Defects of Electrical Insulation Systems with Focus on FEM Modeling

Electrical insulation system is one of the most important part of the electrical equipment. However, also the weakest link in the chain of the reliability of the whole device. The main aim of this paper is to describe different kinds of defects of electrical insulation and their impact on the field distribution and on other parameters. It may lead to local overloading of insulation and to shortening of its life-time. The defects like delamination of insulation, the imperfect shape of conductor or space charge accumulation are presented in this paper. The finite element method (FEM) model of part of the stator winding is used for this investigation, with the addition of real measurement examples.