Online monitoring and diagnosis system for hydrogenerator condition assessment

During service, electrical machines are subjected to mechanical, thermal and electrical stresses. To avoid any premature failure, it is important to monitor the vital parameters which characterize the condition of the machine. This field of research is in continuous expansion having as a final objective a monitoring system which best fulfills the quality - price ratio. This paper presents a method and new monitoring and diagnosis system for the evaluation of a hydrogenerator insulation systems' condition. The first part of the paper presents the main parameters used for monitoring and diagnosis of the hydrogenerator condition (ambient and winding temperatures, vibrations, speed, air gap and so on). There are also described in detail the main hardware components (units of measurements, acquisition, processing and display of results) and their facilities. The proposed online monitoring and diagnosis system contains monitoring solutions for relevant condition parameters, mechanical structure, ventilation etc. Finally, the software component which is being used by the monitoring system is described.