Subsynchronous resonance in turbine generators caused by faulty induction machines

Frank Joswig and Stefan Kulig Institute for Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Electronics, University of Dortmund, D-44227 Dortmund, Germany Subsynchronous resonance phenomena (SSR) belong to the most severe incidents that occur in large synchron generators. The ultimate hazard of SSR is generator shaft fracture at rated speed. In addition personal safety is endangered. But as clearly shown in this paper, the actual protection measures for SSR are not sufficient because there exist more types of SSR than up to now known. The long compensated transmission line has been in the centre of interest in the multitude of publications. In this paper, an entirely new subject is presented: SSR caused by faulty induction machines. Firstly an SSR caused by faulty slip ring induction machines is presented. This example occured in an actual small industrial private power system. Secondly it is pointed out that also an induction machine with faulty squirrel cage produces currents and powers that excite the generator shaft to oscillations at natural frequencies. At last an approach to give sufficient protection against this new kind of SSR is presented. 1. Introduction SSR phenomena have been in the centre of interest for many years. Especially since the failure at the Movahe station in 1970 a multitude of publications was released about this subject. The main focus was the SSR caused by the interaction between the electromechanical system of the synchronous generator and the long compensated transmission line. The aim was to obtain a mathematical model for the system to find the parameters resp. an area of valid parameters that are responsible for the SSR. 2. Usual SSR phenomenon As already mentioned, the main focus in the multitude of publications - especially in the 70's but up to now - in the subject of SSR was the interaction between the electromechanical system of the generator and the long compensated transmission line which was to be seen as an oscillation circuit. This lead to three kinds of causes for SSR: induction generator effect (IGE), torsional amplification (TA) and torsional interaction (TI). The induction generator effect (IGE) especially occurs at transient operation. Caused by a disturbance the transmission line resp. the oscillation circuit produces currents with subsynchronous frequency. In the armature of the generator this currents produce a magnetic air gap field that rotates at subsynchronous speed. So the damper cage of the generator rotates at super-synchronous speed as seen from the subsynchronous air gap wave. This means the damper cage operates as an induction generator. This implicates that the system's impedance (generator, transformer and transmission line) decreases and may reach negative values. In case of negative impedance, the disturbance is not damped but amplified. If the complement-frequency of the disturbance matches a natural torsional frequency of the generator shaft, oscillations are possibly strongly excited. Torsional amplification (TA) is a phenomenon that occurs when a fault on a series compensated power system, and its subsequent clearing, results in high energy storage in the capacitor banks, which then discharge their energy through a generator in form of a current with a subsynchronous frequency. Again, in case of this frequency resp. it's complement matching a natural torsional frequency of the generator shaft, oscillations may arise quickly and reach a damaging level within short time (0.1 seconds). The torsional interaction (TI) may arise in stationary operation, when small rotor oscillations occur. The rotor displacement angle then also oscillates with a small frequency and a small amplitude. This may produce an increase in armature voltage and hence an increment of system current, depending on the natural frequency of the electrical system. The change in current produces an electrical torque and in consequence a mechanical torque that provides an increment of motion resp. oscillation. In this circle of dependent relations the system response may be degenerative or regenerative depending on the phases of the dependent or independent variables resp. parameters.

These are the three usually observed phenomena within the subject of SSR. But it shows that these are not the only effects that may lead to risky high shaft oscillations. 3. SSR caused by faulty induction machines 3.1 SSR caused by slip ring machines with faulty rotor windings Figure 1 shows a clipping of a plant for natural gas luiquefaction. There are five synchronous generators with rated power 8.25 MVA each which supply the private net. The main loads are four asynchronous motors with rated powers of twice 7 MW, 2.4 MW and 1.2 MW. All machines drive compressor pumps. The two 7 MW motors are machines with slip ring rotors which are started with a liquid resistor starter. During running up, which takes about 30 seconds, two faults occured: on the one hand the slip ring connection of one 7 MW induction machine tore off. This caused an arc and an interruption in one phase of the rotor windings occured. On the other hand the shear pins at the shaft of three synchronous generators tore off at nearly the same time. The following hypothesis was assumed: SSR occurred during the running up of the slip ring induction motor which caused the tear off of the shear pins within the generator shaft. Extensive works and simulations of the entire system were done in order to evaluate this hypothesis. Asynchronous Motor I (7 MW slip-ring) faulty machine Asynchronous Motor II (7 MW slipring) Asynchronous Motor III (2.4 MW) Synchronous Generator III Asynchronous Motor III (1.2 MW)

