ID: 664
The Turbogenerator – A Continuous
Engineering Challenge
C. Ginet, R. Joho, Member, IEEE, M. Verrier
Abstract— Since the 1901 invention of the cylindrical rotor for a
high-speed generator, the turbogenerator has been used for
converting the steam turbine and gas turbine power into
electrical power. Today a wide array of turbogenerators between
50 MVA and 1300 MVA in full-speed (two-pole) design is
available. The nuclear power plant business is covered by half-
speed (4-pole) designs with a range up to 2000 MVA. Today, the
main drivers for design uprates are cooling design and insulation
technology. The design development is supported by FEM and
CFD, which in future will get linked with mechanical design
tools. The future is characterized by new needs regarding power,
efficiency and stability, and the commercial availability of
emerging material technologies.
I. INTRODUCTION
S ince the 1901 invention of the cylindrical rotor of
Charles Brown for a high-speed generator, the
turbogenerator has been the unique solution for converting
steam turbine power into electrical power. The continuously
transposed stator bar, invented by Ludwig Roebel in 1912,
opened the door for large scale winding application. Up to the
1930ies the generators were designed in 2-, 4- and even 6-
pole, in accordance with the speed optimums of the steam
turbines in those days. The 1920ies ended with impressive
power generation plants, having generator units in the 100
MVA range (see Fig.1). The stator winding insulation
consisted in the beginning of plied-on mica-paper,
compounded by Shellac varnish, later substituted by asphalt.
Voltages were up to 12 kV.
Fig. 1. Hellgate USA, 1928, 2 x 80 MW, with external generator fan
C. Ginet and R. Joho are with ALSTOM (Switzerland) Birr
M. Verrier is with ALSTOM (France) Belfort
constantin.ginet@power.alstom.com
1
In the early 1930ies two European manufacturers were
introducing 36 kV stator windings, thus eliminating the
machine transformer. All such designs were suffering of
continuous heavy electrical discharges, and were soon
discontinued. After a 60-year time-out, a manufacturer
surprised the world in 1998 with a cable-based high-voltage
generator up to 400 kV. However again, the cable technology
was not ready for turbogenerator requirements, and a
breakthrough for commercial application was not achieved.
In the 1930 US manufacturers were introducing hydrogen
as coolant. When combined with direct conductor hydrogen
cooling in the rotor, and later in the stator, this allowed a
considerable increase in specific utilization and efficiency. By
early 1960 the unit ratings were achieving 500 MVA. At that
time deionized water cooling in the stator winding was
introduced. Around 1960 all major manufacturers changed
their insulation system to mica tape with synthetic resin
impregnation, a technology for thermal qualification at 155°C,
and which has been lasting into these days. By end of the
1960, with the power semiconductors becoming mature, the
dc machine excitation (Fig.2) was superseded by the static
excitation, and by an ac exciter machine with rotating diodes.
Fig.2. DC-exciter on the left, replaced by static thyristor on the right
The 1970ies brought again a tremendous growth in unit
ratings, going along with the introduction of nuclear power.
Units of 1200 MVA at 3000 rpm and 1600 MVA at 1500 rpm
at up to 27 kV were designed and put in operation. The rotor
diameters were arriving at their physical limits. Water-cooling
of the rotor winding was introduced. Along with plans for
2000 MVA and beyond, superconducting rotor windings and
stator air-gap windings were studied. However, in early 1980
the market focus was shifting to gas turbine technology, with
some 100 MW beginning to grow into the area of large power
plants, and initiating a new round of uprating the simple and
robust air-cooling technology in the 300 MVA range by 1996.
The generator has for a long time been developed by
repeating the cycle: design – test – adjust design tools –
extrapolate design. A tremendous breakthrough came with the
large computers in the 1960ies, immediately being used for
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the key competences, such as magnetic field calculations, non-
linear coolant flow networks and mechanical turbine-
generator shaft calculations. Some programs of that area are
even in use in the today’s PC environment. As an example,
magnetic equivalent circuits were established to determine
excitation currents. Once these programs were calibrated on
measured data, they have been proven very accurate and still
today, for most applications make obsolete any FEM method.
II. TODAY’S TURBOGENERATOR TECHNOLOGIES
A. Small units up 150 MVA
The size of these small air cooled units has evolved quite
quickly. These machines are mainly devoted for gas turbines
and steam turbines accepting cycling expansion. The gas
turbines market has led to a very standardized range of
machine based on the evolution of the turbine technologies
and on the market requests. The models developed in 1980 for
40 MW 50 Hz/60 Hz; same generator for 50 Hz and 60 Hz
with a gear box wheel and pinion adaptation; are nowadays
joined by models in the 130-150 MW range.
