Testing Of

Alternator During
Annual Overhauling

Presented By
“Kapil Dev Dubey
& Manas Mohapatra
& Gaurav Gaur ”
Professional
Circle
Presentation
 Overview

Tests During Maintenance

- Electrical Tests of Stator
- Electrical Tests of Rotor
- Mechanical Test of Stator
- Mechanical Test of Rotor
Short Circuit and Open Circuit tests of Alternator
Hydro Testing of Coolers
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
 Need Of Testing

Large Alternators are most critical equipment for

power utility. Unlike Transformers, Its not stationary
hence subject to mechanical wear and tear also.
High speed and vibration puts stator and rotor
winding at risk and problems.
Any failures needs long repair time and consequential
lost revenue loss is very high.
It must run trouble free between planned overhauling
shutdown (Can be as long as 2 years).
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
 Stator Electrical Tests

 Stator Winding Resistance

 IR testing and Polarization Index
 Tan- Delta Test
 Natural Frequency Test
 Absorption Coefficient
 Dielectric Test (High Voltage Test)
 Core Imperfection Test
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 Mechanical Tests

Stator :
Core Tightness
Core and Frame vibrations (At Normal Running)
Air Leakage and soap Bubble Test

Rotor :
Vibration (At Normal Running)
DP (Die Penetration) Test
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Nitrogen Leak Test
 Rotor Electrical Tests

 Rotor Winding Resistance

 Insulation Resistance
 Polarization Index
 RSO Test (Recurrent Surge Oscillation)
 Rotor Earth Fault (REF)
 Rated Flux Test
 Dielectric Test (High Voltage Test)
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 Stator Winding Resistance

 Very low resistance values to four significant digits.

 All 3 phases resistances should be equal (maximum
of 0.5% deviation).
 Compare with manufacturer's values and with
previous tests.
 Can detect shorted turns, incorrect connections
and bad joints.

Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.

 Stator Winding IR Test

Insulation resistance is a function of dryness.( A moist

insulation has a lower resistance).

The resistance varies during IR Test. The ratio of 10

minute value to 1 minute value is the Polatisation
Index. IR declines first and then increases before
becoming steady.
Along with cleaning and dry out process, PI Improves.

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 Polarizing Index

To perform IR Test of stator winding, NGT point should

be disconnected along with Phase side link.
 Conducted for 1 Min.
 Min. value in Meg Ohms = Line Voltage in kV+1

With assembly (Gen. + GT + UAT + BUS DUCT), Initial

Meggaring is necessary for reference. At each
disconnection and assemble of Units, There should be
reference value of IR.
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
PI (Time Dependence)
 Polarizing Index- Values

Polarizing index - Accepting Values differs for different

class of winding insulation.
 Class A insulation: 1.5
 Class B insulation: 2.0
 Class F insulation: 2.0

 PI should be carried out before dielectric (HV) test

as “Go-no-Go” test. If PI is low, HV test should not be
done.
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
 NFT For Stator winding

 Natural Frequency Test is performed on Phase Joints and

Bus bars joints.
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 NFT For Stator winding

Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.

 Tan d Measurement

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 Tan d Measurement

Generator Stator winding Tan/Delta testing measurements.

Kit Used- M4000
Method Applied- GST
Applied Voltage – 500V
Phases R, Y, B and Neutral in shorted condition.
Applied Volt ImA Watt Dissipation Factor Capacitance
500 V 218.34 5.492 5.046 1.4053µF

After cleaning the generator terminal bushing with Lectra

cleaner, again same test procedure is followed.
Applied Volt ImA& Power Ltd.Watt
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Dissipation Factor Capacitance
500 V 218.94 5.547 5.062 1.4050µF
 Dielectric Test (DC)

 Both AC & DC tests are in use.

 Test voltage (dc) for new winding
(2 × Line voltage + 1000) × 1.7
Test voltage for machines in service
125 to 150% of (Line voltage × 1.7) kV dc

 Multiplying % will depend on age and general condition.