Synchronous Generator I

Synchronous Generator II

Figure 1. Plant for natural gas liquefaction First in a test the time function of the stator currents for a 3 kW slip ring induction machine with an open rotor winding during running up were measured in a laboratory model. The result was as to be supposed: caused by the unsymmetrical rotor the stator currents had a transient component within the range from f = 0 Hz to 60 Hz, depending on the mechanical rotating speed. The maximum amplitude of the electrical power during running up exceeds the nominal power more than four times and is also oscillating. In the actual system this takes effect on the shafts of the synchronous generators. As a result an electrical torque with variable frequency was generated in the air gap. This torque passed through all frequencies between 0 Hz and 120 Hz. So it crossed the eigenfrequencies of the shafts with 21 Hz and 84 Hz and excited the shaft to oscillation under resonance. To make sure that this hypothesis was correct, the complete system consisting of slip ring induction machines, synchronous machines and private power net was modeled and simulated. The simulation was carried out in two steps. First the stator currents of the faulty induction machine during running up were calculated. In the second step this currents were fed to the NETOMAC program to calculate the torsional oscillations of the shaft. The calculation of the stator currents was done in two ways: First by using a numerical field calculation program called FELMEC and second by solving a system of differential equations. FELMEC is a numerical 2D-field calculation program which was developed and already successfully used at the Institute for Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Electronics at the Dortmund University. This program is based on the method of finite differences. Electrical machines can be simulated two-dimensionally taking electrical networks and different mechanical loads into account. The magnetic field within the machines cross section as well as the electrical behavior of all network elements and windings and also the dynamic behavior of all mechanical elements are calculated in small time steps of for instance 0.1 ms. A system of equations with about 9000 variables is determined for each time step. Most of the equations describe the spatial discretization of the field equations. Two types of field equations are considered. The eddy current equation is used in conductible areas and the Poisson or Laplace equation is used for the windings and laminated areas. Only a

few equations describe the electrical network and the mechanical shaft system. Calculation of e.g. 30 seconds of real time takes about 3-4 days. The second method (solving a system of differential equations) is much faster than the FD-program. But for the viewed case the usually well-known ODE-system for symmetrical machines could not be used because of the fault in the rotor winding. So a new model had to be used. That new equation system is given by:

U = R I + L

d D Lrot I I + dt
1 m+ n m+ n M sk is ik + ma 2 s =1 k = 1

(1)

DD mech + D D mech =
The quantities are: [U] [R] [I] [L], [Lrot] D Msk ma

(2)

voltages resistors currents inductance number of pole pairs mechanical angle moment of inertia damping mutual inductance driving torque

This equation system can be derived by using the Lagrange-Equation resp. the Hamilton-Principle. The matrixes in equation (1) have m+n rows, where m is the number of stator-phases (here 3) and n is the number of rotor phases resp. rotor bars (here 3). Equation (2) represents the mechanical system. In addition, if neccessary, the harmonics can also be added. But this was not required in the investigated case. 150 fundamental frequency frequenzy (Hz) 100 50 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 time (s) 14 16 18 20 Share caused by faulty rotor

Figure 2. Calculated spectra of current of a faulty slip ring machine during running up

electrical power (MW)

20 0 -20 5 10 15 time (s) 20 25 30

Figure 3. Calculated time-function of the electrical power fed by faulty slip ring machine

The results of the calculations are shown in figure 2 (current) and figure 3 (electrical power). To analyze the shaft oscillation in the synchronous generators caused by these currents, the NETOMAC program was used. The shafts eigenfrequencies which had to be considered for the SSR investigations were at 21 Hz and at 84 Hz. The logarithmic damping was supposed to be 0.0025 for both the first and the second mode of the shaft. So the complete network of the plant has been modeled for the simulation:
-

network with all controllers and protection systems all synchronous generators by using the Park Model generator shafts by a spring-mass-system imprinted currents of the faulty asynchronous machine running up of one faulty 7 MW asynchronous machine, three other asynchronous machines (7 MW, 2.4 MW and 1.2 MW) in operation

The simulation was carried out for a real time range of 40 seconds. The limit for the torsional torque was set at 2.2 p.u. At the beginning of the resonance this value is exceeded to 2.5 p.u. So the calculated torque exceeds the tear off torque of the shear pins a little bit. Therefore it is not sure if the pin will tear off directly. Even if the pin will endure the stress, a severe fatigue of the material will occur in the shaft. But since several running ups were performed with a faulty machine when the plant has been put into operation, this has led to a complete material fatigue and therefore to a tear off of the shear pins. 3.2 SSR caused by squirrel cage machine with broken rotor bars To get a deeper understanding for the danger of SSR caused by faulty induction machines, further investigations were made. As known, every unsymmetry in a rotor causes harmonics in the stator currents depending on the mechanical rotational speed. Some efforts were made to get an analytical solution for this case. But even for the stationary state, the equation for an induction machine with unsymmetrical rotor is not (yet) solvable resp. solved. But there are two other ways to get knowledge of the currents: by simulating in time domain and by measurement. Measurements, as described below, were done in the laboratory of the Institute for Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Electronics. To achieve usable results a small machine set (figure 6) was installed where all important physical and electrical quantities were measured. All machines have rated power at about 5 kW. The driving machine is coupled via torque transducer and induction machine at no load operation to the synchronous generator. The generator feeds the second machine set consisting of faulty induction machine, induction machine at no load operation and a DC machine working as load. To make the results comparable, the faulty machine can be exchanged with an identical machine without rotor fault. The fault in the squirrel cage was placed manually. In a first step only the cage ring was interrupted. But there were no measurable results to be achieved. In the second step, also one rotor bar was interrupted by boring (figure 5).

