Characteristics of equivalent circuits of synchronous

machines
A. Wa Ito n

Indexing terms: Equivalent circuits, Synchronous machines

Abstract: Frequency response tests have now

become accepted as a sound alternative to sudden
short-circuit tests for the determination of
parameters for synchronous machines for
transient studies. The standard approach to the
extraction of machine parameters from the results
of frequency response tests generally concentrate
on curve-fitting techniques to match the measured
magnitude and phase with a set of time constants.
These processes are fraught with difficulty in
respect of needing to: first, define the order of the
model before the analysis can commence; and
secondly, initiate the curve fitting with initial
estimates of the parameters. Unfortunately, there
is not a unique set of time constants which
produce a frequency response which fits the
measured data, and a better method than a
blind numerical method is therefore needed. The
author presents the application of standard linear
systems theory to predict the positions of the
poles and zeros in the frequency response and to
determine the order of the equivalent circuit
required to model the machine accurately. The
process breaks quite naturally into two parts; the
extraction of the time constants from the
frequency response, and the determination of the
parameters of the equivalent circuit from those
time constants. The basis for the measurement
technique is reviewed and the effects of different
levels of complexity of the equivalent circuit are
considered with respect to the increased difficulty
normally
experienced in
extracting
the
parameters. The ease with which this method
copes with the higher-order models and the
sequential nature of the process, working from
the lowest frequency to the highest frequency in
the frequency response, justify accepting the
procedure. Results obtained from tests on
production machines are used to illustrate the
procedures for both time constant extraction and
equivalent circuit parameter determination to
confirm the capabilities of the methods.

Introduction

The determination of the parameters of synchronous

0 IEE, 1996
IEE Proceedings online no. 19960003
Paper received 31st January 1995
The author is with the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering,
James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Q4811,
Australia
IEE Proc.-Electr. Power AppL, Vol. 143, No. 1. Januury 1996

machines has naturally been of interest to both

machine designers and plant operators since their introduction as the standard means for the supply of electric
power. The ultimate aim of the machine designer must
be the prediction of the machine performance and
therefore necessarily the machine parameters from
design information, confirmed by the results of
machine tests.
The initial need was for the determination (or prediction) of the steady-state power-producing capability of
the machine and Kilgore [l] and Wright [2] laid the
foundations for such work over 50 years ago. Since
then, radical improvements have taken place in the
techniques available for the calculation of the parameters. The use of finite element analysis to determine the
flux distribution in the machine and hence the inductances is now commonplace and is the accepted means
for such analysis, outstripping the constraints of previous methods conceived before the availability of almost
unlimited computing power. In addition, the controllers have also undergone a revolution, the means of
testing have been re-appraised and various aspects of
the response of the machine and the power system have
come to the fore.
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
have been used almost exclusively for the specification
of machine performance and, in particular, for the
analysis of 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 [5] proposed a new
approach to the determination of machine parameters
with a series of flux decay tests.
In their various guises these are all examples of step
response tests. The use of frequency response tests, carried out at both standstill and synchronous speed, is
now becoming widely accepted as an alternative to sudden short-circuit tests for the determination of the
machine parameters but there are some problems with
the identification of the order of model required for a
given machine and the extraction of the machine
parameters from the test results.
It is this topic which IS the substance of this paper,
which separates naturally into two sections: the first on
the extraction of time constants for the machine from
the results of frequency response tests, and the second
31

on the determination of the machine parameters from

those time constants. The process developed does not
depend on any numerical technique for either the determination of the order of the system, nor the placement
of the poles and zeros, but applies straightforward linear circuit analysis and reduction techniques for their
determination.
Generator modelling

2. I Steady-state models
Representation of a perfectly cylindrical synchronous
machine in the steady state requires knowledge of only
the synchronous reactance (Xs), which is simply the
sum of the leakage reactance (Xa)and armature magnetising reactance (Xm). 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 4 axis synchronous reactances then
include Xmd and Xmq as the corresponding armature
magnetising reactances along with the leakage reactance Xa.
In this steady-state representation of the machine it is
not necessary to include the rotor circuit, the steadystate EMF induced in the armature winding by the
field flux being the only data required and this is
obtained from the open circuit characteristic.

