‘COMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 Foreword ‘The content of this document is meant only as a guide to understanding the electrical operation of a generator system. The repetition of some explanations is intended to cla points that may have seemed to have not been explained properly on previous sections. Before making comments, please read the disclaimer above. ‘Turbo Generator/Diesel Generators ‘A synchronous electrical machine (generator or motor) is intended to be operated at a constant speed. i.e. synchronous speed. When the generator rotor is rotated, the magnetic flux of the generator rotor induces a voltage in the generator stator windings, called the generator terminal voltage. This is the voltage you would measure on the outgoing terminals of a generator. Presuming a generator is rated at SMW, 6.6KV. This terminal voltage is the 6,6KV the generator is rated at. When the speed of the generator rotor is constant (or at rated) and the excitation is constant, the generator terminal voltage will be constant, or stable (there are always some tolerances in %age). The magnitude of the generator terminal voltage is a function of the strength of the magnetic field of the generator rotor, since the generator rotor is being rotated at a constant speed, which is the synchronous speed. ‘The exciter controls the strength of the rotor magnetic field, and the strength of the rotor magnetic field controls the magnitude of the generator terminal voltage, presuming the generator rotor is spinning at synchronous speed, which is also the rated speed for the generator. For obvious reasons, the generator terminal voltage is usually held relatively constant during normal operation. In fact, most synchronous electrical generators are rated for a particular voltage, (for example, 400V, 6.6kV, 11kV, etc.), plus-or-minus 5%, meaning that the 2|Pageer ‘admin@[Link] opm ‘COMPILED BY: terminal voltage is only to be operated within +/-5% of 6.6KV, ete, The teming generator term ant to remain constant or close to constant or stable, remains or is mei ‘voltage of a generator r tant terminal voltage, the generator rotor magnetic field must be hely To have 2 constant And the exciter controls the strength of the generator rotor magnetic fed, s, constant. An hi the excter will normally operate at a relatively constant, stable, output tp that means inaintain a relatively constant, stable generator terminal voltage When a synchronous generator and the prime mover (steam turbine for 2 TA) is synchronized to a grid in parallel with other generators and the prime movers driving those generators, current can flow in the generator's stator windings. To make more current flow ‘out" of the stator windings one needs to increase the torque produced by the prime mover. In a case of a turbo-alternator, that means increasing the steam flow-rate to the turbine. The steam floor rate is increased by opening the actuator, thus allowing more ‘steam to flow into the turbine. The generator converts the torque to stator amperes. ‘The equation for electrical power for a three-phase machine is: Power (Watts) = v3 * Volts * Amperes * Cos 6 0 simply this context, let's assume the Power Factor of the generator to be 1.0 and stable; Constant; unchanging, "since a generator is a di i ee oe levice for converting torque amperes, if we increase the torg i . Jue being flowing in the generator stat 8 applied to the generator rotor, the amperes will Increase. And, when the generator stator amperes 3 [PageCOMPILED BY: Sth 10/2014 increase, then the power being produced by the synchronous generato Ni ‘ator will increase. This is done by increasing the steam flow by opening the actuator mo: actua re, So, in summary, steam flow generates torque, and torque equals/; faenerates amper varying amperes varies the power produced by the ger a erator. So, in order to increase the TA generated load, increase the steam flow and to reduce the TA’s generated pr di ower, reduce the steam flow. Note that the discussion is bated on Ideal situations. The TA generated Power is not normally controlled by the operation on the TA but rather by the amount of load on the system. You do not force the TA to generate a certain amount of power; the oad on the system determines how much power the TA must generate. Since power ona be stored, you only generate what you require. In the event of exporting, the control explained above proves true, as the set points you put to get the your desired export amount controls the amount of power generated, taking into consideration the factory loading. As the amperes flowing in the generator stator increase as the steam flow-rate to the turbine increases, one of the effects is that the magnetic field asst led with the generator stator also increases. Remember; current flowing in a conductor produces a magnetic field. (Electricity generation fundamentals) As the field associated with the generator stator increases, it “reacts” with the field of the generator rotor. Some context will describe the resultant interaction of the generator stator's increasing magnetic field strength as decreasing, or weakening, the generator rotor field strength. One tries to overpower the other. You can use vectors and maths to describe it in other ways, but, in essence what is happening is an interaction between two magnetic fields in the same space, and something has to “give” when one increases. Now, when the generator field strength decreases that causes the generator terminal the generator terminal voltage to decrease. The intent, however, is always to main voltage relatively constant. In order to increase or maintain the generator terminal voltage, the excitation is increased, to increase the generator rotor field strength so to maintain the generator terminal voltage. alPage nairaSe admin@[Link] 100, _———_—_—— ing operated in what's called "Automatic" oF "AC" mode, ‘The exciter, when it's b toring the generator terminal voltage, and it adjusts the excitation as required to try monitorit aintain the generator terminal voltage setpoint set by the machine's operator or the mi troller (CGC, in the event of a Dawson Technology being used). Ifthe terminal voltage cont , goes down, the exciterwilinerease the excitation to try to maintain the generator termina, the opposite happens if the generator terminal voltage increases, 0, as a synchronous generator is loaded (by increasing the steam flow-rate to a steam turbine being used as a prime mover to provide torque to the generator rotor) if no actions taken by the operator/controller or the exciter control system, then the generator terminal voltage will decrease below rated or desired. That is why it is required to increase the excitation as the generator is loaded to maintain something near rated generator terminal voltage. This is all done by the excitation system (e.g. DECS 200). This phenomenon can be ‘observed on the system voltage when starting big loads. For a moment or so, the terminal voltage will drop which the excitation system is still trying to react to the sudden increase of the load. Conversely, when a synchronous generator is being unloaded, if no action is taken to reduce the excitation, the generator terminal voltage will increase above rated or desired, This can atso be observed when suddenly dropping off big load, the terminal voltage will temporarily Jump UP until the excitation system controls is back to normal All Of that Is basically true for a stable or unchanging power factor, and we assumed it was unity (1.0). Now, "Twe presume that the generator is operating at 50% of rated power output, stably, and that the power factor of your generator is 1.0 (which, coincidentally Means that the excitation being prov; “iclation being provided to the generator rotor by the exciter is exact equal to the amount ae ean Fequired to make the generator terminal voltage