MA325 Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR)

Specification, installation and adjustments.

General description Technical specification

The MA325 is a phase controlled thyristor type AVR Sensing input
and forms part of the excitation system for a Voltage 170-250 Vac max
brushless generator. The design employs Surface Frequency 50-60 Hz nominal
Phase 1 or 3
Mount Technology (SMT) to provide a host of features
Wire 2 or 3
with minimum component count.
Power input (PMG)
Voltage 170-220 Vac max
Excitation power is derived from a permanent magnet Current 5A/phase
generator (PMG), to reduce Radio Frequency Frequency 100-120 Hz nominal
Interference (RFI) and isolate the AVR control circuits Phase 3
from the effects of thyristor controlled loads. Wire 3
Output
The AVR senses the voltage in the main generator Voltage max 120V dc
winding and controls the power fed to the exciter Current continuous 4.5A
Intermittent 8A for 10 secs
stator and hence the main rotor to maintain the
Resistance 15 ohms minimum
generator output voltage within the specified limits,
Regulation
compensating for load, speed, temperature and ( 4% engine governing) +/- 0.5% RMS
power factor of the generator. Three phase RMS Thermal drift
sensing is employed for superior voltage regulation. 0.015%V per degree centigrade
change in AVR ambient
Soft start circuitry is included to provide a smooth Soft start ramp time
controlled build up of generator output voltage. 3 seconds
Typical system response
A frequency measuring circuit continually monitors the Field current to 90% 80ms
shaft speed of the generator and provides Generator volts to 97% 500ms
underspeed protection of the excitation system by External voltage adjustment
reducing the generator output voltage proportionally +/-6% with 1k ohm 1 watt trimmer
with speed below a presettable threshold. A further Under frequency protection
Set point 97% Hz
enhancement of this feature is an adjustable volts per
Slope 100-300% down to 30Hz
Hertz slope to improve engine recovery time on turbo Dwell (recovery) 0.5 to 2 seconds
charged engines. Unit power dissipation
25 watts max
Protection circuitry is included which cuts off the Accessory input
excitation power in event of over voltage. +/-1 volt input = +/- 5% generator volts
Quadrature droop sensitivity
Current limiting may be included to allow control over 0.075 Amps for 5% droop @ pf
the amount of short circuit current flowing during short Current limit
circuits of the generator output. sensitivity 0.45A to 1A (10 ohm burden)
Over excitation protection
Uncontrolled excitation is limited to a safe period by Set point 65 V dc
internal shutdown of the AVR output device. This Time delay 10 seconds (fixed)
condition remains latched until the generator has Over-volts protection
Set point 300 volts
stopped.
Time delay 1 second
Circuit breaker trip coil voltage 10 to 60 V dc
For complete protection, a circuit breaker option is Circuit breaker trip coil resistance 50 to 100 ohms
available providing circuit isolation in event of a short Environmental
circuit power device. Vibration 20-100Hz 50mm/sec
100Hz-2kHz 3.3g
Provision is made for the connection of a remote Relative humidity 0-60c 95% RH
voltage trimmer allowing the user fine control of the Operating temperature -40 to +60c
generators output. Storage temperature -55 to +80c

Accessories are available for this AVR

 Design detail

The main functions of the AVR are as follows:- Power control driver controls the conduction period of the
output device. this is achieved by pedestal and ramp control
Potential divider takes a proportion of the generator output followed by a level detector and driver stage.
voltage and attenuates it. This input chain of resistors includes
the hand trimmer adjustment. Isolating transformers are Power control devices vary the amount of exciter field current
included to allow connection to windings of different polarity and in response to the error signals produced by the amplifier.
phase.
Sync circuit provides a short pulse at the beginning of each
Quadrature droop circuit converts the current input from a CT cycle of the PMG wave form and is used to synchronise the
into a voltage which is phase mixed with the sensing voltage. Under Frequency Roll Off (UFRO) and power control circuits to
The result is a net increase in the output from the sensing the generator cycle period.
network as the power factor lags, causing the reduction in
excitation needed for reactive load sharing of paralleled Current converter converts the outputs from current
generators. transformers into a signal representing the average value of the
current wave form.
RMS converter converts the AC signals from the potential
divider into a DC signal representing the mean squared value of UFRO circuit measures the period of each electrical cycle and
the wave form. reduces the reference voltage linearly with speed below a
presettable threshold.
Summing circuit provides an interface between the AVR and A light emitting diode (LED) gives indication of underspeed.
accessories, allowing the accessory output voltage to be
summed with the sensing voltage for control purposes. Engine relief or load acceptance circuit provides adjustment for
increasing the voltage roll off
Power supply components consist of dropper resistors, zener
diodes and smoothing to provide the required voltages for the (steepness of V/Hz slope), to aid engine recovery after
Hybrid. application of block load. A "Dwell" feature is included which
delays the recovery of generator volts after application of load,
Precision voltage reference is a highly stable temperature providing further assistance.
compensated zener diode used for dc voltage comparison
purposes. Overload detector continuously monitors the excitation voltage
and provides signals to shutdown the output device if overloads
Soft start circuit overrides the precision voltage reference last for more than ten seconds. An overload condition produces
during run up to provide a linear rising voltage. a latched fault requiring the generator to be stopped for reset.

