Faculty of Engineering and Technology

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Electrical Machines Lab (ENEE 3101)

Experiment No. 4

Three Phase Synchronous Generator

Report No. 1

Prepared by

Yazan Yousef – 1170249 9.7/10

Partners: Mohammad Kahala & Osama Barghothi

Section No. 2

Instructor

Dr. Ahmad Alyan

Teacher Assistant

Eng. Ahmad Hamed

BIRZEIT

September 24th 2019

 Abstract 1.2/1.2
This experiment aims to study the three phase synchronous generators and two of their
main characteristics (the NO-LOAD and the Short Circuit tests). Moreover, three main
load circuits (resistive, inductive and capacitive) were set to understand their manner of
operation and how the generator operates with each of them. In addition, it aims to
investigate the paralleling process of the synchronous generator when connection to the
main power lines. An explanation and analysis of each part is presented in this report.
Furthermore, the results are shown and proved in order to give a good agreement when
compared theoretical information and equations.

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 Table of Contents 0.4/0.4
Abstract_______________________________________________________________________II

List of figures__________________________________________________________________IV

List of Tables__________________________________________________________________V

1- Introduction________________________________________________________________1

The principle operation of the synchronous generator_________________________________1

The mechanical speed of synchronous generators:____________________________________1

The per-phase equivalent circuit of synchronous generators and its phase diagrams__________2

Effects of load Changes on synchronous generators operation:__________________________4

Paralleling operation of synchronous generator:______________________________________4

2- Experimental Procedure & Data Analysis_________________________________________5

3- Conclusion________________________________________________________________16

4- Appendix A: the hand-written Data sheets_______________________________________17

5- References________________________________________________________________22

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 List of figures 0.4/0.4
Figure 1: The circuit for studying the synchronous generator.........................................................3

Figure 2: The relation between the excitation current and (Vo, Isc, Xs).........................................6

Figure 3: The plot of VL-L/VN on the Y-axis verses I/IN on the X-axis for resistive load operation. 8

Figure 4: (VL-L/VN) verses (I/IN) for Inductive load operation....................................................9

Figure 5: (VL-L/VN) verses (I/IN) for Inductive load operation.................................................10

Figure 6: The Manual synchronizing Unit....................................................................................11

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 List of Tables
Table 1: Nominal data for machine under test............................................................................2
Table 2: Records of the No-Load Generator characteristics.......................................................4
Table 3: Records of the Generator Short Circuit characteristics.................................................4
Table 4: Records of the synchronous reactance for different values of excitation current.........5
Table 5: Generator Resistive Load characteristics Records........................................................6
Table 6: Generator Inductive Load characteristics Records.......................................................6
Table 7: Generator Capacitive Load characteristics Records......................................................8
Table 8: The behavior of the generator when connected in parallel with the main power grid..9

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 1- Introduction 1.7/2
Synchronous generators are synchronous electrical machines that are used to
convert the mechanical power from a prime mover to AC electrical power.
Synchronous motor always runs at a constant speed called the synchronous speed.
The prime mover is the initial source of mechanical energy and it can be a steam
of fuel turbine.
The synchronous machine has two main windings:
1- The rotor or (field) windings, where the machine flux is induced.
2- The stator or (armature) windings, where the 3-phase voltages are induced.

The principle operation of the synchronous generator is done by the

following procedure:

- A DC current is supplied to the rotor coil to produce a rotor magnetic field.

- The rotor rotates by means of external prime mover to produce a rotating
magnetic field.
- The rotating magnetic field will induce 3-phase voltages across the stator
armature windings.

The rotor coil can be fed by slip-rings and brushes; where the slip-rings are
metal rings encircling the shaft but insulated from it. And the brushes are blocks
of carbon compound that conducts electricity freely, but has very low friction.
Another way to feed the rotor coil is to use the brushless exciter or the pilot
exciter.

The mechanical speed of synchronous generators:

Synchronous mechanical speed of the rotor is synchronized with the electric
frequency by the relation:

120
ηm =ηS = f (1)
P e

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 Where:
ηm : the speed of the rotor (the mechanical speed).
η S : the synchronous speed.
P : the number of poles.
f e : the electrical frequency in hertz.

The per-phase equivalent circuit of synchronous generators and its phase

diagrams:
Fig.1 shows the per-phase equivalent circuit of synchronous generators, by
applying a KVL in the per-phase armature circuit we got:

Figure 1: The per-phase equivalent circuit [1]

E A =R A I A + j X S I A + V φ (2)

Since
E A =kφ ωe (3)

Where,

EA : the internal voltage of the generator.

RA : the Armature resistance.

XS : the synchronous reactance.

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 IA : the Armature current.

V φ : the phase voltage.

k : a constant representing the construction of the machine.

ω e : the electrical speed.

Studying the relation between the internal voltage and the phase voltage will led
us to three cases:

1- The Lagging power factor: This case happens when the generator is connected
to lagging loads (inductive loads). In such case voltage regulation is higher
than zero.
2- The unity power factor: Here the generator is connected to purely resistive
load. And the voltage regulation is still higher than zero but in a percent less
than the lagging one.
3- The leading power factor: The generator in this situation is connected to
leading loads (capacitive loads). The voltage regulation here is less than zero.
The voltage regulation can be calculated using the following formula:
V nl −V fl
VR= ×100 % (4)
V fl
The three cases phasor diagrams are shown in the following figure.

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 Figure 2: Phasor diagrams for the three cases. [4]

Effects of load Changes on synchronous generators operation:

Varying the generator load will reflect on a changing in the phase voltage
across the load. This change depends on the load nature (resistive, inductive or
capacitive). Alternatively, the load nature can be seen from the power factor point
of view as (unity, lagging or leading).

For the lagging (inductive) load the phase voltage will decrease as the armature
current increase, the same for the unity (resistive) load but in lower ratio.
However, leading (capacitive) loads the phase voltage increases as the load
increases.

Paralleling operation of synchronous generator:

In this experiment we study the paralleling operation of the synchronous
generator with the main power lines.

The paralleling connection has some major advantages:

- Supplies a larger load in the system.

- High reliability of power system.

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 - One or more generators can be removed for shutdown or preventive
maintenance.

To make sure the paralleling connection will be formed in the right way there are
some required conditions that should be considered:

- The generators must have the same RMS line voltages, to avoid the huge
circulating current that may flow in the phases.
- The generators must have the same phase sequences.
- The phase angle of the three phases must be equal.
- The frequency of the oncoming generator must be slightly higher than
frequency of running generator. This point can be done by increasing the
mechanical speed of the rotor.

Write about last part

2- Experimental Procedure & Data Analysis 4.5/4.5

This experiment was preceded in two parts, in the first one the synchronous generator
characteristics and behavior were studied for different types of loads. And the second part
studied the synchronizing circuit.

Before starting performing this experiment, the nominal machine data was read from the
name plate of the machine and listed in Table. 1

Table 1: Nominal data for machine under test

Nominal Voltage VN when connected in star: 400V

Nominal Voltage VN when connected in delta: 230V

Nominal Current IN when connected in star: 0.83A

Nominal Current IN when connected in delta: 1.44A

Nominal Power Factor, Cos(θN) : 0.7/1.0

Nominal Power PN : 0.27kW

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 Nominal excitation voltage VEN: 20V

Nominal excitation current IEN: 4A

Nominal speed η(N): 1360/1500 rpm

Part A: Behavior as a Generator in isolated operation

This part aims to study the behavior and the characteristics of the synchronous
generator in five different situations, the no-load and the short circuit tests. In addition to
the resistive, inductive and capacitive load characteristics. Fig. 2 shows the main
connection that was used in this part.

