Ieeestd 2017 7945300

IEEE Recommended Practice
for the Specification and Design

of Field Discharge Equipment
for Synchronous Machines
IEEE Power and Energy Society
Sponsored by the
Energy Development and Power Generation Committee
IEEE IEEE Std 421.6™-2017

3 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016-5997
USA
Authorized licensed use limited to: University of West Florida. Downloaded on June 13,2017 at 11:57:55 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
IEEE Std 421.6™-2017

Sponsor
Energy Development and Power Generation Committee

of the
IEEE Power and Energy Society
Approved 23 March 2017
IEEE-SA Standards Board
Abstract: A basic reference for the specification and design of field discharge circuits for
synchronous machines is provided in this document. Detailed information about field discharge that
complements standards IEEE Std 421.4™-2004, IEEE Guide for Preparation of Excitation System
Specification, and includes many aspects of the withdrawn standard ANSI/IEEE C37.18-1979,
IEEE Standard Enclosed Field Discharge Circuit Breakers, is also provided. This document shows
the most employed field discharge circuits and defines the main design criteria and conditions for
the main components of field discharge circuit for synchronous machines.
Keywords: crowbar, de-excitation, field breaker, field discharge equipment, field discharge of
synchronous machines, field discharge resistor, field suppression, IEEE 421.6™
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Participants
At the time this IEEE recommended practice was completed, the Excitation Systems and Controls
Subcommittee Working Group had the following membership:
Robert Thorton-Jones, Chair

José Taborda, Vice Chair
Greg Anderson Les Hajagos Ravi Mutukutti

David Apps Gabriel Haynes Pierre Ouellette
Eugene Asbury Joseph Hurley Eli Pajuelo
Matthias Bächle Arish Kharel Shawn Patterson
Michael Basler Kiyong Kim Bill Person
Arnaud Beyer Ruediger Kutzner Jeff Robertson
Murray Coultes Eric Lambert Robert Rusch
Katherine Doyon Leonardo Lima Richard Schaefer
Markus Egretzberger Bill Maryniak Uwe Seeger
Michael Faltas Shawn McMullen Paul Smulders
Namal Fernando John Morrow David Thumser
Alexander Glaninger- Richard Mummert Eric Vaughn
Katschnig Stephane Vignola
The following members of the individual balloting committee voted on this recommended practice. Balloters
may have voted for approval, disapproval, or abstention.
David Apps Frank Gerleve Antonio Mejia

Eugene Asbury Alexander Glaninger- Michael Newman
Matthias Bächle Katschnig Pierre Ouellette
Michael Basler Randall Groves Eli Pajuelo
William Bloethe James Gurney Iulian Profir
Andrew Brown Werner Hoelzl Richard Schaefer
Gustavo Brunello Joseph Hurley Uwe Seeger
Luis Coronado Richard Jackson Jeremy Smith
Matthew Davis Jim Kulchisky Paul Smulders
Gary Donner Andreas Kunkel José Taborda
Donald Dunn Ruediger Kutzner David Thumser
Markus Egretzberger Benjamin Lanz Eric Toft
Namal Fernando Albert Livshitz Eric Vaughn
Rostyslaw Fostiak Lawrenc Long John Vergis
Omar Mazzoni
6
When the IEEE-SA Standards Board approved this recommended practice on 23 March 2017, it had the
following membership:
Jean-Philippe Faure, Chair

Gary Hoffman, Vice Chair
John D. Kulick, Past Chair
Konstantinos Karachalios, Secretary
Chuck Adams Thomas Koshy Robby Robson

Masayuki Ariyoshi Joseph L. Koepfinger* Dorothy Stanley
Ted Burse Kevin Lu Adrian Stephens
Stephen Dukes Daleep Mohla Mehmet Ulema
Doug Edwards Damir Novosel Phil Wennblom
J. Travis Griffith Ronald C. Petersen Howard Wolfman
Michael Janezic Annette D. Reilly Yu Yuan
*Member Emeritus
7
Introduction
This introduction is not part of IEEE Std 421.6-2017, IEEE Recommended Practice for the Specification and Design of
Field Discharge Equipment for Synchronous Machines.
This recommended practice serves as basic reference for the specification and design of field discharge circuits
for synchronous machines. It also provides detailed information about field discharge that complements
IEEE 421.4-2004 IEEE Guide for Preparation of Excitation System Specification. This document includes
many aspects of the withdrawn standard ANSI/IEEE C37.18.1979 IEEE Standard Enclosed Field Discharge
Circuit Breakers [B1].
8
Contents
1. Scope�� 10
2. Normative references�� 10
3. Definitions�� 10
4. Field discharge equipment�� 11
5. Field discharge circuits�� 15

