KERALA ELECTRICAL

& ALLIED ENGINEERING

Co LTD

INTRODUCTION

KEL is one among the largest, most vibrant, and productive Public Sector Undertaking,
and is fully owned by the Government of Kerala. A multi-product engineering company,
consistently catering to an envious client base, ranging from the army and air force of India to
world-renowned space research organizations, highly competent engineering companies to
mammoth institutions likes the Indian Railways. The company with four state-of-the-art
manufacturing units spread across Kerala has a pan India presence with marketing offices in
major metros and select cities.
 Established in 1946 in the State of Kerala, India, the Kerala Electrical & Allied
Engineering Co.Ltd. (KEL) is a multifaceted company fully owned by the State
government. The location of the industry in the banks water was to facilate easy transportation of
goods.

KEL has pioneered this technology in India imbibing the technology from EVR of
France in 1977. Subsequently through in house R&D efforts the brushless was soon modified
and fully indigenized and customized to suit the tropical climatic condition of India. These
brushless alternators have made it possible to improve the quality of passenger comfort by the
proliferation of air conditioned coaches in the Indian railways. At KEL innovations continue as
an on going process to deliver specific design of various ratings of brushless alternators as
required by the railways. Various type of this brushless type alternator designed and developed
in-house include 3.0kw, 4.5kw, 12kw 18kw, and 25kw.The 12kw alternator was specially
custom designed by KEL for the use in Janashadabdi express train. The in-house and R&D has
also developed and supplied the microcontroller based electronic rectifier regulator unit (ERRU)
for use in 4.5KW and 25KW brushless alternator. The absence of moving sliding contacts and
slip rings ensures a maintenance free long life for the alternators.

TOWARDS POWER GENERATION

The outstanding product of the division is the statodyne brushless alternators for
lightening and air-conditioning of rail coaches and manufactured under license from EVR France
rating 1KW to 14KW.

STATODYNE BRUSHLESS ALTERNATOR

A homopolar machine of simple design and robust construction conforms to international
standards. With no slip rings, no brushes no rotating windings no moving parts carrying current,
the alternator is a revolutionary product in the power generation concept.
 KEL has manufacturing brushless alternators for the last two decades the product is
acclaimed and accepted by the railways the world over to be the most efficient and reliable one.
More than 20000 nos. alternators manufactured by the KEL are in operation with the Indian
railways.

KEL alone exports statodyne alternator to many foreign countries to name a few
Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Uganda, Zambia, and Mozambique. KEL has integrated
production facilities to meet any short notice demand from any part of the world.

Other unique product from KEL

Ground power units(GPU) for Air-craft starting-40KW/28.5V DC

High frequency (400Hz) alternator up to 1000KVA confirming to international
standards for hi-tech applications.
Alternators for wind mill.

Through it's five production facilities, located in various districts of the State. Train
Lighting Alternator Division Kundara Unit (Kollam District), Transformer Division Mamala
Unit (Ernakulam District), Structural Division Mamala Unit (Ernakulam District), LT
Switchgear Division Olavakkod Unit and General Purpose Alternator Division Kasargod
Unit (Kasargod District). This ISO 9001 : 2000 complaint company provides basic engineering
services / products besides executing projects of national significance for high profile clients like
the various defence establishments.

The company manufactures and markets products like general purpose brushless
alternators, brushless alternators for lighting and air-conditioning of rail coaches, medium power
and distribution transformers as well as structural steel fabrications. The product categories for
defence applications include high frequency alternators, frequency convertors, special alternators
and power packs for missile projects. The power packs designed and supplied by the company
for missile projects like Falcon, Prithvi, Trishul and Akash have been pioneering efforts. The
company has also supplied special alternators to the Army (Military Power Cars) and Air Force
(Radar Applications). The company's all-India marketing network with regional offices in all
metro cities cater to major institutional clients like the State Electricity Boards, Indian Railways
and various defence establishments besides the general market clients.

ABOUT KUNDARA UNIT

This ISO 9001 certified unit was initially started in the year 1964 imbibing technical
know-how from EVR of France for the purpose of manufacturing Statodyne brushless alternators
used for lighting and air conditioning of Railway coaches.

There are two divisions in this unit, namely Statodyne Alternator Division (Train
Lighting Alternator Division) and Foundry Division.

Statodyne Alternator Division has an Installed capacity of 3000 numbers of alternators per
annum. There are more than 40,000 alternators in service with the Indian Railways alone.

