Motor-generator set

Article By:

El-Hawary, Mohamed Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Eckels, Arthur R. Formerly, Department of Electrical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Last reviewed:December 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.436110

Equipment that combines an electric motor (synchronous or induction type), or alternatively a prime mover (internal combustion engine or gas turbine) and an electrical generator (alternating-current or direct-current), with their shafts mechanically coupled. Using an electrical motor allows the conversion of voltage or frequency of an available electric power source to another desired frequency or voltage on the load side. Motor-generator (M-G) sets are used to provide electrical power on demand, including emergency power backup or power conditioning for remote sites, data processing and medical facilities, or any other mission-critical industrial or commercial application that requires an independent or remote power source. Examples of earlier applications of motor-generator sets include providing a precisely regulated dc current for a welding application, high-frequency ac power for an induction-heating application, or a continuously and rapidly adjustable dc voltage to the armature of a dc motor employed in a position control system. Motor-generator sets with a common motor and generator in one rotor feature the smallest horizontal size at the expense of lower isolation of transients between input and output. The motor of the set is selected so that it operates from the available power supply; the generators are designed to provide the desired output voltage or frequency. See also: Alternating-current generator; Alternating-current motor; Direct-current generator; Direct-current motor; Gas turbine; Generator; Induction motor; Internal combustion engine; Motor; Synchronous motor

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