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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - MVA, MVAR & MW ??

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MVA, MVAR & MW ??

shadmani (Electrical)

10 Nov 05 8:37

Controls guy here, trying to understand the hardcore power stuff. I recently visited a power plant and was kind a surprised the way the power is dispatached. Not only they were trying to maintain a certain MW load output from the station, from time to time, they were also somehow adjusting the MVAR on the machine (operators did not knew how exactly how MVAR is manipulated, they did tell me it is required based on the load on the grid and is requested to be adjusted by the dispatcher). Could someone please, in simple terms, explain the relationship between MW, MVAR and MVA, why we talk all terms in power dispatch and what/why do we adjust the MVAR. Thanks a bunch

BEPC13 (Electrical)

10 Nov 05 9:01

MVA is the aparant power, MW is the real power and, MVAR is reactive power. If you remember your Circuit II course MVA is the Square Root of MW^2+MVAR^2. Just like a right triangle. It is actually called the power triangle. You adjust the MW of a plant based on the load on the grid. Generation = Load at all times. You adjust the MVAR of the machine to adjust grid voltage in the local area. MVARs are the result of the magnetic coupling needed to produce work with a machine. They are not exportable therefor you either have local generation or capacitor banks provide them. You adjust the MW of the machine with the amount of torque you apply to the input shaft of the machine. This usually means more steam to the turbine. This tries to speed up the machine against the grid and produces more power. You adjust the MVAR output of the machine by adjusting the exciter of the machine. That is to raise MVAR output you excite the machine more by increasing the current in the field (rotor). This increases the magnetic coupling of the rotor to the stator and increases the MVAR output.

Barrie66 (Electrical)

10 Nov 05 13:46

BEPC13 explained it correctly however, it may be clearer to simply state that an MVAR meter in a power plant is a center zero device. By raising the machine volts the generator will export VARs to the system and conversely by decreasing the machine volts VARs will be imported to the generator. When I was working as a power plant operator shortly after graduating in the early 60s. Each power station on the grid had to maintain its voltage within given parameters. This generally mean't that the voltage on the outgoing line was had to be kept at its nominal kV. The power plant I operated, was on the end of a 132kV spur line some 120 miles from the main 330kV interconnected system, and the voltage used to vary substantially over 24hrs. During the night on light system loads, the voltage would rise and we would have to import VARs by lowering the generator volts and during peak periods on high system loads, raise the generator volts and export VARs to maintain nominal voltage on the 132kV feeder. I guess these days the system controllers spread the VAR loads around much better than we did in the old days.....

rmw (Mechanical)

10 Nov 05 16:26

This is an interesting thread in light of a couple of recent threads on reactive power. They did not deal with what actually happened at the power station, however.
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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - MVA, MVAR & MW ??

Now, I have a purely theoretical question. Since power factor is a function of load, reactive load, and VARS is a function of the PF, (if that is not right correct me right away) in a hypothetical system, a power plant supplies power to a grid that has lots of installed horse power, electric motors, creating a significant lagging power factor, and hence a given amount of VARS. What happens when all those workers turn off their motor driven machines at the end of the work day and go home and turn on their electric space heaters, coffee pots, toasters, ovens, and lights. You get the picture, purely resistive load, approaching unity power factor. Is something done at the power plant to correct, effect or change either of those conditions? And, since the power companies are beginning to bill for the effects of reactive power, isn't it in the Utilities interest to not correct the PF? rmw PS: As I stated in one of the other threads, I am trying to comprehend this as an ME. I can make those turbines produce the torque, but I struggle to understand what you EE's do with it to ship it.

Barrie66 (Electrical)

10 Nov 05 17:44

With regards to "What happens when all those workers turn off their motor driven machines at the end of the work day and go home and turn on their electric space heaters, coffee pots, toasters, ovens, and lights. You get the picture, purely resistive load, approaching unity power factor" as aked by the previous thread, the following happens. First of all as the overall system MW decrease, the system voltage tends to rise. To control the volts, inductive MVARs have to be generated by either switching in reactors or reducing MVARs by reducing volts on the generators supplying MVARs to the system. With regards to Utility companies charging for MVARs. as it wattless current (except for I2R losses)utility companies do not have fuel costs generating VARs. So should only charge for generator losses etc. which would be very small.

Skogsgurra (Electrical)

10 Nov 05 18:13

The problem with var (yes; var, not VAR or VAr) is that it occupies transformers and transmission lines. Utilities therefore charge to keep var consumption low. If they were to deliver lots of Mvars, there would not be much rom for the MWs. Gunnar Englund www.gke.org

cuky2000 (Electrical)

10 Nov 05 21:07

Quote:

Reactive power also happens to be the most misunderstood concept in the electric utility industry. This is mostly because it is usually described as the imaginary part of the load; therefore, people tend to believe that it does not exist or serves not useful purpose. Noting could be further from the truth.

Reactive power supply is essential for reliably operating the electric transmission system. Inadequate reactive power has led to voltage collapses and has been a major cause of several recent major power outages worldwide One source for supply or absolve reactive power is a generator. For instance, when a generator is operating at certain limits, a generator can increase its dynamic reactive power is produced from equipment that can quickly change the Mvar level independent of the voltage level. Thus, the equipment can increase its reactive power production level when voltage drops and prevent a voltage collapse.
By convention, reactive power, like real power, is positive when it is supplied and negative when it is consumed. Consuming reactive power lowers voltage magnitudes, while supplying reactive power increases voltage magnitudes.

We should keep in mind that a production or consumption of reactive power by a generator only could be done by reducing its production of real power. As a result, producing additional reactive power results in reduced revenues associated with reduced real-power production. This may be seen in the generator capability curve similar to the one enclose below. http://cuky2000.250free.com/Gen_Reactive_Capability_Limits_2.jpg

tinfoil (Electrical)
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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - MVA, MVAR & MW ??

Nov 05 12:51
Quote:

The problem with var (yes; var, not VAR or VAr)...

Nitpick: The unit of Volt-Amp-Reactive is derived from the base units of Volts and Amps, both of which are named after actual people, so SI states that they should be capitalized when abbreviated, whereas 'reactive' is not based on a proper name and should not be capitalized. Therefore, it should be formally abbreviated to VAr, but VAR (and flavours like kVAR and MVAR) seem to be the industry norms.

CJCPE (Electrical)

11 Nov 05 17:33

Quote:

The unit of Volt-Amp-Reactive is derived from the base units of Volts and Amps, both of which are named after actual people, so SI states that they should be capitalized when abbreviated...

Nitpick^2: When VAR is used to stand for Volt-Amp-Reactive is that not an acronym rather than an abbreviation? If so, what does SI state re capitalization?

BJC (Electrical)

11 Nov 05 17:47

Here's a good explanation of KW,KVA, KVAR etc. Remember as you read it, in power tranmission beer mugs are very expensive. http://www.powerstudies.com/content/resources/Diane%20Power%20Factor.pdf

alehman (Electrical)

11 Nov 05 21:22

Reactive power must be produced by the utility to compensate for reactive power consumed in its own systems and for that consumed by customers. It utilizes T&D capacity and it wastes real power due to the I^2R losses it creates. Generators, capacitors, synchronous condensers and static VAR compensators are all used to produce reactive power. Capacitors are usually distributed around the network for voltage control and to get VAR production as close to the VAR consumption as possible to minimize I^2R losses and capacity utilization. Switched capacitors are used to help stabilize voltage as reactive loads fluctuate.

Skogsgurra (Electrical)

12 Nov 05 4:11

Nitpick or not. The var (yes, var) is an SI unit on its own and shall be written var. Just like that. It is not considered to be named after a human being and therefore it isn't spelled with capital letters. That used to be. But isn't any more. Gunnar Englund www.gke.org

Skogsgurra (Electrical)

12 Nov 05 4:19

Quote from http://www.iec.ch/zone/si/si_elecmag.htm : Reactive power, Q volt ampere, V A; 1 V A = 1 kg m/s3 Usual multiples: MV A, kV A
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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - MVA, MVAR & MW ??

