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Performance and parameter prediction of large synchronous machines from physical dimensions

A project funded by the Southern California Edison (SCE) Company, Research
Center of Irwindale, California, has supported the development of a performance and
parameter prediction software program for use during the refurbishment of large
synchronous machines, turbine generators, and synchronous condensers. The computer
program was developed for SCE to allow user friendly input of a machine's physical
parameters such as pole/field/winding/stator dimensions, type of steel, and other related
information in order to calculate the machine's reactances, time constants, and performance
curves. The program also allows some degree of design calculation to be performed in
order to meet certain design criteria where appropriate.
The theory behind the calculations upon which the electrical calculations are built is
obtained primarily from literature published in the early 1950's. Since that time, however,
machine design has progressed into ever larger generators, most often in the hundreds of
Megawatt range with some units exceeding one thousand Megawatts. This size increase has
established the practice of winding the stator coils into parallel circuits to maintain
acceptable flux and generated voltage levels. These design practices justify a re-examination
of the traditional methods used to calculate a machine's reactances and time constants.
Accordingly, the use of parallel circuits in the stator winding and their effect on machine
parameters has not, to this author's knowledge, been addressed in public literature. These
issues are exam fled and modifications to the traditional formulas have been derived for the
reactances along with the process of carrying out the calculations on a per pole basis.
In addition, the calculation of the parameter and performance equations of a machine
are suitable for implementation on a computer due to the length and often iterative
calculation procedures. The procedures used to calculate the capability and saturation curves
directly from the machine's physical dimensions are developed. During development of the
program a forty megawatt generator was measured in order to test and debug the program.
Results of this test case are presented and compared to test values obtained at the time of
the generator's installation. / Graduation date: 1994

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/35944
Date03 November 1993
CreatorsHeberle, David D.
ContributorsWallace, Alan K.
Source SetsOregon State University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation

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