Generator Lifecycle Services

Generating powerful solutions.

GE Power & Water Power Generation Services

Empowering you to succeed.GE provides a suite of services that can enable you to improve

reliability and availability, control maintenance costs and

increase the capacity of your generator over its entire lifecycle.

GE knows generators. We’ve been installing and maintaining

generators since the 19th century and have placed more than

14,000 medium and large generators into service. We have

performed hundreds of field and stator rewinds and responded

to thousands of outages. We use a global pool of over 400

generator specialists to serve your needs.

Safety, quality and outage duration are concerns GE takes

seriously. Our goal is to execute a project flawlessly and without

incident to help you stay within budget and on schedule.

In short, we seek to exceed your expectations in every way,

every day.

Breathing new life into your aging generator.

How do you maintain reliability and availability with reduced

budgets? How do you adapt to fluctuating market and

regulatory conditions? You need powerful solutions to tough

obstacles. To meet ever-changing market needs, you may

be required to operate and maintain your generator in ways

quite different from original specs. GE’s Advanced Generator

Service solutions can help you achieve your goals.

IncreaseReliability

Reduce Maintenance

Costs

Improve AvailabilityIncrease

Capacity

20

Outage Duration (Shifts)

15

10

5

0

GE In-situInspection

ReassemblyInspectionDisassembly

TraditionalInspection

Insider knowledgeof outages

Avoiding failureKeeping tabs on the condition of an

aging generator is vitally important. A

forced outage increases in probability

as the generator ages. By following GE’s

inspection protocols, you can maintain

unit reliability and availability.

Cut outage duration by over one-thirdUnlike a traditional inspection, where valuable time is spent on disassembly, MAGIC enables GE to devote more time to inspecting your generator.

Outage Expertise — At Your Service

How do you think through and plan for your outages?

Whether planned or unexpected, they reduce the productivity

and the profitability of your asset. GE can help you extend

equipment-running time between planned maintenance

outages, eliminate unnecessary outages and reduce the

duration of necessary ones. With our advanced testing and

inspection tools, capabilities and experienced specialists,

GE can help you reduce duration and cost without sacrificing

safety or quality.

Over the past decade, GE has built an impressive portfolio of

in-situ inspection technologies that enable generator testing

and inspection while the rotor remains in place. This can cut

outage duration by over one-third of the time, while helping to

reduce the risk of collateral damage from rotor pulls.

GE’s generator specialists can help craft a customized

maintenance plan that:

• Reduces outage duration and cost

• Accurately assesses generator condition

• Backed by GE’s engineering organization

Ingenious MAGIC

GE’s proprietary Miniature Air Gap Inspection Crawler (MAGIC)

makes it possible to execute a complete generator inspection

without removal of the field. Not only does GE’s MAGIC robot

provide visual inspection via digital recordings, it also evaluates

wedge tightness and electromagnetic core insulation damage.

What’s more, GE also uses various automated inspection

tools that allow non-destructive evaluation of retaining rings,

hydraulic integrity of liquid cooled stator windings and wet

insulation detection.

Peace of mindIt’s yours with GE. If an issue is identified

during an inspection, GE is positioned to

repair at-site or in one of our many regional

repair shops, thereby minimizing the impact

of unplanned maintenance.

MAGIC robot

Stator Leak Monitoring

System (SLMS-HP)

Bar leaks

Enhanced Partial

Discharge Analyzer (ePDA)

Stator insulation damage

Stator RTD/TCs

Plugged strands

Core Monitor

Localized overheating detection

Generatingmore control. Budgets causing you to cut back on scheduled

maintenance? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could extend

the time between outages? What if you could avoid

unplanned outages altogether? GE can help you

meet these goals while maintaining the health of

your generator. With our technology, knowledge and

experience, we can help you create a maintenance

plan based on the actual condition of your generator.

Generator Monitoring

System (GMS)

Shorted Turns

Monitoring System

(STMS)

Accurately anticipating.How can your generator’s condition be assessed without

scheduled outages and visual inspections? GE has a way.

We’ve created and continue to develop advanced sensors and

automated monitoring algorithms that aim to enable predictive

maintenance. Our unique approach includes sensors that

monitor key failure modes that historically dictate the scheduled

outage interval. This enables you to anticipate problems. Better

yet, you’ll know when to leave well enough alone. Whatever

your specific needs, GE can custom tailor a monitoring solution

from our extensive suite of technologies and services. You’ll

gain continuous assessment of your generator’s condition.

