Best Book on Generators

F

Thread Starter

floyd699

I worked on generators 20 years ago but they were mostly stand alone up to 750kVA. I am now back in the generators field again working on power stations (415V up to 11,000V) and have noticed the controls, especially for parallel control have moved on a great deal technology wise since I worked on gensets. I have bought and downloaded books on generators / rotating machines / power stations etc but they all briefly touch on the concept of generation before moving on to transformers, transmission etc.

I am hoping there is something available that covers or concentrates on generators - stand alone, parallel, PID control, and most importantly troubleshooting i.e. circulating currents, shorted windings to earth & inter windings, SCADA controls & how to decipher faults etc.
 
floyd699,

The fundamentals of paralleling (synchronizing) are still the same--they're just now controlled digitally instead of analog-ly. The same inputs are still required: generator (incoming) voltage; bus (running) voltage; frequency of the two signals; phase angle between the two signals--all of which can usually be obtained from the PTs of the two sources. it's just that they are not converted into digital signals with engineering units which can be seen on a screen/display, instead of voltages which have to be measured with a VOM or seen on an analog meter.

Prime mover governor controls are also digital controls these days, but they still have to monitor the same parameters, using the same sensors, to control and protect the equipment producing power--which is the same as it was 10 or 20 years ago.

Generator monitoring these days has changed quite a bit. New digital equipment allows for much more useful data and the sensors have probably changed from what you remember.

About the best way to find out about the new control methods is to look at the equipment brochures and white papers produced by the manufacturers. Two prominent manufacturers are Basler Electric and Woodward Governor. Both have websites from which you can download manuals and white papers which have some very good information (though I seriously question the Droop speed control stuff published by Woodward--it's really superficial, deficient and misleading).

I've always found over my lifetime that trade journals and magazines are very useful sources of information. (Many trade journals and magazines are now available on-line.) If a manufacturer believes their equipment is better than someone else's, they're going to tell me that in their adverts and in white papers published in trade journals and magazines. I've learned about some really features of equipment in adverts that were poorly documented in the manuals, if at all. So, I find brochures and adverts are very useful for getting big-picture information and sometimes comparative information, as well as some detailed information which can be very helpful.

If you're looking for reference books and texts, I use two websites to find books: Amazon.com and Alibris.com. I like to see the reviews on Amazon.com, and I have my own rules about them. I like to read the 1-star and 2-star reviews, and if the number of 1-star reviews is more than 10% of the total number of reviews, then I seriously doubt whether the book is worth the price. Which is another reason I read the 1- and 2-star reviews--because some people give low reviews because shipping took too long or the book was damaged in shipping or some other flimsy reason. Some people admit they didn't even read the book, and they still give it a low review (what's up with that, people?). Giving reviews of books is very important--it really does help others in their buying decisions.

If I find a book I like, I quite often look for a used copy. Amazon.com now lists used books, but I have had better luck (and pricing) from Alibris.com. I've even ordered books from India via Alibris.com and had no problems with shipping or quality (just saying that Alibris.com has sellers from all over the world and I've never had an issue at all with books I've ordered from them).

But, in general, I'd say the kind of information you're looking for can best be found by obtaining brochures, manuals and white papers from equipment manufacturers, and by finding references and texts from on-line sources. One of the things I've ALWAYS liked about Amazon.com is their "recommendations." When you look at an item, they suggest several other related items, and when looking at books they quite often will allow you to look at the "inside" of the book--usually the Table of Contents, and maybe the Introduction and first chapter. So, there's a lot of valuable information--related books on the same topic, and the ability to "Look Inside" many books to get an idea if it seems like it might of value to you or your purpose. As with any on-line book purchase, it's not like opening a physical book in a brick-and-mortar bookstore, but then my local brick-and-mortar bookstores don't have the selection of on-line retailers, and if I order something from my brick-and-mortar store I'm just as stuck with it as if I order it from an on-line vendor and am unhappy with it. (I have only returned a couple of books to Amazon.com because I was unhappy with them--and they were both new, not used. That's another reason I like to buy used books--if I'm not happy, I'm not out too much money. And, I usually find that at some point in the future the book has useful material--even if it wasn't useful at the time I purchased it.)

