Brushless Synchronous Machine Research Articles

Influence of Temperature on Brushless Synchronous Machine Field Winding Interturn Fault Severity Estimation

There are numerous methods for detecting interturn faults (ITFs) in the field winding of synchronous machines (SMs). One effective approach is based on comparing theoretical and measured excitation currents. This method is unaffected by rotor temperature in static excitation SMs. However, this paper investigates the influence of rotor temperature in brushless synchronous machines (BSMs), where rotor temperature significantly impacts the exciter excitation current. Extensive experimental tests were conducted on a special BSM with measurable rotor temperature. Given the challenges of measuring rotor temperature in industrial machines, this paper explores the feasibility of using stator temperature in the exciter field current estimation model. The theoretical exciter field current is calculated using a deep neural network (DNN), which incorporates electrical brushless synchronous generator output values and stator temperature, and it is subsequently compared with the measured exciter field current. This method achieves an error rate below 0.5% under healthy conditions, demonstrating its potential for simple implementation in industrial BSMs for ITF detection.

A PM-Free Brushless Synchronous Machine With a Novel Compensated Wound-Field Excited by Modulated Rotating Magnetic Flux

A PM-Free Brushless Synchronous Machine With a Novel Compensated Wound-Field Excited by Modulated Rotating Magnetic Flux

Brushless Synchronous Machine Field Winding Interturn Fault Severity Estimation through Deep Neural Networks

Brushless Synchronous Machine Field Winding Interturn Fault Severity Estimation through Deep Neural Networks

Contactless Rotor Ground Fault Detection Method for Brushless Synchronous Machines Based on an AC/DC Rotating Current Sensor.

Brushless synchronous machines (BSMs) are replacing conventional synchronous machines with static excitation in generation facilities due to the absence of sparking and lower maintenance. However, this excitation system makes measuring electric parameters in the rotor challenging. It is highly difficult to detect ground faults, which are the most common type of electrical fault in electric machines. In this paper, a ground fault detection method for BSMs is proposed. It is based on an inductive AC/DC rotating current sensor installed in the shaft. In the case of a ground fault in the rotating parts of the BSM, a fault current will flow through the rotor's sensor, inducing voltage in its stator. By analyzing the frequency components of the induced voltage, the detection of a ground fault in the rotating elements is possible. The ground faults detection method proposed covers the whole rotor and discerns between DC and AC sides. This method does not need any additional power source, slip ring, or brush, which is an important advantage in comparison with the existing methods. To corroborate the detection method, experimental tests have been performed using a prototype of this sensor connected to laboratory synchronous machines, achieving satisfactory results.

On-Line Rotor Ground Fault Location Method for Brushless Synchronous Machines

The detection of ground faults in the rotor of brushless synchronous machines is usually a difficult task due to the absence of available measurements. This paper presents a new on-line rotor ground fault location method for brushless synchronous machines. The proposed method is able to detect and locate a ground fault in the excitation system without removing the rotor for testing. The method is based on the measurement of the exciter field current and on the analysis of a voltage. This voltage is measured at a high ohmic grounding resistor installed between the neutral of the exciter armature and ground through a slip ring. The method has been validated by computer simulations and by experimental tests using a special laboratory setup, obtaining excellent results.

DIODE EXCITERS OF A BRUSHLESS MEDIUM POWER SYNCHRONOUS GENERATOR

The aim of the work is a comparative analysis of the parameters of the diode exciter of a brushless synchronous generator of medium power on the number of pole pairs of an auxiliary electric machine, the development of recommendations for choosing the number of pole pairs of an auxiliary electric machine and the design of the exciter.
 An improvement of the automated method of electromagnetic calculation of the exciter of a brushless synchronous machine has been carried out. The diode exciters of a brushless synchronous generator with a power of 250 kW with the number of pole pairs p = 2 based on a three-phase bridge rectifier and an auxiliary electric machine of a synchronous type with different numbers of pole pairs are compared. At the first stage, a preliminary electromagnetic calculation of the auxiliary electric machine is performed, taking into account the initial value of the relative magnitude of the resulting electromotive force, the allowable values ​​of inductions in all sections of the magnetic circuit in in forced mode, the length of the magnetic circuit and the rotor winding support are determined. According to the results of the calculation of the rectifier model in the quasi-steel mode of operation, the relative value of the resulting electromotive force of the auxiliary electric machine is specified. 
 At the first stage, a preliminary electromagnetic calculation of the auxiliary electric machine is performed, taking into account the initial value of the relative magnitude of the resulting electromotive force, the allowable values ​​of inductions in all sections of the magnetic circuit in in forced mode, the length of the magnetic circuit and the rotor winding support are determined. According to the results of the calculation of the rectifier model in the quasi-steel mode of operation, the relative value of the resulting electromotive force of the auxiliary electric machine is specified pB = 4.