These generators are always designed using the simplest
solution in order to reach low costs using modular solutions.
For example the stator is cooled using one chamber and the
excitation system does not need a third bearing and no pilot
exciter. By this way, the models used for gas turbines are
easily adapted for steam turbine or double drive solutions.
All these machines are easy to transport and to mount on
site (Fig.3) and are very often mounted and coupled to the
turbine by the turbine manufacturer. They are delivered in a
short time and a lot of engineering is done to improve the
through put time of these models. The maintenance of these
groups is quite simple requiring a small storage of spare parts.
Fig. 3. Small air-cooled generator in the 150 MVA range; transport as a
package
A recent trend is the increase of the power of the electrical
drives used in the oil and gas industry, mainly for liquid
natural gas pumps. Such drive motors require options similar
to those developed for the generators, however having a
variable speed drives controlled by static frequency
converters. The performance is evolving quite strongly: a
world record for this kind of motor at 21 MW 5900 rpm in
1985, seems modest in view of today’s 100 MW. The speed
2
values are close to generation with values between 3600 and
4200 rpm.
B. Medium range up to 500 MVA
Since the introduction of the 300 MVA class ten years ago,
subsequent development has extended the rating up to the 400
MVA range [1]. One of the main technology drivers has been
the improvement of the rotor axial cooling and winding
indirect cooling using a modular stator multi-chamber air-
flow.
These generators are characterised by their simplicity and
ease of operation and maintenance. They have also proven
their maturity in GT24/GT26 gas turbine applications as well
as on numerous steam turbines and turbines of other
manufacturers. The new ratings of the air-cooled generator
series allow for the application of air-cooled technology in
power ranges where hydrogen cooled generators were used
previously. As a result of electrical and cooling optimisation
the present air-cooled turbogenerators achieve efficiency up to
98.8 % and are used with a maximum voltage of 21 kV. Air-
cooled turbogenerators technology with highest ratings has
now accumulated more than 1.8 million of successful
operating hours with more than 100 units in operation [2].
In two decades the power output of air-cooled generators
has been increased from 200 MVA to 400 MVA. Fig.4 shows
this exceptional increase in generator power as a function of
the time. It is clear that this strong increase in power that has
occurred in the last decade was a direct response to the market
demands.
MVA 400 MVA
400 1998
300 MVA
350 1994
200 MVA
300 1982
250
100 MVA
200 1977
150
100
50
0
1970 1980 1990 2000
Fig. 4. Evolution of the air-cooled turbogenerators in the last decades.
Recently, the increase of air-pressure inside the generator
was realized. This measure allows a better cooling and
consequently enhances the capability of the air-cooled
turbogenerators.
The hydrogen-cooled types have hydrogen filling up to 5.5
bar. They are designed for single-shaft and combined-cycle
applications and are increasingly used with steam turbines
(Fig.5) . The main features of the gas-cooled design are the
same as the air-cooled. The cooling principle, end winding
support system, the retightening system and the aluminum
pressplate are excellent examples of the design similarities.
The hydrogen-cooled types are setting the benchmark for
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efficiency, large units commonly achieving 99.0 %. very long blades. The hydrogen/water-cooled generators
Since 1996, ALSTOM has supplied more than 50 units coupled to these turbines are the largest electric turbo
hydrogen-cooled turbogenerators of the 500 MVA range. machines both in term of size and performance. This type of
However, the achievable power is much higher and will be machine is ensuring 80% of the electrical production in
soon at 600 MVA. France, which is a country with a very high electrical nuclear
production. Some 50 machines in operation of this type have
shown a very good reliability in operation and have a potential
of improvement in performance.
Based on this situation, the solution preferred in the nuclear
market are not based on new technologies, but, more safely,
the tend to still improve the existing validated well-running
units.
The 2000 MVA limit for turbogenerators for the 3rd
generation of reactors is now close to be reached with
improved life time and reliability.
In order to reach this level of power, following choices
have been done:
• Use the basic solutions validated by years of
operation on running nuclear units
Fig. 5. Hydrogen-cooled turbogenerator of the 500 MVA class in standard
steam turbine arrangement • Analyze those parts which have led to the faults on
existing machines
C. Large units up to 2000 MVA • Implement improvements validated on full-speed
These generators are driven by steam turbines in large coal- hydrogen and water-cooled machines in the last
fired power plants and nuclear power plants. They are all decades.
equipped with hydrogen-cooling with up to 6 bar • Adapt the cantilever type of excitation technology
overpressure, and with direct water cooling in the stator and adapt it to be even less sensitive to diode
aging.
winding bars.