Figure 3: The circuit for studying the synchronous generator [2]

i. Generator No-Load (open circuit) characteristics:

The connection shown in Fig. 3 was connected and the generator terminals were left
unconnected to any external load (opened). A voltmeter was connected between two
lines of the three phase lines. After that, the machine test system was turned on, and then

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 the machine was set to operate as a generator by turning off the (only motor button), the
operational mode (Load Characteristics) was selected and the generator speed was set to
the nominal speed (1500 rpm).
The nominal values for the excitation current and the output voltage obtained from
Table. 1 were used to calculate the excitation current and the output voltage for the
given values of (IE/IEN) shown in the table below.
A DC power supply was used to excite the generator with the required excitation
current and the output voltage was measured. Finally the machine test system was turned
off.

Table 2: Records of the No-Load Generator characteristics

IE/IEN 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2

IE/[A] (0.0).IEN 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.6 4.0 4.4 4.8

V0/[V] - 95 180 245 295 310 340 360 370 380 390 400 405

V0/VN - 0.28 0.45 0.61 0.74 0.78 0.85 0.90 0.93 0.95 0.97 1.00 1.01

From the obtained results we can see that the output voltage is increasing as the
excitation current increases until they reach their nominal values. This increase was
predictable since the no load voltage is equal to the internal voltage because the
armature current is zero, and the internal voltage depends on the induced flux between
the field and the armature windings. Also we can see that when the excitation current
approaches its nominal value the voltage increase become smaller.

ii. Generator short circuit characteristics:

The same connection and procedure were used to implement this section but now with
the generator terminals are shorted. An ammeter is connected in series with one phase
terminal in order to measure the short circuit current passing through it.
The measured values of the armature short-circuited current are listed in Table. 3

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 Table 3: Records of the Generator Short Circuit characteristics

IE/IEN 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2

IE/[A] 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.6 4.0 4.4 4.8

ISC/[A] - 0.08 0.15 0.24 0.31 0.40 0.47 0.55 0.62 0.70 0.75 0.84 0.90

ISC/IN - 0.09 0.18 0.28 0.37 0.48 0.56 0.66 0.75 0.89 0.90 1.01 1.08

As the table results implies it is noticed that the short circuit current is increasing while
the filed current is increasing another time until they reach their nominal values. The
excitation current and the short circuit current relationship is approximately linear as
shown in Equ.
- Calculating the synchronous reactance XS :
An approximate method to determine the synchronous reactance Xs at a given
excitation current:
1. Get the output voltage from the no-load (VNL) test at that excitation current.
2. Get the short circuit current (IASC) at that excitation current.
3. Find XS from:
V NL
X s≈ (5)
I ASC
Since the internal machine impedance (ZS) is equal:
2 2
√
Z S= ( R A ) + ( X S ) ≈ X S since X S ≫ R A

The results for the reactance where recorded in Table. 4

Table 4: Records of the synchronous reactance for different values of excitation current

IE/IEN 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2

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Xs - 1188 1200 1021 952 775 723 655 597 543 520 476 450

By following the obtained results we can see that the reactance is decreasing while the
excitation current increasing. This is happened due the relation of the no-load voltage
with the excitation current since as we are increasing the excitation current it becomes
harder to increase the output voltage, while this does not happen with the short circuit
current were its relation with the excitation current is approximately linear.

To understand the previous relationships we can plot the obtained data of the no-load
voltage, the short circuit current and the synchronous reactance as functions of the
excitation current. Fig. 3 illustrates this plot:

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 The ralation between the Excitation current and (Vo, Isc, Xs)
1400 1

0.9
1200
0.8

The Short Circuit Current

1000 0.7
The output voltage

0.6
800
The Reactance

Vo
0.5 Xs
600 Isc
0.4

400 0.3
&

0.2
200
0.1

0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2

The ratio of the excitation Current to its nominal value

Figure 4: The relation between the excitation current and (Vo, Isc, Xs)

The plot results have verified the theoretical explanation. As we can see the voltage has a
steep increase when the excitation current is far from its nominal value and a small
increase as it approaches it. The current relationship is somewhat linear relation. And
finally the reactance is decreasing gradually.

