Patent ID: 11916500
Assignee: RAYTHEON COMPANY
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 12:
13. A method for operating a synchronous electric generator in multiple modes, the method including:
in a grid-power mode:
applying three-phase AC grid power to three wye-configured stator phase windings at first, second, and third grid-connection nodes;
applying a first phase of the three-phase AC grid power across first and second excitation nodes of a rotor as an excitation power;
wye-configuring three rotor phase excitation windings in response to applying the first phase of the three-phase AC grid power across the first and second excitation nodes, the wye-configured rotor phase excitation windings having first, second, and third power-connection nodes;
phase shifting, by a first phase angle, the excitation power applied to the first excitation node;
conductively coupling the excitation signal phase shifted by the first phase angle to the first power-connection node;
phase shifting, by a first phase angle, the excitation signal applied to the first excitation node;
conductively coupling the excitation power phase shifted by the second phase angle to the second power-connection node; and
conductively coupling the excitation power applied to the first excitation node to the third power-connection node of the wye-configured rotor phase excitation windings; and

in a power-generation mode:
applying DC power across first and second excitation nodes of a rotor for purposes of field excitation;
straight-configuring three rotor phase excitation windings in response to applying the DC power across the first and second excitation nodes, the straight-configured rotor phase excitation windings having first and second power-connection nodes;
conductively coupling the excitation power applied to the first excitation node to the first power-connection node;
conductively coupling the excitation power applied to the second excitation node to the second power-connection node; and
rotating the straight-configured rotor within wye-configured stator phase windings, thereby generating electrical power at first, second, and third power-output nodes.