Permanent magnet direct-drive shaft generators in marine applications Technology point

Coupling a permanent
magnet shaft generator
with a frequency converter
gives the maximum amount
of freedom in optimizing
the engine and propeller
efficiencies.

Permanent
magnet direct-drive
shaft generators
in marine applications
Introduction
Electric power generation in ships has been traditionally carried out by using either separate
auxiliary gensets or by using so-called shaft generators connected to the main engine.
Auxiliary gensets typically consist of a constant-speed, 4-stroke diesel engine equipped with
a standard asynchronous or synchronous generator. The main benefit of this concept is that
due to constant-speed operation, the generator feeds constant voltage and frequency into the
In electric power generation, ship’s electric grid, and therefore, no power electronics are needed for frequency conversion.
shaft generators help Additionally, since this concept is independent of the propulsion, power generation can
combat rising energy costs continue during maneuvering and harboring. The main drawbacks are that auxiliary gensets
and tightening emission require more space, more maintenance, and they cannot run with cheaper heavy fuel oil (HFO)
regulations. without expensive auxiliary equipment, such as pre-heaters to reduce viscosity.

Over the last couple of decades, so-called shaft generator systems have become a common
option, mainly due to rising energy costs and tightening emission regulations. In merchant
ships, the most common solution for primary power is a low-speed, two-stroke diesel engine
coupled directly to a propeller shaft without any reduction gear. The primary benefits of a
two-stroke diesel engine over a 4-stroke one are higher thermal efficiency, which allows
lower specific fuel oil consumption (sfoc), and the fact that it runs on heavy fuel oil, which is
significantly cheaper than marine diesel oil. In the near future, lowering the sfoc will become
extremely important not only because of the rising fuel costs, but also because of tightening
Auxiliary generators require emission limits for ships, for example, IMO Tier III, starting from 2016. While there are several
more space and maintenance approaches to fulfill the new requirements, such as using dual-fuel systems, NOx reducers,
and cannot run on cheaper waste heat recovery systems and similar alternatives, the most important target is to
heavy fuel oil. increase efficiency – the less fuel burnt, the lower the emissions.

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A typical shaft generator system consists of an electrically excited synchronous generator

(EESG), which is mechanically connected to the main shaft and electrically connected to the
ship’s grid – either directly or via a frequency converter. Mechanical coupling between the
generator and engine has been done either through a tunnel gear, which is used to step up the
generator speed, or by connecting the generator directly to the shaft without a gear. In the
first case, the generator is smaller due to lower torque. Standard, off-the-shelf products can
be utilized, which are widely available from several suppliers. The drawback of this solution,
naturally, is the necessary gearbox, which adds vulnerability, complexity and the need for
Using a shaft generator maintenance. Additionally, gearboxes are relatively expensive components and also waste
connected to the main shaft energy because 2–3% of input mechanical power turns into heat due to the friction in gear
eliminates the gearbox. contacts. This reduces the total efficiency of the system and increases the system heat load,
resulting in larger cooling power demand. An alternative concept has been to use a shaft
generator that is connected directly to the main shaft, eliminating the need for the gearbox
as well as all problems related to it. In this direct-driven solution, the generator runs at the
same low speed as the main engine, which is typically below 100 rpm for 2-stroke diesel
engines. The direct-driven shaft generator results in higher generator torque, resulting in a
physically larger generator, since the size of the electrical machine is always proportional to
torque. This often means that standard off-the-shelf generators cannot be used anymore,
and tailor-made generator designs are needed instead.

