Stator winding fault detection of induction motors using fast Fourier transform on rotor slot harmonics and least square analysis of the Park's vectors

Abstract

An efficient method for the detection of the stator winding faults (SWFs) of induction motors was dealt based on Park's vector of rotor slot harmonics (RSHs). The induced harmonic voltages of the RSHs in the stator windings are the supreme signatures for fault detection, which can be monitored in the motor currents. Using such a signature, unbalanced supply voltage and stator windings fault situations could be segregated straightforwardly. On the other hand, despite some merits, Park's vector analysis-based methods suffer from low sensitivity and unreliability in the case of low-severity faults. To have the advantages of both methods while tackling the shortcomings, Park's vector approach and the RSH signatures are combined in the proposed method. The RSHs are extracted using the fast Fourier transform method and the least squared approach is employed for pattern recognition. Different experimental results under various scenarios, even in the case of low severity faults, confirm that the locus of Park's vector is an elliptical shape in SWFs, while it is shapeless in other cases, such as healthy and unbalanced supply voltage cases.