72 GENERATOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION all of which are connected in series to form a “coil.” The number of field turns per pole multiplied by the current in the winding equals the total A-T. The current density in the copper determines the total loss to be dissipated and hence the temperature of the winding. For constant current density, as the number of tums increases, the copper area per turn (and hence the current per turn) decreases proportionally, but the total A-Ts per pole remains the same. Since field voltage is proportional to the number of tums, it does not affect the A-Ts, ‘The major design criterion for the A-T capability of the field winding is the temperature of the conductors. Increasing this capability may be done using improved insulation materials, which are capable of higher temperatures, or by improving the cooling system, or by increasing the total area available for copper in the rotor cross section. 2.14 ROTOR WINDING SLOT WEDGES ‘The wedges that hold the rotor winding in the slots are sometimes also complex in design, but always highly stressed (Figs. 2.43, 2.44, and 2.45). The wedges must hold the copper winding and its insulation systems in place at high rotational speeds and allow cooling gas to pass through them. This one reason why at the wedges there are higher stresses. The wedges generally have cooling vents machined into them, which reduces their effective strength. High cooling gas temperatures can also affect wedge strength if the temperatures begin to affect the creep life of the material ‘The wedges are generally made of lightweight materials, such as aluminum or brass, in the winding slots. This area does not generally carry the useful magnetic flux, so the wedges do not need to be made of magnetic material. In some designs, however, the first winding slot wedge next to the pole may be made of a magnetic steel material to improve flux distribution and lower the flux density in the pole area, This helps reduce the excitation requirements for the generator. ‘The wedges do not usually sit tight in the slots. They have a loose fit, rela- tively speaking, to allow the copper winding underneath to expand axially during operation. Expansion of the copper winding under load can create an enormous axial shear force in the winding slots because of the direction of copper growth. Fig. 2.43 Short rotor wedge.AMORTISSEUR WINING 73 Fig. 244 Ai reup pickup rotor wedge. ‘The overall design of the rotor and the wedges must take this movement into consideration. 2.415 AMORTISSEUR WINDING Most modern rotors employ a damper or amortisseur or damping winding to dampen torsional oscillations and provide a path for induced currents to flow ‘The amortisseur winding is essentially a separate winding installed under the rotor wedges and retaining-rings that is connected similar to the squirrel-cage of an induction motor. It produces an opposing torque when currents flow in it, and this helps dampen torsional oscillations and add to the stability of the rotor during system stress events. In some instances, where full-length aluminum wedges are used in the rotor, these may serve additionally as part of the damper winding Also some designs use the retaining-rings as the shorting connection at the end of the rotor, instead of a dedicated component. Figure 2.46 shows a particular type of amortisseur. Photographs of other types of amortisseurs can be seen in Chapter 9.74 GENERATOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Fig. 245 Long rotor wedge (aluminum). In addition to the above, the damper winding can help divert negative-sequence and motoring currents from flowing in the rotor forging and causing overheating damage. The negative-sequence rating or current-carrying ability of any rotor design is largely dependent on the arrangement and effectiveness of the amortis- seur winding. (More about this in Chapters 6 and 9.) 246 RETAINING-RINGS Retaining-rings are generally the most highly stressed component in the generator. ‘They are required to hold the end-winding copper of the rotor winding against centrifugal loading during operation. There is one ring at each end of the rotor toRETANNG-AINGS 75 Fig. 2.46 Amortisseur wind ith balance ring. do this, and the rings are shrunk-fit onto the main body of the rotor forging. There are many types of ring designs and fit types as well. Some rings have a barrel type fit and others a castellated fit (Fig. 2.47). All require some form of locking arrangement to inhibit axial movement as the rotor operates at speed. The axial growth of the copper winding creates an additional force on the retaining-rings,76 GENERATOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION which tends to push them out, away from the end of the rotor main body. In addition all these fits have some form of “shrink-fi” application to hold the ring onto the forging in the radial direction, even at overspeed conditions. Overspeed must be considered because the retaining-rings become highly stressed even at rated speeds. They are generally designed