The electrically excited synchronous generator has been a standard solution in power
generation for more than a century, mainly because it runs on high efficiency and allows
effective control of reactive power on the grid side. The main drawback of a grid-connected
The directly grid-connected, synchronous generator is that it can run only at constant speed, which is defined by grid
electrically excited frequency, typically 50/60Hz. In traditional power generation, this is not important due to
synchronous generator has the nature of the primary power source, such as thermal or hydro, but as shaft generators
been a standard solution for are ideally not constant-speed systems, there are often situations where the variable speed
more than a century, operation of the main engine would be needed, for example, to reduce fuel costs or to allow
but it can only run operating at lower speeds.
at constant speed.
As the speed of the main shaft must be kept constant due to the directly grid-connected
generator, changing the thrust of the propulsion must be done, for example, by using a
controllable pitch (CP) propeller instead, because changing the speed of the propeller is not
possible any longer. While the fixed-speed CP propeller gives variable thrust, allowing the
ship to operate at different speeds and in different weather conditions, it does not result
in optimum efficiency. This is due to the high no-load loss of the CP propeller at nominal
speed, which means that even with the reduced pitch angles needed for operation at slower
speeds, there are high losses present on the propeller, therefore increasing specific fuel oil
consumption.

Maximum efficiency can only be achieved by operating the system in a combinator mode,
whereby both the pitch angle and speed of the propeller are varied all the time, depending, for
instance, on weather conditions and the ship’s speed. The lower the speed needed, the bigger
are the benefits of using the combinator mode compared to a system with a fixed-speed
CP propeller. This mode of operation has become common in recent years, as it minimizes
fuel consumption, while providing ultimate flexibility. Clearly, this mode cannot be used
with directly grid-connected shaft generators, as they require constant speed operation.
To overcome this problem, more and more shaft generators are connected to the ship’s

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grid through a frequency converter, thus allowing variable speed operation. Using power
electronics for speed control is very popular nowadays, since their price has gone down during
the last couple of decades and their technical performance has increased. The first speed-
controlled shaft generator systems utilized a thyristor controller, which had low efficiency
and caused high distortions on the grid-side power. Currently, all the new variable speed
shaft generator systems are equipped with a frequency converter, utilizing IGBT (insulated
Connecting a shaft generator gate bipolar transistor) technology, since they exhibit highly sinusoidal output voltage while
to the ship’s grid through a reaching efficiencies up to 97%.
frequency converter allows
variable speed operation. However, from a generator efficiency point of view, using a low-speed electrically excited
synchronous shaft generator is far from an optimal solution, as it has relatively low efficiency
due to its low-speed operation. In traditional high-speed power generation, synchronous
generators can achieve efficiencies up to 98–99%. In low-speed shaft generator applications,
however, their efficiencies are in the range of only 93%. When a frequency converter is added to
allow the combinator mode as described below, the total electric power conversion efficiency
drops below 90%. As fuel costs are continuously rising, more effective solutions are being
investigated all the time. One of the most promising solutions is to replace the electrically
excited generator with a permanent magnet (PM) generator, which has significantly higher
efficiency.

Benefits of a PM shaft generator

Permanent magnet machines have been known for decades, with typical applications having
been traditionally for small electric motors. Their breakthrough in high-power applications
occurred only during the last two or three decades. This was made possible with the
invention of Neodymium magnets in the early 1980s. Neodymium magnets have extremely
high energy density, making it possible to build high-efficiency, high-power generators and
motors in a megawatt range. Currently, the largest permanent magnet generators (PMGs)
An electrically excited already exceed 10 MW in power; and the field of application is large, ranging from wind
generator can be replaced power generation, marine propulsion, and elevators to hybrid cars and much more. PMGs are
by a PMG, which has especially well suited for low-speed applications, where asynchronous machines cannot be
significantly higher efficiency. used at all, as their efficiency and power factor would be far too low.

In practice, the only possibility has been to use an electrically excited synchronous generator
(EESG). This has been the standard solution for ship power generation, including shaft
generators and gensets. However, designing EESG for low-speed applications, such as shaft
generators, leads to a low power conversion efficiency, which is becoming more and more
critical due to rising fuel costs and regulations. This is because low-operation speed results
in weak electromagnetic induction in the generator winding, which must be compensated
for by adding plenty of coil turns to the rotor field winding to generate a strong enough
magnetic induction. A large number of coil turns in the field winding consequently results
in high electrical resistance, and as the current flows in the field winding, large losses are
generated in the rotor, resulting in poor efficiency. Losses must also be dissipated from the
machine, requiring large cooling capacity.