IEC has adopted the name var, var (volt ampere reactive power), for the coherent SI unit volt ampere for reactive power. Gunnar Englund www.gke.org

alehman (Electrical)

12 Nov 05 23:20

IEEE concurs it is var and VA.

abeltio (Mechanical)

13 Nov 05 19:06

rmw... still travelling through south america? regarding your question... in that part of the world several things happen... 1. in Uruguay there are power plants that have the generator working as a "synchronous condenser" i.e. the prime mover (usually a GT) is shutdown and the generator kept synchronized to the grid to absorb var (negative var) Uruguay has very little industry... and because of the use of fluorescent light the reactive power is very high... therefore they use the synch cond. to improve the power factor (i.e. increase - absorb - var) 2. in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay the grid is not exactly stable... there are noticeable variations in the frequency during the day. usually the frequency falls below 50Hz So... at night when the load is the lowest the grid dispatcher requests the operators to raise the load (no isochronous driver) so the frequency increases... to compensate for the low frequency during the day... why? so the total number of cycles per day is constant... why? so the electric clocks are always on time when the alarm goes off in the morning... otherwise the error accumulated in one year could be about 10 to 15 min or more. 3. Power factor is a consequence and not a cause... the two independent variables are active and reactive power. some control systems enable the units to keep a constant power factor... but the reason for it is to maintain the generator at the design power factor (usually 0.85 or 0.80) or better (higher). When the dispatch requests the operator to raise or lower var to maintain the grid's voltage they are using copper of the generator to carry that load... i.e. increased heat generated. The real danger of very low var (negative) is that you can hit the UEL (under excitation limit) which is normally a trip of the excitation system... otherwise the generator may skip a pole and fall "out of step" with very bad physical consequences for the generator due to the huge electromagnetic torques associated with these events. HTH saludos. a.

rmw (Mechanical)

13 Nov 05 22:25

abeltio, Thanks for the explanation. That is what I am trying to come to understand. What do they physically do to make the copper in the generator carry the load as you put it. Or, said differently, what they do when they make a power factor shift at the power station to account for power factor changes on the system. The one thing I do remember about vars from the EE classes I had to take as a ME was that it involved heating up the conductors, but I can't remember why. And, I do well understand the dangers of under excitation and the potential for 'slipping a pole' and the devastation that can happen there. I was once a service engineer for a major turbine/generator OEM, but on the mechanical side. We had to fix the devastation when it (rarely) occurred. In my thread above, Barrie66 did not understand that I was describing a hypothetical system where the load suddenly shifted from reactive power to resistive power. Forget about the real world where load begins to drop off when factories shut down at the end of the shift. Convert all their reactive load from their factory motor driven machinery to resistive load heating their houses and food, and tell me what the power plant does to accommodate the shift in power factor from lagging to unity.

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Another question; is part of South America 50 hz? Somehow, I thought all of our hemisphere was 60 Hz, but I don't know how I got that. I described in one of the other threads that was discussing this topic about older systems that I used to work on where they maintained their system frequency by having two clocks on the control board, one connected to their system, (usually a municipality or plant with their own power station) and one connected to the grid that they only tied to when their system tripped or was down. Thanks, rmw And, no, I am no longer in South America, but I will be there again within a couple of months. I'll be fighting the Spanish keyboards again I'm sure.

alehman (Electrical)

13 Nov 05 23:05

In Brazil, the larger cities are 60Hz but I think some areas are 50Hz.

cuky2000 (Electrical)

14 Nov 05 15:12

Not so fast amigo Abeltio. We should be careful to generalize for one particular isolate case. We know that is not economical to use the GT to produce vars. Maybe the reason of this operating mode is the abundant hydropower at a particular season. Uruguay electrical energy generation is highly dependent on the weather conditions. Therefore, the optimal operating mode for generating or consuming var is based on economic decisions and availability of hydro versus thermal power. Regarding system frequency, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay operate a 50 Hz, while the rest of the continent primarily operate at 60 Hz.
NOTE: Even though larger numbers of consumer are served from 60Hz, most countries in SA are under the IEC influence. I remember how difficulties was to convince the engineers in Chile to accept the first ring bus and the struggling to bring 500 kV breakers in Argentina. Most local engineers are not familiar with dead-tank breakers used typically in the ANSI marketplace

abeltio (Mechanical)

14 Nov 05 17:28

cuky2000, are we sure we r talking about the same thing? in my post i stated that the GT is not run to produce vars... it is used to bring the generator to synch speed, synch to the grid and then the GT is SHUT DOWN. btw the synch condenser installation in uruguay is running in synch condenser mode 50% of the time... i know i commissioned the plant. rmw, from the operator's point of view it is very simple... when the excitation control system of the turbine is set to "nothing" the excitation is DROOPING to the voltage of the grid: i.e. if the voltage drops the excitation increases generating more vars... conversely if the voltage of the line increases the excitation decreases. in case the excitation control system of the turbine is set to "power factor control": it controls the power factor to a certain setpoint... this is done some times to protect the generator... but does not help the grid. the other possibility is to set the excitation control to: "var control" then the vars are kept constant to whatever the setpoint is... this is sometimes required by the grid dispatcher to manage the line voltage. to carry the load in the copper of the generator given a certain copper section: the oem calculates how many var and mw the generator can carry at a certain cooling condition which could be H2 pressure or cold air temperature depending on the generator. the result of this calculations are the CAPABILITY CURVES that give the combination of var / mw the generator can carry. don't keep asking because i do not know much more... i am mechanical too!

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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - MVA, MVAR & MW ??

saludos. a.

rmw (Mechanical)

14 Nov 05 21:23

abeltio, Thanks, you are miles ahead of me, or is that KM's? It has been several lifetimes since I learned all that stuff, and while most of my work is in the vicinity of the generator's control, I am normally much too busy trying to get mechanical stuff working so that the generator can produce power. I am trying to brush up on what I learned a long time ago, and haven pretty much taken for granted since then since I didn't need to pay any attention to that part of the plant. You have been very helpful and I appreciate it. rmw

rcwilson (Electrical)

15 Nov 05 19:38

To adjust MW - adjust throttle input to the turbine (increase power input to generator). To adjust Vars or reactive power - adjust excitation to the generator - raise & lower voltage. To visualize this, take the reactive capability curve that has MW on the x axis and vars on the y axis. The semi-circle arc of radius = Rated MVA is the machine limit. Imagine pasting this chart on an Etch-A-Sketch (kid's toy with two knobs that control a stylus to draw pictures). Label the left knob (the horizontal position) "Throttle" or "Speed". Label the right knob "Excitation" or "Voltage" Now to increase KW output, turn the left knob. To increase excitation or Var output, turn the right knob. The best use of this analogy is when a turbine is running in power factor control. A constant power factor is a straight line from the origin to the capability limit drawn at an angle = cos-1(pf) Try to draw a straight line. It is hard, every time MW output changes, you have to change excitation to keep on the line.

fsmyth (Electrical)

16 Nov 05 8:07

rc, I really do like your Etch-a-Sketch analogy. I had pictured something similar in my head (albeit with the other axis orientation), but never considered putting KNOBS on it. Kudos. <als>

rmw (Mechanical)

16 Nov 05 18:44

So if you crank on your thottle knob increasing the power input to the generator without a corresponding adjustment to the excitation knob (I assume this would be to raise the exicitation voltage), what would the resulting generator PF be, tending toward lagging? rmw

abeltio (Mechanical)

16 Nov 05 19:26

tending to 1.00 (all real power and no reactive power) saludos. a.

