IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Vol. 13, No.
2, June 1998 183
Commissioning Experience
with a Modern Digital Excitation System
A. Godhwani M.4. Basler, K. Kim T.W. Eberly
Southern Illinois University Basler Electric Company Southern California Edison
Edwardsville, Illinois Highland, Illinois Westminster, California
Abstract - This paper presents design, testing, The City of Highland is a small town in Illinois with a
commissioning, and operational experience related to a population of 7,500 which operates its own municipal
modern digital excitation system. In order to allow generating plant. The city buys power from a local Rural
comparison with a modern analog system, an analog Electrification Associatilon (REA), but also retains its own
voltage regulator was also installed and subjected to diesel generating statioii to supplement the REA along with
similar testing. The paper compares the digital and providing power when separated from the grid. This
analog regulators in terms of efficiency of commissioning generating station contains 7 Diesel Generators, ranging
and the resulting system performance. The digital from I.5MW to 4.4MW in size.
regulator allows ease of custom design of the regulator
settings to match the exciter and the generator, resulting Diesel Generating Unit #f5 is utilized for black start along with
in efficient commissioning. prime power and peak shaving. The excitation system for
this unit thus must be capable of operating in a variety of
modes. In the past, the excitation of this generator has been
1. INTRODUCTION accomplished by utilizing a rotary dc exciter with an aging,
non-continuously acting voltage regulator (a Silverstat
Modern excitation systems are beginning to utilize the power, voltage regulator). Thi:; voltage regulator facilitated sharing
flexibility, and the cost advantage of digital electronics. of reactive current when operated in the reactive droop mode,
These digital excitation systems typically use one or more but required the operator to continually adjust the voltage
embedded microprocessor(s) to perform the control functions setpoint to maintain the desired VAr contribution from the
of the excitation system. These control functions may generator.
include, but are not limited to, voltage regulation, VAr or
Power Factor control, Power System Stabilizers, and limiters. It was decided to upgrade Unit #5 with a modern excitation
Digital technology is being used for excitation systems from system. The rotary dc exciter was in good condition and thus
large steam and hydraulic turbines down to small diesel only the voltage regulator needed to be replaced. A Digital
driven generators. Recently some articles covering features, Excitation Control System (DECS) was selected, which
functions, benefits, models, etc. of the digital excitation includes provisions for voltage regulation, reactive current
systems have appeared in the literature [1,2] This paper compensation (droop) and VAr or power factor regulation to
considers additional practical issues related to provide the best style of excitation control to match the
commissioning of a digital regulator and compares its operational requirement of the generation facility.
performance measured against an analog regulator.
A comparison of three types of excitation control systems are
There are a large number of aging excitation systems with presented in this paper. An electromechanical system, an
rotary exciters in need of upgrading. In some cases, these analog and a new digital system were tested. The authors’
rotary exciters are being removed and replaced with static experience related to the commissioning, testing, and
exciters, utilizing modern electronic controls. In other cases, operation are also desciribed.
the rotary exciters are in good condition but warrant
upgrading of the controls. This was the situation with the 2. GENERATOWEXCITER MODELS
City of Highland’s Diesel Generating Unit #5.
The Diesel Generating Unit #5 consists of a 12 Cylinder
Opposed Piston engine rated at 2880 HP at 720 RPM. It is
PE-095AEC-0-07-1997 A paper recommended and approved by the coupled to a 2050 kW, 10 pole, 2400 Vac, 341 synchronous
IEEE Energy Development and Power Generation Committee of the generator. The excitation for this generator is provided by a
IEEE Power Engineering Society for publication in the IEEE shunt excited 17 kW, 250 Vdc belt driven dc exciter and a
Transactions on Energy Conversion. Manuscript submitted February Silverstat regulator.
10, 1997; made available for printing August 19, 1997.
This generator system is a 1960’s vintage with very little data
available for the excitation system. It was, therefore, decided
to run appropriate testa on the machines to obtain excitation
levels and time constants to develop simplified exciter and
synchronous machine models.
0885-8969/98/$10.00 0 1997 IEEE
184
Exciter: The exciter is represented by a portion of the IEEE Synchronous Machine: The simplified synchronous
standard model DCIA-DC Commutator Exciter [3] as shown machine model [4], illustrated in Fig. 3, was used to simulate
in Fig. I. Several field tests were conducted in order to the open circuit generator behavior. The parameters Go and
compile the model parameters. The saturation curves for the r d o are the incremental gain and d-axis transient time-
separately excited dc exciter were collected following IEEE constant for this model respectively. The effect of the d-axis
guidelines From the data gathered, the open-circuit and full amortisseur circuit is ignored.
load saturation curves were plotted and are shown in Fig. 2.
