ENERGY CONVERSION II

EEE 205
Avijit Saha
Lecturer, Dept. of EEE, UIU

Synchronous Generator
Field Excitation of a Synchronous
Generator
Two common approaches are used to supply a DC
current to the field circuits on the rotating rotor:
 Supply the DC power from an external DC source to
the rotor by means of slip rings and brushes;
 Supply the DC power from a special DC power
source mounted directly on the shaft of the machine.
 Slip rings are metal rings encircling the shaft of a
machine but insulated from it.
 DC rotor winding is connected to each of the two slip
rings on the machine’s shaft.
 Graphite-like carbon brushes connected to DC
terminals ride on each slip ring supplying DC voltage
to field windings.
Slip Rings

Slip rings

Brush
Brushless Exciter
 Slip rings and brushes have certain disadvantages:
 increased friction and wear (therefore, needed maintenance),
 brush voltage drop can introduce significant power losses.
 On large generators and motors, brushless exciters are used.
 A brushless exciter is a small AC generator whose field circuits are
mounted on stator and armature circuits are mounted on the rotor.
 The exciter generator’s 3-phase output is rectified to DC by a 3-phase
rectifier (on rotor) and fed into the main DC field circuit.
 It is possible to adjust the field current on the main machine by
controlling the small DC field current of the exciter generator (located
on the stator).
 Since no mechanical contact occurs in the rotor, exciters of this type
require much less maintenance.
Brushless Exciter
 A brushless
exciter: a low 3-
phase current is
rectified and used
to supply the field
circuit of the
exciter (located on
the stator).

 The output of the

exciter’s armature
circuit (on the
rotor) is rectified
and used as the
field current of the
main machine.
Brushless Exciter along with a Pilot
Exciter
 To make completely
independent of any
external power
source, a small pilot
exciter is often added
to the circuit.
 It is an AC generator
with a permanent
magnet mounted on
the rotor shaft
 And a 3-phase
winding on the stator
producing the power
for the field circuit of
the exciter.
The Equivalent Circuit
 In last lecture we have mentioned the equations
for three phase voltages as follows:
ea  E m Sin  t
eb  E m Sin ( t  120 0 )
ec  E m Sin ( t  240 0 )

 The RMS voltage is, E A  E m / 2

 The voltage EA is the internal generated voltage
produced in one phase of the generator.
 However, this voltage is usually not the voltage
that appears at the terminals of the generator.
 In fact, EA=VT only when there is no armature
current flowing in the machine.
Why EA and VT are not equal?
 The factors are:
 The distortion of the air-gap magnetic field by the
current flowing in the stator, called armature reaction.
 The self-inductance of the armature coil.

 The resistance of the armature coils.

 The effect of salient pole rotor.

 The effect of salient pole will be discussed later.

 For the time being let us assume that our machines are
non-salient pole machines.
 Now, let us explore other three factors one by one.
The Effect of Armature Reaction
 The effect of armature reaction is the largest one.
 When a syn. Generator’s rotor rotates a voltage
EA is induced in the stator winding.
 If a load is attached to the terminals of the
machine a current flows.
 But this current will produce a magnetic field of its
own in the machine.
 The stator magnetic field distorts the original rotor
magnetic field, changing the resulting phase
voltage.
 This effect is called armature reaction.
Situation at Resistive Load

 Armature flux is at angle 90 degree with main

flux. So, flux is distorted, not weakened.
Situation at Lagging Load

 If the generator is connected to a lagging load,

the peak current, IA, max will occur at an angle
behind the peak voltage.
 Armature flux opposes main flux. Flux is
weakened.
Situation at Leading Load

 If the generator is connected to a leading load,

the peak current, IA, max will occur at an angle
ahead of the peak voltage.
 Armature flux adds to main flux. Flux is
strengthened.
7 Steps in Armature Reaction
Rotor is rotated by a prime mover

