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Day 5: Maintenance Philosophy & Generator Maintenance Testing ELEC 7050: Generator Technology Design and Applications
Dr. Ramesh Bansal School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Axon Bldg, 47/212 University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 bansal@itee.uq.edu.au Ph: 33653394
Maintenance philosophies
Generally, maintenance philosophies can be categorized into breakdown maintenance planned maintenance predictive maintenance condition-based maintenance (CBM)
Breakdown maintenance
This type of approach (fix it as required) is usually employed for short term economic gains with little regard to the future of the specific piece of equipment. Rarely used in generator maintenance but commonly applied to smaller components where repair is more costly than replacement and where loss of particular component during operation does not disrupt the generation of electric power
Planned maintenance
Predominant in maintaining critical equipment in power plants. Based on experience acquired during many years of operation, on the reliability of the equipment, as well as on load demands, weather, personnel availability, coordination with other plants of the same utility.
Predictive maintenance
In predictive maintenance the schedule is based mainly on statistical calculations. Calculations take into account parameters such as mean time to failure (MTTF) of critical components, e.g. age of the insulation components, and type of insulation (insulation systems), load cycles, and abnormal operation events. It is important to recognize that predictive maintenance, together with planned maintenance, cannot determine in most cases the optimal time to inspect, maintain, and refurbish a specific piece of equipment, in particular something as complex as a large turbogenerator. Planned and/or predictive maintenance has proved to be adequate over many years of operation
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Maintenance frequency
Important elements that determine maintenance intervals are : OEM recommendations preventive philosophy breakdown philosophy extending inspection intervals number of years of operation operating hours system schedules condition based maintenance
Replacement
When components are not capable of being fixed When replacement is more cost effective When reliability of operation could be compromised by a repair one critical component
Specialist Contractors
Competitor (to OEM) repair facility Function-specific contractor (e.g. one that specializes in retaining ring removal) Usually have high-level knowledge about the equipment Specialized people (experts) Specialized tools Generally a lower cost option Generally more limited resources than the OEM Cannot always cope with the unforeseen Station must be selective about what work is let out to third-party contractors Based on past performance and knowledge of their capability May be in conflict with OEM long-term warranties, if and when they still apply
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Auxiliaries
Excitation components (diodes, rectifiers, etc.) Enough spare parts for every single auxiliary.
Workforce
In-house
Station staff Other internal resources
OEM
Major manufacturer Advantage of having specific knowledge about the equipment Specialized people not available within the operators own organization Specialized tools Generally more expensive than in-house resources Less risk than using internal and/or non-OEM personnel Usually the highest work quality
Off Site
Transport equipment to external facility Usually for major work such as rotor rewinds Usually means the job cannot be done on site Or is more cost effective to do at off site
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Electrical tests
EL CID (Electromagnetic Core Imperfection Detector) testing Rated flux test with infrared scan Core loss test Through-bolt insulation resistance Insulation Resistance (IR) of flux screens
Stator core electrical tests: EL-CID test ELTraditional ring flux test using ring or loop flux test method (Fig. 2) In this test rated or near-rated flux is induced in the stator core yoke which in turn induces circulating currents from the faulted area usually to the back of the core, at the core-to-keybar interface. These circulating currents cause excessive heating in areas where the stator iron is damaged.The heat produced is generally detected and quantified using established infrared techniques. This method has been proved to be successful over the years, but it requires a large power source and considerable time, manpower and resources to complete. May potentially damaging to the uncooled machine and requiring large power cables, transformers and generators. EL-CID testing Started in early 1980s, has achieved world wide acceptance for its reliable detection of stator core faults. Operates at only 4% of normal operating flux. Require less manpower to complete. Reliable for detection of stator core faults.
