CA0000009 Improving The Reliability of Stator Insulation System in Rotating Machines
CA0000009 Improving The Reliability of Stator Insulation System in Rotating Machines
CA0000009 Improving The Reliability of Stator Insulation System in Rotating Machines
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cycling tests for groundwall, surge tests for to 0.2 us range [4]. Although not accepted yet
multiturn coils etc, as described below), and to as a standard, a recently described endurance
assure good quality control during the test for turn insulation [5] should be specified
manufacturing process should be reviewed. Only for multiturn coils of critical machines.
manufacturers whose windings are likely to meet
the specifications consistently should be asked to In some cases, Ontario Hydro has specified
bid on the job. the maximum acceptable void sizes in the
insulation system. The voids can be measured
in the coils dissected after the type tests
3. FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION above.
AND ACCEPTANCE TESTS
d. Insulation resistance (IR) and polarization
The functional specification for the machine index (PI) for the coils and/or complete
should be based on the application and the winding: Acceptable values and the voltage to
expected performance of the machine. It should be used for test should be specified. IEEE
contain all the tests and the associated acceptance Standard 43 [6] provides the required
criteria required at various critical stages of the guidance. However, the IR values in this
manufacturing process and/or after the final standard should be treated as bare minimum
assembly of the stator winding. The specifications values; modern insulation systems have much
should include (along other pertinent higher values. This is being addressed in the
specifications) the following important features of next revision of IEEE Standard 43.
the stator winding insulation system design and
quality assurance during manufacture: e. Dissipation factor at low voltage (10 % of the
rated line to ground voltage) and tip up
a. Class of insulation and maximum temperature (difference in dissipation factor at 10 % and
rise: Ontario Hydro often specifies class F full rated line to ground voltage) for the
insulation systems for class B temperature rise winding [7]. For stator windings with modern
to ensure an adequate thermal life of critical insulation systems, the acceptable values are 1
machines. to 2 % for the low voltage dissipation factor
and less than 1 % for the tip up.
b. Requirement (or not) for semi-conducting
coating on the groundwall in the slot section f. Hipot tests for the winding: The voltage
& stress grading treatment at the slot to levels and the type of voltages used to hipot
overhang transition area. Both treatments are the complete winding should be specified [8].
required for machines rated higher than 4.1 One minute ac test at (2E+1) kV is normally
kV. specified for the new windings, where E is the
rated line-to-line voltage of the machine in
c. Various type tests to be performed on coils kV. Whether equivalent DC hipot tests [9] or
randomly selected from the production run: equivalent lightning surges can be used as an
By nature these tests are destructive and can alternative should also be specified.
not be performed on the coils or the winding
to be used. These tests evaluate the adequacy g. Partial discharges: Partial discharge (pd)
of the winding design. If more than one unit activity is an important parameter for judging
of the same winding are ordered, these tests the quality of an insulation system. It detects
can be performed once to prove the design. the imperfections like voids, contamination
etc. However, measuring pd levels
Voltage endurance tests, as described in IEEE quantitatively in a stator winding is not a
Standard 1043 [2] are conducted on at least simple task. The measured results for a
two coils. The coils are expected to survive winding at a specified voltage depend on the
250 hours at 110 C and 2.5 pu voltage (eg, 35 size and type of defects, the location of pd
kV for 13.8 kV coils). For machines to be sites, characteristics of the measuring system,
used in cycling duty, thermal cycling tests [3] and the connections of the winding for the
are specified. For machines with multi-tum measurement. There is no standard at present
coils, the turn insulation strength should be for partial discharges in rotating machines.
determined for complete coils, and it should Working groups are active in IEEE, CIGRE,
exceed 3.5 pu for surges with rise times in 0.1 and IEC in this area. Based on extensive
53
experience with measurements done on large monitoring of the winding for evidence of
number of new and old machines, Ontario continued "good health", or degradation while in
Hydro specifies pd levels for new machines at service. As the windings may settle during the
the rated line to ground voltage as measured first few months of operation, these tests should
with its own wide band pd measurement preferably be performed about a year after
system. PD measurements are made on commissioning and should include the following.
individual phases of a winding, with the other
two phases connected to ground. For good a. IR and PI tests
machines with modern insulation systems, the b. Off-line PD and capacitance/dissipation factor
pd levels are 100 mV or less. Another utility, tests
Electricite de France, also specifies pd c. On-line PD tests (for machines fitted with PD
acceptance limits. sensors)
54
problems in these areas due to contamination or significantly with time. Again, a significant
incorrect design of interphase clearances. The increase in pd over time is a better indicator of
hipot tests are potentially destructive and not degradation than the absolute value of pd
applied every time but only in case of suspected magnitudes. On-line pd measurements are used to
weaknesses to assure survivability in operation. examine if any deleterious change has taken place.
