Academic literature on the topic 'Pole-slip protection'

Brushless excitation system is widely used in large capacity synchronous generators since it removes the usage of commutator, brushes and slip rings, hence reduces the losses, maintenance and increases reliability. Rotating Rectifier Assembly (RRA) is the main part of brushless alternator. Due to ageing phenomenon and continuous process regime, diodes in rotating rectifier can fail either due to Open Circuit (OC) or Short Circuit (SC), which overloads the exciter and hence the alternator can no longer run securely. If such condition is prolonged, the Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) as well as the exciter windings can be damaged.This paper presents two different methods of diode failure detection in brushless alternators. First method uses an algorithm based on output voltage and the second uses the ripple factor of the exciter field current. Diode failure condition is detected for different type of loads connected to 4 kVA, 380 V, 50 Hz, 4 poles generator with 14 pole exciter (brushless alternator) and the results are verified using MATLAB/Simulink. Also, the protection schemes for rotating diode assembly as well as exciter field windings are presented using Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) and Discharge Resistor.

The rotor shaft of a synchronous machine can experience severe mechanical stress due to torque pulsations during a pole-slip condition. All pole-slip protection relays currently on the market use the impedance pole-slip protection method to detect a pole-slip. No commercial relay currently available can predict accurately when a generator is about to experience a damaging pole-slip. All the relays will only trip a generator after it has pole-slipped one or more times. Severe mechanical damage could be caused to a machine after only one pole-slip. It is therefore essential to enhance pole-slip protection relays to such an extent that it can trip a generator before it pole slips. The proposed pole-slip protection function must predict when a generator will become unstable during a network fault. As soon as instability is predicted, the generator must be tripped before the fault is cleared to avoid damaging post-fault torque effects. Conventional impedance pole-slip protection methods are are also discussed and the shortcomings of impedance pole-slip protection are investigated. The new pole-slip protection function was designed by using PSCAD. Detailed PSCAD simulations on different network configurations proved that the new pole-slip protection function will trip a generator before a damaging pole-slip occurs. The new pole-slip protection function was also implemented on an ABB REM543 multifunctional protection relay and tested on a RTDS. The concept of the new pole-slip function was successfully demonstrated on the protection relay. The operation of conventional impedance scheme relays was compared with the proposed pole-slip function for different fault conditions. Although the new pole-slip protection function is more complex than the existing impedance functions, it was concluded that similar skills are required to test and commission the new protection function. The new pole-slip function outperforms the impedance protection methods, since the new protection function can trip the generator before it pole-slips.
PhD (Electrical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

Generators in an interconnected power system normally remain in synchronism with one another. However, severe faults that lead to loss of heavily loaded generators or large load blocks can cause oscillations in the generator rotor angles that are large enough to result in a pole slip in which a generator, or a group of generators, loses synchronism with the rest of the power system. When a generator pole slips and falls out-of-step with the power system, the generator and system voltages sweep past one another at a slip frequency, producing a pulsating current, which can be greater than a three-phase fault at the generator terminals. An out-of-step generator should therefore be isolated from the power system to prevent damage to the generator, generator transformer and the turbine. This dissertation analyses the dynamic performance of generator-pole-slip protection during various stable and unstable power swing events. For the purpose of this dissertation, the Siemens 7UM622 machine protection relay is used to test the response of generator-pole-slip protection. This is done in two stages, firstly, within the DigSilent PowerFactory software by modelling the Siemens 7UM622 relay and then applying simulated time domain stable and unstable power swing conditions to the relay model to evaluate its response. Secondly, the actual 7UM622 hardware relay is injected with currents and voltages, which are produced during the time domain pole-slip simulations to determine if the relay hardware device operates in accordance with the Siemens relay technical manual. The power system analysed in the dissertation was heavily interconnected and a generator pole slip was rather unlikely. If an unlikely generator pole slip were to occur when the system is operating in a normal configuration (all power station outgoing feeders in service), the generator-pole-slip protection was able to detect and disconnect the generator after a single pole-slip cycle. v The critical fault clearing time decreases when an outgoing power station feeder is out of service (n-1 contingency) and therefore the probability of a generator pole slip increases. If a generator pole slip occurs when operating the network under a n-1 contingency, the pole-slip system electrical centre is usually located within the transmission network. In practice, the generator-pole-slip protection settings that are implemented at the power station do not reach into the transmission network (zone 2 disabled). Therefore, if a pole slip were to occur under a n-1 contingency, the generator-pole-slip protection would not be able to detect this condition. The zone 2 generator-pole-slip protection should rather reach into the transmission network, but the trip should only be issued after the third or fourth pole-slip cycle to allow the transmission line out-of-step protection sufficient time to separate the network into islands. The pole-slip function of the Siemens 7UM622 relay model within DigSilent PowerFactory operated in accordance with the Siemens relay technical manual and can be used in future to optimise and test generator-pole-slip protection settings. In the majority of cases, the Siemens 7UM622 relay hardware device operated in accordance with the Siemens relay technical manual. The only time that the relay operated incorrectly was when the measured impedance trajectory of a three-phase fault lingers on the inside and outside edge of the pole-slip impedance characteristic before exiting the pole-slip impedance characteristic. The stable and unstable power swing COMTRADE files that were generated for the tests performed in this dissertation can be used in future to test the generator-pole-slip protection at Kendal power station since it is rather difficult to test the pole-slip protection function properly without a COMTRADE file.
Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.