So, the rotor flux is rotating

This rotor flux cuts the stator winding

A voltage, EA is induced in the stator winding

If a load is connected, a current flows in the stator

This current will produce a magnetic field of its own

The new stator magnetic field distorts the original

rotor magnetic field
Mathematical Model for Armature
Reaction
 Estat vector is at an angle of 900 behind the plane of current,
I A.
 The magnitude of Estat is directly proportional to IA. E stat   jXI A
 If ‘X’ is the constant of proportionality, then
V ph  E A  jXI A
 The Voltage on a phase is thus equal to
 Hence the armature reaction voltage can be modeled by an
inductor in series with the internal generated voltage as
jX
shown in the figure, IA
+
+ + jXIA -
EA Vph

-
-
Other Voltage Drops

 In addition to the armature reaction, the stator coils have

self inductance and resistance,
 If there are included in the voltage equation, it becomes,
V ph  E A  jXI A  jX A I A  RI A
 The reactance corresponding to armature reaction, X
and the self reactance, XA are combined together and is
termed as Synchronous Reactance, Xs. Hence the
above equation becomes,
V ph  E A  jX s I A  RI A
 Hence the equivalent circuits for the field and 3-phase
stator windings can now be drawn. They are shown in
the next slide
The Complete Equivalent Circuit
jXs RA
IA1
+
+ + jXsIA1 - + RIA1-
Radj EA Vph1
IF - 1

+ -
jXs RA
RF IA2
+
+ + jXsIA2 - + RIA2-
EA2 Vph2
VF (dc)
LF -
-
jXs RA
IA3
+
+ + jXsIA3 - + RIA3-
- Vph3
EA3
-
-
 Wye and Delta Connection

RA
EA1
jXA RA
RA
jXA Vph
jXA jXA VT
EA1 Vph
EA3
RA
-

EA3
Y-Connected + EA2
Stator
-

+
VT
jXA RA jXA EA2

RA  -Connected
Stator
Per Phase Equivalent Circuit

IF
+
Radj jXs RA
RF IA
+
+ + jXsIA - + RIA-
VF (dc) EA Vph
LF -
-

-
The Phasor Diagram at Different
Power factor EA
ZIA

Vph jXsIA
IA
EA
b) Lagging pf IARA

ZIA jXsIA

IA Vph IARA EA
a) Unity pf jXsIA
IA ZIA

IARA
c) Leading pf Vph
Few Observations
 For a given phase voltage and armature current,
a larger internal generated voltage, EA is needed
for lagging loads.
 Alternatively, for a given field current and
magnitude of load current, the terminal voltage is
lower for lagging load and higher for leading load.
 In real synchronous machine of large capacity,
the synchronous reactance is much higher than
the winding resistance, RA
 So RA is often neglected for qualitative study of
voltage variations.
Power and Torque
 Synchronous generators convert mechanical
power into three-phase electrical power.
 The source of mechanical power can either be a
diesel engine or a steam turbine or a gas turbine
or a water turbine or any similar device.
 Whatever may be the source, it must have the
basic property that its speed is almost constant
regardless of power demand.
 Not all the mechanical power going into a
synchronous generator becomes electrical power
out of the machine.
 The difference between the input and output
power represents the losses of the machine.
The Power Flow Diagram
Pconv

Pin   appm  ind  m Pout

3VT I L cos
Core I2R loss
Stray Friction and losses (copper
losses windage losses)
losses
Different Losses
 Stray losses: Stray losses are caused by the magnetic
leakage and fringing flux in the synchronous machine. It is
also called load losses.
 Friction and windage losses: (a) Friction losses are due to
the bearing and brush friction. (b) The air friction of the
rotating machine causes windage losses.
 Core losses: (a) In order to reverse continuously the
molecular magnets in the armature core, some amount of
power has to be spent. This power is hysteresis losses. (b) In
addition to the voltage induced in the armature conductors,
there are also voltages induced in the armature core. This
voltages causes a circulating current causing a power losses
called eddy current losses.
 I2R losses: The losses occur in resistances of different
windings.
The Converted Power
 The input mechanical power is the shaft
power in the generator
Pin   appm
 While the power converted from mechanical
to electrical form internally is given by,
 Where,  is the angle between EA and IA
 The difference between the input power to
the generator and the power converted in the
generator represents the mechanical, core
and stray losses of the machine.
Pconv   ind  m
 3E A I A cos
The Converted Power
 The real electrical output power of the
synchronous generator can be expressed in line
quantities
Pout  3VT I L cos
 and in phase quantities, Pout  3V ph I ph cos
 The reactive power output of the synchronous
generator can be expressed in line quantities,