Amplifier compares the sensing voltage to the reference Over-voltage monitor continuously monitors the voltage at the
voltage and amplifies the difference (error) to provide a Generator terminals and provides signals to shut down the
controlling signal for the power device. output device and trip an optional circuit breaker.

Stability circuit provides adjustable negative ac feedback to The circuit breaker isolates power from the exciter and AVR if
ensure good steady state and transient performance of the sustained over-voltage occurs. A one second timer is included
control system. in the circuit to prevent operation during transient over-voltages,
which are normal after load removal.

The generator must be stopped to reset an over voltage trip.

 POSITIONS OF AVR CONTROLS

UFRO Table Stability Table

0 50 Hz 6 Pole 0 Under 100 kW

2 60 Hz 6 Pole 1 100-500 kW
4 50 Hz 4 Pole 2 500-1000 kW
5 60 HZ 4 Pole 3 1000-1500 kW
4 1500-2000 kW
5 2000-2500 kW
6 Over 2500 kW
7 Special
8 Special
9 Special

Controls Function Direction

Volts To adjust generator output voltage Clockwise increases output voltage

Stability To prevent voltage hunting Clockwise increases the damping effect
Stability selection To optimise transient performance See table
UFRO To set under frequency knee point Clockwise reduces knee point frequency
Frequency selection To set UFRO control range See table
Droop To set voltage droop to 5% at 0 PF Clockwise increases the droop
Trim To match accessory output to AVR input Clockwise increases AVR sensitivity
Dip To adjust frequency related voltage dip Clockwise increases the dip
Over volts To set over voltage protection cut off level Clockwise increases the overvoltage level
RMS Set and sealed at the factory
I limit To set maximum short circuit current Clockwise increases the current
Exc trip. To adjust over excitation trip level Clockwise increases the trip level
Dwell To set voltage recovery time after block loading Clockwise increases the recovery time

ADJUSTMENTS OF AVR CONTROLS

Voltage adjustment Carefully turn the VOLTS control clockwise until rated
voltage is reached
The generator output voltage is set at the factory, but
can be altered by careful adjustment of the volts control If instability is present at rated voltage, slowly turn the
on the AVR board, or by the external hand trimmer if stability control clockwise until voltage is steady, then re-
fitted. adjust voltage if necessary

WARNING! Voltage adjustment is now complete

DO NOT INCREASE THE VOLTAGE ABOVE THE

RATED GENERATOR VOLTAGE. IF IN DOUBT, Stability adjustment
REFER TO THE RATING PLATE MOUNTED ON THE
GENERATOR CASE. The AVR includes a STABILITY or damping circuit to
provide good steady state and transient performance of
If a replacement AVR has been fitted or re-setting of the the generator.
VOLTS adjustment is required, proceed as follows:- A switch is provided to change the response of the
stability circuit to suit different frame size machines and
Before running generator, turn volts control fully anti- applications, (see stability table on previous page).
clockwise
The correct setting of the stability control can be found
Turn remote volts trimmer (if fitted) to midway position by running the generator at no load and slowly turning
the stability control anti-clockwise until the generator
Turn stability control to midway position voltage starts to become unstable.

