Hydro Turbine Governor Basics

P&C Annual Technical Meeting - Tutorial

March 30, 2009

Dave B. Apps, P.Eng.

Principle Engineer
Protection & Control / Telecom
Ravi P. Mutukutti M.A.Sc, P.Eng.
Specialist Engineer
Protection & Control Design

Goal

Goal is to present a basic principles

of speed governing of generators
connected to the power grid

Why we need Governors?

With driver
pressing
With Governor
the gasaction
pedal

Speed

(frequency)

Main purpose
is to keep the frequency (speed) within an
acceptable range (60Hz. 0.1%)

Without any
Without
reaction
fromGovernor
the
action
driver

Other main functions of the governor

Controlled starting / stopping of the turbine
Unit Loading (setpoint control) / Gate Limiting
Detect creeping (slow rolling) of the unit
Load sharing / drooping
Speed switch signalling (25%, 95% etc.)

Unit Starting
Governor should be set to required start speed
profile during commissioning (tuning)
Too fast response causes rapid gate movements (hunting) and may
cause dangerous hydraulic oscillations leading to penstock / tunnel
rupture or air entrainment

Too slow response causes

bearing overheating or wiping out
Speed (rpm)

too fast

too slow

Unit Stopping
Governor should be set to proper stop speed
profile during commissioning
Too fast gate closing results dangerous hydraulic pressure
rise in the penstock and tunnel and may rupture

Speed (rpm)

Too slow response may cause

bearing wipe outs
too fast

Break application at correct

speed will avoid bearing wipe

Governor History
Fly ball governors (Belt driven) pre 1950
Fly ball governors (PMG driven) - 1950
Analog Electronic Governors mid 1960
Digital Governors late 1980

Basic Speed Governor first Principle

Fly-ball (ball head)
Gate operating ring
Pilot Valve

Closing

Distributor Valve

`
HPU header

Gate Servo Motor

Basic Speed Governor block diagram

Set
point

+-

Pilot/Dist.
Valve

Gate
Servo

Pm

Turb
ine

+-

Speed

Pe

Distributor Valve Position

Accelerating Power

Gate Position

Basic Speed Governor block diagram

Set
point

+-

K1
(1+sT1)

K2
s

Pm

1
2Hs

+-

Speed

Pe

Distributor Valve Position

Accelerating Power

Gate Position

Basic Speed Governor improvements

Adjustable Speed set point

Basic Speed Governor improvements

Adjustable Speed set point

Basic Speed Governor improvements

This called Balance Beam (or floating lever) Principle in mechanical
Governors

Speeder screw
Balance Beam (floating)

Close port

Open port

Electrical / Control Equivalent

Balance Beam is equivalent to the summing junction in
control systems
Set point
+/-

Pilot/Dist.
valve

+-

Pm

+Pe

adjust

Speeder screw

Gate
Servo

Balance Beam

+
Close port

Open port

Turbine
Inertia

Speed

Electrical / Control Equivalent

Set point
+/-

+-

Pilot/Dist.
Valve

Gate
Servo

Pm

+-

Turbine
Inertia

Speed

Pe

adjust

Electronic version of the Balance Beam is op amp

summing amplifier
Vo= -(R1/R2)V1
R1

Vo= -[(R1/R2)V1+(R1/R3)V2]
(Speed feedback)
(Setpoint Adjust)

V1
V2

R2
R3

Adding a balance beam is equivalent to adding a resistor

to the op amp input

Electrical / Control Equivalent

We add more Resistors to sum more set points, adjusters,
and compensators
R4
R1
(other compensations)

V3

(Speed
feedback)

V1

(Setpoint adjust)

V2

R2
R3

Vo= -[(R1/R2)V1+(R1/R3)V2]
Vo= -[(R1/R2)V1+(R1/R3)V2+(R1/R4)V3]

Mechanically this is equivalent to adding more balance

beams

Picture

Woodward Cabinet Actuator Governor

Mechanical version of adding or subtracting signals means more
beams
Close

Open

Temporary Droop

Open

Open

Open
Open

Open
Open
Permanent Droop

Open

Woodward Governor Block Diagram

Set point
+/-

+-

+-

+-

Pilot
Valve

Gate
Servo

Pm

+Pe

adjust

++

Dash pot
timing

Droop

Temporary Droop

Permanent Droop

Turbine
Inertia

Speed

Woodward Governor Block Diagram

Set point
+/-

+-

+-

+-

Kp
(1+sTp)

