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EPRI - International Conference on

Electric Generator Predictive Maintenance and Refurbishment


January 20-21, 2003 / Orlando, Florida

“Rotor Shorted Turns - Detection and Diagnostics”

G. Klempner, Kinectrics Inc.

Introduction

Shorted turns in rotor windings are associated with turn to turn shorts on the copper winding as opposed to
turn to ground faults. Rotor winding shorted turns, or inter-turn shorts can occur from; an electrical break
down of the inter-turn insulation, mechanical damage to the inter-turn insulation allowing adjacent turn to
turn contact, or contamination in the slot which allows leakage currents between turns.

When shorted turns occur, the total ampere-turns produced by the rotor are reduced, since the effective
number of turns are reduced by the number of turns shorted. The result is an increase in the required field
current in the rotor to maintain the same load point and an increase in rotor winding temperature.

At the location of the short, there is also a high probability of localized heating of the copper winding and
arcing damage to the insulation between the turns. This type of damage can propagate and worsen the fault
such that more turns are affected or the ground-wall insulation becomes damaged and a rotor winding
ground occurs.

Although shorted turns may exist in a rotor, in many cases the rotor will still run without significant effect
on the operation of the generator. In addition, shorts can occur anywhere in the rotor winding, but they are
they are often found in the end-winding under the retaining rings.

There are a number of factors which will influence the seriousness of any particular shorted turn/turns and
how they will affect operation of the generator. In particular, the number of shorts and their location are the
main influences. These influences tend to show themselves in the vibration that results in the rotor. And,
the most noticeable vibration effect of shorted turns is increased vibration due to thermal effects.
When a short on one pole of the rotor occurs, a condition of unequal heating in the rotor winding will exist
between poles. The unequal heating will cause bowing of the rotor, and hence vibration. The extent and
location of the shorted turns and the heating produced will govern the magnitude of the vibrations
produced. One general relationship between the location of the shorted turn/turns and vibration is:

Lower vibration is generally experienced when the short is on the Q-axis.


Higher vibration is generally experienced when the short is nearer the pole or D-axis.

The reasoning for the above is the lack of symmetry with faults nearer the pole face. There is an inherent
unbalance in the geometry and heating effect on the rotor forging. This creates a thermal sensitivity
problem in the rotor affected, which is field current dependent for the most part. Therefore, the rotor can be
monitored and the vibrations characterized by the vibrations as a function of field current changes.
Basically, when there are shorted turns in the rotor winding, the rotor pole that has the higher number of
shorts does not receive as much field current. The result is a slightly lower temperature than the opposite
pole. The pole at the higher temperature then elongates in the axial direction more than the other pole and
produces a bowing effect in that direction. The bowing will increase with higher temperature from
increased field current and the result will be higher vibration.

Once shorted turns are suspected, it becomes desirable to investigate the nature of the shorts in terms of
their physical presence and operating effect. In cases where the shorted turns are causing a significant effect
in vibration, the generating unit may be even be limited in its output due to the rotors inability to produce
full reactive power output, without exceeding vibration limits. And in extreme cases, there have been
machines that were limited on MW output as well because of excessive vibration.

Generally, the first thing that is generally done, is determine the degree of thermal sensitivity of the rotor
by vibration checks on-line as a function of field current changes. The goal is to determine the magnitude
and phase angle of the rotor vibrations as a function of loading and to try and trim balance the vibrations, so
that operation may continue.

Trim balancing is an interim measure of shifting the thermal vector of the vibrations such that the unit is
not limited in output, due to thermal vibration. For the most part, thermally sensitive vibrations due to
shorted turns are generally reversible. This means that as field current is increased, vibrations go up and as
field current is decreased, vibrations go down along the same vector, as shown in the following polar plot.
The plot shows how trim balancing shifts the thermal vector to bring the “over-limit” vibration back to an

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operable condition, even though the thermal vector magnitude itself cannot be reduced by this type of
balancing.

In some cases however, the vibrations do not reduce with load decrease and this is called slip-stick, as
shown in the next polar plot. Such thermally sensitive vibrations may require the field current to the rotor to
be removed completely, to remove the heat input and then to reduce speed to release the winding from its
sticking point. Vibration problems such as this are most difficult to correct and can be costly to a utility.

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To deal with shorted turns and the thermal vibration problems that can arise from them, it is very common
for most generators to be equipped with good on-line vibration monitoring equipment, to characterize
vibrations when they occur. And in addition, there are numerous off-line techniques which can also find
and characterize shorted turns in rotors. However, knowing the vibration characteristics is not enough. In
order to fix the problem such that the vibrations are eliminated, it is necessary to understand the extent of
the shorted turns and fix them. Unfortunately, fixing shorted turns requires removal of the rotor and the
retaining rings and more often then not, a full or partial rewind of the rotor. So it becomes obvious that
knowing as much about the nature of any shorted turns present, becomes an advantage to minimize the
repair effort and do what is actually necessary. The following are the more common methods for rotor
shorted turns detection, both on and off line.

