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DCStepVoltageAndSurgeTestingOfMotors

Forgetthecontroversy.Thesetestsclearlyarenondestructiveinnature.Understandingthe
advantagesthesemethodshaveoverotherscanmakethemmightypowerfultoolsinyour
PdMprogram.

Beforeanycompanyinvestigateselectricalpredictivemaintenance(PdM)instrumentation,itshould
knowthestrengthsofitsequipmentsinsulation,thevoltagesitsmotorsareexposedtodaily,howa
motortypicallyfailsandwherethesefaultstypicallyexist.Onlythencanyoureallymakeadecision
astowhichelectricalPdMequipmentisthemostappropriateforyouroperations.

Howamotortypicallyfails
Themotorstatorhastwomaininsulatingsystemsthatincludethegroundwallandturntoturn
insulation.Whenthisinsulationisinagoodconditionitcanwithstandthenormaldaytodayvoltage
spikesthatexistduringstartingandstopping.Overtime,thisinsulationwilldeteriorateasaresultof
mechanicalmovementofthewindings,torquetransients,heat,contamination,andother
environmentalcontaminates.Oncethedielectricstrengthofthisinsulationfallsbelowtheincoming
voltagespikes,anotherfailuremechanismisintroduced:ozone.

Ozoneisaverycorrosivegasthatwillquicklydeteriorateinsulation.Althoughthemotorwillcontinue
torunwhenthisfailuremechanismisintroduced,asitseescontinualvoltagespikes,the
deteriorationratewillaccelerate.Eventually,thedielectricstrengthoftheinsulationwillfallbelow
operatingvoltageordeterioratetothepointthatcopperwirewilltouchturntoturn.Atthispointa
turntoturnorhardweldedshorthasdeveloped.
AccordingtoTransientModelforInductionMachineswithStatorWindingTurnFaultswrittenfor
IEEEbyRangarajanM.Tallam,TomG.HabetlerandRonaldG.Harley,whenahardweldedturnto
turnshortdevelops,theshortedwindingswilldevelophighcirculatingcurrents.Thesecurrents,
whichcanbeintheorderof1620timesfullloadamps,createexcessiveheatthattheinsulation
cannotwithstand.Thisintenseamountofheatwillburnquicklythroughtheinsulationcausingmotor
failurewithinminutes.

AstudyperformedatOregonStateUniversity,byDr.ErnestoWiedenbrug,lookedatamotor
speciallydesignedwithaturntoturnfaultbyinstallingtwowiresconnectedtoturnoneandturntwo
ofthesamephase.Thesewireswerethenbroughtouttoaswitch.Themotorwasplacedona
dynamometerandrunatabout80%load.Whentheturntoturnshortwasengagedthroughthe
switch,themotorbeganvisiblysmokingwithin45seconds.Whilemostmotorswillnotrunforlong
withaturntoturnshort,someexceptionsdoexist.Amotorwithahighresistanceorfloatingground
willrunwithashortedphase,butonceasecondphaseshorts,themotorwillfailcatastrophically.

RecommendedtestsThetestslistedonthenextpagearerecommendedinofflinefieldtesting:

KelvinMethodWinding

MegOhm
PolarizationIndex(PI)

StepVoltage

Surge

Eachofthesetestmethodsevaluatesadifferentsectionofthemotor.Briefdescriptionsofthefirst
threetestsaregiveninordertoofferacompletearrayoftestinginformation.Thenatureofhigh
voltagetestingandthenecessityoftheStepVoltageandSurgemethods,however,remainthemain
focusofthisarticle.

KelvinMethodWinding
TheKelvinMethodWindingtestmeasurestheresistanceofthecopperwireofthemotorcircuit.If
testedinaPdMapplication,thetestistypicallyperformedfromtheMotorControlCenter(MCC).This
testfindsissueswithmissconnections,shorts,opens,unbalancedturncountinonephaseto
anotheranddifferentsizediametercopperinonephasetoanother.Thistestisveryvaluableand
shouldbeperformedforpredictivemaintenance,troubleshootingandqualityassurance.

