Air-Gap Sensors for Hydro Generators and Techniques for Air-Gap Eccentricity Fault Detection and Estimation

Important aspect of ensuring the reliability of the operation of hydroelectric units of power plants is the issue of assessing their actual technical condition and ensuring its constant control. During operation, a number of physicochemical, thermal and mechanical processes occur in the structural elements of powerful generators, which over time lead to the onset of the development of defects in rotating and non-rotating structural elements of the machine. One of the main parameters of hydrogenerators, the control of which makes it possible to improve the probability of determining, by standard vibration diagnostic systems, a defect in the early stages of its inception, is the air gap between the rotor and the stator. Therefore, the value of the uniformity of the air gap largely determines the characteristics of the machine and its behavior during operation. To control the size of the air gap between the rotor and the stator, a magnetic field-resistant capacitive air gap sensor was proposed, the use of which made it possible to reduce the influence of the curvature of the rotor pole on the result of monitoring the unevenness of the air gap. Analytical and graphical dependences for the conversion function of the sensor intended for use on a capsule hydro generator of the SGK538/160-70M and other type have been determined. A sensor or a system of sensors can used as a separate device or as a component of parts of monitoring and diagnostic systems. The use of the proposed sensor or group of sensors in the control and diagnostic systems of hydroelectric units of power plants will ensure uninterrupted operation of the electrical equipment of the IPS of Ukraine. This is important in the conditions of war and the conduct of military operations, when it is necessary to provide the necessary balance between the production and consumption of electricity in a short time in the conditions of large-scale destruction of the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.