1/Tg
s

Pm

+Pe

adjust

++

Rt.sTd
(1+sTd)

Temporary Droop

Permanent Droop

1
2Hs

Speed

Simulation example to show the effects

of dashpot and gate feedback
Bear with us for a minute until we load
Matlab-Simulink

Questions?
Set point
+/-

+-

+-

+-

Kp
(1+sTp)

1/Tg
s

Pm

+Pe

adjust

++

Rt.sTd
(1+sTd)

Temporary Droop

Permanent Droop

1
2Hs

Speed

Analog Electronic Governors

Mid 1960s rotating fly balls (ball heads) were
replaced by electronic speed sensing
Op-Amp electronics were used to drive an
Electro-mechanical transducer valve
The transducer valve controlled an auxiliary
valve position proportional to the required gate
opening
The Auxiliary valve mechanically linked to a
pilot-distributor valve to position the Gates

Analog Electronic Governors

Close

Open

Open

Open
Open
Open

Open

Analog Electronic Governors

Unit MW
MW
setpoint
Transducer
Valve

Analog
Electronics

Speed sensing
Transducer Valve
LVDT (+/-15V)

Open

Open

Open

Analog Electronic Governors

These type of governors are called Dual loop
Governors
It typically has two separate close loop feed back
systems, one for speed control loop and one for
gate position loop
Speed control loop is analog electronic but the
gate position loop is still mechanical restoration
type
Woodward MOD 2 governors at PCN/ MICA/ REV
and Fuji/Toshiba governors at JOR/GMS/KCL fall
in to this category

Analog Electronic Governors

Typically Analog Electronic Governors only
work on MW droop, not on Gate droop
Damping is provided electronically and no
dashpot is necessary
Unit loading is done by increasing the MW
setpoint

Analog Electronic Governors

Mechanical
Pilot/Dist.
Valve

+-

Gate
Servo

Pm

Turbine
Inertia

+-

Speed

Pe

Transducer
Valve

+-

PID
control

- -+

Speed setpoint

Droop

-+

MW setpoint adj.
Unit MW

Analog Electronic

Digital Governors

Close

Open

Open

Open
Open
Open

Open

Digital Governors

Open

Digital Governors
Speed

PLC Controller

(Mag.Pickup/
PT signal)

Proportional
Valve Control
(4-20mA)

Gate Position
MLDT (4-20mA)

Distributor Valve
LVDT (+/-15V)

Open

Digital Governors
Mechanical
+-

PID
control

+-

PID
control

+-

Proportio
nal Valve

PID
control

Gate
Servo

Distributor
Valve

Pm

+Pe

PID
control

- -+

Speed

Speed setpoint

Droop

-+

MW setpoint adj.
Unit MW

Digital Electronic

Turbine
Inertia

Questions before break.

break.

Governors working Isochronous

Single machine operation
G1

Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
59.5

100%

MW (Gate opening)%

59.0
58.5

Isochronous operation

Governors working on droop

Multi machine operation
G2
G1

How the load is shared among 2 units

Frequency (Hz)

61.5

5% Droop line operation

61.0
60.5
60.0
59.5

100%

MW (Gate opening)%

59.0
58.5

Isochronous operation

Governors working on droop

Multi machine operation
50 MW G2
100 MW75 MW

100 MW
150 MW

50 MW G1
75 MW

Frequency (Hz)

61.5

5% Droop line operation

61.0

Loading the Unit

60.5
60.0

25%

75%

59.5
59.0
58.5

50% loaded

100%

MW (Gate opening)%

DROOP FORMULA

%frequency
%droop
100
%Power
%f
%P
100

%f

100%
% P
Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
59.5
59.0
58.5

P
f

MW (Gate opening)%

% f
100%
%P

Q1:Tickle Your Brain

Q :Generator operates on 5%MW droop online. Grid

frequency drops by 0.5%. What would be the MW loading
increase in %...?
A : 5% droop means, 5% frequency drop results 100%MW load increase.
Therefore 0.5% frequency drop should result 10%MW increase.

%droop
61.5

Frequency (Hz)

61.0

%frequency
100
%Power

%f

100%
%P

%P

%f
100

%P

0.5
100 10
5

60.5
60.0
59.5
59.0
58.5

100%

MW (Gate opening)%

% f
100%
%P

Q2.Tickle Your Brain

Q :300MW Generator operates on 5%MW droop online.

