WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition 2019

e-POSTER: Wye Ring Crack Detection And Replacement Strategy For Less Than 20% Of The Total Replacement Cost

22 May 19
1:30 PM - 1:55 PM

Tracks: Performance and Reliability, Poster Presentations

Speaker(s): Jon Salmon, Wind Manager, H&N Wind

This presentation will describe the wye ring, the cracking phenomenon and how to detect and prevent the failure per the following outline: A. The Generator Wye Ring 1. Purpose 2. Features (photo) B. Wye Ring Cracks 1. Photos C. What Causes Wye Ring Cracks? 1. Thermal Cycles 2. Dissimilar materials D. Failure Progression 1. Cracking 2. Arcing 3. Generator Faults 4. Recovery 5. Winding Damage E. Symptoms of Wye Ring Cracking 1. Generator Faults 2. Troubleshooting F. Do I have Wye Ring Cracking? 1. Specific generators are Prone 2. Varies by site…age or manufacturing run? 3. Wye Rings can fail in less than three years of service 4. Or can run much longer G. How to Deal With Wye Ring Cracking 1. Do Nothing 2. Borescope Inspection 3. Wye Ring Repair 4. Wye Ring Replacement H. Customer Case Study – How a customer successfully handled this I. Cost Considerations 1. Table of Choices/Consequences/(approximate) Cost Percentage J. Strategy to Protect Your Assets 1. Pay attention to generator faults 2. Borescope inspection of a sample 3. Borescope inspections once Wye Ring failures are experienced 4. Replacement if cracking is found 5. Preventative replacement K. Cautionary Advice 1. Borescoping of Wye Ring is difficult 2. Full Wye Ring Replacement can prevent recurrence L. Summary: A well-performed Wye Ring Crack inspection, detection and replacement strategy can prevent generator failures, extending generator life for less than 20% of the total generator replacement cost.