Copyright P.

Kundur
This material should not be used without the author's consent

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Outline

1. Hydraulic Turbines and Governing Systems

Hydraulic turbine transfer function
special characteristics of hydraulic turbines
nonlinear hydraulic turbine model
governors for hydraulic turbines
tuning of speed governors

2. Steam Turbines and Governing Systems

steam turbine configurations
steam turbine models
steam turbine controls

3. Gas Turbines and Governing Systems

simple-cycle configuration
combined-cycle configuration

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 The performance of a hydraulic turbine is

influenced by the characteristics of the water
column feeding the turbine:
water inertia
water compressibility
pipe wall elasticity in the penstock

The effect of water inertia is to cause changes in

turbine flow to lag behind changes in turbine
gate opening
The effect of elasticity is to cause traveling
waves of pressure and flow in the pipe - a
phenomenon referred to as water hammer
typically, the speed of propagation of such waves
is about 1200 meters/sec
traveling wave model required only if penstock is
very long

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 The representation of the hydraulic turbine and

water column in stability studies usually
assumes that (a) the penstock is inelastic, (b) the
water is incompressible, and (c) hydraulic
resistance is negligible

Figure 9.2: Schematic of a hydroelectric plant

The turbine and penstock characteristics are

determined by three basic equations relating to:
velocity of water in the penstock
turbine mechanical power
acceleration of water column
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The velocity of the water in the penstock is given

by

where
U = water velocity
G = gate position
H = hydraulic head at gate
Ku = a constant of proportionality
The turbine mechanical power is proportional to
the product of pressure and flow; hence,

The acceleration of water column due to a change

in head at the turbine, characterized by Newton's
second law of motion, may be expressed as

where
L
= length of conduit
A
= pipe area

= mass density
ag
= acceleration due to gravity
LA = mass of water in the conduit
agH = incremental change in pressure at
turbine gate

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 For small displacements (prefix ) about an initial

operating point (subscript "0") we can shows that
(9.11)

where

Tw is referred to as the water starting time. It

represents the time required for a head H0 to
accelerate the water in the penstock from standstill to
the velocity U0. It should be noted that Tw varies with
load. Typically, Tw at full load lies between 0.5 s and
4.0 s.
Equation 9.11 represents the "classical" transfer
function of the turbine-penstock system. It shows
how the turbine power output changes in response to
a change in gate opening for an ideal lossless turbine.

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Special Characteristics of Hydraulic Turbines

The transfer function given by Equation 9.11
represents a "non-minimum phase" system
Systems with poles or zeros in the right half of
s-plane are referred to as non-minimum phase
systems; they do not have the minimum amount of
phase shift for a given magnitude plot. Such
systems cannot be uniquely identified by a
knowledge of magnitude versus frequency plot
alone.
The special characteristic of the transfer function
may be illustrated by considering the response to a
step change in gate position. The time response is
given by:

Figure 9.3 shows a plot of the response of an ideal

turbine model with Tw = 4.0 s

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Figure 9.3: Change in turbine mechanical power

following a unit step increase in gate position

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 Immediately following a unit increase in gate position,

the mechanical power actually decreases by 2.0 per
unit. It then increases exponentially with a time
constant of Tw/2 to a steady state value of 1.0 per unit
above the initial steady state value
The initial power surge is opposite to that of the
direction of change in gate position. This is because,
when the gate is suddenly opened, the flow does not
change immediately due to water inertia; however, the
pressure across the turbine is reduced causing the
power to reduce.
With a response determined by Tw, the water
accelerates until the flow reaches the new steady value
which establishes the new steady power output

Figure 9.4 shows the responses of power, head, and

water velocity of a turbine-penstock system with Tw =
1.0 s for a reduction in gate opening by 0.1 pu by
(i) a step change, and
(ii) a 1-second ramp
The linear model given by Equation 9.11 represents
the small-signal performance
useful for control system tuning
because of its simplicity, provides insight into the basic
characteristics

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Figure 9.4: Hydraulic turbine-penstock response to a step

change and a ramp change in gate position

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 The speed/load control function involves feeding back

speed error to control the gate position. In order to
ensure satisfactory and stable parallel operation of
multiple units, the speed governor is provided with a
droop characteristic.
Typically, the steady state droop is set at about 5%,
such that a speed deviation of 5% causes 100% change
in gate position or power output; this corresponds to a
gain of 20.

