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EMF Method

The synchronous impedance method uses open circuit and short circuit tests on an alternator to determine its regulation at different load conditions. Open circuit tests provide the open circuit characteristic (OCC) curve, which relates induced voltage to field current. Short circuit tests provide the short circuit characteristic (SCC) curve, relating short circuit current to field current. From these curves, the synchronous impedance (Zs) can be calculated for any load by finding the corresponding field current on the SCC and then using the induced voltage at that field current from the OCC. Knowing Zs and the armature resistance from tests, the regulation can then be calculated using standard formulas for any load and power factor. The main advantage is regulation can be determined

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purushg62
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446 views

EMF Method

The synchronous impedance method uses open circuit and short circuit tests on an alternator to determine its regulation at different load conditions. Open circuit tests provide the open circuit characteristic (OCC) curve, which relates induced voltage to field current. Short circuit tests provide the short circuit characteristic (SCC) curve, relating short circuit current to field current. From these curves, the synchronous impedance (Zs) can be calculated for any load by finding the corresponding field current on the SCC and then using the induced voltage at that field current from the OCC. Knowing Zs and the armature resistance from tests, the regulation can then be calculated using standard formulas for any load and power factor. The main advantage is regulation can be determined

Uploaded by

purushg62
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Synchronous Impedance method or EMF Method

The method is also called E.M.F. method of determining the regulation. The method requires following data
to calculate the regulation.
1. The armature resistance per phase (Ra).
2. Open circuit characteristics which is the graph of open circuit voltage against the field current. This is
possible by conducting open circuit test on the alternator.
3. Short circuit characteristics which is the graph of short circuit current against field current. This is possible
by conducting short circuit test on the alternator.
Let us see, the circuit diagram to perform open circuit as well as short circuit test on the alternator. The
alternator is coupled to a prime mover capable of driving the alternator at its synchronous speed. The
armature is connected to the terminals of a switch. The other terminals of the switch are short circuited
through an ammeter. The voltmeter is connected across the lines to measure the open circuit voltage of the
alternator.
The field winding is connected to a suitable d.c. supply with rheostat connected in series. The field
excitation i.e. field current can be varied with the help of this rheostat. The circuit diagram is shown in the
Fig. 1.

Circuit diagram for open circuit and short circuit test on alternator
1.1 Open Circuit Test
Procedure to conduct this test is as follows :
i) Start the prime mover and adjust the speed to the synchronous speed of the alternator.
ii) Keeping rheostat in the field circuit maximum, switch on the d.c. supply.
iii) The T.P.S.T switch in the armature circuit is kept open.
iv) With the help of rheostat, field current is varied from its minimum value to the rated value. Due to this,
flux increasing the induced e.m.f. Hence voltmeter reading, which is measuring line value of open circuit
voltage increases. For various values of field current, voltmeter readings are observed.
The observation for open circuit test are tabulated as below :

G.Purushotham

Observation table for open circuit test :

From the above table, graph of (Voc)ph against If is plotted.


Note : This is called open circuit characteristics of the alternator, called O.C.C. This is shown in the Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 O.C.C. and S.C.C. of an alternator


1.2 Short Circuit Test
After completing the open circuit test observation, the field rheostat is brought to maximum position,
reducing field current to a minimum value. The T.P.S.T switch is closed. As ammeter has negligible
resistance, the armature gets short circuited. Then the field excitation is gradually increased till full load
current is obtained through armature winding. This can be observed on the ammeter connected in the
armature circuit. The graph of short circuit armature current against field current is plotted from the
observation table of short circuit test. This graph is called short circuit characteristics, S.C.C. This is also
shown in the Fig. 2.
Observation table for short circuit test :

The S.C.C. is a straight line graph passing through the origin while O.C.C. resembles B-H curve of a
magnetic material.
G.Purushotham

