187

THE MODELLING OF SYNCHRONOUS MACHINES

A Walton and J

Croft

James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia

INTRODUCTION
The determination of the parameters of
synchronous machines has naturally been of
interest to both machine designers and plant
operators since their introduction as the
s t a n d a r d m e a n s f o r g e n e r a t i o n and
distribution of electric power. The ultimate
desire would be the prediction of the machine
parameters from design information together
with the confirmation of the parameters from
machine tests. Kilgore (1) and Wright ( 2 )
laid the foundations for such work over fifty
years ago but in that time the techniques
available for the calculation of the
parameters have changed radically and the
means of testing have also undergone a reappraisal.
The use of finite element techniques to
determine the flux distribution in the
machine is now commonplace and is the
a c c e p t e d m e a n s for s u c h a n a l y s i s ,
outstripping the limitations of previous
methods conceived before the availability of
almost unlimited computing power.
The use of frequency response tests to
confirm the design predictions is now
becoming accepted as an alternative to
sudden short circuit tests but there are some
problems in the extraction of the machine
parameters from the test results and it is
this topic which is the substance of this
paper.
The reactances and time constants obtained
from the time-honoured sudden short circuit
tests have been the foundation of the model
of the synchronous machine for transient
studies and the results from these tests were
used exclusively for the specification of
machine performance and the analysis of, in
particular, the dynamic response.
Initial tests carried out to compare the
theoretical predictions with the actual
responses of machines produced less than
favourable results. Busemann and Casson ( 3 )
reported on tests carried out at Cliff Quays
power station in 1958 and Shackshaft and
Neilson ( 4 ) on the more significant tests at
Northfleet in 1972. As a result of these
tests Shackshaft proposed a new approach to
the determination of machine parameters with
a series of flux decay tests.
These were all examples of step response
tests and as such represent only one of the
several types of test which can be carried
out to identify systems. These will be
briefly described in the next section.
TEST METHODS AVAILABLE
Whilst the following methods apply to any
controlled system, their application will be

confined to the determination of the time

constants and operational inductances of
synchronous machines. Five different types of
input s i g n a l a r e available for the
identification of system parameters:

(f!
(11)

(iii)
and (iv)
(v)

Steps
Ramps
Impulses
Pseudo Random Noise
Sinusoids

For second order systems the step response is

very widely used in the investigation of
system stability and, whilst the parameters
of the system are not identified immediately,
they can be obtained from further analysis of
the time response. This form of test has the
advantage that the step change in the input
signal is very easily obtained, usually by
some form of switching function. When the
complexity of the system is greater than
second order the parameters cannot be
obtained immediately from the step response
and, except for information on stability
margins, the test is less valuable.
Using a ramp input also enables the plant
parameters to be defined for simple systems,
the need to generate extremely accurate
ramps, however, and the limitations of the
results obtained make this form of test less
practical than step responses.
The response to an impulse is perhaps the
ideal form of testing since it reveals the
transfer function of the system immediately.
Again, for low order systems, or when the
order of the system is known, the extraction
of the parameters from the measured response
is possible but for high order systems it is
once again difficult to extract the
parameters. Additionally, the generation of a
sufficiently good approximation to an ideal
impulse at the power levels required is
difficult in practice.
The use of digital signals offers greater
possibilities of success than impulses.
Either binary or ternary noise signals can be
used to excite the system, cross correlation
techniques then providing the means for the
determination of the impulse response and
extraction of the system parameters. When
pure white noise signals are used, the crosscorrelation of the input and output gives the
impulse response of the system. Very often
pseudo random M sequences are used (pink
noise) as an approximation to white noise and
successful results can still be obtained,
Lang et. al. (5)
Stimulating the system with sinusoids to
determine the frequency response of the
plant follows well established concepts which
form the kernel of linear control theory, the
measurements of gain and phase containing all

188

of the information necessar

not only to
determine the stability of tge system, but
also the system parameters. As for the other
methods of measurement given above, the
system parameters are most easily evaluated
for low order systems, increasing difficulty
arising as the order rises and smaller
variations in gain and phase with change in
frequency occur as a result.
In preparation for the description of the
means by which the parameters of high order
models can be extracted from the results of
frequency response tests, the types of models
commonly used for synchronous machines will
be described in the next section.
GENERATOR MODELS AVAILABLE
Such is the status of machine design that not
every machine type built and tested has a
pre-determined model. Whilst all of the
phenomena associated with each aspect of the
various models is well understood, it is not
always possible to pre-determine the relative
levels of each effect to enable an 'a priori'
model to be assumed.
It was with this background that the Electric
Power Research Institute in America (EPRI)
initiated a number of contracts for the
development of methods for the determination
of generator parameters for stability studies
which culminated in a workshop on the
subject, EPRI ( 6 ) .
The range of models available for generators
is quite extensive, each additional feature
being represented increasing the order of the
model required. In the following section the
correspondence between the addition of
features and the model representation will be
presented.

