GENERATOR TYPES AND MAINTENANCE

1. A.C. Generator An A.C. Generator is the most important constituent in a power plant layout as the generation of electric power is carried out by it.

PRINCIPLE

The generation of e.m.f in an armature conductor depends

only on

the relative motion of the conductor and the field flux, so that either armature or field may be the rotating member.

Types of A.C. Generators

If the field is made to rotate, the armature will be kept static - Rotating field type. If the armature is made to rotate, the field will be kept static - Stationery shows the tow types of A.C. Generators. In commercial

field type Fig.

alternators, in general, because,

rotating field or revolving

field system is only used

i)

In revolving field type, armature is stationery thereby facilitating easy bracing and insulation of conductors for high voltage thereby of power at higher voltages is easily facilitated as well generation as easy

transmission of huge power from armature to external circuit. ii) In case of revolving armature, large current at high voltage has to be

transmitted through slip rings, which is unreliable and more complicated. iii) In case of revolving field, the power to be transmitted through slip rings is low and is also at lower voltage, for excitation purpose or production of magnetic flux.

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Generator Types and Maintenance

CONSTRUCTION OF A SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR The different parts of an A.C. Generator are 1. Stator consisting of stator frame, stator core and windings. 2. Rotor consisting of rotor body and shaft, rotor pole, coils or rotor windings, rotor end rings etc. 1. STATOR FRAME In the alternator the stator frame is cylindrical in shape and is used for holding the armature stampings and the windings in position. For small For larger

machines in olden days, the frame was a single casting piece. diameter and low speed alternators, stator frames

were cast in sections.

Ventilation being maintained through holes cast in the frame itself. But now days the stator frames are generally fabricated from mild steel plates welded

together in such a way to form a box type section instead of castings. 2. STATOR CORE The stator core provides on easy path for the magnetic flux from the rotor poles and is made up of laminations of special magnetic iron or steel alloy. The

core is laminated to minimize loss due to eddy currents.

The laminations are

stamped out in complete rings for small machines or in segments for larger machines. The laminations are well insulated from each other and have spacers The slots for housing the

between them to allow cool air to pass through.

armature conductors lie along the inner periphery of the core and are stamped out at the same time when laminations are formed. The stator core segments are either dove-tailed or bolted to the stator frame which may be a hollow box casting as shown in section in fig. Core plates are cut to form segments of an annular ring and twelve segments per ring is common. With the core frame axis vertical and one core end plate in position at the lower end of the frame, a ring of core plates are assembled, located on the frame. The stator dove tailed keys on the inside periphery of

slots for housing the armature conductors lie along the

inner periphery of the core and are of three types as shown in figure. a. Wide open type slot b. Semi closed type slot c. Closed type slot
H.T.I. / K.K.Medu Generator Types and Maintenance

The wide open type slot has the advantage of permitting easy installation of form wound coils and their removal in case of repair, but it has the

disadvantage

of distributing the air gap flux into bunches or tufts that produce

ripples in the wave form of the generated e.m.f. The semi closed type slots are better in this respect but they do not allow the use of form wound coils, as they cannot be easily inserted into the slots. The conductors have to be placed only one at a time inside the slot. The fully closed type slots have the distinct advantage of producing practically on ripples as these slots do not disturb the air gap flux distribution but there are some disadvantages also: They are a. They tend to increase the inductance of windings. b. The armature conductors have to be threaded through for insertion into the slot, thereby increasing the initial labour and cost of winding. c. Present a complicated form of end connections and hence rarely used. Hence the common practice is to use the fully open or wide open type slot as the coils can be form wound and well insulated prior to placing inside the slots, giving the least expensive and most satisfactory method of winding.

3. WINDING The conductors are usually held in the slot by fibre wedges as shown in figure. The effect of the semi-closed slot may be obtained by the use of open

slots and magnetic wedges, which are partly of iron so that the slot is not entirely closed. Conductor / coil insulation is of two classes i.e., Class A & Class B

Class A insulation such as paper and cambric, is of organic material and when impregnated
0

with varnishes

or

fillers

has

a limiting

operating

temperature of 100

C. Class B insulation, of which mica tapes and fibre

glass (fabric woven with glass fibre) are examples, can operate up to a limiting temperature of 1200 C. Recently silicon varnishes have been developed which Normally class B insulation is

have a much higher operating temperatures.

being used. Each stator slot conductor is made up of a number of rectangular

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Generator Types and Maintenance

sub-conductors. and

The sub-conductors are each insulated by class B insulation varnish before they are assembled into a

impregnated with suitable

conductor of length equal to slot length and two half lengths of end windings. One turn of the winding consists of two conductors joined by the end

connections. The general principles that govern direct current winding hold good for windings of alternators also. The span of each coil must be approximately one pole pitch (i.e. 180 electrical ) to obtain maximum induced voltage. i.e. The

two sides of any coil must lie under adjacent poles.

