Voltage

8 000

Dielectric strength
of insulation

Static Electric Motor

Testing Diagnostic Chart
Test voltage
2 000

Operational
voltage

1998 2008 2014

Time

= spikes found during normal operation,

460 V motor e.g. caused by startup, lightning VFDs, etc.

Static testing Static testing Static testing

Indications Probable Cause Recommended Actions Additional Information Indications Probable Cause Recommended Actions Additional Information Indications Probable Cause Recommended Actions Additional Information
Low Voltage Testing High Voltage Testing High Voltage Testing
Resistive Imbalance High resistance connec- Find the speciic location Imbalance values should be <5% for lap wound motors. Low Low MegOhm on Hipot Groundwall contamina- Evaluate PI/DA for evi- When performing insulation testing at higher voltages it is
tions, Ground insulation of high resistance connec- voltage concentric windings are likely to have a higher Low MegOhm reading Contamination, deteriora- Evaluate PI/DA for evi- Low insulation resistance readings are most commonly tion, Insulation dence of moisture and possible that surface leakage paths will increase causing
failure tion, repair and retest. imbalance (<20%), Induced voltage and spinning rotors can tion of groundwall dence of moisture and caused by contamination and/or moisture. PI evaluation will deterioration contamination. Clean and lower insulation resistance values during high potential
Ensure rotor is not also cause variation in measurement leading to high indi- insulation contamination. Clean and aid in determining the environmental factors present. Driv- inspect motor or send out testing. Contamination effects of this kind typically show
spinning. cated imbalance. Line to line surge comparison will increase inspect motor or send out ing off moisture through heating may be effective in for overhaul if efforts up as a single linear step change in current and not a
if an imbalance exists. for overhaul if efforts increasing low readings. In some cases heating the junction prove ineffective. continual exponential increase.
prove ineffective. box may be suficient to reduce leakage current paths. Mini-
mum thresholds could be set to relect the nature of the
operating environment. It is common to set a minimum
threshold of 100 MegOhm @40C for most industrial motors.
Inductive Imbalance Shorted turns or coils, Verify motor leads are Inductive imbalance is often caused by shorted turns or Non linear Hipot indication Groundwall Insulation Test motor more As voltage is increased during a DC test the current will
Motors with IR values < (1 MegOhm per 1000V of name-
Ground insulation failure properly connected. Verify missed turns on a parallel connected circuit. If the short is breakdown voltage frequently increase proportionally until the insulation resistance begins
plate + 1Megohm) @40C should not be started until the IR
ground insulation integ- to ground, a groundwall insulation test will fail at very low reduced to decrease. As the voltage approaches the insulation break-
value has been improved.
rity. Repair, retest. voltages. Inductive imbalance can occur even when the 10 000
Volts [V] I [µA]
60
down voltage the resistance will begin to decrease and the
resistive unbalance is low. 9 000 50 current will begin to increase in a greater than linear fashion.
Test voltage for MegOhm insulation resistance testing is 8 000
7 000
40 This departure from linearity or “knee in the curve” indicates
typically at or below the motor’s nameplate rating. 30
6 000
5 000 20
that the breakdown voltage is being approached. If this
4 000
3 000
10 “knee” is present at or below test voltage the insulation is in
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0
the later stages of its life and has reduced reliability.
-I [µA] -I [µA] - V[Voltage] Time [Minutes]

