New coils boost output of geothermal generator 09 June 2014

The generator at Palinpinon geothermal power plant, in the Philippines, has been successfully rewound by Sulzer, with coil design and construction by its service centre in Birmingham.

The site comprises two power plants, the first containing three 37.5MW generators and the second four 20MW generators – together delivering 192MW.

Dave Hawley, general manager for the formed coil business at the Birmingham Sulzer Service Centre, explains that the project to overhaul one of the Fuji 37.5MW generators involved using its database combined with OEM drawings.

These enabled Sulzer to design the new coils along with wooden formers to replicate the stator, which would be used later to check the shape of the coils during manufacturing.

"Using the latest CAD software, the coils can be precisely formed to ensure an exact fit in the stator slot, making the installation process more efficient," explains Hawley.

"The use of precise quality control, extensive testing and state-of-the-art coil production techniques ensures the reliability of the new coils is guaranteed," he adds.

Hawley says that every coil was tested in the centre's dedicated test cell, with the results recorded and kept in the engineering archives.

The stator core was stripped, cleaned and tested prior to installing, blocking and bracing the new coils, he continues.

With all the new coils in place and the new caps fitted, the stator was sprayed with anti-track varnish. Meanwhile, the rotor was also stripped and cleaned before being tested with the retaining rings.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods were used to check the integrity of all of the components before the cleaned rotor coils were replaced and the finished rotor was again sprayed in anti-track varnish.

"Our engineers are frequently involved in the development of new technical standards as well as new materials technologies, allowing us to develop new designs in line with the latest standards to provide our customers with improved efficiency and reliability," says Hawley.

Brian Tinham

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Sulzer Dowding & Mills plc

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