Synchronous Generator Protection

What are the common types of generator faults?

Answer: The common types of faults occurring in synchronous generators are:

Stator winding faults (phase to phase faults, phase to earth faults, inter turn faults), Rotor winding faults (conductor to earth faults, open circuit faults, inter turn faults), failure of prime mover, failure of the field, unbalanced loading, over loading, overvoltage at generator terminals, over-speed, ventilation failure, loss of excitation. For what type of faults does differential protection is provided?

Answer: Differential protection responds to the phasor difference between two or

more electrical quantities. It operates for the internal faults occur in generators or transformers. For external faults differential protection does not operate What is the disadvantage of ordinary differential protection?

Answer: When differential relaying is used for protection, the CTs at both sides of the
generator winding must be of equal accuracy. Otherwise if the CT errors are excessive it will cause the mal operation of the relay. To safeguard against such disadvantages percentage differential protection is employed. What is advantage of using percentage differential relay protection? Advantages:

It does not require CTs with air gaps or special balancing features It permits a low fault setting to be used and this ensures maximum protection of the windings

It ensures complete stability under the most severe through fault conditions

Explain Differential Protection?

Answer: Differential protection is generally provided for the equipment or group of

equipments which are to be protected against internal faults. They are the primary

protection systems (operates faster) for any internal faults occurring within the protection zone. Under healthy conditions the currents at both ends of the windings will be equal. EMFs induced in the secondaries of the CTs will be equal and so no current flows through the operating coil of the relay. When an earth fault or phase to phase fault occurs the condition no longer holds good and the differential current flows through the relay operating coils makes the relay to operate. Relay operates for the faults occurring within the zone of protection Why Over Current Protection is not necessary for modern generators?

Answer: Over Current protection is not considered necessary for modern alternators
because these are capable of withstanding a complete short circuit at their terminals for sufficient time without much over heating and damage What type of protection is provided for the generators against overheating of the generator stator?

Answer: Resistance temperature detector

Which types of relays are used for the Merz-Price protection system for alternator?

Answer: Merz-Price protection is differential protection provided for the alternator. The
relays used in the Merz-Price protection system of alternator are instantaneous electromagnetic type protection Why large alternator is grounded with large resistance?

Answer: Large capacity of alternators is typically provided with resistance grounding.

High value of resistor is connected to the neural path to the ground. If the generator is delta connected, then it is grounded with the help of zig-zag transformer or (Delta-Star) transformer such that a high resistor is connected between the neutral point and the ground. Resistance grounding is provided so as to limit the short circuit current flowing during earth fault to stator winding in order to provide protection against mechanical

stresses and melting of winding during Line to Ground short circuit. In large generators fault current is limited as low as 10 to 15 amperes during short circuit. Why it is not necessary to provide protection for turn to turn fault in alternator?

Answer: The coils of the modern alternators are single turn and therefore it is not
necessary to provide protection for turn to turn faults Why it is necessary to suppress field immediately after disconnection of faulty alternator from the system?

Answer: In the event of fault on the generator windings even though the generator
circuit breaker is tripped, the fault is continuous to fed as long as the excitation will exist because the emf is induced in the generator. Hence it is necessary to suppress the field immediately after disconnecting the faulty generator from the system Why it not necessary to provide over-voltage protection in turbo-alternator?

Answer: The over voltage occurs when the prime mover speed increases due to sudden
loss of the load on the generator and the speed control governors in case of turbogenerators are very sensitive to the speed variations and therefore generator over voltage of significant duration or magnitude does not generally occur. This is the reason why generators are not provided with over voltage protection

Circuit Breakers
What is meant by Current Chopping?

Answer: Current Chopping is a phenomenon of current interruption before the natural

current zero is reached. Why Isolation switches are provided along with the circuit breakers?

Answer: Isolation switches are provided for separating the disconnected element from
the live portion of the system for the purpose of safety. Why asymmetrical breaking current is higher than the symmetrical breaking current in a circuit breaker?

Answer: Asymmetrical breaking current is the rms value of the combined sum of the dc
and ac components of the short circuit current at the instant of separation of the breaker contacts while symmetrical breaking current is the rms value of the ac component alone. Thus asymmetrical breaking current is higher than the symmetrical breaking current. What is recovery voltage in circuit breaker?

Answer: Recovery voltage in circuit breakers is defined as the power frequency rms
voltage which appears across the breaker contacts after the transient oscillations die out and the final extinction of the arc has resulted in all the poles of the circuit breaker. It is the voltage developed after the arc extinction is competed When does an arc extincts?

