Experience Repairing a Serious Stator Core Fault on

an 80 MVA Vertical Water Wheel Generator

S.G. Bomben & B. Pratt
Ontario Power Generation

Abstract- The unexpected failure of an 80 MVA hydro generator

seriously damaged the stator core. A river system with high
water left few options for repair. Aggressive methods were used IIV. DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
to return the unit back to service while a new core section was
delivered to site. Since the stator on this generator could be hydraulically
jacked up above the rotor, this was deemed the quickest way
I. INTRODUCTION to assess and repair the damage. Copper pellets were found on
the stator frame shelf behind the failed coil and the core face
In early 2004, Ontario Power Generation's Little Long was also damaged with melted copper from the blast that
Generating Station suffered a forced generator outage on G2 forced its way through laminations, see Fig. 1.
due to a winding failure and water deluge operation. Initial
visual inspection revealed that two circuit rings TI,T2 had
failed causing moderate damage to the ring structure. Further
diagnostic testing revealed that at least one coil had failed to
ground. Inspection of the stator bore showed that the stator
core laminations were damaged near the faulted coil.
Temporary repairs were necessary in order to operate during
spring run off.
II. BACKGROUND

Little Long G2 is an 80 MVA rated vertical water wheel

generator with the original, early 1960's, polyester mica, 4
parallel, two turn, 13.8 kV winding. The generator had been
running, with no failed coils, and routine maintenance since
the original in service date in 1963. In early March of 2004,
with high water in the river, a winding failure occurred. It was
imperative that the generator be returned to service as safely
and quickly as possible in order to capitalize on the remaining
high river water, which would last only another month or so.
III. INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION & TESTING
The generator ventilation covers were removed and damage
to TI & T2 circuit rings was immediately apparent. An
insulation resistance reading revealed that the blue phase was
solidly connected to stator ground. Visual inspection did not
reveal the failed coil. A welder with a 1 50A output was put on
the blue phase (four parallels). This did not yield any signs of
smoke or anything audible. Since options were now limited,
the phase was segregated further to four single legs and the
welder reapplied with a 45A output. Using dc ammeters, the
bad coil was located. A dental type mirror was used to look
down the air gap to inspect for damage. Approximately 25.0
cm down from the top of the core, melted copper and core
damage could be seen. This paper will not discuss the
winding repairs before the generator was placed back in
service.
It was determined that the bottom leg had failed but the
extent of the damage was not yet evident. Since the bottom
leg of the slot was affected, the "good" coil leg on top of it
had to be removed and that coil bypassed out of the circuit.
The bottom leg was removed and the damage to the core was
now visible. The coil spewed melted copper out the back of
the core and caused damage towards adjacent slots. The entire
area towards the back of the slot (where the back leg sits) was
full of melted copper fused to the melted stator iron
(approximately 4 cm in radius). The damaged area
encompassed three stator core packets high and almost two
wide (11.5 cm high and 6.5cm wide). It was not initially
apparent how to properly remove all of the fused material
while removing the least amount of core in the process. In
particular, removal of stator teeth or opening of the slot width
is a concern for pole face heating. This is because the damper
bars are placed in the pole body in such a way as to minimize

0-7803-9145-4/05/$20.00 02005 IEEE

67
the flux pulsations due to stator slot openings as the rotor while the test was ongoing to determine the relative difference
rotates. Thus disturbing this slot opening was a concern [2]. between the repaired area and an undamaged area. An
accepted rule of thumb in the industry for an existing core is
IV. REPAIR PROCEDURE the difference in observable hot spot temperatures should be
not more than 10C at rated flux. Since this test was
A decision was made to carve out the front of the damaged performed at 70% rated flux the acceptable temperature
stator teeth in order to get to the back of the slot where most of differential was reduced to 7C (based on empirical test data).
the damage resided. Initially, a reciprocating saw was used to Fig. 5 shows a sketch of the damaged core and the measured
try and cut the edges off the stator core packets to allow access points with the thermo imaging camera.
to the back of the slot where the majority of the repair needed
to be done. This was unsuccessful as the saw would only
remove a small portion of the stator core packet. Using a
magnetic base drill mounted on the stator core directly over
the damaged area, four 1.5 cm diameter holes were drilled
towards the back of the stator slot. This was successful until
the fused copper and iron was encountered, see Fig. 2.

