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Introduction

679

A COMlilNl~?U VC)III'AGIS-ENDURANCE ANI) 'IIIEI~MAI,CYCLING TEST IOH S'I'AlOR COILS AND I3ARS David Train and Lawrence Melia Doble Engineering Company

Seiviee operation of rotating machines exposes the insulation system ofthe stator winclings to various types of stresses such as electrical. thermal, and mechanical. These stresses, acting in combination. contribute to the insulation ageing process. Functional tests, such as the voltage-endurance tests[ 11. are already established. These tests use accelerated ageing methods to help evaluate insulation systems ancl qualify new clesigns in a relatively short time. The voltage-endurance test described iii IEEE Stantlard 1043 involves the application of above-iiorm a l voltages for a specified period of tiiiic. usually in the range of250 hours to400 hours. The test voltage is nornially in the range of 30 to 35 kV f o r a 13.8 kV machine. l'he test coil or stator bar is maintainctl a t constatit temperature. usually i n the range of 9O"C to 105C for the complete duration of the test. l'hc above test pal-aineters are typical, but variations outside the descril)ctl ranges are possible. l'lic application of overvoltage at these temperaturcs accelelatcs tlic ageing of tlic insulation. 'I'cst s;implcs which hrcak clown before tlie end of the prescrihetl test pcriod arc COIISILIC~CLI t o have friilcd tlic test.

IEEE Standard 1043 also specifics a number of Ix-tcst evaluations to be performed before the voltage-cncluI-aiice test. 'l'hcse include tlie iiieiisureiiicn,t o f a ) insulation resistance. b) power lactor. c) pwvcr-ktctor tip-up. tl) partial discharge. ant1 e ) electrical proof test. The pre-test evaluations arc carried o u t with a view t o tletectingcoils havinggross ;inomalies.The preliminary tests are often repcatcd after the voltage-entlurance tests, and although the results m a y be interesting. they are not noriiially used to qualify tlie coil design.

-.he standard \~OItage-cnilurance test has now gainecl \vitlesprcacl acceptance by the inclustiy. 1
Howcvcr. since it is carriccl o u t at constant tcmpcfitturc, it cannot simulate stresses caused by temperature cycling due t o load v;iriation. Many machines, particularly those involved in pumI-,ingorpeakiiigopcrations. are exposed to frequent and rapid load fluctuations on adaily basis. The I'R losses i n tlic stator winding cause the coppcr to heat up more rapidly than the surrounding grountlwall insulation. l h e copper cxpantls at a faster rate than tlie groundwall insulation ancl tlic resultingsliewrstress which occurs betwcen the twvu may be higli enough to shear tlie bond betwecn the layers of the insulation structure. Premature failure has been attributed to clelamination caused by repeatetl thermal cycling[2]. This paper describes a n accelerated tcst pr~iccctluren whicli coils under test arc subjcctctl to rapid tempcrature cyclingand. i at tlie same time. the grounclwall insulation has w higher-than-noriiial voltage applied across it as iii the voltage-endurance test. 'l'lic coils are tlcciiietl to have passed the test if they S U I W V ~a specified number of temperature cycles without tlclaminating at a precletermined level of applied voltage.

Evaluation of Insulatioii Condition

One of the difficulties in cv;iluating the results o f ; i thermal-cycling test is the assessment of the condition of tlie insulation system after a I>rcclctertninccI series of temperature cycles. The thermal-cycling test by itselfwill i i o t break h v i i tlie grountlawll insulation. bccause the voltage across it is too low. Consequently. alternative metliotls have to be used in order to determine the extent of tnsulatioii degradation.
In [2] tlie tlcgratlation of tlie grountlwall insulation WRS monitored at regular intervals throughout the test by iiie;ins of power factor, t i p u p and partial discharge measurements. In addition. the same paper clcscribcs subsequent voltage-enLlurance tests as a means of eva-

680
luating the effects of the thermal-cycling test. The results of tlie diagnostic measurements indicated substantial differences. not only between bars made by different manufacturers, but also between bars made by tlie same manufxturer. The erratic nature of the results made evaluation difficult. However. the subsequent voltage endurance tests demonstrated that insulation deterioration docs occur as a result of thermal cycling. Unfortunately. having to perform a voltage-endurance test after the thei-mal cycling test prolongs tlie total test time.

