Voltage Regulation of Alternator

 The voltage regulation of an alternator is the difference between the no-load voltage
and the full-load voltage expressed in per cent of full-load voltage.

Vnoload  V full load

Regulation   100
V full load

 The voltage regulation of an alternator is usually much higher than that of power
transfers.
 The large regulation results from
1. the large amount of leakage reactance present in the alternator,
2. the armature resistance,
3. the effect of armature reaction.
 The amount of regulation of commercial alternator may vary from 15% to 40%.
 The voltage regulation of the alternator is effected by the power factor of the load.

May 6, 2024 1
 Voltage Regulation of Alternator
 Figure 1 shows typical characteristics of an alternator when supplying loads of
different power-factors.

Fig. 1 : Load characteristics of an alternator Fig. 2 : Voltage-current relations

showing effect of power-factors
(If and N are maintained constant.

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Effective Armature Resistance
 The effective resistance of the armature of the armature winding is grater than the
conductor resistance as measured by direct current.
 The sources of the effective resistance are
1. Eddy currents in the surrounding material
2. Magnetic hysteresis in the surrounding material
3. Eddy current or unequal current distribution in the conductor itself
 In many cases it is sufficiently accurate to measure the resistance of an armature by
direct current and increase it to a fictitious value, called the effective resistance.
 The exact value can vary widely from 1.25 to 1.75 or more of DC value.

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Armature leakage reactance
 The load current, flowing through the armature winding, builds up local flux
which on cutting the winding generates a counter emf.
 This effect gives the armature a reactance which is numerically equal to 2πrL.
 L is the leakage inductance of the winding.
 This armature reactance is called the leakage reactance (Xl), since the flux which
causes it is around the armature turns only and does not affect the field flux
directly.
 This leakage flux is proportional to the armature current.
 Xl varies somewhat with the position of the armature and the field poles.
 It is usually assumed to be constant.

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Components of armature reactance
 The armature leakage flux can be divided into two parts:
1. the flux around the end connections of the windings, which has an air path and
2. the flux around that part of the conductors which is embedded in the slots.
 This flux is further divided into two parts
(a) slot reactance and
(b) tooth-tip reactance.

1. End-Connection Reactance

Fig. 1 : End-connection leakage flux

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 2. Slot Reactance
 Consider the 2 bare in the slot of Fig.2 to be 2 coil side of a double-layer winding.

Fig. 2 : Slot leakage flux

3. Tooth-Tip Reactance

Fig. 3a : Reluctance minimum, φt is maximum Fig. 3b : Reluctance maximum, φt is minimum

Reactance maximum Reactance minimum
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Armature Reaction
 Armature reaction means, the magnetic effect of the armature current on the effective
excitation of the machine.
 Armature reaction is the magnetomotivo force produced by the armature currents in
the armature conductors.
 The nature of this magnetomotive force will be explained for a three phase two-pole
single-layer winding as shown in Fig. 4(a).
 Assume that the winding of each phase is concentrated and that the number of turns
per phase is NΦ.
 If each phase is connected to a load which takes a current that is in phase or leading
or lagging with its generated voltage.

Fig. 4 : (a) location of windings for three phase alternator

May 6, 2024 (b) connections of alternator to resistive load 7
 At t = t1
Armature mmf = ImNφ + 2x(1/2 ImNφ) cos 600 = 1.5 ImNφ
At t = t2
Armature mmf = 2x(0.886 ImNφ) cos 300 = 1.5 ImNφ
May 6, 2024 8
May 6, 2024 9
Armature Leakage Reactance

 When the alternator is supplying a 3-phase load, current, Ia flows in each stator phase
winding.
 The stator currents flowing in 3-phase stator winding produce a rotating magnetic field,
φa in the air gap.

 A portion of this air gap flux, φa produced by stator currents links only with the stator
winding and does not link with the field winding.
 Such a flux, φal of the stator is known as leakage flux.

 This leakage flux, φal produces an induced emf in the stator winding.

 This flux induced emf, Eal in the stator winding can be considered equivalent to a
voltage drop across a leakage reactance, Xal, through which the stator current, Ia flows.