The fused copper and iron core could not be removed by this
method. At this point, there was still not enough material
removed to get any other tools in the area to effect repair. A
special 3.75 cm carbide tipped reamer was used to bore a hole
from where the drill bit left off, see Fig. 3.
This proved very successful and the damaged area was in
full view with sufficient space to start cleaning up the area
with other tools. A small hand held extended shaft die grinder
with a carbide tipped 'cutter' bit was used to remove the fused
material. After the grinding was complete, and with the help
of a magnifying glass, electro chemical etching was used to
ensure laminar separation was achieved, see Fig. 4.
A B

V. LOOP TEST
In order to check the repair, a loop test at 70% rated flux
was performed. Material resources at site at the time
C 63
restricted the flux to this level but provided a good indicator of
the success of the repair. A thermal imaging camera was used Fig. 5. Sketch of repaired area with temperature points

68
 output leads. The machine was operated at 2800A (75% of
rated) for 24 hrs. There were a total of 24 winding
Table I shows the actual time and temperatures. thermocouples available for this test. All thermocouples for
TABLE I
the winding were monitored continuously. The core
LOOP TEST TEMPERATURE DATA thermocouples in the repaired as well as undisturbed areas
Time 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:30 18:00 19:00 21:00 were monitored as well. A portion of data (the last six hours
A 28.6 33.2 'rest T'est 37.8 41.4 45.2 of the short circuit test) is presented here for information
B 28.6 33.1 Slop Stop 37.8 41.4 45.2
C 28.6 33.1 47.9 37.8 41.4 45.2
purposes only. See Table II. Note, the radiators during this
D 28.6 33.1 47.9 37.8 41.4 45.2 test were turned off so no cooling other than radiant was
E 28.0 31.9 35.5 39.8 43.1 taking place.
F 29.0 32.7 36.7 40.6 44.8
G 33.0 36.0 45.7 38.0 41.0 45.7
H 30.6 33.6 38.0 41.6 45.3
1 25.5 29.3 33.6 37.5 40.8
J 26.0 29.5 40.9 33.4 38.1 42.1
GI n/a 37.2 41.0 39.0 42.5 41,2
G2 n/a 37.4 45.4 39.4 42.1 45.1
G3 n/a 36.5 47.9 39.2 41.9 46.5
Back n/a n/a 39.4 44.0
Core
Note: Test stant time was 13:30.

Within one half hour of the test starting, locations G1, G2

and G3 show temperature excursions well beyond the rest of
the core, particularly with reference to core packet J, which
was undisturbed and deemed normal. These locations are at or
above the TC accepted deviation. It was decided to stop the
test at 15:00 hrs and begin electro chemical etching to restore
laminar separation to the area and reduce the temperature
deviation. The test was restarted at 16:00 hrs and with
reference to core packet J, G3 was still beyond tolerance and
also a new development, sections C&D. The test was stopped TABLE 11
SHORT CIRCUIT TEMPERATURE TEST DATA
again at 16:30 hrs and electro chemical etching continued. A Time WHS Repair T/C Good Core T/C
flashlight and small magnifying glass was used in an attempt 3:00 54.8 42.1 41.8 41.8 42.0 42.7 42.1
to visually confirm laminar separation. In this closed repair 6:00 79.0 58.5 58.3 58.0 59.1 60.7 60.2
environment, this was difficult since reflections off the core 9:00 77.9 59.2 59.7 58.9 60.1 61.5 61.2
12:00 81.9 63.4 63.1 62.9 63.6 65.1 64.8
iron from the light made it hard to focus visually. After 15:30 83.5 64.7 64.4 64.3 65.0 66.5 66.8
numerous visual opinions from site staff on the success of the Note: WHS is "observed winding hot spot temperature in C"
etching, the test was restarted at 17:00 hrs. The test ended at
21:00 hrs with all areas of concern now below the 70C It can be seen from this data that the repaired core and the
accepted deviation. good core (undisturbed) track very close in temperature. This
data increased the confidence level in the repair, although the
VI. THERMAL CHECKS core inter-laminar voltage is not as high as it would be in
service. When the final polarization test was performed the
Now that the repair was complete, it was prudent to check minimum requirements of IEEE 43 were satisfied. A direct
the actual operating temperature while in service. If there was current high potential test was performed with adequate
still a problem that was not picked up by the loop test, the results. The field poles were inspected for pole face heating at
stator could easily be jacked back up and further repairs made. the height where the damaged core was. The red insulating
This should be due to the different flux distribution while in varnish on the pole face showed no visual signs of
service as opposed to during a loop test. A total of four overheating.
thermocouples were attached to the repaired core area and two
thermocouples where affixed on known good core area near VII. CONTINUED OPERATION
the repair, see Fig. 6.
Operational checks were performed before the unit was
A polarization index test was performed with results well placed back in service. One check was open circuit, speed no
below the IEEE 43 recommended minimums. Since the load. This opportunity was used to monitor the repaired core
winding was deluged with water, it was likely the winding area with generator voltages ranging between 13.8 kV and
was still wet. In order to dry the winding out, a shorting bar 14.5 kV. No temperature anomalies were observed during this
was made of copper available at site and installed on the main short 20 minute check on the repaired core area. It is
recognized that a much longer open circuit test would be