Detection and Diagnostics of Shorted Turns

Off-line methods for detecting shorted turns can include winding resistance, winding impedance
measurements as the rotor speed is varied from zero to rated speed, and significant shorts may be identified
by producing an Open Circuit Saturation curve and comparing it to the design OCS curve. All of these
methods of identifying shorted turns are limited in their effectiveness and generally only indicate that a
short exists. They do little to help locate which slot the short is in and require special conditions for
collecting the data or for testing.

To better identify shorted turns, other methods for off-line detection are also available. These include the
RSO (Recurrent Surge Oscillation) test based on the principle of time domain reflectometery, “C” Core or
low voltage AC method, and the Volt Drop test. These are fairly good methods, but on-line detection is
considered the best. The Shorted Turns Detector (STD) (flux or search coil) method has been developed
over the years and is considered the best method at this time. Each OEM has its own version of the STD,
but all work essentially in the same manner.

Winding Resistance

Copper winding resistance is always measured when a rotor is built new. The resistance can be periodically
checked at maintenance outages and the value obtained compared to the original and any successive
measurements. Generally, a decrease in the copper resistance would indicate the likely presence of shorted
turns and an increase, the possibility of a high resistant joint.

When making the measurement, most manufacturers correct the measured value to 15 or 20 deg. C for
comparison purposes. This allows any variation in reading to be directly compared and/or trended.

Copper resistance readings are not generally considered a good method of verifying shorted turns.
Resistance measurements are more useful for providing information on other types of rotor winding
problems such as high resistance joints and looking for open circuits in the winding.

Shorted Turns Detection by Winding Impedance

Impedance measurements while the machine is decelerating or accelerating can also be used to detect a
speed dependent shorted turn. Any sudden change in the readings may indicate a shorted turn being
activated at that speed. A gradual change of impedance of more than 10% may also indicate a solid short.
This test is more sensitive than measuring the copper winding resistance, but it will still not determine the
number of shorted turns present.

The test has its best use in determining if the shorted turns are speed sensitive. As mentioned above, this
requires measuring the impedance of the copper winding as the rotor is accelerated or decelerated. Shorted
turns are indicated if a step change in measured current occurs, while a constant 60 Hz AC voltage is
applied at the sliprings.

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Shorted Turns Detection by Recurrent Surge Oscillation (RSO)

In the RSO method, a low-voltage high-frequency surge wave is injected at each one of the slip-rings. The
two signals are then compared to determine if the same waveform is observed at each slipring. If the
waveform is identical, then no shorts are present. Variations in the two waveforms would indicate shorts to
be present.

This method is based on the principle of time domain reflectometery. This also has the advantage of
allowing the rotor to be spun as well, while doing the measurements, to determine if the shorts are also
speed sensitive. This test has the advantage of taking the mechanical loading effects into consideration. In
the spinning RSO, there may be shorts that reveal themselves, which are not seen when the rotor is at rest,
because there is no mechanical load on the winding turns.

The following are traces done by RSO on a rotor, which revealed no shorted turns present.

RSO Dual Traces (Inner and Outer Slipring) RSO Traces Superimposed
Showing NO Shorted Turns

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RSO Traces Subtracted – Showing NO Shorted Turns

Because the RSO also works on a time of flight principle, the location of the coil number where the shorts
are, as well as which pole, are also discernable by this method. Shorts nearer the sliprings show up as blips
in the RSO pulse nearer the left side of the traces. And for the number of turns shorted at the particular
location (i.e. the particular coil), the magnitude of the blip increases as more turns are shorted.

The following series of traces show multiple shorted turns to be present. These traces would indicate one or
two shorts in a number of coils. An experienced RSO operator can then use a series of techniques to
determine the number of shorts and which pole.

RSO – Dual Trace - Multiple Shorted Turns RSO Traces Subtracted – Multiple Shorted Turns

Shorted Turns Detection by Open Circuit Test

A shorted turn condition of significant magnitude may be identified by producing an Open Circuit
Saturation curve and comparing it to the design Open Circuit Saturation curve. If the field current required
to produce rated terminal voltage has increased from the original design curve, then a short/s would be
likely present.

The number of shorted turns may be identified by the ratio of the new field current value over the design
field current value. However, due to the many number of turns in a typical rotor winding, the changes in
open circuit voltage due to a single shorted turn in the field winding may go unnoticed since the
measurement is too small for a positive identification.