Answer: If the rate of rise of re-striking voltage (RRRV) is less than rate of rise of
dielectric strength between the breaker contacts arc will not sustain and extincts What is re-striking voltage?

Answer: The Re-striking voltage may be defined as the resultant transient voltage
which appears across the breaker contacts at the instant of arc extinction For an Resistive Load and Inductive load considered for switching operation of circuit breaker, Switching of which load is difficult and Why?

Answer: In case of switching resistive load, current and voltage will be in phase i.e,when
during current zero voltage also will be zero in case of resistive load. Hence the voltage at the breaker terminals during arc extinction is zero or minimal. On the other hand, for switching inductive load during current zero voltage across the breaker will be maximum. This results in re-striking of arc once again. Therefore switching inductive load will be difficult

Advantages Disadvantages of Oil Circuit Breakers

Oil circuit breakers are the oldest type of circuit breakers. The separating contacts of the oil circuit breakers are made to separate within the insulating oil which has better insulating properties than air. On the occurrence of the fault as the breaker contacts open under the oil, an arc is struck between the breaker contacts and the heat of the arc evaporates the surrounding oil and dissociates into a substantial volume of gaseous hydrogen (hydrogen gas with a small percentage of methane, ethylene and acetylene) at high pressure. Oil Circuit breakers have the virtues of reliability, simplicity and relative cheapness. In order to determine the advantages of oil circuit breakers, advantages and disadvantages of oil as a arc quenching medium should be understood

Advantages:
Arc energy is absorbed in decomposing of oil The gas formed which is mainly hydrogen, has high diffusion rate and high heat absorption in changing from diatomic to mono-atomic and thus provides good cooling properties The oil has high dielectric strength and provides insulation between the contacts after the arc has been finally extinguished and there has been time for the oil to flow into the gap between contacts Cooling oil presents the cooling surface in close proximity to the arc The oil used (such as transformer oil) is a very good insulator and allows smaller clearance between live conductors and earth components

Disadvantages:
Oil may be flammable and can cause fire hazards, if a defective oil circuit breaker should fail under pressure and cause an explosion There is a risk of formation of explosive mixture with the air Due to the decomposition of the oil in the arc, the oil becomes polluted by carbon particles, which reduces its dielectric strength. Hence periodical maintenance and replacements are required

DC Motors Application in Thermal Power Plant In thermal power plants dc motors are employed for certain control and critical emergency operations which are supplied by dedicated batteries. DC motors operate as backup drives for normal ac drive systems when ac power supply to the plant is lost. In thermal power plant, the dc motors finds applications for performing control functions such as

Turbine governor motor Governor limit setting Motor operated rheostats Emergency lubrication for the turbines (main, boiler feed pumps) Generator (H2 oil seal). DC motor operated valves

The emergency type services are of short duration. The emergency lube oil pump running time depends on the turbine-generator run-out time with vacuum or broken vacuum. The Hydrogen gas seal oil pump may be operated for 3 to 4 hours. The turbine-generator emergency bearing oil pumps provide lubrication; the emergency seal oil pumps maintain Hydrogen seal in case ac power is unavailable. The dc motor operated valves usually perform essential services, i.e., one ac and one dc operated valve in parallel or in series with each other will assure opening or closing, respectively. DC motors employed in thermal plants are classified in to two types based on the type of application.

DC motors carrying out Control function Dc motors carrying out Emergency function

Control functions: This category consists of the turbine governor motor, governor limiting setting, motor operated rheostats, etc. These motors are small, about 1/8 hp or less. They are operated quite infrequently for short duration. Emergency functions: This category consists of turbine-generator emergency (lubrication) bearing oil pumps and emergency seal oil pumps. Such pumps may also be provided for steam turbine drives of feed water pumps, fans, and other large loads. The lack of lubrication during a shutdown without ac power will ruin the linings of the bearings and damage the shaft.

Hydrogen seal oil pump is provided to prevent the escaping of hydrogen (for large turbine-generators hydrogen cooling is provided for efficient cooling) from the casing by providing a tight seal with high pressure oil.

