Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Three Phase Synchronous Machines

Introduction
 Designed to operate at synchronous speed, ns. Hence, the name.
 Can be used to operate as:
o Synchronous generator (also known as alternator)
o Synchronous motor
 Used primarily as generator

Construction
 It has 2 parts:-
a) Stator
b) Rotor
 It has 2 types of windings:-
a) Field winding
o Create magnetic field
o On the rotor
b) Armature winding
o Voltage is induced on it
o On the stator
o Always connected in Y-connection.

 There are 2 types of rotor:-

a) Salient pole
o Driven by low-speed hydraulic turbine
o Require large no of poles
o Posses large diameter to provide space for the poles
b) Cylindrical (non-salient/round)
o Driven by high-speed steam turbine
o No of poles cannot be less than 2
o Smaller compared to salient pole

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 1

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Synchronous Generator
Principle of Operation
 A dc current is applied to the rotor winding to produce magnetic field.
 Rotor is turned by a prime mover, producing a rotating magnetic field within the air gap.
 The rotating magnetic field induces 3Ф voltages within the stator winding
 The rotating magnetic field & the rotor rotate at the same speed called synchronous speed, ns
given by:

120 f
ns 
p
f - Freq of induced voltage (Hz)`
p - No of poles

Equivalent Circuit
 Consider only 1Ф

EG – induced voltage, per phase

VT – terminal voltage, per phase
Ia – phase current
Xs – synchronous reactance,
per phase
Ra – armature resistance,
per phase

The direction of Ia is out of the

generator because generator supply
power to the load.

Rotor Circuit Stator Circuit

Xs is 10 to 100 times greater than
Ra.  Ra is normally negligible
(Ra=0)
EG  I a Z s  VT
Pout ( 3 ) S 3
IL  
3VL cos  3VL

IL
Ia  IL (For Y connection) and
Ia  (For  connection)
3

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 2

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Phasor Diagram
 To show the summation of the vectors

EG  I a Z s  VT
 Depends on type of load
a) Pure resistive load (unity power factor)

b) Inductive load (lagging power factor)

c) Capacitive load (leading power factor)

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 3

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Example 1 (FKM)
A 3Ф star-connected generator supplies a load of 10 MW at power factor 0.85 lagging and the
terminal voltage is 11 kV. The armature resistance is 0.1 ohm/phase and synchronous reactance
of 0.66 ohm/phase. Calculate the line value of emf generated. Draw the phasor diagram.

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 4

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Synchronous Motor
Principle of Operation

 It has 2 supplies:-
o DC supply connected to the rotor
o 3Φ AC supply connected to the stator winding
 The 3Φ ac supply produces a 3Φ current flow in the stator winding that will produce a rotating
magnetic field.
 DC supply to the rotor produces a 2nd magnetic field.
 The interaction between the rotor current and the stator field produce a force that drives the
rotor @ motor (both the rotating magnetic field & the rotor rotate at the same speed ns).
 Consequently, a torque is developed.

Equivalent Circuit
 Consider only 1Ф

EA – induced voltage, per phase

(generated/counter emf/back emf)
VT – terminal/ac supply voltage,
per phase
Ia – phase current
Xs – synchronous reactance,
per phase
Ra – armature resistance,
per phase

The direction of Ia is coming towards the

Rotor Circuit Stator Circuit motor because motor needs current to
rotate.

E A  VT  I a Z s
Pinput (3 ) S 3
IL  
3VL cos  3VL

IL
Ia  IL (For Y connection) and
Ia  (For  connection)
3

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 5

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Phasor Diagram
 To show the summation of the vectors

E A  VT  I a Z s
 Depends on type of load
a) Pure resistive load (unity power factor)

b) Inductive load (lagging power factor)

c) Capacitive load (leading power factor)

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 6

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Example 2 (FKM)
A 2300 V 3Φ, star-connected synchronous motor has an armature resistance of 0.2 ohm/phase
and a synchronous reactance of 2.2 ohm/phase. The motor is operating on 0.5 power factor
leading with a line current of 200 A. Determine the value of generated or counter emf per phase.
Draw the phasor diagram.

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 7

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Voltage Regulation
 In general,

VNL  VFL
V .R. 
VFL
 For synchronous generator

EG  VT
V .R. 
VT

 For synchronous motor

VT  E A
V .R. 
EA

Example 3 (FKM)
A 200 kVA, 600 V, 50 Hz 3Φ synchronous generator is Y-connected. The generator has a
synchronous reactance 0.10 ohm/phase and armature resistance of 2.0 ohm/phase. Calculate the
voltage regulation if the generator is operating at 0.75 leading power factor.