 As such, the effect of the leakage flux can be taken into account by introducing a
fictitious armature leakage reactance, i.e. induced emf,
Eal  j I a X al
 Various leakage fluxes responsible for the armature leakage reactance, are slot
leakage flux, tooth head leakage flux and overhang leakage flux.
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Armature Reaction Reactance

 When the current, Ia flows in each stator winding, to produces a flux φa.

 The major part of this flux is armature reaction flux, φar, and a small portion of stator
flux, φa is the leakage flux, φal, which links only with the stator winding and does not
link with the field winding.
 The armature reaction flux, φar induces a voltage Ear in the stator winding, which lags
its own flux by 90°.
 As the stator current Ia is in phase with the flux φar the voltage, Ear lags the current Ia
by 90° or the stator current, Ia lags the phasor Ear by 90°.

 As such, the voltage Ear can be represented as a voltage drop across an equivalent
fictitious reactance Xar due to the stator current Ia, i.e.
Ear  j I a X ar

 The above fictitious equivalent reactance, Xar is termed as armature reaction reactance
or the magnetizing reactance.

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Synchronous Impedance
 The emf Ear due to the armature reaction mmf Far is always in quadrature with the
current and is proportional to it.
 The effect of armature reaction can be considered equivalent to a reactance drop IaXar,
where Xar is a fictitious reactance which takes care of the effects of armature reaction.
 The armature winding possesses a certain leakage reactance Xal.
 Synchronous reactance Xs is the sum of arma­ture reaction reactance and the leakage
reactance, i.e.
X s  X ar  X al
 Synchronous reactance Xs is thus a fictitious quantity.
 It is termed synchronous reactance, because the rotating flux revolves synchronously
with the poles.
 Combining the resistance of the armature winding with this reactance, synchro­nous
impedance is obtained, i.e.
Z s  Ra 2  X s 2

 The resistance of the armature winding in alternators is usually very small, as such
synchronous impedance can be assumed equal to the synchronous reac­tance for
many purposes.
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Equivalent Circuit diagram of Alternator
 The equivalent circuit diagram of an alternator are shown in Fig.5.

(a) (b)
Fig. 5 : Equivalent circuit of alternator.

Fig. 6 : Phasor diagram for lagging power factor of alternator.

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Phasor Diagram of Alternator
 The phasor diagram of an alternator at different type of power factor are shown in Fig. 7.

(a) Unity power factor (b) Lagging Power factor

(c) Leading power factor

Fig. 7 : Phasor diagram of an alternator

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Different Test of Alternator
1. Measurement of Stator Resistance
 Assume that the alternator is star connected with d.c. source and field winding is open
as shown in Fig. 3.
 Measure the d.c. resistance between each pair of terminals either by using ammeter-
voltmeter method.

Fig. 3 : Circuit diagram of measurement of stator resistance.

 The effective a. c. resistance is larger than d. c. resistance due to skin effect.

 The effective a. c. resistance per phase is obtained by multiplying the d. c. resistance
by a factor 1.2 to 1.7 depending on the size of the machine.
 A typical value to use in the calculation would be 1.25.
May 6, 2024 15
2. Open Circuit Test on Alternator

 Figure 4(a) shows the circuit for the open circuit test (or no-load test).
 The machine is driven at its rated synchronous speed.
 Open-circuit characteristic of an alternator is shown in Fig. 4(b).

Fig. 4(a) : Circuit diagram for OC test of an alternator Fig. 4(b) : Open-circuit characteristic.

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3. Short-Circuit Test on Alternator
 The circuit for determination of short circuit test is shown in Fig. 5(a).
 The output terminal of the alternator are shorted by the ammeters.
 The field current is varied from zero to a value sufficient for armature current to be
about 1.2 times full-load current.
 The short circuit characteristics shows the relation between short circuit armature
current and field current.
 Figure 5(b) shows the short circuit characteristic of an alternator.

