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Assessment of the Stray Flux, Losses and Temperature Rise in the End Region
of A High Power Turbo-generator Based on A Novel Frequency Domain Model

Article  in  IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics · November 2017

DOI: 10.1109/TIE.2017.2774719

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 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 65, NO. 6, JUNE 2018 4503

Assessment of the Stray Flux, Losses, and

Temperature Rise in the End Region of a
High-Power Turbogenerator Based on a
Novel Frequency-Domain Model
Likun Wang , Member, IEEE, and Weili Li, Member, IEEE

Abstract—The electromagnetic and heat issue is the core

of the key problems for large synchronous generators. This
paper presents a new method to account for the rotary ex-
citation field of a large synchronous generator using a new
3-D static frequency-domain finite element to solve the end
magnetic field and electromagnetic losses via phase trans-
formation. The solution time is significantly reduced. Both
magnetic flux leakage and temperature testing of the end
structures are conducted. There is good consistency be-
tween the theoretical simulation and the experimental re-
sults for both magnetic and thermal fields. The regularity
of the magnetic and thermal field distributions is studied
drawing on the electromagnetic and heat transfer theories.
Index Terms—End region, frequency domain, turbogen-
erator. Fig. 1. Annual energy output of thermal power in different countries.

I. INTRODUCTION
HERMAL power generation is one of the major forms
T of production in the power system. Fig. 1 shows the an-
nual energy output of thermal power in different countries [1].
Related design and research on turbogenerator have received
considerable attention. With a growth in demand for air-cooled
turbogenerators, the stator load increases accordingly. When
the stator load increases, the leakage flux density in the end
region and the eddy current loss of end components also rise,
which reduces the efficiency of the generator. Local overheat-
ing may also be caused by the eddy currents. Research on the
topic of leakage flux and the thermal issues of the air-cooled
Manuscript received March 27, 2017; revised August 13, 2017,
September 23, 2017, and November 2, 2017; accepted November 8,
2017. Date of publication November 17, 2017; date of current version
February 13, 2018. This work was supported by the China Postdoctoral
Science Foundation under Grant 2017M620109 and the Heilongjiang
Province Postdoctoral Science Foundation under Grant LBH-Z17041.
(Corresponding author: Likun Wang.)
L. Wang is with the College of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,
Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150080, China,
with the Post-Doctoral Mobile Station, Department of Electrical Engi-
neering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001,
China, and also with the Post-Doctoral Workstation, Harbin Electric Ma-
chinery Co., Ltd., Harbin 150040, China (e-mail: wlkhello@163.com).
W. Li is with Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China (e-mail:
li.weili@yeah.net).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIE.2017.2774719
0278-0046 © 2017 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
turbogenerator is imperative, particularly with respect to the
end complex region.
The analysis of the magnetic and thermal dissipation in gener-
ators is essential for their design, manufacturing, and operation.
The electromagnetic and heat issue has mutual influence and
restriction. In [2]–[7], the electromagnetic force, thermal stress,
vibration, noise and preventative maintenance for electric ma-
chines are discussed. In [8]–[13], the heat transfer and fluid flow
analysis for electric equipment are discussed. In [14]–[18], the
magnetic field and eddy current issue of electrical devices are
studied. In [19] and [20], the experimental measuring method
and modeling of nonlinear magnetic material properties are pre-
sented. New models and methods are commonly used to solve
equations in the physical fields of electrical equipment [21],
[22]. For large electrical equipment, the leakage of magnetic
flux can cause local overheating and endanger the safe opera-
tion of the equipment. An accurate calculation of the magnetic
field leakage in the end region of large turbogenerators is of
great importance.
The finite-element (FE) time-step method is suitable for the
rotary direct current field windings. However, the frequency-
domain model becomes invalid because of the direct current in
field windings. In this paper, a phase transformation is applied
to a 3-D frequency-domain model, which makes it valid.
The 3-D frequency-domain model is used to analyze the end
flux of a 150-MW air-cooled turbogenerator. The distribution
4504 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 65, NO. 6, JUNE 2018

Fig. 2. Stator end structures of the turbogenerator.

