Research on damage detection of large generator stator insulation using guided waves

This paper mainly reports the experimental research on damage detection of large generator stator insulation using the theory of elastic guided waves. The characteristics parameters of the stator insulation material are gained through insulation materials tensile test. By the means of selecting the appropriate guided wave excitation signal and solving the equation of the Rayleigh-Lamb equation, the dispersion curves of the Lamb waves are obtained, which describes the relationship between phase/group velocity and frequency. Moreover, the curves provide a reference about the choice of frequency of the excitation signal. Consequently, the experimental system of damage detection of large generator stator insulation is built and damage detection experiment is preceded through the system. The results of the experiment verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the method using guided waves to detect the damage of large generator stator insulation, which offers a new research method to assess the condition of large generator stator insulation.