(a) Circuit diagram for short circuit (b) Short-circuit characteristic

Fig. 5 : Short circuit test on an alternator
May 6, 2024 17
Determination of Voltage Regulation

 The basic methods of the determination of regulation of alternator are

1. The synchronous impedance method
2. The old A.I.E.E. method (American Institute of Electrical Engineers)
3. The American Standards method, making use of the Potier reactance
4. The magnetomotive force method.

1. The Synchronous Impedance Method

 To find out the voltage regulation by the synchronous method following data is
required.
1. the resistance of the stator winding per phase,
2. open circuit characteristic of the alternator at synchronous speed, and
3. short-circuit characteristic of the alternator.

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1. The Synchronous Impedance Method
 Figure 6 shows the open circuit and short circuit characteristics of a 3-phase alternator
plotted on the phase basis.
 The synchronous impedance, which is equal to the ratio of open circuit voltage to
short circuit current corresponding to the same field excitation is found out.
V1
Zs 
I1
 Synchronous impedance for various
values of field current can be
calculated and finally a curve is
plotted as shown in Fig. 6.
 Synchronous reactance,

X s  Z s 2  Ra 2

Fig. 6 : OCC and SCC characteristics of an alternator.

May 6, 2024 19
1. The Synchronous Impedance Method

 Figure 7 shows the phasor diagram of the alternator for lagging power factor.
 The phasor diagram is self explanatory and finally gives the value of the open circuit
voltage Ef .

E f  Vt  I a Ra  I a X a

 Referring to the phasor diagram,

E f  OC  OD 2  DC 2  (OF  FD)2  ( DB  BC )2

 E f  (Vt cos   I a Ra ) 2  (Vt sin   I a X s ) 2

E f  Vt
Percentage Regulation   100 Fig. 7 : Phasor diagram on lagging load
Vt

 The synchronous impedance method gives a higher value of regulation than actual
tests, and hence this method is called the pessimistic method.

May 6, 2024 20
2. Old A. I. E. E. Method
 To find out the voltage regulation by the A.I. E.E. method, following data is required:
1. the open circuit characteristic
2. full-load zero power factor characteristic and
3. full-load voltage characteristic.
 These characteristics are shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 : (a) Alternator characteristics (b) Vector diagram with zero-p. f. load.
May 6, 2024 21
2. Old A. I. E. E. Method

 The zero power factor full- load curve can be obtained by calculations based on
a data.
 It can also be obtained from measurements of field current and terminal
voltage V of the armature as its load current Ia is herd at rated value by
simultaneously adjusting the load impedance and the field current.
 For lagging load (Fig. 8b), the synchronous reactance drop is in time phase with
the terminal voltage V, because IaRa is small and it can be neglected.

 For this condition, the synchronous reactance drop IaXs is equal to E0 – V.

 But the full-load zero power factor curve of Fig. 8a defines V for different values
of excitation.
 Therefore, the vertical distance between these two saturation curves is the IaXs
drop corresponding to a particular value of field current.
 This vertical distance is chosen for low saturations, a value of IaXs could be
ordained comparable to the value obtained by the synchronous impedance
method.

May 6, 2024 22
 A pore accurate determination can be made by locating the point P at rated voltage
on the zero power factor curve.
 The vertical distance from P to the no-load saturation curve is a measure of the IaXs
drop in the machine which is produced by the rated current Ia.

PH = IaXs

Xs = PH / Ia ohms per phase

 This value of Xs, can be determine the regulation for any desired power factor.
 Although the method is less pessimistic than the synchronous-impedance method,
it is subject to error.
 It does not provide for the effects of change-of-load factor on the value of the
synchronous reactance.
 If the distances between the two saturation curves of Fig. 8, are divided by rated
current, the reactance can be determined for any excitation.
 The reactances obtained in this manner are plotted on the curve Xs which shows its
variation due to change in field current.

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3. Potier Triangle Method : (Potier Reactance):

Fig. 9 : Voltage characteristics of the alternator, showing the Potier triangle.

May 6, 2024 24
3. Potier Triangle Method : (Potier Reactance):

Fig. 9 : Voltage characteristics of the alternator, showing the Potier triangle.

