Contact Energy has expanded condition monitoring at the 4 x 116MW Clyde hydropower station on the Clutha River in New Zealand, adding air gap monitoring functionality to its existing SETPOINT® system. The move follows detection of deformed generator stator frames, which caused stator-rotor eccentricity and electromagnetic imbalance. Vibration monitoring had already allowed longer intervals between overhauls at the stations. The new sensing capability was installed first on Unit 1 to build operating experience, and the application is detailed in the September issue of International Water Power and Construction magazine.
The SETPOINT® system at Contact Energy's Clyde hydropower station has gained air gap monitoring functionality.
Vibration monitoring already paying off
The SETPOINT® system was installed on Contact Energy hydropower stations on the Clutha River, and the stations have been successfully monitored for vibration ever since. That monitoring record has delivered a tangible maintenance return: the time between overhauls at the power stations has been extended.
Aging stators expose a blind spot
The Clyde hydropower station, a 4 x 116MW facility on the Clutha River in New Zealand, presented a harder problem. Its aging generator stator frames showed signs of deformation. That deformation caused stator-rotor eccentricity, which in turn produced electromagnetic imbalance.
The vibration monitoring system detected the issue, but vibration data alone could not fully characterize it. The operators needed deeper diagnostics on the variable stator-rotor clearance, so the decision was made to extend the monitoring system with air gap monitoring functionality.
A measured rollout
The application is covered in detail in the September issue of International Water Power and Construction magazine, in reporting originally published by Will Rucker of Brüel & Kjaer Vibro in 2026.
- Start with vibration monitoring, and let it fund itself: at Clyde, it already bought longer intervals between overhauls.
- Treat detection and diagnosis as separate problems. Vibration flagged the stator issue, but characterizing the clearance took dedicated air gap sensing.
Read the full article on Brüel & Kjær Vibro GmbH
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