Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Pablo Borbon Main II
Batangas City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE & FINE ARTS

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

EE – 406 ELECTRICAL MACHINES II

LABORATORY EXPERIMENT NO. 2

Parallel Operation of AC Generators

Submitted by:

MACARAIG, CLARENCE S.
EE-3102

Submitted to:

Engr. Analyn A. Cueto, REE, RME

Date Submitted

November 6, 2022
 LABORATORY EXPERIMENT NO. 2

Parallel Operation of AC Generators

INTRODUCTION

When designing generator systems, electrical engineers must ensure that generators and
the building electrical systems that they support are appropriate for the specific application.
Whether providing standby power for health care facilities or prime power for processing plants,
engineers must make decisions regarding generator sizing, load types, whether generators should
be paralleled, fuel storage, switching scenarios, and many other criteria.

Expertise in generator power design for emergency, legally required standby, and
business critical loads is an essential skill for an electrical engineer to master. When designing
generator systems, electrical engineers must ensure that the generators and the building electrical
systems can support the critical loads reliably and effectively. Building codes will dictate the
prescriptive requirements for these systems. For business critical loads, the owner or client must
be consulted to identify the nonemergency loads that require backup power. When the business
needs outlined by the client require increased reliability, a paralleled diesel-generating system
and electrical paralleling switchgear (PSG) typically are employed.

Interruptions of electrical power, even for a short duration, can introduce the potential for
situations that could imperil public health and safety. Extreme weather-related disasters often
disrupt power to hundreds or thousands of people and businesses, potentially for days. When
these situations occur, they call attention to the vulnerability of the nation’s electrical grid and
the importance of alternatives. Hospitals, airports, data centers, water and sewage facilities,
fueling stations, communication, and transportation systems require alternate-power sources to
limit the impact and ultimately save lives during times of crisis. The loss of electrical power due
to storms, natural disasters, or high-power-demand issues are increasingly common. The loss of
business and the associated economic impact from power outages are significant. Emergency
generators are necessary to provide the reliable power required to maintain operations during
primary supply system failures.

OBJECTIVES

Most electrical power grids and distribution systems have more than one AC generator
operating at one time. Normally, two or more generators are operated in parallel in order to
increase the available power. Three conditions must be met prior to paralleling (or
synchronizing) AC generators.

● Their terminal voltages must be equal. If the voltages of the two AC generators are not
equal, one of the AC generators could be picked up as a reactive load to the other AC
generator. This causes high currents to be exchanged between the two machines, possibly
causing generator or distribution system damage.
● Their frequencies must be equal. A mismatch in frequencies of the two AC generators
will cause the generator with the lower frequency to be picked up as a load on the other
generator (a condition referred to as "motoring"). This can cause an overload in the
generators and the distribution system.
● Their output voltages must be in phase. A mismatch in the phases will cause large
opposing voltages to be developed. The worst case mismatch would be 180° out of phase,
resulting in an opposing voltage between the two generators of twice the output voltage.
This high voltage can cause damage to the generators and distribution system due to high
currents.

During paralleling operations, voltages of the two generators that are to be paralleled are
indicated through the use of voltmeters. Frequency matching is accomplished through the use of
output frequency meters. Phase matching is accomplished through the use of a synchroscope, a
device that senses the two frequencies and gives an indication of phase differences and a relative
comparison of frequency differences.

DISCUSSION:

AC generators are connected in parallel for efficiency. Since they operate at high
efficiencies, power losses are minimized so costs are reduced. With parallel AC generators,
loads can be increased. Other alternators in parallel may be shut down while others operate
which makes repair and maintenance easier since the shutting down or breaking down of other
AC generators in parallel does not interrupt the supply.
Furthermore, the laboratory activity aims to synchronize AC generators in GeoGebra’s
Generator Paralleling Simulator by satisfying the given conditions on the parallel alternators:
equal terminal voltages, equal frequencies, in-phase voltages, identical phase sequence, and
equal speed. The activity uses parameters for the bus bar and generators such as a terminal
voltage 440 V and a frequency of 60 Hz with varying loads in kW and kVAR. The variations
were divided into three cases which were simulated and analyzed.

MATERIALS:

- Generator Paralleling Simulator (https://www.geogebra.org/m/vbtjdftu)

- Generator Specification
o 500 kW to 750 kW
o 440 V
o 60 Hz
o 3 Phase
o 4 Pole
o 1800 rpm
 PROCEDURES

Paralleling Procedure

1. Start the generator prime mover and bring it up to speed.

2. Adjust the incoming generator to nominal voltage and frequency.
3. Turn on the synchroscope to the incoming generator position.
4. Adjust speed until the synchroscope is turning slowly in the fast (clockwise) direction,
about 1/10 Hz higher than the bus.
5. Bring the incoming voltage to slightly higher than bus voltage.
6. When ready, close the circuit breaker when synchroscope is at the 11:00 position.
7. Balance the active load by making adjustments to the governors. This will have a
secondary effect of raising or lowering the frequency and voltage.
8. Balance the reactive load by making adjustments to the voltage regulators. This will have
a secondary effect of raising or lowering the voltage.
9. Maintain voltage and frequency within the limits while balancing the load.

