Analysis of the Audible Noise of Three-Phase Squirrel-Cage Induction Motors Supplied by Inverters

One of the major problems in inverter-fed motors is the high level of audible noise produced by harmonic current and voltage components. To analyze these phenomena the field in the machine airgap is calculated using the rotating field theory together with the Maxwell stress theorem. This analysis yields a way for predicting the spectrum components produced by the motor and for relating it to the airgap flux density distribution time harmonics caused by the nonsinusoidal supply. The theoretical approach is used for calculating the airgap flux density distribution and the frequency spectrum components of a small three-phase squirrel-cage induction motor fed by a six-step voltage source inverter (VSI) and by a pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) inverter. The theoretical results are compared with experiments.