Synchronous Machines Fundamentals

• Electricmachines are used to convert mechanical energy

into electrical energy (generators) and from electrical
energy into mechanical energy (motors)
 Many devices can operate in either mode, but are usually
customized for one or the other
• Synchronous machines are AC machines that have a field
circuit supplied by an external DC source.
• Primarysource of electricity produced by turbine-driven
synchronous generators.

1
Synchronous Machines Fundamentals
• In a synchronous generator:
 a DC current is applied to the rotor winding producing a rotor
magnetic field.
 The rotor is then turned by external means producing a rotating
magnetic field, which induces a 3-phase voltage within the stator
winding distributed with centers 120° apart in space.
• Stationary Field generator < 5 kVA
 stationary field – rotating armature
 slip ring connection to armature
• Rotating Field generator (alternator) > 5 kVA
 stationary armature – rotating field
 slip ring connection to field

2
Stator Construction

• AKA armature
• Ring-shaped laminated iron
(silicon steel) core with slots.
• The stator laminations are held together
by a stator frame.
• Slots that are intended to accommodate
thick armature conductors (coils or
windings).
• It is usually made of preformed stator
coils in a double-layer winding. 3
 Rotor Construction
• The rotor of a synchronous machine is a large electromagnet.
• The magnetic poles can be either
 salient (sticking out of rotor surface) or projecting pole structure
for hydraulic units (low speed)
 or non-salient construction, cylindrical or round rotor structure for
thermal units (high speed)

4
Round-rotor generators (or turbo-alternators)
• Driven by steam or gas turbines, which rotate at high speed; P = 2
(conventional thermal units) or P = 4 (nuclear units).
• cylindrical rotor made up of solid steel forging whose
• diameter << length (centrifugal force!)
• even if the generator efficiency is around 99 %, the heat produced by
Joule losses has to be evacuated!
 Large generators are cooled by hydrogen (heat evacuation 7x better than air) or
water (12x better) flowing in the hollow stator conductors.

5
 Salient-pole generators
• Driven by hydraulic turbines (or diesel engines), which rotate at low
speed, P is much higher since it is more convenient to have field
windings concentrated and placed on the poles
• air gap is not constant: min. in front of a pole, max. in between 2 poles
• diameter >> length (to have space for the many poles)
• rotor is laminated (poles easier to construct)
• generators usually cooled by the flow of air around
the rotor

6
Damper windings (or amortisseur)
• round-rotormachines: copper/brass bars placed in the
same slots at the field winding, and interconnected to
form a damper cage (similar to the squirrel cage of an
induction motor)
• salient-pole
machines: copper/brass rods embedded in
the poles and connected at their ends to rings or
segments.

7
Synchronous Machine Modeling
• Electrical (inductor) equations:
𝑑
𝑣 = 𝑅 𝑖 + 𝜆
𝑑𝑡 See Kundur’s
𝑑 book Ch. 3, p. 56
= [𝑅][𝑖] + 𝐿 𝜃𝑟 𝑖
𝑑𝑡
1 𝑇 𝑑 𝐿 𝜃𝑟
𝑇𝑒 = 𝑖 𝑖
2 𝑑𝑡

where 𝑣 = 𝑣𝑎𝑠 𝑣𝑏𝑠 𝑣𝑐𝑠 𝑣𝐹 𝑣𝐷 𝑣𝑄1 𝑣𝑄2 𝑇 and similarly

for [𝑖] and 𝜆
• Mechanical (Newton’s) equations:
𝑑
𝐽 𝜔𝑟 + 𝐷𝜔𝑟 = 𝑇𝑚 − 𝑇𝑒
𝑑𝑡
𝑑
𝑑𝑡
𝜃𝑟 = 𝜔𝑟 8
 Park’s transformation
• For a power invariant
𝑓𝑎 𝑓𝑑 transformation:
𝑓𝑏 = 𝐶𝑃 𝑓𝑞
𝑓𝑐 𝑓0 2
𝑘𝑑 =
3

𝑘𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑟 𝑘𝑞 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑟 𝑘0 2
𝑘𝑞 =
2𝜋 2𝜋 3
𝑘𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑟 − 𝑘𝑞 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑟 − 𝑘0
𝐶𝑃 = 3 3
1
2𝜋 2𝜋 𝑘0 =
𝑘𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃𝑟 + 𝑘𝑞 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑟 + 𝑘0 3
3 3
9
Park’s transformation interpretation
• The Park transformation consists
of replacing the (a, b, c) stator
windings by three equivalent
windings (d, q, 0).
• Park transformation allows
reducing machine equations to
static phasors if the machine
rotor is also rotating at the
synchronous speed.

