Design of Synchronous

Generator with Round Rotor

Part 1 General Considerations
Synchronous Generator System
 Rotor Peripheral Speed

The maximum allowable peripheral speed of the rotor is a central consideration in

machine design. With present-day steel alloys, rotor peripheral speeds of 50,000
ft/min (or about 250 m/s) represent the design limit.
1 ft/min = 0.0051 m/s
 Resistivity of Copper vs Temperature
The resistivity of copper versus temperature can be calculated
using the following formula:
Cu (T ) Cu (T0 ) Cu (T T0 )
where T0 is a reference temperature and Cu is a constant
give by
Cu 2.668 10 9 in/ o C
or:
Cu 6.775 10 11 m/ o C
At T0 20 o C , we have

Cu (T0 ) 0.679 10 6 in/ o C

or:
Cu (T0 ) 1.724 10 8 m/ o C
Part 2 Armature Design
 Number of Armature Slots
For a m-phase synchronous machine, the number of armature slots (S)
must be multiples of m. This will guarantee all the phases are balanced.
A. Integral S/P
S is multiples of mP.
Example: For a 2 pole, 3 phase machine, the number of slots
can be 6,12,18,24,30,36 For a 4 pole, 3 phase machine, the
number of slots can be 12, 24,36,48,60
Integral S/P may cause extensive cogging or detent torque since
all pole faces will line up with slot openings at the same time.
Cogging torque: torque from the interactions between rotor poles
and stator teeth. Use slot skew or fractional S/P can reduce it.
B. Fractional S/P
S/P takes a fractional number.
 Number of Turns per Coil
V , rated 2 f e N a g , pk 4 .44 f e N a g , pk
2Bg , pk Dl
where g , pk
P
N a kw Na / 1.1 kw k p kd ks Na PqNc / C
Na is the number of series turns per phase of armature winding
C is the number of parallel circuits of armature winding

1 .1V , rated C
Nc
2 2 f e qk w B g , pk Dl

To consider leakage flux

 Number of Conductor Positions per Slot on Stator

Cs 2N ca for double layer winding.

In the above expression, Cs includes hollow conductor positions

for cooling (about 25%) and additional 15% - 25% of both height
and width tolerance of conductors (for insulation, slot liner, etc.)
in factor a. a can take about 1.6 2.

1.1aV , rated C
Cs
2 f e qk w B g , pk Dl
 Maximum and Average Flux Density
Average flux per pole:
g , pk
g , av
0
g , pk sin ae d ae

2
g , pk

Average flux density per pole:
0
g , av 2 g , pk P
B g , av
Dl / P 2 Dl
DlB g , av
2 2Bg , pk Dl
or: g , pk Since g , pk
2P P
4
Specific magnetic loading B g , av B g , pk 0 .4 B g , pk
2

Typically, take B g , av 0 . 6 T or B g , pk 1 . 5T in design.

 Machine Size (1)
Specific electric loading:
rms current per unit length of the armature circumference
m (2 N a C )( I A,rated / C ) 2 mN a I A,rated
Ka
D D
Na is the number of series turns per phase of armature winding
C is the number of parallel circuits of armature winding

DK a
I A , rated
2 mN a
 Machine Size (2)

Apparent power S rated mV , rated I A , rated

2Bg , pk Dl DK a
V , rated 2 f e N a g , pk g , pk I A,rated
P 2mN a

2 B pk Dl DK
S rated
m 2 f e N a a N a k w N a
P 2 mN a

D 2l nm P
S rated 2 f e B g , pk k w K a
2
fe
P 120

S rated 2 2 2 Bg , pk
2
k w K a Bg , pk m where m k w K a
( D l ) nm 120 60 2
Defined as: magnetic shear stress
proportional to power density
 Machine Size (3)

60 2 S rated
D l 2
2
Volume of Machine
k w nm K a Bg , pk
Discussions:
The more advanced cooling technology (larger Ka), the
smaller the volume.
The larger the rated apparent power Srated, the larger the
volume.
The faster the machine speed nm , the smaller the volume.
The larger the gap magnetic field Bg,pk (through using
advanced materials with larger magnetic saturation, etc.),
the smaller the volume.
 Generator Size - Experience

D 2l 1 1
C0 , C0 2 depends on cooling
S rated P 2 f e m K a

C0 1400 in 3 /MVA (air - cooled)

