenerators.
Brown Boveri Rev. 56 1969 (2) 60-71.

198 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Asymmetrie Short-Circuit Currents from Generators
and the Effect of the Breaking Arc
M. Canay and H. Klein
Short-circuit currents produced by generators can assume
pronounced asymmetry towards current zero. The duration
of this asymmetry without zero transition depends on both
the characteristic quantities of the machine and its operat-
ing conditions preceding the short circuit. It is shown, how-
ever, that this time period is not, in itself a criterion for the
breaker. In order to judge the actual conditions in a truly
representative form, the positive influence of the breaking
arc must be taken into account.
Introduction
As is known, all phase currents must pass through zero
within a few cycles of the breaker opening. The fact that
the short-circuit currents of synchronous machines can
have pronounced asymmetry towards current zero raises
the question of whether a generator breaker can always
open at the desired instant, or whether its operation
should be delayed accordingly.
If the short circuits concerned are outside the immediate
vicinity of the power Station, the permissible duration of
the short circuit can vary widely in respect of the require-
ments regarding stability and selectivity. Although under
normal circumstances the breaker contacts could separate
instantaneously, a certain delay may be required, depend-
ing on the plant and its protection system. On the other
hand, the breaker is required to operate as quickly as
possible if the fault is close at hand, e.g. at the busbars,
connectors, in the transformer or even in the generator.
This case must be examined to establish whether the
absence of zero transitions can prevent the breaker from
being allowed to operate too soon.
For this reason the significance of the individual Para-
meters, such as preload, regulator bias and rapid de-exci-
tation are described in this contribution. Following this,
the effect of the breaker arc is dealt with in detail. This
phenomenon cannot be ignored when considering the
switching process as a whole. In actual fact, after contact
Separation is initiated, the arc considerably reduces the
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
d.c. time constant of the armature and thus forces the
phase currents to pass rapidly through zero; without this
effect the phase currents would not pass through zero for
some considerable time. Consequently, it will be seen that
the contacts of the generator breaker can separate at an
instant when none of the phase currents is passing through
current zero.
Origin and D u r a t i o n of A s y m m e t r i e
S h o r t - C i r c u i t Currents
In the event of a sudden three-phase short-circuit in the
stator circuit of a synchronous machine the a.c. com-
ponent flowing in the armature winding takes a sudden
leap. At the same time a d.c. is generated which, at the
instant of the short circuit, prevents discontinuity of the
total current and decays with the d.c. time constant, T&.
Consequently the resultant short-circuit current com-
prises the d.c. components, mostly of different magni-
tudes, in the individual phases and an alternating com-
ponent. The a.c. component has the same amplitude in all
phases and has a phase displacement determined by the
spatial arrangement of the winding axes. It drops expo-
nentially with the two short-circuit time constants T& and
7Y to a steady-state value; the continuous short-circuit
current. Any of the phase currents can therefore not have
a zero transient until its d.c. component is equal to or
smaller than its a.c. amplitude.
The critical limiting condition for these considerations
occurs at that instant of the short circuit where the direc-
tion of the main flux coincides with the main winding axis
of one of the phases. The short-circuit current in this
phase has the maximum possible d.c. component, i.e. has
the greatest asymmetry of all phase currents, and as a
result, is the last one to pass through current zero.
Typical phase currents for a 1333 MVA turbogenerator
undergoing a three-phase sudden short-circuit test follow-
ing no-load running are shown in Fig. 1. It can be seen
that from the instant of short circuit it takes about
11 cycles, i.e. approximately 0-183 s, for the phase current
/w to reach current zero. This time is relatively short. It
should be noted, however, that the d.c. time constant T a
does not necessarily increase with the unit rating, although
this is often maintained in the literature.
In an earlier contribution [1 ] under the assumption that
x& = xq" and x q ' = x q an upper limit for the duration
Tmax between the instant of the short-circuit and the first
zero transient of the phase current with the maximum
d.c. component is given as follows:
TV Ta MO
xa
Tmax — In
7Y — Ta xtl" Wqo + Xd ido
(1)
(Tmax T,l", Tq")
BROWN BOVERI 200115.1

Fig. 1 - Oscillogram of a sudden three-phase short-circuit at a 60 Hz,

1333 M V A turbogenerator following no-load running at u zu 0 30 p.u.
/r = Excitation current
Iv, Iv, Iw = Stator currents
U = Stator voltage
X = First zero transition of / w

If we assume the characteristic values h', 7a, am' and x&"
and also the terminal voltage before the short circuit u0
which, in most cases, corresponds to the rated voltage, as
given, then Tma,x depends decisively on the duty point
before the short circuit. This determines the magnitude of
the quadrature-axis component of the initial voltage uq0
and the direct-axis component of the armature current ia 0
before the short circuit.
It can also be shown that a three-phase short circuit
between the circuit-breaker and the machine transformer
will nearly always yield the asymmetry of longest dur-
ation.
Effects of Preload and Q u a d r a t u r e Axis
The operating ränge of a turbogenerator is shown in
Fig. 2. The current and voltage have been resolved into
their direct-axis and quadrature-axis components for a
given operating point. It follows from Eq. (1) that Tma,x
assumes high values especially where w q0 and ia 0 are
simultaneously relatively small. However, as is clearly
shown in Fig. 2, this is exactly that case where the syn-
chronous generator is operating in the underexcited ränge
near the given practical stability limit. As an example of
this fact Fig. 3 shows an oscillogram of a sudden short-

Fig. 2 - Operating ränge of a turbogenerator

A = Operating point
/o = Armature current before short circuit
/do = Direct-axis component of /o
/<io = Quadrature-axis component of /o
P = Active power
Q = Reactive power
Uo = Terminal voltage before short circuit
£/do = Direct-axis component of Uo
Uqo = Quadrature-axis component of Uo
ä = Load angle or rotor angle
<p = Phase angle

200 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

circuit test with a rotor angle of ö 90°. As the oscillo-
grams shown in Fig. 1 und Fig. 3 refer to the same
machine a direct comparison can be made between the
conditions in the direct axis (sudden short circuit after
no-load running in Fig. 1) and the quadrature axis.
Whereas in Fig. 1 the phase current /w with the maximum
displacement already reaches current zero after about
0-183 s, the current /u shown in Fig. 3 has not reached
current zero even after 0-8 s have elapsed. This result and
the shape of the short-circuit current were confirmed by
calculations using the measured reactances and time
constants.
In compiling Eq. (1) in accordance with the normal theory
which does not provide for an exciter winding in the
quadrature axis it is assumed that xq' = and xq" = x<\".
The phenomena originating from the difference between
the subtransient reactances x q " and Xd", which are of
particular significance in the case of salient-pole machines,
have been dealt with in [1 ] and [2], On the basis of many
sudden short-circuit tests in the quadrature axis [3] it is
now known that the alternating component of the short-
circuit currents also decays with at least two time con-
stants. As Tq' < 7Y always applies, the transient quadra-
ture-axis currents disappear more rapidly than those in the
direct axis. However, they increase the resultant alter-
nating current, and, consequently, tend to reduce r m ax-
Nevertheless an appreciable improvement of 7"max in
comparison to the values in Eq. (1) can be expected only
if the transient short-circuit time constant T(l' of the
quadrature axis is approximately equal to the d.c. time
constant Ta. However, if Tq' < 7k there is almost no
improvement. The a.c. component of the quadrature axis
appears only briefly at the beginning and therefore the
assumption mentioned above is complied with.
Effect of t h e Regulator
A short circuit occurring in a network causes a greater or
lesser voltage drop at the terminals, depending on the
location of the fault. A regulator in the system will
Fig. 3 - Oscillogram of a sudden three-phase short circuit at a 60 Hz,
1333 M V A turbogenerator with a rotor angle <5 ss 90° and voltage
u r » 0-07 p.u.
/[ = Excitation current
/ u = Stator current
S Signal voltage for determining the rotor position
U = Stator voltage
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
attempt to boost the voltage to its original value. To this
end the regulator increases the excitation voltage to its
upper limit, i.e. the ceiling voltage. As the exciter winding
acts only in the direct axis, the regulator causes an
increase in the a.c. component of the short-circuit current
in this axis. The quadrature-axis component of the a.c.
is not affected by the regulator.
From this brief description the effect of the regulator on
the instant of interruption is easy to understand. As men-
tioned earlier, to cause a zero transient in a phase current
it is essential that the instantaneous value of the a.c.
component be greater than or equal to the d.c. component.
The increase in the periodic component of the short-
circuit current in the direct axis due to the regulator
always provides more favourable interruption conditions
because the resultant periodic component of the short-
circuit current increases with it. To illustrate this Fig. 4
shows the calculated envelope curves of short-circuit cur-
rents with maximum d.c. component for two different
rotor angles of a turbogenerator, with and without Inter-
vention by the regulator. In order to simplify the calcula-
tion it is assumed that the instant of short circuit coincides
with a boost in the excitation to its ceiling value (extremely
rapid regulator response). The example of a machine
running under no load (<5 = 0) shown in Fig. 4a demon-
strates that the regulator can cause a reduction in Tm.ax of
about 15-4% (0-195 s to 0-165 s). With a rotor angle of
ö 80° and low excitation the regulator reduces 7" ma x
from approx. 0-7 s to about 0-43 s as shown in Fig. 4b.
The regulator is even more effective here.
The reduction in the time delay to the first zero transition
of the short-circuit current attainable with a regulator is
generally considerable where the machine is running at
low excitation before the short circuit. The increase in the
amplitude of the periodic component of the short-circuit
current is particularly effective for operating points with
predominant quadrature-axis fields (Fig. 4b). If the duty
before the short circuit requires high excitation, such as
under rated load, no appreciable improvement is to be
expected from the regulator. However, this case is of no
importance because under these conditions the short-
circuit currents have very rapid natural zero transients.

Consequences of Rapid D e - e x c i t a t i o n
If the fault, viewed from the machine, is located in front
of the circuit-breaker, i.e. in the machine itself, in the
unit-connected transformer or at the connecting buses,
this section of the plant must be disconnected from the
network and, at the same time, rapid de-excitation must
be instigated. Rapid de-excitation quickly reduces the
internal currents, thus preventing major damage. In this
case the breaker must interrupt only the system current;
the operating condition of the machine and the response
of the control system are normally of no significance
to this.
Plants with a generator breaker between the synchronous
machine and the transformer usually have two differential
protection systems, i.e. one for the synchronous machine
alone and one for the complete unit. If a fault occurs in
the synchronous machine its differential protection system
responds. The same conditions apply as described above,
i.e. there is no relation between rapid de-excitation and
stress in the breaker. The alternative is a fault at or near
the transformer. The most effective protection concept for
the transformer is instantaneous interruption of the short-
circuit currents from the generator by means of the
breaker and, at the same time, to isolate the complete unit
from the network. Here, no rapid de-excitation is carried
out. The generator breaker can normally cope with inter-
ruption on the low-voltage side. It can be seen from the
above that it would be expedient to carry out rapid de-
excitation only where internal short circuits occur in the
generator. This does not affect the breaker stress.
However, one can be misled to form the idea of protecting
the transformer region also by means of rapid de-excita-
202
Fig. 4 - Envelope curves of a fully asymmetric
short-circuit current at a turbogenerator
a : N o load: (5 = 0
b: Operation with a large rotor angle and low
excitation: P sa 0'1 p.u., power factor
= 0-189 (leading), 6 sw 80°
i- D.C. component of short-circuit
current
Envelope curve without regulator,
constant excitation
= Envelope curve with regulator,
excitation voltage jumps to ceiling
value at instant of short-circuit
Machine characteristic quantities (saturated
values): 1500 MVA, 60 Hz
Xd — 1-855 p.u.
Xi = 0-425 p.u.
XA" = 0-271 p.u.
TA' = 1-63 s
Ta" = 0-032 s
Ta = 0-362 s
xq = 1-777 p.u.
Xq = 0-51 p.u.
Xq = 0-272 p.u.
7Y 0-16 s
Tq" ss 0-03 s
tion, even in plants with a generator breaker between the
synchronous machine and the transformer. Consequently,
purely as a matter of interest, the effects of rapid de-
excitation on the short-circuit current are discussed in the
following.
Rapid de-excitation affects only the direct-axis component,
in the same manner as the regulator. The simplest means
of providing rapid de-excitation is to connect a resistance
in thefield circuit to considerably reduce the transient short-
circuit time constant T& in comparison to its normal
value. Consequently the periodic component of the short-
circuit current in the direct axis decays to zero significantly
more rapidly than normal. Where operating points
with predominant direct-axis components are concerned,
a considerable increase in Tmax is to be expected, depend-
ing on the existing value of T& . If the synchronous
machine is running with a large rotor angle (5 before the
short circuit the conditions for interrupting the short-
circuit currents are decidedly unfavourable. These are
made even worse by the rapid decay in the direct-axis
component of the field.
The physical conditions are easily understood but to
make them quite clear the calculated results for twn
dilferent load angles of a turbogenerator are shown io
Fig. 5. In both cases, after a short time, the resultant
short-circuit current comprises mainly a direct current
decaying exponentially with the time constant T& and
having a small alternating current superimposed on it.
The zero transitions shown earlier without rapid de-
excitation and with a purely direct-axis component at
t «s 0-195 s (Fig. 5a) or with a predominant quadrature-
axis component at t «s 0-385 s (Fig. 5b) have a far greater
delay.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
Fig. 5 - Effect of rapid de-excitation on the
envelope curve of short-circuit current with
maximum asymmetry at various rotor angles
(turbogenerators, characteristic values as Fig. 4)
a: No load: ä = 0
b: Operation with large rotor angle: P s» 0-7
p.u., power factor = 0'926 fleading),
Ö as 70°
/'_ D.C. component of short-circuit
current
= Envelope curve without regulator,
constant excitation
= Envelope curve of short-circuit cur-
rent with rapid de-excitation and
Art/rt & S
rt = Resistance of field winding
Art = Additional resistance in field
circuit

It has been shown that rapid de-excitation causes an
exceptionally long delay to the first zero transition of the
short-circuit current. Consequently, no rapid de-excitation
may be carried out if the circuit-breaker between the
generator and transformer is used for protecting the
transformer. This breaker, can, in fact, protect the trans-
former much more quickly and effectively than rapid de-
excitation. Rapid de-excitation is instigated exclusively
for short-circuits in the generator by its differential pro-
tection systems.
Realistic A s y m m e t r y and t h e Effects of t h e
Arc on t h e Breaker
operate at all in accordance with its intrinsic operating
time and protection system, the subtransient component
of the short-circuit current has already decayed and the
positive phase sequence reactance x, of the generator
becomes at least equal to the transient reactance x&. As
this is approximately 1 -4 times the negative phase sequence
reactance x2, Eq. (2) always applies in practice. Conse-
quently there is no sudden reduction of the a.c. compo-
nent; on the contrary, a slight and steady increase is to
be expected.
From the above statements concerning the behaviour of
the a.c. (irJ) and d.c. (£_) components of the resulting
short-circuit current on interrupting a phase, we can dehne
a new instant T max for which the condition

The critical time Tm.dx derived so far for the duration of

the phase current flowing entirely on one side applies only
for an unaffected short-circuit sequence. However, Tmax
must never be interpreted as if a breaker could not inter-
rupt the three-phase short-circuit currents before this
instant. It has been shown in [1 ] that after interruption of
that phase current in which zero transitions are virtually
always present, the d.c. distribution is altered in the other
two phases. This is always reduced in the phase with the
larger d.c. component and in the case of maximum
asymmetry this reduction is 25 %. In contrast to this the
a.c. component tends to increase after one phase has
been interrupted if the expression
Q/J—l)x1>x2 (2)
applies between the positive and negative phase sequence
reactances x t and x2. Before the generator breaker can
Oph.) = 1 1 _ (3)
is fulfilled. If the breaker does not respond until after this
time, all three phases will have zero transients within one
cycle. Even if the contacts start to separate before expres-
sion (3) is complied with, there is still the possibility of
zero transition of the phase currents during the permis-
sible breaking time of a few cycles.
Until now, however, we have ignored arcing between the
contacts when the breaker opens. Although the arcing
phenomena are highly complex and have not, as yet, been
fully explained, we can consider the arc as a small elec-
trical resistance with an instantaneous value of n, (t) (see
also [4] and [5]).
The arc resistance in the short-circuit loop is in series with
the considerably smaller resistance r a of the armature

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74


BROWN BOVERI
Fig. 6 - Totally-enclosed generator breaker with two quenching Chambers
Type designation: D R 3 6 v 2 5 0 0 / l
Technical data:
Rated voltage 36 kV
Rated current 36 000 A
Breaking current 150 kA
Breaking capacity up to 27 kV 7000 MVA
winding of large synchronous machines and thus signifi-
cantly reduces the armature d.c. time constant to
ra
Due to the arc in the breaker the d.c. components of the
short-circuit currents reduce very rapidly from the
instant of contact Separation. Because the a.c. compo-
nents are not affected by this increase in resistance, the
arcs soon force zero transitions of the phase currents and,
consequently, considerably reduce the stresses in the
breaker.
In order to calculate the effect described above we must
first know the ratio /'T,/Va. The totally-enclosed generator
breaker shown in Fig. 6 has an arc voltage of about 1600 V
with a current of 100 kA (r.m.s. value of the a.c. compo-
nent) flowing on one side of the zero line. At this current
the arc has a mean resistance of 0-016 £2. As the arc
voltage remains virtually constant in the high-current
ränge the arc resistance will, in fact, increase with reduc-
ing current. In order to keep the calculation within
reasonable limits, we can select the smallest value for /"l
in accordance with the maximum short-circuit current to
be expected using the steady-state arc characteristic, and
204
BROWN BOVERI
162708.C
assume that the arc resistance remains constant. With this
arc resistance, which is much lower than the actual value
encountered in practice, we can be sure that the result of
the calculation will be on the safe side. The features of the
breaker, such as multiple quenching Chambers, can easily
be taken into account. For more accurate investigations it
is quite possible to determine to the exact resistance J"l(0
for any instantaneous value of the short-circuit current
from the arc characteristic. It should be noted that this
will have a different value in each phase and this makes the
calculation considerably more complex.
The above statements are clearly illustrated by the calcu-
lated curves of short-circuit currents with and without the
effect of the breaker arc as shown in Fig. 7. Figure 7a
shows the short-circuit currents of a 1500 MVA turbo-
generator following a preload (for machine data see
Fig. 4). We have deliberately chosen the extremely un-
favourable operating point given by P 0-1 p.u., power
factor =0-189 (leading) and <5 & 80° as shown in Fig. 4b.
If the breaker were intended to open after t = 0-2 s none
of the phases would pass through zero. According to the
condition that t ^ T ' m a x one would have to wait almost
to t = 0-55 s before opening the breaker. Only then does
the a.c. component become greater than 75% of the
d.c. component and fulfil the condition stipulated in
Eq. (3).
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
 I
p.u.