The data for the load saturation curve was obtained with the The synchronous machine's open circuit saturation curve
exciter connected to 5.2 ohm external load resistance, along with its air-gap line curve is illustrated in Fig. 4.
reflecting the synchronous machine field resistance adjusted
for temperature. The air-gap line slope was found to be The open-circuit time constant for the machine was obtained
R, = 244 Ohms. The exciter field resistance from the data by applying a voltage step into the exciter's shunt field. The
provided by the manufacturer was Ref = 89.5 Ohms. resulting transient reflected the dynamics of both the exciter
Therefore, the KE for the exciter was calculated as 0.368. and the generator. Since the exciter's open-circuit time
The open-circuit time constant for exciter was determined to constant had been previously established, the generator time
be 0.75 sec using the results from a step response test constant, T'do, was estimated by performing a least squares
fit to the data: The generator time constant, T d o was
The saturation function of the exciter is represented by the determined to be 4 seconds. The incremental gain, Go at
equation: rated terminal voltage was then calculated to be 0.67 from
the data abstracted from the step response and saturation
VX = EFDSE(EFD)
= EFDhateBsat curve.
The exciter model parameters for the separately excited dc
generator were established at: A Efd(s) A Et(s)
KE = 0.368; TE = 0.276; h a t = 0.00028; Bsat = 0.05
Figure 3. Synchronous Generator Model
-
U
Figure 1. Exciter Model
-
n
w
w 12
U
Q
Figure 4. Generator Open Circuit Characteristics
5 ' o a d Saturation
>
0 08
-.
: 06 3. REGULATOR SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS
W
6 04 (A) Silverstat Regulator: The Silverstat voltage regulator is a
x non-continuously acting electromechanical device that
0 2
regulates the terminal voltage by adjusting a resistance that
0 is in series with the self-excited shunt field of the exciter. A
0 0 2 04 06 08 1 1 2
E X C K E R FIELD C U R R E N T (lef) reactive droop circuit within the Silverstat scheme provides
for parallel operation of the synchronous machine with other
Figure 2. Exciter Saturation Curves machines and the system.
185
(B) SSR Regulator: An analog type voltage regulator was user a system that can be tuned over a wide range. The
selected to provide for a comparisor, of the different types of tuning process can be as simple as selecting the appropriate
excitation schemes. This voltage regulator, rated at 125Vdc stability range (SR) corresponding to the generator open-
at 12Adc, utilizes a thyristor output power stage to establish circuit time constant, to as complex as customizing the PID
the shunt field current in the exciter to regulate the terminal values with a manufacturer provided software package.
voltage of the generator. The voltage regulator portion of the
excitation system model for the SSR125-12 is shown in Fig.
5. The SSR is equipped with a "stability" adjustment which 4. DESIGN OF DECS CONTROLLER PARAMETERS
allows the user to adjust the amount of rate feedback, KF, of
the regulator. The other time constants and gains in the The method for designiiig PID gains for the DECS has been
regulator are fixed at time of manufacture and are not easily presented in an earlier paper [5]. The design method is a
adjustable due to the fully encapsulated printed circuit board variation of the method of pole placement design. The
design. design methodology uses the known model of the plant and
determines the controller settings that will force the closed-
(C) DECS Regulator: DECS is a digital voltage regulator. loop poles to designer selected locations.
This voltage regulator utilizes a Pulse Width Modulated
transistor output power stage with a rating of 125 Vdc at 15 The resulting analog controller is then discretized. This
Adc. Parts of the regulator such as the PID controller are design approach is justified since the sampling rate (80 Hz)
digital in nature while other parts like sensing circuitry is is much larger than the bandwidth of the system (cl Hz).
analog in nature. Although the controller is implemented
utilizing digital technology and a discrete control algorithm, Two different sets of parameters are considered for testing
the DECS can be modeled by a continuous time transfer and are listed as cases 1 and 2. For case 1, the parameters
function as shown in Fig. 6, similar to model AC8B[2] where:
are directly obtained from the stability tables (20 set of PID
controller gains) provided by the manufacturer. Accordingly,
Kp is the proportional gain for a generator with an open-circuit time constant of 4
KI is the integral gain seconds, the stability setting number 13 is used. The
KD is the derivative gain parameters in the stability tables are based on the
TD is the derivative block low pass filter constant assumption that the exciter time constant is 1/6 of the
KAis the regulator/power amplifier gain generator time constant. The parameters shown for case 2
TA is the power amplifier time constant are custom designed for the exciter and the generator under
consideration.
