Reduction of Terminal Voltage Drop and Inrush Current

for Induction Generators at Interconnection to Utility Grid

Tomonobu Senjyu*, Toshiaki Kaneko*, Urasaki Naomitsu*
Teruo Takagi**, Shigeyuki Sugimoto**, and Toshihisa Funabashi***
Abstract In recent years, power generation from wind energy sources has become popular. Induction generators
consisting of squirrel-cage rotors are widely used as wind generators because of their salient features like robust
rotor structure, maintenance free operation, etc. However, since induction generators do not have excitation itself,
they draw inrush current, several times as large as the machine rated current, when they are connected to utility
grid and that aects power system with a severe voltage uctuations. This paper proposes reduction methodology
of the inrush current and voltage drop using self-excited phenomenon of induction generator. Voltage drop and
inrush current will be reduced by the proposed reduction method, because terminal voltage appears of stator
terminal when induction generator is being stand-alone generating system. Furthermore, this paper presents the
transient analysis to investigate for the proposed reduction method. The simulation results obtained from actual
detailed power system model show the eectiveness of the proposed method.

Index terms self-excited phenomenon, induction generators, inrush current, voltage drop

1. Introduction

such as the transient phenomenon of wind power generator due to connection to utility grid, transient stability of

In recent years, concerning the global environmental prob-

induction generator and voltage stability are important [7],

lems, renewable energy generation has come up with an ef-

[8]. There are soft start apparatus, static var compensators,

fective use of natural energy, such as wind energy and pho-

and limiting reactors for the reduction method of inrush

tovoltaic energy [1], [2]. Due to rapid technological develop-

current and voltage drop. These devises have high perfor-

ment, lower maintenance costs, long life time and competi-

mance. However, in general, power semiconductor devices

tive cost of energy production, wind power projects are be-

are costly, being complex to control re-angle of each phase

ing developed throughout the world. Induction generators

and occurring higher harmonic in the grid.

consisting of squirrel-cage rotors are widely used as wind

This paper proposes reduction methodology of the inrush

generators because of their salient features like robust rotor

current and voltage drop by using self-excited phenomenon

structure, simplicity in construction, maintenance free oper-

of induction generator. Many papers have dealt with the

ation, etc. However, since induction generators do not have

reduction of voltage drop and inrush current, however, only

excitation winding on rotors, they are subjected to inrush

few researches are there by using self-excited phenomenon

current, which is several times as large as the machine rated

of induction generator. If unsuitable capacitor bank is con-

current, and that aects the power system with a severe volt-

nected to induction generator, over voltage occurs, however,

age uctuation, which has become one of the main issues at

in this paper, self-excited phenomenon is used in a posi-

wind power generating system [3]-[6]. Thus, the analysis,

tive way. Voltage drop and inrush current are reduced by

* University of the Ryukyus

the proposed reduction method as terminal voltage appears

1 Senbaru, Nishihara-cho, Nakagami, Okinawa 9030213,

on stator terminal when induction generator is being stand-

Japan

alone generating system. It is well known that externally

** Chubu Electric Power Corporation

driven induction machine can operate as induction gener-

201, Kitasekiyama, Ohdaka-cho, Midori-ku, Nagoya 459

ator with sustained self-excitation when a proper value of

8522, Japan

capacitor is appropriately connected across the stator ter-

*** Meidensha Corporation

362 Nihonbashi-Hakozaki-cho Chuo-ku Tokyo 103-8513,
Japan

minals of the induction generator. Furthermore, this paper

presents the transient analysis to investigate the proposed
reduction method. Theoretical formulae are derived by the
reasonable approximations. Theoretical discussion is also

developed to determine the suitable connection conditions

Windmill

to reduce impact of at interconnection. It is shown that the

Ll1

proposed reduction method has a good ability of reducing

terminal voltage drop and inrush current at interconnection

model of power system, Sections 3 and 4 present theoretical

Vb
CB.1

Transformer
6.6kV/400V
Y/ 1MVA

of the induction generators to utility grid.

This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 explains the

Rl

Ll2

Gear

CB.2
Capacitor
bank

Infinite bus
6.6kV 10MVA

discussion without and with proposed method, respectively.