caps etc.
Equivalent circuits for the direct axis are
shown in Figure 1 where two damper circuits,
are included. Representation of additional
rotor circuits requires the addition of more
circuits in parallel with the rotor. In the
quadrature axis, whilst there is no field
winding of course, all of the other induced
current may need to be modelled in a
similar fashion to those in the direct axis.
In the simplest model, all of the flux
passing across the air gap links with all of
the rotor circuits but in practice there will
be s6me leakage effects and the flux linking
each of the rotor circuits is different. This
effect is represented by the series
reactance between the circuits in question.
Different levels of model complexity are
possible by the inclusion or exclusion of
circuit elements as necessary. Each of the
equivalent circuits will have a unique set of
poles and zeros which define the frequency
response of the circuit. It is from the
measurement of the frequency response that it
is hoped that the parameters of the circuit
can be determined. For such a range of
circuit models available, how can the
particular equivalent circuit for a machine
be determined. Since all of the equivalent
circuits, irrespective of their relative
complexities, are combinations of passive
resistors and inductors, the plots of the
poles and zeros in the complex frequency
plane must be a set O E consecutive poles and
zeros along the negative real axis. Knowing
this it is possible to extract the time
constants (and hence the reactances) of the
equivalent circuit from the frequency
response data.
BODE PLOTS FOR DIFFERENT MACHINE MODELS

Steady State Models

Representation of a perfectly cylindrical
synchronous machine in the steady state
requires only the synchronous reactance,
which is simply the sum of the leakage
reactance and armature magnetising reactance
to be known. When the machine exhibits
saliency this model is extended with the
introduction of the two reaction theory in
which the reactance is separated into
components in the direct and quadrature
axes.
The d and q axis synchronous reactances then
include Xad and Xaq as the corresponding
armature magnetising reactances along with
the leakage reactance X1.
In this steady state representation of the
machine it is not necessary to include the
rotor circuit, the steady state emf induced
in the armature winding being obtained from
the open circuit characteristic.
Transient Response Models
During transients it is also necessary for
the equivalent circuit to include the
effects of the changing flux linkages across
the airgap between the armature winding and
the rotor circuits. In the direct axis the
field winding must of course be represented
along with and damper windings which may be
present and also the effects of eddy
currents in the rotor body, slot wedges, end

Consideration of the frequency response of

the
operational inductance of the direct
axis of a typical machine is sufficient to
illustrate the concepts to be considered
here.
The Simplest Model
The "classical" model for the direct axis
(implicitly assumed when the results of the
sudden short circuit tests are used to
determine the machine parameters) is that
shown in Figure l(a). The transfer function
for this four time constant circuit is

The straight line approximation of the

magnitude function for this transfer
function is shown in Figure 2.
The value of Xd(s) approached asymptotically
as the frequency approaches zero is the
synchronous reactance in the direct axis (Xd)
and the corner frequency of the first lag is
that associated with the open circuit
transient time constant Tdo'. The value of
the inductance on the mid-frequency plateau
is that corresponding to the transient
reactance Xd' and the lead and lag defining
the plateau are the short circuit transient
time constant Td' and the open circuit
subtransient time constant Tdo". The final
asymptotic value of the inductance at high

189

frequencies is that corresponding to ,the

subtransient reactance Xd" and the final
lead time constant defined by the last
corner frequency is the short circuit
subtransient time constant Td".
In practice, of course, the frequency
response is rarely so clearly defined as
that shown in Figure 2 with, in particular,
no distinguishable plateau being present from
which to obtain the transient reactance and
the values of Td' and Tdo". It is then
necessary to resort to curve fitting
techniques to extract values for the time
constants and hence component values for the
circuit.
Constraining the model of the machine to
that of the classical model means that
unless the machine does have this simple
model, the time constants and parameters can
only be a "best fit" to the results. In this
case the application of frequency response
techniques has not advanced the modeling
capabilities for the machine whatever. Even
if a higher order model is required, the
choice is wide and the order required is not
known. It was just this lack of precision
which was responsible for the poor results
inserted into the available simulation
programs which instigated the new approach to
machine testing by Shackshaft.

