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Abstract: A self-excited induction generator (SEIG) has poor voltage regulation and that restricts wide applicability
of the generator. A simple method of selecting the values of fixed and switched capacitors in a short-shunt SEIG
driven by a regulated prime mover to maintain the load voltage within the upper and lower acceptable limits is
proposed. The values of the capacitors are selected very carefully to minimise the number of switched capacitors
needed to satisfy the above voltage criterion, and that would minimise the cost and complexity of the voltage
regulator. This requires evaluating the generator characteristics under constant voltage operation.
The equations needed to obtain such characteristics are also derived and solved using a numerical based
routine ‘fsolve’ given in MATLAB. The proposed method of selecting the capacitor values is then tested on a
three-phase, 1.5 kW induction generator operating in a short-shunt configuration. The simulation results
obtained by the proposed method are also compared with the corresponding actual values found through an
experimental setup and are observed to be in very good agreement.
SEIGs are increasingly being used in small power plants in Several methods of improving voltage regulation of an SEIG
remote areas because of their many advantageous features over are proposed in the literature. For constant voltage operation, it
synchronous generators. Recent emphasis on the utilisation of is necessary to adjust the excitation reactive power continuously
IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2009, Vol. 3, Iss. 3, pp. 257 – 265 257
doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd:20080282 & The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2009
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258 IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2009, Vol. 3, Iss. 3, pp. 257– 265
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2009 doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd:20080282
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doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd:20080282 & The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2009
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Here, V g is considered as the reference (i.e. V g ¼ Vg /08). constant but depends on the load. Determination of
The load current I L (in Fig. 3) can be written as generator characteristics for such an operation requires
equating the torque–speed characteristics of the generator
V t and the prime mover and embedding it into the system of
I L ¼ (10)
RL þ j(FXL Xse =F ) (8) or (16). This would simply increase the dimension of the
problem by one. Alghuwainem, Chen and Haque [17–19]
The active power (PL) and the reactive power (QL) absorbed by investigated the generator characteristics for such an
the load are given by operation. It may be mentioned here that, for a given
feasible set of capacitors, there is a minimum or critical
2 2
PL ¼ 3I L RL and QL ¼ 3I L FXL (11) speed below which the generator would fail to build up
voltage. Al-Jabri and Alolah [22] determined the critical
The reactive power supplied by the series capacitor (Qse) and the speed of a shunt generator for both no-load and full-load
shunt capacitor (Qsh) are given by conditions. For a short-shunt generator, (8) can also be used
to determine the critical speed at no-load condition, but that
2 requires considering v (instead of Xm) as an unknown or
2 X 3V t
Qse ¼ 3I L se and Qsh ¼ (12) independent parameter and assigning the value of Xm as the
F Xsh =F corresponding unsaturated value.
The total reactive power (QT) supplied by the series and shunt
In terms of load voltage and current, the terminal voltage
capacitors is
V t of the generator can be written as
QT ¼ Qse þ Qsh (13)
V t ¼ V L þ (jXse =F )I L (17)
As mentioned earlier, an induction generator absorbs reactive
power for its excitation. Thus, for a stand-alone operation, the For a constant load voltage VL , the terminal voltage Vt depends
reactive power demand of the generator as well as the load not only on load power (or current) but also on the load power
must be supplied by the external capacitors. factor as can be seen in the phasor diagram of Fig. 5. The
above phasor diagram clearly demonstrates that the terminal
The load voltage V L in Fig. 3 can be expressed as voltage for the leading power factor is much higher than that
for the lagging power factor. Thus, for the leading power
RL þ jFXL factor, the generator operates at a higher saturation level and,
V L ¼ V t (14)
RL þ j(FXL Xse =F ) hence, needs more reactive power for its excitation. In this
case, the shunt capacitor also provides more reactive power
When the magnitude of the load voltage is kept constant at a because of a higher terminal voltage. The opposite is also true
sp
pre-specified value of VL , the above equation becomes for the lagging power factor.
V t (RL þ jFXL ) In this study, (8) and (16) are solved using a numerical
g3 ¼ V sp ¼ 0 (15)
RL þ j(FXL Xse =F ) L
based routine ‘fsolve’ given in the optimisation toolbox of
MATLAB [23]. It uses a nonlinear least-squares algorithm
At no-load, I L ¼ 0 and, thus, the series capacitor does not that employs the Gauss– Newton or the Lavenberg–
supply reactive power. In this case, the voltage of the circuit Marquardt method. A least-squares-based method usually
is determined by the shunt capacitor alone. Under load converges to a point where the residual is the minimum.
conditions, I L = 0 and, thus, both the series and shunt However, if the formulated problem (8) or (16) does not
capacitors supply the reactive power and control voltage of have a zero (numerically) because of the selection of
the circuit. For given values of v, Xse and ZL , the value of unrealistic values of some parameters, the routine may still
Xsh needed to maintain the load voltage at a pre-specified converge to a point where the residual is the minimum but
value can be determined by embedding (15) into (8). not necessarily zero. Such a solution cannot be considered
Under this case, the system of equations becomes as acceptable and it can easily be identified by evaluating
the residual at the solution point and comparing it with a
GV (X ) ¼ 0 (16) very small tolerance (say, 1026).
