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Friday, July 12, 2013

Short questions and answers(Alternators)

1.      Why almost all large size Synchronous machines are constructed with rotating field system type?
The following are the principal advantages of the rotating field system type construction of Synchronous machines:

·        The relatively small amount of power, about 2%, required for field system via slip-rings and brushes.

·        For the same air gap dimensions, which is normally decided by the kVA rating, more space is available in the stator part of the machine for providing more insulation to the system of conductors, especially for machines rated for 11kV or above.

·        Insulation to stationary system of conductors is not subjected to mechanical stresses due to centrifugal action.

·        Stationary system of conductors can easily be braced to prevent deformation.

·        It is easy to provide cooling arrangement for a stationary system of conductors.

·        Firm stationary connection between external circuit and system of conductors enable he machine to handle large amount of volt-ampere as high as 500MVA.



2.      Write down the equation for frequency of emf induced in an Altenator.

Frequency of emf induced in an Alternator,f ,expressed in cycles per second or Hz, is given by the following equation
F = (PN)/120 Hz,

Where P- Number of poles N-Speed in rpm

3.  How are alternators classified?

According to type of field system

·        Stationary field system type

·        Rotating field system type

According to shape of field system

·        Salient pole type

·        Smooth cylindrical type

4.      Name the types of Alternator based on their rotor construction.

Alternators can be classified into the following two types according to its rotor construction

·        Smooth cylindrical type alternator

·        Salient pole alternator


5.  Why do cylindrical Alternators operate with steam turbines?

Steam turbines are found to operate at fairly good efficiency only at high speeds. The high speed operation of rotors tends to increase mechanical losses and so the rotors should have a smooth external surface. Hence, smooth cylindrical type rotors with less diameter and large axial length are used for Synchronous generators driven by steam turbines with either 2 or 4 poles.

6.  Which type of Synchronous generators are used in Hydro-electric plants and why?

As the speed of operation is low for hydro turbines use din Hydro-electric plants, salient pole type Synchronous generators are used. These allow better ventilation and also have other advantages over smooth cylindrical type rotor.

7.      What are the advantages of salient pole type construction used for Synchronous machines?

Advantages of salient-pole type construction are :

·        They allow better ventilation

·        The pole faces are so shaped that the radial air gap length increases from the pole center to the pole tips so that the flux distribution in the air-gap is sinusoidal in shape which will help the machine to generate sinusoidal emf

·        Due to the variable reluctance the machine develops additional reluctance power which is independent of excitation

8.      Why is the stator core of Alternator laminated?

The stator core of Alternator is laminated to reduce eddy current loss.

9.  How does electrical degree differ from mechanical degree?

Mechanical degree is the unit for accounting the angle between two points based on their mechanical or physical placement.


Electrical degree is used to account the angle between two points in rotating electrical machines. Since all electrical machines operate with the help of magnetic fields, the electrical degree is accounted with reference to the magnetic field. 180 electrical degree is accounted as the angle between adjacent North and South poles.

10.Define winding factor.

The winding factor Kd is defined as the ratio of phasor addition of emf induced in all the coils belonging to each phase winding to their arithmetic addition.

11.  Why are Alternators rated in kVA and not in kW?

The continuous power rating of any machine is generally defined as the power the machine or apparatus can deliver for a continuous period so that the losses incurred in the machine gives rise to a steady temperature rise not exceeding the limit prescribed by the insulation class.

Apart from the constant loss incurred in Alternators is the copper loss, occurring in the 3 –phase winding which depends on I2 R, the square of the current delivered by the generator. As the current is directly related to apparent – power delivered by the generator , the Alternators have only their apparent power in VA/kVA/MVA as their power rating.

12.  What are the causes of changes in voltage in Alternators when loaded?


Variations in terminal voltage in Alternators on load condition are due to the following three causes:

·        Voltage variation due to the resistance of the winding, R

·        Voltage variation due to the leakage reactance of the winding, Xt
·        Voltage variation due to the armature reaction effect, Xa
13.  An Alternator is found to have its terminal voltage on load condition more than that on no load. What is the nature of the load connected?

The nature of the load is of leading power factor , load consisting of resistance and capacitive reactance.

14. Define the term voltage regulation of Alternator.

The voltage regulation of an Alternator is defined as the change in terminal voltage from no-load to load condition expressed as a fraction or percentage of terminal voltage at load condition ; the speed and excitation conditions remaining same.

Voltage regulation in percentage , URP = [(|E|-|U|)/|U| ]x 100

15. What is the necessity for predetermination of voltage regulation?

Most of the Alternators are manufactured with large power rating , hundreds of kW or MW, and also with large voltage rating upto 33kV. For Alternators of such power and voltage ratings conducting load test is not possible. Hence other indirect methods of testing are used and the performance like voltage regulation then can be predetermined at any desired load currents and power factors.

16.  Name the various methods for predetermining the voltage regulation of 3-phase Alternator.

The following are the three methods which are used to predetermine the voltage regulation of smooth cylindrical type Alternators

·        Synchronous impedance / EMF method

·        Ampere-turn / MMF method

·        Potier / ZPF method
17.  How synchronous impedance is calculated from OCC and SCC?

Synchronous impedance is calculated from OCC and SCC as
|Zs| = E0/Isc(for same If)

18.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of estimating the voltage regulation of an Alternator by EMF method?

