Woodward Speed Droop PDF
Woodward Speed Droop PDF
Power Generation
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Woodward 1991
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Speed Droop and Power Generation Application Note 01302
Speed Droop
and Power Generation
All engine controls use the principle of droop to provide stable operation. The
simpler mechanical governors have the droop function built into the control
system, and it cannot be changed. More complex hydraulic governors can
include temporary droop, returning the speed setting to its original place after the
engine has recovered from a change in fuel position. This temporary droop is
called compensation.
The ability to return to the original speed after a change in load is called
isochronous speed control. All electronic controls have circuits which effectively
provide a form of temporary droop by adjusting the amount of actuator position
change according to how much off speed is sensed.
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Application Note 01302 Speed Droop and Power Generation
The governor would reduce fuel and the off speed would then occur in the
underspeed direction. In most instances the off-speed conditions would build
until the unit went out on overspeed.
With droop, the governor speed setting moves toward the offspeed as the fuel
control moves to increase, allowing a stable return to steady state control. The
feedback in the governor is from the output position. Since a minimal movement
of the output position can cause major speed changes in an unloaded engine, it
is sometimes difficult to gain stability in unloaded conditions. Actuator linkage
requiring more movement of the output to achieve a given amount of rack
movement at the idle settings than at the loaded settings will often help achieve
stability in the unloaded position. Setting a greater amount of droop in the
governor is another solution.
In the case of isochronous (temporary droop) control, the governor speed with
which the engine returns to the predetermined speed reference is adjustable,
allowing greater flexibility in achieving stable operation, even when unloaded.
(Notice that the feedback is over the full output-shaft rotation or fuel rod
retraction of the governor. If only a portion of the output is used, the amount of
droop will be reduced by the same proportion. Likewise the same governor would
only have a droop from 1827 to 1800 if half of the full output moved the fuel rack
from no fuel to full fuel (60.9 Hz droop to 60 Hz; probably not enough droop to
provide stability).
Figure 1 illustrates 3% and 5% droop governor speed curves, assuming the use
of all of the servo movement. The speed figures given are theoretical since servo
position and rack position are seldom absolutely linear.
Most complex hydraulic governors have adjustable droop. In these cases, droop
may be set between 0% and 5%. Droop is not adjustable in most mechanical
governors, although some mechanical governors have provisions for changes in
springs which will change the amount of droop. Five percent droop is common in
simple mechanical governors, although 3% and 10% droop is not uncommon.
Electric Generation
A single engine electrical generator can operate in isochronous, changing
speeds only temporarily in response to changes in load. This system can also
operate in droop, if a lower speed is permissible under loaded conditions (see
Figure 2).
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Speed Droop and Power Generation Application Note 01302
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Application Note 01302 Speed Droop and Power Generation
Governors should not be paralleled isochronously with any system so big that the
governed unit cannot affect the speed of the system.
Droop provides the solution to this problem. Droop causes the governor speed
reference to decrease as load increases. This allows the governor to vary the
load since the speed cannot change (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Comparison of 3% Droop Speed Settings for 50% and 100% Load
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Speed Droop and Power Generation Application Note 01302
Notice that the amount of droop set in the governor has little effect on the ability
of the governor reference speed setting to determine the amount of load the
engine will carry. The greater the droop the less sensitive engine load will be to
speed setting. However, excessive droop presents the possibility of overspeed
should the engine be removed from the bus, thus becoming unloaded. In most
cases, 4% droop is adequate to provide stability and also allow for precise
loading of the engine (see Figure 4).
Identical engines can show different characteristics if droop settings are not
identical. An engine with more droop will require a greater change in the speed
setting to accomplish a given change in load than will an engine with less droop
in the governor. As explained in the following paragraphs, the amount of droop is
also controlled by the amount of terminal shaft travel used between no load and
full load. Both of these considerations should be investigated when apparently
identical units show different responses to changes in the reference speed.
Using less than the optimum amount of terminal shaft movement will require a
higher droop adjustment (knob or slider) than other engines, increasing the
danger of overspeed should the generator suddenly become separated from the
bus (load). The low amount of governor travel may also cause the engine to be
unstable.
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Application Note 01302 Speed Droop and Power Generation
Multiple engines can also be paralleled on an isolated bus with all but one of the
engines in droop and that one engine in isochronous. These systems will be able
to maintain a constant speed as long as the isochronous engine is capable of
accommodating any load changes (see Figure 5).
In these cases, should load decrease below the combined load setting of the
droop engines, the isochronous engine will completely unload, and the system
frequency will increase to the point that load equals the combined droop setting
of the droop engines. The isochronous engine would be motored in this instance
unless it was automatically removed from the bus.
If the load increases beyond the capacity of the isochronous unit, the entire
system will slow to the point where the combined droop of the other units meets
the droop-speed position. In this case, the isochronous unit would remain
overloaded to a point where it was unable to achieve the governor reference
speed.
Negative Droop
As has been stated, all mechanical governors use droop, either constant or in the
case of isochronous governors temporary, to achieve stable engine control. It is
possible to adjust negative droop (speed reference increases as load increases)
into some governors. Satisfactory governor control (engine stability) cannot be
achieved with negative droop adjusted into a governor.
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06/5/F