Now going to the next section of the first part where we have study the synchrounos
generator characteristics due to the load connected to its terminals:

i. Generator Resistive load characteristics:

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 The main connection of the generator shown in Fig. 2 was established but now a full
resistive load was connected to its terminals. The load was connected in wye (Y)
configuration and it was initially set to be 100% of its value.
The same procedure for turning on the machine test system was followed and by
driving the generator with 1500 rpm. Now for different values of the resistive load
varying from (100% to 20%) as shown if Table. 5 the calculation for the armature
current and the line voltage were listed in the following table:

Table 5: Generator Resistive Load characteristics Records

R% 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20

I/[A] 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.2 0.25 0.37 0.45

VL-L/[V] 370 370 370 370 360 360 350 340 310

I/IN 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.17 0.19 0.24 0.30 0.45 0.54

VL-L/VN 0.93 0.93 0.93 0.93 0.90 0.90 0.88 0.85 0.78

We can see that the load current has increased while the line voltage has decreased as the
resistive load decreasing. This means that the relation of the resistive load voltage and
current is an inverse linear relationship as we already know.

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 (VL-L/VN) verses (I/IN)
For resistive load operation
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
(VL-L/VN)

0.6
0.5 VL-L/VN
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6

(I/IN)

Figure 5: The plot of VL-L/VN on the Y-axis verses I/IN on the X-axis for resistive load operation

From the curve above we can see that the ratio between the current and voltage for the
resistive load is decreasing slightly because of the unity power factor between them, this
can lead us to the fact that the voltage regulation is higher than 1 by a small value.

ii. Generator Inductive load characteristics:

The main connection of the generator shown in Fig. 2 was established but now an
inductive load was connected to its terminals. The load was connected in wye (Y)
configuration.
The same procedure was repeated but now for the inductive load. However, some
considerations should be taken in this part the first one is to turn off the system each
time the load is changing, this can be done as normal by setting the excitation current to
zero then turning off the machine test system. The second one is that the measurements
for small inductive loads should be taken quickly.
The obtained results for the load current and voltage were listed in Table. 6:

Table 6: Generator Inductive Load characteristics Records

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 L/[H] 6.0 4.8 2.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

I/[A] 0.09 0.11 0.2 0.35 0.38 0.43 0.5 0.57 0.65

VL-L/[V] 360 360 350 300 270 250 200 150 90

I/IN 0.11 0.13 0.24 0.42 0.46 0.52 0.60 0.69 0.78

VL-L/VN 0.90 0.90 0.88 0.75 0.68 0.63 0.50 0.38 0.23

The results are showing a steep decrease in the voltage as the inductive load decreases.
On the other hand the current is increasing. This observation completely agreed with the
theory.
Moreover, as the load is inductive the voltage regulation of the generator is greater
than 1 which indicates that the voltage should decrease as it is shown.
These results can be observed in the following plot:

(VL-L/VN) verses (I/IN)

For Inductive load operation
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
(VL-L/VN)

0.6
0.5
0.4 VL-L/VN
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

(I/IN)

Figure 6: (VL-L/VN) verses (I/IN) for Inductive load operation

iii. Generator capacitive load characteristics:

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 The main connection of the generator shown in Fig. 2 was established but now with
capacitive load was connected to its terminals. The load was connected in wye (Y)
configuration as the two previous connections.
The same technique was repeated for the capacitive load. However there are only two
values for the capacitive load the machine was de-energized with every calculation.
The obtained results for the load current and voltage were listed in Table. 7:

Table 7: Generator Capacitive Load characteristics Records

C/[μF] 1 2
I/[A] 0.09 0.15
VL-L/[V] 400 405
I/IN 0.11 0.18
VL-L/VN 1.00 1.01

As the results illustrate, we can see that as the load is capacitive which mean we have a
leading power factor and therefore the voltage regulation is less than 1. In other words,
the voltage will increase as the current increase.
We can see that from the following plot:

(VL-L/VN) verses (I/IN)

For capacitive load operation
1.01
1.01
1.01
1.01
(VL-L/VN)

1 VL-L/VN
1
1
1
1
0.99
0.1 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.16 0.17 0.18 0.19
(VL-L/VN)

Figure 7: (VL-L/VN) verses (I/IN) for Inductive load operation

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Part B: Synchronizing Circuits
This part aims to study the paralleling operation of the generator to the main power
lines. The synchronizing unit is shown in Fig. 8

