1

An Electronic Load Controller for Self-Excited Induction Generators

Juan M. Ramirez, Member, IEEE, and Emmanuel Torres M.

Abstract-- This paper is aimed to the design of an electronic load controller (ELC) for a self-excited induction generator (SEIG) on stand alone applications. With constant input power and fixed value of capacitance, the induced voltage varies with the applied load. This paper proposes an ELC scheme whose control strategy is simple and reliable. Anti-parallel IGBT switches are used to control the connection and disconnection of dump load. The proposed ELC is tested under several critical situations, providing an excellent voltage and frequency regulation. Harmonic analysis is carry out to determine the total harmonic distortion (THD). Index Terms--AC motors, Control equipment, Electric machines, Induction generators, Insulated gate bipolar transistors.

I. NOMENCLATURE RL Rd ig
m iL

consumer load dump load generated current measured load current capacitive current dump load current measured generated voltage reference voltage modulating signal triangular carrier signal

ic id
Vt
m

Vref

io ip

II. INTRODUCTION N applications of low power ratings (up to 100 kW), uncontrolled turbines are preferred, which maintain the input hydropower constant, thus requiring the generator output power to be held constant at varying consumer loads. A dump load in shunt with consumer load is necessary to hold electrical load constant at generator terminals thus SEIG can operate with constant input power. Much research about voltage control of an SEIG in stand alone applications has
This paper was supported by CONACyT under Grant 43478. Juan M. Ramirez is with Cinvestav Guadalajara, MEXICO. (e-mail: jramirez@gdl.cinvestav.mx). Emmanuel Torres Montalvo obtained his M. Sc. at Cinvestav Guadalajara, MEXICO. (e-mail: etorres@gdl.cinvestav.mx)

been reported in literature, some of them are known as Electronic Load Controller (ELC). It is well known that a three-phase induction machine can be operated as a self-excited induction generator [1]. By connecting an appropriate capacitor bank across the machine terminals while the rotor is driven by an external prime mover, voltage will be established and it will rise until steady state condition is attained due to magnetic saturation in the machine [2-4]. The increasing rate of the depletion of conventional energy sources has given rise to an increased emphasis on renewable energy sources such as wind, mini/micro-hydro, etc., [5]. In renewable energy applications of low and medium power (up to 100 kW), the induction generator offers considerable advantages due to its ruggedness, low cost, brushless rotor (squirrel cage), manufacturing simplicity, low maintenance, better stability, self protection under fault conditions, and trouble free operation for many years [2-4, 6-7]. Owing to the self-excited induction generator (SEIG) does not need an external power supply to produce the excitation magnetic field it is a good candidate for wind, biogas, and hydro powered electricity generation especially in remote and isolated areas [2, 4]. However, reactive power consumption and poor voltage regulation, under load and/or speed changes, are the major drawbacks of the induction generator. Much research has been developed trying to take SEIG on a viable option for electricity generation. In this paper an electronic load controller for self-excited induction generator is proposed. Section II exhibits the generator modeling; section III is a summary on the way to select the capacitor; section IV-V present the used ELC; finally, section VI-VII shows results about the proposition. III. SELF EXCITED INDUCTION GENERATOR MODELING The SEIG model is similar to that of the induction motor. The model of an induction generator is helpful to analyze all its characteristics, Fig.1. The d-q model provides the complete solution, transient and steady state, of the self-excitation process [4]. The major parameters may be estimated via the dc resistance measurement, the open circuit- and the locked rotor test. In this paper, the induction machine used as SEIG is a three-phase squirrel cage rotor with the following specifications: 2 kW, 120/208 V, 15.2/8.8 A, 60 Hz, and 4 poles. The estimated parameters from the above mentioned

1-4244-1298-6/07/$25.00 2007 IEEE.

tests are: rs = 0.6, rr = 1.06, Lls=Llr = 6.4mH, Lm = 51.3mH.

up and dynamic stabilization [8-11]. In this paper the saturation is estimated by driving the induction machine at synchronous speed, and taking the appropriate measurements when the applied voltage is varied from 0-120% of the rated voltage at rated frequency. The corresponding adjusted polynomial is included into the model of the SEIG to take into account the saturation. The current and voltage values obtained are used to fit Lm with a fifth order polynomial given by:
5 + 1.60659 V 4 1.92257 V 3 + 5.26166V 2 Lm = 4.320512V ph ph ph ph +2.28834 V ph + 0.0579

(4)

where Vph is the per-phase voltage. The relation between the magnetizing inductance Lm and phase voltage Vph is depicted in Fig. 2.
Fig. 1 Model of the SEIG (a) d-axis (b) q-axis

