Overview

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems enable utilities to move more power further, efficiently integrate renewables, interconnect grids, and improve network performance. HVDC systems utilize power electronics technology to convert AC and DC voltage and are ideal for supporting existing systems or building new power highways.

Overview

GE Vernova provides solutions that offer grid operators the ability to provide reactive power support, enhance controllability, improve stability and increase power transfer capability of AC transmission systems.

Overview

GE Vernova's Grid Solutions' EBoP systems cater to all types of project requirements including supplying equipment, engineered packages, and full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) implementations.

Overview

GE Vernova offers solutions for a variety of substation projects and applications, including Modular Substation Automation Systems, utility and industrial substation projects, as well as DC substation solutions.

Overview

The energy landscape today is changing, this is being led by the current industry trends of Decarbonization, Digitization, Decentralization and Electrification. Discover how GE Vernova is working with utility, consumer and industrial customers to design and deploy tailored Microgrid and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Management solutions.

Overview

GE Vernova offers a wide range of transformer solutions for the utility, industrial, commercial, residential and energy markets. These solutions feature flexible, reliable and robust designs to support a wide range of applications. With units operating in some of the most demanding electrical environments around the world, We design and delivers transformer solutions that provide among the highest level of performance and reliability to meet rigorous operating requirements.

Overview

GE Vernova provides GIS solutions from 50 kV to 800 kV, along with secondary products to maximize switchgear and network operation. The portfolio includes a full range of SF6 GIS as well as g3 (SF6-free) GIS at 145 kV and 420 kV voltage levels for utilities and industries worldwide.

Overview

GE Vernova is one of the top circuit breaker suppliers in the world. Our products include a range of live tank circuit breakers (up to 800 kV), dead tank circuit breakers (up to 550 kV), as well as hybrid and compact switchgear assemblies. We also provide solutions for power generation applications with our generator circuit breakers for installations up to 1,500 MW.

Overview

GE Vernova is a global market leader for disconnectors (disconnect switches) since 1960, with 8 product facilities in 7 countries and hundreds of thousands installations in more than 130 countries around the world. The portfolio includes disconnectors for AC applications (up to 1,200 kV), for DC applications (up to 1,000 kV) and for railway applications. We also offer power connectors to connect two or more conductors for a continuous electrical path.

Overview

GE Vernova is an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of high, medium and low voltage instrument transformers. With more than 100 years of experience, We offer a broad array of standard and high accuracy models for revenue metering and system protection applications. The portfolio of instrument transformers ranges from low voltage at 600 V suitable for industrial and high accuracy revenue metering, all the way up to high voltage at 1,200 kV. The portfolio also includes line traps and digital instrument transformers.

Overview

For a century, utilities have relied on us to deliver electrical products and services to meet their quality, durability and performance needs. Our capacitor and reactor product lines are an integral part of our portfolio. GE Vernova provides power capacitors that meet ANSI, IEEE and IEC standards, and our low voltage capacitors are UL listed. Ratings range from 1 kvar to 500 MVAR, and from 240 volts to 500 KV.

Overview

GE Vernova provides a broad range of bushings and surge arresters to help protect electrical assets. The bushings portfolio includes AC and DC solutions that enable long life, high reliability and installation flexibility. GE’s Tranquell surge arresters are ideal for distribution and EHV applications up to 612kV, and are available as polymer and porcelain station and intermediate class IEEE/ANSI C62.11.

Product Categories

Overview

SF6 (or Sulphur Hexafluoride) has been the standard gas used inside high voltage electrical equipment as an insulating and arc-quenching medium. However, SF6 is also listed as a potent greenhouse gas according to the Kyoto Protocol, with 24,300 times the comparative Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2 and a lifetime of 1,000 years in the atmosphere. With grid operators across the world becoming increasingly concerned about the environmental impact, we offer a commercially available and viable alternative to SF6 to help utilities and industries reduce their environmental impact.