I n an attempt to find a suitable indicator for evaluation purposes, tlie authors of tlie present paper compared tlic results of many nontlestiwtive measurements which they had carried out before and after the voltage-endurance test on numerous coils. The results are summarized below: a. Power factol-: I n almost every case the power factor at the end of the voltage-endurance test is lower than before tlie test. This is attributed to further curing and diyingout of the insulation during the voltage-endurance tcst. The power factor can vaiy widely from one coil to another. b. Tip-up: The tip-up values can sonietiiiies increase, decrease, or show no change at all following tlie v0lt;igc-eiidu1.~1icetcst even on similar coils made at tlie same time. c. Insulation resistance: 'Ilic insulation resistance is invariably higher after tlic voltageenclurancc test. but the increase can vaiy widely from one coil to another. d. Partial discharge: 'l'he partial discharge inception ant1 extinction voltages are always lower arterthc voltage-entlurance tcsi than before. Also. Pulse Height Analysis, "PHA", provides a chnlactcristic signature which can provide atlditional information about tlie partial tl~scliarge activity. Such PHA cliiil.;iclcristics. for example. reveal that there is a substantial ii~crciisein discharge activity alter tlie voltage-endurance test compared to bcforc. Figure I sliuws typical cxaniplcs of PIHA characteristics Such characteristics may be readily proccsscrl by coiiiputci- to give a ainglc quantity. The quantity used by the authors at the prcscnt time is tIie'Iota1 Integrated Charge. "'I'IC". although other quantities are also i n use[3]. Thc TIC is clefined as follows:
7UUIJ

TIC

1Nn

x Qn

" = I

e.

where Un represents the charge i n channcl n Nn represents the number of pulscs stored i n clianiicl 11 The pulses arc counted over a period of one minute active time during both half cycles. The varlatloiis found in TIC values are such t h a t it is difficult to establish acceptable levels. I)issectlon: Some evaluation of the insulation condition may be obtained by dissecting tlie coils after the eiitlul-ance test. However. this type ofevaluation IS subjective and must be interpreted with great care. There are. for examplc, no standards governing the types. numbers ;tiid magnitudes o f the tliffciciit kinds of defects which are to be found when a coil is dissected.

In addition to the observations clescribctl i n (a) t o ( e ) above. measurements of these quantities tluring extended voltage-entlurancc tests to brcaktlown confirmed that they do not protluce sufficiently consistent results wliicli can be correlated to life duration of the coils. Tliercfore. tlie traditional iliagnostic i1ic;isurcmciitscannot bc considered to be useful indicators of insulation coiidition following voltagc-ciiclurancc tcsts. ' I h e r e is no reason to believe that they would h e any bcrtcrwhen used inconjunction with thermal cyclingtests. I n fact. this is confirmed in 121. l-Io\vcvcr. iicw mcthoils o f evaluating partial discharge measurements[3.4] are being investigated mid may eventually lead to the rlevclopmcnt of reliable indicators. I n tlie meantime. tlic autliors have (Iccided to use tlie voltage-entlurance concept

68 1
and apply a high voltwge at the same tinic as thermal cycling. This will result in a passifail method ofevaluatingaparlicularcoiltlesign. It alsobearssome resemblance toserviceconditions i n that electrical as well as thermal stressing is provided. Test Circuit Arrangement Tlie thermal-cycling test is performed by alternatcly heating antl cooling the coils. Tlie coils are Iicated by circulating currents through tlicm. When tlie desired conductor temperature is reached. tlie current is switched off antl cooling is started by blowing air at ambicnt teniperature past the sides of tlie coil. In ordcr to circulate tlie heating current through tlie coils. tlie coils themselves form short-circuited secondaiy windings of current transformers. T h e 1'R losses i n the conductors raise their temperature to a prcdcterniined level at which tinie the heating process is stopped by switching off the circulating current. Tlie short-circuited coils represent a substantial inductive load on tlie Cl's during the heating cycle antl this load is conipensatcd to a considcrable extent by nicans of powcr-factor correction capacitors. Tlie simplified schematicof tlie circuit is showi in Figurc 2. L)epencling on the size of tlie coils, up to four coils can be tcstcd siiiiultaiicously using one C'I' per coil. For larger coils. two can be tested simultaneously using two VI'Sper coil antl. if required. complete bars can be tested using all b u r CTs simultaneously. Each C T is rated at 14 kVA and has a removable top yoke so that tlie stator coils can be installed and removed before and arter tests respectively. Tlie test arrangement IS flexible antl aclclitional CTs can be installcd at a later date if required. 60 kVA o f capacitive compensation IS provided comprising two units o f 20 kVAR, one unit of 10 kVAR and t\vo units o f 5 kVAR. 13y selecting tlifrercnt cap;icitor combinations. clepentling on the sizes ani1 nuiiibcrs of coils being tested. a n acccptal~lc tlcgrcc o f compensation can be achieved. As i n the ciibe of tlic (:IS. tlie nunibcrs and ratings o f the capacitors c m be increased in tlic future it" ncccsswy. 'l'he cooling o f tlic coils is iiccomplislicd b y placing them togcthcr with the CIS top of a on 24' I x 4(1" w x 36"h plenum chamber. l'he plenum chamber is madc of plywood and tlie top surface has slots cut in i t wliich are tlie same shape as tlie coils unclcr test. 'l'lie coils are located tlircctly above tlie slots and air is forced through the slots and past the coils by a fan which is installed at one ciid of t h e plenum chamber. The fan is driven by a 10 HP motor and tlie air speed through the slots is approximately 35ft/s. T h e air diverges rapidly after it exits tlie slots antl. in order to improve tlie cfficiency of cooling. the slots are artificially cxtended upwards to 1111: level of the coils by means of wootlcn blocks. The arrangement is shown in Figure 3 and the hlocks are held in position by m e a n s oftlouble-sitled adhesive tape. The air supplied to the fan IS ducted in from outside tlie building and tlie cxliaust air from the plenum chamber exits tlie building b y means of an open window. Tlie coils are attached to tlie cover of tlie plenum chamber during tlic test by me;ins of four nylon ties in order t o restrain them. This is necessary because tlie combination of high speed cooling air ancl vibration from tlie fan causes the coils to drift antl they w o u l d otherwise be moved away from tlie jet of cooling air. A photograph of the test arrangement is sliown in Figure 4
'l'lie liiglivoltagewliicli isapplied totliccoilsunilcrtest is 1~rotluccdbya0-50kV,20 kVAtest trmsfornier. The transformer is energized from a variable autotransfoi'mer in order to adjust