Insulation Materials used in Transformers and Induction Motors

Insulation materials used in transformers and motors are classified based on the temperature withstand capability. Some of the insulation classes used in transformers and induction motors are: Class Y, Class A, Class E, Class B, Class F, Class H and Class C. Class Y:

Maximum hot spot temperature for this type of insulator is 90oC Some of the materials used are cotton, silk, paper, wood without impregnated

Class A:

Maximum hot spot temperature for this type of insulator is 105oC Cotton, Silk, and Paper when suitably impregnated are the type of materials used

Class E:

Hot spot temperature is 120oC Materials possessing degree of thermal stability allowing them to be operated at a temperature 15oC above higher than Class A. Ex: wire, enamel etc

Class B:

Maximum hotspot temperature is 130oC Mica, Glass fibre, asbestos, etc with suitable impregnation or coating substance

Class F:

Hot spot temperature is 155oC Mica, glass, asbestos etc with suitable binding impregnation or coating substances capable of withstanding 25oC higher than Class B

Class H:

Maximum hotspot temperature of 180oC Combination of materials such as mica, glass fibre, asbestos suitably bonded

Class C:

Hotspot temperature above 180oC Mica, porcelain, glass, quartz and asbestos with and without inorganic binder

Dry Type Transformers Advantages

Dry type transformers are most suitable in locations where conventional oil filled transformers present a safety hazard. Some of the locations where dry type transformers are best suited are: an Oil refinery, Chemical plants, Marine applications, Metro railways where there is significant safety is required against fire.

Advantages of Dry Type Transformers:

Dry type transformers have no risk of fire Dry type transformers are lighter in weight compared to oil filled transformers It requires less floor area to accommodate No toxicity unlike synthetic liquid filled transformers Dry type transformers are have efficient noiseless operation Reduced installation cost They are Maintenance free

Type of dry type transformers:

Different type of dry type transformers are:

Cast resin type Resin Impregnated type

Cast resin type transformers are Class F glass fibre reinforced epoxy resin. It can withstand 155oC continuously. The disadvantages of cast resin type transformers is tat in the event of failure, the complete unit including HV and LV winding is to be replaced, whereas, with resin impregnated transformer, only the affected winding is required to be replaced.

Turbine Generator Hydrogen Seal System

For large generators in power plants hydrogen cooling is provided for efficient heat transfer and electrical properties are superior to non explosive gases. High purity hydrogen will not support combustion. However when hydrogen mixed with air to the

level of 95% purity, it is explosive in nature. Therefore a sealing system must be provided to prevent the hydrogen gas from escaping from the generator casing. This is done by maintaining pressure on an oil seal around the generator shaft. As long as the oil pressure is greater than the hydrogen gas pressure, a seal will be formed confining the gas inside the generator and preventing leakage to the areas outside the casing. For a generating unit the seal oil motors would consists of the following:
1. 2. 3.

AC main seal oil pump (MSOP) DC emergency seal oil pump (ESOP) AC motor driven vacuum pump

The main seal oil pump is used normally and is backed up by the dc emergency seal oil pump, which is fed from the station battery. These pumps circulate oil through the seals while the vacuum pump removes the hydrogen from the oil in the hydrogen drain tanks. Some vendors will furnish two seal oil pumps instead of one. These pumps, one for each side of the seal, are called the air side and hydrogen side seal oil pumps

Synchronous motors Advantages Disadvantages

In industries induction motors are employed mostly because of less cost, rugged construction, good starting torques and very less maintenance. Synchronous motors are rarely used in industries for drive applications. They are generally used as power factor correction device. In industries they are employed to improve the power factor of the system. Some of the advantages and disadvantages related to synchronous motors are explained below:

Advantage or Merits:

One of the major advantage of using synchronous motor is the ability to control the power factor. An over excited synchronous motor can have leading power factor and can be operated in parallel to induction motors and other lagging power factor loads thereby improving the system power factor.

In synchronous motor the speed remains constant irrespective of the loads. This characteristics helps in industrial drives where constant speed is required

irrespective of the load it is driving. It also useful when the motor is required to drive another alternator to supply at a different frequency as in frequency changes

Synchronous motors can be constructed with wider air gaps than induction motors which makes these motors mechanically more stable In synchronous motors electro-magnetic power varies linearly with the voltage Synchronous motors usually operate with higher efficiencies ( more than 90%) especially in low speed and unity power factor applications compared to induction motors

Disadvantages or Demerits:

Synchronous motors requires dc excitation which must be supplied from external sources Synchronous motors are inherently not self starting motors and needs some arrangement for its starting and synchronizing The cost per kW output is generally higher than that of induction motors These motors cannot be used for variable speed applications as there is no possibility of speed adjustment unless the incoming supply frequency is adjusted (Variable Frequency Drives)

Synchronous motors cannot be started on load. Its starting torque is zero These motors have tendency to hunt When loading on the synchronous motor increases beyond its capability, the synchronism between rotor and stator rotating magnetic field is lost and motor comes to halt

Collector rings and brushes are required resulting in increase in maintenance Synchronous motors cannot be useful for applications requiring frequent starting or high starting torques required

