BRITISH STANDARD BS 4999-140:

1987

General requirements
for rotating electrical
machines —
Part 140: Specification for voltage
regulation and parallel operation of a.c.
synchronous generators

UDC 621.313-13

--`,,```,,,,````-`-`,,`,,`,`,,`---

Provided by Accuris Licensee=/, User=,

No reproduction or networking permitted without license from Accuris Not for Resale,
 BS 4999-140:1987

Committees responsible for this

British Standard

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted by the Power Electrical
Engineering Standards Committee (PEL/-) to Technical Committee PEL/1,
upon which the following bodies were represented:

Association of Consulting Engineers

Association of Electrical Machinery Trades
Association of Manufacturers Allied to the Electrical and Electronic Industry
(BEAMA Ltd.)
Association of Supervisory and Executive Engineers
Bureau of Engineer Surveyors
ERA Technology Ltd.
Electricity Supply Industry in England and Wales
Engineer Surveyors Section of the ASTMS
Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association
Health and Safety Executive
Ministry of Defence
National Coal Board
Power Generation Association (BEAMA Ltd.)
Rotating Electrical Machines Association (BEAMA Ltd.)
South of Scotland Electricity Board

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the
direction of the Power Electrical
Engineering Standards
Committee was published
under the authority of the
Board of BSI and comes
into effect on
30 January 1987
--`,,```,,,,````-`-`,,`,,`,`,,`---

© BSI 04-2000

First published as BS 4999-40

May 1972
First revision as BS 4999-140
Amendments issued since publication
January 1987
Amd. No. Date of issue Comments
The following BSI references
relate to the work on this
standard:
Committee reference PEL/1
Revision announced in
BSI News October 1986

ISBN 0 580 15647 8

Provided by Accuris Licensee=/, User=,

No reproduction or networking permitted without license from Accuris Not for Resale,
 BS 4999-140:1987

Contents

Page
Committees responsible Inside front cover
Foreword ii
1 Scope 1
2 Parallel operation of a.c. generators 1
3 Voltage regulation of constant voltage a.c. generators 1
Appendix A Voltage regulation grades 3
Figure 1 — Typical voltage response characteristic 2
Table 1 — Voltage regulation grades 2
Publications referred to Inside back cover

--`,,```,,,,````-`-`,,`,,`,`,,`---

© BSI 04-2000 i
Provided by Accuris Licensee=/, User=,
No reproduction or networking permitted without license from Accuris Not for Resale,
 BS 4999-140:1987

Foreword

This Part of BS 4999 has been prepared under the direction of the Power
Electrical Engineering Standards Committee and supersedes BS 4999-40:1972
which is withdrawn.
The requirements contained in several clauses of BS 4999-40:1972 have been
omitted from this new Part, as they are now included in BS 4999-101 which is
based on Publication 34-1 of the International Electrotechnical Commission. No
technical changes have been made to the remaining clauses of BS 4999-40:1976,
but, editorially, the Part number has not been included in the point numbering
system as in Part 40.
A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity
from legal obligations.

Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
pages 1 to 4, an inside back cover and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on the
inside front cover.
--`,,```,,,,````-`-`,,`,,`,`,,`---

ii © BSI 04-2000
Provided by Accuris Licensee=/, User=,
No reproduction or networking permitted without license from Accuris Not for Resale,

1 Scope
This Part of BS 4999 specifies requirements for
voltage regulation and parallel operation of
a.c. synchronous generators.
NOTE The titles of the publications referred to in this standard
are listed on the inside back cover.
2 Parallel operation of a.c. generators
A.C. generators specifically required to operate in
parallel shall be provided with excitation/voltage
regulating systems which will enable them to share
the kVAr of the group load on a proportionate basis.
NOTE 1 When a.c. generators are required to operate in
parallel this should be specified at the time of the enquiry and
confirmed at the time of ordering.
NOTE 2 To enable generators operating in parallel to share the
kW of a group load on a proportionate basis it is necessary for the
prime movers to be provided with suitable governors as such load
sharing is not a function of the generator excitation/voltage
regulating system.
3 Voltage regulation of constant
voltage a.c. generators
3.1 General
The inherent voltage regulation of a generator
assumes operation at a constant excitation, which is
a condition not encountered in normal service. The
voltage regulation of a generator applies to the
behaviour of the machine operating in conjunction
with its own excitation control system and voltage
regulating equipment, if any, at constant rated
speed1), rated voltage, with the generator windings
hot or cold.
In practice the speed governing characteristics of
the prime mover will affect the value of voltage
regulation of the generator. When it is important,
information regarding the speed/load/time
characteristics should be given at the time of
enquiry.
The voltage regulation grades specified in this
clause refer to generators running singly and not
running in parallel with other generators. The
conditions for parallel running are specified in
clause 2. To enable generators to comply with these
conditions some form of parallel running
compensation will need to be applied to the voltage
regulating equipment, and power factor
compensation may also be required. For these
reasons the performance of the generator with its
voltage regulating equipment may not necessarily
comply with the requirements of this clause when it
is running in parallel with other generators.
1) For test purposes a substantially constant speed prime mover, e.g. a cage induction motor, may be used to drive the generator.
--`,,```,,,,````-`-`,,`,,`,`,,`---
© BSI 04-2000
Provided by Accuris
No reproduction or networking permitted without license from Accuris
BS 4999-140:1987
Where the generator application is such that the
normal definition of voltage regulation does not
apply, e.g. generators on rapid pulse duties or
supplying rectifiers or distorted or unbalanced
loads, the form of specifying the voltage/load
characteristics and the requirements shall be
agreed between the manufacturer and the
purchaser.
Figure 1 shows a typical curve of voltage response
on the sudden application of a load to the generator
terminals and gives the symbols to be used to define
voltage regulation characteristics.
3.2 Voltage regulation: Grade 0 (VR0)
This grade of voltage regulation shall be applied to
generators used for applications where voltage
regulation grades as defined in 3.3 and 3.4 are not
relevant to satisfactory operation in service, for
example in the case of generators supplying power
for metal fusing or melting.
Accordingly no requirements are specified for this
grade.
3.3 Voltage regulation: Grade 1 (VR1)
This grade of voltage regulation shall be applied to
all generators where grade VR0 is not applied and
where close control of voltage as specified in 3.4 is
not required.
The conditions applicable to grade VR1 are as
follows:
3.3.1 Steady state conditions. The generator, when
driven at rated speed, and operating with its normal
excitation control system, which may include an
automatic voltage regulator or any other voltage
stabilizing system, shall be capable of maintaining
the voltage under steady state conditions
within ± 5 % of rated voltage for all loads between
no-load and rated load at rated power factor.
Following transient changes the voltage shall be
restored to within these limits in less than 15 s.
NOTE Under certain operating conditions the power factor may
be other than the rated value and this may affect the voltage
regulation.
3.3.2 Transient conditions. When the generator,
driven at rated speed and giving its rated voltage on
no-load under the control of its normal excitation
and voltage regulating system, is switched on to a
symmetrical load which would absorb 35 % of rated
current at rated voltage at a power factor
between 0.4 and zero lagging, the initial voltage
drop shall be limited to 15 % of rated voltage and
the voltage shall recover to at least 94 % of rated
voltage in less than 1.5 s.
1
Licensee=/, User=,
Not for Resale,