Electrician Questions:

AC Generators
1
What is an AC Generator ?
- Equipment which generates 3 phase electrical
power when driven by prime mover at constant
speed
2
What is the capacity of Generator ?
- Mentioned in Kilovoltamperes ( KVA ) on the name
plate
3
How to Increase the capacity ?
By adding more generators on line .
4
How to add more generators on line ?
By synchronizing additional generators with already
operating generators.
5
What is synchronization ?
Process of connecting incoming Generators with
other generators on line and connected to bus.
6
What are the conditions to be met for successful
synchronization ?
- The phase voltage of the incoming Generator
should be equal to the Generator already on line .
- The frequencies of the on line generator and
incoming generator should be equal.
- The phase sequence of incoming generator should
be the same as the on line generator.
7
What are rotating rectifiers ,what they do and where
are they situated on the rig ?
- The diode bridge mounted on the generator shaft
is known as rotating rectifiers.
- It converts three phase AC output of the exciter to
DC power and is connected to the field windings of
the generator .
8
What parameters are monitored and controlled by
the AC Module /GE Module ?
- It controls Generator exciter which controls
Generator voltage and KVARs
- It controls Engine governor which controls speed
and KW output of the engine
- Protection circuits for engine and Generator are in
the AC module
- Controls Hands Off Starting of Engine.
- Provides signals to drive the Generator metering.
1
What if the Engine fail to start ?
- Engine overspeed lever not reset
- No generator volts..Voltage not reaching 600 volts
`before engine reaches full speed.
- No power to Engine throttle actuator indicated by
the throttle lever dropping shut if not held by hand.
Could be either the leads to throttle actuator open
circuit or short circuit or grounded .
- AC module in Generator cubicle not prociding the
control voltage to the throttle.
- No signal from engine pulse pick up unit.
2
What is reverse power condition and why it has to
be avoided ?
If there is fuel problem with the engine while in
operation and the Generator Is on line, if the engine
stops the generator may try to run as a motor trying
to turn the primemover if the circuit breaker is not
opened quickly and this could lead to the
destruction of the primemover.
3
At what value the circuit breaker is set for Reverse
power protection ?
at 7 % of the power in the reverse direction
4
What is an actuator and what is its function?
Actuator consists of fuel pump is mounted on the
engine and it controls the opening of the fuel rack
depending on the load demand.
5
How do you control the engine speed and the
Kilowatt output ?
The engine speed is controlled by its throttle
actuator and when two or more generators are
synchronized ,the actuators will also control the KW
load sharing between the engines.The throttle
actuator contains a small coil, controlling the coil
current will indirectly control the fuel injector
pumps on the engine.
The normal Wood ward actuator with coil resistance
of 33 ohms will pass no fuel with approximately 20
milliamps and approximately 160 milliamps with
full fuel.
6
When recalibration of actuators is necessary ?
If KW loadsharing at full load exceeds +/_ 10
percent, we need to calibrate all actuators.
7
How do you calibrate EG-3P actuators ?
- Connect multimeter in 100 milliamperes range in
series with the actuator coil.
- Start the engine and bring the engine to run
position. ( Do not put on line )
- Observe the reading on multimeter . Adjust the nut
on the actuator shaft so as to bring the reading with
in 30-40 mA range.
7
What is magnetic pulse pickup and where is it
situated ?
Magnetic pulse pick up provides the speed feedback
signal for the AC module ,it is mounted on the
housing near the engine flywheel.
1
How the voltage generated by the Generator
controlled ?
The voltage generated by the generator is controlled
by the amount of current flowing in the excitation
winding of the generator, this is supplied by either
an AC Exciter or DC exciter . The current in the
exciter field winding is supplied from the exciter
PCB which is located within the generator control
cubicle and is a half controlled single phase thyristor
bridge . The exciter PCB is controlled by the pulses
from the AC module.
1
What is the normal setting for overfrequency trip
and how to test it ?
Generator circuit breaker will trip when the
frequency exceeds 63 Hz
To test place the generator on line and rotate the
speed adjust knob on the cubicle door clockwise.