For a hydro turbine, however, such a governor with a

simple steady state droop characteristic would be
unsatisfactory

Requirement for a Transient Droop

Hydro turbines have a peculiar response due to water
inertia: a change in gate position produces an initial
turbine power change which is opposite to that
sought.
For stable control performance, a large transient
(temporary) droop with a long resetting time is
therefore required. This is accomplished by the
provision of a rate feedback or transient gain
reduction compensation as shown in Figure 9.8

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 The rate feedback retards or limits the gate

movement until the water flow and power output
have time to catch up
The result is a governor which exhibits a high droop
(low gain) for fast speed deviations, and the normal
low droop (high gain) in the steady state

Figure 9.8: Governor with transient droop compensation

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 On older units, the governing function is realized

using mechanical and hydraulic components
Speed sensing, permanent droop feedback, and
computing functions are achieved through mechanical
components; functions involving higher power are
achieved through hydraulic components
A dashpot is used to provide transient droop
compensation. A bypass arrangement is usually
provided to disable the dashpot if so desired.

Water is not a very compressible fluid; if the gate is

closed too rapidly the resulting pressure could burst
the penstock
Consequently, the gate movement is rate limited
Often, the rate of gate movement is limited even
further in the buffer region near full closure to provide
cushioning

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Figure 9.9: Schematic of a mechanical-hydraulic governor

for a hydro turbine

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Parameters
Tp =
Ks
TG
Rp
RT
TR

=
=
=
=
=

Sample data

Pilot valve and servomotor time

constant
Servo gain
Main servo time
Permanent droop
Temporary droop
Reset time

0.05 s
5.0
0.2 s
0.04
0.4
5.0 s

Constraints
Maximum gate position limit = 1.0
Minimum gate position limit = 0
Rmax open = Maximum gate opening rate
Rmax
= Maximum gate closing rate

0.16 p.u./s
0.16 p.u./s

close

Rmax buff
gbuff

= Maximum gate closing rate in

buffered region
= Buffered region in p.u. of
servomotor stroke

0.04 p.u./s
0.08 p.u.

Figure 9.10: Model of governors for hydraulic turbines

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 Modern speed governors for hydraulic turbines use

electric-hydraulic systems. Functionally, their
operation is very similar to those of mechanicalhydraulic governors
Speed sensing, permanent droop, temporary droop,
and other measuring and computing functions are
performed electrically
Electric components provide greater flexibility and
improved performance with regard to dead-bands and
time lags
Dynamic characteristics of electric governors are
usually adjusted to be essentially similar to those of
mechanical-hydraulic governors

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 There are two important considerations in the

selection of governor settings:
Stable operation during system islanding conditions or
isolated operation; and
Acceptable speed of response for loading and
unloading under normal synchronous operation

For stable operation under islanding conditions, the

optimum choice of the temporary droop RT and reset
time TR are as follows:

For loading and unloading during normal

interconnected system operation, the above settings
result in too slow a response. For satisfactory
loading rates, the reset time TR should be less than
1.0 s, preferably close to 0.5 s.
The dashpot bypass arrangement can be used to
meet the above conflicting requirements
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 A steam turbine converts stored energy of high

pressure and high temperature steam into rotating
energy
the heat source may be a nuclear reactor or a fossil
fired boiler

Steam turbines with a variety of configurations have

been built depending on unit size and steam
conditions
normally consist of two or more turbine sections or
cylinders coupled in series

A turbine with multiple sections may be

tandem-compound: sections are all on one shaft with a
single generator, or
cross-compound: sections are on two shafts, each with
a generator; operated as a single unit

Fossil-fuelled units can be of tandem-compound or

cross-compound design
may be of reheat or non-reheat type

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control valve

intercept valve

Figure 9.16: Common configurations of tandem-compound

steam turbine of fossil-fueled units
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Figure 9.17: Examples of cross-compound steam turbine

configurations
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 Nuclear units usually have tandem-compound

turbines

Figure 9.18: An example of nuclear unit turbine configuration

moisture separator reheater (MSR) reduces moisture

content, thereby reducing moisture losses and erosion
rates

Large steam turbines for fossil-fuelled or nuclear

units are equipped with four sets of valves
main inlet stop valves (MSV)
main inlet control (governor) valves (CV)
reheater stop valves (RSV)
reheater intercept valves (IV)

