An experimental investigation of a self-excited synchronous generator: Loading characteristics and output voltage harmonics

An experimental investigation has been don on a class of self-excited synchronous generator and the results are presented and analyzed in this paper. The investigation focused on the load characteristics under static and dynamic loads. For each loading case, the output voltage harmonics are recorded and analyzed. It is found that the machine performance is robust under all loading conditions. However, there is a considerable amount of harmonic distortion under some loading conditions and it is mainly due to the ripples of the excitation current. Some recommendations are proposed in order to reduce such distortion.