Figure 5. Squirrel cage with interrupted rotor bar and cage ring

The measurements were done while the synchronous generator worked at nominal operation and the faulty induction machine ran up under maximum load. As to be seen in figure 7, the running up of the faulty machine is faster than the running up of the normal machine (~88 sec vs. ~79 sec). The reason is the increased resistance of the rotor of the faulty machine. This leads to higher torques at the beginning of the running up and to higher accelerations of the rotating shaft. This effect is equivalent to putting resistors onto the slip rings of an induction machine. At t=76 sec. a clear raise

of torque can be identified. A further look at the currents (figure 8) clearly shows the cause. The current has, beside the fundamental frequency component, a component with variable frequency. Like in case of the faulty slip ring machine, this component drifts from 50 Hz to 0 Hz and back to 50 Hz. Between t=70 sec. and t=80 sec, this sub synchronous component drifts from nearly 0 Hz to 50 Hz. This share produces an air gap wave in the synchronous machines with fsub going from 50 Hz to 0 Hz. At t=76 sec. one mode of the shaft is excited and leads to an increase of torque oscillations. But the torque was only measured at one paricular point of the shaft. It can not be excluded, that there occured higher torques elsewhere within the shaft.

torque transducer synchronous machine (generator)

DC machine (driving machine)

induction machine (no load operation)

DC machine (load)

induction machine (no load operation)

faulty induction machine

Figure 6. Machine set for measurements

3 2 torque (p.u.) 1 0 -1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 time (s) 70 80 90 100 running up of the healthy machine

3 2 torque (p.u.) 1 0 -1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 time (s) 70 80 90 100 running up of the faulty machine

Figure 7. Measured Torque at the synchronous machine during running up of the normal and the faulty induction machine

100 80 frequency (Hz) 60 40 20 0 0

fundamental frequency

share caused by faulty squirrel cage

10

20

30

40

50 time (s)

60

70

80

90

Figure 8. Measured current spectra of a faulty induction machine with broken bar in squirrel cage during running up 4 Protection measures Efficient protection against SSR caused by faulty induction machines can be carried out in two ways. The best option is to install a protection system directly at the induction machine. When a fault occurs, the machine is to be disconnected from the power grid. The protection system has e.g. to observe the currents of the machine. If subharmonics with noticeable amplitude appear, a fault may have occured. But in most cases, the loads can not be protected, because they are not known or not accessible. Then the torque of the synchronous machine has to be observed. The problem is that under normal circumstances a torque transducer can not be installed supplementarily. Also installing resistance strain gauge is problematic, because the measured signals have to be transmitted to a reciever via radio signal. 4.1 Online monitoring with contacless torque sensor With a contactless sensor, the torque of the shaft can be measured easily. At the authors Institute such a sensor was developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer-Institute fr Techno- und Wirtschaftsmathematik in Kaiserslautern. The measuring concept is based on the anisotropic magnetostrictive effect of iron. The permeability for magnetization in the direction of compressive stress is different in comparison with the direction of tensile stress. The contactless sensor measures this difference which is proportional to the mechanical torque in a wide range. With additional software, a robust observer for the shaft can be installed. This observer is fed with the measured torque and then calculates online the torque stress within the whole shaft. Material fatigue can also be determined. The characeristics of the sensor: Measurable surface stress >10N/mm (dependent on the materials homogenity) Shaft diameters >35 mm Air gap recommended: approx. 1mm Quick operation due to easy installation No structural alternation Frequency range: 0 250 Hz System specific calibration

Figure 9. Contactless Torque Sensor This system may give a sufficient protection against any kind on SSR, both SSR caused by long compensated transmission line and SSR caused by faulty induction machine.

5 Conclusion The sub synchronous resonance phenomenon does not only occur in systems with long compensated transmission lines. Also in small private power systems with faulty induction machines SSR may occur, even if only one rotor bar is broken. This has to be seen as a warning and must be considered in the field of construction and protection measures. Especially the up to now known protection measures may not be sufficient enough yet. With online torque measurement a sufficient protection is given. 6 Reference [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Colin, Bowler ( ) Understanding subsynchronous resonance. General Electric Company, Schenectady, New York D.D. Walker, E.J. Bowler, R.L. Jackson, D.A. Hodges (1975) Results of subsynchronous resonance test at Mohave. IEEE PES Winter Meeting, New York, N.Y. S. Kulig, F.Joswig (2001) New perceptions about new kinds of SSR. 4th International Conference on Power System Transients, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil S. Kulig, P. Lang, D. Prtzel-Wolter, J. Xu (1998) Model Reduction and Robust Observer Design for TurbineGenerator Shafts. 5th International Conference on Rotor Dynamics, Darmstadt M. Klocke (1999) Zur Berechnung dynamischer Vorgnge bei von einem Drehstromsteller gespeisten Antrieben mit Asynchronmaschinen und mehreren gekoppelten Massen mittels Finite-DifferenzenZeitschrittrechnung. Dissertation at the University of Dortmund, Institute for Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Electronics