EE304

SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR

Instructed By: Mr. L.H.L. Lilantha Name : G.R. Raban

Index Number : 070384P
Field : EE
Group :8
Date of Performance : 29/10/2009
Date of Submission : 16/11/2009
 O/C and S/C Characteristics
290

280

270

260

250

240

230

220

210

200

190

180

170

160
V (V), Ia (A)

150

140

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

If (A)
Calculations

(1) The synchronous reactance for various values of field currents was determined from the
data obtained by the O/C and S/C characteristic curves graph.

Synchronous reactance is defined to be as;

V o /c AC
Xs = =
I s /c AB

E.g. At a field current value of If = 0.1 A, AC and AB values obtained by the graph are;

AC = 102, AB = 4

AC 102
∴ Xs = = = 25.5 Ω
AB 4

The obtained Xs values are listed in the table below;

Field Current (A) AC AB Xs (Ω)

0.05 56 2 28.00
0.1 102 4 25.50
0.15 141 6 23.50
0.2 172 8 21.50
0.25 196 10 19.60
0.3 216 11 19.64
0.35 231 13 17.77
0.4 242 15 16.13
0.45 250 17 14.71
0.5 256 18 14.22
0.55 260 20 13.00
0.6 264 22 12.00
0.65 267 24 11.13

Then, the graph of Xs Vs If was plotted.

(2) Xs Vs If graph

Graph of Xs Vs If
30.00

25.00

20.00
Xs (Ω)

15.00

10.00

5.00
0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65

If (A)
 Field current for rated open circuit voltage
(3) Short Circuit Ratio =
Field current for rated short circuit current

I ′f I ′a
SCR = =
If Ia

By the graph, I’a = 15 A and Ia = 5 A

15
∴ SCR = = 3.00
5

1
In p.u. quantities, Xs (sat) =
SCR

1
∴ Xs (sat) = = 0.3333 pu
3.00

Vt
In ohms, Xs (sat) =
I ′a

240
∴ Xs (sat) = = 16 Ω
15
Discussion

(1) Importance of the SCR with respect to the generator performance

The SCR (Short Circuit Ratio) is the ratio of the field current needed to generate rated
open-circuit armature voltage, to the field current needed to produce rated current on a sustained
short circuit.

The SCR value of a synchronous generator can reveal information about the machine’s
performance. When the SCR value is lower, in order to maintain a constant terminal voltage for
a given change in load, a larger change in field current is required when compared with a higher
SCR value. Also, lower SCR means the steady state stability limit of the machine is lower.
Therefore, a machine of low SCR is dependent on an excitation system that is able to provide
large changes of field current quickly and reliably. An appropriate excitation system can also
increase steady state stability. The physical dimensions and properties are relatively smaller on
low SCR machines, so their cost is also lower.

(2) Variation of synchronous reactance with field current

The synchronous reactance is defined to be as follows;

V o /c AC
Xs = =
I s /c AB

When we observe the short-circuit and the open-circuit characteristic curves, we can see
AC
that the ratio is nearly constant for lower values of the field current; i.e. before the machine
AB

begins saturation, when the open-circuit characteristic curve is nearly linear. But once the
machine begins saturation, the synchronous reactance begins to drop rapidly.

(3) “Synchronous generator has characteristics of a current transformer”

If we take the rotor winding of a synchronous generator to be the primary winding of a

transformer, the field winding to be the secondary, the field current to be the primary current,
and the armature current to be the secondary current, then a synchronous generator can be taken
to resemble a step-up current transformer since the armature current is much higher than the
field current.
 In a current transformer, when the secondary winding is short circuited, that short circuit
current is proportional to the primary current. Similarly, when the armature is short circuited in a
synchronous generator, we can observe that the armature current is proportional to the field
current by the short circuit characteristic curve. Hence, the synchronous generator shows
characteristics of a current transformer.

A synchronous generator’s field current depends on the connected load. Similarly in a

current transformer, the primary current depends on the load connected to the secondary
winding.