Jämtkraft AB which is a power production company in Sweden has bought two newhydro power units to their station in Hissmofors. The two new generators are using aconcept with sliding stator feet to handle the thermal expansion.The concept with sliding stator feet on hydro electric generators has not beenworking satisfactory on many hydro power stations in Sweden and has caused a lot ofcosts due to long downtimes.The new station in Hissmofors is very important for Jämtkraft AB, and therefore theywant to know how to make sure that the sliding stator feet are working as theyshould. According to theories and a simplified model of the generator the stator feetdisplacement should be around 1 -1,6 mm.The generators are delivered with a surveillance system that will measure thedisplacement of the sliding stator feet. The signal from the system isn?t accessible forJämtkraft AB but it will alarm when the sliding stator feet are malfunctioning.To secure the function of the sliding feet a logger for the surveillance system or adifferent measurement system must be used; if both systems are used Jämtkraft cansecure the function of the surveillance system..

Jämtkraft AB has recently modernized its hydropower station at Hissmofors by replacing four older worn out units with two new units. The generators uses a concept with sliding stator feet to deal with the thermal movements that occur in the stator during operation when the unit is operating intermittently. At other sites, this method revealed shortcomings in the reliability. This has made Jämtkraft AB feel uncertainty about its function and therefore want to investigate it during an early stage. The generators have a built-in monitoring system for the sliding stator feet and by using data from there the function of the sliding stator feet has been investigated. The study focused on how the different stator feet move relative to each other and how the eccentricity and deviation from roundness changed during operation. The results show that there are several indications that the function of the sliding stator feet is not satisfactory.

Finita Element Metoden (FEM) är en numerisk approximativ beräkningsmetod och dess ursprung kan spåras till 1940-talet. Metoden, som under andra halvan av 1900-talet krävde programmeringskunskap och en djup teoretisk förståelse har under det senaste decenniet implementerats i allt användarvänligare mjukvaror. Beräkningsmodeller byggs upp i CAD-liknande miljöer och resultaten kan återges i pedagogisk färgskala. Detta har gjort att beräkningar med hjälp av FEM blir allt vanligare vid dimensionering av betongkonstruktioner.Datorernas utveckling har medfört att allt mer komplicerade modeller kan byggas upp och analyseras. Denna utveckling har väckt ett intresse för att gå från mestadels 2D-beräkningar till fullskaliga 3D-modeller som beskriver hela konstruktioner.Arbetet med denna rapport har utförts i samarbete med konsultföretaget SWECO Infrastructure, som under första halvan av 2011 har detaljprojekterat en vattenkraftstation.