2.2

Transient response models

During transients it is necessary for the equivalent circuit to include the effects of the rate of change of flux
linkages crossing the air gap. In the direct axis the field
winding must of course be represented along with
damper windings and also the effects of eddy currents
in the rotor body, slot wedges, end caps etc. which may
be present. Whilst there is no field winding in the quadrature axis, all of the other induced current effects need
to be modelled in a similar fashion to those in the
direct axis.
Such is the status of machine design that not every
machine type built and tested has a detailed predetermined model. Whilst all of the phenomena associated
with each aspect of the various models are well understood, it is not always possible to know in advance 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 (EPRI) in America
initiated a number of contracts for the development of
methods for the determination of generator parameters
for stability studies which culminated in an EPRI
workshop on the subject [6,7].

tion is made between circuits which model the direct

and quadrature axes in this figure as it is the number of
parallel paths on the rotor and hence the order of the
model for a given equivalent circuit which is being
emphasised here. If the direct axis is being modelled,
the field winding is identified by the appropriate subscript for that branch in the equivalent circuit. As the
analysis in this paper is centred on the direct axis, the
equations derived in this paper will be assumed to be
for the direct axis only. With appropriate annotation,
the analysis of the results of tests carried out in the
quadrature axis follows exactly the same form as that
described here for the direct axis.
The results of the sudden short-circuit test are normally only relevant for models with two rotor circuits
in the direct axis, that shown in Fig. lb. It is virtually
impossible to obtain the parameters for a machine
model with an equivalent circuit more complicated
than this from the results of a sudden short-circuit test
which highlights the need for some other test method
to be used for the more complex models. Whilst the
complete range of test signals for the identification of
linear systems is available, the discussion here will be
concerned only with the results of frequency response
tests.
3

Frequency response tests

Frequency response tests have become the accepted

means for obtaining information on the parameters for
higher-order models of machines. Whilst the test procedures are well established there is no universally
accepted method for the extraction of the parameters
for the machine from the magnitude and phase information obtained from the tests.
The concept of the operational inductance of the
equivalent circuit which is derived from the impedance
measured at the stator terminals for either the direct or
quadrature axis is an attractive means of presenting
and comparing frequency response test results. Measurement of the rotorhtator transfer functions provides
alternative data from which values for the parameters
can also be obtained. Each set of test results in its own
right defines a set of parameters and judgement must
be used in combining the results from each test in order
to detennine the best set of parameters for a machine.
Two cases will be considered in detail.

3.7

Case I: One rotor circuit

3. I . I Operational inductance: The most basic of

equivalent circuits is that for the quadrature axis with
just one damper winding or the direct axis with only
the field circuit represented, as shown in Fig. la. It can
be seen, almost by inspection, that the operational
inductance (Ld(s)} of this circuit is given by
Ld(s) =

Rf(La

+ L m ) + s(LmLf + LaLm + LaLf)

Rf

+ s(Lm + L f )

(1)

which, written in the standard form, becomes

I
0

IL _ _ _ _ _ rotor
_ _

stator
L

Fig. 1

_____

b
Equivalent circuits f o r synchronous machines

The range of models available is quite extensive, as

indicated by the selection shown in Fig. 1. No distinc32

Ld(s) =

(1

+ sTd)(La + Lm)
1 + sTdo

where

Tdo =

Lm+Lf

Rf

IEE Proc-Electr Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. I , January 1996

(3)
Lam =

LaLm
La + L m

Tdo' and Td' are seen to be the traditional open-circuit

and short-circuit transient time constants of the
machine, respectively.

3.1.2 Stator/rotor transfer

functions: The
results from these tests enable the open-circuit and
short-circuit time constants to be identified separately
and can therefore be very useful for parameter extraction or comparison. The statorhotor voltage transfer
function (VsVsIVJ) for the circuit of Fig. la with the field
winding open circuited can easily be shown to be

-v _s

Vf

1
sLm
1 + sTdo' R f

(4)

When the test is conducted with the field winding short

circuited the transfer function relating stator voltage to
field current is

vs
If

-=

(1

+ sTd') R f ( LLam+ Lm)

(5)

In this simple case the parameters of the equivalent circuit are exactly related to the principal time constants
of the circuit, the values of the leakage and magnetising
inductances and the value of the field resistance. Rarely
in machine design does such a simple model hold; it is
therefore necessary to consider higher order models for
the representation of machine characteristics.

3.2 Case 2: Two rotor circuits

denominator can be rearranged to simplify the above

equation to:

Ld(s) =

+ s{(Lk + Lam)/Rk + ( L f + L a m ) / R f }
+ s 2 ( L f+ Lam)(Lk+ L a m f ) / R f R k
1 + s { ( L f + L m ) / R f + (Lk + L m ) / R k }

+ s 2 ( L m + L f ) ( L k +L m f ) / R f R k

x ( L a + Lm)

1
1

(9)
Recognising that all of the terms have the dimension of
time and that some of the them are indeed the time
constants presented in the previous section, the equation can be further reduced to:
1 s(Td' T A ) + ~ ~ T ~ ' T ~ ' '
Ld(s) =
( L a + L m ) (10)
1+ s(Tdo' T~)+s2Tdo'Tdo''
where

TA =

Lk

+
+

+ Lam

and TB =

Rk

Llc + L m
Rk

The exact time constants of the poles and zeros of

eqn. 10 are, of course, determined by extracting the
roots of the quadratic equations making up the numerator and denominator. For the numerator, the roots
are

giving values T1 and T 3

and for the denominator

S = -("do' + T B )
2Tdo'Tdo"

-J
1

4
Tdo' TB Tdo'Tdo"
Tdo'Tdo"

(1'4

giving values T2 and T4

The addition of a damper winding to the rotor circuit

produces the 'standard' or 'classical' second order
model for the machine, the circuit shown in Fig. lb.

