Electronic – What governs the output voltage of a three-phase generator

generatorthree phasevoltage

If you have a three-phase generator (or motor run as a generator), what part of it governs the output voltage? For example the speed at which you rotate the shaft governs the output frequency, but what governs the output voltage?

The reason I ask is that I'm looking for cheap ways to produce three-phase power in an off-grid scenario, and electric motors from damaged EVs are relatively cheap. Many of these seem to be three-phase permanent magnet motors, but finding out what voltages they produce when driven as generators is very hard to come by.

I am wondering whether it's a function of some part of the motor design (e.g. the strength of the permanent magnets) or whether it's something you can control as part of driving the generator, as you do with frequency by varying the shaft speed as required. For example does the output voltage go quite high if there is no load, and enough of a load must be placed on the generator output to drag the voltage down to the desired level? I'm not sure if that's right because I thought the load was related to the frequency (and how hard it is to turn the shaft at the correct speed in order to maintain the desired frequency).

In other words, if you are designing a three-phase generator from scratch, what (if anything) do you change in the design to adjust the output voltage it produces?

Best Answer

The output voltage from an unloaded generator is the product of its speed, and the magnetic field. The voltage drops a little when loaded due to the winding resistance.

For a fixed field machine, that means the output voltage varies linearly with speed. Variable field machines, usually by using a wound field, can control the output voltage at a fixed speed by varying the field in the generator.