M-S Course - 1

SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE

1 - PRESENTATION:
The synchronous machine, called ALTERNATOR if it operates as a generator, provides
an alternating current. In operation MOTOR its rotation frequency is
imposed by the frequency of the alternating current that powers the armature.
A - PRINCIPLE OF THE ALTERNATOR:
A synchronous generator converts mechanical energy (T,  in energy
electric (V, I of frequency f).
A magnet rotates at frequency n, the coil is crossed by a variable flux. from where
d
the creation of an induced emf e(t) = - .
dt
The frequency of this emf is such that: f = n, that is = with rotation speed
the rotor (magnet) and  the pulse of the induced sinusoidal emf, in rad/s.
- B - CONSTITUTION :
The alternator has two main parts:
The inducer is most often carried by the rotor
The rotor carried by the stator traversed by alternating currents
Inductor:
The magnetic field is created by a permanent magnet or by an electromagnet.
fed by a direct current Ie, called excitation current. The rotor rotates at the
frequency f, and creates a number p of pairs of poles.
Note: if Ie is constant, it creates a magnetic field B, constant, rotating at the
synchronization frequency n =s n.
Salient pole rotor:
It is an electromagnet whose poles are alternately north and south.
The windings are supplied with direct current, they are placed around the cores.
poles. The number of poles is always even, it varies depending on the machine.
Smooth pole rotor or Turbo alternator:
The rotor is a solid cylinder in which notches have been machined. It has the most
often two poles.
- b - Induit :
It is on the stator, fixed coils, most often three-phase. It is the seat of induced electromotive force.

I
Generator convention

P=V3 . U . I co
T,n
V
phase shift event
Ie
P,Q
 M-S Course - 2

It is subjected to a rotating flow, it is therefore the seat of hysteresis and currents of

Foucault. As with the transformer, we will reason on an equivalent diagram.
- C - USE :
The power of a salient pole alternator ranges from a few kilovolt-amperes to
250,000 kVA. It is mainly used in hydroelectric power plants for the
electricity generation for the national grid. The turbo-generator is
used in thermal or nuclear power plants, its power is greater than 50000
kVA.
D- SYMBOL:

123 123

MS MS MS MS
3 3
UUUUU UUUUU

single-phase three-phase
- 2–THE F.E.M IS VOID IN AN ALTERNATOR:
- A - EMPTY TEST:
- a - Presentation:
The stator is not traversed by any current. The rotating field comes from the wheel.
polar (crossed by an excitation current Ie), driven by an auxiliary system.

. N
.
winding wheel
the stator polar

S
Ie
.
We obtain three sinusoidal induced EMFs of effective value Ev, at the terminals of
stator.
- b - Empty characteristic:
It varies in increasing and then decreasing values, we note Ev, open circuit voltage at
terminals of a phase.

Ev

We will note the phenomenon

hysteresis on the curve,
therefore the saturation of
machine

Ie
 M-S Course - 3

Idealization of the unladen characteristic:

We will assume that the machine is not saturated, only the linear part of the
characteristic will not be retained, for the continuation of our study, Ev will remain
proportional to Ie.

Ev

Ie
- B - STUDY OF THE OPEN-CIRCUIT FEM:
- a - Theoretical value:
The induced emf e(t)
v = E. v 2.sin( it is sinusoidal. It is created by the flow
of the rotating magnetic field carried by the polar wheel, this flux is expressed as (t)
with: (t) = max.cos( t).
The stator has N conductors, thus N/2 turns; therefore:
N
ev (t) = - d /dt = - . max.sin( t) = E.v 2. sin(
2 2
The theoretical value of the effective value of the electromotive force
v E is therefore:
N . .f.
Ev. = max.
2
This effective value is that of the open-circuit electromotive force at the terminals of the single-phase alternator.

or that at the terminals of a phase and the neutral of the three-phase alternator.
- b - Real value :
In reality (t) is not really sinusoidal and the different e.m.f are not in
phase. The resultant e(t)
v is the magnitude of a vector sum. To translate these
imperfections, we introduce a coefficient K that characterizes the machine. The value
the actual efficiency of the open circuit e.m.f is expressed by the equation:
IN MONOPHASE:
Inside the same coil, the induced electromotive forces add up and the
different coils are connected in series: all the conductors are ultimately in series.
For the winding, we will therefore have:

Ev = K.f.N. max.

with:

Ev Induced emf in a winding in volts

f Frequency of induced e.m.f. in hertz
max. Maximum useful flux under a pole in webers
N Number of conductors per phase.
K Kappconstant coefficient for a given alternator such as:
 M-S Course - 4

K = 2.22.K.K
D F
KD distribution factor close to 0.7; F
K shape factor close to 1.05
IN TRIPHASE:
Three identical single-phase windings are offset by one third of the interval
comprised between two consecutive poles of the same name. The alternator is thus equivalent to
three identical single-phase alternators that are coupled either in delta or star.
The electromotive force between two windings depends on the coupling mode: the
The previous relation thus gives the effective value of a simple voltage if the
windings are coupled in star, and the value of a composed voltage if they are
coupled in a triangle.
- c - Exercise :

A star-connected three-phase alternator has a phase voltage U = 660 V, it delivers

a current of 500 A with a cos =
 0.8, at a frequency of 50 Hz.

- 1 - Calculate the powers P, Q, and S.

- 2 - Knowing that the armature has 372 turns and that the maximum value of the flux is
0.027 Wb, calculate K assuming there is no voltage drop between the
no-load and load operation.

