Further, depending on the cooling circuit provided, cooling methods are classified as

Open circuit ventilation

• It is predominantly used for small and medium size air cooled machines.
• The coolant enters the machine from one end flowing through the ventilating ducts, above
the over-hang of the winding in the machine.
• The temperature of the coolant rises as it extracts the heat from the machine.
• The coolant is then released to the atmosphere through another end of the machine.
• Filters are required to clean the machine.
• It is not a suitable method for large machines.

Open circuit ventilation can be divided into two types: induced ventilation and forced
ventilation, based on the process of drawing of air in the machine
Induced ventilation

• Ventilation is provided in the machine as the fan reduces pressure inside

the machine leading the air to be sucked into the machine due to the
external atmospheric pressure.
• The air is then exhausted out by the fan into the atmosphere.
• Induced ventilation can be implemented using internal fan and external
fan
• Self-induced ventilation is generally used in small and medium power
machines
 Forced ventilation

The ventilation of the machine is said to be forced if the fan sucks the air from the
atmosphere and forces it into the machine, from where it is then pushed out to the
atmosphere using either an external or internal fan.
• Forced ventilation can be implemented using internal fan and external fan

In forced ventilation, the following factors influence heat dissipation rate.

• Machine surface to be cooled
• The volume of the coolant used
• The temperature difference between the coolant and the surface
Closed circuit ventilation
For large machines, normally closed circuit ventilation system is used
Working mechanism:
• This system utilizes primary and secondary
coolant.
• The primary coolant is made to flow over the
core and the winding.
• It may also flow through the ducts in the slots
and conductors
• the above process, coolant extracts the heat
thereby increasing the temperature of the
primary coolant.
• The hot primary coolant is passed through the
heat exchanger, where it is cooled by a
secondary coolant.
• Cold air from the heat exchanger is then
returned to the machine by using a centrifugal
pump for re-extraction of heat, thus providing
closed circuit ventilation.
Classification of ventilation based on provision of cooling ducts and air passage
Radial ventilation system
In this system, cooling air enters the duct through the stator by air gap and passes radially
to the back of stator when it is removed. As the movement of rotor induces a natural
centrifugal movement of air which may be augmented by provisions of fans if needed, it is
commonly used in motors.
The air in this case passes radially through these ducts and parallel to the overhang

Advantages
• Considerably low ventilation energy losses.
• Sufficient uniform temperature rise of the machine in the
axial direction.
Disadvantages
• It increases the machine lengths, as space for ventilating
ducts has to be provided along the core length.
• Such ventilating systems may become unstable with respect
to the quantity of cooling air flowing
Axial ventilation system
In this ventilation technique, air is forced in an axial direction through the passages
formed by the holes in stator and rotor Axial ventilation is usually preferred in
induction machines due to the following reasons.

• Axial ventilation is suitable for induction machines with medium output

and high speed characteristics as in such machines, a solid rotor
construction is used in order to avoid centrifugal stresses, rendering radial
ventilating ducts unsuitable and hence axial ventilation has to be used.
• In order to increase the cooling surface holes may be punched where
considerable heat dissipation occurs.
• If the axial ducts are arranged on the rotor, it is known as simple axial
system while if the axial ducts are provided on both stator and rotor, it is
known as double axial system.
• This system improv cooling speed, but requires a large core diameter for
the This system improv
Disadvantages

• Increased iron loss:

The provision of axial ventilating ducts behind
the slots of the stator reduces the amount of iron
in turn increases the flux density in the stator
core thereby increasing the iron losses.

•Non-uniform heat transfer:

The temperature of the end from which the air
leaves is higher than that of the end where the air
enters the stator on account of the fact that air
extracts heat (gets hot) in the passage from the
entering end to the leaving end, resulting in non-
uniform heat transfer
Combined axial and radial ventilation system
• This ventilation technique is usually
employed for large motors and small
turboalternators, as the area of axial ducts
needed to carry sufficient quantity of
cooling air becomes excessive giving rise to
a large iron loss and therefore a mixed axial
and radial system must be employed.
• The air is drawn into the machine from one
end and is passed through the ducts by the
fan at the other end of the rotor spider. This
fan mounted on the rotor then forces the air
out.
Multiple inlet ventilation system
• High power turbo machines (with rating >50 KW) of long core lengths
cannot use axial or radial ventilation techniques owing to the fact that the
coolant turns hot prior to reaching the machine’s central region from the
end-rings (due to the heat collected on the long pathway).
• This leads to poor heat absorption in the central region and consequently a
nonuniform heat distribution in the machine.
• Hence, multiple-inlet ventilation technique where the stator frame and core
are subdivided into multiple compartments (inlet and outlet chambers) is
adapted in
• turbo-generators.
• Compressed air at high pressure is forced radially inward to the stator
casing through the inlet chambers concurrently for cooling and the hot air is
then extracted radially outwards from the outlet chambers for cooling and
recirculation.
Cooling of Turbo-Alternators
Turbo-generator is essentially a high-speed alternator coupled to a steam turbine, with
limited diameter and long core length (stack height). These large machines have a rating
usually above 50 MW and total losses of the order of few MWs, due to which they need
analternative cooling method

