Incipient Fault Identification Through Neutral RF Monitoring of Large Rotating Machines

Electromagnetic interference, or EMI, monitoring at an operating machine's neutral can detect many types of stator deterioration, as well as various design defects. Accurate, wide-band spectrum analysis may indicate a problem's location, its severity and its rate of change. This method can be sensitive enough to detect potential faults long before an inservice failure occurs. The salient results of numerous tests conducted during 1980 and 1981 are presented.