history

Thomas J. Blalock

the first polyphase system

a look back at two-phase power for ac distribution

T
THIS ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE and machines was truly understand- In fact, the first two-phase generators
first polyphase (more than one able. Likewise, it was not until the employed during the early 1890s were
phase) system developed for the distri- introduction of what eventually came merely two single-phase machines cou-
bution of alternating current (ac) to be known as symmetrical compo- pled together with their rotors carefully
power. This two-phase system was nents, during the early 20th century, set relative to each other so as to
subsequently rendered obsolete, how- that the calculation of three-phase volt- achieve the required quadrature phase
ever, by the superior three-phase sys- ages and currents became relatively relationship. Each generator, then, real-
tem that is now universally used straightforward. This technique utilized ly fed a separate two-wire, single-phase
throughout the world. an a operator that was of unity mag- circuit. Since the two phases were com-
nitude at a 120 phase angle (0.5 + pletely electrically isolated from each
The Origins of j0.866). This operator was of signifi- other, there were no interactions
Two-Phase Power cant value since, in a balanced three- between voltage and current magni-
Today, the large-scale generation, trans- phase system, the voltages and currents tudes in one phase with those quantities
mission, and distribution of electric are at 120 phase relationships to each in the other phase. Therefore, from a
power is by means of the three-phase other. theoretical standpoint, the two-phase
ac system; that is, three individual sin- Symmetrical components actually system was more easily understood
gle-phase voltages and currents having facilitated calculations in unbalanced than was the three-phase system.
a 120 phase relationship to each other three-phase circuits. They were origi- The two phases were used together
and intermingled on three wires nally known as Fortescue compo- in a four-wire system to enable the
(excluding a neutral). The three-phase nents since the method was introduced operation of the new Tesla (or induc-
system has been adopted because it in 1918 by Charles L. Fortescue of the tion) motor that had been developed
provides for a constant rather than pul- Westinghouse Electric Corporation. by Nikola Tesla. In order to be self-
sating power flow to motors, and Significant additional work in this area starting, the Tesla motor required
because it is an efficient system as far was later contributed by Edith L. some form of rotating magnetic field
as the amount of copper required per Clarke of the General Electric Compa- that had to be produced by a
kilowatt transmitted. The theoretical ny. During the late 19th century, how- polyphase type of supply. The two-
complexity of the three-phase system, ever, this calculation tool did not exist, phase system was adequate for this
however, delayed its complete accept- and the fact that changes in voltage or purpose. The Westinghouse Electric
ance in the early days of electric power current magnitudes in one phase of a Corporation supplied the power plant
system development. three-phase system affected the volt- and lighting for the Colombian Expo-
During the early 1890s, understand- ages and currents in the other two phas- sition in Chicago in 1893. Two-phase
ing the behavior of simple single-phase es contributed to the difficulty in power, produced by pairs of coupled
ac was enough of a challenge. It was understanding three-phase circuits. single-phase generators, was used
not until Charles P. Steinmetz, the leg- Thus, the first ventures into the throughout this installation.
endary General Electric scientist, realm of polyphase electric power used
developed the concept of the use of the only two alternating current phases Two-Phase Power
j operator (unity magnitude at a 90 rather than three. The two phases were at Niagara Falls
phase angle) and complex numbers for generated with a 90 phase difference The experience gained with the use
ac circuit calculations that the behavior between them, and the system that of two-phase power at the Colombian
of voltages and currents in ac circuits resulted was called two-phase power. Exposition may have had some

