Erlon Vagner da Silva

Thermal Imaging of Hydroelectric Generator Stator Using a DTS System

This paper presents a new method for thermal imaging of hydroelectric generators stators. The method is based on distributed temperature optical fiber sensing using Raman scattering. The thermal image is generated by combining the information of temperature and the spatial position of the sensor with the 3-D model of the structure. Regarding the use of conventional sensors, such as resistance temperature detector or PT100, the main advantage is the possibility to identify temperature variations over the entire stator surface. The results were obtained over a 22-h test with a 200-MW hydroelectric generator. The produced thermal images showed a great potential for monitoring the temperature distribution in the stator according to the generator load. The new method can contribute for identification of fault in the structure insulation, which when early identified can reduce damage caused by short circuit in the stator windings.

Temperature sensing in a 175MW power generator

The surface temperature of a high power generator stator in operation at a hydroelectric power plant is measured using fiber Bragg grating sensors. Insulation breakdown due to high voltage is a major problem in large electric generators and very hard to detect at early stages. Giving the high temperatures that raise from this process the insulation degradation can be detected as function of temperature. Fiber Bragg grating temperature sensors appear is a promising technology since they can easily be embedded into the insulation with no harm for the generator.

Improving Spatial Resolution of Raman DTS Using Total Variation Deconvolution

Traditional Raman distributed optical sensor (DTS) exhibits a low-pass characteristic that causes sharp temperature changes to be over smoothed. This behavior can be modeled as the convolution of the real temperature profile with the DTS impulse response. This paper presents a deconvolution algorithm developed to improve the spatial resolution of a Raman DTS system. The algorithm is based on a linear DTS model and total variation regularization. The main advantage is the ability to correctly reconstruct hot regions with dimensions down to 15 cm, which represents a resolution gain of up to six times when compared with the DTS spatial resolution of 1 m. We present simulations and experimental results demonstrating the efficacy of the proposed method.

Sparse Reconstruction for Temperature Distribution Using DTS Fiber Optic Sensors with Applications in Electrical Generator Stator Monitoring

This paper presents an image reconstruction method to monitor the temperature distribution of electric generator stators. The main objective is to identify insulation failures that may arise as hotspots in the structure. The method is based on temperature readings of fiber optic distributed sensors (DTS) and a sparse reconstruction algorithm. Thermal images of the structure are formed by appropriately combining atoms of a dictionary of hotspots, which was constructed by finite element simulation with a multi-physical model. Due to difficulties for reproducing insulation faults in real stator structure, experimental tests were performed using a prototype similar to the real structure. The results demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to reconstruct images of hotspots with dimensions down to 15 cm, representing a resolution gain of up to six times when compared to the DTS spatial resolution. In addition, satisfactory results were also obtained to detect hotspots with only 5 cm. The application of the proposed algorithm for thermal imaging of generator stators can contribute to the identification of insulation faults in early stages, thereby avoiding catastrophic damage to the structure.

Determination of Terfenol-D magnetostriction characteristics for sensor application using fiber Bragg grating

Electric current sensor based on magnetostriction phenomenon has been reported in several papers. In common these previous papers used a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) to determine the strain of the magnetostrictive material. However, magnetostriction sensors present few disadvantages often neglected, such as the temperature dependence of magnetostriction. In this paper a Terfenol-D rod (a giant magnetostrictive material-GMM) is used for tests. For simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain two multiplexed FBGs are used. The first test presents unipolar characteristics of Terfenol-D magnetostriction. Other test determines the Terfenol-D response for different temperatures. The Terfenol-D sensitivity increase when the temperature increases, however the saturation of the material occurs in small field values. The characteristics presented in this paper must be taken into account in the development of magnetostrictive sensors and its limitations.

Optical fiber instrumentation of a high power generator and turbine

The instrumentation of a high power generator and its complementary systems including the turbine bearings is presented and discussed. The generator consists of a 175MW hydroelectric generator installed in the Salto Osório power plant in the southern region of Brazil. Results show good agreement with the already existing instrumentation and demonstrate the technology potential for a full optical fiber sensing system to monitor these large machines.

Optical quasi-distributed simultaneous vibration and temperature sensing in stator bars of a 370-MVA electric generator

In this paper, we propose a new multiparametric optical fiber transducer applied to an electric generator of 370 MVA. The optical transducer has three multiplexed FBGs in the same optical fiber as the sensing element. The FBG sensors can simultaneously measure both the temperature and vibration independently of the other multiplexed FBGs. The installation in the power plant was performed using six transducers and it was obtained 23 hours of simultaneous vibration and temperature measurement. All the FBGs used to monitor generator vibration were able to monitor the frequency of mechanical and electromagnetic vibrations, which were measured at 2 Hz and 120 Hz, respectively. During the measurement, the machine was turned off due to a failure and all the FBGs sensed temperature changes, as well as frequency vibration changes. The largest temperature difference measured between the FBGs during the test is approximately 2°C.

Quasi-distributed fiber Bragg grating temperature sensors for stator bars monitoring of large electric generators

This work presents the application of a sensor based on quasi-distributed Fiber Bragg Gratings to monitor stator bars temperature of large electric generators. The applied FBG packaging method follows industrial standard procedures, and resulted in a robust and reliable sensing method, facilitating the future installation in the power plant. Experimental results are acquired in laboratory using the expected range of temperature values in the real machine. The measurement errors in the recorded results are within the calculated uncertainties and the time constant is shorter than what is obtained with conventional RTD for the same application.

Super-resolution algorithm applied in thermal imaging of hydroelectric generators stator using hybrid sensing with DTS and FBG

This paper presents a super-resolution algorithm developed to improve a thermal imaging system based on distributed optical sensors (DTS). The super-resolution is achieved by additional information provided by localized FBG sensors. The combination of the two types of sensors is an alternative to compensate the limitations of DTS due to spatial resolution of 1 m. The algorithm is applied to a thermal imaging system for monitoring stator temperature of hydroelectric generators, and the main advantage is the possibility to identify hotspots with dimensions up 10 times smaller than DTS spatial resolution.

200 MW hydroelectric generator stator surface temperature monitoring using a DTS system

A distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system is used to monitor the surface temperature of a high power hydroelectric generator. Two sensing fibers were installed; one is bare fiber whilst the other is jacketed with a Teflon® protection, in two distinct configurations: first, they were fixed parallel to the stator bars; secondly, they were wrapped around the stator surface. The fibers were embedded on the stator surface by using an electrically insulating resin which does not interfere with the generator operation. This technique can be used as a predictive maintenance tool.