Bettis XTE3000

Integrated Generator Excitation Control Systems for Reliable Plant Operations

Power plant generators and associated excitation control systems play a critical role in maintaining grid stability. Damage or the complete failure of an obsolete generator excitation control system can force an unplanned outage, resulting in lost revenue.

The Ovation™ platform includes native generator excitation control for synchronous generators that offers innovative features like high-speed oscillography, dynamic bridge balancing, and an independent field current regulator. Integrated power system stabilizer software and a full suite of limiting and protection functions can be added based on specific plant needs.

Excitation Controller and I/O

The Ovation excitation controller cabinet is equipped with a specially designed excitation module featuring high-speed I/O for collecting voltage & current data and an integrated controller that executes the excitation logic.

The excitation controller cabinet also has a standard Ovation controller and I/O modules that collect non-critical data for functions such as starting and stopping the generator. The excitation controller communicates with the network via traditional interface cards.

Oscillography

A high-speed triggered event recorder captures high-resolution excitation data, such as generator line voltage and current; field voltage and current; and frequency deviations, when a user-defined trigger is activated. Event durations and sample rates are selectable.

Real-time oscillography, used during the commissioning process, provides accurate generator performance data for analysis of generator faults. Changes in currents or voltages are measured at a sampling frequency up to 2560 Hz.

Redundancy

Increased system reliability can be achieved by supplying redundant components within the Ovation excitation controller including the excitation modules as well as the standard Ovation controllers and I/O modules.

Similar to traditional Ovation controllers, the excitation controller includes a primary and backup processor that simultaneously executes the logic. Automatic tracking with watchdog detection circuitry provides bumpless transfer of control from the primary to the backup processor.

Generator Power and Protection

Generator power and protection are provided through field breakers, power rectifiers, field flashing, field overvoltage, de-excitation circuitry, discharge resistors and bus systems as needed. These devices are typically housed in cabinets that are adjacent to the dedicated Ovation excitation controller cabinet or remotely located closer to the generator equipment. Power rectifier bridges are provided using N or N+1 configurations to match specific generator ratings and redundancy requirements.