The SEIG transient and steady state behavior is described by [4]: pI = AI + B (1)
iqs i ds = i qr i dr Lm K q L K 1 m d L LmVcq L V m cd

LrVcq LrV cd Ls K q Ls K Lmrr Lm Lrr Ls rr Ls Lrr d

B=

A=

Much research has been developed to select the suitable capacitance value for the self-excitation process [9], [12]Ls = Lls + Lm, Lr = Llr + Lm and L = Ls Lr L2 [14]. In this paper, a simple way to compute this suitable m value is used. When SEIG is no-loaded, (switch sw is open in Fig.1), the self-excitation currents are obtained as in reference [4], from which the stator self-excitation current for the nowhere p = d/dt, r is the electrical rotor speed; I is the state load case is given by: vector of currents; Kq and Kd are constants which represents U ( s) the initial induced voltages along the d-axis and q-axis, iqs = 6 (5) 5 4 As + Bs + Ds + Es 3 + Fs 2 + Gs + H respectively, due to remanent magnetic flux in the core [4]. The capacitors voltage are computed by 1 Vcq = iqs dt + Vcq |t =0 C 1 Vcd = ids dt + Vcd |t =0 C where C is the selected capacitance value where s is the Laplace operator, and U(s) represents a polynomial, which is independent on the capacitors initial condition and on the machine parameters [4]. A, B, D, E, F, G, H and U(s) are defined in the Appendix A. If the denominator of (5) is set to zero
As 6 + Bs 5 + Ds 4 + Es 3 + Fs 2 + Gs + H = 0

Lr rs 1 r L2 m L L r ms L L m s r

r L2 m Lr rs Lm Lsr Lmrs

Lm Lrr Lmrr Ls Lrr Ls rr

Fig. 2 Variation of magnetizing inductance respect to phase voltage

IV. CAPACITOR SELECTION

(2) (3)

(6)

When the induction machine is used as SEIG the magnetizing saturation is the main factor in the voltage build

if any of the roots in (6) has a positive real part then there will be self-excitation [15]. Thus, it is possible to compute the

minimum speed and capacitance for self-excitation for the noload case. When SEIG is loaded (the switch sw is closed, Fig. 1), a similar analysis to compute the roots with positive real part is accomplished. Using this technique and RL=22.5 as load, the speed-capacitance characteristic is obtained and is displayed in Fig. 3.

find the appropriate Lm value. V. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION When a SEIG is driven by an uncontrolled turbine which provides a constant input power, the output power needs to be held constant too. It requires a constant load connected across the generator terminals. However, the consumer load is not constant and it is time changing; for this reason, an alternative is to connect a dump load in shunt with consumer load, to hold the electrical load constant at generator terminals, thus SEIG can operate with constant input power. Dump power may be used for space heating, water heating, battery charging, cooking, baking, etc. Different types of ELC have been developed in order to SEIG be a viable option for stand alone applications [8], [1619]. Some of the proposed ELC are cumbersome and inject harmonics. The scheme based on switched capacitors finds limited application because it regulates the terminal voltage in discrete steps [5]. Likewise, the unbalanced loads would pose additional problems on the design of controller that should not only provide needed VAR but also maintain the generator output voltage and current under balance in spite of an unbalanced load; alternative solutions such as the switched capacitors do not meet such requirements [20]. In this paper the proposed ELC is simple, reliable and it injects fewer harmonics than others ones reported in literature. The proposed SEIG-ELC block diagram for regulating the load voltage is illustrated in Fig. 4. The SEIG-ELC is conformed by an induction machine driven by a prime motor, a three-phase capacitor bank, and an electronic load controller.

Fig.3 Speed-capacitance characteristic for the loaded case.

Once the suitable capacitance and speed values for the self-excitation are selected, the roots with positive real part can be identified to calculate the Lm value which gives a root having a zero real part (steady state condition) [15]. The computed Lm value and the relation between the magnetizing inductance Lm and phase voltage Vph are used to compute the terminal voltage; the imaginary part of the root gives the frequency of self-excitation [15]. If the values of the induced voltage and frequency are not the desired, the searching can be modified including the desired voltage and frequency to