Foundry Division has a capacity of 1500 MT per annum and manufactures

Spheroidal Graphite Iron & Grey Iron Castings. This unit has fully mechanized moulding lines
with sophisticated testing equipment to ensure quality castings. The unit also has 2 x 3t capacity
Induction Furnaces. Indian Railways, BHEL, Crompton Greaves Ltd., BEML, R & DE
(Engineers), Pune, BDL Hyderabad are some of the top customers of this unit.
The major sections of this plant includes

Foundry
Machine shop
Fabrication unit
Regulator and Rectifier unit
Condy and Assembly unit
Testing and Quality control

FOUNDRY DIVISION

KEL has a modern cast iron foundry with capacity of 1500 MTs/annum; manufacturing
speriodical graphite iron and gray iron casting of various grades. A foundry is a place where the
casting is produced. Casting is a mechanical process for producing required components.
Through all metals can be cast, cast iron is more widely used for casting. This is because of its
fluidity, small shrinkage and case with which its properties can be controlled. Principle of casting
consists of introducing molten metal into a cavity or mould of desired shape and allowing it to
solidify. Cavities are formed by using patterns and cores of required shape. The casting material
of foundry at KEL is cast iron of different grades 15,20, 25 etc. About 50% of the production
here includes various parts and accessories of the brushless alternator. Other major products
include end brackets for diesel generators sets, break block for railways etc in cast iron and
inserts for railways in SG iron etc. A well equipped laboratory with sophisticated materials
ensures production of quality casting.

MACHINE SHOP

It is a place where various machining process are carried out as required. There are two
machine shops in this unit- new machine shop and old machine shop. The different machines
used are lathe, drilling machine, milling machine, grinding machine, pressers, shapers etc. The
section deals with the following production processes:

Insertion of stator stampings in to fabricated outer frame

Assembly of rotor
Fabrication of pulleys
These processes are explained in detail
STATOR FRAME

Based on the shelf number, the stator diameter is fixed. the inner diameter corrected to
accommodate the windings. Consider a 25 KW alternator. The unite obtained from fabrication is
of 249 mm diameter, which is corrected to 255 mm only 52 micron variation is permitted.

After this, it goes to stacking and pressing equipment. Here silicon steel laminations are
stacked on one another as shown in diagram. Fiber laminations are fixed on to the circular clips
to prevent loss of insulation. This is then compressed under a pressure of 6 kg/cm to press it. A
guiding ring is used to prevent twisting.

Thus the following processes are carried out on the stator frame:
Boring
Drilling
Slotting
Stacking of Laminations
Filling
The stator frame is now passed on to the winding section

FABRICATION DIVISION

Gillet shearing machine

Here electric motor is used as the driving unit. A-gear train is used between the drives
and the driver. Thus the rear speeds can be attained by shifting the gears. During cutting, a clutch
is engaged by operating the pedal. Up to 5mm thick sheets can be sheared in this motion.

Gas cutting
The principle of gas cutting is the conversion of metal into its oxides. The mechanism of
material removal is melting sheets. For fabrication stator core we use this machine for cutting.
Rolling machine
The distance between the rolls can be adjusted. Stator cores are rolled in the machine.
 Multipurpose purching and shearing machine
The working principle of this machine is the same as that of gear shearing machine. The
difference between them is that, in multipurpose purching and shearing machine more than one
coil is held for performing different operations.
Press work
Hydraulic press
Eccentric press
Hydraulic press with heating arrangement

Fabrication Of Stator Frame

The alternator stator frame is made of mild steel. The body is not cast because it
increases the brittleness. It is constructed by basically rolling steel sheets. the plate sizes are
according to requirement . They are dimensioned, cut and welded. The type cut depends on the
thickness of the plate. It is cut using a gas cutter, usually using a double V joint, after which a
driller is used to punch it. To get perfect circle, before rolling, the sheet is subjected to pre-
bending in hydraulic press.
Different tests for checking the quality are then conducted. Some of the tests conducted are

X- Ray test
Radiography
Die- penetrate test

The purpose conducting these tests is to check for cavities and cracks. Before doing any
test the surface should be made smooth by grinding and finishing. For example, in the Die
penetrate test, at first a cleaner is sprayed and the surface is cleaned with cotton. Then a color is
sprayed to see the cracks clearly. After this a developer is used to make the cracks, if any, to be
seen more clearly.
 After the test is conducted, the various accessories like the tension lag and lead box are
provided the frame. A suspension pin =, which is the hanging unit, is also provided so as to
support the alternator. Fines are provided on the outer frame to facilitate air-cooling. There is a
regulator rectifier unit by means of which the output of the machines kept constant always even
if the speed of the train varies, due to which the input to the machine changes.
VARNISHING

This is a trivial section of the manufacturing process. The stator frame when the winding
shop is given to the varnishing section. Here at first the varnish is mixed, and then its viscosity
is checked after that preheated stator frames are transferred to a chamber, inside which a vacuum
is created. Then the varnish is admitted and pressure is applied. The remaining varnish is return
to the tank. The chart below gives the criteria for varnishing different alternator.