Qout  3VT I L sin 

 and in phase quantities, Qout  3V ph I ph sin 

 The Expression of Power ignoring RA

 If the armature resistance, RA is ignored (since Xs>>RA),

then a very useful equation can be derived to
EA
approximate the output power,
E A sin 
jXsIA  X s I A cos

O
Vph
 
IA

900
The Expression of Power ignoring RA

 Notice that E A sin   I A X s cos

E A sin 
or , I A cos 
 Xs
The electrical power output is expressed as,
Pout  3V ph I A cos

 Combining above two equations,

3V ph E A sin 
Pout   Pmax sin 
Xs
 Since RA is neglected so there are no electrical
losses, the above equation is valid both for Pconv and
Pout.
 They depend on angle between EA and Vph, this
angle,  is called torque angle of the machine.
Numerical Problem 01
 A 480-V, 50 Hz, -connected, four pole synchronous
generator has a synchronous reactance of 0.1 ohm and an
armature resistance of 0.015 ohm.
 Under full load conditions, the friction and windage losses are
40 kW, and the core losses are 30 kW. Ignore any field circuit
losses. The generator draws the full load of 1200 A at 0.8 pf
lagging.
 What will be value of the internal generated voltage?
 How much power is the generator now supplying? How much
power is supplied to the generator by the prime mover?
 What will be value of the internal generated voltage if the pf is
leading?
 Solution to Numerical Problem 01
1200
I ph    cos1 (0.8)  692 .8  36.87 0 A
3
Z  R A  jX s  0.015  j 0.1
E A  V ph  Z * I ph
 480 0 0  (0.015  j 0.1) * 692 .8  36.87 0  532 5.30 volts
Pout  3VT I T cos  1.732 * 480 *1200 * 0.8  798 kW
Pin  Pout  Pelect.loss  Pcore loss  Pmech.loss  Pstray loss
Pelect.loss  3I A2 RA  3 * 692.82 * 0.015  21.6 kW
So, Pin  798  21.6  30  40  889.6 kW
Pout 798
 X 100  X 100  89.75%
Pin 889 .6
For leading pf , I  692 .836.87 0
E A  V ph  Z * I ph
 480 0 0  (0.015  j 0.1) * 692 .836.87 0  4517.10 volts
Numerical Problem 02
 A 480-V, 50 Hz, Y-connected, six-pole synchronous generator
has a per phase synchronous reactance of 1.0 ohm. Its full
load armature current is 60 A, 0.8 pf lagging. The generator
has friction and windage losses of 1.5 kW and core losses of
1.0 kW at 50 Hz at full load. Neglect armature resistance. The
field current has to be adjusted so that the terminal voltage is
480V at no load.
 What is the speed of rotation of the generator?
 What is terminal voltage of this generator if it is loaded with rated
current at (i) 0.8 pf lagging (ii) 1.0 pf and (iii) 0.8 pf leading.
 What is the efficiency of the generator when it is operated at
rated current, 0.8 pf lagging?
 How much shaft torque must be applied by the prime mover at
full load? How large is the induced counter torque?
 What is the voltage regulation of this generator at 0.8 pf lagging?
At 1.0 pf? At 0.8 pf leading?
 Solution to Numerical Problem 02
120 f 120 * 50
(a) nm    1000 rpm
P 6
(b) E A  V ph  I ph * Z | E A | 480 / 3 (a) At lagging load,
Vph=236.95 V
E A  (V ph  real ( I ph * Z )  jimag ( I ph * Z ) (b) At unity pf,
Vph= 270.56 V
Vph  E 2A  imag( I ph * Z ) 2  real ( I ph * Z ) (c) At leading pf,
Vph=308.95 V
(c) The output power at 60 A and 0.8 pf lagging
Pout  3V ph I ph cos
 3 * 236 .8 * 60 * 0.8  34.12 kW
(d) The mechanical input power, P
in  Pin  Pelect  Pcore  Pmech.loss
 34.12  0  1.0  1.5  36.62 kW
(e) The efficiency,   Pout *100 / Pin  34.12 *100 / 36.62  93.17%
Solution to Numerical Problem 02

