EGSA’S On-Site Power Generation
Schools
Generators /
Alternators
Steve Evans
RETIRED!
1
Objectives
• Types of Electrical Power Generation
• Power Generation theory fundamentals
• Construction & components of synchronous generator
• Alternator Winding Configurations
• Types of Excitation Systems
• AC Alternator design Considerations
• Impacts of loads on Alternators
• Environmental impacts on Alternators
2
Sources of Electricity
5
Electricity Net Generation
• From Energy Information Agency
(www.eia.gov)
• Coal was #1 for decades; Gas passed it in
2016, nuclear is steady. Wind and solar fastest
growing by %.
Coal
Gas
Nuclear
Wind Hydro Solar
Steve Evans Genset & Power System Modes
Updated 3/24/2017
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Types of Electric Generating Systems
Electric generating systems may be either:
• Rotating electromechanical machines designed to convert
rotating mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Typically, these produce 60 Hz or 50 Hz AC voltage.
• “Spinning iron”
Or
• Electronic power devices (static) designed to convert DC
voltage, typically produced by a chemical reaction
(batteries) or light energy (PV), into AC energy.
• “Inverter fed generation” or “IFG”
7
Spinning Iron: Rotating mechanical
• Two types of rotating mechanical generators:
• Alternating Current and Direct Current.
• All Alternators produce AC.
• Generators can be AC or DC.
• Alternator: Rotating Field, Stationary Armature.
• Generator: Rotating Armature, Stationary Field.
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& CH23
First a little phun with Physics!
1. Current flowing in a wire produces
a magnetic field, aka flux.
2. Cutting lines of magnetic flux with a
conductor produces current.
3. Opposite Magnetic Fields attract,
like magnetic fields repel.
4. 3 way relationship between
magnetic field, current and force.
1. Right hand rule for generators
2. Left hand rule for motors
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& CH22
Magnetism and current relationships
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11
How could we increase the voltage?
• Remembering the 3 way relationship between current,
magnetic field, and force, what could we do to produce
more voltage?
• Stronger
• Magnetic field / more lines of flux
• Magnetic field = Amps x Turns
• Get the wire closer to the magnetic field: the Gap
• Longer
• Wire / longer magnetic field
• More Turns
• Bigger/longer magnet
• Faster
• Move wire faster thru the magnetic field
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Now that we
understand the theory,
let’s look at how are
they made
Let’s look at the rotor first, then the stator.
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How is it made? Cylindrical rotor
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15
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Field Current Bushing
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Cylindrical rotor
• Large conductors to
carry the field current.
• β = amps x turns
• What makes a
stronger magnetic
field, 2,000 turns at
50 amps or 10,000
amps at 10 turns?
• Why would they use
higher current instead
of more turns?
• Better response
18
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How is it made? Salient Pole rotor
• Individual poles : coils of wire wound on ½ of a “dog
bone”.
• Why is iron so thick?
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21
rr
Three Gorges Dam, China. 785MW, Diameter = 45’,
Height = 13.1’, 1488 tons. 80 poles, 50Hz, 75 RPM
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Rotor Review
• Cylindrical
• machined out of casting vs. stacked laminations
• High current, few windings vs. Low current, many windings
• High speed rotors: 3600 maybe 1800
• Rotor design considerations
• Weight, efficiency, short circuit, bearing type, air gap, prime
mover
• Salient Pole
• machined / stacked
• Generally uses low current, many windings
• Low speed: maybe 1800 and down
• Often used in very high power applications
• How does the DC field current get on the shaft??
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Exciters
{&258-260}
• 2 ways to get DC on
the main field:
• Slip rings and brushes
• Copper or Bronze
• Insulated from shaft
• “Pencil lead” –
graphite brushes
• Wear out
• Rotating Exciter
• Another alternator
makes field current
from rotational energy
• Extra hardware on
shaft
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Brushes and Slip Rings
• A brush is a stationary conducting
element usually constructed of
carbon, graphite, or copper used
to maintain sliding electrical
contact between stationary and
rotating components.
