INTRODUCTION TO GENERATORS ,

PROTECTION SCHEMES / RELAYS &

MAINTENANCE
PRESENTED BY
Pawan Bhatla

BASIC PRINCIPLE OF GENERATOR

AC GENERATORS CONSISTS OF ARMATURE & MAGNETIC FIELD.
ARMATURE WINDINGS MOUNTED ON STATIONARY ELEMENT CALLED STATOR.
FIELD WINDINGS ON ROTATING ELEMENT CALLED ROTOR.
MAGNETIC POLES ARE EXCITED BY D.C, WHEN IT ROTATES , STATOR
CONDUCTORS ARE CUT BY MAGNETIC FLUX.
THIS CAUSES INDUCED EMF IN STATOR CONDUCTORS , WHOSE FREQUENCY
DEPENDS ON THE NUMBER OF NORTH & SOUTH POLES MOVING PAST A
CONDUCTOR IN 1 SECOND.

Generator Frequency f = PN ,
120
Where P = No. of Poles & N = RPM

A ir g a p

R o to r
w in d in g

L a m in a te d
M a g n e tic
s ta to r c o re

R o to r

S ta to r w in d in g
s lo t

S im p lifie d tw o p o le G e n e r a to r c r o s s s e c tio n

AC GENERATOR

SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE

SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE

TYPES OF GENERATOR EXCITATION SYSTEM

BRUSH TYPE EXCITATION SYSTEM/STATIC
EXCITATION (JGP)
BRUSHLESS EXCITATION SYSTEM (RTR)

BRUSHLESS EXCITATION SYSTEM

EXCITER
A.C

EXCITER FIELD D.C

EX2100

GENERATOR ROTOR
D.C
ROTATING
DIODE

GENERATOR STATOR (13.8KV)

TYPES OF GENERATOR COOLING SYSTEM

AIR COOLED
WATER COOLED
HYDROGEN COOLED

GENERATOR PROTECTION
INTRODUCTION
Protection may be classiffied as
voltage based / current based /
power based.
Protection Function operates on :
Lower limit
Upper limit

Types of faults / abnormalities

that can occur on Generator
Insulation failure of stator winding or
connection leads.
Insulation failure of the exciter .
Failure of prime mover.
Unbalance loading.
Over current.
Under voltage & over voltage.
Under frequency & over frequency.
Insulation failure of Gen. rotor.
Stator over heating.

Types of faults / abnormalities

that can occur on Generator
Transformer.
Inter turn short / winding
insulation failure.
Over fluxing.

Insulation failure of stator

winding or connection leads.
Cause :
Over heating, over voltage/surges, quality
of insulating material.
Damage to windings due to rubbing of rotor
on bearing failure / excess vibration
Effect :
Phase to ground short circuit.
Phase to phase and inter turn fault.
Protection Functions to operate:
stator earth fault, generator differential,
overall differential, back up impedance.

Stator Earth Fault Protection

(0 - 95 % & 95 - 100 %)
VL3
64S
VN3
NG R

G ENERATO R

PT

TRAFO .

NG T
C1

C2

T h ir d h a r m o n ic c u r r n t

C3

Stator Earth Fault Protection

( 95 - 100 % )
The 3rd harmonics voltages are plotted in a graph
with VN3 on X-axis and VL3 on Y-axis.

F a u lt o n
N e u tra l

L in e -1
S lo p e = m 1
F u ll lo a d

VL3

L in e -2
S lo p e = m 2

N o lo a d
F a u lt o n
P hase
VN3

Generator differential
protection
CTs

CTs

GEN

Ia _ B IA S
Ib _ B IA S
Ic _ B IA S
D
I
F
F

D
I
F
F

D
I
F
F

Diff. Current

Generator differential
protection

T R IP

P e r c e n ta g e b ia s - K 2

N O T R IP
Is 1

K1

Is 2

M e a n b ia s c u r r e n t

Insulation failure of the

exciter / PMG / cable.
Cause :
Over heating, over voltage/surges,
quality of insulating material.
Effect :
Phase to ground short circuit.
Phase to phase and inter turn fault.
Protection Functions to operate:
Field failure, pole slipping relays.
Under voltage during Island condition.