 ωm=1000*2*π/60=104.72 rad/sec
 The input torque to the generator,

Pin   app m
Pin 36.62 *1000
 app    349 .7 N  m
m 104 .72
 The induced counter torque to the generator,
 Since RA=0, so Pconv=Pout
Pconv   ind  m
Pconv 34.12 *1000
 ind    325.83 N  m
m 104.72
Solution to Numerical Problem 02
 The voltage regulation,
(Vno load  V full load )
regulation (%)  X 100
V full load

(1) at lagging load  16.96%

(2) at unity pf  2.43%
(1) at leading load  10.3%
Numerical Problem 03
 A 1500 kVA, 6.6 kV, 3-phase, star connected
alternator has effective armature resistance of
0.5 ohm/phase and a synchronous reactance of
5 ohm/phase. Find the percentage change in
terminal voltage when the rated output of 1500
kVA at (a) unity pf (b) o.8 lagging pf and (c) 0.8
leading pf. Assume that the speed and
excitation current remained unchanged.
Solution…..
E A  V ph  I ph * ( RA  jX s )
1500 X 10 3
Now, I ph  3
 131 A
3 X 6.6 X 10
6.6 X 10 3
V ph   3810 0 0 V
3
Z  R A  jX s  (0.5  j5) 

(a) At unity pf , I ph  1310 0

E A  3810 0 0  (1310 0 )(0.5  j 5)
 3930 V
E A  V ph 3930  3810
%R  X 100  3.15%
V ph 3810
Solution…..
(b) At 0.8 pf lagging, I ph  131  36.8 0
E A  3810 0 0  (131  36.8 0 )(0.5  j 5)
 4283 V
E A  V ph 4283  3810
%R  X 100  12.4%
V ph 3810

(c) At 0.8 pf leading, I ph  13136.8 0

E A  3810 0 0  (13136.8 0 )(0.5  j 5)
 3515 V
E A  V ph 3515  3810
%R  X 100  7.7%
V ph 3810
 Open Circuit Characteristics
EA, V  The curve is almost
perfectly linear except
OCC the nonlinearity at high
(Open Circuit field current.
Characteristics)
 The linear portion is
called air-gap line of
OCC
 When iron saturates, its
reluctance increases
dramatically, flux
increases much more
I f, A slowly with an increase
0
in mmf.
Open Circuit Test to obtain OCC

 The generator is turned at rated speed.

 Stator terminal is kept open.
 The field current is set to zero.
 The field current is gradually increased in steps.
 The terminal voltage is measured at each step.
 Since IA = 0, so, VT=EA.
 Thus it is possible to have a plot of VT or EA
versus If.
 This plot is called Open Circuit Characteristics.
Model Parameters
 Three quantities should be determined
 The relationship between field current and flux
 The synchronous reactance

 The armature resistance

 Some tests are necessary

 Open circuit test
 Short circuit test
Open Circuit Test

EA,
V

OCC
(Open Circuit
Characteristics)

I f,
0
A
Short Circuit Test
 Set the field current at
zero first
 Then the terminal of
stator is made short
circuited through three
ammeter.
 Now the field current is
increased gradually and IA, A
the stator short circuit
current is recorded at
each step.
 Such readings are plotted
and the curve is called SCC
short circuit (Short Circuit
characteristics. Characteristics)
I f, A
OCC and SCC superimposed
EA, V OCC

Voc, Open ckt IA, A

Voltage
corresponding
to filed current
during short
circuit test

SCC
Isc, short
circuit current
I f, A
0
Ifsc
Calculation of Xs from the two tests
 Since, in short circuit test, VT=0, so,
E A( during sc )
Zs  R  X2
A
2
s 
IA
V ph,oc (if
Since, X s  R A , so X s 
sc is removed)

I A, SC
 If EA and IA are known for a given situation, then the
synchronous reactance Xs can be found from the above
relation.
 Therefore, the approximate method for determining the
synchronous reactance Xs at a given field current is
 Get the internal generated voltage EA (Vph,OC) from the OCC
at that field current.
 Get the short circuit current flow IA,SC at that field current from
SCC.
 Find Xs from Vph,OC/IA,SC
Problem in measuring Xs

 In the previous formula, EA is used.