Overview

GE Vernova offers a wide range of solutions to monitor and manage critical assets on the electrical grid, detect and diagnose issues and provide expert information and services to customers. Our asset monitoring and diagnostics portfolio includes solutions for single- and multi-gas transformer DGA, enhanced transformer solutions and switchgear monitoring, as well as software and services.

Overview

GE Vernova's Grid Solutions business electrifies the world with advanced grid technologies and systems, enabling power transmission and distribution from the grid to homes, businesses, and industries effieciently and reliably.

The GridBeats™ portfolio is designed to streamline grid digitalization, improve grid resilience, and empower utilities to manage their networks remotely, particularly in the face of the energy transition.

Overview

GE Vernova's Critical Infrastructure Communications solutions deliver comprehensive networks that are designed to be secure, flexible, and tailored to meet customers' objectives and unique geographic requirements.

Overview

GE Vernova's comprehensive portfolio of solutions for implementing and managing a substation.

Overview

The collection of required asset condition data from the field on a large scale for GE Vernova and 3rd party electrical equipment is a key step in building a robust Asset Performance Management strategy. Grid Services specialists are constantly evaluating and implementing new innovative inspection technologies applying strict processes and methods. The digital inspections methods are designed to improve the efficiency of data collection, oil analysis and online monitoring. All new approaches to capture data are integrated into the EnergyAPM ecosystem for automatic data transfer.

Overview

Business environment is constantly transforming for substation owners but the need to deliver consistent outcomes remains. That’s where a Flexible Service Agreement can help. By partnering with GE Vernova on a long term, customers can realize the full potential of their electrical substations and network assets while balancing performance and investment, along with predictable costs and flexible billing arrangements, letting them get back to focusing on what matters.

Overview

Energy costs are significant expenses for utilities and industries at large, particularly those that are energy-intensive or operate heavy machinery. Between 5% and 25%* of the expenses in these organizations are allocated to energy payments, with up to 15%** of this energy consumption being wasted during operations.

Overview

GE’s innovative and high-quality services help maintain and optimize high-voltage electrical assets throughout their entire lifecycle. Leveraging the design and manufacturing knowledge of our engineers, the customized service solutions ensure substations and networks perform as planned. Experts deliver services for applications across the power system, keeping assets up-to-date, safe, reliable and efficient while improving customers’ return-on-investment.

Overview

GE Vernova provides a full range of services & support tailored to meet a broad range of power system needs across utility and industrial applications. With deep domain knowledge and industry expertise GE’s service application engineers and technical specialists can help plan, design, operate, maintain, and modernize your protection, control, monitoring and automation systems.

Overview

GE Vernova provides comprehensive services throughout the systems lifecycle. The services can be provided by our local team and with the support of our global Competence Centers when the equipment is installed, during the warranty period and beyond.

Overview

Our technical experts are ready to equip customers with the knowledge needed to effectively manage their critical assets and systems, and increase their return on product investments. Our training courses are offered in a variety of ways, including online, onsite at customer locations, and in our state-of-the art training centers around the world.

Overview

GE Vernova's Grid Solutions' Testing Laboratories enable manufacturers and end users to test their primary equipment by leveraging deep domain expertise and testing facilities, to develop enhanced high voltage products and certify their capabilities before market introductions.

Overview

GE Vernova delivers materials and eco-design studies for high voltage solutions to accelerate insulation and environmental innovation. GE’s services provide the expertise and methods that enable new value to support customer engineering, sourcing, quality control and EHS activities.

Overview

With the rapid digitalization of the grid, utility, power generation and industrial operators require cybersecurity solutions to monitor and protect grid asset and systems from increased severity and frequency of cyber attacks. GE Vernova adopted a “defense in depth” approach, providing innovative cybersecurity solutions designed to increase operational integrity, comply with regulations and control costs of security.

Overview

Utilities today seek to create and connect new sources of power generation to meet growing global demand, while also managing grid reliability, costs and regulatory factors.

Overview

Water is central not just to the economy, but to life. As a result, water treatment systems demand secure, dependable power to ensure process uptime. From the grid-connected substation to reliable electrical protection, control, and power quality metering, GE Vernova offers tailored solutions to keep critical plants operational and meet the unique needs of the water and wastewater industry.