TABLE I
PROTOTYPE PARAMETERS OF THE 150-MW AIR-COOLED
TURBOGENERATOR

Parameter Value

Capacity 176.47 MVA

Power factor 0.85
Cooling system Air cooling
Rated voltage 13 800 V
Rated current 7383 A
Speed 3000 r/min
Stator winding connection YY
Fig. 3. Flowchart.

characteristic of the magnetic flux leakage is revealed in the

end region. The magnetic flux density at key positions of the
generator end region is measured to verify the results of the
3-D electromagnetic field computation in two different solution
models. The calculated results are consistent with the test data.
The eddy current losses and temperature of the end components
are examined using two different magnetic solution models and
thermal solution, respectively. The effectiveness and solution
time are compared for different methods of electromagnetic
solution. The temperature test values indirectly validate the
frequency-domain model of the magnetic field calculation.

II. EXCITATION CURRENT DETERMINATION AND

MODEL ESTABLISHMENT
A. End Structure
In this paper, the end structure of the 150-MW air-cooled
turbogenerator consists of stator end cores (ECs), a rotor, a
finger plate, and upper and lower clamping plates. An electric
shield or flux shunt is commonly used to prevent the end parasitic
leakage flux from entering the EC. For the 150-MW air-cooled
turbogenerator, a flux shunt is assembled in the end region to
dredge the leakage flux. Fig. 2 shows the stator end structures
of the 150-MW air-cooled turbogenerator. There are five ladder
ECs in the end region.
The prototype uses air cooling in the entire cooling system.
Specific parameters of the 150-MW prototype are shown in
Table I.
B. Excitation Current Determination
Before calculating the 3-D magnetic field, to ensure the
excitation current and phase-shift angle between the stator
Fig. 4. Phasor graph of the synchronous generator.
and the rotor current, a 2-D finite-element method (FEM)
model is established to solve a magnetic flux distribution. The
flowchart is shown in Fig. 3. The FEM calculation was per-
formed using ANSYS Maxwell 16.0. The magnetic field is
calculated based on [23]. The workflow of the simulation is
as follows.
Step 1) Startup programs.
Step 2) Create the geometric model based on the actual
structure and size of the generator.
Step 3) Determine the phase of the stator windings.
Step 4) Define and distribute the material. Determine the
conductivity and permeability of each structural
component.
Step 5) Load the excitation source. Input the current density
for the windings.
WANG AND LI: ASSESSMENT OF THE STRAY FLUX, LOSSES, AND TEMPERATURE RISE OF A HIGH-POWER TURBOGENERATOR 4505

TABLE II
EXCITATION CURRENT GAINED BY ITERATION

No load Rated load

Measured result (A) 540 1625.2

Calculated result (A) 540 1625
Deviation 0 0.01%

Fig. 5. Band and moving parts. (a) Band. (b) Moving parts.

Step 6) Set up the motion and assign the band, as described

in more detail in Figs. 5 and 10.
Step 7) Divide the mesh, as described in more detail in
Fig. 9.
Step 8) Solve and output the result.
With the tabu search algorithm, the excitation current and Fig. 6. Flux distribution by 2-D calculation. (a) No load. (b) Rated load.
phase-shift angle between the stator and the rotor current are
obtained by iterations until (3) is satisfied. Before solving the 3-
D transient end magnetic field, the excitation current and power In the iterative calculation, U and ϕ should satisfy the fol-
angle are obtained using a 2-D iterative calculation. The phasor lowing double iterative conditions:
graph of the nonsalient synchronous generator is shown in Fig. 4. ⎧ 
In a large turbogenerator, the stator resistance is small. The stator ⎪  |U | − |UN | 
⎪
⎨  < ξu
resistance of this turbogenerator is 0.0011 Ω and neglected in UN 
  (3)
the phasor graph. ⎪  cos ϕ − cos ϕN 
⎪
⎩ < ξ
For the 2-D iterative calculation, the power factor and phase cos ϕN  c