5.1 Classical field discharge circuit�� 15
5.2 DC field breaker and field discharge resistor in parallel to breaker contacts�� 17
5.3 DC field breaker with static switch as field discharge contact�� 18
5.4 AC field breaker with static switch as field discharge contact�� 19
6. Comparison between dc and ac field breakers�� 22
7. Functional requirements�� 23
7.1 Field breaker�� 23
7.2 Field discharge resistor�� 23
7.3 DC overvoltage protection�� 24
Annex A (informative) Design considerations�� 25
Annex B (informative) Bibliography�� 36
9
1. Scope
This recommended practice serves as basic reference for the specification and design of field discharge
circuits for synchronous machines. It also provides detailed information about field discharge equipment
complementing the IEEE 421.4™-2004 Guide for Preparation of Excitation System Specification. This
document includes many aspects of the withdrawn standard ANSI/IEEE C37.18-1979 IEEE Standard
Enclosed Field Discharge Circuit Breakers [B1].1
2. Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document (i.e., they must
be understood and used, so each referenced document is cited in text and its relationship to this document is
explained). For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the
referenced document (including any amendments or corrigenda) applies.
ANSI C37.16™-2000, American National Standard Low-voltage Power Circuit Breakers and AC Power
Circuit Protectors Preferred Ratings, Related Requirements, and Application Recommendations.
IEEE Std 421.4™-2004, IEEE Guide for the Preparation of Excitation System Specifications.2,3
3. Definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. The IEEE Standards Dictionary
Online should be consulted for terms not defined in this clause.4
field breaker arcing voltage: Established voltage between breaker main contact(s) during the arcing period.
The arcing voltage is an intrinsic characteristic of the circuit breaker and depends on the typical arc admittance
and arc current intensity.
1
The numbers in brackets correspond to those of the bibliography in Annex B.
2
IEEE publications are available from The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854,
USA (http://standards.ieee.org/).
3
The IEEE standards or products referred to in this clause are trademarks of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
4
IEEE Standards Dictionary Online is available at: http://dictionary.ieee.org
10
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
IEEE Recommended Practice for the Specification and Design of Field Discharge Equipment for Synchronous Machines
field breaker rated continuous current: The current that the main contacts of a field discharge circuit
breaker should be required to carry without having the temperature of its parts exceed the values specified and
guaranteed by the manufacturer.
NOTE—The rated continuous current of a field circuit breaker applies to the main contacts and not the discharge contacts
(if provided).5
field breaker rated control voltage: The voltage at which the mechanism of the field breaker is designed
to operate when measured at the control power terminals of the operating mechanism (e.g., trip coil) with
the highest operating current flowing. Rated control voltages and their ranges for low-voltage power circuit
breakers are listed in Table 23, IEEE Std C37.16™-2000.6
field breaker rated interrupting current of discharge contacts: The maximum value of direct current that
the discharge contacts should be required to interrupt.
field breaker rated interrupting current of main contacts: The maximum value of direct current that the
field breaker main contacts should be required to interrupt at rated maximum interrupting voltage.
field breaker rated making current of the discharge contacts: The peak value of current that the discharge
contacts should be required to close with rated maximum voltage applied across the contacts.
field breaker rated maximum interrupting voltage: Average value of field breaker arcing voltage during the
arcing time when interrupting the rated interrupting current of main contacts.
field breaker rated nominal voltage class: The voltage to which operating and performance characteristics
should be referred, and the voltage to which dielectric characteristics of the circuit breaker are related.
field breaker rated short-time voltage: The highest voltage at which the circuit breaker main contacts should
be required to interrupt exciter short-circuit current.
rated interrupting current of main contacts at rated short-time voltage: The maximum value of direct-
current that the main contacts of the field breaker should be required to interrupt at rated short-time voltage.
4. Field discharge equipment

The field discharge equipment plays a vital role in protecting the synchronous machine and excitation system.
In case of a severe electrical fault in the vicinity of the synchronous machine or excitation system, the function
of the field discharge equipment is to provide a quick machine rotor flux reduction in order to limit the damages
caused by the very high energy released during the fault. The field discharge equipment also has the function
to limit the overvoltages between the positive and negative terminals of the synchronous machine field coil.
The field discharge equipment can physically disconnect the voltage source from the field in case of severe
excitation system faults and allow discharge via the field discharge resistor. During normal shutdown, multiple
strategies are common for field discharge including implementing two power Silicon Controlled Rectifiers
(SCRs) connected in anti-parallel (crowbar) with a series discharge resistor across the field. At shutdown, the
crowbar SCRs are gated (triggered) on simultaneous to the field breaker trip command in order to discharge
the field energy through the discharge resistor. In case of static excitation, the SCR converter bridge may have
the triggering pulses blocked or forced to the full inversion initiated simultaneously with the field breaker trip
command.
5
Notes in text, tables, and figures are given for information only and do not contain requirements needed to implement the standard.
6
Information on references can be found in Clause 2.
11
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
During normal shutdown of the synchronous machine, in some implementations the ac or dc breaker is not
opened. In this case the excitation system needs a conducting path to allow the circulation of the field current
during shutdown (e.g., freewheel diode or the two last conducting SCRs of the converter bridge).
Another method includes “inverter operation” or “full inversion,” where the 6-SCR bridge is forced to gate
negative to quickly remove the field energy based upon the available power potential transformer secondary
supply voltage. Any of these shutdown methods may be used in case of mechanical faults to achieve faster
removal of electrical energy stored in the field of the synchronous machine. The generator decay time using
this method is compromised if 100% of the power potential transformer supply voltage is not available. It is a
common practice to trip the ac or dc field breaker and enable current flow through the discharge resistor only
in the case of electrical faults. By adopting this philosophy, the number of operations of the field discharge
equipment may be drastically reduced and its (their) lifetime is increased significantly.
The field suppression that trips the field breaker and discharges the field to the field suppression resistor is
needed only to limit the damage in case of electrical faults on the generator side. Further, the field suppression
needs to be initiated in case of certain faults occurring within the excitation system up to generator slip rings.
The basic functions of the equipment are the elimination of the excitation source that drives the fault current
and the fast discharge of the field energy.
The main faults, requiring a fast field discharge and interruption of the feeding source, are as follows:
—— Stator faults (e.g., phase to phase fault, ground fault, severe inter-turn fault)
—— Pole slip or asynchronous operation
—— Rotor faults (e.g., earth fault, slip rings short-circuit)
—— Severe excitation system faults (e.g., flashover and internal short-circuit in power circuits, loss of SCR
bridge control)
It is uncontested that fast field discharge has a significant impact on reducing the amount of damage caused by
electrical faults. Repair costs may be higher if the field discharge takes a longer time to discharge the electrical
energy. The ratio between the equipment costs and the effectiveness of the field discharge function needs be
considered during the selection and design of the excitation system. Figure 1 shows sample results of the stator
voltage decay time with and without a field discharge resistor. Notice the decay time to reach 30% of initial
voltage is 8.5 s without the field discharge resistor and only 3.7 s with the discharge resistor. However, the
relationship between the discharge time and the amount of damage, as well as the question whether the repair
costs are really lowered with a fast field discharge, is difficult to demonstrate and quantify.
12
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 1—Example showing comparison between terminal voltage decay characteristics

