ENERGY CONVERSION ONE

(Course 25741)

CHAPTER SIX
. Synchronous Motor Starting

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
1 Starting by Reducing Electrical Frequency
If stator B rotate at low enough speed, there
will be no problem for rotor to accelerate & will
lock in with stator
Speed of BS then can be increased gradually to
normal 50 or 60 Hz
Shortcoming: how to provide a variable
electrical frequency source, this needs a
dedicated generator
This requirement is obviously impractical

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
Today, (as described in ch. 3) rectifier-inverter & cycloconverter
can be used to convert a constant frequency to any desired
output frequency
With modern solid-state variable frequency drive packages, it is
perfectly possible to continuously control electrical frequency
applied to motor from a fraction of Hz up to and above rated
frequency
If such a variable-frequency drive unit included in motor-control
circuit to achieve speed control, then starting syn. motor is very
easy
When syn. Motor operated at a speed lower than rated speed,
its internal generated voltage EA=K will be smaller than
normal
& If EA reduced, voltage applied to motor must reduced to keep
stator current at safe levels

Voltage in any variable-frequency drive (or variable-frequency

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
2- Starting With an External Prime Mover
Attaching an external motor to it to bring syn. Machine
up to full speed
Then syn. Machine be paralleled with its power
system as a generator
Now starting motor can be detached from machine
shaft, then its slow down
BR fall behind Bnet & machine change its mode to be
motor
Once paralleling completed syn. Motor can be loaded
down in an ordinary fashion

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
Since starting motor should overcome inertia of syn.
machine without a load & starting motor can have
much smaller rating
since most syn. motors have brushless excitation
systems mounted on their shaft, often these exciters
can be used as starting motors
For many medium-size to large syn. motors, an
external starting motor or starting by using exciter may
be the only possible solution , because the connected
power system source may not be able to feed the
required starting current for amortisseur winding (next)

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
3- Starting by Using Amortisseur Windings
most popular method is to employ amortisseur or
damper winding
armortisseur windings are special bars laid into
notches carved in face of a syn. motors rotor & then
shorted out on each end by a large shorting ring
pole face shown in next slide
To understand what a set of amortisseur windings
does in a syn. motor, examine salient 2 pole rotor
shown next

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
Simplified diagram of salient 2 pole machine
Not a way normal
machines work,
-however, illustrate reason
for its application

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
Assume initially main rotor field winding is
disconnected & that a 3 phase set of voltages applied
to stator
assume when power is first applied at t=0, BS is
vertical as shown, & as BS sweeps along in counterclockwise direction, it induces a voltage in bars of
amortisseur winding :
eind=(v x B) . l
v=velocity of bar relative to B
B=magnetic flux density vector
l=length of conductor magnetic field

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
Development of a unidirectional torque with
syn. Motor amortisseur windings

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
1- at t=0
Bars at top of rotor moving to right relative to magnetic field of
stator, so induced voltage is out of page
And similarly induced voltage in bottom bars into page
Voltages produced a current flow out of top bars & into bottom
bars, therefore this winding (bars) magnetic field Bw pointing to
right
Employing induced torque equation:
Tind=k BW x BS
Direction of resulting torque on bars (& rotor) counterclockwise
2- at t=1/240 s,
BS now rotated 90, while rotor has barely moved (simply can
not speed up in short a time), since v is in parallel with B no
induced voltage & current is zero

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
3- at t=1/120 s
stator magnetic field rotated 90 and is
downward, and rotor still not moved
Induced voltage in damping winding out of
page in bottom bars & into page in top bars
Resulting current also out of page in bottom
bars & into page at top bars which cause B W
pointing to left
Induced torque : Tind=kBW x BS
is counterclockwise

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
4- at t=3/240 s
Here as t=1/240 induced torque is zero
Note: during these four steps, sometimes torque is
counterclockwise & sometimes zero, however always
unidirectional and the net is nonzero, motor speed up
Although rotor speed up, never reach syn. Speed
Since if rotor turn at syn. Speed, there would be no
relative motion between rotor and BS consequently
induced voltage and passing current in bars zero and
no torque will be developed to maintain rotor rotating,
however it get close to syn. Speed, then regular field
current turned on, and rotor will pull into step with
stator magnetic fields

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
In Real Machines, field windings not open-circuited during
starting procedure
If field windings were O.C. then very high voltages would be
produced during starting
If field winding be sh. cct. During starting no dangerous voltage
developed, and induced field current contribute extra torque to
motor
- Starting procedure for machines with amortisseur winding:
1- disconnect field windings from dc power source & sh. Them
2- apply a 3 phase voltage to stator winding, let rotor accelerate
up to near-syn. Speed, motor should have no load to get close
to nsyn
3- connect dc field circuit to its power source, after this motor
get to syn. Speed and loads then may be added to shaft

STARTING SYNCHRONOUS
MOTORS
Effects of Amortisseur Windings on Motor Stability
There is another advantage when there is an armortisseur
winding, i.e. increase machine stability
Stator magnetic field rotates at a constant speed nsyn which
varies only when system frequency varies
If rotor turns at nsyn amortisseur winding have no induced
voltage
If rotor turn slower than nsyn there will be relative motion
between rotor & BS & a voltage will be induced, consequently
current pass and magnetic field produced that develop a torque
which tend to speed machine up again
On the other hand if rotor turn faster than BS a torque develop
to slow rotor down
These windings dampen out load or other transients on
machine and this the reason that this winding named Damping
Winding

SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE
SUMMARY
Motors and Generators
1- syn. Gen.: EA lies ahead of V while for motor:
EA lies behind V
2- machine supplying Q have EA cos > V (regardless of being
motor or generator) and machine consuming reactive power Q
has
EA cos < V
Synchronous motors commonly used for low speed , high
power loads
When connected to power system, frequency and terminal
voltage of syn. motor is fixed
nm= nsync=120 fe/p
Pmax=3 V EA / XS
this is maximum power of machine and if exceeded, motor slip
poles

SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE
SUMMARY
Phasor Diagrams of generation & consumption

SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE
SUMMARY
SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR RATINGS
One major difference is that a large EA gives a
leading PF, instead of lagging in syn. Gen.