IG

Fig. 1. Power system model (proposed method).

Section 5 deals with the simulation results. Conclusions are

drawn in Section 6.
Windmill

2. Proposed Power System Model

Ll1

Power system interconnecting wind turbine generator (in-

CB.1

Transformer
6.6kV/400V
Y/ 1MVA

duction generator) used in computer simulation is shown in

Fig. 1. Many induction generators have been used as WTG

Rl

Ll2

Vb

IG

Gear

Capacitor
bank

Infinite bus
6.6kV 10MVA

since there are various advantages like maintenance-free, roFig. 2. Power system model (line starting).

bustness, economical, etc. WTG is connected to the end

of distributed line through the tie-line. As can be seen in
Fig. 1, it is possible to be stand-alone generating system
because capacitor bank are connected to stator terminal of
induction generator. If conditions such as capacitor size and
rotor speed of induction generator are suitable, induction
generator is considered to be stand-alone generating system
[9], [10]. Parameters of induction generator and transformer
are presented in Tables 1 and 2. Induction generator is connected to utility grid with line starting method (see Fig.
2). Eectiveness of reduction of terminal voltage and inrush current using the proposed method is demonstrated to
compare with the line starting method.

of inrush current is aected by system voltage, phase angle of

voltage at interconnection, rotor speed, residual magnetism
and residual electric charge, etc., especially, inrush current
have much to do with phase angle of voltage at interconnection. Transient d.c. component is included on the second
term of right-hand side of Eq. (1), the component is being
maximum value at which phase angle of system voltage at
interconnection v =90 . In this condition, inrush current
has maximum value reported in [4], [11]. Calculation result
is shown in Fig. 3(a). Whereas, inrush current has minimum value at v =0 . In Fig. 3(b), a-phase inrush current
is reduced by phase angle control, however, inrush current
increases in other two phase.

3. Interconnection with line starting method

Table 1. Parameters of induction generator.

Since induction generators do not have excitation wind-

rated output

ings on rotors, the induction generators subject to inrush

current, several times as large as the machine rated current,
when they are connected to utility grid. For induction generator at interconnection to utility grid with line starting
method, a-phase inrush current is given by
Vm
ia =
cos(t + is )
ZGs

Vm
sin v sin(r t + v ) t
xs

275 kVA

rated line-to-line voltage

400 V

rated current

450 A

pole number P

4 pole

rated frequency

60 Hz

stator resistance rs

0.00397

rotor resistance rr

0.00443

stator leakage reactance Xls

0.0376


rotor leakage reactance Xlr

0.0534

excitation inductance Lm

(1)

1.436
100 kg m2

inertia coecient J

where Vm is system voltage, ZGs and xs are generator constants, is rotor speed, is is initial phase angle, v is phase

Table 2. Transformer parameters.

angle of system voltage at interconnection, is time constant, t is time.

In Eq. (1), it is assumed that rotor speed of induction generator is constant at interconnection to utility grid. Magnitude

Tr

R1 (pu)

L1 (pu)

R2 (pu)

L2 (pu)

Rm (pu)

Lm (pu)

0.0015

0.03

0.0015

0.03

200

200

(rated Tr 1MVA 6.6kV/400V)

Stator Inrush Current imax [A]

3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
-500

(3)

where VG is terminal voltage of generator, G is phase angle

of generator voltage at interconnection.
In Eq. (3), it is also assumed that rotor speed of induction generator is constant at interconnection to utility grid.
The second term of right-hand side of Eq. (3) has transient
2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

d.c. and a.c. components. Furthermore, new terms as VG

and G , which can cancel out or increase inrush current, are

Time t [sec]
(a) Maximum inrush current i max

Stator Inrush Current i min [A]


VG 
sin(r + G ) sin G t
xs

included. Eq. (3) shows that if RMS value of system voltage and that of induction generator voltage are equal, and

2000
1500
1000
500
0
-500
-1000
-1500
-2000

system voltage phase and induction generator terminal voltage phase are equal when circuit breaker is closed, transient
components become zero,
However, Eq. (3) is rewritten as
ia =
2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6
2.7
Time t [sec]

(b) Minimum inrush current i min

Vm
cos(t + is )
ZGs

Vm + VG
sin(r t + G ) sin G t
xs

(4)

Fig. 3. Inrush current for an induction generator

i.e., v = G + .

at interconnection to utility grid.