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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - MVA, MVAR & MW ??

ijl (Electrical)

17 Nov 05 8:30

The reactive power was discussed in thread238-138258. But how to control the reactive power at the generating end? The answer is given in http://www.ece.lsu.edu/mendrela/EE3410Electricgenerators.pdf , for example, with figures and several equations. The generator is a voltage source, when it is considered as an electrical component in a network. The parameters of a voltage source, or, in this case, a generator in a large ("infinite") network are the magnitude and the phase of the internal voltage. This internal voltage is induced in the stator windings by the rotating magnetic field of the rotor. The voltage source, i.e. the generator has also an internal impedance. The induced voltage can be thought to be behind this fixed internal impedance. A generator has several variables that one wants to control: The magnitude and phase angle of the internal voltage, the power, and the reactive power, at least. There are two control variables: the throttle position of the prime mover and the magnetisation current. How do you control those four variables with these two control variables? Well, you don't, at least not at the same time. The effects of the throttle and the magnetisation current are not quite simple. When one opens the throttle a little from the present position, the generator attempts to increase the rotating speed, i.e. the frequency. But if the generator is a part of a large network containing several generators, it cannot increase the speed, because it has not enough power to force all the other generators to accept the same speed. The result is that the relative position of the rotor only advances a little. This means that the phase angle (the "power angle") of the induced voltage changes in the positive direction, because it is determined by the relative rotor position. When the magnetisation current is increased, the magnet of the rotor becomes stronger and the magnitude of the induced voltage in the stator windings increases. But a larger voltage means a larger current and a larger power and a larger loading of the prime mover. This loading attempts to slow down the prime mover and the rotor. Again, it is not possible to reduce the rotating speed because of the large network. If the throttle position and thus power are kept constant, the relative position of the rotor retards a little, so that the "power angle" becomes smaller. In a summary: The magnetisation current controls both the magnitude and phase of the internal voltage. The throttle position controls the phase of the internal voltage. These controls must be used together in practice, as rcwilson writes. The change in the power and the reactive power depends on how these two control variables are operated. The analysis is fortunately simplified by the assumption that the generator sits in a large network containing several generators. This means that the voltage at the terminals of the generator can be assumed to be constant. The reason is the same as that for the constant frequency: One generator cannot do much about the voltage at the terminals, it can only adjust the internal voltage. The internal impedance Zs of a generator is typically almost purely inductive, the resistance is very small, Zs = jXs. If Ef is the induced internal voltage, and V is the voltage at the terminals, then the generator current is simply Is = (Ef V)/jXs = -j(Ef V)/Xs. This current is 90 degrees behind the voltage difference Ef V, but it may lead or lag the voltage V at the terminals. It is known that 1) the voltage V is given, 2) the reactance Xs is given and fixed, 3) the magnitude and phase of the voltage Ef are controlled by the magnetisation current, and 4) the phase of Ef is controlled by the throttle position. It should now be possible (but not necessarily easy) to see what happens to the real and reactive power in different control operations. (Remember, the complex power P + jQ = voltage times the complex conjugate of current.) So, what happens, when the power is increased, but the magnetisation current is kept constant, as rmw asks? See figure 2.6b in the above reference. The induced voltage vector Ef turns counter-clockwise, with a constant magnitudes, i.e. the phase moves in the positive direction. As a consequence, the phase of the current moves also in the positive direction and its magnitude increases. The reactive power Q becomes less negative first, then zero, and eventually positive. See figure 2.8 in the link above for the opposite case of a constant power and varying magnetisation current. That was a lengthy explanation, and I hope that I got it right.

fsmyth (Electrical)

17 Nov 05 18:22

Sounds good to me! ;) Like an old welder friend once told me: "Find a good story, and stick with it." Although I would have like to hear about the effects on the generator when a load was suddenly removed, and returned while the operator(s) was making adjustments. And who or what controls the frequency on a large network (Is there a "master" generator? Do all utilities refer back to a master clock somewhere, similar to data networks?) <als>
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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - MVA, MVAR & MW ??

Skogsgurra (Electrical)

18 Nov 05 0:41

There is something called "Central Operation Desk" or similar in your language (Centrala Driftledningen in Sweden). They tell every plant on the grid how they shall run their machines to have an optimum performance all over the grid and to keep frequency. And, yes. There is a central clock. In the older days, there were actually two clocks. One master clock telling true time and one electric clock run off the grid. They both hung on the wall in the Centrala Driftledningen - and may be there even today. The goal of the frequency adjustment was to keep the "electric" clock within +/- 1 second of master time. That is why the frequency in large grids are quite stable. The variation is seldom more than +/- 0.1 Hz. Unprioritized loads are normally separated from the grid when load is high and frequency lags more than about 0.15 Hz - in return they pay a lower energy price. The frequency normally goes down a bit during the day and is then caught up in low load periods like night and early morning. Gunnar Englund www.gke.org

cuky2000 (Electrical)

18 Nov 05 14:58

.. effects on the generator when a load was suddenly removed and returned while the operator(s) was making adjustments. And who or what controls the frequency on a large network. Here is an attempt to explain in a simplified manner what may happen after the sudden loss of load (ex. Loss of a transmission line or disconnection of large load) Background: Immediately following that, a transient redistribution of the power flow will be initiated with significant reduction of voltage adjacent to the load center due to extra reactive power demand. The generator conditions will not act instantaneous do to the inertia of the rotating mass and the EMF energy stored in the winding causing a time-delay for the sensor to notice any change for sudden loss of load. After that, the generators automatic voltage regulators (AVRs) will command the control to increase excitation to elevate the voltage terminals and the governors would respond to regulate the frequency by reducing the MW output. Two scenarios may happen depending upon the size of the load, system parameters and location of the generator(s) with respect to the sudden loss of load. SCENARIO 1: The above conditions happens within the generator limits of the reactive capability of the unit the system parameter will be swinging until the oscillation will damp down stabilizing after a few second in a new steady-state conditions.

SCENARIO 2: Synchronism will be loss pulling the generator out of step because one or more of the following conditions happens: - Sudden changes above the limits of the generator - voltage below system limits (trip undervoltage protections) - Frequency out of limits (trip synchro-check protection).
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fsmyth (Electrical)

18 Nov 05 15:24

I'm guessing that "P" is voltage magnitude, and "Q" is service factor? I just had pictured in my head all the assorted service providers (generators) scrambling to correct a major, but not critical, fault somewhere on the network. I feel pretty sure that someone has worked out a set of procedures for this; surely there is some type of co-ordination between plants. Or does the biggest guy set the order of march, and instruct the smaller plants to "fine tune" the balance? I certainly do not know enough about power distribution to understand it, and probably not enough to ask decent questions. But that has never stopped me before. :) How much time lapses from the time a fault occurs (say a breaker trips on a 500A load 10 miles away from the substation, which is in turn 50 miles away from the generating plant). Cycles? Milliseconds? Minutes? <als>

davidbeach (Electrical)

18 Nov 05 17:06

P is real power, Q is reactive power. 500A load at what voltage? 500A at any utilization voltage 4160V or below is a rounding error as far as grid capacity is concerned. Electric power is the one true just-in-time production and delivery system. When the load goes away, power ceases to be generated and the power angle of the generators increases. Where this is loss of load is small, the difference in power angle is insignificant. 500A at 480V is 415kW, less than 1/2 of 1% of the capacity of a 100MW generator. When a sudden loss of load is significant (maybe a 500A load at 230kV or higher), the excess power going into the generators causes the generators to increase in speed. One of three things can happen at that point: the generator operates at an increased, but stable, power angle until the input power is decreased to match the remaining load; the generator power angle increases at a rate that would lead to instability if allowed to continue, but the input power is reduced sufficiently fast enough, or load returns soon enough that stability is not lost; or the generator power angle increases to the point of instability and the generator starts slipping poles. It would take two 100MW generators running at full capacity to produce 500A at 230kV, so a plant running a few 100MW generators would have serious stability problems if it suddenly lost 500A at 230kW. The generator would know of its loss of load at a time equal to distance divided by the propagation velocity of the lines; for overhead lines this is very close to the speed of light.

fsmyth (Electrical)