Fig. 4 Block diagram of the proposed SEIG-ELC

The proposed ELC is conformed by a per-phase chopper circuit (Sa, Sb, and Sc switches) in series with the dump load. Each switch is the combination of a couple of IGBT in antiparallel connection. The commutation pulses are obtained by a pulse width modulation (PWM) technique. Fig. 5 depicts the per-phase switches configuration of the ELC. VI.
ELCS OPERATING PRINCIPLE

where S represents the state of Sa, Sb, or Sc. When S = 0 the IGBT is open, and when S = 1, the IGBT is closed. The new obtained chopper circuit commutation frequency takes the induced voltage to the reference value to keep it constant under any load condition. Table I and II show the parameters of the SEIG and ELC.
TABLE I SEIGS OPERATING CONDITIONS

m The induced voltage Vtm , and the load current iL are m measured. Vt is compared with the reference voltage Vref . If

Vt
122 V

iL
5.2 A

RL
22.5

f
50 Hz

Vtm = Vref the control system just continues measuring and

comparing this two signals. If Vtm Vref the control system carries out the following actions.

Pout
1985 W

Nm
1598 rpm

C
211F

TABLE II ELCS PARAMETERS

Gain proportional controller Kp= 0.1845 Amplitude of the triangular carrier signal i p
Fig. 5 Per-phase switch configuration
m Using Vtm and iL , the instantaneous load resistance is

Amplitude of modulating signal 0 i0 1A Frequency of i p

1 A.

0.5 kHz

estimated by:
c RL =

VII. SIMULATION RESULTS The simulation of the proposed ELC has been fulfilled using the digital computer simulation package MATLABSimulink. The self-excitation process is executed in order to achieve the desired voltage; such process is exemplified in Fig. 6, where the generated voltage, current through ELC and the frequency can be observed. In this example a frequency of 50 Hz has been elected.

Vt m iL

(7)

where the superscripts m and c denote measured and computed variables. The apparent resistance value that the ELC should provide to the system is calculated by Rc c RD = cL RL (8) 1 RL the current through the ELC is computed using (9) Vref c iD = c (9) RD
c iD is sent to a proportional controller with Kp= 0.1845,

whose output signal is the modulating signal i0 , that is compared with a triangular carrier signal i p to obtain the IGBTs gate signals. The frequency of i p is 500 Hz, selected as the best value. The switching logic is defined as follows: If i0 > i p , the S = 1 else when i0 < i p , the S = 0 (10)
Fig. 6 Self-excitation process with ELC

Voltage and frequency attain the desired values. Dump power is equal to the SEIGs rated power to maintain constant voltage at terminals. After steady state is achieved, a sudden load consumer is connected. Dump power decrease while the consumer power is increased. Fig. 7 displays the ELC response during a load consumer connection and before disconnection. It can be observed that the current through the ELC decreases until zero. A small voltage drop is observed at the load consumer connection. Once load is disconnected, the voltage is increased. However, in both cases the voltage stabilization is attained within a few cycles. Fig. 8 exhibits the consumer and dump power for the same condition.

Fig. 9 Connection and after disconnection of RL = 45 load.

to maintain the voltage constant. Therefore, the effective value of the dump load current decreases. The continuous commutation of electronic devices produces harmonic distortion in voltage, and load current waveforms, Fig. 10.

Fig. 7 SEIG-ELC dynamic response during connection and after disconnection of rated load.

Fig. 10 Waveforms for a RL = 45 load.

Fig. 8 Dump power (Pd), and consumer power (PL)

Because of the control strategy is executed per phase, the proposed ELC can operate under unbalanced conditions without taking care of the unbalance degree. Voltage and frequency remain constant and the system operates satisfactorily. Figs. 11-13 depict the operation of the SEIGELC under unbalanced conditions. Table III contains the commutation instants per-phase.
TABLE III SIMULATED UNBALANCED CONDITIONS

In Fig. 9 the connection and disconnection of a RL= 45 load is illustrated. It can be observed that the dump load current amplitude is the same that at the no-load consumer case; however, the dump load current is not entirely sinusoidal waveform. The ELC absorbs the necessary amount of power

RL Phase a Phase b Phase c 120 100 120

Time of connection 2-3.5s 2-2.5s 2-4s

RL

Time of connection

80 100

3-3.5 2.5-3

suitable to maintain voltage in the desired value, with a minimum variation, despite the load is connected or disconnected. VIII. HARMONIC ANALYSIS Harmonic distortion due to commutation of electronic devices is a very well-known fact. The harmonic currents spreading over the system can be dangerous for some devices and sensitive loads. Thus, it is useful to know the present harmonic distortion in the system. Harmonic distortion changes with the electronic devices operation. For this reason voltage and load current harmonic distortion are analyzed for different operating conditions in order to determine when the major harmonic distortion is presented. Firstly, a case with no- load consumer is analyzed. Fig. 14 exhibits the total harmonic distortion obtained for such condition.
Fig. 11 Dynamic response for unbalanced conditions, phase a

Fig. 14 Harmonic distortion for the no-load consumer case Fig. 12 Dynamic response for unbalanced conditions, phase b

At the full load consumer case the harmonic distortion decreases, Fig. 15. With no current flowing through ELC the IGBTs state is open, so there is no commutation on the electronic devices. The voltage and load current waveforms are almost sinusoidal with a minimum harmonic content.