march/april 2004 ISSN 1540-7977/04/$17.002004 IEEE IEEE power & energy magazine 63
 lize the connection developed by Scott
for this purpose.
At Buffalo, some of this three-phase
power was used for rotary converters
that supplied 110/220-V dc power for
the Edison distribution system down-
town. However, some of the received
power was converted back into two-
phase power for general lighting pur-
poses in outlying areas. Motor-
generator sets were used for this latter
conversion because the frequency of
the ac power was increased as well in
order to avoid undesirable flickering of
incandescent lamps. The frequency
used was actually 62.5 cycles, rather
than 60 cycles, so as to simplify the
design of these frequency changers.
The conversion back to two-phase
power was motivated by the conviction,
Original two-phase to three-phase transformers installed at Niagara Falls in
at that time, that satisfactory voltage
1895 (photo courtesy Hall of Electrical History at the Schenectady Museum,
regulation was more easily achieved in
Schenectady, New York).
the two separate phases of a two-phase
system than in a three-phase system.
influence on the decision by Westing- are wound on different arma- This belief in the superiority of two-
house to employ a two-phase generator tures, each can be regulated to phase systems with respect to voltage
design for the first ac powerhouse at give a constant voltage at the regulation led to the extended use of
Niagara Falls, which went into opera- receiving end. This is the case, two-phase distribution in many locales.
tion in 1895. The generators used at for instance, in the large For example, in Cohoes, New York,
Niagara Falls were of a more conven- dynamos built by the Westing- (north of Albany) a 1915 hydroelectric
tional design, being single machines house Company for use at the station was designed to generate three-
having two interleaved windings rather Worlds Fair in Chicago. The dif- phase power. However, some of that
than two distinct machines coupled ficulty due to the uneven loading power was converted to two-phase
together. These generators operated at of the circuits is specially using Scott type transformers in
a frequency of 25 cycles (25 Hz) since marked in the case of the three- order to supply an extensive network of
it was expected that a significant por- phase system, and it is one of the existing two-phase feeders for lighting,
tion of the power produced would be principal objections that have rather than change those feeders to
used to operate rotary converters so as been urged against the employ- three-phase operation.
to obtain direct current (dc) for indus- ment of this system for purposes
trial uses such as aluminum produc- of distribution. William Stanley
tion. These early rotary converters Adopts Two-Phase
required a low frequency for satisfac- It had already been realized, how- William Stanley, the man credited
tory operation. ever, that the three-phase configuration with the first practical application of
There was obviously still a mistrust was superior for transmission from the the ac system using transformers (in
of the practicality of three-phase point of view of efficiency. Thus, spe- Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in
power throughout the electric power cial phase-changing transformers were 1886), subsequently formed the Stan-
industry at that time. For example, designed by Charles F. Scott of West- ley Electric Manufacturing Company
according to an 1896 article titled inghouse in order to step up the two- in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1891.
Present Status of the Transmission phase generated voltage at Niagara Stanley adhered to the design and con-
and Distribution of Electrical Energy Falls to 11,000-V, three-phase for struction of two-phase generators and
in the AIEE Transactions: transmission to Buffalo, New York. motors throughout the 1890s. This
The General Electric Company was was only partly a result of his belief in
Where a two-phase transmis- awarded the contract to build the the superiority of the two-phase sys-
sion with separate circuits is phase-changing transformers and so tem for voltage regulation purposes.
used, then if the separate circuits was licensed by Westinghouse to uti- Another factor had to do with the