The operational inductance can then be written in the

standard form of a two-over-two transfer function

3.2.I Operational inductance: It is convenient

to first present the relationships which, although
approximate, have been previously accepted as adequate for this equivalent circuit. The exact equations
derived in the next paragraph can then be compared
with these. Using conventional terminology the 'standard' equation for the direct axis operational inductance
is:
( 1 sTd')( 1 sTd")
Ld(s) =
(La+ Lm)
(6)
(1 s T d o ' ) ( l sTdo")

If in the exact solution T A is assumed to be equal to

Td" and TB equal to Tdo" the exact solution then
degenerates to the approximate solution. Since the per
unit value of the resistance of the damper winding is
normally much greater than that of the field winding,
this approximation holds true for superficial analysis
but is a fundamental source of error in more comprehensive studies.

+
+

+
+

where the subtransient open-circuit and short-circuit

time constants are defined as

in which Lmf is the parallel combination of Lm and Lf,

and Lmfa is the parallel combination of Lm, Lf and
La.
The operational inductance of the equivalent circuit
shown in Fig. l b can be shown to be

Ld(s) =

+ L m ) ( R f+ s L f ) ( R k+ SLk)
+ sLaLm(Rf + s Lf + Rk + s L k )
( R f + s L f ) ( R k+ s L k )
+ s L m ( R f + s Lf + Rk + sLk)

(La

The coefficients of the terms in the numerator and

IEE Proc-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. I , January 1996

3.2.2 Rotor/stator transfer functions: Once

again these transfer functions can be used to provide
frequency responses which to some extent separate the
open-circuit and short-circuit time constants. The
standard stator voltage/rotor voltage transfer function
with the field open circuit is
1 sTlc
sLm
vs-(14)
( 1 sTdo') (1 sTdo") R f
Vf
and the transfer function with the field winding short
circuited is

Vs
If

( 1 + s T d ' ) ( l + sTd") Rk(La L m )

1+ sTk
Lm

(15)

where

Lk
Tk= Rk
33

The exact solution for the transfer functions with the

field winding open circuited and short circuited can be
shown to be
1 sTk
s Lm
vs -(16)
1 ~ ( T d d T B ) s2TdoTdo Rf
Vf

The task of determining the additional time constants

is again simply the determination of another pair of
pole-zero time constants, exactly the same as for the
extension from a first-order model to a second-order
model.

and

4 l i m e constant extraction from frequency

response data

V S - 1 + S(TA+ Td)+ s2TdTd R k ( h + Lm)

(17)
If 1 sTk
Lm
where TA and TB are the time constants defined in
eqn. 10 and the same roots again apply, i.e. T1 to T4.
As was the case for the simpler circuit, the rotorlstator tests enable some degree of separation of the opencircuit and short-circuit time constants and provide
additional data for parameter extraction and comparison.

3.3 More complex models

As the machine swings asynchronously in the rotating
field, the complete rotor experiences the same changing
field. Any paths which allow induced currents to flow
in the body of the rotor must be represented in the
equivalent circuit, in addition to the currents which
flow in defined windings. As more parallel branches are
added to the rotor circuit, the analysis becomes more
cumbersome, exacerbating the identification problem.
It should be noted that in both the approximate and
the exact analysis of the first- and second-order models,
the presence of the additional parallel path on the rotor
in the higher-order model was simply to add another
pole-zero pair to the transfer functions. It is precisely
this feature for this type of circuit which is the basis for
the parameter extraction method to be outlined in the
next section.
The effect of extending the model to include further
parallel branches on the rotor for other eddy current
effects etc. will therefore add other pole-zero pairs in
the frequency response, necessitating the identification
of additional pairs of time constants. It will be seen
that this increase in complexity, which causes definitive
problems with numerical extraction methods, offers no
such difficulty whatever to the algorithm to be
described here.
When a third-order circuit is included on the rotor,
as shown in Fig. IC, the equation for the exact operational induclance is naturally a ratio of third-order polynomials for which the numerator is given by

+ L a m ) / R f + (Lk + L a m ) / R k
+ ( L j + Lam)/ R j }
+ s 2 { ( L f * L j + L j * Lam + Lam * L f ) / R f * Rj

