5.

379S26

Novel concept in high voltage generation: PowerformerTM

Mats Leijon
ABB Corporate Research, Vasterls, Sweden

Abstract
A new generator, PowerformerTM,which is
able to supply electricity directly to the high
voltage grid without tlie need for a step-up
transformer, has been developed by ABU in
Sweden. The new generator is suitable for
power generation at output voltages of
several hundred kilovolts. Tbe new concept
is based on circular conductors for the
stator winding and it is implemented by
using proven high-voltage cable technology.
l'hos, the upper limit for the output voltage
from the generator is set by the state-of-theavt power-cable technology.

Introduction
Uiitil today, electric generators have lookcd
almost the same for nearly a century. Progress
has obviously been made in areas such as
insulation
materials
and
productioii
tcchnology, but thc basic generator concept
has remained the samc. ABB has developed a
radically new electrical machine which
principally rests on the fundamentals of nature,
as described in the Maxwell equations, rather
than resting on traditions emanating from the
turn of the century when insulation technology
was still in its infancy.
The direct connection of the generator to the
grid, leadiug to the omission of the hansformer
with its associated losses and maintenance
requirements, provides a number of
noteworthy advantages for the network
operator as well as for the power producer.
Such advantages over a conventional system
include higher plant efficiency (0.5-2%),
increased
reactivc
power
production
capability, and possibilities for increased
overload capability. Altogether, these features
sum up to a highly reduced life cycle cost for a
power production system implemented with
High Voltage Engineering Symposium, 22-21 August 1999
Conference Publication No. 461,O IEE, 1999

Powerformer as compared to a system using a

conventional generator with its step-up
transformer.
Throughout the development process of
Powerformer, environmental issues have held
a central position. This is, for example,
reflected in the choice of constructional
materials used in the new machine, facilitating
recycling at the end of the lifetime of the
machine. However, the largest environmental
gains come from the increased efficiency of
the new energy system compared to that of a
conventional system, thus reducing demands
made on natural resources.
The first machine to feature the new winding
concept is a hydropower generator rated at 45
kVil1 MVA, which is in operation in Porjus in
the northern part of Sweden. Moreover, two
orders 011 Powerformer have been placed by
Swedish utilities at ABB Generation for one
turbo generator rated at 136 kVi42 MVA and
one hydropower generator rated at 155 kVi75
MVA.
The immediate consequence of the new
solution is the possibility of increasing the
output voltage of the generator from today's
maximum of about 25 kV to the level of the
rating of the available power cables which
presently is of thc order of 500 kV. The effects
of this include thc possibility of directly
connecting the generator to the power grid
without a step-up transformer and thereby
eliminating the associated losses and costs.
This new machine has been named
Powerformer since it incorporates the
functionality of both the generator and the
transformer.

5.380.SZ6
raise the output power of an electric machine,
either the level of the output voltage or the
Conventional
cuirent in the stator windings must be
increased. When more output power was
required from generators in the beginning of
this century engineers, limited by the
insulation technology at that time, had to raise
the cuirent in the machine instead of
increasing the output voltage.

Figure 1. Convensional
Powerformer plant

plant

versus

Basics
In the mid 19"' century, J. C. Maxwell
managed to fully describe the phenomena of
electricity and magnetism in a single system of
equations, commonly known as the Maxwell
equations. These equations contain the basis
for rotating electric machines, for exatnplc
Faraday's induction law. Without going into
details, some aspects of the different solutions
to the Maxwell equations will be briefly
discussed here. For a rectangular conductor
geometry, solutions to the Maxwell equations
for the electric as well as the magnetic field
have infinitely high field strengths outside the
comers of the conductor. A cylindrical
conductor geometry, however, yields a smooth
electric and magnetic field distribution which
is a prerequisite for a high-voltage electric
machine, see Fig. 2. The practical consequence
for a rectangular conductor in an electric
machine is that the insulation material and the
magnetic material of the machine are highly
stressed and not uniformly loaded which leads
to an uneconomical use of the involved
materials. Failures in the machine relatcd to
the high stress of the materials are also very
likely to occur. Such severe drawbacks are
avoided when using circular conductors which
dlow for the optimal use of the insulation
material due to the associated smooth field
distribution.
From a physics point of view, round
conductors are the natural choice for the stator
windings of an elcctric machine. However,
cngineering problems have until now led the
development in another direction. In order to

'igure 2. Rectangular
rranEemenL

versus

cylindrical

Design of rotating machiues

111 the design of an electromagnetic system the
four main points which can be identified are as
follows: elechic design, magnetic design,
thermal design, and mechanical design.
Previously, it was not possible to make an
independent treatment of the different parts
due to various limitations of the insulation
system. With the new winding, however, these
points may be treated separately, giving
designers by far better possibilities to optimise
the perfoimance of the machine. The
independent treatment of, for example, the
electric design is made possible, on the one
hand by the round conductors which result in a
smooth field distribution thus minimising the
stress on the insulation material and, on the
other hand, by the semiconducting laycrs on
each side of the solid insulation which layers
confine thc electric field to the winding, The
thermal design is facilitated sincc cooling may
be accomplished at earth potential. The four
traditional desigii points will be treated briefly
below.