Advantages of Hydrogen cooling in Synchronous Generators or Alternators

Cooling system should be provided in the generator or alternator to remove the heat generated in the windings (I2R loss) of the generator. Inability to remove the heat results in damage to the winding insulation of the generator and can lead to reduction in the life span of the generator. Natural air cooling and forced air cooling is provided

for the small rating generators. However for the generators rated above 60MW the amount heat generated will be enormous and air cooling is insufficient to cool the generator. Therefore hydrogen cooling is employed to remove the heat generated. Hydrogen cooling is chosen because of few characteristics of the hydrogen gas. Along with hydrogen cooling water cooling is provided in the stator winding circuit for large generators

Advantages of Hydrogen cooling:

The density of the hydrogen is 1/14th that of the air, the power required to circulate hydrogen (pumping capacity) is about 1/14thof the power required for an equivalent quantity of air. Hence the losses are reduced and the efficiency of the machine is improved by about 1% of the full load power of the machine. For example consider 500MW generator, the amount of energy saving constitutes almost 5MW which is a much more power

Hydrogen has specific heat 14 times, heat transfer coefficient 1.5 times and thermal conductivity 7 times that of the air. So it has excellent heat carrying capacity compared to air. A generator using hydrogen as a coolant may be rated about 20% higher than the same physical size using the air

The life of the generator is decided by the life of the winding insulation. By using hydrogen cooling which has better heat transfer coefficient, life of winding insulation increases resulting in the more life of the generator

Smaller size of heat exchanger/cooler is required to cool the heated hydrogen

Properties of Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) gas

Sulfur hexafluoride gas (SF6) gas properties:

Heavy, chemically inert, non toxic No poisonous effect on the human body but decomposition products are poisonous Color less and odor less It is gaseous at normal room temperature and pressure Density is about 6.6g/l at 20oC (5 times denser than air) Critical temperature is at 45.6oC and can be liquefied by compression Very good insulant with high dielectric strength

SF6 gas is electo-negitive ( tends to attract the free electrons and has the arc quenching property). Because of this main reason SF6 gas is used for arc quenching and insulation medium in circuit breakers.

The gas is highly stable Unlike solid insulation materials, electrical breakdown of sf6 gas does not result in permanent deterioration of its properties Decomposition occurs on the exposure to the electric arc. (Disassociation products will be SF2 and SF4 lower order fluorides)

SCADA Systems

Different Levels of SCADA ? Answer: Different levels are SCADA systems are: 1. Field level devices and instruments eg: Sensors 2. Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) 3. Communication system present between the RTUs and Main Station 4. Main Control Station or Master Station 5. Computer systems pertained to processing the data for displaying to operator Why SCADA systems are Implemented? Answer: Some of the reasons or advantages why SCADA systems are implemented are: 1. SCADA systems improves the performance of the operation of the plant 2. SCADA systems provides better protection to the equipment of the plant 3. SCADA systems improves productivity of the personnel 4. Information receives very fast, process the information and display it to opertor in graphs and plots. Hence helps the operator to take the decisions fast. 5. Provides better energy savings and saves economy.

What is the capacity of CPU of Remote Terminal Unit (RTU)? Answer: Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) contain generally microprocessor having 16 bit or 32 bit (eg: 68302 or 80386)

What is the Power Supply provided to the RTU? Answer: Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) are operated from 110V/240V + or - 10% and 50Hz or 12/24/48V + or - 10% DC Voltage What are advantages of PLCs over RTUs? Answer: Advantages of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are they can be used for general purpose can easily set for verity of functions. Some of the advantages of PLCs over RTUs are: PLCs are reliable, cheap, flexible compared to RTUs, sophisticated control and troubleshooting in PLC is easier.

Master Terminal Units (MTU) in SCADA systems

Master Terminal Units (MTU) role:
Master terminal units (MTU) in SCADA system is a device that issues the commands to the Remote Terminal Unit (RTUs) which are located at remote places from the control, gathers the required data, stores the information, and process the information and display the information in the form of pictures, curves and tables to human interface and helps to take control decisions. This is the operation of the Master Terminal Unit (MTU) located in the control centre. Communication between the MTU and RTU is bidirectional, however the major difference is RTU cannot initiate the conversation, an RTU simply collects the data from the field and stores the data. Communication between the MTU and RTUs are initiated by the programs with in the MTU which are triggered either by operator instructions or automatically triggered.99% of the instructions and messages to the RTUs from MTUs are automatically triggered. When Master Terminal Unit (MTU) asks the desired information RTU sends it. So MTU is considered as master and RTU is the Slave. After receiving the data required MTU communicates to the printers and CRTs which are operator interface through necessary protocols. At this level of communication it will be of the form peer-to-peer communication rather than master slave communication unlike communication between MTUs and RTUs. Thus in SCADA system Master Terminal Unit (MTU) acts as heart of the system.