69
required to truly prove the repair. However, this opportunity electrical maintainers in the Kapuskasing Plant Group for their
did not exist at that time. The machine was put back in hard work, patience, and dedication which made this repair
service shortly after the checks were completed. The core possible.
thermocouples were monitored for a 12 hr period immediately
following the in service with no anomalies to report (see Table REFERENCES
III).
[1] IEEE Std 56-1977, IEEE Guide for Insulation
TABLE III
OPERATIONAL TEST TEMPERATURE DATA
Maintenance of Large Alternating-Current Rotating
Time WHS Repair T/C Good Core T/C Machinery (10,000 kVA and Larger).
13:45 34.1 19.6 22.7 23.9 24.7 27.1 27.3 [2] J.H. Walker, Large Synchronous Machines (Monographs
14:00 42.7 21.5 23.6 25.2 26.4 28.4 28.5 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering). New York:
15:00 48.8 23.7 25.4 27.1 28.9 33.3 32.4 Clarendon Press Oxford, 1981.
16:00 49.2 23.9 25.5 27.2 29 33.4 33.1
17:00 49.6 24.1 25.8 27.4 29.3 33.4 33.2
18:00 - 49.7 24.8 25.9 27.5 29.3 34.0 33.2
NO -appreciauie cnange
X1 - monitorLng te[niLnatea
i.r;attR-nil
01ioor
+--,-,.+-A UL:UU Aprl
A -.-;I ZI1U4
Q MA

02:00 49.6 24.7 1 25.7 27.5 1 29.3 34.0 F 33.1

Next reading on April 13/04 at 11 :39 Bus voltage 13.0 kV
-

11:39 49.5 24.6 26.0 1 27.4 1 29.1 34.1 1 33.2

Next reading on April 18/04 9:00 am - Bus voltage 13.0 kV
9:00 1 50.1 24.1 26.1 1 27.3 1 29.0 34.0 33.1
Note: Generator loaded at 13:45 on April 7/04 with bus voltage 13.1 kV

The data from Table III shows that thermal runaway of the
repaired area is not a concern. The repaired area is clearly
tracking cooler than the good core packets. This may be a
function of the disrupted air flow in the repaired area.
The generator continued to supply the system as required
and periodic checks of the thermocouples continued. The
generator stayed in service for another six months without any
further core or pole face anomalies occurring.
VIII. NEW WINDING AND PARTIAL RESTACK

A new winding was delivered within six months of the

initial failure along with a section of core for replacement.
Since the core was piled in four sections, replacement of the
damaged area was quite easy and economical to do. The
damaged area was in one quarter section approximately 30 cm
from the top of the core. After the core section (quarter
section long by 35 cm in height) was replaced, another loop
test was performed, this time at rated flux [1], with no
anomalies to report on the new or old section of core.

IV. CONCLUSIONS
Serious core faults can be repaired successfully using
aggressive methods to remove damaged areas. Loop testing
and temperature monitoring of the area provide confidence the
repair has been done successfully. Depending on the size of
the damaged area, pole face heating may be an issue.

ACKNOWLEGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Mr. Gord Haines of Ontario
Power Generation and Mr. Glenn Mottershead of Voith
Siemens for their consultation during the repair and testing.
Finally, the authors wish to express sincere gratitude to the

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