A novel on-line method and equipment to detect local problems in turbine generators

A continuous mass-spectrometric analysis of the evolved gases has been studied to achieve a novel on-line monitor for local overheating in hydrogen cooled turbine generators. The organic species evolved from the materials and the seal oil used in the generators were successfully detected employing a quadrupole mass-spectrometer. The overheating of the material and the oil contamination in the detector can be clearly discriminated by selecting mass numbers (channels) to detect out of 50 to 250 amu. More, each gas evolved from the material yields its individual mass spectrum, and hence the mass-spectrometric detection can define the material in which overheating spot exists by reference to the library of the decomposition gases. The mass-spectrometric equipment will realize a practical on-line (or continuous) monitor to detect local overheating in the operating turbine generators, combined with numerical data recognition system and the kinetic interpretation of the gas-evolution.