General

SALIENT POINTS IN THE DESIGN OF GENERATOR

A Generator is a rotating Electromagnetic device producing electrical power taking mechanical input from prime mover (Gas Turbine / Steam Turbine) and magnetic energy from e citation! Generator "esign will be conforming to #nternational Standards like #E$ % &ational standards like 'S( )"E( #S etc! Following inputs are required for designing the Generator : *)A(*+(,-()oltage( -re.uency( speed( type of cooling( type of e citation system etc! Starting point for design is fi ing the main parameters like / Stator /Stator $ore outer diameter( #nner diameter( &o!of slots( slot si0e( $opper si0e etc! Rotor / 'arrel diameter( length( no! of slots ( si0e of slot( si0e of copper etc! -ree0ing these parameters will be done after carrying out a number of Electromagnetic( ventilation % temperature calculations with the help of computer programs and checking the magnetic parameters like -lu densities in air gap( stator core( stator tooth( 1otor tooth % core( Electrical parameters like current density in Stator % rotor windings( ampere conductor loading( temperatures of stator % rotor windings etc! $riteria of design will be to ensure ma imum efficiency( short circuit ratio % sub transient reactance as per standard stipulations % any other customer commitments 'hatat 2eavy Electricals 3imited!
-& / G/6A)16$S&6$S&57)*

454

General

After free0ing the design data sheet( detailed drawings will be prepared and manufacturing activity follows! Tests will be done during manufacturing process to ensure healthiness at each and every stage and final tests will be done after assembly in line with specified standards to assess the electrical characteristics( mechanical characteristics( temperature rises( losses (efficiency etc! 2) test % #1 test value measurements will be done before despatch! Test results will be checked for ensuring customer commitments /stipulations of standards!

'hatat 2eavy Electricals 3imited!

489

General

GENERAL ASPECTS OF TURBOGENERATOR DESIGN

Turbo generators are classified according to their function and the conditions under which they are supposed to work and deliver the output/ 4) CLASSIFICATION BAS ! ON !RI" / a) GAS T#RBIN G N RATORS / Gas turbine can be installed outdoors and

without proper civil structure! They have to operate under e treme temperature conditions! 2ence( generators driven by Gas turbines are usually installed with a minimum civil foundation on a base frame! An enclosure is provided to protect from the effects of environment! They can be open circuit air cooled or closed circuit air5water cooled! The terminals are usually at the top of the generator on the e citer side for onward connection to bus5ducts or through a GA$! b) ST A$ T#RBIN G N RATORS / Small rating steam turbines are designed for high speeds and hence generators are driven by steam turbines through speed reduction gearbo es! 'ut at higher capacities( the losses in the gearbo offset any advantage obtained by high5speed design for steam turbines! 2ence large capacity steam turbines are designed for :;;; 1,* and connected to generators directly! Steam turbines are erected on an elaborate civil foundation in a power house at an elevation of < to = meters! The space below the turbine is employed for locating the condenser! 2ence( as the generator also is located at this height( the space below the generator is utili0ed for locating the air coolers! The terminals are taken out from the bottom of the machine on the e citer side for onward connection to bus5ducts!

'hatat 2eavy Electricals 3imited!

48:

General
9) CLASSIFICATION BAS ! ON S% !/

The construction of the generator as well as the material used are dependent on the speed at which the machine is designed to operate! 2igh5 speed machines (:;;;/:<;; rpm) are of 98pole design! They employ solid cylindrical rotors made of high .uality steel forging! Slots are milled into the rotor to accommodate the rotor winding! Two retaining rings or end5bells made of high strength austenitic steel forging hold the rotor winding in place! Two a ial fans( one on each side for circulating cooling air in the machine are provided! Generators with >8poles run at 4?;;/4=;; rpm and can have rotors built up of circular laminations stacked and bolted over a steel forging as the base or can be of salient pole construction! #n the case of laminated rotors( slots punched into the lamination accommodate the rotor winding! 3aminated rotors have ventilating ducts for circulation of cooling air and employ radial cooling fans for cooling the machine( which are fi ed on each side of rotor barrel! Salient pole generators are of two types/ a) 3aminated pole rotor and b) Solid pole rotors! #n the case of laminated pole rotors( the pole laminations are cut from stampings and assembled on the rotor main body along with the pole winding! #n the case of solid poles( the pole body is integral with the rotor! After assembling the pole winding( the pole shoe is fi ed to the main pole body by screws! Salient pole generators are fitted with a ial fans for circulating air in the machine for cooling purpose! >8pole generators are driven by gas turbine or steam turbines through speed reduction gearbo es! 'hatat 2eavy Electricals 3imited! 48>

