CHAPTER 2

SYNCHRONOUS
MACHINES
 INTRODUCTION
 Synchronous Machines are called “Synchronous” because

their speed is directly related to the supply frequency.

 Rotates at a constant speed in the steady state.
 The rotating air gap and the rotor rotate at the same speed.
 Synchronous Generators: A primary source of electrical energy (Convert mechanical
power into AC electrical power)

 Synchronous Motors: Used to convert AC electrical power into mechanical power. As

well as power factor compensators.

 Used primarily as a generators of electrical power ‘Synchronous Generator or

Alternators’
INTRODUCTION
 AC machine that have a field circuit supplied by an external DC
source
 2 types:
1) Generator
2) Motor
 Most important component in the power system, since synchronous
generators:
• Are the source of 99% of the MW in most power systems

• Provide frequency regulation and load following

• Are the main source of voltage control

• Is an important source of oscillation damping.

Cont….
 The synchronous speed, Ns


where f = frequency (Hz)

p = no of poles
CONSTRUCTION
Construction:
Cont…..water turbine
 CONSTRUCTION
STATOR
 Static or non-rotating or non-moving
 Also known as the armature.
 The stator is a ring shaped laminated iron-core with slots.
 Three phase windings are placed in the slots (armature winding)- the main
voltage is induced.
 2 types of armature windings commonly used:
(i) Single layer winding
(ii) Double layer winding.
 Most three phase windings are double layer that is two coil sides are placed in
each slots.
ROTOR TYPES:

 There are two types of rotor structures:

1. Round or cylindrical rotor (non-salient
pole)
2. Salient pole rotor
 The rotor winding carries DC current so as

to produce constant flux per pole.

 Usually recieves power from a 115 or 230 V

DC generator.
 CONSTRUCTION
 Round or Cylindrical Rotor (Non-Salient Pole)

• Normally used for rotor with 2 or 4 poles

• Used for steam turbine- driven alternators which run at
very high speeds
• Utilisation: High speed synchronous machine
• Application: Steam and gas turbine as prime mover
 CONSTRUCTION

Salient Pole Rotor

• Pole faces project out from the rotor

• Normally used for rotor with 4 or more poles
• Used in low and medium speed (engine driven) alternators
• Has a large number of projecting (salient) poles
• Utilisation: Low speed synchronous machine
• Application: Hydroturbine as prime mover
Example:
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
 The synchronous generator converts mechanical
energy from the turbine into electrical energy.
 The turbine converts some kind of energy (steam, water, wind) into
mechanical energy
 PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
 It is designed to be operating at synchronous speed, Ns
 The frequency-speed relation is

Ns  p
f  where → f  supply frequency
120
p No. of poles

Ns
 The field winding is supplied with a DC current
 Field winding is mechanically turned (rotated) at synchronous speed

Nm  Ns where → N m = Mechanical speed

 The RMF (rotating magnetic field) produced by the field current induces voltage in the armature
winding
 EMF EQUATION

INDUCED EMF EQUATION →

emf phase  4.44 K p K d fN

 
where → Kp : Pitch Factor : cos 
2
Kd : Distribution Factor

f : Supply frequency

 : Flux

N : No. of turns per phase

 THE SPEED OF SYNCHRONOUS
MACHINES
 Synchronous  The electrical frequency produced is locked in or
synchronized with the mechanical rate of rotation of the rotor.
 The rate of rotation of the magnetic fields in the machine (synchronous
speed) is related to the stator electrical frequency given by

nm  ns
ns P
fe  where → P : No. of poles
120
nm : Rotor @ mechanical
speed (rpm)
ns :
Synchronous speed
(rpm)
The internal generator voltage → E A  k
SYNCHRONOUS
GENERATOR
 EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF
SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR

Armature winding circuit

Field winding circuit (Stator)
(Rotor)

Per Phase Equivalent Circuit of Synchronous Generator

E A @ Eg = Internal generated voltage If = Field current

IA = Armature current Rf = Field resistance

RA = Armature resistance VT @ V = Terminal voltage

Xs = Synchronous reactance
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF
SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR

Equivalent Circuit of Synchronous Generator

V  E A  jX s I A  R A I A

Therefore →

E A   VT 0  I A   RA  jX s 
 PHASOR DIAGRAM OF
SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR
Unity power factor (Resistive Load)

E A   VT 0  I A 0 R A  jX S 

Lagging power factor (Inductive Load)

E A   VT 0  I A     R A  jX S 

Leading power factor (Capacitive Load)

