Condition monitoring of machinery is the analysis & measurement of various

parameters related to the mechanical condition of the machinery which makes it

possible to determine whether the machinery is in good or bad mechanical
condition. The philosophy of conditional monitoring has been extended over now
to analyze and understand even the winding and insulation thus propagating itself
to electrical healthiness of the machines. This has been a significant move to
realize not only the state and operation of a machine but also to predict its
healthiness and condition attributing to save a lot of unwanted/unprecedented and
forced outage. If the mechanical condition is bad, then condition monitoring
makes it possible to deter- mine the cause of the problem. The result is the
maximization of the machine availability and maximum utilization of its
components.
Conditional monitoring has been limited to mechanical parameter supervision
generally owing its understanding over the mechanical aspects of the machine. In
this paper we would like to understand especially electrical parameters and its
effect over electrical insulation , winding condition and also mechanical
healthiness of machine. In the initial section we would devote our understanding of
FFT analyses of field current directly or through as search coil, stator current,
ground voltage through a NGT and then the shaft ground voltage and current
components and understand and compare its signature spectrum over a normal
operating condition to a various simulated fault conditions and a large number of
operating severity conditions such as surge , unbalance load and distinguish it with
faulty condition. This would help us keep a trace of probable developing failures
and their understanding helping us to plan and rectify the above. Lastly we would
study the vibration signature spectrum over generator stator frame and transformer
body and analyse it to understand the healthiness of insulation core and winding
with respect to vibration spectrum over the frame or body.
The results and test would be simulated over a DFIG and also a case study over a
operating hydro station would be done and its various results and simulations shall
be presented to analyze and predict the healthiness of a machine. The above
aspects of conditional monitoring would require precise understanding of various
faults and hazards and their dedifferentiation over normal conditions hence helping
to form a effective tool to reduce and help in regular and effective periodic
maintenance.