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Abstract: A short overview is given of typical PD sources condition [2]. Even if these tests provide a lot of useful diag-
within large rotating machines. Characteristic pros and cons of nostic information, that in several cases can not be obtained by
on- and off-line measurements are presented and their signifi- PD measurements, they are usually not sensitive to a few local
cance with regard to condition based machine maintenance is insulation deficiencies. Consequently, in order to get reliable
discussed. The possibilities as well as the limitations of PD information on the performance of the entire stator winding
measurements as a tool to assess the insulation conditions of insulation, due to the complexity of rotating machines, it is
rotating machines are outlined. Examples are given for on-line highly recommended to apply a combination of PD measure-
PD measurements on generators that allow a clear diagnostic ments (ABB-PAMOS®) and additional, well defined diagnos-
decision and therefore a reliable condition assessment to be tic tests and inspections (ABB-WIDIPRO®) at regular inter-
obtained. However, it is additionally shown that PD measure- vals.
ments have some intrinsic limitations and therefore can not
detect virtually all insulation related problems. PD Sources in Rotating Machines
Introduction The stator winding insulation of high voltage machines is
subjected to several stresses during operation that may signifi-
A sudden unexpected in-service failure of the stator winding cantly influence the performance of the insulation system and
insulation of large rotating machines would cause considerable especially its long-term properties due to various aging phe-
expenses for non-availability and unplanned repair work. nomena [2]. Modern insulation systems for high voltage ma-
Therefore, modern diagnostic methods are applied to assess chines are inherently resistant to partial discharges due to their
the condition of the insulation system. Diagnostic tests are inorganic mica components. However, the occurrence of PD in
usually performed in regular intervals either on- or off-line. high voltage machines can be efficiently used to detect insula-
Off-line tests and inspections of a machine are mainly con- tion aging caused by thermal, electrical, ambient and mechani-
ducted as routine tests at scheduled outages according to a cal stress factors (TEAM-factors). In contrast to other high
time-based maintenance strategy. However, on-line tests are voltage equipment, like polyethylene insulated power cables, a
carried out during normal operation of the machine on either certain amount of PD activity in high voltage machines can be
continuous or periodic basis. These on-line monitoring meth- tolerated without having significant influence on the insulation
ods can be efficiently used for trend analysis and especially for properties. Nevertheless, depending on the individual process,
optimizing the timing of routine outages for off-line diagnostic PD in machines may also directly attack the insulation possi-
tests and thus allow condition based maintenance work to be bly resulting in an insulation fault. The main sources of PD
performed. When applying a condition based maintenance activity in high voltage machines are shown in Fig. 1.
program the availability can be increased and down times as
well as life-cycle costs of the equipment can be significantly Voids / Delaminations: Voids within the main insulation are
reduced. usually present in modern synthetic resin impregnated mica
tape insulation systems. Depending on the quality of the im-
One of the most important tools used today for diagnosis of pregnation process both the void content and the void size may
large rotating machines like generators and high voltage mo- vary slightly, but in principle a certain amount of PD activity
tors is the partial discharge (PD) measurement and analysis from small voids embedded in the main insulation is accept-
[1]. PD diagnosis can be applied both on-line and off-line and able. Delaminations at the interface of the copper conductor
is (apart from visual machine inspection) the only method that and the main insulation, that primarily result from thermal
allows locally confined insulation defects to be reliably de- overstressing are more dangerous, since the turn or strand in-
tected. The results, however, strongly depend on the individual sulation of the conductors may be severely damaged. In addi-
machine design. Other non-destructive methods like loss fac- tion delaminations within the main insulation or at the inter-
tor measurements, insulation resistance / leakage current or face to the conductor will reduce the thermal conductivity of
charging / discharging current measurements are typical off- the insulation which may lead to accelerated aging or even a
line tests that give an ‘integral’ information on the insulation thermal runaway.
Electrical Insulation Conference, EIC/EMCW’99, October 26-28, 1999, Cincinnati, USA
field grading
slot discharges
copper conductor
voids / delaminations
damaged end-corona
protection
iron core
spacer
slot-exit discharges
(damage due to vibration) overhang part / phase separation
endwinding discharges
overhang support system
Amplifier / Filter
ABB PAMOS® II
High speed
A/D converter
Data Base
Off-Line On-Line Expert System
Measurement of Partial Discharges chanical and electrical stresses). When analyzing the PD be-
havior at various load conditions of the machine additional
The measurement of PD on rotating machines can be per- information on the insulation condition, that can not be ob-
formed either on- or off-line according to Fig. 4. With each of tained by off-line testing, is available. Since on-line measure-
these methods there are several advantages and disadvantages ments on either periodic or continuous basis can easily provide
that must be considered when performing diagnostic testing PD data for trending, an early detection of impending insula-
and especially when analyzing PD measurement results [3]. tion faults is possible. Furthermore, this allows preventive
maintenance work to be planned and intervals for off-line di-
Off-line PD testing: The stator winding is energized with an agnosis to be optimized.
external power source while the machine is out of service.
When performing off-line measurements the interference level The interference level resulting from several noise sources is
resulting from external noise sources is usually quite low and usually considerable higher than for off-line testing. Since
due to the voltage variability a detailed analysis of the PD be- heavy noise may mask PD resulting from actual machine
havior of each phase can be carried out. The measurement of problems, sophisticated procedures for noise elimination (e.g.
PD inception and extinction voltages and the evaluation of the adaptive digital filters) and especially a profound experience
PD behavior with both increasing and decreasing voltage can in PD data analysis are required for making a reliable diag-
be efficiently used to obtain information on the stator winding nostic decision.
insulation condition. During a short machine outage easy lo-
calization of PD sources is possible and additional dielectric Regardless whether PD diagnosis is performed on- or off-line,
measurements or visual inspection can be performed. it is essential to examine PD results obtained at regular inter-
vals from one machine for trends over time in order to detect
However, off-line testing is more time consuming and more progressive aging and to determine whether or not additional
expensive than on-line testing since the machine must be out diagnostic or even maintenance activities are needed. The
of service. In addition there are no realistic stress conditions main benefits of applying PD diagnosis as a tool for condition
during the measurement (e.g. no thermal and mechanical assessment especially to generators and high voltage motors in
stresses) and in contrast to normal operation the entire winding key functions are:
is at high voltage. Consequently, there will be a certain
amount of PD from additional sources that are not active dur- • early detection of deteriorating insulation components
ing operation. This situation makes the analysis more difficult • reduction of in-service failure rates, i.e. reduction of un-
and thus requires a considerable amount of experience in as- scheduled and costly downtimes
sessing the measurement results. • planning of preventive maintenance
• optimized reinvestment planning
On-line PD testing: On-line PD testing is generally more cost • optimized availability and reliability for operational effec-
effective than off-line testing since no service-interruption is tiveness
required, once the couplers are installed, and no external
power source is needed to energize the winding. The meas- Thus, the overall life-cycle costs can be significantly reduced.
urement is performed during normal operation of the machine Even though these benefits are quite promising, PD diagnosis
and therefore under realistic stress conditions (thermal, me- has some inherent limitations that have to be considered.
Electrical Insulation Conference, EIC/EMCW’99, October 26-28, 1999, Cincinnati, USA
operating
inspection i
conditions
data analyses / trend analyses
inspection 1 maintenance condition assessment
actions
diagnostic decision
preventive maintenance