Generator

& Electrical Systems

Dan Tragesser & Ryan LeClair
7F Users Conference | San Antonio, TX | May 15-19, 2017
GE Power

© 2017, General Electric Company.

GE Proprietary Information - The information contained in this document is General Electric Company (GE) proprietary
information. It is the property of GE and shall not be used, disclosed to others or reproduced without the express written
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export control laws. Unauthorized export or re-export is prohibited. This presentation and the information herein are
provided for information purposes only and are subject to change without notice. NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY IS
MADE OR IMPLIED AS TO ITS COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

All relative statements are with respect to GE technology unless otherwise noted. 2

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GEK 103566 Rev L
GEK 103566 – Creating an effective generator maintenance program
Revision L Updates

Combining GE with Alstom Borescope inspection:

• Added Low Oxygen Stator Cooling Water System recommendations • Visual inspection through the end shields or cooler(s)
• Combined Stator & Rotor Test and Inspections • Electrical tests per Tables 3  5

Added retaining ring and “when to remove rotor” Robotic inspection:

recommendations • Rotor In-Situ inspection via robotics
• Stator and rotor tests and inspections per Tables 3  5
Updated Rotor Life Management recommendations

Terminology changes:
• 1st Year Inspection (Major Scope) First Inspection
• Minor inspection/Inspection A  Boroscope inspection
• Major inspection/Inspection B Robotic inspection
• MAGIC/DIRIS  Robotics

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GEK 103566 – Creating an effective generator maintenance program
Revision L updates – Inspection and maintenance intervals

Rev K Rev L

Alternate borescope and robotic inspections

Follow figures 1 and 2 as examples

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GEK 103566 – Creating an effective generator maintenance program
Revision L updates – Inspection and maintenance intervals examples

© 2017 General Electric Company. Confidential information. All rights reserved.

GEK 103566 – Creating an effective generator maintenance program
Revision L updates – Inspection and maintenance intervals examples

© 2017 General Electric Company. Confidential information. All rights reserved.

GEK 103566 – Creating an effective generator maintenance program
Revision L - Rotor removal recommendations

Events or Trends Predicating Rotor Removal Required Maintenance or Repair Activities

Abnormal operating events as listed in Section 2: Rotor tooth and wedge inspection and repair to remove
Maintenance Planning hardened material
Rotor vibration trends coupled with flux probe shorted turns or
Rings off cleaning up to field rewind
blocked ventilation passages
Stator wedge looseness trends Partial or full stator re-wedge
Air gap foreign object damage Core or wedge repair
Stator winding insulation degradation indicated through DC
Partial or Full stator rewind
leakage or Partial Discharge trending

Driving towards online trending, in-situ testing and inspection and rotor removal
for repair purposes
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GEK 103566 – Creating an effective generator maintenance program
Revision L updates – Rotor and retaining ring life management
Rotor Life Management Retaining Ring Inspection- New guidance is given in this
revision
GENERATOR FIELD
INSPECTIONS REQUIRED
CHARACTERISTICS

In-service and has a main body bore

Full suite of NDT inspections based 18Mn-5Cr RR - Older Configuration
on re-inspect recommendations
• Should be replaced due to history of stress corrosion cracking
Full suite of NDT inspections except
In-service with no main body bore
bore inspections
• If not at a minimum inspected at each outage interval
 Boroscope Inspections- Visual inspections should be
Recommendations going forward…. completed
• First in-service inspection required at 20 years or 2000  Robotic Inspection- NDT should be completed
starts/stops from COD.
• Re-inspect based on number of starts only; however, GE 18Mn-18Cr RR - Current Configuration
would may add year based recommendations dependent on • The ID inspected at each time they are removed using
age of the unit and/or operation profile. fluorescent penetrant
• 2000 starts/stops is currently the maximum recommendation. • NDT of the retaining ring
• Final revision of TIL 1920- Recommendations for NDT and  prior to 30 years of service or 10,000 start/ stops
evaluation of generator fields  then every 10 years or 2000 start/stops

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Fleet Trends and
Lifecycle Considerations
Fleet trends

NAM 7FA/7FH2 fleet trends (2011-2015): N-Ratio

Trending
• Peakers units tend to be oldest in fleet
• Peaker N-ratio trending down slightly N-Ratio Constant
− More starts, less hours Average
• Baseloaded N-ratio climbing steadily Age: 14
years
− Less starts, more hours
• Recent trend in peaker/cyclic units transitioning Average
Age: 13
to baseload years

Average
Age: 12
years

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 Generator lifecycle considerations

Cycling Base load

TEAM Factors
Cyclic loading

Ambient
Electrical Thermal
Forced Outage Risk

• Additional stresses
• Increased FO risk

Mechanical
• Increased probability of rewind

Years in Service

Rotor findings – All OEMs

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Generator lifecycle considerations

Upward trend unplanned rotor rewinds

• Operating fleet average age increasing
• Fleet more cyclical duty  increased starts/stops, load cycling, VAR cycling