In conclusion, extreme current, two times as large as the

Therefore, at interconnection with line starting, inrush cur-

maximum inrush current with line starting, ow to gener-

rent is not reduced by phase-angle control. In addition, it is

ator and power system by the phase at interconnection to

impossible to reduce voltage drop too.

utility grid. From Eq. (3), using self-excited phenomenon

of induction generator, it is conrmed that transient a.c.
components of inrush current are zero at interconnection to

4. Interconnection with proposed method

utility grid. Thus, it is important to equal RMS value and

It is possible to reduce inrush current and voltage drop at
interconnection using self-excited phenomenon of induction

phase of voltage of power system and induction generator

stator terminals.

generator, because voltage occurs on terminal of induction

It is desirable to maintain synchronous speed for rotor

generator. Then, voltage built up time T is described [9].

speed of induction generator to satisfy conditions such as

Voltage built up time T for self-excited phenomenon can be

VG = Vm , v = G and occurring self-excited phenomenon

expressed as

[9]. WTG is driven by turbulence wind. In this paper,

4.60
Im
T =
log10
1m r
Im0

rotor speed of induction generator is controlled by speed

(2)

where Im0 is initial value of excitation current, Im is nal

value of excitation current, 1m is function of induction generator constants and capacitor. T is few seconds, generally.
Therefore, the proposed method needs few seconds before

control system by pitch angle control. The block diagram

of speed control system is shown in Fig. 4. Subtracting
rotor speed command r from rotor speed r gives rotor
speed error e that evaluates mechanical input torque via PI
control system. Rotor speed r becomes synchronous speed
by following rotor speed command r .

induction generator is connected to utility grid.

For induction generator at interconnection to utility grid
with proposed method, a-phase inrush current is given by
ia =

Vm
cos(t + is )
ZGs

+


Vm 
sin(r + v ) sin v
xs

5. Simulation results
In this section, the eectiveness of reduction of voltage
drop and inrush current using the proposed method is examined by simulations using system model and parameters
as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Capacitor parameters for the
simulations are presented in Table 3. In this paper, two

420

PI control system

r +

KP

TI s

Induction
Generator

Bus Voltage Vb [V]

400

380
360
340
320

Fig. 4. Speed control system by pitch angle control.

300

7.8

600 F

Shunt capacitor

100 kvar

simulations are carried out. One for induction generator

at interconnection using line starting method and another
using the proposed method.
5.1. Simulation results using line starting method

(ii) Closing circuit breaker when a-phase inrush current

2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
-500
-1000

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.4

8.6

8.8

Time t [sec]

(b) Generator a-phase current i a

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
-200
-400
-600

is maximum (t=7.8 sec).

-800
-1000

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.4

8.6

8.8

Time t [sec]

(c) Active power P IG

2000

Reactive Power QIG [kW]

Fig. 5 shows simulation results using line starting method

and Fig. 5(a) shows voltage drop occurring at interconnection, bus voltage is found to be reduced to 320V (rated
line-to-line voltage is 400V, voltage regulation is 20%). Fig.
5(b) shows induction generator a-phase current at interconnection to utility grid and Figs. 5(c) to 5(e) show power
uctuation occurs in tie-line, and rotor speed is uctuating
at interconnection to utility grid. In addition, the simulation results conrm that voltage drop and power uctuation
occurred at minimum a-phase inrush current.

8.8

3000

Active Power PIG [kW]

(i) Equaling rotor speed r and rotor speed command r .

8.6

3500

line starting method, assuming that there is no voltage at

tion to utility grid are as follows:

8.4

4000

Simulation is performed to demonstrate the system using

terminal of induction generator Conditions at interconnec-

8.2

(a) Bus voltage V b

Generator a-phase Current ia [A]

Capacitor bank

8.0

Time t [sec]

Table 3. Capacitor parameters.