A ' 'V' Z1 \\i/Y i M / i • /V* 'YN A V T W T i V/ A

* •V
• Ä W y WM/.XI
A \ /Y\ ; fi
; / A \ / A i Av

-2-
;
v
w A /;
iU4U
mV V
M A A / W l/U/w
v / \ v * v • VV wV M
A/ W W
/ /
VA.'

If •' n V ••; ••

-6
0,1 0,2 0,3
•t/t
0,4 0,5
BROWN BOVERI 200120.1

A
A

%
b c
p.u. p.u.
,. 1 \

\ A \ 1-—

/
/ ^
\ \ }. \
i
r~ 1
r './ \ • V

,/
v" // V \ \ 1 \
2
w
' • \ I A * ' /\
•W--
V 1
'V-1-/-T
i i \ A / \ A/
JKT^-
\ / tfl K/
\/ /
r t / r
\ X /
. r

\ / \/ \1
-2
>J \j

0,18 0,20 0,22

A/
3/
/ \*
V/
0,18
vy v

0,20
\J
0,22
-r/s -tls
Fig. 7 - Short-circuit currents of a 1500 MVA turbogenerator (machine c: Curve with a j u m p in excitation voltage to the ceiling value at the
ratings as Fig. 4) following steady-state operation with P f» 0-1 p.u., instant of short circuit (regulator) and breaker responds again at
power factor = 0-189 (leading) and d k* 80° t = 0-2 s (arc resistance: 0-01 O)
a : UnafTected curve pattern at constant excitation — D.C. component of phase currents
b: Curve pattern at constant excitation where breaker trips after 0-2 s
and an arc resistance of n , = 0-0257 p.u. = 0-01 Q comes into effect

In actual fact the phase current curves are entirely diffe-
rent during the breaking process (Fig. 7b and c). From
t = 0-2 s the arc rapidly reduces the d.c. One phase has
a zero transition at t = 0-211 s and is interrupted (Fig. 7b).
At the same time there is a sudden jump in the d.c. of the
phases which are still conducting [1], The currents in the
other two phases therefore reach zero at t s=» 0-23 s.
Figure 7c shows the effect of the regulator for the same
operating point. The first phase is interrupted virtually
immediately after the breaker opens (t — 0-2 s) and the
current in the remaining phases after not quite one cycle
later at t = 0-212 s. This calculation is based uniformly on
a minimum and constant arc resistance of 0-01 Q (rijr&
= 12-92). It should be noted here, however, that the
instant of response t = 0-2 s chosen for this example is not
a lower limit. The breaker is perfectly capable of opening

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

sooner, but in that case the effect of the regulator would Bibliography
not be demonstrated so clearly. In practice this value is
determined by the requirements of the overall protection [1] M. Canay, L. Werren: Interrupting sudden asym-
concept. metric short-circuit currents without zero transition.
The examples illustrated in Fig. 7a, b and c show clearly Brown Boveri Rev. 56 1969 (10) 484-493.
that the effects of the arc in the breaker must be taken
[2] R. E. Owen, W. A. Lewis: Asymmetry characteristics
into account if it responds before r ' m a x . If the breaker
operates after T'm2ix the effect of the arc can be ignored. of progressive short circuits on large synchronous genera-
It should also be noted that in the above discussion the tors. IEEE Trans. Pwr Appar. & Syst. 90 1971 (2) 587-596.
effect of the arc which is almost invariably present at the [3] M. Canay: Ein neues Verfahren zur Bestimmung der
location of the fault, has been disregarded. This arc, Querachsengrössen von Synchronmaschinen. Elektrotech.
which burns from the inception of the fault, reduces the Z. - A 86 1965 (17) 561-568.
d.c. time constant Tu and thus further improves the
asymmetry of the short-circuit current. [4] A. Grütz, A. Hochrainer: Rechnerische Untersuchung
von Leistungsschaltern mit Hilfe einer verallgemeinerten
Lichtbogentheorie. Elektrotech. Z. - A 921971 (4) 185-191.
Conclusion [5] A. Eidinger: Interruption of high asymmetric short-
circuit currents having long delayed zeros—an acute
All significant quantities which affect the asymmetry of problem for generator breakers. IEEE Trans. Pwr
three-phase short-circuit currents have been discussed and Appar. & Syst. 91 1972 (4) 1725-1726.
their effects on the time taken to reach zero shown by
means of several examples. At the same time the known
fact is confirmed that adverse conditions are always to be
expected at operating points with a large rotor angle and
considerable underexcitation. Under certain circum-
stances an improvement can be obtained if the transient
short-circuit time constant Tq' of the quadrature axis is
approximately equal to the d.c. time constant Ta. The
effects of the regulator must not be forgotten in these
considerations. It is especially at operating points with
low excitation and, primarily with large rotor angles that
it can considerably increase the amplitude of the periodical
short-circuit current, resulting in much earlier zero
transitions.
Rapid de-excitation, which is also investigated here, has
no effect on the stress in the circuit-breaker between the
generator and the transformer provided that the protec-
tion concept is properly chosen.
The significance of arcing between the contacts is dealt
with in greater detail. This may be regarded as a resistance
in the short-circuit loop in series with the much smaller
armature resistance. As soon as the arc is Struck it consid-
erably reduces the d.c. time constant of this circuit and
forces rapid zero transition of at least one of the phase
currents. The d.c. components of the phases which are not,
as yet, interrupted balance each other momentarily, i.e.
the new resultant currents also pass through zero shortly
afterwards and are interrupted. Thus, the duration of the
reported asymmetry in the unaffected short-circuit cur-
rents is no significant criterion for the response time of
the breaker. If the unaffected short-circuit currents have
no natural zero transition before the breaker trips, it is
essential to take the elfect of the arc resistance into
account.

206 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

On the Choice of Control Parameters
of Excitation Systems for Large Turbogenerators
H. Glavitsch
Reviewing the various operating conditions of a syn-
chronous machine in an interconnected network the
objectives of excitation control are worked out. These are
small steady-state errors, sufßcient steady-state and
transient stability margins, good voltage regulation under
various system conditions.
For the assessment of the Performance of the excitation
system a method of steady-state stability analysis is
presented whereby the dominant eigen values of the overall
system are taken as measure of system damping. As a
result loci of constant damping are identified in the
capability (P-Q) diagram of the generator.
With this tool at hand various system conditions, effects of
Parameters such as loop gain, compensation networks and
time constants will be investigated.
It will be demonstrated that a high-gain excitation system
supported by signals derived from the motion of the rotor
will meet the objectives in a satisfactory manner.
Introduction
With the introduction of very large turbogenerators in
the power system the excitation system assumes an
increasingly important role. There are various reasons
for this development.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
First, with the growing size of the turbogenerator
various characteristic parameters have changed. The
resulting adverse effects on system Performance have to
be compensated by the excitation system.
Second, high-speed excitation systems result in a
different system Performance and require detailed system
analysis and a new control system design.
Third, more stringent requirements are posed for the
various operating conditions which the excitation system
has to cope with.
Fourth, theoretical studies within the framework of
modern control theory suggest that an improved
Performance of the overall system is possible, provided
all necessary signals (states) and real-time control
algorithms are available.
In addition, Computer methods providing improved
means of analysis have further supported this develop-
ment.
Under these new aspects it seems appropriate to review
the objectives of excitation control under various
operating conditions and to demonstrate the effects of
control structures and signals.
Having made this survey it will be possible to give an
indication of how the structure of the excitation control
system should look in present-day technology and what
parameters should be chosen.
The following considerations are primarily concerned
with a turbogenerator equipped with an a. c. exciter
or static excitation system.
O b j e c t i v e s of Excitation C o n t r o l under
Various Operating Conditions
Beyond the basic task of the excitation system to
provide the field current and to maintain the steady-state
operating point, there is the general requirement to
improve the natural damping behaviour and to extend
the stability limits.
If the turbogenerator were linear with the power system,
the layout of the excitation control system would be
straightforward. But with changing operating conditions
the system to be controlled varies both in a continuous
and a discontinuous fashion. The chosen control
structure together with the parameters has to serve all
possible operating conditions and the Performance
should be quite satisfactory in all cases.
The operating conditions to be considered are the
following:
- no-load with open circuit-breaker
- no-load under synchronous operation
- no-load following load shedding
- synchronous operation under various loading and
network conditions
- disturbed operating conditions initiated by faults,
successful and unsuccessful reclosing Operations, and
- asynchronous operation and resynchronization.
In these operating states there is a number of objectives
of which any particular one may be of special
importance under given conditions. Generally these
objectives can be summarized as follows
- good response in voltage and reactive control
- satisfactory steady-state stability, i.e. sufficient damp-
ing of electromagnetic and electro-mechanical tran-
sients
- transient stability for all stated fault conditions
- voltage recovery after faults.
Voltage and reactive control is of importance for
changes in loading conditions or under no-load before
synchronization.
In steady-state operation the voltage response is
secondary. There stability, i.e. the damping behaviour of
small oscillations, is in the foreground.
Transient stability, which is the ability to return to the
normal operating point, becomes the main objective
when serious faults appear. Again the voltage response is
of secondary importance.
The employment of excitation systems, in particular
high-speed systems, may also be viewed from the
Standpoint of improving the system behaviour if this
is adversely affected by a network or generator
Parameter. Examples are the long transmission line or
high synchronous and transient reactances of very large
turbogenerators.
The generator and excitation system have to be treated
as a combined unit and its Performance has to be
assessed.
Synthesis Procedure
Systematic synthesis procedures for the control of linear
systems are known from modern control theory. The
Performance criterion is usually quadratic and the result
is a linear feedback law.
Applied to the present problem this would mean that
the excitation system could be synthesized for a given
operating point in view of steady-state stability only.
The requirement as to the availability of all system
states has to be fulfilled.
Therefore, in the practical design of the excitation
control system, one has to adopt an iterative procedure
whereby a given control structure is checked for all
possible operating conditions. Conditions where unsatis-
factory behaviour is revealed are futher analysed. All
modern aids such as Computer Simulation, State space
feedback and Optimum control theory may be employed
to rectify the behaviour.
At this point other operating conditions have to be
checked to ensure that Performance still complies with
the originally stated specifications. Several iterations
may be necessary to arrive at a control structure and at
a parameter adjustment that proves satisfactory for all
possible operating conditions.
Special operating conditions that may not be covered by
a Single adjustment have to be satisfied by a change of
control parameters initiated by a change in the generator
208
Output, breaker position, etc. This introduces a form of
adaptation.
The quantitative measure of Performance may be assessed
in various ways, such as an objective function, the
settling time, damping decrements, phase and amplitude
margins.
Models
The basis of the analysis and synthesis leading up to the
design of the control system is the mathematical model
of the synchronous machine together with the power
system, the excitation system and the prime mover
system.
These components will be discussed briefly in the
following.
Synchronous Machine
As far as the following investigations are concerned a
fifth order model according to Park is used. One damper
winding is considered in each axis. The terms
d y>a difq
dt ' dt
are neglected.
The external network is represented by a two-port con-
nected to an infinite bus.
Excitation System
Three types of excitation system have been considered
here. One is an a.c. exciter represented by an equivalent
time constant and a constant gain.
The other type consists also of the a.c. exciter but
employs lead-lag Alters as a compensating network.
The third one is a high-speed rectifier excitation system
fed from the terminals of the generator. The voltage
error is also fed to a lead-lag compensating network
before it reaches the grid control set.
The last two types of excitation system may be supple-
mented by a circuit which measures power output and
produces signals proportional to slip and acceleration of
the generator, which are also applied to the Controlling
element.
Block diagrams (Fig. 1) show the various arrangements.
Prime Mover System and Speed Governor
The response of the prime mover system due to the
reheater time constant is at least one order of magnitude
slower than that of the excitation system. This applies
particularly to small deviations. As far as the closing
times of valves is concerned, comparable response times
are achieved. Consequently, only one self-regulation
coefiicient of D = 2 was considered to account for the
effect of speed deviations on the prime mover torque,
since most studies dealt with small signals or system
conditions where the prime mover had no effect.
Rapid closing of valves is of interest in connection with
fast load control, which is not the subject here. Hence
the approximation introduced above can be justified.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
a
14 rr

T
X
<D fM-

U T R ZL «T

<z>

J2 14 »Imln = 0 p.U.
15

10 11 19

+
/
A «T 1 (1 + p 1)(1 + p 0 , 0 7 ) K u

+Yr+
1 + p 0,03 (1 +p 7)(1 + / > 0 , 0 1 ) 1 + p 0,01
u
1 Iimax—
max = 5j P-U.
/^-S "fmin = - 1 P-U
at « T = 1 p.u
10 17 ds 18

P ViH 1 dt 5
t n . -
200125.1 1 + p 0,05 1 +p5 l + p 5

Fig. l a - Arrangement and block diagram of a generator with an a.c. Fig. l b - Arrangement and block diagram of a generator with a static
exciter excitation system
1 = Three-phase generator
2 = Diode bridge
3 = A.C. exciter
4 = Thyristor bridge
5 = Permanent magnet generator A = Gain Cs)
6 = Transducers B = Gain (ds/dt)
7 = Summation point K = Gain
8 = Regulator P = Active power
9 = Grid control set TF. = Time constant of a.c. exciter
10 = Transducer ds/dt = Acceleration
11 = Lead-lag filter ii = Field current
12 = Regulator P d/dt (Operator)
=
13 = Limiter s Slip
=
14 = A.C. exciter US = Field voltage
15 = Block to model Upper and lower UL max = Ceiling voltage
16 = Block for forming signals s and ds/dt Wf min = Minimum field voltage
17 = Block for forming the acceleration HT = Terminal voltage
18 = Block for forming the slip «Tr = Reference voltage
19 = Relationship between ceiling voltage and terminal voltage A«T = Voltage error

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

 Fig. 2 (left) - 666 MVA generator, complex left
half plane
Pole configuration:
P = 0-5 p.u.
Q = — 0 - 3 p.u.
A . C . exciter: K = 7-5
External reactance Xe 0-6 p.u.

Fig. 3 (right) - 666 MVA generator, complex

left half plane
Pole configuration:
P = 0-5 p.u.
Q = — 0-3
A . C . exciter: K = 100, lead-lag filter
Xe = 0-6 p.U.

X X
200126.1 200127.1

Steady-State Stability Pole configurations for two different excitation systems

are given in Fig. 2 and 3. The operating point is
Theory P = 0-5 p.u., Q = -0-3 p. u. (underexcited). The external
For the purposes of studying the small signal behaviour reactance was 0-6 p.u.
the system equations have been linearized for a given The transfer functions of the excitation system were as
operating point. The system equations comp rise all the follows
components such as generator, prime mover, excitation
system and the external network. The linearized system For Fig. 2
of differential equations, which may be of the lOth
order, is brought into the canonical form Uf _ 7-5
Am t " 1+0-4 p
x
= Ax + b u For Fig. 3

where x is the state vector, u the control vector, A the ut (1 + 2 - 0 / 7 ) (1 +0-1/7)

system matrix and b the control vector. A MT (1 + 10-0 p) (1 + 0-02 p) (1 + 0-4 p) '
In the present case x consists of the flux linkages ipi,ipi),
xpQ, the rotor angle <5 and the slip s, as well as states of The pole configurations in the vicinity of the imaginary
the excitation system. u is equal to m and thus b isjust axis are quite similar. The dominant pole pair in each
scalar. case is the one with an imaginary part of around
The eigen values of the system matrix A are the roots of co = 5-0 rad. The other pole pair has a frequency one
the characteristic equation and determine the damping order of magnitude lower and hence a/co is much larger.
behaviour of the system. This frequency will hardly appear in the time response.
A digital programme is available which performs all the This is shown in Fig. 4 and 5 where the time behaviour
numerical work described. for this operating point for a small disturbance is

210 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

plotted. The damping characteristic is the same as
expected by examining the pole configuration.
Since damping is the main concern in steady-state
stability the real part of the pole or the pair of poles
closest to the imaginary axis can be taken as the single
characteristic parameter for the given operating point. If o 1 2 3 4 s 5
200128.1 t
it is plotted for the complete operating region a quite
Fig. 4 - Small signal response
comprehensive picture of the turbogenerator equipped
Operating point:
with a specific excitation system and operating at a given
P = 0-5 p.u.
power system is received. Q = — 0 - 3 p.u.
An example of such a plot is given in the capability Excitation system as Fig. 2
diagram in Fig. 6 which is the P-Q plane where curves
of constant a values drawn for a = 0 -0-1, -0-2, -0-3, -0-4
and -0-5 are presented.
This diagram which illustrates the familiar stability limit
at a = 0 has the advantage that each operating point is
characterized not only by a stability margin, i.e. the
distance in MVA to the stabi'ity limit, but also by a 0 1 2 3 4 s 5
measure of the damping. 200129.1 '

Fig. 5 - Small signal response

Results
With the theory offering various tools such as pole
configuration, curves of constant damping in the P — Q
plane and the small signal response it is possible to
investigate the effect of gain, lead-lag compensation
networks, external networks, additional signals, gene-
rator parameters, etc.
First, the external network is examined. The external
reactance which was chosen to be x e = 0-6 p.u. in Fig. 7
Operating point:
P = 0-5 p.u.
Q = — 0-3 p.u.
Excitation system as Fig. 3
has been changed to x e = 0-3 p.u. for the capability
diagram in Fig. 7. As expected, the operating ränge in
the underexcited region is extended. As far as the
damping is concerned the regions having a values smaller

Fig. 6 (left) - 666 MVA generator, capability

diagram
Excitation system as Fig. 2
Xe = 0-6 p.U.