E A   VT 0  I A     R A  jX S 
Example:
 A 9-kVA, 208 V, three-phase, Y-connected
synchronous generator has a armature resistance of
0.1Ω/phase and a synchronous reactance 0f
5.6Ω/phase. Determine its generated voltage when
the power factor of the load is:
 a). 80% lagging
 b). unity
 c). 80% leading
Exercise:

 A 60-kVA, 3-phase, 50Hz, Y-connected,

synchronous generator. The power factor of the
load is 0.9 lagging. The synchronous impedance
is 0.15 + j1.3Ω/phase. Determine the voltage
regulation of the generator.
 POWER FLOW DIAGRAM OF
SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR

The input mechanical power is the shaft → Pin   app m

Power converted from mechanical to electrical → Pconv   ind  m
 POWER FLOW DIAGRAM OF
SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR
Power Converted P 
conv is also known as:

= Mechanical
Pm
power
Pind = Induced
power
Pdev = Developed
power

Pconv   ind *  m  3 E A I A cos 

Where →  ind = Torque induced (Nm)

m
(rad/s)
= Mechanical speed

 = Angle between EA and IA

2N (rad/s) where N = Speed in rpm


60
 POWER IN SYNCHRONOUS
GENERATOR
The input mechanical power is the shaft → Pin   app m

Power converted from mechanical to electrical → Pconv   ind  m

Pconv  3 E A I A cos 
Where  is the angle between EA and IA

Real electric output power → Pout  3VT I L cos 

Pout  3V I A cos 

Reactive output power → Qout  3VT I L sin 

Qout  3V I A sin 
Exercise:
 A 40-kVA, 240 V, 50Hz, 4-pole, 3-phase, Y-connected
alternator has a synchronous reactance of 0.08Ω/phase. The
armature-winding resistance is negligibly small, and the
revolving field is established by permanent magnets. The
rotational loss is 5% of the power developed. When the
generator delivers the rated load at leading power factor of
0.866, determine:
a). the power angle
b). the efficiency
c). the voltage regulation
d). the torque supplied by the prime mover.
THE MAXIMUM POWER AND
TORQUE
 The maximum power that generator can supply.
 In real synchronous machines of any size, is more than 10 times smaller
than. Therefore,Ra can be ignored (since Xs >>Ra).
 The phasor diagram for lagging power factor with ignored of Ra is shown
in figure below.
THE MAXIMUM POWER AND
TORQUE

E A sin 
IA  Qout  3V I A sin 
Xs

Substitute IA into →

3V E A sin   Torque angle

Therefore : P
Xs
POWER AND TORQUE IN
SYNCHRONOUS MACHINES
Maximum power that generator can supply occurs when:

  90
sin   1

3V E A
Maximum power → Pmax 
Xs

3V E A sin 
Torque induced →  ind 
m X s
Example:
 A 2400kVA, 16kV, 50Hz, three-phase generator is Y-
connected. The generator has a synchronous reactance of
100Ω/phase and armature resistance is negligible. If the
generator is operating at 0.75 leading power factor, determine:
 i) the armature current

ii) the excitation voltage, Ea

iii) torque angle
iv) maximum power supplied by generator
v) with the excitation voltage held and the driving torque is
reduced until generator is delivering 10MW. Determine the
armature current and the power factor of the generator.
DETERMINATION OF THE
SYNCHRONOUS REACTANCE , Xs
 The synchronous reactance is an important parameter in the equivalent circuit
of the synchronous machine. This reactance can be determined by performing
two tests, an open-circuit test and a short-circuit test.

OPEN CIRCUIT TEST

Circuit for Open Circuit Test Open Circuit Characteristic

DETERMINATION OF THE
SYNCHRONOUS REACTANCE,
REACTANCE Xs
 Open Circuit Test on Generator

• The generator is turned at the rated speed

• The terminals are disconnected from all loads
• Field current is set to zero
• Increase the field current gradually in step
• Measure the terminal voltage at each step of field current
• IA
With the terminals open, 0 soE A is equal toV
• Thus plot a graph E A orVT versusI F . The graph is known as open
circuit characteristics (OCC).
DETERMINATION OF THE
SYNCHRONOUS REACTANCE , Xs

Short Circuit Test

Circuit for Short Circuit Test Short Circuit Characteristic

 Adjust the field current to zero

• Short-circuit the terminal of the generator through a set of ammeters.
• I A or the line current
Measure the armature current IL as the field current is increased
• Plot a graphI A versus I F . The graph is known as short circuit characteristics (SCC).
DETERMINATION OF THE
SYNCHRONOUS REACTANCE , Xs

