FREQUENCY-POWER CHARACTERISTICS

OF SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR
James Watts steam governor
Watts fly ball governor
Watts fly ball governor
This photograph shows a
flyball governor used on a
steam engine in a cotton
factory near Manchester
in the United Kingdom.

Of course, Manchester was at
the centre of the industrial
revolution. Actually, this
cotton factory is still running
today.
Watts fly ball governor
This flyball governor is in the
same cotton factory in
Manchester.
However, this particular
governor was used to regulate
the speed of a water wheel
driven by the flow of the river.
The governor is quite large as
can be gauged by the outline
of the door frame behind the
governor.
Steam
Engine
Actual
Speed
Desired
Speed
Steam
Supply
Fly-Ball
Governor

Deviation
Machine
Operator
Machine
Use
Negative
(Balancing)
Feedback
Sensor Actuator
Controller
Feedback Loop
Steam Engine Speed Control
Speed Droop
Electrical word for proportional control
Droop =
Speed Drop NL to FL
Rated Speed
100%
Droop Characteristics
Governor droop is expressed as a
percentage of the frequency change
required for a governor to move a unit
from no-load to full load or vice versa.

The lower the droop, the more responsive
a generator is to change in frequency.
Higher droop Lower droop
Governors. To provide an equitable and
coordinated system response to
load/generation imbalances, governor droop
shall be set at 5%.

Governors shall not be operated with excessive
deadbands, and governors shall not be blocked
unless required by regulator mandates
Assume that all generators on a power grid are
operating in the droop mode with the same 4
percent speed regulation.
Assume also that one of the generators is rated at
50 megawatts (call it Unit #1) and is synchronized
on a grid whose total generating capacity is 8000
megawatts.
The speed governor for Unit #1 will take 50 8000
or .625% of any load demand changes that should
occur.
For example, assume that Unit #1 is currently
generating 37 MW.

If the grid is operating at 60.00 Hz and an increase
in demand of 5 MW occurs, Unit #1 will increase its
power output by:
(.00625)(5) = .03125 MW. Unit #1 will then be
generating 37.03125 MW.
The other generators, with their own 4 % droop
characteristic, will share proportionally the
remainder of the load change (that is, 5 MW
minus.03125 = 4.96875).

In the above example, something happens to grid
frequency as well.

Assume that the frequency is 60.00 Hz when the
additional load of 5 MW came on the grid.

In this example, the system frequency would droop
the following amount:

60.00 - [(.04) (60) (5) 8000] = 60.00 - .0015 =
59.9985 Hz
If the operator increases the setpoint on Unit #1 as
the other governor setpoints remain steady, the
frequency will return to 60.00 Hz and all of the new
load of 5 MW will be transferred to Unit #1.
Droop Setting Determines
Response
5% Droop: 100% change in generator output for a
5% change in Frequency or Speed.
A 5% change in frequency, 60 Hz x 0.05 = 3 Hz
or for a 2 pole generator, 3600 rpm x 0.05 = 180
rpm.
4% Droop: 100% change in generator output for a
4% change in Frequency or Speed.
A 4% change in frequency, 60 Hz x 0.04 = 2.4
Hz or for a 2 pole generator, 3600 rpm x 0.04 =
144 rpm.
4% Droop setting is more sensitive (responsive)
than the 5% Droop setting.
Example of Expected Response
150 MW unit at 5% Droop
150 / 3 Hz = 50.00 MW/Hz or in tenths of Hz,
5.00 MW/0.1 Hz
Frequency change from 60.05 to 59.95 should
result in the generator increasing output 5.0
MWs
150 MW unit at 4% Droop
150 / 2.4 Hz = 62.50 MW/Hz or in tenths of Hz,
6.25 MW/0.1 Hz
Frequency change from 60.05 to 59.95 should
result in the generator increasing output 6.25
MWs
Expected Governor Response
5 % Droop:
Unit Net Capability/30 = MW/0.10 Hz

4 % Droop:
Unit Net Capability/24 = MW/0.10 Hz
Droop Mode Versus Isochronous Mode
Droop Mode: It is the mode of operation in which
the machine will react to the load variation by
changing its speed. It is utilized when multiple
machines run in parallel so that load is shared
between the machines. For this sharing to be
equal the machines need to have same droop
characteristic. Typically if a machine has droop of
4% it means for a change of 1% in rated speed
the machine takes 25% of its rated load. This is
also referred to as load control mode of operation.

Isochronous Mode: In this mode the machine is
not affected by load and regardless of load it will
maintain the frequency. This mode is also referred
to as frequency control mode of operation. In case
of systems not connected to grid it is required to
run at least one machine in this mode so as to take
care of the load variation.