You may choose to purchase a stand-alone unit such as the

stator leak monitoring system or a complete package. Most

GE generator monitoring technologies can be integrated

through the Generator Monitoring System. This provides a more

complete assessment of your generator’s condition through

automated anomaly algorithms that alert you to any change in

the monitored parameters.

The Generator Monitoring System enables:

• Monitoring system integration

•Predictive maintenance

•Quicker diagnostics

•Reduced risk of forced outages

•Reduced maintenance costs

•Future advances in GE monitoring technologies

to integrate with your system

Proven Stator Bar TechnologyWith the introduction of phosphorus-free brazing technology,

GE stators have evolved to achieve leak-free bars.

Insulation TechnologyGE continuously makes investments to develop better performing insulation systems. Currently, our

systems are rated for class F+ thermal capability which leads to extended life when operated in class B

or F temperatures. In addition, our insulation technology developments have led to greater voltage

endurance capabilities.

World-Class ExecutionEquipped with highly productive tools such as GE’s

proprietary bar transport and stator wedge tooling, GE

provides world-class short outage durations. In addition,

GE’s execution team is led by a dedicated project manager,

who is a recognized expert in generator service and your

single point of contact for all your needs, from order

through warranty.

Stator RewindSustaining generator performance in these times of ever-shrinking budgets can

be a difficult challenge. With the median age of generators approaching 30 years,

combined with changes in duty cycle, an increased probability of generator failure is

of great concern. GE has recently invested over $12M in stator bar technology, tools

and manufacturing improvements. As a result, GE is uniquely positioned to enable

you to extend the life and reliability of your generator through industry-leading

short-cycle implementations. What’s the GE difference?

•Our expertise. As the OEM of your asset, we know its design and operational profile

like no other. We know what works, what doesn’t and what’s best left alone.

•Our technology. Only GE can provide you with proven uprate technology that can

turn your outage into an opportunity to extend asset life and performance.

•Our execution. Through GE’s Outage Excellence Team, you can be assured we are

continuously working to improve cycle time, quality and service to you, our valued

customer. In fact, we recently added short-cycle conventionally cooled stator bar

manufacturing technology to help you decrease costs and cycle time.

Solutions that extend your generator’s lifecycle.

Field Rewinds & Exchange FieldsExperience shows that typical operating incidents have the greatest impact

on the field (motoring, contamination, etc.), which means the rotor is often the

generator component requiring the most maintenance. Whether the work you

need is executed in a dedicated GE Generator Repair Shop or on-site, GE provides

a number of field rewind options to fit your needs. In addition, GE offers off-the-shelf,

pre-wound exchange fields that can give you all the benefits of a field rewind while

significantly reducing outage interval.

Proven Upgrade TechnologyWhen re-winding an aged generator field, GE applies

advanced technology to improve the life of the rotor. In most

cases, GE can apply upgraded design features such as:

• C-coil rotor windings

• Non-magnetic retaining rings

• Insulating materials

• Blocking and wedges

Extensive Service CapabilitiesThermally sensitive rotor vibration can rub you the wrong way by shortening equipment life

and limiting your operational envelope. Vibrations must be mitigated, but first you have to

know what’s causing them. Whether they’re caused by unsymmetrical cooling, shorted turns

or mechanical interferences, to name a few, GE’s high-speed balance facility can help identity

a vibration’s root cause. Our high-speed balance bunker executes a FULL thermal sensitivity

test. This facility is one of only a handful in the world to offer this capability. It can help ensure

that the field is ready to return to service by validating proper vibration levels at high speed

and applying excitation current to assess the rotor throughout the reactive capability curve.

