Can anyone (well a experienced anyone) give me some tips on what kind of test should be made on a 11kV generator, to detect possible faults like insulation failure.
Motorxplosion thanks for your opinion, I also had the opinion that the EDA too expensive.
The generator manufacturer is a Leroy Sommer 6 MW, 11kV.
I don't have big problems with dirt because all the air that passes thought it is filtered and the environment is about 50ºC nice and warm so no humidity problems.
My opinion is that this generator should last forever, or almost....
Would it pay up the EDA check?? it takes at the very least 64 min. only the test it self. other tests might be much faster and the the information that they miss is almost irrelevant. What do you think?
From my opinion, if you megger and do IP, and measure of resistence..... and do a trend each year.... you´ll see how insulation goes.... and maybe this is enough... i remember Leroy used to varnish generators with VPI system, I think maybe you have to see visual things like, the lost of magnetic wedges... i have experience with some AVK units that lost all the wedges....
if you want to do the test i propose, i think you´ll get a lot of Portugal companies that could do it... or as i say before.... near you on vigo Spain, got a company that could help you... if you need the contact i could give it
Partial Discharge Analysis, both off-line testing and especially on-line monitoring, is a good (fast, easy) way of testing the condition of generator stator insulation while the nachine is in normal operation and under all the usual thermal, mechanical and electrical stresses that it sees in normal use. Besides Doble, other leading PD instrument companies are IRIS Power, PD Tech, Power Diagnostix and Cutler-Hammer. They all do a pretty good job of measuring PD and cost roughly the same (e.g. 50K for one portable instrument + 15K installation per machine). Whoever is closest/easiest to deal with would likely be your best bet if you want to go the PD route.