Note : As S.C.C. is straight line graph, only one reading corresponding to full load armature current along
with the origin is sufficient to draw the straight line.
The synchronous impedance of the alternator changes as load condition changes. O.C.C. and S.C.C. can be
used to determine Zs for any load and load p.f. conditions.
In short circuit test, external load impedance is zero. The short circuit armature current is circulated
against the impedance of the armature winding which is Zs. The voltage responsible for driving this short
circuit current is internally induced e.m.f. This can be shown in the equivalent circuit drawn in the Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 Equivalent circuit on short circuit

From the equivalent circuit we can write,


Zs = Vocph/ Iasc
Now value of Iasc is known, which can observed on the alternator. But internally induced e.m.f. can not be
observed under short circuit condition. The voltmeter connected will read zero which is voltage across short
circuit. To determine Zs it is necessary to determine value of E which is driving Iasc against Zs.
Now internally induced e.m.f. is proportional to the flux i.e. field current If.
Eph If

...... from e.m.f. equation

So if the terminal of the alternator are opened without disturbing If which was present at the time of short
circuited condition, internally induced e.m.f. will remain same as Eph. But now current will be zero. Under
this condition equivalent circuit will become as shown in the Fig. 4.

Fig. 4

G.Purushotham

It is clear now from the equivalent circuit that as Ia = 0 the voltmeter reading (Voc)ph will be equal to
internally induced e.m.f. (Eph).

This is what we are interested in obtaining to calculate value of Zs. So expression for Zs can be modified
as,

So O.C.C. and S.C.C. can be effectively to calculate Zs.


The value of Zs is different for different values of If as the graph of O.C.C. is non linear in nature.
So suppose Zs at full load is required then,
Iasc = full load current.
From S.C.C. determine If required to drive this full load short circuit Ia. This is equal to 'OA', as shown
in the Fig.2.
Now for this value of If, (Voc)ph can be obtained from O.C.C. Extend kine from point A, till it meets
O.C.C. at point C. The corresponding (Voc)ph value is available at point D.
(Voc)ph = OD
While (Iasc)ph = OE

at full load
General steps to determine Zs at any load condition are :
i) Determine the value of (Iasc)ph for corresponding load condition. This can be determined from known full
load current of the alternator. For half load, it is half of the full load value and so on.
ii) S.C.C. gives relation between (Iasc)ph and If. So for (Iasc)ph required, determine the corresponding value of
If from S.C.C.
G.Purushotham

iii) Now for this same value of If, extend the line on O.C.C. to get the value of (Voc)ph. This is (Voc)ph for
same If, required to drive the selected (Iasc)ph.
iv) The ratio of (Voc)ph and (Iasc)ph, for the same excitation gives the value of Zs at any load conditions.
The graph of synchronous impedance against excitation current is also shown in the Fig. 2.
1.4 Regulation Calculations
From O.C.C. and S.C.C., Zs can be determined for any load condition.
The armature resistance per phase (Ra) can be measured by different methods. One of the method is
applying d.c. known voltage across the two terminals and measuring current. So value of Ra per phase is
known.

So synchronous reactance per phase can be determined.


No load induced e.m.f. per phase, Eph can be determined by the mathematical expression derived earlier.

E Ph= ( V ph cos + I a R a ) + ( V ph cos + I a X s )


where

Vph = Phase value of rated voltage


Ia = Phase value of current depending on the load condition
cos = p.f. of load

Positive sign for lagging power factor while negative sign for leading power factor, Ra and Xs values are
known from the various tests performed.
The regulation then can be determined by using formula,

Advantages and Limitations of Synchronous Impedance Method


The main advantages of this method is the value of synchronous impedance Zsfor any load condition can
be calculated. Hence regulation of the alternator at any load condition and load power factor can be
determined. Actual load need not be connected to the alternator and hence method can be used for very high
capacity alternators.
The main limitation of this method is that the method gives large values of synchronous reactance. This
leads to high values of percentage regulation than the actual results. Hence this method is called pessimistic
method.
G.Purushotham

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