 EA comes from the OCC, where the machine is
unsaturated at certain field currents,
 While IA is taken from SCC, where the machine is
unsaturated for all field currents.
 Therefore, at higher field current, EA taken from
OCC at a given field current is not the same as
the EA at the same field current under short circuit
conditions.
 Hence the Xs obtained is only an approximate
value.
Determination of Winding Resistance

 The resistance can be approximated by applying a dc voltage to the

windings while the machine is stationary and measuring the
resultant current flow.
 This technique is accurate because ac resistance is slightly higher
than dc resistance because of skin effect.
 For 50 Hz ac current, a multiplying factor of 1.6 is sometimes used
in determining ac resistance from dc measurement. This is to
consider the skin effect. Once the RA is known then,
X s  Z 2  R A2
Numerical Problem 04

 A 200 kVA, 480-V, 50 Hz, Y-connected

synchronous generator with a rated field
current of 5A was tested and the following
data were taken:
 VT,oc at the rated IF was measured to be 540V
 IL,SC at the rated IF was found to be 300A

 When a dc voltage of 10 V was applied to two

terminals, a current of 25 A was measured.
 Find the values of RA and Xs in ohms.
Solution

 The resistance can be determined from

V DC
2RA 
I DC
10
RA   0 .2 
2 X 25
R A (considerin g skin effect )  1.6 X 0.2  0.32 

 The internal generated voltage at the rated field

current is equal to
VT 540
E A  V ph,OC    311.8V
3 3
 Since the stator is Y-connected, so
I A,SC  I L,SC  300 A
Solution (continued)
 Therefore the synchronous reactance, Xs can
be calculated as,
EA
R A2  X s2 
IA
311 .8
0.32  X 
2 2
s
300
X s  0.9888 
Synchronous Generator Operating
Alone
 The behavior of a synchronous generator under
load varies greatly depending on
 the power factor of the load
 whether the generator is operating alone or in parallel
with other synchronous generator or not.
 In this lecture we shall discuss the situation when
the generator is operating alone.
 Unless otherwise stated, the speed of the
generators will be assumed constant and
 The rotor flux in the generator is assumed
constant as long as the field current remains fixed.
What happens when the load is
increased?
 When the load is increased, real or reactive or
both power increase.
 Consequently the line current increases.
 But since the speed and the rotor flux remain
same so the internal voltage remain same
because,
E A  k

 If EA remains constant what will vary?

 Effect of Load Change at Lagging
PF

EA
EA
EA

jXsIA1 jXsIA1
2
 jXsIA2  1
O O
Vph1  Vph2 Vph1

IA1 (a) IA1
(b)
IA2

When the power factor is lagging,

Vph decreases with the increase of load
 Effect of Load Change at Unity PF

EA
EA EA

jXsIA1
jXsIA1 1 2 jXsIA2

O O
Vph1 IA1 IA2 Vph2 Vph1
IA1
(a) (b)

When the power factor is unity, Vph also decreases

with the increase of load but the amount of decrease is
less that we observed during lagging condition.
Effect of Load Change at Leading
PF

IA2 EA
IA1 EA IA1 jXsIA2
jXsIA1
  1  2 jXsIA1

O O
Vph1 Vph1 Vph2
(a) (b)

When the power factor is leading, Vph increases

with the increase of load.
Correction of Terminal Voltage
 The terminal voltage if decreases or increases,
it can be corrected by increasing or decreasing
the internal generated voltage EA.
 Again EA can be adjusted by adjusting flux or
speed because, E A  k
 But change in speed will cause the change in
frequency of generated voltage which is
undesirable, so the only option is to adjust the
field flux.
Increase of Terminal Voltage
Decreasing the field resistance in the generator
will increase the field current.
An increase in field current increases the flux in the
machine.

An increase in the field flux increase the internal

generated voltage, EA.