Advantages:

·        Simple no load tests (for obtaining OCC and SCC) are to be conducted

·        Calculation procedure is much simpler
Disadvantages:

·        The value of voltage regulation obtained by this method is always higher than the actual value

19.  Why is the synchronous impedance method of estimating voltage regulation considered as pessimistic method?

Compared to other methods, the value of voltage regulation obtained by the synchronous impedance method is always higher than the actual value and therefore this method is called the pessimistic method.

20.  In what way does the ampere-turn method differ from synchronous impedance method?

The ampere-turn /MMF method is the converse of the EMF method in the sense that instead of having the phasor addition of various voltage drops/EMFs, here the phasor addition of MMF required for the voltage drops are carried out. Further the effect of saturation is also taken care of.

21.  What are the test data required for predetermining the voltage regulation of an Alternator by MMF method?

Data required for MMF method are :

·        Effective resistance per phase of the 3-phase winding R

·        Open circuit characteristic (OCC) at rated speed/frequency

·        Short circuit characteristic (SCC) at rated speed/frequency
22.  Why is the MMF method of estimating the voltage regulation considered as the optimistic method?

Compared to the EMF method, MMF method, involves more number of complex calculation steps. Further the OCC is referred twice and SCC is referred once while predetermining the voltage regulation for each load condition. Reference of OCC takes care of saturation effect. As this method require more effort, the final result is very close to the actual value. Hence this method is called optimistic method.

23. State the condition to be satisfied before connecting two alternators in parallel

The following are the three conditions to be satisfied by synchronizing the additional Alternator with the existing one or the common bus-bars.

·        The terminal voltage magnitude of the incoming Alternator must be made equal to the existing Alternator or the bus-bar voltage magnitude.

·        The phase sequence of the incoming Alternator voltage must be similar to the bus-bar voltage.

·        The frequency of the incoming Alternator voltage must be the same as the bus-bar voltage.

24.  How do the synchronizing lamps indicate the correctness of phase sequence between existing and incoming Alternators?

The correctness of the phase sequence can be checked by looking at the three sets of lamps connected across the 3-pole of the synchronizing switch. If the lamps grow bright and dark in unison it is an indication of the correctness of the phase sequence. If on the other hand, they become bright and dark one after the other, connections to any two machine terminals have to be interchanged after shutting down the machine.

25.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of three dark lamps method of synchronizing?

Advantages:

·        The synchronous switch using lamps is inexpensive

·        Checking for correctness of the phase sequence can be obtained in a simple manner which is essential especially
when the Alternator is connected for the first time or for fresh operation after disconnection
Disadvantages:

·        The rate of flickering of the lamps only indicates the frequency difference between the bus-bar and the incoming Alternator. The frequency of the incoming Alternator in relation to the bus-bar frequency is not available.

26.  How synchronoscope is used for synchronizing Alternators?

Synchronoscope can be used for permanently connected Alternators where the correctness of phase sequence is already checked by other means. Synchronoscope is capable of rotating in both directions. The rate of rotation of the pointer indicates the amount of frequency difference between the Alternators. The direction of rotation indicates whether incoming Alternator frequency is higher or lower than the existing Alternator. The TPST switch is closed to synchronise the incoming Alternator when the pointer faces the top thick line marking.

27.  Why synchronous generators are to be constructed with more synchronous reactance and negligible resistance?

The presence of more resistance in the Synchronous generators will resist or oppose their synchronous operation. More reactance in the generators can cause good reaction between the two and help the generators to remain in synchronism in spite of any disturbance occurring in any one of the generators.

28. List the factors that affect the load sharing in parallel operating generators?

The total active and reactive power delivered to the load, connected across the common bus-bars, are shared among Synchronous generators, operating in parallel, based on the following three factors

·        Prime-mover characteristic/input

·        Excitation level and

·        Percentage synchronous impedance and its R/X ratio
29.  How does the change in prime mover input affect the load sharing?

An increase in prime-mover input to a particular generator causes the active-power shared by it to increase and a corresponding decrease in active-power shared by other generators. The change in reactive power sharing is less appreciable. The frequency of the bus-bar voltage will also subjected to slight increase in value.

30. How does change in excitation affects the load sharing?

The decrease in excitation in one generator causes the reactive power shared by it to decrease and a corresponding increase in reactive-power shared by

other generators. The change in active-power sharing is less appreciable. There will be a slight decrease in terminal voltage magnitude also.

31.  What steps are to be taken before disconnecting one Alternator from parallel operation?

The following steps are to be taken before disconnecting one Alternator from parallel operation

·        The prime-mover input of the outgoing generator has to be decreased and that of other generators has to be increased and by this the entire active-power delivered by the outgoing generator is transferred to other generators.

·        The excitation of the outgoing generator has to be decreased and that of other generators have to be increased and by this the entire reactive-power delivered by the outgoing generator is transferred to other generators.

·        After ensuring the current delivered by the outgoing generator is zero, it has to be disconnected from parallel operation.

32.  What is meant by infinite bus-bars?

The source or supply lines with non-variable voltage and frequency are called infinite bus-bars. The source lines are said to have zero source impedance and infinite rotational inertia.

33.  How does increase in excitation of the Alternator connected to infinite bus-bars affect this operation?

Increase in excitation level of the synchronous generator will effectively increase the reactive component of the current supplied by the generator and hence the active power delivered.


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