voltage are the targets of convergence. I is the phase current. U

is the phase voltage. λ is the phase-shift angle between the direct where UN and cos ϕN are the rated voltage and power factor,
axis and the phase current, ϕ is the power factor angle. ψ0 is the respectively. ξu and ξc are the convergence tolerances of the
internal power factor angle. Xσ E is the leakage reactance of the voltage and power factor, respectively, which are generally lower
end region. E is the electromotive force (EMF) of the air gap. than 0.005.
First, the values of the excitation current If and phase-shift Motion applications require a band object that must contain
angle λ are preselected. If and λ are used to calculate the center the moving parts such as the rotor and field windings. All mov-
air gap flux density Br (x). Second, the angle ψ1 between E and ing parts, which are rotor and field windings, must be included in
the q-axis is obtained from the Fourier decomposition of Br (x). one all-inclusive object. In terms of meshing, the main character-
The EMF of the air gap is istic of motion is that during the analysis, a new mesh is created
at each time step as the motion occurs. This remeshed region is
 always inside the band object between the moving parts and the
E = 4.44f1 N kW Φ stationary parts. The mesh corresponding to the moving and sta-
(1) tionary parts is fixed during the analysis. The mesh density in the
2
Φ= π Bm τ lef band object is always controlled during the solution process. The
edges of any element created in the band object during remesh-
where Φ is the magnetic flux, f1 is the fundamental frequency, ing will never be larger than the average element edge on the
N is the total series turns per phase, kW is the fundamental entire surface of the band object, where it is in contact with both
winding coefficient, Bm is the amplitude of the flux density moving and stationary parts. Thus, mesh densities created for
Br (x), τ is the polar pitch, and lef is the effective axial length both the moving part and the stationary part are used to actively
of the stator. control the mesh density in the remeshed part throughout the
From the phasor diagram, α and β are entire solution process. This requirement ensures a good quality
for the solution of any aspects conditioned by the quality of the
⎧ mesh. Fig. 5 shows the band and moving parts. The steady-state
⎨α = arctan IXσ E sin β magnetic field distribution is only a snapshot moment of the
E − Xσ E cos β (2)
⎩ transient analysis. The excitation currents are listed in Table II.
β = ψ1 + λ. Fig. 6 shows the no-load and rated-load flux distribution, which
4506 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 65, NO. 6, JUNE 2018

Fig. 7. Characteristic curve of the EMF with no load.

Fig. 9. Mesh plot in the end region. (a) Solution domain. (b) Rotor part.
(c) Rotor and stator cores.

Fig. 8. Established model of the end region of the 150-MW air-cooled

turbogenerator.

satisfies the aforementioned condition. The time instant is 0.1 s

in Fig. 6.
Fig. 7 shows the characteristic curve of the EMF with no load.

III. SOLUTION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC

FIELD IN THE END REGION
Fig. 10. Band for the 3-D time-domain analysis. (a) Band in the solution
A. Three-Dimensional Transient Eddy Current Field in region. (b) Enlarged view.
the End Region
Fig. 8 shows the established solving model of the 150-MW In the eddy current region
air-cooled turbogenerator. The 2-D winding planes stretch along ⎧
the involute to generate the 3-D winding structure. To facilitate ⎨ ∂μ (T − ∇ψ) ∂μH S
∇ × ρ ∇ × T − ∇ρ ∇ · T + + =0
observation, the established solving model is shown as a cutaway ∂t ∂t
⎩
view. The stepped teeth at the end of the core are considered, ∇ · μ (T − ∇ψ) = −∇ · μH S .
where the teeth are shortened to increase the air gap reluctance (4)
and reduce the risk of tooth saturation.
In the non-eddy current region
The solving region Ω includes eddy current region ΩE and
non-eddy current region ΩN . Some assumptions are proposed. ∇ · μ∇ψ = ∇ · μH S . (5)
Using the electric vector potential T and magnetic scalar poten-
tial ψ, the 3-D transient mathematical model of the eddy current In this paper, S1 and S2 represent the casing. A Dirichlet
field is as follows. boundary condition is assigned to the outside faces S1 and S2
WANG AND LI: ASSESSMENT OF THE STRAY FLUX, LOSSES, AND TEMPERATURE RISE OF A HIGH-POWER TURBOGENERATOR 4507