[1+ s{(Lf

+ (Lj* Lk + Lk * Lam + Lam * Lj)/Rj* Rk

+ (Lf* Lk + L f * Lam + Lam * L k ) / R k * R f }

+ 2 ( L f * L j + Lk + Lf * Lk * L a m + L j * Lk * Lam
+ Lj * Lf * L a m ) / R f * Rk * Rj](La+L m )
(18)

The denominator is of exactly the same form as the

numerator but with Lam replaced by Lm in each of the
coefficients of s, s2 and s3.
These then reduce to the standard transfer function
form of
Ld(s) =
34

(1
(1

+ sT1)(1 + sT3)(1+ sT5) ( L a + L m )

+ s T 2 )(1 + sT4)(1+ sT6)

(19)

It is all very proper, of course, to extend the detail of

the equivalent circuit of the synchronous machine to
better represent the transient performance. It is quite
another to be able to extract sufficient detail from the
measurements made to enable the parameters of the
extended model of the machine to be determined. To
differentiate between the conventional and new methods of analysis the terms numerical and analytical,
respectively, will be used in these discussions.

4.7 Numerical approach

Faced with the need to fit a frequency response curve
with a set of time constants of unknown number and
distribution, the normal approach is to use a standard
numerical analysis package utilising some form of
curve-fitting algorithm with an appropriate error function. In the case of a synchronous machine which is
often tested 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. It
is axiomatic that for this method of analysis, the order
of the model must be decided before the curve-fitting
process can begin.
Very often the phase information is either ignored or
given only secondary importance, the majority of the
curve-fitting and time-constant extraction being done
using the variation of the magnitude with frequency.
The phase is sometimes taken into account by giving it
a comparative weighting compared with the magnitude
but the phase is not used as a prime input for the analysis. 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 prime basis for the detection of the positions of the
poles and zeros of the transfer function. Additionally,
the order of the model is not specified as an input but
is provided as an output from the parameter extraction
process.
Constraining the model of the machine to that of the
classical second-order 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. If this is the case, the application of frequency
response techniques has not advanced the modelling
capabilities for the machine. When 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 obtained in
the simulation programs then available which instigated the new approach to machine testing developed
by Shackshaft [5].

4.2 Analytical approach

The crux of the extraction method offered here, first
reported at conferences [8,9], is that, since all of the
equivalent circuits irrespective of their relative comIEE Proc.-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. 1, January 1996

plexities are combinations of passive resistors and

inductors, the circuit must always be represented by a
set of consecutive poles and zeros along the negative
real axis in the complex frequency plane, starting with
a pole, which is shown in any respectable text on network analysis [lo]. Knowing this, it is possible to
develop a strategy for the extraction of the time constants for the equivalent circuit from the frequency
response test results.
The procedure proposed here is to dispense with the
notion of a predetermined order for the model and
find, 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 simplify the model for a particular application, terms can be excluded with complete knowledge of the type and degree of error being
introduced.
From linear systems theory, the frequency response
{G(s)} of a pole-zero pair forming a first-order lag circuit having a time constant for the pole of T s and that
for the zero of Tla s (a > l), is
s+a/T
G ( s )= l + s T / a (20)
1 sT
a(s 1 / T )
The following general relationships can be shown to
apply for this circuit.
(i) The network produces a maximum phase shift at the
geometric mean or centre frequency (wm),given by

The armature resistance is the low frequency asymptotic value of the real part of the impedance of the
machine which gives a value of 0.0019098Q. Subtraction of this from the impedance data shown in Fig. 2
and dividing by jw gives the operational inductance
shown in Fig. 3. It is this frequency response which is
the starting point for both the numerical and analytical
method of parameter extraction. The low frequency
asymptote of the magnitude gives a value for Ld of
0.005003H. This will be subtracted from the magnitude
of the impedance in the following analysis to provide a
convenient zero dB datum for the results.
100,
80

I ! , . , . "

" ' ' ' ' 1 '

'

""""

'

..

""""

'"''"1
.__
.-_
.

60.c

cl 40 -

:20-

__.....---

E -20
-4 0
-6 0
10-3

lo2

IO-l

loo
frequency

io

Fig.2 Input impedance datu

w m = &IT

(21)
(ii) The value of this maximum phase shift (@m)is
determined from

5
0

-5

(iii) The overall gain change due to the pole-zero pair 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
lag circuit. In practice it is (i) and (ii) which combine to
provide the most useful method of parameter extraction and it is here where the phase information is of
prime importance. Since it is very easy to identify a
phase peak in the frequency response data and the frequency at which it occurs, the evaluation of 'T and 'a'
from (i) and (ii) above is also very easy. The magnitude
change in (iii) is rarely sufficiently well defined that it
can be used effectively for parameter extraction, but it
must, of course, be taken into account in the overall
transfer function. Used in this way, all of the practical
forms of frequency responses for synchronous
machines can be analysed.