11 KV Cable fault.
Cause :
Mechanical damage- unprotected / running
near Hot surface, Electrical damage
improper termination /jointing , quality of
insulating material.
Effect :
phase to ground or multi phase short circuit.
Protection Functions to operate:
Stator earth fault, overall differential,
voltage restraint over current, back up
impedance.

Failure of prime mover.

Cause :
Due to failure of governing system / fuel /
steam failure.
Effect :
Generator will run as a Synchronous motor.
Active power will be drawn from the
network.
May damage the gear box / turbine blades.
Protection Functions to operate:
Reverse power protection.

Failure of prime mover

( reverse power)
P

STABLE
O PERATE

-P

Generating power P = 3*VL*ILCOS , If increase above

90 deg. then P becomes P OR
P = 3*VL*ILCOS (90+ ) = - P = Reverse power.
power

Unbalance loading.
Cause :
Single phase / non-linear load on generator.
Unsymmetrical faults in the power system.
Mal operation of the circuit breaker poles.
Effect :
Causes dangerous heating of the cylindrical
rotor of turbo-generator.
Protection Functions to operate:
Negative phase sequence protection.

Unbalance loading

(NPS)

T
tm a x
K = II 2n

2
*t

tm in

I2

I2 > >

In case of negative phase sequence,

Heat = (I2) *t = K,
(In)

and

I2 = Ia+aIb+aIc
3

Normally K is dependent on type of generator, its cooling

and type of rotor.

Voltage restrained Over

current / Over loading.
Cause :
Fault in power system.
Effect :
Over heating of the generator winding.
Continues over current may damage
the generator.
Protection Functions to operate:
Voltage restrained over current
protection

C u rre n t p ic k u p
le v e l

Voltage restraint Over current

I>

K I>

V s2

V s1

V o lta g e le v e l

Voltage restraint Over current

The current pickup level for the voltage restrained function is ,

(1) K*I> for V<Vs2

(2) I> for V>Vs1
(3) K*I> + I> - KI> * (V Vs2)
Vs1 Vs2
for Vs2<V<VS1
Where V = system existing voltage

Under voltage & over voltage.

Cause :
Short circuit / earth fault in power system.
Excitation system failure in island
conditions.
Effect :
Voltage falls down in the system
Protection Functions to operate:
Under voltage relay operates when voltages
fall below the set point with time delay.

Under voltage & over voltage.

Cause :
Excess voltage due to surges , AVR
failure
Effect :
Insulation failure
Protection Functions to operate:
Over voltage relay
Surge capacitor & lightning arrestor
for surge voltage protection.

Under frequency & over

frequency.
Cause :
Under frequency of generators will occur
when the power system load exceeds the
prime-mover capability of generators.
Effect :
System may collapse
End users will get affected
Protection Functions to operate:
First stage can be used to initiate load
shedding and second stage to trip the
machine.

Under frequency & over

frequency.
Cause :
over frequency operation will occur due to
sudden load throw off.

Effect :
It may damage the bearing due to high
vibration
End users will get affected

Protection Functions to operate:

Generally, mechanical over speed devices
are provided for generator protection.
Over Frequency relay

Insulation failure of Gen.

rotor
Cause :
Over heating, over voltage/surges,
quality of
insulating material.
Effect :
Single earth fault in rotor is not harmful.
Further earth fault in the excitation
circuits / rotor results in a double earth
fault
Leads to Thermal effects on rotor due to
high fault current.
Protection Functions to operate:
Rotor earth fault relay

Insulation failure of Gen.

rotor
RELAY

RV
RV

ROTOR
W NDG.