The DECS regulator allows adjustment of most of the time
constants and gains within the regulator. This provides the
case 1) Kp = 107, KI = 7, K~ = 3.3,
TD = 0.0125, KA = 0.0672, TA = 0
case 2) Kp = 132, KI = 12.7, KD= 3.725,
TD = 0.0125, K.A = 0.0672, TA = 0
5. EXCITATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE TESTS
Step Response Tests: The generator was operated off-line,
at rated terminal voltage and speed while voltage step
changes were introduced into the summing junctions of the
three voltage regulatinig systems. This technique allows a
thorough study and provides a basis for comparison.
Figure 5. Simplified SSR Regulator Model
(A) Silverstat Reguliator: The setpoint of the voltage
regulator was stepped ,to produce 5% change in the terminal
voltage. This was accomplished by shunting the normal
setpoint potentiometer with another potentiometer with a
switch in series to interirupt the circuit. The results are shown
in Fig. 7a. The systenn response for this electromechanical
regulator exhibited siginificant overshoot, about 45%, and
took a long time to settlle, around 9 seconds.
(B) SSR Regulator: 'This analog type regulator was wired
into the shunt field of the exciter. Although only minimal time
constant adjustments were available, this system allowed for
Figure 6. Simplified DECS Regulator a comparison with the digital regulator. The stability
186
adjustment on the SSR was adjusted to result in the best
compromise between overshoot and settling time The HIGHLAND GENERATING STMION
results of the step response test (5%) for this case are shown -
Unit 5 (AVR / GEN) CLOSED-LOOP
FREQUENCY RESPONSE OFF-LINE
in Fig 7b. The overshoot was slightly better than the
Silverstat regulator, at about 40%, but the settling time was
approximately the same as Silverstat Regulator.
(C) DECS Regulator: The reference setpoint of the terminal
voltage was stepped in 5% increments from the front panel of
the regulator. The step response curves were recorded for
the two sets of PID settings listed as cases 1 and 2. The
results are presented in Figs. 7c and d The step response
curves for these two cases are similar, with an overshoot of
approximately 30-35% and a significantly improved settling
time of about 3.5 seconds.
Closed-Loop Frequency Response Tests: The closed-
loop frequency response tests were conducted on the analog
and digital regulators. Equipment was not available to (a) SSR
perform such a test on the electromechanical regulator. The
tests were conducted on the system in accordance with IEEE HIGHLAND GENERATING STATION
Unil 5 - (AVR / GEN) CLOSED-LOOP
421.2 [6]. Sine wave voltage changes were introduced into FREQUENCY RESPONSE OFF-LINE
the summing junctions and the generator terminal voltage
was measured. The generator was operated off-line, at rated
terminal voltage and speed . The results of the test are
shown in Fig. 8a, b, c. The significant points to observe are
as follows:
SSR Regulator - The frequency response has a significant
rise in amplitude of about 5dB at 0.15Hz with a bandwidth of
about 0.3Hz. The rise in amplitude corresponds with the
.......................... ..
underdamped response as seen in the step change ., ..,>.:. ..
.........,.....
-460
-600
recordings. -160
(b) DECS case 1
(a) Silverstat (1.25 volts/ major div, 1 sec / major div.)
HIGHLAND GENERATING STATION
U n i l 5 - (AVR / GEN) CLOSED-LOOP
FREQUENCY RESPONSE OFF-LINE
Lao
60
-50
(b) SSR (2.5 volts/ maior div, 1 sec / maior div.)
........ . -1110
-160
-200
-2*o
-300
-160
-400
fcl DECS. case 1 (2.5 volts/ maior div. 1 sec I maior div.) -160
-100
0.01 0.1 1 LO
F P B a U P H G f CH.)
DBCSP-lS
N0LI"ALIZI <A111 DS C*I".I1..(I*B
(c) DECS case 2
(d) DECS, case 2 (2.5 volts / major div, 1 sec / major div.)
Figure 8. Closed-loop Frequency Responses
Figure 7. Generator Terminal Voltage From Field Test
187
DECS case 1 - The frequency response using the standard Excitation Systems”, IEEE Trans. On Energy Conversion,
PID values in Stability Range 13 exhibits a rise in amplitude Vol. 11, No. 3, September, 1996, pp. 607-615.
of about 5dB at 0.3Hz with a bandwidth of about 0.6Hz. The
rise in amplitude is the same as the SSR Regulator but at a [3] IEEE Std. 421.5-1992, IEEE Recommended Practice for
higher frequency. In the step change recordings, this Excitation System Models for Power System Stability
corresponded to a faster turnaround time and quicker Studies.
settling.