Overview

As power systems become increasingly interconnected and complex, utilities need solutions that optimize energy transmission and management while improving reliability.

Overview

Data centers – and the information they store – are becoming increasingly integral to the way we live our lives every day. With rising demand also come rising costs. And more importantly, the information in these centers must remain secure while simultaneously accessible. We provide data centers with electrical infrastructure solutions from the input utility source to the IT server racks. This includes high-voltage switchgear and transformers, medium and low voltage electrical equipment, automatic transfer switches, switchboards, UPS systems, critical power PDUs, static transfer switches, and overhead busway. This chain of electrification products provides high quality and reliable products and services for the entire lifecycle of a data center.

Overview

The oil and gas industry is evolving at a rate never seen before, facing shifting pricing levels, ever-changing regulatory requirements, and increased environmental consciousness. Through reliable, safe, and innovative solutions and a holistic service offering, GE Vernova can help the energy sector thrive in this changing reality.

Overview

Modernizing and digitizing the distribution grid is imperative for utilities and customers to enhance power system stability and safety, while increasingly integrating distributed power and demand response.

Overview

The industry is changing. Simultaneously, so are your utility’s needs. Operational effectiveness, power stability, and critical asset management are key priorities – whether in pulp and paper, steel, or data centers. GE’s holistic portfolio of products and services are designed with reliability, innovation, and sustainability at the forefront, helping you face the energy transition with ease.

Overview

Mining companies require secure communications, efficient asset performance management, and dependable, innovative technology to protect their critical assets. GE Vernova offers a broad product portfolio to help you through each step of the mining process – safely and reliably.

category banner
Services
Support & Services

Home > Services > Support & Services > HV/MV Equipment > Advanced Non-Intrusive Inspection Services

  
Advanced Non-Intrusive Inspection Services

For fast and cost-effective measurement and diagnostics, GE offers advanced inspection methods that do not require the asset to be opened, including;

  • Digital X-Ray
  • Vibration Monitoring
  • Ultra High Frequency Analysis
  • Dynamic Contact Resistance Measurement (DCRM)

The service includes recommendation in the choice of inspection methods, onsite inspections, diagnosis and maintenance recommendations captured in a condition assessment report.

GE’s advanced non-intrusive inspection services enable condition assessment of ageing High Voltage (HV) circuit breakers from GE and 3rd party OEMs including: Live and Dead Tank Circuit Breakers, Gas-Insulated Substations (GIS) and Generator Circuit Breakers They are applicable for various objectives:

  • Fleet Performance Management
  • Critical asset assessment
  • Risk evaluation
  • Diagnosis of defect root cause
  • Routine maintenance
  • Highly demanding application including shunt reactor or transformer protection
GE Advantage
Benefits
Digital X-Ray
Dynamic Contact Resistance Measurement
Vibration Monitoring
UHF Analysis

GE’s Advanced Methods for Non-Intrusive Inspection

Advisory for Method Selection

GE provides assistance in method selection. Depending on the asset, the component to assess and the type of defect to detect, one or more complementary methods of non-intrusive inspections could be recommended.

The selection of methods will take into account the application, the criticality, the history and events occurred. If the inspection requires the use of several advanced non-intrusive methods, they can be performed during the same short planned outage when mandatory.

Expert Diagnosis

In case of defect, the diagnosis can be generated remotely in a few hours by the GE expert. High quality measurement and data generated provides conclusive results which are compared to models created to evaluate the acceptable limits. Those models are developed by GE matter experts from R&D and manufacturing, this expertise in diagnosis is built on 125 years of experience in high voltage equipment engineering.

Maintenance Recommendation

As part of the service, GE provides a comprehensive inspection report including the results, the diagnosis, the expected remaining lifetime of the devices, and a detailed recommendation to plan the necessary maintenance or replacement actions.

Advanced non-intrusive inspection enables deployment of Asset Performance Management (APM) on a fleet of circuit breakers.

