11 December 2019

During detailed discussions with long-standing client Shinyo Sanso of Japan to support their planned shutdown maintenance work for late 2019 covering AVR/Excitation equipment supplied by Quartzelec in 2010, Quartzelec, a leading independent engineering service provider with an ever-extending global reach, were urgently contacted to assist with a compressor motor failure that had stopped production at their manufacturing facility in Japan.

Shinyo Sanso is one of the leading domestic providers of Industrial Gases in Japan and when they experienced a failure on the motor, they contacted Quartzelec for immediate emergency support before finishing their own detailed technical investigations.

The 12500kW compressor motor had suffered an internal short circuit resulting in complete failure. Shinyo Sanso advised damaged stator coils needed to be replaced and Quartzelec were needed to supervise the stator replacement and ensuing re‑commissioning of the motor; an engineer was immediately put-on standby, and the Rugby factory was primed to fabricate replacement components.  

Shinyo Sanso later confirmed the fault as a ground short circuit that caused significant damage, resulting in one of the W-phase coils burning clear and fusing a packet of core laminations together. A ‘spare’ stator core was available in Shinyo Sanso’s stores and the decision was made to use this to replace the damaged core and get the compressor back on-line as quickly as possible. Within days of first receiving the request for assistance, a Quartzelec engineer was on a flight to coordinate the repair; and in less than two-weeks operational capability was restored.

“Quartzelec has supported us every step of the way and helped us to minimise the downtime that the failed stator coils caused,” stated Hiroshi Takahashi (Fujiki), Shinyo Sanso Factory Manager and Senior Vice President. “The Quartzelec team responded immediately and were contactable night and day to quickly put a practical and cost-effective solution into place and we’ve been delighted with the immediate and longer-term outcomes.”

In addition to affecting the repair and re‑commissioning of the compressor motor, an order has been placed on Quartzelec to fabricate a set of new stator coils using modern materials. The faulty stator has also been shipped back to Rugby so that the stator could be rewound using the existing core, once repaired, with the new resin rich coils. Quartzelec have leveraged their heritage and know-how of motor manufacture and design database, to engineer new coils and core parts.An additional set of resin rich coils and rewind kit is also part of the order and will be completed within the agreed timescales.

“Hiroshi Takahashi (Fujiki) has provided us with detailed past PD data and significant maintenance analysis reports which have proved extremely useful in helping diagnose the underlying cause of the fault so that we can engineer out the problem on the new coils ordered,” stated Harish Mistry, a Senior Project Manager for Quartzelec and based in Rugby. “We have also worked closely with the Shinyo Sanso team to reduce delivery and turnaround times plus keep the pricing as competitive as possible.”

To help minimise the risk of a future failure which the site experienced, Shinyo Sanso have invested in the Quartzteq (the brand name for the innovative product line for Quartzelec) LIFEVIEW PDA II to give continuous online monitoring of the PD trends of the spare stator insulation system after its installation. This means that ongoing performance can be monitored, and potential problems identified early, thereby minimising the risk of future catastrophic events. The PD equipment was successfully installed and commissioned in early November 2019.

Harish Mistry concluded: “We recently arranged a visit for Hiroshi Takahashi (Fujiki) to our Rugby facilities so that he could see first-hand how the rewind and fabrication process is delivered and this should further assist in the long-term delivery of its ongoing maintenance programme. Reacting fast and resolving problems is what our Rotating Machines business thrives on and why we continue to expand our customer base around the world. We deliver on time and on budget with a technical solution that most are unable to compete against.”

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