Abstract:
A detailed description of a salient pole synchronous vertical hydrogenerator will be presented, discussing the design, the manufacturing processes and the materials of all the main components.
A description of all the losses involved in the calculation of the efficiency is elaborated, their origins and methods for the reduction of the losses and consequent increase of the efficiency.
To consolidate the concepts, a theoretical approach is discussed on the principles of electrical and thermal dimensioning of synchronous generators.
To enrich the theoretical approach, two application cases were presented. In each case, two alternatives were simulated, one aiming at high efficiency and the other aiming at reducing the cost.
The first case deals with a hypothetical generator of 300 MVA and 120 rpm, to expose the optimization procedure. In this case, these sizing rudiments are applied to a generator of 100 MVA and 257.14 rpm that represents a real generator, manufactured, designed and successfully commissioned.
In the second case, in addition to simulating the machine as it was built, two additional variants are exposed. In a first variant, based on the design of the machine built, a version with the same high efficiency is elaborated, however, introducing technological updates with which the original cost could be reduced. In the second variant, in place of the original project, a generator totally oriented to cost reduction is elaborated. Thus, when comparing results, compare the performance-optimized variant with the fully cost-oriented variant.
Finally, an analysis is made of the increase in sales prices of high-efficiency oriented generators, when compared to generators sized for cost optimization, and an analysis of gains in the sale of additional energy resulting from the reduction of losses, finally estimating the years of operation required to match the price increase.