1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.4

8.6

8.8

Time t [sec]

5.2. Simulation results using proposed method

(d) Reactive power Q IG

The eectiveness of reduction of voltage drop and inrush

1803

tions. Conditions at interconnection to utility grid are as

follows:
(i) To decided the capacitor size properly so that bus
voltage and induction generator terminal voltage are
equal.

Rotor Speed r [rpm]

current using the proposed method is examined by simula1802

1801
1800
1799
1798
1797

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.4

alone generating system (see Fig. 1, t=0.0 sec).

(iii) To make rotor speed r equal to rotor speed command
r .

8.6

8.8

Time t [sec]

(ii) close CB.2, and induction generator is being stand(e) Rotor speed r

Fig. 5. Simulation results at interconnection

with line starting.

160

420

Small capacitance CS

100

80

Large capacitance C L

60

40

characteristic of capacitor
magnetization curve

20

Bus Voltage Vb [V]

415

120

Terminal Voltage t [V]

140

405
400
395
390
385
380

0
0

410

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.4

8.6

(a) Bus voltage V b

Fig. 6. Magnetization curve and

capacitor characteristic curve.

tion generator terminal voltage phase are equal (t=7.8

sec).
In condition (i), capacitor size is determined by following
method. Induction generator terminal voltage is stable at

400

Generator a-phase Current ia [A]

(iv) To close CB.1 when system voltage phase and induc-

300
200
100
0
-100
-200
-300
-400

(iv) easily. However, dierent from parallel operation of synchronous generator, it is not required to make rotor speed
r equal to rotor speed command

completely.

8.2

8.4

8.6

8.8

Active Power PIG [kW]

Condition (iii) is important as it satises the condition

8.0

(b) Generator a-phase current i a

ator with capacitor characteristic curve [9]. Thus, proper

tion generator terminal voltage are equal.

7.8

Time t [sec]

the intersection of magnetization curve of induction genercapacitor size is determined so that bus voltage and induc-

8.8

Time t [sec]

Capacitor Current I C [A] , Magnetising Current IM [A]

3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3

Fig. 7 shows simulation results using the proposed method

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.4

8.6

8.8

Time t [sec]

where Fig. 7(a) conrms that no voltage drop occurs. In

(c) Active power P IG

addition, Fig. 7(b) conrms that voltage occurs at terminal

current occurs at interconnection to utility grid. From Figs.
7(c) and 7(d), there are few uctuations on tie-line at interconnection to utility grid. Moreover, rotor speed is not seen
to be uctuated as shown in Fig. 7(e).

6. Conclusions

Reactive power QIG [kW]

of induction generator before interconnection and no inrush

0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6

This paper proposed reduction methodology of terminal

7.8

age drop and inrush current using the proposed method is

1802

conditions to reduce voltage drop and inrush current are as

follows:

Rotor speed r [rpm]

1803

duction generator at interconnection to utility grid, required

To determine the capacitor size properly so that bus

voltage and induction generator terminal voltage will
be equal.

(b)

To make equal mostly rotor speed and frequency of

8.6

8.8

1801
1800
1799
1798
1797

(a)

8.4

(d) Reactive power Q IG

induction generator. The eectiveness of reduction of volt-

oped to determine suitable connection conditions. For in-

8.2

Time t [sec]

voltage and inrush current using self-excited phenomenon of

examined by simulations. Theoretical discussion is devel-

8.0

7.8

8.0

8.2

8.4

8.6

8.8

Time t [sec]

(e) Rotor speed r

Fig. 7. Simulation results at interconnection
with proposed method.

tors for Wind Power Generating System, T. IEE Japan,

power system.
(c)

To make RMS value of system voltage equal to that

of induction generator terminal voltage.

(d)

To close circuit breaker when system voltage phase

and induction generator terminal voltage phase are
equal.

From the simulation results, it is shown that the proposed

reduction method has a good reduction ability for terminal
voltage drop and inrush current at interconnection to utility
grid. Moreover, the proposed method has a good characteristic such as low cost and simple structure.
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