Electric design
The insulated conductors used for the stator
windings for Powerformer are, as referred to

5.381.S26
earlier, based on proven high-voltage cable
technology. Currently, XLPE insulated cables
are available for voltages up to 500 kV. This
means that it is possible to design rotating
electric machines, using the new cable concept
for the stator winding, with output voltages of
up to 500 kV. Therefore, Powerformer may be
connected directly to the power grid without a
step-up transformer. As mentioned above, an
increase in the output voltage corresponds to a
decrease in the loading current in the machine
for a given power rating and a lower current
density results in lower resistive losses in the
machine.
The winding of Powerformer is a multilayer
concentric winding where the potential along
the winding increases with each turn starting
from the inside of the stator and increasing
towards the periphery. Accordingly, the
demands made on the insulation thickness
increase towards the periphery. It is therefore
possible to use thin insulation for the first turns
and then increasingly thicker insulation for the
subsequent turns. This arrangement makes it
possible to optimise the use of the stator cnre
volume. The electric design is further
facilitated by the practically zero electric field
outside the cable. For example, there is no
need to control thc electric field in the coil-end
region as is the case with conventional
machine technology. The personal safety is
also increased since the entire outer
semiconducting layer of the cable can bc held
at earth potential,
For jointing and terminating the cables in the
winding of Powerformer, readily available
standard components are used.

cross-section of the cable ducts decreases. This

results in a practically constant radial width of
the stator teeth (the area between the stator
slots) which in turn reduces the losses in the
teeth.
In a conventional winding coil the conductor
laminations have to be transposed along their
length in order to reduce the eddy-current
losses. For the new round conductor
arrangement, minimisation of the eddy-current
losses is achieved by using insulated and
twisted strands in the cable forming the
winding.
It is possible to install additional windings in
the stator of Powerfonner which can, for
example, be used for supplying the plant with
auxiliary power. Moreover, Powerformer can
be used as a rotating transformer with
possibilities of simultaneous connection to
several grid voltages using winding taps.
Thermal design
Inherent to Powerformer is that the loading
current for a given output power is
considerably lower than in a conventional
generator. Thus, the main part of the losses are
iron losscs in the core and not resistive copper
losses in the winding. Consequently, the
cooling requirement of Powerformer is
concentrated to the core and not to the
winding. Since, as already mentioned, the
electric field is confined to the winding, the
cooling of the stator core is performed at earth
potential. Both liquid and gaseous media can
be used for cooling.
Mechanical design

Magnetic design

The stator of Powerformer consists of a

laminated core, built up from sheet steel. The
stator slots are radially distributed cylindrical
bores running axially through the stator and
joined by narrow sub-slots. The circular shape
of these cable ducts, corresponding to the
shape of the cable, is also preferable with
respect to the Maxwell equations since the
roundness results in an even distribution of the
magnetic field. As a consequence, the loss in
the generator is reduced and the output voltage
contains less haimonics. Since, as already
mentioned, the cable diameter decreases
towards the rotor due to the decreasing
requirements on the insulation thickness, the

Powerformer is fitted with a conventional

rotor. Therefore, only the stator related aspects
of mechanical design will he covered here.
When designing a generator, current forces
cxerted onto the end windings during normal
operation as well as during short circuits have
to he considered in terms of the support of the
windings. Due to the lower currents and
current densities, the current forces in
Powerformer are considerabIy smaller than in
a conventional rotating machine. As a
consequence, the support for the end windings
can be made simpler in Powerformer.

In a conventional generator the stator winding

is typically arranged in two layers, resulting in

5.382.96
short stator teeth. The multilayer winding of
Powerfonner requires deep stator slots and
thus the stator teeth are long. Mechanically this
leads to lower bending stiffness in the teeth
and lower resonance frequency which are
unfavourable features. By using a new type of
stiff, pre-stressed slot wedge in Powerfonner,
problems related to the long stator teeth have
been eliminated.

Discussion
The clearest evidence that the concept
presented above is valid, is that the first
machine already is in operation. When it
comes to larger machines, it can be seen that
the concept is scalable. The cable technology
is mature, and cable for several hundred
kilovolts is readily available. Possible
problems are expected to be easier to solve
than for the corresponding conventional
system, since the design can be separated into
independent parts.
As the generating system is simplified, the
distance from generation to the consumcr
shrinks. This will open up new possibilities,
with new features for the power system as a
whole. The increased capability of reactive
power production is one example of this.

Conclusion
Based upon fundamental laws of nature and
proven insulation technology, it has been
possible to design a high voltage generator
connected directly to the power grid. The
cardinal point in this concept is to utilize a
power cable for the stator winding. The result
is a simpler, cheaper, more efficient and more
environment-friendly generating system. The

most obvious impact is the elimination of the

step-up transformer, which leads to cost cuts
and positive effects on the network. Other
advantages include improved control over the
design process, due to the fact that different
parts of the design can be treated separately.
Powerformer, as the machine ,is called, plays
the role of both generator and transfonner, and
can he used to connect grids with different
voltages. The first installation is already in
operation, validating the different aspects of
this new conccpt.

Acknowledgment
Dr. Fredrik Owman has provided valuable
comments on an early version of this text. Dr.
Jan Hemmingsson is commended for
reviewing this paper.

References
Leijon, M.: PowerformerTM- a radically
new rotating machine, ADD Review, no. 2,
1998.
Leijon, M.; Gertmar, L.; Frank, H.;
Martinsson, J; Karlsson, T.; Johansson, B.;
Isaksson, K. & Wollstrom, U,: Breaking
Conventions in Electrical Power Plants,
Report 11/37-3, CIGR!? Session, Paris, 30Ih
August - Yh September, 1998.
Leijon, M.; Owman, F. & Karlsson, T.:
Power generation without transformers,
Hydropower & Dams, Issue Two, pp. 9798, 1998.