2
What is the normal setting for underfrequency trip
and how to test it ?
Generator circuit breaker will trip when the
frequency drops below 56 Hz. To test place the
generator on line and rotate the speed adjust knob
on the cubicle door counter clockwise
3
What is the normal setting for overvoltage trip and
how to test it ?
Generator circuit breaker will trip when the voltage
goes above
780 V ac . To test place the generator on line and
rotate the Volts adjust knob on the cubicle door
clockwise
4
What is the normal setting for undervoltage trip and
how to test it ?
Generator circuit breaker will trip when the voltage
drops below
530 Vac .To test place the generator on line and
rotate the speed adjust knob on the cubicle door
counter clockwise
5
What is reverse power trip setting and how to test if
it is working ?
To test , force manually the actuator lever to off
position and hold it for nearly 12 seconds. The
corresponding Generator circuit breaker will trip off
line in 5-8 seconds. Engine begins to die indicating
the CB has tripped, release the actuator arm
immediately to return to RUN position.
6
What is power limit circuit and what does it do ?
What value it is set at normally ?
Power limit circuit prevents the load from exceeding
the capacity of the Engines on line .It monitors I real
( KW’s ) and I total ( KVA’s )of all the generators to
phase down the SCR bridges on line if either KW ‘s
or KVA’s exceed preset limits. This action distributes
the available power equally among the SCR bridges.
Normally the limit is set at 95 % of the engine
horsepower rating.
Generator Controls
AC module /GE module
1
What monitors and controls Generators and Engines
?
- AC Module ( In Hill Graham or Ross Hill PCRs )
- Generator Engine Module ( In GE PCRs )
2
What parameters are monitored and controlled by
the AC Module /GE Module ?
- It controls Generator exciter which controls
Generator voltage and KVARs
- It controls Engine governor which controls speed
and KW output of the engine
- Protection circuits for engine and Generator are in
the AC module
- Controls Hands Off Starting of Engine.
- Provides signals to drive the Generator metering.
3
What protection circuits are in the AC Module ?
-Undervoltage
- Overvoltage
-Under frequency
-Overfrequency
- Reverse power
4
What if the Generator breaker does not trip for
reverse power ,under/over frequency ,
undervoltage or no pulse faults ?
- AC Module could be defective and need
replacement.
- Circuit breaker undervoltage or shunt trip unit
may be faulty.
6
No AC output voltage or less than 150 volts even
when the engine has reached its run speed ?
- Exciter circuit may be open,blown fuses or the
Generator field supply circuit defective.
- Shorted diode in the generator rotating rectifier
bridge,
- Generator residual voltage insufficient
POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
AC Distribution
1
How the AC generated is distributed?
AC Power is Fed to the common Busbars after which
the AC Power is distributed mainly in to the
following:
- Feeding Main breakers to the SCR cubicles.
- Feeding Regulating transformers through fuses to
power up the Drive control module power supplies.
- Feeding the lighting transformer primary windings
through circuit breakers
- Feeding the bus bars on the Motor control center
side through the circuit breakers if the MCC voltage
is same as the Bus voltage
Feeding the Power transformer primary windings to
supply the Motor control center through the circuit
breakers if the MCC voltage is other than the Bus
voltage .
2
How to shutdown power to AC distribution in case
of emergency ?
There are two Power plant shutdown pushbuttons
one each outside each entrance to the PCR , one
pushbutton (pull to kill ) at driller’s console and one
air operated Engine Kill air valve supplying
shutdown solenoids on each engine. Operating any
of these provisions will shutdown the power plant
completely.
3
Why transformers are used to supply motor control
centres ?
If the voltage requirement of AC equipments are
below the voltage level of the generator output , we
need to step down the voltage to the desired value.
Hence we use Power transformers for this purpose.
Motor Control Center
1
What is motor control center or MCC ?
MCC is AC switchgear consisting of several motor
starter units.
