Correlations between Nondestructive and Destructive Tests on High-Voltage Coil Insulations for Rotating Miachines

The correlations between results of nondestructive and destructive tests on high-voltage coil insulations for rotating machines were investigated and the following findings were obtained. Breakdown voltage on application of a commercial line voltage (50 Hz) is correlated to the voltage at which a partial discharge bridges the insulation layer. Breakdown voltage on application of a direct voltage is correlated with the discharge magnitude, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent corresponding to void discharge in the insulation layer. Breakdown under an impulse waveform voltage is in some respects similar to that under commercial frequency but, because of the short duration of voltage application, it is correlated with the magnitude of electrical resistance, and this correlation is related to the ease with which the bridge phenomenon of discharge in the insulation layer propagates. Thus, the correlation between breakdown voltage and electrical characteristics in nondestructive tests varies with the voltage waveform involved. In tapewound laminated structures, as in micaceous insulatopms, breakdown occurs along the lap of tape, so that characteristic phenomena of the breakdown process for various voltage waveforms combining mutually correlated characteristics, are observed.