Fig. 7 (right) - 666 MVA generator, capability

diagram
Excitation system as Fig. 2
Xe — 0-3 p.u.

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74


than -0-4 and -0-5 are considerably wider particularly
for overexcited operation. In the underexcited region
damping is not as good as for xe = 0-6 p.u.
Next, the excitation system was changed. The proportion-
al gain was raised to K = 100 and a lead-lag
compensation network was inserted as in the section
'theory' above. The resulting capability diagrams are
shown in Fig. 8 and 9 for external reactances xe = 0-6
p.u. and xe = 0-3 p.u.
In comparison with Fig. 6 and 7 there is little difference
as far as the stability limit and the damping in the over
and underexcited region are concerned. This result can
also be gathered from the small signal response in Fig. 4
and 5.
At this point it should be mentioned that it is advisable
to check the result of the capability diagram by samples
of the small signal behaviour since the curves of
constant damping do not reveal which of the pole pairs
is dominant, see Fig. 2 and 3.
So far, only the normal voltage feedback has been
investigated. Today there are additional feedback signals
available which may be fed into the excitation system
and show a quite improved damping behaviour. The
manner in which these signals are generated is already
indicated in the block diagram in Fig. 1.
These signals have proved most useful in connection
with high-speed rectifier excitation. But also with an a.c.
exciter having a time constant of Te = 0-4 s, a better
damping behaviour can be noticed as illustrated by the
212
Fig. 8 (left) - 666 MVA generator, capability
diagram
Excitation system as Fig. 3
Xe= 0'6 p.U.
Fig. 9 (right) - 666 MVA generator. capability
diagram
Excitation system as Fig. 3
xe = 0-3 p.u.
pole configuration in Fig. 10 and the small signal
response in Fig. 11 which may be compared with the
corresponding figures Fig. 3 and Fig. 5.
The signals generated are approximations to slip and
acceleration of the turbogenerator and the feedback
system as a whole represents an approximation to State
space feedback which is responsible for the improvement.1
Transient S t a b i l i t y
The test case studied with regard to transient stability
was a three-phase fault with successful reclosure.
In the pre-fault condition the external reactance was
assumed to be 0-3 p.u. and the generator was loaded at
its rating, power factor = 0-9.
During the fault condition which lasted 0-15 s the short
circuit reactance was 0-2 p.u.
Before the faulted line was reclosed the network was
assumed to have a reactance of xe = 0-5 p.u. for a time
period of 0-3 s.
The post-fault network was identical to the pre-fault
network.
The behaviour of the rotor angle and of the field voltage
illustrate the characteristic behaviour of the system.
1
D. Oeding, P. Nemetz: Stability and voltage regulation of large turbo-
alternators in power systems; effect of machine data and excitation
systems. IEEE Winter Power Meeting 1970, Conference Paper No. 70 CP
199-PWR.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
These quantities are shown in Fig. 12 for the low
proportional gain excitation system. The field voltage
reaches the ceiling voltage of 5-0 p.u. and then decays
down to the steady-state value. The rotor angle reached
a maximum of 137-2 degrees.
The Performance of the high gain excitation system with
the lead-lag filter is quite similar, as shown in Fig. 13.
The ceiling voltage is reached immediately after the fault
is initiated. The maximum rotor angle is 134-8 degrees.
The damping behaviour of the two systems is quite
similar.
The effect of additional signals is shown in Fig. 14, using
a 2 x 750 MVA plant as an example. The duration of
the fault is very short (0-05 s) and no autoreclosure takes
place. The decay of the rotor oscillation is well damped
after the first cycle. The static excitation system receives
slip and acceleration as additional signals.
V o l t a g e Regulation
All functions discussed so far are actually performed by
voltage regulation during synchronous operation of the
turbogenerator. The voltage deviations are small com-
pared with those caused by serious faults. Maintenance
of the voltage level is therefore not the primary objective
of the excitation system. It is rather the maintenance of
a given operating point.
When the generator becomes disconnected from the
network, substantial voltage deviations may occur,
depending on the loading of the turbogenerator before
the switching operation.
Under this condition the functioning of the excitation
system as a voltage regulating system as such, becomes
important.
Another condition where voltage regulation is in the

0 1 2 3 4 s 5
200135.1 "" t

Fig. 11 - Small signal response

Operating point:
P = 0-6 p.u.
Q = — 0-3 p.u.
Excitation system as Fig. 10

-X—*

-5,0

Fig. 10 - 666 M V A generator, eomplex left half plane

Pole configuration:
P = 0-5 p . u .
Q = —0-3 p.u. Fig. 12 - 666 M V A generator
A . C . exciter: K - 100, lead-lag filter Transient stability: three-phase fault with automatic reclosure
Xe = 0-6 p.u. Excitation system as Fig. 2
Additional signals: slip and acceleration a = Rotor angle
Gains: A = — 10, B = 0-5 b = Field voltage

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

 150 p.u.

A\J
1,3
u{ 6 "Tl,2
| U
t f 1
1,0-
0,9
p.u. 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0
4,0
p.u. b
3,0 3

| 2,0
50 "f
\
2,0
1,0 1,0
\ /
0 — — '
1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 s 5,0 0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 s 5,0
200137.1 200139.1
Fig. 13 - 666 M V A generator Fig. 15 - Voltage control after load shedding
Transient stability: three-phase fault with automatic reclosure P = 0
Excitation system as Fig. 3 Q = 0-5 p.u.
a = R o t o r angle Excitation system as Fig. 2
b = Field voltage Excitation system as Fig. 3
a = Terminal voltage
b = Field voltage

foreground is one where the turbogenerator is deter-
minant for the voltage level of a subsystem which, in the
extreme case, may be isolated.
Fig. 14 - Transient stability of
a 2 X 750 M V A plant with
additional signals at exciter
system. Fault duration 0 05 s,
no autoreclosure.
o Figure 16 illustrates load shedding starting from under-
200138.1
In any case the steady-state voltage error should be
small. This may be achieved by integral action or by a
high proportional gain. The high proportional gain has
the advantage that it offers a fast response during a
transient.
In this operating condition also stability has to be
emphasized.
To illustrate the effects of various adjustments of the
excitation system three test cases were chosen:
- reactive load shedding, overexcited,
- reactive load shedding, underexcited, and
- füll load rejection.
In Figure 15 the two excitation systems discussed previ-
ously are compared for reactive load shedding starting
from overexcited operation.
The maximum overvoltage is practically the same for
both systems. The return to the new steady-state value is
well damped, however, the steady-state values themsel-
ves differ considerably due to the set points which are
not the same for the two gain settings.
With a gain of K = 100 the field voltage drops to the
lower ceiling which is then determinant for the decay of
the terminal voltage. The steady-state value of the
terminal voltage is very close to 1-0 p.u., actually l-013p.u.
For the low gain system the steady-state value stays at
1-159 p.u.
The problem of having an offset in the set point value of
a low gain system is also reflected in the other test cases.

214 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

 p.u. p.u.
« I 1- , 32 1,3
» " T 1,2
1.1
1,0-
fI U
1,0-
0,9 0,9

1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0
p.u. b p.u. b
3,0 3,0
"f "f

// ^
V 4 2,0 \
| 2,0 S \ ^
1,0
1,0 \ J _
N.
0 1,0 2.0 3,0 4,0 s 5,0 0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 s 5,0
200140.1 200141.1

Fig. 16 - Voltage control after load shedding Fig. 17 - Voltage control after füll load rejection
P = 0 P = 0-9 p . u .
Q = 0-435 p.u.
Q = — 0 - 3 5 p.u.
Excitation system as Fig. 2 Excitation system as Fig. 2
— Excitation system as Fig. 3 Excitation system as Fig. 3
a = Terminal voltage a = Terminal voltage
b = Field voltage b = Field voltage

excited operation. The responses are similar to the over-
excited case.
A somewhat different behaviour pattern is exhibited in
the case of füll load rejection, as shown in Fig. 17. The
initial voltage rise is equal for both excitation systems.
Afterwards the speed increases and drives the terminal
voltage up further. The high gain system is able to
reduce it to a value near the set point whereas the low
gain system cannot suppress the overvoltage.
These cases illustrate quite clearly the need for a high
proportional gain for reasons of maintaining a preset
steady-state voltage level and achieving a satisfactory
response.
As to the choice of a high loop gain it may again be
emphasized that steady-state stability with a high gain
system is equivalent and that it can be further improved
by additional signals.
Transient stability is affected only to a small degree by
the choice of the gain. It is the ceiling voltage which is
most important.
For the purposes of reactive power control it seems also
advantageous to choose a high gain in order to achieve
sufficient response and accuracy.
exhibited complement the findings of this report as far
as the effects of generator reactances and high-speed
excitation are concerned.
Four types of generator have been investigated and it
has been shown that high-speed rectiüer excitation
considerably improves the Performance of a generator
having a high transient reactance. This applies to steady-
state and transient stability, as well as to voltage
regulation.
Transient stability was studied in close detail. It was
assessed in terms of critical fault duration, maximum
rotor angle and maximum permissible active power
Output.
Voltage regulation was compared by applying steps of
reference voltage, disconnecting inductive load, rejecting
füll load and applying capacitive load. In all cases high-
speed rectifier excitation showed superior Performance
overexcitation by rotating machines.
Rectifier excitation systems lend themselves very con-
veniently to the application of additional signals and
yield an improved damping behaviour.
Conclusions

V e r y Large T u r b o g e n e r a t o r s Due to the availability of accurate methods of analysis,

the complex of determining parameters and structures of
A survey of the Performance of turbogenerators having excitation systems can be investigated to a great detail.
different machine parameters and being equipped with The synthesis procedure is, however, iterative since
different excitation systems is given in 1 . The results several different operating conditions have to be checked

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

and the overall Performance may be considered satisfac-
tory if the excitation system is able to serve all specified
operating conditions.
As to steady-state stability the basic voltage regulator
offers good Performance. When a high loop gain is
chosen a compensating network is required. Further
improvement may be achieved by applying signals
derived from the rotor motion,i.e. slipandacceleration.
Transient stability is affected by many parameters
outside the excitation system. The important single
Parameter of the excitation system is the ceiling voltage.
Other control parameters have a certain influence on the
transient following the first swing.
For voltage regulation it is recommended to employ a
high gain in order to maintain a constant voltage level
and achieve a satisfactory dynamic response.
Many unfavorable characteristics of large turbogene-
rators may be overcome by a properly chosen excitation
system.
In the end it has to be realized that the choice of
parameters of the excitation system is a compromise
since adaptation according to the present technology can
be implemented only to a limited extent.

216 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Overvoltages in the Field Circuit of Synchronous
Machines with Rectifier Excitation
M. Canay
The field current of a synchronous machine can assume
negative values during transient phenomena. However, as
it is impossible for the field current to flow in the negative
direction in machines with rectifier excitation, overvoltages
occur in the field circuit which are of major significance for
the excitation equipment. The origin and calculation of
these overvoltages are discussed, using examples to illu-
strate them.
Introduction
Düring many transient or quasi-steady-state phenomena
the field current of a synchronous machine flows in the
negative direction. This cannot occur, however, in ma-
chines with rectifier excitation because the field circuit is
virtually open, i.e. it remains blocked. Consequently,
under certain circumstances, a very high voltage can occur
at the terminals of the field winding. In order to protect
the complete excitation system (diodes, thyristors, etc.)
the maximum possible field voltage must be known, to
permit special protection measures to be taken if neces-
sary, such as installing appropriately designed discharge
resistors.
The theoretical investigations involved, based on the con-
ventional two-axis theory, provide results which differ
considerably from reality. As an example we quote here
the results of such an investigation [1]. During loss of
synchronism at a 37-5 MVA turbogenerator with rectifier
excitation, about 700 V occurred in thefield circuit during
Table I: Comparison between the calculated and measured values of field voltages, static impedance measurement test
Machine 1 T T
MVA 722 490
kV 22 24
ut p.u. 2 calculated 697 840
measured 21-3 42
1
T : Turbogenerator S: Salient-pole machine
2
wi p.u. = Ui/Un Un". Air-gap excitation voltage
Brown Boveri Rev. 5 - 7 4
this particular test, when the field current could no longer
flow in the negative direction because the rectifier was
blocking. The calculated value of this voltage is, however,
about 7300 V.
The results of standstill tests were possibly even more
impressive and surprising when the induced voltage in the
open field winding loop is measured in relation to the
stator voltage. With single-phase supply to the Stator the
direct axis of the rotor must, of course, lie in the direc-
tion of the alternating field of the armature (position d).
These tests are easy to carry out and they also permit even
the small voltages and currents to be measured accurately
so that the Saturation effect can be eliminated from the
outset; this is often erroneously regarded as the origin of
the discrepancies mentioned above. The results of such
measurements carried out on eight synchronous machines
are compiled in Table I.
It can be seen from the Table that, in general, the calcu-
lated values for turbogenerators are much higher than the
measured values, but on the other hand the values calcu-
lated for salient-pole generators are much lower than
those measured. This phenomenon cannot simply be ex-
plained as a Saturation effect in the case of salient-pole
machines. There are, of course, machines where these
discrepancies are very small, depending on the design of
the rotor. It is particularly in small machines or laboratory
specimens of a few kVA that these discrepancies can be
very small [2], It should also be noted here that the shape
of the field current curve for a sudden three-phase short
circuit in a small generator is entirely different from that
of a large turbogenerator where the damper winding and
the solid rotor play a vital role. Consequently, many in-
vestigations carried out on small machines are not rep-
resentative for larger ones. If measurements carried out
on such machines do not, by coincidence, show any large
discrepancies it must not be immediately assumed that
T T T T S S
300 300 228 13 7-7 7-5
18 18 15-5 15-5 15-5 5-5
440 245 226 438 781 300
31 12-2 39 130 1320 760
the conventional method of calculation is sufficiently ac- constants Ta', Ta", r a and also require that the leakage
curate. Further examples of such discrepancies in rotor reactance of the armature x a o be given. It is impossible to
quantities have already been described in detail [3 and 4], determine the field current or the field voltage from xa,
It is obvious from the above that the following questions xa', xa", Ta', Ta" and T& alone. These values may be either
are of major significance: calculated or measured. We can then derive all elements
of the equivalent circuit diagram from the equations given
1. How can the maximum field voltage be calculated in in Fig. 1 or similar [5]. This diagram thus forms the nu-
advance? cleus of mathematical Simulation of the synchronous ma-
2. When, and under what fault conditions, can it occur? chine in modern methods of calculation which are nor-
The causes of such large discrepancies are discussed brief- mally programmed.
ly in this contribution and an attempt is made to answer The assumption that the damper, field and armature cir-
these questions. cuits are mutually coupled only by the fundamental wave
of the main field, i.e. through the reactance x a d = Xd —
Xa<T, does not correspond to the true configuration of the
Causes of Discrepancies in Rotor rotor of a synchronous machine.
Quantities As an example of this the magnetic coupling between the
damper and field circuit of a turbogenerator is shown
Let us first consider an ideal synchronous machine with diagrammatically in Fig. 2. The fundamental wave of the
two rotor circuits whose inductances and resistances are main field is given by y>, and the leakagefield of the exciter
independent of frequency. Also, for the time being, we winding by rpat + ipam. Thefield winding/is magnetically
will disregard the Saturation because the discrepancies coupled with the damper winding D and the armature
mentioned above also occur in non-saturated machines. winding through the fundamental wave. As the lines of
The effect of Saturation can, of course, create additional leakage field ipGm also encompass the damper bars D, the
discrepancies if it is not considered with sufficient ac- magnetic coupling between the damper and field circuits
curacy in the calculation. exists not only through the fundamental wave y>, but also
Until now it has been common practice to base the calcula- through the stray field The true coupling between
tion of transient phenomena in a synchronous machine the damper and field circuits is therefore better than that
on the conventional equivalent circuit diagram in Fig. 1. through the fundamental wave. This means that the as-
This diagram is based on the assumption that the damper, sumption mentioned above gives a false pattern of the
field and armature circuits are magnetically coupled only magnetic coupling in the machine from the outset.
with the main field according to reactance x a d. Other Without this assumption and commencing from the di-
methods of calculation where no equivalent circuit dia- rect-axis voltage equations we derive the equivalent cir-
gram is given directly, are also based on this assumption. cuit diagrams in Fig. 3 [3 and 4]. The reactances x a d, x r e
We start with the reactances Xd, xa', xa" and the time and Xfc in Fig. 3a correspond to fields y>, y)<jm and rpat in
Fig. 2. Although the referred values of the mutual reac-
tances x a d = XdD = xat and XfD = Xad + x-rc are approxi-
mately equal because x r c Aad, they must not be regarded
as identical. The only difference between the new diagram
(Fig. 3a) and its predecessor (Fig. 1) is the reactance x r c
on the common current path joining the damper and
field circuits. As can be seen from Fig. 2, Xrc IS always
positive in the case of turbogenerators, but often negative
Fig. 1 - Conventional equivalent circuit diagram of direct axis for salient-pole machines because here the true coupling
a = Armature circuit between damper and field circuits is worse than that
D = D a m p e r circuit
/ = Field circuit
through the fundamental wave [4],
Without making any assumptions regarding the pattern
x% d xa — Xao of the magnetic coupling, the equivalent circuit diagram
xa' — x*o in Fig. 3a can be brought to the traditional form (Fig. 3b)
xtc = , Xna
xa — xa merely by changing the reference values of the rotor cir-
Xa" — Xaö , , cuits, and this introduces a new reactance x c in place of
XDC = - „ (xa — JTaa) the armature leakage reactance x a a . There is a simple
XA — xa
relationship between x c and x r c
1 Xa *ad 2
rt = —rrr T
m Ta xa xa — xa
1 xa" (xa' — ATao)2
Xc — X a < j Xad Xre