MegOhm Failure (Over Failed groundwall Isolate the location of the Insulation failure resulting in an overcurrent during a low Step voltage testing should include at least ive (5) voltage
High and Low Moisture or contamina- Check all connection Typically faults associated with resistance will present as current) insulation ground wall failure. voltage (at or below line voltage) insulation resistance test steps to ensure a linear change can be deinitively observed.
Resistance tion at connections points for corrosion, an imbalance in the circuit. Refer the “Resistive Imbalance” Repair/Replace motor as means the motor should not be started and will likely
contamination, and section above for these indications. required require rewind and repair.
High resistance contacts proper torque
A reference value and winding correction temperature must High Potential Test Insulation breakdown at Isolate source of ground. Motors with breakdown voltages at or near bus voltage
Improper temperature Verify temperature be employed to validate high or low resistance values. If the Overcurrent Trip indicated voltage Repair/Replace motor as should be replaced immediately. If the insulation breakdown
correction correction motor was recently rebuilt, verify proper wire used. required voltage is well above nominal bus voltage the motor may
start. It should be noted that attempting to start a motor
Improper winding Verify comparison refer- When comparing values to references/baselines, ensure with a weak insulation system could result in additional
connection ence value that the reference applies to the motor under test. If the damage to the stator if the motor were to fail on start.
Low PI Contamination, insulation Clean / Dry Insulation A clean dry insulation system should have a PI > 2.0. This
motor has been changed out variations in resistance will
deterioration system / Overhaul means that the measured current has been reduced by half
Improper reference value Verify the same motor is likely be present.
from the 1 minute to the 10 minute measurement. Contam-
being tested
ination and moisture can signiicantly reduce this ratio due
to parallel leakage paths. It is not uncommon for example to
Perform groundwall
have PI readings of 1.5 in high humidity environments.
insulation testing for low
High Line to Line Surge Rotor Inluence, Copper Verify motor leads are Line to line comparison: L - L EAR% (Error Area Ratio) is used
ground resistance
For small motors (<100Hp), and motors with very little Comparison Ratio to copper insulation connected properly. If not to evaluate each phase circuit’s response to the surge impulse
detectable polarization, like VFD insulation systems, a Die- failure rotor inluence repair/ while the motor is disassembled and the rotor is removed
High and Low Improper winding, Verify comparison refer- Changes in inductance are caused by a change in the number lectric Absorption test (DA) may be more representative of replace motor. from the stator. This is due to the secondary rotor impedance
Inductance connection ence value of turns/loops/coils in the circuit under test. Hard shorts or the insulation’s ability to polarize. A DA is performed for only inluencing the stator circuit. A balanced winding will have
internal connection issues can indicate both high and low 3 minutes. The inal reading is compared to the 30 second identical surge ringing patterns that should overlay on top of
Improper reference value Verify the same motor is value changes. reading. each other. Because the rotor has to be removed for this test,
being tested line to line comparison is rarely used as a ield test.
Typically faults associated with inductance will present as an
Perform groundwall insu- imbalance in the circuit. Refer the “Inductive Imbalance”
lation testing for low section above for these indications. High PI Delamination of asphaltic If motor winding is older Motors with modern insulation system can have very high PI
ground resistance insulation than 1970, rewind other- values. This is not an indication of a problem with the sys- Unstable Pulse to Pulse Weak insulation Test motor more Pulse to pulse comparison (PP EAR%) is used to evaluate
When comparing values to references/baselines ensure that wise no action required. tem. Older asphaltic insulation systems from before 1970 between coil turns, frequently the winding insulation when the motor is fully assembled.
PP EAR [%]
the reference applies to the motor under test. If the motor could delaminate causing increased air spaces in the insula- 12 ground insulation Variation in PP EAR indicates an instability which is usually
has been changed out variations will likely be present. Verify tion build. This increased the capacitance of the circuit and weakness caused by weak turn-to-turn insulation. Up to 80% of winding
0
comparisons are made at the same test frequency. therefore increased the PI values >6.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 failures begin as turn to turn weakness, progressing to
Number of pulses
phase to phase or groundwall failure. PP EAR values should
be <5% and the curves should have no spikes.
Ground capacitance change Contamination/Delami- Perform groundwall insu- As motor contamination builds up the effective capacitance
nation, Insulation failure, lation resistance test and of the circuit will increase. Insulation degradation in the
Capacitor degradation if PI/DA to aid in evaluation. form of embrittlement and cracking may lead to decreased
present When evaluating motors, capacitance readings with no corresponding reduction in High Partial Discharge Voids in the insulation Continue to monitor PD Partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) is the voltage at
all power factor correction insulation resistance. Delamination of older asphaltic PI Graph Shapes activity which partial discharge events begin to occur within the
capacitors should be insulation systems (1970 or older) can exhibit an increase Surge voltage [V] insulation due to voids or surface effects. While performing
3 000
removed from the circuit in insulation capacitance resulting in increased PI/DA Contamination Moisture Aging 2 500 Test motor more surge testing, the gases in the voids are energized and will
2 000
in order to properly evalu- ratios > 6.0. 1 500 frequently discharge internally within the insulation adding high fre-
Current Current Current
ate the motor winding. 1 000
500
quency signals on the surge waveform. As the insulation
0
-500
Repair or Replace as degrades and internal defects such as cracks form, PDIV will
Contamination causes a flat curve
Insulation aging causes the curve -1 000 necessary begin to decrease. As PDIV and RPDIV begin to approach
-1 500
to flatten over time -2 000 bus voltage, the number of discharges increases signii-
Rotor Inluence Testing Broken rotor bar, eccen- If motor is in service per- Rotor inluence testing should be treated with caution. The -2 500
cantly, degradation accelerates, and then the PDIV and
Moisture causes an erratic curve -3 000
Resistance, Inductance, Impedance, tricity, rotor porosity, low form dynamic testing to data can vary based on motor design. The effect of rotor 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
RPDIV will increase, signalling imminent breakdown; action
Phase angle vs. Rotor Position magnetic signature validate the static rotor position on the circuit characteristics is evaluated for bal- Time [µs]
should be taken to repair or replace the motor.
test indings. Trend data ance and symmetry. Resistance values are commonly tem- Aging
Inductance [mH]
47,5
47,0
for evidence of further perature corrected to 25 or 40C. Temperature correction is Normal curve Normal curve
46,5 degradation. used to compare the measured value to a standard and Initial curve
46,0
45,5
should have no effect on the balance of the circuit. Time Time Time
45,0
44,5
44,0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Degrees

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PUB 54/P4 17011 EN.US · November 2016