Performance Analysis of Synchronous Machines After Disconnecting Stator Coils

This paper offers methods to analyze the performance of three-phase synchronous machines operating with an unsymmetrical stator winding caused by cutting out and bypassing coils. The resulting unsymmetrical current distribution in the stator winding tends to produce overheating in parts of the stator and damper windings at full load as well as torque pulsations. Thus, the main objective of this study is to determine the maximal load, under which the unsymmetrical machine may operate without exceeding the permissible temperature limit. Based on the multiloop method, a mathematical model of a synchronous machine with missing coils in the stator winding is developed. In order to determine the current distribution, the machines' system of differential equations is solved by using a numerical integration method (Runge-Kutta method). As an alternative method, the system of differential equations in the steady state is reduced to a system of algebraic equations, which can be solved with the Gaussian elimination method. Both methods are validated by the measurement results of a 25-kW salient pole synchronous machine. Furthermore, both the circulating current within the parallel branches and the line currents of the different phases as a result of coil or coil group cut-outs are analyzed for a large 41-MW cylindrical rotor synchronous motor.