- You may change the active and reactive loads with the power triangle. This represents the
electrical demand on the generators. Try not to overload them.
- Click the Specifications button to see the "house diagrams" which display the voltage,
frequency and load relationships.
- You can use your up and down arrow keys for fine tuning the governor and voltage
regulator settings.
 ACTIVITIES:

Case 1.

Using the Parameter Below

Parameters for Bus and Generator

Voltage 440 V
Frequency 60 Hz
Active Loads (kW) 400 kW
Reactive Loads (kVAR) 100 kVAR

Data and Results:

Image 1: CASE 1 of loads, 400 kW and 100 kVAR

As the incoming generator was synced with the running generator, the load was shared.
In balancing the loads of the AC generators, one increased when the other was adjusted to a
lower load and vice versa since the power of the bus was constant. It could also be noted that the
sum of the real powers or reactive powers of the AC generators is equal to the real power and
reactive power of the bus respectively as the load sharing was done. As shown above, it resulted
in an equal load of 200 kW and 50 kVAR in each generator. At 440 V and 60 Hz, each AC
generator in Case 1 produced a current of 271 A and a speed of 1800 rpm.

Video Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11IU_7CM2yIkIXAY_X7v9d89v8k6y-thA/view?
usp=sharing

Case 2.
Using the Parameter Below

Parameters for Bus and Generator

Voltage 440 V
Frequency 60 Hz
Active Loads (kW) 500 kW
Reactive Loads (kVAR) 80 kVAR

Data and Results:

Image 2: CASE 2 of loads, 500 kW and 80 kVAR

Similarly, the incoming generator was synced with the running generator and the load
was shared. In balancing the loads of the AC generators, one increased when the other was
adjusted to a lower load and vice versa since the power of the bus was constant. It could also be
noted that the sum of the real powers or reactive powers of the AC generators is equal to the real
power and reactive power of the bus respectively as the load sharing was done. As shown above,
it resulted in an equal load of 250 kW and 40 kVAR in each generator. At 440 V and 60 Hz, each
AC generator in Case 2 produced a current of 332 A and a speed of 1799 rpm.

Video Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10AYm3fm4Sqmy3hua26NS9PqBOpgEYZRH/view?
usp=sharing
 Case 3.

Using the Parameter Below

Parameters for Bus and Generator

Voltage 440 V
Frequency 60 Hz
Active Loads (kW) 600 kW
Reactive Loads (kVAR) 60 kVAR

Data and Results:

Image 3: CASE 3 of loads, 600 kW and 60 kVAR

Similarly, the incoming generator was synced with the running generator and the load
was shared. In balancing the loads of the AC generators, one increased when the other was
adjusted to a lower load and vice versa since the power of the bus was constant. It could also be
noted that the sum of the real powers or reactive powers of the AC generators is equal to the real
power and reactive power of the bus respectively as the load sharing was done. As shown above,
it resulted in an equal load of 300 kW and 30 kVAR in each generator. At 440 V and 60 Hz, each
AC generator in Case 3 produced a current of 396 A and a speed of 1801 rpm.

Video Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MSBukJmi13w78tAaK4KHkjRxlRp4vX09/view?
usp=sharing

CONCLUSION

In the laboratory activity, the student was able to perform syncing AC generators
and the process of their load sharing in the GeoGebra Simulator. The GeoGebra
Simulator was familiarized and the keyboard shortcut keys such as “shift + -,” “shift +
arrow keys,” and “Ctrl + arrow keys” were used to adjust the power triangle, the
governor, and the voltage regulator. As the incoming generator was turned on, its
terminal voltage and frequency were adjusted equal to the running generator’s terminal
voltage and frequency. Slightly increasing the voltage and frequency of the incoming
generator by 1 V and 0.1 Hz, the synchroscope was turning slowly in a clockwise
direction. The circuit breaker of the incoming was closed when the synchroscope was at
11:00 position which successfully synced the AC generators by satisfying the given
conditions on the parallel alternators: equal terminal voltages, equal frequencies, in-
phase voltages, identical phase sequence, and equal speed. When the conditions of
paralleling AC generators were not met, power surges and unwanted electro-mechanical
oscillations of rotor would occur which lead to the damage of the equipment or blackout
as the simulator demonstrated. Moreover, the goals of balancing the active and reactive
loads were achieved by adjusting the governor and voltage regulator while maintaining
the nominal voltage and frequency.