EGSA-001

Shaft Grounding System

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS
CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY TO
CUTSFORTH INC. AND SHALL NOT BE
REPRODUCED OR DISCLOSED IN WHOLE OR
PART FOR ANY DESIGN OR MANUFACTURE
WITHOUT THE WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OF
CUTSFORTH INC.
Cutsforth 7854 12th Avenue South Bloomington, MN 55425 www.cutsforth.com 800.290.6458 fax 800.398.6530
Part No. CED-1007 Rev. F
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Cut-Away View
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Components of the
Shaft Grounding System
**Copper Rope terminates approximately halfway inside the last section
of the Guide Assembly
No. Description
1 Metering Switch
2 Brush Spring*
3 Wear Indicator*
4 Removable Brush Holder
5 Attachment Arm
6 Guide Assembly
7 Guide Support Arm
8 Copper Rope*
9 Shaft (existing equipment)
10 Graphite Lube Brush*
11 Grounding Wire (attachment location may vary)
12 Voltage Metering Test Points
*
EGHK-003 Maintenance
Replacement Kit
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Operational Characteristics:
Normal operating shaft voltage is less than 10 volts AC peak-to-peak.
Voltages increasing beyond the normal operating voltage, but less than
10 VAC peak-to-peak, will generally not cause bearing damage. However, the
increase in voltage does begin to indicate problems. For example: poor shaft
grounding from dirty shaft contact surface, generator magnetic dissymmetry,
generator excitation rectifier failure, turbine blade wear, failed bearing
insulation, etc.

Normal operating shaft current is less than 4 amps DC.
Current increasing beyond the normal operating current, but less than
4 ADC, will generally not cause bearing damage. However, the increase
in current does begin to indicate the problems described above.

Continuous operation above 10 VAC peak-to-peak or 4 ADC can result in
significant shaft bearing damage.

Monitoring Recommendations:
Voltage and current measurements should be performed at intervals required by
the turbine/generator OEM. These results will give indications of trouble and
needed maintenance. Meter devices such as an ungrounded oscilloscope,
high-speed strip chart style recorder, or analog DC voltmeter (mV-600 VDC)
can be used to measure shaft voltage. The shaft voltage is measured by
setting the switch to the left ("METER") and placing the leads from the meter
device on the two test points. A typical digital multimeter is not recommended
for measuring voltage as the results can be unreliable and quick-acting noisy
voltage spikes can be missed altogether.

To measure current, additional modifications to the shaft grounding system are
needed.

If existing monitoring equipment will be connected to the Cutsforth Shaft Grounding
System, qualified plant personnel are responsible for connecting the systems
together. Due to complexities and variations, Cutsforth does not take
responsibility for the operation or function of other manufacturers monitoring
systems.

Maintenance Recommendations:
The brushes and copper ropes need to be monitored for wear and replaced when
the brush is worn past the wear indicator on the copper lead, or the copper
rope is worn through more than a third of the diameter. The replacement kit
part number is EGHK-003 and is available from Cutsforth at (800) 290-6458 or
sales@cutsforth.com <mailto:sales@cutsforth.com>
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Switch
Open
Meter Test
Points for
Voltage
Meter
Setting
Copper
Grounding Ropes
Switch
Closed
Grounding Wire
#2 AWG Green
Wire Recommended
Dual Ground
Setting
Voltmeter
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Shaft Grounding System Turbine Generator
Shaft Rotation
Shaft Grounding Location Diagram
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