An increase in EA increases Vph and VT of the

generator

The opposite action will decrease the terminal voltage

Compounding Curve
Field Current Required to Maintain the Rated
0.8 pf lagging
unity pf

0.8 pf leading
Terminal Voltage

Load kVA or Armature Current

Numerical Problem 05
 A 480-V, 50 Hz, 1200 A, delta-connected, four pole
synchronous generator has the OCC shown in the next
slide.
 It has a synchronous reactance of 0.1 ohm and an
armature resistance of 0.015 ohm.
 The generator draws the 50% of its full load at 0.8 pf
lagging.
(a) How much field current will be required to maintain
the terminal voltage at 480 V?
(b) If the generator’s load is increased to full load at
same power factor, by how much the terminal voltage
will change?
(c) If field current is then adjusted again to make the
terminal voltage to 480V, what should be the value of
field current?
The OCC
5.0 5.6
Voc, Open Ckt Voltage, V

532V
505.54V

If , field Current, A
Solution
 (a) Phase Current,
1200
I ph  0.5 X   cos1 0.8  346 .4  36.8 0
3
The Generated voltage when terminal voltage is 480 V is
E A  V ph  I ph ( R A  jX s )  480 0 0  (346 .4  36.8 0 ) * (0.015  j 0.1)
 505 .542.79 0
The keep terminal voltage at 480 V, the generated voltage EA must
be 505.54 V.
From the OCC curve, for EA=505.54 V, IF=5.0 A
 (b) Now if load current is increased to 1200 A at same pf, the terminal
phase voltage can be obtained from the following equation,
E A  V ph 0 0  I ph * Z
1200
I ph    36.80 A  692.8  36.80 A and Z  (0.015  j 0.1) 
3
Solution
 After putting the value of Iph and Z, we obtain,
E A  V ph  49.88  j * 49.19
or , E A  (V ph  49.88) 2  (49.19) 2
and , E A  505 .54 V ,
so, V ph  453 .26 V
 If we want to get back the terminal phase voltage to 480V, the
internal generated voltage, EA must be increased, the
required EA can again be found from the following formula
with full load current
E A  V ph  I ph ( R A  jX s )  480 0 0  (692 .8  36.8 0 ) * (0.015  j 0.1)
 532 5.30
 From OCC, the required field current would be, 5.6 A.
Numerical Problem 06

 A 2300 V, 1000 kVA, 0.8 pf lagging, 50 Hz,

two-pole, Y-connected synchronous generator
has a synchronous reactance 1.1 ohms and
armature resistance of 0.15 ohms. The OCC of
the generator is shown in the next slide.
Initially the field current was adjusted at 4.3 A.
(a) What will be the terminal voltage of this
generator if it is connected with a delta-connected
load having per phase impedance of (17.32 + j
10.0) ohms.
(b) What must be done to restore the terminal
voltage?
OCC Curve
Terminal Voltage, V

Field Current, A
Solution
 Initial field current = 4.3 A, from OCC curve, EA,L = 2300 V
 Since the generator is Y-Connected, so
2300
E A, ph  0 0  1328 0 0 V
3
 Machine Impedance, ZM=0.15+j1.1 ohms
 Load Impedance, ZL=(17.32+j10)/3 =(5.77+j3.33) ohms
 The equivalent circuit is as follows
ZM IA
EA Vph
ZL

 The line current, IA is

E A, ph 1328 0 0
IA    (144 .41  j110.06) A
ZM  Z L (0.15  j1.1)  (5.77  j 3.33)
 Solution
 The terminal phase voltage, Vph
V ph  I ph Z L  (144.41  j106.06) X (5.77  j 3.33)  1193 .7  6.85 0
 The terminal line to line voltage, VT=1.732 * 1193.7 = 2067.5 V
 If we want to restore VT to 2300V or Vph to 1328 V, then we have
to determine required EA for that terminal Voltage, follow the
following calculation,
V ph 1328 0 0
Now, V ph  1328 0 V ; I ph 
0
  (174 .1  j102 .41) A
ZL (5.77  j 3.33)
E A, ph  V ph  I ph Z M
 1328 0 0  (174 .1  j102 .41) * (0.15  j1.1)
 1477 6.85 0 V
 So, Line to Line voltage, EA,L is E A, L  1477 * 3  2557 V
 From OCC, the required field current is 5.2 A