._--

$ -10
II
Q

-1 5

5 -20

a,
73

-25

$, -30
0

E -35
-40

4.3 Results of sample calculations

4.3.1 Numerical method: This data has been analysed by Harris and Prashad [Ill producing the set of
time constants in the transfer fijnction shown below.
Only the values of the time constants of the poles and
zeros are given, the (1 + ST) format being assumed.

The procedures outlined above have been applied to

the direct axis impedance measured on a 500 MW generator [6,7]. To confirm the capability of the new
method, the extraction of the parameters for the direct
axis impedance of this machine using the method presented here will be processed in full and compared with
parameters obtained using numerical procedures. The
complete set of results for this machine (and others)
will be presented in subsequent papers. The input to
the process is the measured impedance data presented
as magnitude (dB) and phase (deg.), shown in Fig. 2 .
The results of the numerical analysis will be presented
first, followed by the analytical results.

(0.746) (0.0289) (0.00169)

(23)
X d ( s ) = 0.005003 (4.967)(0.0297)(0.00172)
It is necessary to compare the frequency response of
this transfer function with that obtained from the test
results to determine the accuracy of the numerical
method. Whilst this could be done by simply comparing the total frequency response, it is illustrative to
extract the frequency responses of the pole-zero pairs in
sequence, starting at the low frequency end of the spectrum. In this way the effect of each pair of pole-zero
time constants can be seen individually. The validity of
a time constant pair will be evident from the residual

IEE Proc.-Elech. Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. I , JQnUQry1996

35

magnitudes and phase left after their subtraction from

the original data. Ideally the subtraction of the effects
of all of the poles and zeros would result in a final
residual which would have zero phase and magnitude
error over the complete range of the frequency
response.
Subtracting the frequency response of the first polezero pair (0.746/4.967) from the measured frequency
response gives the residues shown in Fig. 4. The maximum magnitude and phase errors are +1.9 and -2.4dB
and +5.6 and -6.3deg.

Fig.4

frequency
Residuals after subtraction of one polelzero pail

Fig.5

frequency
Residuals after subtraction of two pole-zero pairs

Repeating the above procedure for the second pair of

time constants (0.0289l0.0297) gives the residues shown
in Fig. 5. The maximum magnitude and phase errors
are now +1.9 and -2.ldB and +5.5 and -6.2deg.,
respectively.
Repeating the above procedure for the third pair of
time constants gives the residue shown in Fig. 6. The
maximum phase and gain errors are now +1.9 and 1.9dB and +5.5 and -5.7deg., respectively.

4.3.2 Analy-tical method: A computer program

has been written [I21 in a WINDOWS environment
which provides a user-friendly interactive process for
the pole-zero extractions from the frequency response
of the operational inductance as outlined in Section
4.2.
The first phase maximum in the operational inductance data has a value of -42.91 deg. and occurs at a frequency of 0.08Hz. The values of the two time
constants required to produce this maximum phase,
calculated using the relationships given in Section 4.2
are 4.565 and 0.8669s. As they are determined from the
individual input data points, these time constants are
not necessarily the best possible ones to use. The program therefore plots the frequency response of this
pole-zero pair on the screen along with the measured
data and the residue left after subtraction of the pole
and zero from the operational inductance data. The
values of the centre frequency and the time constant
ratio are then allowed to be varied online to enable the
best pair of time constants (i.e. those which produce
the smallest total residues in phase and magnitude over
the frequency range affected by that pole-zero pair) to
be selected. In this way the operator has an immediate
indication of the quality of the pole-zero fit and the
error remaining when it is extracted from the measured
data.
For this data, the final time constants are 4.3844 and
0.9047s producing the results shown in Fig. 7. The
residual frequency response after subtraction of the
pole-zero pair is plotted on the graph. For a perfect
match, the residual magnitude and phase would sit on
the zero axes over the frequency range sensitive to the
given pole-zero pair. It should be noted that there are
only small variations around zero in both phase and
magnitude up to a frequency of 0.2Hz, the maximum
errors in magnitude and phase being +0.5, 4 . 7 d B and
+0.7, -6.3deg., respectively.