The output of the starter units are connected after
the overcurrent protection to power receptacles at
the PCR accessible from outside the PCR and the
cables with plugs from corresponding equipments
can be connected to these receptacles. The srart
/stop controls also routed in similar way to the
control receptacles.
2
How to monitor faults at the MCC ?
AC Ground fault detection system will indicate the
presence of ground faults. The faults can be
localized and the faulty circuit isolated and repaired.
3
How are the individual starter units designed ?
The individual starter units can be racked out in
place to quick disconnect from the busbars ,without
shutting down the main circuit breaker feeding the
MCC sections. After repairs the unit can be racked in
to position to restore power before the individual
circuit breaker.
Transformers
1 What is a transformer ? Transformer is an
electrical equipment which transforms electrical
energy form one circuit to another circuit without
physical connection between the two circuits. The
energy transfer is accomplished by the magnetic
field. They can convert electrical power at a given
current and voltage in to equivalent power at some
other current and voltage.
Step down power transformers are used on rigs ,
Primary windings are connected to Generator side
busbars after circuit breakers where as the
secondary windings are connected to circuit
breakers which connect to sections of Motor control
center.
2 How does primary and secondary currents relate
to each other ? When there is no or very little
current flowing in the secondary windings , very
little current flows in the primary winding as well.
When the current goes up in the secondary , primary
side current goes up as well in direct proportion to
the transformer’s turns ratio.
The primary power (voltamperes ) will be ideally
equal to secondary power ( voltamperes ). EpIp
=EsIs
3 What will happen if there is a short circuit on the
secondary windings ? Too much current will flow in
the seconadary resulting in too much current flow in
the primary winding also and if not isolated
immediately by circuit breakers or line fuses, it
could lead to insulation failure and transformer
burnout , possibly damaging the source supplying
power also.
4 What is turns ratio of a transformer ? It is the ratio
of number of turns in the primary windings to the
number of turns in the secondary winding is called
the turns ratio.
Np / Ns usually expressed as a proportion .
Primary Windings with higher voltage will have
more turns with lower current flowing in it whereas
Secondary windings with lower voltage has fewer
turns with higher current flowing through them .
IpNp = IsNs , Ip = Is( Ns/Np) Voltage relation ship :
Ep/Es=Np/Ns Current relationship : Is/Ip = Np/Ns
5 What is transformer efficiency ? Ideally primary
power is equal to secondary power. The degree to
which any transformer approaches these ideal
conditions is called the efficiency of the transformer.
It is the ratio of output power to input power.
6 What are different types of losses or wasted
power in transformers ? - Copper loss: Power is
dissipated in the form of heat in the windings equal
to I2R losses which is known as copper loss.
- Leakage of flux lines : All the flux lines produced by
primary and secondary windings travel through the
iron core of the transformer, some flux lines leak
from the windings in to space and do not link
primary and secondary. These leaked flux lines
represent wasted energy or losses.
- Hysteresis loss : When a core is initially
magnetized , the molecules are aligned in the
direction of the field.When the magnetic field drops
to zero when power to the transformer is put off,the
molecules do not return to the original
orientations.because the core retains some of the
magnetization The lagging behind the magnetizing
force by the molecules is hysteresis and the energy
supplied to molecules to cause them to turn around
and in effect catch up with the magnetic field is
known as hysteresis loss of the core. The more
energy is required ,the greater the hysteresis loss.
- Eddy current loss :Since the iron core is conducting
material, the magnetic field induces a voltage in the
coreand this voltage causes small currents to flow
with in the core called eddy currents. These eddy
currents are minimized by dividing the core into
many flat sections called laminations with insulating
coating applied to both sides . This power loss is
proportional to both frequency and magnitude of
the current in the transformer.
- Saturation loss : When the current in the primary
of an iron-core transformer increases the flux lines
generated follow a path through the core to the
secondary winding and back throgh the core to the
primary windings. When the current has risen to a
point where there are great number of flux lines in
the core , additional increases in current produce
only few additional flux lines. The core is then said
to be saturated and any further increase in current
results in wasted power since the magnetic field can
not couple additional power to the secondary.