MVA

R

+ MVAR + MW

+ MW

+ MW

500

400

300

200

100

00 100 200 300 400 500 7000 100 200 300 400 500 700

-100

-200

-300

-400

A

B

CD

Can you increase capacity? Yes, we can. Once a generator has been in service a few years, cookie-cutter uprates just

won’t do. You need GE’s uprate experts to help you assess your parameters,

evaluate options and select what’s right for you. Enabled by GE’s long history

(and ongoing investments) in generator technology, we can study your entire

system. For example, all thermal, mechanical and electromagnetic limits are

evaluated for stator windings, core ends and the rotor. GE then delivers options to

uprate your generator up to ~20% of current capacity. Extensive factory and field

tests, ongoing asset monitoring, and a robust, maintenance-free core design gives

GE the confidence you need to ensure ratings will increase all the way to the core

ends. With GE uprate experts, you get:

•Proprietary knowledge of GE system design

• Insights learned from thousands of hours of performance data

•Operational expertise that comes from maintaining our own fleet

of generator assets at over 50 GE O&M Contract Service sites

•Real-world experience, gained from the more than 1.7GW of

uprates we’ve executed for customers like you

Generator to Synchronous Condenser Conversions

As power generation plants approach the end of their effective operational life, you may

face a challenging decision between upgrading or retiring. In many instances, when

power plants are retired, there may be concerns that could adversely affect local

electrical system voltage stability. GE now offers engineered solutions that convert

existing synchronous generators, powered by gas or steam turbines, into synchronous

condensers with minimal disruption. GE’s solution is focused on clean-waveform static

start technology to drive the generator, which is now disconnected from the

prime mover, to synchronous speed. This is achieved by the use of a variable

frequency drive (VFD)—which reduces the duty imposed on the generator, reduces

mechanical alterations, and avoids the cost and maintenance of a starting motor.

• Experience: over 700 static start systems in use for gas turbines

• Uniquely equipped to study the full electrical system inclusive of interconnection

(gen hardware, controls, stability analysis, grid code expertise, etc.)

When you need more…Are your capacity demands outpacing your current generator’s capability? GE’s

high power density replacement generators can be tailored to meet your needs,

with minimal plant design impact. Designed to work within your existing generator’s

footprint, GE uses the latest technologies to provide higher efficiency and reliability.

And, you can depend on GE’s extensive experience in evaluating rotor train torsional

lateral response to assist in avoiding catastrophic rotor component failures.

Better control through retrofit.Have an aging generator control system? You may be

faced with a lack of parts availability, increased maintenance,

shortage of knowledgeable service personnel and a lack

of critical excitation system data needed to manage the

asset. Whether you have a vintage static exciter, EX2000, or

Alterrex system, GE offers several retrofit options that help

you to achieve improved reliability, availability, reduced

maintenance and increased options for redundancy.

Trust GE to provide you with:

• Increased power system stability through software and tuning

• System expertise, from full integration to coordination

• Uprate support

• Online repair solutions

Choose the retrofit option that’s right for you:

• Replacement Alterrex generator

• Vintage static exciters to EX2100e

• Alterrex voltage regulator upgrade

• Alterrex rectifier bridge upgrade

• Alterrex to EX2100e “full static retrofit”

• Digital front end (DFE) upgrade

• Static starter upgrades

• Generator protection panel upgrades

GE sweats the small stuff.Leaking seals? Oil ingress in your hydrogen monitoring system?

Brushes need replacing while online? Generator auxiliary

systems like these can make or break your reliability and

availability, any day, any time.

While your generator may be getting on in years, GE

continues to invest in developing retrofitable solutions to help

breathe new life into your aging systems—even the small

stuff, which can have a big impact on your entire operation.

Here are just a few examples of the technological advances

we have ready to help you improve performance:

• Brush rigging upgrade

• Collectors

• Retaining rings

• Wedges

• H2 cabinet upgrade

• Auxiliary upgrades

• Cooling system conversions (Open Air to TEWAC)

• Cooler replacements and upgrades

For more information:

GE Power & WaterGenerator Services4200 Wildwood ParkwayAtlanta, GA 30339-8402 USA

To learn more about these offerings, contact your sales representative or www.powergen.gepower.com

© 2014 General Electric Company. All rights reserved.

GEA19596A (04/2014)

We are there when you need us.GE has global reach and technical breadth. When you need expert assistance, our global footprint gives us the ability to respond to your needs at a moment’s notice. You get qualified specialists focused on your plant, speaking your language. Our highly trained team is ready to address not only your generator concerns, but also anything that can impact generator performance, including electrical power systems, full train rotor dynamics, controls and heat exchangers. Whatever you need, experts are standing by, ready to help.

Personal commitment to quality. Every day at GE Power & Water, employees across the company make a personal commitment to own quality. That means doing the job right the first time, on-time, every time. This personal commitment to quality is what enables us to provide the best possible products and services to our customers.

Quality is woven into the fabric of everything we do at GE Power & Water.

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