POWER FACTOR IN AC MACHINES BASIC AND TUTORIALS



The power factor at which ac machines operate is an economically important feature because of the cost of reactive kilovoltamperes. Low power factor adversely affects system operation in three principal ways.

(1) Generators, transformers, and transmission equipment are rated in terms of kVA rather than Kw because their losses and heating are very nearly determined by voltage and current regardless of power factor.

The physical size and cost of ac apparatus are roughly proportional to kVA rating. The investment in generators, transformers, and transmission equipment for supplying a given useful amount of active power therefore is roughly inversely proportional to the power factor.

(2) Low power factor means more current and greater 12 R losses in the generating and transmitting equipment.

(3) A further disadvantage is poor voltage regulation.

Factors influencing reactive-kVA requirements in motors can be visualized readily in terms of the relationship of these requirements to the establishment of magnetic flux. As in any electromagnetic device, the resultant flux necessary for motor operation must be established by a magnetizing component of current.

It makes no difference either in the magnetic circuit or in the fundamental energy conversion process whether this magnetizing current be carried by the rotor or stator winding, just as it makes no basic difference in a transformer which winding carries the exciting current. In some cases, part of it is supplied from each winding.

If all or part of the magnetizing current is supplied by an ac winding, the input to that winding must include lagging reactive kVA, because magnetizing current lags voltage drop by 90 °. In effect, the lagging reactive kVA set up flux in the motor.

The only possible source of excitation in an induction motor is the stator input. The induction motor therefore must operate at a lagging power factor. This power factor is very low at no load and increases to about 85 to 90 percent at full load, the improvement being caused by the increased real-power requirements with increasing load.

With a synchronous motor, there are two possible sources of excitation: alternating current in the armature or direct current in the field winding. If the field current is just sufficient to supply the necessary mmf, no magnetizing-current component or reactive kVA are needed in the armature and the motor operates at unity power factor.

If the field current is less, i.e., the motor is underexcited, the deficit in mmf must be made up by the armature and the motor operates at a lagging power factor. If the field current is greater, i.e., the motor is overexcited, the excess mmf must be counterbalanced in the armature and a leading component of current is present; the motor then operates at a leading power factor.

Because magnetizing current must be supplied to inductive loads such as transformers and induction motors, the ability of overexcited synchronous motors to supply lagging current is a highly desirable feature which may have considerable economic importance. In effect, overexcited synchronous motors act as generators of lagging reactive kilovoltamperes and thereby relieve the power source of the necessity for supplying this component.

They thus may perform the same function as a local capacitor installation. Sometimes unloaded synchronous machines are installed in power systems solely for power-factor correction or for control of reactive-kVA flow. Such machines, called synchronous condensers, may be more economical in the larger sizes than static capacitors.

Both synchronous and induction machines may become self-excited when a sufficiently heavy capacitive load is present in their stator circuits. The capacitive current then furnishes the excitation and may cause serious overvoltage or excessive transient torques.

Because of the inherent capacitance of transmission lines, the problem may arise when synchronous generators are energizing long unloaded or lightly loaded lines. The use of shunt reactors at the sending end of the line to compensate the capacitive current is sometimes necessary.

For induction motors, it is normal practice to avoid self-excitation by limiting the size of any parallel capacitor when the motor and capacitor are switched as a unit.

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