• A slip ring, or collector ring,
usually constructed of a copper
alloy, is mounted on the shaft.
The brushes are then held in
contact with the slip rings by a
stationary brush holder to afford
electrical continuity between
stationary and rotating elements.
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Rotating Exciters
• PMG – Permanent Magnet Generator {&295}
• Most commonly used in the industry we are in
• Usually Salient pole rotor, lower controlled current
• Many windings
• Self Contained
• Low maintenance
• More inductance, Slower response times
• “Bus Fed” or Compounding / Self Fed or Separately Fed
• Normally Cylindrical Rotor machine, could be Salient Pole
• Higher controlled current
• Less initial cost of AC machine, adds external components
• More maintenance
• Short circuit considerations
• Can be faster response times, better at starting large motors
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28
Typical PMG Excitation System
Permanent Automatic
Stationary
Magnet AC Voltage DC
Field
Generator Regulator
ß field
Rotating
AC
Rotating
DC
Main On the
Exciter Diodes Field
Shaft
• Advances in electronics in past 20 years.
• Rotor is more expensive.
• Rotor acts like large power amplifier
• Magnetic field in, DC amps out.
&260-261 AVR &CH26
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Typical Bus Fed Excitation System
Automatic
Other AC
AC Voltage DC Main Field
Source
Regulator
• ‘Other AC source’ could be grid, another generator, etc
• ‘Self Excited’ uses the gen’s output bus for the source.
• Might need field flash circuit.
• AVR is lots of amps
• Why would you do this?
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Sync Machine with exciter
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Hoover Dam, exciters on top
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Permanent Magnet Fields
• Permanent magnet fields are used in a few special
instances.
• What is a major disadvantage of permanent magnet
fields?
• Permanent magnet fields are not controllable!
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The Stator
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How is it made? Stator
• Multiple layers of stamped
steel especially made to
conduct / transfer magnetic
fields.
• In large machines, they will
have laminations that are ½,
¼, even small fraction of the
circumference of the stator.
37
• Laser or water
jet cut
laminations
• Laminations
stacked on
stator
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Coils
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Random wound or ”mush” wound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tEsJ-xAoEQ
The picture can't be displayed.
&264
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Insulation
• Phase-to-Ground
• Plastic
• Phase-to-Phase
• Glass cloth
• Turn-to-turn
• Varnish or thin
plastic
41
3
End Turns 2
1
& 264
3
2
1
42
43
Assembly details
• The wedge seems larger than we need to hold the
insulation and conductors in place. Why is it so large?
• How do we know how many wires (conductors) to put in
each slot?
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The Alternator Output Voltage
• Magnitude of Voltage is dependent on 4 things:
1. Strength of the magnetic field
Gap between rotor and stator.
2. Speed of conductor thru the magnetic field
3. Number of conductors (turns)
4. Length of the conductor in the magnetic field
• Hz/Frequency of voltage is dependent on 2 things:
1. Speed
2. Number of poles
• Which factors are determined by the generator design?
• What is variable?
• Magnitude of output current and PF is dependent on ___?
the load applied.
45
Air Gap
• The separating space between
the rotor and stator of an electric
generator or motor is called the air
gap.
• Since the magnetic fields must
bridge this gap, it is kept as small
as possible.
46
• Seems like a lot of work to hand tie all those?
• Why go to all the trouble? 47
Putting the Pieces Together
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Why a Sine Wave?
49
Generation Of Voltage In A Two
Pole Alternator
Coil
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Generating the Voltage Vectors
• Black is rotor
field
• Red, Green and
Blue show the
generated
voltage vectors
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The 3 Phase Generated Voltage
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3 phase AC generation
• 3 coils spaced 120 degrees apart
• Spin the magnet
• Produce 3 voltages 120 degrees apart
• Where are we at this point in time?
53
3 phases offset by 120 degrees
1/60 = 0.016 sec = 16 ms
0.0055 sec
54
Putting it all together
• Engine spins the rotor.
• The Rotor has a coil that produces a magnetic field.
