Rotor Inter-turn Fault Research Articles

A Case for Micromachines in Laboratory-Based DFIG Wind Turbine Systems for Fault Studies

For laboratory-based systems, the selection of components is critical to ensure proper representation of the actual system. In past investigations, researchers made use of small-scale off-the-shelf wound rotor induction machines (WRIMs) to perform laboratory-based studies. However, there are no reports validating their applicability in comparison to using the actual machines. In this regard, this paper investigates the correlation between the dimensional parameters and the electrical asymmetry indicators for a large-scale wind generator and laboratory-based generators. For the latter, a comparison is made between using a standard small-scale off-the-shelf WRIM and a micromachine. It is shown that the harmonic frequencies in a healthy machine and those due to inherent asymmetries appear at the same positions on the stator current spectrum for the three machines. However, there is a difference in the amplitudes of these components, given their dependence on the winding factors for a specific machine. The dimensional analysis techniques used to scale down the large-scale generator into a micromachine ensure that these parameters are related. However, this is not the case for the standard small-scale WRIM. Further work demonstrates the correlation of the fault-related harmonics between the micromachine and the large-scale machine for a rotor inter-turn fault condition. Micromachines are designed to ensure that the time constants are proportional representations of the larger machine, thus providing an accurate reflection of what is expected under transient operating conditions of wind turbines. This would assist in the development of condition monitoring strategies that are suited for the actual systems in the industry.

Stray Flux Sensor Core Impact on the Condition Monitoring of Electrical Machines.

The analysis of the stray flux for electrical machine condition monitoring is a very modern and active research topic. Thanks to this technique, it is possible to detect several types of failures, including stator and rotor inter-turn faults, broken rotor bars and mechanical faults, among others. The main advantages are that it involves a non-invasive technique and low-cost monitoring equipment. The standard practice is to use coreless flux sensors, with which the stray flux of the machine is not perturbed and there are no problems due to saturation or nonlinear behavior of the iron. However, the induced voltage in the coreless coil sensor may be very low and even, in some cases, have a similar amplitude to the noise floor. This paper studies the use of iron core stray flux sensors for condition monitoring of electrical machines. The main advantage of iron core flux sensors is that the measured electromotive force is stronger. In the case of large machines in noisy environments, this can be crucial. Two different types of iron core stray flux sensors and a coreless flux sensor are tested. A comparison of the three sensors is presented. Extensive experimental testing with all sensors shows the superiority and greater sensitivity of sensors with core versus the coreless ones.

Electromagnetic Analysis and Electrical Signature-Based Detection of Rotor Inter-Turn Faults in Salient-Pole Synchronous Machine

In this paper, rotor inter-turn faults in salient-pole synchronous machines are investigated using finite-element analysis. The machine under study is a 22 MVA eight-pole hydropower generator with fractional-slot windings. Simulated faulty cases include 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 short-circuited turns (out of 58 turns) in one rotor pole. In the electromagnetic analysis, the effect of faults on airgap flux density and radial forces is studied. Furthermore, this paper investigates online detection of inter-turn faults using spectral analysis of stator voltage or current is studied. The amplitude of fault-related harmonics is investigated at various fault severities, as well as at no-load and full-load operations. This paper also discusses the effects of damper bars, an influence of parallel circuits in the stator windings, and influence of the pole pair number. In addition, a comparison between fault-related harmonics in the case of dynamic eccentricity and rotor inter-turn faults is presented.