18 Nov 05 20:58

First off, I want to thank all of you for having the patience to explain a very large subject to a very small mind. :) I just picked an arbitrary number (500A) because I figured it would be a noticable change at any location. I had figured the HV distribution to be some large multiple of 10kV, but did not know it was 230 kV. I had already picked up on most of what davidbeach posted from various other posts, and was/am more interested in what actually occurs in the real world. What actually got me wondering, was how in the heck all those wind generators are kept in concert (don't start with the inverter explanations, I pretty much got a grip on that). Which sorta led to wondering how all the generators tied to one grid were kept in sync. Surely there is added delay in substation transformers and other effects that come into play
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with miles of wire. I may be asking for more than I really want to know. :) <als>

davidbeach (Electrical)

19 Nov 05 13:10

Figure the effects are essentially instantaneous. Even if the propagation velocity through a transformer were reduced to 3 x 10^6 m/s (1/100 the speed in an overhead line), the transformer is so small that it doesn't matter. Also, fsmyth, please don't hit return at the end of each line when typing your posts. The forum software lines and your posts will be easier to read without all the short lines. Thanks. will handle the word wrap at the end of the

alehman (Electrical)

19 Nov 05 22:06

Every generator connected to the 'grid' is physically forced to be in sychronism. If it starts to get off, it will be pulled back by the grid or will be forced offline by its protection. There is nothing other than the transmission system itself to keep the generators synchornized. Over a very large distance, there may be a slight phase difference due to propagation velocity (essentially speed of light), but at 60Hz, the wavelength is 5000km. Phase shifts due to system impedances are much larger.

rmw (Mechanical)

22 Nov 05 8:14

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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - Apparent and Real Power

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Apparent and Real Power

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gladkenn (Mechanical)

28 Oct 05 6:24

HI guys, Can you explain to me the said subject. I seem to have forgetten it already. Am a mechanical engineer by profession. Thanks.

Senselessticker (Electrical)

28 Oct 05 8:15

To explain it simply: Apparent power is measured in Volt-Amps (usually kVA) Apparent Power = Voltage x Current Real Power is measured in Watts and takes into account power factor. Real Power = Apparent Power x power factor.

jghrist (Electrical)

28 Oct 05 8:32

See http://www.kilowattclassroom.com/Archive/PWR.pdf for a basic explanation.

cuky2000 (Electrical)

28 Oct 05 10:30

To explain the physical meaning of real (active) and apparent (reactive) power, consider an engine couple to a generator: - The power delivered in the shaft of the engine can be converted to active power by the generator witch is consumed by the load (ex. Motors, heating, lighting, etc). - The engine does not produce reactive power; however, the generator does. This power is used to magnetize the inductive components of circuits (ex. Motors, capacitor, line, ballast & transformers, etc.).This power keeps circulating in the system without requiring extra active power from the engine. The additional current produced by the demand of reactive power will increase the size and capacity of the electrical components such as cable, generators, transformer, etc.

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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - Apparent and Real Power

Fro additioanl reference see the enclose site http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/electricCircuits/AC/AC_11.html

unclebob (Electrical)

28 Oct 05 11:16

Here is a nice exemple: Suppose you have a glass of beer. The liquid represent real power because it quench your thirst! The suds or brew (or wathever you call it) on the top is reactive power, it takes places and does nothing to you. So, the glass contains both the liquid and the foam, that is apparent power!!

rmw (Mechanical)

28 Oct 05 12:04

I love unclebob's analogy. LOL. However, I have a question (also asked as an ME for whom reactive power is black art). Since the beer foam occupies space in the glass, doesn't that also require a larger glass? Asked on topic, since reactive power produces heat in the conductors rather than output in the driven motors, isn't the energy required to produce that heating of the conductors produced by the engine driving the generator? So, if you had a zero PF system (if there is such a thing) wouldn't the engine still have to produce the same HP to drive the generator to put all the power into heating conductors? More realistically asked, a system that had a highly inductive load of 50% PF wouldn't require half the engine to pull it as compared to a system with a purely resistive load at a PF of 1.0 would it? rmw

jghrist (Electrical)

28 Oct 05 13:44

The amount of beer left in the glass after downing it (losses) is small in comparison to the total volume of the glass, even though it is real beer, not useless foam.

rbulsara (Electrical)

28 Oct 05 14:22

rmw: On a sober note, the energy used in the heating will constitute part of the 'real' power part of the total (apparent power). I^2R losses. Reactive current in 'ideal' (zero resistance conductor) will not create heating.

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And yes, the engine only provides real (kW) power and no reactive power. So a system with 0.5 pf system and 100kVA of load, for example, will only require a 50kW (plus losses) rated engine. That is why, you can start a motor of kW rating same as an engine (after accounting for efficiecny losses), as long the alternater kVA rating is adequate to accomodate the starting kVA of the motor within acceptable voltage dip.

abcd3286 (Electrical)

29 Oct 05 0:21

OK supposedly there is no cost for reactive power ie what is required for magnetizing fields (motors etc). Several people said this is not developed by the engine (or other prime mover of an alternator). WHY then does Seattle city light (a utility with a few alternators) tell me they have to open the throttle if reactive load changes. ALSO if it is free why do they go thru the expense of power factor correction? AND why do they bill you for it if is free. To the bear and foam granted the foam is useless BUT are you able to make it for free?

itsmoked (Electrical)

29 Oct 05 0:30

Everything in the magnetic realm has to be built larger to carry the magnetizing currents. Hence the adder.

edison123 (Electrical)

29 Oct 05 0:46

Reactive power is a necessary evil - like beer froth * Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called "rush hour"? *

ijl (Electrical)

29 Oct 05 5:27

One more attempt to explain the apparent power: The momentary power at a given time in an electric circuit is equal to the momentary voltage times the momentary current. This is not a definition, but follows from the definition of power, voltage and current. The momentary power is of little practical use in an AC-network, because the current and voltage are functions of time. It is better to calculate the average power over one cycle. It is equal to the rms voltage times the rms current times the cosinus of the phase difference between the voltage and current. That is, P = U I cos(fii), where P is the power, U is the rms voltage and I is the rms current, and fii is the phase difference. The cos(fii) is also called the power factor, pf. Because cos(fii) appears in the expression of the power P, it is tempting :) to define another quantity, Q = U I sin(fii). This is the reactive power. The apparent power S is then the vector sum of the power P and the reactive power Q, S = sqrt(P*P + Q*Q). The reactive power and the apparent power do not have a direct physical interpretation. (I am afraid that the colleagues here might not agree with this view?) A load can generally be described as a resistance and an inductance in parallel. The power P is then the real, physical or proper power consumed in the resistance. It can be seen and felt as heat, mechanical power, etc. The reactive power is the powerlike quantity consumed in the inductance. It is related to the power that is oscillating between the load and the source. The apparent power can be seen as the requirement for the maximum capacity of a transmission line. This can be seen in the following way: The voltage U in a network is more or less constant. Thus, if the power factor is low, then the current must be high in order to get the same power as with load having a higher power factor. The transmission lines must be capable of passing this current. The losses in the transmission lines are equal to the resistance times the current squared. (Again ,this is not a definition, but can be derived using Ohms law and the expression for power.) Because the losses depend on the resistance of the wires, not on the reactance, they do not know about the power factor. This means that the wires can be considered (and dimensioned for) to transmit a real power equal to the apparent power, but with a power factor equal to one.
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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - Apparent and Real Power

The losses are apparently one of the reasons why the utilities do not like a low power factor, and why the power of the source must go up, when the power factor goes down.

rmw (Mechanical)

