A Novel and Fundamental Approach Toward Field and Damper Circuit Parameter Determination of Synchronous Machine

In this era of advanced computing where complex algorithms and expensive approaches are used to determine the machine parameters of a synchronous machine (SM), this paper proposes a novel, economical, and yet fundamental approach toward estimation of the d- and q-axis fields and damper circuit parameters of a low-/medium-power wound-field SM. The proposed novel methodology employs fundamental voltage, current, and flux linkage relationships of the three-phase wound-field SM in a-b-c reference frame theory. First, the proposed methodology has been explained in detail using analytical equations and then employed to determine the aforementioned parameters of a small laboratory SM. Other equivalent circuit parameters have been determined using conventional tests. Further validation of the proposed methodology was performed using two other larger machines with different nameplate ratings. Moreover, the aforementioned parameters of the larger machines were also experimentally determined using IEEE standard tests. Finally, a comparison of the results obtained employing the conventional and the proposed methodologies was performed, and the proposed methodology has been established to be valid as the results are in close agreement.