IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY AND GENERAL APPLICATIONS, VOL. IGA-7, NO.

6, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1971 729

Interpretation and Use of Generator Reactive

Capability Diagrams
J. Y. JACKSON, MEMBER, IEEE

Abstract-The operating characteristics of generators are dis- z

cussed with particular emphasis on those used in the generation of 4 t l.O FIELD WINDING l
power for industry. Methods of operation of generators within safe J HEAT LIMlTATION
limits are presented and related to a reactive capability curve. ~0.0 - -
1 _RATED PF
3_ 8 LAGGING
t_ 0.6 _ _ /t ARMATURE WIN DING
> HEATING LIMIlTATION
INTRODUCTION
w
pOWER requirements for consumers, including in- +0.2
dustrial requirements, historically have doubled every z
'hi

10 years, which is approximately 7 percent per year. At X. 0.2 0.4 0.6 D.8 I.O 1L2 I.44
present it appears that requirements are increasing 9 per- w KILOWATTS PER UNIT
F-0.2 0-95 PFi
cent per year, or doubling every 8 years. These predictions ~i /LEADING
or forecasts indicate nothing concerning the power factor = -0.4 -
of these load increases, which is a very real consideration zi-0.6*.E_< ARMATURE CORE
to the power producer, introducing a problem in specifying E
END IRON HEATIMIG

additional capacity and in properly loading existing gen-
erators. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some
operating characteristics of generators with particular em-
phasis on those used in the generation of power for industry
and to discuss methods of operation of generators within
safe limits and to relate a reactive capability curve to the
operation of generators.
The discussions in this paper apply to conventionally
cooled round-rotor generators. These are cooled by the
transfer of conductor heat through the insulation to the
cooling medium, as opposed to those larger machines which
are cooled by the direct contact of the cooling medium
with the copper, normally called conductor-cooled ma-
chines.
Generators are designed to meet temperature limitations
at their rating. It is obvious that the generator will not
always be operated at these exact conditions of kVA and
power factor. As a guide to the operation of each genera-
tor, a reactive capability curve for the specific generator is
normally included with the instruction book.
REACTIVE CAPABILITY CURVE
A typical curve of this type is shown in Fig. 1. This
curve is normally constructed as shown with the abscissa
as kW and the ordinate as leading or lagging reactive kVA
with reference to the generator. Lagging reactive kVA is
plotted as a positive value and referred to as an over-
Paper 71 TP 75-IGA, approved by the Pulp and Paper Industry
Committee of the IEEE IGA Group for presentation at the 1971
IEEE Pulp and Paper Industry Technical Conference, Savannah,
Ga., April 21-23. Manuscript received July 23, 1971.
The author is with the Medium Steam Turbine Generator De-
partment, General Electric Company, Lynn, Mass. 01905.
- __JJIi
<
w -0__ LIMITATION
0
Fig. 1.
excited condition of the machine. Leading reactive kVA is
plotted as a negative value and referred to as an under-
excited condition of the generator. Any type of balanced
loading within the area bounded by this curve is considered
safe operation by the designer.
Consider the center portion of the curve BCD in Fig. 1.
This is a circle of constant kVA. Operation on this portion
of the curve is limited by armature winding heating. For
example, point B is the intersection of the curve with a line
drawn from the rated power factor of the generator to the
zero point. Point C is the intersection of the curve and the
unity power-factor point, and point D is the intersection
of this curve with a power-factor line above which heating
of stationary end structures will be within safe limits.
Consider the portion of the curve AB. This is the portion
which limits operation of the generator to safe heating
limitations of the field. For our purpose this is a curve of
constant field current. The portion of the curve DE limits
the operation of the generator at leading power factors and
is determined by the limitations of heating on stationary
end structure parts of the generator such as the clamping
flanges, core clamping fingers, end punchings, etc. If the
assumption is made that the generator is operated into an
infinite bus, the generator is not limited by stability con-
siderations within this portion of the curve. In order to
obtain a better understanding of the limitations indicated
by Fig. 1, some of the operating characteristics of a typical
generator will be discussed.
730 IEEE' TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY AND GENERAL APPLICATIONS, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1971

FIELD HEATING 1
E I

Refer again to AB in Fig. 1, which has been indicated as

limiting because of field heating or field current. The major \1 la
losses in a generator field that must be dissipated to the
cooling medium are the If2Rf and the losses in the pole Fig. 2.
faces which are a function of armature current and har-
monics in the armature current. As the major portion of Ev
the heat generated is a function of field current, consider
the effect of variations in armature current and reactive _ ,,/~~~~~IaXXa~
kVA on field current. E
Refer to the vector diagram in Fig. 2. The vector E is \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,j -r- s -
4

