Large Induction & Synchronous Machines Data

I would contact companies that make their living using pumped storage. Although there are others throughout the world, I did visit one is Scotland about a decade ago. They used the same machines to pump water at night to generated power during the day. I presume that they were synchronous machines even though they would have induction starting.

Bill

Any of the major motor manufacturers should have data. As for synchronous machines, their use is more for specific applications-Salmon Egg mentioned pumped storage but generally these units are considerably larger than the range you have indicated and are designed and built for the specific application. In the range that you are considering, you can check with larger industrial plants, where there are large motor loads. In these plants, synchronous machines are often used to supply compressors or other loads that are always on in order to provide power factor compensation. Unloaded units are also used that way (particularly by utilities). Synchronnous motors may be used for large circular saws because their constant speed results in improved cutting.

But that's the problem. I have no more contacts to contact. All I could get was some induction motors data.

Thanks for the help anyway.

Piggybacking on Don's reply.

You might find a couple adjustable speed drive 2 pole synchronous machines of that size as part of gas pipeline compressors. I know they were talked about but I don't know if they were built. IIRC they were 24,000HP/5500RPM (about).

2 pole synchronous motors are going to be very hard to find and 4 pole not much easier because of starting problems. OTOH if you look for generators of that size you should find some as in house power at industrial sites. 40 years ago I worked on a pumped storage plant with 2 large machines. 220MVA/32 pole... a little out of the range you're looking for.

My boss at the time had been a machine designer for one of the large vendors before he came over to the utility side. He said, "It's just a dumb machine, it can't read it's nameplate to know if it's a motor or generator."

The nameplates did say GENERATOR/MOTOR, 220,000 KVA/261,000 HP. Sure enough, it works either way. The direction is reversed between the pump and generate modes only because the same runner does dual duty as a turbine and pump.