$
.c

0.2

;0
t

2 -2
-4

10-3

Fig.6
36

102

10-1

100

frequency
Residuals after three pole-zero pair

101

102

103

frequency

Fig. 7 Residuals after subtraction of one pole-zero pair

IEE Proc.-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. I , January 1996

The frequency response which remains after subtraction of the frequency response of the first pole-zero
pair has a phase maximum of -3.9deg. at a frequency
of 0.7Hz. Time constants of 0.2392 and 0.2061 s for the
pole and zero, respectively, are finally extracted by the
program to give the residuals shown in Fig. 8. It is
clear that the successive subtraction of these pole-zero
pairs has catered for all that is needed in the frequency
response from DC up to approximately 1 Hz with maximum errors of +0.4, -3.4dB and +0.9, -6.2deg.

frequency

Fig. 10 Residuals after subtraction

of

four pole-zero pairs

4.4 Summary

10-3

Fig.8

10-1

io0
io1
102
frequency
Residuals after subtraction of two pole-zero pairs
10-2

103

It is clear that a fourth-order model is needed to fit the

frequency response test data and that the analytical
method produces a better fit than the numerical
method over the full range of frequency. Not only has
a better fit been produced by the analytical method,
but the sequential determination of the pole-zero pairs
from the phase information clearly best represents the
physical nature of the circuit being modelled.
Determination of the machine parameters

The methods available for the determination of the

machine parameters for a known set of time constants
and the corresponding equivalent circuit will now be
discussed, building upon the process for the extraction
of time constants from the frequency response data
presented previously. Again, for brevity, only the process for data obtained for tests in the direct axis will be
examined. Once again, either numerical optimisation
processes or an analytical approach can be used.

% O
L
Q
-0 -1
0

G -2

0
J

E-3
0

E -L

5. I Extraction process

-5
-6
10-3

10-2

10-1

io0
frequency

Fig. 9 Residuals after subtraction

101

io2

103

of three pole-zero pairs

The maximum residual phase error is now -6.2deg.

at a frequency of 96Hz. Two further sets of pole-zero
pairs are required to reduce the remaining frequency
response to zero dB and zero phase.
The third pair of time constants are 0.004925 and
0.003991 which when subtracted extend the model to a
frequency of about 20Hz as shown in Fig. 9 and the
fourth pair are 0.002321 and 0.0001688s. The final
transfer function is then
(0.9047)(0.1669)(0.003991)(0 .OOO 1688)
X d ( s ) = 0.005003
(4.3844)(0.1962)(0.004925)(0.0002321)
(24)
The final residual frequency response then has magnitude errors between +0.8 and -0.8dB and phase errors
of +0.9 and -0.7deg. and over the whole frequency
range as shown in Fig. 10. The constancy of fit over
the whole frequency range is evident. The final comparison of Figs. 6 and 10 finally show the excellent results
achieved with the new method.
IEE Proc-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. I , January 1996

Having determined the values of the time constants of

the poles and zeros in the transfer function it is now
necessary to reverse the process and determine the values of resistance and inductance of the branches of the
equivalent circuit from the time constants. Knowing
the number of time constants required to adequately
model the operation inductance defines the order of
that circuit and it would be possible to iterate the values of the parameters of the rotor branches to find the
best fit. Once again, this breaks the physical link
between the time constants extracted from the frequency response and the equivalent circuit, More correctly, the analysis of the equivalent circuits described
in Section 3 should be used as the basis for the parameter extraction.
To enable comparisons between the numerical and
analytical approach to be made, the analysis presented
here will be for a rotor circuit with three branches
shown in Fig. IC using the notation developed in Section 3.3. The value of the synchronous reactance (Xd)
has already been determined and it is next necessary to
determine or assign a value to the leakage reactance
( X a ) which also then defines the value of the magnetising reactance (Xm). The remaining unknown parameters are then only those of the rotor branches of the
equivalent circuit. Using a purely numerical approach,
31

values of resistance and inductance of the rotor circuits

can be iterated to produce a frequency response which
matches the measured data. More properly, however, it
will be shown that it is possible to extend the analytical
approach one stage further. The two approaches will
now be considered in more detail.

5.1.1 Numerical methods: Using the set of time

constants given in Section 4.3, Harris and Prashad [Ill
applied a variety of numerical optimisation strategies
to determine the best parameters of the third order
equivalent circuit. The parameters determined by Harris and Prashad are shown in Table 1. It should be
stressed that these were obtained by taking the values
of the time constants extracted from the frequency
responses and iterating the values of the branch components to produce the best fit.
Rather than taking this totally numerical approach it
is possible to set up relationships between the extracted
time constants and the equations derived in Section 3.
The process for any form of solution must be equivalent to equating the time constants extracted from the
transfer function to those derived for the equivalent circuit. The process for doing this is set out below using
eqn. 18 and 19 which were derived in Section 3.3 for
the third-order model.
For the denominator