tlie test voltage to the clesirctl level. The test transformer has a tapping at tlie mid point of tlie high voltage winding. If tlic capacitive load providetl by the coils under test is excessive for the supply, inductive compensation can be provided by connccting series combinations of variable reactors bctwccn eitlicr tlie i n i d point oroutput tcriiiinal o f t l i e high voltage windingand ground 'I'liis IS sliowii tli;igl-;iiiimatically n Figui-c 2. i Test Procedure Since the conductor temperature cannot be iiieiisurcd during tlie test due t o the presence o C tlic high test voltage. a series ofprcliniinary temperature mcasurements has to be performed on a separate control coil wliicli is aftciwartls removed from tlie circuit. The control coil has

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holes tlrillcd tlirwgh the grouiiclwall insulation to the conductor. ?'liermocouples are then installed in the holes and additional thermocouples are attached at various conveniently located places on tlie outside surface of tlie coil. Tlie thermocouples are ceiiiented into position with epoxy resin. An initial series of tests of the heating and cooling cycles is carried out without the presence of the high voltage. The corrclation between conductor and surCace temperatures is established and the control coil is removed. The test coils are then installed and a control thermocouple is ceiiiented onto tlie external surface of one of them. Tlie position of the thermocouple corresponds to one of tlie positions selected on the control coil. The control thermocouple is used to provide the input signal to an electronic temperature controller. The temperature controller is programmed toswitch the heating current offwhen tlie surface tcmperature reaches a level corresponding to the maximum desired temperature on the conductor. The controller is set to switch the heating current on again when tlie conductor and surface temperatures have cooled to approximately 35C. As soon as tlie heating current is switched off or on. tlie cooling fan is switched on or off respectively. A typical graph of teniperature variation as a Cunction of time for conductor and external surface temperatures during heating antl cooling cycles is slio\\n on Figure 5. It can be seen that tlie time to heat tlie conductor to approximately 143C is seven minutes. Tlie time for tlie coilductortemperature to cool to 35C is 23 minutes giving a total cycle time of30 minutes. Tlie maxinium temperature difference between conductor temperature ancl temperature of the external surface of the groundwall insulation is approximately 30C.

Due to tlie ilifferciiccs i n thermal expansion coefficient betwceri the conductor antl the insulation. a shear strcss will clcvclop at the iiitcrkicc hctwecn them. even if they are at tlie same tempcl-ature, prcnkling tlicre is a change of tcmpci-aturc from ambient tosome other tempcraturc. Ilowever. i n service. thcrc will always bc ii tcmpcfiiturc iliffci-cnccbctwccn the contluct o r and tlic core ani1 this will result in an in tse in the shear strcss in the insulation structure. A temperature diffcrcnce ol3O"C o r more (tlcpcniling on tlie inac1iine)coultl occur i n service during start-up because the external surface of the grountlwall insulation is in contact uith t h e core which rcprcscnts a massive heat sink and it therefore maintains the external surface of the groundwall at ambicnt temperature Cor a prolonged period of time. With regard to tlie rate-of-rise of temperature during tlie test, examination of Figure 5 shows that during the period of increasing temperature, there is a relatively short time lag between the temperatures of the conductor ;incl the external surface of the coil. For tlie coil under test tlie maximum temperature difference is approximately ~)roportionalt o tlie rate-of-change of temperature. 'I'liercforc. in order to obtain ti temperature difference of approximatcly 30C. the rate-of-change of temperature had to be as shown. For slowcr rates-of-change of temperature. the temperature difkrence would be less. 'I'his effect can be clearly sceii in Figure 5 during the cooling cycles wlicrc a much slower rate-of-change of temperature resulted in a very small temperature tlifference between conductor and external coil surface. The tcmperature difference of 20C ant1 a longer heating cycle in121 is due to the fact that the bars were rated at 20.5 kV and the groundwall insulation W H S therefore thicker than in the present case wlicre tlic coil rating was only 13.8 kV.