the voltage at the terminals of the generator. I, is the cur- Ia N

rent from each phase of the generator determined by the
load connected to the terminals. Note that this current is Fig. 3.
not in phase with the terminal voltage, but lags it by an
angle 6. This is the power-factor angle and the power factor Id
is simply the cosine of this angle 6. This current has a com-
ponent of current which is in phase with the vector E, Ia cos
6. The product of Ela cos 6 is the real power generated by the
machine. There is another component of this current, Ia sin
6, which is at right angles to E and is the reactive compo-
nent of the total current. The magnitude and angle of this
current is determined by the load, not the generator or
prime mover. The product of E Ia sin 6 is the familiar re- Fig. 4.
active volt-amperes. If effects of saturation are neglected,
there is a voltage drop in the generator itself due to leakage
reactance Xim, which is perpendicular to or leads the arma- If
Ksat I/|Xds
ture current by 900. Adding this vector 1aXim to E results / Ksat-
in a voltage E, generated in the machine. (See Fig. 3.)
In addition to this voltage drop there is a magneto- / I
motive force (MMF) required to balance the armature Fg E
reaction, which is a function of armature current. This can
be thought of as a voltage drop proportional to an arma- Io
ture i eaction reactance and the armature current or effec- Fig. 5.
tive magnetizing reactance. This voltage drop is IaXad and
is shown in Fig. 4. The vector sum of the terminal voltage,
1aXZm and IaXad, results in a fictitious voltage Ed required to From (1),
be generated by field 1MMF to furnish a real voltage E at (PkWXds PkvrXds
2

the terminals of the generator. This is the voltage behind =-K (4)
KsatE KsatE
the synchronous reactance (Xhm + Xad). The field MMF KIat
necessary to generate the voltage Ed is shown leading Ed PkW2 + (Pkvar +
2

by 90° and is indicated as the vector Id in Fig. 4.

)
~(5)
Kx4J

There are several definite relationships between armature

current, power-factor angle, and field current given by the If Ksat and Xds were constant, (5) would be the equation
of a circle of radius Elf/Xd, with center at coordinates
equations which follow. From the vector diagram in = 0 and Pkvar = -KsatE2/Xd, giving a circle diagram.
Fig. 5, PkW
However, Ksat and Xd, are not constant but vary with
(If )2 X Ids 2 IaXds \2 saturation, and the following will apply for Pkvar. Solving
Ksat =~+Ksat si 1 Ksat cs6) 1 (5) for Pkvar,
Pkvar = i [(XEl 2
- 112 KsatxE2
From Fig. 2 it can be seen that
L\ar~ -d
X4,
P
Xds
(6)

Ia cos 61 =
Pkw
E (2) The minus sign preceding the brackets in (6) corresponds
to unstable operation or pull out. Therefore, only results
having a plus sign are of any significance for this discussion.
Pkvar (3) Equation (6) shows why kilowatts PkW must be* de-
Ia sin 0 =
E creased as reactive power Pkvar iS increased over the portion
JACKSON: GENERATOR REACTIVE CAPABILITY- DIAGRAMS
Fig. 6. End structure of typical turbine generator showing flux
pattern.
AB of the curve in order to keep the field current If con-
stant at the rated value. As a guide to operation in the
lagging power-factor region, the manufacturer normally
furnishes a curve for this portion AB of the reactive ca-
pability curve. If the machine is operated within the limits
of this portion of the curve, excessive heating of the field
can be prevented.
ARMATURE HEATING
The portion of the curve in Fig. 1 labeled BCD is a
circle about the origin having a radius of constant rated
kVA. In this operating zone armature current is limited to
rated value to prevent overheating of the armature wind-
ing. The field current in this region is less than rated values
except at the power factor for which the machine was
designed, i.e., point B.
END HEATING OF STATIONARY PARTS
The portion of the curve in Fig. 1 marked DE limits
operation in this region because of heating in the stationary
parts of the end structure of the armature supporting
structure. A typical end structure for a round-rotor tur-
bine-driven generator is shown in Fig. 6. Armature cur-
rents cause considerable leakage flux to leave the end of the
armature core axially. This flux passes through the retain-
ing rings and reenteis the core one pole pitch away. This
flux is revolving at synchronous speed and links stationary
parts of the end structure causing heating in the ends of the
core, the supporting structure, and the armature winding
end turns-. The magnitude of leakage flux is primarily a
function of armature current, field excitation, and the
reluctance of the flux paths.
Field excitation has a significant effect because as excita-
tion increases, rotor leakage flux saturates the retaining
rings and increases the reluctance of the path from one
731
30 PSIG hZ
_15 PSIGi-
25 5 PI<G Fe-2
20 - 5 1
49 185 t 00 X
-J
t
4
5 10
, . I.O~ ~ ~.0PFI ,
15 20 25 30
L35 40 45
-MEGAWATTS-
uIJ
4
-j 15---X m ))
25I
Fig. 7. Estimated generator reactive capability curves: ATB, 2 pole,
44 000 kVA, 3600 r/min, 13 800 V, 0.85 PF.
armature pole to the other. At leading power factors,
excitation is low and the effect of saturation in the retain-
ing rings is small, so that capabilities of the generator must
be reduced to prevent excessive heating of the stationary
end structure. It is interesting to note that end heating
limits are reached well before steady-state stability limits
are a consideration.
USE OF REACTIVE CAPABILITY CURVE
Fig. 7 is a typical estimated reactive capability curve for
a 44 000-kVA 3600-r/min 0.85-power factor (PF) genera-
tor rated at 30 psig hydrogen casing pressure and having
somewhat lower capabilities at 0.5 psig and 15 psig. The
central portion of the curve between 0.85 PF lagging and
0.95 PF leading is a constant kVA circle with center at
PkW = 0, Pkvar = 0 having a radius of 44 000 kVA or the
rating of the machine. The curve indicates that at Pkvar =
0, or at unity power factor, the generator may be operated
at 44 000 kW. At 0.85 PF lagging the generator will carry
44 000 kVA; 44 000 X 0.85 = 37 400 kW, as indicated by
the curve at point B. The reactive kVA at 0.85 PF is
23 000 kvar lagging. From another viewpoint, the allow-
able lagging reactive kVA when carrying 20 000 kW is
found to be 30 500 kvar by reading from 20 000 kW to
point X and across from point X to the ordinate which
gives 30 500 kvar. In the same Imanner, while carrying
20 000 kW the allowable leading kvar is found by going
from 20 000 kW to point Y and from point Y to the
ordinate which gives an allowable reactive kVA leading of
19 500 kvar.
The curve in Fig. 7 labeled 15 psig H2 indicates that the
rating of the machine has decreased about 1/2 percent in
rating for each lb/in2 drop in H2 casing pressure, or about
7.5 percent. In a similar manner, the rating will drop ap-
proximately 1 percent for each lb/in2 drop in casing pres-
732 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY AND GENERAL APPLICATIONS, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1971

sure between the 15-psig capability and the 0.50-psig power factor should be considered. Operation in accord-
capability. At these casing pressures these curves may be ance with the curves furnished with each generator will
used in the same manner as described for the 30-psig rating. assure the operator of obtaining maximum reliability and
For casing pressures inbetween these curves the approxi- life from the generator.
mate rule that was given may be used safely. Reduce kVA
rating by 1/2 percent/psig for the first 15-psig drop in NOMENCLATURE
casing pressure and 1 percent/psig for the next 14.5-psig E Terminal voltage per phase (per unit of rated
drop in casing pressure. terminal phase volts).
E, Voltage back of armature leakage reactance (per
RELIABILITY unit of phase volts).
Manufacturers have designed generators for high Ia Armature phase current (per unit of rated phase
reliability and long life with low maintenance. To realize current).
these qualities the generatoi must be operated within the If Field current (per unit of MMF drop in gas gap
limits recommended by the manufacturer and indicated by at no-load, rated volts).
the reactive capability curves. If this is done, design tem- K,8t Saturation factor, = 1 + Mi/M,.
peratures for windings and stationary structural parts will Me MMF drop in gas gap.
not be exceeded. It is important that inlet cooling gas M,NL MMF drop in gas gap at no load (rated volts).
temperatures be maintained at the design value for the M, MMF drop in iron (stator plus rotor).
specific generator. Discharge gas temperature should be MiNL MMF drop in iron (stator plus rotor) at no-load
monitored such that any change in the heat rejection from (rated volts).
the generator can be noted. This discharge gas tempera- PkVA kVA at the terminals, = EIa (per unit of rated
ture should be constant for a given kVA, power factor, and kVA).
inlet gas temperature. Resistance temperature detectors Pk, kW output, = EI,, cos 6 (per unit of rated kVA).
should be monitored to assure that armature winding tem- Pkvar Reactive kVA, = El,, sin 6: positive for lag power
peratures are satisfactory for reliable operation. factor; negative for leading power factor.
PF Power factor: cosine of angle between terminal volt-
CONCLUSION age and armature current.
This paper has described reactive capability curves and Xad Effective direct axis magnetizing reactance (per
their use in the operation of a turbine generator. From the unit of base).
curves and equations it becomes evident that to correct a Xim Armature magnetizing leakage reactance (per unit
power factor lower than the generator rated power factor of base).
with the generator, it is necessary to decrease the kW load. XdI Equivalent synchronous reactance, = KsatX,m +
In situations where the kW load must remain constant, XPd-
other means of correcting for power factor must be con- Power-factor angelecttical degrees).
sidered. Addition of synchronous motors may be considered 6 Power angle (electrical degrees).
or the addition of static capacitors may be necessary. Resistance of field winding.
When a new turbine generator is being considered, a
load study of the total plant operation should be made be- REFERENCES
fore specifying the rating and power factor of the generator, [1] S. B. Crary, L. P. Shildneck, and L. A. March, "Equivalent
reactance of synchronous machines," Trans. AIEE, vol. 53, pp.
and the economics of various means of correcting the 124-132, 1934.

J. Y. Jackson (M'42) was born in Kentucky on March 12, 1916. He received the B.S.E.E.
degree in 1940.
He was with the Bell Telephone Company from 1940 to 1941, when he joined the General
Electric Company. He served in the U.S. Navy as an Engineering Officer from 1943 to 1946, at
which time he returned to General Electric. At present he is the Manager of Generator
Engineering in the Medium Steam Turbine Generator Department, Lynn, Mass.
Mr. Jackson is a member of Tau Beta Pi and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.