Performance of a hipot test requires that the utility In cases where such measurements indicate a
is prepared for the consequences of a failure. In problem, further investigations using off-line tests
our tests on many machines, no single test and inspections are warranted
provided consistent assessment of the insulation
condition. However, examination of all the Hipot tests are performed on machines in service
parameters, comparison of their values for the to assure their serviceability. They should not be
same machines at different times, and a used as routine tests as they are potentially
comparison between similar machines or different destructive in nature. The voltage used is (1.5E+1)
phases of the same machine were used to assess ac or equivalent DC level. The relationship
the insulation condition. The results for a number between the ac and dc test levels is not completely
of standby generators and emergency power understood [20] and Ontario Hydro prefers the ac
generators were reported in earlier papers [17-18]. test. The ac and dc hipot tests stress the
groundwall insulation only and not the turn
The IR values are a measure of moisture, insulation in multi-turn machines. For multiturn
contamination, or cracks in the stator insulation machines in service, Ontario Hydro does not use
and tell little about the insulation aging or or recommend turn insulation tests using fast rise
degradation. PI values less than 2 are often time surges on complete windings as the detection
indicative of aged insulation. However, for the of a turn insulation fault is quite difficult.
modern insulation systems with IR values in
several GC2 range, the values of PI are not very
relevant. Also for such high IR values, the 6. VISUAL INSPECTION AND
measurement of PI is difficult. Most often the IR MAINTENANCE
values are used only to decide whether high
voltage can be applied or not and not to assess the If a problem is indicated by diagnostic tests, a
insulation condition. visual inspection of the winding is necessary.
Normally one looks for damage by overheating or
The measured values for modern insulation discharges, looseness of the coils in the slots,
systems (epoxy resin systems) in good condition general contamination or cracks in the winding,
are 1 to 2 % for the dissipation factor and less signs of damage to semiconductive coating in the
than 1 % for the tip up. However, the measured slot section and the stress grading coating, and any
values are affected by the stress grading coatings softness or puffiness in the insulation. Wedge tap
applied in the machine. Hence the comparison tests are performed on large machines to examine
with earlier measurements or baseline the tightness of wedges. In recent years Ontario
measurements is more useful than the absolute Hydro has been evaluating the effectiveness of
values of the parameters. Also for some of the robotic equipment to perform tests and inspections
older machines with softer insulation systems, the in turbine generators without removing the rotor.
values can be substantially higher. A negative tip These devices can move along the air gap to
up can be an indicator of serious degradation of perform wedge tap tests, core insulation tests, and
the insulation system [19]. visual inspection with a video camera. Some of
the problems can not be corrected by maintenance
Partial discharge measurements are made both off- and a rewind of the stator is then required. In
line and on-line. On good stators, using the some cases maintenance actions, like cleaning
Ontario Hydro wide-band detector, measured pd and/or drying the winding, tightening the wedges,
magnitudes can be expected to be 100 mV or less. and touching up the stress grading coating, may
Magnitudes above 400 mV indicate serious make the machine serviceable with little cost.
problem. In off-line measurements, discharge
inception voltages (DIV) and discharge extinction
voltages (DEV) are also measured. A low DEV 7. CONCLUSIONS
value indicates poor condition of the insulation
system. Some machines may have high pd levels The reliability of stator insulation systems in large
from the beginning which may not increase rotating machines can be assured and improved by
55
proper specifications for the winding, quality 11. H. Yoshida and K. Umemoto, Insulation
assurance during the manufacturing process, Diagnosis for Rotating Machine Insulation,
acceptance tests in the factory, proper application IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation,
of machine, periodic on-line or off-line tests, and El-21,No.6, December 1986, p 1021-1025.
necessary maintenance. 12. K. Kadotani, T.Hakamada and S. Yamatake,
A Proposal for Insulation Diagnosis of 3 kV
Motor Stator Windings, IEEE Transactions on
Electrical Insulation, El-18, No.l, February
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13. M. Krecke and R. Goffaux, Attempt at
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