In a PMG, the magnetic field is simply produced by using permanent magnets attached to
PMG offers three main the rotor. This means that no rotor field winding or magnetization devices are needed. The
benefits: superior efficiency, lack of field winding and related losses gives the PMG three major benefits over an EESG:
less complex construction and superior efficiency, significantly less complex construction and low rotor inertia and weight.
low rotor inertia and weight. These are briefly discussed below.

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While the rotor field winding of a typical electrically excited shaft generator wastes up to
3% of input mechanical power as losses in the rotor field winding, this type of loss does not
exist in a PMG, where the total rotor losses are about a decade lower. Also stator-side losses
with a PMG are typically lower, as the PMG operates at a high power factor, while the EESG
is typically operated at a power factor around 0.80 to supply the necessary reactive power
A PM shaft generator is to the ship’s grid. The PMG’s higher power factor leads to a lower stator current, resulting in
always equipped with a smaller stator Ohmic losses, which can be seen as an increase in efficiency.
frequency converter to
independently regulate the A PM shaft generator is always equipped with a frequency converter, which can regulate the
reactive power on the grid reactive power on the grid side independently of the generator. While a typical electrically
side. excited shaft generator connected to a slow-speed 2-stroke diesel engine has an efficiency
of around 93–94%, depending somewhat on operating speed, a PMG with the same speed
and power can have an efficiency of around 96–97%. Typically, these kinds of machines are
equipped with air-to-liquid heat exchangers, which require an adequate amount of coolant
to be available to dissipate the heat, and the higher efficiency naturally means that a smaller
coolant volume flow is needed. The following figure shows an efficiency comparison of the
two generator designs for shaft generators, both with a rated power of 1500 kW at 70 rpm.
PMG has a 2-3% higher It can be clearly seen that the PMG has a 2–3% higher efficiency throughout the entire
efficiency through the entire operating range. The difference is derived from the fact that the PMG has virtually no rotor
operating range. losses, while the EESG needs constant magnetization power over the entire range.

Figure: Efficiencies of a PMG and EESG in a 1.5 MW shaft generator application. Since PMG
needs no energy for magnetization, it has significantly higher efficiency throughout the entire
operating range, which significantly reduces the main engine’s specific fuel oil consumption
per produced unit of electricity into the grid.

A second major benefit of a PMG compared with an EESG is the significantly simpler
mechanical construction, as the latter always needs a magnetization device to supply power
for the rotating field winding. EESGs in marine always utilize so-called brushless exciters, since
they require less maintenance. Brushes wear out and must be replaced on regular intervals.
A brushless exciter consists of a small auxiliary generator, whose output is connected to the
rotor field winding through a diode bridge. The AC output of the exciter must be rectified into
DC output for the field winding. In industrial applications, this auxiliary generator draws the
magnetization power from the external grid. However, ships often use self-start without

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 Permanent magnet direct-drive shaft generators in marine applications Technology point

the external grid, for example, when they start from a blackout. This means that the exciter
unit also includes a small pilot exciter, a small PMG, to make the operation of the generator
completely independent of the grid. In addition to the two small auxiliary generators and the
diode bridge, control electronics are also needed to regulate the magnetization power. All
this makes an electrically excited shaft generator a relatively complex system. This means
there are many auxiliary components that can eventually fail. A PMG does not require any
such auxiliary equipment, which is prone to failure, and its operation is brushless by nature,
which leads to a minimum amount of maintenance needed. The magnetic field is provided
by permanent magnets instead of the rotor field winding, meaning that no external devices
No auxiliary equipment, are needed whatsoever. Once the magnets are mounted on the rotor during the generator
which is prone to failure, is assembly, they provide the necessary magnetic field for the entire operating life of the
required. generator.