260 IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2009, Vol. 3, Iss. 3, pp. 257– 265
& The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2009 doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd:20080282
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During the experiment, it was found that the generator can The machine is then operated as a short-shunt generator
maintain a sustainable voltage in the abnormal operating by adding the series capacitor (Cse). Fig. 8 shows the
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Figure 7 Distribution of residual at the solution point Figure 9 Variation of VD at full load against series
capacitor
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figure is plotted from repeated solutions of (16) for different mentioning here that a shunt capacitor branch usually have a
values of ZL and is used to determine the values of fixed and large current surge at switching when connected to an ideal
switched capacitors needed to satisfy the above voltage voltage source with zero impedance. However, for an
criterion. It can be noticed in Fig. 10 that an initial shunt induction generator, the current surge would not be so large
capacitor of Co ¼ 33.43 mF (point ‘a’) is needed to obtain because of the stator impedance (especially reactance) and
the maximum acceptable voltage of 1.03 pu at no-load. the smaller size of capacitors. The current surge can further
The above capacitor can maintain the load voltage within be reduced by using a small surge current limiting reactor in
the acceptable limits (0.97 – 1.03 pu) until the load power is series with the capacitor [26].
increased to P1 (¼405 W) at point ‘b’, where the voltage
decreases to the lower acceptable limit of 0.97 pu. To Fig. 11 shows the variation of load voltage against load
increase the voltage to the upper limit of 1.03 pu at P1 , it is power with two steps of the shunt capacitor (as described
necessary to increase the shunt capacitor to C1 (¼37.44 mF above for a VD of +5%), and it clearly indicates that the
at point ‘c’). Now, C1 can maintain the voltage within the load voltage is always maintained in between the lower and
acceptable limits until the power is increased to P2 upper acceptable limits (0.95 – 1.05 pu or 209 – 231 V) in
(¼882 W) at point ‘d’, where the shunt capacitor is again the entire operating range. The experimental results are also
increased to C2 (¼43.03 mF at point ‘e’). Similarly, C2 can shown in the figure and are observed to be slightly higher
maintain the voltage within the limits up to a power of P3 but very close to the corresponding simulation results. It
(¼1353 W) at point ‘f ’, where the shunt capacitor is may be mentioned here that the nearest capacitor values
further increased to C3 (¼45.00 mF) so that the minimum (i.e. 35 and 43 mF instead of 34.85 and 42.85 mF,
voltage of 0.97 pu can be maintained at the full load of respectively) were used in the experiment. In addition, the
1.5 kW. series and shunt capacitors used in the experiment had a
tolerance level of +5%. The author believes that the above
The above discussion clearly indicates that four steps of factors are the main reasons for having slight discrepancies
shunt capacitors (C0 , C1 , C2 and C3) are needed to maintain in simulation and experimental results. The variations of
the load voltage in between 0.97 and 1.03 pu for the entire the stator current (I1), load current (IL) and shunt capacitor
operating range. Table 1 summarises the number of steps as current (IC) against the load power are shown in Fig. 12,
well as the value of the shunt capacitor in each step for and it again indicates that the experimental results are close
various values of VD, and it indicates that only two steps of to the corresponding simulation results. Note that the
the shunt capacitor are required when a VD of +5% is generator was loaded only up to 1.2 kW because of the
considered. That is, an initial fixed capacitor of power limitation of the prime mover used in the experiment.
C0 ¼ 34.85 mF and an additional switched capacitor of 8 mF
(¼42.85 234.85 mF) are needed (Table 1). However, if the The characteristics of the generator for a VD of +3% are
machine is operated as a shunt generator, four steps of the also evaluated for three different load power factors (0.98
shunt capacitor are needed for the same VD of +5% [25]. lagging, 0.98 leading and unity). A summary of stepped
Thus, in the case of short-shunt, the number of switched capacitors needed for this purpose is given in Table 2. As
capacitors is reduced (from three to one) by using a fixed mentioned earlier that, for a constant load voltage, the
series capacitor, and that would significantly reduce the cost generator operates at a higher saturation level for the
and complexity of the voltage regulator. It is worth
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IET Gener. Transm. Distrib., 2009, Vol. 3, Iss. 3, pp. 257 – 265 265
doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd:20080282 & The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2009