Application of a Model-Based Method to the Online Detection of Rotating Rectifier Faults in Brushless Synchronous Machines

Converters are one of the most sensible components of any power conversion system when it comes to electrical faults. Moreover, if these converters are used in a rotating system, as is the case with rotating rectifiers used in brushless synchronous machines, apart from also being exposed to mechanical effects and thus having a greater likelihood of failure, no access is available directly, causing a lack of available measurements for condition monitoring. This paper applies a model-based method to the online detection of open-diode faults, shorted-diode faults and exciter open-phase faults in the rotating rectifiers of brushless synchronous machines. The applied method relies on the comparison between the measured and the theoretical exciter field currents, the latter computed through a healthy machine model from the machine actual output values. The proposed protection strategy stands out for its computational simplicity and its non-invasiveness, which makes its industrial application straightforward without the need of any further equipment or adaptation. Its applicability has been verified through a double approach, on the one hand, through computer simulations, and, on the other hand, through experimental tests, achieving satisfactory results. The research conducted proves that with the proposed method, given reasonable measurement and model estimation typical errors of less than 5%, positive differences between the measured and the theoretical exciter field currents of more than 13%, 200% and 30% for open-diode faults, shorted-diode faults and exciter open-phase faults, respectively, are detectable with at least a 95% confidence interval.

Design Optimization of a Synchronous Homopolar Motor with Ferrite Magnets for Subway Train

Brushless synchronous homopolar machines (SHM) have long been used as highly reliable motors and generators with an excitation winding on the stator. However, a significant disadvantage that limits their use in traction applications is the reduced specific torque due to the incomplete use of the rotor surface. One possible way to improve the torque density of SHMs is to add inexpensive ferrite magnets in the rotor slots. This paper presents the results of optimizing the performances of an SHM with ferrite magnets for a subway train, considering the timing diagram of train movement. A comparison of its characteristics with an SHM without permanent magnets is also presented. When using the SHM with ferrite magnets, a significant reduction in the dimensions and weight of the motor, as well as power loss, is shown.

Model-Based Field Winding Interturn Fault Detection Method for Brushless Synchronous Machines

The lack of available measurements makes the detection of electrical faults in the rotating elements of brushless synchronous machines particularly challenging. This paper presents a novel and fast detection method regarding interturn faults at the field winding of the main machine, which is characterized because it is non-intrusive and because its industrial application is straightforward as it does not require any additional equipment. The method is built upon the comparison between the theoretical and the measured exciter field currents. The theoretical exciter field current is computed from the main machine output voltage and current magnitudes for any monitored operating point by means of a theoretical healthy brushless machine model that links the main machine with the exciter. The applicability of the method has been verified for interturn faults at different fault severity levels, both through computer simulations and experimental tests, delivering promising results.

A novel two-layer winding topology for sub-harmonic synchronous machines

With optimized design and modern brushless operation, wound rotor synchronous machines are resurrecting as a strong contender in many applications presently dominated by permanent magnet machines. Considering the notion, this paper introduces a novel brushless synchronous machine topology that utilizes sub-harmonic magnetomotive force (MMF) of its stator winding for desirable brushless operation. It is significant to state that the sub-harmonic MMF component that is used in this novel topology is one-fourth of the fundamental MMF component, whereas, in previous practices, it was half. Moreover, the stator of the machine uses a new winding arrangement of two sets of balanced three-phase windings wound in two layers to produce the fundamental and the sub-harmonic MMF. To achieve the brushless excitation, the rotor utilizes an additional winding that is used to induce the electromotive force (EMF) by the sub-harmonic MMF component of the stator. This novel two-layer stator winding topology permits the utilization of maximum allowable space in the stator to house conductors in all of its 48 slots, which was not the case in previous papers. To validate the performance, and feasibility, an 8-pole 48-slot brushless wound rotor synchronous motor is designed, and a 2-D finite element analysis simulation is conducted, where the topology shows immense potential in terms of better torque performance.