29 Oct 05 12:54

ijl, As a ME, I am hanging on by my fingernails trying to stay with you, but I think I understand what you said in your post. Here is what I specifically remember from an EE class (for non EE majors) during my university days. First, here is some background as to why I might have remembered this comment. I returned to college after a stint in the US Navy where had worked in the machinery spaces of warships. While I was obviously more interested as a future ME (a lot of what propelled me into the power side of Mechanical Engineering) in the boilers, pumps, and turbines, we did generate and distribute the ships electrical power, too. Upon returning to the University, I worked in the campus power house as a student utility worker, and while I had no significant operating responsibility, I was around the daily operations of the central power station, which included interactions with other utilities on the grid to which parts of the campus was connected. I said all that to say that I had some small limited amount of working knowledge of power generation, transmission, and distribution systems when I later attended my obligatory EE courses. I assume that when we are discussing reactive power, we are talking about the term I learned as VAR's????? I still see VAR meters on power company power panels. The way the professor described VARs to us, and yes, this was complete with vector diagrams, was to use the analogy of a freezing rainy winter day (in our part of the world, we get a lot of ice hanging on electrical lines during freezing rain events-often causing major system wide damage and outages) of the power company dispatcher calling up such and such a plant across the system and saying 'ship me some VARs.' Purpose being to get the ice off of the transmission wires. Based on your detailed and excellent post, I assume that this analogy he used would be a manner of speaking that would really mean 'lower the power factor so that the line losses pick up, heating the wires, and melting the ice off of them'. Am I anywhere near close in my understanding? I was about to dig into my personal library to see if I couldn't clear myself up on this, as I am in and out of a lot of power stations, and while power factor and VARs rarely interact with my work, often, such as in measuring pump work or generator output, it enters in. So, it is a peripheral issue to me. Thanks for the time you took in your above post. I give it a star. rmw

itsmoked (Electrical)

29 Oct 05 14:48

I think you have it. With respect to ijl's post which is nice. I would replace "momentary" with "instantaneous" but that may just be a USA semantic difference.

ITSTOAST (Electrical)

30 Oct 05 11:29

Itsmoked,I agree, the utility has to size its distribution system according to amperage and low P.F. costs them money. In return they charge my facilities $100K's per year for any percentage above or below unity. Yes, any. Its "Coming soon to your local provider" --start planning a strategy now.

ijl (Electrical)

31 Oct 05
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Electric Power & Transmission & Distribution - Apparent and Real Power

7:53 itsmoked, My instantaneous reaction to your comment was a momentary confusion (or the other way round, or neither? :)

RudyL54 (Electrical)

31 Oct 05 11:44

In the example, the glass is the cable capacity. So the glass should be taller to accomodate the beer suds. Easy to remember. Apparent power equals real power if the unit is perfect. No losses due to reactive impedance. However, in real life, there is no perfect system. So, it is well accepted that the apparent power should be slightly higher than real power. The factor added in the equation is known as the power factor (PF). Power (VA) = Power (watts) x PF Sources of power are rated in KVA or VA (Volts-Ampere)( ex. transformers, generators) while machines or equipment (ex. motors) that use power are rated in WATTS. Some times they are in HP (Horse Power)(=746 watts).

coconutalley (Electrical)

31 Oct 05 12:25

Can't resist -- already lot's of good answers at different views: Seattle City light wants you to get your Power Factor up because the more VA [apparent power] means to them that they have to generate more current [Amps] capacity--physically this means bigger generator and bigger wires.

itsmoked (Electrical)

31 Oct 05 13:00

Rudy's addition to the beer analogy is outstandingly correct! Wow... I am humbled...

RudyL54 (Electrical)

31 Oct 05 13:47

My apology. I mistyped X instead of /. So it should be Apparent Power (VA) = Real Power (in watts)/PF(power factor). Power factor is normally less than one. Thanks itsmoked for your comment.

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EE 3410 Electric Power

Fall 2003 Instructor: Ernest Mendrela

Generation of Electrical Energy

1.Fundamentals on generation of the voltage and mechanical force (torque) 1.1 Linear system Fig.1.1 illustrates the generation of electromotive force (EMF) voltage e, and mechanical force F. Symbols: B magnetic flux density, magnetic flux, i current, v - speed (a)
() N v
N

(b)

() N

e
l

B v

B F

e = B v l

F = B i l

Fig.1.1 Generation of: (a) EMF e (right hand rule), (b) force F (left hand rule) Fig.1.2 shows linear machines where in Fig.1.2.b is illustrated the generation of EMF e, in Fig.1.2.b generation of mechanical force F, and in Fig.1.2.c linear generator where the both e and F are produced if the winding circuit consisting of N turns is closed through the load impedance Zl. (a)
e N +
a

(b)

v
N

E = B v l N = e N

i N
F

+
a

F = B i l N

2 (c)

e
F

N v

i
l V

+ ZL
E = e N generator E >V

(d)

e N
F

+
E < V motor

l V

Fig.1.2 Linear electric machines: (a) generation of voltage e, (b) generation of force F, (c) linear generator, (d) linear motor 1.2. Rotary system Two-pole machine with a single coil (phase) is shown in Fig.1.3. The rotor with permanent magnets rotates at speed m. It induces the electromotive force e (EMF) (a)
Single-coil stator winding permanent magnet

(b)

salient-pole rotor
2

Coil

e
A1 A2

Fig.1.3 Cylindrical machine with a single-coil and permanent magnet rotor: a) machine, b) coil

3 changing sinusoidally with respect to the rotor position (Fig.1.4.a) and sinusoidally in time (Fig.1.4.b) according to the function:

e = E fm sin t
where: = 2 f , and = 2 p m (a)
e (EMF)

(1)

(b)
e (EMF)

/2

(Pole pitch)

Fig.1.4 Voltage induced in the coil: (a) as a function of rotational angle, (b) as a function of time If the coil is supplied by the current i the force (electromagnetic torque Tem) is produced. The direction of force acting on the coil is opposite to the force (electromagnetic torque Tem) acting on the rotor.

e
2

Fig.1.5 Force F (electromagnetic torque Tem) developed in the motor

4 2. Three-phase synchronous generator 2.1 Construction and principle of operation The 3-phase synchronous machine is shown in Fig.2.1. It consists of two parts: stator and rotor. Both, stator and rotor have windings. The stator winding is a 3-phase winding and is sometimes called the armature winding. The rotor winding is called the field winding, which is connected to dc supply through the slip rings and brushes. There are two types of rotors: Salient-pole rotor (Fig.2.1.a) for low-speed machines (e.g. hydro-generators) Cylindrical rotor (Fig.2.1.b) for high-speed machines (e.g. turbo-generators). (a)
3-phase stator winding
X
X

A1
X

rotor field winding

C2

B2

brushes

B1
X X

slip rings salient-pole rotor

f

A2

(b)
3-phase stator winding
X
X

A1
X

B2

A2

Fig.2.1 Construction scheme of synchronous machine with: (a) salient-pole rotor, (b) cylindrical rotor

C1

C1

cylindrical rotor rotor field winding

C2 f

brushes

B1
X

slip rings

5 The cylindrical rotor has one distributed winding and an essentially uniform air gap. The salient pole rotors have concentrated windings on the poles and a nonuniform air gap. 2.1.1 Synchronous generators When the field current flows through the rotor field winding it establishes a sinusoidally distributed flux in the air gap. If the rotor rotates the rotating magnetic field induces voltages in the stator windings. Since the three-phase windings are shifted by 120o angle from one another the induced, so called, excitation voltages are shifted in time from one another by the angle of 120o (Fig.2.2):
e A = E fm sin( t ) e B = E fm sin( t 120o ) eC = E fm sin( t 240o )

(2.1)

e eA eB eC

Fig.2.2 Waveforms of 3-phase voltages induced in the armature winding of the synchronous generator The rms excitation voltage in each phase is
Ef = E fm 2 = 4.44 f f NKw

(2.2)

where:

f is the magnetic flux due to the excitation current,

N is the number of turns in each phase, Kw is the winding factor.