The stop valves (MSV and RSV) are primarily

emergency trip valves.
The CVs modulate steam flow during normal
operation.
The CVs as well as the IVs limit overspeed.
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 For illustration, let us consider a fossil-fuelled single

reheat tandem-compound turbine, a type in common
use
Figure 9.21(a) identifies the turbine elements that need
to be considered
Figure 9.21(b) shows the block diagram representation

The CVs modulate the steam flow for load/frequency

control
the response of steam flow to CV opening exhibits a
time constant TCH due to charging time of the steam
chest and inlet piping
TCH is of the order of 0.2 to 0.3 s

The IVs are used only for rapid control of turbine

power in the event of an overspeed
control about 70% of total power
the steam flow in the IP and LP sections can change
only with the build-up of pressure in the reheater volume
the reheater time constant TRH is in the range 5 to 10 s
the steam flow in LP sections experiences a time
constant TCO associated with the crossover piping; this is
of the order of 0.5 s

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Parameters
TCH

= time constant of main inlet volumes and steam chest

TRH

= time constant of reheater

TCO

= time constant of crossover piping and LP inlet

volumes
= total turbine power in per unit of maximum turbine
power
= total turbine mechanical power in per unit of common
MVA base
= maximum turbine power in MW

Pm
Pmc
PMAX
FHP,FIP,FL

= fraction of total turbine power generated by HP, IP, LP

P
respectively
Figure 9.21:sections,
Single reheat
tandem-compound steam turbine
MVAbase
= common MVA base
model
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A simplified transfer function of the turbine

relating perturbed values of the turbine power
and CV position may be written as follows:

It is assumed that TCO is negligible in comparison

with TRH, and that the CV characteristic is linear

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The response of a tandem-compound turbine to a

ramp down of the CV opening is shown in Figure
9.22.
has no peculiarity such as that exhibited by a
hydraulic turbine due to water inertia
governing requirements more straightforward

Figure 9.22: Steam turbine response to a 1-second ramp

change in CV opening
TRH=7.0 s, FHP=0.3; TCH and TCO negligible

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Functions:
The governing systems have three basic functions:
normal speed/load control
overspeed control
overspeed trip

In addition, the turbine controls include a number of

other functions such as start-up/shut-down controls
and auxiliary pressure control
The speed/load control is a fundamental requirement
achieved through control of CVs
the speed control function provides the governor with a
4 to 5% speed drop
the load control function achieved by adjusting speed/
load reference

The overspeed control and protection is peculiar to

steam turbines
of critical importance for safe operation
speed should be limited to well below the design
maximum speed of 120%

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 The overspeed control is the first line of defense

involves fast control of CVs and IVs
limits overspeed following load rejection to 0.5 to 1.0%
below overspeed trip level
returns the turbine to a steady-state condition with
turbine ready for reloading

The overspeed or emergency trip is a backup

protection
designed to be independent of the overspeed control
fast closes the main and reheat stop valves, and trips
the boiler

The characteristics of steam valves are highly

nonlinear
compensation is often used to linearize steam flow
response to the control signal
compensation may be achieved by a forward loop
series compensation, a minor loop feedback, or a
major loop feedback.

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Governing Systems
Systems used for the above control functions have
evolved over the years:
older units used mechanical-hydraulic control
electro-hydraulic control was introduced in the 1960s
most governors supplied today are electro-hydraulic
or digital electro-hydraulic

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 The functional block diagram of a mechanicalhydraulic control (MHC) system is shown in Figure
9.25
the speed governor is a mechanical transducer which
transformers speed into position output
the speed relay is a spring loaded servomotor which
amplifies the speed governor signal
the hydraulic servomotor provides additional
amplification to the energy level necessary to move
the steam valves

Figure 9.25: Functional block diagram of MHC turbine

governing system

Figure 9.31 shows the block diagram of an MHC

speed governing system, including the overspeed
control (auxiliary governor) applicable to a specific
make

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Figure 9.31: MHC turbine governing system with auxiliary

governor

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 The electro-hydraulic control (EHC) systems use

electronic circuits in place of mechanical
components associated with the MHC in the lowpower portions
offer more flexibility and adaptability

Fig. 9.33 shows an example of EHC governing

system. It has two special features for limiting
overspeed: IV trigger and power load unbalance
(PLU) relay.
the IV trigger is armed when the load (measured
by reheat pressure) is greater than 0.1 p.u. It is
designed to fast close IVs when the speed
exceeds set value.
the PLU relay is designed to fast close CVs and
IVs under load rejection conditions. It trips when
the difference between turbine power and
generator load exceeds a preset value (0.4 p.u.)
and the load decreases faster than a preset rate.

