Determination of the Insulation Condition in Synchronous Generators: Industrial Methods and Case Study

Abstract

[EN] Electrical Machines, and especially Synchronous Generators (SG), take a significant position in Power Generation plants and in Industry Production Lines and their unscheduled outages may have very negative repercussions. One of the main reasons for their failure relies on the degradation of their stator and rotor insulation systems. Although there are several industrial methods that are commonly used for diagnosing the health of such parts, some critical aspects remain unsolved. This paper reviews the different diagnostic methods and techniques that are most commonly used in practice to determine the condition of these two insulation systems in SG, emphasizing their respective drawbacks and analyzing their variants. Consequently, a case study on a SG operating in a Power Plant in Greece which illustrates the application of all these methods is presented.