equal to the rid ge with which ¢ Ne Benerator is synchronized). if the operator then increases the excitation being applied to the generator Inductive/ogging direction and the react ‘ageing direction, rotor, the power factor will drop below 1.0 in the ve power (kVAr) will increase from 0.0 also in the s|Page ‘U2 /on pallenene,com/personalibranynhp ral a aneCOMPRED BY: Ms 10/2014 please note that here, the load was not changed, we are assuming constant active power {4wioad of the generator of which we now know is done by increasing the steam flow. We presumed that the operator only changed the generator excitation. In the event of 3 controller being used, this is under the presumption that the generator is NOT being operated with Pre-Selected Load Control enabled and active. The unit had been manually loaded to approximately 50% of rated load without placing the Controller in any kind of ‘automatic load control. This is mostly possible under controlled tests/environments with constant load. Essentially what the operator had done was to attempt to increase the grid voltage by increasing the generator terminal voltage (sometimes called "boosting"), and while the generator terminal voltage and the local grid voltage may have, in fact, \creased slightly, what really happened Is that reactive current began to flow in the generator stator windings. From a generator's perspective, the reactive current is considered to be inductive and is called lagging reactive current, or lagging KVARs. If the operator continues to increase the excitation being applied to the generator rotor, the power factor will continue to decrease below 1.0, and the kVAr meter will continue to increase above 0.0 in the lagging direction. What's happening when increasing the excitation being applied to the generator Is that the total amount of energy that is being put to the generator is being split between real power {kW) and reactive "power" (kVAr), and that the percentage of real power being produced is decreasing, Power Factor is a measure of the amount of real power being produced versus the total amount of power being applied to the machine. Cos @ = P/S= kW / KVA So, the reactive current flowing in the generator stator windings is controlled by controlling the excitation being applied to the generator rotor. And the “real" power flowing in the Renerator stator windings Is controlled by the amount of torque being applied to the generator rotor, GI PageCOMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 In summary: Excitation controls the reactive current flowing in the generator ang Torque/steam/fuel flow controls the active current flowing in the generator. Reactive current implies the presence of reactive power and active current implies the presence of active power. Reactive power is 0 kVAr at unity power factor (1.0). Now, lets’ say the unit is operating at a stable power output and with a Power Factor of 1.9 (which means 0.0 VArs). After a while, the operator looks up to see the Power Factor has changed, It has decreased below 1.0 and, the kVAr has increased above 0.0., both in the leading direction. This means that grid system voltage has increased above the level it was previously operating at, which means the excitation being provided to the generator is now not | sufficient to keep the generator terminal voltage equal to the grid voltage. This means that reactive current is now flowing in the generator stator windings. | Say, the operator was told to maintain a power factor of 1.0, and a kVAr reading of 0.0 KVARs. In order to return to these values, the operator needs to increase the excitation, Fuel is watts, or KW, or MW. Fuel is REAL power Excitation is VArs. Excitation is REACTIVE power A synchronous generator is supposed to be operated at a constant speed, called synchronous speed. For a two-pole generator operating on a 50 Hz system, that Synchronous speed is 3000 RPM. For a four-pole generator at 50 Hz, that speed is 1500 RPM. The speed seen on SCADA may range from SOOORPM and beyond. This speed is normally that of the prime mover, (steam turbine, etc.) The alternator itself will be running at 1500 RPM fit is a 4pole and 3000 RPM if it is a 2 pole, That's because the speed of an AC machine is dectly proportional to the frequency of the AC mains (the grid) with which its connected. The formula is: F=(P*N)/120, | Where: = Frequency, Hz, P = Number of poles of the generator rotor, 7|Page tyCOMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 Ne RPM When synchronous generators are operated in parallel with each other, when they are SYNCHRONIZED with each other, they are all operating at the same frequency under normal conditions. And because, nominally, optimally, allegedly, the system frequency is constant (or relatively constant; meaning it changes relatively little and is relatively stable) all synchronous generators, and the prime movers directly connected to the synchronous generators, are all rotating at constant speeds that are directly proportional to the frequency of the grid with which they are connected. In the event of the TA’s connected to the grid, the grid takes precedence on the frequency. This will be explained further on sections below. In reality, grid frequency in never exactly $0.00 He and as grid frequency varies so do the speeds of the generators and the prime movers directly connected to those generators, But, for all intents and purposes, the frequency is relatively stable and even though the 1e speeds vary by an almost frequency varies by hundredths or tenths of a Hz, the mac imperceptible amount that is directly proportional to the frequency variation and vihen the rid frequency disturbances are large, then generator and prime mover speed variations are large. That is why there is protection such as over frequency and under frequency, especially when operating in parallel with the grid, these are to protect the generators from tripping when the grid frequency varies excessively. The protection will take out the connector to the grid and run the generators on island mode. That's because all of these machines are locked into synchronism with each other. And, allegedly, supposedly, somewhere there isa grid regulator that is monitoring the load on the grid and ensuring that the amount of generation on the grid exactly matches the amount of load, which is what's required to make the system frequency exactly equal to ‘nominal (50.00H2). Bl Page htt [Link]/personal-libratCOMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 When the amount of load exceeds the amount of generation, then the frequency will begin to decrease, When the amount of generation exceeds the amount of load the frequency wit 10 decrease. begin to increase. Jess the prime mover is very large with respect to all of the other uni But, in any case, : ° +n which tis synchronized, increasing the fuel flowing to the steam generators on the grid wit! turbine will not appreciably increase the speed of the turbine, and hence will not appreciably increase the speed of the generator rotor, and hence will not appreciably i increase the frequency of the output of the generator. The speed of the generator rotor, and of the steam turbine which is directly coupled (connected) to the generator rotor, is controlled by the frequency of the grid with which it is SYNCHRONIZED. Itmust be noted that there are very great magnetic forces at work in synchronous machines that keep the speed directly proportional to the frequency. Even though the fuel flow to the generator may be increased, when the generator is synchronized to the grid, the speed of the turbine, and the generator rotor, does NOT increase. The increased torque developed by the increased steam flow is converted by the generator into increased stator amps, which takes us back to the first formula seen earlier. ‘A generator is a device for converting