Grid frequency drops by 0.6Hz. What would be the MW
increase...?
%P

Frequency (Hz)

61.5

% f
100

%P

(0.6 / 60) 100

100
5

1
%P 100 20%
5

P 0.2 300 60 MW

61.0
60.5
60.0
59.5
59.0
58.5

300 MW

Power in MW

%f
100%
%P

Q3.Tickle Your Brain

Q :G1operates on 5%MW droop and G2 operates on 10%

droop online. Grid frequency drops by 0.5%. What would
be the %MW increase on both Units ...?
%P

%f
100

0.5
%P
100 10%
5

0.5
%P
100 5%
10

Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
59.5
59.0
58.5

300 MW

Power in MW

%f
100%
%P

Points to remember

Droop means the slope of the governor operating line

Higher droop means higher slope, less sensitive to the
system frequency changes
Lower droop means more sensitive to system frequency
changes (more responsive)
Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0

59.5
59.0
58.5

%
%
MW (% Gate opening)

Speeder
GRID

50 MW G1

Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
100%

MW (Gate opening)%

59.5
59.0
58.5

50% loaded

Need
75% to
loaded
load 75%

So called, Unit loading is done by Speeder Raise

Unit un-loading is done by Speeder Lower

Limiter
GRID

50 MW G1

Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
100%

MW (Gate opening)%

59.5
59.0
58.5

75% loaded

In general limiter setpoint is at 100%

Under limiter lowered conditions, unit loading can go only up to limiter set point

Limiter(operator bad practices)

GRID

50 MW G1

Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
100%

MW (Gate opening)%

59.5
59.0
58.5

75% loaded

Moving Limiter, below the Speeder set point disables the governing action to some extent

Speeder (operator bad practices)

50 MW G1

GRID

Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
59.5

100%

MW (Gate opening)%

59.0
58.5

Moving Speeder, above the Limiter set point also disables the governing action to some extent

Questions?
Next we talk about start-stop sequence

Unit Starting
Unit control start sequence issues the Governor unlock
command
READY TO START

Governor unlock energises the Shutdown solenoid

(65SD)
Limiter moves to the breakaway position
Gate opens up to the limiter
Unit starts to rotate
As the speed picks up the governor speed control close
loop will takeover the gate control

Open

Unit Starting

Limiter moves to the breakaway position

Gate opens up to the limiter

Unit starts to rotate

As the speed picks up the governor speed control close loop will takeover the gate
control

Legend
------ Speed
------ Limiter
------ Gate Opening

Unit Synchronising

Unit at near nominal speed (Speed No Load)

Automatic Synchroniser (speed matching device, 15F) issues raise/lower commands to the speed
set point

When the synchronising conditions are met , unit circuit breaker closes

Governor Damping change activated (on line parameter loading)

Limiter runs up to 100%

Operator loads the unit to required MW

Unit on line operation on 5% droop

Unit Online

Operator loads the unit by Raising the Speeder Setpoint

Frequency (Hz)

61.5
61.0
60.5
60.0
100%

MW (Gate opening)%

59.5
59.0
58.5

Generates MWs happily ever after

Hydraulic Pressure Unit (HPU)

Two Main classifications based on
pressure accumulator type
1. Air Over Oil Systems
2. Air and Oil separated (by a bladder or
piston) Systems

Two types of Pressure Accumulators

Bladder type

Air over Oil type

Air over Oil HPU

No barrier between Air and Oil

Simplest form
Conventional
Usually from 100-500PSI
Air compressor is used for Air makeup
Low pressure - High volume hydraulic
devices
large Oil / Air accumulators

Bladder type HPU

Air and Oil is separated by a moving
bladder no Air/Oil direct contact
Compressed Nitrogen is stored in high
pressure bottles (no Air compressor)
Usually from 2000-3000PSI
High pressure Low volume hydraulic
devices (compact for smaller systems)
Smaller servomotors, piping etc
Not economical for larger systems owing
to increased number of pressure bottles

Generation Engineering (P&C Design)

Questions.?

Generation Engineering (P&C Design)

Thank You
David B. Apps P.Eng.
Principal Engineer (P&C/ Telecom)
Ravi P. Mutukutti M.A.Sc, P.Eng.
Specialist Engineer (P&C Design)
Generation Engineering