Figure 8: The Manual synchronizing Unit [2]

Firstly, the synchronizing unit was studied and familiarized. Then, the synchronizing
switch was set to the off position. After that, the main three phase power supply was
connected to the line input L1, L2, L3, and the neutral. Then, the oncoming generator
terminals were connected to the generator mains input L1, L2, and L3. Lastly the speed
was driven to 1507 rpm in order to make the oncoming frequency slightly higher than the
main frequency.

The three phase power supply was powered on and the machine was excited with the
nominal excitation current found in Table. 1. Then the indictors were observed for the
direction of the rotating fields. Both had the same direction of rotation which meant that
the oncoming generator had the same sequence as the 3- phase power supply. In addition,
both had the same phase sequence and the RMS line voltage was the same on both sides.
Then the synchroscope indicator was observed until it reached 12 O’clock and that’s
when synchronization lamps turned OFF. At this point the synchronization switch was
turned ON. After that, the mode of operation was changed from the load characteristic
mode to the torque regulation mode so that the output power fed to the grid from the

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 generator can be controlled. Next, the nominal torque T N was calculated using the values
obtained in Table 1. Then for the normalized torque values given in Table 8, the actual
torque values were calculated. Finally, the torque values were changed and at each value
the voltage, current, and power factor were measured and recorded in Table 8 and then
these values were used in the power equations to calculate the values of the input and
output power.

P¿ =T act ×ω m (6)

Pout = √ 3 ×V L−L × I L ×cos θ (7)

Table 8: The behavior of the generator when connected in parallel with the main power grid

T/TN 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Tact 0 0.172 0.344 0.516 0.688 0.86 1.032 1.204 1.376
V 422 421 421 421 421 421 421 421 421
I 0.10 0.24 0.25 0.28 0.31 0.35 0.38 0.41 0.47
cos(θ) 0.47 0.06 0.09 0.22 0.30 0.37 0.41 0.44 0.48
Pin 0.00 27.02 54.04 81.06 108.08 135.11 162.13 189.15 216.17
Pout - 10.50 16.41 44.92 67.81 94.43 113.61 131.55 164.51

From the table results it is noticed that when the input torque increased the measured
values of current increasing very slowly, because of the rate between the actual torque
and the nominal torque increasing very slowly, while the voltage is approximately
constant. The power factor improving and so on the efficiency of the generator. Since the
input and output power depends on the previous values they will be changed as it is
shown in the table.

Due to the power losses it’s obvious that the output power is less than the input power.
Also the ratio between the input and the output increases as the power factor increases.

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 3- Conclusion 1.2/1.2
To sum up, this experiment has focused on studying the three phase synchronous
generator from two different points of views. One is to understand its characteristics
according to various loads (no-load, short-circuit load, resistive, inductive and capacitive
loads). And in the other one is the paralleling method and how to connect an oncoming
generator to a main power lines.
These objectives had been fully understood by connecting the theoretical part of the
generators with the generators in real life. This combination led us to be more familiar
with the synchrounos generator and how it works.
Although the experiment gave satisfactory results, there are some errors in this
experiment. The main one is that the voltmeters and the ammeters were not digital ones
which make the accuracy of the readings decrease. Another is that we neglect a lot of
things like the resistance of the lines and the generator. But the obtained results have
verified the theory in an acceptable way.
Finally, synchrounos generators are a main machine in electrical power systems and
factories, so it’s very important to investigate its properties and characteristics.

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 4- Appendix A: the hand-written Data sheets

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 5- References 0.3/0.3
[1]. Electrical machine fundamental 5th edition.
[2]. Electrical and computer engineering department, Machine lab manual, 2015.
[3]. Dr. Mahran Lecture Notes.
[4]. http://www.egr.unlv.edu/~eebag/Synchronous%20Generator%20I.pdf
(university of Las Vegas synchronous generator lecture notes)

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