during field discharge with and without field discharge resistor
Figure 2 shows the field voltage behavior during field discharge without and with a field discharge resistor.
Figure 2—Field voltage decay with and without the field discharge resistor added
Factors that affect the machine damage level include the following:
—— In case of a ground fault in slot portion of stator winding, the machine has to be dismantled
independently of the magnitude of caused damage.
—— Fast decay of field current does not mean that the total magnetic flux is reduced with the same speed as
the field current. Only the direct axis flux is influenced by the field current. However, the discharge of
the flux in quadrature axis depends on the time constants of quadrature axis.
Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 5 show an example of a field discharge of an 83 MVA synchronous generator
starting from no-load condition using the inverter operation or full SCR-bridge inversion.
13
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 3—Example of stator voltage decay during field discharge using SCR-full bridge
inversion
Figure 4—Example of field voltage behavior during field discharge using SCR-full bridge
inversion
14
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 5—Same as Figure 4, however only showing the starting (Time = 1.0s) of the SCR-full
bridge inversion
Many field suppression technologies and schemes have been developed in the last 100 years. However, the
core idea of the field suppression remains the same for all existing technologies. The basic idea is to interrupt
the voltage source that feeds the field and connect a resistor in parallel with the field winding in order to reach
a fast decay of the field current and control the overvoltage. The main design considerations can be found in
Annex A.
5. Field discharge circuits

5.1 Classical field discharge circuit
Figure 6 shows a version of field discharge circuit using the field breaker at the dc side with normally closed
discharge contact. Many dc type field breakers have two or more normally open main contacts equipped with
arcing chambers. The field discharge resistance is placed in series with a normally closed “make-before-
break” type contact. This contact is also called “field discharge contact.”
Figure 6—One type of field discharge circuit with field breaker at dc side of power rectifier
with mechanical field discharge contact
15
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
When the breaker is tripped, the field discharge contact closes shortly before opening of the main contacts. As
soon as the main contacts start to open, the dc current flows initially through the ionized air creating an arc.
The arc impedance is inserted between source and field terminals producing a current decay (negative di/dt) as
shown in Figure 7. Due to the large inductance of the field winding the current decay leads to the inversion of
the field voltage polarity as illustrated in the example of Figure 8.
Figure 7—Field current decay caused by the insertion of arc resistance between voltage
source and field terminals
Figure 8—Breaker arcing voltage and field voltages during arcing current interruption
process
16
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
During the arcing time one part of the field current is transformed into plasma and the other starts to flow
through the field suppression contact, as shown in Figure 9. After the first zero crossing of the breaker main-
contact current, the arc gets extinguished and the field discharge contact takes over the total remaining current
that circulates through the field winding converting the magnetic energy of the field into heat.
Figure 9—Current transfer from voltage source to field discharge branch
Some classical field discharge circuits using a dc field breaker with discharge contact may incorporate a dc
overvoltage protection device called a “crowbar” as shown in Figure 6. The crowbar has the function to protect
the rotor circuit against excessive overvoltages across the field coil. It contains an overvoltage detector that
fires two anti-parallel SCRs connecting the field discharge resistor in parallel to the field winding in order
to limit the value of positive and negative overvoltages that may be induced either by the source excitation
system or by imposed ac currents coming from stator of the synchronous machine (e.g., after pole slip).
DC rotating exciters or ac exciters with static diode bridges that originally did not incorporate a dc field breaker
may be upgraded to include a dc field breaker in order to decrease the field discharge time. The upgrade could
consist of inclusion of dc field contactor and a crowbar circuit. See the possible configurations in Figure 6, and
Figure 10 through Figure 13.
5.2 DC field breaker and field discharge resistor in parallel to breaker contacts
Figure 10 shows the field discharge circuit using the field discharge resistor in parallel with the contacts of the
dc-side field breaker.
17
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 10—Field discharge resistor in parallel to the dc-side field breaker contacts
In cases where a static excitation system is used, as soon as the field discharge breaker is tripped, the full SCR-
inversion command is sent to the power rectifier bridge to allow the circulation of the current. The full SCR-
inversion, combined with field discharge resistor energy dissipation, causes a faster field discharge. During
the opening time of the breaker, the arcing voltage corresponds to the voltage across the discharge resistor. As
soon as the arc impedance is higher than the value of the discharge resistance, the field current commutates to
the resistor and the arc is extinguished when the current through the breaker reaches zero.
5.3 DC field breaker with static switch as field discharge contact