It can be seen from this that x c depends not only on the

armature winding and its stray field, but also on the
structural features of the rotor circuits. Consequently,
x e must not be defined as the leakage reactance of the
armature circuit. In the case of turbogenerators x e is
always greater than the leakage reactance x a c but in sali-
ent-pole machines it is often smaller and can reach zero or
even become negative.
200103.1

218 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

 •1*3 <T K, jxfc rf/s

I
h
j*Dc | j
J*ad ' \rm(\+l}.)lfs~
I

J*c j*fc
uI
-A-
I
h
J*Dc I I
}(x, - Ar ) j j rfE(\+]
r
D'S 1J

| 1^
I 1
Fig. 3 - Correct equivalent circuit diagrams of direct axis of an idealized
synchronous machine
a: x = x*a
Fig. 2 - Magnetic coupling between field and damper circuit in turbo- b: x = Xv
generators Reference values of field winding:
(For symbols, see text.) /tB = /n fei — x)
S x& XÄ —
UfB = —— = Un 7> to
/ i b xa — x
In = Air-gap exciter current
S = Rated apparent power

Although, in contrast to Fig. 3a, the equivalent circuit
diagram in Fig. 3b cannot be interpreted physically, it
has a signihcance because of its similarity to the conven-
tional diagram in Fig. 1. It is, in fact, possible to use an
existing Computer programme based on the conventional
diagram to calculate the rotor quantities of an ideal ma-
chine if we use the new reactance xc in place of the stray
field reactance xaa.
All components of the equivalent circuit diagrams in
Fig. 3 can be determined from Xd, xa', xa" and 7V, 7Y' if
xc (or x r c ) is known. In order to simulate the direct axis
mathematically, in addition to xa, xa, xa", T& and 7Y'
we also require a value for the new reactance x c which can
be determined either experimentally or by using Eq. (1).
In the mathematical models of real machines the effect of
the solid rotor must also be taken into account. During
the transient phenomena, currents are induced not only in
the field and damper windings but also at the surface of
the solid rotor. The rotor surface with its eddy-current
resistance /"de acts as a damper circuit parallel to the
main inductance x a a- In addition to this, if the field wind-
ing circuit is open, or periodically acts as an open loop
due to the rectifier, currents can be induced in the solid
slot walls (Fig. 2). These eddy currents in the slot walls
considerably reduce the resultant field so that the induced
voltage in the field winding is considerably smaller than
without this effect. The influence of the slot walls is not
taken into consideration in either the conventional meth-
od of calculation (Fig. 1) or in the equivalent circuit dia-
grams of idealized machines in Fig. 3 (without rfE).
We can now summarize. The causes of the unrealistic
results of conventional methods of calculating the rotor
quantities are:
1. Incorrect Simulation of the rotor circuits in Fig. 1.
2. Not taking the rotor slot walls into account with an
open field winding.
If we use the equivalent circuit diagrams in Fig. 3, which
correctly simulate the rotor circuits and also take the
effects of the solid rotor into account, we can calculate
the induced field voltages in advance with sufficient ac-
curacy.

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Considering t h e Solid Rotor for Transient 0,0023 j0,221 j 0,087 j0,146 0,0007/s

in
O—1 1 — I 1 l—o
Phenomena
j 0,0187
The equivalent circuit diagrams of a large turbogenerator

\
were determined (Fig. 4) with approximated considera- d j 1,907 1 | 0,02(1 + j X)l]/T
tion of the solid rotor according to [4].
The eddy-current resistances at the rotor surface and the
slot walls depend largely on Saturation. The values
quoted for eddy-current resistances refer to nominal 0,0107 /s
linear current density.
Although these simulations have been checked by numer- A DE© DW fE
ous investigations and adequate agreement with the meas-
urements was attained in each case, they have a drawback.
There are certain restrictions to their use in Computer 0,0023 j 0,221 j 0,338 j 0,38
programmes for transient phenomena. There are certain o—C

Problems in calculating the four rotor circuits DE, DW,

fE and / with two eddy-current resistances DE and fE
which are irrationally dependent on slip. In order to ; 1.803 I 0,033 (1 + j X)/\s
allow existing Computer programmes for ideal machines
0,06 /s
to be used for transient phenomena and stability investiga-
tions, let us idealize the turbogenerator as shown in Fig. 4,
i.e. it shall be represented approximatively by only two
rotor circuits (damper and field) with resistances and in- Fig. 4 - Equivalent circuit diagrams of a 1400 M V A turbogenerator
ductances which are independent of frequency. It must A = Main reactance (air gap)
be emphasized, however, that it is impossible to represent DE = R o t o r surface
with the same degree of accuracy, either physically or DW = D a m p e r winding
fE = R o t o r slot walls
mathematically, a synchronous machine with a solid rotor / = Field circuit
by only two rotor circuits having constant resistances and d — Direct axis
q = Q u a d r a t u r e axis
inductances for all modes of operation occurring. For
this reason the idealization, which represents an objective
simplification, depends on the phenomena and quantities
to be investigated. However, if the emphasis is on correct
derivation of the amplitudes of currents and voltages, but
not on asynchronous torques, for instance, the synchron-
ous machine can be idealized on the basis of the following
two conditions:

1. The amplitude of the sudden short-circuit current shall

decay approximately with two time constants TA", TA in
the direct axis and with one time constant Tq" in the
quadrature axis. The following charateristic quantities for
this turbogenerator are given by Fig. 4:

x d = 2-13 x d ' = 0-43 xa" = 0-27 T&' = l-68s TA" = 0-032 s

= 2-02 X q " = 0-28 — r " = 0-047 s

Previously this was the only condition for idealizing a With this value of xc and the above characteristic quan-
synchronous machine and representing it according to tities it was possible to idealize the turbogenerator and
Fig. 1. The switchgear was calculated and is given in simulate it according to Fig. 3a. The components of
Table II. the two models are compiled in Table II for compar-
ison. Blondel's leakage coefficient atd between field and
2. The initial amplitude of the a.c. component of the
damper c i r c u i t s and also the reactance are much
x d c
field current under three-phase sudden short circuit with a
smaller in the new S i m u l a t i o n (Fig. 3) than in the traditional
terminal voltage u must be equal to the induced field cur-
model with arbitrary assumptions regarding the coupling
rent at s = 1.
between the magnetic fields. This indicates that the field
From this condition, which is based on a physical fact, we
winding of this turbogenerator is, in fact, much better
can calculate the necessary reactance x c for correct Simul-
screened by the damper circuit (xdc is smaller). The effects
ation according to Fig. 3. The conditional equation is:
of these discrepancies will be demonstrated more clearly in
later comparisons.
Xd — — XA' itju
= xa (2) It must be mentioned once again that the idealization car-
xä —XA — XA" UJU
ried out is not equally good for all quantities. For instance
For the generator in Fig. 4 we have = 0-508 and the asynchronous braking torque generated by the d.c.
from this field (s = I) of the stator is not determined correctly.
These details and further conditions for idealizing are not
= 0-262 investigated further here.

220 Brown Boveri Rev. 5 - 7 4

Table II: Comparison of equivalent circuit diagrams
(characteristic values x d = 2T3, Xd' = 0-43, x&" = 0-27, 7Y = 1-68 s, Ta" = 0-032 s)

Elements xa xc xdc *fc sro ro rt rm

Fig. 1 0-221 - 0-0656 0-236 0-14 0-0143 0-00068

Fig. 3b - 0-262 0-0118 0-182 0-094 0-009 0-00067 33-5r t ]/ s

Overvoltages in t h e Field W i n d i n g field winding during asynchronous running between s > 0

By way of an example let us assume that the turbogener-
ator shown in Fig. 4 is connected through a unit-con-
nected transformer to an infinite system (Fig. 5). The
short-circuit reactances xt of the transformer xn of the
network are known quantities. The generator has recti-
fier excitation supplied from the network. The field wind-
ing is, therefore, closed if the current is positive and open
if a negative field current occurs during a transient phe-
nomenon. It is also assumed that there is no compounding
by the stator current. This effect, which additionally in-
creases the excitation in the positive direction [2] can
only improve the Situation as far as the field voltages are
concerned.
The field winding acts as an open loop circuit only im-
mediately following the first current zero, i.e. it is not
interrupted by switching off the current. Consequently
the voltages occurring must be equal to or smaller than
those voltages ut which it is at all possible to induce in an
open field winding. There are two distinct causes for this:
1. A sudden change in the stator voltage u, e.g. short-
circuit.
2. Rotor slip at stator voltage u (asynchronous running).
According to the two-axis theory of an idealized synchro-
nous machine the relationship between the phasors ut and
u is given by the following equation in the frequency
domain of the modified Laplace transformation
P (1 ffdf) 7f w 1 + p [A-D TT> (O
Uf
1 1 + PffaD TT> (O
Ta m
and 5 = 1. There is a further reason for extending the in-
vestigation up to s = 1. During transient phenomena the
d.c. components of the stator current can cause temporary
stationary fields, in relation to which the rotor is running
at s = 1. Consequently we must first investigate asynchro-
nous operation with open field winding as a limiting case.
Voltage in Open Field Winding During Asynchronous
Operation
Initially, a Computer programme was used to calculate the
induced voltage in the open field winding as a quasi-
steady-state phenomenon on the basis of the equivalent
circuit diagrams in Fig. 4. The following effects are taken
into account:
1. Saturation of the eddy current resistances according to
the linear current densities at the rotor.
2. Effects of narrow rotor teeth on the depth of penetra-
tion of the eddy currents.
3. Total external reactance xt + XN-
The result of this calculation is shown as curve a in Fig. 6.
It can be seen that the maximum voltage is induced at
approximately 2% slip and that the peak value is about
12 p.u., i.e. 1530 V, considerably lower than the 5 kV
rotor test voltage. Another interesting feature is that the
induced field voltage is lower at s = 1 than at s = 0-02.
The cause of this phenomenon is mainly the influence of
the slot walls whose Screening effect becomes much more
(3) apparent at large slip values (low penetration).

where Blondel's leakage coefficient adt is known from

xa'/xa and Laible's factor /J,T> is also known from
XDC/(XDC + X d — xc); refer to Fig. 3b for and x e .x d c

For ut immediately following the sudden change in stator

voltage, this equation gives us (/ = + 0, p = oo)

Xpc (*d — * d ' ) Fig. 5 - System configuration (for symbols, see text)
Ut 7f a> u (4)
*Dc Xä + X C ( x a — Xc)

This equation is, however, no different from the expression

for the amplitude of the induced field voltage at s = 1.
If we determine the field voltage ut at s = 1 direct from
Fig. 3b and thereby neglect ri> and consider xdc only or
derive it direct from Eq. (3) inserting p = j, we have, once
again, this equation. This means that we can determine
the total of all the maximum major field voltages if we
take into consideration the voltages induced in the open

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

We can also carry out this calculation according to the U[IUn
diagram in Fig. 3 of the idealized turbogenerator. As the
field winding circuit is open, and therefore not carrying \
current, it is essential that the effect of the slot walls be 300
\ \
taken into account. This can be achieved by connecting \
an eddy-current resistance n'E (1 + j 0-6) J/s in parallel
with the external field circuit with resistance n (see Table
200 \
II) as in the case of the equivalent circuit diagram for the \ . c
direct axis shown in Fig. 4. The ratio rm/rt must remain 100
N.
unchanged, as in Fig. 4. With this ratio and with rt from N c
Fig. 3b we can determine rm- The result of this calculation \
for the induced field voltage according to Fig. 3b and 0,5 1 0,98 0,99 1
with rtE is shown as curve b in Fig. 6. The shape of the
curve agrees well with that shown in Fig. 4, This indicates »f = utiut,

that the idealization is true and the simplified Simulation A

in Fig. 3b using ^b is sufficiently accurate for calculating /I

the currents and voltages. 10 / A

The result of the conventional calculation shown in Fig. 1 a
presents an entirely different picture and is completely
irrational and misleading (see curve c in Fig. 6). Although
at small slip values of up to about 0-25 % the curve does
not differ greatly from that in Fig. 4. At large slip values
the rotor voltage increases almost proportionally to j
and, at s = 1 reaches a value approximately 40 times u
0,5 1 0,98 0,99 t
greater than that in Fig. 4. This comparison shows clearly 200108.1
n
how incorrect the result can be of a calculation using the Fig. 6 - Rotor voltage in asynchronous operation
conventional Simulation of a synchronous machine. a — According to Fig. 4
b = According to Fig. 3b with nn (1 + j0-6)/]/ s
c = According to Fig. 1 (conventional)

Field Voltage Düring Transient Phenomena

Under normal circumstances the field current always re-
mains positive during many transient operating conditions
[6], For this reason we consider here two abnormal oper-
ating conditions where the field current could temporarily
assume negative values but can no longer flow because of A
the rectifier in the excitation circuit. These are: A S r - •x—

1. Loss of synchronism following loss of excitation.

2. Short-circuit at the high-voltage side of the unit-con-
nected transformer followed by voltage recovery.
The calculations are carried out with a digital programme
0,5
for transient phenomena on the basis of the equivalent
circuit diagram in Fig. 3a and a simple voltage regulator
is assumed to be present. As has already been mentioned,
difficulties are encountered in considering the slot walls
x
with their frequency-dependent complex eddy-current
resistances rm (1 + j 0-6) ]/s. To avoid makingthe existing
Computer programme more complex the frequency-de-
pendent eddy current resistance is replaced by a constant
resistance with a value of i

r^-vcT v D
-0,5 0 0,5
r f B ( l + j 0-6) | = 33-5 n (5)
Fig. 7 - Operating diagram (for symbols, see text)

this obviously makes the calculation less favourable. For

instance, this simplification gives a different curve for
quasi-steady-state asynchronous operation than in Fig. 6.
At s = 0-014 the calculated field voltage is approximately (see curve b in Fig. 6). The calculation thus remains de-
24 p.u. and at ^ = 0-05 reaches a maximum value of 33 p.u. liberately on the safe side.
It then drops and, at s = 1, assumes the same value of
8 p.u. as in Fig. 6.
The new maximum value of 33 p.u. is more than twice Loss of Synchronism due to Loss of Excitation
that (14 p.u.) calculated with the frequency-dependent It is assumed that excitation is lost due to a fault in the
eddy current resistance and the diagram shown in Fig. 3a excitation circuit. To avoid unnecessary increase in com-

222 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Fig. 8 - Loss of synchronism resulting from loss of excitation
(For symbols, see text.)
puter time, the calculation is carried out for füll load in
the leading ränge (point E in Fig. 7):
p = 0-85 p.u. = 100% load, ^ = —0-31 p.u., u = 1-0p.u.
The result is shown in Fig. 8. After the excitation voltage
is interrupted the internal generator voltage decays. The
rotor angle <5 increases so that the generator loses syn-
chronism after about 3 s. At <5 = 180° the turbogenerator
already has a slip of about s = 0-014. The induced rotor
voltage is approximately 24-3 p. u. = 3100 V. A check has
shown that this value agrees with that for quasi-steady-
state asynchronous Operation under similar conditions
(f{E = constant and s = 0-014).
If we had taken the relationship between the eddy-current
resistance of the slot walls and frequency into account
here also for transient phenomena, as in the case of quasi-
steady-state asynchronous Operation, the maximum volt-
age would very probably be equal to or smaller than the
result of the calculation for quasi-steady-state asynchro-
nous operation in Fig. 6 (curve b), i.e. about 14 p.u.
The subsequent voltage peaks reduce because the field
current, which is flowing only in the positive direction,
causes a certain excitation in course of time and this re-
duces the negative current waves.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
Short-Circuit on the H.V. Side
A three-phase sudden short circuit occurs on the h.v. side
of the transformer during operation (Fig. 5). After a given
time t it is interrupted by the breaker S so that the system
voltage is recovered immediately. Single-phase line-to-
line sudden short circuits are not considered here because
the change in field current, including the a.c. component,
is greater during three-phase sudden short circuits for the
same conditions.
It is known that a sudden three-phase short circuit, which
in fact means a negative voltage surge, causes a temporary
increase of A in in the rotor current which then becomes
even larger. When the short circuit has been cleared and
the system voltage recovers suddenly, the rotor current, in
reply to this positive voltage surge, is subjected to a
negative change — A in. The total current becomes
smaller and can even become negative. Among other
factors the amounts and signs of these changes are, of
course, largely dependent on the corresponding rotor
angle. They reach maxima when the short circuit occurs
at d & 0 and the subsequent voltage recovery is at d «a 2 n,
4u, etc.
Two calculations were carried out corresponding to the
rated operating point A in Fig. 7 for short-circuit dura-
tions of t = 0-28 and t = 0-5 s. The curves with respect to
Fig. 9 - Three-phase sudden short circuit with recovery of system voltage a : Short-circuit duration t = 0-2 s
during operation at rated load b : Short-circuit duration ( = 0-5 s

