Management System Registered to INSULATION CONDITION ASSESSMENT

ISO 9001/14001

Insulation Condition Assessment of Generators and Motors

Powertech, as an independent testing organization with ISO9001 registration, provides high-
quality testing services and condition assessment of rotating machine insulation. Powertech
offers both laboratory tests and field tests to evaluate the stator insulation condition of
generators and motors.

• Laboratory tests have two functions: The first function is to evaluate the quality of coil
manufacturing to ensure that your machine can achieve expected service lifetime. The second
function is to examine any faults and defects of your stator coils to prevent catastrophic machine
failures.

• Field tests provide diagnostic tests and condition assessment of machine insulation at
your plant to help you to determine maintenance requirements to reduce maintenance cost.

1. Laboratory Diagnostic Tests of Stator Winding Insulation

Downtime at generating stations and industrial plants caused by failure of stator insulation can
be expensive. To minimize the risks of machine insulation failure, insulation must withstand the
stresses in high voltage generators and motors. If you purchase new stator windings or have
spare stator windings, how do you know that your stator windings meet the design specification
and perform as expected? How do you know the winding manufacturing quality that is relevant
to machine operation reliability and machine service lifetime? As an independent third-party
organization, Powertech provides a quality assurance program to check the quality of a machine
insulation system from start to finish of the winding production. We can provide a variety of
insulation tests and examinations to determine the nature and cause of the insulation defects and
failures.

Voltage Endurance Tests

A voltage endurance test is an accelerated insulation-aging test. The test is performed on stator
bars or coils at much higher than normal operation stress levels within a short period of time to
simulate insulation aging during machine operation. The test can predict the performance of the
overall insulation system and measure the manufacturing quality. A number of diagnostic tests
on stator insulation can be conducted before and after a voltage endurance test.

Manufacturers of stator insulation could change its design, type of materials, and the
manufacturing process. The voltage endurance test can be done at the prototype and production
stage to ensure the quality consistency during manufacturing. The test gives objective
assessment of the quality of stator insulation. If coils fail the test, a remedial action may be
taken by the manufacturer to improve the quality of coil manufacturing. Powertech performs
voltage endurance tests on stator bars or coils in accordance with IEEE Standard1043-1996 and
IEEE Standard 1553-2002.