GE’s Advanced Methods for Non-Intrusive Inspection

Customer Benefits

Cost Effective

  • No or reduced planned outage compared to standard inspection of internal components
  • Eliminating unnecessary opening of asset
  • Minimizing risk of failure

Safe and Reliable

  • 20% reduction in asset failure thanks to the use of non-intrusive methods
  • Eliminating risk of failure during reenergizing
  • No risk of SF6 leakage

Digitalized Results

  • Data is transmitted remotely to expert for analysis
  • Centralized data available for asset performance analytics
  • Results of asset condition provided in few hours

Proven Methodologies

  • Models based on +120 years of expertise in equipment design, manufacturing and service.
  • Proven experience in diverse industries including rotating machines
  • Diagnosis and recommendations delivered by subject matter experts
Customer Benefits
Internal component of the circuit breaker Internal component of the circuit breaker

Digital X - Ray

Internal component image is printed on a flexible plate and runs through a high resolution (~40µm) laser scanner which reads and digitizes the film. The digital X-ray image produced is viewed and enhanced using powerful image processing software. Contrast, brightness, filtration and zoom can be customized.

Default Detection

Digital X-Ray inspection is suitable to evaluate the condition of aluminum, porcelain or polymer main, arcing and moving components. The defects that can be detected include:

  • Damaged or deformed parts: crack and bent components
  • Missing or loose components
  • Corrosion and inclusion
  • Misalignment of components
  • Nozzles / Barrier / Resin Insulation
DCRM fingerprints with new contact (left) or ageing (right) DCRM fingerprints with new contact (left) or ageing (right)

Dynamic Contact Resistance Measurement

Dynamic Contact Resistance Measurement (DCRM) is conducted by injecting a Direct Current through the breaker. The voltage drop is measured when the breaker operates a close-open cycle at rated speed. The acquisition unit then calculates the resistance value. During a phase of the motion, arcing contacts are the only parts which touch, the condition of these contacts can be assess.

Default Detection

The comparison between the pattern reference and the measurement curve supports the condition of the arcing contacts and the breaker chamber moving parts assessment. Any change in dynamic/frictional characteristics of the circuit breaker immediately reflects as a change in the dynamic resistance signature.

DCRM fingerprint deviation indicates various defects including:

  • Misalignment of moving parts
  • Contact wipe of main and arcing contacts
  • Erosion of arcing and main contact
  • Mechanical integrity of various components
  • Measurement of the arcing contact length
Vibration pattern of an operating mechanism Vibration pattern of an operating mechanism

Vibration Monitoring

Any mechanical movement in equipment produces sounds and/or vibrations. The resulting signals are propagated to the external structure via various parts of the mechanism and through the interrupting medium. The accelerometers positioned on the external structure of the circuit breaker measure the vibration bursts. As the vibration fingerprints is highly repeatable for a healthy circuit-breaker, a change in dynamic/frictional characteristics immediately reflects a change in the vibration pattern and thus highlights a defect.

Mechanical Fault Detection

The main characteristic of vibration diagnostics is the detection of a change between a vibration fingerprints recorded during operation and the reference.

Typical problems indicated by deviation in the vibration pattern include:

  • Over-travel of connecting rids
  • Distortion of a drive shaft
  • Release of a contact / frame / mobile mechanism
  • Hydraulic/spring operating mechanism defect
Example of protrusion Example of protrusion

Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Analysis

The monitoring of the Gas-Insulated Substation (GIS) insulation health through measurement of partial discharge is the most efficient and competitive solution to prevent potential high repair cost and long downtime.

Principal

Partial discharge is the source of electromagnetic waves in the range of ultra high frequency from 300 to 2000MHz. The signal goes along the GIS and is easily captured by the antenna. Both UHF internal or external sensors can be installed on any type of GIS up to 800kV. The system can monitor SF6 and g³ filled equipment. The frequency spectrum and time analysis of the UHF signal assist supervision of commissioning, operation and maintenance.

The pattern shape supports accurate identification of default type including:

  • Presence of particle
  • Protrusion
  • Coronas
  • Free potential
  • Insulator void