General

:) CLASSIFICATION BAS ! ON COOLING/ All electrical machines produce heat( which is the result of losses generated inside the machine! These losses have two components( fi ed and variable losses! -riction and windage losses are fi ed losses and are dependent on speed! Synchronous machines run at a constant sped and hence mechanical losses i!e! frictional and windage losses are constant losses! As the magnetic flu passes through the stator laminations( hysterisis and eddy current losses result in and are dependent on the magnitude of flu ! As long as the machine is delivering power at a constant voltage( which is the normal case( the losses in the laminations( known as iron losses are fi ed! Stator copper losses vary in s.uare proportion to the stator current and the rotor losses also vary in s.uare proportion to the rotor current! As a synchronous machine has to deliver the output on a continuous basis( the heat generated inside the machine due to losses has to be taken away at the same rate( so that it can operate continuously at a stable temperature( which has to be within permissible limits to ensure a long life for the insulation system! 2ence air cooled generators are the simplest in design! +e can employ a) open air cooling b) air to water closed circuit cooling! @pen circuit air5cooling is mainly employed for Gas turbine generators where there is scarcity of water! Air is taken in through filters and air ducting and after cooling of the machine( it is let out into the atmosphere! #n the case of closed circuit air cooled machines( the same air is re5circulated inside the machine! Air to water cooler can be located below( on the side or on the top of machine! Gas turbine generators are mounted on base5frames and hence the coolers are mounted on the side! 'hatat 2eavy Electricals 3imited ! 48?

General

Generators up to 49? *+ capacity are air5cooled! -or larger rating machines( hydrogen cooling is employed! Even larger machines (A ?;; *+) employ direct cooling of the stator and rotor windings by circulating water in the hollow conductors! 1est of the machine is cooled by hydrogen! 2ydrogen cooled machines re.uire complicated arrangement for isolating hydrogen gas from the surrounding atmosphere as hydrogen with air contamination forms an e plosive mi ture! @il seals separate the hydrogen gas from outside air! 2ydrogen gas system( seal oil system( $arbon dio ide purging system along with their controls form a very complicated system( re.uiring continuous monitoring and maintenance! 2ence( air5cooling is increasingly employed up to :;; *)A! Enclosures are provided for gas turbine generator a) for protection of the machine from the effects of environment( b) to reduce noise to tolerable levels c) to provide an aesthetic appearance! Enclosures can be on base or off base and are usually assembled at the site from pre5fabricated elements!

'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited!

48<

General

GENERATOR PERFORMANCE CURVES

,erformance curves indicate the operating regimes of the turbo generators( like overload and negative se.uence conditions! Some of the curves indicate the operating limits during the operation of the machine! These performance curves are used for fi ing the limits of operation of the generators by setting the relay limits! The -ollowing performance curves are very vital to the operating personnel in understanding the operating conditions of the turbo generators/ 4! Generator output curve 9! Saturation curves :! $apability "iagram >! )5$urves ?! $urrent overload capability curve <! &egative se.uence capability B! ,ermissible )%- variations &' G N RATOR O#T%#T C#R" / This curve gives the relation between the output of the gas turbine generator ( 1ef! curve TA$<=>?) and the ambient temperature! The gas turbine output varies in inverse linear proportion to the ambient temperature! At lower ambient temperatures( say in winter nights( GT delivers its highest output and the output decreases with rising ambient temperature! The generator( which is driven by the GT( has to deliver the full output of the GT throughout its operating range for all ambient conditions! 2ence( the generator output capability will be marginally higher than that of the GT! 1efer typical curve TA$5<=>?! 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited! 48B