of the solution region. The initial conditions are B. Three-Dimensional Eddy Current Field in the End
⎧ Region of the Frequency-Domain Model
⎨ T |Ω E ,t=0 = T 0 (r, θ, z)
(6) The frequency-domain model becomes invalid because of
⎩ ψ| = ψ0 (r, θ, z) the direct current in field windings. A phase transformation is
Ω,t=0
applied to the frequency-domain model, which makes it valid.
where ρ is the resistivity (Ω·m), μ is the permeability (H/m),
This new method can consider all impact factors. Here, A–B–C
and t is the time (s).
is the static three-phase system, and d–q is the rotary two-phase
In the magnetic field calculation, tetrahedron elements are
system for rotor excitation.
used to complete the mesh discretization. There is a trade-
The 3-D magnetic field solution of the frequency domain
off among them in terms of the size of the mesh, the de-
also uses the T , ϕ formulation based on the assumption that
sired level of accuracy, and the amount of available computing
all electromagnetic fields pulsate with the identical frequency
resources.
and their magnitudes and initial phase angles are calculated
The accuracy of the solution depends on the size of each
by ANSYS Maxwell 16.0. There are no moving objects. The
individual element. Generally, solutions based on meshes using
velocity is zero everywhere. All materials are assumed to be
thousands of elements are more accurate than solutions based
linear.
on coarse meshes using relatively few elements. To generate a
In the eddy current region of the frequency-domain model
precise description of a field quantity, each element must occupy
a region that is small enough for the field to be adequately 
∇ × ρ ∇ × T −∇ρ ∇ · T + jωμ (T −∇ψ) + jωμH S = 0
interpolated from the nodal values. However, generating a field
solution involves inverting a matrix with approximately as many ∇ · μ (T − ∇ψ) = −∇ · μH S .
elements as the number of tetrahedral nodes. For meshes with (7)
a large number of elements, this inversion requires a significant
amount of computing power and memory. It is desirable to use a In the non-eddy current region of the frequency-domain
sufficiently fine mesh to obtain an accurate field solution but not model
too fine that it overwhelms the available computer processing
power and memory. ∇ · μ∇ψ = ∇ · μH S (8)
The end structure mesh results are shown in Fig. 9. In the 
FE calculation for electronic equipment, the element sizes of 1 Js × r
HS = dΩ (9)
tiny or local thin regions are usually controlled, such as each 4π Ω |r|3
stator tooth of the generator. The tooth width is usually meshed
by several grids, and a mesh plot of the end stator structures is where J s denotes the current density vector and vector r points
shown in Fig. 9(c). However, to prevent running out of memory, from the conductor element toward the point at which the field
the number of elements cannot be too much. After meshing, is computed. Ω is the solution region.
there are 1 220 036 tetrahedral elements in the entire region. Fig. 11 shows the transformation relationship of the current
For a transient solution, the time step is set as 0.0002 s, and between the rotary two-phase system and the static three-phase
the stop time is 0.1 s. The computation time is approximately system. For the 3-D magnetic field solution in the frequency
80 h. domain, the static three-phase system is used instead of the
In this paper, although the magnetic field rotates in the ma- rotary two-phase system. The transformational relation of the
chine with time, the magnetic field distribution trend at each current is given by
time is nearly constant in a steady-state operation. Hence, 0.1 ⎛ ⎞
s, which is the last simulation time, is selected to analyze the IA ,s
magnetic field distribution in this paper. ⎜ ⎟
⎜ ⎟
For the 3-D time-domain analysis, motion applications also ⎜IB ,s ⎟ = Γ (f ,r , A B C ,s )
⎜ ⎟
require a band object that contains the moving parts such as ⎝ ⎠
the rotor and field windings. All moving parts, which include IC ,s
the rotor and field windings, must be included in one all- ⎛ ⎞
cos θ − sin θ
inclusive object because they must move as one rigid body ⎜ ⎟
with a single force acting on the assembly. The band is shown ⎜    ⎟ ⎛ ⎞
⎜ 2 2 ⎟ Id,r
in Fig. 10. ⎜cos θ − π − sin θ − π ⎟ ⎝ ⎠
⎜ 3 3 ⎟ (10)
For the cylindrical type of rotational motion applications, ⎜ ⎟
⎜    ⎟ Iq ,r
the band object must be slightly larger than the rotating parts ⎝ 2 2 ⎠
cos θ + π − sin θ + π
in all directions with only one exception at the boundaries, 3 3
where it can only be touched. Thus, the band object must
effectively enclose the moving part, and not just by touch- where IA ,s , IB ,s , and IC ,s are the phase currents in the static
ing it, in the radial and axial directions; hence, we must three-phase system, and Id,r and Iq ,r are the direct and quadra-
leave some “room” between the band and the surrounding ture currents in the rotary two-phase system. Γ is the winding
objects. turn ratio.
4508 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 65, NO. 6, JUNE 2018

Fig. 11. Transformation relationship of the current between the rotary two-phase system and the static three-phase system.