to retain their shrink-fit on the rotor body up to 120% of their rated speed, ‘The rings are under tremendous stress from the loading of the copper and their own weight, As a rule-of-thumb, the loading of the copper generally accounts for cone third of the stress in retaining-rings and the other two-thirds are the rings’ own “hoop stress.” In addition the rings are under considerable stress at rest because of the shrink-fit and the nature of the ring shape at rest. In operation, the distribution of the copper loading on the underside of the rings is not completely even, and this, in conjunction with variations in shrink-fit stiffness from pole to winding face, can cause an ovalizing effect on the rings from standstill to speed. To compensate for the ovalizing effect at the non-shrink-lit end of the rings, a “balance” or “centering” ring is shrunk-ft inside the retaining-ring (Fig. 2.47). It is used to produce stiffness in the radial direction at that end of the ring, since it does not have the forging shrink area to keep it concentric. From these issues it can be seen that bending stresses come into play from standstill to operation at speed, as the rotors undergo deformation in this range. As a result retaining-rings are subjected to the high-strain low-cycle effects of starvstops, as well as high-cycle stress modes in operation. Because the retaining-rings are so highly stressed, they are also designed with a safety factor of 150% up to 20% overspeed. ‘The ring material is critical as well because of the high stresses. Both and nonmagnetic steel materials have been used, but nonmagnetic materials are the most common for large generators. Retaining-rings made of magnetic steel ‘essentially introduce magnetic material into the airgap at the stator core-end and reduce the reluctance of the airgap in that area. The result can be an oversaturation of magnetic flux in the core-end, causing core-end heating problems, if the end- region of the generator is not designed to account for the use of magnetic rings. This effect is more pronounced as power factor approaches leading because of the interaction of the end-region stray fluxes. ‘Nonmagnetic materials have been the main choice for retaining-rings because of their electromagnetic high reluctance. Historically nonmagnetic materials were not always as strong as magnetic materials, and hence this is one of the reasons ‘magnetic rings have been used in past. It goes back to the relationship for increas- ing the diameter of the rotor to achieve a higher output machine. But the trade-off is the strength limit of the material. For a constant operating speed, the larger the ring diameter, the higher is the stress in the ring. Obviously there is a limit to the operable ring diameter, and this is based on the capability of the ring material and the need for overspeeds and safety factors. ‘Today there are newer and better nonmagnetic retaining-ring materials that are as strong as magnetic materials, so they are the rings of choice. The most common material used is 18% Mn~18%Cr (also called 18 Mn—18 Cr or simply 18-18).[BORE COPPER AND TERMINAL CONNECTORS 77. ‘This material has the additional benefit of being highly resistant to aqueous stress corrosion pitting and cracking, something most other ring materials are not. Prior to the 18 Mn=18 Cr rings, the most common nonmagnetic material was 18 Mn—4 Cr or 18 Mn-S Cr. There are problems with these materials when moisture contamination is present. There have been some rings that had cracks initiate and eventually fail, causing a catastrophic failure of the entire generator. ‘The 18 Mn-18 Cr is highly resistant to this problem but is not immune if halides or copper ions are present in any moisture attack on the rings. There have been a few reported cases of pitting and cracks initiating in these rings [45] ‘One other issue about retaining-rings is that the rings are larger in diameter than the rotor’s main body diameter. This is because after the rings are shrunk-fit onto the rotor body, the rotor must still being capable of performing its function as a rotating magnet. The airgap must therefore be large enough to accommodate the retaining-rings when the rotor is installed. As discussed earlier, this has a significant effect on the short-circuit ratio and other electrical parameters of the generator. Figure 2.48 shows a retaining-ring with a lifting arrangement. 2.17 BORE COPPER AND TERMINAL CONNECTORS Current is supplied to the rotor winding by means of twin copper conductors running from radial terminal connectors next to or under the excitation end’s, retaining-ring, through the shaft center bore, out to the radial connectors asso- ciated with the slip/collector rings (Fig. 2.49). The two copper conductors are isolated from each other and from the rotor forging, since they are at de poten- tial, in the normal operating range up to 700 volts de and twice to three times that under the field-forcing operation of the exciter. There are two copper con- ductors, so current is fed in one and out the other. One conductor is at plus