572 kVA
- 3 - ALTERNATOR UNDER LOAD:
A - STUDY IN CHARGE:
- a - presentation :
The state of the alternator is determined by the operating point P, which depends on two
variable parameters and three constant parameters P = f (V ; I ; n ; Ie ; )
V tension between phase and neutral in volts
I current in a phase wire in amperes
rotation frequency of the alternator in tr / s
The excitation current in amperes
phase shift between v and i.

CHARGE

T,n
V

Ie
b - Electrical characteristic V = f (I):
The three-phase alternator is driven at a constant speed. It powers a load.
balanced. The intensity Ie of the excitation current is kept constant, the phase difference
current tension is imposed by the load.
 M-S Course - 5

EV  
We notice the demagnetizing effect (which
  constraint of increasingIe) of an inductive load
and the magnetizing effect of a capacitive charge.
 

Voltage drops are significant (20 to 30 times greater than for the
transformer) they are only very partially due to the resistances of
windings (only 1%), the main cause of these voltage drops is
the existence of the magnetic field Bi, created by the stator. When the rotor delivers from
current, it creates a magnetic field, called Induced Magnetic Reaction, I.M.R, which
comes to modify the field resulting from the inductor.
Study of the R.M.I:
The inductor, carried by the rotor, creates a flux, v at
stator (armature). When the armature is closed on a load, it is traversed by
induced sinusoidal currents, i, 1i and
2 i 3 i
(t) which will decrease significantly ch resulting in
E from the machine. This decrease of Echin relation to
charge, therefore act on the emfch
Itv implies a significant decrease in the voltage V.
The flow created by the inductor, induced: Ev = - j 
The R.M.I introduces the flow.i which leads to: Ei = - j  I
The resulting flow chis expressed by the vectorial relationship:
ch= + i

In charge, the emf is therefore given for a non-saturated machine by the relationship:
Ech = Ev + Ei
- B - EQUIVALENT MODEL OF A PHASE OF THE ALTERNATOR:
Representation of the model:
The following simplifying assumptions will be respected throughout the rest of
our study:
- Charge équilibrée - Régime permanent - Rotor à pôles lisses - Machine non saturée -
To take the R.M.I into account, it is modeled electrically by an inductor.
of inductance L : X = L called synchronous reactance.
L

Ev Eh

Schematic, to which a resistor must be added to account for losses due to effect
joule in the windings. Let r be the resistance of a winding, the equivalent model
of a phase of the alternator is:
 M-S Course - 6

L I r

v=evL
-dr-.i
dt
Ev Ech V
V = EV - j.L. . I- r.I

Let: X = L the synchronous reactance.

Let: Z=vr2+ L.  the

 2 synchronous impedance

- b - BEHN - ESCHENBOURG diagram:

The mesh law states: v = e - u - r.i
v L
So:
V = Ev - X. I -r.I

Knowing:
Phase shift current voltage, angle imposed by the load.
X = L. Synchronous reactance
I Current intensity in the load
V Simple tension
We can calculate Ev:
On trace V.
Knowing , on trace I, then rI, collinear to I.
On trace XI.
We deduce Ev.
One can measure internal offset angle, (V; Ev).

Ev
0
V XI
rI
I

Note: we can use the same method to evaluate V, knowing Ev. For
this:
Draw a line symbolizing the direction of I, then draw r.I, X.I, draw the direction.
from V, and finally using a compass to find the intersection point of V and Ev.
- C - Determination of the elements of the model:
The determination of the unsaturated alternator model is done in three steps:
Empty characteristic trace:
The synchronous emf is equal to the no-load emf. We therefore measure, at constant speed, Ev in
function of Ie, current in the inductor, we plot Ev = f (Ie)
Short-circuit characteristic report:
The three windings of the stator are connected in star. The equivalent model of a
The winding of the alternator is as follows:
 M-S Course - 7
L Icc r

Ev

Ev = (r + jL ).Icc = Z.Icc
The alternator is driven at nominal speed, we measure the current intensities.
of excitation and one of the short-circuit currents flowing in the armature, we plot Icc =
f (Ie).
Calculation of synchronous impedance:
For a given excitation current, the magnitude of the synchronous impedance is given by
the relationship :
Ev
Z=
Icc
4 - POWER BALANCE:
USEFUL POWER:
Voltage between two phase terminals.
I: Line current intensity.
cos   Power factor imposed by the load.

In single-phase: Pu = UI.cos
In three-phase: Pu = UI. 3.cos

- b -ASSESSMENT OF LOSSES:
The power received:
The alternator receives a mechanical power P which
M is provided to him by the engine
training:

PM = M
T.
Collective losses:
These are mechanical losses (Pm), which depend only on the rotational frequency.
and the losses in the iron (Pf), which depend only on the frequency and the value
maximum flux. These losses will be measured during a no-load test in which the
machine runs at the nominal rotation frequency, under a voltage equal to the voltage
that she would be responsible for. Indeed, the equality of effective tensions leads to that of
flux.
Losses due to Joule effect in the inductor:
EU: Voltage across the inductor.
Ie: Excitation current intensity.

Pje = Ue.Ie
The losses due to Joule effect in the armature:
In single phase: Pj = r.I 2
 M-S Course - 8

Resistance of the induced winding.

I: Effective intensity of the current delivered by the armature.
3
- In three-phase: Pj = r.I2
2
r: Resistance measured between two phase terminals of the machine.
I: Effective intensity of line current.
Yield

Pu UI 3cosφ
η
Dad UI 3cosφ Pm Pje Pj