A New Concept for Online Surge Testing for the Detection of Winding Insulation Deterioration in Low-Voltage Induction Machines

A breakdown of the electrical insulation system causes catastrophic failure of the electrical machine and brings large process downtime losses. Preventive maintenance and online monitoring are some of the methods to improve the reliability and to reduce unscheduled downtime. One of the main reasons for the failure of the machine is the breakdown of the stator turn insulation. The offline surge test is the most commonly used offline test to assess the condition of the turn insulation. There is no online monitoring method that is applicable to low-voltage machines and has the same capabilities as the surge test. This paper introduces new concepts to implement an online surge test. The possibilities and limitations of the online surge test are presented, as well as the simulation and experimental results, to validate the concepts.