64 IEEE power & energy magazine march/april 2004

increasing development of three-phase This two-phase distribution system distribution around 1925. At that time,
equipment by his major competitors, remained in use until the middle of the Company was interested in
General Electric and Westinghouse, the last century, and vestiges of it in upgrading its existing 2,400-V, two-
during the 1890s. Stanleys decision to the form of four-pole switches could phase primary distribution system to
manufacture two-phase equipment still be found on the service switch- 13,200 V, three-phase. The connected
allowed him to avoid excessive patent board of at least one old building in two-phase motor load, however, was
infringement problems with his com- Pittsfield in the early 1980s. Also, too great to consider changing the
petitors. Regardless of the reasons, two-phase motors were still being secondary distribution system from
however, Stanley contributed to the used to drive the elevator motor-gen- two-phase to three-phase as well, so
perpetuation of the use of two-phase erator sets in Pittsfields only depart- T-connected (Scott) phase-chang-
power in many locations. ment store when it closed in 1988. ing transformer banks were installed
The Stanley Works itself generated to supply a two-phase, five-wire sec-
and utilized two-phase power. In 1907, Other Two-Phase ondary distribution system.
this plant became the Pittsfield Works Installations During this era, the use of the three-
of the General Electric Company, and In the village of Middle Falls, New phase, four-wire wye-connected distri-
the two-phase power system that it had York, (northeast of Albany) the Niagara bution system was often considered to
inherited from Stanley remained in use Mohawk Power Corporation operated a be unacceptable because of the non-
until the closing of the facility in 1987. 1900 vintage, 350-kW Stanley two- standard voltage (199 V) between phas-
In fact, to this day, there is still one ele- phase generator in a small hydroelec- es with 115 V available from phase to
vator in an old office building there tric power station there until 1987. neutral. Early induction motors,
operating with a two-phase motor. Another identical unit had been retired designed for operation at 230 V, were
The two-phase system in this plant in 1976. The output of the station was less satisfactory when operated on
was somewhat unusual in that it was a coupled to Niagara Mohawks three- lower voltages than are induction
three-wire system. One wire from each phase grid by means of phase-changing motors of today. The ability of the two-
phase was combined into what was transformers. phase, five-wire distribution system to
called a common wire (not a neu- The generation of two-phase power supply the standard voltages of
tral). The advantage in this was the was not exclusively an East Coast phe- 115/230 V was a main feature in a
ability to use more commonly available nomenon, however. In 1898, the Pacific lengthy article published in the AIEE
three-pole circuit breakers and switches. Light and Power Company installed Transactions in 1925 by an engineer
A disadvantage, however, was that even four 300-kW Westinghouse two-phase associated with the Philadelphia Elec-
with the two phases balanced, the com- generators in a hydroelectric station tric Company in Pennsylvania. This
mon wire carried 1.414 times the current located in San Gabriel Canyon, near article justified the continued use of
in the other two phase wires. Thus, Los Angeles, California. This station that system.
economy in pulling circuits through served the nearby town of Azusa.
conduits required the use of two differ- As the use of ac motors expanded
ent sized cables. Eventually, the plant during the early 20th century, the prob-
had two power distribution systems, the lem of providing both l15 V for light-
original two-phase system and a newer ing and 230 V for motor use from
three-phase system. The two systems two-phase distribution systems became
were interconnected by means of phase- significant. One solution was the adop-
changing transformers. These were of a tion of a two-phase, five-wire system in
design by Louis F. Blume of the General which center taps on both phases were
Electric Company and utilized a wind- connected together to create a neutral.
ing configuration differing from the This, then, resulted in a star configu-
Scott connection, presumably to avoid ration (analogous to the three-phase
patent conflicts with the Westinghouse wye connection) and, technically,
Electric Corporation. was a four-phase system. As such, 115
Since Stanley supplied equipment V (single-phase) for lighting was avail-
to the local municipal power compa- able from any of the four phase wires
ny, the Pittsfield Electric Company, to the neutral, while 230 V (two-phase)
downtown Pittsfield was also served was available for motors from the four
by a two-phase system. This, howev- phase wires themselves.
er, was the more conventional four- In New York City, the Bronx Dis-
wire type of two-phase distribution trict of the New York Edison Compa- William Stanleys company special-
ized in two-phase equipment.
requiring four-pole service switches. ny adopted this form of secondary