Fig. 13 Dynamic response for unbalanced conditions, phase c

Fig. 15 Harmonic distortion for full load consumer case

The ELC keeps voltage constant under any unbalanced condition. The IGBTs gate signal frequency is always

Secondly the case for RL=45 load is analyzed. It presents the maximum harmonic distortion in voltage and load current

waveforms. Generated power is divided in half between the consumer and the ELC. Fig.16 shows the harmonic distortion.

2 2 2 r r s + (rs rr - r LM ) Lr + Ls rr )rsC C + r L2 + 2 L L r - r L2 r sr r M s r 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 L2 ) L F = ( rs (r Lr + rr )C + (2r Lr Ls + (4rs rr - 2r M r 2 )C + L2 ) +2 Ls rr r E = 2

( 2 L2 L

2 L2 + r 2 )C + 2r L ) G = (2rs ( wr r r r r 2 L2 + r 2 H = r r r

U ( s) = a S 5 + a S 4 + a S 3 + a S 2 + a5 S 1 2 3 4 2 a = ( Lr Ls - L2 M )(-Vcq Lr + LM K q )C 1 -V L2 r + (( w K L + K r ) L cq r s r d s q s M - 2Vcq rr Ls ) Lr 2 a2 = C + L (- K wr L2 + Vcq rr L ) K r L + q r s M M M d

2 L2 L + ( L K r + V 2 L2 (-Vcqr r s cq r M M r d s = -2Vcq rr rs ) Lr + rr (-Vcq rr Ls + LM K q rs + L2 rV ))C + L K q Lr - Vcq Lr 2 M M cd -r C

Fig. 16 Harmonic distortion for RL = 45 load consumer.

The major advantages of the proposed scheme are: It generates a low harmonic content and it does not demand reactive power. The control strategy is easier than that of the switched capacitors. It only uses a proportional controller meanwhile switched capacitors use a proportional-integral controller. Voltage drop at the load connection instant is smaller than that of the switched capacitor one. The application is extended to unbalanced conditions. IX. CONCLUSIONS An ELC scheme has been proposed for a self-excited induction generator (SEIG) applied in a stand-alone application. Magnetic saturation has been included by a polynomial that represents the variation of the magnetizing inductance. The ELC's dynamic response under different operation conditions has been analyzed. It is shown that the proposed scheme is able to regulate the output voltage from no-load to full-load range under balanced or unbalanced operation conditions without taking care the unbalance degree. A harmonic distortion analysis has been carried out exhibiting a satisfactory performance. The proposed ELC exhibits high performance and low cost to be implemented. It is reliable, simple, and an excellent option to be employed in micro-hydro applications.

a3

a4 =

+L M

2 2 2 sVcq ( wr Lr + rr )C + ( LM r K d - 2Vcq rr ) Lr K q rr

2 L2 + r 2 ) C a5 = -Vcq (r r r

XI. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of CONACyT under grant 43478.

XII. REFERENCES
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[2]

X. APPENDIX A
2 2 A = ( Lr Ls - L2 M) C 2 B = 2( Lr Ls - L2 M )( rs Lr + rr Ls )C (( r 2 + 2 L2 ) L2 + (-2 2 L L2 + 4 r r L ) L s r s r r s M rs s r C D= 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 +r LM + rr Ls - 2rr rs LM )C + 2 Lr Ls - 2 Lr LM

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

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[7]

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[9]

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XIII. BIOGRAPHIES
Juan M. Ramrez obtained his BS in Electrical Engineering from Universidad de Guanajuato, Mxico in 1984; M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from UNAM in 1987; the Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from UANL in 1992. He joined the department of Electrical Engineering of CINVESTAV in 1999, where he is currently a full time professor. His areas of interest are in FACTS devices and control of electric power systems. Emmanuel Torres M. obtained his BS in Electrical Engineering from Instituto Tecnolgico de Chetumal, Mxico in 2003, and his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from CINVESTAV Guadalajara, Mxico in 2006. His area of interest is on electric machinery.