• This rotating magnetic field produces 3 sine wave voltages
in the stator.
• Displaced by 120 degrees like the windings are.
• When we apply an impedance (load) to these voltages, we
get current flow.
• Any time we have a current flow, we get a magnetic field.
• This current flow in the stator produces a magnetic field.
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Frequency
• Dependent upon construction: number of poles.
• Rotational speed: RPM of engine.
• Hz= # of poles x RPM/120
• How fast (RPMs) does a 4 pole gen spin to make 60Hz?
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Frequency Related Equations
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Table Of
Synchronous Speeds
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Practical considerations of
Alternator construction
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Effect of different winding pitches
• To make gens smaller & cheaper, windings are overlapped in
the stator.
• Result: waveforms are different for different pitch machines
• Difference in voltage => Voltages prior to connection of
• A reactive current flow 2 dissimilar pitch generators:
Gen1 voltage
That cannot be controlled Gen2 voltage
Resulting harmonic current
by KVAR regulators flow after paralleling
• Paralleling different
pitch machines can
result in overheating
• & 265
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Windings & 267 - 272
• So far we have only
talked about single
windings spaced
120 degrees apart
• 6 leads brought out
to the termination
box
120°
• Wye or Delta
120°
10
0
120
connections done in
termination box
120°
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Windings & 267 - 272
• Dual voltage
generators will +
have that one
winding broken
into 2 parts
• These windings
+
can be 100
100 00
1100
connected in
series or parallel
• 12 lead machine
+ 63
Windings & 267 – 272
Polarity is critical!
• Series connections • Parallel connections
• Twice the voltage • Twice the current
• 1x current • 1x voltage
• Same Power • Same power
• Ex: 1 phase: 240v • Ex: 1 phase: 120v
• Ex: 3 phase: 480V • Ex: 3 phase: 208v
+
+ + +
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Windings: 3 phase Connections
• Delta • Wye or Y
• No Neutral • Neutral connection
• Can ground 1 phase • Single phase loads
• “Wild leg delta” • Grounded systems
• Less Common; • Very Common
sometimes used in • Required in commercial
industrial applications applications for
grounding
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Protecting and testing Alternators
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Protecting the Alternator
• What can be damaged in a
alternator?
• Insulation system
• Phase to Phase
• Phase to Ground
• Turn to Turn
• Conductor system
• Thermal damage, I2T
• Mechanical; bearings,
vibration, etc.
67
Insulation Testing
• Megohmmeter
Why is a standard DVM (Digital Volt-
ohm Meter) or multimeter NOT a
valid test of insulation condition?
68
Insulation Testing
• Read each manufacturer’s ‘fine print’
• While an indispensable tool for predictive maintenance,
improperly using a megohmmeter can actually lead to
generator winding failure.
• Connect all leads together, open Neutral to Ground bond,
test to generator frame.
• If 12 lead machine, you can ground 5 windings, test the 6th.
Repeat for all 6 windings.
• Rule of thumb: 1M + 1M/kV min. Thus on 600V rated
machine, should be 1.5M or more.
• Careful of capacitive effect of windings! Especially with
electronic meggers. Apply a ground and leave it on for
minute or two.
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Turn to Turn Short Detection
• These are difficult to detect with common instruments.
• In a case like this, a ‘Low Resistance Ohmeter’ or “Ductor”
may be useful.
• Passes higher current, measures voltage drop to get
better low resistance readings.
• Connect it correctly: follow manufacturer’s directions
• Best if you have “As Found” reading taken upon initial
startup.
• Alternator data sheet or manufacturer can provide
acceptable resistance values.
• Phase to Phase voltage readings might be a good
indication, too, if you have from initial startup.
70
Exciter checks
• Critical component of system!
• Should check all the diodes every maintenance.
• Record excitation amps @ kW & PF/kVAR during startup
• Can lose one or two diodes and still make rated voltage at
low load levels
• Record PMG output V & A during startup.
• Check with load.
• Megger all windings, record values
• On brushed systems, check gap between brush holder, all
connections are tight, springs have not tempered, and
brush wear.