Addition of another parallel R - L branch to

the equivalent circuit, for which the time
constants Ta and Tb apply, the transfer
function then becomes:
=

(1 + sTd')(l + sTd")(l t sTa) Xd

+ s-rao-I [ I + s-rao-)(I + STD)

(1

The additional pole-zero pair add another

plateau to the frequency response at a
position dependant upon the time constants
for that circuit.
Extension of the model by the addition of
further parallel branches simply adds
another pair of time constants to the
frequency response, increasing the
difficulty in estimating the parameters of
the machine. One particular effect which
commonly applies is that, with the closer
proximity of the poles and zeros, a slope of
2 0 d B per decade never exists and the
placing of the poles and zeros becomes more
troublesome.
PARAMETER EXTRACTION
RESPONSE

over a frequency range of five decades,

weighting functions can also be used to
provide the emphasis required for the
extraction of time constants over the full
frequency range. These can be applied to
either the magnitude information, phase
information, or both, according to the
wishes of the investigator.
Very often the phase information is given
only secondary importance, the majority of
t h e c u r v e fitting and time constant
extraction being done on the form of the
magnitude variation with frequency. The
standard approach is to fit the response to
the results which produces the minimum
deviation. The phase is sometimes taken into
account by equating an equivalent weighting
to it compared with the gain e.g. 10 degrees
is equivalent to 2 dB but the phase is not
used as a prime input for the analysis. It is
axiomatic that for this method of analysis,
the order of the model must be decided
before any curve fitting can begin. It is
the intention here to outline a method of
fitting parameters to frequency response
data which, rather than ignoring the phase
information, uses it as the basis for the
detection of the positions of the poles and
zeros of the transfer function.
The New Method

Higher Order Models

Xd(s)

a synchronous machine which is often tested

FROM

THE FREQUENCY

It is all very proper of course to extend the

detail of the equivalent circuit of the
synchronous machine in
order to better
represent the transient performance. It is
quite another to be able to extract, from
the measurements made, sufficient detail to
enable the parameters for the extended model
of the machine to be determined.
The Standard Approach
Faced with the need to fit a frequency
response curve with a set of time constants
of unknown distribution, the normal approach
is to use some standard package utilising
some form of least squares, minimax ot some
other curve fitting algorithm. In the case of

The procedure proposed here is to dispense

with the notion of a pre-determined order for
t h e m o d e l and f i n d , using a fairly
straightforward algorithm based on well
established principles, the best set of time
constants from the data for any frequency
response. Should it be necessary to sim lify
the model for a Darticular amlicaeion,
terms c a n be excluded with' complete
knowledge of the degree of error to be
expected.
The procedure for the extraction of the
parameters for the direct axis is as
follows:
The low frequency asymptote of the frequency
is usually very well defined in the results
and the value of Xd and Tdo' can then be
obtained with very good assurance.The term
corresponding to this pole can then be used
in conjunction with the next zero or
subtracted from the results and the residue,
which must be made up from a series of
pole-zero pairs, is then considered. In this
w a y , t h e complete frequency range
corresponding to the transient response, is
covered and finally only the term
c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o the s h o r t c i r c u i t
subtransient time constant remains.
If the effect of Tdo' is subtracted from the
results, the pairs of poles and zeros must
always combine to produce a lead function.
From classical linear control theory, the
effect of adding a single lead to a circuit
is very easily defined. From the frequency
response of a lead circuit having the first
order transfer function
G(s)

( 1 t sT)
(1 + sT/a)

a(s + 1/TL
( s + a/T)

a > 1

the following can be shown to apply:

(i) the network produces a maximum

190

phase shift at a frequency

n

~/TF

(ii) the value of this maximum phase

shift is determined from

and (iii) the overall gain change due to the

network is given by 20 log a
From (i) and either one of the other
relationships it is possible to uniquely
define the transfer function of the lead
circuit.
It is here where the phase information is of
prime importance since it is very easy to
identify a phase shift peak in the frequency
response data, determine the frequency at
which it occurs and evaluate 'T' and 'a' from
(i) and (ii) above. The gain change in (iii)
can be used as a cross check or, if the data
is fuzzy, the three relationships can be used
t o p r o v i d e o p t i m u m v a l u e s for the
parameters.
On many occasions the frequency response has
such a complex set of terms that a peak in
phase is not identifiable. In these
circumstances the gain changes with frequency
at a rate other than the 20 dB per decade
associated with a single term but remains
substantially constant over a reasonable
frequency range. Differentiating the
expression for the gain of the lead circuit
shows that at the geometric mean frequency
where the maximum phase shift occurs, the
slope of the gain function is given by:
=

