Comparison of different methods for excitation of synchronous machines

The energy turnaround in Germany leads to new operating conditions for small and medium synchronous generators. Since the electricity generation through renewable energy sources, such as wind or photovoltaic, is highly volatile, generators have to run up from standstill into rated operation within several minutes. Hence, it is necessary to compensate a lack of electricity generation caused by wrong weather forecasts. Usually, gas turbine systems provide this possibility. The generator is used as a starter engine due to the connection to a frequency inverter. The excitation current is often provided by static excitation systems. Thus, it is possible to start from standstill and run up the drive until the gas turbine is able to generate a positive torque. A new excitation concept, based on an induction machine with a 3-phase rotor winding, is able to provide an excitation current at 0 rpm and eliminates the need for brushes. To verify the applicability for power systems, both systems are compared under different aspects. The control of the excitation current at different speeds and the possibility to settle shaft oscillations after electrical faults are aspects researched in the paper at hand. A power system simulation is performed with a synchronous machine connected to a grid. Both excitation systems are modeled by equivalent circuit diagrams in Matlab Simscape.