torque into amps. Wires are used to transmit those amperes (torque) to devices located long distances from sources of torque (or the enerey used to produce that torque), Motors and other devices that consume electricity (including lights, and even computers) convert amps back into torque. So, the generator(s) at one location may be pumping tens of thousands of litres of water and lighting tens of home and allowing many people to send email and videos to others at many locations very distant from the turbine(s) at your site. Electricity Is just a means of transmitting energy from one location to another location, or many locations, so that useful "work" can be done at those locations without having to have bazilions of generators at baulllions of locations around the world, Alternating curr vl i, ent Grids transmit power at a nominal, desired frequency. Frequency control, and regul; ‘ulation, Is a very important aspect of alternating current systems. g [pace allCOMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 tna simple approach: when you buy a television oF DVD player, or even a pump to pump and it's rated for 50 Hz (or 60 Hz in some parts of the world). When you plug it into the outlet in the wall at your home or apartment, water around your house or property, the expectation is that you will be receiving a nominal 50.0 Hz, with some very slight variations. Not 51.2, or 49.3, or 48.2, or 50.4, but a nominal 50 Hz. The generators connected to the grid supplying the power to that outlet in your home or apartment all have to be generating Power at the same frequency, They can't be generating at wildly different frequencies, with some device at your home or at some substation that converts a bunch of different frequencies to 50.0 Hz. There is no such device in the electrical systems of just about any country or part of the world (unless there are high-voltage DC links, but that’s a special case). Producing electricity requires magnetism, and magnetic forces are also a result of current flowing in conductors. In AC motors and generators, the magnetic forces created when current flows in the stator windings seems to rotate around the stator, which is how motors rotate and generators create the waveform that creates the "rotating" magnetic field on the motor stators. Excitation is what's used to create the magnetic field of the generator rotor. When current is flowing in the generator stator windings, there is another, a second, magnetic field created. Now, you know what happens when you try to put the North poles of two magnets together, they repel each other. And, you know what happens when the North pole of one magnet comes into proximity with the South pole of another magnet, there is a strong attraction. It’s a Romeo and Juliet phenomenon. Opposite attracts. It's exactly the same in a generator (or a motor, for that matter). With two magnetic fields (one on the rotor and one on the stator), the North and South poles of each field attract each other, and that's what keeps the rotor spinning at a speed that is directly proportional to the frequency of the grid (that the generator stator is connected to). When torque is being applied to the generator rotor, one of the things that happen is that the prime mover (steam turbine) is trying to twist the rotor and break that magnetic 10|Page bttp://[Link]/personal-librai‘COMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 attraction. The more torque being applied, the more “twist” on the load coupling ang generator rotor. You may have heard of "load angle"? Well, that's the “twist” basiealy, as more torque is applied, the load angle increases. If the magnetic strength of the rotor isn't maintained sufficiently, then what can happen is that the rotor “slips @ pole” and that means CATASTROPHIC damage to the machine, Load couplings break; generator rotors get “bent, and turbine rotors can be irreparably damaged when this happens. There are "loss of ‘excitation’ and anticipate this condition BEFORE the damage occurs. relays and other protective relays to sense “slipping a pole” means that the attraction between the North pole of one field and the South pole of another field is broken, and instantaneously the generator rotor increases speed. As the speed increases the North pole of one magnetic field passes the North pole of another magnetic field and very great repulsion occurs. This can cause the rotor to want to stop instantaneously and reverse direction (which it can't dol), or to move even faster past the revulsion until there is another North-South attraction, at which time the generator rotor will want to slow down, again, instantaneously. There are very great physical forces at work here, the torque from the prime mover, and magnetic forces, as well i involves making sure that the North pole of the generator rotor is in a n to be attracted to the South pole which will be created when current starts flowing in the generator stator windings. Otherwise, synchronizing check relays wouldn't be required to prevent synch'ing "out of phase" and causing extreme damage to machines. For observation: Watch the speed of the turbine(s) when you are synchronized to the grid and loading and unloading. it doesn't change by more than a tenth of a per cent, or less. f You are observing the RPM, It doesn't change by more few RPMs, if that, during loading and unloading. And that’s from zero load to fll load, o from full load to zero load. Of from anv load to ay 'c2d, loading or unloading. When looking at the speeds, presuming the aid frequency is stable and not changing (a it should be). at the same time, watch the frequency of the generator output. The two are directly proportional, so you will the sam 11pPege [Link]COMPILED BY: in@[Link] 10/2014 “differences” during loading and unloading. Ifthe frequency is changing, the speed will be changing proportionally. Using a simple analogy: An electrical grid with multiple synchronous generators is like a bicycle with multiple cranks (sets of pedals) and multiple riders to apply torque to each crankset. Those cranksets are usually all connected to each other and to the rear drive by chains, and the speed of each crankset cannot be different from any other crankset. In other words, one rider con't be pedalling at 23 revolutions per minute while some other one is pedalling at 37 revolutions per minute (unless the gears of the cranksets are different, in which case there is still a direct relationship between crankset rotation and bicycle speed for each crankset). Further, if that bicycle is supposed to travel at a constant speed (which is directly relatable to. @ constant frequency) then all of the riders have to work together to ensure that the torque being applied by each of them is sufficient to maintain that speed. If every rider is pedalling as hard as they can then it's likely the speed will be excessive. If several riders decide to take @ break and remove their feet from the pedals at the same time then it's likely the bicycle will slow down and if every other rider was already pedalling as hard as they could then it's likely the bicycle will not be able to maintain speed. There has to be some "coordination" between all the riders in order to be able to maintain a constant speed while going over hills (up them and down them) or carrying loads. And, if there's one rider who is extremely strong in relation to the other riders and that rider starts pedalling as hard as he can then the speed of the bicycle will change, unless there is some coordination. On that bicycle, there needs to be one person who is in charge and telling people to apply ‘more torque (pedal harder) or less torque (pedal not a hard) to maintain speed. if every rider is trying to make that decision for themselves, then it will be a disaster. And the coordination of an electrical system is done by the grid regulators. It's