The development of an online method for the early detection of a stator turn insulation deterioration is the objective of the research at hand. A high percentage of motor breakdowns is related to the failure of the stator insulation system. Since most of the stator insulation failures originate in the breakdown of the turn-to-turn insulation, the research in this realm is of great significance. Despite the progress that has been made in the field of stator turn fault detection methods, the most popular and the best known ones are still limited to the detection of solid turn faults. The time span between a solid turn fault and the breakdown of the primary insulation system can be as short as a few seconds. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a method capable of detecting the deterioration of the turn insulation as early as possible and prior to the development of a solid turn fault. The different stresses that cause the aging of the insulation and eventually lead to failure are described as well as the various patterns of an insulation failure. A comprehensive literature survey shows the methods presently used for the monitoring of the turn insulation. Up to now no well-tested and reliable online method that can find the deterioration of the turn insulation is available. The most commonly used turn insulation test is the surge test, which, however, is performed only when the motor is out of service and disconnected from the supply. So far no research at all has been conducted on the application of an online surge test. The research at hand examines the applicability of the surge test to an operating machine. Various topologies of online surge testing are examined with regard to their practicability and their limitations. The most practical configuration is chosen for further analysis, implementation and development. Moreover, practical challenges are presented by the non-idealities of the induction machine like the eccentricity of the rotor and the rotor slotting, and have to be taken into account. Two solutions to eliminate the influence of the rotor position on the surge waveform are presented. Even though the basic concepts of online surge testing can be validated experimentally by a machine with a solid turn fault, it is preferable to use a machine with a deteriorated turn insulation. Therefore, a method, which does not require complex and expensive hardware, to experimentally emulate the turn insulation breakdown is implemented. The concepts at any stage of the work are supported by simulations and experimental results. In addition, the theory of surge testing is further developed by giving new definitions of the test's sensitivity, i.e., the frequency sensitivity and the error area ratio (EAR) sensitivity.

L’augmentation de la classe de température des machines électriques tournantes atteint son maximum avec des vernis organiques spéciaux pouvant supporter jusqu’à 280 °C. La rupture technologique se trouve alors dans la substitution d’un vernis organique par une matière inorganique. La famille des céramiques répond aux critères. Ces céramiques sont de bons diélectriques et résistent à de fortes températures. Dans ces travaux, le conducteur étudié se présente sous la forme d’un ruban et se compose d’une âme conductrice en aluminium, dont la couche isolante a été obtenue par le processus électrochimique d’anodisation. Ce processus permet de faire croître sur l’aluminium une couche d’alumine de quelques micromètres. L’objectif de ces travaux de thèse est de caractériser ce type de conducteur pour démontrer la possibilité ou non de l’utiliser comme conducteur pour la réalisation de bobinages pour des machines dites « hautes températures », pouvant fonctionner jusqu’à des températures ambiantes de 400 °C. Des mesures de TADP, TEDP, tensions de claquage sont effectuées sous des conditions environnementales variables (hautes températures, températures négatives, humidité variable). Les actionneurs réalisés avec ce type de conducteur seront alimentés par un convertisseur provoquant des fronts raides et des surtensions. Un modèle théorique de bobine est donc proposé, basé sur l’étude du spectre d’impédance de celle-ci, et permettant de prédire l’amplitude du premier dépassement suite à un front raide. L’amélioration de l’isolation des bobines se fait par une imprégnation à l’oxyde de bore, après confection des bobines, renforçant la couche d’alumine sur les bords du ruban. / The use of state of the art organic enamels, capable to withstand 280 °C, makes the temperature class increase of electrical machine reaching its maximum. A technological breakthrough can be found by the substitution of organic enamel by a ceramic based insulation. Those materials are good dielectrics and their temperature resistance is very high compared to a classical technology. In this work, the studied conductor is an aluminum tape which insulation is obtained by an anodisation, an electrochemical process. This surface treatment makes the aluminum oxidizing: a thin layer of a few micrometres is obtained, thus representing the insulation layer of the conductor. The objectives of those PhD works is to identify and characterize this particular type of conductor so as to demonstrate the ability of using an anodized aluminum tape to makeelectrical machine running up to 400 °C. Measurements of PDIV, PDEV, and breakdown voltage are carried under various environmental conditions (temperatures varying from -70 °C up to 650 °C, variable humidity level). The use of an inverter to supply this high temperature machine induces steep fronts and over voltages. As a consequence, a theoretical model of a coil, made with this kind of conductor, is then proposed and based upon the impedance spectrum of the coil. The aim of this model is to help the designer to predict the first over voltage amplitude and to make the insulation of the first coil according to that. At least, a coil insulation improvement is depicted, using boron oxide: an impregnation is held to reinforce the alumina layer on the edge of the tape