May 6, 2024 25
3. Potier Triangle Method : (Potier Reactance):

Fig. 9 : Voltage characteristics of the alternator, showing the Potier triangle.

May 6, 2024 26
3. Potier Triangle Method : (Potier Reactance):
 From the saturation curves, we are
determined the magnitude of the Ieakage
reactance and the amount of armature
reaction present when the machine is
supplying full load.
 Assume that the curves of Fig. 9 are
constructed for phase quantities and that
rated phase voltage OT is produced by an
excitation OS.
 The field current required to flow rated
current through the armature under
conditions of short circuit is OB.
 Part of this excitation (OB) is required to
overcome the armature leakage reactance
and the remaining portion to overcome the
effect of armature reaction.
 When the machine is operating at the point Fig. 10 : Voltage characteristics of the
P, the drop in voltage due to these two alternator, showing the Potier triangle.
phenomena is PH.
May 6, 2024 27
Potier Triangle (Potier Reactance):
 For this zero power factor load the
armature reaction is such that it subtracts
directly from the mmf of the field and
when the field excitation is OS, the mmf of
the armature reaction can be subtracted
from that of the field TP by subtracting it
directly on the line PT.
 Also, when operating at zero power factor,
the leakage-reactance drop is in time
phase with the terminal voltage.
 Therefore, the leakage-reactance drop can
be added to the phase voltage SP directly
to obtain the generated voltage in the
armature.
 This leakage-reactance drop will appear as
a vertical distance on the diagram Fig. 10.
Fig. 10 : Voltage characteristics of the
alternator, showing the Potier triangle.

May 6, 2024 28
Potier Triangle: Potier Reactance:
 Next, it can be assumed that for any point
P, P', or P" the leakage reactance and
armature reactance will be the same and
therefore the two saturation curves will be
separated by a series of equal and parallel
lines PQ, P'Q',P'Q", BC etc.
 If QF is the voltage drop caused by leakage
reactance, and FP, which is at right angles
to it, is the magnetomotive force of
armature reaction, then the QP must
equal Q' P',Q" P", BC, etc.
 The bases of these equal triangles OB,
K“P”, K'P', and KP must be equal.
 The triangle PKQ can now be determined
by making its base equal to OB and the
line KQ is constructed so that it is at an
angle α with respect to the horizontal. Fig. 9 : Voltage characteristics of the
 The intersection of KQ with the no-load
alternator, showing the Potier triangle.
saturation curve determines its length.
May 6, 2024 29
Potier Triangle (Potier Reactance):
 A perpendicular from Q to the line TP
establishes the point F and determines the
magnitude of PF and QF.
 It is now assumed that FP is the
magnetomotive required to overcome the
armature reaction and FQ is equal to the
leakage reactance drop, IaXl, but QF = JP
and
QF JP
Xl   ohms per phase
Ia Ia

 The voltage JP is called the Potier

reactance drop.
 It is not quite equal to the leakage-
reactance drop because of the change in
the field leakage with load.
 It will be considered a fairly accurate
determination of IaXl for non-salient pole
machines; otherwise Fig. 9 : Voltage characteristics of the
alternator, showing the Potier triangle.
QF  JP  I a X l

May 6, 2024 30
Potier Triangle: Potier Reactance:
 Other relations can be obtained from Fig. 10 as follows.
SH = Open circuit voltage
SP = Rated voltage
PH = synchronous reactance drop
JP = Leakage reluctance drop
JH = drop in voltage due to armature reaction

 A tragedy is constructed to the lower part

of the no-load saturation curve intersecting
PT at L.
 When the machine is operating at the point
P portions of the load excitation TP are
used to provide the following:
• TL produces the voltage SP if no saturation
is present
• KF overcomes the effect of armature
reaction
• FP overcomes the effect of saturation
since LK = L'Q, and the degree of Fig. 10 : Voltage characteristics of the
saturation is a function of the generated alternator, showing the Potier triangle.
voltage
May 6, 2024 RQ and not the terminal voltage SP 31