The open circuit stator voltage versus field current characteristics can be measured in all synchronous
machines. This curve, taken with the machine spinning at synchronous speed, is unique for each machine.

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Shorted Turns Detection by Low Voltage DC or Volt Drop

In the Volt Drop test, approximately 100 volts AC is applied to the entire winding, across the sliprings. The
voltage drop across each pole is measured and should be equal in no shorts are present. I.e. you would get
50 volts from the pole to pole connector, to one slipring, and the same to the other slipring, for a total of
100 volts. If a difference is measured from one pole to the other, then the pole with lower voltage drop will
be the one with shorted turns, unless there are shorts in both poles. But the pole with the lower voltage
would have the most shorts. The next step would be to check volt drops across individual coils and then
each turn in each coil. In this way, a step by step comparison can be made to locate the turns where the
shorts are.

In some cases, the shorted turns are speed dependent and cannot be seen at standstill. One thing that can be
done to try and mitigate this is to check the volt drops at four rotation angles of the rotor. In this way, the
shorts may show up by the change in weight on the insulation and copper. But there is no guarantee that
this will show, speed dependent shorts, since the forces are much lower than if the rotor is at speed.

In round rotors the individual windings are generally not accessible, unless the retaining rings are removed.
Therefore, detection of shorted turns by volt drops is not always possible. However, when the rings are
removed, the turn to turn voltage drop test can be used to find shorted turns.

Shorted Turns Detection by Shorted Turns Detector or Flux Probe

The STD or Flux Probe is actually a search coil mounted on the stator core by various methods, but located
strategically in the air gap. The search coil looks at the variation in magnetic field (leakage flux) produced
in the air gap by the rotor as it spins. The energized rotor winding and the slotted effect of the winding arc
causes a sinusoidal signal to be produced in the winding face of the rotor. The pole face on the other hand
has no winding and the signal is more flat since the variation in magnetic field is minimal.

The magnitude of the sinusoidal peaks in the winding face is dependent on the ampere-turns produced by
the winding in the various slots. If there is a short in a slot, then the peak of the signal for that affected slot

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will be reduced. The reduction will be dependent on the magnitude of the short. Therefore, as well as
knowing which slot the short is in, an estimate of the number of shorted turns can be made fairly
accurately.

The main advantage of the STD is that it works with the rotor on-line, allowing the speed dependent shorts
to be seen. Its main disadvantages are the expertise required in analyzing the recorded waveforms due to
saturation effects at full load. In recent years however, there are now software tools that allow for precise
analysis of the recorded waveforms and to take into account such things as interference from the main flux
field and location of the zero-crossing flux density point. These tools are commercially available for on-line
continuous operation, including the software, which analyses the waveform and they can also be set to
alarm when there is a possible shorted-turn condition. This allows the STD and monitor to act as stand-
alone sensor.

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Shorted Turns Detection by Low Voltage AC or ‘C’ Core Test

A "C" shaped, wound core is required to carry out this test, together with a voltmeter, wattmeter and single
phase power supply. Shorted turns are detected by sharp changes in the direction of wattmeter readings. In
rotors with damper windings, or with the wedges short circuited at the ends to form a damper winding,
these have to be disconnected at the ends. This operation requires removal of the retaining rings. This test
is not widely used and is only mentioned here for completeness. In addition, there have also been some
attempts with the El-CID stator core testing equipment, that have been partially successful in detecting
shorted turns and rotor ground locations, based on roughly the same principle as the “C” core.

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Conclusions

Shorted turns are a common occurrence in large turbo-generator rotors. They are a result of the inter-turn
insulation being damaged or shorted and can be aggravated by such things as higher operating temperature,
thermal cycling, mechanical effects of start/stops and system events.

Regardless of the presence of shorted turns, a generator may still be able to operate, depending on the
number and location of the shorted turns. The inability to continue operation, due to shorted turns, is most
often seen as an increase in rotor vibration which cannot be corrected by trim balancing and has gotten to
an unacceptable level.

Further, when shorted turn faults occur, there are a number of diagnostic tests that can be performed to
determine the nature and location of the shorts. By being able to accurately and quickly diagnose the
location and severity of the fault, the time to implement corrective action may be minimized. In this way,
the rotor can be returned to service in the shortest possible time, if only minor repairs are necessary to
correct the shorted turns.

Under the circumstance where the rotor is no longer operable because of shorted turns, more major repairs
are likely necessary. If the shorts can be repaired, then the rotor may be able to be returned to service with
the vibrations reduced or corrected. However, if the shorts are extensive, then it may require some degree
of rewinding to effect repairs.

The most economical way to do the repairs is by planned outage but this is not always possible. Shorted
turns and the vibrations that result are never convenient, but a good detection system may help to be able to
plan any corrective action that is required.

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