With the advent of modern power electronics there is reason to explore what can be achieved when it is applied to a mature technology like synchronous machines. In this text several concepts will be presented on how it is possible to control forces and how to get better performance out of synchronous machines by using power electronics. Methodologies to create radial forces by controlling the field current in a standard series connected rotor winding as well as when the winding is split in to several segments is presented. By segmenting the rotor a resulting force vector can be created to cancel forces due to unbalanced magnetic pull.

It is also shown that inverting the field current with respect to the stator field enables line start of synchronous machines without using damper bars, frequency converters, or starting motors.

Some first results from the installation and testing of an electromagnetic thrust bearing installed in unit U9 in the hydropower station in Porjus are presented. The benefits of the system is increased reliability and higher efficiency of the thrust bearing system.

An evaluation of a 2-stage brushless excitation system was done, different rotating power electronics topologies were tested in the stationary frame connected to a six-phase permanent magnet brushless exciter. The rotating control and measurement system for the power electronics is presented. Potential benefits of the system is that there is no need for brushes to transfer the field current to the rotor winding, fast response time due to actively controlled electronics, independence of the station bus voltage, and reduced maintenance.

In this paper, a method to control the harmonic content of the magnetic flux density in the airgap of a synchronous machine is presented. Voltage harmonics in one phase as well as the exciting magnetic forces can be affected. Switched power electronics were used to provide the field current to a synchronous machine, the control added specific current harmonics to the DC field current in order to minimize either voltage harmonics or magnetic forces. The method is verified and compared with simulations and experiments on an existing electrical machine.

A magnetization system with active compensation of unbalanced magnetic pull for synchronous machines with rotating exciters is demonstrated. The system used switched power electronics and a digital control system to control the currents in four rotor pole groups, each consisting of 3 poles. It was mounted on the shaft of a synchronous machine, providing an interface between a permanent magnet outer-pole brushless exciter and the segmented field winding. Measurements of magnetic flux density on each pole face and current control made it possible to control the airgap magnetic flux density to balance the machine magnetically, thus removing flux density space harmonics in the airgap and also the unbalanced magnetic pull. The construction of the system is presented along with results from experiments and simulations. Tests were performed with the stator winding both in series and with two parallel circuits. Approximately 80% reduction of static forces and 60% reduction of dynamic forces between the stator and rotor were observed when the system was running.

Flux density harmonics in the air-gap of electrical machines create distorted voltage waveforms and can induce vibrations. These problems are difficult to mitigate when the machine is already in operation and therefore a lot of effort is made during the design phase to eliminate them. Still, many in-operation machines experience problems related to harmonics and often the solution is to mechanically reinforce and change modal shapes which is expensive and inconvenient. Using a current controlled switched power supply to excite a synchronous machine and adding specific harmonics to the DC-field current it is shown that it is possible to alter the harmonic content of the flux density in the air-gap, and thus affect  voltage harmonics and the exciting magnetic forces. The method is verified and compared with simulations and experiments on an existing electrical machine. 

Recent technological developments have caused a renewed interest in the brushless excitation system. With the application of wireless communication, the conventional diode bridge has been replaced with fully controllable thyristors on the shaft. It offers the same dynamic performance as the conventional static excitation system. The thyristor bridge of the conventional three-phase exciter needs to be controlled with a high firing angle in normal operation in order to fulfill a requirement of both a high ceiling voltage and a high ceiling current. A high firing angle causes high torque ripple to be absorbed by the exciter stator and a low power factor results in a low utilization of the designed exciter. In this contribution, we present a strategy that solves this problem by looking into combinations of thyristor configurations of a double-star six-phase connection of the exciter. Experimental results are used to verify the circuit models implemented for this investigation. A hybrid-mode 12-pulse thyristor bridge configuration seems to be a good solution for implementations in commercial apparatus. An additional switch interconnects two separate thyristor bridges from parallel- to series connection at the rectifier output, and utilizes the advantages of both topologies.

Synchronous motors are hard to line start due to torque pulsations at zero rotor speed and low starting torque when started using induced current in a damper squirrel cage. By inverting the rotor pole polarity at appropriate times it is possible to, in principle, achieve uniform torque, albeit pulsating with twice the line frequency at zero initial rotor speed. This has been demonstrated in an earlier work. In this paper we demonstrate that high torque starting using the back-emf in the field winding as triggering signal for the rotor polarity inversion is possible. We further discuss the origin of the rotational energy and active and reactive power pulsations. Finally, we show that it is possible to operate a synchronous motors at continuous asynchronous speed by inverting the polarity of the rotor current and adjusting the field current accordingly, although down rated.

A new high-speed-response dual-star brushless rotating exciter has been recently proposed, which utilizes two rotating thyristor rectifiers in a hybrid-mode topology. However, dissymmetries tend to occur in large-scale apparatus, which ultimately results in an undesired unbalanced loading of the topology. Moreover, the topology provides a possibility for compensation via asymmetrical firing, which serves as a promising solution to be investigated. This letter proposes an active current sharing adjustment method between the parallel thyristor bridges. The method improves controllability and performance compared with the alternative “skip firing” approach, and it can replace the interphase reactors (IPRs) in large direct current applications.