Hope this helps!
 
The Electrical Generating Systems Association (EGSA) has a book called "On-Site Power Generation". ISBN 0-9625949-4-6. You can go to www.egsa.org to review the book. Woodward has some interactive software that and you can learn from that will allow you to start/stop engine/generators and learn the application modes of power generation. Download the product spec. 03412 from www.woodward.com for more information.
 
cheers

I have the EGSA book, I was hoping for a troubleshooting guide in it but none is supplied. Was hoping for generic fault finding to a range of faults, i.e., reverse power fault - look at gen & station load; prime mover cyl. temps if engine misfires due to oil getting in cyl. under load; what trend lines to look at; etc. I know it cannot be precise as equipment is so varied but would give some basic ideas anyway. Also as much equipment now is PID controlled. a similar guide in case gov hunting is causing sync issues and what PID controls to look at/see if it fixes etc.

I work alone in remote towns & mines in outback Oz so need to be self sufficient. Mainly Dawson Technologies governors & have found like most manuals, they say to turn feature XX on/off to adjust menu XX, but they do not explain what that feature does.

Obviously time & experience plays a big part, was hoping to be able to fast track the knowledge.
 
floyd699,

One needs to remember that a generator has to be driven by a prime mover, so it's really a generator-set, or a diesel-generator or a turbine-generator, or similar.

Prime movers have governors (control systems), and they are usually separate from the generator exciter regulator, sometimes called the AVR.

You seem to be more interested in the prime mover side of things, particularly the reciprocating engine type of prime mover, rather than the generator side of things. We're kind of literal here at control.com, being nerds and technical and all. So, sorry if we didn't understand your query.

I don't know where to send you mate. Again, do a search in amazon.com for some diesel engine-related books, and then start expanding from there. Again, Woodward Governor has a fair amount written about engine-driven governors and generators--just watch out for their explanation of Droop speed control, as it can be quite misleading and confusing. What they say isn't all wrong, but, it lacks some clarifications and so, read literally, it causes a lot of head-scratching.

The thing you want to remember about generator-sets is: Generators are devices for converting torque into amperes. (And electric motors are devices for converting amperes into torque.) If, when synchronized (connected) to an AC system with other generators, the prime mover isn't providing sufficient torque to keep the generator rotor spinning at synchronous speed (the speed of the generator that's proportional to grid frequency) then the generator will actually become a motor and draw current from the grid (the other generators on the grid) to keep spinning at synchronous speed. That's called "reverse power" or "motorizing the generator." It's bad for most prime movers--because the generator is spinning the prime mover, instead of the other way 'round.

The cause of reverse power can be a governor problem, a fuel injector problem, a fuel filter problem, a cylinder ring problem, a valve problem, a fuel rack problem, etc. Anything that prevents sufficient fuel from getting to the engine or from being combusted in the engine to keep it spinning at synchronous speed. It doesn't have to be a full-on reverse power; if the fuel rack can't get enough fuel into the cylinders to produce rated power output or to increase the power output, then the machine can't make rated power. Or, of the cylinder rings are so worn that there is incomplete combustion taking place even though fuel flow-rate is sufficient (this would be extremely evident by huge volumes of white smoke coming out of the exhaust) that would also cause a problem with producing sufficient torque.

It's all about torque, mate. More torque equal more amperes equals more load. And, torque is proportional to fuel flow (when the cylinder rings and valves are working properly). More fuel equals more torque equals more electrical load.

It's really pretty simple.

Best of luck!
 
thanx mate

as I work alone I have to be able to look at everything - generator as well as the donk, then being able to analyse the trending graphs. The engines are diesel & gas - Cummins KTA38 & KTA50, Cat, Waukesha, Volvo Penta, Deutz.

like most things - you have to know what's right before you can tell what's wrong.
 
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