[4] P. Kundur, “Power System Stability and Control”,
DECS case 2 - The frequency response using the customized McGraw-Hill, 1994.
PID values exhibits a rise in amplitude of about 3dB at 0.3H.z
with a bandwidth of about 0.65Hz. The “customized values” [ 5 ] A. Godhwani, M.J. 13asler, “A Digital Excitation Control
resulted in a more desirable response. System for Use on Brushless Excited Synchronous
Generators”, IEEE Tram. On Energy Conversion, Vol. 11,
No. 3, September, 1996, pp. 616-620.
6. HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATIONAND
OPERATING PERFORMANCE [6] IEEE Std. 421.2-19190, IEEE Guide for Identification,
Testing, and Evaluatioin of the Dynamic Performance of
The permanent installation of the new DECS became Excitation Control Systeims.
somewhat of a challenge because of the condition of the old
excitation switchgear. Wires were not marked, changes to Arjun Godhwani graduated in electrical engineering in 1963
the system had been made without proper documentation and obtained his M.S.E.E. in 1965 from Roorkee, India.
and the overall condition of the wiring was questionable. An From 1965 to 1968, he taught at BITS in Pilani, India. He
interface plate was fabricated to allow the DECS unit to fit in went on to acquire his Ph. D from the University of Arkansas
the same opening as the Silverstat. The project was delayed in 1971. He has been a professor at Southern Illinois
because of the unexpected wiring difficulties. The system University at Edwardsvillle since 1972, where he also retains
was made operational approximately one year ago. Since the position of graduate program director for electrical
then, it has operated without fault. engineering. He is currently active in consulting in the field of
excitation systems.
7. CONCLUSION Michael J. Basler graduated in electrical engineering in
1979 and obtained his 1VI.S.E.E. in 1989 from the University
The implementation of a modern digital excitation system on of Missouri at Rolla. From 1979 to 1981, he worked at
an aging generator can be easily accomplished. Because of Emerson Electric Company in St. Louis, Missouri, on an
the versatility of the digital program, its functional automated, two-way communications system for Electric
capabilities, and a wide range of operating options, any Utilities. He has been working at Basler Electric in Highland,
number of configurations can be provided. Tuning of the Illinois since 1981 in1 various design and engineering
overall system can be accomplished in a short period of time, management positions related to the field of synchronous
even if the data supplied is incorrect. The changing of machine excitation systlems. He is currently the manager of
parameters can be quickly accomplished. This is not the Electrical Engineering of the Power Systems Group.
case with the analog type regulator used here. Certain
startup functions can be easily accomplished, such as step Kiyong Kim received the BS degree from Hanyang
changes and monitoring of operating levels, with the internal University, Seoul, Korea in 1979. He worked for Agency for
functions of the digital program. Defense Development, Korea from 1979 to 1988 as a
research engineer in the area of system modeling, analysis,
However, with the old excitation systems, the retrofit may not design and simulation. He received the M.S.E.E. degree
be easy because of the type of construction and overall from the University of !South Florida at Tampa in 1991 and
maintenance afforded to the older systems. Experience D.Sc. degree in the :Systems Science and Mathematics
indicates that the retrofit of systems can be more difficult Department at Washington University in St. Louis, MO in
than engineering a new system. 1995. He works at Bacsler Electric and his current interests
are stability analysis of power systems, design of excitation
control system, and large-scale computational methods.
8. REFERENCES
Thomas W. Eberly graduated from Purdue University at
[ I ] IEEE Task Force on Digital Excitation Systems “Digital Lafayette, Indiana in 1967 with a BS degree in electrical
Excitation Technology - A Review of Features, Functions and engineering. Working for the Southern California Edison
Benefits” IEEE Summer Power Meeting; Panel Session on Company since 1969, he is now responsible for excitation
Digital Excitation System Applications and Models, January systems and power system stabilizers on the SCE system.
23, 1996, Baltimore, MD. At present, he is Chairman of the Equipment Working Group
in the Excitation Systems Subcommittee, of the Power
[2] IEEE Task Force on Digital Excitation Systems, Engineering Society of IIEEE.
“Computer Models for Representation of Digital-Based