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Fig. 9.33 EHC governing system with PLU relay and IV

trigger
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 The heat source is a hydrocarbon-based fuel

in either gaseous or liquid state
fuel is burned directly in the working fluid
like any internal combustion engine, requires external
source for startup

The power produced by the gas turbine is used to

drive an alternator to produce electrical power at
frequencies compatible with local grids
Exhaust heat is often used to generate steam, which
can be used for a process, as in the case of
cogeneration
simple-cycle configuration

Alternatively, steam produced using exhaust heat

can be used in a steam turbine to generate additional
electrical power
combined-cycle configuration

Many variations in configurations and controls

no standard models; generic models have been
developed
discussion here intended as an illustration of modeling
requirements

CIGRE TF: 38.02.25 report, published in 2003,

addresses some of the modeling issues

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 Consists of three major components: compressor,

combustion chamber, and turbine

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of a gas turbine

Based on the principle of "Brayton Cycle"

Fig. 2a The Brayton Cycle

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 The compressor takes the input air and

compresses it; this increases the temperature and
pressure, and decreases the volume (A-B)
Compressed air is fed into combustion chamber
where fuel is added and burned; this increases
temperature and volume with pressure constant (BC)
temperature is raised to the permissible turbine inlet
temperature - determined by temperature
tolerance of turbine blades
since the fuel-air ratio is very lean, chamber is
designed to burn the fuel with primary air, and then
mix the combustion products with the amount of
secondary air required to lower the temperature to
permissible limit

This heated gas is then expanded in the turbine to

atmospheric pressure (C-D)
power is extracted through decrease in pressure/
temperature and increase in volume
energy of expanding air is converted to
mechanical energy

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 The gases exhausted from a gas turbine are hot and

contain substantial amounts of oxygen
The use of exhaust heat in a heat recovery steam
generator (HRSG) is the basis for the combined
cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants
steam from HRSG is fed to a steam turbine based
on Rankine cycle

The whole plant becomes a binary unit employing

both the Brayton cycle and the Rankine cycle

Pressure

Volume

Fig. 2b Rankine Cycle

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Block diagram representation of a single-shaft, simplecycle gas turbine shown in Fig. 3

based on 1983 ASME paper by W.I. Rowen [1]
applies to full range of turbines 18 MW to 106 MW

The control system includes speed control,

temperature control, acceleration control, and fuel
limits

Speed governor can be set for either droop or

isochronous control

The digital setpoint is the normal means of controlling

turbine output for interconnected operation using
droop governor
loading limits and ramp rates can be set by operator
in the event generator breaker is opened, setpoint is
reset to 100.3%; this limits overspeed on load rejection

Temperature control:
primary purpose is to limit both turbine firing
temperature and exhaust temperature to acceptable
levels - determined by temperature tolerance of
turbine blades
normal means of limiting turbine output at a
predetermined firing temperature, independent of
variation in ambient temperature or fuel characteristics
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Fig. 3 Simple-Cycle Gas Turbine Dynamic Model with

Sample Data

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Exhaust temperature measured using a series of

thermocouples with radiation shields
output of thermocouples compared with a reference
value
normally, the reference is higher and temperature
control output is at maximum limit
when thermocouple output exceeds reference,
temperature control "output" decreases; if it becomes
lower than governor output, the unit operates on
temperature control

Acceleration control:
used primarily during startup to limit the rate of rotor
acceleration so as not to cause excessive thermal
stresses
serves a secondary function of limiting overspeed by
reducing fuel flow in the event the generating unit
separates form the power system by a breaker other
than generator breaker

The Low Value Selector lets through the lowest of

the three control output signals - speed governing,
temperature control, and acceleration control
control function requiring least fuel is effective

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The fuel demand signal is further limited

maximum limit acts as back up to temperature control,
and is not encountered in normal operation
minimum limit ensures adequate fuel flow to keep the
flame alive within the turbine combustion system
typically set at a torque deficiency of 10%
a hard limit representing maximum rate of
decceleration or torque absorption from the power
system

The fuel systems are designed to provide energy input

to the turbine proportional to the product of the fuel
command signal (VCEl) and the unit speed
speed of fuel pumps linked to rotor speed
taken into account in model of Fig. 3

