Optimisation of the Cooling System of a Synchronous Generator for Hydroelectric Applications

In this paper, the pneumatic air cooling system serving a salient pole synchronous generator is analyzed. The characteristic parameters of the generator, especially the delta temperatures of the primary cooling (air) and secondary cooling (water) are measured. The construction of an analytical model validated on the experimental data then allows the definition of the main thermodynamic quantities useful to define the heat transfer parameters. The quantities obtained from the model provide the basis for the construction of an objective function capable of defining, in this initial work, the trade-off of the length of the stator ducts that optimizes the heat exchange of the primary fluid.