Synchronous

Generators

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. 1
 Basic Topology

• In stator, a three-phase winding similar to the one

described in the previous lecture. Since the main voltage
is induced in this winding, it is also called armature
winding.

• In rotor, the magnetic field is generated either by a

permanent magnet or by applying dc current to rotor
winding. Since rotor is producing the main field, it is also
called field winding. Two rotor designs are common:

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o Salient-pole rotor with “protruding” poles

o Round or Cylindrical rotor with a uniform air gap

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The Speed of Rotation of a Synchronous Generator

nm P
fe 
120

Where

fe = electrical frequency, in Hz

nm = mechanical speed of magnetic field, in rpm

= rotor speed, in rpm

P = number of poles

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The Internal Generated Voltage of a Synchronous Generator

• It was shown previously, the magnitude of the voltage

induced in a given stator phase was found to be

• The induced voltage is proportional to the rotor flux for a

given rotor angular frequency in electrical Radians per
second.

• Since the rotor flux depends on the field current IF, the
induced voltage EA is related to the field current as
shown below. This is generator magnetization curve or
the open-circuit characteristics of the machine.

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(a) Plot of flux versus field current for a synchronous generator. (b) The magnetization
curve for the synchronous generator.

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 The Equivalent Circuit of a Synchronous Generator

• When generator is not loaded, the internal generated

voltage EA is the same as the voltage appearing at the
terminals of the generator, V.

• When generator is loaded, a balanced 3-phase current

will flow which results in the stator rotating magnetic field
BS. The net air gap flux density is the sum of the rotor
and stator magnetic fields:

Bnet  BR  BS

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• The voltage induced in the armature would be the sum of
the voltages induced by rotor field (EA) and the voltage
induced by the stator field (EAR, or armature-reaction
voltage).
Enet = EA + EAR where EAR = -jXARIA
Two other voltage drops must be considered:
o Self (or leakage) inductance of the armature coils.
o Resistance of the armature coils
• The armature-reaction voltage may be represented by
an inductive voltage drop across an armature–reaction
reactance XAR, as shown here.
jX AR jX RA

+ EAR - + IA
+
EA Enet V
-
-

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• The two reactances may be combined into a single
reactance called the synchronous reactance of the
machine:

X S  X AR  X

The per phase equivalent circuit of a synchronous generator.

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 The Phasor Diagram of a Synchronous Generator

• The Kirchhoff’s voltage law equation for the armature

circuit is
E A  V  I A (RA + jX S )

• The phasor diagrams for unity, lagging, and leading

power factors load are shown here:

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 Power and Torque in Synchronous Generators

The power-flow diagram of a synchronous generator

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• The input mechanical power is given by
Pin   appm

• The power converted from mechanical to electrical

power is given by

• The real and reactive electrical output powers are given

by
POUT  3V I ACos( )
QOUT  3V I ASin( )

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• Induced torque of the generator is given by

• Note that this equation offers an alternative form for the

induced torque presented before by
 ind
 KBnet BR Sin( )

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 Measuring Synchronous Generator Parameters
• Open-circuit and short-circuit tests to obtain
magnetization characteristics and synchronous
reactance of the generator.

o Open-circuit test: With loads disconnected, generator

is driven at rated speed. The terminal voltage is
measured as field current varied.

o Short-circuit test: Armature terminals shorted,

generator is driven at rated speed and the armature
current is measured as field current varied.

• DC voltage test to obtain the armature resistance.

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(a) The open-circuit characteristics (OCC) of a synchronous generator. (b) The short-
circuit characteristics (SCC) of a synchronous generator.

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 Steps to obtain unsaturated synchronous reactance Xsu
at a given field current:
1. Get EA from air-gap line on OCC
2. Get the armature current at the same If from SCC
E A OCC ,Agline
X Su 
I A SCC

A sketch of the approximate synchronous reactance of a synchronous generator as a

function of the field current. 17
 The Effect of Load Changes on a Synchronous
Generator Operating Alone
• At constant field current and rotor speed

The effect of an increase in generator load upon its terminal voltage. At a fixed power
factor (a) Lagging; (b) unity; (c) leading.

• Voltage regulation (VR);

• Terminal voltage can be regulated simply by adjusting the field

current.
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 Parallel Operation of Synchronous Generators
Requirements:
1. Must have the same voltage magnitude.
2. The phase angles of the two a phases must be the same.
3. The generators must have the same phase sequences.
4. The frequency of the oncoming generator must be slightly
higher than the frequency of the running generator.

(a) The two possible phase sequences of a three phase system

(b) The three-light-bulb method for checking phase sequence.
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 Synchronous Motors

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. 28
 The Equivalent Circuit of a Synchronous Motor

• Same equivalent circuit as a synchronous generator,

except that power flows in the opposite direction.

E A = V -  RA + jX S  I A

Figure 5-2
The per-phase equivalent circuit of a synchronous motor.

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 A Magnetic Field Perspective

(a) Phasor diagram of a synchronous generator. (b) Phasor diagram of a synchronous motor

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 The Effect of the Load Change under Constant Excitation

Figure 5-6
(a) Phasor diagram of a motor operating at a leading power factor. (b) The effect of an
increase in load on the operation of a synchronous motor, with If kept constant.

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 The Effect of Field Current under Constant Load

Figure 5-8
(a) Phasor diagram of a motor operating at a lagging power factor. (b) The effect of an
increase in field current on the operation of this motor, with shaft load kept constant.

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 The Effect of Field Current under Constant Load: V Curves

Figure 5-9
Synchronous motor V curves

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