The combination of static field discharge units with specific types of conventional breakers has turned into a
widely applied solution for field discharge equipment. The following standard breaker types may be used for
field discharge purposes when combined with a static field discharge unit:
—— High arcing power single pole dc breakers used for traction applications
—— Standard low and medium voltage dc breakers or ac circuit breakers with dc current interruption
capacity (arc extinguishing chamber)
The use of these breakers has all the known advantages related to large production standard components,
including commercial availability, lower costs, availability of spares, quantity of commercial/sales
representatives, etc.
Figure 11 shows the field discharge circuit using a two-pole dc breaker and a static field discharge unit.
Figure 11—Two-pole dc breaker with static switch for discharge using SCRs
18
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 12 shows the basic field discharge equipment scheme using a conventional three-pole ac breaker. This
design uses two contacts in the positive pole and one in the negative. Some standard conventional breakers
may be obtained with four poles. In this case, it is possible to put all four contacts in series obtaining larger
arcing voltages.
Figure 12—Conventional three-pole ac breaker used as dc field breaker with static switch
for discharge using SCRs
It is important to note that the series connection of contacts provides higher values of arcing voltage and higher
arc impedances that leads to shorter arcing times.
Figure 13 represents the field discharge circuit using a high arcing power single pole dc breaker used as a
field discharge breaker combined with a crowbar with SCRs. It is normally connected to the positive pole
of the field winding. The negative pole remains connected to the power converter. Once the arcing voltage
of the single pole breaker is high enough to allow a short arcing time, there is no disadvantage in terms of
field discharge performance. For maintenance or test purposes, an additional off-load isolator switch for
standstill disconnection of the negative field winding pole from the power converter can be installed as shown
in Figure 13.
Figure 13—Single pole dc field discharge circuit
5.4 AC field breaker with static switch as field discharge contact

Because the static field discharge unit is physically separated from the field breaker, it is also possible to place
the breaker at the ac side of the power converter and interrupt the field current at the ac side of the power
converter. Figure 14 shows the basic scheme of a field breaker installed at the ac side.
19
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 14—Field breaker located at the ac side of power converter in a static excitation
system
The main advantage of the field configuration shown in Figure 14 is the capability to interrupt faults in the
power circuits of the excitation system and at the ac and dc side of the power converter.
When tripping the ac breaker, the bridge SCR’s pulses are blocked, the crowbar SCRs are gated on to conduct
current through the field discharge resistor, and the shunt trip control signal is sent to the ac breaker. In some
circuits, the imposed negative field voltage sensed by the crowbar forces the crowbar SCRs to conduct and the
field current starts to commutate from the power converter to the field discharge circuit. In this field discharge
method the arc period is limited to less than the period of the network frequency.
During normal shutdown, the ac or dc field breakers depending upon equipment selection do not need to be
tripped. Here, the bridge SCR’s pulses are blocked and the crowbar SCRs are gated to conduct and discharge
the field energy. The ac breaker is often equipped with a shunt trip coil, such that during an emergency
shutdown (electrical fault) condition, the ac breaker opens. This trip command is normally initiated by the
generator protection equipment in case of a severe electrical fault in the generator or vicinity. The pulse
blocking command has to be initiated before the breaker contacts start to open. Because the reaction of
electronic circuits is faster than the reaction time of a circuit breaker, the faster pulse blocking is normally
achieved when the pulse blocking and the trip command are applied simultaneously.
Figure 15, Figure 16, and Figure 17 show the ideal behavior of the field discharge equipment using the breaker
at the ac side of the power converter. As soon as the fault occurs, the fast blocking of the converter SCRs
triggering pulses avoids the free-wheel effect allowing a successful current commutation to the discharge
circuit.
20
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 15—Power converter SCR currents
NOTE—The adopted designation of the phase and SCR’s currents (R, S, and T) is based on European standards and
corresponds to A, B, and C for North American nomenclature.
Figure 16—AC field breaker phase currents
21
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure 17—Field voltage and field current
6. Comparison between dc and ac field breakers