The frequency of the induced voltage is related to the rotor speed by:

n=

120 f p
n p 120

(2.3)

f =

(2.4)

where: n is the rotor speed in rpm, p is the number of poles

2.1.2 Synchronous motors

If the synchronous machine operates as a motor the 3-phase armature winding is connected to 3-phase ac supply. The stator currents produce the rotating magnetic flux. The field winding connected to dc source produces the magnetic flux, steady with respect to the rotor. To produce the torque these two magnetic fluxes cannot move with respect to one another. It means, that the rotor should rotate with the same speed as the rotating flux produced by the stator (Fig.2.3). When the machine operates as a generator the rotor is driven by the external machine and the stator rotating field follows the rotor being shifted with respect to the rotor by the angle (Fig.2.3a). When operating as the synchronous motor the rotor follows the stator rotating field by the angle (- ) (Fig.2.3.b). The motor at zero rotor speed does not develop any torque. To make the motor operate the rotor should reach first the synchronous speed. The methods of starting the synchronous motor will be discussed later. (a)
s f a

(b)
s a s f

Fig.2.3 Explanation to the operation of: (a) synchronous generator, and (b) synchronous motor

7 In the following sections, first the steady-state performance of the synchronous machine with cylindrical rotor and unsaturated magnetic circuit will be studied. Then, the effect of saliency in the rotor poles will be considered.
2.2 Equivalent circuit model

The equivalent circuit will be derived on a per-phase basis. The current If in the field winding produces the f flux. The current Ia in the stator produces flux a. Part of it as, known as the leakage flux does not links with the field winding. A major part ar, known as the armature reaction flux links with the field winding. The resultant air gap flux is therefore due to the two components fluxes f and a. Each component flux induces a component voltage in the stator winding: f Ef ,

ar Ear , as Eas , and the resultant flux: E .

The excitation voltage Ef can be found from the open circuit curve of Fig.2.4. However, the voltage Ear (known as the armature reaction voltage), and the voltage Eas depend on armature current. Therefore they can be presented as the voltage drops across the reactances: Xar reactance of armature reaction and Xas leakage reactance. This is shown in the equivalent circuit of a synchronous machine (only stator circuit is considered) in Fig.2.5.a.

Ef

0
Fig.2.4 Open-circuit characteristic of the synchronous generator

If

8 (a)

Ia

X ar

X as

Ra

Ef

ZL

(b)

Ia

Xs

Ra

Ef

ZL

(c)

Ia

Zs

Ef

ZL

Fig.2.5 Synchronous machine equivalent circuit: (a) armature reaction reactance Xar, armature leakage reactance Xas, (b) synchronous reactance Xs, (c) armature impedance Zs

9 The relations between these voltages are as follows:

E = E f E ar
or

(2.5) (2.6)

E = E f jX ar I a
The voltage equation for the whole circuit is (Fig.2.5.a):

V = E f Ra I a jX as I a jX ar I a
or (Fig.2.5.b)

(2.7)

V = E f Ra I a jX s I a
or (Fig.2.5.c)

(2.8)

V = E f Zs I a
where: X s = X ar + X as - synchronous reactance Z s = Ra + jX s - synchronous impedance

(2.9)

The phasor diagram for generator and motor operation is shown in Fig.2.6. The terminal voltage is taken as the reference phasor. The angle between V and Ef, known as the power angle, is positive for generating action and negative for the motoring action. This angle referred to the mutual position of field winding flux and armature winding flux is shown in Fig.2.3. In generating operation the rotor flux f (the rotor is driven by the external machine-turbine) is pulling the stator flux and the angle is positive, while in motoring operation the stator flux a is pulling the rotor. (a)
Ef Ia V RaI a
Ia

(b)
Ef O V C Qi Xs I a

A P B

Xs I a

10 (c)
V Ia Ef Ra Ia Xs I a
O Ia V C Xs I a Ef

(d)

Qi B P A

Fig.2.6 Phasor diagrams for: (a) synchronous generator with the armature resistance Ra and (b) without Ra; (c) synchronous motor with the armature resistance Ra and (d) without Ra
2.3 Power and torque characteristics

The complex power at the terminals is

S = mVI a

(2.10)

The stator current from the equivalent circuit (Fig.2.5.c):

E f V E f V I = = Zs Zs Zs a

= =

Ef Zs s Ef Zs

V 0 Zs s V Zs s

(2.11)

( s )

2 V Ef V ( s ) s S = m Zs Zs

(2.12)

2 V Ef V S = m cos( s ) cos s Zs Zs 2 V Ef V S = m sin( s ) sin s Zs Zs

(2.13)

(2.14)

11 In large synchronous machines Ra << Xs, thus Zs = Xs and s = 90o. From the above equations:
P=m V Ef Zs sin( )

(2.15)

2 V Ef V cos( ) Q = m Zs Zs

(2.16)

The Eq.2.15 can be directly derived from the phasor diagram drawn for Ra = 0 (Fig.2.6.b and d). In general, the active power
P = mVI a cos

(2.17)

and reactive power

Q = mVI a sin

(2.18)

From the phasor diagram the section:

AB = X s I a cos , or AB = E f sin

(2.19) (2.20)

From these two formulae:

X s I a cos = E f sin , and

I a cos = Combining Eq.2.22 and 2.17 we get: Ef Xs sin

(2.21)
(2.22)

P=m

VE f Xs

sin

(2.23)

Because the stator losses are neglected in this analysis, the power developed at the terminals is also the air gap power. The torque developed by the machine is:
T= P

(2.24)

12 Inserting Eq.2.23 to 2.24: T= m VE f sin s Xs (2.25)

The torque-power angle characteristic drawn at V = const, and If = const is shown in Fig.2.7. The maximum torque, known also as the pull-out torque is at = 90o. The machine will lose synchronism if > 90o. The pull-out torque can be increased by increasing the excitation current If.
T Tmax

/2

/2

motor

generator

Fig.2.7 Torque-power angle characteristic

2.4 Power factor control

Looking at phasor diagram we see that:

AB = X s I a cos P , and CB = X s I a sin Q

(2.26) (2.27)

If the synchronous machine is connected to the system with V = const. and f = const, and the power on the rotor shaft P = const, then changing the field current If the induced voltage Ef changes too and the locus of the voltage Ef (Fig.2.8) is the horizontal line p (point A slides on p line). At the same time the current Ia changes too and its locus is also straight line i, perpendicular to phasor V. When the field current changes the section CB , which symbolizes the reactive power Q changes too. For the low field current If1 (point A1) the reactive power is capacitive, the stator current Ia1 is large and leading. This state is called under-excitation.

13

E f1

E f2 A1 A2

E f3 A3 P V p

I a1 O I a2

I a3 i

Qc

Fig.2.8 Operation of synchronous generator at constant active power P and constant voltage and frequency At point A2 the field current is equal If2, the armature current is minimum Ia2 and is in phase with voltage V (PF = 1) and the reactive power Q (section CB ) is zero. This state is called normal excitation. For larger field current If = If3 (point A3) the stator current Ia3 is large again and is lagging and the reactive power Q is inductive.

Ia

PF PF PF = 1 P>0 P=0

PFc = 0
(capacitive load)

PFi = 0
(inductive load)

0
underexcitation overexcitation

If

Fig.2.9 V-curves characteristics of machine operating at constant voltage V and frequency

14 The variation of the stator current with the field current for constant-power operation is shown in Fig.2.9. The set of characteristics drawn for different power are known as Vcurves because of their shape. The variation of the power factor with the field current (dashed curves) are inverted V-curves. This feature of the power factor control by the field current is utilized to improve the power factor of a plant. If the synchronous machine is not transferring any power but is simply floating on the infinite bus, the power factor is zero. The stator current either leads or lags the stator voltage by 90o (Fig.2.10). The magnitude of the stator current changes as the field current is changed, but the stator current is always reactive. The machine behaves like a variable inductor or capacitor as the field current is changed. Therefore, the unloaded synchronous machine is called a synchronous condenser and may be used to regulate the receiving-end voltage of a long power transmission line. (a)

Ia Ef Xs I a V

(b)

Ef

Xs I a Qi

Ia
Fig.2.10 Operation of the synchronous machine as a synchronous condenser: machine deliver to the load (infinite bus) (a) capacitive reactive power, (b) inductive power

2.5 Operation of synchronous machine as an independent generator

Synchronous machines are normally connected to an infinite bus. However, small synchronous generators may be required to supply independent electric loads. As an example, a gasoline engine can drive the synchronous generator at constant frequency. In such a system, the terminal voltage tends to change with varying load. To determine the terminal characteristics of an independent synchronous generator, consider the equivalent circuit in Fig.2.11. At open circuit V = Ef, Ia = 0, and at short circuit V = 0, Ia = Isc = Ef/Xs. If the load current is changed from 0 to Isc, the terminal voltage V will change from Ef to zero. Fig.2.12 illustrates these changes in form of V-I characteristics drawn for various PF of the load. For the purely reactive load: V = E f jX s I a (28)

and from the phasor diagram the straight line V-I characteristic is concluded for pure inductive and pure capacitive load.