their job to make sure the amount of generation on the grid matches the amount of load on the grid. They have to anticipate load swings (to the extent they can) and have "reserve" capacity available to meet demand, 12 [Page‘COMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 Juseus i's nenessury-te-have some riders on the blcyste petialing not quite: es Hard as others at all times so that changes in terrain or load can be handled while stil maintaining q constant speed. | Grid regulators use various methods to tell various power plants to increase or decrease | | power output (Automatic Gain Controller, AGC, is the most common term for these | methods) to balance generation and load. Back to the bicycle analogy, think about what happens when a rider who had removed his feet from his pedals for some time decides to put his feet back on the pedals and begin | pedalling while the bicycle is traveling at a constant speed. It takes some coordination because his crankset will be rotating and he has to time the placement of his feet back on the pedals (synchronizing) so as not to injure himself. And, if he suddenly begins pedalling hard then the bicycle speed will increase, and unless someone else reduces the torque they are applying to their pedals the bicycle speed will not return to normal. It's a phy: | "law" that the speed of a synchronous generator rotor is directly proportional to the frequency of the grid with which it is connected. And, it's a physical "law" that says the frequency of an AC grid will be constant when the amount of generation exactly equals the load being supplied (the aggregate total of all the motors and lights and computers being powered by the gi ). I the amount of generation isn't exactly equal to the amount of load, then the frequency won't be as desired. Just like on that bicycle, if the rider(s) isn’t (aren't) producing just the right amount of torque to maintain the desired speed, then the bicycle won't travel at the desired speed. ‘An AC (Alternating Current) grid depends on frequency control to properly provide power to loads. So, since speed and frequency are directly related, the speed of generator rotors has to be constant so that frequency remains constant. It’ speed of the bicycle won't be constant if the torque being applied to the pedals isn’t varied } | s just like the bicycle analogy, the | | as necessary. | ‘When the Speedtronic (or any other controller/governor) is controlling turbine speed when | the generator breaker is NOT closed, increasing fuel will increase speed, and decreasing fuel | 13 | Page ([Link],com, -—COMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 will decrease speed. But, if the turbine is rated for SMW (example) an; P it's connected t¢ arid with 800 MWs of generation (many generators all synchronized together) ed toa er), , ; then th SMW turbine is not going to substantially change the grid frequency as it's loaded e 's loaded and unloaded. There are just too many other generators out there and as long as th m as the grid regulators are doing 2 good job, then any one prime mover can't have an effect 8 : set on gric frequency. There are basically two modes of governing action: Droop Speed Control, and Isochronous Speed Control. Droop Speed Control basically means the governor (the prime mover control system) isn't trying to control its speed; it's only producing power in a stable fashion while operating in parallel with (synchronized to) other generators to provide a load that is larger than any single generator and its prime mover is capable of providing, Isochronous Speed Control means that the prime mover governor is going to adjust its power output very quickly in response to any changes in speed caused by changes in load in order to maintain a nominal frequency. And just like in the bicycle analogy, if there are too many people trying to adjust their output to maintain speed without any coordination then the speed will not be very constant, and worse, for generator prime movers, the load of those prime movers will be swinging wildly from one machine to another and back. In theory, without some special kind of load-sharing schemes, no more than one prime mover Isochronous Speed Control mode at a time on a grid. There governor can be operated needs to be a controller of some sort that will maintain a certain sharing scheme to ensure the load is shared in a controlled manner. E.g. equal percentage based on rated. of any size with multiple synchronous generators, all of the prime movers .d Control mode in (On most “grid! without some special load-sharing scheme) must be in Droop Spee’ owering of a large load with other generators. And, someone, or (again, order to share in the pt something, must be monitoring the frequency and adjusting the total generation to match the total load in order to maintain the frequency. I's @ balancing act. The development of new generator control systems are meant to perfect this balancing act- 14|Page hetp://wwy_hailienene,com/[Link]COMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 However, if a 100 MW machine is connected to a small grid with many smaller prime movers, say 5-15 MW each, it's very possible that if the load of all the generators isnt very well coordinated as the large machine is loaded and unloaded then the grid frequency can ‘ider; ifferent. deviate. it's just lke the example of a very strong bicycle rider; no fe As far as loading and excitation, If, as the current in the stator windings increases (asa result of applying more torque ("twist") to the generator rotor), the magnetic field strength of the stator windings can "overcome" or "weaken" the strength of the rotor field and if something isn't done to increase the rotor field strength then the net effect is that leading kVARs will flow in the generator stator windings. And if severe enough, then a loss of magnetism and a resultant slipping of a pole will occur. So, it's necessary to increase excitation as load is increased to maintain the desired power factor, or kVAr value, or bad things will happen to the unit. The excitation system will automatically do some of that increasing, but operators will also need to do some (unless there is some kind of automatic Power Factor or kVAr Control scheme to do that, e.g. DECS 125 or 200, etc.). For all intents and purposes, on a properly regulated grid, or even a mildly-well regulated arid, the frequency-related speeds of the generator rotors and prime movers are all the same, And, the control systems of those prime movers driving those generators are NOT trying to control the speed of those prime movers and the generator rotors. "Droop" Speed Control control system is allowing the speed of the prime mover to be less than the speed feference. It's straight proportional control. Torque Is produced by the prime mover. The steam, passing through the turbine nozzles impinge on the turbine buckets which are a fixed distance from the centre of the shaft. However, increasing the steam flow-rate increases the steam passing through the turbine nozales and turbine buckets which increases the force being applied to the turbine buckets which increases the torque being produced the turbine 1s [Page ‘ltpi//wew [Link]/[Link] —‘COMPILED BY: 10/2014 A certain amount of torque is required to keep the generator rotor spinning at the sam speed as the grid frequency dictates. f the turbine supplies only that amount of = when the generator breaker is closed, the "load" on the turbine will be 0.0 MW. As the steam flow is increased, and the force on the turbine buckets increases, the torque produced by the turbine will increase. The generator, held at a constant speed by the frequency of the grid with which it is synchronized, cannot increase its speed so it converts, the torque into amperes. Load (motors driving pumps and fans, and air conditioners, and lights, and