* Lf + L j + L m + Lf * L m

Lk

Rf * R j

+ * L k + LRjj **LRhm -k Lk * Lm
Lf * Lk + Lf * Lm + Lk * Lm
Lj

+
TI

* L j * Lk + L j * Lk * L m

* T3 * T5

Rf*Rj*Rk
(25)

and for the numerator

Lf + L a m
T2
T4
T6 =
Rf

LktLam

+ +

T2

Rk

+ L j +R3L a m

* T4 + T4 * Tt3 + T6 * T2
- Lk * Lf + L j * L a m + Lf * Lam
-

+
+ Lf

* Lk + Lk * Lam + L j * Lam

* T4 * T6 =

Numerical
1.08

Lf

0.8425

0.413

Tf = LVRf

6.1 14

0.382

Rj

9.4761

205

Li

0.2123

1.68

Ti= LjlRj

0.0224

0.0082

Rk

21 0.59

495

Lk

1.5272

0.588

Tk = LWRk

0.00725

0.00119

Values i n m Q and m H as appropriate

sLm{Ld(s) - La}
Lm + La - L d ( s )

(27)

which, of course, gives another frequency response data

set. This process mirrors that of subtracting the armature resistance from the measured impedance to produce the frequency response data for the operational
inductance. Assuming a value of 8.2% (0.000456Q) for
the leakage reactance for the machine (to be consistent
with Harris and Prashad) produces the frequency
response plotted in Fig. 12. It would be possible to
invoke another numerical curve fitting technique to this
frequency response but there is no need to since the
for the third-order
actual impedance of the rotor (Zv)
model can easily be shown to be

R p ( 1 f s T f ) ( l sTlc)(l+s T j )
(1+ sTv)(1 s T w )

(28)

where TA lk, r j , Tv and Tw are related to the time

constants of Ld(s) and the values of La and Lm by a
set of linear equations. In fact, the time constants of
the numerator are the individual time constants of each
of the rotor branches,

+ Lf * Lk * Lam+ Lf * L j * L a m

T f = L f / R f , Tlc = Llc/Rk and T j = L j / R j (29)

and R p is the parallel combination of resistances of the
three rotor branches:

Rf

* Rj * R k
(26)

This reveals a set of six nonlinear equations which can

be solved numerically using, for example, the fsolve
function in MATLAB. As with all numerical forms of
solution, initial estimates are required for the process
and this can once again lead to the final values for the
parameters being dependent on those initial estimates,
38

0.1378

Rf * R j
*Lk+Lf *Lam+Lk*Lam
R k * Rf

{ Lf * L j * L k + L j * L k * L a m
T2

Analytical

Rf

Zr =

Rf * R j

Lj

Parameter

Zr(s) =

Rk*Rf

Lf

Table 1: Comparison of direct axis parameters obtained

by analytical and numerical methods

5.1.2 Analytical method: Since the operational

inductance (Ld(s)} is simply the leakage reactance in
series with the parallel combination of the magnetising
reactance and the rotor impedance, it is a simple task
to determine the frequency response of the equivalent
rotor impedance Zv(s).

Ti * T3 + T3 * T5 + T5 * Ti
-

which often leads to negative values of resistance and

inductance being found for some branches. A systematic procedure which attempts to overcome this shortcoming is to use the time constants for the lowest
frequency pole-zero pair in conjunction with the equations for the first-order model to define starting values
to be used in the second-order model. The solutions to
the second-order modulation give initial values for the
solution of the third-order model and so on. Even then,
negative values for some components often occur.

Rf * R k * R j
(30)
Rf * R k + R k * Rj Rj * Rf
The low frequency asymptotic value of the magnitude
of the frequency response Zv(s) shown in Fig. 12 is Rp
which is therefore known and has a value of

Rp =

IEE Proc.-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. I , January 1996

0.00019876 for this machine. It should be noted that

the value of this asymptote is also related to the circuit
parameters and time constants by the equation

Lm2
(31)
Ld(T4+T5 T6 - T 1 - T 2 - T3)
The relationships between the unknown rotor circuit
parameters and the known time constants can then be
written as a simple linear matrix equation.

Rp =

Tj+Tk

1
Tf+Tk

1
Tf+Tj]

Tj*Tk

Tf*Tk

Tf*Tj

[i]&
__
Rf

Rk

trary component to the inductances which make up the

time constants of the circuit. They do not add to the
complexity of the solution process. Fig. 13 shows the
operational inductance obtained using this process with
the time constants for the third-order model determined in Section 4.3.2.

.. _.

Iu+Tw]

Tu* Til:
(32)

Inversion of this matrix then gives the values of Rf, Rj

and Rk, from which, since the time constants are
known, the inductances are simply obtained from
eqn. 30. The values of the parameters obtained are
given in Table 1.

-45

,,,,

,,,,,,

, 1 , 1 1 , , ,

/ 1 # 1 < 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

, ,

100
IO'
102
103
frequency
Operational inductances, comparison of input and analytical cal-

10-3

Fig. 13

10-2

10-1

culated

-45
-40

I 0-3

frequency

Fig. 11 Operational inductances, comparison of input and numerical calculated

l o80
o
Q

r---

'

'

'

""""

' ' " ' ' r

'

' '

-7

60-

40

20-

c3
U

2 0-

...

