Chapter 5

Synchronous Machines

Presentation Outline
 Introduction
 Synchronous machine construction
.

 Rotating magnetic field

…
 Equivalent circuit model
 Performance as a generator
 Performance as a motor
 Introduction
 A synchronous machine is an ac rotating machine whose speed under steady
state condition is proportional to the frequency of the current in its armature
 Unlike induction machines , the rotating air gap field and the rotor rotates at
constant speed, called synchronous speed
 Synchronous machines are used primarily as generators of electrical power
called synchronous generator or alternator
 They are usually large machines generating electrical power at hydro,
nuclear or thermal power stations
 Applications as a motor: pumps in generating stations, electric clocks,
timers etc. Where constant speed is required
 Synchronous machine can be used to compensate reactive power in the
power system
 Introduction…
• A synchronous machine is a doubly excited machine.
• Its rotor poles are excited by a dc current and its
stator windings (armature windings) are connected
to the ac supply
• The air gap flux is the resultant of the fluxes due to
both rotor current and stator current
Introduction…
Power generation and transmission
Introduction…
Name of Power plant Generating capacity(MW)

Aba Samuel 6.6

Gilgel Gibe-I 184

Gilgel Gibe-II 420

Gilgel Gibe-III 1870

Tana-Beles 460

Tekeze 300

GERD 6000

Table 1 . List of Hydropower plants in Ethiopia

Construction of synchronous machines
Main construction
Stator:
The stator winding consists of three phase distributed winding similar to
that of induction machines
The windings are physically and electrically displaced from each other by
120 degrees
 Unlike the dc machine, the stator winding which is connected to ac supply
system is called armature winding
Rotor:
Has a winding called the field winding which carries direct current
The field winding is fed from an external DC source through slip rings and
brushes
Coupled to the prime mover
Construction…
Two common approaches to supplying the dc supply to the rotor winding(field winding)
 Supply the power from an external dc source to the rotor by means of slip rings and
brushes.
 Supply the dc power from a special power source mounted directly on the shaft of the
generator.
• On large synchronous machines brushless exciters are used to supply the dc field
current to the machines.
• A brushless exciter is a small ac generator with its field circuit mounted on the stator
and its armature circuit mounted on the rotor shaft
Construction…
Synchronous machines can be divided in to two groups
1. High speed machines with cylindrical rotor(non salient pole)rotor
 used in high speed electrical machines, usually 1500 RPM to
3000 RPM.
 Windage loss as well as noise is less as compared to salient
pole rotors.
 Number of poles is usually 2 or 4.
 Flux distribution is sinusoidal and hence gives better e.m.f
waveform.
 mostly used in  nuclear, gas and thermal power plants.

2. Low speed machines with salient pole rotor

 used in lower speed electrical machines, say 100 RPM to 1500 RPM
 As the rotor speed is lower, more number of poles are
required(typically between 4 to 60)
 Flux distribution is relatively poor than non-salient pole rotor, hence
the generated e.m.f waveform is not as good as cylindrical rotor
 mostly used in hydro power plants.
Synchronous generator
Principle of operation:
1. From an external source, the field winding is supplied with dc current:-Excitation
2. Rotor(field) winding is mechanically turned (rotated) at synchronous speed
3. The rotating magnetic field produced by the field current induces voltage in the
outer stator(armature)windings.
 The frequency of these voltages is in synchronism with the rotor speed
 The induced voltages are alternating since the armature conductors are
alternating
Synchronous generator…

The speed of rotation of synchronous generator

E.M.F. EQUATION OF AN ALTERNATOR
Let,
P= No. of poles
Z= No. of Conductors or Coil sides in series/phase
i.e. Z= 2T…Where T is the number of
coils or turns per phase (Note that one turn or coil has two ends or sides)
f = frequency of induced e.m.f in Hz
ф = Flux per pole (Weber) N = rotor speed (RPM)
Kd= Distribution factor
Kc or KP pitch or coil span factor = Cos α/2
If induced e.m.f is assumed sinusoidal then, Kf= Form factor = 1.11
 In one revolution of the rotor i.e. in 60/N seconds,
each conductor is cut by a flux of Pф Webers
E.M.F. EQUATION…
dф= фP and also dt= 60/N seconds
 Then induced e.m.f per conductor ( average)
= dф/ dt= Pф/(60/N) =(P N ф)/60…..(a)
But We know that f = PN/120 or N= 120f/P
Putting the value of N in Equation (a)… We get the average value of
e.m.f per conductor is
= Pф/60 x 120 f/P = 2f ф Volts. —{N= 120f/P}
 If there are Z conductors in series per phase, then average e.m.f per
phase
= 2fфZ Volts= 4f ф T Volts ….{Z=2T}
E.M.F. EQUATION…
 Also  RMS value = Form factor x Average Value,
= 1.11 x 4fфT = 4.44fфT Volts.***
And the actually available voltage per phase = 4.44 KcKd fфT
=4 KfKc Kd fфT Volts.