High Voltage (HV)

Why Earth Wire is provided in the overhead transmission lines?

Answer: Earth wire is provided above the overhead transmission lines for protection
against lightning strokes. The ground wire or earth wire protects the phase conductors or line conductors by attracting itself the lightning strokes which in its absence would strike the phase conductors. Also the ground wire reduces the voltage electrostatic ally or electromagnetically induced in the conductors by the discharge of a neighbouring cloud. It also provides the additional protective effect by causing the attenuation of travelling waves set in the lines by acting a short circuit secondary of the line current What is meant by protective angle? Give its value for reliable operation?

Answer: Protective angle is the vertical angle through the ground wire axis and the line
passing from the ground wire axis to the outermost phase conductor. Its value for reliable protection is taken equal to 20-30 degrees What is the difference between the lightning arrester and surge absorber?

Answer: Lightning arrester limits the duration and amplitude of the follow current while
a surge absorber reduces the steepness of the wave front for a particular surge What is meant by Lightning arrester or surge diverter?

Answer: A Surge Diverter is a device that is connected between line and earth, i.e, in
parallel with the equipment under protection at the substation. It limits the duration and amplitude of the follow current What is meant by impulse ratio of any lightning arrester?

Answer: Impulse ratio of any lightning arrester is the ratio of breakdown voltage of the
wave of special duration to breakdown voltage of a 50Hz wave What is meant by voltage surge?

Answer: Voltage surge is sudden excessive rise in voltage that may be dangerous to the
electrical equipment of an installation. Voltage surge cause damage to insulation of the

system. Voltage surges are caused because of lightning, switching on and off the load at high voltages How standard lightning impulse wave is represented?

Answer: Standard Lighting impulse wave is represented by 1.2/50 micro sec wave

Methods to avoid low Power Factor

Some of the methods to improve power factor are:

Induction motors have maximum power factor when they are fully loaded and power factor starts falling down when the motor loading is reduced and becomes worst during no load. Hence, it is important not to have motors too big for a specified job than its required ratings. If however if the induction motor whose stator is delta connected is to run on less than half load for considerable time, it is adviced to connect the stator in star. This will not allow the drop in power factor to much extent. This is due to the fact that application of reduced voltage per phase gives rise to the reduced magnitude of the rotating magnetic field and hence less magnetising current and higher or better power factor.

Reduction in the air gap of the induction machine is done as much as possible to enhance the power factor. This can be achieved by the use of ball or roller bearings in the place of sleeve bearings. A similar improvement in the transformer can also be achieved by employment of inter leaved instead of butt jointed cores. Grain oriented high permeability cores of the transformers will also reduce the magnitude of the magnetising current.
1. Use of over excited synchronous motors in the place of induction motors. 2. High speed Induction motors will always have better power factor

compared to low speed induction motors. This is due to the fact that for a given power torque developed by the induction motor becomes less as the speed of the motor increases. Torque developed also depends on the square of the magnitude of the rotating flux. Therefore reduced torque relates to reduced magnitude of the rotating flux. Further, the numbers of poles of high speed induction motors are less. Therefore high speed motors requires less amount of magnetizing current. Also these motors being smaller in frame size are also more economical both from the point of view of initial cost and running cost.

Causes of Low Power Factor ?

Some of the reasons for low power factor are:

Induction motors and Transformers:

Where ever the magnetising current is to be produced by the ac power such as in the cases of transformers, induction motors and reactors the power factor will be significantly low. The current drawn by these machines or equipment will always lags behind the voltage. For the applied voltage, the magnitude of mutual flux in the case of transformer or rotating flux in case of induction motor remains constant. The magnitude of magnetising current depends on the value of the reluctance of the magnetic path. Magnetic path in case of transformer does not have any air gap, but for induction motor air gap present between the stator and the rotor. Therefore the magnitude of the magnetising current is more case of induction motor than transformers. In industries 70% of the motors and drives used are induction motors due to low cost, robust operation but poor in power factor. Hence Induction motor is the potential source for low power factor. Power factor of the transformer and induction motor is further affected by the extent of it being loaded. Induction motors for example operate at reasonable higher power factor of 0.85 at full load, 0.8 at 75% of full load, 0.7 at half full load, 0.5 at 25% of full load and as low as 0.1 on no load.

Arc Lamps:
Arc lamps and electric discharge lamps operate at low lagging power factor. An electric arc is essentially unstable and requires the use of ballast or choke to make it stable. It is due to the requirement of the magnetising current by the choke that all devices employing electric arc have low power factor.