The main features of dc field breakers include the following:
—— Higher initial arc voltage levels may be reached because, depending on the breaker type and contact
characteristics, up to four contacts may be connected in series, assuring higher initial arcing voltages
and shorter current commutation times to the field discharge circuit.
—— If the breaker arcing voltage is higher than the largest possible voltage at the output of the power
converter, it is always possible to start the current commutation process to the field discharge circuit. It
is just a matter of arcing time. A higher arcing voltage capability leads to a shorter arcing time and vice
versa.
—— In case of a three-phase short-circuit at machine terminals in shunt supplied excitation systems,
the field suppression occurs even if the power converter bridge operates in free-wheel. The current
commutates through the field discharge resistor because the arcing voltage impedance is practically
inserted between power converter and field terminals.
—— There are no means to disconnect the power source in case of faults between ac power feeders and
power converter.
—— The series connection of breaker contacts on the dc side is relatively expensive and typically needs
more space.
—— In some special applications, one or two additional ac breakers may be necessary. For instance, to
commutate the excitation power source from shunt to auxiliary as required by electrical braking
(dynamic braking) applications.
22
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
The main features of ac field breakers include the following:
—— It is able to disconnect the ac power source in case of faults between ac power connections of the
excitation system and the field breaker connections of the converter side.
—— If the power supply voltage is available, the imposed ac voltage from the source causes the current
commutation to the field discharge circuit and limits the arcing time to less than 20 ms.
—— The mechanical arrangements are simple and require less electrical connections. More compact
mechanical design.
—— When using ac field breaker in shunt supplied excitation systems, a dedicated pulse suppression logic
is needed to avoid the free-wheel effect over the converter bridge after a three-phase fault at generator
terminals.
—— Due to the lower initial arcing voltage, longer current arcing time has to be considered if non-linear
field discharge resistors are used. The high impedance of non linear resistance at lower field voltage
values leads to longer arcing times.
—— For very high secondary power potential transformer voltages, it may be uneconomical to provide an
ac breaker capable of interrupting the maximum fault current.
7. Functional requirements
7.1 Field breaker
The main functional requirements for the ac or dc field breaker selection include the following:
—— The field breaker should be designed to carry the rated excitation system current continuously at the
specified excitation system design temperature.
—— It should be able to carry the excitation ceiling current during the defined ceiling application time.
—— It should be suitable for dc current interruption and should preferentially be equipped with an arcing
chamber.
—— Normal field discharge may be done using power converter inverter operation or pulse block of the
SCR converter bridge and gating the crowbar SCRs providing a field discharge path.
—— Vacuum breakers should be avoided in field discharge purposes because it causes very high current
gradients (di/dts), thus producing extreme high transient overvoltages in the excitation system and
rotor circuit.
—— In order to reach higher field breaker reliability, it may be equipped with two independent trip coils
designed for the voltage levels of the available control voltage.
For recommended design criteria, refer to A.2.
7.2 Field discharge resistor

The main functional requirements for the field discharge resistor are as follows:
—— The resistance value should be as high as possible to obtain a short field discharge time.
—— The resistance value should be selected to limit the voltage levels of the field winding and excitation
system terminal under the worst fault condition.
23
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
—— The resistance value should be able to absorb the total energy transferred to the field discharge resistor
during the field discharge process.
—— The resistance shall be able to withstand the highest possible peak currents at the beginning of the field
discharge.
The discharge resistor physical location should consider the following:
—— Enclosure rating (i.e., NEMA 12 or IPC-20)

—— Ambient and maximum temperatures
—— Enclosure ventilation
—— Enclosure prevention of human contact with energized parts
For recommended design criteria, refer to A.3. In case a non-linear discharge resistor is applied, refer to A.5.
7.3 DC overvoltage protection

The dc overvoltage protection, also known as crowbar, may also incorporate the triggering circuits for the
static discharge switch (e.g., SCR) in the case of an ac field breaker or dc field breakers without discharge
contacts. DC overvoltage protection should allow the following:
—— Detect maximum allowed positive and negative overvoltages across field winding terminals and
quickly (typically less than 1 ms) connect the field discharge resistor in parallel to the field winding to
limit overvoltages and/or trip the field breaker starting the field discharge process.
—— Trigger the static field discharge switch when using field breakers without field discharge contacts.
—— Transients attempting to induce negative currents (from stator to the rotor) may lead to positive
overvoltages (e.g., pole slip or some types of system faults). In this case, the dc overvoltage protection
has to quickly detect the overvoltage and provide a circulating path for the negative current through the
field discharge resistor.
—— Monitoring of passive crowbar circuits is desirable for sequence of events and troubleshooting.
For recommended design criteria, refer to A.4.
24
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Annex A
(informative)
Design considerations
A.1 Nomenclature
EFDN rated field voltage (IEEE Std 421.1 [B6])

I FDN rated field current (IEEE Std 421.1 [B6])
I FBN field breaker rated continuous current
VARCFB field breaker arcing voltage
VFBN field breaker rated nominal voltage class
RD discharge resistor value
RFR field resistance of the synchronous machine for rated operation conditions (RFR = EFDN/IFDN)
I FCT field current at field breaker clearing time 0.1 s after the beginning of a three phase short
circuit at stator terminals as shown in Figure A.1
KR field discharge resistor sizing factor related to the field resistance value at 75 °C
VFC excitation system ceiling voltage at rated supply voltage
I FC excitation system ceiling current
K OV overvoltage factor at the start of the field discharge process
VS recommended safety voltage margin (in volts) above the calculated maximum voltage across
the discharge resistor during a three phase fault at stator terminals of the synchronous
machine
VRSCR recommended safety voltage margin from the forward and reverse voltage of the power
converter bridge semiconductors
Xd synchronous machine unsaturated direct axis reactance
X d′′ synchronous machine unsaturated direct axis transient reactance
I FAG field current of the synchronous machine required to obtain rated stator voltage measured
over the air gap line
TFDO field discharge time in open circuit condition(s)
Tdo′′ direct axis open circuit unsaturated transient time constant(s)
A.2 Field breaker design criteria

A.2.1 Rated field breaker rated current IFBN
For dc field breaker or ac breaker used in the dc side:
I FBN ≥ Excitation System rated current
25
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure A.1—Example for the behavior of the field current after a three phase short circuit at
machine stator terminals starting from rated operation conditions. The field breaker opens
100 ms after fault begin
For ac field breaker (three phase supply 6-pulse fully controlled SCR-bridge):
I FBN ≥ 0.816 × Excitation System rated current for three phase supply
or
I FBN ≥ Excitation System rated current for single phase supply
A.2.2 Field breaker arcing voltage VARCFB