MegOhmTest
TheMegOhmTestappliesaDCpotential(typicallyoperatingvoltage)tothewindingswhileholding
thecasetoground.TableIshowstherecommendedtestvoltagesfordifferentvoltageclassmotors.
MegOhmtestingistypicallyutilizedtofindgroundedmotors.ItalsoisaveryvaluablePdMtoolfor
findingwetanddirtymotors.Itsnottypicallyusedforqualityassurancebecauseofthelowvoltage
levelatwhichthetestisperformed.
PolarizationIndex(PI)Test
ThistestismuchliketheMegOhmTest,butitisperformedfor10minutes.Overthistimeperiod,the
moleculesintheslotlinerpaperpolarize.Whenthemoleculespolarize,theinsulationresistance
valuesshouldincreaseoverthe10minuteperiod.Iftheresistanceincreasesduringthistime,itsan
indicationofgoodgroundwallinsulationwithnomoistureorcontamination.

Insulationtesting
Untilnowwehaveonlydiscussedthelowvoltagetests.Uponsuccessfullycompletingthesetests
thefollowingisknown:thewindingresistanceisbalanced.Thatmeansthemotorhasnoshorts,
opensormissconnectionsandtheMegOhmandPIindicatethatthemotorisbothcleananddry.
Thesetests,however,stillhavenotconfirmedthatthemotoriscapableofstartingorrunningforany
lengthoftime.Themainreasonforperformingpredictivemaintenanceonamotoristolearnifitwill
continuetoprovideuninterruptedservice.Becauselowvoltagetestingisnotperformedatthe
voltageamotortypicallysees,itcantprovidethisinformation.

Manyarticleshavediscussedthevoltagespikesmotorsseeduringstartingandstopping.Asstated
inTurnInsulationCapabilityofLargeACMotors,PartISurgeMonitoring,byB.K.Gupta,B.A.
Lloyd,G.C.Stone,andS.RCampbell(IEEETransactionsonEnergyConversion,Vol.EC2,No.4,
December1987),thesevoltagespikescanbeintheorderof5PU(PerUnit):

Calculatingthisformulafora480Vthreephasemotor,thePUwouldbe391.9volts,orapproximately
1960voltsonstartup.Logically,ifthemotoristestedtoonlyoperatingvoltageorbelowtheoperating
voltage,theusercannotbesureifthespikeshavecauseddamagetothemotorsinsulationthatwill
interruptservice.Theotherissueisthattheturntoturninsulationhasnotbeenevaluated.In
addition,theMegOhmandPIdonotevaluatethegroundwallinsulationforstrengthortheabilityto
withstandthehighvoltagesitseesduringdailyoperation.Thewindingresistancetestisonly
evaluatingthemotorcircuitandnottheinsulation.

Themosteffectivewaytoensurethemotorwillstartandcontinuetoprovidereliableserviceistotest
itatthevoltagesthemotorseesduringnormaloperationwhichincludesstartingandstopping.This
isaccomplishedwithtwotests:StepVoltageandSurge.Thesemethodsevaluatethegroundwall
andturntoturninsulationrespectively.

StepVoltageTest
ThisDCTestisperformedtoavoltagethatamotortypicallyseesduringstartingandstopping.The
testvoltages,governedbyIEEE,arereflectedinTableII.

TheDCvoltageisappliedtoallthreephasesofthewinding
andraisedslowlytoapreprogrammedvoltagestepleveland
heldforapredeterminedtimeperiod.Itisthenraisedtothe
nextvoltagestepandheldfortheappropriatetimeperiod.
Thisprocesscontinuesuntilthetargettestvoltageis
reached.Typicalstepsfora4160Vmotorare1000volt
increments,holdingatminuteintervals.Formotorslessthan4160V,thestepvoltagesshouldbe500
volts(seeFig.1).