Induction and Arc Furnace:

Induction heating furnace such as arc furnace and induction furnace require high magnetising current and operate on very lagging power factor

Reactor:
Reactors are also employed in central stations to minimize the fault current. This therefore is a cause of low power factor.

Transmission lines:
Transmission lines also will have self inductance. Inductive reactance is small in multicore cables but relatively large in case of overhead lines.

PLCs Advantages or Benefits

Higher Reliability:
Once the program written and tested it can be easily downloaded into other PLC's memory. It requires lesser and simpler wiring compared to conventional hard wired circuits employed. Hence reliability of the system increases significantly with PLCs

More Flexibility:
It is easier to create a new program module or change an existing program in PLC compared to hard wired circuitry system. These software program modules can be changed whenever required. Use can modify the programs in the field and if required, security can be enhanced by hardware interlocks such as key locks and software features such as passwords

Lower Cost:
PLCs were originally designed to replace relay control logic which is not economical and complex especially for large control circuits. With PLCs the cost savings have been so significant that the relay control becomes uneconomical except for some power applications. Generally if the application consists of more than half a dozen control relays, PLCs are least expensive to install

Communication Capability:
Communication capability of PLC with the other controllers and computers in the system is one of the main advantages compared to relay control circuit. Functions such as Supervisory control, data acquisition from the field, monitoring devices and process parameters associated with the field and downloading and uploading of programs can be easily possible with the PLC compared to hardwired circuits

Faster Response:
PLCs are designed for high speed and for the real time applications. Response time for PLCs are much smaller compared to relay logic circuits. The programmable controllers

operates in real time i.e, an event taking carrying out at field will result in execution of operation of output

Easy to Troubleshoot:
PLCs have inbuilt diagnostics and override functions that helps the user to easily trance the software and hardware errors.

Induction Motor Operating Characteristics

All torques of an induction motor, at a given slip, vary approximately as the square of the voltage applied to its terminals Low rotor resistance results in high full load speed (low slip), high efficiency (low rotor losses), and slightly higher starting current. High rotor resistance results in high starting torque for line current drawn and slightly lower current during starting, but results in lower full load speed and lower efficiency (high rotor losses).

The slip at which maximum torque occurs is proportional to rotor resistance Rotor frequency and voltage are proportional to slip. Thus, both are zero at synchronous speed, but increase to a maximum at zero speed (for slip range of 0 to 100%).

Rotor I2R losses are proportional to slip and are in the rotor winding of a squirrel cage motor. On a wound rotor motor, the secondary losses divide in proportion to the inherent rotor winding resistance and any connected external resistance.

For a pure inertia load (no load torque), the heat energy added to the rotor winding during acceleration (starting) is equal to the kinetic energy of the rotating mass at full speed. The total kinetic energy added to the rotating mass during acceleration to full speed is always the same for a particular value of motor and load inertia regardless of load torque. The effect of load torque is to increase the heat energy added to the stator and rotor windings during acceleration to full speed due to longer accelerating time. The kinetic energy is added to the rotating mass at a rate determined by the accelerating torque (motor developed torque less load torque), and the heat added to the rotor winding is determined by the rotor current and the accelerating time. The accelerating time (and the time the high starting current exists) is inversely proportional to the accelerating torque. Under low-voltage starting conditions, the ratio of heat added to the rotor compared to the kinetic energy at full speed is even greater because the accelerating torque is reduced (developed torque varies approximately as the square of the voltage), the load torque is unchanged, and the ratio of accelerating torque to load torque is reduced

Induction Motor Interview Questions Answers

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Induction Motors? Advantages:

It is simple and rugged in construction It is relatively cheap Induction motors require less maintenance Induction motor has high efficiency and reasonably good power factor 3-phase induction machines are self starting

Disadvantages:

Induction motors are essentially a constant speed motor and its speed cannot be changed easily Its starting torque is inferior to dc shunt motor

2. What is the condition for maximum torque in induction motor?

Answer: Starting torque will be maximum when the rotor resistance / phase is equal to
standstill rotor reactance / phase 3. Slip ring induction motor advantages and disadvantages compared to squirrel cage motors? Advantages:

High starting torque with low starting current Smooth acceleration under heavy loads No abnormal heating during starting Good running characteristics after external rotor resistances are cut out Adjustable speed

Disadvantages:

The initial and maintenance costs are greater than those of squirrel cage motors The speed regulation is poor when run with resistance in the rotor circuit

4. Methods to control speed of Wound Rotor Motors?

Answer: The speed of wound rotor motors are changed by changing the slip of the
motor. This can be achieved by:

Varying the stator line voltage Varying the resistance in the rotor circuit Inserting and varying a foreign voltage source in the rotor circuit

5. Explain how Torque-Slip Characteristics vary when adding resistance to rotor circuit?

Answer: The addition of resistance to the rotor circuit does not change the value of
maximum torque but it only changes the value of the slip at which the maximum torque occurs 6. Disadvantages of Star-Delta Starting of Induction motor?