For the determination of the minimum required arcing voltage for the field breaker, the initial value discharge
resistor RD may be estimated as RD = K R × RFR .
The K R factor is normally selected between 0.5 and 2.0 depending on the manufacturer practices and on the
field discharge requirements.
For dc field breaker on shunt supplied systems:
VARCFB ≥ K OV × (VFC + RD × I FC )
and
VARCFB ≥ ( RD × I FCT )
The factor K OV in shunt supplied systems corresponds to the typical stator overvoltage reached when the main
breaker is opened and the ceiling field current is flowing through the field of the synchronous machine. The
26
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
exact value depends on the generator saturation characteristic. K OV may reach a value up to 1.4. If the exact
value is unknown, K OV = 1.4 may be adopted.
For dc field breaker on auxiliary line or independent supply excitation systems:
VARCFB ≥ K OV × (VFC + RD × I FC )
and
VARCFB ≥ ( K OV × VFC + RD × I FCT )
with
K OV = 1.1
(assuming an overvoltage of 10% of auxiliary line).
For ac field breaker on shunt supplied systems:
VARCFB ≥ VS + RD × I FCT
(A typical value for VS is 200 V.) 7
If the arcing voltage of the selected breaker is higher than the minimum calculated value of VARCFB , then the
discharge resistor value RD may be successively increased, (e.g., RD = 1.1RD ) the new value of VARCFB
successively increased until a good matching between the VARCFB and the maximum arcing voltage of the
selected breaker is reached. The highest possible RD value provides the shortest field discharge time.
X 
The value of I FCT may be estimated as: I FCT ≅  d  × I FAG
 X d′′ 
However, it is recommended to calculate the I FCT by means of computer simulations considering an accurate
modeling of the synchronous machine as per IEEE Std 1110-1991, Table 1, Model 2.2. In this case the initial
operation point should correspond to the maximum continuous operation condition of the generator. The
saturation of the synchronous machine should also be taken into consideration.
Figure A.2 shows a flow chart for the optimum calculation and coordination of the RD and VARCFB values.
7
Due to the high inductive load the current at the ac side of the power converter flows only through two phases. When tripping the ac field
breaker the arcing voltage will be divided between the two contacts of the phases that are conducting current at the time that the contacts
start to open. Therefore, the required arcing voltage VARCFB for the ac breaker should correspond to the arcing voltage of two contacts in
series.
27
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
NOTE—When using a static switch (SCR) for the field discharge, sometimes the required arcing voltage criteria
K OV × (VFC + RD × I FC ) cannot be fulfilled by commercially available field breakers. In this case it is recommended to
adopt measures to cause a hardwired pulse blocking on the SCR bridge simultaneously with field breaker trip command
(e.g., interruption of pulse amplifiers power supply). After the pulse blocking the last two conducting SCRs remain
conducting and apply an alternate voltage to the field. In less than a half cycle the field polarity is inverted and the field
discharge SCR starts to conduct. When using the hardwired pulse blocking the field breaker arcing voltage shall be larger
than RD × I FCT .
Figure A.2—Flow chart for the calculation and coordination of RD and VARCFB values
28
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
A.2.3 Rated field breaker nominal voltage class VFBN

For dc field breaker: VFBN ≥ VFC
For ac field breaker: VFBN ≥ the nominal supply voltage applied to the breaker (e.g., rated secondary voltage of
excitation transformer).
A.2.4 Maximum current interruption current capacity

The ac and dc field breakers should be able to withstand, limit, and interrupt a short circuit current at the output
of the excitation system even at highest excitation system supply voltage.
The ac field breaker should also be able to withstand, limit, and interrupt internal fault currents that may occur
inside of the power converter bridge.
The calculation of the fault currents should consider the short circuit reactance of the source and excitation
transformer, and the impedance of ac side and dc side conductors as well. Because the peak of the short circuit
current is achieved in a very short time, the amplitude is also a function of the initial conducting condition
of the power rectifier bridge. The worst case is obtained considering the power converter bridge initially at
ceiling condition (maximum conduction).
Figure A.3 and Figure A.4 show an example of a calculation by means of computer simulation for estimation
of the short circuit current at the output of the excitation system starting from the ceiling condition.
Figure A.3—Example for the behavior of excitation system current during a dc short circuit
at excitation system output terminals starting from ceiling condition
29
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure A.4—Example for the excitation system output voltage during a dc short circuit at
excitation system output terminals starting from ceiling condition
It is important to remark that the fault current intensity is a function of the supply voltage and the power supply
source impedance (excitation transformer short circuit impedance, cables, etc.).
A.3 Field discharge resistor design criteria

A.3.1 Resistance value
The resistance value should be selected as high as possible but the voltage across the resistor terminals should
not exceed the field breaker rated arcing voltages as specified in A.2.
A.3.2 Maximum peak field voltage

The maximum voltage across the resistor terminals under the worst fault condition should not exceed 70% of
field winding test voltage and should be lower than the peak forward and reverse voltages of the power
semiconductors used in the power converter bridge, considering also a safety margin VRSCR (typical value 200
V).
A.3.3 Minimum resistor energy absorption capacity

