Electrical machine with a device for monitoring an air gap between a rotor and a stator

1. An electrical machine configured to operate at a power range of several MVA comprising:

a rotor configured to rotate about a rotor axis and including a rotor lamination stack;

a stator including a stator lamination stack concentrically surrounding the rotor lamination stack, wherein a ring-like air gap separates the rotor lamination stack from the stator; and

an air gap monitoring device extending through the air gap in an axial direction and configured to detect at least one of a change in a rotor geometry and a presence of debris in the air gap, the air gap monitoring device including a monitoring track that extends through the air gap in the axial direction and that includes at least one taut wire.

2. The electrical machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the electrical machine is one of an asynchronous machine and a synchronous machine.

3. The electrical machine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the monitoring track extends parallel to the rotor axis.

4. The electrical machine as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a suspension device configured to fix the at least one wire to the stator.

5. The electrical machine as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a suspension device configured to fix the at least one wire to the rotor.

6. The electrical machine as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a strain monitoring device configured to monitor a mechanical strain in the wire.