Dataisloggedattheendofeachstep.Thisistoensurethecapacitivechargeandpolarization
currentisremovedandthatonlyrealleakagecurrentremains,thusprovidingatrueindicationofthe
groundwallinsulationcondition.If,atthispoint,theleakagecurrent(IA)doubles,insulation
weaknessesareindicatedandthetestshouldbestopped.Iftheleakagecurrent(IA)rises
consistentlylessthandouble,themotorinsulationisingoodstanding.

TheStepVoltageTestisnecessarytoensurethatthegroundwallinsulationandcablecan
withstandthenormaldaytodayvoltagespikesthemotortypicallyseesduringoperation.IfaDC
StepVoltageTestisnotperformed,theoperatorcannotbeassuredthatthemotorwillstartand
operatewithoutfailinginservice.

SurgeTest
TheSurgeTestishighlyimportant.Thatsbecause
80%ofallelectricalfailuresinthestatorbeginat
weakinsulationturntoturn.Thesetypesof
catastrophicfailuresarewhyNFPA70B
recommendsthatSurgeandHiPottestingbe
performed.Regardlessofanindividualspersonal
viewofSurgetesting,knowingthatamotorsturnto
turninsulationissoundiscrucialforsafetyandmotor
reliability.
DuringaSurgeTest,theequipmentwillchargeupacapacitorinsidetheunitanddissipateitinto
onephasewhileholdingtheothertwophasestoground.Then,automatically,thetestunitwillslowly
increasethevoltagefrom0voltstothetargettestvoltage.Thisgeneratesawaveform,inashape
basedupontheinductanceofthecoilthatisdisplayedonthetestequipmentscreen.Ifthetargettest
voltageisattainedwithoutanyfrequencychangeinthewaveform,theturntoturninsulationintegrity
hasbeenrealized.Fig.2isagraphicalrepresentationofthewaveformatonethird,twothirdsand
fullvoltageofonephase.Thisiswhatawaveformwilllooklikewhentheinsulationisinagood
condition.
If,atanytime,thetestequipmentseesweakinsulationbetweentheturns,thewaveformwillshiftto
theleftasshowninFig.3.Thewhitelineonthegraphshowsthefailedwaveformatabout1000
volts.

Surgetestingtheory
Whenthecapacitorisdischargedintothewinding,itisperformedataveryfastrisetime(.1micro
second).Thisproducesanonlinearvoltagedropacrosstheturns,producingapotentialdifference
betweentheturnsinsuccession.Astherisetimeslows,theoperatorwillnoticethatthevoltage
potentialdifferencebetweentheturnsisdramaticallyreduced.Thisisincontrasttoanyothersignal
utilizedtodiagnosemotorissues.NoDCtest(orACtestssuchasaninductance,capacitance,
impedance,phaseangleorHiPot)willproducethispotentialdifferencebetweentheturns.

PhysicsprovidesuswithPaschensLaw,whichstatesthattwobarewiresplacednexttooneanother
justathicknessofahairawayneedaminimumof325voltstojumptheairgapbetweenthetwo
conductors.ThesetwoconceptsarethecorereasonwhySurgetestingisthenaturalchoicefor
testingturntoturninsulation.Themainreasonisthatifthetestequipmentdoesntproducea
potentialdifferencebetweentheturnsabovePaschensLaw,thecurrentcannotflowthroughthe
fault.Ifcurrentcantflowthroughthefault,itwillcontinuethroughallthecoilsandnotshowa
difference.
WhenSurgeTestingacoilwithweakinsulationturntoturn,thevoltageappliedcanjumpacrossthe
weakinsulation.Removingthesebypassedturnsfromthecircuitreducestheinductanceofthe
circuitandcausesthewaveformfrequencytoringfaster.Thiswillproducethefrequencyshifttothe
leftinthewaveform.Fortunately,advancementsintechnologyhaveledtorefinementsinthe
analysisofwaveforms,tothepointthatsometestunitsautomaticallyrecognizefailures(see
sidebar).