10
Synchronous Machine Modeling
Generator Convention
• Stator equations

𝑣𝑑𝑠 𝑅𝑠 𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝜔𝑟 𝜓𝑑𝑠 𝜓𝑑𝑠

𝑑
𝑣𝑞𝑠 = − 𝑅𝑠 𝑖𝑞𝑠 − −𝜔𝑟 𝜓𝑞𝑠 − 𝜓𝑞𝑠
𝑣0𝑠 𝑅𝑠 𝑑𝑡
𝑖0𝑠 𝜓0𝑠 𝜓0𝑠

• Rotor equations:
𝑣𝐹 𝑅𝐹 𝑖𝐹 𝜓𝐹
0 𝑅𝐷 𝑖𝐷 𝑑 𝜓𝐷
= 𝑅𝑄1 𝑖𝑄1 + 𝑑𝑡 𝜓𝑄1
0
0 𝑅𝑄2 𝑖𝑄2 𝜓𝑄2
(zero entries have been left empty) 11
 Synchronous Machine Modeling
Generator Convention
• Magnetic flux equations:

𝜓𝑑𝑠 𝐿𝑑 0 0 𝑀𝑎𝑓 Τ𝑘𝑑 𝑀𝑎ℎ Τ𝑘𝑑 0 0 𝑖𝑑𝑠

𝜓𝑞𝑠 0 𝐿𝑞 0 0 0 𝑀𝑎𝑔 Τ𝑘𝑞 𝑀𝑎𝑘 Τ𝑘𝑞 𝑖𝑞𝑠
𝜓0𝑠 0 0 𝐿0 0 0 0 0 𝑖0𝑠
𝜓𝐹 = 3Τ2 ∙ 𝑀𝑎𝑓 𝑘𝑑 0 0 𝐿𝑓 𝐿𝑓ℎ 0 0 𝑖𝐹
𝜓𝐷 3Τ2 ∙ 𝑀𝑎ℎ 𝑘𝑑 0 0 𝐿𝑓ℎ 𝐿ℎ 0 0 𝑖𝐷
𝜓𝑄1 0 3Τ2 ∙ 𝑀𝑎𝑔 𝑘𝑞 0 0 0 𝐿𝑔 𝐿𝑔𝑘 𝑖𝑄1
𝜓𝑄2 0 3Τ2 ∙ 𝑀𝑎𝑘 𝑘𝑞 0 0 0 𝐿𝑔𝑘 𝐿𝑘 𝑖𝑄2

12
Synchronous Machine Modeling
Observations
• All
components are independent of the rotor
position 𝜃𝑟
• There is no magnetic coupling between d and q
axes.
• zeromutual inductances between coils with
orthogonal axes.

13
Synchronous Machine Modeling
• Mechanical equations:

2 𝑑 2
𝐽 𝜔𝑟 + 𝐷𝜔𝑟 = 𝑇𝑚 − 𝑇𝑒
𝑃 𝑑𝑡 𝑃

𝑑
𝜃𝑟 = 𝜔𝑟
𝑑𝑡

𝑃
𝑇𝑒 = 𝑖𝑞𝑠 𝜓𝑑𝑠 − 𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝜓𝑞𝑠
2

14
References
• B. S. Guru and H. R. Hizirouglu, "Electric machinery and transformers", 3rd
Edition, 2001.
• G. G. Karady and K. E. Holbert, “Electrical Energy Conversion and Transport”,
2nd Edition, 2013.
• Stephen Umans, "Fitzgerald & Kingsley's Electric Machinery" 7th Edition, 2013.
• Kundur, P. “Power System Stability and Control”, McGraw-Hill, 1994.
• K. R. Padiyar, Power System Dynamics: Stability and Control. Anshan, 2004.
• Paul M. Anderson; A. A. Fouad, "Power System Control and Stability," Wiley-
IEEE Press, 2003.
• C. Cañizares, “Generator” in Power System Components and Modeling Lecture,
Escuela Politécnica Nacional, 2015.
• T. Van Cutsem, “The synchronous machine (detailed model)” in Electric Power
System Analysis Lecture, Universite de Liege, 2017.

15