WATER CONTAMINATION IN HYDROGEN-COOLED GENERATORS LURKS AS SERIOUS OPERATIONAL THREAT

摘要

Water contamination in hydrogen gas can lead to significant problems in hydrogen-cooled generators, including electrical arcing and winding failures. The phenomenon of how water is introduced into generators, however, is not well understood, nor is the proper instrumentation normally in place to alert operators to a potential problem. The focus of this paper is to share facts and field observations from more than 80 hydrogen coolant dryers and associated instrumentation, which shows that water contamination may be more prevalent than is commonly thought.