For the system of the rotary field current, the rotary magne-
tomotive force is expressed as

f
4 qf ,r γW,r If ,r cos εs
Θf ,r = (11)
π 2p
qα
f f sin
where γwf ,r = γp,r
f
· γd,r , and γd,r = q sin 2α . If ,r is the resultant
2
of Id,r and Iq ,r . f ,r is the number of turns of the rotary field
winding connected in series per coil. q is the total number of
field coils. p is the number of pole pairs. γwf ,r is the winding
factor of the rotary field winding, which is the product of the
f
pitch factor of the rotary field winding γp,r and the distribution
f
factor of the rotary field winding γd,r .εs is the angle between
the d-axis and the field axis.
The system of the three-phase static current also generate a
rotary magnetomotive force, which is expressed as

3 4 A B C ,s γwA,s
BC
IA ,s Fig. 12. Calculation schematic diagram of the effective permeability.
ΘA B C ,r = × (12)
2 π 2p
paper, n = 20
where γwA,sBC
= γp,s
AB C
· γd,s
AB C
. A B C ,s is the number of turns n −1  
 T
of the three-phase static winding connected in series per phase. 8  ti+1 2
4
2
γwA,s
BC
is the winding factor of the static windings in the μeff = μ sin ωtdt + μ sin ωtdt .
T i=1 ti i tn n
frequency-domain model. Furthermore, the winding factor of
the static windings γwA,sBC
is the product of the pitch factor of (14)
AB C
the static windings γp,s and the distribution factor of the static For i = 1
AB C
windings γd,s . B2
μ1 = . (15)
In the frequency-domain model, the effective permeability H2
μeff is used [24]. H(t) = Hm sin ωt; B(t) = μ(t)Hm sin ωt.
For i = 2, 3, . . . , n
Fig. 12 shows the calculation schematic diagram of the effective  
permeability. Bi Bi+1 − Bi Hi
μi = + 1− . (16)
The effective permeability μeff is determined as follows: Hm sin ωt Hi+1 − Hi Hm sin ωt

 T
The rotor remains motionless in the frequency-domain model.
8 4
A static three-phase current layer is added on the surface of
μeff = μ(t)sin2 ωtdt (13)
T 0 the rotor, as shown in Fig. 13. Fig. 13(a) and (b) shows the
current layer and its configuration. Fig. 13(c) shows the length
where T is the period. of the field windings at the end region. Fig. 13(d) shows the
The magnetization curve can be divided into several sections. value of the current in the layer along the axial direction. A
The permeability is taken as a constant for each section. There rotary magnetomotive force is generated by the static three-
are n sections. μi is the permeability for the ith section. In this phase current system instead of the rotary direct current. OR is
WANG AND LI: ASSESSMENT OF THE STRAY FLUX, LOSSES, AND TEMPERATURE RISE OF A HIGH-POWER TURBOGENERATOR 4509

Fig. 14. Flux density distribution at position B of the finger plate along
the circumferential direction.

Fig. 13. Static three-phase current layer and its value. (a) Current layer.
(b) Layer configuration. (c) Length of the field windings in the end region.
(d) Value of the current.

the length of the field windings in region N. RS is the length

of the field windings in region M. The current is oriented along
the z direction of the current layer, so this means its vector is
set in the z direction and is also a function of z. The current is
consequently activated by subsection loading along z direction.
A function of the generated current about the position z can be
derived from the excitation loading and be expressed as an input
to an equation. Taking phase A, for example, the current value
I is expressed by Fig. 15. Flux density distribution at position M of the flux shunt along
⎧ the circumferential direction.
⎨I = IA ,s , 0 ≤ z ≤ |OR|
  (17)
⎩I = IA ,s |O S |−z , |OR| ≤ z ≤ |OS|
|R S |
V. ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD AND
where the IA ,s is the current value in the formula (10). EDDY CURRENT LOSSES
The magnetic flux is obtained from the FEM calculation. A. Magnetic Field in the End Region
Figs. 14 and 15 show the flux density distribution at position B
of the finger plate and position M of the flux shunt along the Fig. 17 shows the fringing flux distribution around the stator
circumferential direction, respectively. step packets. The scattered magnetic effect is obvious around
The theoretical results obtained from the frequency-domain the end step packets. The magnetic leakage flux changes paths
calculation are consistent with the time-step FE simulation and above the end packets, where the magnetic flux leakage is not
experimental approaches. The measuring method is introduced only along the radial direction. For the position where flux enters
in the next section. the stator from the rotor along the radial direction below the
dividing line between the packet and the finger plate under the
no-load condition, the magnetic leakage flux passes into the EC
IV. EXPERIMENT OF MAGNETIC FLUX DENSITY along the arc path above it. However, for the position where flux
To verify the calculated results of the flux from the frequency- enters into the stator from the rotor along the radial direction
domain model, the end leakage flux density is tested in the end below the dividing line between the packet and the finger plate
region of the turbogenerator. The specific location is shown in under the rated-load condition, the magnetic leakage flux passes
Fig. 16. The test and calculated data of the leakage flux density away from the EC along the arc path above it.
are listed in Table III. The deviations between the calculation Fig. 18 shows the finger plate flux density under the no-load
and measured results are acceptable in engineering. condition. The highest flux density appears at its bottom. Its
4510 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 65, NO. 6, JUNE 2018