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Frequency of Harmonic Voltages
• Frequency Harmonic Name
60 Hz 1st - Fundamental
180 Hz 3rd
300 Hz 5th
420 Hz 7th
540 Hz 9th
660 Hz 11th
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3rd Harmonic
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5th Harmonic
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7th Harmonic
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11th Harmonic
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Combined 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th Harmonics
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Result is THD
• Harmonic currents will result heating, possibly up to
damaging levels.
• Sum of the Harmonics, called Total Harmonic Distortion,
can be read with a specialized meter.
• THD Limit is on Generator Data Sheet.
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Reactive Capability Curve
• Stator current limit due to heating
• Heat = I2t
• Draw it on the Q/P or KVAR/KW curve at rated Volts
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Reactive Capability Curve
• ‘End Turns’ heating limit due to magnetic field saturation
• Solder melts on end turns
• What can happen if under-excited?
80
Reactive Capability Curve
KVAR • Stator Thermal Current limit
• Field Current Limit
• End Turns heating/slip danger
• Rated Operating Point
• Operating region
KW
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European Reactive Capability Curve
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Temperature Related Definitions
Ambient Temperature:
• The temperature of the generator or motor cooling air as it
enters the openings of the generator or motor. Measured
in Degrees Celsius °C.
Standard Ambient Temperature:
• The maximum standard ambient temperature per both
NEMA and IEC standards is 40°C. (104°F)
84
Temperature Related Definitions
Temperature Rise:
• This is the increase in a generator or motor winding
temperature due to load and load factors.
Total Operating Temperature (Total Observed Temperature):
• This is the sum in °C of ambient temperature plus
temperature rise.
Ambient Temperature Compensation:
• The rated temperature rise of the generator should be
reduced by one Degree Celsius (1°C) for every Degree
Celsius the ambient temperature exceeds 40° C. This
should be accomplished by following the output rating
reduction guidelines provided by the generator or motor
manufacturer.
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Insulation Life Thermal Expectancy
• Neither NEMA nor IEC specifies the minimum number of
hours of operation to be expected in terms of thermal
aging of the insulation system.
• It is generally accepted in the electrical industry that, for
continuous operation at the limiting temperature for the
class of insulation, thermal life expectancy will be in the
area of 20,000 to 25,000 hours or greater per IEEE 275
and 117.
86
Rule of Ten and Thermal Life of
Insulation Systems
• The Rule of Ten states that if the operating temperature of
the insulation system is reduced by 10°C, the thermal life
expectancy of the system is approximately doubled.
• Conversely, if the operating temperature is increased by
10°C, the thermal life expectancy is reduced to
approximately one half of the normally anticipated life of
the insulation system.
“Standby penalty:” due to insulation thermal life, 1 hour @
Standby Rating KW = 4-8 hours @ Continuous KW
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Environment: Humidity
• Moisture and heat are the two primary enemies of rotating
electrical machinery.
• Condensation usually presents a problem in areas of high
humidity where the unit is either in storage or is
infrequently used, like an emergency standby machine.
• Use strip heaters, maintain the internal temperature of the
unit approximately 5°C above the ambient.
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Environment: Fungus & Salt
• Tropical Areas mostly
• Particularly with Organic Insulation materials
• Materials used in Class F and H insulation are not food for
fungus, therefore, tend to be self defending against the
growth of fungus.
• Prevention: Usually epoxy coatings work well
89
Environment: Dust & Sand
• Can act as sand blast, effect insulation and fans
• Especially with very hard / brittle epoxy coatings
• Over-coat with softer, more resilient coating
90
Objectives Review
• Types of Electrical Power Generation
• Power Generation theory fundamentals
• Construction & components of synchronous generator
• Alternator Winding Configurations
• Types of Excitation Systems
• AC Alternator design Considerations
• Impacts of loads on Alternators
• Environmental impacts on Alternators
91
Thanks for your attention!
• I welcome your questions at any time.
• seebizz1@gmail.com
• 970/556-4968
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