Voltage regulation of an alternator :
When an alternator is subjected to a varying load, the voltage at the armature terminals varies to a certain extent, and the amount of this variation determines the regulation of the machine. When the alternator is loaded the terminal voltage decreases as the drops in the machine stars increasing and hence it will always be different than the induced emf.
Voltage regulation of an alternator is defined as the change in terminal voltage from no load to full load expressed as a percentage of rated voltage when the load at a given power factor is removed with out change in speed and excitation. Or The numerical value of the regulation is defined as the percentage rise in voltage when full load at the specified power-factor is switched off with speed and field current remaining unchanged expressed as a percentage of rated voltage.
**This definition of voltage regulation can be applied for any electrical machine.
% Regulation = (Eph – Vph / Vph ) x 100
where Eph = induced emf /phase,
Vph = rated terminal voltage/phase
Methods of finding Voltage Regulation: The voltage regulation of an alternator can be determined by different methods. In case of small generators it can be determined by direct loading whereas in case of large generators it can not determined by direct loading but will be usually predetermined by different methods.
Following are the different methods used for predetermination of regulation of
alternators.
1. Direct loading method
2. EMF method or Synchronous impedance method(Click Here To read This)
3. MMF method or Ampere turns method(Click Here To read This)
4. ASA modified MMF method
5. ZPF method or Potier triangle method(Click Here To read This)
All the above methods other than direct loading are valid for nonsalient pole machines only. As the alternators are manufactured in large capacity direct loading of alternators is not employed for determination of regulation. Other methods can be employed for predetermination of regulation.Hence the other methods of determination of regulations will be discussed in the following sections.
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