General

Cnder peak load conditions( the generator will deliver the GT peak load( but the operating temperatures of the generator active parts can be up to $lass5- levels( up from $lass5' limits in line with #E$ <;;:>! (' SAT#RATION C#R" S: Generator saturation curves comprise #) air gap line ii) open circuit saturation characteristic iii) short circuit characteristic iv) load magneti0ation curve at C,- and v) load magneti0ation curve at rated power factor! @pen circuit saturation characteristic is drawn by plotting the relation between the armature voltage and the field current! #t gives an indication of the degree of saturation of generator! A line drawn tangential to this curve from the origin is the air gap line! The field current re.uired for generating 4;;D voltage on5load indicates the magnetising component of the field current! The short circuit characteristic is linear and indicates the relation between the armature current and the corresponding field current with the three phases short5circuited! This line is linear( starts from the origin and indicates the field current re.uired to overcome armature reaction and leakage! The ratio of the field current at 4;;D En on no load (# f;) to the field current corresponding to 4;;D#n on short circuit (# fs) is the short circuit ratio (S$1) of the generator! As per #E$( the minimum specified value is ;!>?! Generators with higher S$1 will be bigger in si0e! Though higher values of S$1 were felt necessary previously for better stability of the machines( the emergence of fast acting A)1 has eliminated this need for higher values of S$1! 3oad magneti0ation curves (> % ?) indicate the relation between generator load current and the field current! As we can see( from the curve TA$5<=>>( for low values of lagging power factor( the field current 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited! 48=

General

re.uirement is more for a given *+ load as compared to the condition for higher values of lagging power factor which indicates that capability at lower lagging power factors will be lesser! )' CA%ABILIT* C#R" +Refer TAC ,-.)' Generator capability curves indicate the limits of operation of the turbo generator with respect to various power factors (E,- 3ead to E,- 3ag!)! -or Gas turbine generator( these curves are drawn for various ambient temperatures corresponding to the gas turbine output at those ambient temperatures! A typical $apability curve (TA$5<=>: ) is enclosed in which generator capability at : amb temperatures are indicated! -or e planation sake one of these curves (vi0 4) is marked with A'$"E@ and the sections are as follows/ @A / *)A1 capability at E,- lag! A' / 1otor current limit '$ / Stator current limit $" / 1otor angle limit "E / Cnder e citation limit @E / *)A1 capability at E,- lead .' "/ C#R" S )5 $urves give the relation between the generator field current and the *)A( for various power factors from 0ero power factor (E,-) 3ead to 0ero power factor (E,-) 3ag! These curves are usually drawn for 4;;D( B?D( ?;D and 9?D of rated *+! A typical )5$urve is shown in TA$5<=><! 0' C#RR NT O" RLOA! CA%ABILIT* C#R" $urrent overload capability curve TA$5?4;4 gives the permissible limits of stator over current against time in seconds! This is in line with #E$ <;;:>5:! This curve helps in setting the stator over current limit! As the allowable time is in seconds( it is a short time capability! Any operation e ceeding the limit will damage the machine due to e cess heat that is generated because of the 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited! 48F

General

higher current! ,' #NBALANC ! LOA! TI$ C#R" Cnbalanced load on the generator results in the generation of negative se.uence currents( which cause e cessive heating in the rotor! Cnbalance can occur due to a) "ifference in loading in the three phases! b) -aulty closing / opening of circuit breaker c) "ue to unbalanced faults like two phase and single line to earth faults! &egative se.uence currents flowing in the stator cause double fre.uency currents in the rotor! 'ecause of the high fre.uency they tend to concentrate at the outer surface of the rotor body and cause e cessive heating! Air cooled generators are normally designed to carry continuous negative se.uence currents amounting to a ma imum of 4;D of the stator current( which is indicated in the characteristic curve ($urve &o! TA$5?4;;) as a hori0ontal line! "uring short circuits( # 99 t indicates short time capability! -or 9 pole generators with direct cooled solid rotors( the limiting value of #99t is 9; sec! and for > pole5laminated rotor( the # 99t value is 4? sec in line with #E$ <;;:>54! 1' % R$ISSIBL " 2 F "ARIATION Turbo generators( when synchronised with grid( will be subGected to variation in voltage and fre.uency! @peration of the generator beyond the permissible limits of voltage and fre.uency variations will be detrimental to the life of the machine! The ) / - curve indicates the permissible operating 0one within which the generator can be operated safely delivering the rated power! As we can see from the curve( four 0ones of operation have to be analysed! 4) -irst .uadrant/ voltage above normal and fre.uency above normal! #n this condition( higher flu is re.uired to sustain higher voltage! This calls for more field current to be pumped into the rotor to meet the e tra flu re.uirement! At the same time( higher fre.uency means the rate of change of flu linkage is more and hence( to generate the same voltage( lower flu is re.uired! 2ence this calls for lowering the re.uirement of field HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited! 4 8 4;

