Synchronous Generator

nchronous Generator:

Tests And Characteristics

Voltage Regulation
Losses and Efficiency
 Determination of the parameters of
the equivalent circuit from test data

 The equivalent circuit of a synchronous generator that

has been derived contains three quantities that must be
determined in order to completely describe the
behaviour of a real synchronous generator:
The saturation characteristic: relationship between If and
φ (and therefore between If and Ef)
The synchronous reactance, Xs
The armature resistance, Ra
 Test of synchronous
generator
The above three quantities could be determined
by performing the following three tests:

Open-circuit test
Short-circuit test
DC test
Open-circuit test
 The generator is turned at the rated speed
 The terminals are disconnected from all loads, and
the field current is set to zero.
 Then the field current is gradually increased in steps,
and the terminal voltage is measured at each step
along the way.
 It is thus possible to obtain an open-circuit
characteristic of a generator (Ef or Vt versus If) from
this information
Connection for Open Circuit
Test
 Open-Circuit
Characteristic
Short-circuit
test
Adjust the field current to zero and short-
circuit the terminals of the generator through a
set of ammeters.
Record the armature current Isc as the field
current is increased.
Such a plot is called short-circuit
characteristic.
Connection for Short Circuit
Test
Open and short circuit
characteristic
 Curve
feature
The OCC will be nonlinear due to the
saturation of the magnetic core at higher
levels of field current. The SCC will be
linear since the magnetic core does not
saturate under short-circuit conditions.
 Determination of Xs
 For a particular field current IfA, the internal voltage Ef (=VA) could be found from the
occ and the short-circuit current flow Isc,A could be found from the scc.
 Then the synchronous reactance Xs could be obtained using
VA (= E f )
Z s ,unsat = R + X
2
a
2
s ,unsat =
I scA
Ef or Vt (V) Air-gap line
OCC Isc (A) X s , unsat = Z s2,unsat − Ra2
Vrated
SCC
: Ra is known from the DC test.

VA
Isc,B Since Xs,unsat >>Ra,
Isc,A
Ef Vt , oc
IfA IfB
If (A) X s ,unsat ≈ =
I scA I scA
Xs under saturated condition

Ef or Vt (V) Air-gap line

OCC Isc (A)
Vrated SCC

At V = Vrated , VA
Isc,B

Vrated ( = E f )
Isc,A
If (A)
IfA IfB
Z s , sat = R + X
2
a
2
s ,sat =
I scB

X s , sat = Z s2, sat − Ra2: Ra is known from the DC test.

Equivalent circuit and phasor diagram under
condition

jXs Ra
+ Vt=0 Ef
Ia
Ef + jIaXs
Vt=0 Ia
Ia R a
Short-circuit Ratio
 Another parameter used to describe synchronous generators is the short-
circuit ratio (SCR). The SCR of a generator defined as the ratio of the field
current required for the rated voltage at open circuit to the field current
required for the rated armature current at short circuit. SCR is just the
reciprocal of the per unit value of the saturated synchronous reactance
calculated by

Ef or Vt (V) Air-gap line

Isc (A)
OCC
Vrated I f _ Vrated
SCC
SCR =
Isc,rated I f _ Iscrated
1
=
X s _ sat [ in p .u .]
If (A)
If_Vrated If_Iscrated
 VOLTAGE
REGULATION
Voltage regulation of an alternator is
defined as the rise in terminal voltage of the
machine expressed as a fraction of
percentage of the initial voltage when
specified load at a particular power factor is
reduced to zero, the speed and excitation
remaining unchanged.
 Voltage
Regulation
A convenient way to compare the voltage behaviour
of two generators is by their voltage regulation (VR).
The VR of a synchronous generator at a given load,
power factor, and at rated speed is defined as

Enl − V fl
VR = × 100%
V fl
 Voltage
Regulation
Case 1: Lagging power factor:
A generator operating at a lagging power factor has a
positive voltage regulation.
Case 2: Unity power factor:
A generator operating at a unity power factor has a small
positive voltage regulation.
Case 3: Leading power factor:
A generator operating at a leading power factor has a
negative voltage regulation.
 Voltage
Regulation
This value may be readily determined from
the phasor diagram for full load operation.
If the regulation is excessive, automatic
control of field current may be employed to
maintain a nearly constant terminal voltage
as load varies
Synchronous Generator Capability
Curves

 Synchronous generator capability curves are used to

determine the stability of the generator at various points of
operation. A particular capability curve generated in Lab
VIEW for an apparent power of 50,000W is shown in Fig.
The maximum prime-mover power is also reflected in it.
Capability
Curve
 Losses and
Efficiency
The losses in synchronous generator include:
1. Copper losses in
a) Armature
b) Field winding
c) The contacts between brushes
2. Core losses, Eddy current losses and
Hysteresis losses
Losses
3. Friction and windage losses,the brush
friction at the slip rings.
4. Stray load losses caused by eddy currents
in the armature conductors and by
additional core loss due to the distribution
of magnetic field under load conditions.
synchronous generator power flow
diagram

The three-phase synchronous generator power flow diagram