C0 700 in 3 /MVA (hydrogen- cooled) fe = 60 Hz
common steel
C0 375 in 3 /MVA (liquid - cooled)
 Length/Diameter Ratio (1)
The length/diameter ratio of a machine is defined as the ratio of the
length and the stator bore diameter:
l
rlD
D
Discussions:
For fixed mechanical speed, the machine power rating depends on D2l.
As the l/D increases, the rotor diameter decreases and thus the
moment of inertia decreases. Also the rotor peripheral speed decreases.
As the l/D increases, the machine length increases and the rotor is prone to
exhibit critical frequencies at lower speeds that can result in shaft flexure to
the point that the rotor strikes the stator bore.
If the l/D is too large, it is difficult to cool.
If the l/D is too small, the leakage inductance of end turns can severely
affects machine performance.
 Length/Diameter Ratio (2)
Some people use aspect ratio, which is defined as the ratio of the length
and the pole pitch:

rasp
l D
P
where P
P

We can find the relationship between aspect ratio and length/diameter

ratio:

l l P P
rasp rlD
P D
 Stator Core Diameter
Stator Core diameter (outer diameter) D0

Two-pole: D0 2.1D
Four-pole: D0 1.7 D
 Stator Slot Design

D
s
S
0.4 s bs 0.6 s

3bs d s 7bs
t s s bs

Use 65 V/mil ground insulation

Use 0.375-in slot wedge
Use 0.125-in coil separator and top stick
 Stator Conductor Size

I A,rated / C
Js
aAa
where Aa is stator (armature) conductor cross section
area and can be determined from the above formula
together with:

Air-cooled: J s 2500 A rms /in 2

Hydrogen-cooled: J s 4000 A rms /in 2
Water-cooled: J s 7000 A rms /in 2
1 A/in2 = 0.00155 A/mm2
J. J. Cathey, Electric Machines: Analysis and Design Applying MatLab, pp. 482,
McGraw Hill, 2001.
 Round Wire Structure

This figure shows the wire structure, including the bare conductor,
an insulation layer and an optional bonding layer.
dwb: bare conductor diameter
dwc: covered wire diameter
Awb: bare conductor cross section area
Awc: covered conductor cross section area
 American Wire Gauge (AWG)
d wb 8.251463 0.8905257
G

Or
d wb
log
8.251463
G
log 0.8905257

G: wire gauge (typically an integer)

dwb: bare wire diameter in mm.
 Relative Wire Resistance versus Wire Gauge

Increasing wire gauge by 1, increases copper loss by 26%.

Decreasing wire gauge by 1, decreases copper loss to about 79% of
the previous gauge.
 Current Capacity versus Wire Gauge

The maximum allowable current density varies roughly between 1 Arms/mm2 to

10 Arms/mm2. In confined volumes, the lower limit 1Arms/mm2 may be too
high. Similarly, with active cooling, the upper limit 10 Arms/mm2 may be too
conservative.
Round Wire with Film Insulation (1)
Round Wire with Film Insulation (2)
Square Wire with Film Insulation
 Air Gap Size
From
4 0 N a
Ba , pk 1.5 2 I A,rated g eff k c g
g eff P

An empirical formula for effective air gap size:

4 0 N a
g eff 1.5 2 I A,rated
Ba , pk P

g g eff / k c

The actual air gap size can be further tuned using an electromagnetic
simulation software.
Part 3 Round Rotor Design
for Generator with Field
Winding
 Number of Poles

For round rotor machine with field winding,

take P = 2 or 4.
 Phasor Diagram
EA

jX S I A E A V jX s I A

V
IA
Pick up torque angle (T full load =Tmaxsin ) and power factor pf cos .
From X s I A cos E A sin E A K B X s I A , K B cos / sin
Example: If =30 o , pf=0.85 lagging, K B 1.7.
E A K B X s I A B Steady
f , pk K B Steady
B a , pk

V E A cos X s I A sin ( K B cos sin ) X s I A

Ba , pk X sIA 1

B g , pk V K B cos sin
 Rotor Slot Selection (1)

total number of slots on rotor N r 2nr P

nr is integer
N
slots on rotor per pole half : n r r
2P
D r
rotor pole pitch : r
P
pole width : 0.2 r W f 0.3 r
Angular slot pitch (in elec. radian) :
Dr PW f 1 P Dr PW f
2
2n r P ( Dr / 2) 2 2 Dr n r
2 Dr
Arc length between two adjacentslots : t
P
rotor slot width : 0.4t b f 0.5t rotor toot h width : t f t b f
UCF Rotor Slot Selection (2)
 Number of Conductors in Rotor (1)

2 Dr
The length of the ith field coil:L fi 2(l W f i )
P
Assume the number of conductors (Cf ) are the same in the each slot
Total length of the field winding: nr
2 Dr
LF C f P 2(l W f i )
Note: use single layer concentric winding on rotor. i 1 P
 Number of Conductors in Rotor (2)

LF C f X f
nr
2 Dr
where X f P 2(l W f i ) 2nr P(l W f ) 2 Dr nr (nr 1)
i 1 P

LF
0.7VF max I F ,rated J f C f X f
Af
where Af is the cross section area of the field conductor, J f is the allowable
current density, and is the resistivity of copper at working temperature.