SurgecomparisonInthepasttheSurgeTesthasbeencalledaSurgeComparisonTest.Although
someindividualsbelievetheSurgeTeststillneedstobeperformedinthismanner,itreallydepends
onwhatisbeinganalyzed.

Forfindingweakinsulation,surgecomparisonisnotnecessary.Aspreviouslynoted,weak
insulationisdiagnosedbyafrequencyshifttotheleftandiscomparedtosuccessivewaveforms
withinonephase.If,however,thefollowinglistreflectsproblemsyoureseekingtouncoverand
eliminate,acomparisonofeachphaseisrecommended.

Shorts

Opens

Differentsizediametercopperbetweenphases

Unbalancedturncountbetweenphases

Reversedcoils

Shortedlaminations
Hereagain,asreferencedintheaccompanyingsidebar,instrumentationthatautomaticallydetects
theseproblemsisnowavailable.

Oldervs.newerequipment
Justlikecomputers,highvoltagetestequipmenthaschangedvastlyoverthepast20years.

Todaysequipmentincorporatesmodern,highspeedelectronicevaluationofchangestoresistance,
leakagecurrent,leakagecurrentversustime,voltage,stepvoltage,dielectricabsorption,frequency
response,waveshape,coronainceptionvoltage(C.I.V.)andmoretodetectfaultsatorunderthe
levelsofenergyexposedtothemotorduringoperation.Microprocessorcontrolledinstantaneous
tripsallowwindingconditionstobeevaluatedwithoutcompromisingdielectricintegrity.Moreover,
theadditionoffielddevelopedPASS/FAILtestcriterianowmakesthistestingextremelyrepeatable.

Oneofthegreatestadvancesinhighvoltagetestinghascomefromviasolidstate,highvoltage
powersuppliesreplacingtheheavystepuptransformer.Thishasresultedinbigimprovementsto
equipmentportability.Everytestisnowdigitizedandcomparedtothepreviouslyappliedpulse.If
anyweaknessisdetected,thetestisinstantaneouslystopped,preservingdielectric.Thelevelof
weaknessisstoredforfuturereference,inthememorybank.

Whattolookfor
WhenevaluatingelectricalPdMequipment,keepinmindthateverymanufacturerisslightly
different.Testunits,though,shouldbeabletoperformthefollowingsafetycheckstoensurethatyour
motorsarentdamagedduringtesting:

1.AcceptableMegOhmreadingsshouldbeobtained.

2.AcceptablePITestshouldbeperformed.

3.ThetestunitshouldevaluatetheMegOhmreadingsattheendofeachstep.Ifthemotordoesnotmeetthecriteriathe

testsetshouldautomaticallystopthetest.

4.Currentleakageshouldbemonitoredcontinuouslyandtheunitshouldautomaticallystopthetestifanovercurrent

leakageconditionexists.Typicalovercurrenttripsettingsare1,10,100and1000microampsofcurrentleakage.
5.Microarcdetectioniscrucialifthetestseesatinyarctheunitshouldautomaticallystopthetest.

6.Realtimedisplayonthescreenisamustthisallowstheoperatortoseethevoltageandcurrentwhilethetestisin

operation.Iftheoperatorseesanyabnormalcondition,he/shecanstopthetest.

Casestudy:StepVoltagetesting
ExelonNuclear,LimerickStation
TheStationPredictiveMaintenanceprogramatLimerickroutinelyperformselectricaltestingoflarge
motorsatatwoyearfrequency.Thistestingconsistsofwindingresistance,insulationresistance,PI
Capacitance/dissipationfactorandDCstepvoltagetestingto20kV.Theresultingdatahasbeen
trackedandtrendedforalmost20years.

Onafewoccasionsduring2002,Operationspersonnelreportedthatanacridodorwaspresentat
the1CCirculatingWaterPumpMotor.ThePdMgrouphadbeentrackingthismotoronawatchlist
thatcameaboutasaresultofanincreasingtrendinleakagecurrentdetectedbyDCstepvoltage
testingfrom1997to2002(seeFig.4).