***
This would have been the actual value of the induced voltage if all the colis in a phase were
i. full-pitched
ii. Concentrated or punched in one slot(instead of being distributed in several slots)
 Armature Reaction in a Synchronous generator
• The effect of Armature (stator) flux on the flux produced by the rotor field poles
is called Armature Reaction.
• When the current flows through the armature winding of the an alternator, a
flux is produced by the resulting MMF. This armature flux reacts with the main
pole flux, causing the resultant flux to become either less than or more than the
original main field flux.
Note: Armature reaction depends on the load power factor
I. Unity power factor :- Cross Magnetizing Flux.
II. Lagging power factor:- demagnetization( weakening the main field flux)

III. Leading power factor:- magnetizing flux (the armature reaction flux is
in the direction of main field flux)
Equivalent circuit of synchronous machines

i. Armature resistance per phase() :- resistance of armature winding

ii. Armature reaction reactance reactance( ):-used to account the effect
of armature reaction
iii. Armature leakage reactance ():- used to account the leakage flux in
the armature
[Link] reactance ()= +
Equivalent circuit…

Where = induced e.m.f per phase on no load(for generator)

= back e.m.f (for motor)
= induced e.m.f per phase on load after armature reaction
From the equivalent circuit we can see that
= + (+ for generator
=+ (+ for motor
Phasor Diagram of alternators
Phasor diagram of a Phasor diagram of a
synchronous generator at synchronous generator at
lagging factor (inductive leading factor (Capacitive
Load). Load).

Where is called power angle

Phasor diagram of a
synchronous generator at
Unity power
factor(resistive Load).
 Voltage Regulation

• A convenient way to compare the voltage behaviour of two

generators is by their voltage regulation (VR).
• It is defined as change in terminal voltage when full load is removed,
keeping field excitation and speed constant, divided by rated terminal
voltage
• The VR of a synchronous generator at a given load, power factor, and
at rated speed is defined as
% VR=
Where is no load induced e.m.f
is rated terminal voltage
Parallel Operation of Synchronous Generators

Benefits:
• Increases the real and reactive power supply in the system.
• Increase the reliability of the power system.
• Allows shut down and preventive maintenance for some generators.
• Allows the operation near full load then maximum efficiency can be
obtained.
The conditions required for Paralleling Syn. Generators

The following requirements have to be satisfied prior

. connecting an alternator to other generator.
to

1. The rms line voltage of the two generators must be equal.

2. The phase sequence of the incoming machine voltage and
the bus bar voltage should be identical.
3. The phase angle of the two systems should be equal
4. The frequency of the two terminal voltages (incoming
machine and the bus bar) should be nearly the same. Large
power transients will occur when frequencies are not nearly
equal.
Synchronous motors
 Synchronous motors are not widely used because it runs at constant
speed(Synchronous speed)
 Synchronous motors are generally of salient pole type
 synchronous motor can be made to carry the mechanical load at constant
speed
 It is not self starting and an auxiliary means has to be used for starting it.
 It is a doubly excited machine :-
 three phase stator currents produce 3-phase rotating magnetic flux
The rotor carry dc supply, produce constant flux
Operating principle of Synchronous motors
At a particular instant rotor and stator poles
might be of same polarity(N-N or S-S) causing
repulsive force on rotor and the next time it
will be N-S causing attractive forces. Hence it is
not self starting.

If the rotor poles are rotated by some external

means at such a speed (synchronous speed)
that they interchange their positions along
with the stator poles, then the rotor will
experience a continuous unidirectional torque.

If now the external prime mover driving the rotor is

removed, the rotor will continue to rotate at synchronous
speed in the clockwise direction because the rotor poles
are magnetically locked up with the stator poles.
Method of starting Synchronous Motor
A synchronous motor cannot start by itself .There two methods that can be used for starting it.
1. Motor starting with an external prime Mover
Synchronous motors are mechanically coupled with another motor.
 It could be either 3 phase induction motor or DC shunt motor .
DC excitation is not fed initially. It is rotated at speed very close to its synchronous speed and
after that DC excitation is given. After some time when magnetic locking takes place ,supply to
the external motor is cut off
2. Damper winding
Additional winding is placed in rotor pole face.
Initially when rotor is standstill, relative speed between damper winding and rotating air gap flux
in large and an e.m.f is induced in it which produces the required starting torque.
As speed approaches synchronous speed, e.m.f and torque is reduced and finally when magnetic
locking takes place, torque also reduces to zero.
 Hence in this case the motor is first run as three phase induction motor using additional winding
and finally it is synchronized with the frequency.
Synchronous Machine Operated as a Generator
Electromagnetic Power and Torque
When a synchronous machine is operated as a generator, a prime mover is
required to drive the generator.
In steady state, the mechanical torque of the prime mover should balance
with the electromagnetic torque produced by the generator and the
mechanical loss torque due to friction and windage, or

= is the mechanical power supplied by the

prime move

= is the mechanical power loss of the system

The electromagnetic power ()is the power being converted into the
electrical power in the three phase stator windings.
That is
Cont’d…
• For larger synchronous generators, the winding resistance is
generally much smaller than the synchronous reactance, and thus
the per phase circuit equation can be approximately written as

• From the phasor diagram, we can readily obtain

• When the phase winding resistance is ignored, the output electrical

power equals the electromagnetic power, or

where is the angle between the phasors of

the voltage and the emf, known as the load
angle
Synchronous Machine Operated as a Motor
Electromagnetic Power and Torque
When a synchronous machine is operated as a motor to drive a mechanical
load, in steady state, the mechanical torque of the motor should balance the
load torque and the mechanical loss torque due to friction and windage,
that is

= is the mechanical power delivered to the mechanical

load

= is the mechanical power loss of the

system
 the electromagnetic power() is the amount of power being converted from the
electrical into the mechanical power. That is
Cont’d…
• When the stator winding resistance is ignored, the per phase circuit equation can
be approximately written as

• From the phasor diagram, we can readily obtain

where is the load angle