0.7VF max
Cf
J f X f

The calculated results will be rounded to an integer. Jf depends

on rotor cooling. See next slide
 Rotor Cooling

1 A/in2 = 0.00155 A/mm2

 Rotor Rated Field Current and Slot Size
Empirical design requires maximum magnetic field from field
winding is about KB times maximum magnetic field from armature winding:
B Steady
f , pk K B Steady
B a , pk

4 0 N a
Ba , pk
Steady
1.5 2 I A,rated
g eff P
4 0 kwf N f
B f , pk
Steady

geff P f ,rated
I

K B 1.5 2 N a I A,rated 2.12 K B N a I A,rated

I f ,rated
kwf N f kwf N f

where Nf is total number of series turns in field winding: N f PC f nr

kwf is rotor winding factor given is next page.

rotor slot cross section area Af :

I f ,rated
Af
Jf
Round Rotor Winding Factor

This is the case when sr is even.

sr 2nr
nr

N cos[(2 1) r / 2]
kwf 1
nr

N
1

If N1 N 2 N nr

nr

cos[(2 1) r / 2]
kwf 1
nr
 Comprehensive Design Example

Design a 3 phase turboalternator with the following specifications:

500 MVA Y connected 24 kV (terminal voltage) 60 Hz
3600 rpm 2 pole 0.85 pf lagging
Maximum allowable rotor peripheral speed 50,000 ft/min
for 20% overspeed
Directly cooled stator (water)
Directly cooled rotor (hydrogen)
In the design, initially picked up
48 stator slots, 20 rotor slots
5/6 stator coil pitch
Vfmax = 600V
Not skewed
Details in sgDesign.m
 Part 4 Round Rotor Design
for Surface Mount Permanent
Magnet Generator
 Magnetic Circuit Analysis

For a multi-pole surface mount rotor

dm
Da
g
D
Poles

gH g H m d m 0 gBg 0 H m d m 0 Bm Am Bg Ag

dm Bm Am

g 0 H m Ag
 Working Point for Permanent Magnetics (1)

Maximum Energy Point B

Br

BmR

0 Hc 0 HmR 0 H
Br Br
B (H H c ) BH (H H c )H
Hc Hc

( BH ) Br Hc
To get (BH) max 0 Bm ,Hm
H 2 2
 Working Point for Permanent Magnetics (2)

Br
rm
0 H c
1 rm 1.2

d m Ag
Load Line: Bm 0 H m Pc is called permeance coefficient
g Am
Pc 0 H m Pc
d m Ag

Ag / g

R m Pg

g Am Am / d m R g Pm
Bm m
Define: Bm m Br H m (1 m ) H c Pc rm
0H m 1 m
Typically pick up: m 0.5 0.8
 Airgap Magnetic Field from PM Rotor
PM electrical angle
PM embrace:
B g , rotor
Bm PM
PM PM

2 2
PM PM PM 2
2 de
Bm 2 2 2
P
de d
B g , rotor
h 1,3,5...
B Rh 2

P
B Rh B rh cos( h de ) B rh cos( h d )
2
2 PM /2 PM /2
Brh B cos( h ) d ( Bm ) cos( h ae ) d ae

2 PM /2
m ae ae
PM /2

sin h PM
4 2
Bm
h

pitch factor for the

k ph sin h PM
hth harmonic 2
 Phasor Diagram
EA

jX S I A E A V jX s I A

V
IA
Pick up torque angle (T full load =Tmaxsin ) and power factor pf cos .
From X s I A cos E A sin E A K B X s I A , K B cos / sin
Example: If =30 o , pf=0.85 lagging, K B 1.7.
E A K B X s I A B Steady
f , pk K B Steady
B a , pk

V E A cos X s I A sin ( K B cos sin ) X s I A

Ba , pk X sIA 1

B g , pk V K B cos sin
 Air Gap Size and PM Thickness
From: 4 0 N a
Ba , pk 1.5 2 I A,rated
g total P

Initial total effective air gap size:

4 0 N a
g total 1.5 2 I A,rated
Ba , pk P

dm
From: g total k c g 'total g 'total g d m / rm Pc ( Ag Am )
g
m
Pc rm
1 m
Carters coefficient
g (1 m ) g 'total
d m m g 'total rm
 Effective Air Gap
g total kc g 'total
where the Carters coefficient
s
kc
2 b s 0 b s 0
2
bs 0 g ' total
s atan ln 1
2 g ' total bs 0 2 g ' total

approximately
s
kc
bs20
s ts ds0ds1 ds
5 g ' total bs 0 bs0

s
g total