A Novel Sub-Harmonic Synchronous Machine Using Three-Layer Winding Topology

This paper proposes a novel brushless synchronous machine topology that utilizes stator sub-harmonic magnetomotive force (MMF) for desirable brushless operation. The sub-harmonic MMF component that is used in this novel topology is one fourth of the fundamental MMF component, whereas, in previous practices, it was half. To achieve the brushless operation, the novel machine uses a unique stator winding configuration of two sets of balanced 3-phase winding wound in 3 layers. For the rotor, additional winding is placed to induce the sub-harmonic component to achieve the brushless excitation. Unlike its predecessors, it utilizes maximum allowable space in the stator to house conductors in all of its slots. To implement the topology, 8-pole, 48-slot sub-harmonic brushless synchronous machine model has been designed. A 2-D finite element analysis (FEA) is used to simulate and validate the performance of the novel machine as a motor. The proposed topology shows better average torque than the existing sub-harmonic wound rotor brushless synchronous machine topologies.

Design and Excitation Control of a Dual Three-Phase Zero-Sequence Current Starting Scheme for Integrated Starter/Generator

A harmonic excitation brushless synchronous machine has higher power density compared with the traditional aerial three-stage generator due to removing the axial exciter and is suitable for use as an integrated starting-generator (ISG). However, the field current cannot always be generated in the field windings at different rotor positions in the starting mode. A new excitation scheme employing double three-phase phase orthogonal zero-sequence armature currents is proposed in this article. Harmonic electromotive forces and field current can be produced by the zero-sequence rotating excitation magnetic field and almost has no relationship with the rotor positions. In addition, in order to obtain a constant field current during the starting process, a control method of the generated field current is also presented. The rotating speed and field intensity of the zero-sequence excitation magnetomotive forces are both feedback controlled by the zero-sequence current in the whole starting process. Comparing with the original harmonic excitation machine, a higher and more stable field current can be generated in the proposed ISG whenever the rotor is at any position or at a low speed. The prototype machine is manufactured and experiments are carried out together with the excitation control method to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical and finite element analysis results.

Diagnosis of brushless synchronous generator using numerical modeling

PurposeOn-time fault diagnosis in electrical machines is a critical issue, as it can prevent the development of fault and also reduce the repairing time and cost. In brushless synchronous generators, the significance of the fault diagnosis is even more because they are widely used to generate electrical power all around the world. Therefore, this study aims to propose a fault detection approach for the brushless synchronous generator. In this approach, a novel extension of Relief feature selection method is developed.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, by taking the advantages of the finite element method (FEM), a brushless synchronous machine is modeled to evaluate the machine performance under two conditions. These conditions include the normal condition of the machine and one diode open-circuit of the rotating rectifier. Therefore, the harmonic behavior of the terminal voltage of the machine is obtained under these situations. Then, the harmonic components are ranked by using the extension of Relief to extract the most appropriate components for fault detection. Therefore, a fault detection approach is proposed based on the ranked harmonic components and support vector machine classifier.FindingsThe proposed diagnosis approach is verified by using an experimental test. Results show that by this approach open-circuit fault on the diode rectifier can effectively be detected by the accuracy of 98.5% and by using five harmonic components of the terminal voltage [1].Originality/valueIn this paper, a novel feature selection method is proposed to select the most effective FFT components based on an extension of Relief method, and besides, FEM modeling of a brushless synchronous generator for normal and one diode open-circuit fault.

The Rotor Position Estimation Error Improved Method for Sensorless Starting Control of Brushless Synchronous Machine

This article proposed a sensorless starting control method for the brushless synchronous machine with the indirectly injected high-frequency signal, where the high-frequency signals are injected into the stator windings of the main exciter instead of the main generator. The impact of the nonlinear links of the rotary rectifier and various filters on the rotor position estimation error during the asynchronous demodulation method is analyzed in detail. Since the phase delay of the bandpass filter and the low-pass filter will deteriorate the zero-crossing points of the envelope curve, the signal restoration module could not restore the sinusoidal envelope curve accurately, then, the estimated rotor position error is expanded with the increasing of rotor speed in the starting process. Therefore, a novel mathematical analysis method with fewer filters for the rotor position demodulation is presented to improve the estimated rotor position error compared to the traditional method, and the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified by the comparison of the simulation and experimental results.