General

current! This leads to a compensating effect and within permissible limits( does not impose a strain on the rotor! This can be submitted as follows/

) -

#f #f

9) -ourth .uadrant/ #n this condition( voltage re.uirement is below the rated value but fre.uency is high!

) limits!

#f #f

There is no harmful impact on the machine for operation within specified :) Third .uadrant/ 2ere( a combination of lower voltage re.uirement and lower fre.uency has to be carefully analysed as lower fre.uency imposes more burden on the rotor than higher voltage as at lower fre.uencies( the ventilation of the rotor is correspondingly reduced and this can cause higher temperature in the rotor!

) -

#f #f

The limits for this operation have to be carefully fi ed so as not to allow the temperature in the machine to e ceed permissible limits! >) second .uadrant/ @peration under this condition imposes the greatest strain on the generator! 'esides( higher field current re.uirement( combined with the lower speed of the machine aggravates the problem of higher temperature inside the machine! 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited! 4544

General

) -

#f #f

-urther( the combined voltage and fre.uency variations are limited to ?D( while the allowed voltage variation is ?D and the fre.uency variation is 8?D % I:D as indicated in the curve TA$5?9F9!

'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited.

1-12

General

SOME OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS AND THEIR ANALYSIS These problems may be divided into three broad groups! They are/ 4! ,roblems due to system disturbances! 9! ,roblems due to faults in and around the e.uipment! :! ,roblems due to operation beyond e.uipment specifications!

S3ste4 !istur5an6es:
These can be classified into the following for the sake of analysis! i))oltage fluctuations ii) iii) iv) -re.uency fluctuations! Sudden load throw5offs! Switching surges and 2!)! side disturbances!

"oltage Flu6tuations:
The permissible values for generators are given in #S5 ?>99( #E$5:> etc! and they are usually I ?Dof the rated value( unless otherwise( by specific agreement! The generator( though designed to operate continuously with these fluctuations( is not meant for deliberate overloading continuously as further uncontrolled and une pected grid variations over the deliberate overload will be detrimental to the machine! #t may be noted that the operations during these disturbances will affect a) Stator current! b) 1otor current! c) *echanical and electrical losses! d) Temperature rises!

'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited.

1-13

General

Though( to .uantify and assess the overall effects is difficult( it is possible to put limits and assess individual effects thereby arriving at safer limits! These are in fact reflected in the capability diagram of the generators! As many grids are not that stiff( many customers are forced to operate their generators beyond allowable limits( that too for prolonged times! The least that can be said on these operations is that they can sometimes cause serious damage to the internals of the machine and many eventually accelerate the failure of the set! To overcome some of these problems( it may be imperative to decrease output etc! of the set and in any case it is necessary to refer to the manufacturer for an advice! The combined variation of voltage and fre.uency is a problem of immense interest to the operating personnel! TA$5?9F9 indicates the allowable limits of variation of voltage and fre.uency!

Frequency Fluctuations:
Again the allowable values are usually J9D as per &ational and #nternational Standards (-ig 49 of #E$ :>! 4)! The effects on the generator are similar to those due to voltage fluctuations( in addition to the following effects/ -an discharge and pressure! )entilation inside the machines! Additionally large variations in fre.uency bring in problems of vibrations( especially in the turbine! -urther it may be noted that simultaneous variations in voltage and fre.uency may cause severe restrictions on the allowable( individual limits of these parameters!

Sudden Load Throw/Offs:

Sudden load throw5off( apart from rise in speed and corresponding increase in mechanical stresses in rotating parts makes the terminal voltage 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-14

General
to rise to 4:;D to 4>;D of rated voltage momentarily till A)1 corrective action comes into play! Though a reasonable number of load throw5offs may not cause any serious damage( it is advisable to limit them to the barest minimum!