Connect a suitable voltmeter across line to neutral of the The optimum or critically damped position is slightly
generator clockwise from this point, ( i.e. where the machine volts
are stable but close to the unstable region ).
Start generator set, and run at a no-load condition at Under Frequency Roll Off adjustment (UFRO)
nominal frequency e.g. 50-53 Hz or 60-63 Hz
The AVR incorporates an under speed protection circuit
If the red light emitting diode is illuminated, refer to the which gives a volts per Hertz characteristic when the
under frequency roll off adjustment (UFRO) generator speed falls below a presettable threshold
known as the knee point.
 The red light emitting diode (LED) gives indication that The DC signals presented to this input adds to or
the UFRO circuit is operating. Turning the UFRO control subtracts from the AVR sensing circuit, depending on
clockwise lowers the frequency setting of the knee point polarity, and allows the accessory to have an influence
and extinguishes the LED. on generator excitation.

For optimum setting, the LED should illuminate as the The trim adjustment allows the user to determine or
frequency falls below just below nominal, i.e.47-48 Hz on "trim" how much control the accessory has over the
a 50 Hz system and 57-58 Hz on a 60 Hz system. AVR.

The UFRO adjustment is preset and sealed at the works With the trim control fully anti-clockwise the accessory
and normally only requires the selection of 50/60 Hz has no control, clockwise maximum control.
using the selector switch.
Over excitation adjustment
If the LED is illuminated and no output voltage is
present, refer to Over Excitation and Over-Voltage The adjustment is set and sealed in the works and
protection adjustments. should not be altered.

Dip adjustment An over excitation condition is indicated on the common

red LED which also indicates underspeed running.
The dip adjustment allows the user to have some control
over the amount of generator voltage dip upon the The generator must be stopped to reset an over
application of load. excitation condition

This feature is mostly used when the generator is Over Voltage adjustment
coupled to turbo charged engines with limited block load
acceptance, and operates only when the speed is below The AVR includes protection circuitry to remove
the UFRO knee point, (LED illuminated). generator excitation in event of an over-voltage on the
generator terminals.
The circuit works by increasing the volts per Hertz slope
to give greater voltage roll off in proportion to falling Separate terminals are provided for the over-voltage
speed. circuit (E0, E1), which connect to the generator windings
independently of the AVR sensing terminals.
With the DIP control fully anti-clockwise the generator
voltage characteristics will follow the normal volts per Provision is made for the connection of a small circuit
Hertz line as the frequency falls below nominal. breaker to break terminals K!, K2, interrupting the power
supply to the exciter field, through simple manual
Turning the DIP control more clockwise provides greater switching. The addition to this circuit breaker of leads
voltage roll off allowing easier engine recovery. B0, B1, causes the power supply to be interrupted
automatically in the event of an over-voltage.
Dwell adjustment
The over-voltage adjustment is set and sealed at the
The Dwell operates only when the speed has fallen factory but can be reset on retrofit AVRs. Clockwise
below the knee point set by the UFRO adjustment. With rotation of the O/V adjustment increases the voltage trip
the Dwell control turned fully anti-clockwise, there is no level. The generator must be stopped to reset an over-
Dwell and the voltage recovery will follow the engine voltage trip.
speed recovery. Turning the Dwell control clockwise,
introduces delay between engine speed recovery and Current Limit adjustment (I Limit)
generator voltage recovery.
An optional extra current limit adjustment is provided to
Droop adjustment regulate the amount of short circuit current.

Generators intended for parallel operation are fitted with This is particularly useful during single phase short
a quadrature droop CT which provides a correction circuits, preventing over stressing of conductors and
signal for the AVR. insulation.

The DROOP adjustment is normally preset in the works To use this feature, three current transformers (CT's) are
to give 5% voltage droop at zero power factor. fitted on the generator to provide feedback signals to the
AVR S!, S2 terminals
Clockwise increases the amount of CT signal injected
into the AVR and increases the droop with lagging power Under short circuit conditions, clockwise rotation of the I
factor. With the control fully anti-clockwise there is no Limit adjustment increases short circuit current and anti-
droop. clockwise reduces it. Short circuit current is limited to a
maximum duration of ten seconds by the over-excitation
Trim adjustment circuit.

An auxiliary input is provided to connect to accessories, Normally the I Limit adjustment would be set and sealed
(A1, A2) and is designed to accept DC signals up to +/- at the factory when the current limit feature is required
5 volts.
.

PO Box 17 • Barnack Road • Stamford • Lincolnshire • PE9 2NB

© 2002 Newage International Limited. Tel: 00 44 (0)1780 484000 • Fax: 00 44 (0)1780 484100
Reprinted with permission of N.I. only. Website: [Link]
Printed in England. TD_MA325.GB_09.02_01