Determination of Remaining Life of Rotating Machines in Shipboard Power Systems by Modeling of Dielectric Breakdown Mechanisms

This paper presents a model to simulate electrical trees in dielectric materials. The model accounts for the characteristic tree patterns and the partial discharges associated with the propagation of trees. This simulation model is used as basis to develop a diagnostic tool to determine the remaining life of insulation materials by relating the fractal dimension of the tree to the supply voltage and material properties. Simulation results are presented to show the performance of the prognosis method.