The resistor should be capable of absorbing the entire energy dissipated in the resistor during the discharge
time without suffering any damage or need of replacement.
In some cases it is recommended to calculate the energy by means of computer simulations as mentioned in
A.2.2 using an accurate synchronous machine model, considering the initial operation point and the saturation
of the synchronous machine. Figure A.5 shows an example of discharge energy calculation by means of
computer simulation for a 500 MVA turbo alternator. The short circuit is applied at t = 1 s and the field breaker
is tripped 0.1 s later.
30
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure A.5—Simulation of field discharge and field discharge energy after a three phase
short circuit at stator terminals
The following two worst case scenarios should be considered for the calculation of the required energy
capacity for the field discharge resistor:
—— Field suppression 0.1 s after a three phase short circuit at stator terminals starting from the full load
condition
—— Field suppression from ceiling current and 140% stator voltage with the machine in open circuit
(machine disconnected from the grid).8
A.3.4 Maximum peak current

The resistor should be able to withstand the induced peak current at the beginning of the field discharge.
A.4 DC overvoltage protection design criteria

A.4.1 Pick-up voltage
The dc overvoltage protection pick-up voltage should not be higher than 80% of field winding test voltage and
VRSCR less than the forward and reverse voltage of the power converter bridge semiconductors.9
It should be 30% higher than the maximum peak voltages caused by the commutation of the semiconductors
of the power converter bridge.
A.4.2 Energy absorption capability

The required energy capacity of the field discharge resistor is calculated by the square of the field current
integrated over the field discharge time. The result of this integral should not exceed the allowed value given
by the manufacturer of the power semiconductor used in the static switch.
Some manufacturers use the transient thermal model of the static switch semiconductors to verify the reached
junction temperature after field discharge. In this case it is important to remark that the voltage across the
static switch semiconductors during the field discharge is much lower than the rated forward and reverse
8
The maximum overvoltage is function of the excitation system ceiling capability and of the generator saturation characteristic and may
reach up to 140%. If the exact overvoltage factor is known for the specific design it may be used instead of 140%.
9
The value of VRSCR is excitation system manufacturer specific safety voltage margin and a typical value for VRSCR is 200 V.
31
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
blocking voltages. Therefore, the static switch semiconductors junction temperature may reach values higher
than the semiconductor datasheet junction temperature limit. The allowed junction temperature rise is in the
responsibility of the static switch manufacturer.
The calculation should be done for the following worst cases:
—— Field suppression 0.1 s after a three phase short circuit at stator terminals starting from the full load
condition
—— Field suppression from ceiling current and up to 140% stator voltage with the machine in open circuit
(machine disconnected from the grid)10
A.5 Non-linear field discharge resistances

The field discharge time constant in an open circuit condition is obtained by the following equation:
 
 1 
TFD0 = Tdo′′ ×   (A.1)
 1 + RD 
 RFR 

Neglecting the ac component induced from the stator to the rotor, for the short circuit condition at the stator of
the synchronous machine, the same expression may be applied; however, the value Tdo′′ needs to be replaced by
Td′′ , which represents the unsaturated direct axis time constant in short-circuit condition.
Equation (A.1) shows that the shortest field discharge time is reached for the largest possible field discharge
resistance.
Non-linear resistances are widely used in field discharge circuits in order to obtain shorter field discharge
times and sharper maximum field voltage limitation.
The most common non-linear resistance types used in field discharge circuits are:
—— Silicon carbide composite (SiC) resistances