computers) tends to slow down a generator or grid. Think about the bicycle. Think about pedalling a bicycle at ‘a constant speed and all of a sudden your friend jumps on the handlebars. Or someone throws a heavy package into the basket. Now, to maintain the same speed you have to pedal harder. You are applying more force to the pedals, and that produces more torque which is then applied to the rear wheel of the bicycle to maintain the speed. If you apply the extra force to produce the extra torque fast enough then the speed of the bicycle will not change (appreciably). In reality, as the extra "load" is added to the bicycle, the speed of the bicycle will tend to decrease. But, if you increase the force you are applying to the pedals , the speed won't change by much. ‘As motors are turned on, and lights are turned on, ‘The same is true for an electrical g and air conditioners are turned on, and computers and monitors are turned on the initial effect on the grid is to decrease the frequency of the grid (and the speed of the generators and prime movers). That's because torque is belng taken" from the grid to power these loads and something has to increase the torque being supplied the grid to return the grid ymeone OF something has to increase the torque being provided to one or more of the generators to return, or maintain, the grid frequency to normal. But, frequency to normal. So, so for most loads on a large grid the speed decrease is almost imperceptible. 16 | Page‘COMPILED B) admin@[Link] ired to maintain generator term! Excitation is requl ough to prevent slipping 2 pole, and to maintain a d rotor magnetic field strong en lesireg power factor, or to maintain a particular KVAr reading. fe a generator and its prime mover to the grid and start to load the ‘When you synchroniz : motors and lights and air conditioners and computers generator, presuming the number o| and monitors is relatively constant what will end to happen fs that the grid frequency wit tend to rise. That's because more "torque" is being added to the grid by the generator from, the prime mover than is required by the load, so the frequency will increase. The amount the frequency increases isa function of how much total load is on the grid and how much "load" is being added to the turbine. Actually, the turbine isn't “adding” anything, it's just taking @ portion of the existing load and unless the load decreases (the number of motors being run is reduced, or the number of lights is reduced, or the number of air conditioners running is reduced, or the number of computers and monitors is reduced) as you “increase” the load on your turbine, the grid frequency will increase. Or, unless some prime mover somewhere is unloaded by an amount exactly equal to the load being "added" to your machine as you "load" your unit, the grid frequency will increase. ‘The opposite happens when you are "unloading" your machine. You are reducing the amount of torque being supplied to the load. Unless some load is reduced somewhere of some prime mover increases its torque output by amount exactly equal to the amount of load "decrease" on your machine, the grid frequency will decrease. That's the balancing act that grid regulators have to contend with every day, every hour of every day. They have to monitor and anticipate load swings as best as they can, and they have to try to time increases in generation or decreases in generation in order to maintain frequency. If they see frequency beginning to decrease, they have to be able to call on Plants to increase their generation. Or, if they see frequency beginning to increase they have to call on plants to decrease their generation, Or, if generator suddenly trips ff Hine they h have tbe able to call on a plant or plant to increase its generation by an amount eau! to the amount of generatior ri ff line. Generation that just tripped off line. 37 | Pag ito://[Link]/personal-library-phy inal voltage, and to keep the generatpILeD BY: ce 10/2014 ifthere was a single prime mover operating in Isochronous Speed Control mode somewhere on the grid, as toad changed (the number of motors and lights and air conditioners and computers and monitors), and frequency changed as a result of the load change, that prime mover would automatically, and very quickly, change its power output to keep the total amount of generation equal to the total load. But, if load changes are much bigger than the capacity of the prime mover, then grid regulators have to call on other plants to help maintain frequency by increasing or decreasing their "load". ‘Again, going back to the analogy of the bicycle with multiple cranksets and riders. It takes coordination to keep the bicycle running at a constant speed. Now think about adding or deleting packages (load) from the bicycle while it's moving and trying to maintain that constant speed. In many parts of the world, when a power plant wants to go on line, they have to call some agency" and then the agency will tll them when it's possible to go on line, and usually they want to know how much power the plant is going to be producing and for how long and then they “schedule” the plant to go on line at a certain time, knowing what the loading rate will be. They then have to reduce the load on some other generator or plant by an equal amount in order to keep the grid frequency constant as another plant is being brought on ee load is; and the total amount of generation must equal the total amount of load otherwise the grid frequency will not be at rated. Small variations {hundredths of Hz, or in worst cases, aients ofc a ate to he exymned, but hot large vatiations on Well-ragulata eid is reactive current. When you hold excitation constant mover and the AC synchronous generator is Recall: There is current, and there i and increase the energy flow-rate to the prime synchronized to a grid with other generators and their prime movers that the speed DOES NOT increase but the amperes flowing in the stator DO increase, and the wattmeter increases and the kVAr meter doesn't really move very much. 18|Page htp://www hailienene,com/[Link]10/2 COMPILED py; admin@hsilienene,com " 7 id back. Yes, the kVAr meter does ‘move, but it's because of the EMFs and counter-EMFs and back. EMS and interactions between magnetic fields changing. Malone (Islande Essentially, increasing the speed setting increases the fuel flow and increases the speed of the turbine/generator. The voltage will increase as the volts are proportional to some extent to the speed of the rotor/field. However, the voltage is varied by increasing/decreasing the field Current. This has a more immediate and influential effect than varying the speed. It is independent Of the speed controls and it does not affect the speed. So, set the speed first with Speed/vel | Controls and then when happy, set the voltage. Ifyou are connected to a grid: | | | Because the generator is "synchronized! with the grid, and the Grid isso much larger than the generator in capacity, the grid determines the speed of the generator and thus of the turbine. | this will mean that it will be fully loaded, 19|Page Moves consent tanaty [Link]/sersonalsttra10/2014 COMPILED BY: she reason for this fuel control method isto ensure that all ofthe turbines on the grid pick full load (or drop off in the case of an increase in frequency) up the same proportion of th ‘asthe frequency of the grid returns to normal, your turbine controls will lower the fuel in accordance with the 4% droop curve, Its important to understand this if you are connected to a arid. ‘Manual/Automatic increase of speed setpoint If the grid frequency is constant, as you increase the speed setpoint on your TA manually/automatically, as explained before, the speed cannot change so as more fuel flows, the turbine takes on more load. Normally some central systems operator asks individual turbine