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*Fig. 2 stator core fault current path from fault to core back at the key bars, by induced flux
*Fig. 3 Original analogue EL-CID equipment setup for testing large turbo generators
Some issues related to EL-CID testing ELThere are also a number of issues correlate EL-CID signal to temp. Some operators carry out the test at 100% of rated flux level whereas others test at 80% level.Various time periods are selected by different operators too. Practically, a 10 rise at 100% of rated flux is much less significant than at 80%, because the 80% level is at the knee of the exponential curve. Another factor which affects the EL-CID signal and the temp. measured during the flux test is the core-to-keybar contact resistance. The resistance may be significant for low flux levels of the EL-CID. But for ungrounded cores the EL-CID and the flux test are both ineffective. In most cases, if no faults are found by the EL-CID test, the stator core is considered defect-free but more work is required on EL-CID signal correlation with temp. rise in fault locations. It is a good idea to equip both EL-CID test and flux testing on any core to find defect.
Stator core electrical tests: Rated flux test with infrared scan
The rated flux test is a high-energy test used to check the integrity of the insulation between the laminations in the stator core. In this near-rated flux (normally about 80%) is induced in the stator core yoke. Flux is produced in the iron by looping a cable around the core in toroidal fashion, and circulating a current at operating frequency. This in turn induces circulating currents and excessive heating in areas where the stator iron is damaged (Fig. 2). The heat produced is detected and quantified using established infrared techniques. Rated volts per turn required
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Electrical tests
Determine if serious insulation weakness exists and as well as verify insulation strength to normal operation
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RADIAL VIBRATIONS
TEFLON TUBES
TANGENTIAL VIBRATIONS
Tracer gases
Freon, Helium (preferred because light, nontoxic & nonhazardous)
Capacitance mapping
Capacitance mapping is a non-destructive test method used to identify the presence of moisture in the ground-wall insulation from stator winding leaks. The technique is based on the difference in dielectric constant of the groundwall insulation and that of water. All top and bottom bars are tested at both ends of the machine, providing an average measurement of capacitance. Good insulation is indicated by measurements falling within 2 standard deviations from the average. Measurements of capacitance greater than +3 are considered suspect. Care must be taken when performing this test, since the capacitance measurements are also sensitive to the application of the capacitance probe, bar surface condition, grading paints, and the condition of the ground-wall insulation itself.
Vacuum decay
Sensitive as compared to pressure decay test. Used to determine leak sensitivity of entire winding
Pressure drop
The differential pressure across the stator winding from the stator cooling water inlet to the outlet of the generator can also be tested in the off-line mode to ensure that the design pressure drop across the whole stator winding is at the correct level.
Insulation resistance
Insulation resistance of each phase indicates a general state of dryness and cleanliness of the insulation system. It also used to measure the insulation integrity of the thermocouple system within the generator.
Slot discharge
is used to check adequacy of coil surface grounding. Outer surface of the stator coil should make effective contact with the core to prevent voids, resulting in high energy capacitive discharges and degradation of insulation.
Tube-to-copper resistance
Tube-to-copper resistance is performed to detect abnormally high or low resistance between the ventilating tubes and the copper of the winding on hydrogen inner-cooled coils. Low resistance or shorting may lead to damage from circulating currents if there are multiple shorts. High resistance can lead to insulation breakdown during high voltage testing.
Corona probe
developed to detect and locate areas of unusual ionization or partial discharges in the stator windings.
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Phase resistance
Measurements should be taken at all maintenance inspections or repairs so that actual measurements can be compared to factory calculated values and for phase balance for evaluating potential problems.
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Specialized instruments then measure and display these changes in the impedance, allowing the test technician to interpret information about the test specimen, specifically the presence and size of flaws in it.
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Hydrogen seals
NDE
liquid penetrant inspection (LPI) for cracks and other surface damage, and ultrasonic (UT) for babbit bonding to the seal ring components
Bearings
NDE
liquid penetrant inspection (LPI) for cracks and other surface damage, and ultrasonic (UT) for babbitt bonding to the bearing shell.
Insulation resistance
Megger checks of the seal insulation to ground are done to ensure the rotor shaft is not grounded through the hydrogen seals. This is usually done at only 500 V dc.
Insulation resistance
Megger checks of the bearing insulation to ground are done to ensure the rotor shaft is not grounded through the bearings. This is usually done at only 500 V dc
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Mechanical unbalance Crack in the rotor forging or on one of its components Lose components
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