IE

R
R

R V = C o u p lin g R e s is te r ,
C E = E a r th C a p a c ita n c e ,
R m = M e a s u r in g s h u n t,

U
TEST
PB

Um

Rm

M e a s u re m e n t
M o d u le
Low
Pass
F ilte r

U H = A u x . V o lta g e
R E = E a r tth R e s is ta n c e ,
R = T e s t s e r ie s r e s is ta n c e

Stator over heating

Cause :
Chocking of cooling tubes or filters.
Improper circulation of cooling medium.
Over loading, short circuited lamination,
failure of core bolt insulation.
Effect :
Insulation Failure
Protection Functions to operate:
Compare inlet and outlet temperatures of coolant.
Temperature indicating devices (RTD)

Generator Transformer
winding Inter turn short /
insulation failure.
Cause :
Over heating, over voltage/surges,
quality of insulating material.
Effect :
Phase to phase and inter turn fault.
Phase to ground or multi phase short
circuit.
Protection Functions to operate:
Restricted earth fault, overall differential,
Buchholz, PRV, stand by earth fault.

Generator Transformer Over

fluxing.

Cause :
Increase in voltage causes increase in
working magnetic flux, there by increases
the iron loss and magnetizing current.
Effect :
The core and core bolts get heated and
the lamination insulation is affected in
unit Transformer.
Protection Functions to operate:
Over fluxing protection (v/f) is provided
for generator transformer where a
possibility of over fluxing due to
sustained over-voltages exists.

 G60 : - (GENERATOR PROTECTION)

T60 : - (TRAFO. PROTECTION)
: - (UAT PROTECTION)

: - (TRAFO. SB E/F PROT)

G 60
(GENERATOR PROTECTION)
87G
51N
59N
67N
51V
32R
32L
46

GENERATOR DIFFERENTIAL
STATOR EARTH FAULT
NEUTRAL DISPLACEMENT
SENSITIVE DIRECTIONAL EARTH FAULT
VOLTAGE DEPENDENT OVERCURRENT
REVERSE POWER
LOW FORWARD POWER
NEGATIVE PHASE SEQUENCE

G60
(GENERATOR PROTECTION)
40
27
59
81U
81O
60

FIELD FAILURE
UNDER VOLTAGE
OVER VOLTAGE
UNDER FREQUENCY
OVER FREQUENCY
VOLTAGE BALANCE

VIEW OF GT XMER
PARAMETERS IN ECMS

T-60
(TRAFO. PROTECTION)

BIASED DIFFERENTIAL ELEMENT

RESTRICTED EARTH FAULT PROTECTION

OVER FLUXING ALARM AND TRIPPING

FUNCTION

T 60
(UAT PROTECTION)

PHASE FAULT PROTECTION

EARTH FAULT PROTECTION

( STATOR EARTH FAULT )

Neutral displacement detector for 0 - 95%
protection
Third harmonics voltage comparator for
95 - 100% protection

PERIODIC TESTING OF
GENERATORS
NO

DESCRIPTION OF TESTS

REMARKS

DC Absorption Test
Measurement of Capacitance and Tan delta
Recording of Partial Discharges
Study of Non-Linear Behaviour of Winding Insulation
Measurement of Winding Resistance
Checking of RTDs
Stator core healthines by Loop Test
Stator core healthines by ELCID Test
Wedge Mapping using Deflection Method suitable for Ripple Spring Wedges
Wedge Mapping by Knocking Method suitable for Non-Ripple Spring Wedges
Inspection of Mechanical response of end winding ,
Microscopic & Endoscopic Inspection .
Visual Inspection

Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator
Generator Stator, Generator
Rotor, Exciter stator , Exciter
Rotor.
Generator Rotor
Generator Rotor
Generator Rotor
Generator Rotor
Generator Rotor
Exciter Stator
Exciter Rotor
Exciter Rotor

DC Absorption at low Voltages

Measurement of Winding Resistance
Measurement of Impedance
Recurrent Surge Oscillograph
Inspection of Retaining Ring with Ultrasonic Method
Measurement of Impedance ,Winding Resistance and Insulation Resistance
Measurement of Impedance ,Winding Resistance and Insulation Resistance
Diode and Fuse Checking