A third benefit of a PM shaft generator relates to its simple rotor construction. Whereas
the rotor of an electrically excited generator consists of a solid-steel shaft/rotor yoke with
massive field poles and windings attached, the rotor of a PMG is basically a hollow steel
cylinder with magnets fixed on its surface. The thickness of the cylinder (i.e. the rotor yoke)
is usually only 30–50 mm, and the thickness of the magnets is 15–20 mm. This results in
extremely low inertia and rotational mass for the PM shaft generator rotor. Low inertia and
mass are very important when considering the whole shaft-line dynamical performance,
including torsional vibrations, for example. As a comparison, the rotor inertia of the 1.5 MW
electrically excited shaft generator is approximately 5,300 kgm2 and the weight is 8 tons,
while the same numbers for the PMG are approximately 600 kgm2, and 2 tons, respectively.
It can be seen that the inertia is almost a decade lower with the PMG. Also rotational mass of
Low inertia and mass are very the rotor is 6 tons lower. Both the electrically excited generator in the comparison and the PMG
important for the dynamic shaft generator design from The Switch have the same rotational speed and approximately
performance of the whole the same outer dimensions. Therefore, the numbers should be comparable, clearly indicating
shaft line. the benefits of a PMG.

Figure: The PMG rotor consists of a thin, hollow rotor core (blue), magnets on the outer
surface (gray), and a connection flange for the main shaft (light brown). The rotor of an EESG
would include field poles, field windings and an exciter. The PMG has a substantially simpler
rotor construction, leading to substantially reduced inertia and weight.

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Conclusions
Permanent magnet machines have already had their breakthrough in high-power industrial
applications (pumps, fans, conveyors, etc.), in distributed power generation (wind, tidal,
small-scale hydro) as well as in applications where space, weight or inertia is limited
(elevators, servomotors, hybrid cars, etc). They are also becoming more popular in marine
propulsion applications (ABB AZIPOD®), but they have not yet had their breakthrough in
ship power generation, where traditional electrically excited synchronous generators are still
being used.

Coupling a PM shaft Coupling a PM shaft generator with a frequency converter gives the maximum amount of
generator with a frequency freedom in optimizing the engine and propeller efficiencies, as both the speed and propeller
converter gives the maximum pitch angle in the case of a CP propeller can be independently varied using the combinator
amount of freedom in mode. The optimal combination of propeller speed and pitch angle minimizes the specific
optimizing the engine and fuel oil consumption. The lower the ship’s speed, the bigger is the benefit. Even when sailing
propeller efficiencies. on open seas, lowering the engine speed and simultaneously using a smaller propeller pitch
in the case of the CP propeller can result in huge savings in fuel consumption. Although there
are shaft generator systems that allow variable speed operation by utilizing a frequency
converter, so far they all use electrically excited synchronous generators. Such a generator
works very well in traditional power generation, leading to efficiencies of up to 98–99%, but
their efficiency are considerably reduced down to 93–94% when used as a shaft generator,
due to the low operational speed as described above.

A PMG boosts efficiency by When such a machine is coupled with a frequency converter that allows variable speed
3-4%, resulting in significant operation, the total efficiency of the electric power conversion will be only around 90%
fuel cost savings and helping or even less. Using a PMG instead will boost the efficiency by 3–4% up to 94% including
to fulfill emission regulations. the converter losses, which will result in significant savings in fuel costs. Reduced fuel
consumption will further help in fulfilling tightening emission regulations (e.g. IMO Tier III).
In addition to the benefits mentioned before, a frequency converter connected to a PM shaft
generator can easily handle all the existing requirements that have been traditionally set for
the shaft generator system, including for example, synchronization, parallel operation with
other generators, reactive power control and generator fault diagnostics.

About the author:

Jussi Puranen currently works
as R&D Manager at The Switch,
Finland. His main responsibilities
are the electromagnetic design
and R&D of permanent magnet
generators. Puranen holds an
M.Sc. (Technology) degree in
Electrical Engineering and a
D.Sc. (Technology) degree from
the Lappeenranta University of
Technology (LUT), Finland.

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