The coils must be so

connected that their e.m.f add and the winding should be designed to give a sine wave voltage approximately. Alternator windings may be divided into two classes (i) the barrel type Fig, in which diamond shaped coils, usually formed, are used, are used, (ii) the spiral type. The barrel type may be half coil, whole coil, single layer or two layer lap windings. In United States two-layer lap windings are almost exclusively used.

In U.K., spiral type windings are used to a considerable extent.

Lap and Wave Winding Single-phase single layer 6 pole distributed lap winding is similar like wave siding, in both cases the total e.m.f. induced is the same but the end connections for a lap winding are simpler than for a wave winding and hence lap winding is exclusively used. Fig. Shows a whole winding, There are four coils and four poles so that the number of coils (or) coil groups is the same as poles and hence called a whole coil winding. One side of each coil shown in solid thick line, lies on the

top of the slot and the other side shown in dotted line lies in the bottom of a slot. Hence this is a two layer winding also. Generally one slot per pole is never

used as the surface of the armature is not used economically and also a poor voltage wave is obtained. Fig. Shows a single phase winding with 2 slots per pole. Since the coils of each group are connected in series before being connected to the next
H.T.I. / K.K.Medu Generator Types and Maintenance

group the winding is lap connected a larger number

The winding is also two layers. In practice

slots per pole is used and single-phase windings are not Generally three phase windings either full pitch

generally used in practice.

(or) short pitch windings are used.

Three Phase full pitch Lap Windings A 3 Phase full pitch Lap winding is obtained placing three windings of the type shown in Fig. in the armature. Each winding is spaced 1200 electrical space degrees from the two adjacent windings. A typical winding of this type is shown in figure in which there are 12 slots / pole (or) 4 slots per pole per phase. One side of a coil will be placed at a gap of 1800 electrical degrees

from the other side of the coil.

II .

ROTOR : The rotors of alternators are classified into types (1) Salient pole (or)

projecting type used in Low and medium speed alternators used in Hydro Stations. (2) Smooth cylindrical (or) round rotor type used in high-speed

alternators say steam turbine driven units.

1.

Salient Pole (or) Projecting Pole Rotor : This type of rotor is generally used in all alternators of hydropower It has a large

houses, as the turbine speed is either low or medium mostly.

number of projecting poles, having their cores bolted or dovetailed to a heavy magnetic wheel of cast iron or steel of good magnetic quality. Such generators are generally of large diameter and short axial length. In order to reduce pole-face losses and at the same time to facilitate construction and mounting, the cores of practically all-salient poles are made up of laminations, riveted together. With slow speed alternators, these are

either dovetailed or bolted to the rotor spider. The spider may be of cast iron or steel or it may be of fabricated steel construction. The field coils of smaller

capacity machines are usually wound with wire of rectangular section, cotton
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covered

and

thoroughly

impregnated.

With

machines

of

larger ratings,

edgewise wound strap field coils are used which are usually insulated with high temperature bonded mica strips. In order to damp any pulsation or hunting

due to the prime mover cage dampers are built into the pole faces. Rotors of large generators with high capacity will have on its periphery as many as even eighty poles depending upon the diameter of the alternator rotor and speed of the machine. For example in lower Mettur Barrage Power MVA, 6.6KV, 75

houses in Tamil Nadu , the generators are rated at 18.33

rpm have eighty poles rotor and in Kuttiady Power Station in Kerala State the generators are rated at 28.7834 MW , 600 rpm have 10 poles.

Non Salient Pole Rotor or Round Rotor : In the case of high-speed turbine driven alternators or steam turbine driven alternators, smooth cylindrical rotors or non-salient pole rotors have to be In this case the rotor is cylindrical solid steel forging, in which

necessarily used.

longitudinal slots for holding the field winding are milled. Fig shows the cross section of turbo alternator rotor. The narrow longitudinal slots cut along the pole faces are for purposes of dynamic balance. The rotor is wound with strip copper and the copper end connections are supported by metallic end flanges to resist centrifugal force. In order to minimize wind age losses the surfaces of the finished rotor are made as smooth as possible.