march/april 2004 IEEE power & energy magazine 65

 The Demise of more than 115 V existed between it havoc for electrical equipment design-
Two-Phase Systems and the neutral. This complication ers and suppliers.
Eventually, a hybrid type of three-phase associated with the four-wire delta
distribution system, which was known type of service led to its gradual aban-
as a three-phase, four-wire, delta sys- donment during the latter 20th century For Further Reading
tem, came into use in certain regions of because fewer and fewer practicing J.O. Kraehenbuehl and M.A. Faucett,
the United States. This system included electricians were able to truly under- Circuits and Machines in Electrical
a center tap on one phase of a bank of stand it. Also, by that time, induction Engineering. New York: Wiley, p. 268,
delta-connected transformers supplying motors had been developed that oper- 1939.
230 V. The center tap formed a neutral ated satisfactorily on voltages lower Electrical Transmission and Distrib-
and, in conjunction with the two phase than 230 V. As a result, the three- ution Reference Book (4th ed.). East
wires of that particular phase, was used phase, wye-connected service, giving Pittsburgh, PA: Westinghouse Electric
to supply 115/230 V services on a sin- 208 V between phases and 120 V from Corporation, p. 12, 1950.
gle-phase, three-wire basis. Motors phase to neutral, has become the stan- E.L. Clarke, Determination of volt-
operating at 230 V were supplied from dard commercial type of service. Also, ages and currents during unbalanced
the three phase wires of this type of over the years, old two-phase primary faults, General Electric Rev., pp.
service connection. distribution systems were gradually 511513, Nov. 1937.
Buildings requiring both motor and replaced with three-phase systems. A C. Passer, The Electrical Manufac-
lighting service were sometimes pro- common practice became the conver- turers (18751900). Cambridge, MA:
vided with two separate services, a sin- sion of a 2,300-V, two-phase, four- Harvard, 1953.
gle-phase, three-wire service for wire distribution system into a L.B. Stillwell, The electric trans-
lighting and a three-phase, three-wire 4,000/2,300-V three-phase, four-wire mission of power from Niagara Falls,
service for motors. Otherwise, a single system (with neutral). AIEE Trans., pp. 444-486, 23 Aug.
four-wire service was brought into a Several clever and complex plans 1901.
building, but care had to be exercised were devised for the temporary supply Present status of the transmission
by electricians so as not to use the odd of remaining two-phase loads from a and distribution of electrical energy,
phase wire along with the neutral to new three-phase system, without the AIEE Trans., vol. XIII, Sept. 1896.
supply lighting loads. This odd phase expense of purchasing special phase- H.G. Stott, The distribution and
was referred to as the high phase or changing transformers. One such tech- conversion of received currents, AIEE
wild phase because considerably nique took advantage of the fact that Trans., pp. 125-163, 22 Mar. 1901.
there is a 90 phase relationship B.R. Connell, The Hydro-Electric
between one phase-to-phase voltage Development of the Cohoes Company
and the voltage from the third phase to at Cohoes, N.Y., General Electric Rev.,
neutral in a three-phase, four-wire sys- pp. 340352, May 1915.
tem. Customers were encouraged to L.F. Blume, Transformer connec-
purchase three-phase motors, rather tions for three-phase to two-phase
than add to their existing inventory of transformation, General Electric Rev.
two-phase motors. Many of the old pp. 552559, Sept. 1912.
motors, however, lasted for quite some W.A. Myers, Iron Men and Copper
time. Occasionally, a customer actually Wires: A Centennial History of the
had to be supplied with two services, Southern California Edison Company.
one two-phase and one three-phase. Glendale, CA: Trans-Anglo Books,
With rare exception today, the two- 1983.
phase distribution system has become a Distribution for congested areas,
thing of the past. Its extensive use Electr. World, pp. 1031-1032, 16 May
throughout the 20th century, however, 1925.
created interesting situations for electri- P.H. Chase, Two-phase, five-wire
cal engineers accustomed to three- distribution, AIEE Trans., pp.
phase systems. Occasional oversights, 737749, June 1925.
resulting from the unrecognized need Changing from two-phase four-
A two-phase, four-pole service switch for four-pole motor control contactors wire to three-phase four-wire distri-
in a building in Pittsfield, Massachu- due to the existence of an old two-phase bution, Electric J., pp. 214216,
setts (Tom Blalock photo). system, have been known to cause June 1923. p&e

66 IEEE power & energy magazine march/april 2004