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 8

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Power Flow Diagram

 Synchronous Generator

From the power flow diagram:

Pinput  P  Pm
Pinput = Pout + P + PCL = Pout + total losses
Pm  PCL  Pout
Where

Pm  3EG I a cos  PCL  3I a Ra

2

Pout  3VL I L cos   3VT I a cos 

If armature resistance is assumed Ra negligible (PCL = 0), therefore Pm  Pout

The output power (when Ra = 0) can also be written as

3VT EG sin 
Pout 
Xs
Maximum power transfer (the generator can supply) occurs when =90º given by:

3VT EG
Pmax 
Xs

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 9

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

 Synchronous Motor

From the power flow diagram:

Pinput  PCL  Pm
Pinput = Pout + P + PCL = Pout + total losses

Pm  P  Pout
Where

Pm  3E A I a cos  PCL  3I a Ra
2

Pinput  3VL I L cos   3VT I a cos 

If armature resistance is assumed Ra negligible (PCL = 0), therefore Pm  Pinput

The input power (when Ra = 0) can also be written as

3VT E A sin 
Pinput 
Xs
Maximum power transfer occurs when =90º given by:

3VT E A
Pmax 
Xs

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 10

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Torque Equation
 The general equation for torque is defined as

P 60 P
T 
 2N

2N
Where T- Torque (Nm), N- Speed (rpm), P- Power (W), - rad / s
60
 For mechanical torque (or induced torque)

Pm 60 Pm
Tm  
 s 2ns
 For output torque (or shaft/load torque)

Pout 60 Pout
Tout  
s 2ns
 For maximum torque (also known as stalling / pull out / breakdown torque)

Pmax
Tmax 
s

Example 4 (FKM)
A 2000 V, 500hp, 3Ф Y connected synchronous motor has a resistance of 0.3 Ω and a
synchronous reactance of 3.0 Ω per phase respectively. Determine the induced emf per phase if
the motor works on full-load with an efficiency of 92 % and p.f = 0.8 leading.

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 11

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Starting of Synchronous Motor

 A synchronous motor has no net starting torque and cannot start by itself.
 If the rotor field poles are excited by the field current (from DC supply) and the stator terminals
is connected to a 3Φ AC supply, the motor will not start. Instead, it vibrates.
 There are three basic approaches to start a synchronous motor safely:
1. Reduce the speed of the stator magnetic field to a low enough value that the motor can
accelerate and lock in with it during the first half cycle of the magnetic field’s rotation.
This can be done by reducing the stator frequency to a sage (i.e. suitable) starting level –
can be accomplished by using modern solid-state motor controller.
2. Use an external prime mover to accelerate the motor up to the synchronous speed.
This brings the machine on the line as a generator. By turning off or disconnecting the
prime mover, the machine act as a motor.
3. Start as an induction motor by using damper windings – the most popular way to start a
synchronous motor.
a) Disconnect the field windings from their dc supply and short them out.
b) Apply three-phase voltage to the stator of the motor and let the motor accelerate up to
near speed. The motor shouldn’t be on load so that their speed can approach
synchronous speed as closely as possible.
c) Connect the dc source to the field circuit. The motor will lock into step at synchronous
speed and load may be added to its shaft.

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 12

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Speed Control of Synchronous Motor

 The speed of a synchronous motor can be controlled by changing the frequency of the power
supply.
 At any fixed frequency, the speed of a synchronous motor remains constant even for changing
load conditions, unless if the motor loses synchronism.
 The synchronous motor is therefore very suitable for accurate speed control and also in
application where several motors have to run in synchronism.
 There are two types of speed control method normally used:
1. by changing the output voltage and frequency of an inverter or cycloconverter
2. by automatically adjusting the frequency (self-controlled)

Frequency Control of Synchronous Motor

 Figure 1 shows the schematics diagrams for open-loop speed control of a synchronous motor
by changing the output frequency and voltage of an inverter or cycloconverter.

a) Changing the output frequency and voltage of an inverter

b) Changing the output frequency and voltage of a cycloconverter

Figure 1: Open-loop Frequency Control

 The inverter circuit allows variation of frequency (and hence motor speed) over a wide range,
whereas the cycloconverter circuit permits variation of frequency below one-third of the supply
frequency.

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 13

 Electrical Power and Machines EPE491

Self-controlled Synchronous Motor

 The schematic of a self-controlled synchronous motor drive system is shown in Figure 2.

a) Open-loop control

b) Closed-loop control
Figure 2: Self-controlled synchronous motor

 A synchronous motor tends to lose synchronism on shock loads.

o In the open-loop frequency control, if a load is suddenly applied, the rotor momentarily
slows down, making the torque angle  increase beyond 90º and leading to loss of
synchronism.
o However, if the rotor position is sensed as the rotor slows down and the information is used
to decrease the stator frequency, the motor will stay in synchronism.
o In such a scheme, the rotor speed will adjust the stator frequency and the drive system is
known as self-controlled synchronous motor drive.

D. Johari, FKE UiTM 14