2.

INDUCTION GENERATOR

Operation of Induction machine with negative slip is termed as generation mode (or ) the induction motor is said to act as an induction generator. The

induction motor when connected to the grid and is made to run at a speed slightly above the synchronous speed by water power, the slip becomes negative and the rotor e.m.f and current are in such a direction as to demand active power output from the stator terminals instead of receiving power from grid.

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Generator Types and Maintenance

But still the magnetisation is dependent upon the stator winding, accepting reactive power for this purpose from the electrical source, so that the

induction generator can only operate when connected to a live and synchronous A.C. system. If lagging reactive power input is equated with a leading reactive power output, then the generator can be described as operating with a leading power factor. The torque acts in a direction opposite to that of traveling field, requiring a mechanical drive. The phasor diagram for stator quantities is shown in figure. The general principle of operation of an induction generator is that when the machine is given at a speed slightly above the synchronous speed with the help of an external prime mover, then it starts generating power and feeds active power to the gird. The machine (stator ) is synchronized with the gird only on attaining the

near synchronous speed and subsequently the speed is raised to higher synchronous speed for transition to generator mode. The basic construction of an induction generator is the same as an induction motor. Such machines are

adopted in power houses of small generation capacity i.e. in micro hydel power stations(1 or 2 MW capacity) and also in wind generators.

Maintenance, Inspection and Planning : The following problems are generally encountered in generators and other accessories in the power plant. Generator 1. 2. Stator Earth Fault Rotor earth fault The causes for the above two fault may be due to poor insulation (IR Value) because of non-maintaining of generator temperature in the stand by condition and also depositing of carbon particles and dust on the rotor and stator. The above IR value can be improved by keeping generator heaters at required temperature and cleaning the rotor and stator. 3. The stator temperature high This may be due to failure of cooling water for the generator air cooler or due to lack of sufficient cooling air circulation. The causes for the above are
H.T.I. / K.K.Medu Generator Types and Maintenance

(a) Chocking of water due to silt or formation of ice due to whether conditions. (b) By operating the strainers and keeping the heaters at required temperature, this can be rectified.

4.

Temperature rise of Bearings a) b) Due to failure or insufficient water supply to the oil coolers. Low oil level.

The above defect can be rectified if the coolers are overhauled properly and the oil levels maintained.

5.

Forming of arcs Forming of arcs between brushes and commutation of exciter and generator

slip rings. This can be rectified by checking the spring tension of the brush holders and changing worn-out brushes then and there.

6.

Power Cables Failure This can be avoided by measuring IR and PI value by conducting Hipot test

of the power cables and replacing the poor IR value and PI value cables.

7.

PTs and CTs of Generator These are to be meggered to find out the IR values. The connections with

the generator bus are to be checked for loose connections if any.

8.

Generator Neutral transformer This has to be meggered and oil level to be topped up if necessary.

Bushings are to be cleaned. Silica gel is to be replaced when ever necessary.

General Maintenance General Maintenance of Hydro Power Stations could be classified as 1. Hourly maintenance and recording. 2. Daily maintenance
H.T.I. / K.K.Medu Generator Types and Maintenance

3. Weekly maintenance 4. Monthly maintenance 5. Quarterly maintenance 6. Half-Yearly maintenance 7. Annual maintenance 1. Hourly maintenance/Recording General maintenance is preventive maintenance. To avoid developing minor deviations of parameters into major breakdown, hourly maintenance, in other words, hourly reading of parameters such as temperature, pressure, flow of coolant, flow of lubricant, various levels etc., voltage etc., becomes necessary. Stations. a. Generator side 1. Generator current and voltage. 2. Excitation current and voltage. 3. Generator speed. 4. Winding temperature. 5. Generator cooling air and cooling water temperature. 6. Housing transformer (Station Auxiliary transformer) current, voltage and temperature. 7. Excitation transformer temperature Hence the following hourly readings are taken in the Hydro

b. Turbine side 1. Fore bay water level and tail race level. 2. Water flow. 3. Bearing temperature 4. Governor oil level, pressure and temperature. 5. Lub oil level and temperature. 6. Governor oil and Lub Oil cooling water temp and pressure. 7. Air tank pressure. 8. Guide vane/nozzle opening. 9. Runner vane opening of Kaplan turbine. 10. Deflector opening for pelton wheel.
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c.