T s Results et Some preliminary tests have been carried o u t on two 13.8kV multi-turn coils. The coils were made by clifkrent manufacturers utilizing clifFerent mica and resin systems. Both insulation systems wcre Class F ancl each coil had alrcarly wi~listooda 400 hour voltage-endurance test
at 30 kV and 100C. Measurements o f p o w i . kiclor, I I ~ > - U I Iand p:irti:iI discharge wit11 pulsc height analysis were iiiaclc at v;irious intei.vals u p to ;I IOIHI of cillicr 500 tlicrniiil cyclcs o r brcnk~lowii (whichever came first). 'l'lie rcsuIts of tlicsc inic;isurciiiciits tire sIio\vii in Figures 6A. 613 and 6C. A test for rlelamination was pciforiiicd by tapping tlic coil sides each time tlic diagnostic measurenlaclc. 1)elaniination wiis dctcctcd alter 50 antl 250 thermal cycles on coils A and

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B, respectively. Also. Coil A failed after 348 thermal cycles but coil I1 suivived 500 thermal cycles and the test was then stopped. Ncverthcless. since the coils had been subjected to a voltage-endurance test prior to tlie thermal cycling test, it is possiblc that premature delamination occurred as a result of degradation caused by the voltage-endurance tests.
Discussion

It is recognized that the test arrangement does not represent seiviceconditions. For example, the stator slot support system is not simulated antl, also. no attempt has been made to produce stressing due to vibration. Nevertheless, i t is believed that the test will be able to identify coil designs which are more able to suilive thermal cycling in service.
No standard reference insulation system exists Cor comparison purposes. In addition. the traditional non-destructive test parameteis such as power factor, tip-up, insulation resistance, and partial discharge are not sufficiently consistent or rcprotlucible to be used as indicators of insulation contlition. For this reason. the passifail criterion is based on the ability of the coil to withstand a high tcst voltage for a pre-cletcl-mincd number of thermal cycles. 'l'liis is the same philosophy as that used in the voltagc-cntlurwnce test. However. in the latter case. the coils must withstand a pretleterminetl numbcr of hours at constant temperature. Thermal-cycling tests are not new. Machine manufacturers have been performing such tests for more than 30 years in order tooptimize insulation systems. However, the test proceduredescribed in this paper is much simplerthan thoscpcrf~~rmccl niiichiiie manufacturers and it is by intended toliclputiliticscv~iluatcthestatorcoils'ahilitics tosurviveexposure totlicriiialcycling. Conclusions An accclcnitcd test procctlurc lias been tlcvclopctl \vliicli siinultaneously produces electrical and thermal stressing o f stator coil iiisulatioii. linlike thc voltagc-eiiclurancc test, which provides constant tciiipcrature conditions. thc new test provides atltlitional stressing by t herin ally cycling the insula tion system. Preliminary tests on two coils resulted i n clclamination bcing tletcctetl in one after only 50 thermal cycles followcd by eventual failure after 348 cycles. The other coil exhibited delamination after 250 thcrmal cycles but withstood 500 cycles at which time the test was stopped. This test is intended to hclp utilities compare different coil designs antl to identify those which are more likely to withstant1 in-seiAcknowledgements

Tlieautliorswoultl like to t1iankMcssrs.T Dyett and A. Ciricllofor theirhelpwith thedesign of tlie control systcm and tlie construction antl commissioning of the test sct-up.
References 1. IEEE Sttl. 1043 - 1989. "IEEE Rccommendetl 1'l.actice for Voltage-Eiidurance Testing of Form-Wound Bars antl Coils". 2. Stone. (3. C. Lyles, J. E. Uraun, J. M.. Kaul. C. L.. "A Thermal Cycling Tjye Test for Generator Stator Winding Insulation." IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion. Dec.. 1991, pp 707-713. Mc1)crmitl. W , 13romley. J. C.. "RclationshiIi Uctwccn Partial 1)ischarge Pulse Height Analysis and Subsequent voltage-entlurancc of Stator Hars antl (3oils." IEEE Wintcr Power Mccting. Ne\\, York. 1992. Nelson. J . K.. "'l'he L)cterniination of Machinc Insulation Condition From Partial Discharge Signatures." IEEE Panel Scssion on Digital Techniques for Partial Discharge Machines. 92'I'HO 425-9 PWR. IEEE Winter Power MeetMeasurciiicnt on I~otating ing. New York. 1092.

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