operators to take on or drop off load. So, the turbine controls only affect the load (in kW) of the generator not the voltage. This is all "real" power. The above was all about power and speed control. As regards to the voltage, this is also held constant by the grid. Analogously, the voltage controls i.e. increase/decrease in field current which would increase/decrease the terminal voltage of the generator if you were not connected to the grid will actually result in the acceptance or rejection of Volt Amp Reactive (VARs). This is to do with the power factor, etc. and normally all voltage controls on a grid are set to the same droop settings so that as the power factor changes on a grid, all of the generators pick up the same VARs. Voltage control/VARs/PF is all very much less intuitive than speed control and more difficult to understand. So you can see that you can vary neither speed nor volts when connected. And there is no connection between voltage control and speed control. Vars are like Watts; you can't make more than is required by the load. If you try to make more Watts than is required, then the frequency is going to increase. If you try to make ‘More VArs than required by the load, then the terminal voltage is just going to go up. The "A" in AVR means Automatic (Automatic Voltage Regulator). When the AVR is in Automatic mode, it's trying to keep the generator terminal voltage relatively constant. 20|Page [Link] [Link]/personal10/2014 COMPILED BY: 5 a function of load Grid voltage does change throughout the day and the year. That's @ a i voltage changes, then VARs and power factor wil) ) responsiblity to Keep the VAr value at it's supposed to be. Some impedances and many factors. As the Br the operator's (or control systems ¢ or the power factor to be ai me AVRs, have VAR and/or Pow‘ ‘ameter. Excitation will be adjusted a: change. It's it where where it's supposed to be - er Factor control implying 1S Necessary to turbine control systems, and sor automatic control of one or ‘the other pare maintain the setpoint of one or the other, automatically. ase Load can only be selected by an operator when the unit Pre-Selected Load Control and Bi Isochronous Speed Control mode, the load of is in Droop Speed Control governor mode. In | the unit (the power being produced by the unit) is varie by varying generation to match load. As load .d in response to changes in frequency. That's how frequency Is controlled, jeneration must increase to maintain frequency. As load decreases, generation increases, BF elected Load Control Setpoint and must decrease to maintain frequency. If you set a Pre-S enabled Pre-Selected Load Control (the Speedtronic/control system is smart enough not to allow an operator to do this), then the turbine wouldn't respond to changes in load to maintain frequency and the whole concept of Isochronous goes out the window along with frequency control. If the grid load increases above the Base Load capability of the machine, then {rid frequency will decrease, In the same way that any system, finite or infinite, can't make more watts (real power) than the load on the system present, generators can't produce more VArs (reactive power) than the load on the system present. Now, if you have three generators on a small system and the total reactive load is 30 MVA‘s, if two of the generators are carrying 15 MVArs each, and the excitation of the third generator is increased then it's likely the reactive power from either ar both of the other generators might shift to the third generator but the total VARS §s not going to change and if one generator is carrying all of the reactive load and the excitation of that generator is increased further, then the voltage of the system is going to increase, vats can be thought of exactly like watts. you increase the torque above what's requited to keep the P the power being produced equal to the power being consumed, then the frequent ai[race bites hito://www [Link]/[Link], ‘admin@[Link] conc0 8% \drnin@[Link] toro at tne syste is gong to Increase. If You increase the extation above what's required to supply the reactive load on the system then the system voltage is going to increase. ifyou reduce the torque being supplied to the generator below what's required to keep the generator running at 2 speed equal to 50 Hz, the speed of the generator is NOT going to change. That is because that unit will draw amperes from the grid (reverse power) to keep the generator (and turbine) running at synchronous frequency and speed. (In reality, the grid frequency will decrease by an almost imperceptible amount that is a function of the ‘amount of power being drawn from the grid versus the total generation on the grid. Ifyou reduce the excitation to your generator below what's required to keep your generator terminal voltage equal to the system voltage, reactive power will flow into the generator trying to keep the generator voltage equal to grid voltage. In reality, the voltage on your generator will decrease by a small amount, but for all intents and purposes, it will be an imperceptible amount. The Speedtronic will not allow a turbine operating in Isochronous mode to enable Pre- Selected Load Control or Base Load. Isochronous mode is going to adjust the steam flow in response to speed changes and the load is going to be what the load is going to be. Frequency High: The turbine is going to unload VERY quickly, because the loading/unloading rate in Isochronous mode is VERY quick. It might even trip on reverse power. Frequency very low: The turbine is going to load VERY quickly and because the Joading/unloading rate is MUCH faster in Isochronous mode, the unit could trip on exhaust over temperature. ‘Aturbine produces torque, which a generator converts to amps, which are transmitted over Wires to motors which convert the amperes back into torque that is used to perform work, So, in reality, the turbine is actually doing work in a LOT of remote locations because the turbine Is providing the torque to do the work at the locations where the motors are. And 2|Page libra tt lienene,com/person10/2014 COMPILED BY: admin@[Link] it to another, to man electricity is just the way the torque is transmitted from one place Y places. In an AC system, the transmission of amperes occurs at a particular frequency, 50 Hz. That's akin to a bicycle, or bicycles, or bicycles with several riders and cranksets, moving a load ata particular speed. Because speed and frequency are directly related, if you provide too much) torque to the bicycle, the load will move at a faster speed than desired. If you increase the load above the torque being supplied to the pedals, the load will move at a slower speed, A generator is exactly the same. Provide torque in excess of the load being produced by the ‘motors connected to the generator, the frequency will increase. Ifthe increase the number ‘of motors and the work being performed by the motors in excess of the torque being Provided to the generator and the frequency will decrease, Now, think of a grid (large or infinite) as the sum of all the motors (and lights and computers ‘and monitors) and of all the generation (the amount of torque being produced by the prime movers driving the generators which are actually doing the work at the other end of the wires connected to the generators), If you increase the torque above what's required to keep the frequency constant, the load doesn't change (the number of motors and lights and Computers and monitors), the frequency increases, the amount of torque being provided to the frequency will decrease, Ifyou allow the number of motors and lights and computers and monitors to increase above Benerators by the prime movers, then the Now, excitation, what we're trying to do is to rid voltage. And as long as generator termi Keep our generator terminal voltage equal to a voltage is equal to