Aspartofitsincreasedtroubleshootingactivities,theLimerickStationPdMteammonitoredthe
motorthroughthesummerof2002,utilizingacousticmonitoringandvibrationandwinding
temperature/RTDmonitoringonamonthlybasis.InSeptember2002,anactionrequestwasmadeto
replacethemotorinthewinter,basedupontheelectricaltestingresults,increasingvibrationatstator
slotfrequenciesandhigheracoustic/ultrasonicnoise.

Oncethemotorwasremoved,itshowedhighleakagecurrentontheAphasemotorwinding
comparedtotheothertwowindings.Aftercleaning,avisualinspectionofthewindingidentified
partialdischargeatthejunctionwherethecoreslotwindingtaptransitionstotheend
winding/knuckletape.Investigationrevealedalackofpropercoronasuppressiontapeatthis
criticaljunctionpointinthewinding.

Amongthelessonslearnedfromthiseventwasthefactthattrackingandtrendingleakagecurrent
versusappliedvoltageonaDCStepVoltageTest,aspresentedbytheBakerAWAofflinetester,
cananddoesindicatepotentialproblemsinthewinding.Furthermore,whenthisdataiscombined
withotherpredictivetechnologies,itwillallowforproactivereplacementofamotorpriortoanin
servicefailure.


Casestudy:Surgetesting
Pulp&PaperOperation
A2300Vformwoundmotoratapulpandpaperplantwasfoundtohaveweakturntoturninsulation.
Ofallthetestsperformedonthismotor,theonlyonethatfoundtheturntoturnweaknesswasthe
SurgeTest.Thecontroversyaroundsurgetesting,though,isthatafterfindingaproblemwith
insulation,couldthetesterhavesodegradedthemotorthatitwouldnotrun?

ThisPulp&Paperindustrycasestudyeasilyputs
thismythtorest.Themotorinquestionwas
immediatelyputbackinserviceaftertesting.It
wasstartedupandranforthefourmonths
requireduntilitcouldbeshutdownandremoved
forrepair.Again,asnotedinFig.5,theSurgeTest
wastheonlymethodtoidentifytheinsulation
weakness.Theproblemwaswellaboveline
voltage,sootherlowvoltagetestswouldnothave
approachedthisthreshold.(Thesurgesummary
inFig.5highlightsthefaultweaknessesfound
withthetester.)
ThisparticularPulp&Papersitemotortakesabout67hourstochange.Thus,itcouldhavecost
about$42,000indowntimehadtheSurgeTestnotfoundtheproblem.Interestingly,80%ofall
electricalmotorfailuresbeginwithweakinsulationturntoturn.TheSurgeTestisclearlythebest
methodavailabletofindthisproblem.Thatswhyitissoimportanttoperformthistypeofnon
destructivetestingonallmotors.

Summary
TheStepVoltageandSurgeTestsarenecessaryforaneffectivePdMprogram.Theyidentify
problemsthatlowvoltagetestscantfind.

Asthecasestudiesinthisarticlehaveshown,bothofthesetestsarenondestructiveinthatthe
testedunitswerereturnedtoserviceuntilthenextavailabletimecouldbescheduledtoreplace
them.

Finally,thesetestsareperformedatvoltagelevelsamotorisexposedtoduringnormaloperation.If
amotorcannotpasstheStepVoltageandSurgeTests,youcanbankonthefactthatitis
approachingtheendofitsservicelife.Consequently,provisionsshouldbemadeassoonasfeasibly
possibletohavethatmotorremovedbeforeunscheduleddowntimeoccurs.

JoeGeimanholdsaB.S.fromColoradoStateUniversityinIndustrialTechnologyManagement.He
travelsextensivelywithintheWesternandSoutheasternregionsoftheUnitedStatesandhastested
andanalyzedhundredsofmotorsforavarietyofindustries.Telephone:(800)7528272or(970)
2821200email:jgeiman@bakerinst.com

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