224 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Fig. 10 - Three-phase sudden short circuit with recovery of system voltage a : Operating point B in Fig. 7
b: Operating point C in Fig. 7
Table III: Field voltages1 during short circuits followed
by recovery of system voltage. Short-circuit duration 0-5 s
Operating point (Fig. 7) A B C D
Calculation
According to Fig. 3b
(with constant
ffE = 33-5 n) - 10-4 1-9
According to Fig. 1
(conventional) - 80 38 115
1
Düring the blocking phase of the rectifier bridge, values in p.u. referred
to air-gap excitation voltage UN
time of i, it and rotor angle d are shown in Fig. 9. In the
first case, where t = 0-28 s, the generator remains in syn-
chronism, in the second case, where t = 0-5 s, synchro-
nism is lost. Although the changes A/'n under short cir-
cuit and Mn during recovery of the network voltage are
quite pronounced, the total field current remains positive
in both cases because the initial steady-state excitation
current for rated operation is very large.
The excitation level corresponding to operating points B
and C in Fig. 7 is low in the underexcited ränge. In the
transient phenomenon under consideration here, it is
easier for the total excitation current to become negative.
In case B (operating point B) with a short-circuit duration
of 0-5 s the field current would, in fact, become negative
(Fig. 10a). However, as the rectifier prevents it from flow-
ing, the result is a high rotor voltage of 10 p.u. Although
we have taken a very unfavourable case for calculation
here, because rm (1 + j 0-6) ]/s is replaced by a constant
resistance of 33-5 n, the result is, nevertheless, a lower
value than that in asynchronous operation.
In case C with the same short-circuit duration, but with
even lower excitation, the conditions become more fa-
vourable yet (Fig. 10b). The field current without an a.c.
component always remains positive and would only be-
come temporarily negative due to the peaks in the a.c.
component, but no high voltage is induced. If the d.c.
component of the stator current would decay more rapidly
(Ta shorter), it would always remain positive.
If we further reduce the excitation and operate at point
D in Fig. 7, the field current remains positive during the
226
entire transient phenomenon, as can also be shown by
simple calculation.
The results of these calculations corresponding to various
operating points are compiled in Table III. The results of
conventional calculations according to Fig. 1 are also in-
cluded for comparison purposes. A comparison again
shows clearly the discrepancies between the new and tradi-
tional methods of calculation.
Under three-phase sudden short circuits in the leading
operating ränge, the field current can also become neg-
ative in many machines [2]. This is, however, mainly true
of small machines. The transient leap in the field current
under a sudden three-phase short circuit is approximately
(xa/xa— 1) u cos ö. On the other hand the a.c. com-
ponent is k (xd/xa— 1) u, i.e. not related to the load
angle 8. In large turbogenerators with damper windings,
factor k lies between 0-05 and 0-30 (0-4), depending on the
design, and in salient-pole machines it is between 0-8 and
I I . If no damper winding isfitted, and also in small turbo-
generators, k can be up to 1. In order that the total cur-
rent during a three-phase sudden short circuit can tempo-
rarily become negative, the excitation current ito must
comply approximately with the following conditions:
Xd —Xd'
ito < —- (k — coso) (6)
Xd
It can be seen from this expression that the rotor current
under sudden short-circuit conditions in large turbo-
generators does not become negative as easily as in small
turbogenerators or salient-pole machines. However, there
are operating points where this condition can be fulfilled
for large generators with the smallest k value. If a sudden
short circuit should occur under such operating condi-
tions the excitation current can become negative. The
extreme case occurs where the generator is running at the
stability limit (6 90°) almost without excitation and a
three-phase short-circuit occurs. The field current con-
tains almost only the a.c. component of the short-circuit
current and even the first negative half-wave is blocked by
the rectifier. As far as the rotor is concerned this means
asynchronous running at s = 1 and, at the same time, an
open field winding in the stationary d.c. field of the arma-
ture. The fictitious asynchronous operation which has
been investigated above thus represents the worst pos-
sible case for the rotor overvoltages.
Conclusion
It has been shown that the traditional method of calculat-
ing the rotor voltages for large turbogenerators according
to the equivalent circuit diagram in Fig. 1 and without
considering the slot wall effect in solid rotors gives un-
realistically high results. They do not agree with measured
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
values. In order to attain realistic results by advance calcu-
lation the following must be taken into account:
1. The true structure of the magnetic couplings in the
rotor circuits (Fig. 3a and b).
2. The slot wall effects in solid rotors can form a closed
loop around the magnetic field.
The maximum field voltages can be calculated if one takes
into account the voltages which can be induced in the
open field winding for fictitious asynchronous running in
the ränge 0 < s < 1. The maximum value as far as large
turbogenerators are concerned does not occur at s = 1,
but at smaller slip values of 1 to 5 % (Fig. 6). The design
of the excitation equipment must be based on this maxi-
mum value. It can easily be ascertained from the detailed
equivalent circuit diagrams taking the eddy-current resist-
ances of the solid rotor surface and the slot wall effects
into account (Fig. 4). This value is not exceeded during
transient phenomena.

Bibliography

[1] T. II. Mason, W. Fairnay, J.J. Arnold, M.J. Thelwell:

Asynchronous operation of turbogenerators. CIGRE
1972, Report No. 11-02.
[2] M. Goto, A. Isono, K. Okuda: Transient behaviour of
synchronous machines with shunt-connected thyristor
exciter under system faults. IEEE Trans. Pwr Appar. &
Syst. 90 1971 (5) 2218-2227.
[3] M. Canay: Causes of discrepancies on calculation of
rotor quantities and exact equivalent diagrams of the
synchronous machine. IEEE Trans. Pwr Appar. & Syst.
88 1969 (7) 1114-1120.
[4] M. Canay: Equivalent circuits of synchronous ma-
chines for calculating quantities of the rotor during the
transient processes and asynchronous starting.
Part I: Turbogenerators. Brown Boveri Rev. 56 1969 (2)
60-71.
Part II: Salient-pole machines. Brown Boveri Rev. 57 1970
(3) 134-144.
[5] B. Adkins: The general theory of electrical machines.
Chapman & Hall 1962.
[6] G. Shankshaft, R. Neilson: Results of stability tests on
an underexcited 120 MW generator. Proc. Instn Elect.
Engrs 119 1972 (2) 175-188.

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

A Contribution to the Discussion Concerning
Methods of Balancing Flexible Rotors1
P. Wutsdorff
Following a brief resume of the theoretical fundamentals, the
known methods of balancing flexible rotors are described.
The procedure followed in an overspeed bay is discussed. A
Computer Programme for balancing flexible rotors is intro-
duced. This permits the balancing procedure, to which the
rotor is subjected in an overspeed bay, to be simulated for
a given eccentricity distribution. Various balancing runs are
discussed using the rotor of a 600 M W turbogenerator as
an example.
It is a known fact [4] that if the power is increased by the
factor X, with the operating diameter remaining constant,
the critical bending speeds of flexible rotors are reduced
by the factor 1~2. As a result, rotors for low power ratings
can be unreservedly balanced in the same fashion as rigid
rotors, whereas the same rotor for a higher power rating
must be dealt with as a flexible rotor. Consequently, it is
common practice to refer to either rigid orflexible shafts.
Survey and Assumptions
The means of methodical balancing resulting from theo-
retical studies have been dealt with by several authors [2,
3, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13]. Two basic methods have been devel-
oped from this; the one involves carrying out a rigid body
balancing process before flexible balancing (k + 2 method)
and the other is known as modal balancing. Both methods
have been thoroughly described and their advantages are
usually discussed using a unit rotor as an example. How-
ever, as these discussions were derived purely from theory
they quite understandably rarely take into account the
design and operational properties of the rotor such as con-
front the balancing engineer in the overspeed bay. It
would therefore appear necessary to investigate these
methods in a manner which is free from all scatter and
accidental errors in measurement engineering. Electronic
data processing is the ideal tool for this purpose.
Consequently, a Computer programme is described which
permits flexible shaft rotors with a given distribution of
unbalance to be balanced in predetermined planes.
1 'direct problem' in the following, whereas with a given y
A report by the Institute for Machine Design and Thermal Machines
of the Technical University, Berlin, Director: Prof. K. Federn.
228
T h e o r e t i c a l Fundamentais
The theory has been dealt with in detail in the literature
mentioned above. Here we need consider only that part
which applies to this investigation.
The flexure of a shaft rotating at an angular velocity of m
with isotropic bearing conditions is described by a rotating
system of x, y and z coordinates. The z axis is considered
as a straight line between the centres of the bearings and,
if the static flexure is disregarded, it is identical with the
axis of the undeformed rotor. The spacial deflection curve
a z ) = [x (z) i y (z)] (1)
can be broken down at any point z into its components
x (z) and y (z) and it is sufficient to consider only one com-
ponent in the following. The expression for the deflection
in direction y is a function of z and the angular velocity a>,
and can be developed according to the natural functions
0V.
y(z,0j)= £ V (CD, (Di, D) ai 01 (z). (2)
where Kis the enlargement function
V (tu, coi, D) = (3)
1/(1 — rji2)2 + 4 D2 rji2
with D which is the measure of damping according to
Lehr and r\\ = cu/coi.
It is assumed that the rotor has an infinite number of
individual natural frequencies. These are discrete and do
not accumulate towards the finite. a\ are the development
coefficients of the deflection and are determined according
to the law
di
f [i (z) e (z) 0i (z) dz + V Mi ' 0i (zj)
i-i
ai = (4)
/ [X (z) 0i2 (z) dz
where [i (z) are the local rotor masses per unit length,
e (z) is the function of eccentricity along the z axis, i.e. the
y component of the distance of the centre of gravity from
the axis of rotation at any point z, and Mj the individual
masses already present at the rotor.
This clearly determines the line of deflection for a given
speed and a given eccentricity curve. The natural values
and natural functions can be derived from the rotor
geometry according to a suitable process.
In the case of a given eccentricity curve we will refer to a
function, e.g. through measurements at individual points
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
on the z axis and where the object is to determine the
eccentricity distribution, we will refer to an 'indirect
problem' [7].
Balancing Methods and Criteria
The object of balancing a rigid rotor is to eliminate exces-
sively high vibrations of rotational frequency at the
bearings. According to the laws of mechanics for rigid
bodies this requires two planes of balancing.
All methods of balancing flexible rotors are aimed at
adding balancing weights to the rotor such that as many
development coefficients a\ as possible are equal to zero
or become sufficiently small. Mathematically this means
finding a resultant eccentricity distribution such that the
function of /u(z). e (z) and 0\ are orthogonal in the
integral of the numerator in (4) and consequently the
integral itself is equal to zero [12], Multiplying the devel-
opment coefficicnt in (2) by the enlargement function V
it becomes obvious that the characteristic deflection 0k in
the series (2) becomes predominant if the operating speed
is near the Arth natural frequency. The coefficient ak is
introduced into (2) with the enlargement factor V > 1.
All development coefficients ai which are less than k, i.e.
= 1, 2 up to k — 1, are multiplied by the enlargement
factor V s» 1 and finally the coefficients ai, i = k + 1,
k + 2, etc. are multiplied by V < 1.
From this we can derive all requirements for balancing.
Because of the location and number of balancing planes 2
due to the design, it is not possible to eliminate a desirable
number of a-, coefficients. We must therefore take alter-
nately the coefficients ak and then the coefficients which
are near the critical speeds 1 to k — 1 when the rotor is
run up to speed and which are multiplied by the enlarge-
ment factor V > 1 and become equal to zero or sufficiently
small.
These two methods which are derived from theory are
based on the one hand on the assumption that the rotor
represents a system with k degrees of freedom in accord-
ance with the number of characteristic deformation forms
(k method, [1 ]) and, on the other, that the two variables
for a rigid body must be added to these k degrees of
freedom (k + 2 method, [4]). As Ä:—>- oo both methods
are, of course, identical [9] (see Eq. (5) and (6).
The expressions for the k method comply with the require-
2
These are those planes in which it is possible from the design aspect to
add balancing weights.

The equations for the k method are:

L
tA 0y (z,) + U2 0, (z2) + + Uk 0, (z k ) = / e(z)p (z) O, (z) dz
0
L
Ui 02 (z,) + Li2 02 (z2) + +uk02 (z k ) = / e (z) p (z) <1>2 (z) dz
(5)

Ui 0k (zi) + U2 0k (z2) + +Uk0k (z k ), = / e (z) !.i (z) 0k (z) dz,

ö
and those of the k + 2 method are

Ui +U2 + +Uk+2 / e(z)p (z) dz

o
L
UlZi + U2 Z2 + . . . ... + C/k+2 Z k + 2 I e (z) n (z) z dz

Uy 01 (zO + U2 01 (z2) + + Uk +2 01 (z k + 2 ) = f e (z) p (z) 0, (z) dz (6)

ö
L
Ux 02 (zO + U2 02 (z2) + + t/k + 2 02 (Zk + 2 ) = / e (z) p (z) 02 (z) dz

Ui 0k (z,) + U2 0k (z2) + ... + Uk +2 0k (zk +2) = / e (z) p (z) 0k (z) dz,

di
where Ui = Mi
2'

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

ment for compensating the kth characteristic form with a
single weight and for finding further weights to avoid
reactivating those /tth characteristic forms which have
previously been compensated. Those for the k 2 method
comply with the requirement for finding compensating
weights, taking into account the k + 2 degrees of freedom
of the rotor, to eliminate vibrations at the bearings and
compensate the characteristic forms. As is the case with
the k method those characteristic forms which have
already been balanced must not be disturbed.
Balancing in Practice
(The author was given the opportunity to spend four
weeks in the overspeed bay at Brown Boveri and several
days in that of Kraftwerk-Union.)
The most important requirement for smooth running of a
rotor is regarded as establishing restricted amplitudes of
the vibrations at the bearings, as is the case in balancing
rigid bodies. As far as the manufacturer of turbines and
turbogenerators is concerned the permissible bearing
vibrations are quoted either in internal specifications or in
the specifications of the machine as ordered. The fact that
the bearing vibrations alone are not determining charac-
teristic values is demonstrated in [16]. Several authors
[14] regard shaft vibrations measured immediately adja-
cent to the bearings as more significant characteristic
values for smooth running. Following this consistently,
there are two further criteria for smooth running which
are significant for turbo-machines. These are the permis-
sible flexure and inclination at given points along the
rotor. From the aerodynamics Standpoint it is desirable
that there be minimum clearance between the blading in
radial and axial directions, but from the safety aspect
there must be no contact between moving and stationary
parts.
The vibrations at the bearing housings are measured with
absolute instruments and amplified such that only those
components relating to the frequency of the speed of
rotation are displayed with the aid of a Wattmeter. Oscilla-
tions of twice the frequency of rotation, generated by an
anisotropy of the rotor, can be registered by making
suitable use of the Wattmeter principle.
In certain overspeed bays the rigidity of the isotropic
bearings can be varied. As a general rule, rigid bodies are
balanced with 'soft' bearings and the characteristic
deflection forms are compensated with 'hard' bearings.
Other balancing engineers prefer soft bearings also for
flexible balancing. Balancing is carried out in two planes
perpendicular to each other, e.g. in two-pole turbo-
generators in the pole zone and in the winding zone, and
also direct according to the amount and angular position
displayed.
Before the characteristic deflection forms are compensated
the above mentioned manufacturers carry out a rigid body
balancing procedure, i.e. the k + 2 method is applied.
The question then arises at which speed below the first
characteristic deflection frequency the rotor can still be
regarded as a rigid body. It can happen that the measuring
apparatus excludes carrying out an initial rigid body
balancing process. In the case of highly flexible rotors the
operating ränge of older measuring equipment is clearly
above that speed which would be necessary to carry out
a rigid body balancing procedure and therefore only the
230
k method of balancing can be applied. If the results are
inadequate the bearing vibrations in the upper speed
ränge can be eliminated by Atting additional balancing
weights in additional planes. These weights must, of
course, have a minimum effect on the characteristic forms
which have previously been balanced.
EDP Used in Investigating Flexible Rotors
The question now is whether one of the two methods is
fundamentally superior for balancing a finite number of
characteristic forms. In order to gain an overall view it is
meaningful to investigate flexible-shaft rotors according
to the aspects of practical balancing using the formulae
and methods described above on an EDP installation. The
Programme used was written in FORTRAN and processed
on an IBM 1130 Computer at the Technical University in
Berlin.
The P r o g r a m m e
Borsig and Co. Ltd. kindly placed at our disposal a Com-
puter programme which enabled us to determine the
critical speed and characteristic flexural properties of
rotors of any given shape. The programme is based on the
transmission matrices process [5], i.e. the rotor geometry
is entered section by section and the bearing rigidity is
selected accordingly. With this programme the required
number of critical speeds and the corresponding charac-
teristic shapes are calculated as discrete values at the limit
of each section.
As can be seen from the flow diagram this programme is
used as a subroutine at several positions. Values of the
characteristic forms at any desired positions 2 are derived
by a routine. It is particularly important for deriving
characteristic forms of higher orders that the lengths of
the sections be selected sufficiently small to attain a high
degree of accuracy. Any section longer than 3 % of the
total rotor length is indicated as an error to draw the
user's attention to this fact. A schematic diagram of the
rotor and its characteristic form is then drawn on the
plotter.
As the object here is to deal with a 'direct' problem it is
necessary to introduce an eccentricity function e (z). The
following alternatives are available for selecting the
eccentricity function:
- a constant eccentricity function for each of any desired
number of sections which are not necessarily related to
the sections of the rotor,
- parabolic functions by preselecting corresponding
values,
- harmonic functions sin (n n z/L), cos (m n z/L) and
linear combinations; n,m — 1,2, 3, etc.
- individual weights.
The parabolic and harmonic functions are multiplied and
superimposed on the constant eccentricity sections.
The selected eccentricity function can be printed out on
the plotter.
In addition the speeds (test speeds) at which the rotor is
to be investigated and also the damping according to (3)
must also be entered.
Brown Boveri R e v . 5 - 7 4
 Flow diagram

oo Print out and plot

line of deflection oo
and eccentricity
o o
n
Balancing criteria:
permissible bearing Vibration
permissible deflection
permissible inclination