• Implement an improved type of cooling in the
The two-pole generator series begins at 500 MVA, and
rotor copper ducts.
units up to 1300 MVA are in commercial operation. They are
The maintenance of such a machine has to be done very
of highest specific utilization and therefore need complete
carefully in order to reach the guaranteed lifetime. The
direct cooling. Depending on the size the rotor, cooling is
periodic stops to refuel the reactor are to be used for optimum
performed by axial flow of hydrogen through all conductors
maintenance. The trend on the modern reactors is also to
of a slot, either in one path over half-length of the rotor, or in
reduce the time between refueling and the maintenance has to
two paths, supported by a subslot. The stator core is axially
be adapted accordingly. A wide experience has been
flown by hydrogen, symmetrically fed from both ends driven
accumulated on the existing machines.
by a radial fan, arranged on the non-driving end of the rotor
shaft. The stator winding is cooled by water-flown stainless
steel tubes embedded in the Roebel bars. Thanks to the water-
cooling the stator winding has ever been open factor for
upratings.
The rotor winding has revealed to be the limiting part for
upratings. At 1.25 m for 50 Hz, the rotor diameter is at the
limits of mechanical stress. Any extension in active length
beyond 8m needs careful consideration of the shaftline
dynamics. Potential lies in multi-zone cooling concepts for the
rotor winding, in an increase of hydrogen absolute pressure
and fan pressure.
All the described measures will lead to a consolidation at
1400 MVA unit rating. Any higher unit rating must go along Fig. 6. Four-pole turbogenerator of the 1700 MVA class in a nuclear plant
with a break in rotor winding cooling, and the parasitic effects
due to stray flux will remain a challenge as such.
III. AN OUTLOOK INTO THE NEXT 10 YEARS
The four poles machines are running at 1500 rpm up to
1700 MVA. This is a key advantage for nuclear units, where A. Market trends
the temperature of the steam is relatively low and its flow in
As a part of the energy chain, the turbogenerator requires
the low pressure parts of the turbines huge (Fig.6).
present and future developments that have to comply with the
This allows the turbine to have very large diameter by using
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market requirements as following: Design: Refined stator bar

The eddy currents and the circulating currents are of a huge
• Higher efficiency importance in the stator bars and can represent about 30 % of
• Higher reliability the losses in the bars [3]. An example of design modification
• Low cost energy production allowing a significant gain in losses in the stator bar is to
• Grid stability enhancement change the bar type, diminishing the strands size at the
minimum production size in width and height. The strands
To fulfill continuously these requirements huge
have a circular cross-section. The production of such a bar
developments are in progress as presented in the following
type has been tested on samples
sections.
(Fig.8). The obtained bar is a
B. Substitution of hydrogen-cooled units by air-cooled compact Roebel bar with practically
units for higher reliability and low cost energy production no eddy currents. However the
The substitution of hydrogen-cooled units by air-cooled and filling factor is reduced, which
of hydrogen/water-cooled by hydrogen-cooled will be increases the DC losses. Everything
continuing to shift the ratings upwards. The limits are given considered, this design allows a
by transport dimensions, by the established temperature gain in losses and the efficiency of
classes, and by the degree of complexity of design. The Fig. 8. Braided bars sample the standard turbogenerator series
engineering will further exploit these limits involving mainly would be increased. The production
cooling and insulation materials developments. of such a bar at a large scale remains a challenge to be further
Air-cooled turbogenerators offer many benefits to the investigated.
operator. Some of which are listed below: This design could be used for directly and indirectly cooled
stator bars. For directly cooled bars, a central column of
• Excellent reliability stainless steel ducts integrating braided bars on both sides see
• Less civil work, simpler foundation Fig.9. Due to the braiding the inner heat transfer is supposed
• No hydrogen treatment system to be efficient on the total length of the generator [4].
• No seal oil system and less sealing In the case of water-cooled bars, the hollow conductors
• Less piping have to be isolated to one end of the bars as shown in Fig.9.
• Simple engineering work due to its advanced Therefore, the challenge is to link these stainless steal ducts at
technology the end of each bar with an insulating material such as a
ceramics, Teflon or even a polymer material. Although this
These advantages are the consequences of not using idea was not the object of a deep study, an expert of the EPFL
hydrogen gas as a cooling medium. This results in much laboratoire “métallurgie mécanique” considers it as realisable.
simpler and shorter
maintenance periods as well
as a shorter delivery time and
an increased reliability. The
good experience with large
air-cooled turbogenerators
demonstrates the high
potential of these generators.
The largest air-cooled
Fig. 7. Stator of the largest air- generator was designed for
cooled turbogenerator tested at 500
MVA 500 MVA. This design has
been proven by tests and
represents the maximum achievable capability of air-cooled Fig. 9. Directly cooled braided stator bars with insulated cooling ducts
generators.
C. Efficiency enhancement Design: Laminated pressplate
A critical issue of the largest two-pole generators is the core
The improvement of the efficiency is of first importance for
end heating in underexcited operation. As a longstanding
the turbogenerator of all kind in particular in air-cooled 60 Hz
practice, large 2-pole generators with hydrogen/water cooling
units for closing the gap to the benchmark values of
are equipped with conically laminated press plates on the ends
hydrogen-cooled units. Actually, it is one of the first issues
of the core. They consist of stacked laminations, which are
considered in any new turbogenerator development. In this
compacted to a ring by resin impregnation. By its one-side
section, some examples of new design solutions and new
conical shape such a press plate receives and internally guides
technologies implementation to increase the efficiency will be
part of the magnetic stray flux of the end winding at lowest
described.
loss. A further refinement, such as interlamination and
ID: 664
intralamination gaps helps to lower the eddy currents losses
(Fig.9).
Fig.10. Pressplate of large two-pole turbogenerators
Design: Cooling system
An improvement of the efficiency by reduction of the
airflow losses is in continuous progress using as support CFD
programs. In the last decades the improvement of the cooling,
such as axial ventilation of the rotor and indirect cooling of
the stator winding, allowed huge capability enhancement, a
better utilisation of the materials as well as a better efficiency.
This trend continues especially for the hydrogen and the air-
cooled generators. A schema of the present cooling system of
an air-cooled generator is presented in the Fig.11.
Fig. 11. Advanced multi-chamber cooling system for an air-cooled
turbogenerator 6 chambers
Technology integration: Insulation
Since its introduction at the end of the 1950ies the synthetic
resin mica tape insulation technology has been in use. Over
the past years a worldwide re-evaluation of insulation
technologies has been observed. On the far horizon polymer
insulations might become an option. However when
benchmarking with mica tape insulation, the required tight
quality control for the application in manufacturing and the
non-existent inherent fault tolerance for inner discharges
become obstacles. Therefore it looks that small steps in
today’s proven insulation technology will be realized earlier.
Such novelties close to introduction are:
- Improved tape, now commercially available: high
thermal conductivity using fillers (HTC), higher mica content
by denser roving carrier. Both technologies are in verification
tests. The maximum achievable thermal conductivity is at 0.5
W/mK.
- Improving the insulation system to a higher thermal class
5
(class 180). Such a technology is in final verification and will
soon be available.
- Increasing the electrical field stress to a higher value, a
15% gain seems achievable. This allows a better heat transfer
and more copper in the slot.
As specified by standards, insulation verification tests are
commonly based on comparative tests in specific
characteristics. Any modified insulation system must be at
least as good in these characteristics as the established
technology. Other criteria are sensitivity to manufacturing
variances, throughput time, environmental compliance and
second source availability for the components.
All these improvements for the stator winding insulation
look likely to shift the bottleneck into the rotor. Fortunately,
the rotor material technology brings along all prerequisites to
be upgraded into class 180 technology. This is due to the fact
that many components are inherently class 180 and simply
need a tighter specification to become qualified. In the case of
class 180, allowing class 155 operation, and probably in a
later stage class 180 peaking, it is of utmost importance that
both stator and rotor winding designs can accommodate their
elongation due to thermal expansion. A set of design measures
has been worked out to provide this safety.
Technology integration: Superconducting field coil
In turbogenerators, the main possible application of
superconductors is in the field winding. The present state of
the superconductors allows application in small generators. A
worldwide survey has been collected in particular for
turbogenerator (Fig.12). For industrial production, the
materials of 2nd generation of HTS and prices announced for
2012 give a real interest for future generator development
integrating this technology [4].
HTSL Type 1G BISCO 2G YBCO
Present -Toperation:30K -Toperation:50K
-Iop: 100 A/mm2 -Iop: 100 A/mm2
-Mechanical stress 0.4% -Mechanical stress >= 0.5%
-B ≈ 2 T -B ≈ 2 T
-100 Euro/kAm -800 Euro/kAm
2008 - -Iop: 200 A/mm2
2012 - -15 Euro/kAm
Fig. 12. High temperature superconductors: Generator market expectation
D. Stability improvement: Excitation booster
Generally speaking, the excitation current of large
generators is managed thanks to an avr-controlled thyristor
rectifier, directly supplied by the three phase voltages
generated by the generator itself. In the case this voltage drops
down, the avr will counteract. This can become impossible
when the thyristor rectifier reaches limits given by its AC
feeding. A possible solution is to oversize the transformer
connected between the output of the generator and the
thyristor rectifier, to keep the control of the excitation current
for obtaining the over-excitation of the generator, even if its
output voltages are at a low level.