(iv)
dW

20 (a - 1)
(a + 1)

dB per decade

The value of 'a' can then be determined from

the slope of the measured frequency response,
this relationship replacing that in (ii)
above. Used in these ways, most of the
practical forms of frequency response can be
analysed.
Results of Sample Calculations
The procedures outlined above have been
applied to the frequency response measured in
the direct axis of a 500 MW generator (7)
shown in figure 3.
The asymptotic value of Xd at low frequencies
is 7.92 dB and the corner frequency estimated
from the -3dB point is 0.0164 i.e. the value
of Tdo' is 9.704 secs. Following this pole,
the slope of the frequency response gain
curve is 13.71 dB/decade which from the
previous section gives a value for a of 5.36
for the pole zero combination required for
this section. Using the value of Tdo' above
indicates a zero at a frequency of 0.0879 Hz.
Subtraction of this pole zero pair from the
measured data results in a frequency response
having a peak phase shift of -10.1 degrees at
a frequency of 0.17 Hz, all deviations in
gain error being less than 1dB below this
frequency. Applying
the derived
relationships to these figures produces
values for 'a' and 1/T of 1.425 and 0.1424 Hz
respectively.

Subtraction of these from the remainder of

the frequency response results in a frequency
response with a phase peak of 8 degrees at a
frequency of 37 Hz and gain errors of less
than 0.5 dB up to a frequency of 14 Hz which
gives corresponding values for la9 and l/t
of 1.323 and 32.2 Hz.
Subtraction of this produces a final residue
which in which the gain and phase errors are
l e s s t h a n 1.5 d B a n d 2.3 d e g r e e s
respectively. The final transfer function is
therefore
Xd(s) = 7.92

(1+1.81s)(1+0.784s)(1+0.0374~~
(1+9.704s)(1+1.118s)(1+0.00494s)

The points in figure 3 correspond to the

transfer function above. It is evident that
because no poles or zeros have time constants
close enough to one another to cancel,
omission of any pair of time constants to
reduce the order of the system would result
in quite erroneous simulation of the
transient response.
Similar analysis can be applied to results of
tests in the quadrature axis and is being
applied successfully in work being done on a
laboratory machine at James Cook University
to determine the optimum parameters for the
controllers ( 8 ) .
CONCLUSIONS
Frequency response methods are becoming the
standard means for the determination of the
parameters of synchronous machines for
transient stability studies.
Existing methods of extracting the parameters
for the equivalent circuits from the measured
data tend to be rather arbitrary and have
not produced the level of agreement with
measured responses necessary for validation
purposes.
A new procedure for the determination of the
time constants required to fit the frequency
responses of the measured operational
inductances of synchronous machines has been
described.
The procedure does not require prior
knowledge of the order of the model to be
used, is founded on well established
principles of linear control theory and has
been found to work well for the equivalent
circuits used for synchronous machines.
REFERENCES
1

Kilgore, L.A., 1931, "Calculation of

Synchronous Machine Constants",
Trans.AIEE, 50, 1201-1214.

Wright, S . H., 1931 "Determination of

Synchronous machine constants by Test",
1331-1351.
Trans AIEE,

Buseman, F.. and Casson, W., 1958

"Results of Full Scale Stability Tests
on the British 132kV Grid System". Proc.
IEE, 105, 347-362.

so,

Shackshaft, G., and Neilson, R.,

"Results of Stability Tests on an
Underexcited 120 MW Generator", ProcIEE,
119, 175-188

191

Lang, R.D., Hutchinson, B.E. and Yee,

H., 1 9 8 3 , "Microprocessor Based
Identification System Applied to
Synchronous Generators with Voltage
Regulators", ProcIEE, 130, 2 5 7 - 2 6 5 .

Walton, A . ,
1981, "Determination of
Synchronous Machine Stability Study
Constants, A Summary of Work done by NE1
Parsons", EPRI Workshop, St. Louis.

Croft, J.S., "Microprocessor Based

C o n t r o l S y s t e m s for Synchronous
Machines", MEng.Sc. Thesis, James Cook
University.

Electric Power Research Institute.

. 1981.
~~~,
Compendium of the EPRI Workshop on
Modelling for Stability Calculations.

TL,dl

=,i l_l

ld;:

(dBIXd

4d
'kdl

'kd2

7 -

I--

log w
1/Td:
Flgure 1

E q u i v a l e n t c i r c u i t s f o r the d i r e c t a x i s

Figure 2

l/ld'

l/Td:

Frequency response

1/Td'
f o r the d i r e c t a x i s

Phase Xd
(degrees)

10-3

10-2

10-1

10

Frequency ( H r )
Figure 3

Frequency response of 5OOW machine I n the D a x i s

100