Balancing at will
1. Rigid balancing in two
planes
2. Calculate füll set of balancing
weights:
2.1 Federn-Kellenberger
method
2.2 Modal balancing
3. Eliminate normal modes
in sequence by
3.1 Federn-Kellenberger
method
3.2 Modal balancing
Memorize balancing weights

o Print out and punch

o balancing weights

Test run with calculated

weights

J = Yes
N = No
200185.ME

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

First we calculate the coefficients fli. The integrals in the
numerator and the denominator are formed section by
section according to Simpson's formula. We can apply
section by section integration because the sections are
chosen such that the weight per unit area is constant. For
this purpose a subroutine determines the eccentricity
constants at each point z along the rotor; the other forms
of eccentricity are already available in the form of func-
tional routines. In order to save memory space we first
calculate the initial characteristic form and, from this, we
derive the coefficient a t . With the enlargement function V,
which is determined by the first critical speed and the first
measured speed fed in, we can determine the first term of
the series (2) for all sections of the rotor. This procedure
is repeated for calculating the coefficients a 2 and all further
terms of the series. We can now carry over the values
for all sections from the values. In this fashion we
can calculate the line of deflection of the rotor at a given
speed with an adequate number of terms of the series (2);
see flow diagram. The calculated line of deflection can be
shown graphically on the plotter. The calculated develop-
ment coefficients a x for the given distribution of unbalance
are stored in the memory. Following this the rotor is
assessed according to given balanced criteria for this
speed. These are the assessment criteria mentioned above.
An appropriate expression gives information on the
following questions:
- are the vibrations at the journal below a given value
which is regarded as permissible?
- are the deflections at certain points on the rotor below
the given values?
- are the inclines of the lines of deflection at given points
along the rotor below the given values?
The process for calculating the line of deflection and
applying the criteria is carried out for all given measured
speeds. The stored coefficients ai are now applied and only
the natural vibrations must be calculated anew. This form
of calculation saves both time and memory capacity.
The behaviour of the rotor at the selected speeds due to
the original unbalance is now known and the balancing
weights can be calculated according to the balancing
methods. The data to be fed in for this purpose includes
the planes at which the balancing weights must be applied
and the following balancing methods: rigid balancing,
balancing according to the k + 2 method (referred to in
the Programme as the Federn-Kellenberger method) and
balancing according to the k method (referred to as the
modal balancing method in the Programme). Here there
is a choice between balancing the characteristic forms
consecutively (successive balancing) and simultaneous
balancing of all required characteristic forms (one shot).
The subroutine compiled for this purpose calculates the
coefficients using the right hand sides of equations (5)
and (6) from which the compensating unbalance values
are drawn. These are applied to the original unbalance
and check runs are carried out in similar fashion to the
process in the overspeed bay. This procedure is carried out
as described but the coefficients ai must be recalculated.
The result, 'balanced according to method...', can also
be shown on the plotter to provide a comparison with the
original unbalance run.
A print-out referring to the balancing criteria shows
whether the balancing process was successful.
232
The programme is designed such that it is also possible to
introduce estimated weights or sets of weights to balance
the rotor in the same fashion as in the overspeed bay.
Results
Of the rotors investigated and the various balancing runs
carried out we will use a turbogenerator rotor as an
example in the following.
This is a two-pole 60 Hz generator of the 600 MW class.
The design details of this rotor are described in [6], The
main machine data are given in Table I. The rigidity of
the third, outward bearing was set at half that of the main
bearings and the permissible bearing vibrations were set
at 30 [im. These values are arbitrary. The degree of damp-
ing according to Lehr of D = 0 - 1 appears to be a realistic
value. The sketch of the rotor was made from the input
data; individual masses present are shown according to
their radius of inertia. The diagram also serves as a check
for the input data.
The fourth and sixth characteristic forms are notable.
They represent the resonances of the left-hand and right-
hand ends of the shaft. The critical speeds and charac-
teristic forms (the freely selectable variable at the left-
hand boundary of the characteristic forms is 1 mm) are
derived first, as shown in the flow diagram and are used
as a basis for the speeds at which the rotor is to be inves-
tigated. These are given in the top line of the lower
section of Table I. The values of the enlargement function
are given here in conjunction with the critical speeds in
the form of a matrix in the second column. For the
selected degree of damping the maximum value of the
enlargement function is K m a x (jjmax = 1 "01) = 5-025.
Speeds 1, 2 and 3 in the first line are slightly above those
critical speeds which must be run through in order to
reach operating speed and, in addition to this, the rotor
must be investigated at operating (4) and overspeed (5).
The distribution of eccentricity was chosen such that it
could feasibly occur due to manufacturing processes.
Those sections with the greatest eccentricity were arranged
in the region of the coupling, the winding overhangs, the
sliprings and the fan. An eccentricity function
e(z) = ( 5 + 0-672z + 0-18£ — 4z 2 )cos z) [[im]
is superimposed on the eccentricity sections.
The results of the individual balancing runs are given in
Table II. The initial balancing run (C013A) is carried
out first of all. The coefficients ai are given according to
their numerical value after calculation according to
equation (4). As the ordinate values of the characteristic
forms have a length dimension, ai has no dimension.
During the subsequent balancing runs the development
coefficients are related to the original balancing run and
the calculated balancing weights are referred to the value
of the integral Je(z)^(z)dz. The Tables show the main
data and, below these, the lines of deflection for the
selected speeds. In order to gain a quantitative compari-
son one should note the various scales for the individual
lines in [im. This form of representation is used for all
further balancing runs. The object of all balancing runs
was to balance out ali characteristic deflections which are
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
Table I

Rotor: Turbogenerator Rating: 600 MW «b: 3600 1/min

Weight: 64-31 t Length: 16-09 m PD2: 35-31 . 103 kgfm2 m Sc m: 4320 1/min

Bearing rigidity: 16/16/32 [xm/tf

Permissible bearing vibrations: 30/30/30 [Jim Permissible deflection: see Table II

Permissible inclination: see table II Damping D: 0-1

9 10
I I I I

• •

Development function V at speed n («/«B) [1/min]

Characteristic values 600 1700 2800 3600 4320

«i/«B «i 0-1666 0-4722 0-7777 1-0000 1-2000

1 0-1628 586 4-9811 1-1310 1-0447 1-0266 1-0183

2 0-4625 1665 0-1486 4-9990 1-5218 1-2635 1-1697
3 0-7653 2755 0-0497 0-6023 5-0172 2-2658 1 -6486
4 1-0150 3655 0-0276 0-2741 1-3315 4-8684 3-0241
5 1-2560 4523 0-0179 0-1639 0-6091 1-5851 4-3388
6 1 -7640 6352 0-0089 0-0770 0-2397 0-4666 0-8340
7 2-0380 7337 0-0067 0-0566 0-1698 0-3145 0-5223
8 2-5760 9296
9 3-1740 11425

250[xm

ß = Characteristic forms C = Eccentricity

233
below the overspeed value, i.e. in this case, the first four
characteristic forms. In all cases the first four development
coefficients were brought down to an average of 0-027 %
of the value of the original balancing run.
The sole determining factor is whether the balancing
criteria are fulfilled, i.e. how large the vibrations are at
the journals. As can be seen by considering the uncom-
pensated development coefficients au the quality of
balancing has a deciding influence on the degree to which
the higher characteristic forms are excited. This depends
largely on the location of the selected balancing planes.
This is illustrated by comparing run C016 with C 020
and C015 with C021. The fact that there is undesired
excitation of higher characteristic forms is not considered
mathematically in compiling the balancing equations (5)
and (6) and is therefore common to both balancing meth-
ods. The balancing equations consider only that the
characteristic forms which have already been balanced
are not re-excited when balancing characteristic forms of
higher Orders. The problem of not exciting the higher-
order characteristic forms, or only to a minimum, when
balancing characteristic forms of lower orders can be
referred to as 'forward balancing'.
The optimum combination of planes must be found by
varying the balancing planes (run C015 for dynamic
balancing and C016 for the Federn-Kellenberger method).
Here the C016 run is clearly superior because not only
are four characteristic forms balanced, but also, the
characteristic forms of higher orders are not excited. In
run C 016 the coefficient as retains its original value and
coefficients a6 and a 7 are amplified only by a factor of 5.
In contrast to this, in run C 015 the coefficient a6 is am-
plified by a factor of 15.
An arbitrary combination of planes was chosen for runs
C 020 and C021. Run C 020 (Federn-Kellenberger) is
better because the fifth development coefficient as was
reduced to 60% of its original value. This appears to be a
coincidence because of the arbitrary choice of balancing
planes. However, coefficient a6 and a1 are increased
drastically (89 times and 76 times respectively).

Table II

Run C013A Balancing method: Original unbalance No. of char. forms required: 0

ai - 0-553 E-2 0-121 E-3 0-173 E-l 0-470 E-l 0-257 E-3 0-234 E-2

Plane/G 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

No. n Bearing vibrations w Peripheral Max. Max.

deflection deflection inclination

1/min 1. 2. 3. L R inside [um] z cp°

1 600 21 21 - 3 - 26 4 131 50 3-44 E-3

2 1700 70 -46 15 8 9 146 1300 4-58 E-3
3 2800 53 94 93 56 102 369 1300 13-7 E-3
4 3600 85 23 51 158 391 174 1300 8-02 E-3
5 4320 90 -41 68 255 18 172 0 12-6 E-3
L
f e(z)tu (z) dz
= 106-4 kg

234 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

 Run C 015 Balancing method: Modal balancing No. of char. forms required: 4

äi -5-28 E-5 -4-44 E-5 -7-36 E-5 1-15E-4 1-31 -14-73 -2-09

Plane/G 2 - 0-186 3 -0-648 5 -0-161 8 -0-083

No. « Bearing vibrations [fi.m] Periphera' Max. Max.

deflection deflection inclination

1/min 1. 2. 3. L R inside [fim] z cp°

1 600 0 1 1 1 0 1
2 1700 2 - 5 4 9 4 - 5
3 2800 8 - 18 15 35 121 19
4 3600 20 - 43 35 94 25 50
5 4320 54 -112 82 261 52 -132

Run C 016 Balancing method: Federn-Kellenberger No. of char. forms required: 4

äi -6-76 E-5 - M4E-6 -7-59 E-5 - 1-87E-4 1-01 -5-40 4-83

Plane/G 2 -0-205 3 -0-726 4 0-400 5 -0-718 6 0-276 8 -0-094

No. n Bearing vibrations [jJ.m] Peripheral Max. Max.

deflection deflection inclination

1/min 1. 2. 3. L R inside [[xm] z cp°

1 600 0 0 0-5 1 1 0-5

2 1700 1 2 4 8 6 - 3
3 2800 5 - 8 13 31 20 -11
4 3600 13 -23 29 78 39 -32
5 4320 38 -69 66 211 70 -92

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

 Run C 020 Balancing method: Federn-Kellenberger No. of char. forms required: 4

äi -3-67 E-4 8- 38 E-4 4-66 E-5 -1-67E-3 0-59 8£,-75 75-64

Plane/G 2 0-082 3 -4-406 4 11-326 5 -14-040 6 8-471 7 -2-496

No. n Bearing vibrations [(j.m] Peripheral Max. Max.

deflection deflection inclination

1/min 2. 3. L R inside [p.m] z

1 600 0 2 0 2 4 2
2 1700 - 3 21 3 16 37 11
3 2800 - 9 62 8 52 106 34
4 3600 -14 111 13 110 188 36
5 4320 -14 170 17 232 292 170

Run C021 Balancing method: Modal balancing No. of char. forms required: 4

äi 5-73 E-5 2-94 E-4 5-45 E-5 2-90 E-4 3-69 -78-36 -51-37

Plane/G 3 -0-274 4 -2-614 5 3-71 6 -1-97

No. n Bearing vibrations [fim] Peripheral Max. Max.

deflection deflection inclination

1/min 1. 2. 3. L R inside [[xm] z cp°

1 600 1 3 1 2 - 2 1
2 1700 8 - 27 8 20 -17 26
3 2800 29 - 88 30 80 -47 86
4 3600 69 -194 76 228 -74 189
5 4320 173 -473 199 672 88 421