Reduce risk and impact of unplanned rewinds

• Follow GEK103566 recommendations
• Consider continuous monitors for rotor and stator (shorted turns, PD, shaft
voltage, etc.)
• Consider stocking long lead parts (rotor rewind kit, stator bar set, etc.)
• Consider GE exchange rotor (No guarantee exchange rotor available)

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Sub Synchronous Resonance
Sub-Synchronous Resonance (SSR)
Recent activity and risk mitigation

Recently, during the initial operation of a

recently commissioned 7FA plant in Latin
America, vibration anomalies in one
drivetrain prompted visual and NDE
inspection of the overall drivetrain. Upon
completion of the inspections, indications on
the generator and gas turbine rotors were
highlighted. Further inspections indicated
that additional rotor drivetrains within the
plant experienced similar findings. The RCA
has identified the primary contributor to the
root cause is sub-synchronous resonance
(SSR) associated with series compensation in
the nearby grid configuration (i.e. series
Typical 7FA / 7FH2 Drivetrain
capacitor banks).

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Drivetrain/grid interaction
Without series capacitors…
1. Drivetrain rotation (3600RM) produces 60 Hz voltage
4 2. Drivetrain torsional oscillations result in variation within 60 Hz voltage
3 3. Generator output leaves plant through grid transmission lines
4. Transmission line impedance diminished presence of drivetrain torsional
tone within 60 Hz signal

Current oscillatory Tone or Rotor

Positive Damped
Oscillations

Torsional Stress
torsional stress
2
1
0

0 5 10 15
Time (sec.)

Without grid series capacitors or other key risk factors, SSR is unlikely to occur
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Drivetrain/grid interaction
With series capacitors…
1. Drivetrain rotation (3600RM) produces 60 Hz voltage
4
2. Drivetrain torsional oscillations result in variation within 60 Hz voltage
3 3. Generator output leaves plant through grid transmission lines
4. Due to negative dampening caused by series capacitor within the grid,
voltage oscillation produces a current oscillation
5. Current oscillation drives air gap torque variation in the generator leading
to excitation of drivetrain torsional mode
6. Drivetrain torsional oscillation increases and feed back a stronger
oscillation to step 2…repeat over and over…
2 5
1

or Rotor torsional stress

Current oscillatory Tone
6 Unstable Grow ing

Torsional Stress
Torsional Oscillation

0 5 10 15
Time (sec.)

The presence of series compensation presents the risk of SSR.

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Sub-Synchronous Resonance (SSR)
Who is susceptible to SSR and what factors increase risk?

• Any AC synchronous generator or motor attached to a grid or electrical network is susceptible to SSR.
However, it should be noted that the occurrence of SSR within a AC synchronous generator is uncommon
• SSR can affect generators of any manufacturer, frame size, rating, or prime mover
• It is unlikely that a hydro generator would be affected due to the operating speed and rotating stiffness

The following factors increase the risk of experiencing SSR:

Series Capacitors (SSR) Steel Mills
HVDC Interaction (SSTI) • Arc Furnaces
Variable Speed Drives (SSTI) • Cycloconverter Drives
Nearby Faults Synchronizing Out-of-Phase
High-Speed Reclosing Off Nominal Frequency Operation

Typical drivetrain protection systems do not monitor for SSR or torsional activity
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Sub-Synchronous Resonance (SSR)
GE’s recommendations…

Due to recent cases in Latin America, Europe, and Asia, GE’s recommendations are as follows:
• Work closely with your electrical utility/grid operator both during the configuration and construction of a new
plant and through the operation of existing plants to understand how your plant may interact with the grid
• Contact GE Energy Consulting for support with grid studies and/or SSR mitigation (Torsional stress relay or
customized plant isolation products)
• Reference GEK 75512

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Sub-Synchronous Resonance (SSR)
Links and reference material

GE Energy Consulting Link - http://www.geenergyconsulting.com/

References:
Baker, D.H., Boukarim, G.E., D’Aquila, R., and Piwko, R.J. “Subsynchronous Resonance Studies and Mitigation Methods for Series Capacitor Applications” Proceedings of the Inaugural
IEEE/PES Conference and Exposition in Africa Durban, South Africa, July 11-15 2005. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1611851/

Ballance, John W., and Saul Goldberg. "Subsynchronous Resonance in Series Compensated Transmission Lines." IEEE Power Engineering Society PAS-92.5 (1973): 1649-1658.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4075259/

Fitzgerald, A. E., Kingsley, C., & Umans, S. D. (2003). Electric Machinery. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill

Generator Protection (GEK75512 Rev P). (2014). NY: GE Power

Generic Industry Documents:

http://gasturbinespower.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/article.aspx?articleid=1789540
http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6830&context=rtd
http://www.slideshare.net/GEEnergyConsulting/v5-ssr-ssciwebinar
http://www.ptd.siemens.de/artikel0501.html

Wind Related:
http://www.nawindpower.com/online/issues/NAW1308/FEAT_03_Understanding_And_Assessing_Subsynchronous_Resonance.html

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