grid voltage then therepanited OY: suit to in@[Link] ro/2014 reduced below that required to make generator terminal equal to grid voltage, then leading ‘as wil low in the generator stator winding poes the generator terminal voltage actually change? imperceptibly so, depending on the magnitude of excitation change. Just like the frequency changes on a ged as load or generation changes, imperceptibly on a properly regulated grid, so does the generator terminal voltage change as excitation changes, By changing the excitation on one generator tory to raise grid voltage or lower grid voltage, the voltage is not going to change by very much at all because there are a lot of other generators out there all connected to the same erid. it's Just tke what happens when you load your generator (watts), you cart appreciably change the grid frequency but if the load on the grid remains constant and you increase the torque being provided to the generator, the grid frequency will Increase, by an amount that's proportional to the increase in torque with respect to the total amount of torque being provided to the grid. The larger the grid, the smaller the effect, Excitation and VArs are very difficult to explain, There ate all kinds of maths and vectors, but the upshot of all that stuff Is this: If the excitation exceeds the amount required to ake the generator terminal voltage equal to the grid voltage, then lagging VArs will low in dif excitation Is less than the amount require tage then leading VA's will low in the generator the generator stator windings an xd to maintain generator terminal voltage equal to grid vol dings. VArs flowing inthe stator windings reduce the efficiency of the generator, stator win just as the governor function stem for keeping the excitation stable, ble. The AVR can yystem keeps the torque production sta 's the Speedtronic can be used to Increase oF ‘The AVR Is a control sy: of the Speedtronic turbine control 5} be used to increase or decrease VArs, just a! decrease watts. air to stay inflated so that there Is sufficient traction, A poorly The tires of a bicycle require 10 travel at the same speed because of Inflated tire also requires more torque | the increased pa[race pLaey. IMadmin@be 10) oy COMPILED BY: nly inflated tire wll also have reduced life because the ‘ 0, A id the roa ue to heat and contact with the road. An over-inflated ting Fe ster due i yecause of redus overnfiated | EUESS YOU COUIA consider excitation 4 rn contact with t walls will wear out fa ave as much traction b re and flattening if ced contact with the road, and it wil bem ; Ore not hi one to punctur intain traction to maintai Pr ty to maintai aintain speed withoy i abil the air in the tires of te bieyle: T° requiring excessive torque zenerator terminal volta to overcome underinflation can be equated to excita 10h, ge equal to grid voltage. keeping the ge nen a synchronous generator 1s DEINE synchronized, the usual practice is to make th When 2 sy : : «4 of the generator (the frequency) slightly higher than grid frequency, This is so thay) speet rn the generator breaker is clos tees" torque wil result in 2 sight positive power flow (watts) out ofthe d the generator slows down wher sed ant 8 fo match grig| frequency th generator. Inthe same way, when synchronizing a generator, the terminal voltage is usually slightly higher than grid voltage, or at least equal to grid voltage, so that when the generator breaker is closed there will be a slight "positive" VAr indication (lagging VArs) or zero VArs, This can all be summarised as follows: | ‘There are two magnetic fields in the generator: the one produced by the excitation applied | tothe generator rotor, and the one produced by the current flowing in the generator stator windings. The strength of any magnetic field is proportional to the amount of current flowing in that field. is "loaded" '[Link] the generator is “loaded”, the amount of current flowing in the generator stator windings ir increases, and the strength of the magnetic fields of the generator stator windings therefore increases. strength ofthe stator fed fe vn ee ittends to "reduce" the effects of the rotor field, and if ecked what wi fon nb pa ce ‘what will happen is that leading reactive current {VArs) will | or windir n'#S. And most synchronous generators are not built to 25|Page i “[Link]/personalcomplLeD BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 withstand the effects of a lot of leading reactive current flowing in the generator stator windings. So, what usually happens is that as a generator is "loaded", meaning that the torque being applied to the generator rotor is increased, and the generator excitation is not changed, the see that the VAr meter, which was probably at 0 VArs or at some small leading operator value initially after synchronization, starts moving in the Leading direction. So, the operator will need to increase the excitation to keep the VAr meter at 0 or in the Lagging direction. Some turbine-generator units have something called VAr Control. VAr Control will automatically adjust excitation as required to maintain the VAr setpoint as the unit is loaded or unloaded, relieving the operator of the responsibility to do this. And, since Power Factor and reactive current are related, many turbine-generators also have Power Factor control, which will adjust the excitation as required to maintain a Power Factor setpoint as the machine is loaded and unloaded. This is all done systems such as the Dawson Technology incorporating the DECS. ‘Once you reach the desired load (watts) for your unit and have adjusted the excitation to the desired reactive current or power factor, the operator's job is NOT finished. During the course of the day the grid voltage will change, just by a few volts, or tens of volts, or sometimes a hundred volts or so, but that change is relatively imperceptible on high-voltage systems (11kW, etc.). BUT, if the excitation on the generator remains constant, that difference will result in a change in reactive current flow (and Power Factor) in the generator stator windings. And, so the operator will need to continually monitor the VAr meter, or the Power Factor meter, and adjust the excitation as required to maintain the setpoint required, in response to grid voltage changes. This is not all done electronically with new turbine generator control systems. If the unit has VAr Control, or Power Factor Control, the operator can enable either of those functions (they both can't be running at the same time) and the excitation will be adjusted as necessary as grid voltages changes throughout the day, even if the load (watts) on the generator remain relatively stable throughout the day. 26 [Page— [Link] imin@h COMPILED BY: 102014 it's all about “relativity”. If the grid voltage is "constant" and the operator increases the. generator rotor excitation above the amount required to keep the generator terming voltage equal to the grid voltage, then lagging reactive current will low in the generato, stator windings. Likewise, if the generator excitation is equal to the amount required tg ator terminal voltage equal to the grid voltage and the grid voltage decreases ‘ nt will flow in the generator stator windings. | keep the gene! then lagging reactive currel j | ‘Think about real power (watts) now. When the generator breaker is closed if the torque] being applied to the generator by the turbine is exactly equal to the amount required to keep the generator spinning at synchronous speed (frequency) there will be NO real power) flowing in the generator stator windings. If the tordue IS then increased above the amount required to keep the generator rotor spinning at synchronous speed (frequency) then real power will flow “out” of the generator, to the load, IF the torque is decreased below the amount required to keep the generator rotor spinning at