How Partial Discharge Generators Could Impact Your Operations
Partial discharge is an electrical phenomenon that can occur in any large electric machinery that requires insulation in order to be operated safely. Sometimes, due to the high amount of stress placed on the insulation material by the high voltages of electricity passing through the machinery, imperfections develop in the insulating material. Once imperfections appear, the integrity of the insulation has failed, and partial discharges can take place in these areas. Partial discharge generators refer to electrical generators with insulation that has failed, causing partial discharge and signifying a probable impending failure of the insulation. Without proper partial discharge monitoring, partial discharge generators are a problem that could go unnoticed, and this could lead to very serious consequences for any operation that depends on electrical generators or makes use of them in any way.
Many large industrial operations do have some form of generator on their premises, in order to power machinery and sometimes simply as a source of backup energy. This is particularly true in those industries that deal with extremely expensive and sensitive materials, as a shutdown of local power and the consequent interruption of manufacturing processes could mean enormous losses for the owners. The solution is therefore to have on-site generators that are responsible for providing part of the power needs of the operation and would remain active even if the local power supply were to be cut off for some reason.
The main problem with partial discharge generators is that they simply cannot be identified by the naked eye. With other similar electrical problems, such as corona discharges, there is a steady glow or disturbance in the air that is evidence of a problem with the generator. Partial discharge generators, however, do not produce any such visible disturbance, making partial discharge monitoring absolutely essential.
Due to the nature of the machinery involved, partial discharge generators are usually large and hulking pieces of machinery which have enormous amounts of electricity flowing through them. For these reasons, it is unsafe for people to be working in close proximity to these machines and partial discharge generators, having had failures in their electrical insulation, would definitely pose a hazard to the health of nearby workers. A complete failure in the electrical insulation of a generator could result in a release of high levels of electricity.
With partial discharge monitoring, however, this problem can be detected early on and remedied, preventing any further worsening of the problem and allowing for the maintenance of safety standards. Partial discharge monitoring essentially involves the installation of monitoring equipment on and around generators or other machinery that might potentially develop partial discharge problems. The partial discharge monitoring equipment does not affect the performance of the machinery in any way, and simply provides an early-warning system that will alert the company to the presence of any partial discharges, thus allowing for pre-emptive repairs and maintenance to be carried out, thus preventing a complete breakdown of the electrical insulation of heavy machinery, and allowing the owner of the operation to rest much easier knowing that such problems will not go undetected.
If your operations are such that there might be partial discharge generators on your premises, then you should definitely invest in a partial discharge monitoring system from Dynamic Ratings that will allow you to rest easy .
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