—— Metal-oxide (ZnO) varistors
—— Selenium (Se) varistors
Examples of SiC- and ZnO-resistance characteristics are shown in Figure A.6 and Figure A.7.
10
The maximum overvoltage is function of the excitation system ceiling capability and of the generator saturation characteristic and may
reach up to 140%. If the exact overvoltage factor is known for the specific design it may be used instead of 140%.
32
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure A.6—Example of a V × I characteristic for a silicon carbide field discharge resistance
Figure A.7—Example of a V × I characteristic for a zinc-oxide field discharge resistance
At the first view, the ZnO-resistance approaches the ideal field discharge resistance. It provides quite defined
voltage limits to protect the rotor circuits and has extremely high resistance values at lower current levels
causing the drastic reduction of the field discharge time. However, actual technological and practical aspects
make the SiC-technology the most suitable, reliable, and preferred non-linear field discharge resistance.
ZnO-resistances are mostly used in low power excitation systems.
Excitation systems with high voltage and current ratings also need large field discharge resistance with high
energy capacities. In such large systems it is necessary to use parallel arrangement of non-linear resistor
assemblies as shown in Figure A.8.
33
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Figure A.8—Group of non-linear SiC-field discharge resistances
From the voltage characteristic shown in Figure A.7 it is possible to realize that the paralleling of ZnO-
resistances is very difficult because small differences in the voltage characteristic of parallel resistances cause
very significant current unbalance.
Because the voltage characteristic of the SiC-resistance does not have as flat a shape at high currents as the
ZnO, the paralleling of multiple SiC resistor assemblies is less critical and the practical discrepancies between
characteristics of parallel resistances cause acceptable current unbalancing levels.
There are also human safety concerns when using ZnO-resistances. In case the energy absorption limit is
exceeded, the ZnO-resistances normally explode. Due to this physical characteristic, it is necessary to use
explosion safe enclosures.
34
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
When reaching the maximum energy absorption limit, the SiC-resistance cracks and starts to melt. Thus it
represents a safer element, because there is no risk of explosion.
Another critical aspect of the ZnO is the extreme high resistance at lower voltage levels. During the arcing
time, when the current commutation process is taking place, the field current tends to flow through the circuit
of lowest impedance. If the arcing impedance is smaller than the field discharge resistance at given voltage, the
current remains flowing through the arc extending the arcing time. This means that ZnO-resistances should be
preferably used on the selected field breaker that has a quite high arcing voltage; otherwise the arcing time may
be extremely long causing a significantly higher consumption of the breaker contacts.
35
IEEE Std 421.6-2017
Annex B
(informative)
Bibliography
Bibliographical references are resources that provide additional or helpful material but do not need to be
understood or used to implement this standard. Reference to these resources is made for informational use
only.
[B1] ANSI/IEEE C37.18-1979, IEEE Standard Enclosed Field Discharge Circuit Breakers (withdrawn).11
[B2] Canay, I. M., “Causes of Discrepancies on Calculation of Rotor Quantities and Exact Equivalent Diagram
of Synchronous Machines,” IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, vol. 88, pp. 1114–1120,
July 1969.
[B3] Canay, I. M., “Extended Synchronous Machine Model for the Calculation of Transient Processes and
Stability,” Electrical Machines & Electromechanics, vol. 1, pp. 137–150, 1977.
[B4] Concordia, C., Synchronous Machines. John Wiley & Sons, 1951.
[B5] Fitzgerald, A. E. and C. Kingsley, Electric Machinery, 2nd Ed., McGraw-Hill, 1961.
[B6] IEEE Std 421.1™, IEEE Standard Definitions for Excitation Systems for Synchronous Machines. 12,13
[B7] IEEE Std 421.3™, IEEE Standard for High-Potential Test Requirements for Excitation Systems for
Synchronous Machines.
[B8] IEEE Std C50.12™, IEEE Standard for Salient-Pole 50 Hz and 60 Hz Synchronous Generators and
Generator/Motors for Hydraulic Turbine Applications Rated 5 MVA and Above.
[B9] IEEE Std C50.13™, IEEE Standard for Cylindrical-Rotor 50 Hz and 60 Hz Synchronous Generators
Rated 10 MVA and Above.
[B10] IEEE Std 1110™, IEEE Guide for Synchronous Generator Modeling and Applications in Power System
Stability Analyses.
[B11] Mutukutti, R., D. App, and C. Henville, “Field breaker tripping options for generator excitation systems
with AC field breakers – A case study,” IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, 2010, http://dx.doi
.org/10.1109/PES.2010.5589566.
[B12] Taborda, J., “Modern technical aspects of Field Discharge equipment for excitation systems,” IEEE
Power and Energy Society General Meeting, 2008.
11
ANSI/IEEE Std C37.18-1979 has been withdrawn; however, copies can be obtained from The Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA (http://standards.ieee.org/).
12
The IEEE standards or products referred to in Annex B are trademarks owned by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Incorporated.
13
IEEE publications are available from The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (http://standards.ieee.org/).
36
IEEE
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IEEE Recommended Practice

for the Specification and Design

IEEE Power and Energy Society

IEEE IEEE Std 421.6™-2017

IEEE Recommended Practice

Energy Development and Power Generation Committee

Approved 23 March 2017

IEEE-SA Standards Board

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Copyright © 2017 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

PDF: ISBN 978-1-5044-3940-4 STD22529

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Updating of IEEE Standards documents

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4. Field discharge equipment

Figure 1—Example showing comparison between terminal voltage decay characteristics

5. Field discharge circuits

Figure 9—Current transfer from voltage source to field discharge branch

5.3 DC field breaker with static switch as field discharge contact

Figure 13—Single pole dc field discharge circuit

5.4 AC field breaker with static switch as field discharge contact

Figure 15—Power converter SCR currents

Figure 16—AC field breaker phase currents

Figure 17—Field voltage and field current

6. Comparison between dc and ac field breakers

The main features of ac field breakers include the following:

For recommended design criteria, refer to A.2.

7.2 Field discharge resistor

The discharge resistor physical location should consider the following:

—— Enclosure rating (i.e., NEMA 12 or IPC-20)

7.3 DC overvoltage protection

For recommended design criteria, refer to A.4.

EFDN rated field voltage (IEEE Std 421.1 [B6])

A.2 Field breaker design criteria

I FBN ≥ Excitation System rated current

I FBN ≥ Excitation System rated current for single phase supply

A.2.2 Field breaker arcing voltage VARCFB

For dc field breaker on shunt supplied systems:

For dc field breaker on auxiliary line or independent supply excitation systems:

VARCFB ≥ ( K OV × VFC + RD × I FCT )

(assuming an overvoltage of 10% of auxiliary line).

For ac field breaker on shunt supplied systems:

(A typical value for VS is 200 V.) 7

A.2.3 Rated field breaker nominal voltage class VFBN

A.2.4 Maximum current interruption current capacity

A.3 Field discharge resistor design criteria

A.3.2 Maximum peak field voltage

A.3.3 Minimum resistor energy absorption capacity

A.3.4 Maximum peak current

A.4 DC overvoltage protection design criteria

A.4.2 Energy absorption capability

The calculation should be done for the following worst cases:

A.5 Non-linear field discharge resistances

—— Silicon carbide composite (SiC) resistances

Figure A.6—Example of a V × I characteristic for a silicon carbide field discharge resistance