Fig. 16. Measured points on the end components of the 150-MW tur-
bogenerator. (a) At the plate. (b) At the finger and stator tooth.

TABLE III
MEASURED AND CALCULATED RESULTS OF THE MAGNETIC FLUX DENSITY
UNDER THE NO-LOAD CONDITION (IN TESLA)

3-D simulation results

Flux Time- Time- Frequency-

density (T) stepping stepping domain model Measured
FEM based FEM based based on results
on B–H on effective effective
curves permeability permeability
(80 h) (72 h) (35 min)

Position I 0.936 0.982 0.988 0.938

Position II 0.251 0.279 0.285 0.256
Position III 0.019 0.022 0.024 0.021
Position IV 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.018
Position V 0.008 0.007 0.007 0.011

Fig. 18. Finger plate flux density distribution for different solution mod-
els under the no-load condition (tesla). (a) Frequency-domain model
based on the effective permeability. (b) Time-domain model based
on the B–H curves. (c) Time-domain model based on the effective
permeability.

Faraday’s electromagnetic induction law, an eddy current can

be induced in stator end components [25], [26]. After solving
the 3-D transient magnetic field under no-load and rated-load
conditions, the value of the eddy current in the end component
can be gained.
Fig. 17. Fringing flux distribution around the stator step packets. (a) No For the transient time-domain model, the eddy current loss in
load. (b) Rated load. each element is

|J e (t)|2
P e (t) = dV. (18)
maximum value is 0.72 T. For the gradient part of the finger Ve σ
plate top, the magnetic flux density is 0.25–0.28 T, which is
The total eddy current loss in one component is
close to the test data of 0.256 T. The flux density of the finger
plate decreases with the increase in radial distance. N  Tc
1
PV = P e (t)dt (19)
T c 0
B. Analysis of the Eddy Current in the End Components i=1

The generator synthetic leakage flux varies with time in the where P is the eddy current loss (W). Ve is the element vol-
end region, whose rotation is relative to the stator. Based on ume (m3 ). J e is the eddy current density (A/m2 ). σ is the
WANG AND LI: ASSESSMENT OF THE STRAY FLUX, LOSSES, AND TEMPERATURE RISE OF A HIGH-POWER TURBOGENERATOR 4511

Fig. 19. Total eddy current loss under different loads with different
models.
Fig. 20. Thermal distribution of the end structures (°C).
conductivity (S/m). t is the time (s). N is the total element num-
ber in one component. Tc is the time interval (s). an assessment of the end temperature rise becomes increasingly
For the static frequency-domain model, the eddy current den- important.
sity in stator end structures is According to the losses determined by the 3-D simulation of
Je = ∇ × T e. (20) the magnetic field with the frequency-domain model, the tem-
perature distribution of the end structures has been studied using
The average density of eddy current losses is thermal field calculation under the rated-load condition. Based
1   1 on the theory of heat transfer and the end structure symmetry
pe = ρ J e · Jˆ = ρ|J e |2
e
(21) of the generator, the following assumptions are proposed. The
2 2
upper and lower windings have identical phases in the same
where Jˆe is the complex conjugate vector of J e . slot. The fluid is treated as a steady flow in the generator. Con-
Then, the time average eddy current loss P in volume V is sidering the symmetry of both end structures and temperature