15

Ia

Xs

Ef

ZL

Fig.2.11 Equivalent circuit of synchronous generator operating on the load ZL

V PFc = 0 Ef PF = 1

PFi = 0

I sc

Ia

Fig.2.12 V-I characteristics of synchronous machine operating as an independent generator

2.6 Salient pole synchronous machine

Low speed multipolar synchronous machine has salient poles and nonuniform air gap (Fig.2.13). The magnetic reluctance is low along the poles (d-axis) and high between poles (q-axis). If the flux a produced by the armature (stator) current is aligned with daxis the current Ia experiences reactance Xad. Such a reactance experiences the stator

16 current for cylindrical rotor, independently on the rotor position with respect to stator flux a. When the stator flux takes the position parallel to the q-axis the armature reaction reactance for the stator current is Xaq, smaller than Xad. Thus, the armature reaction reactance changes vs. power angle as is shown in Fig.2.14.

= 90

o a

Fig.2.13 Armature reaction magnetic flux a of synchronous machine with salient poles, directed along q-axis

Xa X ad

X aq /2

Fig.2.14 Variation of armature reaction reactance Xa along the stator circumference of the salient pole synchronous machine

17 When the power angle varies (the mutual position of stator flux and the rotor) the unexcited rotor experiences the torque called reluctance torque, what illustrates Fig.2.15. This torque changes according to equation:
Tr = m V2 1 1 sin 2 X X s 2 q d (2.29)

The excited salient synchronous machine develops the resultant torque that is the sum of electromagnetic torque and reluctance torque:

T=

1 m VE f m V2 1 sin + sin 2 = Tem + Tr s X s s 2 Xq Xd

(2.30)

T Tmax TEm + TR TEm TR /2 /2

motor

generator

Fig.2.15 Torque-power angle characteristics of synchronous machine with salient-pole rotor The torque-power angle characteristics drawn at different excitation currents and constant terminal voltage V are shown in Fig.2.16. For salient pole machine the field current may be reduced to zero and the reluctance torque can keep machine still in synchronism.

18

T
< < <

I f1

I f2

I f3

If = 0 /2

Fig.2.16 Torque-power angle characteristics of synchronous machine with salient-pole rotor at various field currents

2.7 Connection of a synchronous generator to the infinite bus

Synchronous generators are rarely used to supply the individual loads. These generators, in general, are connected to a power system known as an infinite bus or grid. The voltage and frequency of the infinite bus hardly change. The operation of connecting a synchronous generator to the infinite bus is known as paralleling with the infinite bus. Before the generator can be connected to the infinite bus, the incoming generator and the infinite bus must have the same: Voltage, Frequency, Phase sequence, Phase. In the power plant the satisfaction of these conditions is checked by an instrument known as a synchronoscope. Fig.2.17 illustrates the situation when one of the above mentions quantities are not equal: 1) Rms voltages are not the same, but frequency and phase sequence are the same: - Fig.2.17.a 2) Frequencies are not the same, but voltages and phase sequences are the same: Fig.2.17.b 3) Phase sequences are not the same, but voltages and frequencies are are the same: - Fig.2.17.c 4) Phase is not the same, but voltage, frequency and phase sequence are the same: - Fig.2.17.d.

19 (a)
V VS EG

(b)
G

VS EG

V G=

(c)
VS EG
C A A

(d)
V
A

VS G EG
EG
A

G=

VS EG
B

VS

Fig.2.17 Phasor diagrams illustrating the situation when one of the conditions for equal instantaneous generator and infinite base voltages are not met

Each case mentioned above causes the voltage difference across the switch (between generator and infinite bus terminals) and if are connected it will produce a disastrous situation for the generator.

Power Factor The Basics

OK. I ve heard a lot about this power factor stuff. What exactly is it? We hope to give you an easy explanation of what power factor is, and to answer the following most asked questions:

Question #1: What is Power Factor? Question #2: What Causes Low Power Factor? Question #3: Why Should I Improve My Power Factor? Question #4: How Do I Correct (Improve) My Power Factor? Question #5: How Long Will It Take My Investment in Power Factor Correction to Pay for Itself? Question #6: What is the Next Step?

Question #1: What is Power Factor?

Super. I m ready to find out what power factor is. To understand power factor, we ll first start with the definition of some basic terms: KW is Working Power (also called Actual Power or Active Power or Real Power). It is the power that actually powers the equipment and performs useful work. KVAR is Reactive Power. It is the power that magnetic equipment (transformer, motor and relay) needs to produce the magnetizing flux. KVA is Apparent Power. It is the vectorial summation of KVAR and KW.

Let s look at a simple analogy in order to better understand these terms

Let s say you are at the ballpark and it is a really hot day. You order up a mug of your favorite brewsky. The thirst-quenching portion of your beer is represented by KW (Figure 1). Unfortunately, life isn t perfect. Along with your ale comes a little bit of foam. (And let s face it that foam just doesn t quench your thirst.) This foam is represented by KVAR. The total contents of your mug, KVA, is this summation of KW (the beer) and KVAR (the foam).

Figure 1

So, now that we understand some basic terms, we are ready to learn about power factor: Power Factor (P.F.) is the ratio of Working Power to Apparent Power. P.F. = KW KVA Looking at our beer mug analogy above, power factor would be the ratio of beer (KW) to beer plus foam (KVA).

P.F. =

KW KW + KVAR Beer Beer + Foam

.=

Thus, for a given KVA: The more foam you have (the higher the percentage of KVAR), the lower your ratio of KW (beer) to KVA (beer plus foam). Thus, the lower your power factor. The less foam you have (the lower the percentage of KVAR), the higher your ratio of KW (beer) to KVA (beer plus foam). In fact, as your foam (or KVAR) approaches zero, your power factor approaches 1.0.

Our beer mug analogy is a bit simplistic. In reality, when we calculate KVA, we must determine the vectorial summation of KVAR and KW. Therefore, we must go one step further and look at the angle between these vectors.

Let s look at another analogy Mac here is dragging a heavy load (Figure 2). Mac s Working Power (or Actual Power) in the forward direction, where he most wants his load to travel, is KW. Unfortunately, Mac can t drag his load on a perfect horizontal (he would get a tremendous backache), so his shoulder height adds a little Reactive Power, or KVAR. The Apparent Power Mac is dragging, KVA, is this vectorial summation of KVAR and KW.

Figure 2

The Power Triangle (Figure 3) illustrates this relationship between KW, KVA, KVAR, and Power Factor:

The Power Triangle

KVA KVAR

KW P.F. = KW KVA KVAR KVA KVA = = COS

= SIN

KW2 + KVAR2

KV * I *

Figure 3

Note that in an ideal world looking at the beer mug analogy: KVAR would be very small (foam would be approaching zero) KW and KVA would be almost equal (more beer; less foam) Similarly in an ideal world looking at Mac s heavy load analogy: KVAR would be very small (approaching zero) KW and KVA would be almost equal (Mac wouldn t have to waste any power along his body height) The angle (formed between KW and KVA) would approach zero Cosine would then approach one Power Factor would approach one

So

In order to have an efficient system (whether it is the beer mug or Mac dragging a heavy load), we want power factor to be as close to 1.0 as possible. Sometimes, however, our electrical distribution has a power factor much less than 1.0. Next, we ll see what causes this.