Comparative analysis of diode and thyristor exciters of brushless synchronous machines

Comparative analysis of diode and thyristor exciters of brushless synchronous machines

Rotor Position Estimation Method for Brushless Synchronous Machine Based on Second-Order Generated Integrator in the Starting Mode

In this article, a novel rotor position estimation method based on the second-order generated integrator (SOGI) is proposed for sensorless starting control of the brushless synchronous machine (BSM) with the indirect high-frequency signal injection method for the aircraft. The high-frequency signals are injected into the stator field windings of the main exciter, and the response signals coupled to armature windings and the rectifier are indirectly injected into the field windings of the main generator. The envelope demodulation method is proposed for the rotor position estimation, and the unitized filter design for the more accurate rotor position signal extraction is exploited instead of the traditional bandpass filter and low-phase filter based on the optimal parameters of SOGI. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed rotor position estimation method for BSM in the sensorless control are verified by both simulation and experimental results.

An Integrated Method for Three-Phase AC Excitation and High-Frequency Voltage Signal Injection for Sensorless Starting of Aircraft Starter/Generator

This paper proposes an integrated method of three-phase ac excitation and high-frequency voltage signal injection (HFVSI) for sensorless controlled starting of brushless synchronous machines (BSM) used as starter/generator in variable frequency ac power systems of civil aircraft. Fixed 400 Hz of the three-phase ac power is adopted both for the ac excitation and HFVSI in the initial starting process to eliminate the bulky rotor position sensor for BSM. The resulting 6th sequence harmonic voltage determined by the rotating rectifier is utilized as the HFVSI into the field-winding of main generator without any extra high-frequency signal injection. The rotor position is estimated by the high-frequency response signals extracted from the armature windings of main generator. Due to the nonlinear rotating rectifier linked in the HFSI chain, a novel frequency-insensitive asynchronous demodulation strategy is proposed in this paper for rotor position estimation. Furthermore, the initial rotor position detection is calibrated by polarity decision of the induced currents of the armature windings within the establishment procedure of field current of the main generator at standstill. The effectiveness of the ac excitation and feasibility of rotor position estimation for sensorless starting control of BSM are validated by the simulation and experimental results.

Wind or Hydro Homo-Heteropolar Synchronous Generators: Equivalent Magnetic Circuit and FEM Analysis

In an effort to introduce a low cost (PM less), low power electric wind or hydro generators, this paper reports on preliminary design aspects, equivalent magnetic circuit and 3D FEM analysis of a 2.5 KVA, 250-1000 rpm, reactive homo-heteropolar brushless synchronous machine (RHHBSM).

Internal sudden short‐circuit response of a new HSBDS for brushless synchronous machines tested on a 15 MVA generator

Synchronous generators with brushless excitation have the disadvantage that the field winding is not accessible for the de-excitation of the generator. This means that, despite the proper operation of the protection system, the large de-excitation time constant may produce severe damage in the event of an internal short circuit. This paper describes a novel high speed de-excitation system (HSBDS) aimed at limiting the damage in the synchronous generator in case of an internal short circuit. The HSBDS for these generators was developed and it is in commercial operation. However in a power plant is not possible to test the operation of the HSBDS under sudden short circuit. This paper presents the results of a several tests in a laboratory 15 MVA brushless synchronous machine where internally reduced voltage sudden short-circuits have been performed. As a rated voltage short circuit could damage the laboratory 15 MVA machine, a computer model has been developed in order to assess the performance of the HSBDS in a real short circuit at rated voltage. The HSBDS under sudden short circuit conditions has been evaluated and validated through laboratory tests and computer simulations with satisfactory results.

Performance Investigation of a Brushless Synchronous Machine With Additional Harmonic Field Windings

This paper describes a brushless electrically excited synchronous machine with a distinctive rotor structure and additional harmonic field windings. Spatially distributed third harmonic magnetic fields will be created in the air gap by feeding the stator harmonic windings of a dc current. These harmonic MMFs will generate an induced voltage in the additional rotor harmonic coils, which can supply the field winding with a dc current after rectification. Based on this operation principle, distributions of harmonic windings and the stator harmonic magnetic fields are analyzed. The relationship between harmonic EMFs and rotor harmonic winding turns are studied. Mutual interference between the different magnetic fields and windings in the machine is discussed. The harmonic excitation fields and the air gap flux densities are then calculated by employing finite element methods, and the regulating characteristics of no-load EMF are analyzed and power losses of machine are discussed. Experimental results of one 1.0-kW prototype machine agree well with the theoretical analysis and finite element calculations, which helps to evaluate this type of synchronous machines having brushless electrical excitation.