In this paper, a permeance model that can be employed to estimate the no-load damper current loss and voltage waveform harmonics in large hydrogenerators is presented. The importance of modeling the damper magnetomotive force and inductances correctly is emphasized, and detailed descriptions are presented. The computed harmonics are compared with values obtained from time-stepped finite-element calculations and measured data. The results are in good agreement. The influence of pole-to-pole damper bar connections, and of the number of damper bars on the voltage waveform, is explained.