Question #2: What Causes Low Power Factor?

Great. I now understand what power factor is. But I ve been told mine is low. What did I do to cause this? Since power factor is defined as the ratio of KW to KVA, we see that low power factor results when KW is small in relation to KVA. Remembering our beer mug analogy, this would occur when KVAR (foam, or Mac s shoulder height) is large. What causes a large KVAR in a system? The answer is inductive loads.

Inductive loads (which are sources of Reactive Power) include: Transformers Induction motors Induction generators (wind mill generators) High intensity discharge (HID) lighting These inductive loads constitute a major portion of the power consumed in industrial complexes. Reactive power (KVAR) required by inductive loads increases the amount of apparent power (KVA) in your distribution system (Figure 4). This increase in reactive and apparent power results in a larger angle (measured between KW and KVA). Recall that, as increases, cosine (or power factor) decreases.

KVA KVAR KVA KVAR

KW
Figure 4

KW

So, inductive loads (with large KVAR) result in low power factor.

Question #3: Why Should I Improve My Power Factor?

Okay. So I ve got inductive loads at my facility that are causing my power factor to be low. Why should I want to improve it? You want to improve your power factor for several different reasons. Some of the benefits of improving your power factor include: 1) Lower utility fees by: a. Reducing peak KW billing demand Recall that inductive loads, which require reactive power, caused your low power factor. This increase in required reactive power (KVAR) causes an increase in required apparent power (KVA), which is what the utility is supplying. So, a facility s low power factor causes the utility to have to increase its generation and transmission capacity in order to handle this extra demand. By lowering your power factor, you use less KVAR. This results in less KW, which equates to a dollar savings from the utility. b. Eliminating the power factor penalty Utilities usually charge customers an additional fee when their power factor is less than 0.95. (In fact, some utilities are not obligated to deliver electricity to their customer at any time the customer s power factor falls below 0.85.) Thus, you can avoid this additional fee by increasing your power factor. 2) Increased system capacity and reduced system losses in your electrical system By adding capacitors (KVAR generators) to the system, the power factor is improved and the KW capacity of the system is increased. For example, a 1,000 KVA transformer with an 80% power factor provides 800 KW (600 KVAR) of power to the main bus. 1000 KVA = KVAR = 600 (800 KW)2 + ( ? KVAR)2

By increasing the power factor to 90%, more KW can be supplied for the same amount of KVA. 1000 KVA = KVAR = 436 (900 KW)2 + ( ? KVAR)2

The KW capacity of the system increases to 900 KW and the utility supplies only 436 KVAR. Uncorrected power factor causes power system losses in your distribution system. By improving your power factor, these losses can be reduced. With the current rise in the cost of energy, increased facility efficiency is very desirable. And with lower system losses, you are also able to add additional load to your system. 3) Increased voltage level in your electrical system and cooler, more efficient motors As mentioned above, uncorrected power factor causes power system losses in your distribution system. As power losses increase, you may experience voltage drops. Excessive voltage drops can cause overheating and premature failure of motors and other inductive equipment. So, by raising your power factor, you will minimize these voltage drops along feeder cables and avoid related problems. Your motors will run cooler and be more efficient, with a slight increase in capacity and starting torque.

Question #4 How Do I Correct (Improve) My Power Factor?

All right. You ve convinced me. I sure would like to save some money on my power bill and extend the life of my motors. But how do I go about improving (i.e., increasing) my power factor? We have seen that sources of Reactive Power (inductive loads) decrease power factor: Transformers Induction motors Induction generators (wind mill generators) High intensity discharge (HID) lighting Similarly, consumers of Reactive Power increase power factor: Capacitors Synchronous generators (utility and emergency) Synchronous motors Thus, it comes as no surprise that one way to increase power factor is to add capacitors to the system. This--and other ways of increasing power factor--are listed below: 1) Installing capacitors (KVAR Generators) Installing capacitors decreases the magnitude of reactive power (KVAR or foam), thus increasing your power factor. Here is how it works (Figure 5) Reactive power (KVARS), caused by inductive loads, always acts at a 90-degree angle to working power (KW). Capacitance (KVAR)

Working Power (KW) Reactance (KVAR) Figure 5

Inductance and capacitance react 180 degrees to each other. Capacitors store KVARS and release energy opposing the reactive energy caused by the inductor. The presence of both a capacitor and inductor in the same circuit results in the continuous alternating transfer of energy between the two. Thus, when the circuit is balanced, all the energy released by the inductor is absorbed by the capacitor. Following is an example of how a capacitor cancels out the effect of an inductive load . 2) Minimizing operation of idling or lightly loaded motors. We already talked about the fact that low power factor is caused by the presence of induction motors. But, more specifically, low power factor is caused by running induction motors lightly loaded. 3) Avoiding operation of equipment above its rated voltage. 4) Replacing standard motors as they burn out with energy-efficient motors. Even with energy-efficient motors, power factor is significantly affected by variations in load. A motor must be operated near its rated load in order to realize the benefits of a high power factor design.

Question #5 How Long Will It Take my Investment in Power Factor Correction to Pay for Itself?
Super, I ve learned that by installing capacitors at my facility, I can improve my power factor. But buying capacitors costs money. How long will it take for the reduction in my power bill to pay for the cost of the capacitors? A calculation can be run to determine when this payoff will be. As an example, assume that a portion of your facility can be modeled as in Figure 6 below. Your current power factor is 0.65. Following are the parameters for your original system: 163 KW load 730 hours per month 480 Volt, 3 phase service 5% system losses Load PF = 65% PSE Rate Schedule: Energy Rate = $4.08 per KWH Demand Charge = $2.16 per KW PF Penalty = $0.15 per KVARH

Figure 6

We ll calculate the total amount the utility charges you every month as follows: First, we ll calculate your energy usage: 163 KW X 730 Hours/Month X $4.08/KWH = $4,854.79/Month Next, we ll calculate your demand charge: 163 KW X $2.16/KW = $352.08/Month Finally, we ll calculate your Power Factor Penalty: 190 KVAR X 730 Hours/Month X $0.15/KVARH = $208/Month

Now, let s say that you decide to install a capacitor bank (Figure 7). The 190 KVAR from the capacitor cancels out the 190 KVAR from the inductive motor. Your power factor is now 1.0. Following are your parameters for your system with capacitors: Corrected PF = 1.0

Figure 7

You can calculate your loss reduction: Loss Reduction = 1-(0.652 / 1.002) = 0.58 Therefore, your system loss reduction will be as follows: 0.58 X 0.05 (losses) = 0.029 System Loss Reduction Your total KW load will be reduced as follows: 163 KW X 0.029 = 4.7 KW

Now we can calculate your savings in energy usage: 4.7 KW X 730 Hours/Month X $4.08/KWH = $141.00/Month Next, we ll calculate your savings in demand charge: 4.7 KW X $2.16/KW = $10.15/Month Finally, remember that your Power Factor Penalty is zero.

Let s calculate how long it will take for this capacitor bank to pay for itself. Capacitor Cost = $30.00/KVAR Your savings per month are as follows: $141.00 Energy Usage $ 10.15 Demand Charge $208.00 PF Penalty Charge $359.15 Total Your payback will be at the following time: $30.00/KVAR X 190 KVAR/$359/Month = 16 Months Installation of your capacitors will pay for themselves in 16 months.

Question #6 What is the next step?

Terrific. I think I should take a look at the power factor at my facility and see what I can do to improve it. So what do I do next? Power Systems Engineering can assist you in determining the optimum power factor correction for your facility. We can also help you to correctly locate and provide tips on installing capacitors in your electrical distribution system. Feel free to call us, fax us, e-mail us, and continue to check us out on the web. We would be happy to talk to you about your specific application. Telephone: Fax: E-mail: Web: (253) 639-8535 (253) 639-8685 fuhr@powerstudies.com www.powerstudies.com