The Assessment on the Insulation Condition of Generator Stator Windings by a Novel Parameter PDI(Partial Discharge Index)

The monitoring and assessment on the insulation condition of generator stator windings have been an important task of utility companies. The interest for the assessment of insulation condition has been increasing due to the need to keep old generating equipment reliable in order to extend the equipment life and to increase the generating capacity. Even though many developments and research activities for the condition assessment of generator insulation have been performed for decades, the assessment criterion in order to consistently predict the actual insulation condition is still in question. In this paper, the correlation between the parameters and the insulation condition is analyzed through the various non-destructive diagnostic tests in order to establish the assessment criterion on insulation deterioration of generator stator windings. By analyzing the correlation, PDI(Partial Discharge Index) as a novel parameter for the assessment criterion on insulation diagnosis of stator winding is proposed and verified.