Detection of broken rotor bars in presence of load oscillations

Drobnič, Klemen (author), Nemec, Mitja (author), Lavrič, Henrik (author), Ambrožič, Vanja (author), Fišer, Rastko (author)

In industrial applications, the reliable performance of induction motors (IM) is essential. This paper proposes an improved method to distinguish between broken rotor bar (BRB) faults and load oscillations (LO) by analyzing stator current components in the rotor-flux reference frame. The approach employs a diagnostic fault indicator based on the amplitude ratio of current oscillations in the direct and quadrature axes, with a threshold established through simulation data and a support vector classifier (SVC). If the detected spectral peak pair corresponds to a BRB, the fault indicator exceeds the threshold. Conversely, peaks caused by LO result in an indicator value significantly below this threshold. The explicit and unambiguous separation between BRB and LO effects allows for the practical recommendation of a unity threshold. Simulations and experimental results validate the method’s robustness, demonstrating accurate fault identification even under challenging conditions, such as lightly loaded motors with a single BRB. The method relies solely on current and voltage measurements, avoiding the need for speed sensors. With low computational demands, it integrates seamlessly into existing motor drive systems. These features make it a practical and cost-effective tool for real-time fault detection and predictive maintenance in industrial settings.

• Language: English
• Keywords: broken rotor bars, fault detection, induction machine, motor current signature analysis, support vector machine classification
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 40012-40027
• Numbering: Vol. 13
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167729
• UDC: 621.313/.314
• ISSN on article: 2169-3536
• DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3546705
• COBISS.SI-ID: 228049411
• Publication date in RUL: 10.03.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: IEEE access
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• ISSN: 2169-3536
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519839513

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: zlomljene rotorske palice, detekcija napake, asinhronski stroj, metoda podpornih vektorjev

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P2-0258
• Name: Pretvorniki električne energije in regulirani pogoni