1 distribution along the circumferential direction, the one tooth
P = ρ|J e |2 dV pitch is selected as the solution region for the temperature field
V 2
of the end region. The two sides of each end structures, which is
1   2  2
N
along the circumferential direction, are adiabatic surfaces. The
= ρi Re (Jxe )2 + Im (Jxe )2 + Re Jye + Im Jye
2 i=1 coefficient of heat transfer on the structure surface is gained on
 the basis of the theory of fluid similarity. The final governing
+ Re (Jze )2 + Im (Jze )2 ΔVi (22) equations for the thermal field solution are as follows:
 ∂T      ⎫
where N is the element number in volume V, ρi is the resistivity ∂ x λx ∂ x + ∂ y λy ∂ y
∂ ∂ ∂T
+ ∂∂z λz ∂∂Tz = −q ⎪ ⎪
⎬
of element i, ΔVi is the volume of element i, Jxe , Jye , and Jze ∂T
= 0 on S (23)
are the complex components of J e , and Re and Im are the real ∂n p
⎪
⎪
⎭
and imaginary components, respectively, the superscript e is the −λ ∂∂ Tn = α (T − Tf ) onSQ
element value.
where Sp is the heat insulation surface, SQ is the heat delivery
Fig. 19 shows the eddy current loss under rated and no
surface, λx , λy , and λz are the heat conductivity coefficients
loads with different models. The solution results of time- and
along the x, y, and z directions, q is the heat source density, and
frequency-domain models match well with each other.
α is the coefficient of heat transfer. Tf is the temperature of the
fluid.
VI. ANALYSIS OF HEAT LOSS AND GENERATION BASED The heat source density is the losses density obtained from the
ON THE THERMAL MODEL
3-D magnetic field calculation in Section V-B. The calculation
Losses and heat generation are a serious issue for turbogen- results of the temperature field of the end region are shown
erators. The electromagnetic losses and heat generally signifi- in Fig. 20. The highest temperature appears on the up winding,
cantly restrict the underexcitation and asynchronous operation which reaches 112 °C. Excluding the winding and its insulation,
of a turbogenerator and may make the stator winding burn or the temperature distribution of the other parts is shown in Fig. 21.
break. The thermal stress may also make the ECs warped. Hence, The temperature of the finger is high. The end stator cores are not
4512 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 65, NO. 6, JUNE 2018

the packet and the finger plate, the magnetic leakage flux passes
into the EC along the arc path above it under the no-load con-
dition and passes away from the EC along the arc path above it
under the rated-load condition.
Despite the seemingly small change in the method, this
method has solved two issues: the solution time and the ef-
fects of the dc rotary excitation. In conclusion, even such a
small improvement as proposed in this study is of significance
when pursuing the flux density and losses in the end region of
large generator, as it avoids the long time taken by the calcu-
lation process, when transforming from the time domain to the
frequency domain. The solution time of the frequency-domain
model is only 35 min, whereas it is 80 h with the FE time-step
method based on B–H curves and 72 h with the FE time-step
method based on the effective permeability.
The finger plate has a relatively higher temperature than the
other pressure parts in the end region. The temperature test
Fig. 21. Local thermal distribution of the end structures (°C). values can indirectly prove the validity of the frequency-domain
model of the magnetic field calculation.
TABLE IV
MEASURED AND CALCULATED RESULTS OF TEMPERATURE

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4513
Likun Wang (M’17) received the B.Sc., M.Sc.,
and Ph.D. degrees in electrical machinery
and appliance from the Harbin University of Sci-
ence and Technology (HUST), Harbin, China, in
2010, 2013, and 2015, respectively.
Since the beginning of 2017, he has fo-
cused on postdoctoral research in electrical en-
gineering with the Harbin Institute of Technology,
Harbin. He is currently a Lecturer with the Col-
lege of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of
HUST. He is the author or coauthor of more than
ten refereed technical papers in IEEE transactions and IET proceedings,
and he holds more than 20 invention patents. He is mainly involved in
research work on synthesis physical fields and dynamic operation mech-
anism for high-power turbogenerators and permanent-magnet electrical
machines.
Weili Li (M’14) received the Master’s degree
in electrical machinery and appliance from the
Harbin Institute of Electrical Technology, Harbin,
China, in 1993, and the Ph.D. degree in electri-
cal machinery and appliance from Russia Elec-
tric Power Research Institute, Moscow, Russia,
in 1997.
He is currently a Professor with the College of
Electrical Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong Univer-
sity, Beijing, China. He is the author or coauthor
of more than 200 published peer-reviewed pa-
pers. His research interests include the synthesis physical fields of large
electrical machine and special electrical machine.