A Salient-Pole Synchronous Generator with Permanent Magnets between the Field Poles

In this paper, a new salient-pole synchronous generator (SG) termed the PMa-SG is presented. In the PMa-SG, permanent magnets (PMs) are placed between the pole shoes to reduce the magnetic saturation in the field poles. By using finite element analysis (FEA), the internal magnetic fields and basic characteristics of a 2.8-MVA PMa-SG were compared with those of a conventional SG of the same size, and the reduction effect of the magnetic saturation of the PMs was examined. The FEA simulations were also validated by experiments on a 2.0-kVA prototype machine. The PMs placed between the pole shoes reduce the magnetic saturation in the pole bodies and pole tips and effectively increase the terminal voltage and output power.