Swit6hing Surges 7 89"9 Side !istur5an6es:

3ine switching( fault clearing and reclosing disturbances on high5voltage bus are associated with events that upset the balance between the mechanical tor.ue of the drive turbine and the electrical tor.ue at the air5gap of the generator! This results in torsional oscillations and stresses in the shaft system! These stresses if allowed .uite often may produce cumulative tor.ue damages and conse.uent reductions in shaft fatigue life! "uring fast switching operations( voltage to the level of ? to B times that of the phase voltage shall be produced for a very short time and this imposes severe stress on the generator insulation system 9 This is virtually subGecting the generator to 2!)! test of considerable level though for a short while!

Faults in and Around the Generator:

The broad categorisation of these faults is as detailed below! 4! Earth fault inside the stator and rotor of the machine! 9! Short circuits outside the machine! :! -ault in the e citation system! >! -aulty synchronisation! ?! *otoring! <! Asynchronous @peration B! Two shift operation! =! ,ole slipping!

'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited.

1-15

General Stator :inding:

The various faults that can occur on the stator winding are/ a/ Short on all : phases! b/ Short on only 9 phases! c/ Short on phase to ground! d: Short on line5line to ground! e/ Short on all : phases to ground! f/ #nter5turn fault All these cases are e tensively dealt with( in the literature by analysing the ensuing currents( voltages etc! from the parameters of the machine and the system! -urther( the generator is normally well protected from many of these faults through the usual protection system! 2owever( one or two points of concern and which are of considerable importance from the generator operational point of view are dealt with here! Earth fault inside the machine may cause considerable fault current to pass through the core for a short while! &ormally( protection e.uipment comes in to effect and prevents any damage to the core! 2owever( in case the relay malfunctions( it may result in some local core melting depending upon the magnitude and duration of fault current! 'ut system re.uirements may dictate a higher fault current to be allowed through the stator core in case of an earth fault! 2ence the magnitude of allowable neutral current can be chosen so as not to e ceed permissible values( with the aim of minimising the core damage! &ormally utility turbo5generator stator windings are of 1oebel bar type with two bars per slot and hence the .uestion of inter5turn fault does not arise! #n case of small rating sets with multi5turn windings( inter5 turn faults can occur! 2owever( usually any inter5turn fault inside the slot .uickly degenerates in to an earth fault! 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-16

General

1igorous inter5stage tests during winding manufacture can minimise these inter5 turn faults!

Rotor :inding :
1otor windings may face either a single earth fault or a double earth fault during the opration! The former is normally viewed as not that serious and the set has to be tripped if the latter happens! -or single earth fault( the rotor winding is not affected in any way e cept that in case of another such earth fault on the rotor winding inside the slot has an effect e.uivalent to the loss of turns and the conse.uent increase in field current and vibration levels! #n fact( this case is similar to the shorting of turns in the slot or overhang portion of rotor winding! The effects of such shortening or double earth fault are as follows/ #ncrease in field current! #ncrease in losses in the normal turns due to increase in field current and due to contact loss! #ncrease in vibration levels due to flu distortion! &ormally a loss of one or two turns per pole may not be serious and the set is e pected to give satisfactory operation! #t may be mentioned finally that some shorts in rotor may be of flying nature and are difficult to locate in static condition! Such faults are better identified in running condition by conducting running5impedance tests followed by static tests! The impedance test is very sensitive as the induced backward current greatly reduces the impedance of the coil with the shorted turn!

Faults Outside the $a6hine:

The various types of faults are same as those described above! The machine 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-17

General
is generally well designed and protected against the likely effects of these faults! 2owever( a word of caution may be that these faults unless restricted to a reasonable number may likely affect the internals of the machine and thereby cause failure of the set one way or other!

Faults on ;6itation S3ste4:

Any fault on A)1 can affect the generator broadly in two ways! -irst it may put the generator on manual channel and secondly( a rather serious loss of e citation with tripping of generator! 'oth these two cases are envisaged during the design stage itself and the sets are well protected( e cept that during operation on manual channel( care should be e ercised by operator to see that the generator parameters are kept within the limits set by the capability of the set! A specific cause of concern is the loss of e citation followed by failure of the generator circuit breaker to open! #n such cases the machine will run as an induction motor or induction generator with likely serious conse.uences to the rotor forging( retaining rings etc! A similar effect can also happen due to breaker failure while on barring gear! Fault3 S3n6hronisation: @ut5of5phase synchronisation can affect the generator in the following ways! a) #ncreases generator line currents! b) #ncreases the amplitude and oscillations of electromagnetic tor.ue! The order of the transient current at ? mismatch angle will be about 4!? p!u! and at 9; mismatch angle( the current can go up to 9 p!u! The currents will be ma imum when the out of phase angle of synchronisation is 4=; elec!

'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited.

1-18

General

These currents will increase the electro5magnetic forces almost in a s.uare relation and may cause considerable damage to stator winding! &ormally coupling bolts are deliberately designed to shear off rather than allow any damage to the shaft systems to occur! The transient tor.ues developed during synchronisation are predominantly dictated by the phase angle mismatch! E perimental results have shown that the effect of voltage mismatch up to 9D and speed mismatch up to 4D on the transient tor.ues will be marginal! The tor.ue will be ma imum when the out of phase angle of synchronisation is either 49; elec! or 9>; elec! The steady state tor.ue before synchroni5 sation will be superimposed to the transient tor.ue( if synchronisation is carried out under load conditions! These tor.ues will reduce the fatigue life of shaft and coupling! The effect on the latter is more serious than former! #t is recommended that synchronisation on load can be permitted if the phase angle mismatch is limited to about ? elec! #n case on5load synchronisation is a necessity( the use of auto5synchronisation e.uipment is a must( where synchronisation can be carried out with a ma imum phase angle mismatch of : elec! @n load synchronisation with manual synchronisation may be avoided! A check synchronising relay( normally provided( prevents synchronisation beyond permissible limits of voltage and phase angle!

Re<erse %ower Operation:

Accidental reverse power operation can occur due to faulty operation of the generator circuit breaker! This condition is especially dangerous when the e citation system is switched off and the rotor is in standstill condition or is in a coasting5down condition! #n such a case the machine will run as induction motor 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-19

General

with likely serious conse.uences to the rotor forging and retaining rings due to skin currents! A similar phenomenon can also occur due to breaker failure while on barring gear!

As3n6hronous Operation:
A synchronous machine connected to a power system will run asynchronously( if the e citation is lost temporarily or the rotor runs at super synchronous speed with loss of e citation and the main generator circuit breaker fails to open! A loss of e citation power at full load might cause the phenomenon of pole slipping which is detrimental to the machine( necessitating immediate tripping of the unit! 2owever( when total loss of e citation occurs( it is possible to continue to run continuously a state5of5the5art Turbogenerator at a limited output for a short period! The aim is to prevent total tripping of the unit and thereby ma imise the availability of power! The capability of a synchronous machine for asynchronous operation is limited by the following conditions/ 4) "ue to loss of e citation power( a large amount of reactive power is drawn from the grid! As this power is directly proportional to the short circuit ratio of the machine( a smaller value of S$1 is helpful in this case! 9) As synchronous machines have to run at leading power factors in this condition( end50one heating can occur in stator of two5pole generators! 2ence the ma imum allowable *)A and *)A1 values have to be considerably kept low! :) 3ocalised rotor surface heating can occur due to flow of large slip fre.uency currents! The hot spot temperature at some locations like cross5 slots( retaining ring seating etc!( can reach very high values depending on the fre.uency of the slip currents! >) #n a condition where field winding is open5circuited during asynchronous 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-20

General
running( slip fre.uency voltages across rotor winding terminals can be very high! This is especially detrimental in the case of brushless e citation system( where e tensive damage can occur to the rotating diodes!

Shaft "oltages:
Shaft voltages can cause considerable damage in rotating machinery( especially in synchronous machines fed by static e citation system! 2igh fre.uency spikes due to the static e citation system are super5imposed on the basic shaft voltage( causing considerable damage! This calls for fre.uent maintenance and replacement of grounding brushes besides the damage caused to the bearings!

