Application of a DSP-based control system in a course in synchronous machines and excitation systems

The paper presents educational tools for students of an undergraduate course in synchronous generators and excitation systems. Laboratory exercises are based on the work with a laboratory model which consists of a digital control system and a synchronous generator connected to the power network. The code development is supported by two software tools where the code can be developed in the C or C ++ programming language or in a graphical environment. In the Electrical Machines Laboratory, the presented laboratory model allows students to develop the code for excitation control, to learn how a conventional excitation control structure and various types of power system stabilisers function, to carry out experiments with a step change in the active power reference or voltage reference, and to record generator responses. The proposed approach offers students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have acquired in lectures through practical work in the laboratory.