Capacity Class Preheating Cooling Curing

25KW H 4-5Hrs at120 Till temp 8-10 Hrs at

reaches 50 120

4,5,12,18 KW F 4 hrs at 1200- Till Temp 4-6 Hrs at 140

130 reaches 50

FLOWCHART FOR VARNISHING

Mixing

Checking of viscosity of varnish

Transfer of heated frames to vacuum

Apply pressure (curing)

 Return to varnish

Cooling
WINDING AND ASSEMBLY UNIT
The most important step in the fabrication of alternator is the winding of the field and
phase coils.

Assembly

Assembly consists of the alternator can be processed on the reverse way with special care
on the following points.

The inner race of the bearing should be heated in an oil bath at about 80-90 degree
before insertion on to the shaft.
The end shield should be heated in an electric oven to about 120 degree Celsius
before locating the bearing in it. The bearing should not be pressed with hydraulic
press.
In order to seat the bearing properly, internal bearing cover should be fixed onto the
end shield before heating the eng shield.
Assembly of pulley should be made with extreme case. See that the pulley bore males
exactly with tapered shaft.
Gasket shellac is applied evenly on all the mating surface of bearing cover and end
shield.
While removing and fixing 5KF lock nuts use a hook spanner. Never use any other
tool for this purpose.
Lock washer should be replaced by a new one.

REGULATOR AND RECTIFIER UNIT

 Because the voltage induced in the alternator depends on the speed of the rotor, the
output of the alternator is obtained through the regulator rectifier unit. Regulator unit regulates
the voltage and rectifier unit converts the AC voltage to DC and stores in its batteries.

TESTING SECTION

This is a section where the machine is tested for the various aspects such as efficiency,
voltage regulation, temperature rise perfection windings, insulation etc. The assembled alternator
is subjected to various tests as per RDSO specification before dispatch. They are briefly
explained below.

High Voltage Test

This test is performed to find the leakage current. For this all the current carrying parts
are shorted and earthed. A supply of 1500V is given to the stator plate. The leakage current can
be directly read using a milli ammeter. The maximum limit is 20 mA. This test can be used to
check whether the machine has the capacity to withstand such a high voltage.

Insulation Test
Insulation meager is used to perform this test. The current carrying parts are shorted and
connected to one of the terminals of the meager. The other terminal is given to the stator frame.
The resistance value can be directly reads. The minimum value of insulation resistance is 20
MC2. This test is done both before and after the high voltage tests.

Mechanical Over speed Test

The field is separately excited and is run at a high speed in both the directions. The speed
range is as given below

4.5 kW - 3275rpm
18 kW - 3035rpm
22.75 kW - 3035rpm.
The induced emf in all three phases in both the directions is noted. The value should be within
the specified range.

TESTING OF COMPONENTS

1. Testing of copper wire

A) PEEL TEST

A specimen of wire about 600 mm length shall be placed in a key the apparatus
consisting of two fixing devices 500 mm apart in the same axis. One of there is able to rotate and
other cannot rotate, but can displace axially. The later is loaded according to the table to apply
tension to the rotating wire.

Nominal diameter of the Load No. of revolutions

conductor

1.18 2.85 93

1.25 2.5 88

1.40 2.5 78

1.60 4 68

B) DIMENSIONAL CHECK

1.5 m length of wire shall be taken from the reel

1) Two pieces of 250 mm long wire shall be the cut from both ends.

2) The diameter of enameled conductor shall be measured using a micro meter at three position
are 1200 angular displacement around the circumference of wire.
 Nominal Max overall Base Max Cu Min Insulator Thickness
conductor diameter(mm) Max
diameter
Diameter (mm)

0.417 0.466 0.422 0.412 0.022

0.9 0.989 0.909 0.891 0.060

1.00 1.094 1.010 0.990 0.063

1.18 1.279 1.192 1.168 0.067

1.25 1.349 1.263 1.2370 0.067

1.40 1,502 1.414 1.386 0.069

1.50 1.606 1.515 1.485 0.071

The average of 6 measurements shall be reported as over all diameters. The enamel shall
be from a length of 60 mm of wire by exposing it to flame till it come red-hot. Then dip is in
ethanol. The wire shall be cleaned using a piece of cotton. The diameter of the bare copper wire
shall be measured as above the and their average is the bare copper diameter. The difference
between the overall diameter and the base Conductor diameter shall be found and the overall
diameter conductor and increasing diameter shall be according to able.

C) SPRINGNES TEST

Method of test: A sample of about in shall be wound 5 times around the manned with a
diameter as given the table three.

Test Apparatus: the general arrangements of the apparatus is shown figure. The dial is
marked with 72 equally spaced divisions. So that the spring aback for one turn is read directly in
degree. The apparatus shall be maintained twit the shaft of the mandrill horizontal. The specified
mandrill shall be locked in position so that the hole form fastening the wire and the
commencement of a the helical grove is a vertical position to correspond with zero on the dial
and shall then be dusted with finally powdered talc to avoid danger of the annealed wire dinging
to the surface of the mended.

The specified weight is attached to one end of the sample of wire and after unlatching
the meandered so that it will rotate freely the other and of the wire is inserted through the
transfers hole in the mandrill at the commencement of the helical grove so that sufficient wire
project on the other side of the mandrill. This end of the wire is hold firmly and the weight is
carefully lowed to apply tension the sample. The mandrill is thus aligned with the dial zero
vertically downwards.

2) Testing of lamination

A) Core loss measurment

The core loss shall be measured using lamination tester the value shall be as given
below. The tolerance on the measured core loss shale is 0.5 watts.

Material Grade CRNGO Core loss

M-36 3.57

M-43 4.01

M-45 5.31

M-47 8.01

The tested components are passed on to winding section

Nominal dia of the Mandrel dia(mm) Tension (kg) Spring back(max)
conductor

0.417 25 0.8 44

0.90 50 1.53 48

0.95 50 1.53 46

1.00 50 1.53 45

1.12 50 1.53 41

1.18 50 1.53 39

1.25 50 1.53 37

QUALITY CONTROL

For gaining customer field satisfaction, the supplied product should have good qualities
that they deserve. Each and every customer has his own quality requirements and its fulfillment
is an important way to customer satisfaction. As a part of the quality assurance system, all the
raw materials and certain components which come from outside are checked for its desired
quality. Acceptance of material is only after quality assurance. The system calibrates all the
measuring instruments and equipments that are used in various sections of production. It checks
for the required diffusion for various products and accepts only if the dimensions are within the
allowed tolerance. Moreover, the system gives record of all the details for the finished product
before its dispatch.

PRODUCT RANGE

Inductor type brushless alternator for train lighting and air-conditioning - 1 kW to 40 kW.
12 kW alternators specially designed for powering Janashatabdi Express Trains of Indian
Railways.
Inductor Type brushless alternator for automobiles and for charging systems in diesel
engines - 12 V, 24 V upto 50 A.
High frequency alternator - 400 Hz; up to 100 kVA.
Ground power units for starting Avro and Dornier aircrafts and for powering Boeing
aircrafts.
Ground Support units with dual voltage system for starting fighter aircrafts.
DC, AC power frequency and high frequency power pack for missile firing auxiliary power
support.

USP

Induction Alternator - Brushless excitation without winding on the rotor, with both field and
armature windings embedded in stator slots. Hence unlimited working speed and ideal for
variable speed applications like Train, Automobile, Windmill etc.
Totally enclosed fan cooled version available for dusty humid / corrosive environments.

CONCLUSION

In the Train lighting Alternator Division of KEL we got an opportunity to visit the on
going process to deliver specific design of various ratings of brushless alternators as
required by the railways. Design and development of various type of this brushless type
alternator (3.0kw, 4.5kw, 12kw 18kw, and 25kw), microcontroller based electronic rectifiers
regulator unit (ERRU) for 4.5KW and 25KW brushless alternator etc. Foundry division gave
an idea about the fully mechanized moulding lines with sophisticated testing equipment to
ensure quality castings. Various section of the unit like Foundry, Machine shop, Fabrication
unit, Regulator and Rectifier unit, Condy and Assembly unit & Testing and Quality control
was helpful in knowing about the Various stages of development.