Electrical machines in electrified heavy-duty vehicles are subjected to dynamic temperature loadings during normal operation due to the different driving conditions. The Electrical Insulation System (EIS) in a stator winding is aged as an effect of these dynamic thermal loads. The thermal loads are usually high constant temperatures and thermal cycling. The high average constant thermal load is well-known in the electrical machine industry but little is known about the effect of temperature cycling. In this project, the ageing of the EIS in stator windings due to temperature cycling is examined. In this project, computational simulations of different simplified models that represent the electrical insulation system are made to analyse the thermo-mechanical stresses that is induced due to thermal cycling. Furthermore, a test object was designed and simulated to replicate the stress levels obtained from the simulations. The test object is to ease the physical testing of electrical insulation system. Testing a complete stator takes time and has the disadvantage of having a high mass, therefore a test object is designed and a test method is provided. The results from the finite element analysis indicate that the mechanical stresses induced will affect the lifetime of the electrical insulation system. A sensitivity study of several thermal cycling parameters was performed, the stator core length, the cycle rate and the temperature cycle amplitude. The results obtained indicate that the stator core length is too short to have a significant effect on the thermo-mechanical stresses induced. The results of the sensitivity study of the temperature cycle rate and the temperature cycle amplitude showed that these parameters increase the thermo-mechanical stresses induced. The results from the simulations of the test object is similar to the results from the simulations of the stator windings, which means that the tests object is valid for testing. The test method that is most appropriate is the power cycling test method, because it replicates the actual application of stator windings. The thermally induced stresses exposing the slot insulation exceeds the yield strength of the material, therefore plastic deformation may occur only after one thermal cycle. The other components in the stator are exposed to stresses below the yield strength. The thermally induced stresses exposing the slot insulation are high enough to low cycle fatigue the electrical insulation system, thus thermo-mechanical fatigue is an ageing factor of the electrical insulation system.

Le réseau électrique de bord des avions devient le principal vecteur de transmission de l'énergie utilisée en dehors de celle réservée à la propulsion. Le réseau électrique remplace progressivement les réseaux hydrauliques et aérauliques qui assurent respectivement les contrôles de vol et le confort dans la cabine des avions actuels. Pour transmettre une puissance électrique plus importante sans augmenter la masse des conducteurs, un nouveau standard a été défini, le réseau de bord des avions plus électriques sera continu et sa tension est fixée à 540V. En conséquence, les convertisseurs statiques seront systématiquement utilisés pour commander les actionneurs électriques. Des contraintes électriques nettement plus importantes seront appliquées aux bobinages des machines en plus de celles qui sont inhérente à l'aéronautique. Pour obtenir la sureté de fonctionnement requise, la surveillance du vieillissement de l'isolation des machines électriques embarquées devient indispensable. Le travail effectué dans cette thèse est centré sur la définition d’un nouvel indicateur de vieillissement de l’isolation des bobinages des machines électriques utilisées en aéronautique. Le nouvel indicateur delta-C est basé sur la corrélation entre l'augmentation de la capacité inter-spires du bobinage et la réduction des performances caractérisée principalement par la réduction du seuil d'apparition des décharges partielles. La partie expérimentale des travaux est importante; le mémoire donne les résultats des campagnes de vieillissement accéléré d'un grand nombre d'échantillons de fil émaillé standard. Ces résultats permettent de définir des seuils critiques des variations du nouvel indicateur delta-C en fonction du profil de mission de l'actionneur. Le nouvel indicateur delta-C est corrélé avec un paramètre facilement mesurable sur une machine électrique en fonctionnement qui est la fréquence de résonance du bobinage. Un outil numérique est développé pour déterminer les fréquences de résonances à surveiller en fonction de la géométrie et de la technologie du bobinage de la machine. Les prédictions des fréquences déterminées par l'outil numérique développé sont vérifiées par des mesures faites sur des bobines vieillies artificiellement. L'étude est étendue à l'influence du câble d'alimentation de la machine. Les limites de fonctionnement du système de surveillance proposé sont définies pour différentes distances entre la machine et le point de connexion des systèmes de mesure. / For modern aircrafts, the onboard electrical grid becomes the main energy transmission system apart from energy reserved for propulsion. Electrical systems are gradually replacing hydraulic and air systems providing respectively flight controls and cabin comfort in current aircrafts. To transmit higher electrical power without increasing the conductors’ masses, a new standard has been set, the grid of more electrical aircrafts will be 540 VDC. As a result, static converters will systematically be used to drive the electrical actuators. Substantially higher electrical constraints will be applied to electrical machine windings, in addition to those inherent in aeronautics. To obtain the required operational safety, the monitoring of the insulation for onboard electrical embedded machines has become indispensable. This thesis work is focused on the definition of a new aging indicator for the electrical insulation of machine used in aeronautics. The new delta-C indicator is based on the correlation between the increase in the turn-to-turn winding capacitance and reduction of performance mainly characterized by the decrease of Partial Discharge Inception Voltage (PDIV). The experimental part of this work is considerable; the thesis gives the results of accelerated aging tests on a large number of enameled wire standard samples. These results make it possible to define critical threshold for the new delta-C indicator depending on the mission profile of the actuator. The new delta-C indicator is correlated with an easily measurable parameter on an operating electrical machine, i.e. the resonance frequencies of the winding. A numerical tool was developed to determine the resonance frequencies to be monitored according to the geometry and the technology of the winding machine. The prediction frequencies determined by the developed numerical tool have been verified by measurements on artificially aged coils. The study has been extended to the influence of the supply cable of the electrical machine. The operating limits of the proposed monitoring system are defined for various distances between the electrical machine and the connection point of the measurement systems.