synchronous speed then rea] power will flow “into” into the generator and it will in effect become a motor driving th turbine. Welt it’s basically the same for the voltage, excitation more than required to keep generat terminal voltage equal to grid voltage means reactive power will flow “out” of the generat (Lagging VArs are perceived to flow “out” of a generator), and excitation below the amour required to keep generator terminal voltage equal to grid voltage means that reacti current will flow “into” the generator (Leading VArs are perceived to flow "into" generator), ‘As the load angle increases, if the excitation is held constant, then the increased stat current will cause the stator magnetic field to strengthen, which will "reduce" the effect the rotor magnetic fi Id which will affect the reactive current flowing in the generator stat windings. ‘The AVR usually has two modes: "Manual" and "Automatic", or "DC" and "AC". Manual mode it an means the excitation is monitoring the DC current (or DC voltage) beit applied to the gener Benerator rotor and the setpoint is generator rotor current (or DC voltage) 27 |Pasl ‘[Link],com/personalclibrarCOMPILED BY: 2dmin@[Link] 10/2014 keep the current (or voltage) equal to the setpoint. It's the operator's responsibility to monitor the generator terminal voltmeter, or the VAr- or Power Factor-, meter and adjust the rotor current (or voltage) to maintain the desired volts/VArs/Power Factor. In Automatic mode, the setpoint is AC generator terminal voltage, and the excitation is adjusted to keep the generator AC terminal voltage equal to the generator AC terminal voltage setpoint. If the relationship between the generator terminal voltage changes (whether it's because the excitation changes or the grid voltage changes) then the VArs and the Power Factor will also change. Ifthe unit has VAr Control and/or Power Factor Control, then the excitation will be adjusted as necessary to maintain the VAr or Power Factor setpoint, and the amount of current (and voltage) being applied to the generator rotor, and therefore the generator terminal voltage {in relation to the grid voltage) will be changed as necessary. Think of the “Manual” regulator as the “main” regulator, and the “Automatic” regulator "driving" the "Manual" regulator (this is sometimes referred to as "inner loop" and “outer loop"), and if either VAr Control or Power Factor control is active then that is "driving" the "Automatic" regulator (which is driving the Manual regulator). Isn't this fun?!2!??21! It is very similar to considering what will happen if the torque being provided to the generator rotor is being maintained at or near the amount required just to keep the generator rotor spinning at synchronous speed. An increase in torque will cause real power (watts) to flow “out” of the generator stator windings, and a decrease in torque will cause real power (watts) to flow "into" the generator stator windings ("motorizing" the generator- -which is not a desirable condition to occur for very long). Hf you ask about ‘on-load' tap changers and how that affects reactive current flow. Well, when the transformer taps are changed, then the relationship between the low-voltage “voltage” and the "high-voltage" voltage changes, and that means the magnitude of the voltage that is "seer " at the generator terminals changes, which means that the reactive Current will also change. It's another method of controlling the relationship between grid Voltage and generator terminal voltage, and therefore the amount (and type or “direction") 28|Page te /w_hallienene,dmine@[Link]™ 10/204 COMPILED BY: ator windings. An ‘on-load! tap changer mean, in the generator st mer can be chang nt, watts). some tap ‘ome transformers don't hi ige voltages is not adjustable at all. active current flowing I fe taps of the transfor oe ed when current Is flowing through thy that th s can't be changed when current 4 (real power curre! transformer ave adjustable taps at all--thy igh the transformers § flowing throu and high-volta relationship between low" ay be how increasing OF decreasing the torque being applied to the Some confusion m | tor might ave an effect onthe reactive current flowing in the generator stator senerator rotor mi : a funeton ofthe relative strengths of the two magnetic fields at work windings. And, that's ; are keeping the generator rotor locked in step with the “rotating! in the generator, that magnetic fields of the generator stator and therefore keeping the generator rotor spinning at synchronous speed equal to the speed that is directly proportional to the frequency of the grid with which it is connected. ‘The interaction between the two magnetic fields as the strengths of the two magnetic ficlds are varied with respect to each other is called "armature reaction". + Do youneed to know exactly what the pure definition of armature reaction is to be ‘a good operator or technician? NO. + Do you need to know all of the maths and vectors to be a good operator technician? NO. | Do you need to understand the fundamentals to be a good operator or technician? ves. The desic /, me ‘aners of the equipment (the turbines and the generators and the AVRs and th transformers) th ey need to know all of that stuff to make it operate in the desired ranget ‘and to have a long life ic design, then it’ 19 life and to be reliable and safe. if it's not operated within the limits of te ” then it's not going to last very long, to begin with, and it's not going to "behave" 0s) i should and that's where a ‘more detailed a | ‘acre hai understanding of the maths and vectors will ascOMPILED BY: admin@[Link] 10/2014 _peal power is a function of the energy being admitted to the prime mover of the generator. _peactive power is a function of the excitation being applied to the rotor of the generator. Because we consider the voltage of most generators to be constant (within a small range, usually no more than approximately +/- 5% of nameplate rated) and since generator terminal voltage is primarily @ function of excitation, and since we consider the Power Factor to be relatively stable (which is also a function of excitation-which should be relatively stable), the only variable in the power equation isla, which is directly proportional the amount of torque being applied to the generator rotor by the prime mover. The amount of torque is directly proportional to the amount of energy being introduced into the prime mover, 50, if you vary the fuel (or steam) into the prime mover, you vary the toraue being produced by the prime mover, which varies the amount of current flowing in the generator stator windings (armature), which affects the real power being produced by the generator. can you change the real power by changing the excitation? Yes, but not by very much. As you vary excitation, the generator terminal voltage will change. But, we said the amount is usually imited to 4 5% s0 fora generator rated at 13,200 Volts that means only about +/- 700 Volts, That change in excitation not only affect generator terminal voltage but it also affects the Power Factor, which is a measure of the efficiency of the generator at producing “real” work (watts) for the energy being applied to the generator rotor by the prime mover. ‘Again, if we can only change the generator terminal voltage by no more than 5%, then we can't have a very large effect on power less than 5%. ‘As an operator or technician, if the watts being produced by the turbine-generator are not he fuel (or steam) flow is not stable or if it's stable, you need to know if that's because t because the excitation is not stable. Or, if the VAr meter (or the Power Factor meter) is not stable, you need to know is that a function of the fuel (or steam) flow being unstable or of the excitation being unstable. Then you can begin to troubleshoot the problem or understand the event. 30|Page