Answer: In Star-Delta starting induction motor stator is connected in star connection

for starting after picking up speed it is connected to delta connection. When induction motor is connected in star connection stator phase voltage reduced by 1/(31/2 ) times the line voltage. This also results in reduced starting torque (1/3 times compared to delta connection).

Why Sine Waveform Chosen for Alternating Voltage and Current

Commercial alternators produce sinusoidal alternating voltage. A sinusoidal alternating voltage is produced by rotating a coil with a constant angular velocity in a uniform magnetic field. Sinusoidal voltage always produce sinusoidal current unless the circuit is non linear. Why Sine Wave is chosen rather than a simple curve such as a square or triangular wave. Some of the reasons are given below:

In alternating current (a.c) machines such as induction machines, synchronous machines, transformers.., sinusoidal voltages and currents respectively produce the

least iron and copper losses for a given output. The efficiency of the machine therefore is better

Sinusoidal voltages and currents produce less interference (noise) on telephone lines The sine waveform produces the least disturbance in the electrical circuit and is smoothest and efficient waveform

Due to above advantages, electrical supply is generating sinusoidal alternating voltage and currents.

Advantages of Star and Delta Connected Systems

In a 3-phase system the alternators or generators may be star connected or delta connected. Likewise 3-phase loads may be star connected or delta connected. Some of the advantages of star and delta connected systems are listed below

Star Connection:

In a star connection, phase voltage Vph = VL/ (3)1/2. Since the induced emf in the primary winding of an alternator is directly proportional to the number of turns, a star connected alternator will require less number of turns than a delta connected alternator for the same voltage.

For the same line voltage, a star connected alternator requires less insulation than a delta connected alternator. Due to the above reasons three phase alternators are generally star connected.

In star connection, we get 3-phase and 4-wire system. This permits the use of two voltages (phase voltages as well as line voltages). Single phase loads can be connected between any one lie and neutral wire while the 3-phase loads can be put across the three lines. Such a flexibility is not available in delta connection

In star connection, the neutral point can be earthed. Such a measure offers many advantages. For example, in case of line to earth fault (L-G fault), the insulators have to bear 1/31/2 (57.7%) times the line voltage. Earthing of neutral also permits the use of protective devices (relays) to protect the system in the case of ground faults

Delta Connection:

This type of connection is most suitable for rotatory conveyers Most of the three phase loads are delta connected than star connected. One reason for this, at least for the case of unbalanced load, is the flexibility with

which loads may be added or removed on a single phase. This is difficult to do with star connected 3-wire load

Most of the 3-phase induction motors are delta connected

DC Motor Applications in Industries

In spite of wide use of ac supply dc machines are used in industries for some applications. Some of the applications where dc motors employed are listed below

DC Series Motor:

DC series motors are widely used for traction applications, i.e, these motors are widely used in electric locomotives, rapid transit systems and trolley cars DC series motors are employed in cranes, hoists and in conveyers because of high staring torque capability

DC Shunt motor:

DC shunt motors are employed in rolling mills because of good speed control characteristics They are employed for driving constant speed lathes Also employed for driving centrifugal pumps, fans, blowers, machine tools and reciprocating pumps

Cumulative Compound motors:

They are employed in applications such as: Elevators, conveyers, heavy planers, for shears and punches, for intermittent high torque loads and air compressors

Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) Batteries Advantages

Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) Batteries are popularly termed as maintenance free lead acid batteries. Each cell in VRLA battery will have a value (automating operating) to allow the gas to escape if developed by the over charging the cells and to hinder the entrance of oxygen from the air into the cell These VRLA batteries are also called sealed lead acid batteries and also recombinant batteries. Oxygen which evolve during discharging at the positive plate of the battery recombine with the hydrogen which evolve at the negative plate of the cell to from water. This results in prevention of the water loss and unlike flooded batteries water is

not needed to be added periodically. The valve present in VRLA cell acts as a safety valve which opens when the concentration of hydrogen gas inside the battery increases dangerously high. Some of the advantages of VRLA cell is listed below:

Advantages:

VRLA battery is maintenance free and no periodic water refilling is not required Reduced demand on ventilation The capacity range of VRLA battery is high (12000 Ah) VRLA batteries will have longer life. Life span of this batteries will be around 10 years Feasibility for float charge operation with the same voltage of the cells, to continue in using existing charging equipment VRLA batteries are economical

Battery
What is primary cell and secondary cell?