ID: 664
A solution is to add an additional energy source in the form
of a pre-charged supercapacitor bank (Fig.13) that allows the
control of the excitation current, even in case of heavy drop of
the main supply [5]. Supercapacitors seem to be well adapted
in view power density.
Fig.13. Principle of the Boostercap introduced in a standard excitation
system
A study in collaboration with EPFL and Technical
University of St-Petersburg is in progress to demonstrate the
positive impact of such a system on the stability of an
electrical grid. To assess the real benefit, the system is
incorporated to every turbogenerator of the modeled electrical
grid. The simulation is going to be performed with SIMSEN
and Matlab Simulink
E. Engineering calculation tools
Concerning the future of engineering tools we expect the
further linking of the design geometry with the modeling
tools, and this in both ways. Furthermore we expect more use
of CFD, eventually replacing large test arrangements. FEM
will be interactively combined with machine parameter tools,
a precursor is the virtual short circuit testing program of EPFL
[6]. FEM integrated in machine models which themselves are
part of simulation tools could be used for investigations of
harmonics of currents or voltages on the generator
components.
Two main categories of programs are used at the present.
The first is employed to simulate events in the electrical grid
and to demonstrate the consequences on grid stability. These
programs integrate transient and substransient models of
generators. For the turbogenerator, a complete result including
stator and rotor current, stator voltage, powers, torques in
function of time can be obtained. Some of the more used are:
• SIMSEN
• Matlab Simulink
The second category of programs is based on FEM
calculation and gives detailed information of what happens in
the generator. The magnetic field (Fig.14), eddy currents,
losses and forces are calculated. Ventilation models are
introduced in order to know the resulting temperature
distribution in the generator. For this kind of calculation the
detailed design of the generator is required. Some of the most
used programs [7] are :
• Magnet (Infolytica)
• Electra (Vector Fields)
• Maxwell (AusSoft)
6
• ANSYS/ Emag
• UNIFELD (in-house development)
Fig. 14. Result of an advanced magnetic field calculation with UNIFELD;
Turbogenerator cross section
An approach, which mixes both categories of programs and
gives combined results for the grid as well as the generator, is
the most interesting for turbogenerator applications. The
application of such a program provides a better understanding
of the turbogenerator coupled with the electrical grid.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
Since more than 100 years turbogenerators have been in use
for steam turbine and gas turbine applications of any size. The
technical evolution has not stopped; new market requirements
and new material technologies ask for adaptations in design.
The future market will be characterized by a revitalized need
for very large turbogenerators, both two-pole and 4-pole. The
future will also be characterized by an exciting competition
between well-established conventional solutions and new
“high tech” solutions. In any case highly skilled engineers
paired with the best available design tools will be required.
REFERENCES
[1] R. Joho, C. Picech, K. Mayor, “Large air-cooled turbogenerators -
extending the boundaries”, CIGRE Session 2006, paper A1-106.
[2] C. Ginet, B. Zimmerli, A. Ziegler, W. Shugui, "Ten years of operational
experience with ALSTOM’s air-cooled TOPAIR turbogenerator in the
300 MVA class and above", Power-Gen Asia 2006, Hong Kong, China.
[3] J. Haldemann, “Transpositions in stator bars of large turbogenerators”,
IEEE Trans. on EC, vol. 19, no. 3, Sept. 2004.
[4] R. Joho, C. Ginet, A. Schleussinger, “Generators: superconducting
technology competing with improved conventional technology”, Swiss
Federal Department of Energy (BFE), Report 260037 (in German), 23
Oct. 2006.
[5] R. Joho, "Flexible AC generation solutions”, presented at IEEE PES
Swiss Chapter Workshop on Power System Stability, 17 November
2006, Dättwil, Switzerland.
[6] J.-J. Simond, C. Ramirez, M. Tu Xuan, C.-E. Stephan, "A numerical test
platform for large synchronous machines also useful as a design
optimization tool", IEEE PES General Meeting 2006, Montreal, Canada,
paper 615.
[7] J. Bialik, P. Arend, “Electromagnetic and thermal calculations of end
region components of large turbogenerators”, SME 2006, Cracow,
Poland.