U1

z-20

-40

-/OG10-3

10-2

10-1

100
frequency

'

""-

I O ~

io2

i 1

-U
lo3

Fig. 12 Derived rotor impedance

There are other versions of third-order models which

can be used in which additional leakage inductances
are included between the branches of the rotor circuit.
Whilst these require the determination of additional
rotor parameters, since the frequency response of the
rotor must still be constrained to be equal to Zr(s), the
additional parameters cannot, and do not, change the
order of the system and simply add an additional arbiIEE Proc.-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 143, No. 1. January 1996

5.2 Comparison of results

Comparison of the graphs shown in Figs. 11 and 13
show conclusively that the results for the analytical
method are far superior to those for the numerical
approach .
Whilst there is no means for determining which of
these are the most appropriate set of values, comparison of the time constants of the three rotor circuits (Tf,
T j and Tk) is quite illuminating. Those obtained using
the analytical approach have a very systematically
ordered set of values in the expected range whilst those
obtained using the numerical approach are quite arbitrary and do not follow such a systematic trend. This
difference is very much in line with what would be
expected when comparing the results of two systems
one based on fundamental principles of circuit theory,
and the other on the blind application of numerical
methods.
It must be said that the results produced by Harris
and Prashad [ 1I] were compromises, attempting to
obtain the best fit for both the direct axis impedance
and the rotorhtator transfer function for the machine.
In addition to the better degree of fit, however, it is the
mechanism by which the time constants for the equivalent circuit are obtained by a sequential process which
sweeps through the frequency response from the lowest
to the highest, systematically modelling the features of
additional rotor circuits until those required have been
identified. which has been confirmed.
6

Conclusions

Frequency response methods are becoming the standard means for the determination of the parameters of
synchronous machines for transient stability studies.
Existing numerical methods for 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.
From the basic properties of cascaded L-R circuits
and the fundamental characteristics of their frequency
39

responses, a new set of analytical relationships for the

equivalent circuit parameters has been established. 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 then been described.
The procedure does not require prior knowledge of
the order of the model to be used, it is founded on
well-established principles of linear systems theory and
has been found to work well for the equivalent circuits
used for synchronous machines. Whilst the final level
of agreement between the measured and predicted frequency responses using both methods are similar in the
case studied, it is evident from the results of the intermediate stages shown, that the method described here
is modelling the effects of the individual rotor circuits
much more completely.
Methods for the extraction of the time constants for
a synchronous machine and then the determination of
the equivalent circuit parameters have been shown to
produce very good agreement between the initial measured data and the final results. The final errors in the
gain and phase were within +I- one dB and one deg.,
respectively, over the full frequency range.
Further work is being carried out using data for the
quadrature axis impedance and the statorhotor transfer
functions for comparison with those for the direct axis.
In addition, work is being carried out on laboratory-

40

size machines to enable the results of standstill and

online frequency response tests to be compared.
7

References

1 KILGORE, L.A.: Calculation of synchronous machine constants, Truns. A I E E , 1931, 50, pp. 1201-1214
2 WRIGHT. S.H.: Determination of Synchronous machine constants by test, Truns. A I E E , 1931, 50, pp. 1331-1351
3 BUSEMAN, F., and CASSON, W.: Results of full scale stability
tests on the British 132 kV grid system, Proc. IEE, 198?, 10, pp.
347-362
4 SHACKSHAFT, G., and NEILSON, R.: Results of stability
tests on an underexcited 120 MW generator, Proc. IEE, 119, pp.
17-188
5 SHACKSHAFT, G.: New approach to determination of synchronous machine parameters from tests, Proc. IEE, 121, pp.
1385-1391
6 Electric Power Research Institute, Compendium of the EPRI
Workshop on modelling for stability calculations (EPRI, 1981)
7 WALTON, A.: Determination of synchronous machine stability
study constants, a summary of work done by N.E.I. Parsons,
E P R I Workshop, St. Louis, USA, 1981
8 WALTON, A., and CROFT, J.S.: The modelling of synchronous
machines, Fourth Int. Conf. on Electrical Machines and Drives,
London. 1989
9 WALTON, A.: The extraction of parameters for synchronous
machines from the results of frequency response tests, Int. Conf.
on Electrical Machines and Drives, 1993, pp. 480-484
10 Van Valkenberg: Network analysis (Prentice Hall, 3rd edn.)
11 HARRIS, M.R., and PRASHAD, F.R.: Improved methods for
inter-relating circuits and frequency-response data for synchronous machines, Int. Conf. on Electrical Machines and Drives,
1989, pp. 192-197
12 CROFT, J.S.: Microprocessor based control systems for synchronous machines, MEng Sc thesis, James Cook University, North
Queensland, Australia

IEE Proc -Electr Power Appl , Vol 143, No 1, January 1996