Causes of Shaft "oltages:

4) "ue to electrostatic charges/ Shaft to ground "$ type voltages occur due to electrostatic charges caused by water droplets present in the steam that impact against the blade of 3, stages of the Turbine! 9) Shaft voltages caused by magnetic asymmetries/ These A$ type voltages present between the ends of the generator shaft are caused by the magnetic asymmetries due to/ a) 1otor eccentricities b) Asymmetries in the stator laminations and improper selection of number of segments! c) A ial ventilation channels in the stator :) Shaft voltage caused by residual magnetism/ These "$ type voltages are caused by residual magnetic flu es and can cause considerable damage! They occur due to/ a) Short circuited rotor turns b) Eccentric location of the rotor in the stator bore c) Cnfavourable connection of the stator winding during heating procedure by "$ current in order to dry up the stator insulation! 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-21

General

d) "$ component of a severe short circuit current can occur( if the current in one or more phase windings encloses the shaft! This is possible in case of an internal short circuit of the generator or if the arrangement of the winding connections is not properly balanced! A ial magnetism of the rotor may also be amplified by self5e citation( when two points of the shaft (turbine or generator) have contact to the earth protection! .' Shaft voltages caused by static e citation systems/ These impulsive type voltages( consisting of very steep spikes followed by a lower fre.uency oscillation are caused by system for the rectification of the field voltage by means of thyristors and by the capacitive couplings between the e citation winding and the generator shaft! The damage caused can be minimised by making use of capacitive filters between the rotor windings and the ground besides insulating at least one bearing from the earth!

Two Shift Operation:

Gas turbines are usually called up on to meet peak load demands! 2ence generators connected to gas turbines have to withstand the rigors of fre.uent starts and stops( often two to three times in a day! This imposes severe stresses on the rotating parts of the machine( especially in the retaining rings( end windings and rotor slot wedges! The use of high .uality rotor forgings and retaining ring forgings makes the generators of '2E3 make eminently suitable for this application! Additionally( the insulation system is well designed and chosen to prevent migration of insulation under differential heating conditions arising out of two5shift/fre.uent start/ stop operations of Gas turbine power plants! $are is to be taken to in providing e tra insulation under the retaining ring( high .uality insulating materials in the rotor winding( and a good safety margin in the design of the rotor wedges improve the performance of the machine! #t is advised that the retaining rings be removed and thoroughly 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-22

General

inspected more fre.uently in the case of gas turbine generators as compared to those of steam turbine generators!

%ole Slipping:
+hen a fault or a disturbance occurs on a system( leading to loss of stability( restoration to normalcy is primarily determined by the control system of the prime movers! #f the machine is retained on the sys5 tem with the e citation still supplied( the machine undergoes a period of pole slipping during which there will be violent fluctuations in machine currents( voltages and tor.ues! "uring this period the speed governor reduces the steam input to the turbine! #f the fault is of a transient nature( then the e citation control can resynchronise the machine! 'ut if the pole slipping condition persists over significant periods( the resultant high current( voltage and tor.ue pulsations can prove fatal to the machine! E perience world5wide has shown that these pulsating transient tor.ues can have significant effect only in the case of turbine generators of large capacities (K 4;;*+) where the isolation of the machine from the grid is achieved by a pole slipping relay within 9 to : slips!

Operation Be3ond quip4ent Spe6ifi6ations:

$ases of operation of the generators beyond permissible limits of the manufacturerLs specifications are normally rare! Sometimes due to system conditions or the necessity of load demands( customers might be forced to operate their sets bypassing some of the essential protective systems like under voltage protection( under fre.uency protection( negative se.uence protection etc( especially during peak hours of load! #t is not possible to highlight all possible electro5magnetic( torsional( thermal and dielectric damages due to such operations! 2owever( the least that can be 'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited. 1-23

General

said about such operations is that they are potentially dangerous to the internals of the machine and apparent instantaneous non-failure of the machine is no guarantee that the machine has not suffered some damage some where else. Hence they should be strictly avoided as cumulative damage results eventually in a major breakdown of the machine. Also the damage due to torsional stresses and insulation failures are difficult to monitor and assess!

'harat 2eavy Electricals 3imited.

1 - 24