Gas turbine requires a significant fraction of rated fuel

to support self-sustaining conditions under no load
amounts to about 23%
need to minimize operation at no-load conditions for
economy

The capability of transiently absorbing power from the

power system is unique to gas turbines
can be taken advantage of in special circumstances
active control range of governor set to 16% to 100%
allowing a negative torque of about 10%

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Typical configuration consists of

a gas turbine
heat recovery steam generator (HRSG)
a steam turbine

Fig. 4 shows the chain of submodels

Often the power output of steam turbine is not directly

controlled by the governor
simply follows the changes in gas turbine output as
the exhaust heat changes

Gas turbine controls include

speed governor, temperature control and acceleration
control which together determine fuel request signal
inlet guide vane (IGV) modulations

IGV modulated to vary air flow over a limited range

maintains high turbine exhaust temperature levels to
maintain the desired level of heat transfer to HRSG
and achieve high steam cycle efficiency at reduced
loading

As an example, Fig. 5 shows model developed for a

combined cycle plant in reference 3
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Fig. 4 Combined-Cycle Plant Chain of Submodels

Fig. 5 Combined-Cycle Plant Dynamics Model

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 The gas turbine proper is essentially a linear,

non-dynamic device, with the exception of rotor
time constant (inertia). Significant parameters:
a small transport delay (ECR) associated with
combustion reaction time
a time lag (TCD) associated with compressor
discharge volume
a transport delay (ETD) to transport gas from
combustion system through the turbine

Both the exhaust temperature (TX) and torque

characteristics are linear functions of fuel flow
(WF) and rotor speed (N)
given by functions f1 and f2
applicable over the speed range of 95% to 107%

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Simplifications applicable for interconnected system

operation in a relatively "stiff" system
small speed variations as in most system stability studies,
particularly rotor angle stability and voltage stability

Referring to model of Fig. 3:

1. Speed governors can be changed to droop-only
configuration
2. Acceleration control can be neglected
will not be active except under load-loss situations

3. Temperature control can be neglected

temperature remains within interactive limit imposed by
the control

4. Turbine output predominantly controlled by the digital

setpoint
eliminate the low value selector

5. Minor dynamics associated with gas turbine may be

neglected
eliminate blocks involving time lag TCD, and transport
delays ECR and ETD

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 Single-shaft units: gas turbine, steam turbine and

the electrical generator are all tandem compound on

a single shaft

Multi-shaft units: one or more gas turbine each

typically with its own HRSG, feeding steam to a
single steam turbine, all on separate shafts with
separate generators

In a combined-cycle power plant, steam turbine can

be operated in two different modes: (a) sliding
pressure control or (b) fixed inlet pressure. In
practice a combination of these two modes are used
depending on the level of power output

The electrical power output of a combined-cycle

plant, without supplementary firing, is controlled by
the gas turbine only. The steam turbine will follow
the gas turbine by generating power with the steam
available from HRSG

In order to sustain stable operation and extend the

life of the gas turbines, a frequency dead-band may
be introduced in the control system: typically,
0.025%

Combined-cycle power plants can be operated to

provide frequency support (spinning reserve).
For frequency support, the gas turbine is operated
between 40% and 95% load, resulting in partial
loading of the steam turbine
Spinning Reserve Generation capacity that is on-line but unloaded and that can respond within 10 minutes to compensate for
generation or transmission outages. Frequency-responsive spinning reserve responds within 10 seconds to maintain system
frequency. Spinning reserves are the first type used when shortfalls occur.

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[1] W. I. Rowen, "Simplified Mathematical

Representations of Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines",
Transactions of ASME, paper No. 83-GT-63, Journal
of Engineering for Power, Vol. 105, October 1983,
pp. 865-869.
[2] IEEE Working Group on Prime Mover and Energy
Supply Models, "Dynamic Models for Combined
Cycle Plants in Power System Studies", IEEE Trans.
on Power Systems, Vol. 9, No. 3, August 1994, pp.
1698-1708.
[3] A. Bagnasco, B. Delfino, G.B. Denigri, S. Massucco,
"Management and Dynamic Performances of
Combined Cycle Power Plants during Parallel and
Islanding Operation", IEEE Trans. on Energy
Conversion, Vol. 13, No. 2, June 1998, pp. 194-201.

For a more recent comprehensive reference see:

[4] CIGRE TF38.02.25 report, "Modeling of Gas
Turbines and Steam Turbines in Combined Cycle
Power Plants", April 2003.

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