Open and Short Circuit Characteristics

DETERMINATION OF THE
SYNCHRONOUS REACTANCE , Xs
I A by → EA
Armature current is given IA 
R A  jX s

EA
IA IA 
Magnitude of armature current is given by →
R A  jX s
2 2

EA
Z s  RA  X s 
2 2 oc

The internal machine impedance is given by → IA sc

EA EA
Xs   oc

The synchronous reactance is given by → IA IA sc

 PROBLEMS
1) A 200kVA, 480V,50 Hz, Y connected synchronous
generator with a rated field current of 5A was tested, and
the following data was taken:
VT,OC at the rated IF was measured to be 540
IL,SC at the rated IF was found to be 300 A
when a DC voltage of 10V was applied to two of the
terminals, a current of 24A was measured
Find the values of the armature resistance and the
approximate synchronous reactance in ohms that would
used
in the generator model at rated conditions.
Example:
 The test data obtained at the rated speed on a 3-phase , Y-
connected, synchronous generator are given as follows:
Short circuit test:
Field current = 1.2 A
Short cct current = 25 A
Open circuit test:
Field current = 1.2 A
Open cct voltage = 440 V
The per-phase winding resistance is 1.2Ω. Determine the
synchronous reactance of the generator.
VOLTAGE REGULATION OF
SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR
 The variation in the terminal voltage with load is called voltage regulation.
Mathematically, voltage regulation is defined as the fractional rise in the terminal
voltage when a given load is removed

Voltage regulation 
 V NL VFL   E A  VT


VFL VT
 VOLTAGE REGULATION OF
SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR
If a synchronous generator operating at:

 Unity power factor : has a small positive value of

VR
 Leading power factor : has a fairly large positive
value of VR
 Leading power factor : has a negative value of VR
EFFICIENCY OF SYNCHRONOUS
GENERATOR

Efficiency for any electrical machine is defined as:

Pout Pout
 
Pin Pout  total .losses
SYNCHRONOUS
MOTOR
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF
SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR
 A synchronous motor is the same physical machine as a synchronous
generator, all of the basic speed, power and torque equations earlier in this
chapter apply to synchronous motor also.
 A synchronous motor is the same in all respects as a synchronous generator,
except that the direction of power flow is reversed, the direction of current
flow is reverse also
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF
SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR

E A @ Eg = Internal generated voltage If = Field current

IA = Armature current Rf = Field resistance

RA = Armature resistance VT @ V = Terminal voltage

Xs = Synchronous reactance
EMF EQUATION

IA
 Because of the change in direction of , the Kirchoff’s Voltage Law equation for the
equivalent circuit changes too.

 V V  E A  jX s I A  R A I A
Equation describing is:
 Finally, EMF equation →

E A   VT 0  I A   R A  jX S 
PHASOR DIAGRAM OF
SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR
POWER FLOW DIAGRAM OF
SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR

P 
conv is also known as:

= Mechanical
Pm
power
Pind = Induced
power
Pdev = Developed
power
 TORQUE OF SYNCHRONOUS
MOTOR
Torque 3V E A sin 
induced →  ind 
m X s

where →  = Angle between EA and VT

= Load angle

= Torque angle

2N N
 (rad/s) where = Speed in rpm
60
VOLTAGE REGULATION OF
SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR
 The variation in the terminal voltage with load is called voltage regulation.
Mathematically, voltage regulation is defined as the fractional rise in the terminal
voltage when a given load is removed: in other word

Voltage regulation 
V NL  VFL 

V
T  EA 
VFL EA
EFFICIENCY OF
SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR
Efficiency for any electrical machine is defined as:

Pout Pout
 
Pin Pout  total .losses
Example: (Synch. Motor)
 A 10-hp, 230 V, three-phase. ∆-connected,
synchronous motor delivers full load at a power
factor of 0.707 leading. The synchronous reactance
of the motor is j5Ω/phase. The rotational loss is 230
W and the field winding loss is 70 W. Calculate the
generated voltage and the efficiency of the motor.
Neglect the armature winding resistance.
PROBLEMS
PROBLEMS
PROBLEM
1) The full load current of a 3.3kV, Y- connected
synchronous motor is 60A at 0.8 pf lagging. The
armature resistance and synchronous reactance of the
motor are 0.8Ω/phase and 5.5Ω/phase respectively. With
an assumption that the mechanical stray load loss to be
30kW, determine:
i)excitation emf [ 1.69 kV ]
ii) torque angle [ 7.99 deg]
iii) shaft output and efficiency
iv) voltage regulation