Brown Boveri Rev. 5 - 7 4

It is shown that, on the basis of the calculated balancing
weights, a balancing run can be described as an Optimum
in comparison to the others if the smallest possible
weights are calculated. A further interesting feature is the
fact that of the coefficients in the original unbalanced
condition, the sixth is the smallest, but in all four runs
this coefficient is amplified more than any other. It should
be noted here that the balancing engineer in the overspeed
bay is not aware of to what degree he has balanced an
individual characteristic form. It would be possible for
him to do this only by measurement at resonant speed
with very slight damping. In practice it is regarded as
sufficient to reduce the original vibrations at the bearings
to 5 to 10%.
Conclusion
Commencing from the two balancing methods and their
application in the four balancing runs described above,
we will make an attempt to arrive at statements which are
generally applicable for avoiding the excitation of charac-
teristic forms of higher Orders by adding balancing
weights ('forward balancing'). With regard to these
statements, however, because of the small number of
balancing runs presented, they are of restricted signifi-
cance and must be confirmed by considerably more
comprehensive material. The aids for balancing highly
flexible rotors which, in addition, are considerably un-
symmetrical, can be described as follows.
An optimum combination of planes is achieved by:
1. Selecting such balancing planes as are not in the ränge
of high amplitudes of the subsequent non-balanced
characteristic forms.
2. Choosing only one balancing plane in the deflection of
a characteristic form which is to be balanced. If planes
are closely adjacent both balancing processes will result
in large balancing weights which then cause excitation of
the characteristic forms of higher Orders, i.e. the matrix
of equations (5) and (6) becomes almost equal to one.
3. The planes for balancing according to the rigid body
method should be chosen not only according to the
aspects of rigid body balancing, i.e. adjacent to the
bearings, but instead, according to the statements made
in 1.
Under the conditions as described above the Federn-
Kellenberger method appears superior to the modal
balancing method. However, if the balancing planes are
chosen arbitrarily, or if the conditions quoted under
points 1 and 2 above cannot be given due consideration,
the modal balancing method would appear to be of
advantage because two additional planes, chosen accord-
ing to the aspects of rigid balancing, would tend to excite
characteristic forms of higher Orders.
After sufficiently comprehensive material such as can be
gained with this Computer programme has been collected,
this should be substantiated by carrying out experimental
investigations both on a shaft specially prepared for this
purpose and also on the shaft of a turbomachine produced
in industry, in order to check the practical applicability of
these recommendations.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5 - 7 4
Bibliography
[1] R.E.D. Bishop, G.M.L. Gladwell: The Vibration and
balancing of an unbalanced flexible rotor J. Mech. Eng.
Sc. 1 1959 66-77.
[2] Dimentberg: Theory of balancing flexible rotors. Russ.
Eng. J. 11 1964.
[3] K. Federn: Grundlagen einer systematischen Schwin-
gungsentstörung wellenelastischer Rotoren. VDI Report
24 1957 9.
[4] K. Federn: Auswuchten elastischer Rotoren nach
Eigenformen. Akustik und Schwingungstechnik, VDI-
Verlag, Düsseldorf 1971 491.
[5] H. Fuhrke: Eigenwertbestimmung mit Hilfe von ab-
geleiteten Übertragungsmatrizen. VDI Report 30 1958
35-39.
[6] W. Hossli, N. Krick: More large turbosets for the
USA. Brown Boveri Rev. 55 1968 (1) 3-14.
[7] E. Hübner: Das Auswuchten elastischer Rotoren, ein
Problem der Strukturanalyse. Ing. Arch. 30 1961 (5)
325-338.
[8] W. Kellenberger: Balancing flexible rotors on two
generally flexible bearings. Brown Boveri Rev. 54 1967 (9)
603-617.
[9] W. Kellenberger: Should a flexible rotor be balanced
in N or (N + 2) planes? Trans. ASME J. of Eng. for Ind.
94 1972 May 71-Vibr-55, 548-560.
[10] Klarhoefer: Theoretische Grundlagen für das Aus-
wuchten biegeelastischer Rotoren. Techn. Ber. d. Heinr.
Hertz Inst. No. 81, Berlin 1965.
[\\] P. Matthieu: Eine mathematische Theorie für die
Auswuchtung elastischer Rotoren. Z. angew. Math. u.
Mech. 47 1967, Tagungsheft, T94.
[12] P. Matthieu: Über die Auswuchtung elastischer
Rotoren. VDI Report 161, Düsseldorf 1971 35.
[13] A. Meldahl: Auswuchten elastischer Rotoren. Z. an-
gew. Math. u. Mech. 34 1954 (8/9) 317-318.
[14] VDl-Richtlinie 2059: Wellenschwingungsmessungen
zur Überwachung von Turbomaschinen. Draft, August
1971.
[15] 1SO/TC108 SCI (Secr. 5) 10: Second proposed draft
international Standard (or technical report) for the
mechanical balancing of flexible rotors. Febr. 1973.
[16] Thomas: Zum Stand der Arbeiten zur Erstellung
einer VDI-Richtlinie «Schwingungsmessungen an Ma-
schinenwellen». Akustik und Schwingungstechnik, VDI-
Verlag, Düsseldorf 1971 479.
Monitoring Oil-Cooled Transformers by Gas Analysis
E. Dörnenburg and W. Strittmatter
Certain defects in transformers cause the insulation to de-
compose and this process generates gases. These can be
either completely dissolved in the insulating oil so that the
Buchholz protection relay cannot respond and indicate the
fault, or they can rise to the Buchholz relay which then indi-
cates that something unusual is occurring inside the trans-
former. Brown Boveri have developed a method of diagnosis
based on chemical analysis of gases dissolved in the oil and
which have collected at the Buchholz relay, that shows
whether there is, in fact, a fault and what the nature of the
fault is. The principles of the diagnostic process are de-
scribed and results obtained are discussed.
Introduction
Discharges or local overheating inside the transformer
often lead to decomposition of the insulation and thus to
the generation of gases. In the case of transformers with
the traditional form of insulation comprising mineral
oil and cellulose materials (paper, transformerboard, etc.)
which are to be dealt with exclusively in the following,
this breakdown generates hydrogen, light hydrocarbons
and carbon oxides. This has been known for some time
and the Buchholz protection system, a gas collector relay
at the transformer, is based on this fact. This well-known
protection device is, without doubt, a useful instrument
although it is clear today that it does not respond to all
forms of breakdown at an early stage.
The Incipient Fault
All gases generated by insulation decomposition are solu-
ble in the transformer oil. If the gases are generated slowly
they are quantitatively dissolved in the oil and therefore
the gas collector relay cannot respond to this form of gas
formation. Typical causes of this form of slow gas forma-
tion are local overheating of conductors or zones in the
iron core, weak discharges in gas pockets within the solid
238
insulation, and other forms of discharge. We will refer in
the following to these often insignificant defects which
can occur in service without being detected by the pro-
tection equipment, as incipient faults. If they are not
discovered they can slowly but steadily attack the insula-
tion to a point where serious damage results.
For this reason there is a general trend, especially with
large and important transformers, to monitor the oil for
degenerate gases in Solution.
Sound and Suspect Transformers
It would be a very simple matter to decide whether a
transformer is operating faultlessly or not if the oil in a
sound transformer contained absolutely no gases due to
decomposition. Unfortunately this is not the case. In
transformers which have been in service the oil always
contains considerable concentrations of carbon dioxide
and carbon monoxide, a certain amount of hydrogen and
small concentrations of light hydrocarbons. These gases
are due, to a certain degree, to natural ageing of the insu-
lation. Consequently there are gas concentrations which
must be regarded as normal and do not necessarily stem
from a defect. The magnitude of these normal concentra-
tions depends largely on the age and Ioading of the trans-
formers but limiting values for the concentrations for the
various decomposition gases can be determined empiri-
cally.
Experience gained to date shows that transformers may be
regarded as faultless if the gas concentrations quoted in
Table I are not exceeded after a few years of operation.
Table 1: Concentration limits
Hydrogen 200 ppm (V/V)
Methane 50 ppm (V/V)
Ethane 15 ppm (V/V)
Ethylene 60 ppm (V/V)
Acetylene 15 ppm (V/V)
Carbon monoxide I 000 ppm (V/V)
Carbon dioxide 11 000 ppm (V/V)
1 p p m (V/V) of a gas denotes that 1 0 - 6 litres (or 1 m m 3 ) of this gas is
dissolved in 1 litre of insulating oil at a pressure of 1 kgf/cm J .
The limiting values quoted are to be regarded as guide-
lines and it is safe to say that their orders of magnitude
are correct. Figure 1 shows diagrammatically the concentra-
tions of these gases as measured in the oil of 72 dilferent
high-power transformers which operate perfectly. The
outer rings represent the limiting values according to
Table I.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
Jf two different gases exceed the concentration limits
shown, the transformer must be regarded as suspect. First
we must check whether there has been a previous fault
which has been repaired; this could be the origin of the
gases. The question of whether gas is being generated
at present can be answered by taking oil samples over
a period of time. Constant or reducing gas concen-
trations indicate that the fault has been eliminated; rising
gas concentrations show that an incipient fault is present.
If two or more gas concentrations considerably exceed the
limits quoted in Table I the nature of the fault is deter-
mined according to the process described in the following.
Based on the result of this analysis the decision can then
be made as to whether the degree of gas generation is to
be observed by taking oil samples over a period of several
months of duty, whether it is advisable to gain further In-
formation regarding the location of the fault by operating
with various loads or breaker positions, or whether plans
should be made immediately for eliminating the fault.
Where incipient faults are found at and early stage these
are always more or less insignificant faults and a suitable
time can be selected for carrying out repairs to eliminate
the faults.
D e t e r m i n i n g t h e N a t u r e of t h e D a m a g e
f r o m t h e C o n c e n t r a t i o n s of Gases Dis-
solved in t h e Oil
Analysis of the gases dissolved in the oil indicates the
nature of the fault but does not immediately enable its
location to be established. The method developed at
Fig. 1 - Concentrations of decomposition prod-
ucts dissolved in the oil of 72 transformers in
perfect working order. The lengths of the radial
iines indicate the concentrations according to a
logarithmic scale. The inner circle corresponds
6
to concentrations of 10 Volumetrie parts of
gas (under normal conditions) per volume of
oil [1 ppm (V/V)]. T h e outer circle denotes the
concentration limits according to Table I. Con-
centrations of less than 1 p p m (V/V) have been
rounded off to 1 p p m (V/V).
Brown Boveri Rev. 5 - 7 4
Brown Boveri for fault diagnosis is based on the follow-
ing considerations.
The transformer is füll of insulating oil, therefore oil must
be in the immediate vicinity of the location of the fault.
From the chemical point of view the oil is of a uniform
material class; a mixture of hydrocarbons. If, for any
reason, it becomes decomposed, it breaks down into hy-
drogen, methane, ethylene and acetylene. It depends on
the nature of the fault whether the gas formed comprises
relatively large quantities of hydrogen and small quanti-
ties of methane, or relatively high proportions of acetylene
and less ethane, or vice versa. This depends only on the
particular decomposition process andis virtually unaffect-
ed by the type of insulating oil.
The fault diagnosis is therefore based on mixture ratios,
i.e. on the relative concentration of pairs of gases. From
the gas concentrations determined in ppm (V/V) we derive
the following mixture ratios which have been selected, as
experience shows them to be particularly useful:
Concentration of methane (dissolved) / [CH4j \
Concentration of hydrogen (dissolved) L [H2] )
Concentration of acetylene (dissolved) / [C 2 H 2 ]
2.
Concentration of ethylene (dissolved) \ [C2 H
Concentration of ethane (dissolved) / [ Q H6]
3.
Concentration of acetylene (dissolved) l [C2 H 2 ]
Concentration of acetylene (dissolved) [c2 H2]
4.
Concentration of methane (dissolved) [CH 4 ]
 :1
Fig. 2 - Mixture ratios of gases due to decom-
position dissolved in the gases of transformers
lllllllilll
with faults. The mixture ratios of the pairs of
gases methane and hydrogen, and acetylene and
V ethylene apply to the concentrations of the
volume of gas (under normal conditions) per
volume of oil. The following symbols indicate
the damage discovered when repairs were car-
V
ried o u t :
llllilllllili
V = Local overheating
V
V w = Weak discharges in gas pockets
V 7 = All other forms of discharge
V
* V
•
The limits of the ranges of values according to
Table II are indicated by the heavy lines. The
values measured at hot spots are located in the
upper left sector, the points for transformers
• with internal low-current gas discharges are in
•
• the lower strip and those points for transformers
a i XI j with discharges of any other form are to the
• MlliSi right in the centre strip.
u u

,
ii iiiiiii 1

4 6 i 4 6 4 6 8 4 6 8 20 40 > 4 0
< 4 • 10 1 10"' 1 • 10"1 10 _ [C 2 H 2 ]
[C 2 H 4 ]

Table II: Ranges of characteristic values for mixture The combination of mixture ratios
ratios of gases dissolved in transformer oil
[CH4] [C2 H 2 ]
Mixture ratio in [CH4] [C2H2] [C2H6] [C2H2] [H 2 ] a n d
[C2H4]
relation to the [Ha] [C2H4] [C2H2] [CH4]
concentrations of can be used together if
dissolved gases
(volume/volume) [CH 4 ] > 100 ppm (V/V) and, at the same time,
[C2 H 4 ] > 60 ppm (V/V) or if
Type of fault [H 2 ] > 200 ppm (V/V) and
[C2 H 2 ] > 30 ppm (V/V) and so on.
Local overheating >1 <0-7 >0-4 <0-3
Weak discharges ^ , • • [C2 H 6 ] [C2H2]
in gas pockets <0-1 * >0-4 <0-3 The additional mixture ratios —_ and are
[C 2 H 2 J [C H 4 J
All other types of <1
>0-7 <0-4 >0-3 acceptable as additional confirmation of the diagnosis if
discharge >0-1
at least one of each pair of gases in the ratio exceeds the
* Not indicative of this type of discharge, generally not applicable. concentration quoted in the Table I.
If this mixture ratio is applicable and > 1 this indicates that the dis- 3. This method of diagnosis may be used only with ex-
charge is increasing.
treme caution if the gases dissolved in the oil originate
from a fault which has no longer been present for some
considerable time; the various gases of decomposition
The following rules are criteria for the extent to which travel at various speeds towards the surface of the oil in
these mixture ratios are useful in the diagnosis: the expansion tank and escape to atmosphere. When the
generation of gases stops this distorts the mixture ratio.
1. A Single mixture ratio can be used in the diagnosis only
if the concentration of one of the two gases is twice as 4. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are found typi-
high as the limiting value quoted in Table I. cally as a result of decomposition of the solid insulation
and are not used in the characteristic mixture ratios. In
2. Several mixture ratios can be used together in the di-
the case of gradual faults it is generally not possible to
agnosis if at least one of the first and second mixture
decide whether and to what degree the solid insulation
ratios can be used alone according to the first rule above
has been attacked.
and at least one gas of those whose concentrations are
formed by the other ratio, exceeds the limiting value in 5. In the case of transformers with a gas cushion (nitrogen
Table I. cushion) above the oil level, the limiting values quoted in

240 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Fig. 3 - Mixture ratios of gases dissolved in the
oil of transformers with faults; concentrations >40
of gas volumes, under normal conditions, per
volume of oil. The limits of the ranges of values ICH«] 40
are indicated by the heavy lines, symbols as [H 2 ] V
20
Fig. 2.
a : Pairs of gases methane and hydrogen, ethane 10
and acetylene 8 V
b : Pairs of gases methane and hydrogen, acety- 6
lene and methane 4
V
V
2
7
V v
v
1
8
6
4 •
u
0 •

110"
uu " u

110
,4 6 4 6 4 6 4 6 8 20 40 > 4 0
<4-10" 1 • 10"' 1-101 10 [C 2 Hs]
[C2 H2]

> 40
[CH. , 4 0 -
~[H 2
20 -

10 -

6
4

1
8
6

1 • 10"1
8
6

I -10
4 6 f 4 6 8 4 6 8 4 6 8 20 40 > 4 0
<4-10 1 10"' 1 • 10"1 10 [C2Hz]
200095.11 [CH 4 ]

Table II for the mixture ratios can be applied only to a
limited extent. If the volumes of oil and gas cushion are
known quantities, the applicable limiting values can be
calculated.
Those ranges of values which are typical for a given type
of fault are given in Table II in relation to the mixture
ratios quoted in the above rules.
A diagnosis is adequately confirmed if two or more of the
mixture ratios used are within the ranges of values which
are typical for the same type of fault.
Figures 2 and 3 show more clearly than any description
the mixture ratios of gases dissolved in the oil of various
transformers. The faults in these transformers were located
by inspection or defined by measurement. The causes
discovered were not exclusively incipient faults in the
transformers but also cases of spontaneous damage caus-
ing gases to collect in the Buchholz relay; the values
quoted, however, refer without exception to the gas con-
centration found in the insulating oil and determined in
units of gas volume per oil volume (e.g. ppm [V/V]).

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Gas S e p a r a t i o n in t h e Buchholz Relay
Gas Separated in the Buchholz Relay in Equilibrium with the measured values of the individual free gases in the Buch-
Gas in the Oil
The special case where gas separates out in the Buchholz
relay and is in equilibrium with the gas dissolved in the
oil, occurs in two forms:
1. Supersaturation of the oil with dissolved gas because
the gas absorption capacity of the oil has been exceeded
due to the formation of decomposition gases, i.e. as a
result of an incipient fault.
2. Approximate Saturation of the oil with air and favoura-
ble conditions for the formation of nascent bubbles, i.e.
even without incipient faults.
Separation of Free Gas in the Buchholz Relay in Equilibri- to absorbtion of additional decomposition gases. The
um with the Gas Dissolved in the Oil as the Culmination of question of whether this form of gas generation is present
Gas Formation over a Long Period due to Incipient Faults can be answered only by measuring the dissolved gas con-
The Statement 'the insulating oil is saturated with gas' is
synonymous with the following, more accurate, defini-
tion: Insulating oil is saturated with a given gas mixture
if the oil cannot absorb any more of this gas mixture
2
above the oil level at a pressure of 1 kgf/cm at constant
temperature. This can be stated briefly as: the gas above
the oil level is in equilibrium with the gas dissolved in
the oil.
Provided there is not a flexible membrane in the expansion
tank to prevent ingress of air, the insulating oil in a
transformer is in constant contact with atmospheric air.
Even so, under normal circumstances the oil is not saturat-
ed with air even after many years of operation, as is to
be expected. The ageing process of the oil requires a
continuous supply of atmospheric oxygen and therefore
the amount of atmospheric gases in the oil after a long
period of operation is mostly only about 90% Saturation.
Consequently, the transformer oil can absorb gases created
by an incipient internal fault until their contribution
towards Saturation is about 10%. Only then is the oil
saturated with gas and further formation of gases due to
decomposition inside the transformer will necessarily lead
to supersaturation of the oil.
As the surface of the oil in the expansion Chamber is under
atmospheric pressure the concentration of decomposition
gases in the oil can be increased appreciably only if, at the
same time, some of the dissolved gas is dissipated as free
gas in the Buchholz relay. This gas must remain in equilib-
rium with that dissolved in the oil if the gradual fault
continues to generate gas. Assuming that the oil is just
saturated, i.e. contains 90% Saturation of atmospheric
gases and 10% gases due to decomposition, the gas col-
lecting in the Buchholz relay comprises 90% by volume
of 'air' and 10% by volume of gases due to decomposi-
tion. The 'air' is starved of oxygen if the transformer has formation the dissolved and free gases are in equilibrium
been in operation for a long time.
If we extract the gases dissolved in the oil we find that the are always lower than the limits quoted in Table 1.
composition of the dissolved gas is by no means identical
to that of those in the Buchholz relay. However, if we
determine the proportion contributed by each individual
gas dissolved in the oil towards Saturation expressed in
2 during ageing and, apparently, by cavitation phenomena
kgf/cm , we find that these values are numerically identi-
cal with the partial pressures of the corresponding gases
in the Buchholz relay.
242
If the gas separated in the Buchholz relay is in equilibrium
with the dissolved gas wefind close agreement between the
holz relay and of the gas concentration dissolved in the
oil, on condition that the dissolved gas concentrations
are converted into percentage Saturation and the concen-
trations of free gases in the Buchholz relay are determined
in percentage volume.
Examples of gas formations measured in several trans-
formers are shown in Fig. 4a, b and c. These confirm
that gas Separation in the Buchholz relay in equilibrium
with the dissolved gas is a special case of gas formation
which is important in practice.
Summarizing, it can be stated that gas Separation in the
Buchholz relay comprising dissolved air and gases due to
decomposition (in concentrations of at least several per-
cent by volume) can result in supersaturation of the oil due
centrations, by Converting these gas concentrations into
degrees of Saturation, and by comparing the composition
of the gas in the Buchholz relay with these values. A gas
Separation of this nature is always the final condition oc-
curring as a result of a gradual fault over a long period. In
any case the faults, whose nature can be established easily
by comparing the concentration ratios of dissolved gases
with the figures quoted in Table II, should be rectified to
avoid subsequent damage due to gas bubbles rising in
insulation zones subject to high electrical stresses. It is
essential that the oil be degassed following the repair.
Separation of Free Gas in the Buchholz Relay in Equilib-
rium with Dissolved Gas not Caused by Gases due to
Decomposition
The Buchholz relay sometimes gives alarm signals due to
the fact that gases dissolved in the oil separate out without
there being excessive concentrations of gases due to de-
composition in the oil. This form of gas Separation with-
out an internal fault is observed:
- only if the insulating oil is largely saturated with air,
- mostly only if the insulating oil is aged only slightly,
- niainly in transformers whose operating temperatures
fluctuate over a wide ränge and whose average oil
temperatures are low and
- primarily in transformers which generate a lot of noise.
The phenomenon of air separating out occurs fairly ra-
rely, most often in winter, and generally occurs repeatedly
in the same transformer. The question of whether the gas
is generated by an internal fault or is of the harmless form
quoted above can be answered only by analysis of the
dissolved and free gases. Even in the case of harmless gas
and the concentrations of gases due to decomposition
The Separation of this dissolved air is obviously assisted
by supersaturation of the oil during temperature fluctua-
tions (the solubility of the individual gases varies with
temperature), by the low oxygen consumption of the oil
in vibrating parts of the transformer which form nascent
bubbles.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
By way of an example, Figure 4d shows the values for
dissolved gases in percentage Saturation and for separated
gas in percentage volume. Many similar cases have been
observed over the last few years.
This gas Separation, which is troublesome for operation,
can be overcome at least for a short time by degassing the
insulating oil. This false alarm can be completely elimi-
nated by degassing the oil and Utting a membrane seal in the
expansion Chamber.
Gas Separation in the Buchholz Relay without the Gases
Dissolved in the Oil Being in Equilibrium with the Free
Gases in the Relay
In the majority of cases of alarm issued by the Buchholz
relay, analysis of the gas dissolved in a sample of the oil
and the free gases in the relay shows that the gases are not
in equilibrium. The Buchholz relay contains gas with
high concentrations of gases due to decomposition and
also large proportions of atmospheric gases. In almost
every case it can be clearly established that the atmos-
pheric gas components were originally dissolved in the
oil; this is confirmed by the lack of oxygen in the 'air'. 1
Also, the concentrations of gases due to decomposition
dissolved in the oil are almost always lower than would
be required for equilibrium with the gas in the Buchholz
relay.
From this it must not be assumed that only a little of the
gas due to decomposition originally formed at the location
'On taking samples of gases from the Buchholz relay and also on tak-
ing samples of the oil from the transformer tank attention must be paid
that these samples be protected from light. Light acting on the oil causes
it to age and consume oxygen and would lead one to assume oxygen
starvation in the sample.

