On the six main low voltage electrical generators onboard Garibaldi Ship it has been recently installed, at aim of experimentation, a system for the automatic air-gap measurement and detection of rotor eccentricities. This system implements a technology developed within a National Research Programme recently concluded with success, promoted by Electrical Plant Office of Italian Navy General Staff and committed by Procurement Department to University of Rome La Sapienza.

The experimentation has the aim to verify the operation of the system for a period of time sufficient to evaluate the expected performances and to appreciate its real benefits in terms of solution of all the drawbacks of traditional manual air gap measurement.

In the paper will be reported the analysis of first numerical results obtained on Garibaldi ship and their comparison with manual measurements. Then, it will be explained how this system can be integrated with other monitoring and control procedures of the ship automation system such as for example Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) applications.

Then it will be given an overview of how this system will be extended to all the Italian Navy ships and will be described the possibilities of application on different typologies of shipboard electrical generators that can presumably be specified for future Italian Navy ships, for example for medium voltage machines.