Power transformer 1. Oil and winding temperature. 2. Cooling water flow (Differential pressure)

d.

Station and communication battery charger 1. Load current 2. Charging current and voltage 3. Earth leakage. 4. This hourly provide opportunity for physical inspection of various equipments at regular interval.

2.

Daily Maintenance 1. Cleaning of control panel and Desk at control room. 2. General physical inspection of outer surface of machine and equipments. 3. Pilot cell reading of Batteries.

3.

Weekly maintenance 1. 2. 3. Cleaning of all panels. Cleaning of air filters of all panels. Cleaning of outer surface area of machines and transformers (Safe areas) 4. 5. 6. 7. Inspection of slip ring and brushes. Inspection of shaft room. Inspection of oil filters. Cleaning of station and communication battery and checking of specific gravity and voltage of all cells. 8. 9. Cleaning of fire protection equipments. Checking the temperature of all auxiliary motors in service.

Half Yearly 1. Measuring of shaft voltage (Field test report value) 2. Testing of alarm and trip circuits. 3. Checking of oil level in 6.6/3.2KV breakers and Draw out contacts and spring charge motor. 4. Field breaker contacts and spring charge motor.
H.T.I. / K.K.Medu Generator Types and Maintenance

5. Checking load current and IR value of fan motors (Field report value) 6. Cleaning and meggering of IR value of Grounding transformer and housing transformer etc., 7. Cleaning of AC/DC panels & control panel. Yearly 1. Cleaning of stator and rotor winding with compressed air and checking air gap (Field report value). 2. Recommended air gap specification. 3. Checking of stator end windings, binding strings and varnish coating etc., 4. Checking lead wires of stator, braid connection and rotor pole to pole connection and RTD termination etc., 5. Checking the operation of air brake and clearance between brake jack and brake ring segment. (Field test report value) Recommended clearance between the brake jack and brake ring. 6. Changing of slip ring polarity. 7. Checking of slip ring brushs pressure. 8. Complete cleaning of bulb nose inside and stator casing etc., 9. Cleaning of Generator air coolers if necessary. 10. Stator rod, vibration isolation stay checking (field test report value: turbine side) 11. Checking the vibration and noise as full load (for low head machine permissible limit). 12. Checking all joints for tightness. 13. Checking tightness of 6.6. KV Bus bar joints. (and) Measuring P.I. value of stator. 14. 6.6 KV Cable Pot Test. Maintenance and its importance-Charts By adopting a schedule of routine inspections as a part of a policy of preventive maintenance may major repairs and interruptions to services are avoided. Owing to side variation in local conditions, type and sizes of generators, transformers, breakers, etc., their importance of service, and staff available, etc., it
H.T.I. / K.K.Medu Generator Types and Maintenance

is not intended that it should be applied rigidly, but rather that it should be regarded as a statement of a recognized of what is desirable. Wherever practicable it is recommended that yearly inspections be given. During the first year of operation new machines require a more frequent inspection than this in order to take up coil shrinkage, bolts and bracings, etc., Usually the details of major equipments in the power house are listed and a programmed is charted for their maintenance, every year. In almost all our power houses PERT charts are prepared and got approved by the concerned Superintending Engineers of the Hydro Circle. According to the PERT chart line clear is obtained and works started every year. During this annual overhauling following works are arranged. 1. Overhauling of Power Transformer Breaker. 2. Overhauling of Unit Transformer Breaker. 3. Overhauling of Exciter Breaker. 4. Overhauling of Neutral Breaker. 5. Overhauling of Generator PT. 6. Overhauling of Bearing oil Motor. (DC/AC) 7. Overhauling of Transformer oil Motor. 8. Cleaning of oil level gauges (Transformer breaker etc.,) 9. Cleaning of oil Generator oil cooler filters. 10. Overhauling of Governor oil motor. 11. Overhauling of Generator (IR value, joints cover, Winding Rotor field, tightness, etc.,) 12. Inspection of jumpers, joints etc., 13. Maintenance of Exciter. 14. Checking of relay operations by GRT & Calibration of Thermometers, meters, 15. Damper Door maintenance. 16. Bus Insulators. 17. Renewal of Insulation of slip ring thro bolts 18. Control circuit maintenance, Alarm and Trip circuit.

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Generator Types and Maintenance