Answer: Battery which can be discharged only once is called primary cell ex: Manganese
Zinc and alkaline Secondary cells are the battery which can be charged and discharged for a number of times ex: Lead acid and Nickel cadmium Does temperature have effect on battery?

Answer: Temperature is one of the major factors that have impact on battery performance,
shelf life, charging and battery voltage control. At higher temperature batteries will have more chemical activity compared to batteries which operate at the designed temperature What factors that decide the VRLA battery to completely charged from fully discharged condition?

Answer: Some of the important factors that determine the duration of the discharged
battery to charge are:

Duration of the discharge occurred Temperature at which battery is operating Size and efficiency of the charger

Can VRLA batteries be enclosed in sealed containers?

Answer VRLA batteries should not be enclosed in the sealed containers. Oxygen and
hydrogen gases are produced in the battery, however they once again convert back to water. But during over charging these gases escape out of the cell. If the batteries are enclosed inside a sealed container, the pressure inside the container due to hydrogen and oxygen increases and may explode What is stratification in the battery?

Answer: During charging of the battery acid is produced at the plate surface and during
discharging of the battery acid will be consumed, due to this nonuniform concentration heavy parts of the electrolyte settles at the bottom and lighter parts of the electrolyte floats on the top. This phenomenon is call stratification. Stratification affects the life of the battery. What is end of life of the battery?

Answer: If a battery cannot able to hold proper charge or if the battery capacity is falls
below 80% of its rated capacity then it is considered as the end of life of the battery. Many factors affect the life of the battery

Charging and discharging cycles Temperature Leakage of the gases or electrolyte corrosion of the plates over discharge rates

How positive and negative terminals of a battery are identified?

Answer: Positive terminal is identified painted with red color and negative terminal is
identified painted with blue color on the top of the battery

Power Electronics
Power Electronics job Question and Answers:
1) Job Question: What are the different operation regions of the SCR? Answer: SCR or thyristor will have three regions of operations based on the mode in
which the device is connected in the circuit.

Reverse blocking region: When the cathode of the thyristor is made positive with respect to the anode and no gate signal is applied. In this region scr exhibits the reverse blocking characteristics similar to diode. Forward blocking region: In this region the anode of the thyristor is made positive with respect to the cathode and no gate signal is applied to the thyristor. A small leakage current flow in this mode of operation of the thyristor Forward conduction region: when the forward voltage applied between the anode and cathode increases at particular break over voltage avalanche breakdown takes place and thyristor starts conducting current in forward direction. By this type of triggering the device damages the scr. Hence a gate signal is applied before the forward break over voltage to trigger the scr.

2) Job Question: What is Latching current? Answer: Gate signal is to be applied to the thyristor to trigger the thyristor ON in safe
mode. When the thyristor starts conducting the forward current above the minimum value, called Latching current, the gate signal which is applied to trigger the device in no longer require to keep the scr in ON position.

3) What is Holding current ? Answer: When scr is conducting current in forward conduction state, scr will return to
forward blocking state when the anode current or forward current falls below a low level called Holding current Note: Latching current and Holding current are not same. Latching current is associated with the turn on process of the scr whereas holding current is associated with the turn off process. In general holding current will be slightly lesser than the latching current.

4) Why thyristor is considered as Charge controlled device? Answer: During the triggering process of the thyristor from forward blocking state to
forward conduction state through the gate signal, by applying the gate signal (voltage between gate and cathode) increases the minority carrier density in the p-layer and thereby facilitate the reverse break over

of the junction J2 and thyristor starts conducting. Higher the magnitude of the gate current pulse, lesser is the time required to inject the charge and turning on the scr. By controlling the amount of charge we can control the turning on time of the scr.

5) What is the relation between the gate signal and forward break over voltage ( VBO)? Answer:Thyristor can be triggered by increasing the forward voltage between anode
and cathode, at forward break over voltage thyristor starts conducting. However this process may damage the thyristor, so thyristor is advices to trigger on through the gate pulse. When a gate signal is applied thyristor turns on before reaching the break over voltage. Forward voltage at which the thyristor triggers on depends on the magnitude of the gate current. Higher is the gate current lower is the forward break over voltage

6) What are the different losses that occur in thyristor while operating? Answer:Different losses that occur are

Forward conduction losses during conduction of the thyristor Loss due to leakage current during forward and reverse blocking. Power loss at gate or Gate triggering loss. Switching losses at turn-on and turn-off.