Necessity and type of cooling in turbo-generators

These alternators, with high rating and high losses, impose crucial ventilation difficulties as care
must be taken not only in circulating the requisite large quantities of air, but also due to the high fan
power required to circulate the air.
For example, a 55 MW air-cooled turbogenerator has a total loss of 1 MW and requires about 150
tonnes of air per hour and a fan power of 100 kW. Furthermore, cleaning such large tonnes of air
with apt filters to prevent clogging of ducts with dust, along with ensuring moisture and dust-free
air to be circulated into the machine significantly increases the operating cost.

Evidently, the losses increase with the generator’s rating thereby demanding high duty air
circulating fans for efficient removal of heat from machine. This air-cooling method jeopardizes the
cost-effectiveness and efficiency of higher rating machines and hence an alternative cooling
technique utilizing hydrogen (on account of its superior cooling properties over air) is
employed in turbo-generators.
Advantages of hydrogen cooling
1. Enhanced efficiency: As hydrogen is approximately 14 times lighter than air; hence, requires much less
fan power for circulation
2. Good longevity: The primary causes of reduction in machine life (life of insulation) in an air-cooled
turbo-generator are development of local high temperature hot spots within the generator which induce an
insulation breakdown.
Effect of insulation corona is significant in high-voltage machines, since air consists of nitrogen and oxygen.
This might lead to the formation of nitric acid, ozone and other chemical mixtures, which can cause damage
to organic material in insulation.
Since thermal conductivity of hydrogen exceeds that of air by 7 times, it can effectively transfer heat within
the localized pockets filled with hydrogen molecules as good as the heat transfer through insulation. This
prevents insulation breakdown along with insulation corona (due to absence of air) thereby prolonging the
life of insulation and that of the turbo-generator.
3. Increase in machine rating: an increased output Power/Torque (around 20–25% based on gas pressure)
than obtainable through air cooling can be obtained for a given size of generator.
4. Elimination of fire hazards: Evidently, hydrogen will not support combustion, as opposed to air, so
there is a considerable decrease in the possibility of fire hazards.
5. Noiseless operation: Comparatively less noise is produced from a hydrogen-cooled machine as the rotor
is immersed and moves in a medium of smaller density than air.
6. Reduced cooler/heat-exchanger size: Heat exchangers or coolers of reduced size are
sufficient to cool the heated hydrogen due to its low density, thereby reducing
generator’s initial cost.
7. Reduced fan power: Since a lower quantity of hydrogen can cool a turbo-generator
than air, on account of its low density, much less fan power suffices to circulate the
coolant.
8. Low maintenance: Hydrogen-cooled generators are totally enclosed thereby
foreclosing dirt and dust from entering the machine, scaling down the need for
maintenance.
9. Prolonged service life: In air-cooled generators, compounds of nitrogen and ozone
are formed when corona occurs, which causes intense oxidation of the machine’s
insulation over a period. Hydrogen-cooled machines are free of this corona effect
thereby increasing the service life of insulation and indirectly boosting the machine’s
longevity.
Disadvantages and precautions to be adopted
Oddly, hydrogen forms an explosive mixture with air, when the ratio is less than 3:1.
This key precaution must be factored in while designing the turbo-generator as its
joints must be leak proof to disallow external air to mix with hydrogen while also
being sufficiently strong to withstand internal explosions in adverse cases. It is
therefore required to provide strong reinforced, gas tight frame/end shields made of
steel which totally encloses the generator.
With this technique, generators with rating around 300–500 MW can be loaded. For
higher ratings of the order of 1 GW with losses of few tens of MWs, hydrogen cooling
is not a plausible solution as heavy coolant circulation rate and high pressures of
hydrogen ought to be sustained for effective transfer of heat. Hence, direct water
cooling is employed in such adverse cases albeit at a lower power efficiency.