Recommendations in books about generators - Electric motors & generators engineering (2024)

Hi,

Can anyone recommend me a good book about synchronous generators?

I'm an electrical engineer but my generators courses at university were very very poor

PS: Where possible, books that can be obtained online and "free"

Thank you,
Juan

Operation and Maintenance of Large Turbo-Generators by Klempner and Kerszenbaum is a decent text and mixes the theoretical with the real-world. You might need to buy that one.

For real-world deployment of smaller diesel sets, 'Application Manual - Liquid Cooled Generator Sets' published by Cummins is worth a read. That's available online -

Massachusetts Institute of Technology make some of their course material available online. Last time I looked their electrical machines notes were pretty good.

The whole lot is worth a look to be honest.

Nice, thank you Scotty!

"Operation and Maintenance of Large Turbo-Generators by Klempner and Kerszenbaum is a decent text and mixes the theoretical with the real-world. You might need to buy that one."

I used to work with Izzy Kerszenbaum. He is a great guy and a very knowledgeable and respected electrical engineer. I know that he has his own company and provides training courses around transformers, generators, etc.

Here's his website:

His books are available from his site as well.

Thanks spiesla, i'll take a look

Regards,

JuanBC... Curious...

Is Your need oriented toward ground-based power generation systems... or mobility [vehicles] [sea, land, air/space vehicle] power generation?
Voltage, hertz and power rating: 240V, 400V, 480V... or much higher; 60-cycle or higher; kilowatts or megawatts?

Probably familiar with following...

IEC 60034-1 thru -30 (?) Rotating Electrical Machines - ...

...​

Regards, Wil Taylor

o Trust - But Verify!
o We believe to be true what we prefer to be true. [Unknown]
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible. [variation,Stuart Chase]
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion", Homebuiltairplanes.com forum]

Hi Will,

I'd rather start with ground-based power generation systems up to 1 kV

I'll take a look at the IEC 60034, many thanks!

Juan

Search and browse Eng-Tips.
You may find practical tips that are not included in most texts.
My serious education on generators did not really start until I found myself responsible for the care and operation of three 500 KVA sets on-board a vessel.
In the following years I encountered many small sets in various settings. Some were prime power, many standby. My education continued with each new challenge.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

L.L.J Mahon's Diesel Generator Handbook is a good (if a little aged) reference for LV generator plant, if a little focused on the diesel side, rather than generation as a whole.

Its been a couple of years since I've read it, but I don't believe that it deals that much with plant beyond the generator (e.g. step up transformers, different voltage levels), you may need to look elsewhere for that.

EDMS Australia

On diesel if you become involved with trouble shooting diesel sets, a familiarity with diesel engines and with the PI part of PID controllers is invaluable.
The droop governor is a Proportional or a Proportional plus Integral controller with different terminology.
Droop = Proportional band.
3% Droop = 3% Proportional band Plus 35 offset.
Isochronous Governor = Proportional Controller plus Integral.
A set is surging: could be the AVR is failing or badly set-up. Could be a plugged filter and the set is starved for fuel.
The set loses voltage and frequency trying to start a motor that is within its capacity. Deap rack adjustment on the fuel pump set too low.
You get the idea.
A lot of this is not in most text books. You may learn the hard way, in the field, or by asking your friends at Eng-Tips.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

I have found "Synchronous Generators" by Ion Boldea to be very helpful.

Are you only looking for specific information on the generator end? Or do you want a better understanding of the entire set?

Manufacturers of the type unit you asked about, "ground based units to 1kV" such as Kato, Stamford, Marathon, Leroy Somer and others usually have pretty good application and support information on their websites. Stamford's "AC Generator Technical Manual" was a very good printed reference and shows up on ebay once in a while, Cummins now has most of the manual in pieces on their website. Basler has several excellent technical papers on controlling and protecting generators, but their new website makes finding the info a bit of a challenge now days.

Maybe if you provide some details about what you're looking for you might get some more specific answers.

Hope that helps, MikeL.

F.G. Wilson, aka Caterpillar/Olympian.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

waross said:

Search and browse Eng-Tips

Click to expand...

Will do, thanks

@catserveng: As you mention, I want a better understanding of the entire set

catserveng said:

Manufacturers of the type unit you asked about, "ground based units to 1kV" such as Kato, Stamford, Marathon, Leroy Somer and others usually have pretty good application and support information on their websites. Stamford's "AC Generator Technical Manual" was a very good printed reference and shows up on ebay once in a while, Cummins now has most of the manual in pieces on their website

Click to expand...

Nice, thank you! I'll look to them

JBC
.......
"The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing"

Hi redlinej!

I've also found Cummins' technical papers very useful

I'll take a look at the two other you mention
Regards!

JBC
.......
"The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing"