Analysis of Synchronous Generator Self-Excitation under Capacitive Load Condition in Variable-Frequency Aviation Power System

Featured Application This research will be useful for load configuration design in the case of variable-frequency aviation power systems with a reduced risk of synchronous generator self-excitation under capacitive load conditions. As power electronic converters become more widely used in aviation power systems, the associated capacitive loads in the harmonic filter circuits increase accordingly. The risk of self-excitation of aeronautical synchronous generators due to capacitive loads is thus increased. Compared with the self-excitation of a generator in a conventional fixed-frequency power system, this process is more complicated in a variable-frequency aviation power supply (360-800 Hz), as both the varied frequency and the loading conditions contribute to the self-excitation. To quantify this effect, in our study, a series-parallel model of simplified RLC loads under a variable-frequency power supply was built. The criterion of generator self-excitation, given in terms of the generator impedance and the load impedance, was then derived. To facilitate the load configuration design in the case of an aviation power system, a comprehensive analysis of the influences of the varied load power and system frequency on the load impedance was conducted. A graphical approach was proposed to determine self-excitation by comparing the series load reactance and resistor with three critical impedances corresponding to three self-excitation criteria, which is more intuitive and enables one to visualize the tendency of self-excitation with varied frequencies and loading conditions more effectively. Finally, the influence of variable frequency on the self-excitation of the aeronautical synchronous generator was verified by the simulation results.