The excitation system plays a critical role in the operation of synchronous generators. An equipment failure could impact the voltage quality for smaller grids. Further, it can lead to cost penalties and reduced production for the power plant owner. Recently, a new high-speed-response rotating brushless exciter was developed that employs remote control of the rotating thyristors on the generator shaft. This has led to new possibilities for improving the performance of brushless exciters. This contribution investigates the failure modes of a dual-star outer pole exciter that feeds two separate thyristor bridges connected in parallel during normal operation. The possibility of redundant postfault operation due to open-thyristor or open-phase faults are demonstrated using experimental testing. The system is compared with the fault performance of a conventional three-phase system. This work includes the implementation and validation of a fault-predicting double d-q exciter model. In addition, the dangerous effects of a shorted-thyristor fault are investigated. A "skip firing" protection technique is briefly demonstrated for the fast isolation of such faults, yielding nondestructive postfault recovery and redundant failure-mode operation. The evidence shows that the dual-star exciter is a competitive choice for the future development of fault-tolerant brushless exciters.

Generally, PM machines are used as PMG pre-exciters in 3-stage brushless excitations systems. This paperpresents the design, characterization and prototyping of a rotatingbrushless PM exciter used in a proposed 2-stage excitation systemfor a synchronous generator. The proposed design reduces thenumber of components compared with conventional systems.A comparison with the state-of-the-art conventional excitationsystems is given. The design of a fast-response, or high initialresponse, brushless exciter requires active rectification on therotating frame, replacing the non-controllable diode bridge. Theobjective was to construct an exciter with the capability of a50 Aoutput field current as well as a high value of the available ceilingvoltage and ceiling current. The final exciter was constructed to befitted into an in-house synchronous generator test setup. A finiteelement model of the exciter was validated with experimentalmeasurements. The exciter prototype is also compared with analternative armature design with non-overlapping single-layerconcentrated windings but with the same main dimensions.The paper includes a general design procedure suitable foroptimization of PM brushless exciters that fulfill the requirementsof their synchronous generators and the grid.

This paper deals with the characterization and construction of a rotating brushless PM exciter intended for synchronous generator excitation purposes. Traditionally, PM exciters are used as pre-exciters in synchronous generator excitations systems. In order to reduce the number of components and to increase the step time response of the system, a PM exciter is designed as an outer pole PM machine, with permanent magnets on the stator and armature windings on the rotor. The exciter was constructed electrically and mechanically to be fitted into an in-house synchronous generator test setup. A finite element model of the exciter was validated with no-load measurements of voltages and magnetic flux densities. The exciter was then characterized with unsaturated and saturated parameters.

his paper investigates the performance of different power electronic interfaces for a rotating brushless permanent magnet exciter, designed for a synchronous generator test setup. A passive rotating diode bridge is commonly used as the rotating interface on conventional brushless excitation systems. Those systems are known to be slow dynamically, since they cannot control the generator field voltage directly. Including active switching components on the rotating shaft, like thyristors or transistors, brushless excitation systems can be comparable to static excitation systems. Brushless excitation systems has the benefit of less regular maintenance. With permanent magnets on the stator of the designed exciter, the excitation system improves its field forcing capability. Results show that modern power electronic interfaces utilize the exciter machine optimally, increase the power factor, reduce the torque pulsations, maintain the available field winding ceiling voltage and improve the field winding controllability.

The static exciter is dominating among large grid-connected generators due to the weak dynamic performance of conventional brushless exciters. In this paper, a six-phase outer pole permanent magnet rotating brushless exciter is evaluated with different active rectification topologies. Both thyristor-based and chopper-based topologies are considered. A fast-response brushless excitation system is obtained by replacing the conventional rotating diode bridge rectifier with the proposed active rectification topologies on the shaft. The given two-stage system generates its own excitation power directly from the shaft, contrary to static exciters. The selection of an appropriate rectification topology could minimize the rotor armature phase currents for a given generator field current. The objective is a high power factor and a high utilization of the exciter machine. An optimal rectification topology makes higher ceiling currents possible, improving the transient behavior of the synchronous generator. In this paper we show that six-phase topologies add complexity, but improve exciter redundancy, increase the available ceiling voltage and reduce the steady state torque ripple. Experimental results are given for validating the models implemented for the analysis.

Synchronous motors are reliable and efficient, but it is relatively difficult to start them. In some cases, a variable frequency drive is utilized. In some other, asynchronous start is achieved by virtue of induced currents in a solid rotor, or a rotor damper cage installed for this purpose. In this contribution, a method to start a synchronous machine without a damper cage is presented. The starting was achieved by inverting the polarity of the rotor field winding in a timely manner with respect to the rotating stator field. The technique was verified with experiments performed on a 200 kVA experimental test rig and also simulated on a 20 MVA machine.

Permanent magnets are an attractive material to be utilized in thrust bearings as they offer relatively low losses. If utilized properly, they have a long service lifetime and are virtually maintenance free. In this contribution, we communicate the results of the tests performed on a permanent magnet thrust bearing that was custom built and installed in a hydropower synchronous generator test-rig. Tridimensional finite element simulations were performed and compared with measurements of axial force. Spin down times and axial force ripple have also been measured. We found good correspondence between the measurements and the simulations.