Fig. 4 - Separation of gas in the Buchholz relay

in equilibrium with the gas dissolved in the oil
Concentrations in the Buchholz relay in partial
pressures, and those dissolved in the oil in 10"
degrees of Saturation. Limiting values converted
into degrees of Saturation according to Table I
are shown as horizontal lines.
10"'
a: Local overheating
b: Weak discharges
c: All other forms of discharge
d: Supersaturation 10'
<7 = Degree of Saturation
^ Buchholz relay
• = Oil 10"

10"

10"'

10"
H, ch4 c2h6 c2h4 c2h2 co co2 h2 ch4 c2h6 c2h4 c2h2 C O'2 CO.
200096.1

10"'

10"'

10"- t /
/ /
/ /
: / /
/ / /
10 - / -
/
/ /
/ /

f
/
10"- X /

/
/ /
/
;
10"'
- 7* _
/
/

f /
/

10" /
/
/ /
2 /
h2 ch4 c 2 h 6 c 2 h 4 c 2 h 2 CO CO H2 C H 4 C 2 H & C2H4 C2H2 C O CO2

Brown Boveri Rev. 5 - 7 4 243


k A
a A
A A
A *
A Table III are shown by heavy lines. The values
A measured at hot spots are located in the upper
O left sector, the points for transformers with
A
o >
4 6 8 , 2 468 2 468
<4-10 110" 2 MO'1 1 10
2000881.
of the fault has gone into Solution in the oil. On the con-
trary, as a general rule a much higher proportion of the
gases formed in this way are dissolved in the oil than that
which isfinally discovered at the Buchholz relay. However,
the oil volume in a transformer tank is so large in com-
parison with the gas volume in the Buchholz relay that
the dissolved concentrations of gases due to decomposi-
tion found in the oil are small and the concentration of
free gases in the Buchholz relay are relatively high.
A simple calculation of the quantities of dissolved and
free gases — concentration of dissolved gases X the oil
volume in the transformer and concentrations of free
gases X the gas volume in the Buchholz — shows that the
majority of the gaseous products due to decomposition
are, in fact, dissolved in the oil. In other words: as the
gas rises to the Buchholz relay considerable gas exchange
takes place between the gas bubble and the column of oil
through which the bubble passes. The quantity of oil in-
volved in this exchange represents only a fraction of the
total oil volume in the transformer. However, the volume
of gas involved is large in comparison to the gas volume
which reaches the Buchholz relay without going into Solu-
tion. This portion of the oil involved in the exchange mixes
with the major volume of the transformer oil 2 and this,
in turn, naturally contains only small concentrations of the
gases originating from the process of decomposition.
It can thus be established that a considerable exchange has
taken place between the original gas and the oil and only
a small proportion of the gas has reached the Buchholz
1 Attention must be paid that the oil is well mixed before taking samples.
Samples should therefore be taken as rapidly as possible following an
alarm from the Buchholz relay. Oil samples should be taken as long as
possible after such an alarm and, if possible, the oil pumps should be set
in motion and the fans left operating.
244
Fig. 5 - Mixture ratios of gases in the Buchholz
relay for the pairs of gases methane and hydro-
gen, and acetylene and ethylene, applicable for
concentrations in partial pressures. The symbols
indicate the nature of the fault discovered when
repairs were carried out:
= Local overheating
= Low-current discharges in gas pockets
^ = All other forms of discharge
The limits of the ranges of values according to
internal low-current discharges are in the lower
o strip and those points for transformers with
- 8
-0 any other form of discharge are to the right in
0«
o the centre strip, as in Fig. 2.
o o
o
o
•
2 468 20 40 >40
[Ca H 2 ]
^[C 2 H 4 ]
relay. It is known from the exchange with the oil that it
takes place fundamentally only in one direction: in the
direction of establishing equilibrium between the dissolved
and free gas. We also know that equilibrium must be
reached provided that sufficient time is available. Our
method of fault diagnosis is based on two facts for the
case of gas Separation in the Buchholz relay which is not
in equilibrium with the gas concentration in the oil as
described in this section:
1. on the facts determined experimentally that a partial
quantity of oil is directly involved with the exchange
which is large in comparison with the volume of free
gas in the Buchholz relay, and
2. on the principle that the objective of the gas exchange
with the oil is to establish equilibrium.
From this we immediately have the following conditions
which form the basis for diagnosing the fault from the
gases present in the Buchholz relay: We assume that the
gas separated in the Buchholz relay is of a composition
such as if it had been in contact with an unknown quantity
of oil with which it would have continued to exchange gas
until equilibrium had been reached, and of this unknown
quantity of oil we further assume that its volume is large
in comparison with the remainder of the gas which finally
reaches the Buchholz relay.
From these assumptions simple calculations bring us to a
set of formulae with which we can approximately deter-
mine the original mixture ratios of the individual com-
ponents of the gas created by the fault if these gases are
found in any given mixture ratio in the Buchholz relay.
These formulae thus render information concerning how
the gas composition has changed during its journey from
the fault location to the Buchholz relay by means of ex-
change with the oil.
Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74
Fig. 6 - Mixture ratios of gases in the Buchholz
relay. Concentrations in partial pressures. The
limits of the ranges of values are indicated by >4
the heavy lines (Table III). [CHtl 4
a: Pairs of gases methane and hydrogen, and [H 2 ]
ethane and acetylene &
b: Pairs of gases methane and hydrogen, and
acetylene and methane A
A
Symbols as Fig. 5.
A
A
O« O A
1 • 10 0 6 v
0 CK <J
0 0 0
0
0
Ö 0
«
110 0

110"
4 68 4 68 4 6 4 6 20 40 > 4 0
< 4 • 10 1 • 10"' 1 • 10"1 10 ^ [C2 H 6 ]
[C2 H 2 ]
200099.1

>4
[CHi]4
[H 2 ] 2
Ai
1 A
A

A A
A
A
A
0 « 0
I 10"
O 0 6
O O 00
6
« < « 0
4

2 O
O O
2 O
110r8 . 0
6
4

2
1 • 10
3
,4 6 4 6 8 2 4 6 4 6 ! 20 40 > 4 0
< 4 • 10" 1 • 10"' I • 10'1 H> ^ [C2 H 2 ]
200100.1
[CHI]

The following symbols are used: •TI

— = Mixture (concentration) ratio of gas component i to

p r = Partial pressure of gas r in the free gas collected at ' gas component j in the original gas produced
the Buchholz relay

Pi
--- = Mixture ratio of gas component / to gas component
P.i j in the free gas collected at the Buchholz relay
Kr = Solubility of gas component r in the insulating oil
C,
— = Mixture (concentration) ratio of the gas dissolved in
Cj the insulating oil of the complete transformer after
a sufficient time has elapsed from the alarm given by
the Buchholz relay

Brown Boveri Rev. 5 - 7 4

 Fig. 7 - Gases collected in the Buchholz relay
not in equilibrium with the gases dissolved in
the oil. Concentrations of gases in the Buchholz
relay are in partial pressures, those in the oil
are in degrees of Saturation. The limit values
according to Table I are converted into degrees
v\ of Saturation and indicated by the horizontal
_/_ lines.
/ a: Local overheating
/
b: Weak internal gas discharges
/
-7~ a = Degree of Saturation
H Buchholz relay
/ • = Oil
/ /
/
/
/
/ / /
/
•
/
"
/
- A -
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ / /
/ / /
/
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
C O C O , -I C H C H C H C H C O c o
2 4 2 6 2 4 2 2 2

Fig. 8 - Mixture ratios of gases dissolved in the

oil of transformers with faults and gases collect-
ed in the Buchholz relay for pairs of gases meth-
ane and hydrogen, and acetylene and ethylene.
The mixture ratios of the dissolved gases apply
if the concentrations have been converted into
& degrees of Saturation and the concentrations of
free gases in the relay are referred to partial
A A pressures. The symbols indicate the nature of
the damage discovered when repairs were car-
A ried out.
V
A V A A* A
V V Gases in the Buchholz relay
V AV V A = Local overheating
t
O V> Weak discharges in gas pockets
V p = All other types of discharge
!>c Gases dissolved in the oil
• • V = Local overheating
o w Weak discharges in gas pockets
•
o ] All other types of discharge
<
o o
c
u
o

4 68 4 6 8 4 68 4 68 20 40 > 4 0
< 4 - 10" 1 • 10"' MO"1 1 10
| [C 2 H 2 ]
[C 2 H„]

Applying these simple rules the formulae for calculating for determining the mixture ratios of the components in
the various mixture ratios are as follows: the original gas from the gas dissolved in the insulating
oil.
Pi Ki Pi The equation (1) is important because the partial pres-
K,
(1) sures of the gases due to decomposition in the Buchholz
Pi relay are generally relatively high and easily measured
whereas the concentrations in the oil are often low and oil
for determining the mixture ratios of the components in samples should be taken only after a considerably time
the original gas from the analysis of the gas in the Buch- has elapsed from discovery of the fault, while the gas
holz relay; taken from the Buchholz relay can be sampled immediate-
ly the alarm has been given and should be analysed im-
mediately. Using equation (1) we can now convert the
Pi Ci values in Table II with the solubility Kr so that the ranges
(2)
Pi of values for the gases in the Buchholz relay can be used in

246 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Table III: Ranges of characteristic values for mixture Uniform Diagnosis Pattern for Gases
ratios of free gases in the Buchholz relay in t h e B u c h h o l z R e l a y a n d D i s s o l v e d in
the Oil
Mixture ratio of [CH 4 ] [C 2 H 2 ] [C 2 H 6 ] [C 2 H 2 ]
free gases in the [H 2 ] [C 2 H 4 ] [C 2 H 2 ] [CH 4 ] The pattern in Table III can be applied with the same
Buchholz relay numerical values for the limits of the ränge of values for
related to partial both the free gases in the Buchholz relay and the gases
pressures of the dissolved in the oil if the concentrations of the dissolved
individual gases gases are first converted. First of all the concentrations
are determined in the usual manner in units of gas volume
Type of fault per oil volume. The applicability rules as discussed in the
foregoing for fault diagnosis are then consulted.
Local overheating >0-1 <1 >0-2 <0-1 To obtain the applicable mixture ratios the values of Ci/Cj
Weak discharges <0-01 >0-2 <0-1 are calculated and from this the ratios Pi */Pj *, the mixture
All other types of <01 <0-2 >0-1 ratios for the concentrations in degrees of Saturation, are
>1
discharge >001 determined, in that we form

* Not indicative of this type of discharge

Ki Ci Pr

for these converted concentration ratios the ranges of

values in Table III must naturally be correct if the approx-
Table IV: Ranges of characteristic values for mixture imations are reasonable. We thus arrive at the uniform
ratios of free gases in the Buchholz relay and dissolved diagnosis pattern in Table IV.
gases Figure 8 contains the converted measured values quoted
in Fig. 5 and also those measured directly (free gases in
Mixture ratio of [CH 4 ] [C 2 H 2 ] [C 2 H 6 ] [C 2 H 2 ] the Buchholz relay) and confirms that the uniform pattern
free gases in the [H 2 ] [C 2 H 4 ] [C 2 H 2 ] [CH 4 ] in the Table provides useful diagnosis, as the diagnosis
Buchholz relay agrees largely with the fault.
related to partial
pressures of the
individual gases Possible D a m a g e to the Solid Insulation
and mixture ratio D u e to Faults
of the dissolved
gases related to It is possible to estimate the degree of damage suffered by
their degree of the solid insulation from the gases collected in the Buch-
Saturation holz relay which are not in equilibrium with the gases dis-
solved in the oil. The method used is based on the princi-
ple that comparing the dissolved and free gases shows the
Type of fault
extent to which there has been exchange between the de-
Local overheating >0-1 <1 >0-2 <0-1 composition gases and the dissolved atmospheric gases.
Weak discharges <0-01 *
>0-2 <0-1 From this the quantity of carbon monoxide is calculated,
All other types of <0-1 which has arrived in the free gas in the Buchholz relay not
>1 <0-2 >0-1 as a result of this exchange and has originated from a
discharge >001 fault. It would be beyond the scope of this contribution to
* Not indicative of this type of discharge deal with this process in detail.

the evaluation pattern. The results are applicable for the

gas concentrations Pr found in the Buchholz relay are
compiled in Table III.
It must be emphasized that these ranges of values apply
regardless of whether the gas formation is in equilibrium
or not. In the latter case the limits quoted are approxi-
mately values which are adequate for practical purposes as
shown in Fig. 5 and 6. Figures 7a and b demonstrate
that the degrees of Saturation of the individual gases due
to decomposition are very small in relation to the partial
pressures in the Buchholz relay.

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

 In Brief

A Continuous Light-Section
Steel Mill for the USA

G. Ferrari
Fig. I - Power supply for rolling mill
The steel mill of the New Jersey Structural Steel Company a: 34-5 k V outdoor switchgear
b: Arc furnace
(NJSSCo) is on the eastern seaboard ot the United States c: Rolling mill
and is intended to supply the local market with structural d: 440 V auxiliaries
steel.
The initial output is 100000 t/a and can be considerably
increased to satisfy market requirements. Within the
230 k V , 6 0 H z
framework of our ränge of products for mini steel plants,
the electrical equipment for the continuous mill train and
the voltage distribution equipment for the complete plant
was handed over to the client in July 1973.

Power Supply

The structure of the power supply equipment is illustrated

in Fig. 1. The total power requirement is 40 to 50 MVA.
Supply is from the 230 kV network with separate feed to
the arc furnaces and the rolling mill with auxiliary
equipment. This ensures that the voltage fluctuations of
the rolling mill do not affect the other plant.
Figure 2 shows the 34-5 k V outdoor switchgear installation.
The l.v. transformers with their distribution equipment
are located near the main consumers.

Rolling Mill

The rolling mill processes billets of 115 X 115 mm cross

section with a maximum length of 7000 mm in a single
Strand system. The general arrangement of the plant is
shown in Fig. 3.
The two groups of three stands comprising the cogging
mill (Fig. 3) are each driven by a 750 kW slipring motor.
The two stands in the medium-section mill are driven by
two coupled d.c. motors with an output of 2 X 450 kW.
The finishing mill comprises 6 stands each driven by a
370 kW d.c. motor. The end product is cut into lengths of
55 m and fed to a cooling bed. The product is round-
section steel of yg" to diameter with a maximum
delivery speed of 13 m/s.
The electrical equipment is shown in Fig. 4. Only two
types of motor are used, one each for a.c. and d.c., and
a single type of thyristor is used for the armature and

248 Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

Fig. 2 - 34-5 k V outdoor switchgear

Fig. 3 - Arrangement of mill train

a: Cogging mill (stands 1 to 6)
b: Medium-section mill (stands 7 and 8)
c: Finishing mill (stands II to 16)

\
I 7
\ \ \
1
e 8
-m- -m- -m- -m-
750 k W 750 k W

L 0 — 0 - J 1 ® j - 0 -
1,2,3 4,5,6 - 0 -
2x450 k W 370 k W 370 k W 370 k W 370 k W 370 k W 370 k W
7,8 11 12 13 14 15 16
Fig. 4 - Power supply for main drives 200123.1

field supply of the d.c. machines. The unit-connected

supply to the main drives ensures maximum flexibility in
selecting the rolling programme and, at the same time,
minimum down time in the event of a fault.
Using a digital speed preselector unit and numerical speed
display makes it easy to operate the mill train.

Brown Boveri Rev. 5-74

BBC
BROWN BOVERI

B B C B r o w n , Boveri & C o m p a n y , Limited

Baden/Switzerland