 Test voltage to be applied gradually by automated test kit
 If manual, ramp rate is 3% per minute.
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
Dielectric Test (DC) Leakage
current for Healthy Winding

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Dielectric Test (DC) Leakage
current for Defective Winding

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 Dielectric Test (AC)

 (2 × Line voltage + 1000) kV ac for new windings

 125 to 150% of Line voltage kV ac
 Dielectric ac test at power frequency
 Very Low frequency ac at 0.1 Hz is the current
practice
 A defective winding may fail with visual indication
(next slide)
 Winding may be retested after repairs
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
 Partial Discharge Measurement
Offline tests can be done using different methods:
Capacitive coupling (entire winding)
Stator slot coupler
Electromagnetic/Corona probe (Localized Detection)
 Stator Winding View

Epoxy putty is used with glue to overcome this yellow

powder formation.
 Stator Core Problem
Any problems with stator core laminations may cause
localized heating.

Traditional method: By inducing rated flux value and

checking for heating by infrared sensors.
 Also called as Ring/Loop Flux method.
 High powered source to induce large stator flux.
 High manpower requirement
 Stator Core Problem
Current practice uses Electromagnetic Core Imperfection
Detector (EL-CID) Test.
 Requires Low excitation level (3 to 4 % of normal value)
 Low Power source (Typically 220v, 10-15Amp AC)
 4 to 7 turns of wire loop.
 Detects abnormal behavior by the magnetic flux produced
by circulating current in the lamination.
 Measured by a sensor placed across two stator teeth
(Chattock potentiometer)
EL-CID Test (Analog Method)
EL-CID Test (Digital Method)
 Rotor Electrical Tests

 Rotor Winding Resistance Measurement

Similar as in the case of stator test. It can detect:
Shorted turns
Bad connections
Wrong connections
Open circuits
Dielectric Test (DC & AC).
Similar to stator test.
 Test voltage dc: 1500V to 10*Rated field voltage
 Test voltage ac: 10*Rated field voltage at power frequency
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
 Rotor Electrical Tests

 Check for shorted field turns

Abnormal vibrations may be a result of such short circuits :
Recurrent surge oscillation (RSO) method using time domain
reflectometry principle.
By conducting an open circuit characteristic test
By winding impedance measurement
Search coil method (supplied as a part of the generator scheme)

Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.

 RSO Trace Indicate
Multiple Shorted Turns

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 OCC Test Indicate Problem

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 Short Circuit Tests

 Short circuit test is performed by putting a shorting link on

the alternator terminals and controlling the excitation to
obtain rated current.
 Currents in all 3 phases must be nearly equal.
 Any internal problems such as open circuit of coils, bad
joints etc. can be detected with this test.
 Requires proper provision for shorting in such a way that
measurement CTs in the alternator circuit can be used for the
test.
Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
 Stator Mechanical Test-
Core
Core Tightness :
 Using knife insertion to check for any looseness (next slide shows a photograph)

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 Stator Mechanical Test-
Winding
Wedge Tightness Test:
 Done by manual tapping.
 Abnormal vibration/sound indicates looseness (next slide)
 Comparison with other similar machines can easily pinpoint problems

Copyright © 2010 Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.

 Stator water cooler Test
Any leakage in hydrogen cooler is harmful for stator
winding and core. Hydro test @ 6.0 Ksc is performed
after cleaning of tubes.
Stator water cooler Test
 Rotor Mechanical Test
Non Destructive test

Checking for cracks, porosity and inclusions by

checks such as:
Visual
Radiographic
Magnetic particle
Liquid penetration
Ultrasonic
Eddy current

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 DP Test

 Die penetration
Copyright test
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bearings, Rotor End fans blades etc.
 Ultrasonic Test

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 Rotor Nitrogen Leak Test

 After Multi-contact pin O-Ring replacement work, Nitrogen

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leak test is performed @ 6.0 Ksc. And 4.0 Ksc Both.
Rotor Nitrogen Leak Test

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Thank you